(almost) perfect gigs

Nico Muhly and Sam Amidon, originally uploaded by jellybeanz.

The last time Owen Pallett played the Union Chapel eight months ago, it was pretty much the ideal gig in the perfect venue. At the time, I thought that the show really couldn’t get that much better. Owen Pallett has set the bar high, and somehow he continues to explore and reinterpret his music in new ways.

It wasn’t even that he made it easy for himself, asking Nico Muhly and Sam Amidon to play as last minute special guests. It was great to see Nico and Sam perform in this relaxed environment, after watching Nico Muhly’s programmed show last night at the Roundhouse with the Britten Sinfonia. Whereas last night, it was all about grand arrangements and drama, with just the two of them, it was much more playful. It was an extra treat to see Beth Orton guest with them again, and performing different songs to the night before.

Having Nico Muhly on before Owen Pallett was a great opportunity to compare the two. Having not really noticed it before until these two performance, there are so many similarities between their arrangements. Both are never happy with just writing quiet harmonies, instead opting to add little flourishes everywhere in their music. There’s no other way to say it, but both their music is just very pretty.

The last two times Owen Pallett performed alone (with a projectionist) with the focus entirely on him and his looping pedals. Before the show, I was a little uncertain how it would work with an additional musician. In fact, it was great to see that Owen could work off another musician, filling out the songs with percussion and whistling. Now, instead of just watching to see how he loops and cues up sections of his songs (which he still does) it’s also a chance to focus on his technique. Until tonight, I’ve never noticed how fast he plucked his violin.

It’s a shame that with the attention that signing to Domino and the release of Heartland that it is likely that Owen Pallett might never play somewhere like the Union Chapel again (the next show is going to be at Koko). There is something about that octagonal, domed room that really suits music like this.

The End Of Year Round Up

Thinking very hard about what I’ve done this year, it’s hard to remember much that has really surprised me about music. Normally there would be at least one or two stand out new discoveries, but a quick trawl through recent memory only comes up with songs and music from bands that I already knew. In fact my ‘new’ discoveries of the year are acts which passed me by first time round. Not that this is a bad thing, considering that I saw some great shows, only at the bigger end of the scale rather than in a noisy tiny room.

On the very big end of the scale, Blur at Hyde Park was a fantastic communal experience, everyone singing along to every song. In hindsight, I am so glad that I made the last minute decision to get tickets, especially as it looks like that the reunion shows were really just a one off. As a warm up to that gig, the week  before was Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. Although it was remarkable to see the Boss play for over 3 hours without stopping, it was a shame that much of it was the newer material. At least I can now say that I survived watching a set from the Dave Matthews Band.

At the other end of the scale, there was also the week where I saw two collaborations between  a band and an orchestra,with Efterklang and the Britten Symphonia and Grizzly Bear and the London Symphony Orchestra (sad to have missed a third, the Stornoway show at the Sheldonian). With low expectations (not really knowing too much about the band beforehand) the Efterklang performance was fantastic, and with too great expectations, the Grizzly Bear collaboration turned out to be a little disappointing. However, having seen them another two great times this year (at Koko and at Pukkelpopp) I can’t really complain too much.

In a way this year was all about my continuing infatuation with all those great North American bands, which started back in 2007 with Beirut and Grizzly Bear. This year I saw both of them again (Beirut twice – at the Forum and also Pukkelpop), as well as possibly the two favourite shows of the year, Final Fantasy at the Union Chapel and Beach House’s tiny show at the Fleapit. With tickets for shows in the first quarter of 2010 for Final Fantasy (now Owen Pallett), Grizzly Bear and Beach House, this obsession is likely to follow on into next year.

Unsurprisingly, my favourite discovery of the year was the music of Bradford Cox, both Deerhunter and Atlas Sound. From first stumbling across their set at the Breeders ATP in May and then seeing them again at Pukkelpop, and hearing the Atlas Sound album in a record store whilst on holiday in Vancouver. The only puzzling thing was howcome it took so long for me to get round to listening to his music.

All in all, looking back at my gig calendar over the year, 2009 took some time to get going. While there are several remarkable shows to remember the year by, there probably weren’t as many as there used to be.

Interactive Orchestra

I stumbled across Re-rite on the South Bank over the weekend. A digital project by the Philharmonia Orchestra, it took place over four floors of an old warehouse just behind the Oxo Tower. In each room there was the projection of a section of an orchestra, and thesounds of their parts of The Rite of Spring by Stravinsky. The set up was that the audience could wander amongst an orchestra, and hear each part of a complex orchestra piece. To make it seem even more realistic, they had the sheet music on a stand, and in one of the sections the audience filmed to be projected alongside the filmed footage.

As a way of engaging an audience, it really worked. Those of us inside the building were encouraged to wander into any room, and I found myself returning to several rooms throughout the piece. And being able to watch the musicians, the most fun was to watch them during the lengthy pauses to see how still they could be.

Perhaps those who planned the project took some of their inspiration from DVDs. There was a conductor’s commentary of the piece and also, in another room, a musician’s commentary. In the percussion room, maybe they even took some ideas from computer games, with a display that asked the audience to drum along.

Mixing in all these contemporary ideas, it was an excellent example of how to engage with a new audience, and explain some of the complexities of a classical orchestra.

The Flaming Lips at the Troxy

The Flaming Lips at the Troxy, originally uploaded by jellybeanz.

The last time I saw the Flaming Lips was in 2002. Since then their albums have never quite reached the greatness of The Soft Bulletin and for the last few years they’ve dropped off my listening lists entirely. It was lucky that the Flaming Lips played a set mixed up of the great older songs, and newer material that was bearable.

However, as everyone knows, Flaming Lips shows aren’t just about the songs, but about the overall experience. Even on a cold Tuesday night, after some encouragement by the stage crew, they got everyone clapping and singing along. With balloons, confetti, everything turned up to max (but no singing puppets or fake blood), this is possibly the best party you could have on a Tuesday night.