Slyck.fm

Admittedly, and regretfully, It’s been a while since my last visit to La Blogotheque.  I find it hard to watch art this well-crafted because it draws so much emotion from me.  In many ways I want to blast it for all to hear, as a reminder for us to slow down and enjoy something so raw, so pure, so simple.  I’m scared that the always-scrolling-through-one’s-iPod world in which we find ourselves will cause us to lose sight of what it means to tell a story through song.  Hell, even just a story.  With the computer screen down, both eyes locked on the narrator, no soft glow from a TV in the background.  Oddly enough, it’s often only because of these devices that we’re able to enjoy or discuss these performances.  We just need to make sure technology enables rather than replaces.

Singer/songwriter Samantha Murphy commented recently in her show The Highway Girl that the internet has changed the type of art that’s made today.  Murphy references Joni Mitchell as an artist that truly had to rely on her gifts and talents as the medium on which her music was captured brought along all the imperfections with the performance.  Murphy states, “So now in the digital age, I feel like we’re getting back to real musicians because there’s not going to be as much money to be made out of the music industry.  But, at the same time, never before has technology afforded us such an opportunity to fix things to sound perfect, to polish up our performance.”

I think that’s the beauty of the performances captured in The Takeaway Shows.  Clearly there are imperfections.  The nature of the shoot both creates and relies on them.  And in many ways, the music’s never sounded better in the genre of marching troubadour, oft-mid-day glow — just waking yet fully alive.

Logging into my Vimeo account tonight was a good move as I stumbled on a fantastic Fleet Foxes performance (full episode).  This episode reminds me of John Mayer’s newest DVD release Where the Light Is. It also makes me antsy for the Minnesota sun to melt the snow to reveal plenty of ideal backdrops for some performances yet to be captured.

Fleet Foxes – A Take Away Show from La Blogotheque on Vimeo.

Also worth exploring are the Bowerbirds:

“Check your pulse, it’s proof that you’re not listening to the call your life’s been assuring you.”

-John Mayer, “Great Indoors” (Room for Squares)

You know it’s been really cold lately in Minneapolis when 2-degree weather feels tolerable.  Yep, 30 degrees below freezing yet it feels manageable compared to the negative temperatures we’ve been seeing lately.  In the blistering early-morning hours one has to pack the right playlist to keep the soul warm.  Here are five songs to which I’ve been rocking once forced to venture away from the great indoors via bus to my cube (which, yes, is still indoors):

“Casimir Pulaski Day” by Sufjan Stevens (Illinoise)

“I Was Just Thinking” by Teitur (Poetry & Aeroplanes)

“Sleep Tonight” by Stars (Set Yourself on Fire)

“My Mathematical Mind” by Spoon (Gimme Fiction)

“City Morning Song” by Sarah Shannon (City Morning Song)

In support of their latest release Hey Ma!, Manchester-based James traveled to Minneapolis on September 27th for an appearance at the Fine Line Music Cafe, one of the best-sounding rooms in the Twin Cities.  My brother first turned me on to James, and he hoped to make the trip North from Ohio to see his favorite band, best known for their ‘93 release Laid.  Unfortunately, my brother, the lawyer (and responsible one), had to stay home to prepare for a trial so I took the bus downtown to meet my friend Shawn in the North Loop before walking to the show from his place.  I should point out that we nearly didn’t get into the venue.

Just before reaching the doors I realized the self-printed tickets I had placed in my coat pocket were no longer there.  So, after heading over to the library in effort to reprint them only to discover that Minneapolis doesn’t encourage learning via books post-6 p.m. on a Saturday night, we retraced our steps hoping to find the tickets before someone else screamed “this bed is on fire…” at our (well, my brother’s) expense.  Amazingly, two crisply-folded sheets of paper with Ticketmaster barcodes were laying face-up on the sidewalk just a few blocks from the venue.  So, after a sigh of relief, we retraced our initial steps onward toward the venue.

Fine Line does an interesting thing: one can pre-purchase food & drinks which reserves table in what would otherwise be a standing-room only space.  The tables are placed off to the right side of the stage, just in front of the sound board.  Though this sounds great in theory for those of us accustomed to sitting all day in a cube and not wanting to feel too out of practice come the weekend, it makes navigating the crowd to the tables difficult for patrons and nearly impossible for the wait staff.  After finally locating our seats we settled in to enjoy some UK pop.

James was in fine form, performing a set front-loaded with songs from the new album, which Entertainment Weekly’s Stephen King named a Top 10 album of 2008, rounded out by personal favorites l”Say Something”, “Sometimes” and “Sit Down” as the night progressed.  I’m not sure when James will be touring the US again, but I highly recommend trying to find your way to a show if they do.  I, for one, am going to do my best to return the favor to my brother and make sure he’s part of their next stop on this side of the pond.

Here’s an acoustic song I recorded in August ‘06, cleverly penned “Untitled #3″:

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