Tonight, David Bazan and mewithoutYou will be lighting up Exit/In here in my new home of Nashville for one of the first shows in what I assume will be one of the better tours of the summer.
Opener Rubik is new to me, but I’m sure they’ll be great as well.
I’m sure many a Buzzgrinderer would be interested in such a lineup, what with our richhistory with both artists.
Coincidentally enough, former Bazan bandmate Damien Jurado is playing tonight as well at The End, a smaller venue right across the street from Exit/In. I smell a conspiracy.
Unfortunately, it’s a very brief run, so if you don’t get them in your town, make sure to keep your eye open for other dates, as both Bazan and mewithoutYou are touring off and on all summer.
Our pals Rodeo Ruby Love have a new album, This Is Why We Don’t Have Nice Things, coming out June 29. And not only did the band allow Buzzgrinder to stream the whole thing, but the guys were also kind enough to take over posting duties for the day. That means we get to paint watercolors of hummingbirds and humvees.
Hello people of Buzzgrinder! In this entry, I’m going to recap a few of the best live shows I’ve seen so far this year. Feel free to add your own in the comments!
Love him or hate him, the man known as Bazan can captivate an entire room with a single word, or bring them from laughter to tears within a matter of seconds (no seriously, I’ve actually seen it happen). Where most musicians tend to speed up songs live, he does the opposite, and in doing so adds more impact to each song, note and syllable.
What I’m getting at is this — if you haven’t seen the dude live, then you’ve never heard him at his best. This night was no exception. Backed by the best band I’ve seen him with yet (I never got to see him play with Mr. Walsh), Bazan absolutely killed it, rattling off song after song from various entries in his extensive catalog (solo stuff, Headphones and tons of Pedro the Lion tunes). The thing that impressed me most was the level of control (no pun intended) he and his band had over every element of each song. Each guitar swell, drum fill, and vocal harmony was executed with extreme precision.
The highlights of the set for me were a surprising inclusion of the PTL song When They Really Get to Know You They Will Run and a beautifully devastating rendition of the Headphones track I Never Wanted You.
David Bazan/Pedro the Lion has always had some sort of mystique for me. As I was in the throes of my Indie music discovery, he was there, this sort of spiritual guide for the collective music community. I was also under the influence of someone that was very much a huge fan already, Sean Cannon, who had a great deal of respect for what Bazan was doing.
I saw Bazan live via Pedro the Lion a couple of times at Cornerstone, and what really struck me was his ability to draw everyone into his shows. Every artist of every sort of genre showed up to watch him from the back of the stage. He was highly regarded by everyone, and I was unsure of why at the time; all I knew was that I enjoyed the shows.
I’m sure most people will be clamoring for the new Band of Horses and Black Keys albums today (and maybe the Avenged Sevenfold thinger if you still haven’t learned your lesson), but there are a few other releases flying under the rader you’ll want to keep your eyes open for.
David Bazan has a live vinyl release that was recorded last fall.
LCD Soundsystem‘s new full-length is getting some much-deserved praise already.
Great Lake Swimmers have some live studio sessions to share.
Likewise, The Locust has a Peel sessions release out.
Harvey Milk has a new jam for us.
The Jayhawks are still kicking.
And Rhymefest — one of Kanye’s homeboys — is back with something that will hopefully be some positive hip-hop summer jams.
:: Aluk Todolo, Finstrenis (Public Guilt)
:: Andre Williams, That’s All I Need (Bloodshot)
:: Anew Revolution, iMerica (E1 Music)
:: Audra Mae, The Happiest Lamb (Side One Dummy)
:: Avenged Sevenfold, Nightmare digital release (Reprise/Warner)
:: Band of Horses, Infinite Arms (Brown/Fat Possum/Columbia)
:: The Black Keys, Brothers (Nonesuch)
:: Club 8, The People’s Record (Labrador)
:: Crooked Still, Some Strange Country (Signature Sounds)
:: Mercury Program is hitting the road for the first time in five years alongside Fin Fang Foom. When I was younger, I always got Fu Manchu and Fin Fang Foom mixed up.
:: Speaking of confusing one band for another, whenever I hear anything about Fun Loving Criminals I think of Fine Young Cannibals. What can I say? They drive me crazy.
If you ever wanted to know what catharsis would sound like if you could distill its pure essence… well, listen to Control. It also has all the hallmarks of a David Bazan album in droves. Sex? Yes. Violence? Yup. Foul language? Mmhmm. Questioning faith? You know it.
And it’s all packed near-perfectly into narrative form, with heartbreaking care. Bazan bares his soul in a way strictly autobiographical songs won’t allow. Instead of being tied to what has or hasn’t happened, he’s free to explore eventualities that — while not completely disconnected from his worldview — aren’t bound by his own predilections.
It’s like Flannery O’Connor, except with testicles and a guitar.
I got wind of this a while back, so I kind of forgot it was newsworthy. David Bazan is taking it to the streets with Headlights throughout March (and a couple of days in April). No Louisville date for me, but shows at the Southgate House, Exit/In and The Bishop mean I’ve got plenty of chances to see the show, which promises to be like puppies on a dewy spring morning.
It’s that time of year again. That’s right, the time when David Bazan let’s everyone know that his yearly tradition of releasing a Christmas seven-inch is still on. And this go-round is no exception.
Bazan will be giving us his sixth installment this year, featuring covers of the Lennon/Ono tune Happy Xmas (War Is Over) and Wayne Coyne’s Say It Isn’t Greensleeves (A Change at Christmas). And we’re talking only 1,000 copies, with 200 in white haze, 400 in gold and the last 400 in clear.
Just one more reason to love Christmas. Right after the pizza and fig newtons.
:: I’ve been sitting on this for a while, but I guess the cat is out of the bag now. Warner Brothers subsidiary Sire Records has signed Foxy Shazam. The band has posted a new track on their MySpace, and is currently on the road with The Sounds.
:: Patrick Swayze passed away yesterday at age 57, as he lost his battle with cancer. Given the seemingly disproportionate amount of celebrities that have died over the last few months, which one has affected you the most? I imagine most would say Michael Jackson, but I also imagine they’re full of it. It was Billy Mays for me.
I got my copy of Curse Your Branches in the mail so long ago that it’s really tough to write a review of the first full-length from David Bazan under his own name. I guess the best thing to say is that I’ve been listening to Bazan’s challenging, insightful, soulful, and even airy, lyrics against the rich layers of instrumentation for months now — and I’m still relishing every spin.
While the themes and orchestration are very much in line with Bazan’s usual aesthetic, which I dig anyway, things seem a little denser. That might be hard to believe, considering he has albums like Control and It’s Hard to Find a Friend under his belt, but it’s true. And sure, you’ve got a host of reasons why, but the easiest to pin down is the overtly personal nature of the album.
No matter how many songs he writes about dudes doing horrible things or people being in desperate situations, it’ll never match him crooning about breaking his mother’s heart. It adds some gravity that songs about splooging just don’t carry.
Artist: 
