Wainright siblings, Rogers Sisters and a Brendan Benson

The Rogers Sisters - Publicity Photo

Somehow, I managed to get up at 6:30 a.m. today despite a late night. I fly off to Copehagen in a matter of hours, and don't plan to return to London until the second weekend of July (unless, on the very, very outside chance I end up on Madonna's guestlist for the Hyde Park installment of the Live8 festival on Saturday, in which case I might just have to swim the North Sea.)

Yesterday was another mish-mash of music. After a successful afternoon of shopping in Camden Lock Market, it was time to head back to the Wireless Festival. Despite arriving rather late, I managed to do quite well for myself in terms of sheer quantity of music experienced.

I caught the tail-end (last bit of the last song) by Brendan Benson, who I was surprised to find rocking people's socks off in the XFM tent. (I made a note to catch his full set in Ireland next weekend.) Supergrass seemed to do a fair to middling job on the mainstage, but despite a few shivers going up my spine as the broke into "Moving" they didn't draw me in.

Next I headed to the Dis stage to catch a bit of Martha Wainright (seeing as I'd arrived to late to see her brother earlier.) "Did you see Rufus," she asked between songs, and the crowd responded with a hearty cheer. Moments later, dressed in a red athletic jacket Rufus Wainright appeared at her side to accompany her on the next song.

Skipping Wednesday's festival headliners, Keane (I've seen them twice and reviewed them for this very site -- I was suprised as I left to see and hear otherwise rough-looking English lads saying to each other, "Hurry up now, they go on in 1 minute!")

I was able to make it to Tottenham Court Tube Station, and the short walk up Oxford Street to the 100 Club (downstairs at 100 Oxford Street) to see the Rogers Sisters and meet up with music hound Andrew Zincke and his friend Phil from Beggars Group. The legendary 100 Club, which was originally opened as a restaurant called Macks in 1942, claims to be "the most celebrated live music venue in Europe and one of the most famous in the world." It has seen acts as diverse as The Sex Pistols, Muddy Waters, Oasis, Travis, The Clash,The White Stripes, and more.

On this night, with far superior sound to what they had at the Wireless Festival Friday, the New York-based Rogers Sisters (who are on Beggars Group's Too Pure label) won me over with their energetic and retro sounding rock. It's not fair to label a band by their covers, but in addition to their catchy originals, it was a joy to see the lovely Jennifer Rogers sing "Object" by The Cure.

The band is comprised of Jennifer Rogers on guitar and vocals, sister Laura on drums and backup vocals, and the sole male in the group, Miyuki Furtado plays bass and provides punchy and raw lead vocals himself on many tracks.)

At an after party in Soho I had the chance to have a few drinks with Furtado, who after admiring my glasses (clear plastic Gucci, 2004) gave me tips on where to buy hip eyewear in Brooklyn, and told me he loves Minneapolis, the 7th Street Entry in particular. Rogers Sisters' tour dates aren't finalized, but expect them to come through town sometime in November. I highly recommend you see them. (Check out a few MP3's on their music page and read more about the band here.)

Mark Olson & the Creekdippers at the Borderline

Another night in London, and another music venue.

Monday night I headed to The Borderline, conveniently located a short walk from Leicester Square. To find the venue, just walk up Charing Cross Road, turn left on Manette Street, and a few steps up to your right, there in a little court called The Orange Yard you'll find something straight ahead of you that looks like a garage door when it's down. When it's up it's actually the entrance to the club. (If it's not open, don't inquire next door about gigs as the door to your right is actually the back door to an entirely different pub.)

I arrived pretty much as the doors opened to find a seat. (Sitting has become my favorite body position after two days of 4+ hour walks in London have left the soles of my feet literally blistered.)

I was glad to have arrived early to catch Danny George Wilson (of the band GrandDrive), who just happened to be releasing his debut solo CD The Famous Mad Mile on Fargo Records this very day. I found Wilson's opening set to be the perfect, reflective start to the evening of Creekdipper's music that was to come. Bob Harris (who has also played tracks from The Twin Cities' own Ashtray Hearts) has been playing tracks from Wilson's new disc on BBC Radio 2.

Mark Olson and the Creekdippers' (tonight Mike "Razz" Russell and Ray Woods) began with "Eyes on The Window," and the trio damn near broke my heart right from the start. As the strains of the first song wafted over the extremely attentive audience (even by English standards), I felt as if someone had just pulled a warm blanket over me after a long, hard day. (I understand now what Cyn Collins meant by "cozy" in her review of the Creekdippers show at Lee's Liquor Lounge in Minneapolis on March 23rd.

Through 20 songs and two encores, the Creekdippers took me on a trip through their discography featuring songs from December's Child, Zola and the Tulip Tree, and a nice helping of songs from Political Manifest. The band switched instruments seemingly on every song, Razz going from fiddle to guitar and bass, Mark from bass (which he admitted is his favorite instrument) to acoustic guitar even to dulcimer. At one point, drummer Ray Woods even took a turn on bass. (Apparently, he had expressed an interest in not having to sit down for the entire set.)

From the start it was sweet hear the voice (Mark Olson's) that I'd totally fallen in love with on The Jayhawk's album Hollywood Town Hall. And there were a few songs tonight (though all Creekdipper's songs) that sounded like they could have been outtakes from that period, which is just another way of saying that Olson's voice and songwriting are truly distinct.

"Still We Have a Friend" from December's Child -- which reminded me a bit stylistically of Robyn Hitchcock, who also took a dig at Condaleezza Rice on his most recent album -- morphed into "Condaleezza's Pride," a chilling indictment of the current U.S. Secretary of state. I myself have never understood how someone (Condy) with the sensitivity to be an accomplished classical pianist could be so terribly misguided in her worldview. I'd have to actually call her evil, if I believed such a thing existed. I found this as yet unrecorded song to be troubling as it at least attempted explanation (or not) in story format.

Olson's political songs, indictments of George Bush, Donald Rumsfeld and others, come across with a deep undercurrent of sadness. Some are bluesy, some have an up-tempo funky feel. But none are self-righteous. Perhaps that comes from an understanding that some of us have taken wrong turns (really, really wrong in some cases.) And some of us (like George, Donald and Condee) sadly just kept on going. Olson seems to approach these people's lives at times as if they were Greek tragedies instead of fodder for condemnation. But these are exactly the kind of songs, which if heard by the right ears at the right time, could really make a difference.

Olson introduced "Pacific Coast Rambler" by saying it was their "bum walking down the highway song" and alluded to the often lonely life of even reasonably well-known musicians on the road. When Razz Russell took up the vocal on the second verse, something about the timber of his voice came together with the rest of the music in the mix and broke my heart. Honest. I nearly broke into tears right then and there in my front row seat at the Borderline.

It was a truly sweet show, and I had a chance to chat with each of the band members afterwards. I didn't expect Mark to remember my mug, but he was one of the first people I actually met when I moved to Minneapolis in 1988, along with Mark Perlman back in the days when you'd still frequently find the likes of the Jayhawks and Soul Asylum still hanging out at the CC Club on ocassion.

And cheers to the new friends I made at the gig: Lisa from New Jersey and John from Dover, who were quite possibly the biggest Mark Olson fans in the room. (John had driven down from Dover for the gig and Lisa had arranged a layover in London just to see the show.)

Razz and Ray tell me to expect a Minneapolis visit from the Creekdippers in early September. HowWasThe Show will keep you posted.

Glastonbury 2005 comes to an end

I didn't go to Glastonbury this year. And in a way I'm glad I didn't. What they've now taken to calling "Flash Flood Friday" would not have been fun for an overseas traveller as waist high water in some cases filled the campgrounds. (Sean Hoffmann and I encountered not quite as bad a mudbath, but still pretty serious weather conditions last year at Roskilde.)

But as Glastonbury wrapped up last night, and I spent an odd night in, sitting in my hotel room drinking Stella Artois, I was able to watch several hours of festival highlights on BBC2, and I really feel I got the sense of what was probably one of the better festivals of the past ten years, rain or not.

I saw performances by (among others) The La's, a shirtless Rufus Wainright (performing "Gay Messiah"), Shirley Manson of Garbage (doing some dirty business with a blow-up doll during "Why Do You Love Me?"), Brian Wilson mesmerizing the crowd with the Beach Boys greatest hits (I see Mr. Wilson live next weekend), a hot outfit from Nashville called Be Your Own Pet, The Futureheads, Ian Brown, and a highlight for many, Rilo Kiley. Oh, and I was pleasantly surprised to enjoy some of final night headliners Basement Jaxx who probably won the prize for having the most people on stage at a time.

Dead Next Door at The Dublin Castle

No, I didn't run off to Ireland. I dropped by a music pub in Camden Town (just a short jaunt from the Camden tube stop) called The Dublin Castle for an evening of rock and roll. (Yes, apparently when on vacation all I do is see live shows.)

I picked the club because I had not been there yet, and I think my nose steared me correctly as I had even more fun than I did at The Barfly on a similar reconaissance mission last summer. The club is well known in these parts, and appears to be on the same circuit as clubs like 93 Feet East, The Windmill, and Islington Academy for emerging local acts and according to a news article posted at the site has hosted bands such as Blur and Madness in their formative years.

The first band Motel Hero put on a respectable show, but their performance didn't seem to have much more energy than their sound check. The second band, The Cuban Heels, was more up to snuff -- tight, and they had their chops down, but at least for me they were lacking a needed ingredient to generate real excitement. Headliners Luxemborg, the band I actually had gone to see based on a description of "noir pop" by Time Out) were quite good at what they did -- (charismatic and slightly weird new wave -- their keyboard player wore a white hoody.) No complaints there, and they are better than the Killers.

It was the second to last band Dead Next Door that really pumped me up.

I'd met Dead Next Door's drummer Gav (Gavin Ransley) outside before the gig, and he totally reminded me of Damon, the head of security First Avenue back in Minneapolis. Gav introduced me to Rob the bass player, and I was pleased to then actually have people to talk to. In London, I very much feel like a scenester from a different scene, and that's both refreshing and awkward. Refreshing because I enjoy the freedom of being completely unrecognized; awkward, because as a shy person it can be taxing to keep yourself occupied between bands without conversation.

Dead Next Door's set started about half past ten. It only took me about 15 seconds to A) realize I was enjoying the band very much, and B) pick the mix of influences that I was hearing. From the first song "Sense of Place" these influences were equal parts U2, Clash and Interpol. From the second song "Metro" (which is featured on the band's debut EP) I added Joy Division and Echo & The Bunnymen, and anyone who knows my personal tastes knows happens to me when these forces collide. Add the heavy hitting and straight on rock drumming of Gav and you have a no nonsense, molotov cocktail of a band.

Gav described their music to me as "aggressive rock," even going so far as to think he'd coined the phrase "aggro-rock" and wondered if they could bill themselves as "the world's first aggro rock outfit." (Sorry, Gav, but a Google search on "aggro-rock" yields over 6,000 results currently.) But he does have a point about the rhythm section. There is a melodic pop element omnipresent in Dead Next Door's songs, and the guitars are known to ring sweetly on ocassion, but the songs never get derailed by sentiment. The drums and bass always push forward, never reaching a frenzy, but never allowing you to forget that first and foremost this is a rock band.

Ed the guitar player plays with his guitar so low to the ground you'd swear it weighed 300 pounds. And fronting the goup is Andreas, whose vocals are on the Bruce Springsteen side of Kelly Jones. (This is a compliment whether or not you like the Stereophonics.) And he's a frontman not afraid to tap into the charisma of Jim Morrison.

One set highlight was "Twenty Seven" (again a song from their EP.) The band's most popular song, requests for it had been being shouted out since near the start of the set. When played the sizable crowd -- the largest crowd for any of the four bands on this bill -- went crazy (photos will be online when I return to the States.)

Clearly seeing my enjoyment as I danced in the front row shooting photographs, a man leaned in and said, "This band is going to be huge!" Never mind that I found out later it was Gav's brother. Enthusiam like that is contagious, and it just goes to show you that another of the greatest assets a band can have is its fans.

The TV Sound Play Minneapolis tonight - The Creekdippers play London on Monday

If anyone saw the Revolver Modele, Divorcee, Superdanger show at the Varsity last night and has a report, leave a note in the comments.

RM has a cool new website you should definitely check out.

Tonight (Saturday), of course, The TV Sound play the Hexagon in one of the last shows they will be doing in a while as lead singer Steve Hutton takes an extended absence (11 weeks!) to do some work in NYC.

There's another local show I'm missing while stuck in London, however, my sprits soared today when I picked up a copy of Time Out and see that Mark Olson and the Creekdippers will be playing The Borderline on Monday. Nothing I love better than seeing Minnesota heros play right here in my home away from home.

Greetings from ellowen deeowen - New Order plays Hyde Park

I am in London.

The first rock and roll t-shirt I ever bought was at the old Northern Lights record shop on Hennepin Avenue in 1984 or 1985. It featured a yellow and gold cog, and I can't recall if it actually said "New Order" on it, but it was one of their shirts, and I was so young at the time I actually felt cool and powerful whenever I wore the damn thing (usually with my black jeans.)

Last night I saw New Order headline the first night night of the Wireless Festival in Hyde Park. As a critical journalist, I have to agree with many who will tell you that New Order technically suck(s) live (technical issues, Bernie Sumner can't sing or remember all the words, etc.) But I must also say it's a great and heartwarming experience to see this band, especially amongst their many friends.

Peter Hook is a total ham. He spent a good part of "Temptation" way out on the side of the stage in front of the speakers and video monitor. At other times he went Lord knows where and Bernard Sumner even had to ask at one point, "Where's Hooky?" Hooky loves the limelight, he clearly loves playin bass for New Order, and damnit, we love him right back.

I found myself guessing the setlist surprisingly accurately for never having seen them. They "played the hits" as they say, everything from "Crystal" to "Regret" to "True Faith" to "Blue Monday," and an abundance of Joy Division "covers" including "Transmision" and "She's Lost Control." All we didn't get was my all time favorite (or favourite, I should say as I am in England), "Age of Consent."

Elsewhere yesterday, because of the close proximities of the stages, and conveniently staggered start times, I was able to catch Rilo Kiley, Tegan and Sara, The Psychadelic Furs, Moby, Graham Coxon, the Dresden Dolls, The Dears, and the Rogers Sisters.

It was my first time seeing Rilo Kiley (I missed their First Ave show) and they defnitely brought it. They write great songs, sound great live and definitely sold me a disc. One horrendous show moment, however, came as their guitar player did a god-awful cover of "Let My Love Open the Door" on an out of tune (are they ever in tune?) ukelele. I asked my friend (Andrew Zincke of The Smoking Beagle, "Why on earth would they do something that to a perfectly good set?" Otherwise, the show was top notch.

The Dears soared. They are definitely a band born to be seen live. (Clearly, I am playing catch up over here -- I missed the Dears at their Quest show in Minneapolis a few weeks back.) The Rogers Sisters are a Brooklyn-based band whom I was turned onto by Andrew's friend Phil from the Beggars Group.

Radiohead's OK Computer tops Spin's 100 Greatest Albums, 1985-Now

My copy of Spin hadn't arrived as of today's stop at the HowWasTheShow P.O. Box, but you can read their "100 Greatest Albums, 1985-Now" and see part of the list on their website here. (The magazine will reveal the list one piece at a time online, so go buy a copy if you need to see the whole thing right away. The issue hit newstands today.)

Radiohead's OK Computer (1997) tops the list. Spin says, "Between Thom Yorke's orange-alert worldview and the band's meld of epic guitar rock and electronic glitch, it not only forcast a decade of music but uncannily predicted our global culture of communal distress."

CNN gives a good overview of the article here and lets a few cats out of the bag while name checking Chuck Klosterman in the process.

Like Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time released in 2003, Spin's roll call is a sure-fire debate starter. Note, for example, that 25 of the 100 albums on the list are hip hop releases. And just looking at items 86-100 you can see The Strokes Is This It? (RCA, 2001) is at #100. Frankly, I'm surprised it's on the 2o year list at all.

I'd be interested in hearing other people's pick for the #1 of the past 20 years in the comments. It's the 20 years bit that makes this so hard. If it were 25 or 30 it would be a whole lot easier. In my own twisted brain anyway, many of the best albums of the past 20 years were made before 1985. It just seems wrong that The Queen Is Dead is on the list, but The Smiths can't be because it came out in a year to early in 1984.