o7/o9/2o1o - 奇哥 Chico @ XinYi's Eslite

It turns out that XinYi's Eslite store (4th floor, music section) brings in live music acts every Friday from 8-9pm, as I discovered while browsing their quite decent indie section. (They even have vinyl! Bloody expensive vinyl, but still!) Today's turned out to be a bass- and violin-wielding duo going by the name of 奇哥 (Chico). I suspect they were father and daughter, but I'm not... actually sure? But even if they weren't amazing, they certainly weren't terrible either, and at the very least, they were really, really bloody entertaining.

They kicked it off with an original song called 晚安, which was lovely to listen to even if the lyrics didn't seem to scan well in some places. It wasn't bad until the song apparently reached a section that consisted of the vocalist/bassist speaking out "Good night!" in different languages, most of which were pretty accented and kind of squashed together to fit into the song besides. I'm sorry, but I just couldn't think of it as anything but utterly hilarious.

What followed after was a somewhat scattered monologue on how much he loved playing bass and also how he was Very Sad that Germany lost in the World Cup. Keep this in mind, because this was essentially his theme the entire hour the show ran when he wasn't playing music - how bass was awesome and also rambling on about the German football team. He even attempted to teach us how to say "Out!" in German (Weg, if you're curious), holding up a red card he'd written the word on as he did so. He really was just really entertaining, even if by then I was slightly sceptical about his music.

I'd like to say right now though, that the violinist was awesome. And I am sad that she does not play on the CD I bought from them afterward.

But continuing on in the vein about how he loved to play bass, Chico regaled us on a story about how he used to play guitar! And decided he liked bass better. And then decided to see whether he could play Led Zeppelin's Stairway to Heaven on bass. He could, he learned, and so he figured it out on the bass, and then decided he could play it for the public! But given his public was Taiwanese, he realised, he needed to translate it! So yeah, it turned out he'd prepared to play for us Stairway of Heaven, with the lyrics translated into the Taiwanese dialect - which let me tell you, the translation doesn't exactly fit into the song's measures in the first place.

I was staying pretty much for the entertainment value at this point, but after, the show really seemed to begin. There was still hilarious chatter about his love for the bass and such, but the original songs they began to play then were actually pretty nice to listen to, especially with the violin. (Really, the violin meshed with the bass so, so well.) The lyrics were still somewhat iffy in places, but they weren't ridiculous, which at that point I thought was good enough. The second to last song played - 磨菇之歌 - was my favorite.

Overall, I thought they had strong instrumentals but the lyrics could be much, much improved. Nor does the CD really show how awesome the instrumental is, because it's only the dude and his bass! Which is very sad, in my opinion. Still, it was pretty awesome, considering I wasn't even expecting to see a live show tonight. (And now I have Cats On Fire's album "Our Temperance Movement" to listen to, too!)

Silian Rail & By Sunlight - A/SUNG SURRENDER

Apologies, this post has been awhile in coming.

Silian Rail and By Sunlight introduced a joint EP during their recent May tour, which included two new songs from each band. A/Sung Surrender does well to serve as a sample of what kind of music to expect from both bands, especially if one is new to either.

After having heard Silian Rail live, what came tumbling through my computer speakers was almost disappointing in comparison. There just wasn't the same sense of intensity, like when the music charged forth at the ~1:50 mark in "A". Obviously, one can't reproduce the live experience in a record; still I was expecting a bit more impact than I got. Nonetheless both "A" and "Faith NC" were

What had drawn me to By Sunlight in the first place had been their lyrics as much as their style; in this regard, both "Sung Surrender" and "No More Miracles" more than satisfied me. For example, "We turned to disguise all our moves and murmurs/With closeness kept you hypnotized/I lost you there in a sung surrender/As movement stilled and slowly died" scanned brilliantly and was some lovely imagery to boot. On the other hand, as much as I loved the lyrics of "No More Miracles," I felt the song as a whole was too drawn out. In general, I tend to be of two minds concerning By Sunlight's longer songs - I love the pure instrumental that comprises of half the length of these songs, but at the same time I think they overdo it. Even with one of my favorites - "Twilight Shy" from their previous album - I felt that cutting it off at the six minute mark would have made the song stronger. For "No More Miracles" it took five minutes to reach peaking point. With such a slow build-up, the song definitely would have been better off ending at the climax than spending another three minutes breaking down the tension again.

Perhaps I'm missing the point.

Still, I like the EP well enough, both bands' sides of it. And hey, if you're a fan, or merely want to sample their music, it's a good place to start.

Stornoway - Beachcomber's Windowsill

Stornoway's debut album has turned out to be a treasure of a find since I first stumbled upon it at my local record store.

Beachcomber's Windowsill is eleven tracks of absolutely charming songs. Labeled as indie/alternative pop, the Oxford band's songs in truth are more flexible in identity, showing elements of folk and rock amongst other genres. There's something pure and joyous about these songs and the way they celebrate simple love and life.

Musically, Stornoway has taken full advantage of their resources. Not content to limit themselves to the traditional guitar-bass-drums(-keyboard) combo of a typical band, Stornoway brought in guest musicians to add brass and strings for several of their tracks, in addition to the band's own considerable skills both vocal and instrumental. I was delighted the first time I heard "I Saw You Blink" and its chorus with intertwining vocals. As well, both "We Are The Battery Human" and "Here Comes The Blackout...!" clearly showcased how well the members of this band harmonized with each other. "The Coldharbour Road" was hauntingly beautiful and made good use of strings.

Overall, Beachcomber's Windowsill is both foot-tapping fun and slower, poignant beauty. If you are able, I hope you do pick up the album. (Details of where to buy it can be found on their Myspace page, which I've linked at the start.) I look forward to seeing what this band will do in the future.

Beachcomber's Windowsill tracklist:
1. Zorbing
2. I Saw You Blink
3. Fuel Up
4. The Coldharbour Road
5. Boats And Trains
6. We Are The Battery Human
7. Here Comes The Blackout...!
8. Watching Birds
9. On The Rocks
10. The End Of The Movie
11. Long Distance Lullaby

The Young Veins - Take a Vacation!

Expect fun and catchy tunes in The Young Veins' debut album Take a Vacation!. With its throwback sound of the 60s and the simple - if nonetheless heartfelt - lyrics, The Young Veins have created an album that manages to embody summer with all its wildness and freedom. On the heels of 'summer' often follows 'vacation,' and with tracks like "Defiance," "Young Veins (Die Tonight)," and the eponymous "Take a Vacation!" listeners get to enjoy a riot of that sensation of letting go.

Take a Vacation! is a solid album from start to finish. Despite most of the songs clocking in under three minutes, there's no sense that the songs feel too short. Indeed, it's more preferable than having each song dragged out to meet today's expectations of a "decently-lengthed" song and weakening the album as a whole. The album managed to nicely showcase its 60s influences without being too derivative, which had been a worry when I'd first heard "Change" as a single. Even then, though, "Change" had been an earworm, and the rest of the album is testament that The Young Veins haven't been just borrowing classic riffs wholesale.

As for lyrics, it's a nice progression from Ryan Ross's (and Jon Walker's) previous writing endeavours of Pretty. Odd. There's less of the outright fantastic imagery that was prevalent in songs like "Northern Downpour" and "Behind the Sea" - much as I loved it in Pretty. Odd., it would have been too much for the kind of atmosphere Take a Vacation! was trying to project. Still, there were some really nice turns of phrase: "I swear this like a sailor/Love is not a favor/I find it's just a concept that we live inside" of first track "Change," for example. I think the only song that actually disappointed me lyrically was "The Other Girl," which I felt was inane. (Nor did the song's subject matter help - I loved the tune but the words just left me lifting an eyebrow and thinking, really? "Life is not a fairytale/They will send him straight to jail/Where he'll die and go to hell/With the other girl" especially didn't scan well, and the lyrics of the chorus were just boring.)

My favorite songs have been "Young Veins (Die Tonight)," "Heart of Mine," and "Defiance." Indeed, it was "Young Veins (Die Tonight)" that convinced me that I couldn't miss out on this album - back when there were only three tracks available to the public, to boot. "Heart of Mine" and "Defiance" stood out for especially poignant lyrics with equally beautiful sound.


Take a Vacation! tracklist:
1. Change
2. Take A Vacation!
3. Cape Town
4. Maybe I Will, Maybe I Won't
5. Young Veins (Die Tonight)
6. Everyone But You
7. The Other Girl
8. Dangerous Blues
9. Defiance
10. Lie To The Truth
11. Heart Of Mine
12. Nothing Matters But You (with Z Berg of The Like)*
13. Funnel Of Love*

*Bonus digital download

o5/25/2o1o - Evan Jewett, Silian Rail, By Sunlight @ The Blank Club

Evan Jewett, Silian Rail, and By Sunlight played last night at San Jose's The Blank Club. Despite getting there nearly a half hour after the listed time, I still managed to get there before the show actually started. (Sometimes, following the GPS is not always the best idea! Man, did I get lost.) I am so glad I made it though. The club itself was fairly empty, but then, it was a Tuesday evening.

The night started off with Evan Jewett (of Worker Bee), who kicked it off on a rather experimental note. Throughout the twenty-some minute act, Jewett managed the guitar and what looked like a crazy assortment of mixers, with the occasional vocals and solitary drum thrown in, while his drummer kept a steady beat as a backdrop. Jewett certainly made an impression through some seriously interesting methods of playing his instruments, including banging his mic against the drum, or even banging the neck of his guitar against the rim of said drum. It was a continual build up and crash, build up and crash that actually left me a little bit dazed when it was all over. Perhaps it's just that the style of music isn't my thing. Given how Jewett went the entire time without actually introducing himself or even speaking to his audience, though, the act felt like a whirlwind that had just swept on by.

In contrast, Silian Rail was a lackadaisical summer road trip. If Robin Landy's warm guitar brought the atmosphere, Eric Kuhn's drums carried the backbone of their pieces with intricate beats that kept my attention throughout their set. Kuhn also played harmony guitar in some of their songs, balancing the instrument behind the drum kit to pull off beats that accentuated the music. It was nice to see that they actually talked to their audience as well, introducing themselves and playing both old songs and new before advertising the 7" split with By Sunlight available for sale. They ended their set with another of their new tracks, a strong start and strong finish that at least gained one new fan in me.

Finally, By Sunlight rounded out the evening with their rock sound and sweet vocals. By Sunlight was the band I came to see, and they certainly didn't disappoint. It was a joy to watch them truly get into their music and play their music; my only complaint was that the sound coming from the speakers was almost too loud, with the guitars occasionally drowning out the voices as well. Especially following Silian Rail's set, it was like someone had dialed the volume setting up to 11 - it was just too much. Vocalist and guitarist Mike Sparks was especially active on stage, moving between his mic and the drums when he wasn't singing, and headbanging along as well.

Like Silian Rail, By Sunlight also played their new songs. Though I couldn't clearly hear the lyrics, the music alone lives up to their previous album and has already won me over. John O'Connell on drums was amazing, as was Jack Clemens on bass, and I can honestly say that every time Mike Sparks and guitarist/background vocals Robert Cheek harmonised, it was a little slice of beauty. After thanking their audience at the beginning for sticking around - it'd just hit 11pm by then - they powered through one song after the next, playing both new and old and transitioning with the kind of fills that makes up the intro of pieces like "Summer." Being able to hear "Ghost" live? Was wonderful.

Given the lineup and the genres, I wasn't expecting any major adrenaline high. The cocoon buzz I got was just as great, the product of good songs and that unique breathlessness that comes from the total immersion into music of a live show. Overall, it was completely worth the effort of driving down and navigating the streets of San Jose, just for discovering Silian Rail alone. If you get a chance to see any of these artists live - but especially Silian Rail and By Sunlight - I'd recommend going. (Alas, that I didn't have a camera aside from my dinky phone camera!) If you're from the Bay Area, Silian Rail and By Sunlight will be doing another show in San Francisco tomorrow, 9PM at MilkBar SF.

Now I have a Silian Rail album and the new tracks of By Sunlight and Silian Rail's 7" split to check out. Sweet.