Front Range recommendations, 8/12

Thursday, 15 August (Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Morrison CO)
Queens of the Stone Age
Gogol Bordello

Dark edgy rock and exuberant Gypsy proclamations don't seem that connected, but both QotSA and Gogol Bordello have a kind of cockiness that should form an interesting mix. The two frontmen, Josh Homme and Eugene Hütz are like night and day.

Both bands are touring on new albums, ...Like Clockwork for QotSA and Pura Vida Conspiracy for Gogol Bordello. Truth be told, even though I like QotSA, having them headline is really just a bonus for the joyous anarchy of a Gogol Bordello set.

Thursday through Saturday, 15-17 August (Sunrise Ranch, Loveland CO)
Arise Musical Festival

Get your hippy on in Loveland. This festival has a decidedly groovy/"one love" vibe, with phrases like "transformational camping" and "creative potential" scattered through their PR material, but there are plenty of great performers included in the huge music line up. Thursday has Keller Williams, Friday includes Freelance Whales, Chali 2na and local afrobeat band Atomga, then Saturday features Zap Mama and Michael Franti's Spearhead.

Saturday, 17 August (Soiled Dove, Denver CO)

Ottmar Liebert and Luna Negra

Classical/neo-Flamenco guitarist Ottmar Liebert and his band Luna Negra have two shows scheduled at the Soiled Dove. Although Flamenco purists hold a grudge against him, the prolific Liebert has developed a rich, eclectic vocabulary inspired by Spanish guitar. Blending in modern musical influences into a hybridized style, the music offers a host of touchstone sounds that audiences can connect to.

Concert review - Vieux Farka Touré with New World Citizen Band

Tuesday, 6 August 2013 (The Walnut Room, Denver CO)
After listening to Vieux Farka Touré's new album, Mon Pays (read my review on Spectrum Culture), I was excited to catch him live and I was lucky enough to see him at the Walnut Room. It was a perfect venue: small enough to be intimate, but room enough to surrender to the rhythm and dance.

New World Citizen Band

Before the show, I spent some time talking to singer Venus Cruz from the New World Citizen Band. Aside from finding out that she hosts the "Jazz Odyssey" show on Denver's KUVO, it was clear that she and her bandmates were well grounded in African music. The lineup is a subset of the Greg Harris Vibe Quintet, but for this group, bandleader Harris centers their sound on his Ghanaian wood xylophone, the gyil.


The gyil has a very distinct character. Calabash gourds act as resonators for the wooden keys, but the gourds have a kind of membrane that buzzes, giving the instrument a hybrid sitar/steel drum sound. Even though Harris built up some interesting melodies on the gyil and his amplified kalimba, their songs formed a study in polyrhythms and interlocking parts.


The set opened with echoing kalimba and a relaxed groove that felt like a Dreamtime exploration. With fellow percussionist Ido Ziv and bass player John Grigsby, Harris let the instrumental flow casually build complexity. Eventually, Grigsby's bass slid into a repetitive, twisting pattern that snaked through the competing percussion parts. It felt very heady until Cruz stepped in and grounded the song with her powerful vocals. Her contribution was particularly strong a few songs later on "Baby, Don't Do That To Me".


She gave the song a righteous Motown vibe, passing from sassy to deeply soulful as she improvised her way through the lyrics. But the arrangement got its global feel by trading guitars, keys, or horns for interplay between the bass and the gyil. The surprise turn came after Ziv's conga solo, when the song sped into double time.

The New World Citizen Band was a good opening act for Vieux Farka Touré. They offered a taste of Africa and got the audience ready to move.

Vieux Farka Touré

On Mon Pays, Vieux Farka Touré paid homage to Mali's musical tradition and his father's characteristic sound. Just as Ali Farka Touré played with kora player Toumani Diabaté, their two sons teamed up in the studio, with Sidiki Diabaté on kora. The tour, however, relied on a minimalist line up with Touré accompanied by a bass player and a drummer/percussionist. While I was disappointed that I wouldn't get to hear the Asian-tinged tones of the kora, it faded quickly as I became entranced by Touré's playing.


The first tune had the drummer playing a simple beat on large, resonant calabash with thin metal sticks: imagine someone playing a half globe with long Allen wrenches. Then Touré started a hypnotic melody line, full of floating trills. Eyes closed, he fell under his own spell as the groove swayed and swelled. Without a larger band contributing complexity, it was much easier to hear how the guitar and bass coordinated their parts. On the second song, he set up a simple, folky blues progression, then filled the holes with fluid runs as the bass line trailed along, shadowing his riffs.


As much as I enjoyed Mon Pays, I realized that Touré is much more engaging in person. His playing was wilder as he fed off the crowd's energy. His lightning hammer-on/pull-off runs blended bluegrass with speed metal. Watching closely, I saw that his technique was sometimes similar to a clawhammer banjo style. Alternatively, he could execute phenomenal tonal control by alternating between muted, bare-finger attacks and ringing finger pick strikes. One of the best tunes of the night, "All The Same", had a chord structure somewhere between "Hey Joe" and Bob Seger's "Turn The Page". Touré started out the song with soulful, downtempo feel. Then, switching between soft and sharp riffs, he set up a guitar conversation with himself until it the song rose to a transcendent affirmation. He played like Jimi Hendrix, intense and expressive with a natural sense of harmony, but without playing a single Hendrix riff.


Although he didn't provide much in the way of patter, his personality shined. Trading an amused glance with the bass player, Touré might start to dance, then challenge the bassist to join in. At other times, he'd screw up his face, lost in the emotion of the song. Most of his comments were in a mix of French and English. In particular, he wanted us to join in with the rhythm of the music. The peak moment came when the show transformed into a dance party, with members of the audience coming up on stage to show off their moves while Touré smiled on.


After the show, sitting at the back of the room signing CDs and collecting donations for Mali, he seemed as thankful for an attentive audience as we were for his music.

More photos on my Flickr.

History lesson - The Refreshments, The Bottle & Fresh Horses (1997)

The band developed their Southwestern sound while their label looked the other way

It was just another case of Mercury poisoning, although, at the time, it looked like natural causes. In 1995, the Refreshments signed with Mercury Records. Their first album, Fizzy Fuzzy Big & Buzzy, came out the next year and “Banditos” became their breakout, unavoidable single. The attitude – “Everybody knows/ That the world is full of stupid people” – was delivered with tight, power-pop harmonies and the guitar hook was immaculate. Fully hyped with a whirlwind tour, the band made the rounds until Mercury pushed them back in the studio. The resulting album, The Bottle & Fresh Horses, came out in 1997 and undeservedly became their sophomore slump. Much as Graham Parker complained in his 1970 song, “Mercury Poisoning”, “Their promotion’s so lame/ They couldn’t ever take it to the real ballgame,” the Refreshments found themselves neglected by the label and the album quickly sank. By the end of ‘97, they left Mercury and lasted a few months before they broke up later in 1998.

Common wisdom dismissed the band as a one-hit wonder, but despite its rushed recording and chaotic roots, The Bottle & Fresh Horses was a solid follow up to their debut. The rhythm section still delivered crisp, catchy progressions and Brian Blush’s guitar fills struck the same balance between retro rock and hyped-up alternative pop. Where their first album had some outlier songs, like “European Swallow”, this time, the band focused on the Southwestern sound that Roger Clyne and P.H. Naffah would later polish when they regrouped as Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers. There’s no particular reason why songs like “Preacher’s Daughter”, “Wanted”, or “Broken Record” couldn’t find the same success that “Banditos” did. But with Mercury unwilling to promote any of these, the album was trapped in a self-fulfilling prophecy of doom. Maybe part of the problem is that many of the songs reflected a maturity rooted in the pressure that the band was under. There were still plenty of clever lines and charming losers, but the Refreshments also let their swagger slip and reveal their weariness.

The album leads off with one of these more serious tracks, “Tributary Otis”. The music splits the difference between a Bruce Springsteen Everyman anthem and Western-flavored Americana while the words are grounded with quiet confidence:

Well, I’ve traveled and I’ve seen the things I build, working
Working to bring me down
And I may be thirsty now but I will go beyond this thirst
And the tears I cry for you will all go dry

Clyne builds on the foundation of his earlier work, crafting and singing sincere lyrics just as carefully as he had with his lighter material.

Later, on “Fonder and Blonder”, the band emphasizes the contrast with Fizzy Fuzzy Big & Buzzy. It’s a response to the only other single from their debut. Where “Down Together” defiantly proclaimed, “Cars break down/ And people break down/ And other things break down, too/ So let’s go down together,”the follow up is from the perspective of a relationship that faded away rather than flaming out. This time, Clyne sings those same words with a rueful tone and tags them with, “I felt something slip when you left on your trip/ And now I think I’m breaking down on you.” The band uses the lyrical continuity to create a sense of wiser acceptance replacing youthful denial. The simple guitar jangle and light harmonies are close to the sound of their fellow Arizona band, The Gin Blossoms.

Even with these grown up themes and heavier songs, this is not a morose album. Right on the heels of “Tributary Otis”, “Preacher’s Daughter” lays down a classic Refreshments narrative of poor judgment and bad luck. After apparently doing time for scoring with the preacher’s daughter, our hero comes home to tempt fate yet again. Nonchalantly taunting her father, he finds that his temptress has married the sheriff while he was gone. Seems like the perfect time to rekindle passions, at least briefly. The band runs through the tale with a ballsy John Cougar feel and Blush’s singing guitar tone.

The schmuck on “Broken Record” is a different flavor of loser. Like a sad puppy, he can’t seem to settle for being just a friend. He tries his best to ignore how the object of his affection continually uses him and he consoles himself that at least he could have any girl in Japan. The logic may seem twisted, but he’s probably the same kind of fool that accepts the fairness in the assertion, “I got the pistol, so I’ll keep the pesos,” from “Banditos.”

Did Mercury make the right call to let The Bottle & Fresh Horses languish? The implosion of the band suggests that they might have. But the slow-building success of Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers challenges that idea. Refining this album’s musical direction, they built a strong grassroots following without the support of a major label. These songs became a crowd-pleasing staple in their repertoire, validating the quality of the material. While the band may have been destined to fall apart, they held together well on these songs. Poor sales and obscurity in the ‘90s have been balanced out by countless Peacemaker fans trawling through The Refreshments back catalog for The Bottle & Fresh Horses to hear the originals after enjoying Clyne’s powerful versions in concert.

(This first appeared in Spectrum Culture)

Front Range recommendations, 8/5

This week offers three strong bands and a wild-card.

Monday, 5 August (Fillmore Auditorium, Denver CO)
Gipsy Kings

Look through your parents' CD collection. If they ever went through a "world music" phase, you're guaranteed to find something there by the Gipsy Kings. They introduced countless people to an exotic cross pollination of pop, powered by a full formation of Flamenco guitars and Gypsy jazz solos. Their new album, Savor Flamenco is coming in September and the band is making the rounds to bring their sound to a new generation of fans.

Tuesday, 6 August (Walnut Room - Walnut Street, Denver CO)
Vieux Farka Touré

Vieux Farka Touré is following in his famous father's footsteps. Malian guitarist Ali Farka Touré was known as the African John Lee Hooker and the younger Touré evokes some of the same sounds on his new album, Mon Pays. But more than that, his latest project is a message to his countrymen, as Mali is torn with insurrection and strife. Despite the serious inspiration, his songs still find a hopeful note. 

Tuesday, 6 August (Larimer Lounge, Denver CO)
Sebadoh

After a messy separation from Dinosaur Jr in 1989, Lou Barlow turned to his side project, Sebadoh, for therapy and creative release. The band's raw, low-fi sound offered plenty of cathartic release. After the standard hiatus and reunion to support the reissues, the band is finally release a new album, Defend Yourself, this September. It's good to hear something new after the 14 year studio break. Listening to the soft-loud punch of new single "I Will", I can hear the same immediacy of their old songs, but the sound is definitely cleaner.

Thursday, 8 August (Hi-Dive, Denver CO)
Neil Hamburger

Comedian Neil Hamburger (Gregg Turkington)  is bringing his awkward stand up act to the Hi-Dive this week. Normally, I recommend music shows, but this will be a treat. Hamburger's character works best with an interactive room and the Hi-Dive should have no problem provoking a great performance.