Will Johnson - Marfa Book Company, 12/02/10

For obvious reasons, West Texas doesn't get the volume of high quality shows that one can find in Austin, but that's not to say that we don't get some amazing shows here and there that equal anything you might find on the I-35 corridor. Case in point, on Thursday, Dec. 2, Will Johnson will be in Marfa to play a show at the Marfa Book Company along with supporting act Candles (thanks to showlush for the heads-up on this one).

I started to say "Will Johnson, of Centro-matic fame," although these days I think it may be more accurate to say "Will Johnson, of Will Johnson fame." We've spoken previously of his live performances at the Ramble Creek SXSW party and his solo house concert tour with Anders Parker, both of which were simply awe-inspiring shows. In short, this is an opportunity West Texans shouldn't pass up. Hope to see you there!

Will Johnson & Anders Parker – Austin, TX, 3/30/10

Will Johnson and Anders Parker kicked off their house show tour in Austin last night and I was lucky enough to attend the sold-out show with approximately 25 other people. Hosting a house can be a tricky thing considering that you’re inviting complete strangers into your home all on the basis that they love the same music as you. It’s up to the host to create a comfortable environment for the visitors as well as the performers. The host for the evening did a great job making each guest feel at ease in his modernly designed home and even provided Chinese food for those that were hungry. The stage setup was simply two chairs and a couple of acoustic guitars. The whole tour will consist of similar scenes since Undertow was clear that no microphones or amps would be used during the house shows. All you really need with these performers is their voices, guitars and words.

Anders Parker started the evening with his blend of folk and indie pop. I’m not completely familiar with all of Anders’ work but I went into the evening knowing one of his solo albums. He fronted the alternative country band, Varnaline, back in the day and has gone on to create numerous solo albums and a collaborative project with Jay Farrar entitled Gob Iron. Parker spent some time in Brooklyn, but now resides in Vermont and looks the part with a wooly beard and hair that screams “lumberjack”. His set consisted of songs that spanned his entire discography. Quiet folk songs were played in between discordant acoustic rockers. Anders didn’t spend a lot of time talking but did thank everyone for coming out and remarked on how happy he was to be back on the road with Will Johnson. He said that before the show they were reminiscing on all of their strange tour stories but that he would let Will tell them when the time came.

The best moment of Parker’s set came at the end of a song about the owner of a bar in Brooklyn where he used to work. It was a heartfelt Irish tinged song that kept the attention of every audience member. As Anders played the last chord of the song, the homeowner’s dog let out a loud howl. The timing was perfect! Anders just laughed and stated that they had worked on the song for an hour earlier in the day. The moment was a great example of the little things that make a house show so special and intimate.

There was a brief intermission between the two performer’s sets and everyone was able to stretch and grab another beverage. Will Johnson sat at the front of the room and quietly tuned his guitar while the crowd noise grew louder. A few minutes later the host killed the music, Will started playing and everyone went silent. It’s been mentioned a few times on this blog but it can’t hurt to reiterate the importance of Will Johnson’s voice and songs. The power of his raspy voice mixed with the emotion of his songs is a combination that's hard to put into words. The mixture is one that thousands of performers try to accomplish but few actually pull off. I’ve been lucky enough to see so many of Johnson’s projects, including Centro-matic and Monsters of Folk, but nothing compares to his solo show. The first word rang out and he had the small crowd’s attention and whatever awkwardness that was in the air was destroyed.

Johnson filled his hour long set with crowd favorites and lesser known songs from his vast catalogue. Songs like “Just to Know What You’ve Been Dreaming” and “Flashes & Cables” drew the biggest pre-chorus cheers while songs from the Molina & Johnson album slowly made sense in the ears of first time listeners. Johnson played a new track, “Chorine, My Sheeba Queen”, from an upcoming collaborative album exploring the lost lyrics and words of Woody Guthrie. Jim James, Jay Farrar and Anders Parker are the other players on the album. As Will explained the album, I thought that it’s not every day that you hear someone tell a story about working with Jim James and Jay Farrar on new Guthrie tunes in a stranger’s living room. Will remarked how good it was to have a dog in the crowd as the owner’s dog made his way in and out of people’s legs. He was quick to point out that things are not so good when there are two dogs in a crowd. He then told a story involving a show in Bisbee, Arizona and two dogs that couldn’t wait for a private environment to do “the nasty”.

The crowd was attentive throughout the set and even felt comfortable enough to ask a few questions along the way. Will politely answered and then plowed through another heart wrenching song. He closed the evening with a cover of Vic Chesnutt’s “Independence Day” that was one of the most emotional performances I’ve ever witnessed. I assume that this was one of the first times that he had performed the song since Chesnutt’s passing in December. They were close friends and even toured together in the fantastic Undertow Orchestra so everyone understood the importance of the moment. The song perfectly captured the humor and poetry of Chesnutt and Johnson played the tribute perfectly. Johnson let the last chord ring out and then sat there in motionless silence for 15 seconds. It’s a moment that’s impossible to put into words so I'll just recommend listening to Chesnutt's album, Little.

Overall the night was a huge success. The performers and guests both left happy and Johnson and Parker remarked on how they hoped the rest of the tour goes as smoothly as the opening night. A big thanks to Shane for opening his home and hosting the show. Make sure you check the tour out if they come your way. As an added bonus Will Johnson has small prints of his great baseball paintings for sale at the merch table. You can find all of the dates and ticket information at the Undertow website.

SXSW - Ramble Creek and Mile Hi Fidelity parties

Day Three - Friday

Friday morning we proved to be a bit less energetic than Thursday, and without any specific early plans, we took our time before heading to the Ramble Creek day party. We arrived just before 1 PM, with the primary intention of catching the set by One Wolf, who interestingly had played a party less than an hour before across town and still somehow managed to make it on time to the Ramble Creek show, held in a perfect backyard setting.

At that precise point, the random craziness of SXSW hit full force, as H. called to inform me that she and her friends had just gotten in a minor car accident. Thus, for obvious reasons, One Wolf did not happen for us, but most importantly, everyone involved in the accident was okay. While the cars received a good bit of damage, the accident wasn't our friend's fault, and after taking care of the necessities involved with that situation, we all returned to the Ramble Creek party for some much needed stress relief.

The first act we got to see was Collin Herring, an awesome artist currently based in Austin (formerly of Fort Worth) who I've been a fan of for a number of years now. Herring played a number of tracks off of his new release, Ocho, recorded of course at Ramble Creek, and produced by Will Johnson, and also mixed in some of his earlier songs. If I hadn't mentioned this before, Collin has about the coolest steel player around, Ben Roi Herring, his dad, and their duo performance (and banter) were a real pleasure to watch/hear.


















Did someone just say Will Johnson? Yes, that's right, THE Will Johnson of Centro-matic, South San Gabriel, and most recently, the drummer for the Monsters of Folk, graced the Ramble Creek party with a beautiful solo set. I hope I didn't embarrass myself as I sat roughly 10 feet from Will with my jaw resting on the ground, but hearing "Just to Know What You've Been Dreaming" in this particular setting was on par with the very best experiences of my entire SXSW, or maybe more accurately of the past few years. Whatever it took to get him to come play at this show, I can't thank the folks at Ramble Creek enough for making this happen.























I haven't described the exact locale of the Ramble Creek show yet, but it was by far the most enjoyable day party of SXSW by far. It was held in a backyard with the perfect set-up and perfect weather to accompany, and to boot, a big tub full of Lone Star was available for all in attendance.

The next act was one I have missed seeing live ever since we moved to Colorado. Doug Burr has written some of my favorite songs of the last decade, and in my book he has about as much integrity as any artist I listen to. He has recently recorded a new album, from which he played a number of songs. In short, I couldn't be more excited for these songs, as they are absolutely phenomenal. Doug has crafted a career in exactly the fashion that he wants, and this diligence has surely paid off as more and more people begin to take notice. He was backed at this show by his frequent collaborator Glen Farris, as well as members of Seryn and Monahans drummer Roberto Sanchez for some songs.



















































Next up was Austin band Monahans, who include Ramble Creek owner/engineer Britton Beisenherz on guitar. I had not seen this band before, although a number of years ago I saw a previous project of some of the musicians called Milton Mapes, and was a fan of all of that band's material. Monahans, however, is a new project, and as I think was the intention, the transition has infused a new energy into their music. The band is tighter than ever as a performing group, and their set at this day party was absolutely flawless and one of the best of the entire SXSW for me. The band has two albums to their name, although they are in the process of a project in which they will release one song a month for download for the rest of 2010. The first track is already available, and you can check out their Web site for details on how to get in on this opportunity. Monahans is a band on the rise and I fully hope they can ride the momentum to more widespread success and notoriety in the near future.



































Alas, as much as I hated to leave, I had to take off after Monahans because I wanted my Austin friend to see Denver's Slim Cessna's Auto Club, and knew this would be our best chance. While I missed Telegraph Canyon's set at Ramble Creek, I was able to make up for my exit by catching them on Saturday night.

After some frantic traffic navigation and hurried walking, we made it to the Mile Hi Fidelity party just in time to catch the latter half of Slim Cessna's set. Do I even have to mention that Slim did not disappoint? Munly was in top form, having just arrived from the year 1840, performing an extremely high energy set as co-frontman to Slim, just as we have all come to expect out of him and the Auto Club. Very few bands can claim to hold a foot firmly in the alt country legacy of the early 1990s while also remaining relevant for modern Americana/Southern Gothic music as well. In short, SCAC brought their tent revival to Sixth Street, and the end of the set no doubt saw a new group of converts leaving their first Slim show. Please see Slim if you get the chance. Sadly, even though they were the last band, Slim's energetic finale didn't lead into any encore, despite my desire to hear their epic "He, Roger Williams."

SXSW Axiom #4: No encores necessary at SXSW. There is simply too much music during the week for 99% of crowds to ask for another song. Few listeners even catch full sets, and no matter where you go you hear more music, so the encore is largely absent at SXSW, probably to everyone's benefit.

As you can see in the pictures below (click to enlarge), Slim and Munly's crowd involvement made for some of the best action pics of the festival, although "best" is a relative term with my crappy camera. You can't see it that well in the small version, but I love Slim's look in the background of the second picture below.

Monsters of Folk - Stubb's, 11/13/09

Photo Credit: Steve Hopson

The 'Monsters' played their final U.S. date in Austin to a sold out crowd at the always awful Stubb's amphitheater. It was friday night, the weather was perfect and the crowd had just finished the latest issue of Paste magazine. But none of that mattered to me. Jim James, Conor Oberst, M. Ward, Mike Mogis, and Will Johnson were all that I cared about. At first glance the appeal is obvious -- five guys with enough talent to fill three solid hours of music with no opener. Sure, why not?

The band played almost every song from their above average self-titled debut album, but the night was more about their respective other band songs for me. I missed the tour in 2004 and have never forgiven myself. All of these musicians have soundtracked my life at some point starting back in high school, so it was absolutely necessary that I put up with the huge venue and strange crowd. Obviously the soundtrack of my life in high school started with Mr. Oberst. He may even have a song titled that. There are a handful of indie artists that are completely polarizing and Oberst may be at the top of that list. I've had the argument many times and each time I come out victorious. Or at least in my mind. There is no denying his songwriting talent. Yes, he's kind of an ass but have you ever heard of a guy named Bob Dylan? Conor has undeniably influenced an entire generation of songwriters and bands. When Bright Eyes haters start on a rant, I only ask to see their CD collections so that I can point out the bands that wouldn't exist without the Nebraskan. The Monsters of Folk show could be called the Bright Eyes show featuring MoF but that was okay in my mind since two of the five monsters call the band their home. Oberst played a number of songs from "I'm Wide Awake..." throughout the evening while James and Ward provided vocals and various backing instruments. This was the theme of the evening and provided some incredible moments especially when the songwriters gave verses to another vocalist. Which brings me to Jim James, more commonly known as Yim Yames.

It gets said in every interview and review but... Jim James' voice is an instrument. I don't know how else to put it. He is flat out one of the best vocalists in all of modern music. Once drowning his voice in silo reverb, he has now accepted his talent and taken it to new heights. (Warning: more Jim James review cliches ahead.) His simple "oohhs" and "aahhs" gave me chills. Literally my body shook. Oh, and I couldn't see him for 90% of the show. Due to Stubb's being one of the most poorly planned venues in Austin, Mr. Yames was obscured by a wall of speakers at my standing location. It didn't matter. He presented his case and I received it loud and clear. I have seen My Morning Jacket and it remains in my top five concerts of all time, but this was a different Jim. A more polished and shaved head Jim. Well at least until the last 20 minutes of the show where he almost took out the rest of the band doing what can only be described as tornado solos. The highlight of his material was "I Will Be There When You Die" from MMJ's first album, Tennessee Fire. Absolutely stunning.

Montgomery Ward, Matt Ward, M. Ward, M. It doesn't matter what you call him; the fact remains the same: He is a phenomenal guitar player. His unique style was crafted from various legendary guitarists of the past. He's created a sound for himself that is instantly recognizable and has recently taken him to a new level of fame. Ward has a refreshing amount of confidence these days and is almost a different person from the time that I saw him in 2004. Once a ball cap wearing soft spoken guitar virtuoso he is now a stage prowling crooner. He knows he has the voice and he knows people are listening to him. "Vincent O'Brien" was my favorite performance of the night and brought smiles to every performer on stage. Which brings me to my next point.

They smiled. Yes, even Conor was smiling throughout the show. An incredible achievement for a group of guys that have played thousands of shows between them. It was proof that behind all of the supergroup hype is a group of friends that are playing music together because they want to. They're touring because they want to be on the road together sharing each other's music with the masses. I don't think there is anything fake about their enthusiasm or love for each other. They were not put together by some record company executive that wanted to cash in on the indie boom. It's simply friends creating music together.

The highlight of the night for me was watching the main monsters hand over the reins to drummer Will Johnson. In my mind there is no one more deserving of getting a touring spot on the MoF tour than Will. The prolific songwriter has long been a staple of the Texas songwriting scene with his groups Centro-Matic and South San Gabriel but now he is being introduced to a bigger audience with this tour and his recent album with Jason Molina. It's better late than never but few artists have impressed me with their musical integrity more than Will Johnson. So it brought a huge smile to my face and a surprising amount of emotion to the area above my nose when Jim James introduced his "favorite son" to the crowd and handed Will the acoustic guitar. The following chords introduced the song "Just to Know What You've Been Dreaming"; the standout track from his solo album, Vultures Await. Jim James provided background vocals which created a new mountain somewhere in the Himalayas. Perfection.

The night was filled to the top with folk songs, rock & roll moments, amp standing, and the occasional man love. During one of the encore songs Conor was standing on Will's drums while Will played Conor's guitar with his teeth. I wouldn't believe it either if I wasn't there seeing it with my own eyes. While in another song the smoke framed Jim James' vocals in the most dramatic fashion. That's right I said framed his vocals.

As the decade winds down and every publication puts out their "best of the 00's" lists I find it fitting that the Monsters of Folk are touring in the last months of 2009. In 2000, these guys were playing to barely 25 people in small clubs and basements trying to make enough money to get to the next town. Now they're considered some of the best songwriters of their generation and selling out venues around the world. As Jim, Conor, Matt, Mike, and Will took their final bows I thought about what each of their top moments of the decade were and then realized that it was probably happening right before our eyes.

A minute minute of minutiae

Why have the Beatles:
been so particular about handling distribution of their catalog all these years, and now all of the sudden they are selling the remastered albums at Starbucks and Whole Foods?

Thanks to a heads up text from Mt. Inadale:
I got to check out Will Johnson playing drums for the Monsters of Folk on the Tonight Show. You can find video of it on hulu, but youtube says that the video isn't available in this country. Will will be touring with them this fall. And yes, I just said "Will will."

And thanks to Centro-matic's Web site:
I heard that Will Johnson, Jim James, and Anders Parker are doing a project a la Mermaid Avenue, in which they are arranging and recording songs using Woody Guthrie lyrics.

Remember when:
Jay Leno retired for 3 months and then started his old job again at an earlier time? Yeah, well, I liked it a lot better when he retired.

Lucero just announced:
that 1372 Overton Park can now be preordered for limited edition blue vinyl copies. PLUS, you get a download of the full album when you buy the vinyl.

For just $10:
you can hear one of Denver's new "buzz" bands, Young Coyotes at this Sunday's Larimer Lounge BBQ. Not a bad price - plus the BBQ is pretty good too.

I'm going to forgive:
the Avett Brothers for not sending my copy of their new album yet, when they've already released it to indie stores -- mostly because they are about the best band around right now, and also because they just released the video for the song "I and Love and You."