The power and the glory of Joseph Arthur & The Lonely Astronauts

(4/27/07 - Varsity Theater - Mpls, MN - courtesy of Sacred Roots)



Joseph Arthur – and his new band, The Lonely Astronauts – have been on a joyride since late last Summer that can conservatively be described as a “wild one.” In fact, since then Arthur has practically been creatively reborn, undergoing one of the most dramatic artistic reinventions in recent memory. He’s certainly been a busy little bee. He toured for 3 months last fall with the just launched Astronauts, recorded an ungodly number of songs (70 or 80? many written or co-written by Kraig Johnson) in the studio during recent months, and just released Let’s Just Be, a scant 7 months after the last one, the waycool Nuclear Daydream. And, reportedly, there's another new album coming before the end of the year. And the Lonely Astronauts just started a 30 date North American tour, right after kicking he sh*t out of the Conan O’Brien show, evoking fond memories of a couple of similarly startling late-nite TV appearances last fall (after the Lonely Astronauts played his show last October, David Letterman was moved to say: "I want to go with those people -- I would like to be with them"). Plus Joseph compulsively blogs, writes poetry, paints, goes to Africa to help orphans, gets rave reviews for playing Bruce Springsteen tributes at Carnegie Hall (like the one he did a few weeks ago), provided the namesake song for the Michael Stipe Inthesun.org Katrina relief project, is opening an art studio in DUMBO, Brooklyn (possible name: Museum of Modern A-Rthur -- MOMAR, heh heh) and...god knows what else. Maybe he's working on a cure for cancer. Or really bad music on the radio.

For those that don't know, Joseph has been around for a decade as a (mostly) solo artist -- and a pretty damn compelling one at that. Now, after a series of distinctive albums and many well-regarded solo and one-man "folktronica" tours, this prolific vagabond troubadour has decided that the time is right to do "the band thing," "the rock thing," "the front guy thing" and even the "head of a record label thing" – all at the same time. He's assembled an extremely potent lineup of guys and gals, featuring not only Kraig Johnson but the guitar magic of the amazing Jenn Turner, plus a rhythm section (Sibyl Buck & G. Wiz) that sing as well as they play. Some long time Arthur fans aren't too wild about his new "direction" -- indeed, the sense of shock/anger/betrayal has reached almost Dylan-goes-electric proportions with some of the devout -- but I've been totally smitten with these cats since i saw them last fall at the Fine Line in Mpls where they played the entire Nuclear Daydream album in sequence (interspersed, of course, with even newer material). Although Joseph didn't record ND with the Lonely Astronauts, their live take on it immediately proved to be viscerally powerful, if not definitive.

Joe's new trip ain't for everyone, especially those with low tolerances for raw power and the occasional detour down some fairly extreme side roads; it's a risky creative high-wire act where warning signs and boundless possibilities are all seemingly part of the plan. But, at his core, he's an incredibly talented songwriter and the journey he takes you on with his crazysexycool partners is a thrilling one.

I've been spinning the "teaser" version of Arthur’s new "Let's Just Be" album non-stop since it was offered up for download in December. Of course, the version of Let’s Just Be that’s in the stores now has been tweaked and updated from the electronic version; time definitely isn’t standing still for Arthur these days. I’m also feeding my Arthur fix with a sizable collection of superfresh Myspace and website odds & ends that he generously provides for us junkies, as well as a boatload of Lonely Astronauts live recordings (he records most of his concerts and offers them for sale, usually right after the show). So it's no big shock that i'm stoked about the release of the real "Let's Just Be" as well as the upcoming shows in Mpls at the Varsity on the 27th and Madison the night before. Can you say road trip?

Review: Jason Isbell - 4/9/07 - First Ave. - Mpls, MN

The Jason set was simply fantastic. Wow. Only 9 songs, but man oh man, was it good. Great band, too. Browan Lollar was awesome, as was the rest of the band -- very simpatico to the early 70s "classic rock" vibe that Jason has got going. I figured they would "rock," but i wasn't quite prepared for just how much they kicked everybody's asses. Like i said, wow. Jason looked and sounded great. He was effusively thankful and seemed to be in a really good mood. He even referred to Patterson as "my friend" when he introduced "The Assassin." There was an excellent turnout for an early opening set; clearly more than you'd expect from the DBT die-hards and curious Son Volt fans. Everybody i saw was totally digging Jason and the 400 Unit. In fact, i noticed a significant "chick factor" in the audience -- lots of very enthusiastic pretty young ladies who i don't remember seeing at previous Truckers or SV shows. That's always a good sign. :-)

I'd read about his full length set the nite before in Iowa just before i went downtown yesterday and, needless to say, i was very envious of those people after getting an appetizer version.

Set went something like this:

Try
Grown
God Damned Lonely Love
The Assassin
Magician
Dress Blues
Jailbreak >
Never Gonna Change
Chicago Promenade (on piano)

Dress Blues is such an amazing song. Jason's intro and the band's performance of this was incredibly powerful and moving. That couplet that goes something like "he never planned on the bombs in the sand / he never planned on sleeping in his dress blues" is positively chilling. I quickly gathered that jason was a gifted songwriter back in 2001/2, but this shit is just off the hook. And to think that last nite's set was so perfect without the likes of "Outfit" or "Danko/Manuel." Another good sign.

I "grabbed" the 3 new songs off his myspace page last week and have been playing them constantly on my computer and ipod. Judging from the reaction to those and some early field reports on the various forums i frequent, i'm not the only one looking forward to the album.

Review: Neko Case - 4/7/07 - First Ave. - Mpls, MN

Undoubtedly one of the best concerts of the year and likely the best of the dozen or so Neko shows i've seen. My wife and i are still reeling this morning from the sheer power of what we witnessed last nite.

Things were a bit rocky the first few songs due to some persistent monitor problems that never seemed to get solved, but once the gang got out of first gear it was all over 'cept for the shouting. Just absolutely stunning stuff -- i was pretty much in dropped-jaw mode the rest of the night. In my mind, this was the Ultimate Neko Lineup -- Rauhouse is one of the most amazing musicians you'll ever see, Paul Rigby added tons of spooky, twangy atmospherics (this lineup did the best job yet of recreating the desert noir sound that Calexico and Neko used to such great effect on her masterpiece, "Blacklisted") and Kelly Hogan is the secret sauce that pushes the whole thing into the stratosphere (Neko played a show at the Ave a few years ago without Hogan, or any of her "girlfriends," and that show was a pale shadow of last nights mindblower). The setlist was solid -- lots of new material for the legions of new fans that have gotten religion in the last few years as well as some old faves and obscurities. I was totally floored when she did "Knock Loud" in the encore. Anything from "Candian Amp" is kinda special to me -- i remember patiently waiting to buy my vinyl copy when it was a tour-only thing after she did an opening set for Nick Cave a few years ago at the State Theater in Mpls featuring mostly material from that release. Nick had already started playing and Neko, who was working the merch table solo out in the lobby, took the time to hang with a dozen or so of us freaks while she signed records and raved about her new material while simultaneously providing running commentary about Nick's set ("oooh -- i love this song," "man, listen to his voice!").

And, yes, the "crowd factor" -- which greatly detracted from her near-sold out show at the Ave. last year -- was shockingly not a factor. Indeed, i've never heard such a large crowd in that club as quiet as they were last nite. And thank God for that!"

Steve Wynn news

Two new Steve Wynn-related releases:
Smack Dab and the return after 20 years of
Danny and Dusty!


I've only given it a few listens, but the first Danny and Dusty album since Ronald Regan was prez has been a pretty good ride so far. The album is bookended with a couple of overt looks to the past: the boozy reverie of "The Good Old Days" and the wistfully autobiographical "That's What Brought Me Here." In between you get everything from the kind of proto alt-country that made "Lost Weekend" so enjoyable (i hear Ronnie Lane/Slim Chance references all over this) to the pure Paisley Underground magic of the title song, which would sit proudly on any of the early Dream Syndicate records. Stuart sounds amazingly together, Wynn, not surprisingly, is in fine form and they're again ably assisted by Chris Cacavas and Steven McCarthy, whose expertise on a variety of stringed instruments and keyboards elevates the proceedings every time he shows up. I think this album will be a "grower" for me -- i've got a few of the songs rattlin' around in my noggin' (the title song is definitely one of my favorite things of 2007 so far) and i've been itching to hear the whole thing ever since it arrived, always good signs. The first 5000 copies come with a bonus DVD -- a complete 1986 Danny and Dusty performance in LA that, at its tightest, is racous and fairly ramshackle. Speaking of boozy reverie! If you wanna see the prototype for the modern day, devil-may-care side-project "supergroup" thang ala Golden Smog, look no further than this. An obviously rare historical document and a rather enjoyable one at that.

I also ordered yet another Wynn side project at the same time: Smack Dab, which features Wynn, Linda Pitmon and Paco Loco, a Spanish producer/musician whose studio in Puerto de Santa Maria the album was recorded at. Some may recognize Paco's name from the last Golden Smog album -- that project was started at his studio before things moved to Ed Ackerson's Flowers studio in Mpls and his wife Muni sang on one of the songs. Smack Dab is a far more left field kinda thing than D&D -- lots of odd little creations and studio jaberwocky that may or may not have been conceived after long sessions consuming good rioja and other exotic confections. This stuff is all over the map; it's hard so far to get a handle on things. There are pretty little pop songs (one of the sung by Ms. Linda Pitmon), John Cale-ish downers, metallic thump, a healthy dose of Wynn in full stun-gun guitar mode, and some really wigged-out shit that sounds like the Gang of Four meets Pavement on acid. Or something like that. Some of the lyrics are as "adventerous" as the music: "mezcal tape loop on the motorway" or "truth or dare and seconal/white wine and that's not all!" or "sylvia walked like a leper/on steroids and diet pills/she was my neil young/and i was her stephen stills" or "my life is big enough/i complete me/quarantine" or "b-girl milkshake/surfer boy cheesecake/bit part, union pay/doubles as a PA." Some of this stuff reads like an unholy marriage between a bad language translating app and the William Burrouogh's cut-up method. There is one fairly "normal" offering, "My Cross to Bear," that would fit in on one of Wynn's recent albs, and there's also an amazingly straight reading of "Never Been to Spain." I imagine it must have been at least a little liberating for Steve to do a "no rules" kind of project. So often such things are indulgent bores but i'm finding myself liking much of this, some of it quite a bit.

This album reportedly won't have a domestic release, so WynnWeb is the easiest place to get it for now for us statesiders.

smack dab on myspace

Burnbarrel: the intersection of Tim Easton, JP Olsen and The Haynes Boys

"Who/what is Burnbarrel?"

Burnbarrel was the name of a 1999 release on the Heathen label, the original home of Tim Easton's "Special 20" album the year before. The "band" was Tim Easton, JP Olsen (lyricist for many of Tim's song and formerly of The Beetkeepers -- more on them in a sec), a coupla Haynes Boys and the bass player from Special 20. Burnbarrel was basically a showcase for Olsen -- he wrote all the songs and sings them, too. It's a fine album -- lots of strange songs and odd characters and, not surprisingly, it bears more than a passing sonic similarity to the mighty 1996 Haynes Boys album. For Easton fans it's significant cuz it features the original versions of two songs Tim would later cover (a stripped down "Far Rockaway"/"John Gilmartin" and a truly amazing version of "Bad Florida"). Anybody who's familiar with the Olsen songs that Easton has done over the years know that his lyrical skills are quite accomplished and rather distinctive -- his songs are often very literary and full of interesting, memorable characters (i find myself thinking of the likes of John Prine and Warren Zevon when i listen to his words -- pretty high praise i guess). Olsen has been in and out of the music biz over the last few decades, balancing a career in journalism with his songwriting. Burnbarrel are supposedly still a viable thing and were slated to have a new album out last year, but i don't remember hearing anything about it lately.

http://www.myspace.com/burnbarrelband

The Beetkeepers were a late 80s band from Columbus who were supposed to be the schnizzle. They were a trio, again featuring JP's (known then as James) songs and voice. They put out one extremely hard to find album in 1988 on No Other; there may be other releases, but i had a hard enough time tracking this one down. It's similar to the Burnbarrel vibe, although a bit "rockier." Again, Easton has dipped into this well for songs; the album features the original versions of 3 songs Tim later covered, including one of his signature live songs, "Don't Walk Alone."

As for the Haynes Boys, i know i'm not the only one who has sung their praises. There sole album, "Guardian Angel," is a definite must own, especially if you have more than a passing interest in Mr. Easton. There's not a whole lot around in the Haynes Boys rarities dept., but enough for a mini box set: two pre-Guardian Angel 45s, a promo-only outtake from the album sessions, a track on a Pere Ubu tribute album (?!), a couple of great 1997 soundboards, and some post-album demos that feature songs that later would show up on Burnbarrel and Special 20. They also put out 2 or 3 casette-only releases, but they've proven to be too elusive for this detective (if anybody has these, they need to contact me pronto!).