First Concert(s) of 2010 - Double Header!

I had the special privilege of catching my former co-worker's band, The Matinees, yesterday at El Rio in San Francisco. Jaime was my office manager at The ONION and was there with us from the beginning! I love their sound. Look out for them in San Francisco!

I then zipped off to see The Builders and The Butchers who never ever disappoint! Check out the video here.



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The Builders and The Butchers - New Album, Tour Dates!

Earlier this week, The Builders And The Butchers release their second full length album called, "Salvation is Deep Dark Well". As many readers of this blog know, this is one of my favorite bands. Hailing from Alaska via Portland, these guys play a southern-grime-rock that returns to classic rock and roll roots. Everyone feels they need to draw comparisons to what/who they sound like which is a testament to its familiarity and one of the reasons I believe this band to be accessible to all listeners. Those in the indie community draw comparisons to the Decemberists.. though I disagree. Personally, I have described this bands sound to Neil Young, Johnny Cash, Led Zeppelin, The White Stripes, and the Cold War Kids. Lead singer, Ryan Sollee is quoted in an interview with the Seattlest, "The era of songs that drive and influence the majority of the Builders' material is early Depression-era blues, folk, and gospel, and weirder stuff like Tom Waits."

I've introduced many people to this band by taking them to their live performances and I've never had anybody leave saying, "Yeah, that was OK." Instead they blather superlatives for weeks on end. And I love it because It's true... you feel really really great while listening to The Builders And The Butchers... which is ironic because their songs are about death, poverty, betrayal, death, heartache, and more death. It's story telling at its best.

The Builders and The Butchers are currently on Tour and will be playing at the Bottom of the Hill in San Francisco on July 15, 2009. Tickets are $10. Buy your tickets now.




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Epic Rockumantary Added to the Annals of Rock History

The most important bands in the history of Rock and Roll often document their story in the form of video documentary, or 'rock'umentaries. Among the most well known are:

Monterey Pop - 1968 concert film documenting the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival
Gimme Shelter - a 1970 documentary chronicling the Rolling Stones' 1969 US tour
The Decline of Western Civilization - a 1981 American documentary about the Los Angeles punk rock scene from '79 to '81.
Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten - a documentary film Joe Strummer, the lead singer of The Clash
Shut Up and Sing - a film that follows the all-woman Texas-based country music trio the Dixie Chicks over three years

Thanks to YouTube, economical video editing software, and lots of spare time... we now have:
'The Builders and the Butchers: Deep Inside (Parts 1 and 2)'. In the video, you'll see the band deal with serious challenges that face a band on tour like van life, sharing, politeness, and the flu. You'll also see the introduction of Harvey's new banjo and a controversy over name pronunciation almost tears the band apart in part 2.




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The Builders and The Butchers - This Saturday!!!!

Many of you who read my blog know already that I think that The Builders and The Butchers have one of the best live performances around. I first saw them when they opened for The Helio Sequence during Noise Pop 2008 at the Independent and since have seen them 5 times in 4 different cities. I'm not a crazy stalker or anything. I just happened to be in the places that they were playing while I was traveling on business trips.

At any given point, TBATB have at least 5 people on stage and often times, there are more. They play an dark, yet animated southern-rock with double drummers (wearing tambourines on their ankles) and 'singing and shouting with guitar, bass, mandolin, banjo, accordian, drums, xylophone, bells, and washboard.'.. and and trumpets, and a tin funnel... They hand out instruments (shakers, tambourines, etc) for the audience to participate which makes for a very fun experience. Singer Ryan Sollee has a unique and compelling voice and delivers his masterfully written lyrics with a passion that you don't hear very often. Alex Ellis plays non-upright acoustic bass and sports a sweet 'stache. Harvey switches between mandolin/banjo, and Ray and Paul play the drums and the trumpet.. among other shit.

Every person I introduce to their music is immediately taken, often blown away. Every person I bring to their live show immediately walks away muttering superlatives incredulously. For this reason... if you have the means to get to Bottom of the Hill this Saturday, February 21, 2009, you must go. They will be opening for Murder by Death (also awesome), so get there early.

Here's some video:



P.S. To Current fans of The Builders... go listen to a new song, titled 'Barcelona' on their myspace page.

Here's quote from Denver's Westword:

"Luckily, the Builders and the Butchers saved the day with their double drummer, country-rock infusion on hand to bring the mood back down to a pleasantly depressing level of euphoria. The place was packed, and you could feel that same energy resonate through the whole theater by the time Murder by Death took the stage to elevate the Valentine's Day blues factor to a whole new level. Songs from the act's new album, Red of Tooth and Claw, comprised an hour and a half of whiskey-driven rock and roll, while a video played in the background to keep all senses engaged. The video, which was in sync with the music and looked like something out of an art school kid's nightmare, perfectly set the mood for the other album that dominated Murder's set, Who Will Survive and What Will be Left of Them? - which the outfit also played in its entirety.

Quote from Brooklyn Vegan

"The Builders and the Butchers started the show with an up-tempo set, echoing other new traditional bands O'death and the Decemberists - especially in its strained, twangy vocals and mandolin/banjo on the side. The muddy stage mix accentuated the malleted drums, which sounded like steel-toed boots kicking Rubbermaid containers (in the best way possible). Singer/guitarist Ryan Sollee passed the crowd hand percussion for the last chorus of the band's last song. All together, the band came off like a fun work-in-progress, with its various songwriting and stage-show parts fine-tuned enough for the welcoming, appreciative crowd."

Quote from WouldbeHipster from a show that boasted Amanda Palmer as the headliner

The heavy lifting started early as Portland-based openers The Builders and Butchers took the stage, immediately jumping into their percussive-heavy songs about, what else, death and dancing. Now, don't get me wrong, their CD is a solid dose of goth-punk-blues. However, you can't bottle lightening (lest you end up as one of their future song topics no doubt). Live, there's a delicious take-no-prisoners element and more instruments than you can shake a washboard at. By the end of the blistering half hour set their need for percussion was so great, many audience members were enlisted as back up, one lucky person armed with the band's kick drum.

Quote from the Owl Mag:

Though the band only performed on the shorter side of a half hour, the set was the right amount of intense with not a bit of pretension. The Builders and the Butchers tossed out tambourines, cymbals, and maracas for their last song "Bringin' Home the Rain." Those that couldn't reach an instrument embellished the music with clapping and stomping. The simple percussion was by far one of the most beautiful moments of the night.

Other reviews:
Phoenix

Sound on the Sound





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One Two Three Four!

One, Two, Three, Four! I heard this cadence many times last night. And this is what it represents:

One - One Great night
Two - Two Venues. Two great friends.
Three - Three delicious beverages (at each venue)
Four - Four wonderful bands!

It was my first time going to the EchoPlex (below the Echo) and its a decent size venue (similar layout to the Independent in SF, possibly a bit bigger.) If you are ever going to a show here on a Thursday night, make note of the EARLY doors @ 7:30. Show started at 8pm with Castledor:


Tilly and The Wall followed shortly thereafter. The show was as energetic as I expected, but every song was played about 15% slower than you'd be used to hearing. Still extraordinary. I think I want to make babies with the tap-dancing Tilly.


We were out of The Echoplex by 10:15pm! So, we attempted to wait for another cab. This is an exercise in futility in LA. A bus came by, and we hopped it. $2.50 bus fare, took us about half-a-mile to Silver Lake Blvd. at which point I decided it would be a good idea to jog the rest of the way to Spaceland. I made it without dying, although I was excessively sweaty. As we walked in, we were greeted by a few members of The Builders and The Butchers who remembered me from their last performance. They hadn't yet performed, so it was perfect timing!


Finally, thanks to the diligent photo-taking of yours-truly, I was able to document that I saw Port O'Brien... and I'm pretty sure it was fun, though... things were a bit hazy at this stage.

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Why I Love The Builders and The Butchers

It's singing and shouting with guitar, bass, mandolin, banjo, accordian, drums, xylophone, trumpet, bells, and washboard. Oh, and a megaphone and a funnel.

One Man, One Giant Bass. One drum set, Two drummers.


Clapping!


Audience Participation! Noisy toys for all to play.


One Big Man, One tiny mandolin.

I heard 4 or 5 new songs played live at Spaceland in Silver Lake.. Some are up on their myspace page. Expect a new album in January/February time frame. They will be at Cafe du Nord on Saturday June 14. If you miss them this time around, they'll be swinging back around again in July, touring with Port O'Brien.


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Why I LOVE Noise Pop.

Every year I get excited about the bands headlining at Noise Pop. And inevitably, I walk away with a new love affair with at least one of the bands that would open for them. Last night my Noise Pop discovery was The Builders and The Butchers who opened for Helio Sequence at the Independent. Their style is a grimy southern rock with bluegrass, folk, and punk influences. Each song is written and performed with a haunting dark passion that makes me believe they've lived everything they were singing about (murder, thievery, and rambling) as great storytellers should always be able to do. If someone can find postings with lyrics.. please let me know.

More photos on The Bay Bridged