THE MUSIC MADE ME DO IT

Tyler Ramsey - A Long Dream About Swimming Across The Sea

Since moving up here I have been meaning to drop by Electric Fetus and today I finally did just that. I went in not only to just check things out but also to see if they had a CD that I'm having a hard time tracking down.

While walking around, I happened to see a collection of CDs along the wall that resembled something similar to a list I would put together full of my favorite albums and artists in the past year or so. Within this collection, a title card behind one of the discs read: Tyler Ramsey (Plays with Band of Horses). Being a fan of BOH, I decided that if he's good enough for them, who was I to not give him a shot!?

I'm glad I did. I've pretty much been playing it non-stop since popping it in to rip it to iTunes. If you get a chance, jump to his MySpace or Last.fm and give him a listen. Definitely love to know what you think too, if you care to leave a comment.

Related Item: Band of Horses playing "Is There A Ghost" on Letterman w/Tyler playing to Ben Bridwell's left.

Reviews:

Stereogum | Obscure Sound | NPR Music | KEXP Blog | Herohill

Tyler Ramsey on the interwebs:

Tylerramsey.com | MySpace | Last.fm | iTunes | Amazon

Liam Finn Rocks the 400 Bar

Liam Finn stepped into the headline slot at the 400 Bar last night and took full advantage of his opportunity to play a longer set. He was to play the second time slot, opening for Pela, but due to an unfortunate accident, was moved into the spotlight. (Sorry to hear about the accident Pela. Hope Billy heals quickly.)

Supported on stage by his good friend EJ Barnes, Liam played a mix of songs off of his album, I'll Be Lightning, along with a few spontaneous jams (one based on saying the word "Minneapolis" in various tones and looping them). I had somewhat of an idea of what I was going to see, but was still very impressed with Liam's show.

Liam primarily played the guitar and drums, along with the Theremin at times. EJ supported him on vocals while playing tambourine, autoharp, cymbals, cow bell and the wood block/temple block (I think). Both used pedals and loops to give the songs much more dimension and character.

I would describe his performance as raw, unpredictable, melodious electricity - well on his way to becoming lightning. His interactions with the crowd were fun, humorous and very uncensored. He even got the crowd to yell out the "C" word near the end.

He is an incredibly talented musician and a gifted performer. Getting to watch him croon a slower song one minute and then rock out the next; moving between recording loops for the guitar to hammering on the drums with unbridled passion for the music, was quite an incredible spectacle. (I would have to say that my favorite moments were those when he was going crazy on the drums. You can't help but be affected by his energy.)

If you have a chance to catch Liam live, I would recommend you do so. The live version of his songs become much bigger than what you hear on his album/CD and the little spontaneous surprises make it even more enjoyable.

Related: Some great photos of last night's show can be found here. My lesser quality ones can be found here. More from other recent shows here and here.

Provided he continues on this tour without Pela, you can find his next live dates here.

(A note to my friends in Denver - he's scheduled to play Hi-Dive on Monday, March 10.)

LiamFinn.tv | MySpace | VIRB | Last.fm | iTunes | Amazon

St. Vincent Show / I <3 Annie Clark

It's official. I have a crush on Annie Clark, a.k.a. St. Vincent. I can't help it. Last night at the Cedar Cultural Center she disarmed me with her charm, humility and all-around resplendence. Then she blew me away with her ambrosial vocal dexterity and gift of being able to strum a delicate string of chords together on the guitar one minute and completely shred it with mastery the next.

I had some notion of what to expect going into the night and had been looking forward to it all week. At the end of the evening, all of my expectations were greatly surpassed and I now have a new-found appreciation for Ms. Clark not only as a chanteuse, but also as a delightful woman willing to share more than just her music with her fans.

Some artists use pedals, effects and a variety of microphones to cover for a lack of talent. Not Annie. She uses these tools to take her music and natural abilities to another level. She kept the pace of the show undulating expertly throughout the night, starting off with a couple of her more popular/known songs*, moving into a mix of stuff off of Marry Me, bringing out one or two new songs and rocking out a phenomenal solo cover of The Beatles song "Dig A Pony."

(*I think she opened with Now Now and Jesus Saves, I Spend. I could be off though.)

Her interactions with the crowd were endearing and engaging. Between songs, she responded to louder comments made by enamored members of the audience and shared stories from recent adventures on the road. She was genuine and playful. At times, she was even a bit demure. She appeared to be truly flattered that people applauded and cheered after each song. When she couldn't quite get her guitar tuned to the perfect note, rather than continue fussing with it, she'd just stop, say something to the effect of, "Oh, the hell with it. It's a rock show, right?" and then begin playing.

Every glowing review that has been written of her live performances is well deserved. I can honestly say this was one of the best shows I've been to in quite some time. It was one of those shows where nobody in the audience wanted to see it come to an end, least of all, myself. I will definitely go back to see her the next time she comes to town or if she happens to be playing somewhere I also am at the moment.

Thank you, Annie. Thank you for not only sharing your music with the world, but for also being so open, real, elegant and interesting when performing it.

ilovestvincent.com | MySpace | VIRB | Last.fm | iTunes | Amazon

Related: Here's a video of her performing "Dig A Pony" in a NY music store:

Liam Finn - Second Chance (Live)

Liam Finn, the singer-songwriter son of Crowded House’s Neil Finn, is on several "Artists to Watch" or "Bands to Watch" lists and for very good reason, in my opinion. Just watching these two takes on the same song make me want to go see him. It's a good thing then that he's on tour now.

Playing 400 Bar in Minneapolis 3/1

Playing Hi Dive in Denver 3/10

LiamFinn.tv | MySpace | VIRB | Last.fm | iTunes | Amazon

Liam Finn - Second Chance Video

St. Vincent Live

I didn't get to the St. Vincent & The National show early enough last fall to see Annie Clark perform, so I decided to go see her this coming Friday. Then I remembered that Scheduletwo.com left me a note on my Last.fm page that they had videos of her live, so went to check it out. This makes me really look forward to Friday.

photo via sarahana_sh

In looking up info on her and the show, I came across this. There are plenty more great pics and a review of her show at Bowery Ballroom  there.

ilovestvincent.com | MySpace | VIRB | Last.fm | iTunes | Amazon