This is what I do

On Thursday night, Rhett Miller returned to the High Noon Saloon in Madison. I always enjoy a good Rhett show, and this one was no exception. (Actually, last time I saw him was kind of an exception. But I am not a big fan of the Believers.)

Carrie Rodriguez started things off, with an introduction from Rhett himself. I'd never heard any of her music, but was thoroughly entertained by her performance. It's always a good sign when you're not bored by songs you don't know. Though she did her fair share of fiddling, for most of the set she was rocking an Epiphone Mandobird 4-string. Her new album was available in the back, and if I'd had more than $2 in my wallet I would have bought it.

Rhett played a set that seemed pretty long. There was some fun Madison banter, as always, and a nice variety of songs - a bit heavy on the newer stuff, as you'd expect. My favorite singalong remains "Barrier Reef," which was played during the first encore. Rhett ended one song with a Buzzcocks lyric, which prompted someone in the audience to yell out that they're in a commercial now. This, of course, prompted Rhett to tell us about his work for The Man, culminating in a rendition of the Chili's theme song he rewrote for the commercial. He made us promise before he played it that we wouldn't lose any respect for him, but I'm not gonna lie - when he got to chorus, soulfully belting out "Chili's baby back ribs" ... I couldn't help but cringe a little. It was still hilarious, though. And hell, if you're going to do it, might as well really sell that mofo. The best line of the night, however, came from Anya. A song or two later Rhett began playing "Singular Girl." About halfway through it, Anya leaned over. "This one's a commercial for Cingular, right?" Awesome.

Setlist:

Won't Be Home
This Is What I Do
My Valentine
Adelaide
Nineteen
Big Brown Eyes
Buick City Complex
The New Kid
Fireflies
Ain't That Strange
Doreen
World Inside The World
Victoria
Indefinitely
Chili's Baby Back Ribs
Things That Disappear
Brand New Way
Salome
Singular Girl
Book Of Poems
Come Around
Niteclub
Murder (Or a Heart Attack)
Timebomb

Help Me Suzanne
Barrier Reef
Question
Our Love

Jagged
Erica The Beautiful

Ain't that strange?

I've never missed the Old 97's as much as I did tonight at the Barrymore. I saw Rhett Miller and his backing band, The Believers, and overall I'd have to say ... eh. The band was technically proficient, and I liked the drummer. But I just couldn't shake the feeling that I was watching a cover band that just happened to be fronted by the real lead singer. It didn't help that the guitar player (and bassist, to some degree) creeped me out. I'm sorry, and I'm sure they're actually fine fellows, but oh my Christ. Anya will back me up on this.

Even Rhett's usual audience chemistry and charisma seemed somewhat dampened. He smiled and danced and shook his hips as per usual, but it wasn't until the end that I truly believed he was into it. Maybe that was just me, though. I did find their transformation of "Barrier Reef" into blistering punk interesting and entertaining, and the songs from the solo albums were decent - though the bass was mixed too loud. But the clear highlight for me was the trio of songs Rhett played by himself while the band took a break. In honor of a recent march and capitol sit-in by "a bunch of hippies" here, he even played "Stoned". You (and even I) might think that my opinion is biased, since I'm very familiar with solo Rhett. But Anya, who'd never seen him in any incarnation and only knew a couple of songs, independently prounounced it the best part as well. And if both of us think that, who's going to argue?

Garrison Starr, who opened the show, was good. I liked her songs, and she bantered with the audience and told stories for probably a quarter of her time onstage. Unusual for an opener, but kind of fun. When she wasn't veering into "okay, this is kind of awkwardly rambling now" territory. I also enjoyed the fact that her Mississippi twang was able to make "and" into a two-syllable word.

Thank you, Kevflynn (for the B-Side Records gift card that you gave me)

Last year in early March, Kevin bestowed upon me a lovely gift certificate for B-Side Records. This year in early March, I realized that the gift certificate was about to expire. I hurried down to State Street and came away with three CD's - in addition to the one I'd purchased the previous week, and the two more I would purchase later the same week. Altogether, I acquired six new albums. Here is a quick rundown:

The Minus 5, Gun Album: It's a solid album. A Minus 5 album. A handful of the tracks stand out for me. One contains my favorite line from the recent buying spree: "I'll kick your sister's ass." This sung by a man, mind you. But I've finally come to terms with the fact that I'm not a big fan of Scott McCaughey's voice. I like Scott. I just don't love his voice.

Neil Young, On the Beach: The first Neil Young album I have ever purchased myself. I know, I know. Despite that, I was pleased to discover that I already knew half of the songs. I probably don't need to tell you that it's good.

The New Pornographers, Mass Romantic: Since seeing their show recently, it's only a matter of time before I own all of the albums. I enjoy listening to the whole thing, although I currently think the first half is stronger than the second. That's a common reaction to a new album, though, so we'll see.

Rhett Miller, The Believer: Contrary to predictions, some of the songs have grown on me since I first listened to the leak. There are a couple of tracks I think are legitimately good, and a few more I enjoy that are remakes of older songs. The good songs just make me kind of sad, though, because I still think it's a solidly mediocre record. The arrangements could be excused if more of the lyrics were good, and the lyrics could be excused if more of the music had a spark. But without either...

Glenn Kotche, Mobile: I mostly love this one, although after hearing them live so many times, a couple of the tracks will take some getting used to in canned form. And how often are you lucky enough to say that about a percussion record, really? I specifically enjoyed "Projections of (What) Might" much more in its live incarnation, as opposed to the muted drum beats on the record. But the record as a whole is excellent, and I love the liner notes.

Neko Case, Fox Confessor Brings the Flood: Speaking of liner notes, I love, love, love this CD booklet. The CD is also top-notch. Once again I feel like it's front-heavy, with stronger songs on the first half, but that may just be because I love a few of the early songs disproportionately. Or maybe I just have a really short attention span? Time will tell.

There! I'm sure you can rest easy now that you have my opinions.

My 10 favorite shows of 2005

It turns out I saw exactly forty shows in 2005. I apologize to the thirty that aren't included on this list ... well, I apologize to most of them.

Something funny happened when I looked back over an entire year of music-related memories. It turns out that some of the shows I thought were really awesome right after they happened just don’t stick out in my memory anymore. And some shows that I initially thought were simply “good,” I found myself coming back to and thinking “you know, that was actually pretty freaking sweet.” Of course, some shows I was exactly right about all along.

To cut off further ramblings, here’s my list:

1. 1/29/05 Jeff Tweedy, SnS Basement – This predated my blog, but hot damn. It wasn’t just the best show (weekend, actually) of 2005, it may have been the best one ever.
2. 6/29/05 Wilco, Albright-Knox Art Gallery – I think this was the best Wilco show I saw all year, and I saw a lot of Wilco shows. And the setting couldn’t be beat.
3. 10/20/05 Decemberists, Orpheum – A little sloppy, but as fun and unusual a show as you could hope for. How often does one get to take home a piece of smashed mandolin?
4. 10/26/05 Rhett Miller, High Noon Saloon – Rhett and Madison are an excellent combination.
5. 12/7/05 Jason Molina, Robbie Fulks; Second City – Laid-back, intimate, and super. Robbie covered “Dancing Queen” and “Billie Jean,” and he meant them.
6. 5/9/05 U2, United Center– It may not have done for me what it did four years ago, but a U2 show is still a pretty grand experience – especially from the front row of the “ellipse” in front of The Edge. (Pictures)
7. 5/7/05 Wilco, Vic – the show where everything went wrong onstage created some of my fondest concert memories of the year.
8. 5/23/05 Glenn Kotche, Pick-Staiger Auditorium – I know he was just the opener, but this was the first time I heard and saw up close a lot of Glenn’s upcoming material, and I loved it. I even put one of the songs on a mix CD for a friend’s birthday.
9. 1/19/05 Colin Meloy, Schuba's – the first time I’d seen Colin solo, at one of my favorite places. He was charming, and the songs were lovely.
10. 7/17/05 Wrens, Andrew Bird, Decemberists; Union Park – It was about 100 degrees outside, and dusty, and gross, but this was a really fun trio of performances from a super-appreciative bunch of musicians. (Pictures)

That’s it! I can’t do an honorable mention list, because it would be far too long.

j'ai un question pour toi

Really fun show from Rhett Miller tonight at the High Noon, as always. I took along a couple of friends, but they ended up sitting at a table in back. If you're reading this, guys, what's the point? Oh well; I stood up front and met some new people. Close enough to see some girls pelting the stage with pennies during "Rollerskate Skinny" and Rhett's collosal eye roll in response. Haha.

One surprise was the fact that the first verse and chorus of "Question" were sung ... in French. Apparently Rhett has signed to Universal, and Universal is largely owned by the French, so he recorded an alternate French version of the song. He also joked that it was his way of sticking it to the current administration.

You know, a lot of musicians kiss the ass of whatever city they happen to be in. But Rhett is either sincere in his affection, or he does more ass-kissing research than anyone I've ever known. He was busting at the seams with Madison anecdotes tonight. How he loves coming back to Madtown ... how he was sorry he couldn't stick around for the infamous Halloween here ... how playing a certain song reminds him of playing at the Rathskellar in the mid-90s ... how he was born in Austin but he always thinks of the UW whenever he plays "19" ... how playing "Stoned" (which was great, by the way) reminds him of Club De Wash, and then apologizing for burning it down ... how the scrambler at Mickey's Dairy Bar "will fuck you up" ... how the first time he ever heard the term "sausage party" was at a post-show party here in the early 90s, when the Onion was just starting up and some of the staff members lived in a church near campus (which, by the way, was right by our place on Pinckney) ... how Rhett would sleep on the pool table there, because he was reasonably sure nobody had puked on it or had sex on it ... recently.

He played some new songs, including his duet with Rachael Yamagata, "Fireflies". It sounds quite promising. He sang both parts, informing us that "when I'm a guy, I'll face this way" and "when I'm a girl, I'll face that way". I was thinking, "Heh, cut your hair and that will seem less real." I considered requesting his Jon Brion cover, "I Believe She's Lying," but then I realized ... I'd much rather hear more of Rhett's actual songs anyway. So I didn't. He played two encores, and I got home right at midnight.

And then I discovered that the White Sox failed to comply with my wish for them to lose at least one game of this World Series. Oh well. I'm very sorry I missed it, but yay!