That bastion of musical passion Okkervil River have a new album on the way. Their first for ATO Records. It's called "The Silver Gynmasium" and will be released on September 3.
More details to come!

Get excited!

Matthew E. White is a big man with a big sound. Sunday night at the Opera House was to be my last event of VIVID in 2013, but it would prove to be as enjoyable as all the others that I attended. Unfortunately the venue would be lucky to be two thirds full, but for those lucky to be there they would be treated to a special night of music. White is from Richmond, Virginia and last year he released his debut album, "Big Inner", on his own record label in Spacebomb Records. Earlier this year the album was given a wider release on Domino Records. It's a release that straddles many genres with jazz, rock and swing being at the top of the list. It's a great listen.

Mr White played a set that featured all but one song from his debut album. His band went every step of the way and included a great horn section featuring tenor sax, trumpet and trombone. He threw in a couple of covers for good measure too. A Neil Young one that rocked and a Randy Newman number that was melodically beautiful. My favourite though was the epic "Big Love" which climbed and climbed before fully exploding. The best though was saved for last. Before he played "Gone Away" he summoned Megafaun man Phil Cook to the stage. Cook and White were both here for the Sounds of the South performances. It was a great delight to hear Cook offer his vocals again. Then before the closing song "Brazos" White managed to bring forward the other performers from Sounds of the South. They formed a choir, ably led by Cook, and helped out in the vocal department of a stirring and epic rendition of "Brazos". It was a great way to not only end the night but also the festival.

Set List
Will You Love Me
One Of These Days
Steady Pace
Are You Ready For The Country? (Neil Young cover)
Ain't That What Love Is
Big Love
Human Style
Sail Away (Randy Newman cover)
Gone Away
Brazos

In 1959 Alan Lomax ventured into the South of America to capture sounds that we can enjoy today and forever. He journeyed from The Ozarks to the Mississippi Delta to the Georgia Sea Islands, recording over 8 hours of music. It would be packaged into 4 albums of music to be known as "Sounds of the South". It would run the gamut of blues, folk, gospel, bluegrass and everything in between. Artists as great as Mississippi Fred McDowell, Vera Hall, The Mountain Ramblers and Lonnie Young were among many contributors. Fast forward 50 years and we were at the Sydney Opera House to hear these songs in person. In 2010 the members of Megafaun and Matthew E. White were commissioned by Duke University to bring the music to life. They called in old friend and Bon Iver front man Justin Vernon to add his supreme voice and White's improvisatory ensemble Fight The Big Bull to provide the horns and drums. The wonderful Sharon Van Etten provided the female voice. In 2011 the collective came together again to play at Cincinnati's MusicNOW Festival. So when it was announced that VIVID Live would have them all in 2013 I was super excited. Th only change was Frazey Ford (The Be Good Tanyas) replacing Van Etten. I'm a huge fan of Megafaun and their eclectic take on folk/rock and of course Vernon's talents speak for themselves.
It had the potential to be a great night.

Initially the members of Megafaun  and White came on stage and gave us the opening two numbers. Bluegrass specials with the banjo as lead instrument. Can I say again just how good the banjo is? Fight The Big Bull then joined in for a full on jam session. Ford then joined to take the lead for the blues number "Cool Water Blues". The next number was probably my favourite though. Megafaun member Joe Westerlund took the lead on the serene gospel number "I Want Jesus To Walk With Me". Even though I don't have a religious bone in my body I think I enjoyed the gospel numbers the most. Especially when the whole collective came to the front of the stage and sang acapella for a later number. Naturally, because of his fame and talent, the biggest roar came when Vernon took his turn to sing. His voice is supremely powerful and soulful. He also sang in a variety of registers to suit each song. The closing number of  "I'm Gonna Sail Like a Ship on the Ocean" had us all on our feet clapping and smiling. Vernon sang his lungs out and the band rose the roof on this on. I also liked how the music combined old and new. With beautiful piano and banjo we also had experimental touches to augment the music. The encore song topped off the night beautifully. They performed the classic The Band song "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down". This is truly one of my favourite songs of all time, so this was definitely a special treat. If I thought I was in love with American music before this night, and I definitely was, somehow the bond just grew a little stronger.

Set List
Green Sally, Up
Banks of the Arkansas
Jesse James
Cool Water Blues
I Want Jesus To Walk With Me
Trouble So Hard
Go Tell Aunt Nancy
Is There Anybody Here Who Loves My Jesus
Drop Down Mama
Boll Weevil
Write Me A Few Of Your Lines
Tribulations
I'm Gonna Sail Like a Ship on the Ocean

The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down (The Band cover)

Well, that was pretty unique. Kraftwerk were THE ticket of VIVID LIVE in 2013. Tickets were sold on a ballot system and were obviously in great demand. They were here to play 8 shows (featuring a particular album at each show) over 4 nights. So 2 albums, or shows, a night. We scored tickets to the first show featuring "Autobahn", an album I remember fondly from my youth. Yes, I was into Kraftwerk whilst my friends were enjoying Sherbet. Having said I haven't listened to them in years. So I wasn't really sure what the show would be like. Well, as said, it was pretty unique. The four German men entered the stage and took their place behind their consoles. Then they proceeded to dazzle us for 90 minutes of German electronic wizardry.

"Autobahn" was the band's fourth album and was released in 1974. It was their first album to feature vocals. They actually opened the set with "The Robots", before they launched into the album proper. All of the music was accompanied with 3D images. We were given white cardboard glasses for the show. Some were effective and some were static. Each song had totally different images. Some really flew off the screen. These were the most effective. It was a slightly surreal experience that had the audience enthralled through out. As the album finished I wondered if more music would be on offer. There sure was. They basically gave us a "Greatest Hits" package. We received "Model" and "Computer World" and "Trans-Europe Express", which was my favourite. It was a dazzling show. Although it did feel a trifle long as the electronic influence can feel a little repetitive at times. But it was certainly unlike any show that I have ever seen and I was certainly glad I entered the ballot for this one.  

Set List
The Robots
Autobahn
Kometenmelodie 1
Kometenmelodie 2
Mitternacht
Morgenspaziergang
The Hall of Mirrors
Trans-Europe Express
Metal on Metal
Radioactivity
Uranium
Model
Spacelab
The Man Machine
Numbers
Computer Love
Computer World
It's More Fun to Compute
Tour De France 1983
Tour De France 2003
Boing Boom Tschak
Techno Pop
Musique Non Stop

The concept of seeing a classic album played in full can sometimes be problematic. Of course it would seem ideal to hear and feel that classic and hopefully favourite album played from start to finish. But on the other hand there is no element of surprise. No wondering what comes next in the set list. You are guaranteed to hear great music that's for sure though. I have been to a couple in the past. Dirty Three and Sonic Youth to be exact. And both turned out to be quite special. And both bands tacked on some extras just to fill out the night. When Austin hard rockers ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead announced that they would be giving the same treatment to their classic decade long album "Source Tags & Codes" I thought two things. This will be great and this will sell out in an instant. I was right in the first instance but dead wrong in the second.

When we arrived at the Metro Theatre on Thursday night we first noticed that the back of the theatre was curtained off and that the area in front of the stage was sparsely populated to say the least. By the time the band took the stage it had filled out a bit but there was still plenty of room for more. This was a mystery. "Source Tags & Codes" is a ferocious beast of an album that ebbs and flows between beauty and assault. It is poetic, strange and unique. I know the band are sailing under the radar at the moment but where was everyone. No matter. It was still great. As "Invocation" floated across the room with its stark piano lines the anticipation built. Then "It Was There That I Saw You" was launched and we were off and running. The iconic guitar riff of "Another Morning Stoner" just turned up the volume. As they pummeled through the album it brought back so many great memories of the time when the album was released. Conrad Keely is a ferocious frontman, whilst Jason Reese's drumming is a huge feature of their sound. "How Near How Far" was a real favourite of the night as was the title track but it was probably "Days Of Being Wild" that surprisingly became the highlight of the night. It was a beast. As is the album. As was the band.

Well this is rather good. But you knew that hey?
The National. We all love them.