review - timothy blackman and tono and the finance company, mighty mighty, 16 december

this review was partially published on word on the street but i reproduce the full review (including opening act) below. rejoice, dear reader, for i was too lazy to remove the capitals from my original piece of work.


timothy blackman

I sometimes kind of like it when the opening act outshines the headline act. This interesting, slightly eclectic set from former Dunedinite Timothy Blackman was a bit of a treat. Blackman (with band) experimented with a bunch of new songs, apparently ready for recording this summer. This allowed for a refreshing, laid back approach - very much in a jam style, including a couple of moments where Blackman seemingly forgot the words to his own songs, reached down to flip over the pages of a songbook, and picked up where he left off. Totally natural, uncontrived, and quite charming if I'm honest.

Earnest is one word that springs to mind to describe Blackman's style. Understated and unassuming are a couple of others. He writes pretty, eccentric songs, and he plays them well. The addition of the cello adds an unexpected, soulful dimension. Personally I find his lower vocal range more appealing than his mid range, but maybe that's partly a reflection of Mighty Mighty's questionable acoustics.

As he hit his stride, Blackman got into a nice groove and ended his set well - his last few numbers featured some excellent, eccentric rhythms, a nice use of his full vocal range, and interesting, well-structured songs. In fact I think I heard a couple of potential singles tucked away in there. Blackman is unique and understated - what you see is what you get, and I particularly like that honesty in an artist.

tono and the finance company

I was really looking forward to seeing Tono and the Finance Company because I remember seeing Tono some years ago in Dunedin and enjoying the amusing, tongue-in-cheek, ironic songs about economics. Something about that really appeals the nerd in me. But somewhere along the line, that lightheartedness appears to've been lost and Tono now seems to take himself seriously. Too seriously.

Tono and his backing band might have been more polished than their opening act, but were much less genuine. The best part about Tono is The Finance Company (including, for this tour, half of former Dunedin band The Tweeks.)  With a bunch of talented ring-ins, including a lead and rhythm guitar, and a tight rhythm section, the band actually created quite a nice sound - if we're honest, it's The Finance Company who were the ones worth listening to.

Anthonie Tonnon himself sings with a contrived Brit-pop accent, which really, really grated me. It's a shame because some of his lyrics are actually quite amusing - if he moved away from the contrived vocals and embraced the playful irony that I recall when I first saw him, he could actually be a decent, amusing lyricist. But as the night wore on, frankly I grew increasingly tired of the fake accent, formulaic songs, and Tono's consistently off-key vocals.

A bit of a downer way to end an evening that started out so promisingly, but by the end of the night I found myself wishing someone would put Tono and the Finance Company into receivership.

sexy 80s frontwomen

last night i had the great privilege of seeing the pretenders and blondie play a double-header in beautiful martinborough, new zealand. if you'd asked teenage ren how she felt about seeing either chrissie hynde or debbie harry in the flesh, i'm convinced teenage ren's reaction would have been some kind of unspeakable glee. these ladies epitomise rock n fricken roll, and i grew up loving them.

seeing these two female icons sharing the same stage within hours of each other was some kind of 80s pop dream come true. chrissie hynde is 59 years old and is still a raging hot babe, complete with rockin white electric guitar, and boots that were made for walkin'. personally i was surprised to find that my top moment was a pretenders moment (if we're honest it was blondie who was my main drawcard) - "hymn to her" was a moment of pure loveliness. check out chrissie's amazing, rich voice:

debbie harry is the rock icon to end all icons. i still can't quite believe that i saw her in the flesh. at 65, she owned the stage and gave us all the attitude we'd expect from blondie. i came with one great hope: the blondie would play 'heart of glass'. they didn't disappoint.

just look at her dominating that short little skirt. more importantly, how has her voice not deteriorated with age?! she is sounding simply amazing.

each set was a nicely measured balance of hits and classics mixed in with some less-known stuff. (to quote chrissie hynde: "for those of you who bought our last album... ah wait, i know none of you did.")

i'll never win any award for my terrible video skills, but these little clips were all i could take to illustrate the amazingness of the experience.

ren: in blondie bliss

all power to these iconic, sexy women. their bands may have enjoyed their prime in the 80s, but they are still rockin - and still sound great - into their sixties. that's definitely something to aspire to.

exciting news!

it was announced today that elton john will play a show in new zealand next year - woah woah woah! i am bouncing off the walls with excitement.

just yesterday my brother and i were grooving to this most excellent little tune. yes, we are super-hip.

T - there will be a light, ben harper and the blind boys of alabama (2004)

righto. i need to snap out of it. but i'm not going to 'snap' out of it, i'm going to ease, soothe, and groove my way out of it. and i'm starting this morning. with gospel.

i'm not a huge ben harper fan to be honest. or, i should say, i'm not a huge fan of the stoner upstrum ben harper stuff. i adore his later release "both sides of the gun" and think he has written some truly superb songs. but the better-known ben harper stuff doesn't do it for me so much. so when this album was first released and a friend who was a massive ben harper fan declared it "an album for the fans" you can imagine i wasn't rushed off my feet to buy it.

but this album makes me want to eat my words / grumpy anti-ben sentiments a squillion times over. this is a  superb album. this is an album that takes risks. it is totally different from the sound the ben harper built his massive fan base on, and it clearly follows his musical passion rather than his earlier, more conformist releases. it's non-formulaic - it just is what it is, and my god it is good... and excuse the pun, because this is pure, unadulterated gospel. it's committed and it's passionate and it's full of soul. the elements of funk that creep in, and of something sometimes resembling bluegrass, give it a way down home feel - and of course being recorded with the blind boys of alabama that's exactly what it is.

harper has always been a master of slide guitar, and this album still showcases that talent. but it's much more than that - bluesy and soulful, funky and creative, this is a diverse album but that never diverts from its core purpose. what you see is what you get, and what you get is cleverly written songs, and an album that loves life.

i'm back.

interlude:a review

i did this review of anna coddington at 3C about a month ago. she's ace.

S - some devil, dave matthews (2003)

i drafted this entry on my way home from an intense two weeks of travel. as anyone who read the 'r' entry may have gathered, i'm exhausted, which has left me reflective, emo and - let's be honest - kind of melodramatic. it's kind of hard to believe, given how much i bitch and moan about travel sometimes, but i think i've actually got post-meeting blues.

dave matthews is one of my favourite artists when i'm feeling reflective like this. and this is album in particular holds many memories - i listened to it relentlessly when i backpacked alone through eastern europe and the balkans back in 2006, which was a time of learning and challenges and happiness and lots of other things for me. it's a gentle album really; dave matthews has a rich, distinctive voice, and ventures occasionally into some fun alt rock that might not usually be my cup of tea, but that sometimes works. this is one of his more downbeat albums, and it reminds me of a boy i fell for in europe. i can pinpoint a number of exact life-moments around that time where I listened to it: on a train from prague to berlin, on the gallipoli peninsula in turkey, on a stoney beach on the south coast of france, and on an overnight bus through the albanian mountains from kosovo to tirana. and now i am listening to it at 18,000ft above the united states.

i'm not going to pretend this album doesn't occasionally venture over-the-top into cheesiness - 'save me' is a pretty good example of this, as are the two opening tracks 'dodo' and 'so darn lucky'. but life is full of moments where that seems strangely appropriate. and there are other, softer, and less obvious points of cleverness in this album: 'trouble' brings with it a gentle melancholy, and 'grey blue eyes' is a pretty little song.

but to me, right now - and actually this has always been the case - the stand-out song is 'stay or leave', a song that affords a gentle, understated treatment to notions of loss and separation, of feeling your way through something without really knowing how it'll turn out, and of dealing with the fall out when it all goes wrong. i'm always struck by the notion of "making plans to change the world, while the world is changing us..."

this is a simple, beautifully-written song full of delicate lyrics epitomising confusion, idealism, reflection, and wanting what can't be had. i found this lovely accoustic version - i dare you not to adore these lyrics.



so yea, perhaps a little melodramatic - but good right now.

R - recurring dream, crowded house (1996)

i am nearing the end of one of the most intensive periods of work i've ever experienced. i've spent something like ten nights at home in the last six weeks. i've been travelling relentlessly for work. my body clock has given up on trying to decipher which time zone we're in. last night i finished work at 4am, while my colleagues worked right through until 6am. i've slept six hours since wednesday. i'm exhausted and i'm homesick, and i've got an hour to kill. it's comfort music time.

 

once again, i hadn't listened to this album as a whole in years. there's always the traditional crowded house crowd-pleasers that make it onto party playlists, but the album as a whole is a nostalgic, perfect listen for my mood. it sounds like my childhood and teenage years - for some reason it sounds like an eternal new zealand summer. it's a straightforward album - it's just easy rock, with nothing particularly remarkable about it, except the memories it conjures. it's actually kind of perfect right now - it's a bit emo: 'fall at your feet', 'don't dream its over' and 'better be home soon' seem relatively apt somehow. my sleep-deprived brain also finds climate related songs ('weather with you', 'four seasons in one day') ironically amusing right now.

 

various songs remind me of various friends i have made along the way - most of them from overseas who knew crowded house as 'that new zealand band' well before we were known for flight of the conchords and lord of the rings. it's familiar and comfortable and a little bit senitmental. it doesn't challenge me or question me or tax my limited brain capacity. it's calm and relaxing and exactly what i need.

 

i can't wait to get home. meanwhile, i have to go to work.  

Q - quality control, jurassic 5 (2000)

i have to admit i'm not a big hip hop fan, and haven't listened to this album or any other hip hop in years. i listened to it a lot circa 2001-4, and coming back to it, i have to say it's actually a quality listen. it's definitely hip hop, but it's also a lot more: a little bit jazz (with some stellar jazz flute) and a lot bit funk. i listened to this the day i left for a couple of weeks on the road and it was a really excellent funky beat to pack to. i also forgot the extreme respect i have for the dextrous vocals on this album. glad i branched back out.