Lucky Day, indeed: Tom Waits, Glitter and Doom Live

Fortune smiles every now and then. For me, it was Kings Road Merch mailing my package containing 1 copy of Glitter and Doom Live, 1 copy of True Confessions, and 1 size medium limited tour t-shirt of Tom Waits' Untitled 1, Oil on Concrete on Tuesday and it arriving well before the official release date. It's small joys like that that make life worth living these days.

I have to confess, I'm really disappointed that I didn't get to see Waits on the PEHDTSCHJMBA tour that shares the name with this release. Myself and a group of friends were ready to hop in a car and make an impulse drive to Ohio for one of his shows; in hindsight, I wish things like my lack of cash, their job responsibilities, and plain old common sense didn't get in the way of taking a journey into unknown territory and just having fun.

So, new album. I was hoping that Waits was planning on releasing a live album when the Glitter and Doom Tour was announced. I was never a huge live album fan until a couple years ago; Big Time may have contributed to the change in my opinion. Part of the aversion I think has to do with how many live albums are drawn from numerous concerts, leaving a somewhat choppy experience as not every track can be mixed and mastered to make them match perfectly, although a precious few can leave that illusion. "Falling Down," in particular, stands out on Glitter and Doom Live as its volume is noticeable lower than everything else on the disc.

We are provided a good mix of songs from the late Island era and many from the ANTI- collection. The album begins with a mash-up of "Lucinda" and "Ain't Goin' Down," Waits and band jumping back and forth between the two songs; they mesh together very well. The way they perform "Singapore" on Glitter and Doom is significantly different from the album version in the way he delivers the lyrics; here, the song feels kind of choppy as to where he places his line breaks. It's taking some getting used to, but I think I can grow to like it. One thing to note is that he sounds particularly gruff in his live recordings, with "Goin' Out West" displaying this heavily. If his rough throat sound has kept you from buying his albums in the past, then you should be made aware that not much has changed.

Glitter and Doom flits back and forth between the melancholy and the rough-and-tumble roll, featuring such sad pieces as "The Part You Throw Away," "Trampled Rose," and "Dirt In The Ground" juxtaposed against "Goin' Out West," "Metropolitan Glide," and "Such A Scream." Makes sense, given the title, I suppose (realizing that a tad late and having to make revisions, silly me). I'm glad that some cuts from The Black Rider made it to the live performance, as "I'll Shoot The Moon" (one of the most brilliant love songs in the history of Western Civilization, and hilarious at the end to boot) and "Lucky Day" are some of my favorites by Waits. I'm particularly happy Waits chose to end the album with "Lucky Day" (I once tried singing this song at a poetry reading, starting halfway through the song and doing an imitation of Waits' voice that kept falling apart; if memory serves, it sounded pretty hideous), as it works perfectly as a closing track.

Of course, the bonus disc Tom Tales is a major draw to this release. I won't say much about it since it really needs to be a surprise, but know that it would be worth purchasing if it were made available as a separate release. That's all I'm saying on that.

Glitter and Doom is a really enjoyable release. I am looking forward to spending the next week or so wearing it out a bit, you know, throwing some abuse on the thing to give it some character. Point in fact, I'm going to wrap this shit up so I can get back to listening to it.



Also, in case you forgot what PEHDTSCHJMBA stands for, watch below. I never get tired of watching this video.

DeVotchKa, A Mad & Faithful Telling

I can't remember exactly where I first heard about DeVotchKa. Perhaps it was from one of the times I went trawling through ANTI- Records' catalog in a desperate search for something new. Or maybe it was through the myspace page of one of their friends of friends or something of that nature. In any event, I heard a couple of songs and was instantly intrigued.

I consider this one of my backlog albums from last year; it was released back in March of 2008, and I feel like I have been missing out on something quite magical. I only picked up A Mad & Faithful Telling last Saturday as a Valentine's Day gift to myself, and I count it as one of the better gifts I've given myself in the past couple years.

For those unfamiliar with the band, DeVotchKa is made up of four members (Nick Urata, Tom Hagerman, Jeanie Schroder, and Shawn King) and combines various different styles of music into a sort of ethnic blender with a dose of punk and folk to smooth out the mix. The result is absolutely delicious, something so familiar yet completely alien at the same time, utterly inescapable in its draw. Yes, this is a band that I have bought into hook line sinker just off one release.

How many times shall I tell thee that A Mad & Faithful Telling is a damn fine album? Ten times, music aficionados. From the first track to the last few notes, A Mad & Faithful Telling entertains with its variety and potency. Also important to note is that Nick Urata is a phenomenal songwriter (see Lyrics of The Day sidebar for evidence) in addition to being a powerful vocalist. The music is perfect and beautiful in every way. Picking out favorites is difficult since every song is so f#cking good, but the ones that really roped me in were "Transliterator," "The Clockwise Witness," and "Basso Profundo." While I'm not crazy about the sort of German Oktoberfest influence to "Blessing In Disguise," the lyrics are still of high quality and that oompah line stirs something in the genetic memory and makes me want to sway back and forth with a giant mug of beer in my hand.

Point in fact, most of this album makes me want to dance in some way. Not a thrashy sort of dance, or a night club grind, but a more intimate dance with a fine lady or gentle swaying back ang forth. You know, the sort of dance that actually requires steps and talent. I can't hold still while listening to this album.

My only complaint is that the album seems to lose steam at "Undone." While all the songs, and I do mean all, are very good, those last three tracks are lacking the energy seen in the early half of the album. Perhaps the band was looking for a gentle ending to the album and maintaining the excitement of the first half was not the intention, but it loses my attention rapidly while casually listing.

Notes on packaging: I love the cover image and choice of colors over all album materials. It actually comes with printed lyrics so we can read Urata's great songwriting! However, ANTI- needs to have a talk with the manufacturers of their digipaks; the tray doesn't appear to be glued on straight since part of the plastic is overhanging over the backing. Okay, that was my pointless nitpicking for this review; sorry I couldn't do better, but look at what I had to work with.

To summarize my rapidly dwindling thoughts on the matter, A Mad & Faithful Telling is a beautiful music experience. This is the classic notion of American ingenuity and melting pot aesthetic shaped into something truly extraordinary. If you haven't already picked it up, I strongly urge you to give yourself the gift of a new experience.

DeVotchKa's official website and myspace page

Neko Case, "People Got A Lotta Nerve" - Blog for A Cause

For those of you interested in the music of Neko Case, you probably already know that she will have a new album out this year. Just released is a song off this new album, "People Got A Lotta Nerve." Free download too. I'm a bit of a new fan myself, having only recently picked up Fox Confessor Brings The Flood. I'm excited about Middle Cyclone, coming out on March 3rd of this year, and I'm liking "People Got A Lotta Nerve."

Now, aside from the fact that it's a free single, there's also something else happening in regard to this song. According to the ANTI- Records blog, ANTI- and Neko Case will be making a cash donation to Best Friends Animal Society every time there's a blog repost for this song. Or something to that effect; I've been living up to my blog's title again, so my judgement is a tad cloudy right now. Thus, I am bringing this to your attention in the hopes that you will read about what's happening and understand it better than I do.

In any event, good cause and all that. I like artists that support good causes, so all the more reason to support the artists that fight the good fight.

Neko Case's website and myspace
ANTI-'s website, myspace, and blog

[Okay, I was trying to get the iMeem player to work on here, but fat chance of that. If you really must listen to it first before downloading to your 30,000 gigabit harddrive that spins damn near the speed of light, then listen to it at the ANTI- blog entry regarding "People Got A Lotta Nerve" here.]