Sunset Rubdown: Dragonslayer (and other things)

I picked up Sunset Rubdown's new album in early October and I really enjoyed every song. The highlights of the album are the beautiful and somehow sad sounding "You go on ahead" and the hard driving "Black Swan" but the entire album is exceptional and should have wide appeal for fans and new listeners alike. For those of you who don't know about this excellent Canadian band, they started as a side-project for Wolf Parade (another great Canadian band) front-man, Spencer Krugg but are now a full time group and have released five LPs and two EPs since 2005.

I love Wolf Parade, Handsome Furs, Swan Lake, and Sunset Rubdown; all are related to Krugg. Sunset Rubdown is by far the quirkiest with songs like "The Courtesan has sung" which is an otherworldly round being sung by Krugg overdubbed a few times accented by strange lyrics, super-simple guitar and almost tribal percussion.

A classmate of mine, Kevin Connell, introduced me to Wolf Parade in the fall of 2007 while I was attending Thomas More College of Liberal Arts. I received six mix CDs as gifts for our customary week-long, secret santa activity and learned at the end of the week that my gifts were from Kevin. He had an excellent taste in music. He introduced me to Wolf Parade, the Handsome Furs (another Krugg side-project) and countless other bands I'd never heard but now enjoy listening to all the time. We even attended the same Wolf Parade concert later that summer in Boston.

On the 13th of October, 2009, Kevin Connell was struck by a car and killed while riding his bike home from his work in Montreal. He was a brilliant writer, student, and musician. He planned to pursue music in Montreal but his life was cut short by a reckless, possibly drunk, driver. Whenever I listen to any band fronted by Spencer Krugg I'll always think of Kevin.

Shows in 08

May- Mobius Band/Black Kids/Cut Copy, Boston MA
June - Ringo Starr/Edgar Winter/Billy Squire etc. Uncasville CT
July - The Killers, Ledyard CT
August - Wintersleep/Wolf Parade, Boston MA
--------------Grizzly Bear/Radiohead, Mansfield MA
September - The Wombats, Boston MA
----------------- The Swell Season (with Glen Hansard), Boston MA
----------------Cut Copy/The Presets, Boston MA
October - Annuals/Minus the Bear, Boston MA
-------------Hercules and Love Affair, Boston MA
------------The Who, Uncasville CT

I regret not going to more shows this year but with my busy academic schedule and travel plans
it was hard to plan ahead long enough to buy tickets too far in advance.



^ 15 step live in Mansfield Mass. Watch Thom Yorke do his Thom Yorke dance. Brilliant.

Wolf Parade visits Beantown

I've attended a lot of great shows this year (I'll list them all in another entry) but the best show I went to, hands down, was Wolf Parade at Paradise Rock Club in Boston. I've been listening to them for about a year now and I am completely blown away by their combination of synth and guitar; especially in songs like "Fancy Claps" where the two sound almost like one. Another unique aspect of Wolf Parade is the immediately recognizable Bowiesque vocals of frontman Dan Boeckner, which rang out just as wonderfully live as they did on studio recordings.

The opening band, Wintersleep, (also hailing from Canada) made me glad I showed up on time. Though not as genius as Wolf Parade, their set was very entertaining and original and inspired me to buy their album Welcome to the Night Sky. Then Wolf Parade came on. The band preformed all of their most recent album At Mount Zoomer and much of their first album Apologies to the Queen Mary. For me, "Fancy Claps", "I'll Believe in Anything", "Dear Sons and Daughters of Hungry Ghosts", "Animal in Your Care", and "Kissing the Beehive" were the show's highlights and by the end of the concert most people screaming "I'll Believe in Anything" at the tops of their lungs with riot-like ferocity.

And like almost every concert I've gone to this year, against all odds, regardless of the venue, someone lit up a J. It wasn't even an outdoor concert. There wasn't even a lawn or outdoor seating. Yet some bold soul was toking up. Go figure. I salute you vigilant stoner man! (who seems to be following me from show to show. . .) I can't say too much more about the concert and I won't even try to convey my enjoyment any further but Wolf Parade live is something I eagerly hope I'll experience again.


^ I'll Believe in Anything (live August 08)