I was thinking about Richard Linklater's infamous debut and the fear of losing clarity and resolve through experimentation.
Wednesday, August 31, 2005
Slack
I was thinking about Richard Linklater's infamous debut and the fear of losing clarity and resolve through experimentation.
Monday, August 29, 2005
Wednesday, August 10, 2005
Barry Lyndon and The Ducks - Benicassim Festival
5th August - Day 2
We begin the day the day with Les Très Bien Ensemble signed to that bastion of indie cool that is Elefant Records. Sadly, beyond the fact that the guitarist has the same guitar as me, I don't really find any common ground. They play a sophisticated brand of gallicised pop, which although is not entirely objectionable, doesn't really capture the hearts of the crowd. They fail to make the stage their own.
The Kills (above)...hip-shaking...pouting guitarist who used to be in Scarfo...hair is in the face...basic beats...plentiful smoke machine. It's complete and fulfilling.
Lemon Jelly plunder their jolly debut e.p for this set to bring back some of the sampled goofiness of British pre-millenial beats and breaks scene.
Fischerspooner take the stage and remind us exactly why we left that beats and breaks guff behind. New album...new show. Keen to dispense the empty pomp and promises of their first album, Casey has regrouped with a tight traditional band set-up. Thus taking the show to a wider audience. Fret thee not however as costume changes and the camp theatrics are all left in there intact.
Only two tracks remain from the debut, rather pragmatically it's the two singles. Following that line of thinking, Casey also perversely thanks the main sponsor of the festival several times, knowing that he will probably be the only one to do so over the next few days.
Emerge is falsely introduced as a new 'secret' song called Peanut Butter Express. However it is played without interruption or modifications. It seems that Casey has finally relented to the whims of the audience. The mid-song interruption has now become obligatory and Casey executes it in a self-conscious and exhausted manner, almost as a mea culpa for past excesses.
In fact that is what the show feels like, tighter, more commercial, a sexy guitarist, playing the second stage like any other band, pop songs... a search for redemption.
Peaches does not cut the mustard, however. Projected dancers?! come on, since when was Lust subjected to budget cuts? Give me my daily ration of flesh, you bitch!
We begin the day the day with Les Très Bien Ensemble signed to that bastion of indie cool that is Elefant Records. Sadly, beyond the fact that the guitarist has the same guitar as me, I don't really find any common ground. They play a sophisticated brand of gallicised pop, which although is not entirely objectionable, doesn't really capture the hearts of the crowd. They fail to make the stage their own.
The Kills (above)...hip-shaking...pouting guitarist who used to be in Scarfo...hair is in the face...basic beats...plentiful smoke machine. It's complete and fulfilling.
Lemon Jelly plunder their jolly debut e.p for this set to bring back some of the sampled goofiness of British pre-millenial beats and breaks scene.
Fischerspooner take the stage and remind us exactly why we left that beats and breaks guff behind. New album...new show. Keen to dispense the empty pomp and promises of their first album, Casey has regrouped with a tight traditional band set-up. Thus taking the show to a wider audience. Fret thee not however as costume changes and the camp theatrics are all left in there intact.
Only two tracks remain from the debut, rather pragmatically it's the two singles. Following that line of thinking, Casey also perversely thanks the main sponsor of the festival several times, knowing that he will probably be the only one to do so over the next few days.
Emerge is falsely introduced as a new 'secret' song called Peanut Butter Express. However it is played without interruption or modifications. It seems that Casey has finally relented to the whims of the audience. The mid-song interruption has now become obligatory and Casey executes it in a self-conscious and exhausted manner, almost as a mea culpa for past excesses.
In fact that is what the show feels like, tighter, more commercial, a sexy guitarist, playing the second stage like any other band, pop songs... a search for redemption.
Peaches does not cut the mustard, however. Projected dancers?! come on, since when was Lust subjected to budget cuts? Give me my daily ration of flesh, you bitch!
Sunday, August 07, 2005
5 Questions - Fischerspooner Press Conference
He threatened to tell us his life story if we didn't ask questions.
Il nous a menacé de nous expliquer l'histoire de sa vie si on ne lui posait pas de questions.
Transcript coming, if and when I manage to transcribe the words mingling with the illbient buzz of my dictaphone.
La transcription arrivera si je peux détacher ses mots du bruit entourant.
Jaume S from the Press Office in Benicassim.
Saturday, August 06, 2005
Sweat User - Benicassim Festival (Updated)
4th August - Day 1
After a dry landing and somehow succesfully getting through the heavily congested spanish rail network, DD and I arrived onsite around 10p.m. Bear in mind that we set off at 5a.m.
Polyphonic Spree (Escenario Verde)
They breed like blue rabbits. Some of them at their instruments, others in formation providing the happy chorus. It´s a musical ark, with a harp (which reminds me of Mansfield Park) and a theremin for the greatest delight. Needless to say, harmonies soar effortlessly. They begin with some new tracks, which somewhat trade off the stadium-musical drama of their debut for something tighter and more poignant.
The danger with such an enterprise is reaching a point of sensory saturation where they lose the audience. However classics like 'Soldier Girl' stop this from being a real problem. The flute player on that track has real ball with the intro. However one thing kept nagging DD and me throughout the concert: How the hell did they keep their robes so clean? Do they bring a launderette team on tour.
Jaume S from the Press Office in Benicassim.
After a dry landing and somehow succesfully getting through the heavily congested spanish rail network, DD and I arrived onsite around 10p.m. Bear in mind that we set off at 5a.m.
Polyphonic Spree (Escenario Verde)
They breed like blue rabbits. Some of them at their instruments, others in formation providing the happy chorus. It´s a musical ark, with a harp (which reminds me of Mansfield Park) and a theremin for the greatest delight. Needless to say, harmonies soar effortlessly. They begin with some new tracks, which somewhat trade off the stadium-musical drama of their debut for something tighter and more poignant.
The danger with such an enterprise is reaching a point of sensory saturation where they lose the audience. However classics like 'Soldier Girl' stop this from being a real problem. The flute player on that track has real ball with the intro. However one thing kept nagging DD and me throughout the concert: How the hell did they keep their robes so clean? Do they bring a launderette team on tour.
Jaume S from the Press Office in Benicassim.
Wednesday, August 03, 2005
4-Dayer 4-Player
The crowd in the sun will observe the game in progress.
Les gens au soleil observeront le jeu sur scène.
I was thankfully not actually airborne.
Ceci n'est pas le prélude d'une catastrophe.
Monday, August 01, 2005
Retrospective Slack
I was thinking about Richard Linklater's infamed debut and the fear of loosing clarity or resolve through experimentation.
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