Yesterday nite we dragged our souls down to Pustervik and the magical world of Woody West. The almighty double header of Israel Nash and Midlake was up for grabs.
750 people (sold out) joined in for a great show, one to remember. Mr Nash started out with his buddy Eric Swanson on pedal steel. The bearded voice of the Texas man reflects greatness of Neil Young and John Fogerty and the setting was beautiful. Bone-chillin stuff, distinct, heartwarming and very present.
Moments later Midlake turned their psychorock-volume up. Singer Eric Pulido have turned out a perfect front man for the gang of fuzzy vividness. The audience played a great part and the love from the band to the city of Gothenburg is for real. The flute orchestra marched on and yes, Roscoe is still the perfect song.
Israel Nash came upon stage for a wonderful Fearless together with the band, Friday complete. Check out Israel’s song Rexanimarum from his 2013-album ’Israel Nash’s Rain Plans’, out on Loose Records – and have a great weekend.
Bill Callahan sings like a guy in a story of Cormac McCarthy. This 45 year old from Silver Spring, Maryland, got a dramatic touch. He takes this lo-fi-intensive stuff to a very special place. Bill Callahan is a statesman for the times. It´s like Leonard Cohen on the prairie.
Callahan released his latest album Apocalypse earlier this year, the fourth soloalbum in his own name. A great album, but not your easy path, more lika a hard stone road. A barren kind of place. It demands your attention.
Nowadays he lives in Austin, Texas and will play live in ”Brilliant Corners of Popular Amusements” in Chicago this Friday Sept 16th. Later he hits Europe with a lovely stop in Gothenburg (cheers Woody West) Nov 17th.
There are some people who just know. The folks over at Woody West, they are definately those kind of people. Tonight the give they the Swedish Westcoast something really special. A minifestival, a pre-party to Way Out West if you will.
With artists like these, this will be a night to remember. A crowd of a bit over a 1000 will get the chance to meet bands like Band of Horses, First Aid Kit and artists like Dylan LeBlanc, Basia Bulat up close and personal.
Kentuckyseven will be there. For this Limited Edition. Thank you Woody West.
Starts at 17.00 @ Trägårn’ Gothenburg.
Tix: Check out Ticnet, Nudie Jeans Store or Pusterviksbiljetter
One of 2010 best albums, came from this man. Thomas Jonsson, AKA I’m Kingfisher. The album, ”Arctic” was released by Playground Music, the harbour of great swedish music. I’m Kingfisher is one of the greatest in that crowd.
The man has toured with artists like Ed Harcourt, and has recorded stuff with artists such as Rosie Thomas (one of my all time favorites) Damien Jurado, Ned Oldham and other great acts.
He is currently on tour with Damien Jurado, and will be playing @ Pustervik (Woody West, again with the majestic bookings) and later in Malmö and Stockholm.
Thomas is a man with a plan, Arctic is just a part of a trilogy plan, and one can only imagine the great stuff that is coming our way. We’ll be waiting. Impatiently, but still.
Got a word with the awesome swedish singer-songwriter that is I’m Kingfisher…
What are you listening to right now?
– A lot of instrumental drone stuff. I just fell in love with Earth’s newest album ’Angels of darkness, demons of light I’. This year I think Earth, Mogwai, Tennis, Thomas Hine and James Blake have done really good stuff.
I’ve also recently listened a lot again to last year’s best album ”St Bartlett” of Damien Jurado, since I just got it on vinyl after our show in Copenhagen a couple of days ago. And oh, it has also been a lot of Efterklang’s newest.
Best book read during 2010?
– Der Ganze Weg by Kristin Berget, Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer, Fantasiön by Henrik Brandao Jönsson and Poetry of Birds (anthology)
Your hopes for this year?
That I will tour as much as I want while finishing the recordings of my next album, as well as an album with a new Swede-Swede-French collaboration project I’m a part of. That mink farming will be banned once and forever. That sound engineers on my shows from now on and forever will set my guitar sound as loud as I want without questioning me.
Three artists who inspire you?
Recently: Victoria Legrand, singer of Beach House.
For the Arctic album: Six Organs of Admittance. Forever: M Ward.
Who deserves a breakthru in 2011?
– Dear Euphoria, my favorite Swedish band, whose 2010 EP ”This Night will Flee” contains ”Rescue”, one of last year’s two best pop singles (together with Sleigh Bells’ ”Rill Rill”). It’s on Spotify!
I for one, is going to see I’m Kingfisher on sunday, and I know for a fact that you can still pick up some tix.
¤ This night was something else. Woody West gathered three bands, all in that crowded, rowdy place called Pusterviksbaren, a small yet beautiful Thursdayfestival. The Head And The Heart started out, and man – you can tell why they were the talk of the town in Austin (SXSW). A band that just made new friends, Kentuckyseven will follow their great path. Then Woods did their folk-psych-thing and killed it. Jeremy Earls voice is from space, intense stuff. And then they entered stage, The Low Anthem.
These Rhode Island-fellas brought everything with them on stage, 14 instruments to choose from. Singer Ben Knox Miller started out with Ticket Taker from their 2009-album Oh My God Charlie Darwin and just rolled with it. We heard Hey All Your Hippies, Boeing 737, Apothecary Love and their most swedish song ever I´ll take out your ashes. The band mixed their folky roots with some aggressive rocktunes and let it all out. The place was packed, I had to lean over on the harmonium just to write these lines.
The Low Anthem is a great liveband. This Bella Union-quartet tours all the way to November and I would enjoy every gig. They lay their hearts out on stage and don´t think twice about it. It´s what they do. Jeff Prystowsky hitting the drums, Jocie Adams with that trumpet, it all makes sense, live music at its core. Before the lights went off they did a couple of a cappella´s and you got that religious, goosebumpy, powerful feeling. You know, just glad to be around when it happened.
Judge says: 6/7 Kentuckyseven´s.
Best song: Charlie Darwin.
They play next: Hamburg, Germany, March 25.
Look out for: Kentuckyseven got an interview with The Low Anthem coming up, stay tuned.
Iron & Wine @ Trägår’n, Gothenburg, Sweden 2011-02-04
Crowded with beards and chequered shirts. There is no doubt that this is going to be something special.
When Sam Beam and friends enter the stage, mine and all others heart start to pound. Worth the wait? Indeed.
But there is more than just Iron & Wine tonight, something new. Something else. The crowd is invited to Sam Beams personal musical universe. Jazz-tunes, Funky melodies and Calypso fills the room, and takes the songs to yet another level. This could have been a small, dark and quiet evening with touchy feel, but instead we are given a journey. A journey that leaves no one untouched. Except for those in the back, who apparently did some serious misreading when they bought their tickets. Talking with their backs against the stage, during the most magical extra song right in the end. Sad.
However, this is a new era, a new way to listen to great music, from a great man. I will be there next time too. Me and Lazareus too.
I haven’t had the pleasure of listening that much to the new album, but from this evening and on, it will surely take a place in my heart.
A six out of seven is not too much. That is what it is worth. Play it again, Sam. Please.
A round of applause to the greatest gang in the west. Woody West, who made it happen.
If you ever feel that things aren’t really rockin’, you know a dark and rainy sunday in november, you keep waiting for the clock to strike bedtime. Screw that. Get yourself a copy of Burning Your House Down, get the most fragile things out of the way, put it on, get it on.
The album has got soul, power, some-kind-of-insane-energetic-boogie-feel. I am sure that your sunday will change to the better. Much better.
If this doesnt get your rocks on, you should probably go to bed early.
Rock on. I know, it’s a cliche, but darn it rocks.
Our friends at Woody West know their stuff, The Jim Jones Revue is playing @ Pustervik 9/12, and from what I’ve heard this is a show you don’t wanna miss.
