I’ve never been one to question Jon Brion’s musical prowess. In addition to completing a self-released solo CD, he’s produced such artists as Elliott Smith, Fiona Apple, Aimee Mann and Rufus Wainwright, all of whom asked Jon to make the most of their songs. And if you haven’t heard any of those artists’ work, you’ve likely still heard Brion–at the movie theater. He’s done the soundtracks for Punch-Drunk Love, Magnolia, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and I Heart Huckabees. Hip Hop star Kanye West was so impressed by Jon’s soundtrack work that he sought Jon to produce part of his latest album. And when Jon’s not making music, he’s talking about it. To me it seems as though Jon has always been in a musical bubble, floating high above the pedestals of the other musicians I admire, far, far away from me.
But last night I saw him up close and personal, and with a personality aimed to entertain and a humbleness as if he were one of the audience members, too. When he wasn’t banging on drums or striking keys or programming a synthesizer or strumming a guitar or plucking bass notes or singing, he was cracking jokes, telling stories, impersonating Bruce Springsteen or inviting audience members up on stage–either to sing, play an instrument or request a song. There were moments in which the show seemed a small step away from Open Mic Night with Jon Brion! Read the rest of this entry »
Like I suspect of most others in attendance, the light of my night was the Cold War Kids. They put on one hell of a show, and had a live sound that far exceeded my expectations. More on that in a bit. First, I want to describe the two new bands to whom I was introduced on this night of March 31.
The night began with the energetic Delta Spirit, who opened the show with a very respectable set. Delta’s live sound resembled a lot of what modern pop music embodies, but without the overproduction that plagues, well, virtually every studio album made since 1994. Though a bit repetitive at times, their songs all boast pleasant melodies over catchy chord changes. Melodic and catchy pop music: that’s how I’d peg Delta Spirit. Matt Vasquez brings forth a lot of nuance as the lead singer. Hiding under a fashionable tweed cap, he makes his presence known as soon as he starts singing. He projects very well, and pulls off the emphatic-scream-without-sounding-like-you’re-screaming as well as anybody. Read the rest of this entry »
On Wednesday night at 8:30pm, I opened for Jake Armerding at the Lyon’s Den, Wheaton College’s student-run coffeehouse. It was my first public performance that wasn’t an open mic. And it felt like it.
