The Hottest Chip

John complained that I should write more, and since I always listen to John, here's some thoughts on the Hot Chip show I went to last Friday.

As I was dancing along to Hot Chip at the Fox Theater in Oakland last Friday night, having myself a grand old time, I found myself thinking a somewhat startling thought: "If I could be in any band working right now, it'd be this one". Now, I'm not really given to hyperbole over bands (particularly modern ones) and although in the sober light of day I've been rethinking this impulsive opinion a bit, I still find it interesting that this happened to occur to me. Allow me to examine it a little.

Despite Justin Martin's ridiculous opinion that music and dancing are somehow mutually exclusive, non-related entities, I continue to believe that dancing (in its many forms which I will delve into shortly) is both one of the finest ways to compliment as well as to appreciate music. That said, I'm no conneissour of dance music and don't really even like it that much. My complaints tend to be in the drum machines, which by their nature would appear to remove the human element (the part I like!) from music and rhythm. But there are exceptions of course and Hot Chip is one of them.

First off, Hot Chip plays with a full band (including real drummer, even though they use lots of drum samples on their recordings). They are a sort of dance song band who are both making fun of other dance song producers but also being deadly serious about producing linoleum thumpers with enough kick to throttle a giraffe. Totally danceable, but also kinda goofy. (check). However, with a real drummer and full band setup (albeit with three keyboards) they can really rock it hard (check). Above all, the guys on stage and on the records look and sound like they're having fun. This is an element I feel I'm always looking for. Having fun (check). All this (to me, anyway) totals an awesome band. Way to go, lads.

I wrote about how I was introduced to them at the 2008 Treasure Island Music festival, and how they sort of did the unthinkable which was rock a mid-afternoon festival crowd and get me to like songs I didn't know beforehand, in a genre I don't tend to be into. After that, I snatched up their records and got pretty into it, waiting patiently for them to come back to the Bay Area (it took a solid year and a half). Realistically, there existed a moment at the very apex of my interest in Hot Chip's records, somewhere around December of 2008, when I could have had even more fun at this show...but with touring bands, having them show up in your far away town right at this moment is rare for sure. That said, the show was awesome. They played all the songs I wanted to hear from new and past records and the crowd (although packed like sardines) was pretty into it and there were plenty dancing along like myself.

In recorded form, Hot Chip is a perfect example of music best enjoyed on headphones, not just for the standard nuance and better bass response reasons that make pretty much all music better on headphones (read: not earbuds), but because it makes you want to walk along in step with the songs and walking with your headphones on and a nice beat backing you is most assuredly a form of dancing (I told you I'd get to it!). (Think on it. Apart from working out to music (specifically running, wherein you can lock in to certain song rhythms and get that "70s carwash-size endorphin sponge is being squeezed over my head" feeling*), it's one of the best methods of music ingestion. It's also the easiest, most socially acceptable form of dancing, and you should probably go try it. Right now).

So yeah, it's fully confirmed. Hot Chip rounds out the full package by being a high energy, fun-loving, hard-rocking live band. Maybe my impulse was correct. High energy plus headphones plus dancing plus rock plus lots of harmonies plus melody plus fun plus Batman references. (by the way, Astralwerks (and others) won't let you embed videos anymore, because I guess this is one way musicians are continuing to earn labels money? It's complicated but (I think) generally supportive to the arts to click that and watch the video(s) on youtube.)

Also Pitchfork has their brand new video for "I Feel Better"...which is pretty bizarre (and cool), and features a Mr. Burns-as-drugged-up-glowing-alien-like figure.

RodGab show review

I was at the Fox Theater in Oakland to see Rodrigo y Gabriela last night. If you haven't been to the (newly renovated) Fox Theater you should buy tickets post haste. It's wicked majestic like vanilla pudding should be and they get all the really great acts coming through. Seriously, step up and embrace Oakland.

The show was iocaine deadly. They rocked harder than most rock bands I've ever seen. These two can really shred, particularly Gabriela, who uses her right hand like an armada of conga players let loose on a Santana live DVD circa 1968. The music is very rock and roll...which is sort of amazing considering the only instruments are two acoustic guitars. The crowd was all souped up like a Def Leppard show. All Rodrigo had to do was lift his hands and he got a huge roar in return. One clap in rhythm and he had 75% of the crowd clapping in rhythm. I felt like we were in Estadio Azteca a couple times (this is hyperbolic but you get the drift). RodGab had us hynoptized. I have to admit a thought that kept running through my brain was "I can't believe this music is this popular." The show was sold out and all these people are here to listen to instrumental guitar music? Anyway, it was just one of those mild double-takes when moderately dorky but very cool things you like are accepted en masse...don't mistake me though: these guys definitely warrant lots of public attention.

Here's a highlight from their first (self-titled) album:

"Diablo Rojo"


These are the fastest guitar players I've ever seen live...definitely reminiscent of that classic John McLaughlin, Al DiMeola, Paco de Lucia record "Friday Night in San Francisco." I notice RodGab gives them all individual "shout out" tracks on their new record 11:11, which is supposed to be a tribute to eleven musicians that have inspired them.  Seeing as how you're about 29 years late on that John/Al/Paco tour...this is about as close as you can expect to come to that style of guitar wizardry.

Rodrigo is the showman. Dude is jumping around, controlling the crowd, and playing lead primarily. He is crazy fast. At one point he used a beer he was drinking as a slide for some really sweet out-over-the-soundhole melodic stuff. Gabriela is mainly rhythm, but don't get thrown off track as she's likely the more insanely talented one (of two insanely talented people). She uses all five fingers and knuckles and her palm to simultaneously strum the hell out of the guitar while also keeping crazy polyrhythms all over the body. They have it mic'd up so that a flat hand slap sounds like a big bass drum, and she fills out an entire rhythm section on her own with absolutely no problem...the type of stuff usually accomplished by 3 people. Their intense strumming patterns combined with their multiple percussive guitar hits and near supernatural command of dead strings make it sound (as I said) way more rock and roll than most "indie rock" bands I've seen in recent years.

Check this little video of them teaching you some of their (right hand) moves...still this does not do the rock justice:

Although I thought the show ran a little long...I'll forgive them that since the crowd was seriously eating it up. Long Dick Dale dead string slides up the board, a little "Master of Puppets" on command, and a one and half second "More Than Words" tease...the show was a flying guillotine to the headstock on a Wednesday morning at the cupcake factory.

Steely Dan at the Beacon NYC (7/31/09)

Last Friday night Steely Dan killed it in New York City during one of a slew of shows they're doing across the country where they play entire albums live and/or do some fan internet set-request thing.

I got really excited when I heard about this little tour which they've dubbed Rent Party '09 even before they announced which albums they'd be performing (or where) and I knew I had to make it to one of these shows.  Thankfully, they opted to do my personal favorite record, The Royal Scam. Unfortunately the closest they were coming to my San Francisco apartment was LA, and the Scam show was on a Monday down there...which seemed unreasonable on a number of levels.

Instead I decided to pay an exorbitant amount for a plane ticket, fly to the East Coast, do a little family visiting, and hit up the NYC show with my old friend and desert island Royal Scam concert buddy, Phil.

The Royal Scam (1976) is, to me, the quintessential 70s guitar record.  All Steely Dan records have blistering solos and complicated changes making use of weird jazz substitutions and augmented 13 chords, but this one stands out as being particularly guitar-volutionary. The solos are mind-melting.  I discovered this one back in college.  It was my second Steely record (after Can't Buy A Thrill) but this one struck me square in the spank and I was in love with the Dan from that point on.

On to the show itself on 7/31/09:  It's no secret that the dudes in Steely Dan (Walter Becker and Donald Fagen) are sort of uber-dorks (which I'm totally into) and though I'd seen some DVD stuff, this was my first time seeing them live.  They're a bit goofy, but their arrangements are rad as hell.

Fagen looks something like a vampire doing a Ray Charles impression, with the dark sunglasses and a flappity flap muppet jaw, but he (still) sounds unbelievable.  "Sign in Stranger" was a real stinger, with Fagen brutalizing the verse licks and the piano solo.  

Here's the album cut, which is already really amazing:

"Sign in Stranger"

I had heard they had to cancel the show two nights prior because of Fagen having some voice-loss issues, so some people were saying he was taking it easy on Friday night...but I didn't really notice him holding back.  That said, he's got three really spot on females backing him up throughout so I suppose it may be difficult to tell...but basically it didn't feel like anything was missing vocally.

The show in general was murderous, but one truly bizarre thing that happened was this: Becker and Fagen got up and left the stage for "The Fez"  They just got up and walked off and the remaining band played the tune all the way through.  I'm not up on all the Dan lore...but apparently Steely Dan simply does not play this song. It was slightly disappointing because "The Fez" is maybe my second favorite track on The Scam (after Kid Charlemagne) but even stranger is that this live arrangment was really only lacking Fagen's vocals over top of the chorus (there is no verse), a part which is also covered by the backup singers. So in reality, the song didn't change much at all, although they definitely rocked it out a lot less than the songs that bookended it.  Still, with no concrete explanation for all this, I am pretty puzzled as to why the boys refuse to perform this.  As my friend Tom pointed out, since Becker and Fagen are the only two official members of "Steely Dan," I did not see Steely Dan play this song.  Dig the Vegas synth...

"The Fez"

After that though...they carried on shooting silver-chocolate arrows of medical grade thorazine directly into my A-frame and the rest of the night was amazing. "Green Earrings", "The Royal Scam" (the song), "Aja", "Home At Last", and "My Old School" were all highlights.

Finally, a word about guitar-playing wizardry:

There were three (awesome) guitar players on stage.  There was Becker, a hired-gun younger dude (name=Jon Herington), and legendary session player Larry Carlton.  Carlton was the special surprise for the night...he only played a couple dates this tour and he's the actual soloist on a bunch of The Royal Scam record, notably playing the solos on "Kid Charlemagne", "Don't Take Me Alive", and the song "The Royal Scam".  The hired-gun young guy (who Fagen introduced as the musical director - i.e. dude's in charge when Fagen/Becker don't make rehearsal, which I'd reckon is pretty often) was really good.  As in, his technical prowess was at a very high level...and he played most of the solos direct from the records as written with a bit of stylistic fiddling.  Becker: same deal; really skilled, played the solos, and improvised well through maybe 15% of the songs...but he was mainly backing up the Gunslinger.  Then there's Larry Carlton.  It was really a treat not only to see this guy play...but also to be able to compare him directly to these two other beasties on stage at the same time.  Carlton is a technical monster as well...but to my mind his individual style really surpassed the other two guys by a mile.  I mean...listen to the Kid Charlemagne solos from the record (which were takes 2 and 1, respectively, of his guitar track).  Mythical shit going on here, enough oatmeal to choke a hippo.

"Kid Charlemagne"

Killer show all around.  We were among the youngest gents there and it was definitely worth our effort.  Super 70s lives on.

Note to Walter Becker:  strongly recommend keeping the soup-cooler permanently closed while on stage.  I'm sure you have tons of other strengths, chief (see above-referenced guitar playing), but please let Donny do both the talking and the singing...