aplanetofsound

So, the long-awaited (it was two weeks in the making but felt much, much longer) announcement by I Mother Earth came tonight. Jag, Chris, Brian and Bruce have reconnected, have been writing some new material and will play a one-off show at the Sound Academy in Toronto on March 23. Ticket details can be found at IMotherEarth.ca

This is obviously great news for fans. What is even greater is that they are completely doing it on their own terms, aren’t beholden to a record company that would just dick them around. And Jag says there could be future shows, if the fans want (they do). There will also be some new music, potentially lots.

Jag also posted a refreshingly honest blog post about the state of mind of the band when they went on hiatus after that epic Barrie show in 2003 that I couldn’t get to, what they’ve been up to since and what is behind them reuniting. It makes for a good read, whether you’re a fan of their music or whether you just have an interest in the inner workings of a band and how the industry can grind you down over time.

At this point, I don’t think I can make the March 23 show. That is a disappointment, but given that two weeks ago we’d thought we’d never hear anything new from them, I’m just happy that some people who I consider good friends will be able to experience it. And I honestly wish the the guys nothing but the best and will do whatever I can to support them.

Hawksley Workman with Symphony Nova Scotia
Rebecca Cohn, Halifax, NS

SET LIST
Autumn’s Here (with symphony) arranged by Keith Power
Song for Sarah Jane (with symphony) arranged by David Christensen
Your Beauty Must be Rubbing Off (Hawksley and Lonely)
Ice Age (Hawksley and Lonely)
Goodbye to Radio (with symphony) arranged by Jesse Zubot
Smoke Baby (Hawksley and Lonely)
Warhol’s portrait of Gretzky (with symphony) arranged by David Christensen

INTERMISSION
Oh You Delicate Heart (with symphony) arranged by Keith Power
A House or Maybe a Boat (with symphony) arranged by Rebecca Pellett
Striptease (Hawksley and Lonely)
Tarantulove (Hawksley and Lonely)
No More Named Johnny (with symphony) arranged by Jesse Zubot
You, Me and the Weather (Hawksley and Lonely)
No Beginning No End (with symphony) arranged by Keith Power

ENCORE
Don’t Be Crushed

I’ve seen Hawksley Workman perform eight times. That has included a wide variety of different shows – solo; all acoustic, with just him and Lonely; with the original Wolves; in a hole-in-the-wall bar in Sydney; with the interesting band that he put together in 2008, where part of the show involved playing miniature instruments.

In October, I saw Hawksley in his first-ever orchestral collaboration, with Symphony Nova Scotia. The set was about evenly split between songs performed with the symphony and those that Hawksley performed with Mr. Lonely (Todd Lumley), his longtime piano player.

It was the third time that I had seen Hawksley at the Cohn. It’s a great venue for him. The last show of his that was there, close to two years ago, is my favourite Hawksley live show I’ve seen. He played for three solid hours, did three encores. It was sublime.

The show I saw with SNS was on par, but I’m rating it lower because of the duration of the show. Which I suspect was partially due to the SNS collaboration. The times I’ve seen HW in Halifax, he would seemingly play all night if we demanded. This show, there was a one song encore of HW and Lonely.

He started out with a beautiful version of ‘Autumn’s Here’ with SNS, before talking about checking out the farmers’ market and eating at the Wooden Monkey, before launching into ‘Song for Sarah Jane.’

Then Hawksley talked about what happened the previous night. From talking to someone who was there, it seems that he made a mistake at the beginning of a song, I believe it was Delicate Heart, and made everyone start over. The person I talked to made it sound like it seemed to shake Hawksley’s confidence a bit. I’ve never seen that of him, but I can imagine if you’re someone who is really accustomed to doing what you do, a new situation may be challenging. Knowing all this, his talk of “I see the exit signs, like beacons for my terribleness. You suck, we go to work,” made me feel badly for him. But I got over that with the ovations we gave him.

Then he and Lonely played ‘Your Beauty Must Be Rubbing Off.’

There were random “Hawksley-isms,” he is supremely quotable.

“I’m trying to get a gig as a waterbottlist,” he said between songs, after blowing into his water bottle.

“On a Saturday night, you should be practising with the choir for church tomorrow

It was also really cool watching how the other musicians onstage responded to him when they weren’t playing. Some of them were very obviously taken with him, especially his voice.

He again broke out the menthol Fishermen’s Friends prior to hitting the really high notes, which is also my preferred cough drop. I’ve been known to chain drop them while covering court.

The performance of Oh You Delicate Heart was one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever heard in a live venue.

More Hawksleyisms:

“I would walk to corner, get muffin the size of your head. I used to judge the world based on its muffins. Muffins are poorly named, if it was more sophisticated it might mean more to us.”

There were two standing ovations, which is one less than his last Cohn performance. It was the best show I saw in 2011.

That’s the cryptic image that met visitors to www.imotherearth.ca Tuesday morning. I discovered this when I noticed someone on my friends list sharing it with multiple other people on Facebook, so of course, I promptly did the same.

If R.E.M. defined my teenage years, I Mother Earth was the band of my mid-20s. A Toronto-based Canadian rock band, they were known for tremendous musicianship and extremely energetic live shows. Their music was a unique mix of trippy lyrics, Latin rhythms and hard rock. Between 1997 and 2001, I managed to catch them in concert about 15 times. Not bad for someone who lives in a relatively geographically isolated area, when you consider the regions of Canada where bands tend to tour.

I’ve seen IME perform in four provinces. My first show was Feb. 8, 1997, the day before my birthday, at St. F.X. University. I had arranged a pre-show interview with guitarist Jag Tanna for the small community weekly where I worked. The band at the time also featured the singularly named lead singer Edwin, Jag’s brother Christian on drums, Bruce Gordon on bass and percussionist Daniel Mansilla regularly toured with them. I was always a fan, but this was the first time I would successfully be able to take in a show. That night the metal barricade collapsed and I ended up with huge black bruises all over my legs. And I was also hooked. Ten days later, I braved a snowstorm to see them in Sydney. The next month, someone I met through the IME site and I packed up my car and took the ferry to Newfoundland, sleeping in my car (yes, in March, it was fucking cold) to see IME at Much Music’s Snow Job 97. I was in the front of the crowd and for months afterward had people calling to tell me they’d seen me on Much Music re-broadcasts.

Shortly after that came word that Edwin, the band’s lead singer, of whom I was never particularly fond, was leaving the band and IME would look for a new frontperson. But first they would do a few final shows with him, including Edgefest in Barrie, ON. So I packed a bag, bought a plane ticket and went to Ontario, where I was lucky enough to have some great people who I had met through imotherearth.com put me up for the week I was there.

Brian Byrne at a show at Mount St. Vincent University in Halifax. Nancy King Photo

Then a guy from Newfoundland with blonde spiky hair joined the band. I got to see them perform pretty early on in Brian Byrne’s tenure in the band, when they played the Summersault 98 festival in Shediac, NB. Brian was a force of nature from the beginning and the band seemed to have a lot more on-stage chemistry than with Ed.

Then came the 1999 spring tour. I went to see IME three nights in a row – twice at The Marquee in Halifax, the third at Smooth Herman’s in Sydney. It was the second night’s show that I think was the best IME show I had ever seen. The bar was packed to the rafters and there was an amazing energy between the band and audience that night.

I loved all four records that IME put out – Dig, Scenery & Fish, Blue Green Orange and The Quicksilver Meat Dream – before going on hiatus in 2003 after a reportedly epic final show in Barrie (I wasn’t able to go).

IME also had a very active online community through their website. I was a moderator on their message board for years. Those of us on the site made friends, made enemies, annoyed each other, made each other laugh, and we all came to know each other only because of the band. At least one longterm romantic relationship (and an “IME baby”) resulted from people meeting on the site.

Jagori Tanna at Summersault 98 - Nancy King Photo

The other cool thing about IME was the relationships that developed between band members and their fans. There were some fun times hanging out on the tourbus after shows, getting to know people whose music you really admired on a personal level. Bruce Gordon, the band’s bass player, regularly arranged for me to take photos of their shows for my website.

So it remains to be seen precisely what will happen when that clock ticks down to zero, but after years of no real IME news, it’s exciting to have something, anything on the horizon.

My New Year’s resolution is to do a better job up updating this blog.

2011 was a great year for music. It’s always good to find new music, and I did that, and some artists that I’ve dug for a long time released some amazing material.

10. Chad Van Gaalen – Diaper Island

This is, honestly, not my favourite CVG album. It’s actually probably my least favourite. But that’s only because the others are so close to my heart. CVG is fearless and frankly doesn’t give a shit, he’s totally true to his own artistic vision which I really respect. And “Sara,” the song he wrote for his wife, shows how delicately beautiful his music can be.

9. Beastie Boys – Hot Sauce Committee Part 2

To be honest, I will probably always put a Beastie Boys record in my top 10 any year they release one. We’ve gotta party for the motherfuckin’ right to fight!

8. Imaginary Cities – Temporary Resident

Seeing them open for the Pixies two nights in a row this year made me like them in spite of myself. I am predisposed to not particularly liking female singers, but Marti has a really interesting voice.

7. The Roots – Undun

The Roots are more than the best late night TV house band. Undun is a concept album about the life of Redford Stephens, who lives a life of crime. It’s ambitious and successful.

6. Bon Iver – Bon Iver

This year’s list is heavy on the folkish/singer-songwriter content. This album is absolutely beautiful.

5. The Black Keys – El Camino

I struggled with where to put this because it came out so late in the year so it still seems really fresh but who knows how I’ll feel in a few months. But right now, I am loving this record. Standout track – “Lonely Boy”

4. Ryan Adams – Ashes and Fire

I’ve been telling a lot of people to give this record a good listen. A lot of people – me included – abandoned Ryan Adam’s recent stuff. But this record is largely stripped back, primarily acoustic with minimalist arrangements, with the focus on the truly great songwriting. Standout track is “Do I Wait.”

3. Hey Rosetta! – Seeds

This record came out so early in the year I almost forgot to include it in this list. They are so on point with the balance of their musicality, vocals and lyrics. They are a flawless band and their songs are so well-constructed without being too intellectual. They also put on a helluva live show.

2. Suuns – Zeroes QC

I discovered Suuns when I saw them open for Chad Van Gaalen at the Halifax Pop Explosion. I waited for years to see Chad live, but it was Suuns that stole the night. They blew the roof off of the venue. I immediately went home and downloaded their record on iTunes. In particular, it was the live performance of “Sweet Nothing,” that made me continually say, “Holy shit, this is intense.” NME put this record as the 13th best of 2011, with Suuns the best new band. Montreal represent!

1. Greg MacPherson – Disintegration Blues

I said when this record was released digitally (I bought it when it went on sale in Europe, came out in Canada a bit later) that I didn’t expect to hear a record I liked better this year. I was right. It even surpasses his previous record, Mr. Invitation, which made the long list for the Polaris Prize. I interviewed him last year and he described his forthcoming effort as being more singer-singwriter oriented than the indie rock of Mr. Invitation. He has a powerful voice and a unique guitar technique. It’s quite beautiful, with standout tracks including “Snowman” and “Ukranians.” And Greg is a native Cape Bretoner, now based in Winnipeg, running an indie label of his own, Disintegration Records. His lyrics often reflect the island’s working class background. I will always spend my money on his releases.

IMPORTANT NOTE: A lot of the musicians I like are independent. If you like any of these artists and haven’t done so already, please buy their records. I financially support the artists I like.

Document.

That was my first R.E.M record. Well, cassette. I bought it in the music section of Woolco in Port Hawkesbury soon after it was released. I remember the day that I bought it because a cute older boy I knew from school saw my selection and complimented me on it. I was introduced to R.E.M. by seeing the video for “The One I Love,” on CBC’s Video Hits or one of those horrible 80s video shows (we did not have Much Music).

That song hooked me. It came out at the perfect time for me. It was 1987, I was 14 years old and was outgrowing my Duran Duran phase and wanted something with a little more substance. It was a transitional time for R.E.M too, going from being seen as a college rock band to one with broader commercial appeal, without compromising their integrity.

That record still stands up 24 years later. R.E.M. always wisely resisted label pressure to incorporate some of the popular electronic tools of the day that makes so much of the music produced in the 80s sound dated, even kitchy today, in an effort to be more commercial.

I would lie on my bed for hours, playing Document over and over. R.E.M.’s back catalogue, surprisingly, wasn’t available at the Port Hawkesbury Woolco, so I eventually picked up, yes, cassette copies of their other releases when we’d go out of town for doctor’s appointments and could make a detour to a mall. Murmur. Reckoning. Fables of the Reconstruction. Life’s Rich Pageant. For the first time in my life, I fell head over heels in love with a band. I started buying copies of every music magazine that featured them, and began investigating other bands they were compared to or who were mentioned by members of the band in interviews. Pixies. The Smiths. 10,000 Maniacs.

But R.E.M. was my favourite band. They had a significant impact on my life and helped shape the direction that my musical taste would take. Then came Green. Then Out of Time, which propelled the band to a whole new level, popularity-wise. I stayed with them, but it was the records from their early period that were always closest to my heart. It was the same ritual every time a new R.E.M. record was released – for the first listen I would lie on my bed, with my eyes closed, taking in the music. I took them with me to university. Then came Automatic for the People in 1992, which contains some of the most beautiful lyrics Michael Stipe has ever penned. It was the first special packaging release that I ever picked up, it came in a wooden box with beautiful photos of the band members.

Then came Monster. I remember cutting class to go to the mall on the Tuesday it was released so I could be the first person to get my hands on it, this time in CD format. It was during this period when the first development that jeopardized the band’s future came. My beloved uni-browed drummer Bill Berry collapsed onstage in Switzerland after suffering a brain aneurysm. He luckily recovered, but he ended up deciding to leave the band and stay on his Georgia farm instead.

Then it was New Adventures in Hi-Fi, which has one of my favourite songs from R.E.M.’s middle ages, “E-Bow the Letter,” which also featured Patty Smith. Then came Up and, for the first time, I was not impressed. It was the beginning of the end of Most Favoured Band status for R.E.M. Oh, I still bought their records. I still paid my annual fee to belong to the fan club (I still remember that Athens’ zip code is 30603), for awhile at least. But their music didn’t excite me anymore. Around the Sun, released in 2004, was the first R.E.M. record I didn’t buy at all. By this point, they had ceded the title of “Nancy’s Favourite Band” to Modest Mouse, a title the latter claimed with the breathtaking album The Moon and Antarctica.

I still listened to R.E.M., but not as often or as much. But I always had a special place in my heart for them, for the role they played in helping me develop my musical taste.

Then in 2008, they released Accelerate, easily the best record they had recorded since New Adventures. It had a spark that was missing from the intervening records. They seemed to actually be enjoying making music again and weren’t overworking their songs in the studio. That spring, it was announced that R.E.M. would be going on tour with … MODEST MOUSE! I had never had the opportunity to see either band. The band that defined my youth touring with my favourite band of the past decade. Being a member of REMHQ.com, I was able to snag a 10th row seat. I had always said I didn’t want to see R.E.M. live unless it was under the best circumstances possible, i.e. from the front row. Well, I thought, 10th at the Molson Amphitheatre isn’t too shabby.

I met up with Steph, who was also going to the show and, through events that would take far too long account in what is already a massive blog, we ended up in the front row, in front of the adorable Mike Mills, for the concert. I saw R.E.M. and Modest Mouse (and the National) from the front row! And it was one hell of a show. They performed a beautiful version of “Let Me In,” the song Michael Stipe wrote for Kurt Cobain. Johnny Marr joined them for “Fall On Me.” Michael was animated and engaging, doing crazy dance moves, dashing all over the stage. Peter Buck could still jump, although maybe not as high as he once could. Mike Mills smiled at me. I actually got to see them perform live “Begin the Begin” and “7 Chinese Brothers.” And, finally, I got to experience a live performance of “The One I Love,” the song that started my love affair with them. I even enjoyed the Accelerate tracks they played.

If I hadn’t had that experience I think I’d be feeling very differently today, hearing that they had announced their breakup. I was at work when I found out and I said, “I don’t know how I feel about this.” I think I was more upset upon hearing about the White Stripes breakup earlier this year because they hadn’t been together as long, hadn’t put out as much material.

If it’s truly an amicable split, then I guess you can’t ask for more from them. R.E.M. played its first show April 5, 1980, a date celebrated as “R.E.M. Day” by the band’s fans. They were together for 31 years, put out some amazing music, played an important role in the development of college rock, helping to pave the way for bands to come, who now are generally referred to as falling into alternative or indie rock genres. They’re in their 50s now, they all have other projects – musical, film and otherwise.

So thanks Berry Buck Mills Stipe (how they were always referred to in the writing credits when they were a four-piece) for everything you did for American music. And how you helped one kid in a small Cape Breton town explore new music in an age before the Internet.

Ever have one of those artists that you always like their music, even if you don’t listen to them a lot, and then they put out a particular release and it makes you exclaim, “Man, this is is phenomenal!”

For me, that is Greg MacPherson and his new record Disintegration Blues.

For a long time, I meant to check out Greg MacPherson. I knew him as the guy originally from Cape Breton who was signed to G7 Welcoming Committee, the same label as a band I love, the Weakerthans. I also knew he had a song called The Company Store. I picked up Night Flares and Maintenance and liked them, but really didn’t listen to them as much as I should have.

When Mr. Invitation came out, I picked it up on iTunes, propelled by the very catchy track “First Class.” The rest of the record was really good. And he ended up on the long list for the Polaris Prize.

Then, I got to interview him and he was a really gracious, interesting and nice guy. I really enjoyed our talk, that really turned me into a fan of his.

So last week, I finally got around to acquiring his latest record, Disintegration Blues, from iTunes. I say finally because, while it hasn’t been officially released in Canada yet – that happens Sept. 6 – it came out in Europe earlier this year and it is available for purchase online as a digital download. It is pretty amazing. Good songwriting, passionate singing, strong musicianship. It is, quite frankly, my favourite album to come out in 2011. And if Mr. Invitation made the Polaris Prize long list, it would be a crime for Disintegration Blues not to do the same. I really hope it gets from love from critics when it gets released.

When I interviewed him, he said his next record would be a bit more singer-songwriter than the indie rock of Mr. Invitation. One of the best examples is the second cut on the record, “Ukranians,” about immigrants who make their way to Canada.

Video of Greg MacPherson performing “Ukranians” during a recent show at The Upstairs, in Sydney, Nova Scotia.

What’s even more remarkable about how great the material that Greg MacPherson puts out pretty prolifically is the fact that in addition to being a serious musician he holds down a full-time job with a neighbourhood renewal agency in inner-city Winnipeg. A lot of the content of his lyrics reflect where he’s from, with references to steel plants, people struggling to survive in one way or another.

And he has a fabulous, rich voice.

Best song on the record.

I love Owen Pallett, I wish the crowd at the Alderney Landing show loved him as much I do. He is such a talented musician and was a pioneer in the use of looping during live shows. He even said at one point he didn’t know if he could set up a proper loop while maintaining a conversation with the audience. His church performance in Halifax years ago was magical.

I was already sorry I couldn’t go to Sappyfest because I’m missing Chad Van Gaalen, but then Arcade Fire tonight played a secret show under the name Shark Attack. Now that would have been cool to see.

I’ve always had a bit of a strange relationship with Arcade Fire. Do I like their music? Actually I do, quite a lot. But as much as I intellectually appreciate their multi-layered compositions, I’ve never really connected emotionally with their music as I have with some other bands. I include them in the list of artists that I really like, but don’t transfer them over into the bands I consider my favourites.

I always had the feeling they would make a lot more sense to me if I saw them live. I developed this belief after watching YouTube clips, where they always seemed to put themselves completely into their performances. Even their appearances at awards shows – which can be a pretty sterile environment – are really intense, such as their performance of Rococo at the Junos this year.

So that brings us to Thursday’s Arcade Fire performance at Alderney Landing in Dartmouth. I bought my pre-sale ticket and was luckily able to cash in a vacation day to head to HRM from Cape Breton for the show. My hopes were high that I would be impressed.

And I was. My vantage point was at the left side of the stage, with about three people in front of me. They took to the stage with Ready to Start, and the crowd of  7,000-plus immediately responded with adulation. A highlight of the first half of the show was Regine’s passionate performance of Haiti. When she is up at the front of the stage, it’s hard to take your eyes off her, in her sparkly silver dress and matching fingerless gloves. And that is saying something when she’s standing up there next to Win Butler, who is as engaging a frontman as they come.

But the best part of the show was the final act, beginning with Month of May which segued directly into Rebellion (Lies). The show started out on a strong note and only built in intensity. And you have to respect a band that seems to always put so much passion into their show and is so seemingly appreciative of its audience. Win even talked about coming to Nova Scotia a few days earlier to explore the coastline.

The supporting act was Owen Pallett, who also joined Arcade Fire onstage for the second half of their set. Owen didn’t seem to resonate very strongly with the crowd. I’ve been listening to Owen Pallett/Final Fantasy for years and really like him, although I prefer his earlier material (he happily closed the set with This is the Dream of Win and Regine). I don’t know if it’s because he has a new band and they’ve only played a couple of shows together, but in spite of the obvious musicianship it seemed a little awkward, he even called out the crowd for being quiet. I think a more intimate venue would have been a better fit.

Unfortunately, I had to duck out during the first song of Arcade Fire’s encore, Wake Up, and totally missed the final song of the night, Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains). I had to drive back to Cape Breton after the show and had to make sure I wasn’t caught in a huge crowd of people waiting for the ferry.

I must admit they’re creeping higher in my affections, and I would never pass up an opportunity to see them live again. I was one of those people clapping my hands and screaming, “Lies, Lies,” during Rebellion (Lies). It’s been a long time since I’ve been to a show where the crowd was so into it. It was the best show I’ve seen this year.

Month of May and Rebellion (Lies)

Video I took of Owen Pallett performing This is the Dream of Win and Regine.

Rococo performed at the Junos

I read a terrible review of a Modest Mouse show in Melbourne, Australia last week, which isn’t even worth linking . It drives me crazy when people writing reviews for publication make comments like a band is inexplicably touring despite not having any new material to push. Anyone doing even cursory research on Modest Mouse would see that they tour a lot. They tour every year, in fact, despite their last real album having come out in 2007, with a collection of b-sides in 2009. That is their pattern and you shouldn’t question an American band at their level wanting to tour in Australia even without new material to promote.

The writer also noted that Isaac Brock was cantankerous. No shit, that is kind of Isaac’s thing. You either love him or you hate him for it. I personally love that he will not take shit from anyone.

But the thing that disturbed me the most about reading the review is finding out that, for the first time since the classic The Lonesome Crowded West was released in 1997, Modest Mouse played “Heart Cooks Brain”. Not that they played it and I wasn’t there, although that is distressing in itself. But the fact that Isaac told the audience they had never played it before and no one thought to pull out their smartphones and record it. It’s an epic moment of a great band playing a great song for the first time since it was recorded 14 years earlier. I have checked YouTube every day since the show, hoping someone would upload it, with no luck. Epic social media fail. What did they record instead? Fucking Float On, which I personally would love to see Modest Mouse retire from the setlist, despite it being the band’s biggest hit. Let it sell cars or phones and make you money because you deserve that, but leave it off the setlists.

Heart Cooks Brain has a line, “My heart’s the bitter buffalo.” Isaac Brock has a tattoo of a buffalo, which is an iconic Modest Mouse t-shirt design, on the left side of his chest.

I am still shaking my head that no one had the presence of mind to realize what a significant moment in the history of this band that they were witnessing. Yes, I am a Modest Mouse geek but any big fan should have known what a big deal the performance of that song was.

Here’s the song, as recorded in 1997, from YouTube.