This was the first show I've been to at Lee's Palace since they finished their renovations. The major change is that the bar is now set up against the back and back left side walls. Where the bar used to be situated[in the middle of the floor at the back of the club] is now an empty space. I like it. The extra space should come in handy for higher capacity-drawing acts. So on to the show. I got to the club while openers Paso Mino were already playing. They were playing a nice subdued country-ish tune. There was a little bit of a Neil Young influence in their subsequent rockier material. I quite liked their no-frills yet interesting set of country-rock tunes. Just a question, however. Is Paso Mino's lead vocalist, toronto singer-songwriter Afie? Afie actually opened for Joe Pernice's solo show at the Horseshoe this past May and I could've sworn Paso Mino's vocalist was the same gentleman. It was only about a twenty minute wait before The Pernice Brothers promptly began their 10:40 pm headlining set. By that time, the heat in side Lee's Palace was downright uncomfortable. If there was air-conditioning, well then it didn't seem to be working that night. Joe, of course acknowledge the heat, and said that they'd to try to get through their set as efficiently as possible, an made a reference that him and sweating isn't a good thing. Perhaps the uncomfortable conditions were a factor in the average-ness of the evening. Of course, an average performance from the Pernice Brothers is still ten times better than some artists but when you expect greatness, it's a little disappointing to accept.
I'd only purchased the Pernice Brother's new cd "Discover A Lovelier You" last week but I hadn't had a chance to listen to it yet. So other than hearing a couple of their new tunes off the 'net as well as what I could remember of Joe playing some of these new songs at his solo show in May, hearing these new tunes within this band environment was pretty satisfying. People keep on mentioning a rockier direction on the new album as if it were a bad thing. But don't let that scare you off as if to say the new album's a full-on, rock record. It's not. It's still a pop record. If the rock is what you're after, then you wouldn't have to look no further than James Walbourne's vibrant yet tasteful guitar arrangements. From what I remember, the Pernice Brothers played a bunch of the new tunes including "Saddest Quo", "My So-Called Celibate Life", and "Amazing Glow" which were all amazingly melodic. Older, uptempo tunes like "The Weakest Shade of Blue", "7:30", "One Foot In The Grave", "Working Girls", and "Sometimes I Remember" were some of my favourites of the set. Reaching back to the first album, "Crestfallen" in this live setting seemed more restrained than its string-embellished album counterpart.
My only criticisms would have to be in reference to vocals. Several examples spring to mind. During "The Weakest Shade of Blue", I sorely missed hearing the background "ah"'s during the "don't cry baby" part of the song. During "7:30", the vocal "ba ba ba ba ba" outro was so severely low in the mix that the only way I could tell if that part was being sung was to watch keyboardist/guitarist James Walbourne's mouth. In general, I noticed a lack of that general lush pop vocal I've come to expect. Blame it on the sound guy, and maybe Joe sounded a little hoarse at times, but for example, Joe's vocals on "Water Ban" just didn't have that spine-tingling lush pop sound I was hoping for.
Not a bad set, and quite good overall, but it didn't reach the blissful heights I had hoped for. I think I just miss Laura[Joe's wife] and Mike[Bellitsky] being part of the group. But, hey life goes on. [photos]
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Oh, Summer Life points out that Ladytron have just signed to Universal Records and will release their latest album, "Witching Hour", in September.
Endearing Records is going through a website redesign. In the meantime, check out the beta site to see how the new site'll shape up. I quite like the new design. It's alot more organized, to say the least. To be honest, the old site design was an eyesore.
chartattack reports that The Arcade Fire have bought a small church in rural Quebec and plan to build a studio there, where they hope to begin work on their second album later this fall.
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