Keaton Simons at Hotel Café, Los Angeles, 5-4-13 Concert Review

Before the start of Keaton Simons’ set at the Hotel Café in Los Angeles on Saturday, May 4^th, there was an announcement that the show was sold out, and that anyone not wearing an orange wristband had to leave. I’ve been to the Hotel Café many times, and had never heard an announcement like that before. It was always sort of understood that if you bought a ticket for one band’s set that you could stay and enjoy all of the other bands on the bill that night. This was really the first indication to me that I was in for something special.

When at 11 p.m. the house music went off and the audience cheered, Keaton Simons asked, “Does that mean we’re starting the show?” The band then kicked off their set with "Mama Song," a song with a good solid rock groove. They added a bit of funk to it, and led into a good jam, the song drifting in to “I’m A Man,” with some vocal play, before going back into "Mama Song."

Keaton Simons requested a bottle of water before starting “Thrill Of It All,” the opening track of his new album, Beautiful Pain. (As this performance was the CD release show, he played quite a few tracks from this album.) By the end of the song, several bottles had been brought to the stage. Keaton Simons switched to his acoustic guitar for the new album’s title track. This is a really good song, and is the one that got me interested in him when I first heard it. He sings, “If you’re gonna save a life/Maybe it should be your own.”

Keaton stayed with the acoustic guitar for “Read My Mind,” another song that I dug right from the start, and “Inspiration.” “Inspiration” is a quieter song, and during it some audience members hushed the louder folks. (Patrons at Hotel Café often tend to talk through concerts, which is one reason I like to be up in the front, and away from most of them.) Toward the end of the song, they sang part of it a cappella (well, with the kick drum), and the audience sang along. Keaton asked the audience to close its eyes (oddly, something the previous band also did at one point).

After “Inspiration” Keaton asked the crowd, “How are you guys doing?” Of course the audience cheered, and so he responded, “That’s exactly what I was hoping you’d say.” Perfect. (Whenever musicians ask the audience, “How are you?” I’m tempted to just shout out, “I’m doing all right, thanks for asking” – and sometimes I do. I didn’t at this show, however.)

Keaton switched back to the electric guitar for "Grim Reaper." During this song, he introduced the drummer, Robin DiMaggio (who plays drums on the new album), and that led to a drum solo. This solo developed organically from the song and then built from there (which is what drum solos should do, but often don’t). That led to a keyboard lead section by David Garner, and the resulting jam was possibly the best moment of the show. It was just great. There was also a section with Darwin Johnson taking a lead on bass, which was cool.

Later in the set Keaton Simons played a new song, “Nobody Falls Halfway,” a pretty love song.

Vocalist Andy Allo joined the band for a fun cover of "Masterpiece," performed with a bit of “I Got A Woman” added in the middle. Then Billy Morrison joined the band on electric guitar for “The Medicine,” a song that was requested earlier. He stayed on for the set closer, the Beatles’ “With A  Little Help From My Friends.” They did the song more like the Joe Cocker version, including the scream. It was pretty fucking great.

The encore was The Band’s “The Weight.” You can never go wrong playing “The Weight” as your encore. They did the last verse a cappella. The show ended at 12:35 a.m. After the show, Keaton went out back to sign CDs for fans. And there were a lot of folks back there (something that is also unusual for the Hotel Café crowd).

Set List

1. Mama Song >
2. I’m A Man >
3. Mama Song
4. Thrill Of It All
5. You’re The Spark
6. Beautiful Pain
7. Read My Mind
8. Inspiration
9. Grim Reaper
10. Skyfall
11. Hearts Don’t Break Themselves
12. Other Side
13. Nobody Falls Halfway
14. Masterpiece
15. The Medicine
16. With A Little Help From My Friends

Encore

1. The Weight

They Might Be Giants: “Nanobots” (2013) CD Review

I’m always excited to hear a new album from They Might Be Giants (yes, including their children’s CDs – “Alphabet Of Nations” is now one of my favorites to see them perform live). Their new album, Nanobots, has twenty-five tracks, yet is only forty-five minutes. That means lots of very short tracks. They Might Be Giants have included short tunes before (like “Please Pass The Milk Please” and all of the other tunes in that odd medley on Apollo 18). On this new album, however, the short tracks feel mostly extraneous and not all that interesting. There are seven tracks which are less than thirty seconds each. But don’t worry – there are plenty of other songs that totally work. Standouts on this album are “Call You Mom,” “Replicant” and “Icky.”

I always enjoy hearing this group’s unusual take on the world, and their unmistakable voices. There is something playful in their delivery, in the way they approach their material, the way they approach reality. And they play with language, something I appreciate.

This band is always capable of surprises. In “Circular Karate Chop,” there is a sudden section with percussion, to which is added a spoken word bit by the sensei, with three rules: “One, outsource your feelings/Two, limit your training to be task-specific/Three, assign regret to those accountable.”

Another thing that was surprising to me is that a number of these songs have something of a 1960s pop feel at times; like, for example, “Stone Cold Coup d’Etat.” And the “ba ba ba ba” vocal bit in “Sometimes A Lonely Way,” which is a oddly sweet song. (That song’s line “Not everyone who is lost is wondering why” seems a strange twisted reference to that line from J.R.R. Tolkien, “Not all those who wander are lost,” which adorned bumper stickers for years.)

Nanobots opens with “You’re On Fire,” typical fun They Might Be Giants material, in which an important bit of information is delivered in an offhand manner – “Your head’s on fire.” And there are backing vocals repeating, “Combustible head.” But this person has bigger troubles: “Is that your car they’re towing/I’m pretty sure that’s your car.” The good news is, “You’re easy to spot in a crowd.” Sure, it’s not all that clever or original, but it’s a lot of fun.

“Nanobots,” the CD’s title track, is a more interesting tune. I love lines that celebrate the positive with the negative, like “All the old troubles will soon be at an end/And all the new ones will begin when we send the signal.” There’s an unexpected reference to the Status Quo song in these lines: “I would decorate the room, but there’s no more space/All I see are pictures of matchstick men.” This is a cool tune.

“Black Ops” is an odd song (well, it’s a They Might Be Giants Song, so…) about secret cops on holiday dropping presents from helicopter. I dig the lines, “We take the best of it/And make a mess of it.” For most part, this song is percussion and vocals, with the vocals sung almost as in a children’s song – simple, straight-forward, clear. Then about halfway through, the song kicks in and takes on a heavier tone. This has a different feel from a lot of the band’s material, and has a sudden ending.

“Call You Mom” opens with the lines “I think I’d like to call you Mom/Because you remind me of my mom.” This one has something of an old rock and roll feel, but with that strange They Might Be Giants energy about it. And of course it has some odd lyrics like, “I turned around to find that you were gone/Which was exactly like my mom/And I will go hang up my sailor suit/And lie face-down on the lawn.” This is one of my favorites.

The track with probably the brightest, most fun feel is “9 Secret Steps.”  “Nine secret steps to the key to the door that you’ll throw in the well/And let go of all your thwarted dreams and visions of success.”  There’s a short strange bit, “I can’t tell you what’s in secret step five/You will know when you’re no longer alive,” before it goes back to those bright, fun tones. “Let go of all your thwarted dreams.”

The track with the coolest sound and groove is “Replicant.” The song’s narrator addresses the replicant: “Look at me when I’m talking to you/What have you got there behind your back?” Yes, as if to a child, which is wonderful. And he’s protective of the replicant, as he would be of the original child (“Whatever you did, we’ll get through this/Go out the back and I’ll deal with the cops”). There is also a great jazzy element to this tune. I absolutely love this song, and dig it more each time I listen to it.

“Icky” is another one that feels a bit like a 1960s pop tune, particularly in its beat. Though obviously not in the lyrics, as “Icky” has lines like “You’ve got a nice pair of slacks which he takes but will only return one of them.” And then later: “Here, this is yours, I’m done with it, I’ve brought it back/Don’t know anything about some other slack/I only borrowed one slack.” This is another of this album’s truly fun tracks.

Nanobots ends with “Didn’t Kill Me,” a short song performed a cappella. “Though she didn’t kill me/She didn’t make me stronger.”

CD Track List

1. You’re On Fire
2. Nanobots
3. Black Ops
4. Lost My Mind
5. Circular Karate Chop
6. Call You Mom
7. Tesla
8. Sleep
9. Stone Cold Coup d’Etat
10. Sometimes A Lonely Way
11. Destroy The Past
12. 9 Secret Steps
13. Hive Mind
14. Decision Makers
15. Nouns
16. There
17. Insect Hospital
18. Tick
19. Replicant
20. The Darlings Of Lumberland
21. Great
22. Stuff Is Way
23. Icky
24. Too Tall Girl
25. Didn’t Kill Me

Nanobots was released on March 5, 2013.

(Note: I also posted this review on Pop Culture Beast.)

May 2013 Concert Calendar

Here is a list of concerts you might be interested in for the month of May, 2013. Most of these are bands that I've reviewed, though some are some bands that I haven't yet written about, but really like. If you can, try to check out at least a few of these shows. I'll be getting out to a few of these myself. I will try to add to this calendar as much as I can throughout the month.

May 1, 2013 (Wednesday)
James McMurtry  -  Rhythm & Brews, Chattanooga, TN
Paul Kelly  -   The Rio Theater, Vancouver, BC

May 2, 2013 (Thursday)
Randall Bramblett  -  New Harmonies Series, Thomson, GA
Steve Forbert  -  The Met, Pawtucket, RI
James McMurtry  -  War Eagle Supper Club, Auburn, AL

Os Mutantes  -  Troubadour, West Hollywood, CA

Ellis Paul  - The Alberta Rose Theatre, 3000 NE Alberta St., Portland, OR   -  8:00 p.m.
Keller Williams  -  Ridgefield Playhouse, Ridgefield, CT

May 3, 2013  (Friday)
Randall Bramblett  -  Hoopee Jam Festival, Norristown, GA
Steve Forbert  -  The Cotuit Center For The Arts, Cotuit, MA
I See Hawks In L.A.  -  Cinema Bar, Culver City, CA
Paul Kelly  -  Palomino, Calgary, AB
James McMurtry  -  Hal & Mal's, Jackson, MS
Patrolled By Radar  -  Three Clubs, Los Angeles, CA  -  10:00 p.m.
Ellis Paul  -  Unitarian Center, 87 Fourth St. (4th & C), Ashland, OR  -  8:00 p.m. 
Kenny Roby  -  The Green Bean, Greensboro, NC
Keller Williams  -  Foeger Ballroom at Jay Peak Resort, Jay, VT

May 4, 2013  (Saturday)
Randall Bramblett  -  Hoopee Jam Festival, Norristown, GA
Steve Forbert  -  Common Ground, Dobbs Ferry, NY
The Howlin' Brothers  -  Barns of Rose Hill, Berryville, VA
Diana Jones  -  Hillbilly Haiku House Concerts, Nashville, TN
Paul Kelly  -  Brixx Bar & Grill, Edmonton, AB
Michelle Malone  -  Decatur Square, Decatur, GA
James McMurtry  -  Sticky's, Little Rock, AR
Ellis Paul  -  Cozmic, 199 West 8th, Eugene, OR  -  8:00 p.m.
Keller Williams  -  Port City Music Hall, Portland, ME

May 5, 2013  (Sunday)
Ellis Paul  -  Kids Quest Children's Museum, 4091 Factoria Mall SE, Bellevue, WA  -  11:00 a.m.
Special Family Show 
Ellis Paul  -  Concerts at Our House, Seattle, WA  -  7:00 p.m.

May 6, 2013  (Monday)

Born Ruffians  -  Troubadour, West Hollywood, CA

Cloud Cult  -  Neptune, Seattle, WA
The Howlin' Brothers  -  IOTA Club & Cafe, Arlington, VA
Paul Kelly  -  Windsor Hotel, Winnipeg, MB

May 7, 2013  (Tuesday)
Cloud Cult  -  Aladdin Theatre, Portland, OR
The Howlin' Brothers  -  Kirk Avenue Music Hall, Roanoke, VA
James McMurtry  -  Continental Club Gallery, Austin, TX

May 8, 2013  (Wednesday)
The Howlin' Brothers  -  The Pour House Music Hall, Raleigh, NC
Paul Kelly  -  High Noon Saloon, Madison, WI
James McMurtry  -  Main Street Crossing, Tomball, TX

May 9, 2013  (Thursday)
Cloud Cult  -  The Independent, San Francisco, CA
Martin Sexton  -  20th Century Theater, Cincinnati, OH
Keller Williams  -  Duling Hall, Jackson, MS
Stephane Wrembel  -  Joe's Pub, New York, NY

May 10, 2013  (Friday)
Randall Bramblett  -  Georgia Theatre, Athens, GA
Paul Kelly  -  Radio Radio, Indianapolis, IN
Michelle Malone  -  Smiley's, Greenville, SC
James McMurtry  -  Threadgills, Austin, TX
Ellis Paul  -  Daniels Hall at Swallow Hill Music, 71 East Yale Ave, Denver, CO
Martin Sexton  - Riot Room, Kansas City, MO
Tea Leaf Green  -  Roxy Theatre, Hollywood, CA 
Keller Williams  -  Workplay Theatre, Birmingham, AL
Stephane Wrembel  -  Bearsville Theater, Woodstock, NY

May 11, 2013  (Saturday)
Randall Bramblett  -  Private Party, Birgmingham, AL
Cloud Cult  -  El Rey, Los Angeles, CA
Steve Forbert  -  Acoustic Cafe Music Series, Park Ridge, NJ
I See Hawks In L.A.  -  Standing Sun Winery, Buellton, CA
Paul Kelly  -  Louisville, KY
The Loomers  -  Right Turn Live, Arlington, MA
Michelle Malone  -  620 State, Bristol, TN
The Nields  -  Jam For The Dam, Conway, MA
Ellis Paul  -  Avogadro's Number, 605 South Mason Street, Fort Collins, CO  -  7:30 p.m.
Tea Leaf Green  -  Belly Up Tavern, Solana Beach, CA
Dustin Welch  -  The Red Brick Tavern, Conroe, TX
Keller Williams  -  Aiken Bluegrass Festival, Aiken, SC

May 12, 2013  (Sunday)
Catie Curtis  -  McCabe's, Santa Monica, CA
Ellis Paul  -  Steam Plant Theater, Sackett & G Street, Salida, CO  -  7:30 p.m.

May 13, 2013  (Monday)

May 14, 2013 (Tuesday)
James McMurtry  -  Continental Club Gallery, Austin, TX

May 15, 2013  (Wednesday)
I See Hawks In L.A.  -  Witzend, Venice, CA
Paul Kelly  -  Beachland Ballroom, Cleveland, OH
James McMurtry  -  Continental Club, Austin, TX
Martin Sexton  -  Saint Rocke, Hermosa Beach, CA

May 16, 2013  (Thursday)
Paul Kelly  -  The Magic Bag, Ferndale, MI
Ellis Paul  -  Club Passim, 47 Palmer St., Cambridge, MA  -  7:00 p.m.
Martin Sexton  -  The Canyon, Agoura Hills, CA
Stephane Wrembel  -  Iron Horse Music Hall, Northampton, MA 

May 17, 2013  (Friday)
Randall Bramblett  -  Eddie's Attic, Decatur, GA
Paul Kelly  -  The Drake Hotel, Toronto, ON
James McMurtry  -  Kessler Theatre, Dallas, TX
The Nields  -  Jalopy, Brooklyn, NY
Ellis Paul  -  Club Passim, 47 Palmer St., Cambridge, MA  -  7:00 p.m.
Ellis Paul  -  Club Passim, 47 Palmer St., Cambridge, MA  -  10:00 p.m.
Tom Rush  -  McCabe's, Santa Monica, CA
Martin Sexton  -  The Coach House, San Juan Capistrano, CA

Richard Thompson Electric Trio  -  John Anson Ford, Los Angeles, CA
Stephane Wrembel  -  Regatta Bar Jazz Club, Boston, MA

May 18, 2013  (Saturday)
Randall Bramblett  -  Blind Willie McTell Music Festival, Thomson, GA
Paul Kelly  -  The Drake Hotel, Toronto, ON
Michelle Malone  -  Red Light, Atlanta, GA
James McMurtry  -  Mucky Duck, Houston, TX
The Nields  -  Muses In The Vineyard, Belvidere, NJ
Ellis Paul  -  Club Passim, 47 Palmer St., Cambridge, MA  -  3:30 p.m.
Special Family Show 
Martin Sexton  -  SLO Brewing Co., San Luis Obispo, CA
Tea Leaf Green  -  The Independent, San Francisco, CA
 
May 19, 2013  (Sunday)
The Loomers  -  Portsmouth Abbey School, Portsmouth, RI
Ellis Paul  -  Towne Crier Café130 Route 22, Pawling, NY  -  7:30 p.m.

May 20, 2013 (Monday)

May 21, 2013  (Tuesday)
The Howlin' Brothers  -  The Dakota Tavern, Toronto, ON
Paul Kelly  -  Club Passim, Cambridge, MA
James McMurtry  -  Continental Club Gallery, Austin, TX

May 22, 2013  (Wednesday)
I See Hawks In L.A.  -  Zentralcafe im Kunstlerhaus, Nuremberg, Germany
Paul Kelly  -  The Tin Angel, Philadelphia, PA
James McMurtry  -  Continental Club, Austin, TX
Martin Sexton  -  Waiting Room, Omaha, NE

May 23, 2013  (Thursday)
I See Hawks In L.A.  -  Happy Billard, Hamburg, Germany
Jess Klein  -  Club Passim, Cambridge, MA

May 24, 2013  (Friday)
The Howlin' Brothers  -  The Tonic Room, Chicago, IL
I See Hawks In L.A.  -    Kulturzentrum Lagerhaus, Bremen, Germany
Paul Kelly  -  Iron Horse Music Hall, Northampton, MA
Martin Sexton  -  CSPS, Cedar Rapids, IA
Tea Leaf Green  -  Bella Mente Music Festival, Clarks Grove, MN
Keller Williams  -  Summer Camp Music Festival, Chillicothe, IL
Yonder Mountain String Band  -  Summer Camp Music Festival, Chillicothe, IL

May 25, 2013  (Saturday)
Randall Bramblett  -  Rhythm On The River, West Columbia, SC
I See Hawks In L.A.  -  Cadenberge Festival, Cadenberge, Germany
Paul Kelly  -  Highline Ballroom, New York, NY
Nakia  -  The North Door, Austin, TX
Martin Sexton  -  Duck Room at Blueberry Hill, St. Louis, MO
Tea Leaf Green  -  Summer Camp Music Festival, Chillicothe, IL
Keller Williams  -  DelFest, Cumberland, MD
Yonder Mountain String Band  -  Dark Star Jubilee, Thornville, OH

May 26, 2013  (Sunday)
Randall Bramblett  -  Belews Lake Party, Stokesdale, NC
Gaelic Storm  -  Chicago Gaelic Park Irish Fest, Chicago, IL
I See Hawks In L.A.  -  Music Star, Hamburg, Germany
Paul Kelly  -  Colony Cafe, Woodstock, NY
The Loomers  -  Half Moon Sober Festival, 247 Monadonack Highway, Swanzey, NH
Martin Sexton  -  City Winery, Chicago, IL
Keller Williams  -  DelFest, Cumberland, MD
Yonder Mountain String Band  -  DelFest, Cumberland, MD

May 27, 2013  (Monday)
Paul Kelly  -  Rams Head On Stage, Annapolis, MD
 
May 28, 2013  (Tuesday)
The Howlin' Brothers  -  Crossings at the Carnegie, Zumbrota, MN
James McMurtry  -  Continental Club Gallery, Austin, TX

May 29, 2013  (Wednesday)
The Howlin' Brothers  -  Cedar Cultural Center, Minneapolis, MN
Paul Kelly  -   The Linda, Albany, NY
James McMurtry  -  Continental Club, Austin, TX

May 30, 2013  (Thursday)
Tea Leaf Green  -  Toad's Place, New Haven, CT
They Might Be Giants  -  The Vogue, Indianapolis, IN
Dustin Welch  -  The Red Dragon Listening Room, Baton Rouge, LA
Yonder Mountain String Band  -  Wakarusa, Ozark, AR

May 31, 2013  (Friday)
Randall Bramblett  -  Double Door Inn, Charlotte, NC
Gaelic Storm  -  Oshkosh Irish Festival, Oshkosh, WI
Paul Kelly  -  Club Cafe, Pittsburgh, PA
Michelle Malone  -  Red Clay Theatre, Duluth, GA
Kenny Roby  -  Southgate House, Newport, KY
Tea Leaf Green  -  The Sinclair, Cambridge, MA
They Might Be Giants  -  Turner Hall, Milwaukee, WI
Dustin Welch  -  Old Quarter Acoustic Cafe, Galveston, TX