Happy 3rd Birthday to Me!

Today is the third anniversary of My Aimz is True! Yay! And we always celebrate anniversaries with Pavement!

Pavement - Shoot the Singer.mp3
Buy: Slanted & Enchanted: Luxe & Reduxe (2002 reissue)

Our indie rock hero Stephen Malkmus and his band the Jicks have a new albums coming out on August 23. Here's a sample:

Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks - Senator.mp3
Pre-order: Mirror Traffic (2011)

Seriously folks, My Aimz is True has gone through some changes in the last six months, mainly due to me moving to a new country and starting a new day job. Let's face it, my blog has been pretty weak lately. I'm hoping to get my act together and get back to regular posting ASAP. I really appreciate all of you keeping up with me while I go through all of these life changes. Rock on!

King of Slack

Concert Review: Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks
Wednesday, July 16
The Phoenix Concert Theatre
Toronto

The more things change the more they stay the same with our indie rock hero Steve. At age 42 he is still an awkward geek, he still has hair that flops in his face when he is rocking out, and he still wails on the guitar. He and his band The Jicks took the stage while Steve remarked, "This is nice that its not a festival. At least there is air conditioning here." Then they blasted into "Gardenia," one of the more poppy tracks off of their newest album Real Emotional Trash.

The highly entertaining show drew heavily off of Real Emotional Trash, performing all but two tracks. Several songs featured extended guitar jams and improvs, channeling Malkmus's inner stoner-rocker. The musicians really enjoyed themselves, with lots of funny banter between songs. Drummer Janet Weiss, formerly of Sleater-Kinney, was completely focused during the tunes, with her head down, a fan blowing her hair up, pounding out the beats. Mike Clark switched between keyboards and guitar, and at one point was rocking out on top of the speakers. Malkmus also said that they were traveling without guitar techs, and spent a few seconds between each song retuning his instrument. Although I don't play guitar, I have read that Malkmus uses unusual tunings, especially with the new album.

Malkmus dedicated, "We Can't Help You," to Jose Calderon of the Toronto Raptors, and then commented that he is worried about the Jermaine O'Neal trade. It is well known that Malkmus is an avid sports fan. He even did a fantasy baseball preview for eMusic. But I've never heard sports talk during a rock concert before. Awesome.

For their last track, Malkmus became the right reverend of indie rock, preaching, "I would like to quote from Leviticus 74. Thou shalt not fuck with the American dollar." And then lamented the fall of Mike Myers and his crappy new movie Love Guru, before blasting into his classic, "Church on White." Amen brother.

Set List:
1. Gardenia - Real Emotional Trash (2008)
2. It Kills - Face the Truth (2005)
3. Phantasies - Stephen Malkmus (2001)
4. Dragonfly Pie - Real Emotional Trash
5. Elmo Delmo - Real Emotional Trash
extended jam (I noticed some people blatantly blazing up during this song)
6. Out of Reaches - Real Emotional Trash
7. Baltimore - Real Emotional Trash
extended jam
8. The "World Debut" of a new track - missed the name
9. (Do Not Feed The) Oysters - Pig Lib (2003) "that last track was a rough cut, and this one is the Criterion Collection," Jicks mutli-instrumentalist Mike Clark
10. We Can't Help You - Real Emotional Trash
11. Real Emotional Trash - Real Emotional Trash
extended jam
12. Cold Son - Real Emotional Trash
13. Jo Jo's Jacket - Stephen Malkmus

Encore
14. missed it :(
15. Alright, Alright, Alright (Mungo Jerry cover)
16. Church on White - Stephen Malkmus

When I was walking from the streetcar stop to the venue, I noticed all kinds of young people going in the opposite direction. Where were all of these people headed? I found out when I got to the Phoenix that Fleet Foxes were no-shows. Lots of people were demanding their money back and being downright surly about it. I was sort of stunned by this reaction. Yeah, Fleet Foxes are a good band. In fact, their song "White Winter Hymnal" is among the most gorgeous songs of the year. But please, these guys barely have enough original music to round out an opening set, and people were going to skip a show by a man who has two decades of rock and probably 200+ original tracks under his belt? WTF?

A local band called Still Life Still filled in at the last minute. I know nothing about them, but according to the box office at the Phoenix, they are project of Kevin Drew's of Broken Social Scene. They looked so young! I was wondering if the two singers/guitarists were even old enough to shave. They said that they were asked that afternoon if they could perform (for Stephen Malkmus? Hells yeah!), and they got a very short sound check. And, it was by far the largest venue they had ever played. The Phoenix has a capacity of 1100, while their gig the following night at Clinton's Tavern has a capacity of 200. Although they had some sound issues and seemed nervous as hell, they gave it their all, and what more can you ask for?

Everyone assumed that the Fleet Foxes got held up at the border, which unfortunately happens to a lot of bands coming from the US to Canada. However, they played the night before in Montreal, so the border was obviously not the problem. Jicks' bassist Joanna Bolme said, "they just didn't show," claiming that they had a long drive from "Alberta," which, I am assuming, is code for Quebec. "We have NEVER had a long drive before," she and other members of the Jicks sarcastically piped in. Then she said, "PLEASE, the king of slack is in our band." Malkmus publicly thanked Still Life Still and their "Canadian work ethic" and said that he enjoyed their set. And then he ripped on Montreal. After a few more quips by the Jicks, Malkmus busted into the refrain from Toto's Africa. Long live the geek king of slack.

White Winter Hymnal.mp3
Buy: Fleet Foxes

I also want to give a plug to J. Tillman, the current drummer for Fleet Foxes who has done some amazing solo work. You can download tracks and purchase his latest album Cancer and Delirium from Yer Bird Records.

Gold Soundz

Stephen Malkmus is arguably the alpha male of indie rock. He formed the seminal lo-fi indie band Pavement with some of his Northern California buddies in 1989. Their demo recordings bounced around a few years before they were picked up by Matador to record their first official release. Slanted and Enchanted was released in 1992, and while sales weren't exactly brisk, the music was hugely influential on a new generation of rock musicians. In 2005 Spin magazine name Slanted and Enchanted #4 in its list of top 100 albums of the last 20 years, while Rolling Stone ranked its #134 of the top 500 greatest albums of all time. Even after its deluxe reissue in 2002, the album has only sold around 150,000 copies (2003 estimate from Rolling Stone). Compare that with another influential album that came out in the early 90s, Nevermind, which sold 7.6 millions copies (2003 numbers, probably up to 9 million by now).

Pavement's next album, 1994's Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain, nearly got them to the mainstream with their minor radio hit "Cut Your Hair." Although this album contained a lot more pop-sounding songs than its predecessor, it still sold poorly. After three more full length releases, the band spit up in 1999.

Since then Malkmus has gone on to record four solo albums, although all four of these "solo" releases have been backed the Malkmus's band, The Jicks. The solo releases have all been generally well received, and have continued and grown on Pavement's style of literate but sometimes goofy lyrics, jangly guitar solos, and rock/pop sensibilities. In 2008 Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks released Real Emotional Trash, which, in addition to having some great pop licks, is also kind of trippy and weird (in a good way) with lots of guitar and a bit of a jam-band vibe. It is currently in my rotation as the soundtrack to my summer.

Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks are playing at the Phoenix in Toronto on Wed., July 16, with current indie darlings, Fleet Foxes, supporting.


Gold Soundz.mp3
BUY: Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain (1994, reissued 2004)

Jenny And The Ess Dog.mp3
BUY: Stephen Malkmus (2001)

Dragonfly Pie.mp3
BUY:Real Emotional Trash (2008)