What A Difference A Year Makes

 

What a difference a year makes.

     Father John Misty started his show last week trying to explain a twitter comment and photo chronicling his previous wild night in Chicago and apologizing for not really knowing if we were really all there or merely a figment of his imagination. He swept back his curls, sauntered across the stage and launched into “Funtimes in Babylon” ---
     “I would like to abuse my lungs/smoke everything in sight with every girl     I’ve ever loved and ride around the wreckage on a horse knee deep in blood

Lookout Hollywood, here I come.”

      These verses came from the mouth of the same guy that only one year ago was singing about the bucolic beauty of orchards and romantic love  when I saw him perform as a member of the group Fleet Foxes. “If I had an orchard, I'd work till I'm raw-

If I had an orchard, I'd work till I'm sore- And you would wait tables and soon run the store”

     It’s true that he did not write Fleet Foxes’ “Helplessness Blues,” but with each verse from his new solo album, I began to wonder just what he might have been dreaming about in the back of their tour bus last year.

     His creative arc from the four part harmony, love and peace vibe of the Crosby Stills Nash and Young inspired music of Fleet Foxes to the darker William S Burroughs tinged lyrics of “I’m Writing a Novel” has got me mesmerized: 
         “I ran down the road, pants down to my knees screaming,  “please come help me, that Canadian shaman gave a little too much to me!”
    He may have played through the whole album last week ( I was only familiar with three songs at the time) but his set was over too quickly. He rocked hard on his most well known tune, "Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings" - strobe lights, rippin'  guitar solo and at one point I couldn't see all of him but I think he was writhing around on the stage. Apparently he used up all his energy by then and did not have it in him for an encore. He apologized and waved goodnight. He was the second opening act for a group I was unfamiliar with called Youth Lagoon.  My trusty concert companion (daughter) and I decided to stay for the headliner, watch the crowd, talk about electronic drone music and frat bros, and wait for the merch guy to return to the table so we could buy a copy of "Fear Fun."

     I am curious about Josh Tillman's journey and wonder what direction he will take his music and writing next. The mom in me wants to make sure he'll be  alright after he travels down this darker road.

    I'm looking forward to next July.

    

    

Father John Misty - "Hollywood Cemetery Sings"

(What's April doing here?)

Fleet Foxes "Helplessness Blues"

Now Appearing!: Dirty Dancing Girl and the Amazing Beanie Brothers

     Dirty Dancing Girl showed up at the wrong concert last week. Apparently she thought her ticket said "Prince" instead of "Dawes" and believe me nothing says bump and grind more than Taylor Goldsmith's wonderfully sentimental lyrics:

"like the memory from your mother's house from before you got too old

like the feeling from a photograph before its meaning all got told."

Yow! Get down!

      I felt a little sorry for Dirty Dancing Girl's boyfriend as he helplessly looked around while she made her moves. If he had asked for my Whack ol' Lady relationship advice I would have told him to find someone who shared his interest in Dawes. She really should have hooked up with the Beanie Brothers up front  because their girlfriends were equally confounded by their thrashing and fist pumping more likely to be seen at Husker Du. The Beanie Brothers were having a good time and I'm not sure I would have taken such a liking to them if they hadn't been wearing matching hats.

    As with many of the concerts I go to with my daughter, we occasionally get into conversations with other folks there and get a similar response each time. The moms think it is so sweet that the two of us  go out together and often wistfully wish their own children would allow them to do the same. I try my best to keep a low profile and limit the embarrassing movements and clothing choices. Occasionally when I tell others I write a blog about music I either get a blank stare and a kind of "what the f*ck are you talking about look" or  the person's eyes light up and there is more of a "where have you been--you are my new best friend" look.  Some of the younger folks kind of chuckle and secretly wonder how I  even know about blogging.

   Someday my daughter won't want to go out with me anymore or our musical tastes will diverge but it's a good ride right now and I'll go along until we hit a bump.