With this being a relatively slow music weekend here in Buffalo, a couple of us are hitting the road for some out of town shows. This evening, Scott and I will be making the trip to Ithaca, NY to catch Okkervil River at The Haunt. The literate, Austin-based indie rockers are fresh off the release of the nostalgic and horn-heavy The Silver Gymnasium, the band's 7th studio release and, frankly, one of their very best. Those who have seen the band over the years will recognize yet another new cast of supporting characters, something that would put early 2000s Wilco to shame, with frontman/songwriter Will Sheff being the lone constant. The show is presented by Dan Smalls Presents, an Ithaca talent buyer who has been booking some of the best acts in Central to Western NY, including some recent Babeville events, over the past couple of years. Tonight's show at the Haunt in Ithaca, NY begins at 8:45pm (doors at 8pm) with opening support from Torres. Tickets can be purchased for $20 here.
'Twas a sweltering day in
Ithaca, New York. The humidity level was bordering on sauna outside and
it was even worse inside Ithaca State Theater. Nonetheless, Fiona Apple kicked off the second leg of
her North American Tour in support of her new album The Idler Wheel... (or
The Idler Wheel Is Wiser than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords
Will Serve You More than Ropes Will Ever Do if you prefer) with energy and
spunk.
The band took the stage
shortly after 9PM and kicked things off with "Fast As You Can" to get
the energy flowing right off the bat. The band was tight and Fiona was
whipping her hair around and flailing her arms back and forth in between verses
(possibly in an effort to keep cool as opposed to providing energy and
entertainment).
Fiona would bounce back and
forth between the mic stand at center stage and the grand piano on the right
side of the stage for the duration of the show. She excelled at center
stage when she was providing vocals to certain songs, but I really thought she
performed her best when she was seated at the piano while harmoniously tickling
the keys as she belted out her signature vocals. Seventeen songs were
performed all together (setlist can be found here)
and the setlist provided a great mix of songs spanning Ms. Apple's entire
career. Four songs off The Idler Wheel... were performed with 3-5
songs each off her previous albums. All the hits were played and the
deeper tracks off each album were also very enjoyable.
The only downside of the
night was being told to "BE QUIET!" by the asshole sitting in front
of me (pictured above). I was more than mildly offended by this.
Now it's not like this was an ear-blasting metal show where you would have to scream
just so the person next to you could hear anything at all, but it's not like we
were at the theater for a string quartet performance either. To be clear,
I remain silent any time music is being played when I go to the
orchestra. Fiona Apple plays rock music. It may be piano rock or
balladesque... but it is still rock music. We're at a fucking rock show
dude. I don't care how much you like Fiona Apple and what your story
is. I drove three fucking hours each way to enjoy this show too and if my
aside whispers piss you off that much than maybe you should reassess the
decision to go to concerts. I'm sure there will be plenty of people who
read this article and label me as the asshole, and that's fine, you can go f yourself too. I paid $75 just like every other person who went to the
show and I'm gonna enjoy the show... I'm also going to make a comment about a
particular song or passage if and when I feel the need to. I review
things. It's what I do. I review restaurants, music, wine, you name
it. Anyways, I thought the guy was a dick, I'm sure he thought I was a
dick... whatever, rant over.
Other than that small
mishap, everything was righteous. The band was very enjoyable and Fiona
was energetic and took time to converse a little with the crowd between songs, making
quips about the heat/humidity, how magazines never allow her to be barefoot
during photo shoots, and other musings about the press and other things she's
dealt with over the course of her career as a musician (and she seemed very
upbeat about it all in a "poking fun at" sort of manner).
I haven't been to Ithaca in
three or four years and, really, this was the first time I had spent any time
in the actual downtown area. It is a really cool little city with cool
restaurants and bars. I definitely plan on going back soon.
Here is a video of last night's performance of "Shadowboxer":
So Fiona Apple is coming out with a new album and touring North America this summer... that's minor news, huh?
To say I'm excited would be a wee bit of an understatement... and this is coming from someone who only knew about five of her songs up until about two years ago.
Fiona will not be visiting Buffalo on her tour, but you have three chances to see her this summer as she will be making stops at the following venues:
Ithaca - State Theatre - June 19
Toronto - Sound Academy - July 4
Cleveland - Cain park - July 6
The news of a new album and tour got me thinking about how I've always known Fiona Apple but how I hadn't listened to more of her music until recently... then I remembered why. Read the article, watch the video, and comment with your memories of Fiona's music.
I remember sitting on the carpeted living room floor of my father's house on North Ellicott Creek Road. I was watching music videos on MTV and anticipating what seventh grade, merely weeks away, had to offer me. [not much]. It was the summer of 1997 and I, despite not really having discovered music quite yet at that junction in my life, knew that if I saw the music video for "Fly" by Sugar Ray one more time than it would be one time too many.
Commercial.
Commercial.
Commercial.
Commercial. Commercial. Commercial.
The commercial break ended and a dark and unsettling video began with a camera flashing in unison with the pop of a snare drum. I watched with guilt for what seemed like ages but, in reality, was probably no more than ninety seconds.
That's a weird bear, why is his snout so long? I'd ask myself. Why are all these people lying on the floor? She's a bad girl? She looks like a bad girl. And why is she in the bathtub? Is the other person sleeping or actively bathing? She's taking her clothes off! Is this what seventh grade is going to be like? [sadly, no] Wait, why is she in the pool now? She's gonna smell like chlorine... definitely gonna have to take another bath. Definitely.
I decided to let the deeply philosophical questions of an adolescent mind fall by the wayside. I decided that changing the channel and suppressing the uneasy feeling from what I had just seen was the best course of action. Number one, someone could walk in at any time and see me watching some malnourished Calvin Klein model in various states of undress on MTV. Number two, and certainly more important to me at the time: SWAT Kats was about to start on Cartoon Network.
That was my first experience with Fiona Apple.
Since that lazy summer day I have come to take great enjoyment from Fiona's music but, until recently, never delved deeper than the five of six songs I had come to love. I was driving home several months ago when "Carrion", the final track on Tidal, Apple's debut album, came on and swiftly put an end to having merely casual respect for a few songs I had heard over the years. Wow, I thought to myself, how could I have possibly come this far in life without hearing this song!? I proceeded to turn up the volume and played the song two more times before I pulled into my driveway that night. I have easily listened to the song 50+ times since... oh, and there have been myriad nights I have sat in disbelief, listening to the awesome power of Fiona's vocals as she warbles those heart-wrenching lyrics over the jazzy rhythm section and the 'summer of love' guitar with the heavy tremolo.
I mean, jesus, think of all the people who haven't experienced this song yet...
"All I want is to save you, honey/or the strength to walk away"
Who can't relate to that? I don't know, maybe a lot of people... hopefully a lot of people. I sure as hell know that I've been on both sides of that lyric.
The whole point is that this beautiful beautiful song was right there. It was right in front of my face the whole time. I mean, sure, "Criminal" was the song on heavy rotation back in that summer of my youth, but they were on the same album; an album I have owned for at least seven years.
It's funny, in a sense, but also really really strange.
It's one thing to discover a song from before I was born that I come to enjoy, and even love... but when a song from my lifetime finds its way into my life, especially when I can remember seeing and hearing about the artist before I knew anything about them... that really sends me for a loop. Maybe it's the nostalgia of it all.
Looking back, it kinda feels like the whole 'innocence to experience' teachings from my high school days (thanks again, Mr. Crock). I eat, sleep, and breath music; I have for quite some time... but there was a time when I didn't.
There was a time when I hadn't the faintest comprehension of what having to walk away from something was like (and how hard it can be)... or what it was like to be so lost that someone else was asking for the strength to leave me. There was a time when Fiona Apple creeped me out. I was certainly innocent when I saw "Criminal" for the first time.
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