buffaBLOG - The Buffalo music blog: fiona apple

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12 days of christmas, fiona apple, katie — 0 comments

buffaBLOG's 12 Days of Christmas: Day 9 - Fiona Apple

You may have already heard this Christmas song somewhere in your holiday shopping or maybe even today when you run out last minute because you slacked to get your gifts. Fiona Apple had an awesome year for music with her newest album being released and a major tour. I've been listening to this song a lot while getting ready for this weeks festivities. Enjoy!

alicia, fiona apple, funtime, kleinhans, preview, supernaut, tonight — 1 comments

Tonight: Fiona Apple

“Be kind to me, or treat me mean,

I’ll make the most of it
I’m an extraordinary machine.”

Fiona Apple will be taking the Kleinhan’s stage tonight. The bells and xylophone sounds, her sultry vocals of heartbreak and self-improvement that comprise her 2005 Extraordinary Machine is what has made this particular album frequently listened to in my collection. Her 1996 album Tidal is chock full of classics including the quick poetry of “Sleep to Dream” and the swooning vocals and imagery of “Shadowboxer.” She can often be prejudged and placed into “that girl” group of musicians; although not, Apple could have easily been one of the female musicians mentioned in this Aimee Mann skit on IFC’s hipster-hilarious show Portlandia. Don’t judge her on artists she’s similar to, Fiona Apple has a sound of her own and will most definitely put on an amazing show.

Supernaut and Funtime Presents
Fiona Apple
Tonight - October 9, 2012
7:00 p.m.
Kleinhans Music Hall (3 Symphony Circle)

After you catch your breath from reading the title from her most recent album, have a listen to a song from The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More than Ropes Will Ever Do.

Album review, fiona apple, sdobek — 0 comments

Album Review: Fiona Apple - The Idler Wheel...

Seven years have passed since we’ve heard something new from Fiona Apple, but she has returned in a big way with her fourth LP The Idler Wheel… (Full name - The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do). Fiona began recording the album in secret sometime after the release of 2005’s Extraordinary Machine in order to give herself a casual, pressure-free environment to create. It’s built from a totally acoustic base, but the simple foundation of piano, vocals and drums, sounds much bigger when added together.

The Idler Wheel is an isolated album, often featuring nothing more than Fiona and her piano. This means she has to make a lot from a little. She’s able to accomplish this time and again here, and songs like ‘Werewolf’, ‘Valentine’ and ‘Every Single Night’ deliver an emotional power surge that most musicians could never dream of with such a limited studio set up. ‘Werewolf’ is particularly pretty with it’s twinkling piano melody and Fiona’s chorus of ‘But you were such a super guy 'til the second you get a whiff of me, we are like a wishing well and a bolt of electricity’ playing out over the sounds of children on a playground.

Long-time Fiona drummer Charley Drayton handled percussion for the album and his touches are most noticeable on ‘Anything We Want’, ‘Daredevil’ and ‘Regret’. The drums are never the center of attention but, as with the rest of the instrumentation on The Idler Wheel, it’s the subtle moves that add up to a greater whole.

It’s somewhat remarkable that Fiona is still in the game after emerging in the mid-90’s. While many rising young stars often flare out before they reach adulthood, she has been immune to any kind of burnout. This is probably because she plays the game by her own rules. Unlike almost every musician around today she steers clear of social media and the Internet in general, deciding instead to go about her work in secret. There’s something untainted about The Idler Wheel, it’s definitely the work of Fiona Apple, but it’s unapologetically unique and hard to classify.

Grade: A-

Concert Review, drew, fiona apple, idler wheel, ithaca, quiet, review — 13 comments

Concert Review: Fiona Apple & An Open Letter to the Asshole in Front of Me

'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":

fiona apple, just announced, katie, kleinhans — 1 comments

Just Announced: Fiona Apple

Fiona Apple's newest album The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than The Driver of The Screw And Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do is released tomorrow and just in time for her to announce more tour dates... including BUFFALO! I saw Fiona perform several years ago with Nickel Creek in Rochester and to this day it is still one of my favorite concerts ever. Tomorrow, I'm catching her opening night of her tour in Ithaca (bought the tickets thinking there would never be a chance to see her in Buffalo.... obviously wrong). The show is at Kleinhans which makes this news even better! The show is set to be Tuesday, October 9th and tickets go on sale Friday 6/22 at 9am!

cleveland, criminal, drew, fiona apple, ithaca, just announced, Toronto — 1 comments

Fiona Apple, Still a Criminal: 15 Years Later

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.

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.

...I'm glad those days are over.