It has been exactly a month since the original Largo on Fairfax Avenue shut its doors, but Aimee Mann's inaugural performance at the club's new location showed that while it has moved a mile west, its idiosyncratic charms and dedication to musicians and their fans survived the relocation intact.
Mann, who used her regular appearances at the old Largo to develop her onstage mix of serious craftsmanship with loopy, offhand humor, was in fine form on new venue's expansive stage; she honored the moment, but not too much. In between songs from her impressive new album, "@%&*! Smilers" (released this week on her own SuperEgo label), she joked about the food at the old club, wondered where the music stands from the old stage had gone (which prompted Mark Flannagan, Largo's owner and impresario, to bring out a stand and a vacuum cleaner), and noted that the room was so new the paint on the stage hadn't quite dried.
Backed by Paul Bryan, who produced the new album, on bass and Jamie Edwards ..boards, Mann performed a loose, low-key set that put the focus squarely on her songs. Like the characters she writes about -- a collection of junkies, cynics, romantic ne'er-do-wells and dead enders -- Mann's songs walk an emotional tightrope. It's a consistent pleasure to hear how she moves from verse to chorus to bridge and back in surprising, inventive fashion and find unexpected rhymes such as "Phoenix" with "Kleenex" and "their goodbyes" with "DUIs."
She also shows a sure hand with covers. Elton John's "My Father's Gun" was given a pensive reading; without the original's pounding gospel piano, the song turns rueful. Edwards' restless, jazzy piano moved her version of Harry Nilsson's "One," first heard on the "Magnolia" soundtrack, into the high cabaret drama. And there are still the attempts to play requests, not always successfully; this time she couldn't remember the lyrics to "Video."
But then, as she told the aud, "casual is the byword at Largo."
She kept up the club's tradition of unexpected guest appearances: Comedian Paul F. Tompkins -- who opened the show joking that even through he started 20 minutes past the announced 8 p.m. curtain, it was still the earliest show in Largo history -- joined her for a duet on "Ballantines." Jon Brion, who has not appeared on stage with Mann in over a decade, added a delicate celeste to "It's Not Safe" and "Amateur."
The sound -- designed by Flannagan and Brion (who resumes his weekly residency Friday) -- was transparent and detailed; the 280-seat theater, done up in the Largo colors of burgundy and black, retains the club's intimate feel. The photos of Irish writers and musicians have made the trip, too, joined by photos of Largo regulars and memorabilia of the Coronet's past as home to Rodgers and Hammerstein's Hollywood office (their piano remains in the Little Room, a 60-capacity performance space and beer and wine bar set to open on June 11), and legitimate theater. A patio and foyer with a coffee bar allow auds to mingle between sets.
Clubs are delicate organisms, even the smallest change can disrupt their equilibrium; with Largo at the Coronet, Flannagan has managed to expand and rethink his club without losing any of the elements that made the original so special. More than a return, it's a welcome addition to the Los Angeles live music scene and should be one for years to come.
Mann returns to Largo at the Coronet for a full band performance June 10, and plays Manhattan's Highline Ballroom and Brooklyn's Music Hall of Williamsburg on July 31 and Aug. 1, respectively.
5th Annual Ink n Iron Festival June 7 The Queen Mary Long Beach, CA Details: www.ink-n-iron.com Black Rebel Motorcycle Club Junior Brown Dave Alvin & The Guilty Men Jesse Dayton The Mother Truckers Mike Stinson Dead Rock West The Lonesome Spurs The Steeple Jacks And more!
SIN CITY SOCIAL CLUB Rides Again
Current mood: bouncy
Category: Parties and Nightlife
SIN CITY SOCIAL CLUB Rides Again
THE HOTEL CAFÉ Thursday, May 22nd Only $10 after 10 pm
Hosted by SHURMAN and featuring performances from a bunch of our friends including:
AUSTIN COLLINS BOBBY JOYNER BRYSON JONES JACK RUDY PEHR SMITH RICH MAHAN TIM JONES THE TRUCKEE BROTHERS TRAVIS HOWARD + members of DEAD ROCK WEST, STONEHONEY & WEST COAST GRAND
We're real proud to present AUSTIN COLLINS first WEST COAST performance! He's the newest member of the Sin City family and the band just kicks ass...His latest album, ROSES ARE BLACK was produced by Will Johnson from CENTROMATIC. They've been getting some great press and we're bringin' em out just for you! www.austincollins.net
If you're up for an all nighter... Get there early to see Luke Doucet @ 8pm and the legendary Blue Rodeo at 9 pm! Both are stellar... Tickets are $15 before 10pm
Currently
listening
:
Jubilee
By
Shurman
Release date: 2005-04-12
I don't have any pics yet, but we shared a trailer with the Squirrel Nut Zippers, and here's a cool video of them that really captures the whole crazy vibe ...
Electronic Musician Magazine to Jack: OK, talk ...
Q&A: Jack Rudy Feb 01, 2007, Electronic Musician, By Mike Levine
In the music-for-picture world, composers get most of the glory. But there's another group of professionals who have a big impact on which music gets into a film or TV show: music supervisors. While film composers write custom instrumental music to set moods and fit with the action in various scenes, music supervisors choose their music from songs and compositions that have already been written. Music supervisors are therefore a conduit for songwriters and independent composers who are trying to get their music on the screen.
FIG. 1: Jack Rudy frequently places songs from independent bands and artists on TV shows and in films.
For a better understanding of what music supervisors do, I recently spoke with Jack Rudy (see Fig. 1), who has supervised the music for feature film, sitcom, Comedy Central, and more. Rudy brings plenty of musical skill and experience to his job, having worked as a professional harmonica player for years, playing with artists such as Dave Alvin, the Blasters, and John Lee Hooker.
What is the role of the music supervisor in a production?
I complement the work of the composer by providing cues that come from outside of the composer's brain — so band cues, rock music songs, preexisting songs. That's why my specialty as a music supervisor is to stay on top of the music of all current bands: bands that have albums, bands that don't have albums, bands that are playing in clubs.
In the rock world, mostly?
Not necessarily just the rock world — the whole world of music. Anybody who is playing music live for people is at the top of my list. And not just because those songs work well in movies. It's also because those musicians and I have a similar self-interest in a project. What will work for me and my film will also work for those artists in their careers. Obtaining a film placement or a television placement is a very valuable and positive step in a live musician's career. It's kind of like what getting on the radio meant in 1955.
So with a film or TV show, does the audience focus on your music less than it would if it were on the radio?
Yes, but a lot of shows are music driven. A huge percentage of the people who are of record-buying age buy their music based on what they've seen on television. The people who are selecting music for television shows are trusted; their taste is trusted by the watchers of those shows. So in a weird twist of fate, I am able to function in much the same way that, say, Wolfman Jack did back in 1970 — by finding songs and helping people discover new music.
What types of scenes require songs rather than music written by the film composer?
There are certain obvious places where we put songs from bands. Source music is one of them — every time a character in a film or show turns on a radio, walks into a bar, sits in a waiting room, or turns on a jukebox. Then there are the cues in which the composer and the music supervisor must work together to decide whether a composed piece or a song from a band would work best. Things such as a musical montage segment sometimes work great with a band and sometimes it works great with a composer's own work.
Can you generalize about what particular attributes of a song make it useful for a film or TV show?
What you're looking for first in a particular scene is credibility (as opposed to musical innovation), and everything follows after.
By "credibility" do you mean that the song has authenticity from a stylistic standpoint?
You're getting there. But I actually mean it more literally than metaphorically. What I'm saying is that you as a listener need to believe it. Forget that it's music for a second. If it were a person talking to you and telling you something, would you believe them, or would you think that they were not credible, not believable?
Based on the lyrics?
Just ask yourself if the music captures an emotional component of a scene that needs to be there. Because the component is emotional, it can't ring false. An example of a song that lacks credibility would be one in which the composer tries too hard to be literal with the lyrics and what's going on in a particular scene and ends up with something that's too matchy-matchy.
What happens when a noncredible song is used?
If there's one insincere note in the song, the actors will look like bad actors. One song in the background that's baloney can wipe out the hard work of an actor, a lighting designer, or a set director.
Do you ever go to music libraries for material?
Yes, I absolutely do. Mostly for instrumental tracks, and mostly if a particular scene requires a style of music that my composer isn't familiar with.
For a song to be considered for a movie, I assume that it has to have a certain level of quality, productionwise.
Yeah, absolutely. These days, everybody has to have high-quality production. Nobody is walking around with a 4-track cassette tape anymore.
There's a big variation in quality on independently released CDs.
That's true. But practically speaking, if the mix is okay, the music is fine by the time it gets compressed and pushed into the background of a TV show. In fact, we've run with MP3s on TV shows and haven't had a problem. What makes the interests of the band musicians align with the music supervisor's is that the guy who's playing in a band has rehearsed and performed these songs in front of people repeatedly. And he has had the benefit of what — to an ad agency, for example — would be a very expensive focus group. He's playing the songs over and over again, and that's why he's getting a crowd to come and see him. That's the reason a well-placed band track will leap off the screen, compared to a custom-composed song for that particular scene. Now that is my own personal taste; that's subjective. And a band benefits from having its song on a TV show or in a film in ways that a composer sitting at home doesn't. Even though they both get performance-rights royalties and some sort of a license fee.
What's a typical licensing fee that an artist would get for use of his song in a movie or TV show?
Some TV shows pay less than $500 for an up-front license fee.
How can artists maximize their exposure to music supervisors?
If your band is successful locally and you are playing a great gig that gathers a large crowd, and you look out into the audience and ask yourself if there might be someone in that audience who might help your career, it's more likely that a music supervisor is out there scouting than a record company executive.
Is it only in L.A. and New York that this happens, or can it happen in, say, Lubbock, Texas?
It could happen to somebody in Lubbock. I'm not going to fly to Lubbock to see a country band perform, but I am going to pick up the phone and I'm going to call someone who knows country music and ask them to tell me who is out there right now playing, and who is good.
Do you require people to get permission from you to submit something?
That's an interesting question. Oftentimes with record companies you can't even find their address. There's all that crazy, weird secrecy. That's not true at all for me — not one bit. If I solicit for a song through a network, I give an address. Whoever answers is submitting based on my solicitation.
So music supervisors are generally more accessible than record company A&R people?
We're on the ground. We're where the rubber hits the road, where music meets film. We are actually interested in finding new music, and we aren't motivated in the way that so many record companies are: by profit and sale of the album. We're seeking out and searching for songs that fit scenes. So when you submit your work to us, we'll truly listen to it. We don't have prejudice between a known band and an unknown band.
Hey, I'm in VARIETY ... barely.
Current mood: artistic
Dave Alvin
(Harold M. Williams Auditorium, Getty Center; 450 seats)
By Phil Gallo Presented inhouse. Reviewed Nov. 3, 2006.
Band: Dave Alvin, Chris Miller, Gregory Boaz, Steve Mugalian, Amy Farris, Jack Rudy. Guests: the Calvanes.
This was the art side of Dave Alvin's tour in support of his tribute to California songwriters, "West of the West." Alvin played curator for half of the dozen tunes in the set, bouncing between his own California-centric numbers and the pieces he covers on his YepRoc disc. His show, filled with observations on California geography, humor and a reverence for the state's country-music heritage, drove home the point that the Getty Center's comfy auditorium is a perfect venue for artists to get a little philosophical. At the same time, the room can amply handle a band that arrives equipped to rock.
Alvin, a brilliant songwriter whose initial success was as chief songwriter and lead guitarist for the Blasters, was acutely aware of his surroundings, and for every time he used the vocabulary of academia, he matched it with some roadhouse vigorousness in his guitar playing.
The hushed, attentive crowd almost made him laugh his way through breaks; still, he was able to shed light on an array of California artists, from the Beach Boys to Merle Haggard, back to Jackson Browne and on to little-known folk legend Jim Ringer. His stories were compact and intriguing; one wonders if he would agree to return to the Getty and just lecture on California music as a whole.
On several tunes -- Browne's "Redneck Friend," Alvin's "Ashgrove" (an ode to a legendary nightclub) and others -- he delivered verses as a lecturer might, talk-singing his way through a lyric that gave it an added level of distinction.
Accompaniment, too, worked in that department, as Alvin allowed Amy Farris' fiddle and Chris Miller's lap steel and electric guitar to drive songs deep into blues or country territory. The presence of '50s do-wop act the Calvanes freed up Richard Berry's "I'm Bewildered" and Brian Wilson's "Surfer Girl," taking them out of genre restrictions.
It's no surprise that an Alvin show would be a lesson in American music. He ventured to Mississippi for the closer, performing an old acoustic blues tune by John Hurt with the entourage of do-wop singers, fiddle and dueling lead guitars. It was a moment of divine reinvention, six decades of indigenous American music coming together organically and providing a stylistic springboard for every audience member, regardless of musical taste.
Currently
listening
:
West of the West
By
Dave Alvin
Release date: 30 May, 2006
I wrote a letter to the editor of CityBeat about Chris Morris' review of the new Justin Timberlake album. Then he got all mad and called me an assclown. It's all in print in CityBeat.
Here's the exchange:
Pop Will Review Itself
Chris Morris made his annual pilgrimage out of his dusty record bin hole, listened to one pop record, and scurried right back in. Terrified and confused. [Re: "FutureFake Timberlake," Sept. 21] Maybe in another year of listening to box-sets and Bob Dylan reissues he'll be fortified with courage enough to try it again.
Until then we'll just have to savor his review of Justin Timberlake's new album: FutureSex/LoveSounds. Morris seems more disturbed and grumpy than ever. But mostly by pop music itself – not what's actually on this record. It's as if Chris Morris wants pop music to be something that it never has been – profound.
Pop music is fun. Pop music is a bumper-sticker answer to a kid's simple questions about life and girls. Justin Timberlake gets that, and he's talking in a language that Chris Morris, obviously, doesn't understand.
Timberlake builds a credible crew around him and pours fuel on an audience starved for funky breaks and dance grooves. He's smart and highly skilled and it comes across.
But imagine Chris Morris nearly breaking a hip pop-locking to this "interminable and excruciating 66-minute" listening of "SexyBack," and it's pretty obvious that we won't be reading another pop review from Chris Morris for another year.
JACK RUDY
LOS ANGELES
Chris Morris replies: Thanks for the deep insight, Jack. Glad to hear you're down with Mr. Timberlake's up-to-the-second, store-bought brand of pop vacuity. Sorry I couldn't follow close enough to read the bumper sticker. You're buying the next two dinners at the Miracle Mile IHOP, assclown.
'Don't hate me, I'm rich in B vitamins,' the leafy-green suspect says, calling the recent outbreak of E Coli and resulting deaths an accident.
The vegetable's confession is not the end of the E Coli outbreak case, authorities caution.
GILROY, California (CNN) -- Far from laying to rest the mystery of who infected the 2007 Spinach Harvest with the deadly E Coli bacteria, the stunning admission Thursday by a single leaf of green spinach in Gilroy, California, only deepened speculation about whether the soft-leaved plant committed the crime.
Citing ethical rules and the ongoing investigation, Gilroy County District Attorney Mary Lacy declined to discuss what evidence, other than the spinach's post-arrest admissions, linked him to the E Coli outbreak.
"This Spinach is presumed innocent," she said, adding that investigators had "much more work" to do and urging people not to rush to judgment.
Lacy also seemed to suggest the investigation is continuing.
"There are circumstances that exist in any case that mandate an arrest before an investigation is complete," Lacy said, citing public safety and the possibility of flight as two such reasons.
She insisted that her comments were generic, however, and that she was not commenting directly about the Spinach investigation.
The Persian American Spinach was being held at a Gilroy vegetable detention center -- known to insiders as "the crisper". He faces charges of first-degree murder, and even terrorism, said Ann Hurst, a Department of Homeland Security attaché.
In comments before reporters in Gilroy on Thursday, Spinach admitted to being involved in spreading E Coli.
"I'm good for you, usually. It was just this one time thatI infected the whole crop accidentally," he said. Asked if he was an innocent man, Spinach replied, "No. I'm a vegetable"
At the time of his arrest, Spinach was under investigation for an unrelated farm crime, two law enforcement sources told CNN. Officials in Gilroy said he was born in Gilroy -- a county notorious for its farming.
Spinach on Tuesday started a new job as a plate garnish at a school cafeteria in Gilroy.
bouncy
artistic
