Aidin Vaziri | Interviews, Reviews and More: September 2008

21 September 2008

Live Review: Treasure Island Music Festival 2008

Treasure Island Music Festival does it again: Aidin Vaziri | The west winds were relentless. The solar-powered generators kept dropping out, taking the audio with them. Worst of all, the promised views of the city were all but blocked by an unsightly chain-link fence, rows of Porta Potties and an extremely inconsiderate (or crafty?) corporate sponsor's tour bus. Aside from those minor grumbles, the second annual Treasure Island Music Festival got off to an appropriately idyllic start Saturday, with about 8,500 fans turning up to take in a dynamic bill that started with local indie-pop upstarts the Frail and ended 10 hours later with a triumphant set by Parisian electro duo Justice. Continue reading.

Pop Quiz: Juliana Hatfield

Aidin Vaziri | Juliana Hatfield had a good thing going as an indie-rock star in the early '90s. She was signed to a major label. She had a hit song on MTV. She got to tour the world with the Lemonheads. The former Blake Babies vocalist even got to make a cameo on the cult television show "My So-Called Life." So why did she feel like jumping out of a window the whole time? Hatfield, 41, answers that question and a lot more in her new memoir, "When I Grow Up." The singer has also self-released a new album, "How to Walk Away." She plays Thursday at Cafe Du Nord. She spoke to us by phone from her home in Cambridge, Mass.

Juliana Hatfield
Q: Books have a lot of words in them. What made you want to write one in the first place?
A: A vague, general desire to write a book. I tried 10 years ago. I rented a house in Martha's Vineyard in the winter, and I didn't write a page. I just couldn't think of an idea for a novel. So I wrote about myself for lack of any other ideas.
Q: You smoked for five years to get a grittier voice. That didn't work, but did you at least get a nice cough out of the whole thing?
A: No. I just felt bad. I got myself addicted to cigarettes, and it was just making me feel crappy. Smoking never suited me. But I'm glad I had the experience because it taught me to empathize with addicts. Before, I was a very self-righteous twit.
Q: Do you have any good stories from the Blake Babies touring days?
A: A lot of my past is gone from my mind. There's the one tour I wrote about, where I wouldn't let anyone else drive the van because I thought it was possessed by Satan and would drive off the road and kill us if anyone else drove it. I thought I was the only one who could fight the evil force. I really lost my mind. It was brutal. Continue reading.

Review: Kings of Leon, 'Only by the Night'

Kings of Leon, 'Only by the Night': Aidin Vaziri | In the best possible way, the Kings of Leon have dumbed down their snake-hipped Southern rock on their fourth full-length release, "Only by the Night." At least they have for the first single and best track, "Sex on Fire," which is probably not so much about sexually transmitted diseases as a passionate bedroom romp, judging by front man Caleb Followill's impassioned howls once the chorus hits. The rest of the disc pulls back from the usual fist-punching Appalachian anthems in favor of dreamy, slow-burning laments such as "Manhattan" and "I Want You," the latter prominently featuring some superb cowbell playing. The album feels like an extension of last year's "Because of the Times" and a firm step toward the arenas occupied by former touring partners U2, particularly with the epic "Be Somebody." Followill clearly isn't messing around when he sings, "Given a chance, I'm gonna be somebody. ... Open the door, it's gonna make you love me."

18 September 2008

Sheryl Crow, Fully Dressed

Sheryl Crow joins tribute to Guthrie, Steinbeck:
Aidin Vaziri | On Saturday, Sheryl Crow will headline This Land Is Your Land, a concert at the Sleep Train Pavilion in Concord that pays tribute to novelist John Steinbeck and folk icon Woody Guthrie. Earlier this year, the 46-year-old singer released her sixth studio album, "Detours," which not only delved into her breakup with Lance Armstrong and her battle with breast cancer but also displayed strong political ideals. Crow spoke to us by phone from her home in Nashville, where she lives with her adopted 16-month-old son, Wyatt.

Q: Any chance you'll break out the bikini you wore onstage on the last night of your tour with John Mayer?
A: It's so funny because you do these end-of-tour pranks and it never occurs to me that people would post them online. I guess I was completely out of touch with YouTube and all that stuff. I wasn't even thinking when I did that. Continue reading.

17 September 2008

Jack White's Raconteurs Talk Festivals

Aidin Vaziri | We asked Jack White and Brendan Benson of the Raconteurs to talk about the ups and downs of the festival circuit, including the particular challenge of persuading fans of the White Stripes' "Seven Nation Army" to dig into the far-out sounds of their current band's second album, "Consolers of the Lonely." And yes, they insist, it really is a band.

Jack White's Raconteurs Talk Festivals
WHITE: It seems as if there are 50 more festivals now than there were a couple of years ago or something.
BENSON: Most of them are so huge and corporate, not unlike a Wal-Mart type of vibe of everything under one tent. It doesn't seem they give much thought to the bills anymore either, like what works and what doesn't. It's just something to do for a lot of people. Like, "Hey, let's go to Lollapalooza." When I first went to Lollapalooza, it was all music fans who couldn't believe what was happening.
WHITE: That's why you can't do what you really want to do in a festival set. You really have to change it up, which is OK. I like that challenge.
BENSON: It definitely has its own set of challenges.
WHITE: When you're in front of any crowd, you're challenged. If you don't take it as a challenge, then you really need to re-evaluate yourself as a performer. Every night should be a challenge. That's the way I look at it. Like, you know, if you're playing an old-folks home, I don't think you start the set with "My Generation" or something. You have to read the room. Continue reading.

Pop Quiz: Cansei de Ser Sexy

Aidin Vaziri | Earlier this year, the spandex-clad Brazilian indie-rock collective Cansei de Ser Sexy released its second album, "Donkey," to mixed reviews. The group's live shows, however, remain unanimously joyous, featuring plenty of smutty lyrics, sexy electro-pop tunes and synthetic materials. The band's producer, songwriter and token male member, Adriano Cintra, told us how singer Lovefoxxx fits into her skin-tight outfits, what other bands the CSS members like to have on the stereo while getting down and about life on the road with four women. CSS plays Saturday at the Treasure Island Music Festival.

Adriano Cintra of Cansei de Ser Sexy
Q: Your first hit was called "Let's Make Love and Listen to Death From Above." What other bands do you like to listen to when you make love?
A: I don't like listening to music to have sex. I think most people use that to cover up being loud. I live by myself, and if the neighbors start banging on the wall, I bang back.
Q: How does one go shopping for spandex outfits? What should they look for?
A: Well, our singer Lovefoxxx gets her unitards made by Peggy Noland from Kansas. So it's not like she goes shopping for them. But I've seen some Lovefoxxx-inspired hot pants at H&M once in Budapest. And American Apparel has a lot of spandex, too. I love American Apparel. It's very handy.
Q: Do you frequently have to sew yourself into your clothes?
A: Ha! No! Although Lovefoxxx is pretty ace at contortions to get inside two, three unitards per show. ... I always go onstage with the clothes I spent the day in. Continue reading.

Review: Ne-Yo, 'Year of the Gentleman'

Ne-Yo, 'Year of the Gentleman': Aidin Vaziri | Not many people can make a headache sound sexy. But when, on his latest album, Ne-Yo sings over a seductive synthesizer beat, "Whoa-oh-oh, it's making my head hurt/ I've got a migraine," any normal person will be feeling effectively aroused well before the next verse kicks in. Honestly. The 28-year-old songwriter behind Beyoncé's "Irreplaceable" and Rihanna's "Unfaithful" knows what women want, and based on the evidence here, it involves lots of a glass-shattering falsetto; slow, percolating beats; and, with tracks such as "Lie to Me" and "Closer," the kind of puppy-dog prose guys usually have to dish out after accidentally erasing all the "Oprah" episodes on TiVo. "Year of the Gentleman"? He should have called it "Gentleman of the Year."

06 September 2008

Pop Quiz: Sarah Silverman

Aidin Vaziri | Sarah Silverman doesn't have time to talk on the phone, but she was more than willing to answer a few questions for us via e-mail as long as they didn't concern her ex, Jimmy Kimmel, or having intercourse with Matt Damon. Fair enough. Most famous for her musical Comedy Central series and the 2005 film "Jesus Is Magic," she has become known as the pretty girl capable of delivering side-splittingly ugly jokes: (Close-to-fit-for-print sample: "I'll tell you why we make fun of midgets: We're not afraid of them.") People are still talking about her foulmouthed star turn alongside a slew of veteran comedians in "The Aristocrats."

Sarah Silverman
Q: When people in the audience yell, "Take off your shirt!" why don't you take off your shirt?
A: Because I'm an -hole?
Q: Why are comedians usually the most sad, messed-up people when they're not onstage?
A: I don't know, but it's true. I think I'm different because I want to be happy, and I am happy a lot of the time. I don't romanticize the comic's life. I will always at least try to be happy.
Q: Why do you like touching your butt so much?
A: Just making sure it's still there.
Q: Are you scared of turning 40?
A: I have three years to work up the courage.
Q: Where can you possibly go next after a joke like, "I was raped by a doctor. Which is so bittersweet for a Jewish girl"?
A: Lots of places. But thank you for thinking that joke was that great. Or f- you for implying I will now plateau. Continue reading.

Review: Kimya Dawson and Friends, 'Alphabutt'

Kimya Dawson and Friends, 'Alphabutt': Aidin Vaziri | Kimya Dawson, a member of the anti-folk duo Moldy Peaches who has a thing for wearing bunny suits onstage, became an unlikely pop contender thanks to her contributions to the "Juno" soundtrack. On her latest solo release, "Alphabutt," she lends her slight voice and even slighter stream-of-consciousness lyrics to a set of 15 barely produced songs intended for children. With contributions from friends and her 2-year-old daughter, Panda, the whole thing sounds like an off-the-cuff soundtrack to a demented birthday party. Most of the tunes make a mockery not only of music but also of kids. There's a great punk sensibility at work, but it's doubtful that even Dawson listened twice to songs such as the grittily psychedelic "Wiggle My Tooth." At the same time, the frizzy-haired singer has never sounded so elated, and it's hard to deny her so much joy.

Live Review: Beck at The Independent

An intimate outing for Beck: Aidin Vaziri | No one saw it coming, but a week after playing for about 30,000 shivering people on a massive stage in Golden Gate Park, Beck Hansen downsized his show on Sunday for just a couple hundred sweaty fans at the Divisadero Street nightclub the Independent. It wasn't just the stage that was smaller. Beck and his young four-piece band opened the concert with one of his most familiar songs, "Devil's Haircut," in a completely unfamiliar way: stripping it down to a primitive blast of loud garage-rock guitars, crashing drums and frantic vocals. There were no puppets or impromptu break-dancing battles onstage, just a bunch of furrowed brows and nearly two-dozen tunes crammed into 90 exhilarating minutes. Continue reading.

Pop Quiz: Estelle

Aidin Vaziri | Roscoe's House of Chicken and Waffles in Los Angeles is the place to be. Don't take our word for it (but if you do, we recommend the Stubby). Ask Estelle Swaray. That's where the 28-year-old British soul sensation bumped into Kanye West and John Legend a few years ago. Together, they scored one of this summer's biggest singles, "American Boy." Estelle's second album, "Shine," also features collaborations with Mark Ronson, Cee-Lo Green and will.i.am - although we forgot to ask the names of the fine-dining establishments where she met them. Fortunately, she answered the questions we did ask.

Estelle
Q: Did Kanye West insist on wearing your fur coat in the "American Boy" video?
A: I have no say on Kanye's whole fashion or any of his decisions. He just liked it, so he wore it. He looked good.
Q: You famously met him and John Legend outside of Roscoe's House of Chicken and Waffles in Los Angeles. How did that happen?
A: It was one of these situations where it couldn't happen any other way. You don't walk up to Kanye West or a big star in a situation like that and have them in the studio six years later. Again, I think it happened for a reason. It made a lot of people happy. If I hadn't met him when I met him, this wouldn't have happened. So everything happens for a reason.
Q: I've been hanging out around the KFC by my house a lot lately, but nothing like that ever happens to me.
A: Really? Continue reading.

Review: Chemical Brothers, 'Brotherhood'

Chemical Brothers, 'Brotherhood': Aidin Vaziri | Most people expected the Chemical Brothers to take electronic music mainstream. But the British duo had other ideas, spiriting away rock stars such as Oasis' Noel Gallagher and the Flaming Lips' Wayne Coyne straight to the dance floor. This retrospective set includes 13 classic singles - nine of which were on the "Singles 93-03" collection - plus a new track, "Keep My Composure." Hedonistic career highlights such as "Block Rockin' Beats," "Setting Sun" and "Star Guitar" not only sound impossibly huge but also have stood up remarkably well. Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons were meant to signal the sound of the future circa 1997. A limited-edition double set ($24.98) includes the "Electronic Battle Weapons 1-10" bonus disc, which features a variety of source material that proves that the group never really relinquished its grip on the club scene.