The Kieffers - Music

Whistling all the way down to see Andrew Bird

chad — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 23:57:56 +0000

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Andrew Bird with violin in concert Category:Andrew Bird (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The boys and I saw Andrew Bird last week in his first concert here in Santa Fe. The shows at The Lensic always sound great and this was no exception. As we walked back to the car after the show, Owen commented on how his ears weren't ringing like they were after we saw Rush, and I could hear what he was saying perfectly well. I now have a strong preference for seeing quieter artists in smaller venues, and this show reinforced this bent further.

Andrew, the consumate whistler, was challenged by the thin air here at 7,200 feet. Fortunately, he paced himself, took time to hydrate, and completed a great two hour set. When he was done, he looked a hell of lot healthier than the weathered and worn Todd Rundgren, who I'd seen a few weeks earlier.

The stage was lit with slowly morphing primary colors. Three intricate polygon spirals slowly spun above the stage projecting shadows alongside silhouettes of the band on the expansive white backdrop. Andrew's trademark two-headed phonograph horns sat spinning upon amplifiers at the center of the stage behind the band.

Andrew didn't speak much, just a few comments here and there. He did comment on how subdued the audience was, but apparently we weren't as comatose as the crowd in Mesa, AZ the night before. Andrew's music attracts a calm listening audience who won't jump up to dance when he plays one of the few upbeat songs from his catalog, like "Break It Yourself."

I've know that Andrew makes extensive use of playback loops, but didn't fully appreciate his mastery of them until seeing him use them on stage. He started the show alone playing and recording a pizzicato rhythm on his violin, then playing the recording back on loop while layering a bow-played and whistled melody over the rhythm. Owen and Ryan were both impressed by Andrew's ability to whistle and play a xylophone in unison.

I had hoped to hear Darkmatter, Tenousness, and one of my favorites, Natural Disaster, but these didn't make it into the set. I really enjoyed hearing "Effigy", "Scythian Empires", "Give It Away", "Fatal Shore", and a fun cover of "Bein' Green." What I enjoyed the most was the band gathering around a single microphone to play bluegrass and blues covers.

I believe this is the set list, same as what he played in Mesa, AZ the night before. If you like Andrew and haven't seen him, I highly recommend catching one of his shows.

Carrion Suite
Sifters
Nyatiti
Danse Caribe
Desperation Breeds...
Polynation
Eyeoneye
Bein' Green (Kermit the Frog cover)
Lazy Projector
Acoustic Old Timey
Give It Away
Effigy
Trials, Troubles, Tribulations (E.C. Ball cover)
Dear Dirty
The Crown Salesman
Orpheo Looks Back
Plasticities
Lusitania
Scythian Empires
Fatal Shore
Tables and Chairs

Encore:
So Much Wine (The Handsome Family cover) (acoustic)
I'm Goin' Home (Charley Patton cover) (acoustic)

Opening night of Rush's Time Machine Tour

chad — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 01:19:45 +0000

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It's been a long time, about 17 years, since I last saw my favorite band. I sort of lost touch with them after becoming a husband and a parent. Their tours have stopped in New Mexico, so I don't have a good excuse for missing them during recent tours. I could go on about my Rush hiatus, but I think I'll save that for another post.

One of my son's friends came over one day about a year ago sporting a Vapor Trails tour t-shirt. His mom had taken him to see the show, how cool is that? This was the seed germinated with the news that Rush was to open their time Machine Tour in Albuquerque.

So we went and we had a blast. This was the set from Ryan's and Owen's first real rock show, Rush! Also, pictures!

Video: A World without Rush. Rash!

Spirit of Radio
Time Stand Still
Presto
Stick It Out
Working Them Angels
Where's My Thing?
Faithless
BU2B (Brought Up To Believe, new!)
Freewill
Marathon
Subdivisions

Break, due to their "advanced age"

Video: Time machine. Moving Pitchers of Beer!

Moving Pictures for the first time in it's entirety

Tom Sawyer
Red Barchetta
YYZ
Limelight
The Camera Eye
Witch Hunt
Vital Signs
Caravan (new!)
Drum solo!
Closer to the Heart (Alex acoustic solo intro)
2112: Overture
2112: The Temples of Syrinx
Far Cry
Encore:
La Villa Strangiato (circus music intro!)
Working Man (reggae version!)

Video: Paul Rudd and Jason Segel sneak backstage and run into Alex, Geddy, and Neil.

Stop media consolidation in Santa Fe, NM, Keep Indie Alive!

chad — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 04:08:03 +0000

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The radio station I've been working for, Indie 101.5, is facing a thinly disguised corporate buyout and the community of Santa Fe is faced with the eminent loss of 3 of its great stations to media consolidation.

This is nothing new in the US, and it isn't very easy to stop, but if this bothers you, even if you've never listened to the station, please make your voice heard. Visit http://keepindiealive.com and send the FCC a message of protest.

The Radio Station with 9 Lives, woxy.com

chad — Sat, 30 Sep 2006 16:34:41 +0000

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WOXY.com lives...

Could it be true? Does lightning strike the same place twice? Apparently it does. It is indeed the real deal â€” WOXY.com will be back on-the-air soon and better than ever! Seems like we're proving ourselves to be master escape artists in eluding the icy depths of the deadpool. We're ready to kick out the jams and hope you are, too. In the meantime, please do join us on the boards, and if you haven't done so already, make sure you sign up for our email list to the right.

More details very, very soon...

- Mike, Shiv and Bryan Jay

Simply amazing! These guys keep landing on their feet. I'm looking foward to hearing about the details but thought the Cinci DAAP crew might be interested in this.

WOXY's second (last?) goodbye :-(

chad — Thu, 07 Sep 2006 05:13:53 +0000

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From woxy.com

"This sucks.

This is the moment all of us hoped would never come. After plugging away at this for the past two years, it's become pretty clear that operating woxy.com as a stand-alone Internet 'radio station' is not going to cut it. Our operating costs are higher than you might think, and the revenue we were able to generate from advertising isn't close to supporting what we're doing. Even membership revenue wasn't enough to get us there. When your business doesn't make money, you eventually go out of business."

Read the rest of the announcement at woxy.com.

Learn about woxy's ups and downs over the past couple of years.

Hey, if it they're in Wikipedia, they must have been important.

2006-09-15 - They've now gone silent :(

New operators and an updated format for KWRP radio

chad — Mon, 04 Sep 2006 22:08:16 +0000

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KWRP, a locally owned and operated radio station that I raved about last year, recently experienced a change. Broadcast Partners, LLC has taken over operations of the station under a local management agreement (LMA). The agreement is basically a lease in which the owner retains ownership of the frequency and equipment but the leasee actually operates the station.

I previously ranted that KWRP was "truly freeform", but their playlist was actually amerciana (country, alt-country, bluegrass, blues, etc.). After the switch to Broadcast Partners, KWRP's playlist is still mostly americana but now adds an eclectic mix of indie and alternative tracks.

The station has a few new sponsors but advertisements are not obtrusive and there are still no D.J.s between songs. Check out their playlist and give their new audio stream a listen at www.kwrp-1015.com.

Guitar-o-rama

chad — Tue, 29 Aug 2006 10:26:30 +0000

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I love the guitar. I love the way it sounds, its shape, and I love to watch those who know how to strum or pick a tune on them. Here are a couple of guitar-related items for my musician friends.

A 42 string acoustic guitar

An NPR story about a phenomenal guitarist on YouTube.

Jamie Cullum and Raul Midon

chad — Mon, 29 May 2006 18:57:40 +0000

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Wow! What an incredible show!

Amy and I went to see one of our favorite artists, Jamie Cullum, last night at the Paulo Soleri Amphitheatre. And, if Jamie wasn't enough, the phenomenal Raul Midon opened the show. This was the first concert that Amy and I felt like staying from start to encore. Usually we feel like we have to get home to the boys and the babysitter, but the show was great (thanks Jennifer!).

I'd heard about Raul Midon, a native of Embudo, NM, last year on All Things Considered. He's a guitarist with a percussive playing style similar to the late Michael Hedges. Added to this rhythmic style is a fusion of soul, jazz, and latin flavor. Raul was amazing.

Jamie came out and played for nearly two hours straight, without a break. He was just as wild on stage as the first time we saw him on Austin City Limits. What he lacks in height, he makes up for in energy and leaping ability (he climbed and leapt high from his piano several times).

Jamie played the standards, his new stuff, his covers of Hendrix and Radiohead, and even squeezed in a bit of the White Stripes "Seven Nation Army."

If either of these guys put on a show near you, I highly recommend checking it out.

James Hunter: Is he Sam Cooke reincarnate?

chad — Wed, 05 Apr 2006 09:08:54 +0000

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Greats like Sam Cooke and and Jackie Wilson were a bit before my time, but I'm developing a deeper appreciation for the R&B sound of the 50s and the early 60s through new comer James Hunter.

After hearing an NPR interview with James, I've been grooving to the retro sound of People Gonna Talk. Apparently, he's not a new comer, having toured extensively in Europe and appearing on stage with greats like Van Morrison.

He's a clever songwriter with a smooth voice and catchy guitar licks. Start those toes 'a tappin' today, listen to a few songs in their entirety and check out this nifty little video clip. Be prepared to be surprised by the accent :)

Lyle Lovett at the Santa Fe Opera

chad — Mon, 05 Sep 2005 05:44:33 +0000

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Amy, Phoebe, Craig, Jennifer and I went to see Lyle Lovett and His Large Band last night at the Santa Fe Opera.

We started off the evening with an SFO tradition, a tailgate party. Amy, Phoebe, and Jennifer packed up some fried chicken, corn casserole, chips, dips, brownies, beer, and wine and we enjoyed all of it out in the parking lot before the show. It was a bit overcast, but the view of the mountains was great and the people watching was even better.

The show started a bit differently than the previous three shows I've attended. Sweet Pea Atkinson and Sir Harry Bowen started off the set with their 80's hit "Walk the Dinosaur" and Francine Reed followed with "Wild Women." In the past, these songs come a bit later in the show and served as a break for Lyle.

We sat in the front row of the mezzanine level, center stage, and had a great view of the stage. As usual for Lyle Lovett shows, the sound was great. Lyle was bit more talkative than past shows and we laughed at his remarks on the typical "drink lots of water" advice locals here give to visitors here. Amy yelled out "and tequila" which got a response from Lyle :-)

Lyle also remarked on Santa Fe style in the area of fashion. Of course most nights at the Santa Fe Opera see tux's and evening gowns but last night was typical Santa Fe style which included everything from cowboy hats, boots, and Wranglers to Birkenstocks and tie-dyed t-shirts.

I suppose now, after seeing Lyle 4 times, I'd better learn how to do the Texas Two Step.