There are very few artists who are able to transcend the image and the idea of cool anymore. With Twitter, youTube and countless other viral portals into the private lives of stars, it’s hard to find an artist with that genuine, seemingly effortless ‘cool’ who does not really want the notoriety when the house lights go on and the encore ends. Ray LaMontange, the soft spoken, folk crooner from out in the coutryside of the US cast that allusive, surreal atmosphere in Colston Hall as he conducted his band the Pariah Dogs, through their album, “God Willin’ and the Creek Don’t Rise” and his solo albums.

LaMontagne settled in on Thursday night at Colston Hall and shed his soft spoken exterior, opening up to the audience, letting them into his strange musical world with tracks like ‘Shelter’ and ‘New York City’s Killin’ Me’, but never totally removing that mysterious air. LaMontagne’s blues and rock influenced folk music is often subdued and lyrically complex, but his live arrangements had a drive and intensity that amplified his passion and revealed his personality more and more. These added elements were partly made possible by his band the Pariah Dogs.

Enough cannot be said about the support of his band; with tight arrangements and just the right amount of improvisation the Pariah Dogs and LaMontagne felt like one tight cohesive unit rather than a singer, songwriter with help from a backing band. The Pariah Dogs were highlighted on a melody rendition of the opening track of their latest album, ‘Repo Man,’ that brought out the best of each of the performers. In addition to the Pariah dogs, LaMontagne was joined by openers, the country, folk duo The Secret Sisters, for a few of his own songs, as well as a number of covers, who again highlighted the versatility of songs.

Even though LaMontagne has won a large number of awards for his music, including a Grammy for his newest album, he never seemed over confident or aware that he had sold out Colston Hall and that the audience was there for him. Instead of being centre stage, LaMontagne stood off to the side and presented the music to the audience and made the night about that. It was nice to see that it was just the way LaMontagne liked to have it; him blending in as an anonymous member of the band and letting the lyrics and music do the talking. At the end of the night he thanked his band, the crowd, and tipped his hat to everyone and strolled of stage to a standing ovation with every knowing he was as cool as ever, but I do not think he really noticed.

Taking some time out from his second world tour, younger brother of the Australian brother-sister folk duo; Angus and Julia Stone, discusses touring, time in Cornwall, and the recent success of their second album, Down the Way.

You guys are currently on the US leg of your second world tour your second album reached number one in Australia, how have the past few months been for you?

We had some time off and gathered our thoughts.  We’ve been on the road for the past four months and all the shows, from Australia to the UK and Europe, have been amazing.

You’ve performed in the SouthWest of England before and travelled through it, are you excited to return to it?

Yeah, We love them parts. We’ve spent a lot of time in St. Angus.  We recorded in a place called sawmills.  All around there the people and the nature, it’s all really mysterious and noble.

What’s the dynamic between you and your sister when you’re touring and recording?

Playing with Julia has been… spending so much time together I see her more as a friend than a sister.  We share the same passion and love for writing and doing what we do and it works.  Hopefully, we’ll keep doing it until we get sick of each other.

You’ve gained a large following in France recently; how do you think that your music and music in general translates across languages?

I think it can translate across all languages and emotions as well.  People can … to the world with letting people in and find them selves in a song or a story or an experience and adjust themselves in a way that is personal to them. France has been pretty surprising.  We actually had an interview in a radio station and they would be speaking in French and then have a translation…

What are some of your main influences, musically and in the world?

Anyone and everyone.  Almost anyone I talk to I’m inspired by.  There’s a lot of music I’ve been listening to lately, Laura Marling. I think were actually playing a show with Laura down the road, I’m really excited about.  She’s and amazing artist.  Iron and Wine, Willie Mason from the States.

The first single from Down the Way “Big Jet Plane,”  and a few other tracks on the album sound nostalgic on travelling, and at the same time wayward looking, especially “On the Road.”   With having done so much travelling and touring, does that play a large part on each of your song writing?

Being on the road has been a huge influence.  We’ve been evolving as people and as artist and musicians, refining what you love, the skill.  The road has been something that’s a part of me.  If I had been at home sitting on the couch I still think that I would be doing what I do.  The songs what have a little different flavour. Maybe I’d more depressed or more happy.

You’re cover of “You’re the One that I want” from “Grease” is becoming a cult hit amongst fans, What made you cover and release it with the single “Big Jet Plane”?

Julia actually covered that song because the house that we grew up in has a lot of musicians in it and with musical, Grease was one of them. There’s a lot of cool stuff in it actually I only just watched it for the first time in a long time and that song came on and it had a whole different meaning to it than when Julia plays it, I love how songs can do that, It’s really cool.

Angus and Julia Stone are currently touring through the US, Europe and Australia through Febuary, but will be in the South West on December 10th at the Princess Pavilion in Falmouth and December 11th at the Trinity Centre in Bristol.

Interviewed by Albert Testani

Liverpool O2 Academy
October 22, 2010

Interviewed by Albert Testani

Before his final show in England of the tour, lead singer and guitarist of Maps and Atlases Dave Davison sat back stage with me and talked about what it was like playing in the UK, the release of their new record, Perch Patchwork and what might be next for him and the band.

First off, thanks for taking time out before the show to have a chat.
No problem, thank you very much for the opportunity.

Do you find playing in the UK any different than playing the US or touring the UK after establishing yourself in the US?
I can see how it would be extraordinarily different for certain bands. I think, broadly speaking, that the shows don’t feel that much different. It’s a mellow, positive vibe everywhere we go. Obviously, we spend more time touring around the US, but the shows we started playing there were much smaller than our first in the UK. We developed a connection with the people, playing for our friends, but this is only our second tour here [in the UK]. Our first shows in the US were made up of friends and friends of friends.

Are the shows in the UK now a bit more intimate because of the size as compared to the shows you play in the US now?
In some ways, I feel like both sides feel that way which is really cool and interesting in a lot of ways because we don’t get to play in the UK as much.

How do you think your sound, as a band, has progressed from your first EP, Trees, Swallows, Houses, through You, Me, and the Mountain, to Perch Patchwork?

We spent a lot of time playing together and jamming as a band before we recorded anything and I think our first EP was the first time we had a clear idea of how to balance experiential and technical ideas with making meaningful and exciting pop songs.

The way that we have progressed is by getting better at packing more into shorter songs and making it more accessible, but not any less technical or experimental. I think one way we’ve done that is by getting better at layering things. When You, Me, and the Mountain first came out a lot of people thought it was much less technical than the first album, but I though that it was just as technical but much more subtle.

I found that You, Me, and the Mountain had an emphasis on being polyrhythmic, but much more structured for the listener and Perch Patchwork was meant to be very cohesive and very much an album experience.
Yeah, thank you very much. I think we could have turned either one of our EPs into a full LP but there was a specific energy with them when we finished and if we tacked on a few more songs it wouldn’t have felt right. This time I felt like we really set out to have a much more diverse sound and dynamic, to make all of these different things balance and be connected as well as maintain their diverseness.

What do you think the future holds for you guys, musically, touring, etc.?
Right after this we’re doing a three week tour of the US, specifically the South East, which is an area we haven’t really been in before. We’re always writing new stuff, but we each have a lot of songs written and demoed that are not specifically for Maps and Atlases or any particular thing. I’m kind of interested in seeing which path will illuminate itself because it’s easy for any band, at any level, to be the type that tours constantly and is always looking to what’s next.

Yeah, you don’t want to have one project you’re solely associated with. Recently, you were actually on tour in the US doing some of your solo stuff; do think that project helps you make the decision as to what to do next?
Yeah, I definitely credit it to that. There is a tendency in thinking about anything and trying to make a homogenised decision to say, ‘Oh it would be cool to do this or to do that and record this album!’ Once you do a lot of touring and have that drive to do something it becomes natural and fun and things arise as they should.

What are some of your main influences, or who was the band or singer that you first heard and made you think I want to do that?
It’s really tough to say because I listened to so much and started playing the guitar so early.

For example, when I was thirteen I remember hearing Everlong by the Foo Fighters and thinking, I want to do that!
Yeah! It’s funny you bring that up actually. I started playing guitar really young, before I even knew why and I went to this big radio day festival that had bands like the Foo Fighters, Harvey Danger, and all that. I think I was in 7th grade and my dad took me and a bunch of my friends and I remember the band Eve 6 was playing and they were really young and all of a sudden there was this massive connection with all these people playing and listening to music. I still get really excited to play outdoor festivals because of that.
Even though I still listen to a lot of that stuff I got really into my parents’ old record collection afterwards; stuff like David Bowie, Talking Heads, Van Morrison, Otis Redding, albums that I still listen to a lot today.

I just started listening to Van Morrison’s Astral Weeks again and I couldn’t believe how much there was to it and how much I hadn’t picked up on.
Yeah, I think that there is so much happening now in the music world and they’re a lot of great bands out there now, but there’s something about people like Bowie or Van Morrison – Dylan too obviously – where it seems to me that these works re-illuminate themselves over a period of time. You go back to them and there are all these new things about them. I could go on and on about them, but I’m trying to think of some new artists, too.

Last question, because I know you guys have to get ready to perform, if someone were to ask you, even though I hate the question, what would be the most recently played artists on your computer?
As far as new artists; I’ve been listening to a lot of Nick Cave and Kate Bush

Any last thing you want to add?
This is our last show in England and it’s really exciting that all the shows went well and were fun. Plus we learned that we can go somewhere like England or Germany or Amsterdam and play to a great crowd. It’s really amazing and something that we don’t take for granted.

www.mapsandatlases.org

The mention of Pablo Picasso’s name conjures warped images of women and guitars and skulls, just as volume upon volume has been written on the groundbreaking theories behind his works.  However, many fail to realize the connection between Picasso’s work and the political eras in which they were created.

The TATE Liverpool’s Picasso: Peace and Freedom exhibition spans from the artist’s work during the Second World War until the end of his life in 1973.  The exhibition, which runs from 21 May until 30 August, aims to exemplify images and their inherent messages of political peace and artistic freedom. The collections striking range of still lifes, paintings, and sculptures guides the viewer through Picasso’s life and ideology, starting with ‘The Charnel House’.

‘The Charnel House’, painted in 1945, depicts a chaotic scene that blends together men, women, and animals compressed together violently- to the point of limbs and eyes appearing sporadically throughout the scene.  The painting that symbolizes the destruction of life and the oppression of all those living in occupied France was inspired by a documentary on a murdered Spanish Republican family.

Picasso, at this time, was living in occupied France and thus created the work to convey the horrors of the Nazi party’s ruthless regime.  The detailed violence and chaos is juxtaposed with images of jugs and plates drawn in their simplest forms, which serves to extenuate the atrocities being committed.  As the exhibition moves in a chronological manner, it does well to illustrate development of Picasso’s political ideology as a member of the French Communist Party and that of his ascent within the art world.

The still lifes featured within the exhibition focus on Picasso’s experimentation with Cubism and his concentrated focus on death.  Picasso’s use of animals, both living and deceased, exemplify his love of symbols and metaphors, so much so that ‘The Charnel House’ was seen as out of character due to its’ apparent political message.   During the time of both the Second World War and the Cold War his paintings placed a large emphasis on; owls, seen as a symbol of looming death; skulls, a past death; and sea urchins, the imminence of death.

As the exhibit continues, a shift from political Peace and Freedom to the artistic Peace and Freedom occurs.  Within Picasso’s cubist works, the object of the painting was not to represent the objects depicted in an abstract manner, but to paint them as they would appear conceptually. The challenge of painting an image in this manner, such as a guitar, is the representation of a three-dimensional object, in a two dimensional medium, resulting in the iconic ‘cube-like’ images.

Both the latter half of Picasso’s life (and the exhibit) focuses on Picasso’s retreat from the political sphere and his comedic interpretations of classical works such as ‘The Rape of the Sabines’ and ‘Le Dejeuner sur l’herbre’, as well as a number of nude portraits. However, these are upstaged by the exceptional sections dedicated to his numerous works for political convention posters and newspapers.  From these works the viewer witnesses the history and development of the iconic ‘Doves of Peace’ and Picasso’s correspondence with a number of political figures.  Artistically, the images of peace are simple, but provoke the realization that Picasso, using one drawn line, created one of the most reproduced and recognizable images in the struggle for political peace and artistic freedom.

In short, Picasso: Peace and Freedom begins with the most political of Picasso’s work, but moves to highlight his love of symbols and metaphors along with the advent of cubism and a celebration of his influence with both the artistic and political world.  The viewer ultimately finds themselves not only memorized by the gravity of Picasso’s works, but also by the massive impact they have had on the history they illustrate.

People describe music as one of the most universal languages in the world.  Just the right chord played on the piano or guitar can make an entire arena fcheer and dance like there’s no tomorrow and one song later those same dancing folks have their lighters out and a tear in their eye.

In the vast number of gigs that I have seen none have expressed this sentiment more than Joanna Newsom.

Currently on tour supporting her newest album, Have One on Me, a triple disc, near three-hour beautifully arranged symphony, Joanna Newsome has matured and developed a sound and performance that fits her nearly perfectly.

Newsom originally learned how to play the piano before mastering the harp and writing her own music.  Her first major release, The Milk Eyed Mender, has songs that range from about three to five minutes and usually have a more traditional structure and her voice sounds more like a wood land imp.

However, after her follow up Ys was released, it was apparent that her sound had matured and that Newsom was no longer writing songs and lyrics, but composing and arranging in order to make a greater song piece.  Now, the listener finds sweeping tracks that contain incredible polyrhythmic piano, harp, and string parts.

Before the concert I was very excited to how ten to fourteen minute tracks containing around a dozen different parts would translate into her performance.  Would there be an entire supporting band or would it be stripped down to just the harp and the piano?  How could someone perform something that sounded so classical, but modern at the same time?

Sitting and waiting for Newsom to come onto the stage, I looked around and noticed the varing age and appearance of the members of the audience.  Some were young, hip-looking men and women waiting to listen and gaze upon one of the biggest Indie/Folk musicians of the moment, while other older members were sitting down to enjoy a night of soothing music.

At this point the house lights dimmed and Newsom began with ‘81’, a song with just a harp part and softly sung vocals.  Within seconds the audience was entranced by the plethora of rhythms and chords emitted by just one instrument.  Over the following two-hours Newsome played her harp in a way that made it sound as an extension for herself and created a cohesion between her and her band.  As the first song finished the five members of her supporting band walked on stage and began the rest of the evening.

The songs that were performed were all specifically arranged for the stage performance, but nothing was lost in translation from the albums to stage.  In many ways the performance surpassed the albums as these arrangements were more powerful and grand, leaving out the experimentation from the albums.  The way in which all of the instruments and voices blended together to form perfect harmonies was uncanny, for there were times where the music was almost jazz-like in its syncopation and the way that each musician struck their notes at just the perfect moment.

Between songs Newsome shyly conversed with the audience, coming out of her shell more and more as the night progress, much like the music itself.  Each song built upon the one before it and the band continued to follow her lead while on both harp and grand piano.

To go into the specifics of each song, or even to highlight certain ones, would demean others and devalue the point that Newsom wishes to make in her performance.  The supporting act, famous folk singer Roy Harper, put it best when he said “Joanna is a modern musician making modern music which is something you really appreciate listening to.”

Looking at the print of a famous painting gives a person a sense of what the artist aims to achieve, but you only really understand the piece when you see it in the flesh.  The same goes for Joanna Newsom; hearing her albums and recordings allow the listener to glimpse into modern music and composition, but you need to witness and listen to the music in person to truly be a part of and understand it.