Kanye and Michel and Adam and Jon

Ugh, I posted another video, seemingly without issues, but I've been told it doesn't work for everyone. Regardless, I'll proceed with this post.

All right, I dug up the final video clip that I knew was somewhere in my archives and -- get this -- I edited out all the commercials before uploading it. Look, you even get bonus Michel Gondry awesomeness.

By the way, I love Late Registration, it's one of my favorite Jon Brion collaborations, possibly just behind the Aimee Mann records and the Eternal Sunshine soundtrack, and I feel incredibly lucky that we were there the first time Kanye joined Jon at Largo. If you're listening for Brionisms, this track is a great place to start. The piano is a no-brainer, but those squelchy bass sounds in the background are probably Jon's MicroKorg in action. My favorite song on the record is still "Gone," wherein a Jon Brion track breaks out in the middle of a rap tune -- but I digress.

Back to the video: The Jon Brion content starts around the 13-minute mark, but maybe you'll stick around for the rest of the footage. Enjoy (if YouTube lets you)!



See also:
» i won't be denied
» i want my JBTV

top 5 Largo memories

Believe it or not, I have a life apart from Largo, but it's not particularly blogworthy. Also, I'm trying to up my Google ranking. Thanks for checking back, folks.

Before this year, my Largo attendance record was somewhat spotty. Cut me some slack--San Francisco isn't that close to Los Angeles, especially when you work regular hours, Monday through Friday. I think my previous record for most Largo shows in a year was five. This year has blown that number out of the water, and I count my lucky stars that my friends are willing to put up with me just so that they can enjoy good music.

This recent run has inspired me to put together a small list. This is not meant to be inclusive; there are too many memories of silly singalongs, granted requests, star cameos, and inspired musicianship to include here. Also, in the grand scheme of things, I've barely been to Largo at all, but I like to think I've had some good times. Without further ado:

5. Jon Brion playing a Halloween set in a skeleton suit (October 31, 2003): It was around this time that Jon was doing his "songbook" Thursdays in addition to his regular Friday gigs in alleged preparation for his tour.

Bwahahahahahahahahahahaha.

Wow, that felt good, but let's return to the story. Back then, I had different rules about rock tourism (most of which have now gone out the window), and I recognized the opportunity to see two Jon Brion shows in one trip to the southland. So I caught his Thursday night show with the Section and darkened Largo's doorstep the next night for Jon's regular set.

The opener was Kennedy doing a pretty funny imitation of Jon, followed by the man himself. When he hit the stage, he wore his usual clothes, but during the extended opener of Halloween-themed songs, he started stripping, finally revealing--no, not his birthday suit--but a full-length skeleton costume underneath. He proceeded to play the rest of the set with the costume, oversize skeleton hands and all. My cousin claims this remains one of her favorites of the shows she's seen.

That night was unusual, for a couple of reasons. First off, Jon did only one set. As I recall, he claimed that it was all this "bag of bones" could be expected to do. Also, it was the only time I've ever been seen Largo not full on a Friday night. Later, as we drove down Santa Monica Boulevard and saw the Halloween revelers, it became obvious why.

4. E and Mary Lynn Rajskub chasing an adorable dog through club.
This is where my memory gets fuzzy. In late 1999 and early 2000, Lina and I saw a couple of Jon Brion gigs where members of the eels showed up. I think at one, Butch was the opener, and for his "act," he read selections from the British edition of Penthouse Forum (or was it Penthouse Letters?). For both, E opened, previewing songs from the then-unreleased Daisies of the Galaxy.

It was at one of these shows that during Jon's set, a big, fluffy, white puppy ran through the audience, trailed closely by E and Mary Lynn. I'm pretty sure the same dog is one of the cover stars of the eels' Souljacker. In retrospect, I probably should've been disturbed that the dog was anywhere near the kitchen, but as I remind everyone, you don't come to Largo for the food.

3. Kanye West joins Jon Brion onstage (March 18, 2005). Largo owes part of its legendary status to the stories of luminaries showing up just for the hell of it, but let's face it--most of the people who hit the stage aren't exactly household names and are certainly not MTV regulars. Kanye West, however, doesn't fit the Largo mold. Even now, when I try to tell the uninitiated about Largo, most of them don't have any idea of how amazing the place is until I mention Kanye.

I wrote up a fuller account when this happened, but my appreciation of that night has only grown since the original date. I admit that Kanye's guest appearance in September was cooler (complete with Jon Brion throwing a Rocafella diamond!), but back in March, all we knew was that a certified Grammy-winning, platinum-selling artist was on the Largo stage. It took a little while to put the pieces together, but thankfully, Late Registration hints at the awesomeness of that night.

2. Neil Finn (February 20, 2004)! My previous blog pretty much says it all. I still pinch myself at the memory. Eeeeeeeee!!!

Drum roll, please....

1. Grant Lee Phillips, Jon Brion, and Robyn Hitchcock making up songs about pigeons (Summer 1999). You know it has to be a good night that keeps a Neil Finn surprise appearance off the top of the list! I'm pretty sure that at this point, I was going to Largo explicitly for Grant's shows and was not yet a Jon Brion acolyte, though I was already familiar with his talents and his knack for dropping in on friends. I also recall that I had just seen Robyn at the Fillmore on the combined tour with the Flaming Lips, Sebadoh, and Sonic Boom, among others earlier that week, and I guess that the tour was in LA that week, thus offering him a chance to join his musical friends.

I can't even begin to remember the full hijinks of the evening, but deeply ingrained in my temporal lobe is the vision of Grant, Jon, and Robyn crammed on the Largo stage, taking requests and making up songs about pigeons. My favorite title of the night: "Take Me Home, Country Pigeon." There was a tune about the dearly departed species, the passenger pigeon, as well.

I think this was my first true taste of the beauty and inspired lunacy of Largo. Even now, with about three dozen trips to Largo under my belt, I don't think I've seen such a musical spectacle. Sure, Grant's solo shows were great, and seeing him play with Jon opened my eyes to a certain extent, but with Robyn Hitchcock, they took it to at least two more new levels. Everyone always says Jon's shows are impossible to describe until you've seen one; on that note, there's simply no way I can try to capture the memories of that evening. I'm just going to have to leave it at that. And I haven't even touched on the Eyes Wide Shut parody that opened the evening.

So there you have it, folks. Here's to many more. Won't you join me?

See also:
» i won't be denied
» i can teach you, but i have to charge
» get a load of the lengths I go to
» unplug the jukebox and do us all a favour
» Take Me Home, Country Pigeon

i won't be denied

I need to do this before I fall asleep, but maybe it's a good thing that I'm staying awake--to regulate the jet lag and all. Perhaps. So let's get this thing rolling, in chronological order.

Jeff Tweedy, Vic Theater, March 4 and 5, 2005: Heidi waited for me at Midway, and we made the trek to the S'n'S. On our cab ride from the El, I saw the remnants of a bunny rabbit costume (Flaming Lips style) in the doorjam of a building, right there on North. Mind you, this was about 11:30 p.m., on a cold Chicago night. I said to Heidi, "Look, a bunny!" She scoffed at me until she saw that I meant a bunny costume and not a living, breathing creature. It looked so sad, that big rabbit head and the tattered body. When we told Sam about it after we arrived, she wanted to go get it, but alas, we didn't want to venture outside again, and it was gone by the morning. :( Boo hoo.

To no one's surprise, we got there bright and early the next morning, to find a couple from Indianapolis at the front of the line and Brianne and Gina right behind them. Kevin and Amy arrived shortly after us, and before you knew it, we were celebrating the day! I admit that the line thing is very silly to anyone who's never done it, but I swear, we enjoy each other's company. Besides, if we weren't in line, I think we'd be too consumed by worries of being in the front that we couldn't enjoy alternative activities. As it stood, I got to eat at delicious Sinbad's, where Paul and I made very loose plans for the Great Wall's European invasion.

Once inside, I took my place at the barrier between Amy and Heidi, with a comfy cushion of tons of our buddies nearby. The Vic is a cool theater for Wilco, but it looked rather big for Jeff solo, and when he arrived, it looked even bigger. It was very strange for me to see him alone onstage at such a venue, though I knew it wasn't his first time there. The other solo shows I've seen have been at much more intimate clubs, so I had to wonder how this experience would differ. Well, he didn't seem that comfortable early on, but he warmed up considerably after he could hear us singing right back at him. The setlist was delicious and obviously based in large part on the list we originally submitted for the private show. Later, we found out that our own Dr. J was responsible for the song selection. Heck, I was just happy to hear "Blasting Fonda" again, as well as "ELT" in its entirety.

We didn't do much that night, but after we secured our spots in line, we headed over to Kristina's for brunch the next day to welcome Judy, Jerod, and Miles. I brought over cookies, but they already had a full setup going of all kinds of goodies. This was likely the highlight of my weekend--just hanging out with my friends, eating yummy food, playing with the beautiful baby, and coming together for a big old singalong! Miles is a lovely, adorable baby, and his parents are the cutest pair, as well. That Mart is every bit as talented as I had suspected, and he warmed up our vocal chords nicely.

Which is a good thing because sing we did on Saturday night, nearly from the beginning. Saturday saw a bunch of Golden Smog tunes and just a generally relaxed air. For the final encore, in a not very surprising (but very welcome) move, the other members of Wilco minus Nels joined Jeff onstage. Jeff and Glenn kicked off with "Laminated Cat," and when the rest of the band came on, Mike was sitting right at the front, in a new position for him. I finally got my chance to hear "John Wesley Harding" with the full band, and I hope they do that one more often because it sounded great. I missed Nels in many parts, but it was the corker to a great weekend.

Doves, Cambridge Corn Exchange, March 12, 2005: I ended up shopping in London for longer than planned, so I didn't get to Cambridge until after 6 p.m., as many parts of the town were shutting down. But I took a quick swing around the area and got to the venue about 15 minutes before doors opened. Oh my, a young girl at the front of the line had written "I heart Doves" on her forehead with black marker. I'm not exactly one to speak, but it didn't strike me as being the smartest thing to do.

The Corn Exchange is a decent-size room, with huge stone walls in the main area. The stage had been set up with at least a dozen lights for a major light show, which is not that different from what the band had brought to the States on the last go-around, but at least it looked more appropriate in the bigger rooms. I felt a little bit of trepidation about the show. Obviously, I love the band and the new record, but I still had that nagging voice in my head that told me they weren't great live. Also, the people around me seemed to be such amateurs. Over here, it takes a little bit more effort to find bands such as Doves, whereas they are chart-toppers back in the UK, so of course, people are going to be more blase about them. Still, I was trying not to get offended by the fact that some of the people around me barely knew any of the songs. Argh!

My fears were gone as soon as they started with "Pounding," which filled every nook and corner of the club, and it made sense to me that this was how they were supposed to be heard and felt and experienced. They played a pretty good mix of all the albums, though I was surprised there wasn't more of an emphasis on the new one. As I recall, they didn't do "Some Cities," which happens to be my favorite track, but they hit "Ambition," a song that might be passed over by fans. As always "Cedar Room" rocked my world, and they even had a new intro.

The concert ended a little before 11, but unfortunately, I got totally lost in the windy streets of Cambridge and missed the last train back to London. Fortunately, I'm not a panicky girl, so I found a cheap room at a B&B and stayed there for the night. I caught the first train back to London and onto...

Wilco, Nottingham Rock City, March 13, 2005: Fortunately, I had little problem finding Paul this time, though I killed a couple of hours at the hotel waiting for the group to return from Ye Olde Road to Jerusalem. Then again, I've already been there, and they needed to see the place more than I did.

Paul and I stoppped by Wagamama for dinner before the show, and we noticed that the Concert Hall across the street was hosting Tony Hadley vs. Martin Fry at the end of the month. Eeek! We thoroughly enjoyed our dinner and even picked up a copy of the Wagamama cookbook for our favorite improv guitarist genius dude.

Back at Rock City, the club's steps were already overtaken by the city's disaffected youth, who were destroying copies of such classics as the Bachelors records and other hits from the '50s. The club itself is a little dumpy but very cool; it reminded me of the Paradise in Boston. We were very much pinning our hopes on these tiny venues, so we weren't disappointed. The main set was fine, but the encores really made it for me. I finally got to hear "Outtasite" again after all these years! We bestowed our gift to the tall guy and in return got to hear a long tirade about Iron Chef Flay, among other things. I was also able to clear up some info about my name. Best of all, after the show, the Hilton's lovely beds awaited us. I didn't want to get up the next morning.

Wilco, Carling Apollo, March 14, 2005: As this was a seated show, we had plenty of time that day to get down to London and even to wander around a bit before the gig. We made it to the Wolseley (recommended in Gourmet) for afternoon tea, and it was a divine affair. The desserts were delicious, the scones were adorable, and the clotted cream was dreamy.

Back at the show, we saw Martha Wainwright's opening set again. I don't recall how many times I've seen her, but it would certainly include a series of shows with Rufus. The title track from her EP, Bloody Motherfucking Asshole, is a great Dylan-esque number with one of the most memorable choruses in a while. I like her, but I prefer her folksier stuff, as opposed to the whispery numbers. It's good to see her get some attention, and the London crowd was very respectful of her.

The Carling Apollo is not a small club; by my estimates, it probably holds around 2,500 seated. We had decent seats on Nels's side, but they didn't help a whole lot, as the crowd stayed in their chairs for the entirety of the main set. Then again, Wilco's set was based heavily on the last two albums, so there weren't too many surprises. I wanted to jump around during "Shot in the Arm," but Paul made me sit down. Grrr!

Hands down, the highlight of the show was the last song, where Jeff cited Bill Fay, who was in the audience that night. It's rare to see your rock idol meet his rock idol, and Jeff was obviously very moved by the opportunity. I was glad that I was there to hear it for myself.

Wilco, Elysee Montmartre, March 16, 2005: We had a travel day and a day to hang around Paris, and we used our time wisely. We ate, drank, and saw a number of monuments. I really dug strolling down the Champs-Elysees on such a fine morning.

The day before, we had passed by the Elysee Montmartre to see a small line of people waiting to get into the sold-out Mars Volta show. However, this didn't worry us, as we figured it wouldn't be the same for Wilco. So we showed up not too long before doors opened and met Andrew from the UK. He's a dead ringer for Stephen Colbert, even if he has no idea what I'm talking about. Inside, the Elysee Montmartre is not unlike the Fillmore and about a million other clubs I can think of--that is, it's a great place to see a band. And this turned out to be my favorite of the shows. As with the rest of our trip, there were tons of Americans in the audience, but for whatever reason, the band and the fans really clicked this time, and the energy level was awesome. On the downside, there were more obnoxious people at the show, but we managed to not let them affect us too much.

After the show, we hung out, and I got a chance to say good-bye to everyone before I headed home. I think I got a great pic of the Valet and his esteemed Master in a man-kiss, and we designated a couple of honorary Great Wall peeps for photographic purposes. I also admitted that my rock tourism wasn't quite at an end yet. In return, we got to hear about the meeting with Bill Fay. Ahhh, it was a night to remember.

Jon Brion, Largo, March 18, 2005: I always have this fear that I'll show up at Largo and be told that there's no record of my reservation. I gotta work on that, as it hasn't happened yet. Here's the setlist, as far as I can recall:

1. Same Thing
2. I Thought About You (jazz standard)
3. Maybe You're a Different Girl
4. bluegrass song ("It's a long way to heaven")
5. Here We Go
6. Get Your Freak On
7. Over Our Heads
8. Who Loves the Sun
9. The Love of My Life So Far
10. Same Mistakes
11. rocking song ("So I fell in love with you/So what/Big deal")
12. I'm on a Roll with You
13. Moonage Daydream/Sexy Sadie/New York Mining Disaster 1941/Nothing Between Us

Set 2
14. theme from The Sting/long piano interlude/Ashes to Ashes
15. Someone Else's Problem
16. Jeopardy theme
17. Walking through Walls
18. ???
19. I Was Happy with You
20. Voices
21. Pop Life (w/ Kanye West dropping in for a freestyling stretch)

Overall, it was a great show, with lots of energy and a good amount of crowd participation, though Jon seemed to have strong ideas of where he wanted to go. He said that his fingers weren't doing what he wanted them to, but my companions (including two first-timers) were stunned by his ability to simultaneously play the guitar and tune it for the next segue. It was nice to see Jon do a lot of his own songs, old, new, and so far unreleased.

I love that Jon continues to play "Same Thing" yet tries different approaches to it every time, especially in creating the rhythm that kicks off the song. But more surprising and delightful was "Nothing Between Us," which I haven't heard him play for ages. "Here We Go" had a different intro, which Annie's friend says was music from Eternal Sunshine. I can't remember the score enough, but I recall that the piano instrumentals sounded familiar, even if I couldn't place them. "Voices" was relatively brief, compared to Jon's previous renditions, when he used the wind-up music boxes as instrumental accompaniment (one of my favorite memories ever). Then again, maybe he knew that he had to keep it short and bring on Kanye before we hit 2 a.m.

Truthfully, "Get Your Freak On" lasted only 20 seconds or so, but it was a fun attempt. The highlight for me was probably the Bowie/Beatles/Bee Gees/Grays medley, and the normally comforting sounds of the tack piano took on a spacey, distant air for "Ashes to Ashes," but Kanye's appearance brought the house down. I've heard Jon cover "Pop Life" before, but tonight's version was a deeper, more soulful take, complete with fuller drums and warm piano backing, unlike Prince's cold, hard critique of '80s lifestyles. In the middle of the song, Jon grabbed Kanye from a dark corner of the room and brought him onstage. No introductions--just a bit of a Vanna-style flourish. Kanye started rapping over Jon's tracks, namechecking his host, himself, and Jay-Z in the process. Again, my friends were flabbergasted, as was I. And for the full starfucker rundown, my friends told me that Kanye was rolling with John Legend at the show.

See also:
» my cousin's account of the evening
» top 5 Largo memories
» get a load of the lengths I go to