9 posts tagged “silverchair”

Today was the day I was supposed to be in L.A. watching Silverchair; the band of bands I have been wanting to see all year, alas.

No. I have no means of going now when I had plenty of means during the summer.

Instead, I'm at the Book Rack working. Sipping tea, getting over a sinus infection, and moping because my car is broken.

Thanksgiving weekend should be good, though. I can't wait to be with family, no real worries, research paper on the back of my mind, parade, cranberry sauce. And reading. It's been my only source of welcome escape lately.

If you had the ability to teleport, where would you go right now?

That's right, I'm talking about Silverchair. Again.

I went to the IHOP that just opened for breakfast with the ex-BFF and we had delicious fruit crepes. Guess what I hear overhead as I'm entering the establishment? Straight Lines! That was the first time I'd heard it without putting the CD on or waiting for it to come on Yahoo! Launchcast Radio at work (which I like because their tagline is "Music That Listens to You!"). It was playing in public, like any other mellow soft-listening song.

So it's soft-listening now. Pacific and famous. As we exited the restaurant, we are escorted out by Dido's "White Flag" song. I hope that doesn't also equal lame.

It has been a gut morgen.

You have GOT to be kidding me! What is this, this, this, news?! The band cancelled their first four shows. I, of course, clutching a ticket for their second one in L.A.

This complete reversal has left me heartbreakingly disappointed. Once again, I don't know how to feel. Sorry, Daniel Johns, that you have laryngitis. You should really take some Airborne before you fly. TO FOUR CITIES IN FOUR DAYS. My mom swears by it, and it will kill a cold before you even feel it coming. I'm sorry. Maybe I will see you on some rescheduled date in November. I hope I can get a refund for my bus ticket. Unless I still really really want to kick back in Chinatown and Downtown for the weekend. Which I may do.

I can't believe it. Here I am, almost 2 in the morning, packing pretty clothes, sing-song la-la-la, checking my Facebook account, and then hanging my head with sorrow. Goodnight, internet.

Anyway, I knew it. I knew it, I had a feeling they were going to be amazing and they were. Silverchair performed on Craig Ferguson's nutty show and were a success. They all looked much more laid back, much happier even.  The very last shot of them all at the end of their song was pure harmony, it looked like. So I was glad. They put in the performance that I hope to see on Saturday. EE! Excitement!

I actually clapped at the end. Just once though, because I realized that I was watching them alone, in my pajamas, in my living room, after waiting for them to come on tv in the middle of the night. Yeah...

He hit those notes like magic! And inspired me to dress my hair like Daniel LaRusso. I'm going to finish packing.

I hate to be writing about them all the time, but sometimes I can't help myself. They're my favorite currently active touring band. What with The Strokes abandoning El Paso to tour Australia instead, Jeff Buckley being dead ten years now, Beirut being way too obscure, and Rufus Wainwright playing shows impossible to fit into my schedule or budget, I'm having to write about my modest adherence to Silverchair. Believe me, when Joan Baez and Bob Dylan get back together and come out with a new album, I'm going to be all over it. The same would be true if I could actually articulate -- even with the slightest onomatopoeia -- the musicianship of Thom Yorke. That being said:

WHAA???? upsidedownquestionmark Que? Is Daniel Johns going to be HOWLING into the microphone at the concert I'm traveling all the way to L.A. to witness? He was practically dying in front of Hollywood, guitar in his deathly white-knuckled grip. My vocal chords willed my lungs not to supply air for possible screams of terror.

Yes, I was terrified watching their performance on Leno. Let me rephrase that -- I was terrified watching Daniel Johns yell into the mic, spit out the lyrics, and...and...be scratchy, wild with pain. At least he was dressed nice.

They all looked great, but the song, the song, I couldn't figure out how to feel. Was it on purpose? Was it Paul Mac's Yoko Ono t-shirt? I think he's strained his vocal chords. A proper singer does not rely solely on voice, but on lung control and proper passage of air. He sure may have temporarily lost his ability to speak or project sound after that. You're not supposed to force your voice out! I can't forget watching that moment after the song was over and seeing Ben Gillies behind his drumset make a face like, "Eee, what was that..." I practically expected his hand to raise a fist to his mouth in embarrassment. Whatever. I'm worried.

Other than that, I'm excited for L.A., and I'm hoping to take lots of pretty pictures and be bubbly all around town. And stuff like that.

Yay, distraction!

Subtitle: Why Silverchair Are Not the New Beatles.

So I finally decided to put in my two cents about Silverchair's new studio release, Young Modern. As well as contribute my thoughts on how they (and the ensuing fanaticism) are perceived in the United States. I live here, in a city whose citizens populate the most hispanically-saturated niche this side of the Rio Grande. I don't think I've ever heard the word hispanically before I created it. The El Paso/Juarez metroplex makes up the largest metropolitan border area in the entire world (mostly thanks to almost 2 million people living in the city en el otro lado del rio). Most of the people I know, me included, have Mexican backgrounds. But whatever, I live in America. The America that is constantly bombarded with all things pop and all things media and all things things. This is especially exemplified with the current Internet epidemic, where everyone can read the same news and ogle the same advertisements. And because news and newspapers have become a huge corporation backed by big money, everyone has to read the same news and are encouraged to ogle the same advertisements. Tragic.

I've got to be going somewhere with this... I should be talking about Silverchair. That's what I've signed on to do anyway.

 So lately I've been reading many a review that likens some of the tracks off of Silverchair's new album to the musical stylings of late-1960's Beatles. I'm talking about Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Upon listening to the entire thing several times (a 45-minute endeavor), the only match I can make is that they both sound like experiments. Rife with psychedelia and quite steeped in kookiness, its melodies and lyrics conjure a melange of sweetness, outlandishness, and puzzlement.

But, where there is obvious duality in Sgt. Pepper and almost every Beatles album ever made, there is none in any of Silverchair's. The Beatles are famous for the Lennon/McCartney contradistinction, but the only one to rival Daniel Johns is Daniel Johns. Unless you want to count Paul Mac, I guess. Van Dyke Parks, maybe? But not really. They're more like professional collaborators. I could mention Chris and Ben and him being friends and bandmates since Pogs were still cool, but common-knowledge cultural icons these three do not make. Their impact is ranked much less than the gi-normous invasion that was John, Paul, George, and Ringo. The lore that surrounds the fab four alone knocks the wind out of any overseas act since this whole business began.

Sgt. Pepper was the Beatles' 9th release and was legendary the morning it was completed. It is said that when they finished recording, they went to Mama Cass's flat in London and as the sun rose, they played it. Loud. So everyone woke up listening to the daybreak that was The Beatles. What makes the critics think that Silverchair's fifth foray into the world (of music that is sold) parallels that of those four guys from Liverpool? It really does not. Well, maybe in Australia, yeah, then it probably surpasses it (I'm totally guessing). I wonder how it is to live there? I've envisioned it as the faraway anglophone land I've always dreamed of, full of worldviews and habits I don't know about. Wonderful people, strikingly hot weather, blue seas, white-hot sand, ahh. Australia must be the place to be. Except when thinking about its mass retreat into parched oblivion, which is an entirely different blog entry altogether, so nevermind.

So what is happening in Australia, music-wise? I hear "the 'Chair" are bigger than life there, deemed the successors of musical fortitude, kings of the Fatal Shore, smashing records to pieces, 5 consecutive number 1 albums, top of the charts in every genre except spoken word, legends in their own time. Better than Wolfmother, better than Midnight Oil, better than INXS for crying out loud. I adore INXS.

With all that going on over there, I only heard crickets stateside up until recently. The Silverchair group I created on
this site only has 5 members: me, 2 other Americans, someone from Finland, and an Aussie. Hi guys. But the other online communities devoted to everything about this band produce a surplus of Australian and New Zealandish fan-dom. I've learned everything I know about Silverchair by reading what the fans have to say and seeing for myself. I believe the stage presence and rock-godliness, appreciate the animal rights cause, and am jealous of Natalie Imbruglia, among other things. I dream of going to one of their concerts before they break up (although it seems they're only the long-hiatus type). But whenever I mention my love of Silverchair to my friends or anyone who asks what kind of music I like, I am often met with looks of confusion and/or disdain. No one I know who is in my local network of contacts likes them. Why? Because of the rep they left the States with in the years after Neon Ballroom.

They were grunge kids. And by the time Diorama appeared, the tides of change that were supposed to catapult them into Billboard splendor were instead pulled back by the unfortunate afflictions of the band and of their lead singer/resident guitar-genius. It was like their 19-year-old selves stayed behind and never aged. Diorama made nary an impact. Tangent starts now. Rare cases of reactive arthritis hurt like no one's business, I'm sure, and prevent you from doing even the most normal things. Daniel Johns has since been fond of using words like "arthritic" and "shelf" (though I don't know why about the latter), loves referring to bones and instilling images of secret places we open with a key, worlds underwater, and distant planets. I heard Diorama for the first time two years after its initial release. I didn't hear the tracks off the cd first. I saw live footage of their 2003 performance in Germany (the one where Daniel Johns tells the crowd to "turn to any stage and say 'Iron Maiden, shut the f--- up." That did it for me. "Luv Your Life" was magical. "Across the Night" was euphoria in my ears. And "Tuna in the Brine" was downright majesty. It was all colorful lights and show. But most of all, those songs helped me to eventually be able to describe myself. They're hopeful, thoughtful, and strange but not afraid of it. That being said, I can't believe I graduated from high school never having heard "Tuna in the Brine."

Argh! I'm supposed to be talking about Young Modern! Okay, okay, almost finished. No wonder I can't get anything published, my thoughts are so scattered all the time!

The album was horrendous the first time I heard it. I thought it was too jumbled and noisy. It was synthetic and fake-sounding. It sounded like The Dissociatives. And it was only until I heard it twice and then three times that I began to grasp what in the world Daniel Johns was thinking. I listen to it a lot now. The lyrics are fun, and the music is like a quirky sidekick that perfectly accompanies his vocal experimentation. This enterprise is a positive one. Yet I'm extremely worried for the band. I hope that they are well received here, but something tells me that they will kind of fall short. I hope I'm wrong.

I think only the future will tell whether or not Silverchair will spring a music movement so grand it's cultural. There are only a handful of musical acts that can be deemed as such. The Beatles, most obviously and rightfully included.

Paul McCartney, ahem, excuse me, Sir Paul McCartney has license to think pretty much anything he wants about popular music. After all, there are at least 3000 existing cover songs of "Yesterday," something that he holds the world record for. I'd say he's pretty authoritative on what makes a band groundbreaking as compared to being a only a hit. In the wake of his gazillionth album debuting in the U.S., he was interviewed by Newsweek. He seems like an amiable guy (Heather Mills thing aside), still severely talented, still looks okay after decades of public scrutiny and fame. In the middle of the interview he was asked, "Many bands have been referred to as Beatle-esque--do you think any of them are particularly good?"

His reply, "I don't mean to be mean, but no."

I made my point.

So... Silverchair just announced dates for the North American leg of their "world tour."

Here's the sorry-looking list:

• Friday, 13th July - San Diego, CA - House of Blues Tickets on sale June 8th
• Saturday 14th July - Los Angeles, CA - The Wiltern Tickets on sale June 9th
• Sunday, 15th July - Anaheim, CA - House of Blues Tickets on sale June 8th
• Tuesday, 17th July - San Francisco, CA - The Independent Tickets on sale June 10th
• Thursday, 19th July - Portland, OR - Aladdin Theatre Tickets on sale June 8th
• Friday, 20th July - Seattle, WA – Showbox Tickets on sale June 8th
• Saturday, 21st July - Vancouver, BC - Commodore Ballroom Tickets on sale June 15th
• Monday, 23rd July - Atlanta, GA - Roxy Theatre Tickets on sale June 16th
• Tuesday 24th July - Washington, DC - 9:30 Club Tickets on sale June 14th
• Friday, 27th July - New York, NY - Roseland Ballroom Tickets on sale June 15th
• Saturday, 28th July - Philadelphia, PA - Fillmore at the TLA Tickets on sale June 15th
• Monday, 30th July - Montreal, QC - Le Spectrum  Tickets on sale June 7th
• Wednesday, 1st August - Toronto, ON - Phoenix  Tickets on sale June 14th
• Saturday, 4th August - Chicago, IL – Lollapalooza Tickets on sale NOW
• Sunday, 5th August - Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue Tickets on sale June 16th

Where's Mexico? Where's the Great American Southwest? How do you expect me to go see you, Silverchair if all of your dates are so damn far away?! Nooo!

Not even any dates in Arizona, not even any in Texas! Maybe I'll take a road trip to Los Angeles or Anaheim or even Atlanta. Or maybe I won't even bother and pretend I'm still going to Lollapalooza. Whatever, I'm done with this.  

...

*Apparently, there has been an update. Ahem, three new dates have been added:

• Thursday, 26th July - Sayreville, NJ - Starland Ballroom Tickets on sale June 13th
• Sunday, 29th July - Boston, MA - Paradise Tickets on sale June 14th
• Friday, 3rd August - Detroit, MI - St. Andrews Tickets on sale June 15th

As Marty Robbins once sang, "Down in the west Texas town of El Paso, I'm in the crux of a poor concert market."

I made up the last part. 

 So today, I visited one of Silverchair's biggest fan websites: www.chairpage.com. And was given the chance to hear their new single, Straight Lines to be released whenever, I don't know in the US. But I like it. I love it. I've already heard it back to back six times. Ok, seven.

Oh, my god I'm so excited! I've actually never anticipated an artist's release as much as I have for Silverchair's new album. In March, I'll get the chance to wrap my greedy hands around a copy of Young Modern. This will be the most genius collection of recorded music released all year. At least that's what I think. Silverchair is a band that has never ceased their flux of musical growth. They have yet to produce something that was not completely organic. Every album released thus far has been a milestone in human emotion. Frivolity, focus, love, fear, good, bad, new, old, these words describe what to expect when listening to each Silverchair album from beginning to end. And Daniel Johns. Don't even get me started. I love love love him. I wish I was his guitar. I'd be so loved! Ok, that might be too much. However, one of the things to do on my list of things to do before I die is to stand witness to their magic in person. One day, I'll see them live. And hopefully it won't be for their reunion tour 20 years down the line. It will be while I'm still a young modern.

Here's my list of my top five favorite songs. They're pretty.

1. Paint Pastel Princess
2. Tuna in the Brine
3. Point of View
4. Asylum
5. Anthem for the Year 2000

Young Modern is inching closer.