Eccomi eccomi…..dunque dunque:
EELS PERFORMING LIVE 2010, 15 SEPT., ALCATRAZ MILANO
Alcatraz a capienza ridotta e per questo strapieno. Prima del concerto tre sorprese: un ventiloquo con pupazzo in vena di battute sporche, una biondona armata di chitarra dalla voce potente, che ha cantato per mezz’oretta e poi la sorpresa più strana. Colonna sonora ante-concerto: mezz’ora di canzoni italoamericane famosissime, tra cui O’Sole Mio, il Walzer del Padrino e amenità varie…..una bonaria presa in giro direi. Quindi verso le 21 e 30 l’Uomo che si fa chiamare E, sale sul palco da solo. E’ vestito interamente di bianco. Occhiali neri. Bandana-cappello che copre totalmente il resto della faccia: sembra proprio Gibbons, quello degli ZZ TOP. Inizio da solo con 2 canzoni abbastanza dolci. Poi sale sul palco la band. In due hanno la coppola…..Formazione da battaglia con 2 chitarre (più quella di E), basso e batteria. E battaglia sarà , con poche eccezioni, fino alle fine. Bluesacci tiratissimi, sporchi, ruvidi. Lo-fi alla grande, a volte l’effetto sembra quasi sconfinare nel grunge. Il concerto si basa sulla trilogia di recente pubblicazione: Hombre Lobo, End Times e Tomorrow Morning. Qualche brano viene recuperato anche da Souljacker e Daisies of the Galaxy. In tutto circa un ora e quaranta con 23/24 pezzi, che fila via velocissima. MR.E non concede grande spazio allo spettacolo fine a sè stesso, tranne nel finale, in cui gigioneggia un pochino e lancia anche gelati al pubblico. I brani da ricordare sono molti: da “Hombre Lobo†sicuramente spiccano le esecuzioni di Tremendous Dynamite e Fresh Blood. In mezzo agli ululati ci si aspetterebbe di vedere spuntare zanne gialle e peli, per una vera trasformazione nell’Uomo Lupo. Molto tirata anche Prizefighter.
Sullo stesso registro le bellissime Dog faced Boy e Souljacker Pt. I. Altra botta è Paradise Blues, che arriva da End Times. Dallo stesso album vengono recuperate anche In My Younger days e Little Bird (all’inizio), tra i pochi momenti intimi e tranquilli. Spectacular Girl, che mi piace moltissimo, viene invece da Tomorrw Morning, ed è pronta a diventare un classico di E. L’unico rimpianto è per Electro-shock Blues che viene completamente ignorato, ma non si può avere tutto.
Tomorrow Morning non viene eseguito a inizio concerto, ed E ci regala, a parte Spectacular Girl, qualche brano solo nel finale. A mio avviso le chicche della serata sono poi due: una è Summertime di Gershwin (così mi han detto). Conosco l’originale, un classico, che diventa irriconoscibile, trasfigurato in maniera davvero trascinante, da far ballare quasi. Poi il superclassico “Mr.E’s Beautiful Blues†(questo sì l’ho riconosciuto!!) con due citazioni: inizio tipo “La Bamba†e consueta trasformazione nel finale in “Twist&Shoutâ€. Avrà mutuato dal Boss questa goliardia di fine concerto???
Comunque una serata divertante di bella musica, lontana dagli standard commerciali, ed un E davvero straripante.
1. Grace Kelly Blues
2. Little Bird
3. End Times
4. Prizefighter
5. She Said Yeah (S. Bono / R. Jackson)
6. Gone Man
7. Summer In The City (Lovin’ Spoonful)
8. Tremendous Dynamite
9. In My Dreams
10. In My Younger Days
11. Paradise Blues
12. Jungle Telegraph
13. My Beloved Monster
14. Spectacular Girl
15. Fresh Blood
16. Dog Faced Boy
17. That Look You Give That Guy
18. Souljacker Pt. I
19. Talkin’ Bout Knuckles
20. Mr. E’s Beautiful Blues
21. I Like Birds
22. Summertime (G. Gershwin)
23. Looking Up
encore
24. I’m Going To Stop Pretending That I Didn’t Break Your Heart
25. Oh So Lovely
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First Listen: Impressions of Neil Young’s ‘Le Noise’ (upon hearing it at Daniel Lanois’ house)
August 25, 2010 | 11:06 am
Photo Nearly every decade since Neil Young launched a solo career in 1968, the Canadian rocker has put out a watershed album with which he’s upped the ante for himself. In 1969, it was his sophomore effort, which first paired him with Crazy Horse, “Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere.” In 1979, punk rock was powerfully on his mind in “Rust Never Sleeps,” while 1989 brought “Freedom,” in which he fully assumed his latter-day role as a state-of-the-union messenger about what’s right, and wrong, in America.
“Silver & Gold,” which was recorded in 1999 but didn’t surface until four months into the following year, didn’t quite hit the same level of accomplishment, but with “Le Noise,” which will be released Sept. 28, Young’s peaking in yet another decade, and just a few months behind schedule for keeping his streak going for years ending in 9.
The title is a wink to his collaborator, musician-songwriter-producer Daniel Lanois, who premiered the album Tuesday night for a few dozen friends, music journalists, bloggers and L.A. music world denizens at his home overlooking Silver Lake.
The assembled group packed into the living room of the early 20th century mansion on the hillside, a voluntarily captive audience for Young’s subtly subversive method of forcing listeners to hear it for the first time the way he intended: on a first-class sound system, in the dark, no distractions.
What’s striking about “Le Noise” is the way it both summarizes and distills Young’s singular approach to music, predominantly just Neil and a guitar: his big, white hollow-body Gretsch electric slashing and burning for most of the tracks, a couple built around picked and strummed acoustic instruments. Both are recorded and amplified — literally and metaphorically — by Lanois’ signature soundscapes that loop vocals, and enhance the guitars’ bass notes through distortion boxes, synthesizers and other electronics.
Photo1 The eight songs travel a path from the electrified reverie of “Walk With Me,” through the nakedly autobiographical “Love and War,” to the combative “Angry World” and into the epic journey through the American frontier that’s always fascinated Young with the acoustic guitar-driven “Peaceful Valley.”
The losses of two close friends from his longtime circle of intimates in the last year — filmmaker Larry “L.A.” Johnson and multi-instrumentalist Ben Keith — certainly had to figure into the power he’s invested in the new material, which Lanois said they crafted together “over four full moons.”
In “Love and War,” with a Spanish-guitar accompaniment, Young once again tries to make sense of the high cost of armed conflict:
I see a lot of young men go to war
And leave a lot of young brides behind
I see em try and explain it to their kids
I see a lot of them failing
He manages to inject a note of levity when he adds:
I sang for justice, but I hit a bad chord
But I still try to sing about love and war
“Angry World” examines the different paths Young sees people on in this world: “Some see life as hope eternal/Some see life as a business plan.” Yet despite what mere mortals try to ascribe in the way of meaning, Young concludes, “No doubt everything will go as planned,” returning to the song’s central theme about the angry world, words he spits out in that unmistakable high, light tenor of his.
The songs bristle with energy — anger, passion, love, self-doubt, regret, hope — emotions that seem all the more pure expressed without percussion, keyboards, strings or other instruments, just by Young’s voice and guitars.
Lanois said the project started out as an all acoustic album, but that idea didn’t last long once the producer began prodding Young to really get at what was on his mind and in his heart. “He has the ability to really reach down deep inside,” Lanois said during a break before the album was played a second time, this time accompanied by gritty film footage of Young singing the vocals.
“The idea may seem obvious,” he said, “but we decided to just film Neil singing each vocal live.” Young’s manager, Elliot Roberts, said “Le Noise” will be released in a variety of formats, in keeping with Young’s ongoing exploration and exploitation of new technology. The film will first be available via video on demand services and on Netflix, and in some form for mobile phones. The music will appear on CD and vinyl, and accompanying the film on Blu-ray disc, the audiophile system Young has been championing in recent years.
As busy as Young and his record label have been digging through the vaults for material for his massive “Archives” multiyear box set project — Vol. 2 is due in 2012, Roberts said Tuesday — along with individual reissues in recent years, it’s all the more rewarding to discover he’s delivered yet another craggy rock classic to keep them company.
— Randy Lewis — LA Times
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