Man, go see this band live if you get a chance. On tour right now and all of the songs opened up amazingly well live. The record is great, no doubt, but they pull all of it off and then some in a live context. The guitar interplay (Jim Elkington, who plays on the record, is touring as the second guitarist/lap steel player) is awesome.
― grandavis, Monday, 13 October 2014 14:04 (nine years ago) link
As I touched on in the other thread- you could pretty much bring anyone along to this show and they'd probably be pretty enamored.
― Evan, Monday, 13 October 2014 17:17 (nine years ago) link
Man, I tried to get a whole bunch of folks to the show here with that in mind. It was actually a pretty great turnout for this town (and the venue in particular), but the band should appeal to all kinds of folks that weren't there. Gotta say that it is nice to see them at this level though, I was front and center with zero distractions, i.e., everyone there was super into the show and quiet while the band played, no dead weight audience-wise at all.
― grandavis, Monday, 13 October 2014 17:43 (nine years ago) link
Man, I would love to see this band. Last time I saw Jim Elkington was when he was fronting the Zincs and opening for the Sea and Cake and he was totally ace.
Too bad they're coming anywhere near me.
― austinato (Austin), Monday, 13 October 2014 19:46 (nine years ago) link
*they're NOT
― austinato (Austin), Monday, 13 October 2014 19:47 (nine years ago) link
live show here: http://nblo.gs/10EnFZ
― tylerw, Tuesday, 14 October 2014 16:44 (nine years ago) link
I didn't expect that!!!!!!!!!! YESSSS
― Evan, Tuesday, 14 October 2014 16:46 (nine years ago) link
Sweet! Psyched to check this out (i.e. I just started streaming it .....) Nice sound at the outset, digging in.
― grandavis, Tuesday, 14 October 2014 17:13 (nine years ago) link
Oh man this show is good. "Way Out Weather" is flooring me right now ....
― grandavis, Tuesday, 14 October 2014 17:56 (nine years ago) link
yeah, this show/recording smokes
― tylerw, Tuesday, 14 October 2014 17:57 (nine years ago) link
Similar to your experience (set list etc) though?
xp
― Evan, Tuesday, 14 October 2014 17:58 (nine years ago) link
Yeah, the three set lists from this tour I have seen have all been about the same. Performance I saw was exactly the same sequence-wise, but "Tommy's Congo" and "Way Out Weahter" were flipped and we didn't get to see "The Lurker". Performances similar, but of course they are riding the energy and improvising differently. This NYC show definitely smokes as Tyler puts it, but so did the show I saw. Just a damn good band.
― grandavis, Tuesday, 14 October 2014 18:10 (nine years ago) link
new tune/video!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsG0kDv2EGs&feature=youtu.be
― tylerw, Wednesday, 30 March 2016 14:40 (seven years ago) link
It's ok, kinda sounds like a slightly more measured version of the recent jammy solo Malkmus stuff. Maybe that's Matador's fault?
― Evan, Wednesday, 30 March 2016 15:56 (seven years ago) link
yeah definitely the poppiest thing he's done so far ... think i dig it though.
― tylerw, Wednesday, 30 March 2016 15:58 (seven years ago) link
i really wanna like this dude but i just cant get down with the vocals
― Heez, Wednesday, 30 March 2016 16:07 (seven years ago) link
what's wrong with them? too breathy/throaty? i feel like it suits the low-key vibe of the music well
― global tetrahedron, Wednesday, 30 March 2016 16:26 (seven years ago) link
^ agreed. if he sounded like Benjamin Booker or something, i'd understand.
― Mad Piratical (The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall), Wednesday, 30 March 2016 16:38 (seven years ago) link
just not very expressive or something
― Heez, Wednesday, 30 March 2016 19:33 (seven years ago) link
or maybe i just don't dig the melodies
― Heez, Wednesday, 30 March 2016 19:37 (seven years ago) link
If Time Off doesn't do it for you then yeah maybe it's just not your thing.
― Evan, Wednesday, 30 March 2016 19:44 (seven years ago) link
this is alright but he's definitely moving in a direction away from the things i've generally liked about him
this feels more indie than grateful dead meets fahey
― rockpalast '82 (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Wednesday, 30 March 2016 19:59 (seven years ago) link
know what you mean, but i'll reserve judgment til i hear the whole thing. other news: three lobed has put the two OOP gunn-truscinski records together into a nice double LP sethttp://threelobed.bandcamp.com/album/ocean-parkway
― tylerw, Wednesday, 30 March 2016 20:03 (seven years ago) link
Now that's more like it.
― Evan, Wednesday, 30 March 2016 20:21 (seven years ago) link
of course, i thought Way Out Weather sounded a bit too lush when i first heard it, and I totally grew to love that record...
― tylerw, Wednesday, 30 March 2016 20:25 (seven years ago) link
i would totally see him live though
― Heez, Wednesday, 30 March 2016 20:54 (seven years ago) link
he kills live
― rockpalast '82 (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Wednesday, 30 March 2016 21:04 (seven years ago) link
was really glad to be able to see him at old familiar chime fest cuz i don't get the sense he does acoustic sets much anymore
He does! At least locally. Saw him go acoustic two consecutive weekends in a row in separate locations. Again though, NYC local here.
― Evan, Wednesday, 30 March 2016 21:07 (seven years ago) link
this leaked incredibly early
(and it's good)
― moans and feedback (Dinsdale), Wednesday, 6 April 2016 16:29 (seven years ago) link
yow, this gunn-truscinski set from a few weeks back is godlike: http://www.nyctaper.com/2016/04/gunn-truscinski-duo-march-26-2016-three-lobed-sweet-sixteen-spectacular-kings-raleigh-nc/
― tylerw, Wednesday, 20 April 2016 20:19 (seven years ago) link
Oooooooh, definitely gonna check that!
― grandavis, Wednesday, 20 April 2016 20:22 (seven years ago) link
that slays. thanks!
― reggie (qualmsley), Wednesday, 20 April 2016 21:48 (seven years ago) link
"banh mi ringtones" is tremendous, manuel göttsching style
― reggie (qualmsley), Thursday, 21 April 2016 18:19 (seven years ago) link
yeah this rules
― jason waterfalls (gbx), Friday, 22 April 2016 13:22 (seven years ago) link
hoping these guys make another album -- with gunn moving in a more song-y direction, i hope he still indulges his jammed out side. by the way, the new one is really growing on me. driving around a bit with it as the soundtrack last weekend was perfect.
― tylerw, Friday, 22 April 2016 13:56 (seven years ago) link
EYES ON THE LINES.
http://www.npr.org/2016/05/10/477374821/songs-we-love-steve-gunn-ancient-jules
― calstars, Thursday, 12 May 2016 00:37 (seven years ago) link
its lovely
― Neptune Bingo (Michael B), Sunday, 5 June 2016 20:55 (seven years ago) link
im getting a kinda Allman Brothers vibe from it
― Neptune Bingo (Michael B), Sunday, 5 June 2016 20:59 (seven years ago) link
sounds good as expected
― ciderpress, Tuesday, 7 June 2016 12:43 (seven years ago) link
it kinda shreds
― a (waterface), Tuesday, 7 June 2016 13:27 (seven years ago) link
I like this guy so far. Something bothers me a little bit about the English folk pretensions. Like a lot of artists of this generation, I feel like he's approximating via his record collection, and doing a pretty good job of it, but still it feels more like he took, idk, Tom Petty or something and added "English folk seasoning blend."
― socka flocka-jones (man alive), Tuesday, 7 June 2016 14:00 (seven years ago) link
tom petty's song structures are way simpler tho--i don't really get that vibe from gunn
― a (waterface), Tuesday, 7 June 2016 14:45 (seven years ago) link
Yeah, I don't think Petty is really the right reference point, I just mean that I feel like he doesn't quite earn the English folkisms he throws in. IDK, I'm a little grumpy today, he's really pretty good.
― socka flocka-jones (man alive), Tuesday, 7 June 2016 14:56 (seven years ago) link
earlier stuff on paradise of bachelors and elsewhere drew more from tompkins square ragga picking styles, along with tuareg-esque desert vibes. this matador album sounds more 'streamlined' but i'm liking it just fine
― reggie (qualmsley), Tuesday, 7 June 2016 14:57 (seven years ago) link
Yeah, it's a general complaint I have about today's eclecticism that there's a lot of rough imitation of different styles going on, sort of capturing the stylistic and sonic feel but not digging into what's going on musically.
― socka flocka-jones (man alive), Tuesday, 7 June 2016 15:04 (seven years ago) link
I think Scott S had a good line somewhere on this board about great bands that are born of failed imitations of others' music. But the dilletantism of it still bothers me. Like those tuareg guitarists spend their careers just learning to play that style of guitar really well, and there's something kind of thin about just listening to some records of it and vaguely capturing the "vibes" of it.
― socka flocka-jones (man alive), Tuesday, 7 June 2016 15:05 (seven years ago) link
no i totally get that!
― a (waterface), Tuesday, 7 June 2016 15:15 (seven years ago) link
Maybe it's also because I first heard about him via a Bert Jansch comparison and was a little let down after that.
― socka flocka-jones (man alive), Tuesday, 7 June 2016 15:19 (seven years ago) link
this new one sounds way different than the other ones--this one sounds like late period Sonic Youth to me
― a (waterface), Tuesday, 7 June 2016 15:25 (seven years ago) link
Love this new album. Do the earlier ones sound this way too? I swear I gave one a try a while back and wasn't super into it. But now I can't remember.
― sctttnnnt (pgwp), Thursday, 15 October 2020 17:58 (three years ago) link
xp don't think the essay is posted anywhere at the moment? don't worry, you're not missing too much ...
and yeah, this isn't a huge departure for them — a few tracks here are a little creamier than previous things, but nothing too radically different.
― tylerw, Thursday, 15 October 2020 18:10 (three years ago) link
Gunn was on two different Magic Markers releases from 2007 according to discogs- which I’m now keen on hearing.
― Western® with Bacon Flavor, Thursday, 15 October 2020 19:04 (three years ago) link
https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/steve-gunn-other-you
― Duke, Monday, 30 August 2021 20:58 (two years ago) link
Might try this one.
― Duke, Monday, 30 August 2021 20:59 (two years ago) link
Despite my ambivalence toward his last solo effort.
― Duke, Monday, 30 August 2021 21:00 (two years ago) link
I like it. It’s not a major departure but I do like it more than the last album.
― sctttnnnt (pgwp), Tuesday, 31 August 2021 01:39 (two years ago) link
i am always rooting for gunn but man this is some soft ass shit
― call all destroyer, Tuesday, 31 August 2021 01:47 (two years ago) link
Haha, that sums up my thoughts on the last one. I'll give this a listen.
― Duke, Tuesday, 31 August 2021 07:33 (two years ago) link
Yeah, I really like most of his work but the 2019 solo album left me cold and the reviews for this new one so far don't convince me it will be much different.
― a superficial sheeb of intelligence (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Tuesday, 31 August 2021 14:16 (two years ago) link
I liked his last solo album. Excited to hear this one
― aegis philbin (crüt), Tuesday, 31 August 2021 14:29 (two years ago) link
Spoke too soon, this new one is lovely. I really like it.
― a superficial sheeb of intelligence (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Wednesday, 15 September 2021 20:43 (two years ago) link
Ok. That's encouraging. I've not got round to it yet.
― Duke, Wednesday, 15 September 2021 21:49 (two years ago) link
It's really hard to put my finger on what makes this so much more inviting than Unseen since much of it is still largely in the same vein, but it really is. I was won over fairly early on, but the instrumental track with Mary Lattimore is so beautiful that it took the record to a whole new level.
― a superficial sheeb of intelligence (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Wednesday, 15 September 2021 21:57 (two years ago) link
The guy is probably really beat up about Chapman. I feel bad for him.
― Evan, Wednesday, 15 September 2021 22:03 (two years ago) link
As far as the albums go I really miss the loose jammy-ness of the first couple of records in his more recent stuff, but I haven't heard this one yet.
― Evan, Wednesday, 15 September 2021 22:04 (two years ago) link
Yeah that instrumental track toward the end of the album was a surprising highlight.
― sctttnnnt (pgwp), Thursday, 16 September 2021 02:55 (two years ago) link
is it just me or does the vocal on "Reflection" sound autotuned to shit?
― aegis philbin (crüt), Friday, 17 September 2021 15:02 (two years ago) link
Got the new one. I'm on first listen and I already like it. It's just more atmospheric (?) than the last one. Dunno. But a good thing.
― Duke, Friday, 17 September 2021 20:43 (two years ago) link
I’d like to sink comfortably into the smooth acoustic groove web this guy weaves but something is just so grating. A song and a half is the most I can stand
― ncxkd, Friday, 17 September 2021 23:30 (two years ago) link
I ate an edible and this album rules
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Thursday, 23 September 2021 03:43 (two years ago) link
<3
― aegis philbin (crüt), Thursday, 23 September 2021 03:52 (two years ago) link
"tommy's congo" = song of the decade― reggie (qualmsley), Thursday, August 9, 2018 4:01 PM (three years ago) bookmarkflaglink
― reggie (qualmsley), Thursday, August 9, 2018 4:01 PM (three years ago) bookmarkflaglink
― Western® with Bacon Flavor, Monday, 20 December 2021 07:22 (two years ago) link
https://stevegunn.bandcamp.com/album/live-in-london
this must've been some show
― corrs unplugged, Wednesday, 28 February 2024 14:29 (one month ago) link