the finest kiss

The Lucksmiths, Math and Physics Club, Fred Astereo | Crocodile Cafe | 24 September 2007

The Lucksmiths are making their way across the U.S. on a quick 2 week tour to promote their double cd Spring A Leak which collects 45 songs that appeared in various places other than their albums. Monday was their Seattle stop, and they did it up right, playing a free in store at the Ballard Sonic Boom and then Later the same night at the Crocodile Cafe with Seattle’s Math & Physics Club and fellow Australians Fred Astereo.

It was a family outing for me, going down to Ballard for the in-store. We weren’t sure how much of the set we’d get to see, I figured the kids would last 3 or 4 songs. I was wrong, they made it through the entire set (though I had to bribe my 5 year old son with a cupcake from Cupcake Royale). We weren’t the only ones with the idea to drag the kids along, there were a bunch of kids including Charles from Math & Physics Club with his youngsters. The Lucksmiths are aware of their kid appeal too, busting out baby and kid Lucksmiths shirts for sale after the set. They were their charming selves, playing Broken Bones, Music from Next Door and even a new one called Sobering Decision.

The Crocodile Show the same night was 21+ sponsored by Seattle’s Three Imaginary Girls. I arrived mid set for Fred Astereo, and their kind of goofy, but catchy minimalist songs. Stanley Paulzen (formerly of Ruck Rover) was accompanied by a bass and ipod. The bass player was great not only did she play, but she acted as Paulzen’s comic foil as well. The ipod backing sounded a bit like one of the backing tracks on the old electric organ and my grandparent’s house. They were funny.

Math and Physics Club have been away for nearly a year, so it was good to see them back in a live setting. The show not only acted as a coming out party for them, but also as a record release party celebrating the release of their new EP, Baby, I’m Yours. They were a bit rough around the edges, but charming nonetheless. The band played all but one of the songs from the new EP, including a Crosby, Stills & Nash version of Do You Keep a Diary with Charles James and Ethan doing a guitar only rendition, that was much different than the synth EP version. They also threw in a cover of the Stone Roses first single Sally Cinnamon, which was quite nice. MAPC always seem to have a good cover up their sleeve, I’ve seen them do REM, Razorcuts at other shows. Glad to have these guys back playing live again after the hiatus.

It’s always a pleasure to see the Lucksmiths live and tonight was no exception. A Monday night did not deter people from coming out to see them. It felt like one of those shows where everyone there was a super fan, in between bands, I saw people with noses buried in the liner notes from their new purchased Spring a Leak cd’s. If you’ve never seen them live, Tali, the drummer and singer uses a stand up kit and drums mostly with brushes. He’s front and center making for a visually exciting show from just a stage layout perspective. I mean how often can you actually see what the drummer is doing way in the back of the stage? More people should hear this band not only live but on record, and the place to start is their last album Warmer Corners. It has some of the best songs they’ve ever written, and a lot of those were played last night including Chapter in Your Life Entitled San Francisco, Sunlight in a Jar, Hiccup In Your Happiness and my personal favorite Fiction. Before they came on I was heading to the bar and I passed Marty, blurting out to him that Fiction was my favorite song of his and were they going to play it? He said that they rarely do play it but were going to tonight because they could borrow Saundrah from MAPC for the violin parts. They closed with Fiction, and it was the perfect end to a Lucky day.

I’ve got more photo’s from the show over at Flickr.

My Singles Collection, vol. 13

There’s a bit more info about the new Lucksmiths record, which is a compilation of non-album tracks that will fill the holes in your Lucksmiths collection.  It contains no less than 45 songs and totally raids the vaults.  It has everything  including the kitchen sink on it, check out the track list over at their new Australian label, Lost and Lonesome.  There are tracks from out of print 7″ singles, excellent cover songs, some unreleased stuff, radio sessions, remixes…my god what doesn’t it have?  Here are a couple songs that will be making their first appearance on cd.  These were ripped from my 7″ collection, so the sound is a bit crackly but I like to think that it was the way they were meant to be heard.  They both are from the Macintyre 7″ that was limited to 500 copies and was a co-release by Candle Records and Thirsty Arab Records back in 1996.  Are Are You Having A Good Time?!?!  is a riot of a song that you have to check out, and I bet will make you want to buy this double cd! Both songs will be on Spring A Leak which is out in September on Lost & Lonesome in Australia and Matinee in the US.

mp3: Are You Having A Good Time?!?!  
mp3: Get Well Now

…And if you live in the States, the band will be over touring the country.  They’re not here that often so if they’re close, go see ‘em.  Here are the dates:  

Fri Sept 21 — Los Angeles, CA - Venue TBC  #
Sat Sept 22 — Santa Barbara, CA - Red’s Espresso Cafe #
Sun Sept 23 — San Francisco, CA -12 Galaxies
Mon Sept 24 — Seattle, WA - Crocodile Café # 
Tues Sept 25— Portland, OR - Holocene
Wed Sept 26 — Chicago, IL - Venue TBC
Thurs Sept 27 — Cambridge, MA - TT The Bear’s ^
Fri Sept 28 — New York, NY - Knitting Factory ^  
Sat Sept 29 — Brooklyn, NY - Europa ^
Sun Sept 30 — Washington, DC - DC9 ^ 
Mon Oct 1 — Durham, NC - Duke Coffeehouse ^ 
Tues Oct 2 — Athens, GA - Caledonia Lounge ^ 
Wed Oct 3 — New Orleans, LA - Venue TBC 
Thurs Oct 4 — Austin, TX - Emo’s

# with The Math & Physics Club
^ with The Ladybug Transistor

No, it’s not a contest. Details are scant at this point but it looks like the Lucksmiths are gearing up for a whole lotta action.  Matinee alludes to three new releases on the calendar. First there is a collection of singles, b-sides and ephemera; then comes a new single; and…wait for it… a new album!  If that’s not enough to satiate your appetite, it looks like the band will be over here in the states this fall.  I see they’re booked for the Crocodile in Seattle, with Math and Physics Club no less… 24 September, that’s a Monday! 

It’s not every day a record label just up and calls it quits, but that’s what Australia’s Candle Records is doing. The Melbourne label was originally started back in 1994 as a way for the Simpletons to put out their records. Later the Lucksmiths, Cuddlefish and the Mabels joined the ranks. I first found out about Candle when I got the Lucksmiths, A Good Kind of Nervous. I still remember biking home from the record store with A Good Kind of Nervous tucked in my bag. It was a whole new world Australian indie. From there I went on to discover the punk/folk of the Simpletons and the mellow, warm pop of the Mabels.

Over the years the Candle newsletter in my inbox has been like a warm blanket, smothering me with the friendly pop sounds from down under. The label’s roster of exclusively Australian artists expanded over the years to include Darren Hanlon, the Guild League, and Mid-State Orange among others. I will miss the label’s friendly demeanor and quality releases. I’ve been wondering where the Lucksmiths in particular but also Darren Hanlon, Mid-State Orange and the others will go to put out their records now!?

On 31 March the Candle will close it’s doors for good, in the meantime they’re putting on some Farewell Concerts around Australia (of course). You can also order records up to then from them as well. They have cut some prices and are offering a few deals. So check it out. If you’ve been putting off ordering that old Simpletons records, now’s your chance.

Here are few mp3’s to make it hard to resist.

Simpletons - These Days

Lucksmiths - Detective Agency

Darren Hanlon - Happiness is a Chemical