Welcome to the first Wednesday Breaker’s Point! I am sorry that I am so late with this one, but Monday was a holiday, so give me some slack there. As for Tuesday, well, I was busy. This is a jam-packed newsletter today because I have a lot to write about. First, I would like to announce that I will be playing a show at Redhouse in Boonton on Friday, June 10th. It is my first show since I believe my last fall semester, and I am so excited about it. I am going with a four-piece this time around as Matty cannot make the show. I also have Xander Haselman, a new character in the Mnemonic Advice world, on bass with me for this show. I have never played with him, but I am excited to as he is a great musician. I always have fun playing at Redhouse, and it is a room that I am not only comfortable in but has felt like a home for my music over the last several years. I want to thank Adri for always finding a slot for me. I am going to do something special for this great audience, which presumably will mostly consist of my real ride-or-die fans; even if they are really just my relatives and friends. I encourage all of my readers to come. I also have another big show announcement that is still in the works, so I do not want to spill the beans now but stay tuned.
I was at Wilco’s Solid Sound festival last weekend. It did not disappoint at all, and if you do not mind, I would love to tell you about it. The lineup featured a lot of amazing artists over the three days. I came into Friday, not a huge Sylvan Esso fan but their set was fun, and the danceable beats and synths sounded punchy and energetic coming out of the PA on Joe’s Field. There were a handful of awesome sets on Saturday including Sam Evian, who I have been a fan of for some time now. He is an amazing songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, as well as a producer for some big names, namely Big Thief. I have heard saxophone on his recordings, but I never knew that he was the one playing it. Hand Habits was also great. Meg Duffy is the frontperson in that band and their signature guitar style and tone set them apart from many of their indie folk-rock peers. Japanese Breakfast opened for Wilco on Saturday, and they really won me over. I loved their album Soft Sounds From Another Planet, but I was not totally in love with their most recent album Jubilee despite it getting high praise from industry normies. That typically happens. The more mainstream media and fans are usually an album late to the party. However, the songs sounded amazing live and Michelle Zauner is a real professional frontwoman. Many indie rockers struggle with commanding the stage in a club, let alone a festival, but Michelle worked the crowd with ease in between funny quips about how much she has stolen from her favorite band, Wilco. In fact, at the end of her set, the virtuosic Wilco lead-guitarist, Nels Cline came out and ripped a face-melting three-minute solo that had the festival grounds in orbit. I think I saw his feet levitating above the ground.
That brings me to Wilco. They debuted their brand-new album Cruel Country, a 77-minute 21-track country-inspired epic. I mentioned last week that the band had given Solid Sound ticket holders a code to download the album early. I had listened to the album about three times leading up to the show. I enjoyed it marginally with each listen, and the live performance cemented it for me, as an instant classic in the Wilco catalog. The band was clearly prepared and it might have been towards the upper-echelon of Wilco concerts that I have been to. I am not ordinarily a very spiritual person, but once in a while at concerts, I feel a spiritual power. I really do. It makes me believe in the universe. It feels like there are three energies at the show; the band, the audience, and the larger force that they manufacture together. It is not like I do not enjoy myself when I do not feel this, for example, the second night was an incredible show but the spiritual feeling was not there. It was the first night though. It was clear that Jeff Tweedy was elated to be back at Solid Sound and playing material that he felt super connected to and proud of. The band was locked in too. It was an epic night that will go down in Wilco history. I think I saw Jeff wiping tears as he left the stage. It was so special.
The second night was amazing as well. Wilco played four out of what may be my top five to ten songs of theirs. Michelle Zauner sang a great rendition of “Jesus etc.'“ The next day, Jeff Tweedy closed out the festival with his solo band. He brought up David Byrne for the last song which was a total exciting surprise. I just love Jeff and Wilco. It is amazing that older acts such as David Byrne have such a reverence for them. However, it is even cooler how much praise and respect Wilco gets from the current indie music scene. This is not only because their music is so influential, but also because Jeff makes it his duty to mentor younger artists in the way he wishes he was when he was younger. Ugh, he is just the best.
Grateful Eight
* Cruel Country
* The New York Rangers are going to the Eastern Conference Finals! I cannot pretend to have predicted this.
* The Mets are currently 10 games up in first place in the NL East. It is hard for me to come to grips with the fact that this team may actually be good. The Jury is still out though. I am much too battered.
* Spending quality time with my dad at Solid Sound. It was also fun to be an honorary member of his wacky crew.
* The Broccoli Bar at Solid Sound. It is nuts they give you broccoli cooked in three different ways with rice and pickled vegetables. It is so delicious. I am a big broccoli guy, but it has no business being THAT good.
* I got an internship!
* The opportunity to play music in front of people for the first time in a while.
* Henry sat with me today as I played acoustic guitar. It felt special.
This Week’s Mnemonic Advice/Josh Carus Rare Recording: “Tired of Taking It Out on You.”
I did promise a reader that this week’s song would be an original, but I am sorry it is a cover once again. There definitely will be an original included next week. But this week I wanted to sing a song off of Cruel Country. I tried a handful of my favorite songs from the record, but this one suited my voice the best (even as I battled some allergies to sing it). I love the line “Freeze my warmth away, tear the tears out of my quiet face”. The lyrics to this song are just so amazing and all the other ones from the album, to be honest. I usually do not include lyrics in the newsletter when I do a cover. These lyrics are so good and maybe a little more unfamiliar to my readers, so here they are; from the pen of Jefferey Scot Tweedy.
I'm tired of taking it out on youTired of needing to
Freeze my warmth awayTear the tears out of your quiet faceI can't face the way I am with youOr replace the bite I'm chewing throughOh, I'm tired of taking it out on you
I crave crazy times againOur nights, our nights would never end
I'm ashamed of who I amI'm in pain, so I strive
To the nearest starStreet light over an idling car
Move across the seatI'm going to needYou to drive these last few miles'Cause I'm tired of taking it out on you
Ooh-oohOoh-ooh
Freeze my warmth awayTear the tears out of your quiet faceI can't take the way I am with youOr recreate things we used to doI'm tired of taking it out on you
Ooh-oohOoh-oohOoh-ooh
I'm tired of taking it out on you
