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M. (hristine

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Posts posted by M. (hristine

    Califone Living Room Show Tour

    in Someone Else's Song

    Posted

    NYC and Brooklyn were great shows. The new songs sound great and everyone is in for a treat when the album drops in sept. Especially movie music kills a kiss and Moses. Amazing that Tim can still be coming out with new stuff that sends chills. Both set lists were pretty similar but Brooklyn closed with a cover of the Stones' no expectations which was simply sublime. Tim asked how many people at the Brooklyn show had been there the prior night, and I was one of the 4 nerds to raise my hand. A great two nights.

    I'm still hungover from last week.

    Can not wait for Stitches and an autumn tour.

     

    Also, Wil Hendricks is the other half of the livingroom tour duo.

     

    http://loftypillars.com/hendricksbio.htm

    Califone Living Room Show Tour

    in Someone Else's Song

    Posted

    Yeah, I don't know the current status of that tour.I just got the idea that this was a low key tour to perform the new songs live in a venue Tim called 'healthier' for him. Up until a month or so ago Tim wasn't sure even who was going out with him. When I asked him about the release date for the album, another guy said that wasn't soon enough and Tim replied that it was plenty soon. That Iron and Wine tour was fairly extensive I think. Adamik, Massarella and Becker might just be taking the summer off.

     

    This is all conjecture and assumptions born out of pretty limited conversation with Tim.

    Califone Living Room Show Tour

    in Someone Else's Song

    Posted

    Trying to imagine Electric Fence without drums & just can't, but will hear for myself soon enough in Ottawa & Toronto I hope. Will also report back here. Someone posted a few nice pics on Califone's facebook page, looks like just a duo - anyone know who the other musician is? 5 more days, can't hardly wait....

    You will be amazed what two guys can do.

     

    Califone Living Room Show Tour

    in Someone Else's Song

    Posted

    I caught this tour in Dallas last week. One of the best shows I've seen in a long time... Honestly, I think the new songs were the best ones, too. I'm seriously stoked for this new record now. Seems like it will be more song-oriented and less sprawling than Funeral Singers... maybe closer to Roots & Crowns.

    Funeral Singers is probably my favorite album in a decade, so I wouldn't have minded... :P

     

    I was just surprised at the personal aspect of the lyrics. Angela Bettis (Tim's significant other/actress/Zel in the FS film/merch girl) is traveling with them. The songs were clearly about their relationship. Tim kept looking at her and even asked at one point, "You ok?" 

     

    Do you know the wonderful musician traveling with him?

    Califone Living Room Show Tour

    in Someone Else's Song

    Posted

    ahhhh, i'm so stoked!  this will be my first time seeing Califone...and in this intimate of a setting!  can't wait.

     

    any word on whether Jim Becker and Ben Massarella will be re-joining in the future?

    Tim did say that he missed playing with everyone. I made the assumption that the album tour this fall would be with the band, though with the Iron and Wine thing happening, I'm not sure.

     

    elephantstone, please find out at your show and report back! 

    Califone Living Room Show Tour

    in Someone Else's Song

    Posted

    On Tim Rutili's blog there is a photograph of a Lebbeus Woods quote which in part says, "It is not only that light pervades the universe and is a kind of a messenger of the histories and mysteries of time and space, but that it is also the most intimate of phenomena, even as it is the most ephemeral. Maybe the two concepts are inexorably linked, sensuality and transience, intensity of experience and its brevity."

    When I was coming up, the music I loved was played in huge stadiums. There something brave in in the performer and the fan who interact on a more intimate level. "This is so much better than playing in a bar. I'm old. I go to bed early an wake up early. The people who are here, I know they are here to listen to the music."

    They played four songs from the new album. The older stuff has been eaten and respun like fine spidersilk. I think I actually drooled during the spinning of Electric Fence. 

    Setlist, loosely translated:

    • Funeral Singers
    • Michigan Girls
    • The Orchids
    • Fisherman's Wife
    • Stepdaughter
    • Vampiring Again
    • Electric Fence
    • Bottles and Bones
    • Braindead

    New songs:

    • Movie Music Kills a Kiss
    • Moses at the End
    • Stitches
    • another that the title was not given

    Tim Rutili has said that this is one of the most personal albums he's ever written. If these four songs are any indication, that's a true story.
     

    The livingroom concept has been catching fire. I hope some of my friends bought tickets for these shows. It is one of the most enthralling live music experiences I've ever had.
    Album drops in September and a tour is planned to coincide.
     
     

    Califone Living Room Show Tour

    in Someone Else's Song

    Posted

    Colored vinyls are the awesome though!

     

    Interesting slice of interview. Thanks for that.

     

    Yeah, I forgot about the whole Iron & Wine thing. That has got to be steadier and more lucrative that Califone.

     

    Tim Hurley and Danni Iosello are Sin Ropas in case you haven't fallen down THAT rabbit hole. ;)

    Califone Living Room Show Tour

    in Someone Else's Song

    Posted

    I'm in for Toronto & waiting on Ottawa confirmation. Know exactly what you mean about the rabbit hole & not coming up for air, since I saw Califone open for Wilco in Hamilton & London, Ontario in 2010 they've been my favourite & by far most listened to band. By the 3rd song in Hamilton I was having a "where have you been all my life" moment with this music, such a shame I missed the previous decade but that's the way it goes sometimes I guess. Most grateful to Wilco for bringing them along on that tour and introducing us.

     

    Saw the new lineup in San Francisco earlier this month, one regular show & one improvising live soundtrack to films performance. They were great, but I missed Becker's versatility - the banjo & fiddle, the variety in sounds - and the emphasis on percussion. Still a 4 piece band but sounding way stripped down from what I remember in 2010. Not to sound too negative though, they were still great and the new members are probably still feeling their way a little bit. They played about 4 new songs that all sounded excellent, can't wait for the new album. Beyond that they did Bottles & Bones, Fisherman's Wife, The Orchids, Electric Fence(YES!!!!), Funeral Singers, Ape-Like, Pastry Sharp & one Red Red Meat song.

     

    My 2 cents on where to start is start with Funeral Singers and work backwards, that's what I did on Tim's recommendation when he was working the merch booth at those Wilco shows. He sold me Roots & Crowns at the 2nd show, I love them all but that one's my favourite.

    Do you know who was touring with Rutili when you saw them in SF?

     

    At the announcement of this tour I asked Tim who was going to be with him, he said that it was yet to be determined. The original intention for Califone was to be Rutili and a rotating selection of musicians. I spoke with Ben Massarella after a show in St Louis (which is where I will be going to see them again), and he spoke of the difficulty of touring. Rutili says his balls aren't as big as they used to be. These guys live all over the country and have their own things going on locally. At Califone's level of income it would be difficult to make the sacrifices necessary to tour for a year. That said I sure would like to see Joe, Ben, Tim Hurley and Jim Becker rotate in and out for these shows.

     

    The new album has been mixed and is in the can, so hopefully there will be some of that as well. Rutili calls the process difficult like birthing a baby. I'll be happy to midwife.

    Califone Living Room Show Tour

    in Someone Else's Song

    Posted

    Thanks so much!  I haven't heard this band before, but am really like their sound.  Will try to see them in Chicago.  Thanks for the tip!

    You're sure welcome! Happy to spread the love. I listen to a lot of music and these guys sit at the very top of a stellar heap.

     

    Just a word about these shows. Tim Rutili wants them to be 60 person shows. This is an incredible opportunity. When I asked him if he wanted greater exposure than just his fan page, he wrote this: 

     

    "exposure? sure. The main thing I want from these living room shows is to play for the people that really want to hear these songs. Things are changing. some of the changes are great and some are just the way the cookie crumbles...I'm finishing up a new record and trying to figure out a good, realistic way to proceed with califone. trying to find an enjoyable and enriching way to bring this music to the people that want it in a way that is healthier for the people playing the music."

    Califone Living Room Show Tour

    in Someone Else's Song

    Posted

    Hey you!  :wave

    Funeral Singers Is a good place to start. That is Califone's last release, and one of my favorite albums of the past 20 years.

    Quicksand/Cradlesnakes was a popular album around here for a good while. I like Roomsound and Sometimes Good Weather Follows Bad People also. Califone's catalogue is extensive though, as are the preceding and subsequent spin off projects. I fell down this rabbit hole some years ago, and haven't really come up for air.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Califone

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