The Best of September

My, that month went by quickly. September had some very good music here - a couple new artists, but a lot of old favorites, such as Bon Iver, The Decemberists and Snow Patrol releasing some fantastic new material.

With the fall about to blow past just as fast as September, I'm starting to think about what the best songs of 2008 were, and most certainly, will be looking over these lists and doing a recap at some point, as well as looking back over last year's favorites.

For Emma (Myspace Edition) - Bon Iver


Flume (Myspace Edition) - Bon Iver


Bon Iver released a free EP via myspace, which featured four re-worked songs from his first wondeful album, For Emma, Forever Ago. These songs have a more expanded and richer sound behind them and sound beautiful. If only they had also recorded Re: Stacks...

Make You Crazy (feat. Femi Kuti) - Brett Dennen


Brett Dennen is back after a short hiatus with his new album Hope for the Hopeless, being released on October 21st. I'm not the biggest fan of Dennen, even after seeing him in concert last year, but this song is catchy, and really seems to fit with the current state of American politics, with a lot of awareness to outside issues to a level that we haven't seen until recently. What's going on in the world can certainly make me go crazy and mad.

Blow Away - Chris Blake


I came across Chris Blake randomly earlier this month with the track Blow Away, which really captured my attention with a good beat and energy. Wave is his first album, and while I haven't gotten a chance to listen to the entire thing, it's gone onto my to-get list, because this sounds like a promising new musician.

Valarie Plame - The Decemberists


The first track off of the Always the Bridesmaid series, Valarie Plame follows with Decemberists tradition of singing about some really random things - this time, about the CIA agent who was outed by the Bush Administration that's caused them a lot of problems. You can read the initial article that started it all here.

Grounds for Divorce - Elbow


This song was featured on the trailer for a movie called Burn After Reading, the latest from the Coen Brothers. I have yet to see the movie, but this song really got my attention with its heavy beat and interesting, haunting sound. It sounds like a cool song that just begs for things to happen in slow motion.

Silver Purse - Helen Lawson


I was very impressed with Helen Lawson earlier when I reviewed her initial EP, Crossing the Bridge. Her music is lyrical, smooth and very beautiful. Her lyrics and voice here match really well, and I'll be awaiting her first LP whenever that is released.

You've Changed (Original Mix) - Lauren Flax feat. Sia


I love Sia's voice and alt-pop sound. Mixed with an electronic/techno type song, it really fits well, and this song works very well with Sia's voice and style. It's interesting to see her in a different electronica song than her other work, with Zero 7.

Shattered (Turn the Car Around) - O.A.R.


I've enjoyed listening to O.A.R. (Of A Revolution) since college. They're not a favorite, but I've loved That was a Crazy Game of Poker, Hey Girl and Mr. Moon. They're a good band for the Adult Alternative listeners, with a nice blend of rock/alt-country/folk-rock and a little reggae thrown in for good measure. Shattered is a very typical sounding song from them, but it's a solid one, with a good beat and feel.

Take Back the City - Snow Patrol


Snow Patrol is back with a follow up for Eyes Open. This song sounds like it could have made the album, but for a bit more energy attached to it. This song, along with Shattered, feel comfortable, and have a good alternative/rock sound to it that makes me think that this will be a popular radio hit when their upcoming album, A Hundred Million Suns is released. I like this sound - it's solid and sounds pretty good.

Ottoman - Vampire Weekend


Vampire Weekend is back with a new song that's sure to be very popular with the indie-hipsters. It's a pretty typical song from the group, with a quirky sound and interesting guitar work, these guys are sure to be somewhat popular until they release their next album. While I enjoy this song, I'm not sure how much longer I'll enjoy listening to it. Time will tell.

That's all for this month - October is sure to bring some very good music.

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More Images

For more images from the past weekend - Brett Dennen, Guster, A Fine Frenzy and Brandi Carlile, I've got them all here.

Concert 2 - Brett Dennen & Guster

Brett Dennen Set

1 - Darlin' Do Not Fear
2 - The One Who Loves You The Most
- Girls Just Wanna Have Fun
3 - Desert Sunrise
4 - Ain't No Reason
5 - When I Go
6 - She's Mine
7 - Blessed?

Brett Dennen opened for Guster on Saturday night at the UVM Patrick Gymnasium, to a fairly large group of students and Burlington residents. He played a fairly short set of his songs to a fairly good response. I found him to be a little bit of a letdown from my expectations. While he wasn't bad, he wasn't that great in person. I found Dennen to be pretty relaxed on stage, almost a little wooden. His presence on stage was a little stiff, and his fellow band members hardly moved from their original pose.
However, Brett Dennen's music was good. While I've always thought of his music as a sort of pop-folk, his live show seemed to have more of a reggeae influence than I had picked up on earlier while listening through his songs. His set was solid - there were most of his recognizable songs there. His sound carried over pretty well from his albums, and there wasn't much in the way of surprises there. Overall, it was a decent show, but not terribly memorable.

Guster Set
1 - Unknown (Careful?)
2 - Happier
3 - Backyard
4 - Satellite
5 - Beginning of the End
6 - I Spy
7 - Manifest Destiny
8 - Homecoming King
9 - Airport Song
10 - Ramona
11 - Hang On
12 - Amsterdam
13 - Improved Vermont Song
14 - Barrel of a Gun
15 - Come Down Stairs and Say Hello
16 - G Major
18 - Fa Fa
19 - Two Points for Honesty
20 - I Hope Tomorrow is Like Today
21 - Unknown
22 - Demons
23 - Where Everbody Knows Your Name (Countdown Cover)

Guster, on the other hand, really made the night. Taking off shortly after Brett Dennen, they opened up with a fantastic set of music that really got the crowd going. They had one of the longer sets of music that I've ever watched, and it was certainly a fun one. I came to this concert a little aprehensively. Brett Dennen, I sort of knew and listened to a bit, but Guster has been a relatively unknown band to me. I've listened to just a couple of their songs, and had heard some rather negative things about them from some crew people that I've worked with.
Guster wasn't bad on stage. While they're not automatically a favorite of mine, I definently got into their music and had a good time. They got into a good sound (and really energetic) and started off right away, and didn't really talk a whole lot, which is always good (I'd rather listen to a musician sing than talk).

I was really impressed with the amount of interchangibility that these guys had with their insturments. It seemed like each one could play at least one or two others, and they brought in some cool things, like a trumpet, which you don't see often. On stage, they really brought the audience a good sound, something that I think is best described as College-Pop or alternative. It seemed like a very appropriate type of music for a college campus. They weren't without faults here and there. Overall, I thought that their lead singer shouldn't necessarily be the lead singer - Adam Gardner, the second lead singer, seemed to me to have a better voice.
Overall, it was a fun show. Guster was certainly much better than Brett Dennen, but it was a good pairing.

Next up, A Fine Frenzy and Brandi Carlile.

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Three Days, Three Concerts

So, this weekend should be fun and full of sound. As things lined up, I'm going to hit three concerts this weekend.

Friday -
Avi & Celia are out of Vermont, having formed a couple years ago at the University of Vermont (where other notable acts such as Phish formed), and have recently been named the best act of the month by Higher Ground, the best music place in Vermont. They're doing a show at the Langdon Street Cafe, a small music venue in Montpelier.

Saturday -

Up at the University of Vermont, two bands are playing for the school, Guster with Brett Dennen opening for them. I've only listened to a limited number of these guys songs, but I've enjoyed them. Guster recently released their latest album, Ganging Up on the Sun, which has some good songs on it. Brett Dennen's got a folk-ish sound that's quite good. I'm looking forwards to this show, even though I just found out about it about a week ago.

She's Mine - Brett Dennen
Satellite - Guster


Sunday -

This is a show that I've really been looking forwards to for the past month or so, Brandi Carlile with A Fine Frenzy opening. Both women are fantastic singers, each with a fantastic sound. They're playing up at the Higher Ground Music Hall in South Burlington, and this should be a good one.

Rangers - A Fine Frenzy
The Story - Brandi Carlile

I'll most likely be posting up reviews of each of these concerts on Monday, when I get back to my computer, so stay tuned.

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