Sunday, July 22, 2007

The Polyphonic Spree to George Bush ... "It is time for you to lose your excitement"

I recently got to catch the Polyphonic Spree performing at the El Rey, and was happy to see that one of the many people holding their camera phones in the air had actually posted the recording on YouTube.

I love the cabaret style finale. So the narrow frame of a phone's camera really fails to capture the spectacle of a Polyphonic Spree show, with their 20 plus members in action. The horn section, the harp, the choir, pianos, drums, and various others provide so much to take in and enjoy. I cannot think of a comperable concert experience, except for maybe the Page-Plant reunion concert where they performed Kashmir will a full orchestra among other musicians while projecting psychedelic images on a video screen that is still larger then any other that I have ever seen. I had a sense during that show as well of where my ticket dollars were going.

The last time I saw the Polyphonic Spree, they wore flowing robes and seemed to be luring you to their cult. The music and message often seemed uplifting, and the songs were often ambitious with several movements within them. The new Polyphonic Spree came out in Black Military outfits, a jarring shift from the previous concert. The new songs also seem tighter and more focused. And clearly, the war in Iraq and the actions of the President have influenced the direction of the new album and tour. I liked the older albums, but the change in attitude and focus only strengthens the new songs. After they finished their first set, they returned to the stage in their robes for the encore and did a medley of their more popular songs as well as a cover of Nirvana's "Lithium". The show was much longer then expected, in a very satisfying way. The new album "The Fragile Army" is worth checking out, and see them live if possible.

Friday, July 20, 2007

Dramatic Chipmunk

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Real life Simpsons intro