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October 29, 2006
Musically Challenged
Last Wendesday night saw a handful of crestfallen fans heading home from the Dallas stop of Lavender Diamond's fall tour. Becky Stark & Co. were opening for The Decemberists, but we were only there to see them - which made it all the more heartbreaking when the venue's sound system and the gaggle of chattery Dallas hipsters were so unaccomodating to the band's subtle, ethereal qualities that it was almost impossible to hear their performance. Alas! Their record comes out next year, though, and I'm sure I'll have a chance to see them in a more appropriate venue in their hometown Los Angeles before then.
Continuing this stroke of bad Dallas-related musical luck is the fact that Regina Spektor is coming to town on November 9th, which is the very day I'll be catching a flight to the windy city. The salt in that wound is that none other than the endlessly enchanting Joanna Newsom is playing a show in Chicago on the 8th. I have no luck!
Or so I thought, until this afternoon when Curtis and Valerie called to let us know that Ms. Newsom would be playing a show in Oklahoma on December 11th. Within a minute, I had my tickets. By then, her new album will be out (November 14th is the date), and I'm sure I won't have listened to anything else for a matter of weeks. Except, maybe, for the new Tom Waits record.
Speaking of wanting to be too many places at the same time - David Lynch's Inland Empire is playing at the AFI Fest next week. Ever since it debuted at the NYFF, it's been gathering a lot of quietly stellar notices, which certainly pleases me (although not so much as the news that his self-distribution effort will begin before the year is out). This review by Moriarty at AICN is the best one I've read yet.
Posted by David Lowery at October 29, 2006 08:36 PM
Comments
Your post reminded me about Spektor coming here in a couple of weeks.. thanks! I still need to get tickets.
It also reminded me that Joanna Newsome did a "secret" show here a couple months ago. My wife went and invited me along to which I replied "No way do I have any desire to see her"... what she didn't tell me was that she was opening for Smog! I'm always missing out!
Posted by: Regularkarate at October 30, 2006 11:37 AM
I think she's playing with Smog on this tour as well. It'll be a grand show...although I take it you're on the side that doesn't find her so appealing? My little sister thinks she sounds like the seagull in The Little Mermaid.
Posted by: Ghostboy at October 30, 2006 12:03 PM