Ithaca Festival 2011

A couple of weekends ago I drove out to Ithaca, NY with the lovely author of Rosemud.  We were both in dire need of a vacation and the city of Ithaca was holding it's annual summer festival.  This year the Ithaca Festival seemed non-stop, and perhaps a bit overwhelming.  At nearly all times there were at least two bands playing somewhere in the commons, along with belly dancing, story tellers, and theatrical performances.  There was a fantastic selection of international food from many local restaurants and vendors, though the craft fair left me feeling disappointed.

The Ithaca Commons contains several "stages" built in to its center walkway: the Cayuga St Stage, the Amphitheater, the Bernie Milton Pavilion, and the Aurora St Stage.  In addition to these there was also a stage set up in a vacant lot right next to Medusa Tattoo.  With an aggressive schedule there were somewhere around 30 or more performances and events each day.  So how do you know what to attend?  This was my problem, and thus I ended up wandering around and experiencing small, short pieces of random performances throughout my trip.

On Friday night, Rosie and I opted out of the masquarade ball, on account that we weren't fully prepared with costumes, and we also happened upon a flyer for show at Delilah's (where the Lost Dog Cafe used to be).  It turned out that Plastic Nebraska was playing with Boy With A Fish (their brother band, of sorts).  We had no idea they were playing that weekend, so it was a nice surprise.  I've been a Plastic Nebraska fan for a number of years now, and was very happy to finally get the opportunity to see them in a nice, very small venue.  Plastic Nebraska are quite a cool band...their twangy, inventively layered guitar tracks and polka-meets-reggae backbone make a unique and magnetic impression.  Oscillating between melodic, moody rock jams, and bumping, upbeat rhythmic barn grooves, Plastic Nebraska is a great band to see perform.  Their livelier songs nearly force you to get up and dance.  Unfortunately I cannot find anything of theirs on Youtube or Soundcloud - the best I can do is link to a free mp3 download of Helicopter from their website.  Keep in mind that this song only represents one part of Plastic Nebraska, and is not the song I would've chosen to share.  I highly recommend checking out their latest full length Stories of Happiness.

Boy with a Fish, probably the more active of the two bands at the moment, does share some similarities in sound and songwriting to their brethren band.  BWAF are in ways a bit poppier and more rock-oriented.  They incorporate synthesizers and organ sounds to fill out the mix, as prevalent as- and in place of - the standby accordion typically found in Plastic Nebraska's work.  Here's a couple of tracks to get an idea...
Water On Mars by Boy with a Fish
 
Where's The Butter by Boy with a Fish 

Saturday night, I bounced in and out of an Ithaca Underground show at the CMSA (Community School of Music and Arts).  Ithaca Underground is something that I wish was around when I went to school at Ithaca College.  While there has always been reasonable singer/songwriter, blues, jam, and punk scenes in Ithaca, IU offers an outlet for the DIY, less conventional talent in the area - hosting shows for cross-over, metal, post-this-and-that, and today's indie rock crowd.  Very nice indeed to see some new life sprouting in Ithaca.  My hat goes off to the organizers of IU...my only complaint about the show would be the sound.  One cannot be too picky at these type of shows, but there there was quite a bit of mud in the mix here.  To be clear the fault was not resting solely on the mixing engineer, but in fact mostly on the large reverberating hall in which the show was held.  Free, the Ithaca Underground zine/blog already has a great post from the show with many videos, that can be found here.  I'll just repost a few highlights...

 

Live metal is not something you used to really hear in Ithaca.

Here's a non-live track from Mouth To Mouth To Mouth, a self-proclaimed "math rock" band, whom I found to be one of the more interesting listens.  M2M2M fit right in with many latter day instrumental post-rock bands, but less atmospheric, with vocals, and a jittery peppiness.

Before leaving I ended up snagging a couple of records at Angry Mom Records, a vinyl shop in the basement of Autumn Leaves bookstore.  What I brought home was Armored Saint's Raising Fear, and Cream's Wheels Of Fire...an interesting combination, I know.

Rosie and I also found time to hit the gorge trail in one side of Buttermilk Park.  It was a great mini vacation...looking forward to the full length real deal at the end of the summer.

Buttermilk Park Photo By Rosemary Wojtas

(Styluses at the ready...) Vinylinum Habitus

I've been told I have developed a spending habit.  Clearly not true, though over the last few weeks I've been augmenting my vinyl collection in various ways.  While this post proves, indeed, that I am more hipster than you, it also proves that I am nowhere near as hipster as this person.

Deliciously swirled, translucent, vinyl discus.

I've recently retrieved some old favorites from storage at my parents' house.  These gems have been in waiting, faithfully counting the days in the closet of my old bedroom until they see the light once again.  The most note-worthy among them are some original pressings: Master Of Puppets (Metallica - 1986), ...And Justice For All (Metallica -1988), The Number Of The Beast (Iron Maiden - 1983), Powerslave (Iron Maiden - 1984), Sad Wings Of Destiny (Judas Priest - 1976), Blizzard Of Ozz (Ozzy Osbourne - 1980), and March Of The Saint (Armored Saint - 1984).  Listening to these classics has been a real treat of nostalgic delight.

I've also been hunting for some very particular titles...records that mean something special to me.  Comus' First Utterance is a very unique and inspiring album.  It's been repressed a few times since its first reralease in 1971, but always in short quantities; it sells quickly and immediately goes up in price when stock diminishes.  My 180g copy is from Rise Above Records (Relics).  I think it was a failure of a grey/white swirl, but I like it that way - it adds to the charm and oddness of this strange record.  As you can see the artwork is very 70's and just gorgeous.  The quality of the pressing is quite good as well; the audio sounds very clean and robust.

In a previous post I linked to a Youtube rip of Song To Comus.  Here's Drip Drip...

Lou, oh, Lou.  I would love to track down a vinyl copy of Beloved One if such a thing exists, but in the meantime I have managed to snag a copy of Lou Rhodes' One Good Thing.  It still seems to be floating around on the internet in various places for around $16...get yours while you still can.  This record sounds quite a bit different from its digital counterpart - perhaps partly the product of vinyl mastering.  The end result, to my ears, is a more smooth and mellow mix; the additional instrumentation and reverb feel more organic.

Opeth's Deliverance and Damnation...I purchased both of these at In The Moment Records, a locally-owned shop in Brattleboro, VT that specializes in vinyl.  These two albums were recorded at the same time, July through September of 2002.  I was a Senior at Ithaca College when they were first released and I very much associate that time of my life with these records.  They inspire within me creation and excitement for new opportunity.  Here and now they are found on 180g double LPs.  The first disc of Deliverance only contains two songs (one per side)...now that's how you do it!  The 1970's prog/psych vibe of Damnation is a wonder to observe on vinyl.

Baroness finally rereleased their first two EPs, First and Second, on vinyl in the form of one 12" disc.  This is Baroness before the multi-part harmonies...in fact these two EP's are more abrasive and metal than anything else they've done.  That said, while they lack some of the signature characteristics of Red Album and Blue Record, they do contain the necessary elements that make Baroness what they are...brilliantly awesome.

In my last post I mentioned Barn Owl...my order from Thrill Jockey Records came in.  Along with Ancestral Star I also ordered Eternal Tapestry's lastest, Beyond The 4th Door.  Both of these records are guaranteed to chill you out rather nicely.

Ancestral Star, Barn Owl's third album, is a lush and layered drone, teaming with minimalist beauty.  Here's a sample that I believe speaks that which my words cannot...

Beyond The 4th Door has been my introduction to Eternal Tapestry and I am quite satisfied - their third record provides a vibrant soundscape of psychedelic garage ambiance. These guys do what many other bands try to do, but they do it right...and rather fantastically well.  The disc is a really cool translucent yellow/black swirl that can be seen in detail in the first image of this post.

Last Saturday, April 16th, was Record Store Day - a true holiday for us analog music fanatics.  Rosie and I woke up early to drive out to In The Moment for when they opened specially at 9am.  I had three titles as my top priority, all of which I am very happy to report are now within my possession.  This first is the new Between The Buried And Me, The Parallax: Hypersleep Dialogues, which I shared in my last post.  The RSD exclusive pressing of 1000 copies were 180g colored vinyl records (mine is clear, as you can see below).  According to an interview with Paul Waggoner, Hypersleep Dialogues is part one of a two-part concept.  No word yet as to when BTBAM plan to release the second volume or if it has yet been recorded.

The next disc on my hit list was Neurosis' Sovereign rerelease, limited to 600 copies.  The vinyl is a 180g disc in a light violet (pink?) swirl.  Sovereign, which has been long out of print, was originally released in 2000 as an EP - though its four songs, recorded in the same sessions as Times Of Grace, clock in at around 33 minutes.  It will be released again shortly on regular black vinyl and CD by Neurot Recordings.

Finally, what would RSD have been without an Opeth single containing a song that has only ever been released in a video game soundtrack?  The Throat Of Winter is not what I was expecting at all.  The song is an acoustic jam with a 70's vibe, and offers quite an interesting listening experience.  Hear for yourself...

The 7" disc (yes disc) contains just the one song on one side.  What's on the other side?  A laser etched Opeth logo of course!

So with all of these recent purchases you may ask what's still on my vinyl short list?  The new Storm Of Light for sure, some Decemberists, the new PJ Harvey, Bloom by Lou Rhodes if I can track one down, Obscura's Omnivium, Soundgarden's Badmotorfinger, Isis' Wavering Radiant, and lots and lots of Patti Smith! Oh..and this.  ...so...styluses at the ready..."Vinylinum Habitus!"