The fifth Thing In The Spring came to a close the afternoon of Sunday June 10 with a very special set. To the surprise of many, Death To Tyrants had announced earlier this year that they would be performing a reunion show. I was disheartened when I realized that I was not going to be able to attend. Imagine my delight when their name appeared on the bill for this year's Thing. I'm extremely happy to have had a second chance and it was the perfect ending to an amazing art-filled weekend.
The festival kicked off June 8th at Peterborough Town Hall. The Town Hall's auditorium was the perfect step up as a venue for The Thing, featuring a large stage and ample space for seating, dancing, mingling, and merch. Later that evening entertainment moved down the street to Harlow's Pub for a late night dance party DJ'd by Redwing Blackbird's own Austin Wright. Saturday afternoon simultaneously featured both *broke: The Affordable Arts Fair and a Jem Cohen film marathon presented by The MacDowell Colony. In the evening we were graced with not 1 but 2 shows: one at the town hall, and the other at Harlow's Pub. If, miraculously, you managed to get up and out of bed Sunday morning Harlow's also featured a farm breakfast with cartoons - a mellow appetizer for the afternoon's grand finale.
Needless to say I was pretty spent by sundown Sunday evening. I relaxed at home reflecting on the festival, feeling refreshed and inspired to create. It sometimes just seems too good to be true to have such a rich art scene here in the Monadnock region, and even more so that every year we get to experience the showcase of talent that is The Thing In The Spring. I certainly never take it for granted.
I've deliberately chosen not to go into depth about each artist/band in this year's Thing post...there'd just be too much to squeeze in. Instead I'll let the music speak for itself. I have selected a single track from my bootleg of each indoor set. These tracks were recorded with a pocket voice recorder and thus are very raw, providing a fly-on-the-wall experience; don't expect sonic clarity, but instead let each track convey the atmosphere and energy of each performance. Accompanying each is a photograph by Elisabeth Fuchsia (her full set of photographs from The Thing can be found here). In some of the shots you can get a glimpse of Luke Ramsey's artwork as the backdrop for the main stage. Enjoy!
Personally, my highlights were the centering and spiritual experience that is Daniel Higgs, the foot-stomping swampy sounds of Brown Bird, and the intense instrumentals of Death To Tyrants. My utmost thanks and appreciation go out to Eric and Mary Gagne, all of the contributing artists, and everyone who helped put this together. Thank you all for a fun and truly memorable NH weekend!
I am very excited for this year's The Thing In The Spring. In about four weeks I'll be spending the weekend in lovely downtown Peterborough filling my ears with a variety of sounds, and enjoying the hopefully gorgeous late spring weather.
This year's lineup is brilliant: Mmoss, Death To Tyrants (!!!), Brown Bird, Coke Weed, Klessa, PG Six, Woods, Nina Nastasia, Daniel Higgs, Tongue Oven, Ouroboros, Mail The Horse, Rock Flint Contemporary Ensemble, and David Kontak. As usual on Saturday there's *broke: The Affordable Arts Fair featuring dozens of local artisans hawking their wares for cheap. Is that not enough? How about a music documentary mini festival, breakfast and cartoons at Harlow's Pub, a bunch of free outdoor sets, and an after party? Go get your tickets here!
At this point I am writing this in an effort to clear my pallet for future posts. As you may have noticed I have been absent from TimbreLeaf in the last couple of months. I'll explain more about that later...for now please enjoy the startling conclusion of The Thing In The Spring...
One of the best shows at this year's Thing was held Saturday Mat 14th at Harlow's Pub: a wonderful place to be for great food and great taps. Harlow's often hosts blues and rock bands, and sometimes the occasional foray into reggae or even things as cool as Balkan/Klesmer/Gypsy/Bellydancing (The Underscore Orkestra which appeared just last Friday). These performances by Coke Weed and Mmoss were ones I just couldn't miss. Rosie and I procured the perfect small pub table in the center of house surrounded by the eclectic barrage of quirky beer signs, obscure personalities, adverts, and other art adorning the walls and ceiling of the establishment. With a beer already in my stomach Coke Weed took the stage to fill our ears with their throwback blend of chill, reverb soaked ditties. With both male and female vocals, often in duet form, Coke Weed's songs are melodically strong and rich with mellow but fun textures. Named after perhaps both the most famous upper and downer, the band energizes your spirit to dance...but in a stoned, shoe-gazing sway. Like and unlike a darker, psychy She & Him, Coke Weed, rather, are inspired, thoughtful, and a pleasure to experience live and on record (sorry Zooey, I do love you very much, but it's the truth). I hope Coke Weed are not displeased with the comparison...or more truthfully the contrast as it is. "Not My Old Man" by Coke Weed (Uploaded by The Walkmen)
Mmoss are no strangers to the TimbreLeaf blog. I've been greatly enjoying their vinyl release of i quite a bit in recent months. Their last performance at the Toadstool was a short one; for The Thing they played a complete and masterful set. I will'n't belabor this...Mmoss are a mind-blowing phenomenal paradox of a band. Born out of their era, they create the perfect music of a by-gone day with such impeccable skill and natural talent you just cannot not like them. Lush organ chords waver in and out between telecaster secret agent alchemistry and catchy vocal melodies...think a psychedelic rock & roll super group from 1968. Mmoss did not disappoint at Harlow's, in fact this may have been my favorite performance from 2011's Thing. Another Dream by Mmoss
Sunday saw the last show of the festival return to the Peterborough Historic Society for Goddard, Giraffes? Giraffes!, and Kayo Dot. Goddard, a three-piece from Worcester Massachusetts, brought me right back to my junior high school days. With a dress code, attitude, and stage presence straight from 1994 - in a really great way; I can imagine them having opened for Tool or Henry Rollins back in the 90's. This post is actually well timed as Goddard have just released a new record, Bishop, which is available on their BandCamp page...and it is fantastic. Their music has just the right parts grunge, groove, and grit; each third of the guitar-bass-percussion triad complements its opposite and adjacent quite naturally. Hear for yourself...
Giraffes? Giraffes! are apparently the hot ticket item. The duo from western Mass have accumulated quite a healthy following, even in far-from-home regions. Though G?G!'s two members have been involved in various solo and other musical projects and styles, their set was comprised of their latest spastic, tumbling instrumentals. Aided by phrase looping effects and synthesizer they constructed and demolished riffs and structures throughout each piece, layering subtleties and bridges to connect the dots. Outside of the Harlow's show The Thing crowd was most densely populated and animated during this set - my socks were indeed rocked clean off. Recently G?G! rather successfully persued funding for their new record via Kickstarter. Hopefully we can expect it out soon? Try this on from their last record, More Skin With Milk-Mouth, which can be purchased here.... "When The Catholic Girls..." by Giraffes? Giraffes! (Uploaded by amystafford)
Kayo Dot (Maudlin Of The Well in a previous, more metal life) is a large group from New York consisting of horns, guitars, percussion, bass, and vocals. They were last up and the crowd thinned out considerably. I get it...Kayo Dot are not conventional by any means and while I enjoy the band quite a bit, their live performance at The Thing could have been better. In contrast to the last time I saw them they opted to focus on their more ambient cuts - horns droning, bass chiming natural harmonics, and somber drawn out vocals. Folllowing G?G!'s set this felt just a tad flat energy-wise. The highlight was their finale - cresendoing and instense, it ended with pots-and-pans calamity eventually and reluctantly giving way to a meditative silence and peace...this is what makes Kayo Dot great.
This year's Thing was more formal and put-together than last year; everything about it was stepped up a notch. I am very impressed with the talent and names that were brought to a small place, but I personally enjoyed last year's Thing more. This is probably primarily due to my personal experience; last year nearly everything I heard was new to me and that was something that I enjoyed immensely. There also seemed to be more experimental performances and collaborations which were not only very interesting, but also something you couldn't see anywhere else. I am hoping for a more mixed experience next year - some big names, and perhaps some local one-off collaborations. My suggestion....a 48 hour local music mashup - combine willing members of several local bands to write songs 48 hours before the festival and then perform at the The Thing alongside the bigger names and established acts. This would be very cool.
With all that said I am beyond amazed and impressed with Mr. Gagne and the rest of The Thing's crew. From the average attendee's perspective it may not seem like the tremendous amount of work that it is. I feel indebted to those who put this festival together. It's one of the big events of the year that I look forward to with great excitement and I hope the tradition carries on for a long time to come. Thank you to everyone who was involved and to all the musicians and artists who contributed. You are all what makes Peterbough, NH a great place to be.
*Broke: The Affordable Arts
Fair is coming back this November 26th and I strongly recommend checking
it out if you are anywhere near the Monadnock area. Cheers!
March 25th, 2011. On Friday night The Toadstool Bookstore in Peterborough, NH hosted another fantastic show. After hours, in the heart of the store a small but inviting space had been cleared and prepared for three acts. The first was Manchester's Megafauna, a once one-man band singing over his home-brewed, elaborate, poppy backtracks, turned full group with the addition of bass, guitar, and electronic drum kit. The band was off to a rough start between technical difficulties and an awkward approach; they attempted to keep time with the original backtracks, which already included percussion, bass, and guitar. After some monitor and level adjustments, Megafauna finally found their feet at the third song. Megafauna's music is eclectic, well thought-out, and lively. Singer/songwriter Ian Hughs holds nothing back - shaking, hopping, and twitching as he belts out his lyrics in an ecstatic manner. Their music is some shade of alt-pop...which I must admit I know very little about. What I can say is that it was certainly a different experience seeing him will a full band, and I found it to suite his music quite well. They rounded out their set with a Siouxsie & the Banshees cover and Brian Eno cover, clearly two of Ian's influences. You can listen to Megafauna on their SoundCloud page here.
Photo from Black Norse's Myspace page.
Up next was Keene's Black Norse - a Sabbath-worshipping, sludgy, stoner/doom duo. Since the show was off to a late start Ben Troy and Ryan Harrison wasted no time diving right in to their set. It had been a while since I had listened to anything like this and it brought a great smile to my face. While there's a plethora of stoner metal bands out there, Black Norse still manage to pull you in and demand your undivided attention. There is an honesty and vital energy present in their performance; the music and expression are the means and the end. At one point, after missing a change, they decided to start a song over again - an example that these guys really are the inverse of pretentious. With just a minimal drum set and an amplified guitar, Black Norse create a full wall of sound - raw and rich with overtones, the less-is-more law clearly in effect. Of course, the guitar is heavily distorted and detuned to somewhere around C, which helped to fill our ears with a healthy spectrum of sound. Bass lines would have been an interesting augmentation, but at no point do any of the songs really beckon for it. No, Black Norse are complete as they are...hear for yourself at their Bandcamp site. Though my recording doesn't do them justice, here's a track from the show...
Photo from Mmoss' Facebook page.
The final band for the evening is something of a paradox to me. Somehow Mmoss channel a bit of the Summer Of Love - a time long before any of its members were even born (or so I speculate) - with a strange ease, and a haunting vibe. The first time I saw Mmoss sealed the deal for me; they filled the old Toadstool music space with an energy left over from the late 60's and early 70's, formerly trapped in some sort of vortex to which Mmoss magically hold the key. These sonic time-travellers do what they do very, very well. When I tell someone about Mmoss they shrug, likely thinking "that doesn't sound particularly original." But without hearing Mmoss, it's not possible to understand what makes them great and unique. Friday's show was another affirmation....Mmoss are Mmoss, and Mmoss are good. In the small space, encompassed by bookshelves and several pairs of ears, the band worked its magic. Their spell simultaneously sent us back in time, but also forward from our nostalgic thought patterns, up to the leading edge of active creation - hence the strange riddle of this exceptional band. Multipart vocal harmonies, eerie twangy guitar licks, lush modulated organ, jangly drum beats, thumping basslines, and smooth flute leads makeup Mmoss's exquisit sonic backdrop. At times they trance you out in a droney, buzzy, heady jam and other times they get you tapping your foot, pulling your strings to put a flower in your hair and dance with whomever is next to you at the moment. Last night they unfotunately played a short set, though quite tasty it was. For your enjoyment, here are a couple of tracks from the show... [Wander]
[Grow Down]
Previously Mmoss' I album was only available as a digital download or audio cassette, but any day now the vinyl LP will be available. You can snag it at Toadstool or online here. Prefer lossless digital audio? Visit the band's Bandcamp site to listen to I as well as two other great tracks, Wander and Another Dream. Also, Moss will be at this year's The Thing In The Spring festival, which you shouldn't miss if you're in the New England area.
