Wednesday night I hoofed it pretty much directly from the The Science Of Sleep screening to the Horseshoe to catch Asobi Seksu, who would be offering up some dreaminess of their own, albeit several thousand decibels louder.

Openers These Electric Lives seem to have mastered the elusive art of the anthem – almost every song in their set either swelled into a major-key fist-pumper or started out that way straight out of the gate. Their configuration is fairly standard rock guitar and bass with a light sprinkling of electronic flourishes and benefiting from the tightness of a click-driven drummer. Nothing new, but very well executed. In the demerit column, they were pretty lightweight lyrically, offering up vaguely cliched and over-emoted declarations of love and devotion. Granted, no one really pays attention to the lyrics in anthems so long as they’re easy to remember and sing along to, but that’s still no excuse to be lazy about it. And I’m sorry, but the foot on the monitor guitar solo is only acceptable if you’re a Drive-By Trucker. But overall the balance sheet comes out on the plus side and their high-energy set certainly had the audience on their side.

I have to say I was amazed at the turnout for Asobi Seksu – there wasn’t nearly this sort of buzz and enthusiasm when they were here back in May. I guess the Summer has been good for them and for Citrus – and deservedly so. Also interesting was the much higher-than-usual percentage of Asian faces in the audience. On one hand it seems perfectly natural but on the other, I still found it bewildering. But hey, a fan is a fan is a fan and I’m sure the band’s not complaining.

Asobi’s set was short, tight and quite surprisingly energetic compared to last time and the somehow managed to convey this energy without actually being more physically animated than last time – there’s not much Yuki can do whilst being anchored to her keyboard. They did benefit from an excellent mix – despite the whirlwind of sound onstage (they had added an extra keyboard/utility player from last time because I guess they weren’t quite loud enough last time), most parts were still individually discernable and most importantly, Yuki’s trilling voice was quite audible throughout. But whatever it was, they were quite simply better all around. They’ve struck that perfect balance between noise and melody and songwriting that can elevate them beyond the shoegazer tag that they’re surely tired of hearing from the likes of me. Judging from the rabidness at the mech table after the show, they’re already tapping into a larger audience – good on them.

Drive Blind has got a live Asobi set from last week available to download.

Photos: Asobi Seksu, These Electric Lives @ The Horseshoe – September 20, 2006
MP3: Asobi Seksu – “New Years”
MP3: Asobi Seksu – “Thursday”
MP3: These Electric Lives – “Wake Me Up”
MP3: These Electric Lives – “We Should Be Believing”
Video: Asobi Seksu – “Thursday” (MOV)
MySpace: Asobi Seksu
MySpace: These Electric Lives

John Darnielle of The Mountain Goats discusses Get Lonely with The Fordham Observer and worries he’s coming across too emo.

Billboard offers details on the forthcoming live album from Neil Young album Live at the Fillmore East 1970. It will comprise 6 songs culled from two performances in March 1970 with Crazy Horse (expect lots of jamming), it’ll be available in a CD/DVD package with a hi-res audio mix and lots of archival-type documentation and goodies. It’s out November 14.

That’s all for today. I’ve got weddings to attend all weekend, so time is a bit in short supply. Just trying to get ahead of the curve until next week when things should finally settle down after a particularly insane/intense September.

np – Beirut / Gulag Orkestar

I will warn you right off that there are probably some plot spoilers to follow, so if you don’t want to hear anything about Michel Gondry’s The Science Of Sleep, skip down a few paragraphs.

At first glance, The Science Of Sleep would look to be a fantastical, technicolour love story with a whimsical, child-like protagonist who connects with and wins the heart of his shy, withdrawn neighbour. And they all live happily ever after. You might be think that this film sounds like the natural companion to another romantically surreal French film that charmed and delighted filmgoers a few years back, but you’d be wrong, so very wrong. Instead, it’s far more like the anti-Amelie.

Gael Garcia Bernal (who gets better in every film I see him in) is Stephane, an illustrator who returns to Paris after the death of his father to work in a calendar company. He leads an active dream life which he finds more engrossing than his waking life and as such, has difficulty distinguishing where one begins and the other ends. When Stephanie (Charlotte Gainsbourg, who I found inexplicably mesmerizing) moves in across the hall, he becomes convinced that they are connected in a deep, subconscious level and tries to win her affections. Unfortunately, the flipside of his childlike nature is the inability to maturely handle his emotions or relate to Stephanie obvious emotional unavailability. Hilarity does not ensue.

Stephane’s – and by extension Gondry’s – fantasy world is wonderful to behold, all stop-animated cardboard cities, cellophane waterfalls and mechanical ponies. If the film was all about exploring the extents of his imagination, then it would probably be a beautiful but narratively slight experience. But instead, Gondry seems far more fascinated with the frailties of the human heart and for all the sumptuous visuals, it was this angle that has stuck with me much longer. Though the protagonist, Stephane is not especially sympathetic though he is rather pitiable. He is willingly and deliberately out of touch with reality and again like a child, is also very capable of being selfish, petulant and cruel. You almost want to chalk his behaviour up to a mental illness, but that’s an excuse I’m not willing to extend – he seems perfectly lucid and cognizant of reality, he simply chooses not to participate. Far more sympathetic are those around him who obviously care for him but also have to deal with his trying behaviour.

Call me a cynic or pessimist, but I rather liked that there was no happy ending here (at least not in the waking world) and that the overall tone was quite sad. I find it rare that a film can strike that particular chord in me without being melodramatic or emotionally manipulative. Some would find it a shame that a film would wrap such delicious (eye) candy around such a bittersweet centre – hence the somewhat ambivalent reviews at Rotten Tomatos and Metacritic – but I prefer to think of it as a storybook creation with a real, human heart (and guts and all the messy stuff).

But with all that said, I would still love to live in one of Gondry’s films. Happily ever after is for suckers.

The New York Times has an enormous profile on Michel Gondry, who is fast becoming one of my very favourite filmmakers.

Trailer: The Science Of Sleep

Check out this Myspace video interview between Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy and actor Fred Armisen. They play mad libs. Wilco have been hard at work in the studio and hope to have the new record finished in time for a Spring ’07 release. In the meantime, check out the first in a series of podcasts, this one curated by Glenn Kotche – the same Glenn Kotche who fears his alma mater.

The Arizona Daily Star and San Diego City Beat both have interviews with M Ward. Guess he’s in the southwest right now (via Largehearted Boy).

The Washington Times calls Drive-By Trucker Jason Isbell “Mr Isbell”. That just looks weird to read. Mr Isbell and his compatriots will be at the Phoenix on October 18.

Zoilus brings word of some interesting events going on at the Toronto Public Library this Fall. On November 4 it’s a Blocks recording club party at the North York Central Library (which is up here if you were wondering), featuring the likes of Final Fantasy and The Creeping Nobodies, amongst others. Somewhat closer to (my) home, you’ve got Great Lake Swimmers and Elliott Brood heading up the lineup at the Toronto Reference Library on November 18. Your library fines at work.

np – TV On The Radio / Return To Cookie Mountain

Okay, I’m going to try doing contests a little different from here on in – basically, I’ve got too much stuff to give away and the old system of having only one thing running at a time wasn’t working anymore. Plus the spambots had found my contest form. It was ugly.

Instead, I’m going to post my contests up as regular blog items and have you email me your entries. I *think* this should make my life easier, but we’ll see. Anyways, we’ll start off the new format with a bang – courtesy of Against The Grain, I’ve got three pairs of passes to the sold-out Joanna Newsom show at the Mod Club in Toronto on October 4. Nothing like a little harp action with strobe lights. Brantford-by-way-of-Toronto’s Ohbijou support.

To enter, email me at contests@chromewaves.net with “I want to see the elf girl” in the subject line and your full name in the body. All entries must be received by midnight, September 25.

CONTEST CLOSED

Goats, goats, The Mountain Goats, Lee’s Palace, Tuesday night. We don’t need no stinking preamble, save to say that Get Lonely is one of my favourite records of the year and the Goats are always an entertaining show so a good time was pretty much guaranteed.

Opening up this leg of the tour was Christine Fellows, Winnipeg-er and singer/songwriter much beloved of John Darnielle. Her four-piece band sported some unconventional instrumentation that added a tinkling, whimsical feel to her set that complimented Fellows’ jolly, perma-grin persona perfectly though it seemed a little at odds with the lyrical content of some of her songs – or maybe it fit perfectly (nudge, wink). Darnielle might be a little overly-effusive in saying, “Christine writes the best damned songs in the whole world” but playing material from her latest record Paper Anniversary, she did put on a charming opening set.

I first saw the Mountain Goats live last year on my 30th birthday and while some thought it was odd way to celebrate, it was far more memorable than the ones where I’ve gotten blotto. This show didn’t have the special occasion behind it, but it was special all the same. And you know, reading over the review of that show, I’m at a bit of a loss on how to expand on that without repeating myself. Sufficed to say, everything there still holds – Darnielle is still and entertaining, engaging and more than a bit quirky frontman with his wildly expressive face displaying what could either be joy or agony – you’re never quite sure. And Peter Hughes remains an invaluable musical companion, contributing perfectly composed, melodic basslines and backing vocals in a manner that’s completely minimal, but with a huge impact on the overall sound.

What was different at this show was the contrast between material from The Sunset Tree, from which they chose to play the more uptempo numbers, and Get Lonely, which was represented by the quieter, more wounded material. At points during the latter, Darnielle practically gasped his way through the lyrics, testing the audience’s ability to stay silent, straining to hear. But as before, the focus wasn’t placed squarely on the new material and drew from all across the Goats repetoire. While this surely satisfied the die-hard fans, I felt it did the new record a little bit of a disservice as it’s the collective mood of the songs is a large part of their power. But, on the other hand, if he’d played the album in its entirety, it may have been too depressing to bear. He probably had the right idea.

Mountain Goats fans are a devout, fanatical lot so when Darnielle seemed to open the door for requests about halfway through the set, it became a game of one-upmanship with everyone trying to out-obscure the other. He deftly dodged these by stating that he preferred playing the new songs to old ones and that would be whoring himself – and he was no whore. My own silent requests were answered in the encores, when he rolled out “No Children” to open the first and “The Best Ever Death Metal Band In Denton” to close the second. Because there’s no real way to top a club full of indie kids screaming, “Hail Satan”.

I picked a prime spot straight in front of Darnielle so I got some real good, sharp shots of the mic stand. Oh yeah. But the next part of the Amoeba Records instore/interview with Carl Newman is now up on YouTube – I think that’s three in total so far out of… more than three. I think. And Zoilus has a far more expansive and detailed review of the show.

Photos: Mountain Goats, Christine Fellows @ Lee’s Palace – September 19, 2006
MP3: The Mountain Goats – “Woke Up New”
MP3: The Mountain Goats – “Wild Sage”
Video: The Mountain Goats – “Woke Up New” (MOV)
Video: Christine Fellows – “Migrations” (MOV)
MySpace: Christine Fellows

The latest installment of Richard Buckner’s tour diary is up on the Merge Blog. The Toronto show only gets a passing mention (“my summer cold slapped me in the face”) but at least that’s better than how Montreal treated him (“someone had broken out my back window and taken my cell phone and passport”). Dude has not had good luck touring Canada, as he recounts. The Riverfront Times has a profile of Buckner (or someone claiming to be him – they do have his passport, after all).

The New York Times has a revealing interview with Cat Power that details (and quantifies) exactly how bad shape she was in at the start of the year before cleaning up and drying out.

PopMatters documents the long, hard year of Film School.

Rogue Wave drummer Pat Spurgeon needs your help – to help fund a kidney transplant (he was born with one, it failed, he had it replaced, that’s now failing) the band are holding a benefit concert in San Francisco next week to raise funds but those who aren’t able to make it to San Fran can still help out via a PayPal fund set up via the band’s website. And if you’re interested in donating more than just money, maybe you can spare a kidney – Spurgeon’s blood type is O+. I can’t speak for the band but I suspect that if you were a match, you and all your children would be guest listed for Rogue Wave shows for the rest of your lives. But give a little if you can – it will all add up in the end.

Shows – Chad Van Gaalen will be in town at the Whippersnapper Art Gallery at College and Clinton on October 21, tickets $10. French Kicks and OKGO are at the Mod Club November 13. Most interesting, however, is Robyn Hitchcock and the Venus 3 (aka Peter Buck, Scott McCaughey and Bill Rieflin) at the Mod Club on November 10, tickets $20. Word is that Hitchcock’s new one is a scorcher – more Soft Boys than The Soft Boys. Check it out:

MP3: Robyn Hitchcock & The Venus 3 – “Adventure Rocket Ship”

The Ottawa Sun finds out what’s on Billy Bragg’s mind. The Chronicle Herald also gets a moment or two of his time. He’s at the Danforth Music Hall on Sunday and his Volume Two box set is out October 17.

Chart talks to Final Fantasy’s Owen Pallett about his Polaris win. The more I think about it, the more his victory seemed a no-brainer. Musical merit aside, he’s the perfect winner to inaugurate the award, giving it instant credibility with the oh-so cynical indie nation and handily avoiding accusations of major-label favouritism or general industry out-of-touchness that a more traditional and mainstream winner like Sarah Harmer would almost certainly have gotten. Which isn’t to imply that Final Fantasy wouldn’t have won solely on the artistic merits that the award cites – not at all – but I suspect that the organizers breathed a huge sigh of relief when the winner was announced as it makes their job of promoting the award next year and beyond much easier.

np – Yo La Tengo / I Am Not Afraid Of You And I Will Beat Your Ass

First off, Nashville’s Forget Cassettes has one of the best band names I’ve heard in ages. Something about it just sounds so right to me. And luckily, it’s not wasted on a lousy band.

Like Montreal’s Land Of Talk, of whom they remind me more than just a little, they hearken back to the mid-90s alternative rock heyday of abrasive guitars and angsty female vocals but without sounding like a retread. On their second album Salt, they reclaim the quiet/loud/quiet dynamic, shake it free of the past decade of cliches and make it sound visceral again. The quiet moments are almost uncomfortably intimate and when they explode, damage will be done.

Singer Beth Cameron’s voice has an innate sweetness but she wraps it in barbed wire – imagine if Nina Gordon had left Veruca Salt to make angrier music, drawing inspiration from Polly-Jean Harvey rather than Sarah McLachlan. And there’s a very raw and personal thread running through the album lyrically that sounds more cathartic than any whisper-to-a-scream shift you could muster instrumentally or vocally. Harrowing stuff. I realize that this formula has been done time and time again and could easily be dismissed based solely on the reference points cited, but to me, they sell it.

The late, great WOXY still has a recent lounge session with the band online and Red & Black ran an interview last month. And while they’re touring, there’s nothing remotely close by. A pity – I bet they’d be scorching live.

MP3: Forget Cassettes – “The Catch”
MP3: Forget Cassettes – “Ms Rhythm & Blues”
MP3: Forget Cassettes – “Lonely Does It”
MySpace: Forget Cassettes

This looks like it could be interesting – Cinnamon Girl is an all-female tribute to the songs of Neil Young and yes, I know that sounds more awful than interesting, but Full Of Wishes reports that some of the participating artists will be Tanya Donelly, Britta Phillips and Kristen Hersh. See? Interesting. And proceeds are going to charity so speak ill of it at your own risk.

Massive Attack have rescheduled their cancelled V Fest show – they’re at the Carlu on October 6. So you can see them play and then buy groceries at the 24-hour Dominion downstairs. Bonus!

The Fiery Furnaces are also coming to town on October 30. They play the Opera House with Deerhoof. Full dates at Pitchfork.

Music For Kids Who Can’t Read Good has dinner with Shearwater and gets an interview for his troubles.

Chart has some advice for anyone planning to chat up Yuki of Asobi Seksu in Japanese at the Horseshoe tonight – don’t.

Colin Meloy of The Decemberists makes lists for Pitchfork, who also have the first MP3 from The Crane Wife available to download. The album is out October 3 and they’re at the Kool Haus November 6.

Ira Kaplan of Yo La Tengo lists a dozen crucial records for eMusic and gives Austin360 an interview. I finally found out where my copy of I Am Not Afraid Of You And I Will Beat Your Ass is – Raleigh, North Carolina. Insound sent my order to some other guy in some other country. WHOOPS.

Pitchfork asks Scott Kannberg, aka Spiral Stairs, about the odds of a Pavement reunion. I figure they’ve got two more albums after the Wowee Zowee deluxe reissue drops November 7 before the gravy train runs out and they have to find some other way to make those Escalade payments. Then it’s hello Lollapalooza.

Sufjan Stevens tells The Dallas News he doesn’t want to mess with Texas.

The Globe & Mail gets a look at how the final jurors came to the decision of who to give the really big Polaris cheque. Final Fantasy’s D&D-themed album was probably a shoo-in once they decided that rolling a 1d10 would be the fairest solution.

np – The Mountain Goats / The Sunset Tree