Common Existence Tour pushes Thursday to a whole new level.

Not many bands can perform after 12 years the same way they did at their first show. Thursday hit the New Jersey scene in 1997 and released 6 full length albums since, including their most recent album Common Existence. Although the album has been out since the band toured on the Taste of Chaos tour, any Thursday fan could agree that the Taste of Chaos tour didn’t feel like a Thursday show.

Common Existence Tour is a very different story.

Backed with the shredding guitars of The Fall of Troy, the un-caged passion of Young Widows and the raw emotion of newcomers La Dispute.

Myself and friends packed into the car and ventured 5 hours from Fort Wayne, IN to Milwaukee, WI to experience the Common Existence tour.

La Dispute opened the night with a typical La Dispute performance: from the deepest part of their hearts with every last bit of passion they had. It was clear that the tour had taken a toll on lead vocalist Jordan Dreyers voice, as it had become raspy and torn but still packed an emotional punch. It’s been a true pleasure watching this band develop and grow since meeting them in the Summer of ’07. Their latest release Somewhere at the Bottom of the River Between Vega and Altair is one of the most impressive front-to-back albums I’ve heard since Thursday’s Full Collapse or mewithoutYou’s Catch For Us, The Foxes. If you’ve never heard La Dispute, I’d definitely recommend them. Just imagine if Bearvsshark, Thursday, and mewithoutYou had a lovechild, it’d be named La Dispute.

I had only heard amazing things about Young Widows, and was really excited to see them, but sadly some personal issues came up for the band and they had to drop off the tour before the Milwaukee date. Just so everyone is aware, the album is fantastic.

In all honesty, I wasn’t a huge fan of The Fall of Troy walking into this event, and to be blunt I was there for La Dispute and Thursday, but was rather impressed by The Fall of Troy. Guitarist and lead vocalist Thomas Erak puts on one hell of a live show as he would throw down intricate guitar lines overtop of complex melodies. TFoT also had a great connection with the crowd, left them always wanting more.

I’ve been following Thursday for years now, and their performance in Milwaukee was unlike any other performance I’ve seen. Pulling tunes from Paris In Flames (Full Collapse) to Friends in the Armed Forces (Common Existence), Thursday kept the energy high and the crowd on their toes. It always blows me away when a band (especially after 12 years) can come to a show, blow open the doors and play with the same energy and emotion as they did when they toured like they did in the late 90’s. Live Thursday is dead on; vocalist Geoff Rickly hits every note exactly as it is on the album, despite high energy levels and intertwined screaming sections.

The Common Existence Tour exemplifies what music should be. Showcasing the new talents of La Dispute, the technical and energetic sounds of The Fall of Troy and the raw passion of Thursday, the tour is a breath of hope for music. Music is not dead, and it will never die as long as bands like this continue to do what they are doing.

Photography by Lucas Carter Photography.

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Moptop, a Brazilian band started the event. I didn’t see their performance, arrived late, just to watch the main band, Interpol.

I must confess that I was nervous; Read some stuff about their concert in São Paulo and I could notice that they were too enigmatic and taciturn on the stage. Also, the place chosen for the show here in Rio – Fundição Progresso – wasn’t (and it’s not) our best theater indeed. I watched too many concerts there, and I know that its acoustics is just ok. I was fearful about that.

Found some old friends, and got in there trying to find a good place to watch and listen to it well as possible. After that, the stage lit up with an image of their last cover art, from Our Love To Admire.

I could notice a shy Interpol getting on the stage. I think that they ere expecting a different public. As they played the first chords of Pioneer To The Falls, i just felt what was gonna happen.

After that, as they were playing Obstacle 1 , a bat – yes! A real and random one – was flying around our heads. Paul’s guitar was kind of confused and loud in the beginning, but their sound manager fixed it quickly and the show continued. The theater’s sound was better than I expected.

The rain outside became torrential, we could see that through some window slits around the place. At that time we could notice the band’s members were smiling to each other… good sign.

Suddenly, over Banks head, water started to drip. He just looked over himself and continued playing as nothing was happening. I got ashamed of that, and thinking: “They’ll stop to play soon…”

So, they began to play C’mere, and people started jumping and singing together, almost covering Paul’s voice. I don’t think they had seen such passionate fans like us before. They also played in sequence NARC, Pace is the trick, Say Hello to the Angels.

Then, they started to play my favorite one, Leif Erikson, exactly like I listen on CD; it made me cry.

Mammoth, No I in Threesome, Slow Hands, Rest My Chemestry, The Lighthouse, Evil and The Heinrich Maneuver were the next ones. At that time they just surrendered themselves to “cariocas” charm. They threw picks, drumsticks, smiles and KISSES to the public.

(*Cariocas – borned in Rio de Janeiro)

In a perfect world, they would have played Not Even Jail entirely. But everything stopped and Paul looked at the drummer, Sam Fogarino and asked “What the hell was that, Sam?” and then, they left the stage, leaving our hearts in pieces. Sam, came back to the mic and said: “We’ll be right back, just a moment.”

Twenty minutes later, they came back playing Not Even Jail restarting the song exactly where they stopped!

Then, they played NYC, Stella Was a Diver and She was Always Down and PDA.

Lights on, doors opened and suddenly, a suprise! They were back again, playing Untitled.

“I will surprise you sometime….”

In random attitude, Paul wrapped himself in a Brazil’s flag and said goodbye.

setlist
Pioneer To The Falls
Obstacle 1
C’mere
NARC
Pace is the trick
Say hello to the angels
Leif Erikson
Mammoth
No I in threesome
Slow hands
Rest my chemestry
The lighthouse
Evil
The Heinrich Maneuver
Not even jail

NYC
Stella Was A Diver And She Was Always Down
PDA

Untitled

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6GZ6Uc3vrk[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IexUKnUIZ0[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpJJvoR42Mo[/youtube]

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Tim Festival had 26 international artists and 16 Brazilian ones this year.

Tim Festival – Rio de Janeiro

The structure here was quite huge in despite of beauty. It had four stages, three tents and a social area with a stage (for three Brazilian bands and DJs), stores, snack bars and a few stands with popcorn and hot dogs.

My ticket was to get in Novas Divas Stage, with Katia B, Cibelle, Feist and Cat Power. Feist had a problem and she couldn’t come, being replaced by Antony and the Johnsons, for my happiness.

Kátia B opened the show with some kind of eletronic and pop mixing both styles and singing in Portuguese. I preferred to watch it sitting on the stalls on the right side of the stage. Her show was ok in my own opinion.

After that, it was time to check out the Antony and the Johnson’s performance. He is a very nice guy and made people laugh when he said: “As you can see, i’m not Feist, she’s thinner than me.” He performed some songs from his lastest album, I Am A Bird Now such as Hope There’s Someone, My Lady History, and honestly, tears came to my eyes when he sang You Are My Sister. He performed a cover of Candy Says from his “godfather” Lou Reed, and also The Lake – an adaptation of Edgar Alan Poe’s poem – recorded for one of his EPs.

Invariablebly, Antony let slip an “ok, that’s it”, even before the last chord finish in each song, always smiling shyly. The shy Antony, his piano and a bed of strings of his Johnsons have done the best, in spite of the smallest show of Tim Festival this year.

Then, one hour later, Chan Marshall (a.k.a. Cat Power) and her support band, The Dirty Delta Blues, got on the stage showing self-trust and beauty. Currently in her sober and happier phase, she was wearing a tie and men shoes.

Marshall performed almost all songs of her last work The Greatest. It started with Don’t Explain, followed by The Greatest and I lost Someone. Blues influenced guitarrist Judah Bauer – ex member of Jon Spencer Blues Explosion -, the simple drums of oldschool rocker Jim White and the Australian trio Delta Three, helped Marshall loosen up on the stage.

Those who enjoy her classic hits, would have missed her rough and obscure charm, typical of her old times. Her voice is powerful and hoarse, and sometimes remit me Janis Joplin. She walked around the stage all the time, said some words in Portuguese and threw kisses for the public. The entire show lasts about 1:20 min. With I’ve Been Loving You she left the stage, acclaimed by the public.

Tim Festival – São Paulo

São Paulo is in another state and I had to travel 6 hours by bus to get in Tim Festival there. I decided to travel because I think it would be cheaper than here, and it was. Cheap and nasty I would say. Although their seductive cast, they come up short in their structure, sound power and decoration.

I arrived late because of the traffic, having no place near to park and paying an absurd for it when finally found one. Missed Spunk Rock Show, I got in the middle of Hot Chip’s show and – what I could see – it was quite good.

After that it was Bjork’s turn. Her show was an odd experience. If you didn’t see her performing on the stage, you must watch her performance at least once in life. Her lemurs synths and the ReacTable gave a show of their own. In her setlist, classic songs – such as Pagan Poetry and Hunter which she threw artificial spiderwebs on people – and a couple new ones, Innocence and Declare Independence.

Next show: Julliette And The Licks, which tried and tried but their performance in my opinion was just ok. They performed songs by their last album Four And The Four and the geatest song performed was their single Hot Kiss. Nothing more, nothing less.

I must admit it: Arctic Monkeys is a great band on the stage. I’m not a fan of the band and I hoped for a warm show, but it was exactly the inverse: they’re united and captivating band. I must also say the best sequence was Fake tales of San Francisco, Balaclava, I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor and Fluorescent Adolescent. Other great songs they performed were Do Me a Favour, Brainstorm and Teddy Picker, besides their new song The Nettles. The young Alex Turner is impressive with his talent and his ability to produce hits, and The Arctic Monkeys’ show helps further them in their career.

The next and last one, was The Killers. With a decorated stage – with flowers, lights, and a big “Sam’s Town” written – Brandon Flowers got on the stage playing songs from their two albuns and a cover of Shadowplay by Joy Division. They didn’t play Where The White Boys Dance (one of my favorites) but they played Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine with a quite loud bass, awesome. It was a hit of the show,and I must confess that I hoped for more… I think that I’m getting old or too indie for big Festivals like that one.

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I have been completely dispelled of this notion, first by hearing Jenny’s album, Batten Down the Hatches (Nettwork) and seeing her live at Maxwell’s last night. I couldn’t have been more off the mark.

Don’t get me wrong, because Jenny Owen Youngs puts her heart on her sleeve to be sure, but she does it in such a visceral and manic way and with such a confident yet self-deprecating manner, that at times it leaves the listener uncomfortable. In fact, Jenny Owen Youngs goes further and actually takes this to a physical level…bringing an audience member up onto the state and SITTING ON HER as she sings one of her more poignant songs, the tender ballad Fuck Was I —a bittersweet song that is really more sweet than bitter, like a lullaby for the heartbroken and a nod to those of us who have shared her propensity to ruin a perfectly good relationship. It’s the kind of song that makes you want to sway in time to it’s gorgeous melody, drink in hand, and sing along with the chorus “What the fuck was I thinking?”

And drink she did. J.O.Y. was in comfortable territory with a hometown crowd* so she imbibed with impunity. Three sheets to the wind, she effortlessly plowed through her set with an increasingly personal (yet not overly obnoxious) stage banter. As far as I could tell, musically she didn’t miss a step. And she’s funny as hell. She closed with a cover of Nelly’s It’s Getting Hot in Here which is amazing.

She’s an artist who seems most comfortable with extremes, whether it’s the use of her unrestrained and tuneful voice in a joyful howl that can calm down to an intimate whisper at the drop of a hat or the edginess of her between-song confessional ramblings which were on the verge of going over the edge as the set progressed and the whiskey continued to flow…it left me wondering if she would go too far, and I must admit this was another fascinating aspect of her music—and maybe even says a bit about her as a person—a risk-taking, headlong fearlessness. Her life and art on a pendulum.

It is no wonder that perhaps those of us who have experienced sliding down the razor blade of life with a little more intensity than is healthy (Aimee Mann is also a big fan), can find a kindred spirit in her music and persona, and a well-articulated one at that.

*The single downside to this show was that her friends in the crowd chattered non-stop at full volume through her whole set, which REALLY destroyed the vibe.

Download: Jenny Owen Youngs at eMusic

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