Bell and Takka Takka @ Pianos - 31 March 2008

Bell and Takka Takka played Pianos last night. But wait, there's more! These two EAR FARM favorites were but a portion of the entire lineup of fun that was put together by Brooklyn Vegan... also joining in on the fun were five comedians (Rock n ROFL), lots of free Newcastle and Kronenbourg, and a special set from John Vanderslice that closed out the evening. The comedy was excellent, Vanderslice not entirely my thing, but the real stand outs were Bell and Takka Takka (both of which I caught at SXSW).

Bell played a set that began with rocking versions of most of the songs you can find on the soon-to-be released EP and concluded with a darker (very nice) new song as well as Bell's patented "Videotape"/"Eraser" Radiohead/Thom Yorke cover. A large portion of the audience was clearly there to see Bell and Olga and her fellas kicked out the jamz and did not disappoint. My only complaint is that Pianos - Pianos - still hasn't yet figured out how to light their on-stage piano.

Takka Takka opened their set with an old favorite ("We feel safer at night", posted below) before playing song after song from their upcoming record. The new songs have a hint of Peter Gabriel going on (or perhaps more accurately Speaking in Tongues era Talking Heads) but are completely their own unique Takka Takka sound. Which, I must say, has grown and matured incredibly well over the band's brief history thus far. Something about their current collection of songs really creeps up on you - upon first listen you'll enjoy it, then the next day you'll find yourself thinking more and more about Takka Takka as your love for the band secretly grows and grows. Then, before you know it, all you'll want is for their new record to come out and for them to play more shows so you can feed your (not-so-secret) Takka Takka obsession. As of right now, their 2008 album is one of the ones I'm most looking forward to over the next few months... I don't know the name of the two songs from last night that are now stuck in my head, but I do know that they need to get themselves up in my stereo ASAP. Maybe that's just me? Nah.

But wait, there's more! Check out more pics after the jump.

Bell




Listen:
"It's Oh So Quiet" by Bell (cover of a cover by Björk, from Stereogum's Enjoyed: A Tribute To Björk's Post)

See more pictures of Bell (from this show and many others, including their earlier SXSW show) HERE.

Visit Bell on MySpace

Takka Takka





Listen:
"We feel safer at night" by Takka Takka

See more pictures of Takka Takka (from this show and others) HERE.

Visit Takka Takka on MySpace.

Takka Takka @ Friends - 14 March 2008 (SXSW Day 3, pics)

Takka Takka showed off a selection of new songs this past Friday night at Friends bar in Austin, TX for the Ernest Jenning SXSW showcase. It was the first time I've seen the band in a while and I found myself wanting to hear more of the same old songs I know and love... until after about two of the new songs kind of blew me away. Now I simply can't wait to hear the new record. Takka Takka is maturing before our very ears. Pay attention New York.

Check out more pics after the jump.



Listen:
"We feel safer at night" by Takka Takka

See more pictures of Takka Takka (from this show and others) HERE.

Visit Takka Takka on MySpace.

Takka Takka, The Section Quartet @ CMJ Day Stage - 16 October 2007

Let's welcome Mike to the mix with a first. An EAR FARM conversation about a show both Matt and Mike attended together.

Mike
Saluton EAR FARM nation! This is exciting.

To the fiercely loyal who may chafe at welcoming another voice to offset Matt's tyrannical reign, fear not. I'm not here to rock the boat. Instead, think of me as the Cousin Oliver to EAR FARM's Greg Brady (but when you do so please conjure this image instead of this one) - a mischievous, eager newcomer with his hand in the cookie jar of good music (Don't tell Alice). Actually, scratch that, I believe they canceled the show pretty shortly after Oliver's midseason debut. Okay, I guess think of me as the first wave of change that EAR FARM will be undergoing in the coming months. It all starts here, and I'm honestly thrilled to be a part of it.

Right then, onto the music.

Earlier yesterday afternoon, Matt and I headed over to the Puck Building with the express purpose of seeing Takka Takka. We were late. So here is my public apology to Takka Takka, a band that so many different people have been telling me to check out for at least the last two years believing that they are the EXACT kind of band I would dig, as well as a band that apparently started their set right on schedule. I'm sorry Takka Takka, I missed the bulk of it. However, I did manage to see their final three songs and was left with mixed emotions. By mixed emotions I mean a combination of elation at seeing a band for the first time that so clearly spoke to my love of cleverly turning melodies, direct and earnest lyrics and vocals, and an unfussy delivery and self-disgust for never making it out to any of their 467 previous shows I could have easily seen. Apparently, they've added a third guitarist fairly recently, which in my estimation is a very very very good thing. I just used a "very" for every guitar in Takka Takka, see how much better that sentence reads as a result? Exactly. But hey, isn't the whole idea of the "newish" EAR FARM to get multiple perspectives at times? And who am I to write on a band which I've only seen play three songs live? Matt, what was your opinion?

Matt
I've seen Takka Takka something like 200 times (lie), and I love them more than I love my cat (another lie). As songwriters, as musicians, and as people - love them. Great band. Readers of EAR FARM already know how I feel about Takka Takka. However, it would appear that the organizers of CMJ do not know anything about my feelings towards them, nor do they know anything about how I feel about waiting in lines. But they will know soon, this I'll make sure of. And if they did already know these things, then they are just mean.

So. What's the deal with waiting in lines? Am I right? What? It's not just me that hates waiting in lines is it? Didn't think so. Well then, friend line-hater, pull up a chair and let me spin a tale of line-waiting so harrowing it's bound to make your back hurt empathetically and might even prematurely gray some of your hair as you read. I'll do my best not to recount the details of the "great wait" in real time because, frankly, you don't have the time (not a lie).

The important details:

- as part of an agreement for running the CMJ ad you see on the bottom right side over there (scroll down, it's white) I was told I'd be given a CMJ pass, something all of us involved with After The Jump were granted. VERY cool.
- I was never explicitly told how/when/where to pickup said pass other than to get the pass just like everyone else.
- when I arrived at the Puck building to retrieve my CMJ pass, I was asked if I was a "performer" or "press."
- my speedy skills of deduction led me to answer "press" - look, it was my first time downtown. Noo, I live downtown. It's an expression. It was my first CMJ with a badge. Or so I hoped.
- I got in this "press" line and there I stood. Quietly. For 50 minutes (true). Fifty. Five-zero.
- standing there doing long division in my head, I found myself tapping a foot along to some groovy sounds coming from the distance. Through many walls... it's a guitar, it's two, it's three... it's Takka Takka!
- as if I were turning to look at the stage, I turned to face the wall where the sounds were coming from; and then, over.

How did I like Takka Takka at the CMJ Day Stage? I heard one point five songs through forty plus feet of concrete and paint and music nerds.

Mike
Oh right. Well, what did you think of The Section Quartet (see above photo)? They done set the stage on fire after Takka Takka, re-imagining such rock staples as the Strokes' "Juicebox", Radiohead's "Paranoid Android" and Led Zeppelin's "Heartbreaker" (more on this in a moment) with feverish precision and a storm of violins, viola and cello. If King Arthur had ruled over Williamsburg, this band would be rocking his Court methinks. And how bananas was Eric Gorfain's violin solo on "Heartbreaker"? It somehow managed to tap into the whole tightrope Jimmy Page tiptoed between brutish force and technical fluidity in the original while adding even more grace and flair to the piece. Ridiculous. You caught that, right?

Matt
Mother fucker say what?! You're kidding right? Because I know you came to visit me while I waited. Not once, or twice, but three times you came to see how I was holding up. That's right people, my story didn't end with Takka Takka's set, nor did it end at the end of the "press" line. Let's get back to a bulleted list format to save us all a bit of time. Lord knows I'm due a refund of some kind here... might as well take it back in blog time. Too late? Screw you, keep reading.

More details:

- the end of the "press" line saw a confused woman tell me that I'd just waited in the wrong line and that I would need to head over to the "pre-registration" line. Fair enough. A total waste of my time, but I felt like it was nearly 99% my fault.
- the "pre-registration" line was noticeably shorter, I had hope.
- after twenty minutes I reached the end of the line. Confident, I handed a different woman my ID. She searched. For a while. My heart sank.
- "I'm sorry, but your pass just isn't in here. You're going to have to wait in that (she pointed to another looooong line) line over there where they'll print you a new pass."
- this nearly made me cry, but just then I could've sworn I heard a string quartet version of "Paranoid Android" coming from the general area of the muffled sounding wall stage. "Muffled sounding wall stage" is what us "line people" had come to call the Day Stage, and we imagined it was located someplace near the center of the Earth, for that is how far away the music sounded. However, the faint refrain of classical Radiohead was enough to pick up my spirits.
- like a whiny child shopping for clothes with his mother I muttered "but I just waited in line for over an hour" to the poor CMJ worker. She looked upon me with pity, didn't say a word.
- I left the comforts of my second line for the frightening newness of yet another line. This one looked long. Even longer than the previous two. I took a deep breath.
- after another 25 minutes or so, just about the time I really got used to this new, third, line, I got to the front of the line. The people working this line clearly knew they were wearing an imaginary sign that read "The Buck Stops Here."
- within seconds of handing these last resorters my information I was given my very own CMJ badge. Finally! So efficient!
- (inner monologue: "Oh, but it's crooked (see above photo) - looks so sloppy!")
- (secondary inner monologue voice: "Shut up OCD head, you got it! Now get going before they create a fourth line for you to wait in!")

What did I think of The Section Quartet at the CMJ Day Stage? Mike, I was joking when I walked into the room and clapped as they left the stage. When I said to you "that last song ruled," I actually didn't hear any of it. I was with the line people. For an hour and a half.

So um, is it to late too just say "Takka Takka, The Section Quartet @ CMJ Day Stage - no comment"?

Takka Takka, The Forms, and The National @ South Street Seaport - 17 August 2007

Takka Takka (above) rocked South Street Seaport last Friday with a mini-set that was comprised of five songs, shortened due to rain. Since I last saw them, they've added two new members and have seemingly been evolving their sound a bit - drifting away from the mellower side of rock and a bit more towards pop. Then again, not enough time to really take everything in. Whatever the case, Takka Takka is an excellent band worth checking out in person when you have a chance.

Listen:
Takka Takka - "Draw A Map"

See more pictures of Takka Takka (from this show and others) HERE.

After the rain that cut short Takka Takka's set ceased, The Forms took the stage for what amounted to around fifteen minutes (three songs) before it started raining again. People (above) were forced to once again wait in the rain, and The Forms were left with no choice but to call it a night and bow out in favor of trying to get The National on stage. I enjoyed what I heard from The Forms though, and I'm hoping to catch a full set from them in the near future.

Listen:
The Forms - "Black Metal"

Ask me and I'll be the first to tell you, I'm very often not the quickest mo' fo' out there when it comes to really getting into some of the more popular indie type bands. In fact, it often takes much prodding from friends for me to really give certain bands a chance. Why? Whatever. But it happens. Happened for me with The National (above). Happened. Past tense. Thankfully I've moved past my issues with this particular band and have very recently come to love them. Welcome to 2005, I know. Anyway, I went into this show with a fresh crush on the music of The National, but tempered expectations in regards to their live show given what some "long time" fans of the band told me about recent shows at Bowery Ballroom. Before this particular rain drenched Friday night at South Street Seaport I was listening to Alligator and Boxer a lot. Ever since, it's been almost nonstop. I'm a fool for not getting into this band sooner. Even with the typical limitations of the South Street Seaport sound system (not to mention the rain induced extra issues), their live show was excellent and worth the time spent standing in the rain.

Listen:
The National - "Secret Meeting" (live in Paris, 2005 - via Aquarium Drunkard)

***head over to NYC Taper and download this actual show HERE***