Album Review: Jason Mraz

Jason Mraz- We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things

The sketch of Jason Mraz on the cover of the album We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things is a proper metaphor for the music inside.

Gone is the askew trucker’s cap that had become a bit of a trademark, replaced now by a Sinatra style fedora. The image speaks to the general maturity shown in the music and songwriting on the album.

The sleek soul sound of the opening track “Make it Mine” makes the listener quickly realize they are about to get some different things from Mr. A-Z.

There have always been a myriad of genres blended together in Mraz’s music, but those different styles are much more definitive now. The single “I’m Yours” is most definitely a Reggae song while “The Dynamo of Volition” taps into the hip-hop world rather specifically.

We Sing… is also highlighted by a couple guest spots, Colbie Caillat on the cutesy “Lucky” and James Morrison on the poignant “Details in the Fabric”.

All in all, the record shows a great step forward for Mraz as a songwriter and an artist

MY GRADE: B

Album Review: Duffy

Duffy- Rockferry

Trends and comparisons are dangerous monsters in the music business, and Duffy is either a victim or a product of both on her debut Rockferry.

Almost immediately after hitting the scene the Welsh singer was being hailed by the British press as one of the “New Amys” drawing comparisons to troubled retro-popster Amy Winehouse.

That comparison is unfair in many ways but a couple stand out.

First, Duffy’s voice is considerably stronger than that of Winehouse, but there is also considerably less attitude.

Rockferry starts out with the title track, a wall of sound ballad that evokes the great Female Brit singers of the mid-sixties; the problem is that the power of the opening song doesn’t continue.

The album continues with a number of sweet and subtle ballads that are good, but not unlike anything you’ve heard before, and by the time you get to “Mercy” (the current single and the albums only up-tempo track) it almost sounds out of place.

The album finishes up with “Distant Dreamer” another throwback with a big big sound that ends the album on a full and beautiful note.

I can’t decide if all these comparisons are good or bad thing for artists and/or listeners (I’m leaning toward bad), but if I must compare then I will say this.

The retro sound is there, the vocal power is most certainly there, the attitude just isn’t.

MY GRADE: C+

Concert Review: Modest Mouse

“It is not Fucking Summer Time Yet”

This joking statement by Modest Mouse front-man Isaac Brock pierced through the cold Bend air as the band took the stage of the Les Schwab Amphitheater. A bit of a sly joke at the idea of having an outdoor concert so early in the season.

However, with the first notes of the band’s opener, the banjo-laden folk-stomper “Satin in a Coffin”, the temperature quickly began to rise.

The large gathering quickly learned a small science lesson, is hard to stay cold when you can’t stand still.

This show was a bit of redemption for me, as I foolishly didn’t go to a show they played at the Washington State Student Union in Pullman when I was in college nearly 10 years ago. (A decision I still regret). But what made the evening even more fulfilling was the wide scope of the selected set-list.

The band played an equal selection of their more recent tunes that gained them international fame as well as older tracks to keep more seasoned MM supporters satisfied.

One criticism of the band over the last few years is that with more recent and more “radio-friendly” tracks like “Dashboard” the band had sold-out. I would say that those nay-sayers were not listening close enough, or just haven’t seen them live lately. The bands catalogue is seamless when spread out on a wider canvas.

Older tracks like “Doin the Cockroach” blend together so well with newer faire like the mega-hit “Float On” they may as well have been on the same album.

The three song encore was a testament to the band’s more recent success featuring “Bury Me With it” (from 2004’s Good News for People Who Love Bad News) and new single “Fly Trapped in a Jar” before closing it down with the B-Side “King Rat”.

With that the Memorial weekend in Bend was finished. Even though it might not be summer yet. The summer concert season has kicked off in grand fashion.

Concert Review: Mike Doughty

I Figure I'll start this bad boy off with a concert review (there will be many of them on this site).

As is usually the case with me, because I am a huge music geek, my excitement level was high heading into Mike Doughty's show.

Having been a fan of Mike's work, both solo and with Soul Coughing, I was chomping at the bit to get into the show.

The evening started with an "opening band" that was nameless and at first glance pointless. Taking the stage in hunter's caps and fake beards, they basically played disjointed sections of music and unintelligibly howled over the top of it all. As they continued some members of the gathered masses actually began to cheer this group on, which confused me even further.

That is until I realized that the "lead man" of the band, who kept his back turned the entire time, shared body characteristics with Mike Doughty himself. It was then I realized it was all a big work, a big goof that I was now the butt of… brilliant.

Next came The Panderers, a three piece from Indiana that are new signees to Doughty's label (Snack Bar). They were fantastic and had the Wonder Ballroom in the palm of their hands.

Finally the time came for the man of the hour, taking the stage with a crack band that shares Panderers members Pete McNeal (drums) and "Scrap" Livingston (Bass), as well as John Kirby (Electric Piano).

It is always fun to see and act with such a devoted fan base like Doughty's, because there is very much a family atmosphere at the show.

Mike and the band obviously love to play and let it show, peppering the set with songs from all of his solo work. Crowd pleasers included fantastic takes on "Tremendous Brunettes" and "I Hear the Bells" from 2005's Haughty Melodic. After deflecting numerous Soul Coughing cover requests, Doughty did placate the loving room with "Circles".

Tracks of the new, and beautiful, Golden Delicious were on display as well, including "Fort Hood" (which lifts directly from "Let the Sun Shine in" from the musical Hair and brought with it a rousing sing-along) and the sample-ridden, Soul Coughing-esque "More Bacon Than The Pan Can Handle".

As the opening "opening band" dictated, the night was tongue in cheek throughout. Right up to the point where Doughty and Band announced the "Fake Last Song", a cover of Kenny Rogers' "The Gambler" before turning their backs to the audience for a minute rather than taking a traditional encore break.

The "encore" consisted of favorites "27 Jennifers" and "Looking at the World from the Bottom of a Well", wrapping up another excuse to call Doughty a great showman as well as storyteller.