Arizona - Kings of Leon - Because of the Times - 2007

Sometimes a band must be seen in a live setting to be appreciated. I went through a lengthy period of time not particularly liking KoL. I found them to be a lesser version of My Morning Jacket. I found Caleb Followill's weird voice to be...well weird. And also, as a University of Kentucky grad, I felt obligated to support the KYers over the Tennessee boys.

But then I saw KoL at All Points West. In order to make sure we had some visibility for Radiohead, my buddy Anand and I made our way as close to the front as we could during the King's show. And it's impressive enough that they could change my opinion with a good live show, but to change my opinion with a good live show at a huge outdoor festival (which is death to many better bands...Grizzly Bear for instance). All in all, the Kings of Leon boys put on a great show and lead to me downloading their catalog. They aren't my favorite band by a long stretch, but I've certainly enjoyed listening to them.

This particular song is a nice slow jam with a searing guitar line and good build up. I'm glad they changed my mind about them.

Anything You Want - Britt Daniel - Solo Acoustic at WNYU - 2001

Here's Britt doing a solo acoustic version of one of the sweetest (in the real sense of the word) songs ever. I'll talk more about it when I talk about the album version.

Another The Letter - Wire - Chairs Missing - 1978

I went to go see TV on the Radio at the Brooklyn Masonic Temple last night. First of all, it was a venue I'd never been to before and it had many things to recommend it. Most importantly, it was a mere 10 minute walk from my apartment, but more to the point it was surprisingly small for a TVotR show, about the same size (and feel) as Bowery with more balcony space, but possibly less floor space. It made the show unexpectedly intimate.

There were of course downsides. They insisted on doing that annoying "buy a ticket, to buy a beer" system that they do at all ages shows here...cause god forbid a teenager get a beer. And the size and newness of the venue combined with the popularity of the band made their crowd control efforts somewhat clumsy and futile.

But all in all it was a positive experience and TVotR is a deceptively interesting live band. They are probably at their best when re-interpreting material, which is why their best songs can sometimes be disappointing. I don't want "Wolf Like Me" or "Staring at the Sun" re-interpreted...they are basically note perfect pop songs with elaborate and involved orchestration...but a less noteworthy song like "Dirtywhirl", "Young Liars" or "Love Dogs" can seem revelatory...like you didn't even know the song was that good no matter how many times you'd heard it previously....

They also welcomed a 4 piece horn section (Brooklyn's Finest Horns) onto the stage for about 2/3's of the show. Which was somewhat of a mixed blessing, on some songs they were amazing...on others they were over powering or out of place. Additionally, they blocked my view of Dave Sitek who is easily the most technically gifted member of the band. But if nothing else they were a site to see. 3 of the 4 were ordinary Brooklyn dudes, but the fourth, the tenor sax player, appeared to have been lifted straight of out The Revolution (Prince's old backing band, not, you know, some Che Guevara thing...cause that wouldn't really be out of place at all)...she wore Ray Bans, a black cocktail dress and big hair like nobody's business. My ladyfriend asked if she was Wendy or Lisa.

I've seen them twice before, in two drastically different situations...once at the beginnings of their fame in a tiny loft in South Williamsburg and once right before the release of Cookie Mountain at the Prospect Park Bandshell...but despite the cool points for the first show (and the way it turned out) the smallish midsize club is definitely the way to go with these guys.

Anyway, this is Wire, which really has nothing to do with TVotR...but I don't have one of their TVotR's songs coming up, and this song is only 1:06 long...what the hell was I supposed to talk about?

All I Need - Radiohead - Radiohead at the BBC - 2008

One of the joys of being a Radiohead fanatic (at least for me) lies in listening to the way they recreate their dense studio atmospherics in a live setting. If you download this or whatever, be sure to notice the cool rumbling distortion underlying most of the song.

Airbag - Radiohead - Live at the BBC, April 1st 2008 - 2008

I can't remember who said this, but I remember reading an interview with someone who stated that in order to be truly great, every band needs a member who kinda sucks...or else they end up sounding like Rush. This is the Ringo Starr theory, if you will. In Radiohead, this member is Ed O'Brien. And for this reason, and many others, Ed is my favorite member of the band.

First of all, at 6 foot 4, Ed towers over the rest of the band. Seeing him and Thom standing next to each other is rather like a scene from Lord of the Rings. Also, Ed is almost always stoned. There are a few songs in which he does not have a part to play...you can generally see him off to the side of the stage smoking up during these songs. Ed is the only one who seems to really enjoy being a rock star, and the most willing to take the piss out of Thom. But beyond this, Ed's limited technical skills have actually forced him to become one of the more interesting players in the band. Basically, he plays effects pedals. Only on the older songs (or the throw backs like Go TO Sleep) do you see him playing a traditional second guitar player's role...most of the time he just makes weird noises.

Airbag is a great example of "What Does Ed Do Exactly" (my favorite game to play at a Radiohead show)...he is the guitar line that comes in at about the 10 second mark...neither that monster riff of Johnny's, nor Thom's crunching rhythm part, but the tinkling little, The Edge inspired bit that comes in underneath it all. Additionally, you get Ed's capable background vocals on the "Woah-oh-oh" part at the end...well, on live versions, Thom usually over dubs him in the studio...

Yes. I do realize I'm a giant nerd.

The Agony of Laffitte - Britt Daniel - 2001 NYU

So, when I think of the studio version of this song in my head I tend to think of it as just Britt and a guitar, but this live version, in which it actually is just that, is actually fairly useful in demonstrating how much atmosphere there is to the studio version. Not that this is a bad version, Daniel has an amazingly persuasive voice, but I find myself missing the multi-tracked vocals, the little bits of ambient noise (the ocean? traffic?), the subtle drums, the xylophone.

Bet you didn't even know all that stuff was there, did you?

Ages of You - R.E.M. - And I Feel Fine... - 2006

This is actually a live take from their Boston show in 1983. The track demonstrates what a solid drummer live drummer Bill Berry was. Back in the day when they were America's best college band, they were amazingly tight from non-stop touring. The ease with which they spring into this song is breathtaking.