Casiotone For the Painfully Alone & the Donkeys LIVE at the Jackpot Saloon!
Yesterday was entirely strange. I spent most of the day planning on going to a party which was to be held at Yello Sub, our local sandwich joint which had been unceremoniously shut down and set to be demolished for some high rise apartments and/or a hotel. So the folks who ran the place decided to, you know, throw a killer party and trash the place.
ANYWAY, as I'm telling Sean after the music staff meeting that I'm gonna see him at the party later, Annie reminds me that Casiotone for the Painfully Alone is playing. And somehow, I completely forgot. "Scattered Pearls" from last year's Etiquette was one of my absolute favorite songs of last year, and CFTPA (aka Owen Ashworth) is one of the finest indie pop artists playing music in the present time. So, Annie went to make some spots for the radio station and I went to the show just as local band Ample Branches were finishing their set. I drank some whiskey, and then the Donkeys played. And goddamn were the Donkeys fantastic! It's been an insanely long time (probably since I saw Immaculate Machine open for the New Pornographers last year) since I've seen an opener that I really, completely and utterly enjoyed. And of course, any band that seems to generally be having a great time on stage automatically wins me over. The music was fun, sweet indie pop, exactly what I wanted to hear at that moment in time. The slightly sappy, but completely forgivable and wonderful "Be My Girl" stuck out in my head and I was totally thrilled to find it on the Casiotone/Donkeys Split 7" that I bought after the show.
At one point, the Donkeys announced that they would be playing their "slow jam" and that couples should slow dance. I grew sad, I wished I had a lady to dance with me right then and about 3/4s of the way through the song Annie showed up and my spirits got even better. The Donkeys finished up and it was the first time in forever that I wanted to see an opening band play an encore.
We got a nice spot up in the corner at the front of the stage for Casiotone. What I'm about to write is not hyperbole, and it's written in some sort of weird pop-loser-fandom code, but I will do my best to describe how great this set was. He started off with a song I can't remember, but was really nice and got me really excited. Next was "Nashville Parthenon," the song off of Etiquette that I played the most last year while it was in rotation after the next song, "Scattered Pearls." I had no expectations here. I didn't know how he would do it but when that synth line lit up and he started singing it made perfect sense (although I called a youtube version of the song with Owen on vocals "awkward" earlier this year, I admit, I don't know what the fuck I was talking about) and, I shit you not, I learned how to dance. Some weird hipster thing I'm sure, but it made my body move in a way its never moved before. My body kept producing new fluid movements for the rest of the night.
Halfway through the set he announced that the Donkeys would be joining him on stage as his backing band after the next song, a special request for his cover of Paul Simon's "Graceland." I'll be honest, when I heard it a few months ago it didn't really do much for me but live, it was fucking wonderful. And then the band joined in and they played stuff like "Jeanne, If You're Ever in Portland" and more songs that sounded so familiar that I can't recall. It's always tough going to see an artist that you're not as familiar with as you'd like to be. Usually, after an amazing show I'll get really into them and WISH I'd been that into them when I saw them (see also: Destroyer). But, you know, whatever. The much shouted for "Bobby Malone Moves Home" was set to be their last song before rampant shouts and calls for encore (the first time I've ever heard an audience audibly chant "encore! encore!"), after which they played the second most shouted for song, "It's a Crime." The song eventually broke down into an impromptu, solo-filled jam session in which Owen Ashworth left the stage to applaud the Donkeys with the rest of the audience. It's so much better when touring bands are actually friends, you know?
Anyway, the show was a total blast. Something I might call "the Show of the Summer," and as far as I can remember, the best show of the year. I cannot urge you enough to go check these guys out and let them know you love them if they swing through your town.
Casiotone for the Painfully Alone - Scattered Pearls
The Donkeys - In the Morning
ANYWAY, as I'm telling Sean after the music staff meeting that I'm gonna see him at the party later, Annie reminds me that Casiotone for the Painfully Alone is playing. And somehow, I completely forgot. "Scattered Pearls" from last year's Etiquette was one of my absolute favorite songs of last year, and CFTPA (aka Owen Ashworth) is one of the finest indie pop artists playing music in the present time. So, Annie went to make some spots for the radio station and I went to the show just as local band Ample Branches were finishing their set. I drank some whiskey, and then the Donkeys played. And goddamn were the Donkeys fantastic! It's been an insanely long time (probably since I saw Immaculate Machine open for the New Pornographers last year) since I've seen an opener that I really, completely and utterly enjoyed. And of course, any band that seems to generally be having a great time on stage automatically wins me over. The music was fun, sweet indie pop, exactly what I wanted to hear at that moment in time. The slightly sappy, but completely forgivable and wonderful "Be My Girl" stuck out in my head and I was totally thrilled to find it on the Casiotone/Donkeys Split 7" that I bought after the show.
At one point, the Donkeys announced that they would be playing their "slow jam" and that couples should slow dance. I grew sad, I wished I had a lady to dance with me right then and about 3/4s of the way through the song Annie showed up and my spirits got even better. The Donkeys finished up and it was the first time in forever that I wanted to see an opening band play an encore.
We got a nice spot up in the corner at the front of the stage for Casiotone. What I'm about to write is not hyperbole, and it's written in some sort of weird pop-loser-fandom code, but I will do my best to describe how great this set was. He started off with a song I can't remember, but was really nice and got me really excited. Next was "Nashville Parthenon," the song off of Etiquette that I played the most last year while it was in rotation after the next song, "Scattered Pearls." I had no expectations here. I didn't know how he would do it but when that synth line lit up and he started singing it made perfect sense (although I called a youtube version of the song with Owen on vocals "awkward" earlier this year, I admit, I don't know what the fuck I was talking about) and, I shit you not, I learned how to dance. Some weird hipster thing I'm sure, but it made my body move in a way its never moved before. My body kept producing new fluid movements for the rest of the night.
Halfway through the set he announced that the Donkeys would be joining him on stage as his backing band after the next song, a special request for his cover of Paul Simon's "Graceland." I'll be honest, when I heard it a few months ago it didn't really do much for me but live, it was fucking wonderful. And then the band joined in and they played stuff like "Jeanne, If You're Ever in Portland" and more songs that sounded so familiar that I can't recall. It's always tough going to see an artist that you're not as familiar with as you'd like to be. Usually, after an amazing show I'll get really into them and WISH I'd been that into them when I saw them (see also: Destroyer). But, you know, whatever. The much shouted for "Bobby Malone Moves Home" was set to be their last song before rampant shouts and calls for encore (the first time I've ever heard an audience audibly chant "encore! encore!"), after which they played the second most shouted for song, "It's a Crime." The song eventually broke down into an impromptu, solo-filled jam session in which Owen Ashworth left the stage to applaud the Donkeys with the rest of the audience. It's so much better when touring bands are actually friends, you know?
Anyway, the show was a total blast. Something I might call "the Show of the Summer," and as far as I can remember, the best show of the year. I cannot urge you enough to go check these guys out and let them know you love them if they swing through your town.
Casiotone for the Painfully Alone - Scattered Pearls
The Donkeys - In the Morning
posted by Ian at 8:17 PM
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