Here it is! The complete and finalized music video for "Hard Times" by Patrick Wolf. I am BARELY in it... and my "bigger" part was cut (I suppose the "voluptuous" choir ladies in white WERE too much... ::pouts::), but I am still reeling at the fact that I spent the day with Mr. Wolf and all the amazing people there. I accept the fact that although I am barely in it- it was a fair trade. Seriously, I spent most of the day relaxing, and talking to Patrick while everyone else worked! HA!
more about "Patrick Wolf: "Hard Times"", posted with vodpod
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Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
A little silliness...
Monday, May 11, 2009
I was an EXTRA in the new Patrick Wolf video!
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Friday, May 8, 2009
Patrick Wolf Video Shoot
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Patrick Wolf at Le Poisson Rouge
He is tall, lanky, and 25. He is as pale as I am, with a mop of pale platinum blonde hair atop his head. His smile sparkles with mischief. He chatters on in a stream of consciousness in attempts to make sure you truly and thoroughly understand the source of his inspiration for each song that he has written. Before all other things, Patrick Wolf is a storyteller. He is a wandering minstrel singing his tales of triumph and woe to eager audiences. His voice is the perfect tool for lyrical expression. It's range seemingly limitless, going from the purest deep timbre of a grown man to the lightest most feathery and whimsical falsetto of a young boy. Through his voice, he helps paint the landscape of his tales.
I wasn't sure what to expect when I heard Patrick Wolf was doing an acoustic set at Le Poisson Rouge in Manhattan this past Wednesday night. The new album, "The Bachelor" (due out in a few weeks) is heavily electronic, and with very intricate musical arrangements. I couldn't even begin to imagine how those songs would break down. Well, it appears that the fundamental rule that "graphic design should work as well in black and white, as it does in color" applies to music too. Even stripped of all its elaborate orchestrations, Patrick Wolf has created emotive, whimsical, dark, and beautiful music. With nothing more than a piano, a violin, viola, guitar, and occasional dulcimer (and only TWO people on stage mind you) every songs musical meaning & integrity remained in tact. Truth be told, I felt some of the "stripped down" versions were more... intimate... in a way. I felt a certain personal resonance with each song, especially with it's maestro...in many ways Patrick Wolf is a kindred spirit, especially in regards to his sense of style and visual aesthetic.
This relationship with the viewer is the essential component to a minstrel's work... we should feel ourselves being drawn into the tale, being seduced by the singer, whisked away into whatever corner of the universe they choose. With this incredibly beautiful and striking performance at Le Poisson Rouge, Patrick Wolf has conquered over all my other favorite musicians. I feel blessed to have seen him perform this way- and have it be my first time seeing him live. His connectivity and interaction to the crowd was nothing like I've ever witnessed, it was like VH1's "Storytellers"... every song meant something, and Patrick was more than willing to tell you. He talked to us throughout the set, even playing coy at a few comments. These moments of relation were probably my favorites. He gets on the audiences good side by wit, grace, and charm, and then steals their hearts by playing his music. I went through emotions like water- I would find my self laughing out loud one moment, then move rapidly on to silent meditation, then shoot upward to gleeful seat-bopping, then come crashing down to shaky hysterics.
I could go on forever about this show. There were so many glorious little moments. Instead I will leave you with this suggestion: Go out and buy every album this young man has produced. Listen to each album the old school way in sequential order, with your head phones on, and see if you can withstand the inevitable draw of one the best modern musicians out there today.
Some of the songs he performed live included:The Pigeon Song
Augustine
"Tin Angel" by Joni Mitchell directly into the Magic Position
Bluebells
Who Will
Demaris
Wind in the Wires
Theseus
The Bachelor
Hard Times
"Happy Birthday" to his dear cousin Natalie (in the audience)
Vulture...
Oh dear sweet Patrick Wolf you have my heart...
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Oh. My. God. I am
Oh. My. God. I am SO NERVOUS AND EXCITED FOR PATRICK WOLF. The anticipation is palpable. I am shaking
Friday, May 1, 2009
Bat for Lashes
Lately, I feel like I am saying this more and more (which bodes well for the music scene), but, Bat for Lashes performed one of the best concerts I've ever heard last night. The sound was full, thick with magic and mystique. Natasha Khan was sensual and alluring, her tall lanky form moved languidly about the stage, that is, when she wasn't playing the auto-harp, keyboard, or guitar and singing like the world's most completely arousing angel.
I owe Natasha and Bat for Lashes an apology. I assumed her voice and sound was another product of pro-tools magic. I was wrong. Her voice is her most powerful instrument. It drove chills down my spine, made my eyes well with tears, and stirred feelings within me for women that I had long forgotten. Yeah- I said it. Natasha made me want to sleep with her. She's one of the sexiest female performers I've ever seen. She's right up there next to Siouxsie. However, the difference in sex appeal between these two women is monumental. Siouxsie makes you want her because she is raw, aggressive, and almost masculine in her appeal. She's a violent and vivacious woman, whose deep throaty husk of a voice makes you uncomfortable and interested all at once.
Natasha on the other hand lures you in not through aggression, but through her subtle wispy and overtly feminine voice and movement. The casual sway of her hips, the crisp glimmer of her smiling white teeth through her full parted mouth, even when she's tuning up her keyboard for the next song, she's sexy. I was up in the far left balcony in the press section of the Bowery Ballroom. I was pressed up against the wall and I had absolutely no view. I caught her only in glimpses, but that was enough for her to cast her spell but her visual appeal was only one small part of the overall seduction.
Then there's the music, my God the music. We all know I have a penchant for the dramatic. We all know I love eccentric lyrical style, musical arrangements, and the use of non-conventional instruments in modern music. Well, I get these elements in spades with Bat for Lashes. First of all, there's the flair of the "synth" element to the music that hooked me from the beginning. The way they translate it live rivals Nine Inch Nails (and I am NOT kidding folks). Bat for Lashes interprets their polished heavily synthesized orchestral music catalogue and translates it into a well thought out organic mythological beast of concert sound. Bat for Lashes are concert fairies and I BELIEVE, I BELIEVE!
I certainly clapped enough. The music took on a whole new element for me live. It was tribal, visceral, and yet it was also intellectual, and poetic. Natasha's voice is heavenly and Bat for Lashes sound is earthy. Bat for Lashes is a marriage of the realm of faerie and man, and I am grateful to have been standing before them savoring the delicious auditory feast they presented. Everyone should be listening to them.
For those of you interested, here are some of the songs they played (in no order)
Opened with: Glass (the perfect opening song)
Sleep alone
Horse and I
Daniel (acoustic, stripped down version)
Good Love
Siren Song
Sarah
Priscilla
The Wizard
What's a Girl to Do?
Pearl's Dream
Tahiti
Peace of Mind
Two Planets
Moon and Moon
Bat's Mouth
Traveling Woman
Closed with: Daniel (original version)
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