Tom: I’ve written about the Rural Alberta Advantage more than any other band this year. In my (secret) attempt to sway the Radio Exile Best Of 2009 Poll, I’ve begun to try and get other Exilers into the RAA. My biggest success thus far has been Holly Louise Perry.
Holly: The First time I heard The Rural Alberta Advantage was on a mix made by Radio Exiler Tom Williams about four months ago. Bought the album right away. Hooked.
I’m supposed to be on a strict no-concert diet (as I’m Europe bound in a few weeks), but I figured i could sacrifice a glass of Italy’s finest so I could catch them in my ‘hood. Very happy I did.
Tom: Since we both saw the RAA live on consecutive night, Holly thought it would be a really cool idea to do a he said/she said review of their live show. I agreed! Here it is.
Gig Location
Tom: Music Hall of Williamsburg in New York on 8/4/09.
Holly: Middle East Upstairs, Cambridge, MA 8/5/09 (their first gig in Cambridge!)
Beverages Consumed
Tom: One something I don’t know the name of, on draft. It tasted pretty hoppy. Might have been something from Brooklyn Brewery (which is awesome, by the way).
Holly: One Harpoon UFO. on draft. This lightweight was flying solo for the gig, and I’d much rather remember the music.
Crowd Vibe
Tom: For me, the best part of the show as the crowd. The RAA first played in New York City only about seven months ago, playing several small venues (100 capacity?). They came back in April and May, playing 200 and 300 capacity venues. And now they’re here playing a venue with a capacity of almost 600. Every time they come to New York their audience size doubles. Not only that but when I first saw them in New York in April, the crowd was into it but they didn’t really know the songs that well. At the show at the Music Hall, half the crowd was singing along! It felt like the entire place knew every lyric. This is a band on a huge accent right now.
Holly: I don’t believe the gig was sold out, but by the time RAA took the stage, it sure was cozy. A lot of people knew the words, and, judging by the applause-o-meter and the “one-more-songs,” you wouldn’t have been twisting anyone’s arm to stay another hour to hear the whole thing again.
Openers
Tom: New York band The Dig opened. They seemed to have a core of really hard core fans. Not only that, but they weren’t your typical Williamsburg hipsters; they felt almost like Long Island and Jersey kids. The Dig were good, pretty much straight up rock and roll. They seemed like they have a fair amount of potential to become a fairly large band.
Holly: I was running a little late, and had the delightful experience of getting caught behind slow walkers about 500 ft. or so from the Middle East. I hate missing opening bands, and was slightly irritated with myself. The slow walkers stopped in front of the door, realized I was breathing down their necks and let me go in ahead of them. I made my way through the restaurant to the club entrance. I arrived in the nick of time, and the place was still kind of empty. Yay! But, as luck always seems to have it with my experiences, the slow walkers just so happened to be opening act Jennifer Greer and her bandmate. Yep. It felt great.
Jennifer can really belt it out while rocking on the keys. I’m not really sure why this Cambridge native isn’t on the local airwaves yet. Tori Amos-like, but much more fun. Her song “Turn It Up” could easily be a regular player on WBOS.
After grooving to piano-funk, I wasn’t prepared for the walk down Devo memory lane that is called Baby Teeth. The baseline in their “Hustle Beach” is totally “Whip It.” The crowd was eating it up and wriggling around, but I wasn’t the biggest fan… until the “Secretary Day” song. The lyrics were hilarious and the synth was so damn happy. I was in fits. Here’s the only clip I could find.
Joshua English, along with violinist Lisa Molinaro, put on a fantastic acoustic set. English’s folksy vocals paired with the depth of Molinaro’s viola playing provided a great segue into the Rural Alberta Advantage. Also, English covered the Everly Brothers “Let it Be Me.” Awesome.
Favorite Park Of The Set
Tom: I love to watch Paul drum. I love Amy’s energetic and giddy bouncing around. I love how blow away Nils always seems at the RAA’s fans.
Holly: When RAA made small talk in between songs, it was genuine. There wasn’t an “I’m better than you” tone. They also have a great energetic stage presence. This results in you falling harder for them.
Before they played “Frank, AB,” frontman Nils Edenloff gave us a little insight on it. He told us that Frank is an eerie little town up in Alberta, and back in the 1800’s there was a rock slide that killed pretty much the whole town. They were only able to find and pull a few of the bodies out from under the debris. Afterwards, people built up the town again over the bodies.
Once you know this, the song transforms into something much more tangible and powerful. The emotions that blast through Edenloff’s vocals, especially when performed live, are chilling. Getting wrapped up in the notion of love being so powerful and yet so simple in this three and a half minute song makes it quite moving. Give it a listen.
Favorite Song Performed
Tom: Four Night Rider. Hands down. Drain The Blood is great too, as was the surprise acoustic cover of Eye Of The Tiger (yes, the song from Rocky).
Holly: With the above excluded, it’s a tie between “Four Night Rider” and “The Dethbridge in Lethbridge. ” “Four Night…” because the drums were ridiculous and it’s my favorite song on the album. “Dethbridge…” because it’s so intense live you can’t keep still.
Favorite Lyric
Tom: From Four Night Rider (admittedly I love this more for the delivery than anything else): cold wind whipping through the windows / freezing each of the lymph nodes / maybe we gotta try / to get out of town
Holly: “but when we’re middle aged, you’ll tell me i loved you like a renegade” – “In The Summertime”
Something You Saw That The Rest Of The Crowd Didn’t Notice
Holly: Drummer Paul Banwatt plays in his socks. Also he has a Tokyo Police Club sticker on the side of one of his drums.
Gripes
Tom: They didn’t play their usual in-the-crowd set ender “Goodnight”
Holly: The four college-aged clods (who apparently had never had a beer in their life) whirling and flailing around uncontrollably in a room of 250 people. You know who you are. Happy you love RAA, but go play in traffic.
Would You See Them Again?
Tom: I’ve seen them three times already this year and if I could see them three more by January I’d be thrilled.
Holly: Yes, please!
Afterthoughts
Tom: If the RAA continue their current pace, they’ll be playing at Madison Square Garden by March. Also, Amy, will you marry me? kthanxbye.
Holly: I’ve never been that close to a drumset at a live gig. Banwatt’s kit was right up at the edge of the stage, but positioned a bit slanted. I was standing right in front of it. I don’t know the first thing about the intricacies of drumming, but it was amazing to watch it all happening right in front of me. I became sort of fixated on this. After the final encore bit, the band was starting to close up shop, and these crazy drunk girls were trying to get pictures of Banwatt. I caught his eye and said, “Awesome show. Really, really good.” He walked towards me, said “Thanks!” grinned, and held up his hand for a chilled out high five. I grinned back and met him halfway. It was such a badass moment that I had to walk away before I could do something moronic (misprounce a word, trip over my jean cuffs, etc) to ruin it.
Also, Amy Cole’s stage presence makes me want to be in a band. Or be best friends with her. And I love that Nils sometimes sounds like Billy Corgan.
[mp3] Drain The Blood (mp3) <script type="text/javascript" src="http://static.delicious.com/js/playtagger.js"></script>
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I have decided to re-review the Rural Alberta Advantage’s [MySpace] fantastic debut album, Hometowns. I have two reasons for this. First, after riding a seemingly ever increasing wave of buzz, the RAA have signed to Saddle Creek, who will re-release their debut album on July 7th. Second, I was never pleased with my original review of Hometowns. While I still very much agree with the sentiment, the original review was rushed and poorly written. Because the Radio Exile review is the third result on Google, and because this is a band that will soon be experiencing a wave of (deserved) attention, I feel that a better, up-to-date review is in order.
As the six months since I’ve first heard Hometowns has passed, there has been nothing to even remotely dissuade me that Hometowns isn’t the best album released in 2009 and that the Rural Alberta Advantage is one of the best bands in the indie world today. Hometowns is an album that I liked upon first listen, loved upon second, was in my year end top ten by my tenth, and my all time top 10 after my 50th listen. It is true that I am predisposed to liking Hometowns. I worship Neutral Milk Hotel with their fuzzy acoustic punk, heartfelt lyrics, and emotional delivery. I tend to enjoy nasally singers in the vein of Jeff Mangum or 1960’s Bob Dylan. And I love indie folk with enough volume to blow my hair back.
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The Toronto based Rural Alberta Advantage is a three piece and a rare example of a band that could never exist in any other form. The chemistry between singer/guitarist Nils Edenloff, drummer Paul Banwatt, and multi-instrumentalist Amy Cole is possibly the greatest strength of the band. Nils, a native of Alberta, is the primary songwriter. His nasally yelp of a voice will turn off many people who value shine and polish over emotion and authenticity. Paul absolutely belongs in the uppermost tier of indie rock drummers, along with people such as Bryan Devendorf (The National), Jason Reece (…Trail of Dead), and Brian Chippendale (Lightening Bolt). He elevates the Nils already fantastic songs into an otherworldly level with his lighting quick and powerful drumming. Amy Cole, at first listen, seems somewhat superfluous. Watch just one song of their live show and you’ll realize that she is perhaps the most important member. She is what elevates this band from merely being very good to being something special, bringing a playful joyfulness to this music which keeps it from collapsing under its own weight. All three are genuinely nice people who are absolutely humble and who seem truly grateful that people enjoy what they do. This is an easy band to root for.
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The album itself is quite sparse. Usually nothing more than Nils voice and guitar, Paul’s drumming, and a little bit of drumming, keyboards, or noisemaking from Amy. I would list the album standouts, but much like recent efforts by The National, this is an album which reveals itself slowly, over time, until you realize the entire album is fantastic. A song which seemed merely enjoyable last week will often appear utterly brilliant next. The first songs to reveal themselves are the frantic punk of “The Deathbridge in Lethbridge”, “Frank, AB”, with Nils and Amy’s haunting and intertwined vocals, and the vicious Drain the Blood, which might feature the best drumming indie rock has seen in years. The next batch of songs to fall in love with includes a duo of Yo La Tengo influenced songs and a Neutral Milk Hotel homage. The first YLT track is the understated and minimal “Don’t Haunt This Place” and the second, “Sleep All Day”, at first seems to borrow a bit heavily from “Autumn Sweater”, and perhaps it does, but subsequent listens reveal a song every bit the equal of the aforementioned Yo La Tengo song. The only song on the album which sounds overtly like Neutral Milk Hotel, a criticism often levied by critics of the album, is “Luciana”. The band fuzzes out the guitar a bit more than normal and adds some Scott Spillane-esque horns to the climax of the song. Neutral Milk Hotel-ish, yes, but to great effect. Finally, “The Air” and “Four Night Rider” reveal themselves. “The Air” is a quiet folk lament and “Four Night Rider”, imbibed with Amy’s joyful personality, is just begging to be used in the next indie cross-over hit.
The Rural Alberta Advantage sit on the precipice of hitting the tipping point. In a few short weeks, or maybe even days, this band will hopefully be launched into the upper tier of the indie world, where they so rightfully belong.
[mp3] Rural Alberta Advantage – “Drain The Blood”
[mp3] Rural Alberta Advantage – “Frank, AB”<script type="text/javascript" src="http://static.delicious.com/js/playtagger.js"></script>
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It’s not even two hours since I posted that Cursive was “everybody’s favorite Saddle Creek band (with apologies to Tokyo Police Club and none to Bright Eyes…sorry Conor…” and I’m already being forced to recant. No, not because of a barrage of angry e-mails from Bright Eyes fans (those were strangely not forthcoming) but because news just hit our inbox that Saddle Creek has signed the Rural Alberta Advantage! (MySpace)
It’s no secret that I love the Rural Alberta Advantage. I made this abundantly clear in my overly gushing interview with the band last month. Now that we are four months removed from 2008, I can safely say that the RAA’s debut album, Hometowns, is in my top 3 for that year (and might very well be in the top spot). A incredible live band and three of the absolutely nicest people you will ever meet, this is a great signing for Saddle Creek.
Look for the re-released version of Hometowns to come out on July 7th.
Drain The Blood (mp3)
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This is volume 2 of the Should-Haves, music that should have been on my Favorites of 2008 lists but wasn’t (Vol 1 is here), and I think my last words on 2008.
I didn’t like the Rural Alberta Advantage at first listen even though I was seeing some rave reviews elsewhere. Then I pulled the full CD Hometowns up on my mp3 player while I was painting a room at Indie Mom’s new place, and I changed my mind. Sometimes it helps to try music in different ways: on earphones, in the car, on the stereo system, while you’re doing something else.
What I suddenly heard that had escaped me before was the influence of Neutral Milk Hotel, whom I love. You can’t imitate Jeff Mangum, and you can’t fake NMH. The only successful way to use NMH’s influence is to absorb what Mangum was trying to do and channel your own creativity through it by using some of the same tools. Rural Alberta Advantage have done that and done it well by delivering the same depth of believability that made NMH great. You can hear it in the way Nils Edenloff belts out his slightly irritating vocals. You can hear it in the structure of the lyrics. You can hear it in Paul Banwatt’s clattering attacks on his drum kit. Entirely original to RAA are Amy Cole and the songs’ subject of living in rural Canadia.
Hometowns should definitely have filled out my top 20 of 2008. When I put it on now, I always play it two or three times in a row, and there’s no way I can pick a single favorite song. It’s all good, and way too short. If RAA hasn’t hit you square between the eyes yet, give it a chance. “Drain the Blood” is a good place to begin. NMH lovers must hear “The Deathbridge in Lethbridge” and the fierce 7th track, “Luciana.”
Rural Alberta Advantage: Drain the Blood from Hometowns (2008)
MySpace | Website | Label: outrageously unsigned | eMusic interview
Buy: RAA Website (Paypal), and eMusic
Photo by Vince Wong. From left: Cole, Banwatt, and Edenloff
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10. Why? - Fatalist Palmistry(from Alopecia)9. Samamidon - Wedding Dress(from All Is Well)8. The Rural Alberta Advantage - Drain The Blood(from Hometowns)7. Sigur Ros - Gobbledigook(from Med sud i eyrum vid spilum endalaust)6. Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - You Remind Me Of Something (The Glory Goes)(from Lie Down In The Light)5. Shearwater - Rooks(from Rook)4. Sun Kil Moon - Lost Verses(from April)3. Fleet Foxes - Tiger Mountain Peasant Song(from Fleet Foxes)2. Chad VanGaalen - Rabid Bits Of Time(from Soft Airplane)1. Frightened Rabbit - Fast Blood(from The Midnight Organ Fight)Tags: Mixtapes, Best Of 2008, Top Albums, Captain Obvious Mixtape
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