I'll Let You In On Something Secret

Don't let the title fool you. This was definitely not a secret.

In fact, I became the most envied person in Columbus last night.

(And had to fight off dozens of creepers trying to invite themselves to my apartment.)

Why, you ask? Oh, I'll tell you why.

Justin Pierre, lead singer of the band Motion City Soundtrack came to my apartment bearing goodies in the form of new tracks from their forthcoming album, My Dinosaur Life.

Wait... what?

HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?!

Justin is/was on/currently taking medical leave from The Dino Trail, a little promotional tour for their aforementioned album. He has played really random spots all over and you can really only find out about it through his Twitter. Thank God I finally caved and made one last week... (follow me! twitter.com/HollyWiller ...I have no idea how to work it, so it's good for a laugh.) But anyhoo... He played on the People Mover platform in Detroit on Wednesday and of course my very Detroiter boyfriend and huuuuuge MCS fan (No seriously, I think likes them more than he likes me.) was in attendance. He talked to Justin who said their next stop was our dear C-Bus. Being the dutiful boyfriend he is, he informed him that I lived here. Long story short: Justin told him to have me email him for a listening party. I did. Then Justin contacted me via twitter (totally favorited these tweets) and voila! A rockstar comes to my door!

Now we are best friends. (Not really, but a girl can dream.)

Unfortunately for Mr. Pierre, he was sick as a dog (and allergic to our cat, Esther aka Cat Benatar). No seriously, he was super sick. Like right-after-the party-he-went-straight-to-the-hospital-and-has-had-to-postpone-the-Dino-Trial-for-flu-like-symptoms-sick. But he was an absolute trooper and drank orange juice like a champ. I taught him my sweet show choir moves and he shared new tracks such as "Beekeeper" and "Her Words Destroyed My Planet". My personal favorite was "A Lifeless Ordinary." This is going to be an epic album, folks. No seriously, it sounds delicious.

And thus concludes the most random and awwweeeessssooommmmmee night ever.

Keep your ears open for My Dinosaur Life on January 19, 2010.

Rawr.

For more info on the glory that is Motion City Soundtrack, go to mydinosaurlife.com or motioncitysoundtrack.com

Concert Review: 10/19/09, Andrew Bird & St. Vincent

For those people who were not aware, October 19th was a good day for whistling. I spent the entire morning (and afternoon) trying to follow the sonorous, tuneful melodies of my favorite Andrew Bird songs as they lilted through my head in anticipation of the night's concert at the Southern Theater.

Andrew Bird is a native Chicago multi-instrumentalist who mixes the incredibly baroque melodies from his classical violin training with delta blues, pre-war jazz, and anthemic indie rock. He came to Columbus for promotion of his newest release “Noble Beast,” a song cycle noted to be inspired by everything from a crying child on an airplane to episodes of Planet Earth.

St. Vincent (fronted by guitarist/songwriter Annie Clark) started the night off right. The orchestration and guitar theatrics of her band echoed “Hot Rats”-era Frank Zappa, while her clever wordplay and vocal style suggested the raw power and beauty of Edith Piaf or Nina Simone. One of the highlights of her set was ‘Jesus Saves, I Spend;’ a comical tune referencing romance rather than religion. Ultimately, I was floored by her presence on stage. If you have a chance, see her: she will not disappoint!

Mr. Bird took the stage to an ambient violin loop, immediately segueing into ‘The Water Jet Cilice,’ a song that could have just as easily been found in an Ennio Morricone score as on the stage that night. He reached very far back into his catalogue, performing songs penned when he was just beginning his solo career. One such tune was ‘Sweetbreads,’ which referenced mad cow disease in the same breath as blinking neurons.

After Bird had finished with the majority of his solo set, Annie Clark came out to duet on a few songs. The atmosphere was so homey, it seemed as if the performers were singing in their living room, the audience curious voyeurs peering in through the window. The pair sang a new song of Bird’s about the sinking of the Lusitania.

Then St. Vincent’s band came out, and things got very heavy. The massive rocked its way through some of Bird’s more rousing songs; ‘Tables and Chairs’ and ‘Scythian Empires.’

For a final encore, Mr. Bird and Miss Clark took the stage once again, sharing a microphone and performing Bob Dylan’s ‘Oh Sister.’ The closer was certainly beautiful, but it was a very eerie way to end the evening. You could cut the sexual tension with a fork or a bride’s knife (to reference some of Bird’s own lyrics).

Photos courtesy of the Wexner Center's Flickr photostream.