Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks: 95/96 - 2010/11

95
2010 Jan
Polvo

'Mirror traffic''s essential and only b-side, 'Polvo' makes the most of a counter intuitive groove (like the band it's named after often did). It was probably left off cause it was one track too many for side A, but I've pasted it to the end of the album and it sounds great there. If you don't know it, find it – it's real good. No wonder it remained a live favorite into the Jake Morris-era.

After these recordings came the Pavement reunion – in which our heroes travelled the globe to bring us a pretty limited and one-sided summation of Pavement's music. I saw them. I had the best time, and they needed to do that long tour to bring the best time to every one. At the start I followed the live recordings (of which there are many) but nothing much interesting seemed to be happening. It's the only era of Stephen's live work I usually skip when recordings show up. Maybe it had the potential to be more, but Stephen was determined to make it a nostalgia tour and it was a really great nostagia tour.

I've got a nice recording of the show I saw (Brussels, 18th of may) which I cherish. And that's enough for me. Unless something extraordinary happened at some show I don't know about – feel free to steer me to it. Otherwise I'm going to skip the reunion (belongs more in a Pavement overview anyway) and dive straight into the Jake Morris era.

96
2011/07/11, Hiboo d'live
Tigers
No one is (as I are be)

Well, here we are again.

After a well-deserved rest (in which the Jicks put the finishing touches on their 5th album – now titled 'Mirror traffic' instead of 'LA Guns' –, and reconvened with a new drummer) the promotional duties rolled on again. Like the last time and the time before that, Stephen set forth on the first round of interviews on his own and he brought along his acoustic guitar. (Actually, as we'll see sometimes he is supplied with these by the Matador/Domino promoteam.)

Here we are on the streets of Paris (there was a session like that for 'Real emotional trash' as well, but that was on a february winter night, this is in the july sun) and Stephen is relaxed and focused, playing beautiful versions of the two opening tracks of the new album. 'Tigers' taken at a slower, reflective speed. I can live with the song in this arrangement. Nice fills too. 'No one is (as I are be)' is less surprising – virtually the same arrangement as the Crossing Border february 2009 version. But he's into it.

Enjoy it. Try not to notice the guy on the park bench trying not to notice the guy playing the guitar in front of a camera.