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April 24, 2007
Sunset Rubdown - Live @ Hi-Dive, Denver, CO - 4.16.2007
The last time I saw a Spencer Krug band was at last year's Coachella. A ridiculously late Wolf Parade got their gear set up with only a sliver of their allotted time remaining. They proceeded to tear through it and still impress. Even finding time in between songs to polish off a bottle of Jäger. Aside from syrupy German liqueur antics they absolutely killed. On a related note, I can vouch for Jäger-bombs almost always being a good substitute for breakfast during the early stages of lazy weekend benders.
The Spencer Krug from that train wreck performance was a stark contrast from the gear slogging Krug I saw last week. Breaking down equipment and hauling it offstage to an awaiting tour vehicle instead of hastily arriving onstage in a drunken stupor. Notable for reasons that make perfect sense with the work ethic framing Sunset Rubdown's existence, so really not surprising. Like a competitive warrior seeking Progress by starting over, taking no favors, and working harder. Had enough of my Sunset Rubdown psychoanalysis? Ditto.
Evening standouts included the still heartbreaking "Us Ones in Between". Soaring with amazing lyrical energy it was the most anticipated song for me. Part of the reason one goes to live shows is to experience music in a communal and organic setting by the creators and patrons of music. Another part of the experience is the chance to witness the craft of music being created live in which you experience things that are impossible if you did not make the effort to leave your house, pay a cover and see a band play out. Often this is taken for granted with the frequency of guitar/bass/keys/&drums standard setups, but every once in a while you run into a truly wicked display of sound-making merriment that serves as a reminder. For me it happened twice during "The Empty Threats of Little Lord." First when Camilla Wynne Ingr used a small vibrating device over the bells to create an impossible to explain choral effect that had me mesmerized.
The other was Krug, natch. Standing in front of his keyboards with an acoustic guitar strapped on he crooned the “You Snake” lyrics just prior to the crescendo peak of the song. He repeated the beastly refrain while his fingers crawled up along the guitar’s neck in a slithering motion. It all punctuated a subtle visual of emoting digital showmanship for the set finale. Like great writers who never waste words, this was a performance cue that wasted not even a pinky.
Sunset Rubdown - Winged/Wicked Things (from Daytrotter session)
Sunset Rubdown - Three Colours
After the jump - More pics, setlist, tourdates, and background information on Sunset Rubdown.
(Almost) Complete Setlist
1. Shut Up I Am Dreaming of Places Where Lovers Have Wings
2. NEW or Unknown - (Intro'd as same song as above with different chords?)
3. NEW - I recall an ethereal guitar solo and many "Uh uh uh ohs"
(See Track 1 here)
4. Us One in Between
5. NEW - "Your Highness is Holding Your Chains" ??? - Sounding like an Irish jig throughout. Quivvering vocals get demonic while mimicking Celtic sounds
(Track 2 here)
6. Three Colours
7. Winged/Wicked Things
8. Stadiums and Shrines II
9. "The Empty Threats of Little Lord"
Sunset Rubdown Tourdates
04-24 Los Angeles, CA - Troubadour*#
04-25 Phoenix, AZ - Modified*
04-27 Austin, TX - Emo’s*
04-28 Denton, TX - Hailey’s*
04-30 Atlanta, GA - Drunken Unicorn*
05-01 Charleston, SC - Map Room*
05-02 Washington, DC - Rock & Roll Hotel*
05-03 Philadelphia, PA - First Unitarian Church*
05-04 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom*
05-05 Cambridge, MA - Middle East*
#w/Xiu Xiu
*w/Katie Eastburn
-- -- --
More Sunset Rubdown
Try and find the website for Sunset Rubdown. The closest resemblance of one is this simple page on their label, Absolutely Kosher's site. Looking more like a relic from the Internets circa 1996 than a proper web presence for a modern group, it gives the impression that Sunset Rubdown is not a band that cares to help you much on what they are up to. More on this later.
Known to slam the ivories like no other contemporaneous player, Spencer Krug has been producing great music at a simmering and steady pace and making a name for himself as a prolific though (not yet) ubiquitous artist. Whether with his debut with Wolf Parade, creating avant-rock with Daniel Bejar (Destroyer, New Pornographers) and Carey Mercer (Frog Eyes) or simply taking a no-frills approach with a band that emits the highest percentage of Spencer Krug ruling the mix- Sunset Rubdown.
Krug is new school rock royalty. Steeped in the drive for authenticity that has been trumped-up, but rarely practiced in modern times (save for the early days of grunge). He is stirred with a passion to create music All The Time. Having experienced success with the higher profile Wolf Parade, Sunset Rubdown takes a decided distance away from the spotlight. Trying hard to keep things controlled and unassumingly under the radar. Mind you that this isn't merely the lip service heard time and time again from artists demanding to be taken seriously. Sunset Rubdown is deliberately shunning opportunities that Wolf Parade's success made available. It was important for Sunset Rubdown to go out alone with minimal assistance. For lack of a better phrase – they were determined to keep it real from the start.
By hooking up with the much smaller Absolutely Kosher label as opposed to the comparatively slick corporate machine of Subpop (WP's label), little, or at least much less pressure exists to promote or "push" the record. Commendable is the determination to keep art pure and untainted by what are obvious advantages. Krug is quoted as saying they actively avoid making a "huge fuss." Not the words typically heard from hustling musicians. It’s a respectable way for new projects to get established on their own merit. Sunset Rubdown actively shuts off the short cuts available to them and it deserves mention.
//Sunset Rubdown - Shut Up I Am Dreaming - buy
//Sunset Rubdown - EP - buy
Posted by Merry Swankster at April 24, 2007 12:25 PM
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Comments
These are from Toronto, and at least two of them were performed at the Hi-Dive, as I recall:
http://www.youaintnopicasso.com/2007/04/23/new-sunset-rubdown-songs/
Posted by: dusty at April 24, 2007 02:52 PM
I listened to those and was trying to figure out if they were the same ones played but didn't reach a definite conclusion. The tracks I linked to in the post where played for sure though.
Posted by: Sebastian at April 24, 2007 04:35 PM
