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Archive for the ‘Esmé Patterson’ Category

Balak + Michaël Sanlaville + Bastien Vivès–LastMan 5: The Order (2014) [translated 2016]

Posted in #10yearsof01, Alexis Siegel, Balak, Bastien Vivés, Drugs, Edie Brickell, Esmé Patterson, First Second :01, Foreign Books, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), Graphic Novel, Marriage Trouble, Michaël Sanlaville, Politicians, Revenge, Series, Sex, Supernatural, Threats, Tiny Desk Concert, Translation, Violence, War, XPN Fest, YA Books, Yuck! on March 24, 2017| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: ESME PATTERSON-Tiny Desk Concert #598 (February 10, 2017).

I saw Esmé Patterson at the XPNFest last year.  Her live show was dynamic and fun and she was really charming.  I got to meet her briefly after the show and she was super friendly as well.

This Tiny Desk Concert (in which she has totally shaved off her big wavy hair), is a somewhat quieter, but overall accurate representation of her live show.

I love that she’s playing a big echoing guitar while the rest of the band Alex Koshak (drums); Jeremy Averitt (bass) and Jake Miller (lead guitar) support her perfectly–the lead guitar lines especially.

I have listened to her record a few times and I never considered that she sounds a bit (vocally) like Edie Brickell.  Well on “No River,” the comparison is apt.  Especially given the lyrics.  But the cute squeak in the vocals is quite endearing.

“Wantin’ Ain’t Gettin” is a cool song with a surprising twist on the theme of the lyrics:

When I ask if you love me / And you say that you might
…
I’ve got your love wrapped around me / So I put up a fight
Cause I wanna believe you
…
But I’ve heard that
Wantin ain’t gettin
No, wantin ain’t getting.

I like some of the staggered moments in the song too.  And she’s adorably smiley, throughout, even after singing a fairly dark song like that.

“Yours And Mine” has some great flanging echo on her guitar.   It’s a slow sweet song with nice guitar harmonics throughout.

[READ: January 20, 2017] LastMan 5

This book was originally written in French (and called Lastman there as well).  These editions were translated by Alexis Siegel.

Book five opens by returning to the Village of Kings (the home of Adrain and Marianne–where the first two books were set).  Everyone is despondent at the loss of the Velbas. Master Jansen–spurned by Marianne has been inconsolable and all of his students have left him.  Although Elorna has stayed faithful and is ever training (although she thinks that Marianne is a ditz for falling for Richard).

A meeting with the leaders also shows that Richard’s arrival has meant nothing but trouble for them.  They believe that the iguana queen resides in the canyon at the edge of their village (the one that Richard and Marianne crossed).  They believe that a medieval king closed the opening when he sacrificed himself by jumping in.  And he insists that they reinstate the Royal Guardians at once. (more…)

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XPN Fest: Overall thoughts: mostly highs, and not just temperature (Wiggins Park, Philadelphia PA, July 22-24, 2016)

Posted in Colvin & Earle, Darlingside, David Wax Museum, Esmé Patterson, Father John Misty, Kids Corner, Kississippi, Kurt Vile, Marina Stage, Mavis Staples, Philadelphia, PA, River Stage, The Districts, The Felice Brothers, The Record Company, The Revivalists, Tommy Stinson, Wiggins Park, WXPN 88.5 FM--Philadelphia, PA, XPN Fest on July 25, 2016| 1 Comment »

[ATTENDED: July 22-24, 2016] XPN Fest

2016-07-24 15.34.58Even though I go to a lot of shows, I don’t really love Festivals.  I actually enjoy concerts too much to enjoy Festivals.  Which sounds dumb, but I’d rather see a band I like on their own play for a full set than for 30 minutes with a bunch of people who don’t really want to see them.

I’ve been to a few festivals over the years, and I have thought about going to other ones, but since I typically don’t want to spend a few days in the sun (and a few hundred dollars), I don’t go.

But the past two years we have seen some great headlining acts at XPN Fest.  And we thought it would be fun to go for the day, bring the kids and just have a fun day outside with music and vendors.  We bought tickets before the lineup was even announced.

WXPN members get half-priced tickets (which is cheaper than some of the regular shows I’ve been to) and kids’ tickets are $15 for the three days.  Perfect.

In the past, I have loved most of the headliners, but this year I didn’t really like any of them. The three day pass includes lawn seats to the headliners, but we wound up not using them at all. (more…)

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Esmé Patterson–XPN Fest: Marina Stage (Wiggins Park, Philadelphia PA, July 23, 2016)

Posted in Esmé Patterson, Marina Stage, Philadelphia, PA, Wiggins Park, WXPN 88.5 FM--Philadelphia, PA, XPN Fest on July 23, 2016| Leave a Comment »

2016-07-23 13.16.33[ATTENDED: July 23, 2016] Esmé Patterson

I had originally intended to see five bands on Saturday of the Festival.  Because of a number of unexpected hiccups, I wound up seeing only two.  (More about the hiccups on Monday).

Of the five bands, I definitely had a couple that I wanted to see more than others.  And Esmé Patterson was one of them.  I knew her from All Songs Considered, and although I’d only heard one song, I really liked it and was excited to see her rock out.

We arrived in time for her set, put out our gear, and had a great time.

Esmé has a fun stage presence (and is really kind–she was worried about us all burning in the hot sun), she sings wonderfully and her backing band was totally solid. (more…)

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