Tag: Julien Baker

Categories
Live music galleries

Live music galleries: Julien Baker [2018]

(I got the idea for this series while sifting through the ‘piles’ of digital photos on my laptop. It occurred to me to share some of these great pics from some of my favourite concert sets from time to time. Until I get around to the next one, I invite you to peruse my ever-growing list of concerts page.)

Julien Baker live in Toronto, 2018

Artist: Julien Baker
When: August 4th, 2018
Where: Fort York Commons, Toronto
Context: It’s hard to believe that only four years have passed since the summer of 2018. Indeed, it feels like a millennia has flown by since those days but I guess the calendar doesn’t lie. That particular summer, I forewent the usual big festival pass at both Ottawa Bluesfest and Montreal’s Osheaga in favour of a couple of smaller lineup shows in Toronto that boasted some pretty great fare. The first was Arts & Crafts’ annual June weekend, Field Trip. And the second was a stacked card headlined by The National at the height of summer, that also included Father John Misty, Jenny Lewis, Julien Baker, and Dan Edmonds. My friend Mark and I spent the afternoon beforehand sampling the wares on the patio of Bellwoods Brewery. After being satisfied that all their beers were good products, we ambled down to the lawn of the Old Fort York historic site just in time to catch the back end of the opening act’s set. Julien Baker was on next and I had definitely wanted to catch the whole of her set given my successful explorations of the two albums she had released to that point. She was only supported by violinist Camille Faulkner but her stage presence and honesty had me (and a boatload of others) rapt on that warm August afternoon. I became a fan in that 30-40 minutes. Of course, Baker has become much bigger since then, partially because of her association with Phoebe Bridger and Lucy Dacus and partially because of her incredible third record, “Little oblivions”, released in 2021 and will now likely be a bigger draw at future festivals.  For this, I am thankful I got to see such an “intimate” performance.
Point of reference song: “Appointments”

Julien Baker
Camille Faulkner on violin
Julien Baker looking cool in shades
Julien and Camille entertaining the early evening crowd
Categories
Playlists

Playlist: New tunes from 2022, part three

If I was still looking at this blog as something that should be scheduled or on schedule or whatever, I might consider this post a couple weeks behind that “s” word. I’ve been trying* to post these quarterly playlist updates a couple of weeks after the end of each quarter but well, the two week vacation I took that spanned the end of August and the beginning of September put me a bit behind.

Yeah. That’s right. I took some vacation. Two weeks! It was the longest period from work that I’d properly taken since before the pandemic. I spent as much of it as I could experiencing nature, sitting by the water, going on hikes, and just generally taking in our province’s natural beauty. It wasn’t exactly restful, per se, but it was definitely good for the soul.

Prior to that, I actually attended several evenings of an honest-to-goodness music festival at the beginning of July. It was an amazing feeling to return to a bit of normalcy, see some bands I’d seen before and some I hadn’t, and seeing people outside of my bubble, all revelling in the ecstasy that is the live music experience. I say again, I t felt great. Then, the day after the festival ended, a friend of mine who I had attended a couple of the dates with texted me to say he had tested positive for COVID. So I tested myself and thankfully came through it clean. But it was definitely a bitter reminder for me that though we may be done with the pandemic, it may not necessarily be done with us.

Otherwise, the summer flew by in a haze and blur of sameness. With all the work, eat, and sleep, I am super thankful of my continued employment, general good health, and that I am continuing to spend my life with my very best friend and love of my life. And of course, there is always the music.

This third part of this annual playlist represents the music that has followed me and kept me going through this third pandemic summer. It is yet another great 25 tunes (for parts one and two, check here and here) representative of the best that’s been released during the last three months. Highlights include:

      • Opening things up with “Rockstar”, this ripping track off the third album by Momma calls to mind 90s rockers, like maybe Babes in Toyland and L7, but most definitely Veruca Salt
      • “Circumference”, a brilliant synth-pop gem by Working Men’s Club ripped right from the heart of the 80s
      • More dream pop beauty from Toronto-based indie pop quartet Tallies, a sweet explosion called “Wound up tight”
      • I’ve not been a fan of Animal Collective, nor Noah Lennox’s solo work as Panda Bear but his recent collaboration with Pete “Sonic Boom” Kember is pure sunshine, “Gettin’ to the point” is just a case in point
      • When I think of Kasabian, I typically think of blistering high energy numbers but this ballad called “The wall” off their latest record is equally full of passion
      • “It’s always the quiet ones” by Suede – that’s right, they’re back and it’s majestic
      • Kristian Mattson, aka The Tallest Man on Earth, covering “Pink rabbits” by The National is like a collision of some of my favourite music from a decade ago
      • Finally, Yeah Yeah Yeahs teamed up with Perfume Genius for “Spitting off the edge of world”, the magnificent first single of their latest album

Here is the entire playlist as I’ve created it:

1. “Rockstar” Momma (from the album Household name)

2. “All comes crashing” Metric (from the album Formentera)

3. “Day 21” Secret Machines (from the EP Day 21)

4. “Fables” Interpol (from the album The other side of make-believe)

5. “Circumference” Working Men’s Club (from the album Fear fear)*

6. “Vanishing point” Julien Baker (from the EP B-sides)

7. “So far for so few” The Sadies (from the album Colder streams)

8. “Eventually” Beach Bunny (from the album Emotional creature)

9. “Wound up tight” Tallies (from the album Patina)

10. “Parasite II” Kiwi Jr. (from the album Chopper)

11. “Gettin’ to the point” Panda Bear & Sonic Boom (from the album Reset)

12. “The wall” Kasabian (from the album The alchemist’s euphoria)

13. “Forever in sunset” Ezra Furman (from the album All of us in flames)

14. “A line of shots” The Afghan Whigs (from the album How do you burn?)

15. “Slowly” Preoccupations (from the album Arrangements)

16. “Roman candles” Death Cab For Cutie (from the album Asphalt meadows)

17. “Expert in a dying field” The Beths (from the album Expert in a dying field)

18. “It’s always the quiet ones” Suede (from the album Autofiction)

19. “Heart attack” Editors (from the album EBM)

20. “Pink rabbits” The Tallest Man On Earth (from the album Too late for edelweiss)

21. “First high” Nikki Lane (from the album Denim & diamonds)

22. “Backup plan” Maya Hawke (from the album Moss)

23. “Friday night” Beth Orton (from the album Weather alive)

24. “Pagan man” Pixies (from the album Doggerel)

25. “Spitting off the edge of the world (ft Perfume Genius)” Yeah Yeah Yeahs (from the album Cool it down)

Those of you who are on the Apple Music train can click here to sample the above tracks as a whole playlist.

And as always, wherever you are in the world, I hope you are safe and continue to be well. Above all, enjoy the tunes.

*Trying might be a strong word here.

If you’re interested in checking out any of the other playlists I’ve created and shared on these pages, you can peruse them here.

Categories
Vinyl

Vinyl love: Julien Baker “Little oblivions”

(Vinyl Love is a series of posts that quite simply lists, describes, and displays the pieces in my growing vinyl collection. You can bet that each record was given a spin during the drafting of each corresponding post.)

Artist: Julien Baker
Album Title: Little oblivions
Year released: 2021
Details: Limited edition, Indies only, embossed cover, yellow, lyrics book

The skinny: Much like Goat Girl’s “On all fours”, Julien Baker’s “Little oblivions” was purchased for my vinyl collection very early on in 2021. However, where that record was sourced from a shop outside of the country, this one was found at one of my local record shops: Ottawa’s The Record Center, to be exact. The Record Center was one of many ‘analog’ brick and mortar shops whose hand was forced to go ‘digital’ and create a larger online presence with the COVID-19 pandemic. Their online webshop is not all encompassing but I’ve landed a few great finds while doing a virtual dig on their site and my 7th favourite album of 2021 was one of them. Baker’s third studio album finds the singer/songwriter embracing a full band sound, adding more strength and structure to the talented lyricist and vocalist’s pallette. It’s beautiful stuff and along with the excellent package and lyrics booklet (complete with scribblings and doodles)*, my copy is of the ‘indies only’ yellow variant ilk.

Standout track: “Hardline”

*I wish more artists invested as much time and effort in their inserted booklets as Julien Baker has done here. Fun to explore and examine while spinning the record.