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Daily Listening, Day #301 - October 27th, 2020

Album: Bright Flight (Drag City, 2001)

Artist: Silver Jews

Genre: Alternative Country, Indie Rock

Track Listing:

“Slow Education”

“Room Games And Diamond Rain”

“Time Will Break The World”

“I Remember Me”

“Horseleg Swastikas”

“Transylvania Blues”

“Let’s Not And Say We Did”

“Tennessee”

“Friday Night Fever”

“Death Of An Heir Of Sorrows”

Favorite Song: “Let’s Not And Say We Did”

#Bright Flight #Silver Jews #Drag City #Alternative Country #Indie Rock #2001 #Early 2000s #2000s

Silver Jews | Transylvania Blues

#Silver Jews #Bright Flight #Transylvania Blues

Silver Jews | Time Will Break The World

#Silver Jews #Bright Flight #Time Will Break The World

Bright Flight, Silver Jews (2001)

There never was a bad Silver Jews record and Bright Flight isn’t an exception. While it may not have had the instrumental depth of American Water or Starlite Walker, it did have more vocal variety (in the form of Cassey Berman) and stands out as one of David Berman’s most narrative works. Bright Flight foremostly contains more pieces of a warmer, more romantic stature and tracks like ‘Room Games and Diamond Rain’ and ‘Tennessee’ use Berman’s usual subversive self-deprecation to mould sincere lovingness. Bright Flight also holds the same poetic thoughtfulness that drove many Silver Jews records – ‘I Remember Me’ and ‘Slow Education’ discuss introspection from the outside-in and celestial lesson-learning respectively – and there’s a general unbridled quality to the lyrics that ensure Berman retained his reputation as a generation-defining writer. This is my first comment on a Silver Jews project following Berman’s death and it’s ever clearer just how unique and important a songwriter he was. No one quite writes lyrics as he did, nor could they contrast those poeticisms with such exquisite instrumentation and hold that quality over a whole record (never mind Berman’s seven).

Pick: ‘I Remember Me’

#bright flight #silver jews #david berman #2001 #indie rock #indie folk #contemporary folk #review #music #music review

At Webster Hall Bill Callahan Proves to Be Worth a Six-Year Wait

Bill Callahan – Webster Hall – August 22, 2019

It has been nearly six years since we have heard from singer-songwriter Bill Callahan, and a lot has changed in that time. As a country, we’ve gone through a transition of power that has many of us in a constant state of waking dread. In the time between 2013’s Dream River and this year’s double album, Shepherd in a Sheepskin Vest, Callahan has found himself in a very settled state. He got married and moved to Austin, Texas, and had a child. While it may be easy to think this influence would seep into the record, Callahan is, of course, a much more complex writer to let that be the only North Star on this varied work. The record is a journey through the current point in time of one of indie-rock’s great poetic minds. He brought his current tour to Webster Hall on Thursday night with the support of the local experimental group 75 Dollar Bill.

When Callahan walked out on the stage, followed by his modest backing band, those in the audience could barely contain their excitement. After wrestling with a few technical issues with his guitar, the singer addressed the crowd in his silky baritone over a few spare chords. “We lost a good one,” Callahan crooned. “David Berman,” he continued referring to the leader of the beloved bands Silver Jews and Purple Mountains, who recently took his own life, “had many friends, and I was one of them.” The band then launched into a graceful rendition of the Silver Jews classic “Trains Across the Sea” with much of the crowd singing along. After this much needed tribute, Callahan made the most of his time, getting down to business. He launched right into the Apocalypse epic “Riding for the Feeling” before then dedicating much of the set to playing a big chunk of the new record.

The sharp focus that Callahan inhabited onstage was palpable—as you could see his facial expressions squirm and contort to navigate through the music. Sometimes it’s hard to believe that his voice belongs to an actual human being and not to an elemental force that has existed alongside the wind, or something. New songs like “Black Dog on the Beach,” “Writing” and “Shepard’s Welcome” sounded fantastic with the backing band adding a little more muscle to the live versions than what is on the record takes, experimenting with long vamp sections on certain songs throughout the night. At one point a sole piece of confetti fell from the ceiling, lilting toward Callahan. He broke the mood to address the situation: “What was that thing?” he asked with a laugh. “I’m asking the question that is on everyone’s lips. One single piece of confetti to mark our return to New York City.” Callahan made sure to go back and hit more favorites from the acclaimed Apocalypse, with “America!” and “Drover,” which was made famous by the Wild Wild Country documentary. He even took the time to revisit two Smog deep cuts with “Let’s Move to the Country” and “Let Me See the Colts.”

When Callahan and his band returned to the stage for the encore, he brought out a music stand with four pages connected lengthwise. He then announced that he would be playing one more Silver Jews song in honor of his old friend, and Drag City label-mate, David Berman. The band then played an emotional version of the Bright Flight ballad “I Remember Me.” They closed the show with the Apocalypse song “One Fine Morning,” Callahan bringing the band down to a near silence and whispering a series of reassuring goodbyes to a mesmerized audience. —Pat King | @MrPatKing

Photos courtesy of Gregg Greenwood | www.gregggreenwood.com