Dark Was the Night

Yeasayer – Tight Rope

My review of the new 4ad compilation Dark Was the Night features in the new issue of MOJO (as well as an interview I did with Ray LaMontaigne). There are plenty of magic moments but overall I found it disappointing, particularly with the amount of cover versions (nearly two-thirds of the 31 tracks) which 4ad have consciously chosen not to mention in all the hype-building publicity so far. Because it’s for a worthy cause I don’t really agree with the mass-posting of the album and its tracks to download for free online, so I’m going with this video of Yeasayer in session. “Tight Rope” is one of my favourites from the collection, a song I have a sentimental connection with after being privy to the now famous Take Away Show they first revealed it in.

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Video: Jonquil – Live!

Appearing live on Spanish TV in November, this is Jonquil performing “Pencil Paper” – how the affections of thousands have managed to overlook them still, I may never understand. But they are quietly going about a new album and all will come good – I’m sure of it. In the meantime, you can watch five more videos from this session at the band’s MySpace blog.

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Video: Fleet Foxes – Take Away Show

Vodpod videos no longer available.

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Video: Soirée de Poche – Patrick Watson

I have just enjoyed watching La Blogotheque’s latest cinematic soirée, an intimate live session with Patrick Watson and friends filmed in black and white in a Parisian apartment. Click here, turn off the lights and curl up.

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Video: Department of Eagles – Take Away Shows

While I’m still harping on about the new Department of Eagles album, I’ve just realised that the Take Away Show they did in NYC a year ago features several songs from In Ear Park, then still in embryonic form. It’s also the duo’s first real live performance together…

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Video: Man Man Take Away Shows

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Interview: Vincent Moon

In the new issue of Film International, there’s a lengthy feature I did on the work of director Vincent Moon – it seems to has surfaced online in various places, so you can read or download the whole thing here.

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Video: More Bon Iver Take Away Shows…

Chryde and co. have posted a follow-up installment of Bon Iver Take Away Shows from the same evening over at La Blogotheque. Looks like it was another magical evening – I wish I had been there!

The Wolves (Act I and II)

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Video: Bon Iver – Take Away Shows

‘Lump Sum’

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Video: Port O’Brien – ‘I Woke Up Today’ (Take Away Show)

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‘Yeasayer Go Take Away’ in New Issue of State Magazine

The second issue of State magazine has hit the shops and it also happens to feature my article on the making of Yeasayer’s recent Take Away Show. So for a bird’s eye view on what went on behind the scenes, along with interviews with Gnarls Barkley, MGMT, We Are Scientists, Portishead, Jape, Muse and much more, pick up the new copy or grab the digital edition over at State.ie 

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Fleet Foxes – Sun Giant EP

Fleet Foxes – ‘White Winter Hymnal*‘

I’ve been waxing lyrical about these guys since the day they signed to Bella Union. Now I can exclusively reveal that Fleet Foxes have recorded their very own Take Away Show at Noise Pop just yesterday, and given that Pitchfork have just stamped n 8.7 on their new EP Sun Giant (released today), I think their forthcoming appearances at SXSW could see these guys being the most talked about band over the coming months – the kind of hype that can often make people wary before they’ve even heard a note.

Fleet Foxes – ‘English House’

As for the music itself, it’s rich in the kind of uplifting harmonies Grizzly Bear are known for, though with a very pronounced gospel influence. Saying that, the dynamics repeatedly shift, hitting peaks and highlights when you thought there could be none left, their shimmering baroque arrangements (which will inevitably draw comparisons to the likes of CSNY) feeling like a much needed release of endorphins.

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‘Lost’ Takeaway Show of Animal Collective Finally Surfaces

Animal Collective – ‘Taste’

It has been the most overdue and hotly anticipated of the many videos sitting amongst the Take Away Shows archives. Rumours about its quality had filtered out, revealing that they hadn’t quite captured the magic they had hoped to…Whispers circulated that the clips were lost, that they may never even see the light of day. Today, however, we finally know the truth: it was a mixture of both.

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La Blogothèque Take Away Shows – Interview

Parisien guerilla video bloggers Vincent Moon and Chryde (aka The Take Away Shows) bring music and film out of the venue, onto the streets, and onto your computer. Cian Traynor tracked them down on the streets of Paris. 

 

Whether it’s squeezing Arcade Fire into an elevator or getting Grizzly Bear into a bathtub, French music site La Blogotheque has a way of capturing bands in a moment of haphazard beauty. The Take Away Shows are a series of vignettes that lure artists, with instrument in hand, out to wander the streets of Paris under the gaze of a loosely held camera.

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