Three Imaginary Girls - My Morning Jacket

Win tickets to see Monsters of Folk (and find out if M. Ward continues to be the last hold out on Monster beardedness)

imaginary liz — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 16:06:58 +0000

It pains me that I'll be out of town the night that Monsters of Folk take the Paramount Theater stage on Thursday, October 15, so I want a lucky imaginary reader to go and weep and cheer and love it all in my place.

Want to be my stand in? Email tig@threeimaginarygirls.com with the subject line "I will be your monster of folk" by Wednesday night at 9pm (PST) and you'll be entered in the drawing for the pair of tickets to the (I hear they are going to be really really good seats too!).

If you want, when you email me your entry, let me know how long you think M. Ward is going to be able to stay clean shaven after prolonged exposure to his hairy band mates. I am guessing that Conor Oberst only held out for a few days into the recording of the album. His artist demeanor and devil may care attitude lends itself well to skipping the shaving cream morning sauce.

To confirm that I haven't taken this scheduling mishap lightly on my part, I've watched these two videos over and over to nurse my broken Oberst Ward'd heart:

Awesome Monster of Folk on Monster of Folk interview:

My favorite song from the new really rad 'cause it grows on you Monsters of Folk album:

A whole lotta news about Monsters of Folk

imaginary dana — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 17:02:37 +0000

Have you heard about Monsters of Folk yet? If not, it's probably because you're not lucky enough to get PR emails. Our imaginary inboxes have been full-to-overflowing with news of the project, a collaborative effort of three indie-heavyweights: Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes, Jimmy James of My Morning Jacket, and singer-songwriter M. Ward.

We batted the idea of who should blog the project up, without much success. We at TIG all hold our grudges, and Monsters of Folk seems to have hit on a few of them. First imaginary ChrisB chimed in. "The beard quotient seems a little low (50%) for a band called Monsters of Folk," he noted. And he has a point.

Imaginary Liz added, "Conor might be my imaginary boyfriend, but I'm not a fan when his friend Jim James takes over the vocal duties."

I sit on her side of the My Morning Jacket fence as well; however, I make an exception for this project. In fact, I had the pleasure of seeing them perform Liz back in... oh, what year was that? Let's just say 2004. The three had some special chemistry and a whole lotta talent up there together.

So it became my duty and pleasure to share all the exciting Monsters of Folk news. New record! New tourdates! Free song download! Here are the deets.

And the first folks confirmed to be at Coachella this year are...

Jflores — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 01:13:11 +0000

Coachella!

Dylan and My Morning Jacket @ Red Rocks July 19

Tim Hanken — Sun, 13 May 2007 03:22:31 +0000

Looking for a summer vacation?

Austin City Limits Line-up Announced

Tim Hanken — Thu, 10 May 2007 19:19:42 +0000

Austin City Limits Festival has confirmed this year's lineup which includes Bob Dylan, The White Stripes, Bjork, Arcade Fire, Wilco, Muse and My Morning Jacket. Pretty much all the staples of this summer’s festival scene.

Best of 2003: Top 100 Imaginary Albums of the Year

three imaginary girls — Sat, 03 Jan 2004 08:00:00 +0000

You voted, and we tabulated. Now you can print and clip the top 100 imaginary albums of the year list for your post-holiday-gift-certificate shopping pleasure...

The Postal Service, "Give Up"
The Shins, "Chutes Too Narrow"
Death Cab for Cutie, "Transatlanticism"
Radiohead, "Hail To The Thief"
Outkast, "Speakerboxxx/The Love Below"
The White Stripes, "Elephant"
The Long Winters, "When I Pretend To Fall"
Yeah Yeah Yeahs, "Fever to Tell"
The New Pornographers, "Electric Version"
The Decemberists, "Her Majesty, the Decemberists"
The Strokes, "Room On Fire"
The Wrens, "The Meadowlands"
The Divorce, "There Will Be Blood Tonight"
Ted Leo and The Pharmacists, "Hearts of Oak"
Nada Surf, "Let Go"
Visqueen, "King Me"
Idlewild, "The Remote Part"
Junior Senior, "D-D-Don't Don't Stop the Beat"
Cat Power, "You Are Free
Belle & Sebastian, "Dear Catastrophe Waitress"
The Rapture, "Echoes"
The Darkness, "Permission to Land"
The Thermals, "More Parts Per Million"
The Dandy Warhols, "Welcome To The Monkey House"
The Lights, "Beautiful Bird"
Stellastarr*, "Stellastarr*"
Various Artists, "Lost in Translation" Soundtrack
Massive Attack, "100th Window"
The Mars Volta, "De-Loused in the Comatorium"
Wonderful, "God Bless Our Pad"
British Sea Power, "Decline of British Sea Power"
The Delgados, "Hate"
Jayhawks, "Rainy Day Music"
Los Halos, "Leaving Va."
Mogwai, "Happy Songs for Happy People"
My Morning Jacket, "It Still Moves"
The Aislers Set, "How I Learned to Write Backwards"
The Thrills, "So Much for the City"
Kaito, "Band-Red"
Basement Jaxx, "Kish Kash"
Gillian Welch, "Soul Journey"
Grandaddy, "Sumday"
The Decemberists, "Castaways and Cutouts"
Twilight Singers, "Blackberry Belle"
Sun Kil Moon, "Ghosts of the Great Highway"
American Analog Set, "Promise of Love"
Damien Jurado, "Where Shall You Take Me?"
The Hidden Cameras,"The Smell Of Their Own"
Cursive, "The Ugly Organ"
Clearlake, "Cedars"
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, "Take Them On, On Your Own"
Mojave 3, "Spoon & Rafter"
Rufus Wainwright, "Want One"
Calexico, "Feast of Wire"
Crooked Fingers, "Red Devil Dawn"
Sleepy Jackson, "Lovers"
Fountains Of Wayne, "Welcome Interstate Managers"
Manitoba, "Up in Flames"
Pretty Girls Make Graves, "New Romance"
Andrew Bird, "Weather Systems"
Johnny Cash, "Unearthed"
The Libertines, "Up the Bracket"
The Paybacks, "Knock Loud"
Broadcast "Haha Sound"
Deerhoof, "Apple 'O"
Menomena, "I Am the Fun Blame Monster!"
Fanny Pack,"So Stylistic"
Jet, "Get Born"
Kinky, "Atlas"
The Notwist, "Neon Golden"
Broken Social Scene, "You Forgot It In People"
Ed Harcourt, "From Every Sphere"
Exploding Hearts, "Guitar Romantic"
The Kills, "Keep On Your Mean Side"
Blur, "Think Tank"
Four Tet, "Rounds"
Kings of Leon, "Youth & Young Manhood"
The Drive-By Truckers, "Decoration Day"
The Minus 5, "Down With Wilco"
The Orb, "Bicycles and Tricycles"
Downpilot, "Leaving Not Arriving"
Longwave, "The Strangest Things"
Okkervil River, "Down the River of Golden Dreams"
The Malinks, "Can't Shake Last Night"
The Stills, "Logic Will Break Your Heart"
United State of Electronica, "Demo"
Guided By Voices, "Earthquake Glue"
Anna Oxygen, "All Your Faded Things"
Beth Gibbons & Rustin' Man "Out of Season"
Dead Meadow, "Shivering King and Others"
Martina Topley-Bird, Quixotic"
Rachel's, "Systems/Layers"
The Fitness,"Call Me for Together"
The Primate Five, "1234567APE"
Triple R, "Friends"
Holopaw, "Holopaw"
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, "Nocturama"
Smog, "Supper"
The Bad Plus, "These are the Vistas"
The Gossip,"Movement"

A list of the top 100 records of 2003 as voted on by you, our fabulous imaginary readers.

AstroPOP! for October-November 2003

three imaginary girls — Thu, 30 Oct 2003 08:00:00 +0000

Libra {September 23-October 22}
Death Cab for Cutie truly are indie rock's Hall and Oates: not only do DCfC possess both rock and soul, vocalist/guitarist Ben Gibbard's dreamy tenor is so unabashedly romantic that it literally spells out the M-E-T-H-O-D of modern love. Please listen closely, Libra: your usual balance is upset by love troubles this month, so having Death Cab spell it out for you can only help. On just-released Transatlanticism (Barsuk), the band understands your dilemma. The spaciousness of the songs betrays a hyper-awareness of the forces that keep lovers apart: time, distance, and longing—"where disappointment and regret collide/lying awake at night." Still, the music is heartening, not hopeless, and the instinctive, eye-for-detail charm of "Lightness" proves that Gibbard knows how to create the mood for a little one-on-one. And that's exactly what would make Daryl and John proud.
Your astrological Halloween costume: Attach half a blonde wig to half a curly brown one. Tape on half a moustache. You are simultaneously Hall AND Oates!

Scorpio {October 23-November 21}
You keep catching something out of the corner of your eye but you can never see it straight on. Your ears prick up at strange, disembodied sounds but when you turn your head toward the noises, there's nothing there. Your sixth sense is acting all crazy, Scorpio, and it's got you spooked. Give the otherworldly spirits a taste of their own medicine this month. Blast It Still Moves (ATOP), the new cd by My Morning Jacket to stop the haunting. The Louisville, Kentucky five-piece spikes its high-lonesome alt-country with a not-of-this-earth creepiness: guitars drip with reverb, ghostly vocals are multi-tracked to oblivion. When singer Jim James wails, "none of this is physical/at least not to me," he'll not only call out your demons—he'll send them packing. So don't be afraid, Scorpio... but do keep an eye on your liquor cabinet: the members of My Morning Jacket are so good at driving away spirits that they might also exorcise your bottles!
Your astrological Halloween costume: Take an old white bed sheet. Cut two eye-holes. Boo!

Sagittarius {November 22-December 21}
Your imminent career change might temporarily set you back in terms of status and income, but in the long run you're going to be a lot happier following your heart instead of doing what's expected of you. Indie darlings Belle & Sebastian sympathize with your job woes, Sag. Having taken chamber-pop as far as it can go, B&S confounds fan expectations on new release Dear Catastrophe Waitress (Rough Trade). Veteran producer Trevor Horn (ABC, the Pet Shop Boys) seasons each song with a generous helping of 80's kitsch (check those handclaps and processed vocals on "Stay Loose"), and on occasion the new sounds prove hard to balance—the record teeters like a tray full of Denver Omelets in the hands of a knock-kneed newcomer at Applebee's. But B&S never drop that heavy platter: "Asleep on a Sunbeam" recalls the band's early co-op days, and in fact the vocal melody on "Stay Loose" is one of the strongest on the album. This month, Sag, let your heart lead the way, and soon enough your new employer will be telling you, "I want to give you the job/a chance of better pay/can you start today?"
Your astrological Halloween costume: Orange jumpsuit. Strap-on keyboard. Reflector sunglasses. Sure, video killed the radio star, but your Buggles get-up will kill the competition at the costume party.

Capricorn {December 22-January 19}
Your friend who refers to every fleeting fling as a "potential soul-mate." That co-worker who's constantly repeating "that does not compute." Your roommate's humorless analysis of "Newlyweds." Why is it that everyone—everyone!—is bugging the crap out of you this month, Capricorn? It's time for you to get some perspective so you can simmer down. Listen to the reissue of Trust (Rhino) by Elvis Costello and the Attractions. By the time this watershed 5th album was released in 1981, no one had bugged, bitter, and bothered nailed more than Elvis. Everyone—everyone!—from posh suburbanites to jealous lovers to Margaret Thatcher was skewered mercilessly on "Trust"—Elvis took bile to a level of professionalism never before seen in postpunk. Cutting lines like, "you'll never be a man/no matter how many foreign bodies you can take" kinda makes your aggravation at your roommate's Hilary Duff obsession seem like child's play, hmm? Doesn't it? Cap? Doesn't it though? Oh, wait. Am I bugging you now? You better give "Trust" another spin, Capricorn.
Your astrological Halloween costume: Wear a gray wig. Walk with a cane. Shake your fist at anyone having fun. Use your anger to release the "grumpy old man" within. "Get off my lawn, you no-good kids!"

Aquarius {January 20-February 18}
Fall is here, Aquarius, and your autumnal wish-list sure makes a whole lot of sense: spend evenings indoors, drink hot cocoa overflowing with marshmallows, curl up with a good book and a great cd. That cd? Newborn Driving, the self-released debut from Seattle four-piece Spanish For 100. With a sound that blends Built To Spill's twin guitar fireworks (as well as their Idaho fixation) with Crosby, Stills & Nash's vocal harmonies, the chiming guitars and soaring vocals here are both intelligent and emotionally expressive. With its heartland-rock outlook and countryish twang, "Newborn Driving" is as autumn as pumpkin pie and the reemergence of sweaters. Plus, the cd is versatile: turn it up while you're staring out the window at the leaves swirling in the wind. Turn down the volume to background-music levels when you want to finish the last chapter in your book before bed. Either way, "Newborn Driving" has got you covered like your favorite thick wool blanket.
Your astrological Halloween costume Wear green and brown clothes, then cover yourself liberally in multi-colored leaves. You're either: a) the physical manifestation of the Harvest Spirit of Autumn or b) Marjorie the Trash Heap from "Fraggle Rock." Take your pick.

Pisces {February 19-March 20}
I'm an astrologer, Pisces. People come to me for advice, guidance, and my ability—as an outside observer—to see what can't always be seen from within. I'm recapping, in all honesty, because I'm not sure why you're here. Look at you: last month's problems resolved, next month's problems already assessed and averted—it's clear that you have no use for astrology in the trouble-free microcosm you've constructed for yourself. That said, can I still make a prediction? I'll bet your life would be even easier if you were listening to It Was High Time To Escape (54-40 Or Fight), the impressive debut from Portland, OR trio 31 Knots. Showy but not overly dramatic, complicated but somehow effortless, 31 Knots manage to mesh arty prog rock and catchy pop choruses so successfully that "wow, this sounds exactly like "Fragile"-era Yes without the fruity keyboards" becomes both a high-order compliment and a pale assessment of 31 Knots' achievements. Listen for yourself, Pisces—you're not the only one getting things right.
Your astrological Halloween costume: You're riding high this month just being you, Pisces. What's hiding behind a costume going to do for you? Wear your favorite t-shirt and go to the costume party 'as yourself.' No one would dare challenge you. How could they?

Aries {March 21-April 19}
Earnestness gets you laughed at. Cynicism makes you depressed. Instead of diving back and forth between the two extremes, Aries, try a new approach this month: walk that line. For guidance, steady yourself on the balance beam right behind Seattle four-piece Sushirobo. Overlaying Spoon-style minor-key indie pop with bubbly, organ-engineered surf-noir loops, the band has concocted a slick, spry sound that sustains itself throughout the 12 taut songs on The Light-Fingered Feeling Of Sushirobo (Pattern 25). Neither overly earnest nor deathly cynical, the band's secret is that they're in on the joke. Listen to singer Arthur Roberts' sneer over the Primus-flecked office fable "Zuckerman's Favorite Joke," or the lyrical jabs at the "milquetoast hipster" in "Heart, Lungs, Etc." The all-too-real details make it clear that the band is not above including itself among its targets, and their touch of self-effacement keeps the band buoyant. With two deep mood-chasms threatening you on either side, Aries, it really helps to have that light-fingered feeling.
Your astrological Halloween costume: What was your worst job ever? Dress up as your boss from that employment disaster, and spare no detail. Tell everyone that if they don't give you candy, you're going to eat their soul instead. You are going to have FUN tonight!

Taurus {April 20-May 20}
Despite your bullish, smarty-pants exterior, Taurus, you're a softy at heart. After all, when you're moved by the sad beauty of the first drops of rain on a Sunday morning, is it your brain that makes you want to cry? Hell no! It's your heart: your big, swollen, always-just-about-to-break valve of love. Quit ignoring it: your heart has important things to say. Touchdown Eagle, a lovelorn quartet from Seattle (by way of Iowa and Utah) definitely listens to their hearts. Their homemade debut ep Redesign Your Living Room, Redesign Your Life, is in fact all heart: lo-fi Beat Happening strum and Yo La Tengo sleepy drone create lonely, lovesick moods. The lyrics reveal a knack for the particulars of heartbreak. In "Stumblingly," a guy falls asleep with his glasses on, then he wakes up and can't quite see straight. The female narrator of "No Good Love" describes getting out of a difficult relationship, then wonders whether the person she left behind is actually happy now that she's gone. Heed your sentimental side this month, Taurus. Even if you don't find the love you've been searching for, the crying will be cathartic.
Your astrological Halloween costume: What's more sentimental than the Mom from "E.T."—a single mom struggling with three kids and hiding an alien from the U.S. government? Dress as Dee Wallace, and run like hell from anyone dressed as Peter Coyote.

Gemini {May 21-June 21}
I'll admit that I keep my counsel a little close to the chest and dole it out only sparingly. But I still tell you what you need to know, and the fact is, I really have so much advice that I'd overwhelm you if I let you know EVERYTHING that the stars tell me. And I'm not alone. Listen to Iron & Wine's new ep The Sea & The Rhythm (Sub Pop). Sam Beam surely knows much, much more than he lets on: his world-weary tenor and old-soul lyrics run circles around my constellation shop-talk. Beam chooses his words carefully, painting a careful picture that leaves out as much as it takes in. "Jesus the Mexican Boy" has more plot than a Faulkner novel—the song describes a child's birth, a carnival crashing, an elopement, and a lost wager—but it never sags with detail. Instead, Beam's clear, double-tracked harmonies and lonesome-strummed guitar tell as much of the story as the lyrics do. So while we may never find out what happens to Jesus' sister after the Vegas wedding, Iron & Wine never make us feel like something's been left out. And if you've been listening carefully to what I've been telling you, then I trust that you understand my advice for you this month, Gemini.
Your astrological Halloween costume: Your literary bent this month makes Faulkner a natural starting point for your costume: Caddy Compson in her later years? The simple Vardaman Bundren? The luckless Temple Drake? Come on, Gemini, go crazy!

Cancer {June 22-July 22}
Sometimes it's not so bad to be the type that can be brought home to mom and dad, Cancer. First of all, it shows that your sweetie thinks you have staying power. Second, it means the two of you can borrow the old man's car for ski trips—no questions asked. Third, better presents this holiday season. Just look at Plum St.. They've got that 'cross-generational appeal' working in their favor as well: you like them because they kinda sound like Elliott Smith or Michael Penn; your mom likes them because they kinda sound like the Beatles. But this is not a band of bland squares: the Seattle trio has the melody, smarts, and chops to validate these lofty comparisons. And singer/guitarist Reed Hutchinson even sings about family! Ok, it's a dysfunctional one—an older aunt leaves her husband, a helpful uncle delivers advice but brandishes a gun—but like yourself, Cancer, Plum St. realizes that playing to the family is important. So when your honey brings you home to mom and dad this month, Cancer, bring the Plum St. cd along. When everybody is in agreement over the gorgeous chorus to "Beauty and Dreams," you'll at least be getting a break from marriage talk.
Your astrological Halloween costume: Wear the most garishly colored sweater you can find, and you're all set to appear as everybody's favorite tv dad, Cliff Huxtable. Then, wrap up the sweater and give it to your sweetheart's dad this holiday season. He'll love you for it.

Leo {July 23-August 22}
It's the dilemma of every rising star, Leo. Everyone wants a stalker until they actually get one. The loss of privacy, the feeling of invasion, the constant changing of phone numbers: stalkers are scary and tiresome, and should hardly be the concern of a superstar-in-training who's got a collection of trucker hats to build and a Friendster network to grow. Then again, listen to new sensations the Fitness. First single "Gianni V" actually implores "I wish that you were stalking me"--and makes a convincing case that having an obsessive fan is, in fact, part of the package: an actual accessory that complements the trucker hats and the Friendster hits. Ok. I'm with you so far. Sonically, the Fitness' cd debut Call Me For Together (The Control Group) picks up where "The Metro" by Berlin left off: analog synths, gated drums, and robotically-intoned boy-girl vocals. I heart the 80's, so I'm still with you. The kicker? Instead of talking down, Diana Ross-style, to the hired help, closing song "Chauffeur" exalts its titular hero for knowing where to go and where to score the best drugs. It sounds like the Fitness really does have the whole package. Now, if we started sleeping outside their bedroom windows, Leo, how long do you think it'll take before they notice us?
Your astrological Halloween costume: Who are you kidding, Leo? The skinny ties, the jagged bangs, the jet-black eyeliner, the silvery shirts, the Seven jeans... you already wear a costume every day. If you really want to frighten people, show up at the party in a UW sweatshirt and khakis. Now that's scary!

Virgo {August 23-September 22}
On the left side of the chalkboard, we have the 'problem:' a dense, multi-factored scramble of terms, conditionals, and assumptions. On the right side, we have the 'answer:' a single digit, solved, reduced, exposed. My question to you: which side of the board has more power? Your urge to figure everything out can cause you to miss out on the brain-busting complexities of reality. It's like trying to determine what makes the songs on the Senate Arcade's new ep Vitamins Taste Like Dying (Chocho) sound so good. Yah, we can trot out 'answers:' the swirling math-rock intricacies; the pulverizing rhythm section; bassist/singer Todd Schlosser's powerful, MTV2-ready vocal bellow. But when that stuff gets written down on paper, it doesn't seem like it could really add up to the visceral intensity that these five songs deliver. In other words, when there's a guy lying fetal desperately shouting "I'm on the floor/I'm on the floor," the application of logic can only get you so far. This month, don't search for the answers, Virgo. See the unsolved expressions for what they are: expressions. Turn the volume up, and just listen.
Your astrological Halloween costume: Wear a button-down shirt, smear chalk dust on your hands, and find a pair of coke-bottle glasses. Oh, and carry a carving knife. You're a high school algebra teacher—out for blood!

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Your rock and roll astrological forecast for Fall 2003, featuring reviews of Belle & Sebastian, My Morning Jacket, Touchdown Eagle, Spanish for 100, The Fitness, and more.

Doves, with My Morning Jacket

Lawrence Winnerman — Fri, 04 Oct 2002 07:00:00 +0000

3 Oct 2002

doves.jpg

Doves, Doves, Doves! Doves! DOVES! DOVES! D_O_V_E_S!!!! A thousand times - Doves! I am in love my friends. The rocks may melt and the land may burn - I don't care. Launch a freakin' war. Bring on the nukes and boil the oceans - I DON'T FREAKIN' CARE: I am in love! I am thick, and ripe, and ready to burst with the juice of love, baby, and it tastes just like Doves.

So, fair warning here: Doves The Last Broadcast seems to have become the megalomaniacal soundtrack to my life.

I fell for Doves when I first heard "Crunch" on KEXP. It sounded like something I was remembering from the future. It actually sounded like the music that plays in my head when I am snowboarding. Hell - it sounds LIKE snowboarding. I should be in a goddamn Dawg film, with this playing behind me while I freekin' shred like Jesus (who, little known fact, was HUGE into 'boarding - what do you think he did during those lost years? I'm saying: shredding on the Mount, and hookin' up with 'boarder boys. Look it up in the Dead Sea Scrolls, if you don't believe me.)

So, anyway, I find Doves thanks to the grace of God and KEXP six months ago. Because I am dumb, it takes me another couple months to finally get The Last Broadcast - but then the deal is done: the river is run, the course is set, the beast is in the belly of the whale, or something like that. I am in love.

With Doves, yes, but also with Jimi Goodwin, the defacto lead of Doves, the mad Mancuinan, my true and only love, born in Manchester, England, across the Atlantic Sea. And I'm a genius - I find him only through finding his music, and the miracle of that newfangled "Inter-Net". And I miss the first Doves show in Seattle by a freekin' week. Weak.

When I learned that Doves were coming back to Seattle on October 3rd, I was afrenzy with madcap planning. I should go to the show, of course, where Jimi would see me in the crowd, and pull me up on stage. We would sing together, because the thrill of the moment will grant me a preternaturally good voice, and I've by now memorized the lyrics to all the songs. We'll fall in love, there, on stage, in front of God and everyone, and I'll ride in the bus up to Vancouver with them. It all made perfect sense.

Alas, I am here to report that, while my planning seemed to be flawless in nature, I am not, as of this moment in the Doves tour bus riding up to BC. So close though - if only Jimi had opened his eyes whilst singing during the show.....

It happened like this: Thursday night, at the Showbox. I arrive just as My Morning Jacket is finishing up their set, and am completely wowed by the final tune they were closing out their set with. Don't ask me what it was, I'm just here to tell you that these long-haired Kentuckians were kicking some serious ass jamming up on the stage, and the crowd was nuts for them. They vacate the stage, and I vow to purchase their CD Chocolate and Ice, and am off to get a drink and scope out the 'Box in the interregnum.

So, after a spell of frantic setup by the roadies in matching shirts, the moment I've been dreaming of arrives; Doves - Jimi Goodwin, Andy Williams and Jez Williams - come out onto the stage to widespread acclaim.

They start with "Pounding", arguably my fave off of The Last Broadcast, and as those of you who live in my mind know, this is the song played as Jimi and I completely evade Interplanetary Police by wakeboarding through the atmosphere of Jupiter. Live, it does not disappoint. The guys sounded great - a bit heavier on the guitars and weaker in the vocals than on the disc, but still amazing.

They move seamlessly into the big radio hit "There Goes the Fear", and it, too, sounds amazing. The vid screen behind them is showing random clips of some uber-60's-Brit couple riding alternately in a train and then a convertible car. The music is truly as seamless as it sounds in the radio edit. I can tell that my boys here know what the hell they are doing, and they absolutely love it.

They the step down a notch, and move into "Sea Song" off of Lost Souls. I don't know Lost Souls as well as I should, but this song makes me want to go study up. It's mournful and compelling, and appropriately, makes me think of the time that Jimi and I drove to the ocean....oops - sorry about that. More megalomaniacal fantasy, that was.

After a bit of trouble with the equipment, they sound test with a funkified cover of the Knight Rider theme song. Oh, my heart is bursting! I love them soooo much!

"Words" has a swirling, driving beat and stand-out guitar theme that makes me want to fly fighter jets and nuke the shit out of the folks who have pissed me off. It also makes me want to institute a generous Marshall Plan to assist them afterwards. It's really the yin and the yang of warfare for me. {wow! that song knocked me out, too, when I saw them back in June! -igLiz}

"Words they meant nothing/ So you can't hurt me/ On summer days like these/ I said words they mean nothing/ So you can't stop me/ I said your eyes, they say nothing/ So you can't fault me/ I said words they mean nothing/ So you can't hurt me..."

"N.Y.", as better minds than mine have noted, is perhaps the best paean to that great city that has ever been written. It is simultaneously anguished and joyful, truly evoking a sense of endless possibility, and the sense of overwhelming choice that comes with it.

Two standout tracks from the remainder of the set were "Catch the Sun" from Lost Souls, and the next big radio hit from The Last Broadcast - "Caught by the River". They both sounded great - better than the CDs - through that ineffable miracle of live music played by a band that really loves what it is playing.

The band closes out the set with "The Cedar Room", which is marred only by Jimi's insistence that he is having voice trouble. Poor lad - we can't hear it though, and it's only because he tells us that we know why he is acting a wee bit cranky.

The band departs, and it takes the crowd a minute or two to work up into true "we want an encore!" mode. I have a momentary flash of panic that this lackluster response is going to deny us more Doves, but it is quickly lifted with the return of Jimi and company to the stage.

After treating us to two more songs from Lost Souls the encore and the show end with the fabled "Space Face". I'd heard of this track, written back in the day when Doves was still SubSub, and all I can say is I was not disappointed.

With scenes from 2001: A Space Odyssey on the vid screen (and clips from 2010, too) Doves breaks out one of the best pieces of their dance/trance/house/spacerock past. The guys are jamming, obviously completely in love with this tune. Even the slack-ass Showbox audience is digging it, dancing with more passion than they've shown all night. I have to admit it, rocking out to "Space Face" at the end of this show, with the monolith-delivered final message from 2010 flashing on the screen made me tear up a wee bit. "All these worlds are yours...", says the Monolith.

Indeed. All these worlds are yours, Doves. Use them together, use them in peace. Well, except Europa. Even you guys don't get Europa.

I fell for Doves when I first heard "Crunch" on KEXP. It sounded like something I was remembering from the future.