The Oklahoman's George Lang

The New Pornographers ripped through a lengthy set of classics and newer numbers, but I was really wowed by openers The Dodos and Imaad Wasif. The former had about as much musical talent as I've heard in any new band lately and the latter looked a lot like Jimmy Page onstage.

--Carney

Photo Slideshow: Sunday Lane

Tulsa native Sunday Lane released her EP “Bring Me Sunshine.”

Lane has been playing around Tulsa this summer before she heads back to school Florida.

She has a great deal of talent, so make sure to look out for her next summer.

-Poppe

WoodyFest Coverage: Slideshow

I have no idea how Woody Guthrie or anyone who played WoodyFest can survive the July son in Okemah, but I gave it a shot.

Everyone playing WoodyFest is a character, but one person stood out. His name is Randy Thompson. He takes care of the Crystal Theatre, which is more than 100 years old.

There’s a chance it might close down, so there’s an effort to keep the place going.

Check it out here if you’re interested.

-Poppe

Ariel Pink to open for Flaming Lips

Weirder than Björk-Dirty Projectors?

Courtesy of Pitchfork

Pitchfork reports that the two will tour together for 10 dates in September, mostly in the Northwest and Canada.

BUT, the Ariel Pink tour stops in Oklahoma for a visit to Norman’s Opolis on September 15. Tickets are available online for $10, $12 if you’re not yet 21.

A personal favorite from Ariel Pink’s most recent release, below.

--Carney

Review: The Hold Steady at the Diamond Ballroom

Note: This story ran online at Newsok.com early Saturday.

Sometimes, bands are specifically meant to be heard live.

For patrons of The Hold Steady’s Friday night show at the Diamond Ballroom, this became apparent midway through “Sequestered in Memphis,” the 12th song in a 90-minute set, when lead singer Craig Finn’s lyrical subject matter seemed more real than anything.

Photo by Nathan Poppe/The Oklahoman

“In bar light, she looked alright/In daylight, she looked desperate/That’s alright I was desperate too,” he sang as a gaggle of nearing-their-30s women danced, pointed and laughed to stage right.

Wherever it goes, the Brooklyn bar band seems to fit right in because, well, it plays for people who love bars.

Photo by Nathan Poppe/The Oklahoman

Finn grinned a mischievous grin and pointed back at the ladies, a gesture he repeated approximately 537 times Friday night.

He’s a paradox, the singer. Typically a hard-rocking front man dresses in black, oozes cool, and swaggers about the stage like he purchased it by peeling off Ben Franklins and slapping them down one by one.
Not Finn. His usual register is something like a nerd requesting the bully to release him from a headlock. The anti-frontman dresses like everyone else in the venue — flannel button-down (without sleeves), white Adidas sneakers, miniature black frame glasses, a cheap watch.

Photo by Nathan Poppe/The Oklahoman

He’s got no visible tattoo to speak of, plays air drums and dances like a 12-year-old kid blasting AC/DC on the radio in front of his bathroom mirror.

But all it took was a few seconds of singing, frenetic foot-shuffling and hand-shaking to endear himself to the crowd, which was pumping fists and spilling beer a few seconds into the opener “Constructive Summer.” It continued to do so until the first encore break, 19 songs later.

Don’t forget the rest of the band.

Lead guitarist Tad Kubler handled most of the wailing, which was extensive. Heck, one or two of those songs are just excuses to listen to excellent classic rock guitar. Regular members Galen Polivka (bass) and Bobby Drake (drums) were joined by a touring keyboardist and additional guitar player, who increased the sonic blast to the maximum.

More characters and shady situations cropped up throughout the night from the hilarious denials of “Your Little Hoodrat Friend” to the selfless love for beautiful Jessie in “Hurricane J”. “There was that whole weird thing with the horses,” Finn sang from “The Weekenders”, probably the creepiest and most hilarious lyric in the band’s entire catalogue, amplified by his arched eyebrows.

Photo by Nathan Poppe/The Oklahoman

More generalized songs like “Massive Nights” with its grand “Woah-oah-oah-oah-oah” chorus line serve as excellent nostalgia triggers, reminding everybody of the best party they ever went to.

Kubler procured a classic Jimmy Page double-neck Gibson 1275 for the first set’s last song, “A Slight Discomfort”, prompting Finn to initiate full-on geek-out mode. He danced onstage without the slightest bit of coordination, gleefully prompted by rock and roll. The encore came and went, ending with the singalong ballad “Southtown Girls”.

The band exited the stage shortly before 11, leaving elated fans in its wake, chatting and walking off together to some party at some bar somewhere, about which Craig Finn’s probably already written a song.

–Carney

Wilco to leave record label

Wilco guitarist Nels Cline revealed that the band didn’t renew their contract with NYC-based Nonesuch Records in a recent interview with Expressnightout.

Jeff was basically not wanting to be on a record label for a while — he didn’t renew his contract with Nonesuch — so we’re striking out on our own, our own label. There might be a 7-inch or something, a little souvenir when we do this Mass MoCA [Solid Sound Festival in North Adams, Ma.] I’m not sure, really.

Cline also said to expect a lengthy process for the next Wilco album. Watch below as he struggles through a bit of sound trouble during the performance of “Walken” at the band’s 2008 show at Cain’s Ballroom.

--Carney