Top Ten 2009
December 24th, 2009 | Published in Uncategorized | 1 Comment
Bibio – Vignetting the Compost
Bibio came out with 3 albums this year, one of which was a remix album. Picking between this one and Ambivalence Avenue was tough, but I really like the loop that the first track on Vignetting opens with. I love that it’s folk music that still appeals to my, mmmm, post-modern electro noise side too.
Brian Harnetty – Silent City
I first met Brian when he was opening for Bonnie Prince Billy, and I was running sound. He set up a record player, a couple cassette decks, and a Fender Rhodes, and my instant reaction was “this is either gonna suck, or totally rule.” Thankfully, it totally ruled. I love it that Columbus can still offer up new and amazing talent like this.
The xx – xx
I have to thank Amazon for this recommendation – their computers know me way too well! I really dig their expansive, simple, quiet sound. And damn – that bass!
Passing Strange – soundtrack
I usually don’t listen to a lot of musicals, but since I do theatre sound for a living, I probably listen to them more than the average music nerd. This one really blew me away – it’s really well recorded, it’s live, and the film of it by Spike Lee was the best document of a stage production I’ve ever seen. All that, and the story could be my biography.
Available Light Theatre – Church
I think this might be my favorite show we’ve done at Available Light. Short, simple, strong, and universally loved. It used sound to highlight a number of poignant moments in the show in very smart ways, thanks to the playwright. (no, we are not a religious theatre company!)
Antony and the Johnsons at the Southern Theatre
Bonnie Prince Billy at the Capitol Theatre
About once a year I get a really cool gig. This year I got two. Yep, I got to run sound for Antony and Bonnie. Yep, they were really cool. Yep, the shows were amazing.
Barefoot Monitors
I got to listen to these just the other day. I’ve worked in a lot of studios with great monitoring systems, but I’ve really never heard anything like the Barefoots. I’m considering selling my body parts so I can get a pair – they already melted my brain, so it’s all downhill from here anyway!
Kronos Quartet at Memorial Hall, Cincinnati
See my previous post about this show here.
The Antlers – Hospice
I enjoy listening to it, and you might too.
Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest
There have been a lot of big sounding records with a lot of production in the past couple years. The thing that makes this one stand out from the rest is that it also sounds really good.
January 7th, 2010 at 12:10 pm (#)
I feel like I have to mention the Tom Waits show I saw at the Ohio Theatre too. I saw him in Chicago about 7 or so years ago too, and that show is the one that I’ll remember. I’ve learned a lot since then, and though he had some great gear, great music, great musicians, and gave us a great performance, the audio kinda got in the way for me. I’m sure (I hope) it was just because of where I was sitting. Don’t talk to me about the Leonard Cohen show – I wasn’t there!