Volt 2, almost 20 Months On

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RobUA03
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Post by RobUA03 »

Great post and analysis. I'd like to add (and I know it has already been discussed here) that I prefer Jay's singing style from the Trace/Straightaways era. His voice on Okemah is almost too high and whiny on some songs. Still a great record though.

TragicFig
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Kick Ass Volt Post

Post by TragicFig »

great post Seger. To Maura..you are not the only one who things Okema is the best SV record. I'm with you...

to the forum...is there a get together in Austin on Sat night before the Sunday show? and
Does anyone know what TIME on Sunday SV will play...roughly..

Later.

saratoga jay
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Post by saratoga jay »

i like Son Volt so much i think i love Son Volt.

MongolVolt
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Post by MongolVolt »

Agree with most of the original post, although I would dump the keyboards for either a pedal steel, lap steel or a fiddle any day of the week and would prefer to go without them with this incarnation of the band as is.

As for song rotation, more would be better, and I'd through Slate into the above mentioned gems.

jeffc17
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Post by jeffc17 »

The perfectionist Jay is, I think each song from his catalogue would take a while to put into their rotation. The band, with Brad, would obviously know everything off Okemah, since they basically threw it all together in the studio. I'd be curious to know how long they spent rehearsing the other tunes prior to commencing the tour.

When thought about in this way, it's really amazing what Chris Frame or even Mark Spencer pull off when they sit in for Brad, to seamlessly sit in for those 25-30 songs is really a pretty nifty trick.

One thing I've seen them do is to throw in the covers, which sometimes seem like they've only worked them up backstage prior to the show. They play a lot looser with the song constructs on covers.

seger_and_priest
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Post by seger_and_priest »

farrarfan1 wrote:. May I add Hanging Blue Side and Feedkill Chain? Love those songs.
how did I forget "Hanging Blue Slide?" Or "Creosote," for that matter?

farrarfan1
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Post by farrarfan1 »

Very nice commentary S&P. Having been formally categorized as a dork also I will gladly discuss them with you anytime. As to your observations.

1.Agree. I cannot adress the finer points of tempo changes as that is above my paygrade, but yes he has changed his style.

2. Also agree. I love the song Question but have always felt it was somewhat out of place with the other songs on WST. Not in a bad way,just different, more upbeat.

3.Agree withe the comparison of Rice/Frame. I was lucky enough to see them both in a 4 month time frame. Both are very good but Brad definitely is more of a presence. I don't think Jay would allow a lot of stage "antics" from any band member. That doesn't fit his persona.

4. Agree. I like the keyboard. Having grown up with the music of the 60'-70's keyboards were very common.

5.Agreed again. I'm not a musician but my question is how long would it take the new members to learn all or most of the songs in his catalogue? With all the UT,SV 1.0, solo and the songs from Okemah and the new unrelesed ones wouldn't it take awhile to learn to play that many songs and play them well enough to take on stage? I know these guys are pros and can probably learn a song in a matter of minutes but the shear numbers look daunting. They played around 30 or so songs a night. Even adding 10 more in the rotation seems like a lot to an nonmusician like me. Nice list by the way. May I add Hanging Blue Side and Feedkill Chain? Love those songs.

Playing safe with the neigborhood dorks.

seger_and_priest
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Post by seger_and_priest »

Tokyo Fan wrote:What an excellent post, seger. I am in off-hand agreement on most of what you studiously wrote down and will have to print the post out for future study on the unknowns (your reference to Derry and Empty Rooms...off the top of my head I can't place this). You have created a reference work! Thanks.
it's really cool to hear from people who don't always post - not that i don't love the all-the-time posters, mind you.

empty rooms is a reference to the second Canyon record, which is absolutely essential and timeless. in my opinion the jay/canyon tour was a slight dissapoinment, having seen the latter band touring behind said record, in a tiny local bar i've played 1,006 times. by the time of that tour they were playing stuff from brandon butler's solo album-to-be, which was way more orthodox. seriously, check out emoty rooms.

Love Jackson
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Post by Love Jackson »

Great post.

I live the idea of grouping Trace/Straightaways and Wide Swing/Okemah. I'm in the minority in that I actually like Straightaways best from the original line-up. I know this board is very loyal to Trace, and today I tried to convince myself that Trace was the best as I listened to it on the way to work, but I can't. I also love Okemah.

I don't like the keyboards at all, especially on Bandages. The song loses its edge in my opinion.

I would love to see them tour with a pedal steel player.

keyser soze
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Post by keyser soze »

I concur with everything you wrote. The only pet peeve I've ever had with Jay is that he doesn't change up the set list. Maybe he doesn't think that people travel to different cities on the same tour to see the Volt. I used to, but now I know you're pretty much going to get the same set list every night on a particular tour. That and I'm pretty much broke at teh moment. I wish he could add 3 to 4 Tupelo songs a night but I know that is a pipe dream. Also, the Brad Rice show was about 10 times better than the Chris Frame show I saw on the last tour. Nothing against Frame because he is a great player, but the show with Rice was probably the best I've seen of teh Volt.

Tokyo Fan
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Post by Tokyo Fan »

What an excellent post, seger. I am in off-hand agreement on most of what you studiously wrote down and will have to print the post out for future study on the unknowns (your reference to Derry and Empty Rooms...off the top of my head I can't place this). You have created a reference work! Thanks.

jeffc17
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Post by jeffc17 »

Each show I went to on this tour, Derry's playing became more pronounced in the mix. The last show I saw, in February, he was quite prominent, so I think that trend will continue.

The set lists are a bit irritating, but they did at least one different thing for each show I saw, a different cover or pulling in a different song, so the thing is definitely not set in stone. I would think with more rehearsal time, Jay will want to add more to the repertoire on the next tour.

camaroheadus
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Post by camaroheadus »

let me say thanks to seger for coming up w/ a great thread. i try to do do a volt only thread whenever i can.

i'm going to respond paragraph by paragraph

para 1- i'm with you all the way on this one.

para 2- i agree the seeds of okemah are on wst, but i have the feeling that jay is going back to the trace/straightaways style on the new one. after all, he is enlisting some old help with the appearance of eric heywood during the webcast. i am sure it will be debated whether or not that will be a good thing, but i am sure that if meth is any harbinger of things to come we could be in store for the best sv/jf recording yet. jay is more aware of what he can do with the current lineup and he can adjust his writing accordingly. he has repeatadly stated that is a big part of his process.

para 3- brad rice is the winner hands down on the lead guitar comparison.

para 4- i like the addition of derry as well. for the most part the keyboards are just subtle enough for me. i yearn for a pedal steel however.

para 5- i would like a changing set list as long as the closing songs remain about the same. if i went to a show and did not hear route, tear stained eye, and windfall i would promptly begin to weep. changing the general order and adding some different tunes would be great. my wishlist would include question, strands, left a slide, been set free, catching on, anodyne, make it alright and all your might.

maura tierney
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Post by maura tierney »

I have come to the conclusion that 'Okemah...' is my favourite Son Volt record. I'm serious - I think it is even more consistent than 'Trace'. I'm probably alone in this, but that's how I feel. Soooo, I am quite happy with this incarnation of Son Volt.

I do agree about the set-lists, though. It would be great to be able to download/trade shows, knowing that you are going to be getting something more varied each time.

I don't mind the keyboards either, though I don't think that they really add that much - especially live.

seger_and_priest
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Volt 2, almost 20 Months On

Post by seger_and_priest »

Hello Friends,

Because I'm a dork and because I'm more interested in Volt-talk than my current work assignment, I figured I'd take this opportunity to reflect a bit on the "new" Son Volt, well into their second year. This post was inspired by the "One Year Ago Today" thread from a week back, pertaining to the OKEMAH anniversary.

Let me say before I go any further that the point of this wank-sesh is pretty much to think out loud and hope nobody curses me for it. I'm still operating under the assumption that people like to talk about Volt rock on the board, tho I can't presume they like to talk about it with me. More importantly, I want to make plain that I will not be making any statements about Son Volt 2.0's greatness relative to Son Volt 1.0. I think that's crap, and that it overlooks the fact that there is a lot of continuity between the different manifestations of Jay's "vehicle." That said, I also don't want to pretend that the two versions of the band are the same thing. Anyway,
some thoughts:

1) Jay's songwriting style has changed. The lack of country sounds on OKEMAH being obvious, I think it's also interesting the note the disparity between the earlier and newer rockers. OKEMAH's rockers are capable of being both more straightforward (think "Jet Pilot") and less straightforward (think "Who") than those of the first albums (compare "Bandages and Scars" to "Drown" or "Route"). This difference resounds in the use of tempo changes. While Jay's up-tempo songwriting has always employed stops and starts, it seems like they are more subtley used in the current tunes.

2) Going off that last point, I think the seeds of OKEMAH can definitely be heard on WIDE SWING. "Questions" is way closer to "Bandages" than "Live Free" or "Loose String." If you think of STRAIGHTAWAYS and TRACE as kindred song cycles, as well as WIDE SWING and OKEMAH.. well, that mean's we may be in for a brand new mothereffing experience with the next one, playuhs. "Circadian rhythym" suggests this; "methamphetamine" doesn't. Both songs are righteous.

3) On to Volt 2.0 talk. Having collected as many live recordings as possible (while trying to remain someone un-dorky enough for my love to want to bed me), I've got a lot to say on this score. Firstly, I think Brad is the guy on guitar. I liked Chris Frame's playing a lot, catching it in Birmingham and Nashville last fall: but Brad's playing is less rote, and has more personality. I think you can love Son Volt and still think it would be cool if at least one member had an onstage presence that eschewed "funereal, stoic" status (again, not that there's anything wrong with that.) I'm not saying that Jay should be wearing a Dr. Seuss hat and courting the audience participation (Tweedy! Cough!), but I'm a big believer in the idea that one can have fun playing sad, serious music.

4) Derry and his keyboards don't bother me at all. Sometimes he's buried to the point of barely being audible; he's at his best when he adds drone-y depth to the gtrs; and on the ballads I think the piano is fine. More importantly, I'm interested to see what sort of presence he has on the next record, upon which he's hopefully had some songwriting influence. Remember how central his playing is to Empty Rooms, and I believe you can see the potential for keyboards in the new Volt.

5) One unchanging aspect of Jay's career that I'm ready to see tossed in the trash compactor is the "repeating set list" policy. It's not that i'm worried about the order of the songs I'm going to here so much; rather, I get annoyed/tormented by the idea that certain songs are lost forever. What are the chances we'll ever hear a live "Ipecac" again? "Dead Man's Clothes?" "Last Minute Shakedown?" I suppose the argument could be made that it's the 'set set-list' policy that allows for the band's accruing of unprecedented tightness on the road: well, I appreciate that tightness. And I want Jay Farrar to be allowed to play whatever the fuck he wants, whenever. So I'm not mad at Jay about it. I'm mad at the universe, I guess. I'll carry with me into the grave a grand frustration at not being allowed endless permutations of setlists. Why can't we see Andrew, Jayfers, Derry, Dave and Brad stroll out onto some fairgrounds and rock this one:

Tulsa County
Left a Slide
Going, Going, Gone
Lookin' at the World Through a Windshield
Postcard
Ain't No More Cane
No More Parades
Open All Night
Question
Dead Man's Clothes
Right on Through
Mystifies Me
Holocaust
Last Minute Shakedown

Wouldn't that be fun? If I could only convince myself that there was an afterlife, and that if I lived well and loved often I might see such things. Oh, shucks. Life's tough - but it's less tough when there's a Son Volt for me to love ("Chick Rock for Dudes," my love calls it.) Anyway, that's all I got. Play safe.
Last edited by seger_and_priest on Thu Jul 20, 2006 10:54 am, edited 1 time in total.

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