M. Ward Played The Palace Of Fine Arts - Pictures, Review, Setlist, Video

As M. Ward said a the Palace Of Fine Arts Theater last night, "this place gets real quiet". And it does - so much so that it would have been ideal for a Ward solo show much like the one that he played at Bimbo's a couple of years ago. Which is why we were pretty surprised to see the man take to stage with a full four piece band (five, counting him) for a lengthy set that drew surprisingly little on his new record, and more than delivered the musical goods.

To start, we would contend that it's pretty much impossible not to enjoy Ward in a live setting. The man is such an adept musician, and his compositions so universal, that there's really something for anyone who's a music lover to enjoy. Sure, you might not like his side projects, or the new record might be too mellow for you, but live this all falls by the wayside. The depth of Ward's voice comes out even more pronounced in a live setting, and more than that it's just clear that this guy has soul.

On top of that, Ward and his band are top-notch musicians who have a blast being on stage. Whether on piano, acoustic, or electric guitar, Ward plays with a style that's equally parts technically adept and brazenly carefree. He clearly is psyched to be delivering the tunage, and wants to bring it forth with as much enthusiasm as possible. His band follows suit - at one point last night one of his guitarists almost flat out fell down on stage in a bout of enthusiasm. Good stuff.

As we mentioned, last night's setlist was surprisingly diverse, and drew very little on the new record. Instead, it spanned his entire catalog and had some real gems in there. We're huge fans of "Post War", and "Fuel For Fire" was also fantastic. We were a tad bummed not to hear "Transfiguration of Vincent" or "To Go Home", but it seems it wasn't a "hits" kind of night. What it was, however, was a fantastic night of music. Making it doubly awesome is the fact that Ward will be back in town in May. Those who missed last night's show are in for a treat, and we're guessing that a fair number of last night's attendees will be back for another taste as well.

Setlist
--
Hold Time
Chinese Translation
Post War
Epistemology
Poison Cup
Undertaker
Lonesome Me
I'll Be Yr Bird
Fishing Boat Song (?)
Fuel For Fire
Instrumental
Magic Trick
To Save Me
Requiem
Never Met Nobody Like You
Rave On
Fisher Of Men
--
Instrumental (See Video)
Roll Over Beethoven (Chuck Berry Cover, see video)
Big Boat

Video: M. Ward - Roll Over Beethoven (Live At POTFA)
Video: M. Ward - Instrumental (Live At POTFA)

M. Ward: New Album, Palace Of Fine Arts In March, Presale 12/09 At 10 AM

After a year or so of touring almost exclusively in support of She & Him, it looks like M. Ward is back on his own. Ward will be releasing a brand new record on February 17th entitled Hold Time. It's been over two years since Post War dropped, so we couldn't be more excited to see new material from the man. The record (whose covert art you can see above) features guest appearances by Lucinda Williams, Jason Lytle, and Zooey Deschanel.

Ward is also mounting a tour in support of the record, which includes a March 5th date at The Palace Of Fine Arts here in San Francisco. You can snag tickets in the Another Planet presale starting Tuesday (tomorrow) morning at ten. Click here, the password is "holdtime".

We here at HAD have seen Ward live three or four times now, and we're always thoroughly impressed by his shows, both solo and with band. Matt's (that's what the M.'s for, kids!) simply a fantastic musician, and the consistently with which he effortlessly delivers moving versions of his songs is simply remarkable. Highly recommended.

M. Ward Tour Dates, Spring 2009:
Wednesday, February 18 Boston, MA @ Somerville Theater
Thursday, February 19 New York, NY @ The Apollo Theatre
Friday, February 20 Philadelphia, PA @ Trocadero Theatre
Saturday, February 21 Washington, DC @ Sixth and I Synagogue
Wednesday February 25 London, UK @ Borderline
Thursday February 26 Paris, FR @ Café de la Danse
Friday, February 27 Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso
Wednesday March 4 Los Angeles, CA @ Music Box at Fonda
Thursday, March 5 San Francisco, CA @ Palace of Fine Arts
Friday, March 6 Seattle, WA @ Showbox At The Market
Saturday, March 7 Portland, OR @ Aladdin Theater

Mark Kozelek To Play POTFA

On April 26th Mark Kozelek, creative mastermind behind both Sun Kil Moon and Red House Painters, will be playing a set at the Palace Of Fine Arts. Kozelek is apparently touring on the release of a new hardcover book of his lyrics. We have to say: this should be an amazing opportunity to see a great songwriter in an acoustically awesome venue. Tickets are already on sale (sorry about that late notice), but decent seats are still available.

Side note: we just had a mind blowing revelation. As we contemplated that the first place we hear Kozelek was in the Cameron Crowe film Vanilla Sky (we know, late to the party), we then also realized that Kozelek played Fever Dog's bass player in another Crowe film, Almost Famous. Craaaaazy.

mp3: Red House Painters - Silly Love Songs (Yousendit link, click through)

EELS To Play POTFA In April

EELS have just announced "An Evening With EELS", their 2008 tour. They'll be stopping by the Palace Of Fine Arts on April 14th, so get your taxes done ahead of time. Despite being a little underwhelmed by the GAMH show last tour, we're always willing to give E a second chance. He's so charming and all.

Ticket on-sale TBA...

The Freewheeling Yo La Tengo

Last night at the Palace Of Fine Arts, conditions were not ideal for photography. Luckily, they were more than ideal for sound, and those in attendance got a fantastic show. In what could almost be considered a double bill, Jonathan Richman opened for Yo La Tengo. Both sets were good humored, fantastically entertaining, and musically rewarding.

Richman's set was ultimately a unique blend of singer-songwriter melodies, social commentary, and comedy act. It was vastly different from his output with the Modern Lovers, but pretty much a "par for the course" performance for thos familiar with his more recent work. "Par for the course" in this case was no mean feat, and Richman delivered a great set of sweet tunes. His performance was compelling enough that it even demanded an encore, which is unusual for an opener, to say the least.

When Yo La Tengo took the stage at 9:15, the crowd was more than ready for the show to start. The band opened with a great rendition of "Madeline", and then led the way through a two hour set of covers, conversation, and Q&A. The "freewheeling" format of the tour consists of the band answering questions between songs, and taking requests as well. The Q&A sessions were wildly entertaining, and a ton of fun. Ira Kaplan and James McNew were both extremely funny, and there were some great anecdotes as well.

Musically, the set stayed largely in chill out acoustic regions, with a few rocking jams here and there. There were a bunch of treats though, driven largely by request: The band played the Daniel Johnston tune "Speeding Motorcycle", as well as an impromptu version of Prince's "When You Were Mine". There were tons of old favorites in place as well, notably "Autumn Sweater". The band also continues to focus on their new album quite a bit, for which you'll hear no complaints here. "Mr. Tough" and "Black Flowers" were standouts.

Overall, the show was a blast, and a bit more personal than the Fillmore show of earlier this year. While it's great to see the band rock out in performance mode, it was also great to see this intimate show where they could be more irreverant and really let their personalities drive the show. Next stop: trying to locate James McNew's Prince covers record....!

Update:
Prince - When You Were Mine
James McNew (Of Yo La Tengo, Playing as Dump) - When You Were Mine (cover)

Yo La Tengo To Play Palace Of Fine Arts

It looks like indie-kid favorites Yo La Tengo will be making a fall return to our city of fog. The trio will be playing as "The Freewheeling Yo La Tengo", and the show is described as:

A little bit Storytellers, a little bit Unplugged, with a soupcon of their famously varied Hanukkah shows, it will feature the band playing an almost-acoustic set of songs from their entire catalog, with stories about their life as a band, and an encouraged back-and-forth with the audience.

Sounds like it should be a fun show, especially since the band has been pretty rockin' their last few stops in the city.

The show will be at the Palace Of The Fine Arts theater on November 1st. Ticket information is still listed as "TBA" on the Yo La Tengo site, but the POTFA site says this Sunday (the 30th) at 10 AM via ticketmaster. In the meantime, these mp3's from the freewheeling tour should give you a taste of the vibe.

mp3: Yo La Tengo - The Summer (Live On KEXP, Freewheeling Yo La Tengo tour)
mp3: Yo La Tengo - I Feel Like Going Home (Live On KCMP, Freewheeling Yo La Tengo tour)

City Arts and Lectures Announces "Talking Music"

City Arts and Lectures, the group responsible for the lecture series of the same name, has just introduced a new lecture series known as "Talking Music". The first three dates are co-sponsored by Noise Pop. The talks will be similar to the standard City Arts and Lectures format, but focused on more music-centric topics. For this season they've reeled in Ben Gibbard, Bob Mould, Linda Rondstadt, Stephen Sondheim, and others. There will also be a night devoted to remembering Nick Drake that will include his sister Gabrielle. The talks will take place at both Herbst Theater and the Palace Of Fine Arts. The action starts off September 11th with the Gibbard talk, and tickets are available now.