Search - Microphones :: Live in Japan February 19th 21st & 22nd 2003

A Marvelous Experience

Craig Clarke | New England | 02/03/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I can hear the questions now coming from Microphones fans all over the world: "Didn't Phil change the name of the band to Mt. Eerie?" Technically, yes. Following the release of the Mount Eerie album, Phil Elverum announced that he was no longer going to record under the name of the Microphones, preferring instead to adopt the name of that album. However (or so I read) he did not want the first recording under the new name to be a live CD and since, when Live in Japan was recorded, he was still calling the entity by that name, he left it alone for this album. This explains the quotes around "The Microphones" on the cover. Got it? Good. Now that we're past all that...If you only know the music of the Microphones from the albums, you're in for a surprise. There is no previously recorded music on this album; unlike most live CDs, this is not simply a rehash of his other work. After recording Mount Eerie, Elverum took some time off and went to Norway, where he apparently became very inspired and wrote dozens of songs. When he subsequently went on tour, he took all this new music on the road with him. One example, the minimalist "Get the Hell Out of the Way of the Volcano" (also the name of a prior incarnation of Khaela Maricich's The Blow), appears exclusively on the Invisible Shield compilation and is not included on Live in Japan. But if you've heard that, it is a shining example of the kind of music that appears on this CD. Elverum begins with what is possibly the best song on the album, "Great Ghosts." It's a moody exploration of the northern regions and their great history. Then, showing that he has a sense of humor about himself, the next song is entitled "The Blow, Pt. 2," which not only recalls his breakthrough 2001 album, The Glow, Pt. 2, but also continues his practice of naming songs after Khaela Maricich's various band names. At the end, he also caused me to hearken back to an older song "I Want My Wind to Blow" as he wails those words at the end of the song. Calvin Johnson (Beat Happening) and Kyle Field (Little Wings) appear on two songs: "Universe Conclusion"--which, by its title and epic 11-minute length, sounds as if it might have been an outtake from the Mount Eerie album, but contains something very different and moving as Johnson and Field drone a call-and-response "We know there are" to everything Elverum tells them; and "I love you so much!" where their contribution includes asking the musical question "What do you love?" Johnson, Field, and Elverum all have fantastic, distinctive voices and I've never heard them blended before. It's a mind-opening experience. It must have really been something to have been sitting in the audience and seeing three musical geniuses on the same stage. Really, the whole album carries that kind of wonder with it. When Phil does seemingly spontaneous riffs on the Christmas classics "My Favorite Things" and "Silent Night," it's easy to imagine that he has found lost verses of these songs, they suit the music so well. (Perhaps we'll get a Christmas album from Elverum one of these days? I'd certainly pick that up.) As fans wait for the upcoming Mount Eerie "debut," this couldn't be a better tideover. All new material, an intimate venue with surprisingly excellent sound quality, and an evening (or three) spent with the final days of the Microphones with special guests. A marvelous experience."

2. Please enter a title for your review:

Example: Mark Twain | optional | 09/16/2004

(1 out of 5 stars)

"So, I loved Mt. Eerie, I thought it was Phil's best work ever, I was excited to see where he would go from there. And, granted, a live album doesn't necessarily represent his vision for future studio works, but I still found this disheartening. Arrogant, self-indulgent, boring,preachy. Those are some adjectives, this album brings them to my mind.

There are a few tracks that I really like, mostly the ones where it's just Phil and his guitar (though some of those ones conjur up the same adjective-list for me), but overall I hate this album. I never expected a Microphones CD to have horrid groove-jams or long wanky guitar passages; and though the jams and wanks on "Live in Japan" are extremely sloppy and technically naive, that doesn't do much to endear them to me."

I wish he'd tour the East Coast :(

Craig Clarke | 02/05/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"So this is the last title we'll ever get under the name The Microphones (or rather, the only title we'll ever have under the name, "The Microphones"), and it's a great one. Phil Elverum plans on changing the name to Mt. Eerie from this point on, which is unfortunate really. No, Mt. Eerie wasn't a bad album (it was damn good!), but in listening to it we heard Phil Elverum explore concepts far beyond any scope he has ever attempted ("Universe / I see your face / looks just like mine"). It's unfortunate. Of course the voice was as heartfelt and captivating as ever, but the appeal of Phil Elverum the lyricist is that he can present the simplest images that drip with raw human emotion - he can display a character, an action, or a dialogue in such a way that we, the listeners, can assume the back story and can feel all of the emotions used in constructing the song ("The Moon" for example). With Mt. Eerie, he strayed from humanity, producing a great album nonetheless.However, with this live album, the fans are in for a treat. Here, Elverum has actually achieved new heights in displaying his personal emotions. He voice searches for the pitches, fails, cries, and even screams at itself ("Thanksgiving"). We have here utterly beautiful songs of self-doubt sung with as much conviction as I've ever heard from Phil. Additionally, the few flaws from Mt. Eerie are not at all present here; there are few moments of certainty, which is by no means a bad thing. In moments in "Universe Conclusion" Phil and company wail, "We know there are/ there are hearts beneath those skins." We take take a thing for granted, and that's what Phil is good at - showing us what we should have been seeing all along. Musically, the CD is very good. We have here some of the great musical elements from The Microphones' past: The clean-tone electric guitar that worked so well in "Solar System" is here in "Climb Over" and "I Love You So Much!," the blending of the Calvin Johnson and Kyle Field on reminds us of Mt. Eerie's finer moments, "The Blow Pt. 2," is taken directly from "It Was Hot, We Stayed In The Water," and exploding bit of distortion in "Universe Conclusion" reminiscent of "Don't Wake Me Up" and of course, the fantastic "Great Ghosts" is an acoustic piece as poignant as any we've ever heard. We also have new musical sounds: improvised sections that prove the group's musicianship despite its charming sloppiness. I wish "After N. Young" was a bit longer, and a few other minor things, but overall, a fantastic album. And one more side note - no, this is not "The Glow Pt. 2," and nothing much can touch it (Neutral Milk Hotel's "In the Aeroplane Over The Sea" being the one album I am currently putting ahead of it), but let's be glad that Phil Elverum is exploring new musical ideas rather than trying to recreate the same album over and over again"