Juliana Hatfield's just dedicated My Sister to the royal spawn. Just had Evan's Big Gay Heart with a saw. Been that kind of night.
— Jude Rogers (@juderogers) December 4, 2012
It was that kind of night.
If you haven't seen it yet, don't miss the pro photoset by Beanotown Photography on Flickr.
As for the saw, you can see the saw on a seesaw by the seashore on this photo and on this YouTube clip. You'll note that Juliana sat this one out. She backed off whenever the woman with the saw (Mara Carlyle) came out. Very wise.
It was a great finale to the 5 night tour of England, Ireland and Scotland in the plush all seated surroundings of London's Royal Festival Hall.
Despite what you may have read elsewhere it was well attended. It's a 2,500 capacity venue and apart from the upstairs area the hall was largely sold out.
Out of shot in Juliana's photo are imposing balconies which flank the hall, giving it the feel of a posh galactic senate from Star Wars. They're quite impressive pods despite their failure to levitate or contain Natalie Portman.
It's fair to say most of the crowd were more familiar with Evan and the Lemonheads material. Expecting everyone to know a Madder Rose cover from a Blake Babies album is perhaps too ambitious!
Juliana's songs were well received though - notably her excellent takes on 'Ugly' and 'I Picked You Up' (a request earlier in the day on Twitter), together with the one most people knew - 'My Sister'. She grew into the performance as the night went on, taking inspiration from the venue rather than being intimidated by it.
Craig's sidebar: I took a friend along for their first Hatfield experience. Afterwards I was asked which of Juliana's albums I would recommend. We may have a convert! Also, hello to Lieve, Carsten and Charlie who I spent some time with. It was great to share the evening with you.
Surprisingly there were a few negative comments on Twitter from a handful of people who clearly went with very different expectations to the type of show these two have been performing in recent years. These views appear unrepresentative of the overwhelmingly positive atmosphere in the hall.
Juliana is a highly talented singer and guitarist performing songs which many of us have a long standing emotional attachment to. Evan's songs were effortlessly performed showcasing his talent as one of the most gifted songwriters of his or any generation - Juliana saying as much with an impromptu compliment to her partner during the set.
What's not to love?!
Evan and Juliana winging it as they go along is rather charming - someone commented that it was like watching talented teenagers jamming in the bedroom.
When they returned for the encore their lack of clear planning was even more evident. A late crowd request for 'Rain' was picked up by Evan and nearly paid off as he looked to Juliana for her consent. There's every chance this unrehearsed song so reliant on harmony might have come off as shambolic, but it's a chance a lot of us would have been happy to take.
Instead, Juliana decided that this was her time to say her goodbyes to London, leaving Evan to close the show on his own with what remains the finest Lemonheads cover song.
Mrs Robinson? Mrs Shmobinson.
No, of course it was 'Different Drum' - an odd but somehow fitting end. Evan and Juliana may appear to travel to a different beat yet there is a beautiful connection, enhanced by 25 years of exceptional songwriting.
It was a privilege to witness and for many of us in the crowd there's no other place we'd have rather been.
From the same uploader - see also My Sister / Ride With Me / Hannah & Gabi and Brain Damage. Elsewhere, this:
There's a photoset at Picasa.
UPDATE Another photoset by Rick & Mindy at Flickr
@julianahatfield last nite in glasgow twitter.com/fraser_reid/st…
— Fraser Reid (@fraser_reid) December 2, 2012
Graeme Virtue, giving a short 3 star review in The Guardian:
"Thank you for joining us on this fucked-up journey." Juliana Hatfield is talking about this gig, a stripped-down, two-person show banjaxed by technical problems. Her co-headliner plays a guitar borrowed from the support band and, periodically, all the power goes out.
Nicola Byrne, reviewing the Dublin show at GoldenPlec:
When it’s Juliana’s turn, she nails Candy Wrappers and Nirvana. Dando is content to just sip a pint while she sings Slow Motion, staring at her, his back to us. It’s a bit disconcerting, like he’d rather we not be there. But they work best together—he needs her. The usually sleazy, My Drug Buddy, is softened up with the introduction of Hatfield‘s vocal. It’s both sweet and dead-eyed, lax and eager. Her injection of uplifting tones to Paid to Smile almost makes the track cheery, while she’s the only one bringing some banter—if you could call it that.
There's a nice photo set by Mr Weir at Flickr.
See also other YouTube stuff - My Drug Buddy and It's About Time.
The crowd throw multiple requests at the stage and they do their best to meet some of them. A shout for ‘$1,000 Wedding’ though, which is a Gram Parsons song they’ve covered before, is a step too far for Juliana. She recoils in horror, reveals a dislike of Gram Parsons and complains that she can never get Evan to take his records off her stereo. Then someone yells ‘Streets of Baltimore’ another Gram Parsons song. ‘Yeah, I’ll do that’ cries Evan, I think Juliana gives up at that point and disappears.
As Rob mentions in the comments on the last post, the article at FIt For Moshing has been updated with a review.
There's also some YouTube stuff of Hospital, My Drug Buddy
The set from last night's Evan & Juliana show at the HMV Institute in Birmingham.
The Caws was in attendance. He approved.
speaking of, i'm in birmingham (uk not AL) about to watch @evandando and @julianahatfield
— matthew caws (@nadasurf) November 29, 2012
venue's great and they sound awesome, nice job thursday night!
— matthew caws (@nadasurf) November 29, 2012
There's a few photos at Fit For Moshing.
will play all evan/juliana shows from nov. 29 through dec. 4 (birmingham, dublin, glasgow, machester, london)but can no longer do the rest
— Juliana Hatfield (@julianahatfield) October 17, 2012
all australia e/j shows are still on--yes i will be there. i apologize for having to cancel some of europe. evan may do them still--
— Juliana Hatfield (@julianahatfield) October 17, 2012
i am no longer able to do the lemonheads shows..please accept my sincere apologies..i wish it could be..
— Juliana Hatfield (@julianahatfield) October 2, 2012
i hate to have to say this but due to unforeseen circumstances i won't be able to join the lemonheads on bass this month as planned.sosorry
— Juliana Hatfield (@julianahatfield) October 2, 2012
Previous related posts here have therefore been removed.
BOOM!
The Juliana Hatfield / Evan Dando acoustic extravaganza hits the British Isles in November / December:
Nov 29 - HMV Institute Library, Birmingham, ENG
Nov 30 - Sugar Club, Dublin, IRE
Dec 1 - SWG3, Glasgow, SCO
Dec 2 - Academy 2, Manchester, ENG
Dec 4 - Royal Festival Hall, London, ENG
Tickets go on sale Friday 21 September 2012 at 9am via Kililive (UK) and Ticketmaster (Ireland).
After the show on December 18 sold out, another Melbourne, Australia date has been added at The Corner Hotel on December 19.
Also, earlier shows in another continent may be coming:
@guyhoneymoon me n evan i mean evan and i in europe/uk in november i think— Juliana Hatfield (@julianahatfield) September 10, 2012
Juliana Hatfield, aka The Covers Album is now on general release.
The album is available on cd from julianahatfield.com and digitally at iTunes and Spotify with other digital services expected to follow.
Juliana:
Painting requires more concentration and more time. It’s quieter, obviously, and more solitary. Painting hurts my brain in a way that music theory does—I’m forced to think about what I’m trying to do, and why, and how. Physically, they feel different, too— playing music can be a cathartic release whereas when I’m painting, I’m usually in a state of heightened anxiety the whole time.
Juliana has shared three of her paintings in an article at Paste which also features the work of 22 other musicians.
Juliana has announced that she will be closing the PledgeMusic project for the covers album tomorrow (Friday 31 August 2012).
There's a handful of artwork and posters still available so if you want them you'd better be quick.
Q: “I Got No Idols.” What’s the story behind it? The first verse seems to respond to the media-hyped virginity brouhaha you found yourself in after the Interview interview (“you may think we all need that stuff/but I don’t think about it much”) while the second verse tackles false gods as well as how some ardent fans may perceive you (“but I’m a liar, that’s the truth/go home and think it through”).
JH: It was existential. (Become What You Are, the album title, was taken from Nietzsche, you know). I think I was trying to be tough, or to appear tough, to mask my fragility/weakness by claiming to not need anyone, and to not be impressed by anyone, but then acknowledging/admitting my weakness and fragility (“when I do I have to leave the room/I’m scared of what i might do”—i might get weak in the knees, I might fall in love). I am trying to convince myself while trying to convince the listener that I am a lone wolf. But not really believing it 100%, even as I am saying it. I don’t remember the specifics of what was going through my head. I think I was thinking of Sonic Youth and “Kill Yr. Idols,” on one level trying/wanting to be ‘cool’ like them. I think you are right about the second verse. I wasn’t comfortable in the role of rock or pop star or objectifiable object and I thought it was all really stupid in a way and I never was any good at it because I could never believe the hype.
Read another of Juliana's PledgeMusic Q&As at The Old Grey Cat.
The Juliana Hatfield / Evan Dando acoustic shows return for dates in Australia at the end of the year.
December 2012, Australia:
16 The Zoo, Brisbane
18 The Corner Hotel, Melbourne
20 Metro Theatre, Sydney
22 The Rosemount, Perth
The support act for all shows will be Bambino Koresh.
— Juliana Hatfield (@julianahatfield) August 11, 2012
@phizlair so glad you don't hate it! thanks!
For those of you with Spotify, here are the songs from Juliana's new Juliana Hatfield album aka The Covers Album, by all the original artists*:
*apart from Led Zepagain. Also, 'Ready For Love' was originally a Mott The Hoople song, but Juliana has referenced the subsequent Bad Company version.
This was created for Spotify in the UK but hopefully most if not all songs are licensed in other regions.
In varying quality, here are the original artists performing the songs which make up Juliana's new eponymous covers album:
Teenage Fanclub - Cells
Foo Fighters - Learn To Fly
Creedence Clearwater Revival - Bad Moon Rising
Bad Company - Ready For Love (original by Mott The Hoople)
I Blame Coco - Selfmachine
Nada Surf - Fruit Fly
Pete Yorn - Closet
Electric Light Orchestra - Sweet Is The Night
Ryan Adams - Do I Wait
Liz Phair - Friend Of Mine
The Who - My Wife
Led Zeppelin - Rock And Roll