See You At The Show: Tindersticks at The Music Box at the Henry Fonda Theater, Los Angeles, CA - Friday, March 13

TINDERSTICKS - THE MUSIC BOX AT FONDA, HOLLYWOOD, CA - MARCH 13, 2009

English band The Tindersticks is one of my all-time favorite bands from the 90's and I actually felt really privileged to catch them in Hollywood at the Music Box last night. If you aren't familiar with this unique band and their compelling brand of 60's style, baroque orchestral rock, you're in for a musical treat.

Another one of my 90's favorites, the classy band Spain (fronted by Josh Haden, son of jazz legend, bassist Charlie Haden), opened up for the Tindersticks, which I did not know about beforehand and was quite pleased to learn upon getting to the venue. Their 1995 debut album, "The Blue Moods of Spain" is one of my favorite records period, which I will explain further in an upcoming I Can't Believe You Don't Own This F%#kin' Record post, I promise.

I have to be honest and admit that the reason that I was even at this show is not just because I love The Tindersticks, but because I am still in love with their second self-titled album after fourteen years. Sure, I admire the rest of their output, but this album, which brought this band its first measure of mainstream attention in the United States, especially with the single "Travelling Light," a duet with Seattle band The Walkabouts' Carla Torgerson, brought me to my knees nearly every time I listened to it with its mixture of lead singer Stuart Staples's black velvet baritone voice (it's like Bowie, Nick Cave, Leonard Cohen and Peter Murphy of Bauhaus had a wonderful child that they trained in the art of the troubadour), literate lyrics, and lush string arrangements.

Staples's voice is just as velvety live as it is on record, and the band pulled out gems from that album, including "Sleepy Song," "She's Gone," and the pièce de résistance, "My Sister," a mostly spoken-word track that I never thought would be reproduced sufficiently live that was pulled off impeccably by the band. It's just too bad that the band was plagued by technical problems, causing them to abort one song prematurely. Plus, the venue put down seats in what would normally be a standing-room-only space, upsetting the overdressed drunk rock types that were there (a lot of ascots and faux-Boateng skinny suits), including one particularly pickled fellow who danced up the main aisle toward the band right into the arms of security, prompting a fairly noisy and rough tussle by the back bar area once he resisted a forced exit, and cognitive dissonance in the band and fans alike. Good times.

Please enjoy some videos from their 2008 album, "The Hungry Saw" and their 1995 album, "Tindersticks":



Tindersticks - "Hungry Saw" (2008 Acoustic Performance filmed at Stuart Staples's home studio in Limoges, France)



Tindersticks - "The Flicker of a Little Girl" (Live January 2008 - De-Laaste Show)



Tindersticks - "Travelling Light" from their 1995 album, "Tindersticks"

I used to pump up that jam so loud back in the day that the neighbors used to complain to my parents. I am a geek.