New Blogotheque Video & Street Pop: Sat, Aug 28

Here’s another Take-Away Show shot in May by the Blogotheque folks, this one for the song Bumble Bee. It’s my favorite of the three that we shot and was filmed at Mont Royal Cemetery. It’s kind of bizarre for me to watch, actually, because of the weird state I was in when it was filmed. There is a cute raccoon in it, too.

ALSO: Be sure to come by Parc Des Ameriques (St Laurent & Rachel) this Saturday at 7:00 to see us perform outdoors as a part of Street Pop. My homeslice JRC from Sunset Rubdown is going to be offering his drumming services, which will be fun. Another new addition to the fold will be an incredibly handsome man named Scott contributing to a few songs.

Adam & The Amethysts La Blogothèque Take Away Show #1

From La Blogothèque:

Crazy how a blow to the head can change someone. We had heard about Adam many times. His album was recommended to us, deliciously retro psychedelic, the type of music you would have loved to discover one evening during the summer of 1969,  that works just as well for this summer. We were told that he was the nicest guy in Montreal, that he was funny, full of ideas, enthusiastic.

But Adam was in another place. Like coming out of a long hallucinatory dream. The day before, with three friends, he had been in a car crash, scary but thankfully without any major injuries; the car had rolled like a barrel. He had a big bruise on his temple, a vague smile. Yet despite it all, he was willing to do the shoot.

And his state of mind rubbed off on our short journey. Gentle and dreamy, beginning with a sunset on the hills, meeting a taxi about which we improvised a song, and finishing like a strange dream. Canada had just lost to Philadelphia in a hockey game. The neighborhood emptied out, and there was this big road closed for work, empty, a space out of time, out of geography in the middle of lights. Adam and his Amethysts were sitting there. Yet we were elsewhere. We were in the dreamy visions of the nicest guy in Montreal.

Text by Chryde
Images & Edit by Mitch Fillion
Sounds & Mix by François Clos

Finally, our very own Concert à Emporter. La Blogothèque are doing a sort of world tour (sponsored by Paco Rabanne Black XS cologne, LOL) and spotlighting a few bands in a handful of cities around the world. We’re part of the Montrèal series (along with our buddies Land of Talk and a few others). I’ve been told that the second video (for “Bumble Bee,” shot in a graveyard at sundown) will also be going online soon. I’ll let you know when it is.  It’s too bad that Rebecca was in New York all that month; she couldn’t join us on cello. It’s true that my brain was pretty dazed when we did these shoots, but my Blogothèque friends were quite understanding and very lovely to work with. Hopefully next time I won’t be concussed and will be able to afford a little more enthusiasm.

Also, thanks to everyone who came out to our three shows last week. They were super fun.

xo a

He blew his mind out in a car

Hey gang,

Sorry for the lack of content. It’s been a hectic month. I was in a car crash (everyone’s okay) and (perhaps too) soon after built a deck with my family on the roof of my apartment.

Another feat that was accomplished despite post-concussion headaches and rib contusions was a successful Blogotheque Takeaway Show. I’ve seen some of the footage and I can’t wait for the finished version to get online. Finally everything will be made right after that failed attempt last fall.

There are some fun fun fun shows coming up for you folks in the Montreal area.

June 25: DUCKSTOCK

First is up at a cottage in the Laurentiens, Sainte Agathe des Monts to be precise. It’s a fun little festival called Duckstock. Our shoe-gazing buddies  Receivers are playing too, as well as a bunch of other bands. Full line-up and details can be found here. I think it’ll be tons of fun. You should come and camp out with us! See me with my shirt off! (Facebook event)

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June 26: YOUNG GALAXY & LITTLE SCREAM & ADAM & THE AMETHYSTS

For those of you without the means to leave the city, we’re playing a celebration of Spring with the dreamy Young Galaxy and the ineffable Little Scream. Sure to be epic. It’s going down at the Belmont (4483 Boulevard Saint Laurent). (Facebook event)

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June 27: Maybe something outside somewhere. Details TBA.

That’s about it. The new record is coming along slowly but surely. Maybe I’ll post some new stuff eventually. I’m going to see dear pals The Luyas tonight at the Rialto Theatre. Maybe I’ll see you there.

xo a

P.S.

Happy Valentine’s Day: Ruby Attwood – Sparrow

In honor of Valentine’s Day, whether or not you celebrate it, here is a love song by the singular and beautiful Ruby Attwood (Tears for the Year) of My People Sleeping. It’s about her boyfriend John who I know for a fact is a very handsome young man. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

You can download the track at her site her site.

The concept for the recording is rather interesting. Here’s some more info about the video/recording:

This video is the first in a new series from A Story Told Well called “Four In The Wild”.

The series will consist of audio recorded, on location, in the traditional 4 track arrangement, but with no post-processing or artificial reverbs/delays. The artist will be shot in 4 different location with 4 different acoustic environments to temper the sound. In the video, no b-roll will be used so that anything happening on screen in the edit will be a moment captured at the exact time of one of the layers.

This recording features Ruby Kato Attwood of My People Sleeping, Yamantaka Sonic Titan and Women With Kitchen Appliances. It was filmed in various locations in Montreal. Let us know if you recognize any of them.

Thanks to Nora Bouazzouni of La Blogotheque for location sound, co-art direction and propwork sanity.

Thanks to Jessie Stein for the wurly.

Thanks as well to Duff Smith for the camera assist.

xo a

The Adam & The Amethysts Blogotheque Session (That Never Was)

(July 1, 2010 – Update: We did another Take Away show!)

Back in October, illustrious Parisian filmmaker and all-around sexy man Vincent Moon was in town filming a series of Take-Away Shows of Montreal bands for the super-amazing blog, La Blogotheque. The Take-Away Shows are an ongoing series of guerrilla-style live videos of bands performing in unlikely, often public, often intimate spaces. The most famous Take-Away show is probably this one. Long story short, we filmed an Adam & The Amethysts performance in my favorite pierogi restaurant/Polish deli, but the footage apparently turned out not-so-good and the session was never released. They assured me that it wasn’t my fault…

Luckily, the also-illustrious Ryan Muir took some beautiful photos. It was a really interesting experience to sing and play guitar and maybe make people feel kind of uncomfortable at a place where I go to eat pierogis about once or twice a week. The whole time I thought I was really pissing off the staff who had to weave around us to deliver people their orders as we played, but in the end, I got some really nice comments from them about my singing voice, and I think it was a special experience for them too (and hopefully for the  customers who expected pierogis and cabbage rolls and borscht, not a folk band).

Hopefully the awkwardness of the situation was laced with some whimsy. I think it was. It’s not every day you spontaneously get serenaded by a cello and bumped into by a Parisian film crew while you’re trying to eat your Sunday borscht.

All photos © Ryan Muir

xo a