This was the first time Hyun and I have been to Mountain Winery. It is on the top of the mountain (or high hills) in Saratoga. It had a wonderful view of the South Bay. It seemed the place hosts many concerts during the summer season. It is an outdoor venue, so it got chilly after the sun set. Personally, I didn’t like this type of seatings for Ben‘s music because you were supposed to dance to the music and get close to the stage (like at Warfield). But the place had pretty much fixed seatings throughout.

The show started at 7 p.m. with the Ben Lee‘s 30-minute set. I guess it was a bit too early for most people because almost half the seats were empty. And people were still coming in as Ben jokingly said “Please enjoy the filing-in music.”

Anyway, surprisingly (maybe it should not be) the crowd was much older than the usual Folds/Wainwright/Lee fans. It must be the location. I am sure the previous night’s at San Francisco had a completely different make-up of the crowds.

After a break (for the stage set-up), Rufus Wainwright had his one-hour set. I think I’ve seen/heard him before. I liked some of his numbers (loved his stage personality!), but overall I thought it was okay. His set lasted about an hour. I noticed that some actually came just for Wainwright because they left after the set.

Then the main show (for me). Ben Folds started solo for a couple of songs and then brought a drummer (Lindsay Jamieson) and a bass player (Jared Reynolds) out for the rest of the set. I really liked this trio set-up. I hope he releases another album with this set-up. He played about half of songs from his new album, “Songs for Silverman” and the rest from his enormous collection. He did play “Army” and the usual crowd-participating numbers (well, it is getting old, but some seem to expect this). He also played a new one (at least for me), a ballade on a Dr. Dre‘s rap. That was hilarious.

I wish Ben‘s set was longer. It seemed he was rushed to finish the set in time because he did not even do an encore. The whole show ended about 10:30 p.m.

Maybe I should have gone up to San Francisco… It just wasn’t as satisfying as before. Oh, well…

[There's more if you click below. ]

——
I brought my handy and tiny MP3 player, Cowon iAudio U2 to the concert to try to record the show. I recorded it by just placing it on an empty seat next to us (we were sitting pretty far from the stage). It did actually work quite well using its internal microphone. The recording was done at 96-kbps mono, but I reduced it (as well as toning down the base) to 20-kbps for the web distribution.

As for the Ben Lee set, I messed up the recording. Sorry about that.

Anyway, the recordings contain a lot of noise from the crowd around us and constant cricket sounds under the stars.

• Rufus Wainwright at Mountain Winery, August 24, 2005 (20-kbps mono, Windows Media Audio)
• Ben Folds at Mountain Winery, August 24, 2005 (20-kbps mono, Windows Media Audio)

Enjoy.

They are Lee Eon (vocals, etc.) and Z.EE. (guitars, etc.). This seems to their first album.

Their slow-paced (well, a couple of them were faster) music carries somewhat somber, dreamy ambiance. Musically, I like what they are doing although I am not sure if they did too much with the gritty feel using electronica techniques.

It’s just that often I got annoyed by the singer’s voice which I felt was trying too much (?) a la Rainy Sun (maybe not that much).

o. “First Aid Kit” by Sidérique

Seems to be the first solo project album by Sidérique with AK. Another heavily electronica-inspired pop album, I think.

Some parts of the first track reminded me a bit of Seotaiji in his vocalizing and melodies initially, but the rest seems different. Not that memorable, I thought. The style is so light that even his “heavier” effort (track #5) sounds quite light.

I guess this type of MIDI/drum-machine based solo projects are bound to appear more.

o. “OLaengPiOEui Byeol” by Huckleberry Finn

They are Lee GiYong (guitars, vocals), Lee SoYeong (vocals, guitars), Kim YunTae (drums), and Jang HyeokJo (bass). This is their third album.

I think they are continuing with the direction they went with the previous album with the new lead vocal. Less grunge, grunt. More like folk-rock.

I can’t say I really like their music. It’s not bad and the band seems to be quite solid, but I really couldn’t get excited about it.

On a side note, I thought Ms. Lee sounded sometimes amazingly like the former lead vocal, Ms. Nam.

o. “The Beginning of Fortune” by Fortune Cookie

They are Hong Boram (vocals) and Yoo Heejong (instruments). It seems to be their first album.

Another electronica-inspired pop album (well, mostly) that reminded somewhat of one of Lee YunJeong‘s old efforts, but much “cuter” (?). :p

Anyway, some of the tracks have pretty catchy tunes (e.g., Moonwalker almost like Roller Coaster). But the rest, I thought, was combination of sound fragments from other familiar sources.

Personally, I liked this one better than that of Sidérique. I guess I like female vocals. :p

o. “instant pig” by Clazziquai Project

This is a solo work by Kim Sunghoon with guests (main singers are Horan, Christina and Alex, no last names, whatever :p). It seems to be his first solo album.

I’d say electronica-inspired R&B (probably that’s where “-quai” derives from :p)…

Anyway, I thought it’s a pretty good compilation. I have not seen much, if any, good R&B efforts from Korea, so I was a bit cautious approaching this album. But some of more groove/funk/electronica-oriented tracks (e.g., “Stepping Out”) sound pretty good. But still, the rest, I am not too comfortable. :p

o. “Am I Blue?” by Nam Ye Ji.

This seems to be a rare attempt at producing a solo album for who wants to pass as a blues vocalist. I am not sure it worked that well. I am not saying that Ms. Nam can’t sing, but neither her vocal quality nor the arrangements inspired me in any way about the blues.

o. “SunGanEul MiDeoYo” by EonNiNe IBalGwan

They are Lee SeokWon (vocals, guitars), Lee NeungRyong (guitars), Jeong MuJin (bass, programming) and Jeon DaeSeong (drums). This is their fourth album.

I consider Lee SeokWon‘s voice the fingerprint of the band. That’s why although the music seems to have leaned more toward rock, the album belongs to the band.

And I think that’s the great thing. I thought the last couple of albums were a bit disappointing, but this one has enough of acoustic/sonic (not much of musical) changes that made it dynamic and interesting.

This is one of the bands that lead the Korean indie band movement. I hope this is the album that they can reborn.

o. “Just Pop” by My Aunt Mary

They are Jung Soon Yong (a.k.a. Thomas Cook) (guitars, vocals), Han Jin Young (bass, vocals) and Park Jung Jun (drums, vocals). This is their second album.

I actually was looking forward to their amazing first album. As the title suggest, this is more “pop”, which was a bit disappointing. They are pretty good, but almost all the tracks remind me of some other U.S. pop/rock band in one phrasing or another.

This is definitely good, but maybe, they will try more “Just My Aunt Mary” next time…

o. “Salon de Música” by Bulldog Mansion

They are Cho Jung-Bum (drums), Lee Han-Ju (bass), Seo Chang-Seok (guitars) and Lee Han-Choul (vocals).

I guess they are trying a bit of Latin American flavors in this second album, as the album title suggests. However, as with many of this type of “themed” efforts, I can’t help but feel how superficial their end results come out to be as far as the “theme” goes. For non-themed tracks, they are pretty good.

Anyway, it is a well-produced album as expected from Lee Han-Choul, but, to me, this type of artificial “lightness” is what prevents him from going to the next level. But what do I know…

o. “Details” by frou frou

They are Imogen Heap (vocals, instruments) and Guy Sigsworth (instruments).

I’ve first heard their first title song, “Let Go”, from the previews for the movie, “Garden State”. It was so catchy that I had to buy the album.

Well, the rest was not exactly what I expected, but they are still catchy ambient electronica pop…

o. “Super D” by Ben Folds

This is the last of the trio SPs. Then he went on to work on the album below with William Shatner and, probably, his next album.

I thought this one sounded sonically heavier and maybe a bit rougher than before. I think he might be going back to the roots of his garage/college band years. Not bad, I thought.

o. “Has Been” by William Shatner with Ben Folds

Previously, Mr. Shatner did some tracks for Mr. Folds on “Fear of Pop: Vol. 1″. I guess they liked it so much that they would try a whole album.

Mr. Shatner does not sing that much (maybe in one track). He wrote most of the words and recites them dramatically with the musical accompaniments.

Some of my friends look at me funny when they see “Captain Kirk” on the cover, but it is actually a pretty good collaboration work.

o. “Another world…” by Happyband Well

They are Lee ChangHyeon (vocal), Neo (guitar), Kim SangJin (bass), and Lee YunMan (drums). A soft rock band (reminds a bit of BuHwal). Not too keen about the vocal. Well-made, but NMCoT.

o. “Prana” by NaeGwiE DoCheongJangChi

They are Lee Hyeok (vocal), Lee JuWon (guitar), Hwang UiJun (bass), and Jeong JaeHun (drums). A rock/hard-rock band (with some electronica thrown in sometimes). Well-made, but NMCoT.

o. “Mozosonyon” by Dalpalan & Byungjun

Both former members of Pipiband. Electronica/pop, I think. I think their musical sensibility and ability are top quality, but I am not sure about their “pop” sensibility (or I am not getting it).

o. “YuRiGaMyeon” by Kim YunA

Not too sure about her solo projects. This time, her musical focus was on Tango, but I am not sure it suits her voice overall. I just can’t get “excited” about her moodiness (I think it’s worse than that of Lee Sora).

o. “Songs in Air” by Sweater

They are Im YeJin (keyboards), Lee ARip (vocal), Shin JiHyeon (bass), and Shin SeCheol (drums). Made up of songs they wrote to the words that their fans sent in for some radio shows. I think their second album is still their best.

o. “Sunsick” by Roller Coaster

They are Cho WonSeon (vocal, keyboards), Lee SangSun (guitar), Jinu (bass, programming), and Son GyeongHo (drums). I think the group might be on their last life. They may need some other infusion of ideas and/or energy (especially energy), or split up do something else on their own.

o. “Dorothy in Wonderland” by Dorothy

They are Dorothy (vocal, guitar), Andi (guitar), Jonathan (guitar), and Isaac (drums). An interesting pop/rock work. Their single, “SoPung”, surely has very good feel. I don’t think there is enough marketing “push”, though. Maybe, this was just a project work.

o. First Album by Daylight

They are Kang YeonGyeong (vocal), Im SeongO (guitar, bass), and Shin DongWu (acoustic guitar, keyboards). I think this is also one of many bands that formed around a female vocal (is this a trend in Korean pop bands?). Not bad overall, but I thought the second track, “Angel Song”, sounded familiar and it turns out this seems to be a remake of a The Brilliant Green song. And why do they still put “instrument version” tracks (just without the vocal track) on the CDs? Having nine tracks aren’t that bad.

o. “Infield Fly” by DalBitYoJeongYeokJeonManLuHomReon (or just DalBitYoJeong)

One man project. I’d say folk/rock. Not bad, but really, he is too obsessed with baseball.

o. “HaNeulE PiNeun Ggot” and “DalESeoUi 9 Nyeon” by Sweetpea

They are solo project albums by Kim MinGyu from DeliSpice. Although it is a re-issue, I liked the songs on “Nine Years on Moon” better. More raw, lively and energetic.

o. Self-titled by Rockstone

They are Park GyeongHun (vocal, bass, programming) and Seok WonYong (vocal, guitar). I guess, it’s rock/hard-rock stuff. Musically, it sounds a bit passé, although recording seems to be done fairly well. NMCoT.

o. “Speed Graphic” and “Sunny 16″ by Ben Folds

These are two of the three EPs that Ben Folds are planning (actually the last one, “Super D” is almost out and on order). The only complaint is that each only has 5 tracks. Each ends too soon. Maybe, I should burn all of them in a single CD…

o. Self-titled by The Bens (Ben Folds, Ben Lee, and Ben Kweller)

Three singers with the first name “Ben”. I don’t know about Ben Lee or Ben Kweller. And it didn’t turn out the way I imagined. Wasn’t too impressed.

I got this awhile ago, but I have been busy. Anyway, this is one of the three EP albums he is releasing this year (?). All the album titles are related to photography (apparently, Ben recently got into it).

This has five new tracks, although I’ve heard that one or two were from his old demo tapes. I still love his music and piano playing. I still want to play like him and hope to, one day, play my own music on the piano, just like him. :p

His arrangements seem to have softened a bit. I listen to BFF‘s earlier albums quite often, and you can definitely tell the difference. Maybe it’s the time, or maybe it’s the make-ups (or the identities) of the collection of musicians participating (I miss Darren Jessee). But still it’s fun to listen to.

o. 1st album by Yukgaksu Band

I was looking for a rock “band” album, and this one caught my eyes. The name sounded familiar. It turns out that this is a band led by CHO Sung Hwan (BTW, whose name is the same as my father) who used to belong to a duet called Yukgaksu (they won some contest long time ago, I think).

Overall, their music is not too bad. Their music is based on rock (classic?), but their lyrics and attitude are light-hearted. Their title track, AJeoSsi 1st ver., is rather pretty good.

The only thing is that the most of the music was not written by the band members, but by JEONG HongCheol who produced the album (and the old duet’s only hit number which is also re-recorded on this one). I wonder why he is not in the band…

Anyway, they are CHO Sung Hwan (vocal), KWON Jun Taek (guitars), YUN Jin Young (drums), and PARK Jong Bae (bass).

o. “3rd PHASE” by PiA

Well, my memory is getting weak… I am sure I’ve heard many times, but I forgot that this is a band produced by Seotaiji. And they are continuing the genre that he was last seen.

The style, arrangement, and everything else seem to be done by the executive producer, as if nothing in this world has changed for the past 8 years or so… I am not saying they are bad musicians. It’s just that… futile (?)…

Anyway, they are YoHan (vocal), HeolLaeng (guitars), GiBeom (bass), SimJi (FX), and HyeSeung (drums).

o. “humming street” by sweater

This is their second album, although I completely missed their first. This is the closest I have seen to Roller Coaster as far as the music style. Compared to Roller Coaster, sweater seems a bit lacking in funk, though.

They are SHIN SeCheol (drums, percussions, programming, background vocals), YI ARip (vocals, background vocals), IM YeJin (synth, piano, programming, background vocals), and SHIN JiHyeon (bass, background vocals).

As you can see they are made up mostly with females. The only male in the group, Mr. Shin, has a name that reminds me of a certain Korean rock family. Maybe, he’s related…

I liked them quite a bit. They are not Roller Coaster. (BTW, is the lousy live performance on the live album the reason they don’t seem to be, mildly put, active these days?) I wouldn’t say one would fall for the whole album, but there seem to be enough tracks that will keep one entertained.

o. “Indie Power 2003″ by various artists

I believe this is the fifth volume. From the way the information sheet was designed, I’d say the budget for this project has been more limited than before. This series is a set of compilation albums that presents Korean underground musicians (mostly in the band form) with their re-interpretation of famous Korean pops.

I thought this project has been quite a success, but this year, I was a bit disappointed and is worried if this would be the last. One interesting thing about this year’s volume is a total lack of hip-hop. For the past two years, I found that there were a lot more hip-hop style bands included in the series. However, this year, it’s mostly hard-/thresh-metal or somewhat off-beat pop. No, rap at all.

I don’t know whether this was the goal of this project or whether hiphoppers weren’t interested in this project, but I just find it odd. Maybe hiphop (not “pop hiphop”) in Korea is no longer an underground genre. I don’t particularly care for hiphop all that much, but I do like the element of the genre infused to others…

1. Get Up by Electronic Gypsy
2. IReumEopNeun Sae by Down in a Hole
3. WoenSonJabI by Kyrie Eleison
4. BiWa DangSinEui IYaGi by Gaia
5. Tears by Holymarsh
6. BaBoBeoSeu by Hooky Club
7. SaRamDeulEun MoDu ByeonHaNa Bwa by Hazy
8. Yet ChinGuEGye by Biuret
9. Suddenly by Xman Club
10. Neon NamI ANiYa by Rock Zetz
11. ICheungESeo Bon GeoRi by Oathean
12. GeuDdaen GeuRaetJi by Ghettobombs
13. Nae MaEumE JuDanEul GgalGo by YiJeongWu Band

o. “sunny 16″ by Ben Folds

This is the second EP. It also has five new tracks with one short extra track, which made me wonder if both were supposed to be combined as one full album. BTW, I am eagerly waiting his next full album.

Most of the people on this album seem to be from the other one as well. Another pretty good album by BF and friends.

After I bought his live CD a month ago, I learn that he would be touring and will be in San Francisco on November 15th. I was so excited.

I was initially very disappointed when Ben Folds Five broke up. I thought we would never hear the great music and straight-forward, yet funny lyrics. But, boy, was I wrong! Although Ben’s two post-BFF albums had band-arrangement, but the true magic of his music, Ben’s piano playing with his theatrical sense, was all there. And his current tour is done with just a Baldwin grand and nothing else (well, there is one drum-set prop, but…). He just is amazing (I want to play piano like Ben!).

Maybe the West Coast does not have as avid Ben Folds fans as on the Mid-West or the East Coast. I subscribe to Frank Maynard‘s Magical Armchair mailing list, and I hardly see anyone mentioning the West Coast concerts. Maybe that’s why I felt it wasn’t as crowded as I worried at Warfield (was it sold out? I don’t know).

Surprisingly (should I be?) the show started on time. The opening was done by Duncan Sheik. His on-stage set-up was simple, which he seems to be following the Ben’s setup. He only had Gerry Leonard backing up with what seems to be a guitar synth. Actually there seem to have been quite a few Duncan Sheik fans. I didn’t know him, and his music wasn’t really my taste, but it wasn’t too bad. He played about 8 songs for about 45 minutes (which I thought was pretty long for an opening band).

And then there was Ben. I think everyone should see him in action at least once. His piano playing was amazing. Sure, his rare “Jazzy” phrases are not that smooth, but he can surely pound out that Baldwin! His over-expressed facial gestures add to his theatrical sense. He is indeed performing and entertaining the crowd.

He ended up playing about 20 or so songs for 2 hours. I think his repertoire is quite similar between different cities, except for the order of the some songs and a couple of the numbers. I know I like to sing along Ben’s CDs, but the one of the most remarkable things about his concert was that most of the crowd knows most (if not all) of his lyrics. Almost all of us sang along, some adding harmony and chorus as well.

And then there is this famous, Ben’s conducting of three-part chorus of the crowd. I felt it didn’t sound as good as it could have (not much of the loudness from the lowest part), but still it was fun. It seems to confirm my suspicion that most of the Ben’s fans are very musically inclined.

The thing was, I actually took out Ben’s old CDs and have been listening to and singing along them in my car for the past two weeks. I wanted to be prepared! Anyway, it was a great experience.