Some friends and I drove out to the desert last week to see Bill Callahan, who is presently touring behind his latest LP, Dream River – yet another outstanding work, from a near peerless artist. As I’ve been proselytizing since that night, this is not the Callahan tour you want to miss. He and the band are air tight, completely in step with one another. Without getting too woo woo, the atmosphere was near transcendent at times. I (no shit) almost hopped the train from LA up to Santa Barbara, to watch them do it all over again Friday night.
The following is a three song mp3 set (“Jim Cain”, “Rococo Zephyr”, “Too Many Birds”) of Callahan’s Tiny Desk appearance in 2009, recorded at NPR’s studios in Washington D.C., while promoting Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle.
‘I used to be darker, then I got lighter, then I got dark again.’
i was at Pappy’s too last week and the show was indeed transcendent. saw him the next night in LA as well. want/need more.
Saw him at Sixth and I, in DC, incredibly spare and emotive, I felt completely transported. Transcendent is the word.
opened with searing cover of white light/white heat… ouch!
We never did get to that phone call that day… Let’s try again?