The next best thing to seeing Brazos live would be to hear them as recorded by Daytrotter, and today they’ve got a live session they recorded during SXSW 2009.

They’ve still got a few live dates left on their West Coast tour with White Denim.  Get them while they’re hot:

1/22 – Doug Fir – Portland, OR
1/23 – Media Club – Vancouver, BC
1/24 – Neumos – Seattle, WA
1/26 – Urban Lounge – Salt Lake, UT
1/27 – Larimer Lounge – Denver, CO

The Imperial Dunes.

They are big. They are empty. They go on as long as you can see. Even in January, they make you sweat. They feel biblical. They are like a flood or an earthquake. They were fun to take pictures in. The ridges made interesting curves. I walked up the highest dune. It was very tall. I took my shirt off. Then I took my shoes off. I thought what else is there to do. I ran down the side. Then I fell. I rolled in the sand. I rolled and then sand got in my hair. I came to a stop at the bottom, and I caught my breath. It was like being in the ocean except it was in the desert. The sand was so fine that it felt like water as it slid off my body. I thought everyone should do this at some point in their lives.

The show was strange. Showed up, there was a band that was playing songs in the style of that song that goes ‘hot blooded, dah duh du dah’ [ed. note: see Foreigner] an the lead man was giving the solo face hard to all the womens in the crowd.  They played for a really really long time but the were super polished and some people were shaking their fists to it.

The bar messed our name up. They put us as Bravos. I got my voice back so I’m all happy about playing again. We played well I think.

The bar we played in was lined with mirrors, and while I was hanging out it struck me that there are two types of people when it comes to a room full of mirrors: those that compulsively look at themselves in the mirror and those that compulsively look away. I wondered if you put each group on either side of the room and then made them fight each other, who would win?

Well, if the fight were actually to happen, I would hang several chandeliers in the room of mirrors and I would make one group wear yellow overalls and the other group wear red overalls and I would smear a different color paint on each persons arm.

We’re going to LA today. They say there are lots of mud slides going on so we’ll see abt that.

m.c.

I’ll start w Marfa. This was my first time there. We rolled into a sunset against the small town. Buildings there sit calm and still, and the adobe whites and grays look perfectly set against the purple mountains in the distance.

So we played after a long wait in a great bar called Padre’s, a game of shuffleboard, and some amazement when I found none other than the great “aint no party like a grown folks party” carl marshall in the jukebox (along with some “I be wearin it out” bobby rush too). I felt a little lost when we played. I messed up lyrics – I haven’t done than in years. I believe its the tail end of this cold. WD destroyed it. There were some free form 2 steppers doing cool stuff to WD’s set. It was just twirls, no waltzing, and it looked like a giant ball of energy. The man wore a black cowboy hat at a perfect angle and would adjust it ever so slightly when he felt it move. It was really beautiful.

Went to a party after. With only 2000 people in Marfa, everyone old and young goes to the same place. It felt very open, and everyone walks, too.

Then it was to Tucson. We stopped in this Mexican place in Van Horn on the way. A disinterested waiter took our order. Paul asked him, how big are your burritos. He responded in a who the fuck are you kind of way – not too big, not too small. Well, there you go we thought. We all ordered burritos. We drove and drove. Pretty drives, but tiring.

Tucson was nice. We stayed in a friendly hostel. We played in the famous Congress Hotel. A couple had driven almost 100 miles to see us, and that was a first. They were requesting songs and I couldn’t help but laugh. The show ended at 10 at which point the hotel put on an industrial DJ, the people from the show left, and a crew of perfume girls and highlighted hair dudes swarmed in like a burst of fake happiness. I sometimes forget about these things, and then I’ll have an oh yeah moment. Afterward we hung out and ate street food. James and Steve saw a fight and a girl pull her pants down, and I’m pretty sure the way they told it was funnier than if I’d seen it myself. I took off early to sleep to try to kill this cold.

I really like Arizona. Something about seeing flat spaces with no trees, it makes human things feel small. I just passed a bull dozer on the side of the road, and it looked kind of funny and pathetic covered in dust against a flat horizon where you can see for miles. And the desert too, there’s little for taking. We’re headed to some sand dunes later. I’m going to take some pictures.

m.c.

(1/13 UPDATE)
1/15 – Padre’s – Marfa, TX
1/16 – Club Congress – Tucson, AZ
1/17 – Casbah – San Diego, CA
1/19 – Troubadour – Los Angeles, CA
1/20 – The Independent – San Francisco, CA
1/22 – Doug Fir – Portland, OR
1/23 – Media Club – Vancouver, BC
1/24 – Neumos – Seattle, WA
1/26 – Urban Lounge – Salt Lake, UT
1/27 – Larimer Lounge – Denver, CO

All dates with White Denim

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!