By Frank Phosphate

Imogen Heap | Tim Exile | Back Ted-N-Ted (Granada Theater)
You over there. Yes you. The aspiring female singer songwriter. Please put down that Kate Bush record. Yes I know, Kate Bush is amazing, I won’t argue with you. But there will never be another Kate Bush. Yes, yes I know you have electronic bloops and bleeps over that ethereal falsetto and confessional lyrics to make you stand out. It just ain’t the same, ma’am. Look please don’t cry. No, no put that diary away. Good lord. Here, take this Laura Nyro record and go to the other side of that hill, maybe this will help you find your vision.

Don’t worry I didn’t take time out of my day just to bitch about the modern female solo artist. I am here to advise you to go to this show so you can check out opener Tim Exile, and then abruptly leave. I am not quite sure how these two got paired up for the tour. It is true that Exile’s latest album Listening Tree incorporates more vocals than we have heard from him in the past. But it is in no way accessible. Listening Tree really caught me off guard. With his latest work he has been able to incorporate the heavy confrontational sound he has been refining the past couple of years, while branching out past his DnB roots into singer-songwriter territory. Much in the same way that RJD2 did with his last album, Third Hand.

Exile shares a lot of qualities with one my favorite artists of the past few years, Max Tundra. Both of them got their feet wet by making glitchy, avant-garde music rooted in a healthy sense of humor. Max Tundra, despite the odd sounds and tempo changes, makes very warm accessible music. Exile on the other hand, while still incorporating humor, does so in a much darker, nastier way. Max Tundra I could see making an appearance on Sesame Street; Exile would be better suited for Wonder Showzen. Before Listening Tree, I was attracted to Exile's Reaktor-heavy electronic mayhem, but now I am excited to see how far he is going to delve into his new found songwriter side.

My introduction to Tim Exile's work was via his live album Nuisance Gabbaret Lounge. Upon first listen, the music reminded me of of first hearing Atari Teenage Riot as an angsty teenager. Those hard-hitting beats just made you want to punch someone, in a productive way of course. I really wish that this show was being headlined by Exile, because along with the live album, I have heard nothing but excellent things about the live show. It is tempting to go to this, because man, it would be funny to see the looks of the 30-something Clinique counter girls as he rips into "Tirade Of Abuse From A Sweaty Cunt," but after this jammed packed past 4 days of shows, I don't think it's gonna happen.(FP)

90's Night With Yeah Def (Hailey's)

Daughters Of The Sun | The River Mouth | Lazy Native (J&J's Pizza)

Disqo Disco (Fallout Lounge)

with Anthony Stanford.