Neil Halstead (Mojave 3 / Slowdive) - Jammin' Java *ROL

Monday November 17 indie/folk $12 - 8pm show
Neil Halstead (of Mojave 3 + Slowdive) + Gregory and the Hawk
Neil Halstead was a member of cult shoegaze band Slowdive before forming Mojave 3 in 1996. His first solo record "Sleeping On Roads" was released on 4AD records in 2002 and his most recent album "Oh! Mighty Engine" was released this past summer on Jack Johnson's Brushfire Records. Timeout has called Neil "One of Britain's Greatest Songwriters" and NME has called him "Britain's Best Kept Secret" - so don't tell anyone.
http://www.prestocart.com/cgi-bin/order.pl?ref=jamminjava&fm=1

if it was at iota, maybe. but i just don't feel like trekking out to vienna tonight. i feel like i saw mojave 3 at the club once or twice a long time ago.

My wife once saw him at Iota. Her response when I asked her about the show? "Yawn."

Would love to go but due to it being a Monday night and involving a 4 hour commute, it's not happening. That's my show conflict.

I'll wait for Slowdive to reunite.

I can't believe Mr. Slowdive is now on Jack Johnson's label. Yikes.

Ouch; is he?


Guess I'll be waiting a while.

Originally posted by bellenseb:
I can't believe Mr. Slowdive is now on Jack Johnson's label. Yikes.

Tell me about it! I swear he got hit on the head with a surfboard. Ugh!

Honestly though, I'm not really all that shocked. Neil has left the gaze behind and cares more about the songs and lyrics themselves, not the effects. Oh, and seems I read or heard somewhere that Jack is also into surfing and I bet the two of them are now a couple of musical surfing beachbums together. (sigh)

If you want to continue with any of the Slowdive offshoot gazers, might I suggest Christian Savill's band, Monster Movie or Simon Scott's band, Televise. Also, Rachel Goswell's solo work is pretty good in a British Traditional Folk music kind of way.

I think I heard a bit of Monster Movie somewhere a while ago and liked it.

Originally posted by azaghal1981:
I think I heard a bit of Monster Movie somewhere a while ago and liked it.

Yeah, they are pretty good but, honestly, no Slowdive. Basically, with Monster Movie, it comes down to specific songs.

Currently, there is some Monster Movie, Televise, Rachel Goswell, Slowdive and Mojave 3 in rotation on Air Atlantic Underground Radio. Always some kind of Slowdive or its relations regardless of how much I change up the music. (May be removing the Mojave 3 soon to make room for some newer uploads since it's been up there for a good while now.)

That's probably where I heard it, actually.

i'm gonna see neil halstead tomorrow in philly at world cafe. i've seen him solo twice, but that was in 2001/2002. i absolutely loved sleeping on roads, and it ended up being one of my favorite records of 2002. i hate wimpy singer-songwriter stuff, but i don't think his solo material falls under that category. it's more in the neil young/townes van zandt/bert jansch/nick drake vein.

however, i have not heard his recent meterial, and the record being on jack johnson's label terrifies me. i abhor jack jackson's music. still, i'm not paying for the show, so if it sucks, i'll just leave. i doubt it will be that bad, though.

Originally posted by snailhook:
i'm gonna see neil halstead tomorrow in philly at world cafe. i've seen him solo twice, but that was in 2001/2002. i absolutely loved sleeping on roads, and it ended up being one of my favorite records of 2002. i hate wimpy singer-songwriter stuff, but i don't think his solo material falls under that category. it's more in the neil young/townes van zandt/bert jansch/nick drake vein.

however, i have not heard his recent meterial, and the record being on jack johnson's label terrifies me. i abhor jack jackson's music. still, i'm not paying for the show, so if it sucks, i'll just leave. i doubt it will be that bad, though.

Yes, I agree with your description of his solo work. Same can be said of Mojave 3. He's actually a very good songwriter whether or not you like his music. Very good sensibility in his lyrics, along with a great sense of humor, and knows how to put them to pleasant music.

So far I've only heard a couple of the new songs and only heard them once or twice. Hard to tell but from that little bit, I'd say they are a step down from Mojave 3 yet still pretty good, if you like that sort of style. Maybe I'd change my opinion either way after a few more listens. Weirdly, I can see how and he Jack bonded but it's more like two people with lots of common tastes and interests but only one of them has any clue of how to make any decent music. LOL. Just my opinion though.

i'm sure they've shared a few spliffs!

Oh, yes! On the beach after a few good surfs…at sunset….sunrise….moonrise….

You know, I just remembered something. An acquaintance of mine's band just opened some shows in the UK for Jack Johnson. Neil Halstead may have been on the bill too but don't remember. I was appalled yet happy for my friend. What the Hell is Jack doing with the Gazers!? This is kind of scary.

maybe he had a recent traumatic experience in his life that he just can't shake, and making boring-ass pop music for yuppies isn't cutting it anymore. or maybe he got his hands on some real heavy chronic and started questioning his identity. pretty soon he's gonna get all sludge-metal on us!

I really enjoyed Neil's first solo album too. 'Puzzles Like You' was a little… mainstream pop for my tastes. If I didn't have to deal with a broken alternator I would be at the show. It would be great if Rachel Goswell ever toured - I dig that record of hers.

puzzles like you really grew on me. some of it is really poppy, but in a good way. the goswell solo albums is good, but there's one song on there that could be on the OC or something. i skip that one!

Funny, I totally expected you to have the complete OC box set on dvd and a lifetime subscription to Paste. ;)