Jesus Came Up Through the Ground So Dirrrrty

Page France @ the Court Street Theater in Harrisonburg, VA

In the last two months, I've seen Page France three times. First at MacRock, where it was actually my first time hearing them upon special recommendation from someone whose opinion I do trust. Second was a nite where I sped to the Middle East just in time to see them open for John Vanderslice, and left immediately after getting my fix, onward to a Warp showcase.

This past weekend the group from Marching Band, MD (not actually Baltimore) went on a four-day tour with Quite Scientific's Canada around the northeast. Playing very much the same songs I'd heard during their last two sets, it was not that there was anything particularly new about their performance, but it never manages to disappoint. Even something with as happy-go-lucky of a melody as "Say Wolf (In the Summertime)" is, as frontman Michael Nau put it, "for all you liars out there." "Junkyard" and "Jesus" are two of my personal favorites, and they never fail to manifest to my liking regardless of incapable soundmen or garbage acoustics. The recorded version of "Jesus" sorely deprives the track of its full potential that comes out when played live.


Page France @ Great Scott in Boston, MA

This is a band to see live. It's one thing to love their full-length, Hello, Dear Wind, and to buy their merch (which I point out because *I* did...an extreme rarity), but it's all about seeing the interaction of the band - particularly lovebirds Michael and Whitney - when they're in their element. Recently joining the Suicide Squeeze label - home of Crystal Skulls and Minus The Bear - this seems to be a promising move, as they're currently remastering their double-EP release, Pear and Sister Pinecone. For final thoughts, here is some additional info on the releases, from Michael's blog to mine:

Pear: "written and recorded this past winter...mostly in a corn field in western maryland. recorded to 4 track, edited by more advanced technology known as the computer. this is made up of 8 tracks - our wettest kiss to the pop/soul movement of the late 60's early 70's.. so, this work is for those of you with the loose hips."

Sister Pinecone: "this is a collection of 6 songs that were backlogged for months, years, lifetimes, from sporadic recording sessions. they were sifted through the '06 filter, and are now being made available. this work is for fans of those ratty moments that come to "fruition" via the wet, and suspiciously stinky basement."