I’m pretty sure I saw Califone opening for Wilco years ago and was unimpressed. I’m going to chalk that up to an off night on either their part or mine; ever since I heard one of their more recent albums — pretty sure it was Heron King Blues — I’ve been returning to their music again and again. (Hat tip to Todd Dills on that one.) The reissue of Califone precursor Red Red Meat’s excellent Bunny Gets Paid hasn’t hurt, either.
The first (and longest) portion of this set involved Califone providing the soundtrack for a Tim Rutili-directed film titled All My Friends Are Funeral Singers — also, you may note, the title of Califone’s new album Some of the songs from the album appear in the film, while others seem to be meditations on it. The film itself is about a psychic living in a house filled with ghosts — the ghosts are the “funeral singers” of the title, and among their number are a band that looks suspiciously like Califone. (There’s also, memorably and hilariously, a priest with distinctly unorthodox views on the afterlife.) The film itself is well-acted, and smartly works around having to use special effects for its supernatural interventions — though the minimal plot at times felt too familiar.
There was a break after the screen was taken away, and the band returned to play a second set that encompassed material old and new. Witty banter was delivered from the stage, and Tim Rutili’s voice was heartbreakingly raw. And I remained perplexed as to why I didn’t embrace this band in 2002.
Califone had to cancel their Nashville show last week after Birmingham was cancelled for them, so one hears, in any case, which is all a shame, of course, considering I didn’t get to see them again (damn). Got to be one of my faves out there — uniting noise-experimentalism and American folk and rock for a decade now, I believe. . .