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Old 2012.08.18, 06:49 PM   #1
Superficial Fan
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Default Company of Thieves

Thanks hoopra (and others here) for getting me to check out this band. I am pretty obsessed at this point, if you hadn't noticed from my posts to the listening thread. Maybe there's not enough interest to keep a thread going, but at least there is some interest here (which is more than I can say for some boards). Unfortunately, I don't have a lot to say about them at the moment. Still digesting what I've watched and heard, I suppose. But aside from what's been linked to already, here are some good things to check out. They have a crazy number of really good acoustic performances, sometimes just Genevieve Schatz and Marc Walloch in the middle of nowhere.

An old, special acoustic version of "Oscar Wilde" (which still isn't at the top of my list of favorite songs of theirs, but it has grown on me):
Company of Thieves - Oscar Wilde (studio live 2009?)
High energy, art rock sort of stuff. The second song seems especially SR/TJ-friendly.
Company of Thieves - Look Both Ways & In Passing (live in Chicago 7/26/09)
The melodies and harmony on "Past the Sleep," especially in this performance, almost give me the chills. She is sick here, incidentally:
Company of Thieves - Past the Sleep/1979 (live ES Jungle Indianapolis, IN - 2/13/09
"Just a great song" is all I can eloquently say about this at the moment. Rhythm kind of screams "we love Rubber Soul," but I don't have a problem with that, and it certainly doesn't sound like the Beatles, even if there is something Beatlesesque about parts of it:
Company of Thieves - Syrup (studio live 2/26/12)
And I'm going to post this, even though I already posted it to the general listening thread, since I would hate for anyone who might be interested to miss it:
Company of Thieves - Pressure (live TLA 3/10/10)
I wish I could find better quality recordings of some of their more recent performances, but this is what "Oscar Wilde" sounds like these days:
Company of Thieves - Oscar Wilde (live Bowery 6/13/11)
This is one that seems to belong in the "eat your heart out Shiina Ringo" category:
Company of Thieves - When the City Waves, You Must Learn to Swim
Field recording:
Company of Thieves - Won't Go Quietly
I find Genevieve's comments in this excerpt of interview entirely believable:

KAPLAN: When you perform, you have this stage presence. It's your whole body that's really performing. You're not just singing. Your entire body is full of music.

SCHATZ: It's funny you say that. I have these experiences where I will almost forget entire portions of a show because I'm so possessed or something. I'll get offstage and completely forget about a certain song that we played because I was so way in it. It's everything. I'm all there.
http://www.interviewmagazine.com/mus...a-gamble#page2

I have to see this band live, and basically nothing (nothing in Albuquerque) drags me out these days, since I feel like crap most of the time. But I will just pump myself full of whatever I need to, to go see them if they come back to Albuquerque.

Last edited by Superficial Fan : 2012.09.09 at 06:34 PM. Reason: Because I'm an obsessive fanboy who thinks if I just link to the right videos everyone will love Company of Thieves.
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Old 2012.08.20, 02:36 PM   #2
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i haven't been fanboying them like that though lol jk, glad i can put people on music i like, haven't checked out any of their lives yet though, been playing past the sleep a lot on rotation
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Old 2012.08.20, 09:12 PM   #3
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Originally Posted by hoopra View Post
i haven't been fanboying them like that though lol jk, glad i can put people on music i like, haven't checked out any of their lives yet though, been playing past the sleep a lot on rotation
It's okay. I really have become an unashamed fanboy, almost overnight.

*

Love this band so much. ;_;

Also, I must say Running from a Gamble is a grower for me. I'm appreciating it more on repeated listens.

*

The chorus at the end of "Never Come Back" and its sudden drop-off, and the semi-classical piano that follows: all of this sounds close to the sort of moves Shiina Ringo might make.

Alas, I can't seem to get anyone to hear what I hear in their music. Maybe I need to stop talking about Genevieve's performances (especially the visual side of them) and attempt the impossible task of talking about music in a way that means something.

I need to keep reminding myself what a ridiculously personal matter taste tends to be. (Oh sure, you can go on about socio-blahblahblah forces and context but ultimately I'm not sure that touches the heart of the matter.) Like, I am trying to be generous (basically for my own sake) and spend some time checking out things other people are raving about, but it's so hard to give things a chance when you aren't at all in the mood for them.

Last edited by Superficial Fan : 2012.09.02 at 09:49 PM.
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Old 2012.12.10, 03:21 PM   #4
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They are coming to play about 45 minutes away from where I work in January... of course it's a weeknight :|

Still gonna try to make it over.
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Old 2013.01.23, 09:48 PM   #5
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Just got back from an acoustic show they did on their tour they just started... so incredible

Very intimate crowd (maybe 80-90 people max).

They played for just under a couple hours... started off with Look Both Ways (Genevieve looked right at me when she sang "look left/look right"), Syrup, When the City Waves, Tallulah. They were just doing requests of whatever people yelled out. Played 4-5 new songs and most of their 1st two albums and a couple covers ("Big Yellow Taxi" was one).

Genevieve was on fire, totally into it and in really good voice. Since it was acoustic she was free to jazz it up quite a bit, did some more scat-style vocals and the like. Absolutely electric stage presence. She actually started crying at one point at everyone singing along perfectly (sound like anyone we know?)

I recorded Queen of Hearts, but the audio levels of the guitar got too hot and they're distorted, so it sounds like hot garbage in spots. Mix was amazing live.

I guess they're having issues with their label and might get kicked off it or something. They were really happy to do this tour and organize the whole thing themselves and get back to their roots, which was Genevieve & Marc performing acousticly at open mic nights and the like.

She was talking about doing an acoustic album, which would be killer.

Last edited by thefro : 2013.01.24 at 10:08 AM.
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Old 2013.01.24, 10:47 AM   #6
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I would love to see them. I keep hoping they'll play in Albuquerque (where I think they'd actually go over well if people got to hear them).

Lol, I somehow thought they might be having label issues. The way they've talked in interviews about not planning on doing any albums in the near future was a clue to me. They have so much talent, but I worry they are doomed to only minimal commercial success.

I would probably start crying if I saw her crying on stage.

Would love to hear an acoustic album, but then I'd love to hear any new album. Unfortunately, there studio recordings almost always are a letdown compared to the live material I've heard.

Last edited by Superficial Fan : 2013.01.24 at 11:31 AM.
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Old 2013.01.24, 02:23 PM   #7
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Agreed about the live vs. studio, but I love this band so much. They are amazing. I don't think they are doomed to little commercial success, I think they just need a bigger audience. They have tons of talent there is no reason they can't have a large audience as an indie audience. I think they need to get on TV, like Letterman. That would definitely help and introduce them to tons of new fans.
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Old 2013.01.26, 11:43 AM   #8
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Not that easy to get on Letterman, unfortunately. I just think they haven't had a breakout song yet. Kinda surprised the label never ran with Tallulah as that's probably the closest they've gotten even if it's not their normal sound.

I think a big reason they're better live is Genevieve has become a lot better singer & performer since they started out. I think they also really excel with just her & Marc (the guitarist) since it allows her more freedom to just let loose on stage. I haven't been super-impressed with the rest of the various band members they've went through.

A couple videos some other people took

When The City Wakes

Tallulah


The video I took is clipped beyond repair, but here's one of the pics I took.



A couple other things to mention... so weird to see Genevieve walking around with a hat/glasses on before/after the show and not be recognized at all, even by fans of her band. Definitely almost had a "secret identity" thing going on. She's a cute girl but doesn't stand out at all in a bar in a college town until she gets on stage and starts singing... then she completely commanded the room. You didn't see people talking and ignoring the music or walking out once the show started like you might in another venue. Everyone was completely into it once she started singing, whether they were big fans or just showed up because "they heard they are really good".

Also, I'm not really familiar with all the different versions of "Big Yellow Taxi", but the COT's cover was as good as my idealized memory of the song. It was basically a perfect blend of the original Joni Mitchell version and the Amy Grant/Counting Crows covers.
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Old 2013.03.23, 06:50 AM   #9
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http://www.ticketweb.com/t3/sale/Sal...83924&pl=space

Genevieve is doing her first solo concert in May of original material she wrote herself. I'm guessing it might be some more advant-garde stuff from the photos she posted and the tone of her post on FB.

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Old 2013.05.03, 03:02 PM   #10
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It's always a good sign when a band has a really good song that's a few years old that hasn't been put on an album for whatever reason
Company of Thieves - Pig



This might be my new favorite song of theirs, off the acoustic EP they released on myspace (that is completely unavailable now).
Company of Thieves - Mia's Ballad


I really need to go through and make a playlist out of their unreleased stuff. High quality.
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