All About Hem

March 2005 Archive (Older news link at bottom of page)

March 28, 2005 -- Site Updates

The 2004 tour archive page now includes a link to pictures and the song "Lucky" from Hem's October 31 KFOG performance in Berkeley, CA. Pity the band did not wear Halloween costumes.

The 2005 tour archive page now includes a link to another review of Hem's February 19 show in Leeds, this time from the Morning Star.

The discography page now includes updated information (including pictures) for the UK promotional "Receiver" CD.

Finally, the meanings page includes some information about "Idle (The Rabbit Song)," but it may be more amusing than actually informative. The info was picked up from Hem's February 2, 2005 show in West Hollywood, CA, which you can find via torrent here. (I hope you're luckier than me in getting past the 90% completed mark!)

March 20, 2005 -- Concert Pictures

Pictures from Hem's March 6, 2005 show in Galway, Ireland are available through the 2005 tour archive page or by clicking on the picture to the left. Thanks, Dave!

Pictures from Hem's January 30, 2005 in-store performance at CD World in Eugene, OR are available at their website on this page and through my 2005 tour archive page. I don't know what sort of gazebo prison the band's performing in or if there's an audience out there, but the pictures are nice to see!

Don't forget to keep checking the tour page for updates. I've recently added some US shows for April 2005.

March 15, 2005 -- Site Updates

Hem will be part of the Summer Sundae Weekender from August 12-14, 2005 in Leicester, UK. Today is the last day to buy discount tickets! If you can't attend the festival, BBC6 will broadcast the show live. As soon as it becomes available, information about their set date and time will be posted on the tour page with the show info already there.

The meanings page includes some new information about Rabbit Songs from a 2002 article.

The discography page includes two new entries for promotional CDs of "Redwing" and "Receiver." I've confirmed their existence but don't yet have any other information about them.

March 13, 2005 -- Concert Pictures

Pictures from Hem's March 9 show in London, England (Thanks, Kirsten!) are available through the tour page or by clicking on the picture to the left. I've also added a number of setlists and links to reviews for recent shows on the tour page. Thanks to all the Hem fans across the pond who provided information about so many February and March shows!

March 10, 2005 -- Article & Concert News

"Floating And Flying, Hem: An Adult Fairy Tale" is a January 27, 2005 article in Eugene Weekly that I missed in my first round-up of articles published earlier this year. It includes some words from Dan Messe about Rabbit Songs, though the article is mostly about Eveningland and the true fairy tale of how the band formed.

Hem took part in the Twisted Folk tour of the UK in February, but new to the Twisted Folk Tour Site now is a silly Question and Answer interview with Hem (click on "Twisted Q&A").

New to the tour page is a BBC review of Hem's February 27 Bracknell show (although the article is mostly about The Earlies).

March 9, 2005 -- Concert News

New dates in April and June have been added to the tour page. Keep an eye out there for updates!

Also new on the tour page is a BBC review of Hem's February 28 Norwich show and yesterday's Chester setlist.

March 7, 2005 -- Concert Pictures and Guitar Tabs

More pictures from Hem's March 3 show in Dublin, Ireland (Thanks, Kel!) are available by clicking on the picture to the left. I've also updated the setlist for that show and added one for the March 6 show in Galway, Ireland.

FYI, Rabbit Chords now includes guitar tabs for Eveningland. Thanks for the hard work, Geoff!

March 5, 2005 -- Concert Recaps, Meanings, And Miscellaneous Goodies

The third and final of this week's ENORMOUS updates is here! After today, updates will return to their normal as-needed and as-timely-as-possible basis.

Pictures from Hem's March 3 show in Dublin, Ireland (Thanks, Dave!) are available by clicking on the picture to the left. Pictures from their February 28 show in Norwich, England (Thanks, Alex!) are available on this page. Finally, pictures from the January 28 show in Seattle, WA are available here (Thanks, Mike!). All these photos are also accessible via links on the tour page. It's not like seeing the band live, but it's close!

The tour page now has a complete Bracknell setlist, and a review of that entire February 27 Twisted Folk show.

A number of Hem's recent radio appearances are now available for your online listening enjoyment. One old one is too, but I just got the link, so it's new to me. (On a selfish note, my computer is not playing very nice, and I can barely hear/see these clips, so if anybody has copies they can share, please email me.)

KEXP Studio Performance - January 28, 2005 - Seattle, WA - Includes "The Fire Thief," "Hollow," "Redwing," "Tennessee Waltz," and an interview.

Bob Harris Country BBC 2 Radio Show - February 17, 2005 - London, England - Includes "The Fire Thief," "Pacific Street," and a long interview.

KCRW Morning Becomes Eclectic (Video and Audio) - August 28, 2002 - Santa Monica, CA - Includes "Now The Day Is Over," "When I Was Drinking," "Sailor," "Lazy Eye," "Half Acre," "Jackson," "The Beautiful Sea," "Carry Me Home," "Stupid Mouth Shut," and an interview.

In site news, the meanings section includes new information from January-February 2005 for the songs "An Easy One," "Half Acre," "Jackson," and "Lucky" and the album titles I'm Talking With My Mouth, Birds, Beasts & Flowers, Eveningland. Thanks to Richard for the info on "Lucky" and to Simon for the info on "An Easy One!"

March 4, 2005 -- Concert Setlists, Pictures, and Reviews

Here's the second of this week's ENORMOUS updates. It's all about Hem's shows. They've been very busy in the past month! Some setlists are incomplete, and if you have complete setlist information for these or any other shows, I'd love to hear from you! Ditto for any pictures or other show info like anecdotes or review links.

Setlists have been posted on the tour page for the following shows.

January 2005 - Seattle (1/28), Portland (1/29)

February 2005 - St. Louis (2/9), Pittsburgh (2/11, early & late), Edinburgh (2/18), Leeds (2/19), Gateshead (2/22), Sheffield (2/23), London (2/25), Bracknell (2/27)

March 2005 - Nottingham (3/2), Dublin (3/3)

Pictures from the following shows are now available on the tour page, except for the 2004 show which is available on the 2004 tour page.

October 2004 - Seattle (10/25 - Thank, Kirk!)

February 2005 - Edinburgh (2/18 - Thanks, Conal!), London (2/25 - Thanks, Kel!), Bracknell (2/27 - Thanks, Kel!)

I have to give Kirk extra thanks for what might be my favorite live Hem picture ever because looking at Sally you'd think the song was sad, sweet, and serious, looking at Dan you'd think it was horribly painful, and looking at Dawn in the middle you'd know that it's somewhere in between and that Sally and Dan are endlessly enjoyable to watch live.

Reviews are available here for the February 9 St. Louis show and here for the February 19 Leeds show. The articles are also linked from the tour page.

March 3, 2005 -- Articles

Here's the first of this week's ENORMOUS catch-up updates. A number of great articles about Hem were published in the last few weeks. Here are the ones you can read online. If I missed any, let me know!

Hem's latest tour brings Michigan native back home, The Oakland Press, 15 January 2005 - Dan Messe talks about playing in his home state.

Hem: getting better and better, The Oregonian, 29 January 2005 - A nice article about the band's album and (then upcoming) appearance in Portland.

Reviving the Lullaby: Under the Blanket With Hem Part 1 & Part 2, Playback St. Louis, February 2005 - A fab long article including interviews with Dan Messe and Sally Ellyson.

Genre Mash-Up, Riverfronttimes.com, 2 February 2005 - Discusses Hem's sound and the trouble with classifying it.

Hem puts modern spin on countrypolitan, Arizona Daily Star, 3 February 2005 - Includes words from Dan Messe about "Eveningland."

Hem's Messé uses 'music as a shield' , San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 February 2005 - The always cool Dan Messe talks about touring and "Eveningland."

Coming Together Part 1 & Part 2, The Daily Aztec at San Diego State University, 3 February 2005 - Interview with Dan Messe, including talk of Hem's countrypolitan label.

Nightime is the right time for Hem's 'Eveningland', Observer-Reporter, Washington, PA, 11 February 2005 - Includes an interview with Dan Messe including some lesser-discussed topics.

Taking up the Hem, Manchester Online, 17 February 2005 - Short article including some words from Dan Messe about influences.

TWISTED FOLK TOUR, Leeds City Varieties, 19th Feb, Whisperin & Hollerin, 19 February 2005 - A review and pictures of the Twisted Folk tour show in Leeds.

2/9/05 St. Louis Show Review, Glide Magazine, 23 February 2005 - A concert review that mentions some of the band's live quirks that I find endearing.

A-Hem, Event Guide (Dublin), 23 February - 8 March 2005 - All interesting interview with Sally Ellyson, all the time.

March 2, 2005 -- Site Update Information

My Internet access is finally back to normal now that I am back from beautiful New Zealand. An ENORMOUS update (or series of ENORMOUS updates) including articles, pictures, setlists, and more bits of Hem-related goodness should happen by the end of the week. Thanks to everyone who emailed me with news that will be in the upcoming update(s). Sorry for the inconvenience in not having site updates for over a month, particularly at a time when there was so much news.

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