| Concert Update |
[Apr. 12th, 2006|10:45 am] |
*F_____4/14/06___7p_____Gogol Bordello, Zox_____________________________________$15_____Troc
Su____4/16/06___8p_____Ladytron, The French Kicks______________________________$16_____TLA
Sa____4/22/06___8p_____Big Bad Voodoo Daddy____________________________________$22_____Jim Thorpe
Su____4/23/06___830p___Strokes_________________________________________________$30_____Elec Fact
Su____4/23/06___8p_____Ours, Dredge, Ambulette_________________________________$17_____TLA
Sa____4/29/06___9p_____Big Bad Voodoo Daddy____________________________________$29_____trump Marina
*TH___5/4/06____9p_____Hail Social, MInus the Bear, Russian Circles____________$14_____TLA
TH____5/11/06___9p_____Concretes_______________________________________________$13_____TLA
F_____5/12/06___9p_____TMBG____________________________________________________$20_____TLA
Su____5/14/06___8p_____Pretty Girls Make Graves, Giant Drag, The Joggers_______$12_____TLA
M_____5/15/06___8p_____Elefant_________________________________________________$13_____TLA
W_____5/17/06___9p_____Essex Green, Bottom of the Hudson_______________________$8______Khyber
TH____5/18/06___730p___Archetecture In Helsinki________________________________$17_____Avalon, NY
Sa____5/20/06___8p_____Mosquitos_______________________________________________$14_____NXNW
SU____5/28/06___1p_____Ween, Secrete Machines, Dirty Dozen Brass, Railroad Earth_$30___Jam On The River, Penns Landing
Sa____6/3/06___1130a___Fountains Of Wayne, Toad the Wet Sproket, (many more)___$29-$38__Apple Farm, Elmer NJ
Tu____6/13/06___8p_____Starlight Mints, Dios Malos, Octopus Project____________$8______N.Star Bar |
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| #343 Neko Case, Martha Wainwright |
[Apr. 12th, 2006|10:13 am] |
Sa 4/8, Trocadero $18, Beth!
FIRST BAND: Martha Wainwright
LOOKED: Tall, uncomfortable, Peggy Bundy-ish in high heels & a jittery, bouncing leg. It looked like she had on a black spandex tank top with a really bad farmers tan, but she had a white shirt on under the top. We were sitting on the balcony in the very back left corner, so it was far from the stage.
SOUNDED: Country rock. I don’t delve into this genra too much, so there is not much comparison or description I can offer. It sounded like I thought it would. Some of the songs did sound more rock than country.
OTHER: We could not hear her banter very well, since the bar crowd was directly in back of us, and they were very very loud. But she seemed to be received well. She is the daughter of Loudon Wainwright III, so there’s that Undeclared link to her & “Hal.” She sang her Bloody Mother-fucking Asshole song that was thought to be a retort to a song her father wrote supposedly about her.
MAIN ACT: Neko Case
LOOKED: She set up her own stuff in her turquoise blue winter hat and shiny sequined vest. She had a dud on steel slide guitar to her stage right, a stand up bass player, a back up singer, whom she did most of her banter with & another guitarist & drummer. Apparently, most of her backing band belongs to the name: the Sadies. As we were so far, we could not get a good view of her or her band mates, but they seemed to be somewhat older.
SOUNDED: Neko’s voice is in a league of its own, but for some reason, I cannot appreciate it as much to her solo style of singing. I’d rather hear her sing Mass Romantic or All for spinning You Around one time, rather than her entire solo show. It just does not have as dynamic of a range as the melodies with the New Pornographers. She still held on to long notes and her voice was powerful as ever, but there were seldom times when her voice would hook itself around a melody that completely captivates the listener. Most of the songs were country based, and she saved her best song, John Saw That Number, for her first encore, which has more of a gospel feel rather than country or rock. The songs she sang from her new album sounded like the did on her record, and I was not impressed by that either. She cointinually asked the sound people to put reverb in her monitor, so I guess she is afraid of how she sounds with out it.
OTHER: It was still somewhat loud where we were sitting, and we could not hear all her banter, but it got good reactions from the crowd, so it must have been funny. The banter we could hear was very funny, and again they eluded to the idea that they played in the Muppet’s Theater, as that’s what the Troc looks like. Early in her set, Neko said she had to pee, and that she would wait til the end, like it was a reward for her performance. But near the end of their set, it became too much for her, and she left the stage, and the slide guitarist played a little instrumental song until she came out and declared that it would be a much different show from now on. She also said a few times that she had a hole in her throat, so unfortunately, she could not get drunk…unless someone had a throat plug, that was. So I guess she was on some kind of non-alcohol mixing medication. But she did not sound sick, she sounded strong. |
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| #342 Robocop Kraus, Gil Mantera's Party Dream, Art Brut |
[Apr. 12th, 2006|10:12 am] |
Fri 4/7 FU Church. $10 8p/845p BETH! Jer+Marta
FIRST BAND: Robocop Kraus
LOOKED: German band, 30+ yr guys. Bouncy lead singer, ridged and jerky dancing to his music. Beth said he moved like I do. Just a bunch of guys.
SOUNDED: Like a great combo of the best dance-punk bands: Franz Ferdinand, Futureheads, even Dogs Die in Hot Cars. But the vocals are not as smooth as Franz or as dynamic as Dogs Die. They are more uniform and almost militaristic. Not too much else particually special about their sound. But they definitely did it well.
OTHER: Apparently they have been around for a while now, with many albums in Europe. But only their first release over here. And because of that, they started out timidly, but as the audience appreciated them and even knew some of their songs they really had a good time up there. It seemed that they could not believe they were having a great time, and that the audience was too. But they drew from the audience’s energy, who in turn appreciated a band that appreciated them, and they became more energetic. It was a continuous circuit, and by the end, both the band and the crowd loved it. One point, the singer came into the audience to sing and be amongst the fans. And later, near the end of the set, the singer led the drummer around the room, by holding his snare out in front of him, as the drummer played it. Very entertaining bunch of guys.They really had a great time, and were much appreciated
SECOND BAND: Gil Mantera’s Party Dream
LOOKED: Again, more similarities to Undeclared: the singer (Ultimate Donny) looked like Lucent the RA, and Gil, acted like Marshall. To describe their look is like describing a disaster. Donny had on a cowboy or explorer hat, with a mesh black shirt that just came down below his nipples. He has a scraggley beard, and talked with a ghetto/country dialect. Gil had on some kind of vest thing, but not for long, as he stripped it off to reveal 2 large eagle tattoos over his nipples. He had straight blonde hair, covering his face most of the time, and had large hipster sunglasses on, but he either had lights behind his ears, or orange light-up earrings underneath his hair. These made him look like a robot. They looked whacked out on drugs or drunk…or they just really wanted us to believe they were wacked out on drugs. Eventually Donny took of his shirt too. Mustave been hot on stage or something.
SOUNDED: They were almost, but nothing like Chromeo. Two guys, singing a sort-of-hiphop, with Gil using the vocal synthesizer that Dave P uses in Chromeo. And like Chromeo, that was the only way Gil sang. Where Chromeo comes of as genuine, these guys look and act like they are just being stupid. But their sound was very amateur techno-dance-80’s rap.
OTHER: Perhaps the most interesting and “having to stare at the devastation of a car crash” appealing thing about them is Donny’s random commentary between songs. He spoke about a stinky jar of bats eyes, how sexy a bat’s flight path can be, how Art Brut are stupid, because they have their banner up during Gil’s set, which might confuse the crowd, How he wanted to apologize to his sister, but he was too drugged up to say it right, so if we knew her, we should apologize for him. He talked about being positive, and that the night was all about being positive. All the while, there was a sort of homosexual undertone between the two bandmates.
MAIN ACT: Art Brut
LOOKED: One girl, 4 guys, had the damaged art look, somewhat French, but mostly hipster hair and outfits.
SOUNDED: The singer did nothing of the sort. He basically talked his propaganda lyrics over the music, which was not even that good. It was just loud and really not that interesting. It seemed repetitive, and there was nothing about it to really enjoy. Nothing to catch you and make you want to sing along.
OTHER: Only stayed for 3 songs, and they did not get better at all. Their first song somewhat described their situation. They formed a band, and how he spoke, was how he was gonna sing. The seemed like they knew more about everything than anyone, and perhaps that type of personality is their appeal to some. But it just seemed pompous and demanding, that we are not sophisticated if we don’t believe in or enjoy their performance. Their songs tell the same story as their live performance: boring, egocentric, and nothing special. |
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| #341 Nine Black Alps |
[Apr. 6th, 2006|11:08 pm] |
Thu 3/30, Tower Records Free in store show.
LOOKED: Grungy, unshaven britlanders, Sitting on stools on a small platform, playing acoustic guitars and other instruments.
SOUNDED: Ok. They played acoustically, which is not their foray: they are usually loud and sound like early 90’s alternative so I’ve heard. They reminded me of Soundgarden on CD, but here, they sounded like any band. The lyrics were somewhat gruesome and depressing
OTHER: They only played 6 songs or so. They had a regular show that night at the North Star Bar, but Tower got them to play some acoustic versions of their songs to sell CDS. After they were done, they said they would sign copies of the CD. But I’d not stick around for that, even if I was going to buy the cd. I was hoping that Beth would make it down in time to see them, but she had class, and with their short set, they were done before she made it down. The performance was nothing too great, and they seemed like just another band. |
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| #340 Mates Of State, The Gossip, Panther, Maria Taylor |
[Apr. 5th, 2006|04:50 pm] |
Fri 3/24, $12, Starlight Ballroom. Beth. 730p
FIRST BAND: Panther
LOOKED: Hipster/Slacker dude with a microphone & tape deck. Marshall from Undeclared. He had lots of free time to dance around the stage & the ground, where he was no longer visable.
SOUNDED: Prince singing through a Beck distortion device. Marshall from Undeclared. Cheezy beats and music synthesized behind his trying falsetto lyrics. Hipster Hop indie electronic.
OTHER: Being enveloped in the TV show Undeclared, we associated him with the Marshall Character, in his do it all yourself presentation. Although he only sang, he has all the confidence that his music is really grand. But it was not.
SECOND BAND: Maria Taylor
LOOKED: 5-6 people, nothing special, mostly women on bass, keyboards and guitar/singing. There was another guy guitarist hidden behind the keyboard player from my view. And the bass player looked familiar to Beth, like from Jr High, but she turned out to be just a bass player from another band.
SOUNDED: Boring. Everything was ok, ok voice, and ok music, but they did not over lap that excitingly. Even their hardest rocking bits were light and fluffy and of no recall. Nothing about them stuck, nothing was memorable, nothing was exciting.
OTHER: We just waited for them to be over. They are part of the emo-based lable: Saddle Creek, home to the non-exciting Bright Eyes, and other bands, of which most of these musicians were probably part of.
THIRD BAND: The Gossip
LOOKED: 3 people. Butch looking drummer, scrawny, but tattooed & spiky hair w/ tank top on. Bass/guitarist duty switcher: dude with unshaven bad 90’s skater comb over cut. Looked somewhat mopey but confident. The Singer short, large woman, pudgy, yet cute. She bounced around the stage with all of the energy of flubber: she continued to gain energy as she sang through the songs. She danced so rhythmically and excitedly, that she was usually out of breath by the time the song was over.
SOUNDED: Dance punk style with great female vocals, sometimes screaming, sometimes very soulful, sometimes angry, sometimes sincere, but always amazing and intense. The guitar and bass would switch depending upon the song. But there was never both.
OTHER: This band was friggin awesome. Completely the highlight of the night, by far. Everything about them was awesome. The singer is a rock star, with the appropriate rock star mentality: to have fun, be honest/yourself, educate your fans, and give 110% for every song. She has such magnetism, such a draw, that you had to listen and believe in her. And her voice was very different than anything out there. So soulful and powerful at different times, and very meaningful. Even when she would scream, it was not harsh or unlistenable, it was calculated and compact. She would change back to her singing voice with such ease. She advocated that every girl go home tonight and start up a band. Proclaiming homosexuality, she seemed to give refuge and remind everybody that it was not just ok to be gay, that it was down right respectable and honorable. They gave props to the opening acts, saying how great Panther was, and how they would be off the stage soon so that Mates of State could come out. From their first song, to the last song (Listen up!) they had us dancing and were one of the most entertaining and addictive bands out there.
MAIN ACT: Mates Of State
LOOKED: Same as always. Kori surrounded by keyboards on stage right, and Jason on drums stage left.
SOUNDED: Not so good. Kori’s voice was not feeling well, and she often made it Mates of State Karaoke, inviting up kids who knew their songs to sing. Usually girls to sing the girls part, but a guy went up to sing Starman, but it was clear that he did not know the words. Often the Karaoke kids sounded muddled and out of tune, if they even knew her words.
OTHER: It was just not that good. The songs seemed long, drawn out and repetitive. What they do, they do well: two part, girl guy harmonies, with overlapping vocal sections. But every song seems to be the same recipe, and even if they are very good at it, it got boring. The highlight was Fluke, that is just a fantastic song, with each section better than the last, but other than that, it was not good. Even when they played A Duel Will Settle This, it was just boring, and we waited for them to be done. They played Ha Ha, which is a good song too, with a good carnival section. When they were done, we went to the back, so we could leave right away. They came on for an encore, and played a song that sounded exactly like a Belle & Sebastian. I later learned that it was a cover of a Nico song, so it seems Belle & Sebastian ripped her off instead. I bought the gossip album on vinyl for $10, and we left as soon as Mates of States walked off stage. |
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| #339 Harry & The Potters, Uncle Monster Face |
[Mar. 23rd, 2006|03:51 pm] |
Wed 3/15. FU Church $7 7p Jer & Beth!
FIRST BAND: Uncle Monster Face
LOOKED: We got there about 745p, and they were in the middle of Lionfist Journey: the only song that was on the R5 website to check out. Their entertainment value is their big redeeming quality. They had a video screen that shows very complex videos to their songs and some still images (danny elfman's face with Uncle Monsterface), all pre-programmed and pre-recorded. They had a sock puppet show in the back left side of the stage. And they have various inflatable objects (lobsters & guitars) and just stuff all over the place. They were listed as MIT grads, but they barely look out of High School. As far as the “band” was, there was a keyboard player (playing a keyboard-guitar) Bass, and guitar / vocals. Oh, and there was also Uncle Monster Face, who was a dude in a sport jacket and casual dress with a big green mask with googly type eyes and chaoticly placed block teeth. He was apparently the puppeteer, but came out when called by the band.
SOUNDED: Not so good. They had extensive video and scheduled dialogue that made up for the poor singing. But really, the music was not that bad: synthey nerd pop, with topics ranging from lobster buildings, to pets, to the letter green, and capes. This is what DEVO would have been like if they were all 12 years old. The one very amazing quality was that they attempted to cover Oingo Boingo’s Little Girls. After apolgising for the song lyrically, they launched into a bad Karaoke version of the beloved song. Jer said that we were probably the only ones there who knew the original version. His vocals were non-musical, and sounded pubescent, with full-on voice cracking and off-key shouting. Judging from their appearance, the vocal style should not have been a surprise. That change happens to everyone.
OTHER: Their stories and dialogue was the good thing: ridiculous and random. From calling Uncle Monster Face out from behind the puppet stage and having him run around the floor, to inviting everyone up on stage to help sing their last song: Lobster Building, to creating some huge back story that was only, really a song introduction about capes (via having UMF say he had something for the band to help them rock better: Capes, to them saying they were going to improvise a song about the capes, then very cleverly saying that they had a time machine, so that they were able to write the song and come back in time to play it). This was their last show on tour with Harry & The Potters, and as obvious friends, they were very sad to see it end. So the last song had the Harrys come out to help with the lobsters.
SECOND BAND: Harry & The Potters
LOOKED: they came out first, un-pottered, in civilian clothes, and sound checked. Then, like rock stars, they went back and made us wait a relatively long time, where they transformed into Harry Potters. They came onstage in the familiar wizardly outfits. One played guirar, sometimes, the other would start the synthesized background music, and play keyboards occasionally. One Potter was obviously older than the other, and that was explained with the time traveling hour glass situation that happens in the book. One Potter was visited by someone who looked very familiar but older while in his dorm room. Rather than fearing some sort of paradox, the older Potter convinced the younger to joined up & tell their story and stop all the bad guys with the power of rock.
SOUNDED: Every song was like :30-:90 seconds long. Each song revisited a familiar storyline in the Potter series. Or the songs were pro-rock, and anti-Voldemort. The song lyrics were either very repetitive or plot driven. Lines like I’m a Wizard and Voldemort can’t stop the rock were very repetitive, while some songs focused on saving Ginny Weasly from the Basalith. And the wrath of Hermione. And leaving to Hogwarts from platform Nine and three quarters. They even had a spoiler song, about what Ron was gonna do since they were in love with his sister. It was all basic comic pop punk, and they really tried to throw a dance party, but only some people obliged.
OTHER: Really, it was an entertaining bit, where the Potters threw themselves into JK Rowling’s world, and sang about all aspects of being Harry. They often introduced songs with lines like “this is one I wrote on the train to Hogwarts,” or “I wrote this in my room at Hogwarts, after bottling up my emotions, and then dumpping them back out all at once.” They made you believe they were really wizards, asking “how many muggles out there feel like a wizard? Cause I feel like a wizard right now!” They attempted to take us all out of reality and into their fiction. They even had a two song/one minute portion of the show which was coined the “Monster Portion” where they sang about the troll. They had the audience particpate by yelling words like Big, Large, Ugly when it came to that part in the song. It was cute and made us smile and laugh at their randomness and precision…for about 30 minuntes. Then the trick became old, and the last 45 minutes left us feeling like, "okay, we get it: you want to tell us about what it is like being Harry Potters." It got real old, real quick, and the actual songs did not hold up enough weight on their own to keep us interested. But they really had a good time up there on stage, and as with any band, as long as the performers believe in themselves and have fun, the show is at least some what interesting heart felt. And that, the Potters could conjure up for the entire show. Being the last stop on their tour, they gave shout out thanks to Uncle Monster Face and even had them come up and help sing a song or two. Over- all it was not a very good show musically, but it did have much entertainment value. And it was only $7. |
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| #338 Hail Social, The Rogers Sisters, Celebration, Eyes Like Knives |
[Mar. 15th, 2006|03:48 pm] |
Sat 3/11, Khyber, $10, 9p start, Christina met up.
FIRST BAND: Eyes Like Knives
LOOKED: Very average four piece band with a girl on keyboards. Nothing remarkable.
SOUNDED: Nothing Remarkable. They had some good ideas, but the lead metal/prog guitar just seemed to dilute and disregard everything else. Not too memorable on the vocal front either
OTHER: They were from Boston, and said they love playing Philly. I got there around 1020, and they had just seemed to begin. A very late start, which meant a late night at the Khyber.
SECOND BAND: Celebration
LOOKED: 3-piece band: a drummer, seemed very good, a female singer, who looked like a young Penny Marshall and played the tambourine, and a third guy who played guitar, keyboards and bass, with his nifty bass foot pedals. Sometimes playing all things in one song.
SOUNDED: Good drum & bass in parts, but they could really have used a fourth, maybe a fifth person to fully flesh out the sound. While the one dude was capable on all three sounds, I think that people taking those tasks would have given them more dimension in their music. The singer sang some parts loungey, and some kind of screechy, she seemed to be acting forcefully (not honestly) like Karen O from the YYY’s.
OTHER: During their first song, she came out into the audience, apparently trying to spark up the crowd. She later told us that people usually dance at their shows. Ok, so that was what we were supposed to do. The three instrument dude seemed overworked, as the bass rhythms could have been more complex if he did not have triple duty. Their songs were not that catchy as they thought they were, and no one in the crowd really seemed too into them.
THIRD BAND: The Rogers Sisters
LOOKED: another 3 piece, female guitar, who had a stage presence that made her like someone out of JEM or Josie & the Pussycats. A female drummer, and an Asian guy on bass.
SOUNDED: The singing style was somewhat reminiscent of Devo. When the two girls sang in harmony behind the bass, they felt like the country sound of a truck horn passing you on a highway. That might not sound like a good thing, but it was not a bad thing. Some of the songs were long, and some of the songs included a little surf guitar. The first song reminded me of all that was bad with alternative music back in the early 90’s. And by the end of their set, I was not even really paying attention to their songs.
OTHER: Christina made it out before their set, as it had been an incredibly long time between the last two bands. They said they too loved playing Philly, but it did not seem to show, the effort just seemed half-assed as they could not draw from the audience.
MAIN ACT: Hail Social (see #306)
LOOKED: Like a statistical bunch of guys. A young Asian guy on guitar, dark haired , indie looking (black hoodie) guy singer and guitar, skinny waif like blonde haired bass player, an middle eastern guy (first show ever with the band) on guitars and keyboard, and an indie drummer. They did not look too enthusiastic, as I saw the bass player out and about before they went on (not knowing who he was) with quite a friend base there in support.
SOUNDED: For the Khyber, they were phenomenal. It was a long time between sets, but for Hail Social, it was totally on. The vocals were loud and clear, and he did sound like Michael Hutchinson from INXS at times. The Bass and Drum dance punk rhythm section was top notch, and loud and driving the songs into high gear. As good a singer as he is for this music, the bass is what sells their songs. There was a variety of guitars behind the music which gave it layer upon layer of base. Altogether, they are a package meant for popularity. I cannot tell why they are not bigger than they are, as I think I proposed for them when they opened for Of Montreal The songs were incredibly driving, as they only have an album and two ep’s out, they did not play very long, but they played the important songs like Hands Are Tied, Get In The Car, Come Out Tonight, Another Face & Track #1. Even still, they announced that most of the material was probably not familiar, which they were correct about. They did not play much else from the album, as they focused on potentially new music. I did not have the EP yet, so they could have been off that, and as this was their “7-in release show” I’m sure they did. In short, they are an incredibly fun band musically. Oh yeah, there is that undertone of 80’s metal in their music and lyrics, so slight, it only helps their songs.
OTHER: I cannot get enough of this band. They are so good, and yet with all their identifiable characteristics, they somehow remain very unique and original. After the show (145a) I got the new EP and a shirt for a $10 total from the Bass player, whom I commented on his excellent playing. I have to say I am also drawn to their style of artwork. I think the sketched skull band logo, and all artistic direction add to the vibe of Hail Social. Everything about it seems very basic, almost generic, but just unique enough to be come off very different. |
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| #337 Man Man |
[Mar. 15th, 2006|01:30 pm] |
Sun 3/5 @ AKA’s upstairs loft, free, with Beth 3p (see #333, #308, #284)
LOOKED: Did not really see them, as the loft is a flat floor, and we got there late, and had to stand in the back. But they wore the usual white & face paint.
SOUNDED: Good for the upstairs of a record shop. Actually, it was very good, everything came out clear, and they made good use of all their odd instruments like the plastic horns etc.
OTHER: Not much different from the Haverford show, just no visability. They played a great mix of stuff from their 2 albums, and it might have been the same set as Haverford. His vocals sounded as gruff and deep as ever, and the chants and tribal, rhythmic music was there. Their sing-a-long chants were great, and they made some attempts to stand on their instruments when they did non-instrumental vocal chants. I was going to buy a shirt after the show, but as they had no meds or larges, I decided to wait. |
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| #336 New Pornographers, Belle & Sebastian |
[Mar. 15th, 2006|01:24 pm] |
Sa 3/4 The ultimate duo tour: Electric Factory 8p $27.50 with Beth
FIRST BAND: New Pornographers (see #322) No Opening Band!!!
LOOKED: No Neko Case, No Dan Bejar. We stood, for both acts on the balcony, right behind the speakers & had a very good, clear and close view (as can be expected at the Factory) of everyone but Neko’s stand in.
SOUNDED: At times, like a New Pornographers Cover Band, as Kathryn Calder, the “long lost neice” to Carl Newman attempted Neko’s vocal parts. She was very good, at some times even attaining the vocal style of Neko, but there really is no replacement for Neko’s amazing voice. Especially in the Neko-led, Mass Romantic. And Newman himself sang a Dan Bejar song, Testament to Youth In Verse, but it went over like any other of their songs. If you’d not know them, there would be no questioning the song, as it fit right in. In all, it seemed like a “greatest hits” show, they played everything I wanted them to except for “All For Spinning You Around” which is a Neko song, and was understandingly sidelined.
OTHER: Not as much charisma on stage without the two missing members. No playful banter, no weird outfits or costumes, they were there, they ran through the songs, and they left in a whirlwind of pop only the NP’s are capable of. Even without Case & Bejar, they were an outstanding show, still better than 90% of the bands out there.
MAIN ACT: Belle & Sebastian
LOOKED: 8 people on the big stage, all basic average brits, in everyday clothes. Stuart bopped around the stage like a pogo stick to his songs, and everyone else seemed to act very business like.
SOUNDED: Fantastic, for being right behind the speaker, it was a great sound. Knowing how loud the speakers are, the sound from behind was seemed to be the perfect level. Stuarts voice was very clear, and all the instruments were mixed in without any possibility of complaint. I’ve always wondered though, there seem to be an awful lot of people in the band for their simple sound. They played a great mix of stuff from the new album and stuff mainly from their first two, and most popular records.
OTHER: Stuart had his silly, naive banter, as what woos the brit-heart-struck girls in the audience. He asked one “bloke” how he managed to get such a shiner, proving to us all that they are not just “rock gods on stage not paying any attention to the audience.” Everything else he added seemed shy, coy, and just plain adorable. Mix that in with the gentleness of his accent, and you have a recipe for love-struck girls. Besides most of the new album, they played Expectations, She’s Losing It, Electronic Renaissance, My Wandering Days Are Over, I Don’t Love Anyone, Sleep the Clock Around, Me & The Major, Judy & The Dream Of Horses, Cuckoo, If You Find Yourself Caught In Love. I would have loved to hear Step Into My Office Baby or Dear Catastrophe Waitress, from the album of the same name. I’m not sure why that album was never as popular as the others, I think it is fantastic. Listening to their older stuff, it is kinda funny how, in every song, they use the trumpet to act like vocals for an entire verse. It is not in any of the new stuff, it was just noticeable when lumped into the mix of everything. Perhaps the highlight of the show, at least for one young girl, was when they invited someone from the audience up to sing Judy… with them. Saying it was getting quite boring, and that they’ve sang it so many times, it needed a women’s back up. The girl they got looked all of 17, and she seemed nervous, but she took off her cloak, and stepped up to the mic, and sang a wonderful accompaniment to Stuart, who was shocked and impressed. She went off back stage, to understandably be thanked by the band or whatever it is that goes on back stage. We left by midnight, and filed out and left, without looking at the Merch table, knowing how expensive stuff is at Factory shows. |
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| #335 Of Montreal, The Lilys, The M’s |
[Mar. 6th, 2006|06:24 pm] |
Thu 3/2, 8p Starlight Ballroom, $12 (advance) Me, Beth & Jer. We waited outside in the cold, shady area for too long in a long line.
FIRST BAND: The M’s
LOOKED: A little old to be an opening opening band. But they looked like a Philly band, in half put together suit (one suede) coats and very different looks from member to member. The drummer was odd. He would slink along with his playing, but he looked exceedingly happy to be a drummer. Weird, serious faces he to the audience, the other members and his drum kit made me imagine this is what Will Ferrell would do in a Spinal Tap esq band movie. The bass player looked a little like Bill & the guitarist and drummer could have been blond hair, blue (too close together) eye brothers
SOUNDED: Could be a Philly Band here too, catchy/poppy moments mixed into in their otherwise straightforward rock. Sometimes the music did not seem to be thought through, other times, they needed to keep going with a certain bit. The music was not refined, typical of most local bands. The singer’s voice reminded me of something between Dan Bejar of the New Pornographers and Robert Schneider of Apples In Stereo & Marbles. The other band members sang too, giving them some excellent harmonies and vocal parts. But their good songs were great. Their Plan of the Man came off as an excellent single, and had the short, simple catchiness of an oldie.
OTHER: From Chicago, later learned they are 6 yrs old. Their blend of personalities seems hard to maintain, but they came off very diverse in an open minded way. Their CD was $12, so I did not get it, but I joined the mailing list & got a pin & sticker.
SECOND BAND: The Lilys
LOOKED: Like a bunch of found guys who were unsure where they came from or where they were going. One guy was a short smoking dude, the other was a suede jumpsuit wearing dude, with frizzy blond hair covering his face for most of the night and the lead singer (whom there was a cover story about in the City Paper a few weeks back) is the founding and only member of the original band, is a really tall and quite awkward guy.
SOUNDED: Like noise and boring music. His voice could have been good, but he chose to not use it well. It occasionally sounded like Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci and some points it sounded like the Starlight Mints. But over-all, it was monotonous and boring.
OTHER: Being from Philly, I thought he would have demanded more of an audience, but the majority seemed to want him off the stage. There was the obligatory applause after every song, but perhaps it was to congratulate them for being one song closer to being done. He told the “cause 7-ate-9” joke, and he had other nonsensical but not witty stuff to say, and it seemed very tired and fake. One loud dude in the back kept requesting him to make more jokes, saying we’ll like you then.
FINAL BAND: Of Montreal
LOOKED: Glam Glitzy and more Glam. To tell how they looked is to describe the night. They all had odd outfits on, the guitarist having on a red, yellow and orange angled striped shirt, the bass player had on a Russian fur hat, and they all had blue eyeliner with sparkly glitter around their eyes. Their boss, as I can only imagine that he controls their evolution, thinking back to how the band used to be, came out in a wedding dress, proposing to the audience of Philadelphia, professing his love to all of us. He drank water from a champagne bottle and ringed some girl’s finger. He changed costume many times from a golden “crystal gale” as he called it, smock thing, to his orange plastic raincoat, to bare chested, to perhaps another outfit or two. Dorothy, the keyboardist looked aimlessly happy, smiling, eyes closed, swaying to her own interior music. Everything else was the new Of Montreal.
SOUNDED: Great. They can really put on a show. The vocals were a little crackly, and when I did not know the words, it was tough to make them out, but that might have been an effect put on Kevin’s voice. But everything was perfect musically. Man, the bass really kicks, and they have a distinct Of Montreal sound to most of the guitar.
OTHER: They played a new song, that I believe they played at the last show a few months back. It sounded right up there with their 80’s influenced dance rock. They began a song using the Final Countdown teaser intro. Very accurate. They played stuff mainly from the last two albums, including some that I’m not sure why…Summertime in Oslo seems an add choice. But they played the favorites Party’s Crashing Us, Alabee, Wraith…, Disconnect the dots, a Kinks cover, Jennifer Louis (in the encore), Chrissey kiss the Corps (with an elaborate intro where he gave us a glimpse into his nasty, but sweet alter boy exterior past). And many more dance tunes. The lights in the Starlight Ballroom helped escalate the club/party atmosphere. It was a blast, and we had a great view for 90% of the show…that never happens! |
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| #334 Skeleton Key, Stinking Lizivita |
[Feb. 23rd, 2006|08:07 pm] |
Thu 2/2. Mill Creek Tavern. 10p $8. Solo.
FIRST BAND: Stinking Lizivita
LOOKED: Older band mates. Crazy old guy guitar, middle-age stand up bass player, and female drummer. One part Biker, one part Hippie.
SOUNDED: Tremendously tight prog rock. Very strong and experienced performance on all instruments. Many structurally changing sections strung together in instrumental sound-scapes. Also mixed in some metal to the progressive style of music.
OTHER: Big fan base there, the crowd called for an encore, unusual for a non-headliner. And they got their wish. A different guy came on as a guest guitarist for most of the song. He seemed somewhat younger, and was known by the entire band. They were excited to have him play. I only got there for one song and the encore, but it was very good music.
MAIN ACT: Skeleton Key
LOOKED: Singer, somewhat like singer from Fountains of Wayne, but more cool, yet awkward. Bass = bald headed hard core dude. Percussionist: skateboarder hippy. Drummer = frat boy average joe. They all had some sort of jumpsuit, the bass players was red, the percussionist was a mechanic’s and the singer has on overalls, looking like a 1800’s farmer without the flannel. They took a while to set up, as always due to the percussionist’s precise set up of his junk-instrument area. He set up a three sided metal barrier with sheet metal on top as the base to support liquid and air canisters along with other pots, buckets and metal pieces that all contribute to their sound
SOUNDED: That wobbling underbelly of a traveling circus. At night, after the kids go home, and the workers go back to the stereotypical slummy carnie lives. There is a dreary, unsettling undertone to every Skeleton Key song that keeps the audience in suspense. The singer uses his two mics, one normal, and one the old-fashion crackly radio sound to further accent the distant mutant low-life feeling evoked from their music. Bu the most appealing of all Skeleton key’s attributes is the junk percussionist. To watch him bang and clang on his many well placed items is remarkable. He has a tremendous sense of he sounds that are emitted from his objects, and uses them wisely and insanely. One point, he focused the sound of metal chains coiling up in a bucket to perfection. A wheel with metal object hanging off, rotated left and right was calculated and well played to accompany the music. His rhythmic beating of the found metal added a level of oddness that only complements SK’s style and sound. The drummer is unfortunately over-shadowed, but should not be overlooked. His off beat rhythms and unusual time signatures add an even more wholely unique quality of their music. It is a shame though, that their live performances are never done justice by their album productions.
OTHER: Between the sets, Man Man’s “Blue Turban” Album helped set the mood for their act. After the show, I purchased their new EP and a couple of stickers, but their original hard to find Ep, for sale there, was far too expensive. Some one in the beginning yelled at them to help sign Stinking Lizivita to their Ipecac label, which would seem to be a very appropriate fit for both parties. Like said earlier, SK, somewhat like Fantomas, is an act that is much better in its live, improvisational, and unpredictable form. The songs are just songs on their albums, but live, they have a stronger energy that can only be enjoyed as it is exhumed from the band mates. It as if, as in a traveling carnival, as time goes by, decay sets in, and the effect deteriorates. |
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| #333 Man Man, Big Bear |
[Feb. 1st, 2006|04:00 pm] |
#333 Man Man, Big Bear
Sat 1/28 Free. Lunt Basement, Haverford College. Beth
FIRST BAND: Big Bear
LOOKED: Smarty-Pants Indie band, all small & lanky except the one tall bearded dude. Female “singer.” Seemed intelligent, with their dialogue and “what is a moon shaped island called” question to the crowd. They did well at putting the fratty crowd down, but no one seemed to notice.
SOUNDED: musically ok, with some interesting tempos and start/stop changes. But the “singer” was just screaming syllables, perhaps words. It destroyed any kind of liking of the band.
OTHER: Popular fad music, in the past, has stemmed from an inner connection that the youth could feel with said musical genre. It is this relationship, that bands say what the youth feels, that has made certain eras of music interchangeable with their popular musical style. Generally speaking in all cases; folk music ran parallel with the messages of anti-war. Punk was seen as a no future, anarchism movement. 80’s New Wave resembled the new computer world, and excessiveness. Alternative represented the 90’s slacker teenagers. So I am perplexed as to what outlet or message this screaming emo/hard core music gives to the youth. Do they relate to the scream-core style of music because inside, they feel they want to scream and are an emotional wreck? Do we take it to the parental appreciation level, where the parents don’t appreciate their kids? Which makes the kids, as any unattended baby or child will do, scream? Perhaps the link will make itself clearer as this popular music ticks itself off as the style of the 00’s.
In other happenings, the band had to end their set early due to the guitar amp shutting down. Perhaps it was the huge puddle of water which the amp sat in that caused it to discontinue working. They had to bring out a mop between sets along with paper and fabric towels. I wonder if it was water or beer all over the “stage.” All their songs were titled by a number, like CD track numbers.
MAIN ACT: Man Man (308, 285)
LOOKED: They set up their stuff on the small stage. The room had emptied out a bit before Man Man started, so Beth and I got to the front to observe them play. When it was time, they came out in all white outfits, and white painted lines under their eyes. Keyboard/organ/singer was on stage right, the drummer was stage left, and lining the back were three more guys who took part with different random instruments as well as bass and guitar. They had various toys and models placed on their equipment and all over the stage. They had a light rope across the drums and rest of the stage and the singer had eyeball lights over his organ. They look like a safari group off to explore the ritual dances of native Africans.
SOUNDED: I love these guys. Coupled with World Inferno Friendship Society, I like to think these two shows illustrate what Oingo Boingo sounded/looked like early on in their career. With tribal rhythms and odd melodies, and vocal chants from the group, they represent the quirky side that makes me love O.B. The singer, named “Honus Honus” has quite a remarkable voice. In no way a good voice, it is the only one which would fit their music and vice versa. His style and melody of his voice, like a catchier Tom Waites, is mesmerizing. It follows like a wobbley carnival ride over the rest of the music, creating a very very unique sound structure. Memorably, they had a plastic toy horns group solo, the singer uses a spatula on the organ strings, they use xylophone and other bell instruments, as well as anything that might add to the irregularity of the band.
OTHER: They started off with the drummer standing on his drum seat. He returned to that post on occasion the whole night. They look like they had a good time up on stage. The set consisted of half and half new material and stuff from Man In A Blue Turban (which there was one guy in attendance of such description). They played Zebra, Peruvian Monster, 10lb Moustache, Sarsaparilla, and the new Young Einstein on the Beach. The audience, however, was less than favorable. We stayed up front until the 6th or 7th song, but were forced to the back. The pushing and needless crowd swaying became too much. The biggest guys who thought they were super cool pushed their way to the front, where at least one, turned to face the audience as if they’d come to see him. There were a handful of jerks that ruined the experience for everyone else. We really just wanted to watch the band perform, not protect our lives, and the lives of others around us. I had to suspending the weight of the crowd on my back and foot as I braced with one leg on the floor and one on the stage edge. It made for good support and withheld as long as I needed it. I even witnessed Beth grab and throw a repeat annoyance offender back behind her. But he still thought he was everyone’s best friend. The hipster population was through the roof. I saw two guys there with the tinted 80’s cop glasses, so one of them took his off, so that the min and max allowance of sunglass-wearers could be represented. Many girls had on spandex and Pat Benetar outfits. It was sickening and depressing. Even more so to think that guys would find that attractive. But they were not winning any battles themselves with their workout outfits and jogging attire donned; they were just a see-through pathetic. But at least this was at a college, it would have been much worse to think that these kids were wearing this stuff at a bar or an over-21 show, instead of their own institution. It’s like wearing your pajamas around your house, but not out. Except that everyone has to wear the freakiest pajamas at the same house to upstand the other roommates. |
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| #332 World Inferno Friendship Society (only band saw) (#301) |
[Jan. 22nd, 2006|11:12 am] |
Sat 1/21 Free. Lunt Basement, Haverford College. Beth, Jer & Matt.
LOOKED: We could hardly see them, the room was packed. The stage is a quarter circle, about a foot off the floor, so it is not much of a stage, thus we could not even see the tops of their heads, let alone count all 9 members of the band. The room was crammed Very smelly sweaty kinds, and non-kids, many non students, such as ourselves made the trip to see WIFS. Once in a while we’d get a glimpse of Jack tip-toeing above the crowd.
SOUND: Terrific. The audio was fantastically clear in contrast to the scummy room it was in. The mix of vocals and instruments was well done to the point that the vocals could be heard clearly.
OTHER: A wild night, the Haverford organization that set up the event called it the craziest show in the history of history. Jack asked “I want to see 16 people hanging from those pipes). As his quote can illustrate, people who wanted to get a better view, or just be moronic apes, constantly hung from the pipes. They latched their hands, arms, legs and a mixture of each on and off them all night. At one point, during the 16 person assault, one pipe let a spray of whatever contents it carried out over the crowd. It was handled quickly and did not amount to much, but it could have been disastrous. I don’t know if they usually have people hanging from the pipes, but this was only our second show there, but the pipes held amazingly good, for all our sakes. Pieces of some of the overhead lights came down as people worked their magic, and they even crowd surfed a love seat with a big dude lounging on top of it. He was nearly decapitated, but no one seemed to mind. We watched most of the mayhem from the benches that line the back wall, and still from there, there was not much view. Just the rising smell/stench of awful B.O. Beth accurately noticed that Jack, apart from his 16 hangers request, had predominately the same banter as he’s had to introduce each song as the last time we saw him. Their set list seemed to be about the same too. But it was a fun, cheap, interesting night, as WIFS is always an interesting show |
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| #330 Jimmy Gnecco (of Ours), Static, Blue Hippopotamus |
[Jan. 11th, 2006|02:48 pm] |
Thu 1/5/06, $15.75 (due to buying tickets on-line) 9p.
North Star Bar Beth. Met Corbin, Janiee, Brian, Joe, Henry there
FIRST BAND: Blue Hippopotamus (got there in middle of their set 10:30p)
LOOKED: Young girl lead singer, looked sort of like Jon/Jer’s sister: Emily. Had a backing band of keys, she played Bass, drummer and guitarist
SOUNDED: Female lounge singing. Sounded like something in a casino lounge bar on a weeknight. Nothing stand-out about it, but it was good, and steady.
OTHER: The lighting was from below, so it looked eerie. The backing band was the same band Jimmy Gnecco used.
SECOND BAND: Static
LOOKED: Scuzzy long haired alternative rocker dude.
SOUNDED: All noise, one continuous repetitive sound, with notes randomly played to act as the melody over the fuzz. Loud, it made us stand in the back. But not too long.
OTHER: he is the guitarist for Jimmy. Although it sounds very fitting and complementary for the songs, it sounds out of place and just noisy by himself.
MAIN ACT: Jimmy Gnecco
LOOKED: Usual waif, thin enough to almost see through. On stage in all black, including a thick black scarf and jacket, which he took off mid set to reveal…a black button shirt. He looks similar to Perry Farrel, but smaller. His hair scales from short in the back to long and angular in the front with one long strand in the front.
SOUNDED: Amazing as always. He has one unique and amazing voice. He can do everything from low to high and all over between. His highlights are so completely different: his gliding high vocals, bouncing along scales and melodies and his loud emotional screaming choruses.
OTHER: Someone yelled out Could he possibly possess any more talent, to which he said he could dance too, and he began to dance to girls woo-wooing him. He said that was all he could do, and all the talent is in his son. He seemed to be having a good time up there, as much as anyone can who relies on depression and sad emotions for his music. He played a song in tribute to his grandfather, and he sang a song for a friend he had not seen in a long time, whose lyrics inspired him to write said song. He played one encore, in which he played the sweet and amazing Miseryhead. If that title does not explain the style and sound of Jimmy, then nothing…well the other song that he played mid-set, Fallen Souls does too. His set consisted of mostly (perhaps entirely) of Ours material. |
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| #328 Ted Leo, Ris Paul Ric, Mountain High |
[Dec. 9th, 2005|02:53 pm] |
Fri, 12/2, $12, 8p. Starlight Ballroom (Club Polaris) Beth & Jer
FIRST BAND: Mountain High.
LOOKED: Two drummers, Two guitars, and bass in the middle. Singer in middle in front of the bass. They looked like an extracurricular High school club. The teacher who sang (looked like an older bearded indie hipster guy) was surrounded by kids half of his age. Or else, the beard might just add years.
SOUNDED: They jokingly said they were a wedding band letting their hair down for the evening. They played loud and fast punk rock songs. Some had good bass and some had good guitars, but off all the things that need amplifying, they did not need two drummers, who, played the exact same thing the whole time (I might be exaggerating, but when I focused on them, as Jer added, they appeared to be playing the same thing).
OTHER: The teacher made some jokes, like addressing the crowd as “Indiana Bros, and Temple of Dudes.” They had a 7 inch for sale, nothing else.
SECOND BAND: Ris Paul Ric
LOOKED: Some indie singer/songwriter with a guitar, with writing all over his face, as if he woke up the day after drinking in a frat house.
SOUNDED: As best a singer songwriter can sound with an electric, he held nothing like he had with his band (that I know very little of Q and not U. He had a high voice, and made some interesting non word sounds.
OTHER: He made an anecdote about Ted Leo, as his band was the headliner at the first show Ted played with the Pharmacists in front of a 6-person crown, but genre diverse crowd in Texas. He also told a couple of long stories about politics, as he is from DC -it seems that DC folk are prone to tell political stories- and how bad Bush was, by relating it to the last time he and Ted played together: election eve. He had a bunch of stuff for sale.
MAIN ACT: Ted Leo & The Pharmacists (see #314)
LOOKED: 3 very different people. Ted looks like Ben Folds, but his eyes are closer together, and he’s got that receding hairline. The bass player has plenty of hair to make up for it, as it is a big black puff ball, and the drummer has a very large beard and had med length greasy combed-over straight hair. None of them are very tall.
SOUNDED: Ted’s amazing 3-piece blend of punk, rock, pop and Irish music is fascinating. He makes quite a few incredible wordless sounds that are like Celtic cries. They sound so full and tight for a 3 piece, and Ted’s guitar, as Beth pointed out, often acts like a keyboard, as its looping play and tone mimics the catchiness that keyboards bring to many a band. His voice sounded great, especially on The Golden Finch, which showcases his range without the aid of much instrumentation.
OTHER: They played a very long hour and a half set, then came back to play 6 more songs. He had his witty banter, saying that he took the time to put the set list together for us to enjoy, so he was going to go ahead with that if we did not mind. He added that there was a little wiggle room for the song choices. As someone yelled out “Play The Johnny Song” he said that they must have read him mind. Kind of, because they were just about ti play it, and they played a fantastic version of Timorous Me. He played a lot from the last three albums, including the cover Six Months In A Leaky Boat from their EP. They played I’m A Ghost, which was requested too. They put the amazing Me & Mia right in the middle of the set, and they. Overall, they overindulged in the length of some songs, but over all, he gave 100% energy to each song, and took turns rockin the guitar as he walked around in a circle and coming up to the mic when he needed to sing.
OVER: 12a, I got a Ted Leo, Hearts of Oak pin, since I’m not as fond of Shake the Sheets. |
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| #327 Austri Morra, Oblio |
[Nov. 17th, 2005|01:19 pm] |
Wed 11/16. 930p. $6. The Fire. Beth, Jon, Anna.
FIRST BAND: Oblio (from Nashville)
LOOKED: Looked like a hipster band, with a lose tie around the singer’s neck (at a distance looked like Evan Dando when he sang) and a sport jacket. I thought for a while that the keyboard player was a girl, but it was not. The bass player looked like a thinner Ken from Freaks and Geeks with an all-brown wardrobe, pig pen T-shirt. The drummer looked somewhat like the keyboard player from the Realistics. They all appeared somewhat dirty…maybe it has been a long tour from Nashville
SOUNDED: The singer at first did not have any kind of distinctive quality to his voice, but mid set, he began to sing and sound like Evan Dando. They had a keyboard, and that guy also played trumpet. At one point the keyboard and bass switched, and the new keyboard player also brought out an accordion for a song. With the diverse range of instruments, they did not have a very clear “sound type” but it was good. The drummer was very very good, and very energetic, making his complicated rhythms look easy and like fun. Jon said he thought he was too good for the band, but I think the band got better toward the end, while the drummer was consistently amazing.
OTHER: They mentioned they were on tour, and they had merch for sale if you wanted to come talk to them after the show.
SECOND BAND: Austri Morra (Josh and Timmy’s band)
LOOKED: Timmy stood in an open stance playing his 6-string bass, looking like a happy lumberjack with his shaved head and beard. Josh looks polite, yet menacing as the guitarist and lead singer. The keyboard/other guitarist looks somewhat frail, as his guitar looked too big for him when he played it. And they drummer, although out of site was a middle-sized, but built guy.
SOUNDED: On their web-site, they proclaim themselves to have the influences of such as Faith No More and Tool, and I could definitely hear both throughout the set. Although it was more Tomahawk’s style, than Faith No More (as I know Josh is a fan of Mike Patton) and Timmy often brought Primus references to the table. Josh sang as best describes as a restrained, but forced whisper, which blossomed into controlled yell-singing and he gave his energy to the songs. They jammed with the start-stop, complex sections of rhythm and guitars as equally as they spaced out in parts. The over-all sound was like drunken, teetering, country-tinged, hardcore/metal music. The keyboards added a definite FNM influence at times, while Josh’s energetic and powerful shouting chorus lended itself to a good Tool comparison. But his normal, restrained quiet chanting was very reminiscent of Patton’s recent work with his police hand radio mic in Tomahawk.
OTHER: They are a refreshing difference to the normal indie/garage bar-band. Although they tended to over indulge in some of the slower spacey-jams, they always seemed to go back to the calculated and complex timing changes, which maintained the audiences attention.
OVER: They were done at about 1130p, and we left via Jon’s car, as Beth and I had walked there in the rain from Temple. We did not stay to see The Circadian Rhythms or The Sad Lives of the Hollywood Lovers. |
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| #326 Super Furry Animals, Caribou |
[Nov. 11th, 2005|05:07 pm] |
Wed 11/9. TLA 8p. $15. I went solo.
FIRST BAND: Caribou
LOOKED: Three guys. Switched instruments many times, but predominantly two drummers and a guitarist. They used other guitars but the main music was all electronically programmed beforehand. Behind them, they utilized the SFA video screen and projected their own variation of synched cartoon (Terry Gilliam/Monty Python style) music videos. The videos were dreary, depressing and disturbing, focusing on seahorses, carousels and deformed human figures. The storyline of the videos carried through out all their songs, culminating in a final video blending all the characters during a trial for the decrepit farmer character, whom had killed a bird. He was convicted by an owl that, after the farmer's wife beats it up, is exposed as only a costume worn by a "child" with a brain in a jar mounted on its head. The movement and the imagery were not immediately freaky and demented, just the tone of the entire project, and some of the drawn faces were odd in a mutant, deformed level.
SOUNDED: It is not really my thing, so I have nothing really good to say. I am not a fan of a "band" where you cannot decipher what is live, and what is pre-programmed. This combination makes for better home listening rather than live performance. In their case, the only live element I was sure about was their drums. They mainly sounded like the instrumental soundtrack to their video, with occasional singing thrown in, more for adding a different sound than forming an actual song. Lots of rhythmic drumming, and they were pretty loud overall.
OTHER: I got there around 830p, but assuming they went on at 8p, they only played 1 - 1.15 hours
HEADLINER: Super Furry Animals
LOOKED: Around 945p, they all came out in the day-glow green jumpsuits; embroidered with neon green lights / glow sticks, and the suits themselves were spattered with day-glow green paint that would suddenly come alive as they moved under the black lights. Gruff had moderately short hair, and was clean shaven. Their video screen was coordinated to their songs with mainly psychedelic blurs, rather than new story-line videos. They used the old videos for songs like Receptacle for the Respectable, and The Man Don't Give a Fuck (TMDGAF), but they altered the coloring and added scenes (of Dubya).
SOUNDED: They came out with a blast, playing International Language of Screaming, an amazing track from their best and second album, Radiator. They followed it up with Hello Sunshine, and took the rollercoaster ride that started grandly, with lots of promise, out onto a flat boring plain. They continued to dredge through their slower, droning songs from the new album and from the last two; stuff like the monotonously repetitive Run Christian Run, the good, but simple Atomic Lust, the three-part lounger Cloudberries, the drinking song, Horn and others from their new album: Zoom!, Ohio Heat, and Frequency. I was questioning why I’d ever wanted to see these guys, when they omit their first few grand records. I was swearing them off for good. But after their break/intermission, they made up for it big time. They came out to the meandering techno ditty from Phantom Power, Slow Life, which enabled them to come out slowly, as the programmed electronics played through. Then they took off, playing one great rocking song after another. They played the crowd requested Ice Hockey Hair, Rings Around the World, Lazer Beam, which lead nicely into Juxtaposed with U, then, as I felt it, they played Do or Die, ending with the great from Mwng's second disc about a cartoon chicken; Calimero. They finished the night out with their anthemic, repetitive and somehow dancy TMDGAF.
OTHER: To start the show they projected a camera shot of their house music turntables and we saw the records being switched, and they did the usual "messages on plates" dialogue with the camera too, including the famous UFO. As an intro, they projected footage of the band finding each other and being gathered on a golf cart across some wooded lawn somewhere, making us believe that it was happening live, as SFA entered the stage wearing the same outfits from the video. It showed them coming into some building, which lead them right out onto stage. To bookend that adventure, they showed "live" camera footage of them climbing into the back of a tractor trailer, which roadies closed up, and they drove off away, presumably down the streets of Philadelphia. They ended the show with a montage of Philly footage, highway signs, sky lines and other various land marks, and a caption that read SFA Loves You! Thank You Philly. They did their guitar gods cross with two guitars criss-crossed and the third up straight in the middle during the rock half of the show. Gruff and the band said they wanted to get personal with us, and since no one is called "Philadelphia" they were going to call us a real name...so they ran through the options: Phillip, Phyllis, or Phil. They kinda settled on Phil. Shortly after that, Gruff explained that he wrote the new song Ohio Heats with inspiration from when they were on tour with Grandaddy and getting a burrito, "Phil's" (this was used to keep the former joke running since he could not remember the guy's real name) phone rang, and it was a long lost girlfriend trying to get in contact. At that point, he should have just bailed and played the song.
OVER: 11p. |
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| #325 Shout Out Louds, Essex Green, The Sun |
[Nov. 7th, 2005|03:33 pm] |
ALL NEW FORMAT!!! (i'm just getting tired of writing everything out)
Thu 11/3. TLA 9p. $12 ea. Beth and I went. Upper Balcony was closed. They played Of Montreal during one of the intermissions. Drinking was allowed on the main floor, but it was all ages.
FIRST BAND: The Sun.
LOOKED: "one-from-each-genra" college guys. The geek singer, the ethnic keyboardit, the cool guy bassist, the emo guitarist, the hipster keyboards, and "that other guy" drummer.
SOUNDED: Starlight Mints, but more hard rock, almost metal at times. All members except the drummer had their own keyboard. Unique method of melodic singing over the catchy/hard music.
OTHER: Got their new CD, which is really a DVD. Plus two pins.
SECOND BAND: Essex Green. Have heard good things about them, but never heard them.
LOOKED: Hippies. One female keyboard & Flute. One lead Guitar, One lead singer/guitar, Drummer, Girl Bassist & Violin, Other Guy, keyboards, guy drummer.
SOUNDED: After The New Pornographers and Belle & Sebatian would get into a brawl, these guys would be left standing. More rocking the Belle & Sebasitan, but more fey than New Pornographers. The female singer sounded remarkably like Neko Case, say, a poor-man's Neko. They took turns playing different instruments for the most part. The lead guitar (perhaps it was just turned up loundly) added that to the songs which the keyboards usually add. 60's pop, not a psychadelic pop as expected. Lead guitar sounded very strong and smart. One song was played with the flute and violin, a very nice ballad, and break from the straight-forward pop.
OTHER: Drummer got out a mandolin for a song, and had a cigarette dangling from his mouth. A few people in the crowd figured what was coming, and yelled out the name, which they dedicated to that guy after the song was over, in hindsight. They had to restart the song 20 second into it, because the lead singer forgot or messed up.
HEADLINER: Shout Out Louds (See reviews #316, #296) from sweden
LOOKED: Lead singer: Jason Schwartzman/Kevin Barnes/Luke Wilson. Female Keyboards: Deborah Harry, but even smaller and thinner. Lead Guitarist: A Younger Dean Ween. Bass: anyone from the Screaming Trees. Drummer: David Cross.
SOUNDED: Similar to Dogs Die In Hot Cars, but more earthy. Dancy songs mixed with slower, but catchy songs. Vocals similar to The Thrills, Grandaddy, The Cure.
OTHER: They played most of, if not, all of their album, plus 2 B-Sides. They made reference to the time they opened for the Futureheads, saying how big the place was, and he was glad it was more filled in. But it was not very packed this night. They came out for one encore, and when they did, the lights stayed off, but their set was surrounded by a string of lights, and the singer and keyboardist started the song, with the rest of the members making their way back onstage and adding into the song. They played 100 degrees right when i thought it was to be played. It just felt right. That is their best song, but it was not played as it is on the album, the keyboards did not sound as good, as she played a different piece during the chorus.
OVER: 12m, I grabbed an SFA poster. |
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| #324 OK Go, Juliette & The Licks |
[Oct. 28th, 2005|12:29 pm] |
Tu 10/25 After working on the house, Beth and I went over to the North Star Bar around 9p. The show started at 7p, so we missed The Jane Anchor and most of Juliette and the Licks. I bought tickets beforehand, spending 14.50 per ticket, thinking that it might have sold out. The door fee was $14 each, so the $ lost was not considerable. So we gave the tickets to our buddy the doorman, and went in to a packed N.Star Bar. This evening, they were letting people in from the parking lot, rather than through the pool hall or from the bar itself. It was a no-smoking, all ages evening, which was nice. Beth and I stood near the back, and saw the waif like actress Juliette Lewis on stage with her Hollywood-looking band backing her. One of the guys looked like Seth Green, as Beth pointed out. Juliette flailed around and swung her head from side to side with raw punk and Joan Jett aggression. But neither she, nor the band, was that good. The first of three songs we heard did not have Juliette’s vocals up very much. The songs were rocking, but nothing memorable or outstanding. They said they had played Philly once before, and some people there remembered their former show, in a lounge somewhere. They let the audience choose what to hear, a cover or one of their songs. After someone yelled Suffrage City, they admitted to not knowing it, and forged ahead with one of their own songs, one they wrote while on road with the Warped tour. That answered many questions about their genre. They ended their set to lots of applause and camera phone photographers, and took a theatrical group bow at stage front, arms wrapped around each other.
Many of the people cleared out, and we walked up toward the front to get a good spot for Ok Go. It was very tough differentiating between the roadies and the actual band. The Licks cleared their own set, and did not wear hats. The crew who set up Ok Go’s stuff all were very stylish, were not sweaty, and all had different hats on. One was a derby, one a cabbie’s cap, and one a mushroom hat. After a very short intermission, and a quick set-up, OK Go came out. They had a video screen behind them to accent their created mood. Flashing on it was a slide show of different paisley and busy wall papers designs. Then OK Go came out to their own theme music. They all had very busy outfits on. The bass player, who looked a lot like a cousin of mine, had thick glasses, a scruffy face, and slightly pudgy like a well-fed chipmunk. But he was dressed will with a three piece suit and a lined shirt underneath. The guitarist/keyboard player had an equally nice suit, but he looked less strained to sport the style. He look young, and kind of like every guy you saw on campus with either a college or fraternity shirt on, but in an arty way. The singer looks kind of gay, but in a theatrical, tall and lanky way, so it might have just been his mannerisms. He was wearing a very loud paisley shirt, with a pink tie with blue spots, with an absurdly large tie pin in the center. His pants were basically painted on, and he had styling black shoes. He has a similar on stage presence, and look to Britt Daniels, minus the handlebar ears. They accurately painted a picture of style they are trying to create via the slide show and the album artwork, except for the drummer. He looked kind of out of place, being not as artsy or dressed up as the rest. T-Shirted and capped, he looked more rugged, like that sports fan dude from work that every office has. His appearance, although he fit in, became slightly out of place during their encore masterpiece.
They started right off the set with Don’t Ask Me. But it appeared that the bass and keyboards were not plugged in. they stopped before the lyrics began, and the singer did some banter with the audience about not knowing why the equipment was not working. After a short while, they got it working, and they launched into the same song, no surprises there. They are a fun energetic band, and his vocals are very good, somewhere between an English Gruff Rhys (of Super Furry Animals) and the aforementioned Britt Daniels. Though their first and second albums sound very very different in complexity and sound structure, they pull off mixing all the songs together live very well, as if all the songs could have been from the same batch of songs. The singer complained of being sick, and having an awful vocal night, but there was no difference in his vocals and cd recordings that I was unaware of, or that was unacceptably different. He still hit all the notes as expected, and carried the same high tone in songs like “Lately it’s so quiet,” the ballad of Ok Go’s collection, where he really gets to show off the range in his vocals. They played a great deal of music, all of which was incredible, as their songs really are good enough that each one could qualify on a Best of compilation.
It is a shame about OK Go, that they got so much negative hype from their first album, with tracks like Get Over It and You’re So Damn Hot, as being too much image and too little music, that tracks like There’s a Fire and The Fix Is In get left behind and forgotten about. They have been lumped into the “created for radio” class of bands, as something that every frat boy has in his cd changer. They are very much more of a band than the superficial packaging of “style of the week” dress that their new, and far greater album, lays around them. Their musical talent, great hooks and vocal melodies, and on-stage freedom make them a great live act and great album band, that I feel critics and music snobs pass them over without giving them a chance. It is similar in vein of Fountains of Wayne: even though they have one super-radio hit, they are still the same band that recorded Utopian Parkway.
Having explained myself, Ok Go played a tremendous set to the crowd, which consisted of a mix of mostly young girls with their boyfriends, or with ideas that OK Go was/could be their boyfriend. For the most part, they stayed with their one instrument, except the guitarist/keyboard player switched his guitars often, as well as which instrument he played. The crowd cheered loudly when they jumped to enhance a musical pause in a song. They exited the stage, and came back on, with a surprised looking roadie who was unplugging everything. Little did I or the audience know that their encore would be special. And it did not require any instruments, so the unplugging was a naturally ok thing. What they did was play the album version of their Franz Ferdinandish single a million ways over the sound system. But they took off their suit jackets and did an elaborate choreographed dance to the song. The Bass Chipmunk was the lip synching singer of the song, and they paraded around doing routines and acting out scenes through out the song. It was well done, and only once did I see the drummer smile because he was briefly out of step. But they pulled it off unusually and fantastically. They mimicked a water ballet, a slow-motion bar fight, and marching steps in tremendous harmony. It was an unexpected way to end the show, but seeing as OK Go is trying to promote their style around their music, this fit their bill quite nicely. We went out the pool room enterance and I grabbed an OK Go sign there. We were in the van and headed home by 1045p. So early! But alas, it was a school night for the all-agers dreaming of being with OK Go. |
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| Suppliment reviews from citypaper |
[Oct. 20th, 2005|10:07 pm] |
Of Montreal, The MGMT. #318
First Unitarian Church — Aug 26, 2005
In a stage setup that proved metaphorical, The MGMT.’s guitars seemed hanged rather than hung from their PVC and bedsheet backdrop. The electro-pop duo harmonized impressively but constantly along to their tapes, breaking only to strum unconvincingly and gong on said suspended instruments with drumsticks. An air-keyboard solo pushed the set into the territory of mocking actual instrumentation, and the flame from a lone lighter looked way out of place in perhaps the only context in which holding up a cell phone would have been more appropriate. Of Montreal more than redeemed the night with their second Church appearance in five months, playing mostly Sunlandic Twins tracks along with a new tune, a G’N’R tease, and the Gillette jingle thrown in. The five-piece bass-thumped the airless room into sweaty dance pockets, forcing everyone to forget the who’s-more-indie contest for a blissful hour or so. My T-shirt was still the most ironic, sellouts.
—Nick Norlen
The Redwalls, The Shout Out Louds #316
The Khyber — Aug 9, 2005
When has a show at the Khyber ever started before 10 o’clock? There has always been an unwritten rule that bands hit the stage about an hour after the posted show time, but Tuesday night things got underway promptly, and the Redwalls were already performing when the clock struck 10 (apologies to The Situation, whose set I had intended to see). Balancing sincerity with a cheeky snottiness (“Are you drunk? Are you happy?”), the Redwalls’ interpretations of ’60s-style rock straddled the line between send-up and homage. Grinning mischievously while chewing gum and harmonizing, the tousled-haired lads exuded youthfulness (none of the members looked old enough to be in a bar — hence the early start time?) while working hard to emulate older acts. Perhaps sensing the inevitable decline of the garage rock revival, they put a little country twang into a couple new songs. The whole performance was compelling in the smoky bar setting, and it was definitely their crowd (it became decidedly less dense after the Redwalls left the stage). The Shout Out Louds had some great melodies, and played with workman-like precision (picking up miscues with a smile in the very next measure), but their hooks didn’t keep the crowd, which slowly and steadily petered out the door.
—Jesse Delaney
Of Montreal #306
First Unitarian Church — Apr 10, 2005
Ambient noise, dim lighting and a slow-motion montage of band members passing water bottles. This is how Of Montreal began their psych-pop dance party. The Athens, GA quintet shook their groove thangs for more than an hour, blazing through a set that relied heavily on their latest disc The Sunlandic Twins. The crowd made it clear that it didn’t matter what time period the songs came from, as long as Of Montreal were the ones rockin’ out. Singer Kevin Barnes was inspired to boom “You are the best audience everrrrr” into an echoing delay microphone. The icing came during the encore: a surprise cover of Supergrass’ “Alright” was the perfect ending to a night of sugar-coated bliss.
—James Saul
Kimya Dawson #292
World Cafe Live — Jan 7, 2005
These are cynical, Cassandra-complex times, so there’s a certain transcendent magic to seeing somebody in a skunk costume belt out the entirety of “The Greatest Love Of All” like she means it. Kimya Dawson, with her tatted up forearms and painted-on whiskers, means it. The former Moldy Peach, whose Hidden Vagenda was number 12 on CP’s best of 2004 list, writes serpentine folk riddles with a wandering attention span, earnest socio-political observations and dazzling number of words per minute. In concert her sing-songy style, sheepish banter (“my setlist is on a scrabble score sheet”) and unique strumming style dazzle with understatement. So let her raise her arms and power out the Whitney Houston once in a while. No matter what they take from her, whoever they are, they can’t take away her dignity.
—Patrick Rapa
The Walkmen #290
TLA — Dec 4, 2004
Somewhere down in Georgia, Lil John and his Eastside Boyz are conspiring to kidnap The Walkmen. And the “Kings of Crunk” plot with good reason: The energy from singer-guitarist Hamilton Leithauser and co. was through the roof at the TLA on Friday. The D.C. quintet kicked off with two tracks from this year’s Bows and Arrows. After “Thinking of a Dream,” The Walkmen launched into “Little House of Savages,” introduced by Leithauser as “Little House of Sausages.” It was the only moment of the evening where Leithauser called upon the comedic spirit of Bob Evans. Which is fine; the Walkmen remained kosher for the remainder of their set and played a spirited, vegan-friendly balance of new and old tunes. Other crowd pleasers included “We’ve Been Had” and “The Blizzard of ’96,” both from The Walkmen’s first LP, Everyone Who Pretended to Like Me Is Gone. In spite of the subdued nature of these songs, their delivery was filled with more taurine than six cans of crunk juice. Lil John is watching you, Walkmen. Tread lightly!
—James Saul |
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