Artists: SARALEE, Kal Marks, Peach Kelli Pop, and The Scamps Date: Thursday, May 26, 2011 Location: Problem House (Allston, MA) Comments:
Act I: SARALEE– This guy (drums) and girl (vocals, guitar)duo were a pretty cool band to kick things off. Apparently, they just started making noises not too long ago; I couldn’t tell, they sounded like pros! Seriously though, there was something that stood out to me about them in a sort of off-kilterish kinda way. The girl’s vocals reminded me of a cross between Joanna Newsom, Bjork, and the kind of screeching, high pitched vocals you would hear in a Harmony Korine flick. It was pretty cool.
Act II: Kal Marks– I gotta be honest I don’t remember too much from Kal Marks’ set, but I do remember enjoying it very much. I recall the group exploring various sounds and nicely jumping back and forth from soft to loud. I plan on looking up their music and most likely seeing them again. Good work.
Act III: Peach Kelli Pop!!!– YAYYY! I was very, very excited to see my favorite Ottawa Bubble Gum Rockers and they did not dissapoint me. I loved the ultra intimate quality of these basement gigs, so it was real nice to be up close and personal with PKP. Their music is so fun, exciting, and welcoming the Problem House was the perfect venue for this set. I only knew about 1/3 of the songs, most were not from the recent LP (at least to my knowledge), but it didn’t really matter because the energy was still alive and well. But, of course when classics like “Doo Wah Diddy,” “Do the Egg Roll,” and my personal fave “Eeenie Meenie Minie Moe” were unleashed I couldn’t help but dance my ass off and sing along! Congrats to Peach Kelli for their first show on their first American tour!
Set List:
1) Robin Hood
2) Julie Oulie
3) No One Else
4) Doo Wah
5) Stay Away
6) Eeenie Meenie
7) Egg Roll
8) Drive In
9) Panchito Blues ?
Act IV: The Scamps– Alas, we missed these guys :( next time!
Hey those guys hopping and boppin look real familiar…
Bands: Luau, Big Big Bucks, White Wires, Colleen Green Location: The Starlab (Somerville, MA) Date: Friday, April 29, 2011 Comments:
Act I– Luau: These fellas rocked pretty hard and had a lot of enthusiasm, I was definitely rockin to their set. At the same time, I wanted a bit more and if I see them again, hopefully I’ll see a longer set. I felt like they had an old school hardcore edge to them, maybe, maybe not, but not limited to just that. I was also amused by the in between song banter- funny stories of mushrooms tripping and why you shouldn’t watch Reservoir Dogs during such activities. I think we can all agree on that account.
Act II– Big Big Bucks: I saw these guys last year (almost exactly last year, matter of fact) opening for Uninhabitable Mansions. That was a decent show and so was this one. The Bucks follow a similar trend as Luau, playing loud, fast Punk. I thought they played a solid set, but I feel like if I was more familiar with their material I would enjoy more. Thus, I will have to check out their music at some point and give it its due. Overall, I thought they were slightly better this time around.
Act III– White Wires: Straight up, the White Wires were the band we came for and without a doubt it was worth it. The Wires’ played a great set of fun, beachy, Rock and Roll anthems that put me in a fanastic, summery mood. Some of my favorites included “Let’s Go to the Beach,” “Girly Girly Girly,” and “Ha Ha Holiday.” All of which seemed to garner a positive crowd response in the form of euphoirc, fun filled, light moshing, albeit a late arrival for said mosh pit. We were also treated to an entertaining interlude a la luau in which we learned about the great town of Mianus- apparently it’s pretty tight in Mianus! Overall, I enjoyed the set, especially Allie’s steady drumming; always looks like she’s having the most fun! Well everybody had tons of fun lol.
Act IV– Colleen Green: Sadly, we missed Colleen’s set :( but there is a link to her awesome music down below. Do yourself a favor and check it out. Can’t wait to see her live!
Artists: Pongo’s Groove, People With Instruments Date: Friday, April 8, 2011 Location: Dirty Douglas (Lowell, MA) Comments: As with my first visit at the Dirty Douglas, this show was another pleasant addition to my concert attending history. Once again the sound was great, I can’t help but pay props to the PA of the Douglas. Last time, we heard garage esque bands, this time it was Full Out Funk! Apparently, a first for the Douglas. In any case, it was a stellar show and people seemed to respond with enthusiasm and plenty of dancing. Pongo’s Groove had plenty of grooves and I loved their jams. Specifically, I adored the classic soul/funk jam, “You Can Make It If You Try,” by Sly and the Family Stone. PG more than did the song justice; it was exceptional. Next up, was People With Instruments. These guys were also great musicians, but I didn’t appreciate their musicianship as much as the previous band, but maybe that’s just me. They were definitely a fun group, but I was definitely less interested in their performance. With that being said, when they played Dr. John’s “Right Place, Wrong Time” I was estatic! Their renditon was spot on and simply the right song for the time being. Overall, I had a good time, long live the funk!
P.S.: Brett Mason had an awesome supply of Surrealist (at least to me) art work, which I thoroughly appreciated. Spread the word, his work is excellent.
Date: Wednesday, April 13 (The Met, RI), Thursday, April 14 (Paradise, MA) No Thrills :( Part One:
Part Two:
The Atlantic ThrillsVivian GirlsBlack Lips - Cole and JaredBlack Lips -- Joe Bradley on DrumsIan St. Pe Gettin' Shit Done On Guitar
Black Lips Set @ The Met: Black Lips! – Ain’t No Deal, Fad Let It Bloom – Sea of Blasphemy, Dirty Hands, Not A Problem, Boomerang, Hippie Hippie Hoorah Good Bad Not Evil – I Saw A Ghost Lean, Katrina, Lock + Key, Bad Kids, Cold Hands Arabia Mountain – Family Tree, Modern Art, [Unknown] Non-Album – Make It, Stuck In My Mind, Buried Alive
Black Lips Set @ The Paradise Rock Club Black Lips! – Ain’t No Deal We Did Not – MIA, Stranger Let It Bloom – Sea of Blasphemy, Dirty Hands, Not A Problem, Boomerang, Hippie Hippie Hoorah Good Bad Not Evil – I Saw A Ghost Lean, Katrina, Lock + Key, Bad Kids 200 Million Thousand – Short Fuse Arabia Mountain – Family Tree, Go Out and Get It, Modern Art, Dumpster Dive Non-Album – Make It Almighty Defenders – Bow Down and Die
Bands/Rappers: Mac Miller, Taking Back Sunday, Third Eye Blind, Wiz Khalifa Date: April 9, 2011
Mac Miller – Firstly, the sound in Matthews Arena is a shitty thing. No surprise, though. Watching good ole Mac and his crew rap was like listening to an ole beat-up boom box cranked to max volume. I have no comment on his performance other than that I’m simply not familiar with him.
Taking Back Sunday – At their best they sounded like an impressionable Head Automatica knock-off band and at their worst they made drunk kids fall asleep. It was mostly the latter. “WHO HERE GOES TO COLLEGE?” Oh gee bro I don’t know! Crowd wasn’t feeling TBS and they had a good reason not to be.
Third Eye Blind – This is the point in the show where things improved a lot more. The instruments were much more audible and the vocals mixed just right for Third Eye Blind. The band’s long-standing favorites “Jumper” and “Semi Charmed Life” drew the most notable crowd reaction. The pauses for the crowd to sing got a bit cheesy, but I guess that’s a norm for arena rock bands. For a band that I haven’t really listened to much before, I will say I was impressed. Their set wasn’t draggy and their new tune, which they closed their set with, sounded decent.
Wiz Khalifa – Wiz seemed excited and all to be performing. Opening chants of TAYLOR (GANG), TAYLOR (GANG) were excessive. Even worse was the repetitive WAKE N (BAKE), WAKE N (BAKE). When the dude started rapping for reals, it was hard to tell whether it was his own voice coming out of the PA or that of a recording. I imagine this is the standard for rap shows, though.
Conclusion: Screw arenas! I’ll take a 100 person dive bar or, on the larger end of things, the Orpheum Theatre or House of Blues any day over the distance and lack of personality associated with arenas.
Artists: Cults (didn’t see! :( ), Magic Kids, Superhumanoids Date: Friday, April 1, 2011 Location: Brighton Music Hall (Brighton, MA) Comments: Act I: Superhumanoids– These guys were nice and chill, for lack of better adjectives. But, in many ways that’s precisely how I would describe them. They could definitely rock out at the same time and had some hooks, but I simply appreciated just a nice, relaxing experience. A good segue way into the Magic Kids…
Act II: Magic Kids– The happiest band in the world, it seems. The music of the Magic Kids simply jumps out at you and grabs you and says hey let’s play Twister and have a Pajama Party! Not to get too Calvinist on you, but that’s really how it is. Their music is to the Beach Boys what Hunx and His Punx is to 60s Girl Groups. In other words, they have the whole Brian Wilson pop dynamic down to a tee, and they have added their own flavor to the mix. The Kids’ opened with “Candy,” an incredible number from last year’s Memphis LP. Honestly, the sound was amazing, I couldn’t think of a single flaw, I could hear everything, it sounded better than the record itself. They continued with other Memphis classics like “Summer,” “Skateland,” “Superball,” and perhaps their most well-known song, “Hey Boy,” which was probably my favorite moment of the evening. In particular, the drums were fucking epic, it was impossible not to be impacted in one way or another. They also played a new song called “Awesome,”- an eight minute ditty. All in all, they played a nearly 40 minute set and I can say with no hyperbole, the Magic Kids were one of the best bands I have ever seen. Unfortunately, it seemed like the crowd wasn’t overly enthusiastic for their performance, but these Memphis natives didn’t let that nonsense intefere with their fun. Neither did I, can’t wait to see them in the future, perhaps headlining!
Artist: Glassjaw, These People, Tidal Arms Date: Friday, March 25, 2011 Venue: Paradise Rock Club (Boston, MA) Comments: Act I: Tidal Arms- These guys certainly had the musical chops and perhaps could be better appreciated by musicians or those that value technique as a high standard of musical quality. Not to say they were mind blowing musicians, they weren’t, but some of the drummers I attended the show with were definitely impressed with the musicianship displayed by Tidal Arms. For me, they fit too nicely in the typical rock band realm and didn’t do much sonically outside those confines.
Act II: These People- These people were better than the previous people. I felt like I was watching a combo of a less experimental Sonic Youth (especially in the vocals) meets the danceable quality of a Lemonade. They didn’t totally floor me, but kept my intersted and I certainly enjoyed their performance. They were more on the inventive side than Tidal Arms and for me that is far more appealing than being a virtuso or a techncially sophisticated musician. Overall, TP’s set was short, but sweet.
Act III: Glassjaw!!!-“You don’t know! You don’t know! You don’t know!” screams singer Darryl Palumbo as they open with the new classic ” You Think You’re John Fucking Lennon.” I think we do know Darryl; we know that Glassjaw is an unflinching powerhouse, a force to be reckon with. The band’s set placed heavy emphasis on their 2002 sophomore effort Worship and Tribute, an album that contains some of the group’s finest and most recognizable songs, This in turn got the crowd all riled up and I must say GJ fans appear to be some of the most energetic out there. Memorable moments included “Ape Dos Mil,” “Convectuoso,” “Tip Your Bartender,” and easily the most exhilerating number all night-“Siberian Kiss,” one of the band’s angriest/heviest tunes- a wise closer on their part. Alas, this was the only song from that LP- a major qualm for me and many others, with it being arguably their most beloved work. Also, while I enjoyed the fact that they played many of their current songs, I thought the choice of performing an encore consisting of an entirely NEW EP (Coloring Book ) was a poor one. And though I appreciated the music, I felt like coming off the intensity and heightened engagement of “Siberian Kiss,” playing solely subdued, reserved, more mellow music was a little too much. With that being said, as a whole GJ and particularly Darryl, with his frentic style and off the wall antics/persona, put on an amazing show of upwards to 105 minutes of pure, sonic insanity.
Set List:
You Think You’re (John Fucking Lennon)
Tip Your Bartender
Mu Empire
Stars
Ape Dos Mil
The Gillette Cavalcade Of Sports
Pink Roses
Jesus Glue
Natural Born Farmer
All Good Junkies Go To Heaven
El Mark
Convectuoso
Two Tabs Of Mescaline
Siberian Kiss
Encore:
Black Nurse
Gold
Vanilla Poltergeist Snake
Miracles In Inches
Stations Of The New Cross
Daytona White
Grade: 8/10
Excuse me for the extremely late arrival of this review! You guys deseve better… I’ve been very busy with school, work and the whoel shabang, but better late than never fuckers!
Artists: The Human Tail, Thick Shakes, The Sinbusters, Ladderlegs, Hurricanes Of Love, Gangsta Love Date: Saturday, February 12, 2011 Venue Dirty Douglas (Lowell, MA) Comments: This was my first time at the Dirty Douglas, a DIY venue in Lowell, and from the looks of it there’s a pretty rad scene going on in this Heavenly city, as Frank- singer/guitarist for Hurricanes of Love would put it. Good old Frank is from Atlanta, GA and is well-acquainted with our tru gangsta home boys, The Black Lips! Frank and his saw playing bandmate put on a nice, warm folksy-bluesy set that didn’t blow me away, but was still solid. I also really dug Frank’s rastafarian esque interludes in which he always made it a point to thank his Heavenly brothers and sisters. The rest of the evening consisted of various Punk and/or potentially Garage acts. The Human Tail delivered a fast, rockin’ performance and I could easily see them appearing on a small, national label in the vain of Burger or Goner someday. The Thick Shakes bore a similar aesthetic and certainly rocked just as hard, but with a little bit more of a pop element. Speaking of “Garage” influence, Thick Shakes certainly displayed it more than any other band on the roster. Even on their myspace page they descirbe themselves as “Garage” and if their raw, 60s Hard Rock sound didn’t convince you enough just a glance at their influences: The Kingsmen, The Sonics, and In the Red greats, Thee Oh Sees (according to their myspace page) should be enough to end the debate. I suppose for these reasons TS stood out the most to me. The Sinbusters and Ladderlegs rounded out the show, each continuing the trend of heavier, energetic, Garage oriented Punk. Sinbusters actually reminded me of Thick Shakes’ faves, Thee Ohh Sees, especially listening to them now on myspace. Ladderlegs also contains an undeniable savage and certainly strange quality and reminds me of earlier hardcore punk, but a bit more experimental and also some early Reatards vibes, but much more fleshed out and musical. Overall, the sound was top notch for all of the bands, thanks in part to the venue’s audio, I assume. I can’t say my mind was blown by any of the artists, but I did enjoy myself and this show introduced me to several talented, garagey bands that I had never heard of before. Each artist was decent in their own right, so I can’t complain.
The following is a list of the bands and their myspace pages or websites. Check em’ out!
Artist(s): Best Coast, Wavves, and No Joy Date: Friday, February 4, 2011 Venue: Paradise Rock Club (Boston, MA) Comments: For starters, it was a blessing that we actually made it to this show alone. Long story short, the concert sold out and we had no tickets! After a frusturating 24 hour journey, thee Best Coast/Wavves tickets were finally in the palms of our hands and all was well in the KLYAM Concert Atending Universe.
Act I: No Joy-
If their name was their aim, then they did not succeed. I felt plenty of joy seeing this “female Deerhunter” as Glen put it (though half the band consisted of men) and from the moment they picked up their instruments I could tell we were in for a loud band. I know fans always say stupid shit like that ” from the very first moment it was gold blah blah blah.” Nah, it wasn’t earth shattering and I’m not saying I knew immediately they would be a sound opener, I didn’t, but I had a feeling from the first guitar riffs that whether good or bad they weren’t a band you could turn away from. Luckily, they put on a decent set and though they didn’t share the same pop qualities as their headliners, they did give off some summery vibes that fit with the mood of the evening. Overall, they rocked hard and clearly weren’t a band that begged for your attention, but rather let their music do the talking. I will be sure to further check out No Joy one way or another in the future, hopefully they will swing by Boston again sometime soon.
Act II: Wavves!-
Yes Best Coast is superb, but unlike most of the attendees on Friday, the KLYAMers were perhaps the few that hail Wavves as the one and only King of the Beach. That’s right, our boys Nathan, Stephen, and Jacob unleashed their best KLYAM attended set thus far- playing all the hits one would hope one of their favorite bands would play. Immediately following a jab about innerband analingus, the trio exploded into King of the Beach classic, “Idiot” and the crowd erupted into moshing and pogoing and the whole nine. I could tell just from this intro that the band sounded better than they did the last time I saw them in June and that was a great performance unto itself. I could hear everything Nathan uttered, making it easier to sing along to all my beloved Wavves tunes. Speaking of which the group played a fair amount of the old (“Wavves,” “Beach Demon,” To the Dregs,” “So Bored,” “No Hope Kids,) the new (“Bug,” “In the Sand,”) but mostly cuts from last year’s landmark record King of the Beach- (“Super Soaker, “Take On the World, “Linus Spacehead,” etc.). All in all they were tighter than ever and the sound was great; there’s just this undeniable musical onslaught that hits you so hard, it’s terrific. I think their musicianship has definitely increased over this past year as well as their roles as performers. This time around they really came off as a “Rock Band,” in a good way. The set concluded with the 90s commericalish pop esque sounding “Post Acid,” a great choice for a closer, certainly leaving me with a smile.
Setlist (not actual set list, but songs they did play in no particular order):
Idiot
King of the Beach
Super Soaker
Friends Were Gone
Wavves
Beach Demon
To the Dregs
Linus Spacehead
Bug
In the Sand
Nervous Breakdown (Black Flag)
Take On the World
Green Eyes
So Bored
No Hope Kids
Post Acid
Act III: Best Coast-
Right now, I’m a little crazy for Best Coast and this set just jostled me into insanity. Bethany Cosentino, Bobb Bruno, and Ali Koehler offered Boston a 60 minute taste of the Summer, California, and youthful AM Pop heartbreak drenched in vintage, reverby Rock and Roll. The reverb was done just right, you could hear everything Bethany sang, which for this kind of music that is key. I noticed throughout their invigorating set the crowd enthusiastically sang along as if they knew the pain Bethany articulated (probably because they did)- though it was mostly the ladies that felt this connection, it seems. Right off the bat with “Crazy For You,” Bethany displayed excellent showomanship and almost naturally shared a wavelength (no pun intended) with the audience. Stand outs from the performance included “Boyfriend,” “When I’m With You,” “Our Deal” (a song NOT about weed, but mentions it!), “Bratty B,” amongst others. One of the most powerful moments of the evening was without a doubt the finale of “Each and Every Day” (CFY’s closer)- the trio rocked hard into the breakdown building up to Bethany’s soft, gentle vocals at the very end of the ballad. When she cried “Every day I wake up and I thank the stars above for sending me a man who I could really love if only I could convince you to feel the same way we could be so very happy each and every day” I could see the passion in some of the girls’ eyes and in just that alone I think Bethany and Best Coast have accomplished what they set out to do.
Setlist (Not in any particular order and I’m definitely missing some songs):
Crazy For You
The End
Goodbye
Summer Mood
Wish He Was You
Our Deal
Sun Was High (So Was I)
Bratty B*
When I’m With You
Something In the Way
When the Sun Don’t Shine
Fist City (Loretta Lynn)
Each and Everyday*
* For these songs seeing them live jolted me into excessive fandom for each in their own right; for whatever reason they never hit me before, but now I’m addicted :)
Final Comments: Some shows deliver surprises (Shattered Records Tour), others offer extreme visceral euphoria (Black Lips, No Age), and then there are simply those shows that satisfy exactly what you anticipated they would and a little bit more. This concert was definitely one of those shows. I can’t say anything was unexpected, but it didn’t have to be. All corniness aside, I think Best Coast/Wavves/No Joy did bring some Summer cheer to this froid as fuck region of the world. And as for first KLYAM attended concerts of 2011, what a way to kick off the year!
It looks like another year in concerts has concluded for me. I got to see 22 shows (25 in 2009) at quite a few different venues and three happened to have taken place in New York City (reppin’ Queens). While I’m not so sure 2010 can top 2009 in terms of overall favorite shows, I think it’s safe to say I had a great time concert-going. Looking back, I’m going to rate shows based on three factors: opening bands, headlining band, and experience. A great experience for me is a combination of a great venue, a great crowd, and second-by-second fun. I tend to be pretty analytical about this kind of stuff, so for math people the weighting is as follows: 20% opening bands, 20% experience, and 60% headlining band. Also, I’m usually stricter when it comes to these end of the year tallies.
A
1. Black Lips – Temptress, NYC [95]
2. No Age – Middle East Downstairs [95]
A-
3. Black Lips – Middle East Downstairs [93]
4. King Khan & The Shrines – Royale [92]
5. Wavves – Great Scott [90]
6. Nobunny – PA’s Lounge [90]
B+ 7. The Walkmen – Royale [89]
8. Editors – House of Blues [89]
9. Spoon – House of Blues [87]
B 10. Paul Weller – Apollo Theater, NYC [86]
11. Girls – Paradise Rock Club [86]
12. Beach House – Paradise Rock Club [86]
13. Harlem – Great Scott [85]
14. Deerhunter (AUG) – Royale [85]
15. Those Darlins – TT The Bears [84]
16. The Growlers – TT The Bears [84]
B- 17. Deerhunter (OCT) – Royale – [83]
18. Uninhabitable Mansions – Middle East Upstairs [82] 19. Mission of Burma – Paradise Rock Club [81]
C+ 20. Vivian Girls – Great Scott [79]
21. Black Lips – The Shank, NYC [78]
22. Kurt Vile – Harper’s Ferry [77]
Kids Like You & Me (KLYAM) 