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Concert Review: No Age, Lucky Dragons, Needy Visions @ Middle East Downstairs (11/16/10)

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Bands: Needy Visions, Lucky Dragons, No Age
Venue: Middle East Downstairs (Cambridge, MA)
Date: Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Act One – Needy Visions – Now, I really liked Needy Visions. The lead singer and guitarist was very Boston. He and his crew were very passionate. I always like that. “Fuck the System” showcased the best of these guys. A jovial keyboard riff contrasted the passionate vocals. Props to the bass player who really brought the funk. Props to the drummer and the other guitarist as well as they also contributed to the sound and overall “funk” of the band. They aren’t really your typical garage rock or punk band by any stretch of the imagination. They are more rooted in fun beats and tight rhythms. It’s cool.

Chris: Glen summed up most of my points, but he perhaps loved them more than I did. They were entertaining though and I recommend y’all check em’ out. They are playing at the Whitehaus this Friday (November 19).

Act Two – Lucky Dragons – I’ve seen a few groups that possess a very similar style to Lucky Dragons. For those who aren’t familiar with Lucky Dragons, it was one guy — Luke Fischbeck — with a laptop and a few other toys. He played some ambient music that was at least partially based on crowd interaction. He handed about ten CDs to people at the front of the stage. There was a projector and a box on the stage. At first, I didn’t quite get the concept of the CDs, but I quickly realized that when somebody flashes the CD on top of the box and in front of the projector, a unique sound is produced on the PA. This was fun for about three minutes. In the background of the stage there was a pretty constant slow motion projection video of what looked like mansions. At some point, Luke handed some of us pieces of paper with lyrics. He repeated about half of what was on the sheet. About ten minutes later his set was over. I always feel bad for people that do experimental sets like this. Since the music is pretty constant, a lot of people were bandying about for the duration of the set. They treated this art form as background music. I can’t really blame the talkers since this experience is rather obscure and awkward for first-timers and those otherwise unfamiliar with such art.

Chris:: Yeah, this aint my bag, but like Glen said at least we were not simply spectators and instead had a chance to participate in the process.

Act Three – No Age – Wow, where to begin?! No Age, simply stated, has been amongst my favorite bands — live and on record — for the past couple of years. Their all-ages show at the Middle East Downstairs in July 2008 marked my first real concert experience. It’s funny because I only stumbled upon No Age by accident. I was looking on the Middle East website to see if The Walkmen were playing. They weren’t — yet — but I noticed something else: pretty much every show listed was 18+, except this one band No Age was playing an all-ages show. “Wow, this is awesome” I thought. So I checked them out on YouTube and really liked what I heard. The rest is history. Flash forward nearly two and a half years later. I’ve seen them four times and each of their shows has topped their previous performance. Incredible. Three full-length albums and one EP deep, No Age had a lot more material to showcase than they did on that hot July 2008 night. They started this night off with “Life Prowler” off of their latest LP Everything In Between. Following that they rushed into a familiar classic “Teen Creeps” from 2008’s Nouns. From the opening notes of this, the crowd erupted into a frenzy. A frenzy that’s never been known to really let up. Smiles were plastered on everyone’s faces. Some people decided to crash into others. Others held onto the stage — or strangers next to them — for dear life. The 21+ crowd in the bar section looked on, with some snapping photographs. Whatever the case, it’s all about the music with No Age. The punk rock spirit and excitement that comes from the drum kit of Dean Spunt and guitar of Randy Randall is unparalleled. After “Teen Creeps,” we got a little taste of everything from the ambient-turned-explosively catchy noise classic “Every Artist Needs a Tragedy” from Weirdo Rippers to the sample heavy power number “You’re a Target” off of their Losing Feeling EP to “Chem Trails” and “Fever Dreaming” — the best of the best off Everything In Between. Meshed additionally in the set were other excellent tracks off Nouns and Everything. One especially great moment was when the sweat from Dean’s drum kit flew into the air as he started pounding his floor tom and snare drum in the opening seconds of “Glitter”.  After the end of their near hour long set, the crowd took a breather (realizing just how much we were sweating) before welcoming the band back on stage. Chris might have been expecting another “Don’t Talk To Me” G.G. Allin cover, but instead they performed Black Flag’s “Six Pack” to a T with the singer of Needy Visions joining them up on stage. They closed the set with Nouns closer “Brain Burner”. What more could we ask for?! Some high fives from Dean and Randy? No need to ask. These fine gentlemen do that kind of thing automatically. This show was about as fun as shows come. It was the kind of show that I’ll always be able to reminisce. Being able to talk to Dean after the show was a pleasure. He took the time to sit on stage and interact with concert-goers after it was all over. This is exemplary. It shows he isn’t some music celebrity, but rather a really nice guy playing really nice music. Hope to see you back again soon, No Age!

Chris: Easily one of the best bands I have seen live, perhaps the Black Lips are the only other band I would say has topped them for me. Dean and Randy are masters of high energy without coming off as typical Rock Stars that try way too hard to get a crowd going. With these dudes, the music simply speaks for itself. They played more than half of my favorites as well as some other killer tunes, plenty of cuts from the new LP. I always dig their references to old school Hardcore and this time around I loved their rendition of Black Flag’s “Six Pack.” Dean went so far as to include the classic closing lines, “What do they know about partying or ANYTHING ELSE?!” Another classic moment was the long, but amazing build up in “Every Artist,” we waited in anticipation for that awesome moment when Randy swinged his guitar around and kicked right into the heavy part of the number and of course the crowd went crazy. Speaking of which, this was one of my favorite mosh pits, as always with No Age. Can’t wait to see them again! Modern day DIY Punk at its finest.

No Age Set-List [No Order]
– “Life Prowler”
– “Teen Creeps”
– “Every Artist Needs A Tragedy”
– “Sleeper Hold”
– “Cappo”
– “Eraser”
– “Miner”
– “You’re A Target”
– “Chem Trails”
– “Shred And Transcend”
– “Valley Hump Crash”
– “Glitter”
– “Depletion”
– “Fever Dreaming”
———– Encore ———-
– “Six Pack” [ Black Flag Cover]
– “Brain Burner”

VIDEO OF “LIFE PROWLER” LIVE @ MIDDLE EAST: http://vimeo.com/16974100

Art, concert review, Honorary KLAYMERS, Music, No Age, pictures, Punk, reviews, Video

Classic Concert Reviews: No Age

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This is a Concert Review of No Age at Wellesley College that I wrote for our past blog Wakefield Etudiant.

Bands: Lemonade, The Beets, and No Age
Venue: Wellesley College
Date: April 2, 2009

Introduction: When the three amigos and Paul arrived at Wellesley College we searched for nearly a half hour for the music center. Slowly, but surely we reached the place we were seeking (I had to run, not cool). So, we asked to step inside, but of course we have penises and it was an all girl school, clearly not our turf. We were instructed that entrance could only be granted, if we knew someone that attended the college. Well, we did not, but with our impeccable boyish charm we were able to coax the sweet girl at the door to let us in. The show cost a mere five singles. An excellent deal by any standard.

Act One: Lemonade
Excellent dance rock meets hard rocking noise pop. This trio rocked out for sure. All three members were highly energetic, especially the drummer; it appeared as though he would smash his entire set at any second. Now, with all that being said, I don’t want to confuse readers, they are extremely poppy, but in a very endearing way. I hope to hear more of them in the future.

Act Two: The Beets
Not the Beets that Doug and Skeeter adored, but rather an early Black Lips meets Beat Happening kinda group. They meshed garage rocky, bluesy, noisy sounds (Black Lips) with 60s pop and somewhat callow musicianship (Beat Happening, but perhaps better musicianship than Beat Happening). They weren’t as good as the first act and certainly nowhere near the next act lol, but they were overall entertaining and clearly talented. I heard some hooks beneath the noise. Some flaws were the start stop thing that occurred at the beginning of the first number and most of the songs sounding alike.

Act Three: NO AGE!!!
Simply said, one of the top five greatest bands out there today. Glen, Ben, and I had the magnificent pleasure of chatting with the dynamic duo at various junctures throughout the show. We stood right between Dean’s drum set and Randy’s amps and hopped up and down, raising our arms straight in the air relentlessly as soon as they opened with “Teen Creeps,” a tune I personally requested to Randy Randal. I hopped back and forth between the mosh pit and the front where it was a bit tamer. The crowd (30 , give or take) shared in our enthusiasm and loved each song. Along with TC, they played such classics as “Neck Escaper,” “Every Artist Needs A Tragedy,” “Eraser” “Miner,” “Keechie,” “Cappo,” “Here Should Be My Home,” “Ripped Knees,” “Sleeper Hold,” “Brain Burner,” and two new songs. Unfortunately, the band did not play their triumphant anthem, “Everybody’s Down,” but what are you going to do? There was no stage and perhaps Randy thought it would be too much of hassle to find some way to do his signature crowd surfing at the end of the song. Oh well, it was still a fabulous show. Can’t complain.

Conclusion: Small Venues make the best shows! Not an absolute, but an experienced truth. As I said before, fabulous. My second favorite concert ever! and I’m sure it ranks fairly high for Glen and Ben. Grade: 10/10. I strongly recommend No Age to those who have not seen them, fan or non fan.

————
Editors Note: Definitely the second best show I’ve seen. The up-close and personal nature of the show contributed to its awesomeness. The fact that the group traveled out of their way to put on a show for a relatively small number of college students is simply impressive. The showmanship of Randy Randall and Dean Allen Spunt is second to none. – Glen

Here is a Concert Review of No Age Glen posted on the old blog WE about two years ago. Ohh the memories!

It’s always fun searching online for bands that play local all ages shows. Especially difficult is finding one at a small club-like venue. Not to worry for Chris, Ben, and I as we noticed No Age, an LA based noise rock band we saw back in July, scheduled to play at the Middle East Downstairs. Recalling No Age as one of the more preeminent live acts we’ve seen, we didn’t hesitate to make the journey to Cambridge on Monday night.

Act One: Silk Flowers – I didn’t really know what to expect from this trio. Judging from looks alone, I saw diversity. The guy on the left with the long hair seemed more apt as a 90s garage rock guitarist than a synthesizist (no such word, is there?). The center-man was just kind of there. That’s not a bad thing. He was doing some heavy duty rocking out and I greatly admire that. The dude on the left handling the drum machine (and singing…if we can call it that), who I figured out is Aviram Cohen, reminded me of Mr. O’Brien in his youth (not that I know what O’Brien looked like back then). The group showed flashes of potential with catchy dub beats and a tribute (or seemingly so) to the post-punk/industrial scene of the ’80s. I recall Ben comparing their music to ’70s horror music, a fairly accurate comparison. I admittedly heard more Palm (the electronic one-man band from the first No Age show) than Kraftwerk. Overall, it was quite a respectable performance for a three song set.

Act Two: Soft Circle – Guitar. Drums. Electronic Percussion. Vocals. Hiram Akira Bharoocha can literally do it all…in one song at that. He picks up the guitar and plays a one or two minute riff. He then goes over to the electronic percussion kit and mixes a string of noise. All the while he records a spacey chant. With the guitar riff, percussion noise, and vocals all on loop, he picks up his drum sticks and starts going nuts. Being able to do all of this effectively proves he is a masterful musician, but what impressed me even more were the songs themselves. They were more dub than anything else, but the heavy drum was really the kicker. Watch out for Soft Circle. That’s all I have to say.

Act Three: No Age – Words really can’t describe how good No Age is live. You kind of have to be there. Further, you kind of have to be in the front row. Starting things off with “Keechie” — an experimental and instrumental track off their 2008 highly acclaimed CD release Nouns — was a bit unexpected, but proved to be a great segue into more heavier, noise driven tunes. The crowd, rather shiftless during Silk Flowers and Soft Circle, went into an uproar as soon as Dean Allen Spunt, the drummer/vocalist, began pounding the bass drum. Randy Randall’s near flawless guitar play was an excellent complement as usual. Lesser known songs like “Brain Burner”, “Cappo”, and “Sleeper Hold” drew great crowd involvement in the form of head banging and dancing while more popular songs like “Here Should Be My Home”, “Eraser”, and “Ripped Knees” put everyone into a comfortable position to rock out and bang into each other. Two particularly awesome moments I recall were: Randy Randall playing “Eraser” right in front of me (I could’ve and should’ve memorized the chords) and an attractive female, approximately my age, dancing and throwing herself around with ease (whilst not giving any shit at all). I was a little disappointed when No Age left the stage having not played the classic “Everybody’s Down.” Of course, they came back for an encore. The first encore included Aviram Cohen on vocals singing a cover of G.G Allin’s “Don’t Talk To Me.” That was pretty much out of the blue, but awesome, and went along well with the pace of the previous set of songs. The second encore was in fact “Everybody’s Down.” This is definitely one of No Age’s better songs (Chris would argue its their best) and ended in a spectacularly awesome way — Randall crowd surfing while finishing the final minute of the song on guitar. He was thrown back on the stage and the concert ended. Amazing. Oh yeah, Aviram gave Ben and I high-fives. That was cool.

Final Comment: 3rd Best Concert Of All Time (Following Radiohead and Dinosaur. Jr/Meat Puppets/Built to Spill)

Finally, here is a review of the first No Age show we saw when we were not as familiar with the LA duo.

http://www.youtube.com/v/mrjO-mCl_yg?version=3

and
http://www.youtube.com/v/R02rZQUfFaM?version=3

Black Lips, concert review, Music

Concert Reviews: Paul Weller @ Apollo/ Black Lips @ The Shank

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http://www.self-titledmag.com

Bands: Erland & The Carnival, Paul Weller
Venue: Apollo Theater
Date: November 6, 2010

Act  One – Erland & The Carnival – A very respectable UK folk/post-punk revivalist group. As Erland said, they were simply warming up the stage for Weller. With that said, their set was quite modest in length — not more than thirty minutes — but very effective. They reminded me of a more eclectic/James Bond theme music version of Editors. When they jammed, they jammed. I found myself recognizing a number of their tunes from the video of the gig they posted on their MySpace page.

Act Two – Paul Weller – Over the past several months, I’ve gained much more appreciation for the Modfather. It was a quite a treat to see him perform last night at the historic Apollo Theater. Weller has quite a catalog to choose from in selecting his night’s set-list. Last night, he incorporated a bunch of tunes from 2010’s Wake up the Nation. What made up the rest was a fine variety of relatively recent material, a little bit older stuff, and classic Jam and Style Council tunes. The sound was excellent. The aid of two keyboardists/effects performers and an extra rhythm guy contributed greatly to Weller’s backing. What I love about Weller is when he really rocks out. The drum solo in “One Bright Star” and the pure magic of “All I Wanna Do” were just some of the many highlights. Weller gave off the impression at the end of his second encore that the near sold-out crowd would be back to hear him for a second time in a row the next night. Those people are in for a double dose treat.

Set-List
1. “Aim High”
2. “Into Tomorrow”
3. “7 to 3 is the Striker’s Name”
4. “Pretty Green”
5. “From the Floorboards Up”
6. All I Wanna Do (Is Be With You)”
7. “Sea Spray
8. “Paper Chase”
9. ??
10. “No Tears to Cry”
11. “Shout To The Top”
12. “Trees
13. “How Sweet It Is”
14. “One Bright Star”
15. “Andromeda”
16. “Fast Car Slow Traffic”
17. “Start!”
18. “Echoes on the Sun”
19. “Wild Wood
——Encore One——
20. “Broken Stones”
21. “Pieces of a Dream”
22. “Wake up the Nation”
23. “Art School”
24. “Come On, Let’s Go”
—-Encore Two—-
25. “The Changingman”
26. “Porcelain Gods”

—————————————————–

Bands: Fergus & Geronimo, K-Holes, Cerebral Ballzy, Black Lips
Venue: The Shank
Date: November 6, 2010

Comments on the Venue: Where do I even begin? I just want to clear something up, first. Hipsters, individually, are not necessary bad people. Talking to a few of them and sort of mocking them (“Are shows in a big warehouse the new thing?”), I realized there are some good apples in the bunch. Not so much for the case for the hoi polloi of Williamsburg hipsters. Damn, these people suck so much! As Rich said, they are people with a lot of money, but love to act like they don’t have any. These hipsters wait in long lines for port-a-potties and $4 beer. Making loads of money off of the cheapest brands of beer is suddenly relevant. These people have no respect for the bands and care solely about themselves. Shocker! The venue itself was the complete opposite of the Apollo. I didn’t expect some first-rate DIY “soundspace”, but…this?! Every process after the most basic (checking IDs, buying tickets) was actually pretty laughable. There are shit-loads of people just standing around, smoking whatever they feel like. In front of the stage are hipsters yelling at each other and pushing each other. The stage itself is pretty legit, but the sound system is quite awful.

Act One, Two, and Three – I wasn’t really paying attention much to any of these bands. Fergus & Geronimo sounded really good. I caught the tail end of their set. K-Holes were the same K-Holes I saw in July and August. Cerebral Ballzy sounded not so good, but I couldn’t really hear them all that well from where I was standing.

Act Four – Black Lips – After avoiding the pit area for a while, I made up my mind. I was going to stand in front like I usually do. The moment Black Lips come on, they sound-check jammed to something that sounded like “Stone Cold.” A soft rocker to test out the waters. This was all well and good. They then got the night going with “MIA,” the frantic opener from excellent live album Los Valientes del Mundo Nuevo. After that was a new song. After that was “Make It,” “O Katrina,” and another new song. “Make It” and “Katrina” were both listenable and very well played. This was a good thing. It was very down-hill from here. A bunch of idiots stormed the stage after like five minutes and, like on the boat cruise, all the amps became unplugged. Jared’s microphone also fell from its stand multiple times. Some asshole started talking into it all the while Jared thought it was still there. The Lips ad-libbed, while the sound “crew” was trying to fix things, a cover of Elvis’ “He Touched Me.” Parts of “Dirty Hands,” “Ain’t No Deal,” and “Fairy Stories” were played. Keep in mind “parts.” Nothing was complete about the Lips set. I blame it on the “fans”…these self-righteous douche-bags who wanted all the attention. At least the Lips got paid $10,000 to play this shit-show. The second to last song was “Sea of Blasphemy,” which almost was a valiant attempt for them to restart their set…except it was the second-to-last sosng. You know shit has gone wrong when I think “Bad Kids” is “Ghetto Cross” for a complete minute. Damn, son.

Grade: D+

concert review, Entertainment, Music, pictures, Video

Concert Review: Gold Star Morning

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Artists: Gold Star Morning, Gentlemen Outfit
Location/Venue: Bull McCabe’s, Sommerville, MA
Date: October 30, 2010
Comments: A Few things I remember from Last Night

Act I: Gentlemen Outfit– This duo comprised of one man on acoustic guitar and one man on percussion- just one simple drum. The simplicity was the key to the music; there is nothing shocking or surprising about GO, and I mean that in a very good way. Their mellow music draws you in with (seemingly) very little effort. For a while I felt like it was Summer again- the music evoked a nice, relaxing, summery atmosphere. The set consisted of a mixture of originals and covers including Jason Derulo’s “In My Head.” If you are a fan of chill, easy listening music then check these guys out.

Act II: Gold Star Morning– Gold Star Morning generated a massive crowd reaction from the packed Bull McCabe’s audience, which by the way consisted mostly of females :). Not too hard to figure out why when you actually hear GSM. The group are masters at rocking out with high energy and simultaneously maintaining a cool, almost calm quality to their craft. The Bull McCabe’s bar was a TIGHT squeeze, but the band made do. They got everyone excited- dancing, jumping up and down, singing along. They unleashed various rocking numbers, but the tune that stood out to me was the slower ballad, “Bigger Than Me,” sounds like we have an FM staple before us. Their set also included popular cover songs: The Black Keys’ “Tighten Up,” Cee Lo Green’s “Fuck You,” and best of all The Strokes’ “Last Night,” it was spot on, almost scary. Every member executed the music exceptionally; the band and fans alike made note of GSM’s newest addition, KLYAM’s own James DiNanno on drums. James’ talent and undeniable force is intimidating. Overall, I enjoyed myself and I recommend y’all check out this fine Boston band.

Here is their facebook page:http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/goldstarmorning

Art, Bradford Cox, concert review, Deerhunter, Honorary KLAYMERS, Music, pictures, Punk, reviews, Video

Concert Review: Deerhunter, Real Estate, Casino vs Japan @ Royale (10/16/10)

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Artists: Deerhunter, Real Estate, Casino vs Japan
Venue: Royale Boston
Date:  Saturday, October 16, 2010

Act I: Casino vs Japan
This is not my kind of music whatsover, so yeah it was just unbearable electronic music to me. It always feels like these guys overstay their welcome, but maybe it’s just me. Aficionados of said music may have dug this chap, but nothing stood out to me, I have seen far more interesting purveyors of the style.

Act II: Real Estate
Not my favorite band by any means, but a good band and after Casino, they were a massive relief. I liked them slightly more this time around. They are just a chill, relaxing group with some rockin’ in them. If you like mellow music, I would recommend them.

Act III: Deerhunter
YESS! As one of my favorite bands, I was really excited for this show. Deerhunter always (in the two previous times I have seen them) blow my mind. But, before I felt a tad bit unsatisfied, just a teensy bit as they are amazing, but not this time. Sure, there were some flaws. The vocals were low, at times they were better, but much of the time they were indecipherable. Which was not that big of a deal because I feel like the vocal apsect of their music is better appreciated on record, whereas the live show is mostly concerned with the guitars. Brad, Lockett, and Josh produce shards of noise whilst still maintaing that calm, cool quality that is essential to their art. Not to mention, the pounding drums of Moses, also exquisite. In terms of the setlist, it was fantastic. Sure, I did not hear everything I wanted to, but numerous classic were dished out, mostly tracks from their latest release, the incredible, Halcyon Digest (2010). They opened with one of their best “Rock” numbers in the Halcyon track, “Desire Lines,” where Lockett carried vocal duties. For that album they also unleashed the catchy and evocative (Deerhunter can mash the two aesthetics together perfectly) “Revival,” “Don’t Cry,” “Memory Boy, “Helicoptor,” and “He Would Have Laughed,” in honor of our buddy Jay Reatard. From Microcastle (2008) we heard “Never Stops,” “Little Kids,” and “Nothing Ever Happened.” Then “Rainwater Cassette Exchange,” from the EP of the same name. “Fluorescent Grey” and other classics were performed as well. As serious of a band Deerhunter is, there is an amusing, almost goofy side to the band. Frontman Bradford Cox always seems to be cracking jokes: at one point he stops the show to ask Josh if he loves him and informs the audience that he will not continue to play until he hears Josh utter the words. Haha, stuff like that. Overall, I can safely say this is the best Deerhunter show I have seen and I really cannot wait to seem them again.

Grade: A/A-

Concer t Review, concert review, Music, reviews, Tours, Uncategorized

An Evening With Greg Dulli- Concert Review-Brattle Theater

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Yesterday was the moment I have been waiting for quite a while for a chance to see Greg Dulli live in concert, and even though it was an accoustic show, its a chance I have been waitng for since I first heard the Afghan Whigs 6 years ago (I was late to the party, I know)

Opening Act: Craig Wedren from Shudder to Think

Anyway doors were supposed to open at 7:00, they actually opened at around 7:20. First let me just say although the Brattle theater seems like an odd choice for a venue, for this show it worked at least, it was intimate, the sound was great, and everyone had a good view of the stage (which probably couldn’t hold more then 3 people). The opening act Craig Wedren ex lead singer (or current he didn’t seem that sure himself) of the band Shudder to Think. His set consisted of him with a guitar and a few pedals which he used masterfully. It was an experience in minimalism, and he really seemed to enjoy being on stage, all musicians do but he really seemed to relish the opportunity. I wasn’t familiar with his solo work or his work with Shudder to Think, but what I heard I liked, he defiantly falls into the singer-songwriter category of music, in fact for one Shudder to Think song he said here is the song ‘drastically reinterpreted’ and I got the feeling it was reinterpreted not only because of necessity of being the only man on stage, but because this was the song of he had envisioned, and that’s probably the best way to describe Craig Wedren’s music, it was solely is vision. Truth is Craig is just a very, very talented guy who was doing playing his songs, the way he wanted them to be played, and it worked, the set was strong and it set the mood for the main act.

B+

Greg Dulli Setlist

1. St. Gregory
2. God’s Children
3. Blackbird and the Fox
4. The Lure Would Prove Too Much
5. Bonnie Brae
6. Kings Only
7. Fourty Dollars
8. Hyperballad (Bjork Cover)
9. Step into the Light
10. Gunshots
11. If I Were Going
12. Summer’s Kiss
13. Follow You Down
14. The Stations
15. Never Seen No Devil

Encore
16. Candy Cane Crawl
17. Down The Line
18. Teenage Wristband
19. Twilight Kid.

Encore 2

20. Black Love

After Craig left at about 8:35 Greg Dulli and his back up band Twilight Singers guitarist Dave Rosser and multi-instrumentalist Rick Nelson of the Polyphonic Spree, took the stage at about 9:00. Throughout the show they seemed relaxed and was joking around with the audience. Greg told a story about the last time he was in the Brattle Theater, that was good for a laugh, and he called out someone in the front row for checking his email while he was playing, also good for a laugh. I guess my one problem is their should have been more audience interaction, the Brattle only holds about 235 people and Greg really could of turned it into an event, something like VH1-Story Tellers, except people would be watching this. Musically what can I say the man has his detractor’s, just before I left, I read something in Blender saying he was embarrassing himself now on this tour, me I thought he was great, his voice sounded strong, the band was in synch, the setlist gave the audience a nice career retrospective plus a little taste of some new material. Since it was an acoustic show everyone was in their seats the entire time, nobody got up until the encore, the atmosphere was very mellow, but the audience was composed of die hard Greg Dulli fans (tickets sold out in under a week) and Greg really put on a great live show, I know I left happy.

A-

concert review, Gentleman Jesse and His Men, King Khan, Music

Concert Review: King Khan & The Shrines, Gentlemen Jesse and His Men, Red Mass @ Royale (10/13/10)

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Photo Credit: Kyle

Act I: Red Mass – Red Mass was a weird/bizarre act to watch. They definitely had the “rocking” quality to them. One of the first things that I noticed was a similarity to the K-Holes. They put us in a trance of sorts with their dark/psychedelic aesthetic. Choyce, the lead singer and guitarist, had a funny hodgepodge of clothing items on — a bandanna, a large medallion necklace, and a dress shirt with tie. He was into it and so were we.

Act II: Gentlemen Jesse and His Men – Oh, Gentleman, where shall I begin? (All I needed that night) was to hear this band. A very fine band from Atlanta, Georgia. They rocked just as hard as they did when they opened a month earlier at TT The Bears. They had their keyboardist present and his little melodies added a little bit to the sound. Jesse is just the man. Great front-man. He is a Jared Swilley-like character. They’re from the same hood, yo. They sound like a classic rock act that you take your girlfriend to see and then fuck when you get back home. You highland crawler, you. I felt like eating some candy during “Butterfingers.” Fuck, what a tune. It’s as invigorating as just about all of their songs. The backing vocals were mixed a little low, but no biggie we had Jesse.

Set List:
If I Can See you (written as “If I Can C U”)
Highland Crawler
slips right into
Black Hole
What Did I Do
Shivers
Rest of My Days
Only Lonely
Butterfingers
Careful
All I Need Tonight (Is You)
I Don’t Wanna Know

Act III: King Khan & the Shrines – Sensational, you bet. This what we’ve come to expect from King Khan and that right there is terrific. Started off with “Outta Harms Way” King, following the usual instrumental, screamed his lungs out and got everyone going. As always with Shrines shows the audience was more akin to a religious cult than a rock show- everyone going wild, being mesmerized by King Khan and His Mysterious (yay a new adjective to describe these boys and girl!). Which by the way, this time around Bamboorella was absent, however her replacement sufficed. She could move and groove and she was quite attractive, but I need my bamboorella fix haha.  Back to the music, the Shrines unleashed their classic, Supreme Genius material, which is exactly what I adored and anticipated. Hits such as “I Wanna Be a Girl,” “Land of the Freak,” “No Regrets,” “Took My Lady Dinner,” and more. Alright, well before I start to sound like a fucking infomercial I am going to wrap things up here. There were a few new numbers performed including “Bite My Tongue,” which I definitely can see becoming a Klassic Khan ditty in time to come. This was a great and highly entertaining show, one of the best I have ever witnessed. If you need a quick pick me up, ok a relatively quick pick me up, King Khan and The Shrines are your saviors- leave you smiling for a month. Lastly, as much  as I loved this show, it was not on par with my first Shrines experience for three reasons. 1) Khan was a bit restrained this evening and though he was still his energetic, charismatic self, he was much calmer. 2)  I attribute my slight lack of devotion i.e. me not feeling the “this was the best show ever!!!” kinda deal to no longer being a Supreme Genius virgin, since this was my second time seeing them. 3)  It was not as loud as last time. Don’t get me wrong, it sounded nice, but the PA definitely needed some raisin’ and that would have made it all the more effective. With those minor qualms aside, fantastic show as I expected. Can’t wait to see them again and again and again.

Grade: A

Art, concert review, Entertainment, Honorary KLAYMERS, King Khan, Music, pictures, Punk, reviews, Video

Memory #2: Classic Concert Review: Shrines @ Paradise

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Bands: The Homosexuals, Mark Sultan, King Khan
Venue: Paradise Rock Club

Act One: The Homosexuals

Glen: The Homosexuals, or in this concert’s case Bruno Wizard and two members from the noise rock band Fiasco, started things off. Wizard, who has an affinity for saying ‘fuck’ and acting crazy as ‘fuck,’ didn’t fail at moving about the stage like an asshole. Wizard’s most notable song was “Hearts in Exile,” a lengthy and repetitive proto-punk jam that got the crowd semi-excited. He finally sang “Don’t Touch My Hair,” an obnoxious rhyme that was undoubtedly written while Wizard was under some form of narcotic. I give a lot of credit to Julian (drums) and Jon (guitar) for playing excellent music.

Chris: Well, the singer was a bit obnoxious and got really old rather quickly. Speaking of being old, he was middle aged, but tried to act like a buzz cock. Perhaps a bit more cock than buzz. His vocals and the songs themselves were average. He repeated one particular line at least 50 times. Ridonculous. With that being said, I appreciated his high energy, albeit a cliched, poor man’s Mick Jagger. Also, the guitarist and drummer had the musical chops and I suggest they find a new front man or create an entirely different group. [Editors Note: They are a part of Fiasco, which has a different lead singer. They were just filling in, bud.]

Act Two: Mark Sultan

Glen: Mark Sultan, or as the guy standing next to me said “the man they call B-B-Q” was very impressive. Complete with a makeshift drum kit and an old-school electric guitar, Sultan provided the audience with vintage rock n’ roll sounds. For me, Sultan’s highlight was “Waddlin’ Around.” The crowd really got into this song in particular. It was too bad Sultan only played for 30 minutes. That wasn’t the last of him though…

Chris: Mark Sultan or BBQ- Impressive. That’s the first word that comes to my mind when I think of his performance. For all ye musicians out there that merely play 1 instrument (I play none!), the BBQ has you beat! Simultaneously Sultan commands the microphone, plays the chords, and bangs the drums with the assistance of some handy dandy foot pedals. Sultan gave the audience a nice, little balance between slow, doo-wop echoing, love numbers and kick ass rockers you could rock your head and bop around to. A notable set to say the least.

Act Three: King Khan and the Shrines

Glen: I witnessed the soulful Supreme Genius! I actually noticed King Khan an hour before the show. I yelled “King!” and he stopped and gave Chris and I handshakes. Seriously, though, he puts on an amazing show. It couldn’t be done, though, without the help of the eight other members of the band. The cheerleader — unnecessary, yet unbelievably necessary — sprinkled glitter all over us in the pit. Her fine dancing was a great adjunct. The saxophone players don’t get as much credit as they deserve. They were instrumental (literally). The guitarists were fun, often interacting with the crowd (by jumping off stage). BUT it was the King who got everyone going. The minute he walked onto the stage, everyone just smiled, clapped, and knew that one hell of a show was in store. King’s swagger on stage is unprecedented. His gimmicks are vast and varied. Lying on the ground, sticking his head out to the front row, dancing over the cheerleader, whatever, you name it. His energy simply never relented. God bless him. He performed classics such as “I Wanna Be Your Girl,” “Welfare Bread,” and “Shivers Down My Spine,” before delving into a Gospel track — a brand-new 5+ minute epic that involved intensive crowd participation. King Khan came back on stage (thanks in large part to a certain energetic Shrines percussionist) after saying “this is our last song” and performed my personal favorite “Took My Lady To Dinner” followed by a few others, including a never-been-done-live-before song with Mark Sultan. Unfortunately, the experience had to come to an end. The keyboardist was doing crazy shit with his keyboard and having one hell of a time as he tackled it (which probably rendered it unusable). After slightly more than fifty minutes of moshing, sweating, and smacking King Khan’s helmet (yes, I got the privilege), the King, his underwear and animal teeth necklace, and his Shrines walked off the stage. The lights in the club turned on. We bounced.

Chris: I did not truly comprehend just how supreme the genius of King Khan and the Shrines was until Thursday night. Rarely have I ever seen such a build up to a band arriving on the stage. The Shrines, all in their black Shrine uniforms, began playing their various instruments, increasing the overwhelming anticipation of King Khan and his lady. Finally, our hero, accompanied by his ever-grinning cheerleader (pom poms and all!), hit the stage all decked out in his white suit and ready to go!. The crowd immediately danced into the “Land of the Freak,” which the Paradise Rock Club had transformed into by this point. The sensational opener was followed by even more notorious numbers including “How Do I Keep You (Outta Harm’s Way),” “Sweet Tooth,” “Shivers Down My Spine,” “Welfare Bread” (one of my favorite moments during the concert; the cheerleader sprinkled glitter all over herself and us!), “I Wanna Be A Girl” (I’d say the tune earned the biggest crowd response, at least from me anyway), “No Regrets,” “Took My Lady to Dinner,” and “Live Fast Die Strong.” The last 3 were performed as the encore in which the King appeared in his traditional golden cape, mask, and nothing but underwear!

Final Comments:

Glen: King Khan and the Shrines probably put on the best show that I’ve seen yet. It wasn’t quite a religious experience, but it was a genius experience. I’ve never gotten the privilege to see eight amazing musicians (plus one cheerleader) perform so amazingly together. I didn’t really listen to King Khan too much before the show, but now I’m absolutely hooked. But seriously this show has to be in its own category because of that. With the Black Lips and No Age, I pretty much recognized all their live music and that made seeing them so great. Bottom line: I absolutely can’t wait to see King Khan and the Shrines again!

Chris: Grade: A. Stage diving, crowd surfing, pogoing, and heartfelt singing insured one of my top 3 greatest concert experiences.

Damn, the anticipation…..

concert review, Entertainment, Music, The Walkmen

Concert Review: The Walkmen, Blood Feathers, A.A. Bondy @ Royale (10/7/10)

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Bands: The Walkmen, A. A. Bondy, Blood Feathers
Venue: Royale [Boston, Massachusetts]
Date: Thursday, October 7, 2010

Blood Feathers – Rarely have I seen a first opening act rock and roll as hard as these guys did. Catchy numbers a plenty, it seemed as if Blood Feathers have been on the big stage many times before. Plus, all the band members seemed to be savoring every moment of their time up there.  It’s really hard to describe them other than rock and roll (a bit southern/Americana influenced I’d wager) — in this way they are somewhat comparable to The Dig, who opened for The Walkmen in 2009.

A. A. Bondy – Bondy and crew started their set loudly with a huge wall of sound coming from Bondy’s amp and another wall of darker, clearer sound coming from the amp of the keyboardist (turned bassist). After this little introduction, the guys went full force into finger-picking, pedal steel guitaring, and tight bass playing. Bondy is an expert guitar player and when he rocks out, he rocks out. There were some slow folk tunes and some faster and meatier ones that usually involved the pedal steel guy sitting behind the drum kit instead of the guitar. The latter were my favorite.

The Walkmen: Ah, yes, these guys. One my favorite bands of the last four years, The Walkmen put on an incredible show on this night. Kicking things off with Hamilton on electric, they played “Blue as Your Blood,” off of Lisbon, a song which they played early on in their 2009 set when it was kicking around as “The Sky Above.” What I noticed, starting with “Blue,” was that Lisbon is a million times better live than on record. That’s no offense to how they recorded the album, it’s just the whole being there thing. Next up, “Angela Surf City,” which some have placed alongside “The Rat” as top in the band’s “rocker” category. Ham might have broken his neck singing this one. I could tell he loves singing slowly and then slamming into the rather intense chorus. I was surprised that they followed up “Angela” with “In the New Year,” I mean doesn’t Ham need a little break before he strains his vocal chords? Of course, this is one of their best numbers and a personal favorite. Paul’s clicky guitar and Pete’s faint keyboard go so well with Ham’s vocals. “Canadian Girl” followed and noticeably absent was a horns section. Usually around this time, they would ease their way next to Paul, stand around, and then do their thing. The song was still great in their absence, I think Pete might have even programmed some little faux horns in his keyboards. “Victory” is a great live tune. They decided to change things up and go back to the old days on the next two songs, “The Blizzard of ’96” and “We’ve Been Had,” off of their debut Everyone Who Pretended To Like Me Is Gone. Paul and Pete switched positions with Pete playing guitar and Paul playing the piano. It was super refreshing to see them dig deep into their catalog and play these lighter piano-driven ditties. Pete’s guitar parts were classic — the man looks very out of place playing the guitar…he makes a tin soldier look pliable. It was back to the battle as the guys reverted to their normal positions and played a string of numbers from their last two albums: “Donde Esta la Playa,” the especially fun “Woe is Me,” the bass heavy (credit Walt Martin) “On the Water,” the laidback Lisbon opener “Juveniles,” the orchestral-but-not-really-cause-there-are-no-horns  You and Me beat “I Lost You,” and the triangles-laden waltz “While I Shovel the Snow.” For everyone who went just to see “The Rat” (you know who you are), you had to wait thirteen songs. Good. It’s a great song and I love it as much as the next guy. Unexpectedly, it drew the greatest reaction from the packed crowd. Oh yeah and Pete was on bass for all those who care about things like that. The set ended with the band’s alternate version of A Hundreds Mile Off standout “All Hands & the Cook.” The best is the little break when Ham sings some really long note and then the other instrumentation comes in and ends the song. That ended the song’s set and despite an earlier plead from some girl in the crowd “Lost in Boston” never came next as it does on the record. After a few minutes of cheering, Ham and Paul emerged to perform “New Country.” The rest of the band came back on stage after this tune and we got to hear “Everyone Who Pretended To Like Me Is Gone,” which they’ve been reviving recently. Great track! They closed their performance for good with their Mazarin cover of “Another One Goes By” and, indeed, another Walkmen Boston concert is in the books. Exemplary guitar play from Pete on this one as well.

Set-List
1. Blue as Your Blood – Lisbon
2. Angela Surf City – Lisbon
3. In the New Year – You and Me
4. Canadian Girl – You and Me
5. Victory – Lisbon
6. The Blizzard of ’96 – Everyone Who Pretended To Like Me Is Gone
7. We’ve Been Had – EWPTLMIG
8. Donde Esta La Playa – You and Me
9. Woe is Me – Lisbon
10. On the Water – You and Me
11. Juveniles – Lisbon
12. I Lost You – You and Me
13. While I Shovel the Snow – Lisbon
14. The Rat – Bows and Arrows
15. All Hands & The Cook – A Hundred Miles Off
———Encore———
16. New Country – You and Me
17. Everyone Who Pretended To Like Me Is Gone – EWPTLMIG
18. Another One Goes By – A Hundred Miles Off

Grade: A/A+

Art, Box Elders, concert review, Entertainment, Honorary KLAYMERS, Hunx and His Punx, Jay Reatard, Music, Nobunny, pictures, Punk, reviews

One Year Ago Today…

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On October 2, 2009 at Harpers Ferry, various KLYAMERS and friends were in attendence for one of the best shows of our lifetimes:

The Shattered Records Tour: Jay Reatard, Nobunny, Hunx and His Punx, Box Elders, and Useless Eaters.

Here is the review from last year:

Best of Jay: No Reatardation This Time: Jay Reatard Concert Review