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concert review, Music, Smith Westerns

Concert Review: Smith Westerns @ Paradise (1/29/12)

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Image: Scene In The Dark

Bands: Smith Westerns, Porcelain Raft, Bleached
Venue: Paradise Rock Club, Boston, MA
Date: Sunday, January 29

Act One – Bleached – Bleached was one of the better opening bands that I’ve seen in a while. I like noisy and catchy rock and roll so it makes sense. They are definitely more rooted in punk rock than the bands they’re bound to get compared to: Dum Dum Girls and Vivian Girls. I was most excited for “Electric Chair,” which also happened to draw a nice crowd reaction. It’s too bad I hadn’t discovered that song until a few weeks ago. It’s an instant favorite. For a band that still hasn’t released a full-length, there’s a lot to be excited about. The other song that I want to mention is “Searching Through The Past,” which will get stuck in your head. It’s only a four chord jaunt with a vibrating guitar solo that was performed quite well in the Paradise.

Act Two – Porcelain Raft – Every now and then, I’ve seen shows that feature a Porcelain Raft type of band. It’s a rare thing, but it has happened. It’s the situation where I get this sense that I’m watching a band that belongs on a bigger stage or at least in a headlining capacity. The music was overwhelming in that it was sort of all over the map genre-wise, but just maintained this grandiose presence. I got vibes of recent Kings of Leon and Editors among others. Keep in mind Porcelain Raft is just a two piece, but they make use of pedals, keyboards, and extra drum and bass to give them a fuller sound. Listening to Porcelain after the fact on headphones is no comparison. Last night, I could feel my entire body vibrating from the shaking bass. All this said, Porcelain felt at home during their first performance in Boston and I’m sure the next time they’re around they’ll play somewhere with a nice sound system. That being said, I thought they were an enjoyable band, but I don’t think I’d see them again on their own. Just not really my thing.

Act Three – Smith Westerns – The Smith Westerns are one of those bands that have probably proved themselves more divisive than at all necessary. They got their start as a high school rock and roll band, as I’m sure most know by now. They shortly thereafter opened on a tour for Nobunny, released their debut Smith Westerns on HoZac, and did some more touring. Dye It Blonde, their second album, is remarkably cleaner sounding with extravagant lead guitar playing and the addition of keyboards. So they stepped it up in other words. Live, they seem like they’ve been playing these songs for years. Just an extremely polished band. What stood out to me is just how they were able to transmit their raspy earlier songs like “Tonight” and “Be My Girl” into these powerful live songs that are just as awesome (if not more than) as the newer ones. Speaking of new ones, they played two new ones. One involving the word ‘star’ and the other…well I don’t remember. They were good; they reminded me of a band that I couldn’t help, but think of during the set: Girls. Both bands have similar set ups and that awkward (mostly for audience members) balance of slow songs and medium/fast tempo ones. I believe they played more than three-quarters of the Dye It Blonde during their set and followed up with a new song and “Dye the World.” Biggest crowd reaction: “Weekend”. My favorite was “All Die Young.” I love that keyboard intro. The most fascinating SW to watch was Max Kakacek. He is an outstanding guitar player.

Chris DeCarlo: What the fuck do you expect a KLYAM concert review without the showstopper, the main event? Didn’t think so. Glen summed up most of  my sentiments, but I thought I’d add a few musings that are worth noting. First off, like my co-conspirator, I have been dying to see Smith Westerns for quite some time now and so that made this show doubly special. Few current bands can I say the same thing for.  They more than satisfied all of my Smith Westerns hopes and desires. By the way, why did we stop doing those good ol’ fashion “Hopes and Expectations” pre-show posts? I guess we got lazy.  If I had made one of those, you can bet your sweet ass the hopes would have outweighed the expectations. They played just about all of the classics from both records; in fact I believe “Dance Away,” was the only cut they didn’t perform from Dye It Blonde (2011), correct me if I’m wrong.  The whole set, start to finish was invigorating, another rare feat for me, even amongst top KLYAM greats. The sound was amazing, which is what we have come to expect from the dise and it adds to the flavor of the Smith Westerns too. They have a polished sound and style, and proper sound amplifies that greatness. Lastly, brilliant, bubblegum pop flow aside, these guys are masters in the performance realm, making sure every nuance of each song can be appreciated by the audience, and with very minimal crowd interaction or wishy washy intervals, the songs simply seaped from one into another in a manner I’ve never seen quite matched before. There was no filler, it just hit you. My only gripe? People (self-included) became really content with just standing there, bobbing their heads, or at best awkwardly dancing in their own little way, which is cool, but there isn’t/wasn’t any unified, overly enthusiastic crowd response and that takes things down a few notches… slightly. I mean this isn’t Jay Reatard. As much as I’d love to see people dancing, moshing, babes sweating all over me, the whole nine, the music itself doesn’t really lend itself to such activities. OR maybe crowds are just lame sometimes? I don’t know, but I tend to think it’s more of the former. People want to just react naturally and not force it. With that being said, lack of audience participation should not be any reflection on the prowess of the band members, for they are easily one of the best and most mesmerizing bands I have seen in my life, and they’re my age! Now back to Glen…

Final Comments: This was a really good show. I got to appreciate a variety of musical chops in addition to a band that I’ve been meaning to see live for a while now. I’m interested to see what’s next for the Smith Westerns considering they’ve already opened for Arctic Monkeys, MGMT, and Yeasayer in such a short time frame.

Black Lips, concert review, Music

Concert Review: Black Lips @ Bowery Ballroom (7/29/11)

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Bands: DJ Christopher Roberts, Night Beats, Black Lips
Venue: Bowery Ballroom, New York City
Date: Friday, July 29, 2011

DJ Christopher Roberts: I thought this was the Black Lips manager. Stupid mistake, this guy is actually a Vice Records guy. I recognized him from an interview he did with Nobunny. Anyway, I must say, the music that he played was excellent. A little Dirtbombs, some Carbonas, some rock n roll oldies, and maybe even a little Mark Sultan. Great non-traditional warm-up to bands.

Night Beats: I thought these guys were some random band. They actually messaged me a while back about a potential collaboration. I overlooked it, but I maybe I shouldn’t have. Their psychedelic guitar-heavy set was powerful. They were complex and heavy…like a much more powerful Fugazi or something. This energy culminated when Ian St. Pe hopped on guitar. He brought his distinct style to the group’s finale, which was of epic proportions. Band members stage diving, broken bottles being smashed and used as slide guitar items, and a general craziness that was transmitted to the audience. It was like the Black Lips ending on “Juvenile,” except it was the Night Beats.

Black Lips: I’ve seen Black Lips plenty of times and have reviewed their performances. For all the introductory bullshit that is needed for a Black Lips concert review 101 class, please check out my other show reviews. Getting to this show, it was the best of them. I’ve said that six times before and that’s because the band keeps topping itself. The first time was characterized by this odd euphoric feeling. It was the best I had ever seen by far. This time was almost no different in that exact feeling. I get that feeling everytime. It’s usually a point in the show where I show stop paying attention to the music, turn around and look at the audience, and then say to myself, damn this is why these guys are the shit. It’s only a moment of disconnect, but I find myself instantly drawn back into the performance. Pure raw rock n roll that’s not pure by any mean. Anything can happen. The band always says it. They aren’t puppets and they don’t script their shows. Nudity-flamethrowing-electric toys…this is all bullshit. Has it happened? Sure. Will it again, we don’t know. Neither do the lips. They didn’t play their best set of songs on this Friday night. What was the best part of the early part of the show was the addition of a saxophone player for the first two numbers: “Sea of Blasphemy” and “Family Tree”. This was sensational. That guy is a keeper and added something entirely new to the songs that we’ve never heard in a live setting. What stood out more in this show was audience participation. Everyone was screaming off the top of their lungs and bonds were made while the band was still playing. Where else besides a sports game do you see people high fiving each other after a superb play (song)? It makes me long for the next Black Lips show. I’ll have to wait, though. I’m still happy from the effect of this show. I remember it was around this time one week ago that I sat down at the Queens Motor Inn after a semi-exhausting drive from Boston and said damn, this is going to a great day. And it was, of course. The show capped off another fun-filled trip to New York.

Grade: A+

Set List Suckas!:
Sea of Blasphemy- Let It Bloom (2005)
Family Tree- Arabia Mountain (2011)
Not a Problem- LIB
Dirty Hands- LIB
O Katrina!- Good Bad Not Evil (2007)
Make It- Non LP track
Hippie Hippie Hoorah- LIB
Modern Art- AM
Ghetto Cross- We Did Not Know The Forest Spirit Made The Flowers Grow (2004)
New Direction- AM
Lock and Key- GBNE
Go Out and Get It- AM
Boomerang- LIB
Dumpster Dive- AM
Fairy Stories- LIB
Bad Kids- GBNE
MIA- WDN
****Encore****
Bow Down and Die (Almighty Defenders)
Too Much Monkey Business (Chuck Berry)

 

Footage of “Family Tree”!

concert review, Music, No Age

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

Black Lips, concert review, Music

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

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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+

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

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+

Bradford Cox, concert review, Deerhunter, Entertainment, Music

Concert Review: Deerhunter, Kurt Vile, K-Holes @ Royale (8/13/10)

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Bands: K-Holes/Kurt Vile/Deerhunter
Date:  Friday, August 13, 2010
Venue: Royale (Boston, MA)

Act One– K-Holes – I liked these guys and girls a good amount better this time around than on the Rocks Off NYC cruise concert. Jack Hines and crew rocked out what I now term horror punk. They play with a certain mystique that really comes out when the trumpet is on full blast and when the lady vocalist sings and utilizes the shaker. When Hines sung, I couldn’t help but think of We Did Not Know era Black Lips…like on “Swamp Fires.” Other songs definitely played were “Native Tongues,” “Step N Fetch It,” and “The Gutter.”

Chris– Glen speaks the truth here. K-Holes are Kickass! They have a simple vibe to them, but present themselves in a very solemn, quiet manner that draws you in and never lets you go. Jack Hines’ frenetic guitar playing and Cole-like screaming demonstrate that his Black Lips roots are still evident.

Act Two – Kurt Vile and the Violators – True story: Kurt was boring and musically draggy in July when he headlined at Harpers Ferry. At that time, it seemed like him and the other guitarist were going heavy on the effects and slacking mightily on replicating some of their best recorded songs. This time, with the crucial assistance of a third guitar player, songs like “Freeway” (the best number these guys cranked out) and “Overnite Religion” bordered on greatness. Whatever they didn’t have at the Harpers Ferry gig, they seemed to have at the Royale on this night. They might have even overstayed their welcome…the sound guys at stage left frantically signaled “ONE MORE AND THAT’S IT” after about thirty or forty minutes of playing. I’m pretty much all set with seeing Vile headline for a while (a year, at least), but I wouldn’t be opposed to catching him and crew again as an opener.

Chris– With the “technical difficulties” omitted I began to notice the “Americana” elements of Vile’s music, I had missed before. I did gather some Peter Framptonish vibes. A noisy Frampton comin’ alive, if you will. Still, not exactly my cup of tea, but I did enjoy myself this time around.

Act Three – Deerhunter – Deerhunter fans seem to be a real loyal and passionate bunch. Maybe that’s why Bradford, Lockett, Moses, and Josh keep coming back. Bradford said the band arrived late…which explains their five minute sound-check. As far as sound-checks go, this one was as informative as can be. Bradford explained the origin of the various instruments that compose the drum set while Moses tested them out. Early on in the set there existed some technical difficulties that I couldn’t even notice. The sound guys seemed pretty convinced that something was wrong AND one of them even unplugged Josh’s bass by accident while trying to remedy the situation. Hehe. His bass sounded kind of distorted the entire night which worked well 90% of the time, but at times felt a tidbit random. At any rate, Deerhunter played an excellent set albeit a short one. I’d say they played about ten songs at maximum; quantitatively it felt like an opening act kind of set, but qualitative it had no shortage in glory. Songs that stuck out to me were Microcastle gems “Never Stops” and “Nothing Ever Happened,” Rainwater Cassette Exchange EP tune “Rainwater Cassette Exchange” and, of course, “Fluorescent Grey” from their EP of the same name. It was enjoyable to see the crowd react positively to the band throughout and me and my pals had a fun time ourselves.

Chris: Of course, one of the most mesmerizing bands out there today. I really dug the quiet, mellow nature of their performance and how at any moment a violent jolt of noise could send your head spinning into ambient Heaven. With Deer, there is never a dull moment and so it always feels like the set is shorter than it seems. They played for a good hour and they played a fairly long time before as an opening act, yet at both shows, it felt rushed… well because it was! Not by the band, but time constraints for stupid events that get in the way of my concerts! But, seriously, with most bands like Deerhunter, I would get bored real soon, but these guys keep you amazed and entertained the whole time. My favorite was definitely “Fluorescent Grey.” Overall, I thought it was great, but I feel like I have yet to see that phenominal Deerhunter show that I will one day tell someone else’s grand kids about until I am informed by a copper that I am causing a disturbance and have to be removed from the Little League game. I can’t wait to see them in October, until then, I will have to wait PATIENTLY PATIENTLY…

Set list: From http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/deerhunter/2010/royale-boston-boston-ma-3d59db7.html though I could have sworn they played “Revival” and others.

Hazel St.
Never Stops
Rainwater Cassette Exchange
Wash Off
Fluorescent Grey
Nothing Ever Happened

Grade: A/A-

concert review, Entertainment, Music

Concert Review: Kurt Vile, Real Estate, Sore Eros @ Harper’s Ferry (7/23/10)

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Technically Difficult

Bands: Kurt Vile/Real Estate/Sore Eros
Date:  Friday, July 23, 2010

Act One – Sore Eros – Chris likened them to Deerhunter. They fall in that sort of experimental ambient rock category that Vile and, to a more considerable degree, Here We Go Magic, fall into. The lead singer and guitarist was really using effects to his advantage to derange his vocals and guitar. I think he also made use of looping, but it was tough to tell. His vocals were brief and incomprehensible. The noises that did come out of the amps were relaxed. There were moments of rocking out — and these were my favorite moments — but for the most part Sore Eros’ set was bigger-than-thou stand and stare kind of fare.

Act Two – Real Estate – These guys were pretty much what I expected. I was pleasantly surprised by the lead guitar parts (my favorite) as they were loud and precise. Sure, there was a moment of technical difficulty at the end of their set, but the songs that preceded this disturbance were entertaining. There were a few people dancing and that was understandable with this form of surf rock. I can understand the “they were boring” arguments, but as a fan of Real Estate’s “hit” songs –“Beach Comber,” “Fake Blues,” “Atlantic City,” and “Basement” — I can tell you I had a great experience during those.

Act Three – Kurt Vile – Kurt was a disappointment. My expectations totally differed from what actually happened. I expected a mostly acoustic slow set with a few electric guitar ditties thrown in the mix. What actually happened was an array of hard rocking vocally incomprehensible so-so tunes. I couldn’t hear the man except on maybe one or two songs. The lead guitarist was playing what seemed to be the same reverb drenched notes over and over on every single song. There were individual components of individual songs that were decent, but for the most part it was a disappointing noise jam. Get rid of the Violators and just have Kurt up there or something.

Grade: C+