Wednesday night was a very OCMD satisfying evening of music with a double header of shows – Leopold and His Fiction + Little Joy at The Independent then Band of Skulls at Harlot. It was so nice to finally see Leopold in a proper venue, with proper sound. They rocked it! And I’m always mesmerized by drummer Jon Sortland’s ability to play keyboards and drum at the same time.
I have to say Little Joy wasn’t doing it for me. It felt a little milquetoast in comparison and left early. And I felt kind of bad for the audience too that they didn’t get their chance to get up close and personal to Fab (Fabrizio Moretti) himself. I mean, he is the marquis member of the band right? Yet he was in New York recording what I assume is another Strokes album. Did anyone else feel duped by that?
I had been hearing the hype on Grizzy Bear’s Veckatimest all year long. After being force fed tracks like ‘Cheerleader’ and ‘Two Weeks’ for months upon end, I wasn’t quite convinced of all the hullabaloo. Then I saw them perform at the Central Presbyterian Church in Austin, TX at SXSW this year and I became a believer. Having the foresight to arrive at the church a good three performances before the show, I was one of the lucky disciples to make it in. Inside this cozy little chapel, we all sat silently and squished in our pews anxiously awaiting what would be our first full drink of their forthcoming album, Veckatimest.
The band, and the setting, did not disappoint. Not by a long shot. Watching the band at the altar, with the setting sun glowing through the stained glass windows while the angelic harmonies of Ed Droste and Daniel Rossen floated up through the arches of the church was both heavenly and transcendental. I had goosebumps the entire time. I was especially moved during the track ‘Ready, Able’. Something about the haunting orchestral arrangement of that song just gets me every single time. It’s by far my favorite on the album and the refrain, “They go we go, I want you to know,what I did” has been permanently etched in my brain.
That performance was the highlight of SXSW and one of my most memorable so far this year. And hearing the album unfold in all of it’s haunting beauty, beyond the chamber pop appeal of tracks like ‘Two Weeks’, made me a convert. It is really that good and entirely worthy of the praise, and your attention.
Grizzly Bear will be performing two nights at The Fillmore in San Francisco this month, June 21 and 22, with Here We Go Magic. A great line up. Get tickets while they last.
Blitzen Trapper joins Fleet Foxes on stage for the final encore.
It was a lovely evening of music this Tuesday at The Fillmore with Blitzen Trapper and Fleet Foxes. Truth be told, Robin Pecknold’s new haircut threw me a bit and I spent much of the night coming to terms with it. (Grow it back, I say!) The band pulled out some new songs throughout the night, showcasing Robin’s amazing pipes. Musically, it was a bit ‘more of the same’ though. And I couldn’t help question, with so much talent in that band, why some of the other members aren’t showcased? Drummer J. Tillman is an amazing artist and a force in his own right. I know the Fleet Foxes have ‘a sound’, which is incredible, but it is a lot of the same tempos and rhythms. So I couldn’t help wondering, are they missing an opportunity by not letting other band members come to the forefont? It would certainly mix things up a bit and make for a more dynamic band – perhaps helping their longevity and fan engagement in the long run. What do you think?
I had the pleasure to see one of my favorite bands, White Denim, at Bottom of the Hill last week. And as usual, they did not disappoint. They are a great live band and rocked the entire show relentlessly. Throughout the performance my friends kept yelling anecdotes in my ear like “Led Zepplin 1971!” or “baby Led Zepplin!”. Yes, it’s true! When they launched into a rendition of “All You Really Have to Do/Mess Up Your Hair/Shake Shake Shake”, I thought my head was going to explode. While I can’t recreate that masterpiece for your here, you can get a taste of it from this smoking set recorded on From the Basement in the UK. Check it out.
Chad VanGaalen and Women (a Flemish Eye Records double bill) played last night at San Francisco’s Bottom of the Hill. It was my second time seeing Women and I really like their album but find their discordant, atonal sound gets a little lost in translation performed live. For me, at least. Their sound is definitely for the musically evolved.
Members of Women supported headliner, Chad VanGaalen and he did not disappoint. With three great albums to mine, the only complaint I have is that he didn’t play long enough. For someone who squirrels himself away in a basement for months on end writing songs about death and destruction, he was much more jovial and charismatic than I had ever anticipated. I don’t know what I expected to see, but it certainly wasn’t the comedian that he was. A pleasant surprise to say the least.
Rock and roll hoochie coo! Man, my musical stars were aligned last week. There’ve been so many good shows and so many more to come with SXSW merely days away, I think my head’s going to explode. Dan Auerbach‘s show at San Francisco’s Bimbos last Friday was just another display of rock-n-roll awesomeness.
Better known as half of The Black Keys, Auerbach’s solo endeavor is more of the same swampy, blues-tinged rock but, dare I say, even bigger and more dynamic. Whereas The Black Keys have that stripped down two-man band vibe, Dan has a 5 piece band supporting him (mostly comprised of musicians from the project he produced, Hacienda): two drummers, keyboardist/organist, rhythm guitar and bass player. Wow! I lost my socks somewhere at Bimbos.
If you’re going to SXSW and don’t have Dan Auerbach on your agenda, you’re a bona fide fool. Pencil it in and make sure you pick up his new album, Keep it Hid.
Deerhunter kicked off the Noise Pop Festival this Tuesday at San Francisco’s Mezzanine and holy shit was it good. Ranking right up there as my favorite live performance so far in 2009, but we are just getting started. They pulled out quite a few new songs early on in the set but after a few quirky interludes from Bradford Cox the band got down to business and had us knee deep in Microcastle yumminess. For those of you who pulled out early before the encore, you don’t know what you missed. The band delivered a relentless, blistering, mind-blowing wall of sound finale that left me with goosebumps and grins all night long.
Going from Fruit Bats to Devotchka the next night was a complete 180 for me musically. And it honestly took me a little while to make that transition from dive bar mode to circus carnival, complete with a string section, horn section and Cirque du Soleil-level acrobats and contortionists. I haven’t seen a show like that since…well, never. Do they actually travel with this ensemble? I confirmed with their publicist that yes indeed they do. They put on a very impressive show, I must say. Not only are they talented musicians but amazing performers as well.
What a perfect night of music last night at Cafe du Nord. Both the Cave Singers and Department of Eagles were fantastic. It’s impossible to get a good photograph in the dimly lit Cafe du Nord with my pitiful little point and shoot. But I had such a good spot I tried my hand at videotaping one of my favorite Department of Eagles song, ‘Phantom Other’. The sound certainly isn’t soundboard quality but it’s not bad. It gets a bit blown out when Chris Bear starts wailing on the drums, but you’ll get the gist. It was a good show!
Oh, and be sure to watch the video in high quality (HQ). The little button that appears when you mouse over the up arrow icon. Makes a big difference.
It was an Indie Pop extravaganza at The Mezzanine in San Francisco this Wednesday. The night began with local band Audrye Sessions putting out a very impressive performance. I posted a cover they did recently of Elliott Smith’s Waltz #2. One of the more beautiful covers I’ve heard lately. While their sound doesn’t quite gel with my overall music taste, their live presence gave me motivation to revisit that initial judgement. Big, orchestral sound and beautiful arrangements. Very talented and sure to go far.
Next up was Chairlift, who’s performance paled in comparison. I know many people are big fans of this Brooklyn-based trio and they received oodles of publicity for the song ‘Bruises’ that was featured on an iPod commercial. (Which I’ve come to realize that if I don’t already hate the band being featured on an Apple commercial, I soon will. The Ting Tings are a perfect example.) But this band does absolutely nothing for me – recorded or live. I mean really, who puts a chorus of ‘stop, drop and roll’, into a song? Their lyrics are just idiotic. Here’s another one: “The most evident utensil/Is none other than a pencil/Not a multi-colored stencil.” What? My 3 year old could write more compelling lyrics. It’s like bad 80s music all over again. The equivalent of Nena’s ‘99 Luftballons’.
Thankfully Cold War Kids turned the vibe around with an energetic performance, albeit short. Their rousing rendition of Saint John was great. Vampire Weekend played their usual set (this was the third time serendipity brought me to one of their shows this year) and they did not disappoint. Love ’em or hate ’em, they do deliver. It will be interesting to see how they follow up all the hype from this year.
the OCMD 