Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Times New Viking Will Kick Your Shit (But With a Smile)
The crowd in the Black Cat Backstage was minimal last night, but they sure were full of Memorial Day fury. Well, at least by Times New Vikings' short but sonic set. Lead singer/drummer Adam Elliott took his seat comfortably behind the drum kit and asked "Hi DC! How many of you are drunk? Yeah? Ok, how many of you are on your second drunk? Good, let's party."
Party? Well, I wouldn't go that far. This Columbus, Ohio tripod of "lo-fi indie rock" sure wants to party with their rollicking mix of heavy beats and slow jams, but between the myriad of technical problems, extreme heat and lack of local support, it seemed more like a basement keg party broken up by the cops just after midnight than a rock and roll show.
That's not to say I didn't have a good time, I did. I caught The Babies entire opening set, and despite bassist Kevin Morby announcing his recovery from a bout of food poisoning, they sounded pretty great. Lead guitarist Cassie Ramone looks like she could stand to eat anything at all, but her slim figure doesn't slow down her quick-fingered sound. Adam from TNV watched most of the set and seemed genuinely pleased with these Brooklynites.
While I originally came for The Babies, I decided Times New Viking needed some support considering they likely barely cleared the cost of gas from here to tonight's show in Charlottesville. Merge Records has a pretty wicked hard on for drummers who act as lead singers (See Telekinesis), and usually they are right on target for this kind of talent. It helps when the rest of the band can amply back you, and among other things Merge likes, is a strong female pianist. Beth Murphy doesn't exactly get me going like Missy Thangs from The Love Language, but she is certainly talented.
That, and Jared Phillips is one bad ass guitarist. When his guitar simply quit working midway through the opening riff of one of the last few songs, he kicked a few things around, then just dropped his guitar and went roaring off stage for another nearly identical white fender. This guitar lasted about fours songs more before deciding to break down in the midst of the very last song of the encore. At this point, the band was over it and really wanted to party. They closed the show instead with a Indie appropriate "fuck it" attitude and made their way to find some more booze.
Not bad for a Monday night. While it was, mind you, only 11:45, I didn't stay to hang out. I imagine the gang of crowd thrashers who banged around the front of the stage managed to show these guys a good time. Happy Memorial Day from Times New Viking.
See also the images from the DCist's review.
Party? Well, I wouldn't go that far. This Columbus, Ohio tripod of "lo-fi indie rock" sure wants to party with their rollicking mix of heavy beats and slow jams, but between the myriad of technical problems, extreme heat and lack of local support, it seemed more like a basement keg party broken up by the cops just after midnight than a rock and roll show.
That's not to say I didn't have a good time, I did. I caught The Babies entire opening set, and despite bassist Kevin Morby announcing his recovery from a bout of food poisoning, they sounded pretty great. Lead guitarist Cassie Ramone looks like she could stand to eat anything at all, but her slim figure doesn't slow down her quick-fingered sound. Adam from TNV watched most of the set and seemed genuinely pleased with these Brooklynites.
While I originally came for The Babies, I decided Times New Viking needed some support considering they likely barely cleared the cost of gas from here to tonight's show in Charlottesville. Merge Records has a pretty wicked hard on for drummers who act as lead singers (See Telekinesis), and usually they are right on target for this kind of talent. It helps when the rest of the band can amply back you, and among other things Merge likes, is a strong female pianist. Beth Murphy doesn't exactly get me going like Missy Thangs from The Love Language, but she is certainly talented.
That, and Jared Phillips is one bad ass guitarist. When his guitar simply quit working midway through the opening riff of one of the last few songs, he kicked a few things around, then just dropped his guitar and went roaring off stage for another nearly identical white fender. This guitar lasted about fours songs more before deciding to break down in the midst of the very last song of the encore. At this point, the band was over it and really wanted to party. They closed the show instead with a Indie appropriate "fuck it" attitude and made their way to find some more booze.
Not bad for a Monday night. While it was, mind you, only 11:45, I didn't stay to hang out. I imagine the gang of crowd thrashers who banged around the front of the stage managed to show these guys a good time. Happy Memorial Day from Times New Viking.
See also the images from the DCist's review.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.
There is something so satisfying about seeing my friends succeed. This past Friday (the 13th!!), I ventured to the dark side, otherwise known as H St NE, to see my pal Josh Epstein in his band Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. at The Red Palace. Opened up by the Generationals, a group of youngsters so cute you could literally pinch their cheeks and not feel creepy, the evening was fabulous.
The Generationals support each other wholly (even though the band is not technically a whole) with a solid sound somewhere mashed between The Strokes and Vampire Weekend. One lead vocalist has a nice higher pitched sound that compliments the other's more mellow vocal range. They are excitable and come equipped with a rotating group of musicians including a keyboardist, a drummer, and a bass player who looked like Cousin It (though like, on vacation, as he was wearing aviators). They were a great opening piece for the aforementioned Dale and gang.
Josh and his friend Daniel started Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. after discovering a kinship for each other's sound around the Detroit music scene. They were both coming from other projects and were hoping to find something that would give them the freedom to experiment with new ranges while still holding onto the sounds they create so seamlessly. They just added a new drummer at the onset of this tour, and that young whip appears to be a good fit. This band has such an impressive stage presence that it is hard not to have a good time.
Above is a shot of Josh singing into, yes that's right, a telephone. He is wearing a suit, as was the rest of the band, to support their forthcoming album It's a Corporate World. DEJJ played a lot of the covers they are known for, including the highlight, "We Almost Lost Detroit" and the Beach Boys "God Only Knows". The rest of the set consisted of a slew of the newbies due out on June 7. They sounded fantastic, and I was pleased to support my friend.
Oh, did I mention they blew bubbles and invited folks on stage to sing in skeleton masks? Yeah, that too. They also had several giant wooden letters spelling out JR in bright bold lights. I know, hilarious. But don't listen to me, I had such a good time with these fellows I got kicked out of the Red Palace. If you want to get a better idea, watch the clip below, or try your damnedest to see them next time they are in DC.
The Generationals support each other wholly (even though the band is not technically a whole) with a solid sound somewhere mashed between The Strokes and Vampire Weekend. One lead vocalist has a nice higher pitched sound that compliments the other's more mellow vocal range. They are excitable and come equipped with a rotating group of musicians including a keyboardist, a drummer, and a bass player who looked like Cousin It (though like, on vacation, as he was wearing aviators). They were a great opening piece for the aforementioned Dale and gang.
Josh and his friend Daniel started Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. after discovering a kinship for each other's sound around the Detroit music scene. They were both coming from other projects and were hoping to find something that would give them the freedom to experiment with new ranges while still holding onto the sounds they create so seamlessly. They just added a new drummer at the onset of this tour, and that young whip appears to be a good fit. This band has such an impressive stage presence that it is hard not to have a good time.
Above is a shot of Josh singing into, yes that's right, a telephone. He is wearing a suit, as was the rest of the band, to support their forthcoming album It's a Corporate World. DEJJ played a lot of the covers they are known for, including the highlight, "We Almost Lost Detroit" and the Beach Boys "God Only Knows". The rest of the set consisted of a slew of the newbies due out on June 7. They sounded fantastic, and I was pleased to support my friend.
Oh, did I mention they blew bubbles and invited folks on stage to sing in skeleton masks? Yeah, that too. They also had several giant wooden letters spelling out JR in bright bold lights. I know, hilarious. But don't listen to me, I had such a good time with these fellows I got kicked out of the Red Palace. If you want to get a better idea, watch the clip below, or try your damnedest to see them next time they are in DC.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
The Love Language/Telekinesis/The Belle Brigade
First of all, forget anything even remotely shitty I might have ever said about Telekinesis. They were awesome. Completely energetic and rocking... kind of like they are here. Ok, so "rocking" is not the adjective I would normally use to describe their sound, but they kind of did! Not only were they having a lot of fun on stage, they seemed to have formed quite the tight community of sound up there too.
To be fair, the first time I saw Telekinesis, Michael Lerner had a different set of band mates and wasn't really established as a touring performer yet, so it's not entirely his fault. The second time I saw them, the new band, and the still current one, had been added, but they weren't as tight as they are now. This new album, which makes up the bulk of their set, was written in short order in Berlin, mostly on Bass, which is not Lerner's instrument of choice. He's a drummer, ya'll, so having the talents of someone like Jason Narducy, who is known for playing with greats like Robert Pollard of GBV, on with the band to round out the sound, is truly amazing. Plus, I forgot, er well, didn't realize that I recognized the guitarist, Cody Votolato, from his days in Jaguar Love (who I saw at The Black Cat in 2009). I have a thing for guitarists, and he is no exception. He is great. But don't take my word for it... or you know, do.
In addition to the aforementioned talent and seeming growth of this band over the course of a year, the tour itself must have amplified all this. We were also introduced to The Belle Brigade, a brother-sister duo (which never gets old for me) backed by a full band, who aptly prepped the audience for a hell of an evening. It was air apparent that playing with these guys as well as fellow Merge members and ridiculously fabulous The Love Language had everyone on a tour high. Telekinesis and The Love Language feed off each others' sound and energy and made one hell of a night.
To top it all off, I met Bob Boilen of NPR's All Songs Considered at the bar. I managed to squeak out my appreciation for his contributions to the music world by way of public radio.I literally skipped home from the bus stop.
Overall, this was the best of my five night run. I literally skipped home from the bus stop. How could you not? NPR, Merge Records, guitar crush?? Seriously. I dare you to judge me.
To be fair, the first time I saw Telekinesis, Michael Lerner had a different set of band mates and wasn't really established as a touring performer yet, so it's not entirely his fault. The second time I saw them, the new band, and the still current one, had been added, but they weren't as tight as they are now. This new album, which makes up the bulk of their set, was written in short order in Berlin, mostly on Bass, which is not Lerner's instrument of choice. He's a drummer, ya'll, so having the talents of someone like Jason Narducy, who is known for playing with greats like Robert Pollard of GBV, on with the band to round out the sound, is truly amazing. Plus, I forgot, er well, didn't realize that I recognized the guitarist, Cody Votolato, from his days in Jaguar Love (who I saw at The Black Cat in 2009). I have a thing for guitarists, and he is no exception. He is great. But don't take my word for it... or you know, do.
In addition to the aforementioned talent and seeming growth of this band over the course of a year, the tour itself must have amplified all this. We were also introduced to The Belle Brigade, a brother-sister duo (which never gets old for me) backed by a full band, who aptly prepped the audience for a hell of an evening. It was air apparent that playing with these guys as well as fellow Merge members and ridiculously fabulous The Love Language had everyone on a tour high. Telekinesis and The Love Language feed off each others' sound and energy and made one hell of a night.
To top it all off, I met Bob Boilen of NPR's All Songs Considered at the bar. I managed to squeak out my appreciation for his contributions to the music world by way of public radio.I literally skipped home from the bus stop.
Overall, this was the best of my five night run. I literally skipped home from the bus stop. How could you not? NPR, Merge Records, guitar crush?? Seriously. I dare you to judge me.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Wild Flag
Un-fucking believable. Seriously. This powerhouse of these women is unstoppable! Ok, let me back up... I must first admit my ridiculous girl-crush on the fabulous Carrie Brownstein.
GREAT review on DCist.
I literally can't help myself from being in complete awe of this woman. You may know her from one of the following:
1. Formerly, she shared a space on stage in the now-defunct Sleater Kinney with fellow Wild Flagger Janet Weiss
2. Wrote this amazing blog called Moniter Mix on NPR that I only wish I could be as cool to come up with.
3. Has managed to co-create the hilarious show Portlandia with comedian Fred Armisen.
I mean, really. Not to mention, you know that old saying that we are secretly all attracted to people who look like us? Well, we do kinda look eerily alike, you know, back when I had long hair. You think?
But Carrie is hardly the point of this post. The new super group, again supported by the great Merge Records, and proclaimed as what "the sound of an avalanche taking out a dolphin" would be like, Wild Flag is totally what we needed to shake things up around here. Joined by Mary Timony and Rebecca Cole, The Black Cat packed a crowd full of fans who completely enveloped the racing new sound of these magnificent ladies. Ripping rock back to its core, beating the drums to death, and managing to look fabulous is nothing short of the best time ever.
Not to mention, I had just spent several hours of pre-show prep hanging with my own killer ladies getting a mad wine buzz on. If you're gonna come armed to a show... you better do it right. And boy did they do it right in return. Wild Flag rocked my Thursday night so wholly that I woke up Friday still buzzing with awe (or was that the wine?). I couldn't help but smirk at the madness I had been a part of, and think to myself, I really hope I get to see these ladies again. They deliver their talent with such heart, so naturally, it's inspiring, and raucous and makes you wish you could rip like that too. Alas, I am not one of the leading rock guitarists of the 21st Century, but I can hope that the things I'm passionate about come out of me with the same amount of gusto.
Friday, March 25, 2011
Wye Oak
If you really want to know how this show was, check out Wye Oak Live on NPR. But if you're just here for me, then please continue... First of all, this was Night Three of show going, and followed seeing Wild Flag the night before which couldn't be any more different of a band, except for the lead singers both being female. I was feeling less than enthusiastic enough to stand for the whole show, though I'm not suggesting that I wasn't enthused to see Wye Oak, but sometimes you just want to sit, listen and enjoy. Plus, the drinks flow if you sit at the bar. ;)
That said, Wye Oak was incredible. These Baltimore natives lucked into a sold out crowd and the aforementioned live feed on NPR. The new album Civilians is top notch, and the performance was too. Andy Stack and Jenn Wasner are a happy and talented duo who manage to make their often sad and heavy-layered sound echo across the crowd to create a serene environment. Jenn's voice is oddly deep for seeming somehow light as air. She makes lyrics like "I can't sleep until I see you sleeping/Curse my mind and its all-seeing eye" feel like you might have to hold your breathe and hope someone finds some rest or you too might not sleep for days. An beautiful show, filled with sorrow, hope, love, life and all that floats in between.
The only part of the show I didn't appreciate was when I spent most of the night with a seemingly nice and flirtatious gentleman who let me leave without even the slightest hint of interest. Must be one of those douche bags who goes out and hits on girls but secretly has a wife and kid at home. But that is neither here nor there in terms of the performance and I dare anyone say they didn't have a good time.
That said, Wye Oak was incredible. These Baltimore natives lucked into a sold out crowd and the aforementioned live feed on NPR. The new album Civilians is top notch, and the performance was too. Andy Stack and Jenn Wasner are a happy and talented duo who manage to make their often sad and heavy-layered sound echo across the crowd to create a serene environment. Jenn's voice is oddly deep for seeming somehow light as air. She makes lyrics like "I can't sleep until I see you sleeping/Curse my mind and its all-seeing eye" feel like you might have to hold your breathe and hope someone finds some rest or you too might not sleep for days. An beautiful show, filled with sorrow, hope, love, life and all that floats in between.
The only part of the show I didn't appreciate was when I spent most of the night with a seemingly nice and flirtatious gentleman who let me leave without even the slightest hint of interest. Must be one of those douche bags who goes out and hits on girls but secretly has a wife and kid at home. But that is neither here nor there in terms of the performance and I dare anyone say they didn't have a good time.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Say Hi
As promised in this post, here is the first review. I showed up to The Black Cat to find that they no longer have PBR on tap (damnit!), but the tall boy was obviously ok as I was just in time to catch the end of the first opening act - Blair. I was bored to tears, so I left and went to sit at the bar and wait for Yellow Ostrich to come on, who I was looking forward to. They were a much better performance, and I'm glad I didn't ditch the show all together.
That is, until Say Hi came on. Talk about an ugly band, my god. And completely mediocre. I mean, I didn't go in expecting them to blow my mind, but I did go with the expectation that it would be a good time. It was not, and by that point, some dude named Eddie had shared his giant shot of whiskey with me and Chuck the bartender had decided he liked my company and given me another one for free. I was feeling no pain, people, except for the mediocrity of the Seattle-based set.
If you are going to claim Seattle as your base, you better be able to place yourself up with the likes of Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden and Alice in Chains. Side note: poor Alice... I guess by now you've heard about the second drug overdose to befall the band... former bassist Mike Starr bit the dust on Tuesday, likely due to a drug overdose, joining Layne Staley in the tragic tale of drug addiction (though he wasn't found for 2 weeks after his speed ball overdose).
But anyway, back to Say Hi. More like, "Say Bye" which is what I did about 4 songs in because it was that un-fun. Sorry guys, your albums are pretty good, but you put on a crap show. Maybe I have a hard time with lead singers who are the drummer? Because it was honestly my problem with Telekinesis too... which is tomorrow's show.
I'll obviously keep you posted. Oh, and the "feeling now pain" part of Wednesday night did not translate well into Thursday morning, in which I was most definitely feeling a lot of pain. Fucking hangover blues.
That is, until Say Hi came on. Talk about an ugly band, my god. And completely mediocre. I mean, I didn't go in expecting them to blow my mind, but I did go with the expectation that it would be a good time. It was not, and by that point, some dude named Eddie had shared his giant shot of whiskey with me and Chuck the bartender had decided he liked my company and given me another one for free. I was feeling no pain, people, except for the mediocrity of the Seattle-based set.
If you are going to claim Seattle as your base, you better be able to place yourself up with the likes of Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden and Alice in Chains. Side note: poor Alice... I guess by now you've heard about the second drug overdose to befall the band... former bassist Mike Starr bit the dust on Tuesday, likely due to a drug overdose, joining Layne Staley in the tragic tale of drug addiction (though he wasn't found for 2 weeks after his speed ball overdose).
But anyway, back to Say Hi. More like, "Say Bye" which is what I did about 4 songs in because it was that un-fun. Sorry guys, your albums are pretty good, but you put on a crap show. Maybe I have a hard time with lead singers who are the drummer? Because it was honestly my problem with Telekinesis too... which is tomorrow's show.
I'll obviously keep you posted. Oh, and the "feeling now pain" part of Wednesday night did not translate well into Thursday morning, in which I was most definitely feeling a lot of pain. Fucking hangover blues.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)