Leave it to KCRW to present a true line-up of SoCal’s finest for local music lovers. LA’s own Fool’s Gold headlined the bill with a passionate, eclectic set of worldly jams for a grown to capacity crowd at the world famous Troubadour last Thursday night September 29, 2011.
Allah-Las opened the eve with their blend of rock revivalist west coast pop. The Los Angeles based band mixed various percussion and instrumental duties among themselves as they embraced everyones favorite breezy surf sound, but with a proper twang nodding to the likes of early guitar rock and roll icons like the The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, and The Kingsmen. The new band smell wasn’t lost as the Allah-Las triumphed mostly as songwriters and visionaries in lieu of flashy technical skills that have both done so many great and disastrous things for Rock and Roll. More great music sure to come from these guys.
LBC trio Tijuana Panthers are a shimmering example of a band more than capable of a long and healthy career. Their music is fresh, and visible through all their the heavy garagy Long Beach vibes, there’s a chemistry and common vision. This band seems mostly interested in being awesome. And by being awesome we mean Tijuana have a frequency. One that tunes in an audience. Before the band started the crowd wanted more, and when the Panthers stopped mid song for some reason rather unnoticed to vast majority, the band proclaimed they’d finish the song next time and continued on without even missing a beat. That’s Rock and Roll kids, few things can beat uncontrived confidence. The crowd screamed for more, they moshed, they danced, they sang. Tijuana Panthers’ tight set of open and chugging bar chords, slap your face drumming, witty bass lines, and revolving vocal duties helped keep things as interesting as possible to watch. Technically this band this band can play AND tear a roof off which helps make their brand of ‘indie rock’ much more applicable to a majority of audiences which can’t be said for so many of today’s ‘buzz-worthy’ new lo-fi bands. In other, words Tijuana Panthers seem less likely to have that cliche time stamp slapped on to them in the long run. TBD.
Fools Gold took the stage to a now packed house. The largest band of the evening filled the stage with all five members both physically and audibly. While Tijuana Panthers played a tight set, it was Fool’s Gold’s musicianship that stole the night. The band’s years and experience stood clear. Fool’s Gold are destined for festival greatness, it was telling as the group jammed through the themes and variations of their eclectic world influenced catalog. Key changes, exploring meters, improvisation, definitely all routine for these cats. Their African rhythms felt more actually rooted in that music, than say the more commercially popular Vampire Weekend, something like the Thrill Jockey released authentic ensemble Extra Golden. Lead singer Luke Top crooned when applicable to the set, his enthusiastic vocals have a pleasant yelping quality to them ala Elvis Costello or Joe Strummer with a subtle James Mercer like pleasantry. In between songs Luke claimed he always dreamed of playing the Troubadour ever since he was a teenager, and there he was, just another night on tour. The collective of pros traded grooves through dueled percussion set ups and complimentary saxophone, bass, synth pads, and impressive electric guitar work courtesy of lead guitarist Lewis Pesacov. With a few gem-like tracks under their belt, “Nadine” “Ha Dvash” “The Dive” … “Street Clothes”, Fool’s Gold are that rare type of band for me who’s musicianship is as interesting as their songs. And when they find their ‘that song’ for the masses, and I believe they will, the amphitheaters won’t be far behind.
It was a Midwestern affair on Monday Night at the Grog Shop, with Trade School (Minnesota) and Gossip Culture (Cleveland) opening for super-fresh Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. (Detroit). To be from the Midwest is to embody a certain mindset or philosophy that it’s OK to be the underdog, i.e. we don’t care about our forgotten industry because we’re really the backbone of this hackneyed American Dream.
The Grog is small and intimate with no strange corners for the sound to get trapped in; the beer selection is impressive and the prices reasonable; with a max capacity likely less than 300, it’ll rock with 75-80 people inside; really an ideal place to see a show. After a bout on the infamous Ms. Pac-Man machine, Minnesota’s Trade School took the stage — a guy and a girl playing synths with warmth and emotion, strong beats and stronger melodies. According to their singer, the other band mates are in rehab and prison, a tidbit he related with brilliant deadpan if he was indeed joking. Information’s scant beyond this – to give you a sense of their talents. With a full lineup they could be a force to be reckoned with.
Gossip Culture (Ryan Sheridan) is from CLE, and us Northeast Ohioans love to promote a homegrown product. I’d say there were 15-20 devotees who had seen him a few times before. Surely they would like Gossip Culture regardless of their place of origin. The music is fun and danceable, at times obscure but never pretentious. The bassist was an old pro and the drummer was proof that a wide variety of sound can erupt from an 8-piece kit. Their cover of “Maneater” by Hall and Oates was a highlight of the set. I loved the Pere Ubu / Devo influence, (two of the area’s most notable exports.) Fans of The Avalanches and Caribou must keep an ear to the ground for news of Mr. Sheridan’s whereabouts. In addition to an occasional Youngstown show (a.k.a. Steeltown, U.S.A.), Gossip Culture has an EP release show set for October 22nd at The Beachland Tavern.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. made their presence known between sets by carrying out a J & an R bedazzled with 100 watt light bulbs, easily an A+ shop class midterm. It helped brighten the dimly lit stage for a few moments at the beginning of the set. The letters embody D.I.Y. mentality, which is the ethic of the entire rust belt. The name of their acclaimed LP says it all: It’s A Corporate World. In a world where corporate greed has destroyed the American Dream, only a D.I.Y. ethic will allow the stomped-upon individual to cut his/her little slice of destiny. Daniel Zott and Joshua Epstein took the stage wearing Detroit Tigers warm-up jackets with synths blaring and their fists pumped to the sky before opening with “Morning Thought”, and in that moment the drastic population flight from Cleveland and Detroit became moot. The 75-80 people in attendance rocked out with the fury of 200. As they played through their LP and made it to their cover of “God Only Knows”, those once-heralded titans of rock radio, CKLW and WMMS, still held sway in Michigan and Ohio. Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.’s saccharine melodies are instantly relatable (think Wayne Coyne circa ’95), but a pervading world-weary wistfulness is only detectable by us fellow natives of the Midwest. There was witty banter full of site-specific references and irreverent swinging from the Grog’s creaky ceiling plumbing, which capped a night replete with an authenticity rarely found on the NYC / LA culture farms.
Contributed by Chris Gedos
Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. – Morning Thought (Official)
Gossip Culture – Horses Run Wild (Facebook)
The b3sci family traveled this past weekend to suburban Baltimore to check out the Virgin Mobile Freefest. Here’s a little “photojournal” on our experience!
Favs Alberta Cross kicked shit off with a serviceable set of Anglo-American rock.
The handsome half of Bombay Bicycle Club sat down with us for a post-set interview.
In between some weird Drake-lite ballad non-jams Big Sean otherwise wrecked it.
Running into Sir Richard Branson and his shimmering CEO mullet backstage was some surreal shit.
Calvin Harris got Freefest moving with a sharp DJ Set.
So many bees.
Grace Potter is a powerhouse.
Ms. Potter gave easily the best interview of the Festival.
A band’s label is a prime credibility indicator for the active music listener. There are people who’ll buy an album just because it’s been released on Secretly Canadian or Sub Pop, the labels for Suuns and Handsome Furs, respectively. The ambassadors for these two labels combined forces for a powerful show in front of a packed crowd at the Echoplex Friday night as part of the “Not Safe for Work” tour.
Montreal’s anomalous North American experience has produced a bevy of musical groups, including Suuns (pronounced ‘soons’) and Handsome Furs. While these groups sound very much ‘American’, the curious distinction of coming from the largest non-English speaking city in North America provides for a more continental sound. Suuns, however, sounds little like other groups making music at the moment. A little bit Muse, a little bit early Clinic, the comparisons are abound as they always are, but Suuns is a unique live band. Their layers of vocal and instrumental effects are delay core fantasy on paper, but they don’t sound like most delay core bands. The writhing, twisted lyric delivery is quite macabre, but Suuns are goth in sensibility as opposed to sound.
The levels were perfect for Suuns. They seem like the type of band that’s oftentimes mixed too loud, so I’m led to believe that they have a strong sense of how they should sound live. Suuns will have no trouble increasing their following is they continue on with performances as charged as Friday night’s. Be sure to give their debut album, Zeroes QC, a spin if you haven’t already.
I was a big Wolf Parade fan from the point that they released their first EPs. I still prefer the more electronic version of “Modern World” to the stripped-down Isaac Brock-produced version on Apologies To The Queen Mary, one of the most hyped and critically acclaimed albums of the past ten years. Additionally, I preferred Dan Boeckner to Spencer Krug, if only by a hair – ‘We Built Another World’, ‘Shine A Light’, ‘Fine Young Cannibals’ and ‘Ghost Pressure’, all Boeckner’s , rank among my favorite Wolf Parade songs. They also put on a fantastic live show when I saw them at the Beachland Ballroom in November, 2008.
It was always unfortunate that the ‘indie supergroup’ status of Wolf Parade kept them from achieving self-actualization. Now that the group is on ‘indefinite hiatus’, we’ll have to remain content with Handsome Furs and Sunset Rubdown, Krug’s conception, who also put on a hell of a show back in 2006 (@ Beachland Tavern.)
While I still regret not having seen Wolf Parade a second time, I left the concert Friday knowing that Handsome Furs is a project to be judged independently, on its own merits. Boeckner and wife Alexei Perry are very much in love as their chemistry radiated throughout the performance. Perry’s acrobatics kept the crowd energized as well. While I would’ve like to see Boeckner pick up the guitar a few more times, Spoon’s Britt Daniel took the stage for an awesome encore, possibly setting the stage for the birth of another supergroup. Contributed by Chris Gedos
Everyone who has the chance to spend an extended period of time in Los Angeles should make it a point to visit the Autry Museum of Southwestern Heritage, where The Dodos and Luyas played on Saturday, August 27th. Located right next to the zoo at the southeastern corner of Griffith Park, the museum includes a bevy of Native American artifacts, paintings by the 19th century landscape artists Thomas Moran and Alfred Bierstadt (who worked in many of the same Yosemite locations as Ansel Adams), and even a recreated saloon town. Both bands played in the atrium on the bottom floor to an engaged audience of a couple hundred.
The Luyas drove all the way from Montreal to play on Saturday! It seems an odd choice to begin a tour 3,500 miles from home, but lead singer Jessie Stein remarked between songs that Los Angeles was the only place besides Montreal where the band feels at home. She brings a quirky, Miranda July quality to her performance, experimenting with intonations, even whispering large patches of lyrics. Drummer Stefan Schneider plays with an excellent math rock style, and French horn player Pietro Amato has played with Bell Orchestre and Arcade Fire. Stein’s guitar went mute for a minute during the set, but the band played through and the audience enjoyed the improvisation. Be sure to check out their Too Beautiful to Work LP, which was released via Dead Oceans in February.
DJ cut between sets: “Point That Thing Somewhere Else” by The Clean
The Dodos capitalized off of the energy built during Luyas’ set, as it’s apparent that the bands share many of the same fans. Guitarist Meric Long and Drummer Logan Kroeber maintain a lot of energy without coming off as over-the-top. The two mesh well together. While Luyas’ features more of a rise and fall of action, the Dodos take the best from Neutral Milk Hotel in that even their softest sound has a roughness and intensity to it. If WU FLY plays self-described heavy pop, Dodos play ‘super jangle’. The selections off No Color were interpreted with pinpoint accuracy and the audience loving every minute. Late in the set, Amato joined in for a French horn solo from the concourse above, which was the highlight of the set. A strong showing by the lads from San Francisco. Contributed by Chris Gedos
The Dodos – Don’t Try and Hide It (Facebook)
The Luyas – Too Beautiful to Work (Official)
WU LYF on Tues, Cults on Wed? The lineup as of late can hardly get better @ the Echo. I’m sure many folks pulled double duty, but after the grandeur of WU LYF I was looking forward to Cults’ laidback / throwback girl-pop.
After an epic jockeying for a prime parking spot, I entered the venue as opener Guards finished up one of the first couple songs of their set. This five-piece from NYC via San Diego (just like Cults) has got some nice ideas behind them. The clear distinction of quality is unmistakable as they fly into their next song. Guards strike a chord both relevant and classic – they wouldn’t sound out of place on the Freaks and Geeks or Adventureland soundtrack (as opposed to Sixteen Candles). The lead singer says “thank you very much” after each song, acknowledging the symbiotic musician-audience relationship.
Guards have two or three pretty good songs and one great song titled “Resolution of One”. “On a better day, I hope to give it all away” is crooned with this rare sense of nostalgia lacking bitterness. The quick introduction into the second verse and chorus is quite memorable and worth the price of admission. A couple of their tunes sounded too schizophrenic, going from ballad to freakout and back to ballad in 2:40, but “Resolution of One” shows that Guards can channel some very powerful energy when they follow a singular idea from start to finish.
Cults took the stage a little after 11pm. Singer Madeline Follin introduces the band with a bubbly, “Hi! We’re Cults!” then commands the stage with effortlessness. She and guitarist Brian Oblivion started the band while students at NYC – amazing that a project supposedly recorded for friends could be so ‘radio’ ready! The sexy duo tours as a full band and sound A LOT harder live. Comparisons to The Ronettes and The Crystals fall in favor of a Let It Be Spector wall-of-sound.
“Abducted” sounded amazing and captured the hardness of the original recording. “You Know What I Mean” retained its early Motown Magic. The crowd was obviously digging the harder sound, but I think some of their saccharine sweetness becomes lost amidst the lush instrumentation. As a Motown / OBG purist, I’m always relieved when I hear the revival of classic pop music in the year 2011, which the slick production values on the self-titled Cults captures so perfectly. I can appreciate any live experimentation with arrangements and sounds, but with Cults there was little tone-for-tone sameness.
The mark of great musicianship is versatility. The best artists are chameleons and blend into the colors of the chosen genre. By the time Cults played the viral “Go Outside” late in the set, it seemed to me that they’ve already evolved beyond their debut sound. I wouldn’t be surprised if they put out a completely different record next year, but I want Cults to maintain their youthful nonchalance forever. – Chris Gedos
I tried not listening to WU LYF before their show @ The Echo on Tues, 7/26. Resistance was futile. To quote Alice Walker’s The Color Purple: “we are the ones we have been waiting for.” WU LYF’s debut Go Tell Fire To The Mountain channels this ineffable feeling of a universal consciousness, an evolved spirituality for the disaffected youths of the early 2000’s. If you haven’t given WU LYF’s LP a spin by this point, do yourself a long overdue favor. Songs like “Heavy Pop” and “Concrete Gold” (both of which have been on the Superhighway for 18 months now) gain a greater meaning when heard within the album’s overarching concept: a prodigal son kills his father the king then is turned away when he attempts to assume the throne.
You get more bees with honey than with vinegar. WU LYF’s reticence to speak to the media has officially begun to overshadow their music. Their recent Radio 1 interview is quite hilarious, but I could see the casual listener turned off by their caustic demeanor and not give the tunes a proper spin. Transparency is the only answer to speculation. With a level of popularity comes great public expectation, which none of us can control, for such is the nature of human epistemology.
Crystal Antlers’ impassioned set tided fans as they streamed into the venue. Although they weren’t originally listed on the bill, a solid majority of attendees were inside by the third song from the Long Beach, CA natives. We initiated a spirited discussion RE: idea bands vs. song bands – it’s only fitting that an idea band like Crystal Antlers would open for fellow idea band WU LYF. Such distinctions, while often counter-intuitive, prove extremely helpful in this case. By this I mean WU LYF would never tour with The Vaccines or The Arctic Monkeys, for example, since they operate on opposite ends of the indie spectrum.
I was afraid that WU LYF might sound a little sloppy live, since they’ve only played about three dozen shows. I was quite surprised by their tightness and how true they stayed to the LP. This speaks volumes for their unique sound which, despite paying homage to SST, early Modest Mouse, The Pixies, Tom Waits etc., could never be classified as derivative.
I can’t say anything negative about their live performance. Absolutely phenomenal! Their music is imbued with this creative imperative i.e. they make music not because they want to but because they have to. Every measure is joyously cathartic. Those who know the lyrics sing along; everyone else stands transfixed, bobbing to the backbeat. If only they’d done a cover of “Flip Your Wig” or “Teeth Like God’s Shoeshine”, I would rate their performance a perfect 10, but maybe that’s asking too much. Let us hope that WU LYF tour more of America next time around, so they can share their talents with more disenfranchised youths, the listeners who need their music the most.
WU LYF could be the biggest band on the planet if they wanted, but they already are in the hearts of their most devoted followers. – Chris Gedos
July 26, 2011 @ Echo Set List:
LYF
Cave Song
Summas Bliss
Such A Sad Puppy Dog
Spitting Blood
Dirt
14 Crowns For Me And Your Friends
Concrete Gold
Heavy Pop
Scissors For Your Hair
We Bros
What does does a consciously ambitious band sound like? A possible answer is Glasvegas. We’re not saying that’s a good or bad thing (for them) but we are saying that few things felt more clear Wednesday night at the Troubadour.
Before a sold out crowd of radio rock fans, the band took to the stage sporting all-black threads with their leader James Allen in clean white flanked by a flowing neon orange microphone cable. The set, opened with “The World Is Yours” from their new Euphoric Heartbreak LP, and the band came to life. Glasvegas soared through the eastern-tinged, explorative track, sonically impressive with its lush guitars, thumping bass, and synth flourishes. Allen’s vocals lifted out over the mix in Bono-like fashion. Am I really at a Glasvegas show?
There was an energy at the Troubadour and fans felt privy to something special, but little did they know, Glasvegas had fired many of its more impressive musicals bullets. What remained of the newer material seemed long on epic-ness and ambition-ness but short on songwriting, execution, and performance, delivering at least as many self-indulgent moments as memorable ones.
Allen bestowed a usual confidence, taking off his jacket, swigging beer and sneering at times into the microphone. His Scottish accent flowed forth proudly, making for interesting context to the experience. In general, it seems obvious that Glasvegas, at least right now, aren’t interested in writing the legacy pop songs hinted at by their critically acclaimed self-titled 2008 debut, rather they seem in favor of a more mature, poetic, festival, ‘cult-following’ career approach.
Still, The Troubadour’s sold-out crowd took note. Experiencing the set at full sprint. Radio friendly “Geraldine” and encore closer “Daddy’s Gone” were the most harmonious tracks of the evening. Also… of course, its always worth noting we dig the inaudible, and in this case, Scottish-accented bantering throughout the set! In fact that is one of the main reason’s to love watching anglo-centric rock and roll live, init?
Left quite impressed with Seapony’s performance at the Echo Tuesday Night. Each song was pitch perfect, pop beauties in their economy and brevity. Their set opener, “With You”, is actually the 12th and final track on Go With Me, the debut album which was released on Tuesday as well. I love how the cover art matches the emotional hue of the music — a girl (presumably the singer) stares wistfully at the calm sea. It’s a bright and cheery picture but with nostalgia and longing as well, as in “we may be hurt inside, but we put on a happy face because things are all right after all.” This is how Seattle does happy, with just enough angst to prove authenticity.
Seapony has hit the scene running. Their album was recorded as a three piece with a drum track. It’s nice to hear the compliment of a live drummer. A little bit of Jefferson Airplane, a little bit of Jesus And Mary Chain, played by the Pixies at 65% tempo? I don’t know what they sound like. Heck, I don’t know if Seapony knows what they sound like, or what they’ll sound like in a year. It’s always nice to get a sense of mutability; because that’s all that pop music is, really, little gems of impermanence.
“Dreaming”, their blog hit and 7”, was played third, slightly uptempo and with a little bit of fuzz. It may’ve been nice to hear it later in the set, since attendees were streaming in as the set progressed. I think they were a little nervous, even though they had no reason to be. “Blue Star” sounded excellent, as the band hit their groove for the last few songs. Seapony is way more than a one trick Seapony. I’m excited to hear what they record next. – Chris Gedos
Brother and Useless Keys played The Satellite Tuesday night to roughly 110 people. Airborne Toxic Event played here Monday night to a sold out crowd (check out August Brown’s thorough review here). I’m afraid many concert-goers were too burnt out for double duty. Moreover, Brother only has 3 (or 4) songs online at the moment, which I’m sure factored into the modest turnout. But those in attendance were generously rewarded for their curiosity with a playfully confident 45 minute performance.
I arrived about two songs into Useless Keys’ post-psychedelic performance. I didn’t even know it was them for another three songs. I had to ask the girls at the merch table. I mean it in the best possible way when I say that Useless Keys are all over the place sonically. It’s fun seeing a band this talented still trying to define their sound. Or maybe they don’t want to be defined. The volume is near-deafening as fog envelops the stage. Everybody digs the paranoiac ambiance. Their sound is schizophrenic: Replacements on roids, My Bloody Valentine at prom, Nirvana in LaLa land, early Pink Floyd meets Trout Mask Replica. Only through the marriage of cacophony will such eccentric euphony ever ferment.
Brother hasn’t basked in the “second coming” musical deification bestowed upon The Vaccines and WU LYF, possibly because they’re from Slough as opposed to London or Manchester. Their self-described style, grit-pop, isn’t quite as apt as WU LYF’s “heavy pop”. A more fitting branding for Brother is “hard-jangle”, in honor of XTC and The La’s.
As Brother prepares to take stage, I’m not quite sure what to expect. It’s a battle of cognition versus perception: I know the group to be a very promising foursome, but is my concert-going frequency having an adverse affect on the appreciation value? Am I becoming a part of the creative and jaded LA cross-section I’ve lamented in the past?
My doubt dissipates once Brother takes stage and launches into “Still Here”, which was featured in an April 9th post. The pitch-perfect harmonies have a tinge of adolescent abandon, as in, “We know we sound good and we still don’t give a fuck!” The singer mentions something about his guitar strap breaking and how “half a million people in England might care to know that right now.” (I’m paraphrasing.) I can forgive a healthy level of conceit for a band with this much talent. After all, Rock n’ Roll is a game designed for the young and the precocious, those who understand that each passing moment is the oldest we’ve ever been and the younger we’ll ever be. And Brother, with their charming blend of youthfulness and insouciance, perfectly captures that ineffable spirit.
The songs besides “Still Here”, “Darling Buds of May”, and “Time Machine” were catchy as well, but I’m still not sure if Brother will maintain the uniform quality of their initial public offerings. They could’ve played louder but I won’t nitpick. “Just download the album for free,” the singer quipped. I don’t know how happy Geffen will be if Brother dissuades CD purchases come July, but it doesn’t really matter if the lads from Slough deliver like they did at The Satellite on Tuesday. All interested parties will receive their spoils, creative and monetary, at year-end.
The Raveonettes rolled into Boston’s Paradise rock club this past Thursday blowing out an approximately 70 minute set that featured heavily tunes from the band’s new Raven in the Grave LP. The Raveonettes are loud. Really loud. Maybe it was the venue, the soundman, the soundsystem, or some combination but the band came of extraordinarly loud, at times a bit to the detriment of the material. We heard guitars, we heard distortion pedals, we heard noise and feedback, but, some of the time, we couldn’t hear the voices, we couldn’t hear the songs.
Sune and Sharin were backed up this time by two side men who alternated between drums (both live and electronic) and guitars and bass. The beefed up rhythm section aided in giving the better songs a strong rhythmic punch.
What we’ve heard from Raven in the Grave we love. This slightly darker, slightly shoegazier sound from The Raves plays brilliantly on record. Recharge & Revolt, War in Heaven, Evil Seeds all draw from and synthesize on the best influences and sounds in The Raveonettes universe (MBV, Ride, etc).
Second song “Evil Seeds” was particularly jarring. The bass in the beat just rips into you. The atmospheres of guitar distortion pull at you further. That intersection of emotive interaction (to the music) and an intense physical reaction (to the actual sounds), it was really powerful.
Sharin would give wry smile to Sune or Sune would sort of shake his arms otherwise there was sort of stoicism from the band, a kind of blankness but it sort of worked. You felt pulverized in sort of systematic way, a sort of monolith of sound. It fit.
“Heart of Stone”, from 2009’s excellent In and Out of Control, was a highlight. The song bounced, jittered, and shook. Sune’s tuneful picking in lockstep to Sharin’s kinetic bass.
We love The Raveonettes. We love Raven in the Grave. The performance… conceptually, it worked. If a concert experience were solely transacted in ideas, this would have been a great show. Technically (venue acoustics, soundman, mixing, levels, etc) it left something to be desired.
Jeremy Messersmith was a treat. “Tatooine” is a gem that made our top 50 list last year and we couldn’t wait to have the experience live. Pleasantly surprised. Jeremy’s set proved more quirky than expected. Concluding with “Violets”, his band helped carry a sound reminiscent of The Turtles and other late 60’s West Coast bands. Messersmith has talent and just seems to radiate longevity.
Jeremy Messersmith – Tatooine
Sweet Jane @ B.D. Riley’s
One of the best things about SXSW is that you can just walk down a street and your ears can bring you to something you’ve never heard before. In preparing some post-festival coverage, I recalled one of those bands that drew me in. If you’re a fan of Noel Gallagher (like we are) and his guitar playing (guilty again), you won’t be able to resist listening to Sweet Jane. Lydia Des Dolles lead vocals add a fresh compliment to a fantastic British sound. Into it.
The line was around the block on E 6th street during peak freak hour Saturday night. Passing through three layers of security was necessary to enter Billboard Bungalow (patdowns included) I felt like I was going upstairs to see Obama. Black Milk is a pro. His killer on stage presence gets the crowd moving and into it. This man loves to perform. The live band was an….interesting touch. The sound was cool, the band was unique but somehow came off a bit flat, amateurish. The drums were set up in an odd, “less than traditional way”. The keys didn’t seem to be working. The bass was lose. It felt pretty backyard. “Dead Medley” was a highlight. Black Milk, the MC (minus his band), proved worthy of a long performance career, Common-style
Black Milk – Overdose
Curren$y @ Billboard Bungalow
Curren$y enters late and totally high. He’s completely non-chalant as he commands the stage. Basically the opposite of what we just saw from Black Milk. The stage show went something as follows: he first came out, then a second MC joined him, then like four 19 year old looking dudes came up on stage to stand behind him, and they were stoned. As is Spitta’s M.O., the raps were smooth and the track were short. His rambles between tracks were actually pretty tight. As he did a solid job hyping the crowd between songs.
Curren$y – Address (Feat. Stalley)
Eliza Doolittle @ Cedar Street Courtyard
Earlier in the day, deep in the underbelly of Austin, we crossed paths with our girl Eliza Doolittle. One look at the b3sci posse, and at least one member of our crew got prob the hottest demand of the weekend, “Take off Your Skinny Jeans! You!” We were caught. Eliza had us. Of course, what to do when an adorable British girls calls at you to remove yer trousers, well never tell. But we did make it back over to Cedar Street, pants and all, to catch Eliza’s Saturday night set. We’ll drop this in again, just once more, to be, you know, official about it. Eliza Doolittle is adorable. And that sort of defined her set. “Money Box” was sunshine-y, feel good, glad in all the right places. Part of Eliza’s charm is her ability to connect. She could be looking into the audience at a 90 degree angle to you, or at her band, or up into space, and still all the while, you feel like she’s singing to you and only you. “I want to go back to a time when I was young. No not when I was 16 or something like that. No, I’m talking really young. I want to go back to when I was three.” And you stand there, as she smiles at you delivering that line, and you’re like, “Yeah, Eliza, that sounds like a pretty nice idea.”
Eliza’s secret weapon is her band. Her bassist, playing a stand up double bass, was ridiculously good. Her drummer, likely more at home in a different genre of music, was ace. The energy in the rhythm section, pitch perfect harmonies, and wisely placed guitar/uke make for a great stripped down feel good vibe. Eliza’s songs are uptempo, kinetic and they move with her. Where does an artist like Eliza go from here? How will she manage in the states? Can she be as big as Adele.. Lily Allen, Kate Nash? Take note.
Eliza Doolittle – Skinny Genes
Ty Segall @ Mohawk
If you love what made Grunge great, big guitar sound, rock and roll attitude. In the year 2K11, Ty Segall is about as close you can get. The packed house for Ty was brimming with all sorts of arrogant attitude. Like it came with admission. Segall and his youthful angst-driven bandmates delivered their sound heavy and intense, reminiscent of live Nirvana. Ty Seagall is prob a bit of an acquired taste, an acquired taste we just so happen to love. Long live the 90’s.
Ty Segall – Standing at the Station
Funeral Party @ Cedar Street Courtyard
Just when I thought I’d had enough; so many bands, so much music, so much that it started become noise; I still trudged back to the Cedar Street Courtyard, I had one last band to see, east Los Angeles act Funeral Party. The Steve Madden/Grooveshark Party had nearly emptied out. The few sticking around were mainly press congregated near the front of the stage with large cameras. The band brought with them to the stage a lot of energy, maybe the most energy- packed performance I’d seen all SXSW. A guitarist flying there, a bassist there. The guitarist’s acrobatics at one point caused him to trip, causing frontman Chad to wisely state ” Steve Madden shoes look great, but they still need a few days to break in.” This was the sort of band Victory Records should have signed 5 years ago, Funeral Party have a great new alternative sound, with great songs and great arrangements. The band’s live chops were obvious and when lead vocalist Chad Elliott is in key they are borderline unstoppable. During the breakdown of “NYC Sound Goes To LA…” a lyrical cameo from “Champagne Supernova” found it’s place “how many special people change, how many lives were living strange”. Where were you while we were getting high? This guys are that kind of band. Camera flashes were plenty and the venue had nearly filled back up by end of set. Funeral Party definitely helped wrap SXSW on a high. Take notes, rock and rollers, this band plays like they have nothing to prove, it’s real. They don’t give a fuck about what else is happening in indie rock or alternative music or anything like that, and really, why should they?
Funeral Party – Carwars
Death From Above 1979 @ Beauty Bar
Your Miranda Rights are all that you got. Pretty much. As you’ve likely heard by now there was a riot at Death From Above’s reunion gig @ Beauty Bar. Being there in that moment. There’s a feeling, a certain sensation at your insides (not that $7 burrito we grabbed on the street on the way over) that experience when you were among a crowd that’s beginning to lose control. And there, there’s a feeling like anything can happen. The next bit of your life, those events, are not quite in your control anymore. The show, itself, was terribly handled by the venue. The location of the line was not clear, where the line started and ended was not clear, whether anyone was actually getting in was not clear. A definite vacuum of information existed. (Riot criteria 1). What is Beauty Bar? Beauty Bar is a venue that maybe holds 200 people. It’s essentially a piece of a larger asphalt lot with a tent on top of it. “In line” or probably more appropriately mobbed about there venue there were maybe 600-800 people “on the outside”. A large throng of people in a tight space (Riot criteria 2).
The band starts. Immediately, (and obviously any chance of getting in the venue dashed) the crowd turns violent. Beers fly, stones, garbage they fly too. Someone throws a chair. The chainlink fence that divdes the outside from the inside is under siege. The kids are intent in bringing it down. They shake, they climb, they kick. The fence lasts maybe 10 minutes. It’s down. By this time the venue has circled several bouncers to where the fence once stood. They’re holding the crowd back now. They’re the final bit of defense between the current situation and total mayhem (the latter quickly becoming more and more the former). Then suddenly, the fence is boosted back up. The kids are trying to help. They’re trying to keep some bit of order. The overall crowd, though, grows angrier. The fence is almost now in a state of volley. Bouncers to Crowd. Crowd to Bouncers. Mace sprays from the venue. The mob is pushed back. Time for us to check the fuck out with mounted riot police, arrests, and all that reality TV stuff pending. It was certainly one hell of moment.
p.s. The band was awesome. Seeing Jesse and Sebastien on stage together performing DFA 79 songs fucking ruled.
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