Concert Review: The National - 5/25/09 at the 9:30 Club

The National are one of my top five favorite bands in the universe. Their last two albums, Boxer and Alligator are "go-to" albums on my iPod, and I've now seen them live three times. As much as I love them, I have to say, they're one of those bands that is better on a recording than live. Not that they aren't good live, but there's something missing in the live performances. Their cool, polished sound doesn't translate perfectly, and they don't have the proper instrumentation (even with nine people on-stage tonight).

Tonight's show featured an awesome opener, Colin Stetson, a saxophonist who also played in the horn section for the headliners. He did some things with a sax that I did not know could be done. I highly recommend giving him a listen. Also, the horn section added a lot to a few of the songs they played, like "Fake Empire" and "Squalor Victoria".

The National played four new songs as well (see setlist). My favorite of the new ones was "Runaway", with which they opened the set. Here's the very shaky, poor-sound-quality video I took of it:


They played 15 other songs, mostly from their last two albums. I was disappointed not to hear "All the Wine" and "Looking for Astronauts", two of my favorites, but I'm sure they had to mix up the setlists, since they played two shows at the 9:30 Club last night.

SETLIST
Runaway (new)
Start a War
Mistaken for Strangers
Brainy
Secret Meeting
Baby We'll Be Fine
Slow Show
Vanderline Crybaby (new)
Squalor Victoria
Abel
Ada
So Far Around the Bend (new-ish)
Apartment Story
Green Gloves
Fake Empire
-----------
City Middle
Mr. November
Blood Buzz Ohio (new)
About Today

Concert Review: Andrew Bird - 2/3/09 at the 9:30 Club

The slacker blogger is back with another concert review. If not for my unsustainable addiction to concerts, this blog might have died long ago.

Last night, Andrew Bird brought his enormous bag of tricks to the 930 Club and wowed a full house for about an hour. It is truly unfair how much talent this man has. Don't hog it all! This guy is probably the best violinist in rock music (by a large margin). He might be the best whistler in the universe. He's got a silky tenor voice that hits some tough notes with grace and ease. He writes probably the most intelligent music out there (you'll need a dictionary to understand what the songs are about). And he's a passable, if not amazing, guitar player. One of his skills that I didn't know about before the show was his live looping prowess. I'd read somewhere that his shows included a lot of looping, which made sense, considering there are often a lot of violin parts layered over each other. But he pulls this effect off live with the same ease with which he shows off all of his other amazing skills. He'd play a few notes on his fiddle, then some harmonies, and pretty quickly, there's the dense, rich sound of a chamber string group.

Now, here's the problem: For all his talents, I think Bird should be better than he is. I think he's coasting. By almost any other musician's standards, his latest two albums would've been triumphant, career-making stuff. But I'm not buying it for him. His songs border on becoming boring, which is shocking given his many talents. He's not a bad songwriter. He's just not as ambitious as I would like. He should be pushing the envelope with crazy stuff on a regular basis, but he only does on a semi-regular basis.

A lot of the show blended together for me, as I'm not as familiar with the individual songs on the last two albums as I am with those on Mysterious Production of Eggs. He only played one song from that, my favorite of his albums, "Fake Palindromes," and I wish he'd just not bothered, because his rendition last night was annoying. He pulled the "I'm-gonna-change-every-single-note-of-this-song" trick, making it impossible to even recognize except for the sweeping violin riff. My favorite song he played was the first encore, one that I think is not on any of his albums (called "Why? / Somedays" on the setlist), but I'm not sure. He went super-bluesy with it, and it worked well. I think he was trying to act like a drunk. He should do that more.

So, perhaps I'm being unfair by criticizing Bird for not being as amazing as I think he can be. It was really worth it just to see his mad skillz at all things musical. But I still hold out hope that, one of these days, he's gonna come out with something that's equal to his limitless talents. I can't wait.

Setlist (according to NPR anyway, though I know it's missing at least "Fake Palindromes"):

Instrumental from Soldier On EP
Water Jet Cliche
Masterswarm
Oh No
Effigy
Natural Disaster
Tenuousness
Nomenclature
Not A Robot, But A Ghost
Privateers (formerly The Confession)
Plasticities
Anonanimal
Fitz and the Dizzyspells
Imitosis
Souverian
Why? [Encore]
Tables and Chairs [Encore]

For some pictures that don't suck and the concert recorded in full, visit NPR's page for last night's show.

Concert Review: Frightened Rabbit - 1/19/09 at Rock and Roll Hotel

First off, let me say, I'm not very good at taking pictures, apparently. I need some better skills and/or a better camera. Or just get to shows earlier or something. Anyway, I resolve to improve the quality of photos on this blog. This right here is just poor.

So, on with the review.

This is the second time in three months that, on the eve of a massively significant day in our nation's history, a foreigner has driven home the importance of the occasion. Billy Bragg came by the 9:30 club just before Election Day to tell DC how much our votes meant to him and the rest of the world. When Frightened Rabbit came on the last day of the Bush presidency, the significance of the day was not lost on them either. The Scotsmen said there was no other place in the world they would rather be right now than in Washington, DC  for this occasion.

Their enthusiasm showed in their performance too. At least I assume it did, even though I figure these guys are the type to go balls-to-the-wall for all their shows. Most of the songs were from the new album, Midnight Organ Fight, one of the best albums of 2oo8. They played one track from their first album. Check back later for a setlist once I get my shit together.

Anyway, I really like this band, and their show, though not quite as powerful as the recording, was another treat for this very exciting long weekend. Ok, it's late, and I'm starting my Inauguration day trek into the wilderness of Obama-crazy masses in less than two hours. See you in the Obama Era.

Concert Review: Department of Eagles - 1/17/09 at Johnny Brenda's (Philadelphia) **setlist included**

Too bad more people don't know Department of Eagles. Maybe if they did, their tour would've come through the nation's capital. I had to go up to Philadelphia to see the band that earned the highly coveted prize of my #1 album of 2008. That would be In Ear Park (read my review). I love that album. I think it's a masterpiece. I also think their first album, The Cold Nose, was very good too. Apparently even the band members themselves think that one was bad, though.

Fred and Dan, the two official members of the band, were working the merch table at the venue, a nice little spot called Johnny Brenda's that I liked quite a bit. I had an embarassing little chat with each of them where I mumbled something about loving them and wanting to have their babies, or something like that. Anyway, I never know what to say in those situations.

So this show was only the 3rd time they'd played as this band, but for most of the show, I wouldn't have been able to tell that. They were pretty tight. Fred and Dan were joined by the bassist and drummer from Dan's regular band, Grizzly Bear. They're solid pros. Apparently, quite a bit of arrangement was necessary to make those songs from In Ear Park performable live. They didn't manage to arrange my favorite song, "Herringbone," though.

They played most of the rest of the album, along with one track from Cold Nose, "Sailing by Night," as well as two or three new numbers and a cover of JoJo's "Too Little Too Late" as a pretty entertaining encore. Yeah, that JoJo. Both of the new tracks featured some awesome looping of vocals by Dan. He can really sing. He has a raspy, sweet voice that keeps pitch really well. Very faithful to the album. Guitar work was good too. Dan even broke out the banjo for one song, "Balmy." I'd have liked some more of the electronic effects worked in there. Still, it was a darn good show. Totally worth the trip.

Concert Review: Gogol Bordello - 1/2/09 at the 9:30 club (Setlist)

Showmanship. There's still a place for showmanship. Gogol Bordello shows are the place. Friday night, they made good on my expectations of a crazy-awesome show, and I have the bruises and sweat-stains to prove it. The Gypsy punk band from various parts of Eastern Europe by way of the Lower East Side have a reputation for being one of the best live acts around. 

Frontman Eugene Hutz is the one that makes sure the reputation is upheld. He must have endless supplies of energy or cocaine, because it seems unfathomable that a man can be that much of a spaz on a nightly basis. Spaz in a good way, of course. He jumps around with his shirt off and bellows his songs in a voice that I've seen best described as, "somewhere between that of Borat and Triumph the Insult Comic Dog." The fiddle and accordion make up the rest of the vital parts of the band's crazy Eastern European Gypsy style, and the guys playing them were quite the virtuosos. Then there are the two identically dressed hot young girls that come on for to bang on drums and cymbals and dance and sing backup and look hot, which they do very well. 

The front of the crowd is not the place to be if you're not into getting jostled around and shoved a little. There wasn't any out-and-out circle-pit action, but it was close to that level of mayhem. Fantastic show. Definitely go see them at some point in your life, even if you don't care for the music.

Concert Review: Wilco - 12.14.08 at Lyric Opera House in Baltimore

I got tickets to Wilco even though they're not a band I've ever fallen in love with. They kind of occupy the same sort of vague territory of appreciation without outright affection that the White Stripes, Ted Leo, and Broken Social Scene fall into for me. But I knew they write good songs, and they have a reputation for being an excellent live act to see, and the choice of venue had me sold. 

The Baltimore show was one of only a couple that Wilco are doing this tour without Neil Young, so they get to be the headlining act. Funny, that they are opening for Neil Young, but the one time I saw Neil Young, he opened for Dave Matthews Band... something is wrong here. Anyway, the venue of this show, the Lyric Opera House, was a big selling point for me too, because shows I've seen this year in fancier seated venues have all been excellent (Sigur Ros, Elbow, Mos Def).

And what do you know, I got exactly what I paid for. (Ok, not exactly... I bought two tickets thinking, surely, I could convince one of my friends, or some poor hipster out in the cold of Baltimore to see the show, but I couldn't find a single taker, and had to totally eat the cost... and that's the 2nd time that's happened in two weeks! WTF?)

The thing that struck me about this show is that this is just a very good, professional, band. They're tight, they have no weak links, they take their craft extremely seriously. That being said, one of the more memorable parts of the show came when Tweedy messed up a verse on "Jesus, Etc." about which he seemed really embarassed. He explained that, what had gone through his head to make him lose his place in the song was, he was thinking about how cool it'd be if characters from "The Wire" (best show in the history of tv) like Omar and McNulty were real and came to a Wilco show. It was a stark contrast from Nick Cave, who seemed to not give a damn about stopping in the middle of "God is in the House" or explaining why.

So in conclusion, even if you don't like Wilco that much, you should go see them if you get the chance, especially if your friend is offering them to you at a discount and would probably even give it to you for free.

Concert Review: Dr. Dog - 12.3.08 at the 9:30 Club

For the pre-encore setlist, see the previous post.

The encore was:

1. I Hope There's Love
2. OHNO
3. Fuck It

This was my second Dr. Dog show in five days and third in the past three months. From these shows, I've learned it's best to see this band up close, not hanging back or from a balcony. Though not the most danceable of musical styles, a lot of their appeal is their high energy. I used to always be a "near-the-stage" kind of concert-goer, but lately, in my old age, I've been favoring the balcony or the "hang-back" method. This is fine for mellower shows. But I hung back at the Dr. Dog show in Philly a few days back, and it just wasn't as good.

The 9:30 club set was pretty similar to both of the previous sets I saw. All three opened with "The Old Days", the first song of theirs I ever heard, and still one of my favorites. The sets were all heavily from their two latest albums, Fate and We All Belong, but featured a few old ones sprinkled in there. They're a really well-rehearsed band, and I definitely respect them for that.

The real treat in being up front for the show was the crowd. Dr. Dog fans are my kind of people, I guess (except for the couple that was making out hardcore in the front row). They sing along, but not obnoxiously; they dance; they're good-natured. I'm glad I saw this show, because after watching them from next to the sound board in Philly, I was starting to question whether this band was as good as I'd thought. The answer: yes, they're that good. If you ever get a chance to see them (and you will - they tour a lot), learn the songs, buy a ticket, and stand in the front with my people.

Concert Review: Dr. Dog - 11.28.08 at Starlight Ballroom in Philadelphia

I'm seeing Dr. Dog again in 3 days in DC, so I'm gonna do a full review of both shows then. For now, here's the set list of the Philly show. Sorry, kinda blurry on the encores.

Set list:

1. The Old Days
   
2. Hang On
   
3. The Way the Lazy Do
   
4. Fate
   
5. Today
   
6. Worst Trip
   
7. From
   
8. The Ark
   
9. The Breeze
   
10. Say Something
11. Army of Ancients
12. My Friend (?)
13. Fat Dog (?)
14. 100 Years
15. The Girl
16. My Old Ways
17. Alaska
18. The Rabbit, The Bat, and The Reindeer 

Encore

1. Keep a Friend (?)
2. Ain't It Strange (?)
3. Die, Die, Die (?)

Concert Review: The Mountain Goats - 11.06.08 at the 9:30 Club

This was the third time I saw the Mountain Goats in the past year or so. The other two times, both at the Black Cat, were better shows for me. Not that John Darnielle and Co. did a poor job or anything. They are excellent showmen, and really do try to connect with their audiences. I just think they're much better suited for the more intimate setting of the Black Cat. 

For some reason, I was really tired and couldn't get pumped up for this show. Maybe it was the enormous "Educated Consumer" cheeseburger I had at DC9 before the show. Maybe I'm still drained from Election Week. Maybe my nightly sleep-deprivation is catching up to me. Whatever the reason, I managed to fall asleep for bits of this show. It's not the first time I've done that at the 9:30 club; I fell asleep at an Iron & Wine / Calexico show a few years ago, too, but the circumstances of that night (dramatic fight with GF, lullaby-like songs) made it more understandable, I think.

What I do remember between catching a few Zs was Darnielle being his normal self-depricating, hilarious self, telling long, ridiculous, dramatic stories leading up to his songs, then singing his heart out. He is one of my favorite performers to see, and I'm glad that he is back on his feet and touring. Last time I saw him, he hinted at some grave illness that would keep him out of action for some time. Well, it wasn't very long. I'm glad he's feeling better. Next time, just play at the Black Cat. Thanks! 

Concert Review: Billy Bragg - 10.27.08 at the 9:30 Club

As anyone who reads this blog regularly can see, I've been to a lot of shows lately. I love music more than anything, but going to shows so frequently was getting sort of tiresome. So, naturally, I wasn't extremely pumped to go see Billy Bragg, an artist I respect greatly but have never become a huge fan of, on a cold and rainy Monday night.

I was stupid to think that. This was one of my favorite shows I've seen this year, and I've seen quite a few. Billy Bragg was an absolute delight.

To call this a concert might not even do the events of last night full justice. He was on stage for about two hours, but a large portion of that time was more like a lefty voter rally and a stand-up comedy routine. For those who don't know, Billy Bragg is extremely political. I believe he's an outright socialist. It was not at all lost on him that he was in the nation's capital a week before the biggest election in recent American history. He ranted about the upcoming end of "American exceptionalism" and the need for universal healthcare. He also praised America for nominating a black man as a major party Presidential candidate. He kidded about the confusing nature of our red/blue political party designations, since liberals are red and conservatives blue everywhere else in the world. His stories covered subjects as wide-ranging as attending an anti-racism Clash concert when he was 19 and the haircut he got in Ithaca, NY on his current tour. He has a great sense of humor, and is very good at articulating his beliefs about politics and society.

But, even though his stories and rants were highly entertaining, his songs were better. I've never seen the stage of the 9:30 club so empty. It was just Billy Bragg, his guitar, his mic stand, two amps, and a coffee table with his lemon echinacea tea. No support band, no lights show, just Billy Bragg playing and singing his heart out on a Monday night. And it was great. He is getting on in years, for sure, but he has not lost any of his energy on stage, and he's still very good vocally. He surprised me with how well he can sing.

He opened the show with "Help Save the Youth of America," which fit in nicely with the political themes of the show. He mixed in old classics, new numbers, and covers, and even though I'm not that familiar with his catalogue, every song was performed in his unmistakable, passionate style. He played mostly electric, but mixed in some acoustic midway through the set. He had some hilarious banter with the crowd as well.

For the encore, he brought on the Watson Twins (the opener, also known for having recorded and toured with Jenny Lewis of Rilo Kiley) to provide some beautiful harmony for the first number. Then he played "A New England" to close out the show with the entire audience singing the chorus.

I'm so happy to have seen this show. It was such a pleasant atmosphere, especially after the gang of Republicans near us left in disgust, apparently having shown up not realizing Billy Bragg is about as lefty and political as musical artists get. "He's a Socialist! What did you expect?!" taunted the girl next to us. Ah yes, the perfect preamble to one of the most politically important weeks of my lifetime.

Concert Review: Broken Social Scene - 10.22.08 at State Theatre

Broken Social Scene is the perfect name for this Toronto indie supergroup. Their band behaves more as a collective of individual talents that complement each other well than as a single unit with a single sound. The result is a wide range of musical styles and talents on display. This is great, but they can be hit-or-miss, because some of the talents are just better. But they act democratically nonetheless. 

At this show, there were as many as nine people on the stage playing at once (even their roadie got in on the action). They usually had seven or eight people on stage, with almost all of them switching off instruments. Only guitarist Andrew Whiteman (aka- Apostle of Hustle) and drummer Justin Peroff stayed on their primary instruments for the entire 2 hour and 19 minute set. They also played at least one song written by each of five band members.  

The band's core members, Kevin Drew and Brendan Canning, each came out with solo-ish albums recently. I don't own these records, but from what I heard at the show as well as from a devoted fan, Drew's was good and sounded like a BSS record, and Canning's was not so good. That sounds about right, because my least favorite songs of the show were Canning's, including one horrible attempt at a funk/soul song. I don't know what the actual dynamic between the bandmates is, but Canning seems like the odd one out. He seems like the unhip dad of the group.

Missing were the two main female vocalists of BSS: Feist and Emily Haines (lead singer of Metric). Elizabeth Powell of Land of Talk, the opener (from Montreal, nice sound), filled in ably for the songs that needed a female voice. She stole the stage on two of the highlights of the show:  "7/4 (Shoreline)" and "Anthems for a Seventeen-Year-Old Girl."

The other highlights were "Fire-Eye'd Boy" and a really interesting experimental piece called "The Happiness Project" where the multi-instrumentalist/brass/woodwind guys wrote a sax part to play over the spoken word of one of their neighbors... You had to be there, I guess. They finished the pre-encore set with "Ibi Dreams Of Pavement (A Better Day)," and they did something that totally made my night. Mid-song, they quieted down the instrumentals to a whisper, and Kevin Drew instructed the audience-members to let out all their negative feelings by shouting as loud as they could for the rest of the song. I shouted so hard, my voice is still not right two days later. And it felt so good. How often do we get to scream at the top of our lungs in a situation where we won't cause panic or annoyance? I was very thankful for that part of the show.

Like their recordings, BSS's show had some hits and some misses. Also like their recordings, though, it gave a feeling of satisfaction at having heard a very good band play some really creative, innovative music. Kudos to them.

Determined to see a show in Portland

The second leg of my trip to the Pacific Northwest is in the beautiful city of Portland. (I've seen quite a bit in my short time here, but I'll save the details and pics for a later post.) Even though my nights here are not particularly good ones for going out on the town, I was determined to see a show to get a glimpse of the city's supposedly rich music scene. The pickings were slim for this Monday evening: a Henry Rollins spoken-word performance for $26.50 or a young local singer-songwriter named Mya Elaine for $0.00. No offense to Mr. Rollins, but I think I chose wisely.

I walked to the venue, the White Eagle Saloon, from my hostel. Portland gets props for being such a pedestrian-friendly city. I walked across the entirety of downtown, over a large drawbridge, and along a highway in the dark and managed to not get myself killed. 

I got a late start after helping an Australian-sounding Londoner hostel-mate top off his phone credit, so I missed a good bit of Mya Elaine's set. When I joined the audience, there were only about five other people watching her play, and four of them turned out to be friends of hers. This was baffling, because she was pretty damn good.

She performed solo with her acoustic guitar. Her songs were folksy/bluesy, her guitar-work was crisp, and her voice was sweet and versatile. She reminded me a little of Iron & Wine, Jewel, and David Gray. It's not like she has a growndbreaking sound, but she played her songs confidently and beautifully. 

Unfortunately her recordings on her MySpace page don't do her justice. I'd just recommend seeing her play if you happen to be in Portland at the right time. The price will probably be right, and Henry Rollins probably won't be there.

Concert Review: Black Kids 10.10.08 at Neumos in Seattle

I guess my exploration of Seattle wouldn't be complete without going to a live show of some kind, as it has such a rich musical tradition. My friend Katie and I made an impromptu decision to see the Black Kids and the Virgins at a place called Neumos in the Capitol Hill neighborhood. This show should not and will not be the yard stick by which I measure Seattle's music scene, since the bands are neither from Seattle, nor very talented. My blanket judgments of the city's music scene are adjusted accordingly.

It's pretty apparent to me, though, that the city's ultra-hip status is in danger of being run out by yuppies. The famed Crocodile Cafe, a Seattle music landmark, has closed. Belltown, the neighborhood at the epicenter of the grunge scene, has become overrun with condo developments and fratty bars. I've only been here a couple of days, but I would bet a lot of Seattlites would agree with me that the Emerald City is in a cultural decline.

I'm not sure what kind of reputation and regular crowd Neumos has, but the people at this show were less hip than I expected. Capitol Hill, after all, is the heir to Belltown's hipster throne and has not yet been completely gentrified and condo-ized. I'm sure part of the reason for this was the quality of the bands, but I can't help but think non-Seattlites give the city more credit than it is currently due for being cultural and musical trend-setters. Anyway, Seattle definitely still is very cool. Just more yuppified than I expected. 

But wait! Isn't this supposed to be a concert review? That's what the title says? Oh dear, I better get on with it then. 

I didn't catch whatever the first opener was. The second opener was the Virgins. They were pretty bad. It's not their fault they aren't talented. It's just sad that this band has actually gotten so hyped by their label. Shouldn't record contracts be handed out by people who know good music from bad music? Clearly that's not very important these days. The Virgins are similar to the Killers and the Offspring in that they're all bands whose only real talent is doing bad impersonations of other bands... only the Virgins are much worse. The singer couldn't sing his own songs, and they just looked like a bunch of amateurs. But, enough about them. They suck, you get the point.

The Black Kids came on with the benefit of having the bar set really low for them by their openers. Though Katie would disagree, I think they sucked much less than the Virgins. They were at least tight instrumentally, could sing their songs, and had some genuine energy. Their synth-heavy dance music and Robert Smith-esque melodramatic vocals made me want to get up and dance... but the Seattlites wouldn't have it! I'd have thought the whole point of going to this show was to show off some dance moves, but these folks were content to do the standing still. I was pretty surprised. Katie and I agreed Seattlites are a self-conscious lot. 

But I digress... again. The show... well, it wasn't bad, definitely worthwhile, but didn't leave much of a musical impression on me.

Concert Review: Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - 10.6.08

I know Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds have a fiercely loyal following, and that he deserves every bit of the adoration of his fans. He's a very talented musician and songwriter, and he's still coming up with quality albums well into his middle-aged years. But this show was a disappointment for me. It probably didn't help that I had a headache, and I'm sure I'd have enjoyed it more had I had a few beers and been on the floor instead of the balcony. And probably the biggest factor in my non-enjoyment was the fact that I'm not that familiar with his catalogue. There were definitely a lot of people there who had been listening to him for decades, and who had probably seen him a dozen times. They seemed to think the show was amazing. "That was one of the best shows I've ever seen," said a 50-something, tattood, soul-patched, spikey haired, aging hipster. I just didn't see it.

They did a bunch of things that annoyed me, actually. These things made me think about all the things that annoy me at shows in general. Here's a list:

1. It really annoys me when singers completely change the melodies of their songs when they play them live. Ok, so you've sung them a million times and you want to make it interesting. I'm all for improvisation, as long as it maintains the same feel and sounds good. On songs like "Red Right Hand" and "Deanna," Cave just seemed like he was winging it because he couldn't hit the high OR low notes.
2. I had a real problem with the showboating tonight. I expected and enjoyed Nick Cave's antics. He was all over the place, jumpin around, making fun of his bandmates and the audience, doing pelvic thrusts to accent his singing. I enjoyed it. It was one of those Bad Seed guys that pissed me off. The one that plays the violin and what looks like a tiny electric guitar (electric mandolin? electric ukelele?). That guy looked like a psychotic homeless man/ serial sex offender. He had crazy long hair and a crazy long beard. He made vaguely sexual movements throughout the show. He did the playing over the head thing with his violin, which in my book, should only be done if you are playing a solo or something really impressive, which he was not. And most of the time he was doing all this showboating, I couldn't really pick out what he was playing in all the commotion of the 7-piece group. I'm sure he's a very talented guy, but he was a distraction to me.
3. It always ticks me off when people yell out song requests between songs. I accept that there's always gonna be some asshole who will do it, as much to call attention to himself as to actually have the song played. There were a lot of those assholes tonight, but Nick Cave actually encouraged the calling out. I'm not sure which, if any, songs he actually did play because of a shout-out, but he made clear that he was listening, and even asked, "what else do you guys wanna hear?" after the first encore song. Don't encourage them Nick! Don't make them think it's ok to do that at all the other shows I have to see with these people, where their shouting is just an annoyance to the audience AND the band.
4. They had the amps up so freakin loud that I actually regretted not wearing earplugs. I never wear earplugs. Not to System of a Down. Not to Rattler. Not to any show I've ever been to. I rarely regret it. I listen to my Shure inner ear headphones for several hours a day, often at pretty high volume. My eardrums can take a beating. This show was excessively loud. I don't know whether to blame the band or the 930 club sound guys, but I am definitely slightly closer to deafness than I was before the show. There were a couple of times, maybe from feedback, maybe on purpose, there was a burst of sound so loud that it HURT, and I grimaced. What's the point of that? Who's gonna enjoy the show any less if it's slightly less deafening?
5. The band tonight committed what I consider a truly unprofessional musical sin, too. One I'd never actually witnessed. They were playing "God is in the House," one of my favorites of their songs, and they messed up and stopped a whole bunch of times. Then Cave just said "fuck it" and gave up on the song, promising to come back to it later. Then he didn't come back to it. What the hell!? Who does that??
6. Another thing that irked me at this show, which was not at all the fault of the band, was the demographic of the crowd. It wasn't any different than I'd have expected: a lot of older white people, especially men. Not that there weren't young people, but I saw a lot of people that could've been my parents. Still, no big deal. The band itself is full of old guys too, and they've been around for years and years. The thing that irked me was that I saw my future in these old single men with long hair trying desperately to be hip, but just not pulling it off. I don't judge them. For all I know, they're enjoying their lives more than anybody. I just don't want that for myself, and I see myself heading in that direction. I'm already obsessed with music, and not much of a ladies man, and go to a lot of shows, and try to dress hip, and have long hair, and wear band t-shirts, and search out obscure bands. I don't want to stop going to shows. I just don't want being a music fan and critic to take over my life. This blog isn't helping that, but I'm having a good time doing it, so I won't rain on my own parade. Still... eeek, it's a scary thought.

I'm sure there were other reasons I came away from that show with a bad taste in my mouth. It wasn't a great day for me to be going to a show, what with my headache, lack of sleep, and generally snarky mood. And it's not as if there wasn't anything good about it. I enjoyed the beginning of the show a lot. They had great energy and chemistry, and they were very good showmen. The show just happened to poke at a couple of my pet peeves, and it took away from the whole experience for me. Oh well.

[I asked Ed, my housemate who I saw the show with, to write a guest post/review of the show. Hopefully he will do it, because he is a longtime fan, and he liked the show, and it'd be a nice point-counterpoint.]

Set List:

1. Hold on to Yourself

2. Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!!

3. Tupelo

4. The Weeping Song

5. Red Right Hand

6. Midnight Man

7. God Is in the House (gave up)

8. Love Letter

9. Today's Lesson

10. The Mercy Seat

11. Moonland

12. Deanna

13. Papa Won't Leave You, Henry

14. More News from Nowhere

Encore

15. Your Funeral, My Trial

16. Jesus of the Moon

17. Get Ready for Love

18. Stagger Lee

Concert Review: The Dodos at Sonar - 9.28.08

I thought Baltimore's music scene was supposed to be so hip, especially compared to DC's. Why didn't this show sell out? The Dodos are a damn good band, and they were playing at a very intimate venue for not much money. What else do you want, Baltimore?!

The openers for this show were a surprising treat. Wye Oak, a duo from Baltimore, played some good old timeless electric guitar rock music that borrowed a little from Tom Petty and Sheryl Crow. Their songs were very well written and well performed. I'll certainly be checking them out. The second band, AU, were a duo too, but they didn't borrow from any classic rockers. That band consisted of a really talented pianist and drummer who couldn't be bothered with conventional things like melody and time. I commented to a friend after their first song that they sounded like Animal Collective if they sucked. That was harsh. They definitely grew on me as the show went on. I amend my statement to, "They're like Animal Collective if they were slightly less good." And I love Animal Collective. I find myself comparing a lot of bands to them, and I should stop doing that. I guess what I really mean is that they are kind of out there, psychedelic, and have a lot of strange noises and rhythms melded into an interesting and sometimes beautiful sound.

Then came the Dodos, the third duo of the night! Ok, they had a third guy join in on half of their songs. They played a short set because Meric Long, the singer/guitarist was sick with mono. They didn't even play an encore. But what they did play was enough to convince me I was overly critical of them in my review of their album, Visiter. These 2 (sometimes 3) have some SERIOUS instrumental skills. I wouldn't have thought 2 people could make a sound so full, especially the percussion. The guitar was precise and lively. The drums were even more precise, and even more lively. The singing was better than I expected, especially considering Long's illness ("creepy crawleys in his throat"). I'm wondering whether the off-pitch parts of the album were the result of poor standards of the producer or band in the studio.

The highlight of the show was "Jodi", which was their last song. Before the song, Long said, "I do apologize, but this is gonna be our last song. It's called Jodi, and it's in the key of H." It was just as fast and frantic as it is on the album. I guess I'm happier to have seen them go balls to the wall for 45 minutes than to play a subpar, less energetic set of regular length. I felt like I got more quality show for my money because of the openers anyway. I can't wait til they come by again when they don't have mono.

Concert Review: Sigur Ros at United Palace (NY) - 9.18.08

Ah yes, the long-awaited Sigur Ros review. Even though I've been to two shows since this one, this one is still freshest in my mind. It was quite the spectacle. Those Icelanders know how to put on an ambient show... fo sho.

First, the setlist, copied from the Sigur Ros message board:

***********************

01 svefn-g-englar
02 glósóli
03 ný batterí
04 fljótavík
05 við spilum endalaust
06 hoppípolla / með blóðnasir
07 svo hljótt
08 heysátan
09 viðrar vel til loftárása
10 inní mér syngur vitleysingur
11 sæglópur
12 hafsól
13 gobbledigook

encore:
14 illgresi
15 popplagið
***********************

For most of you, and for myself, a self-proclaimed Sigur Ros fan, those song titles mean next to nothing. They certainly don't make it easy for their English-speaking audience. (This is the band that released an album called "( )" with all untitled tracks!) Suffice it to say, they played a bunch of beautiful, trippy, almost supernatural music to an adoring crowd. The venue, an old converted church I believe, was stunning in appearance and acoustics. It was an emotional experience for a lot of people, I think. I definitely heard a few sniffles. 

Lead singer Jonsi's angelic voice did things I didn't think were possible, like sustaining the last beautiful high note of the opening song for what seemed like an hour and still putting a little flourish at the end of it. The instrumentals were what they had to be, but not spectacular. The violin bow on the guitar makes such a cool sound, it makes me wonder why more bands don't do it. 

In the background was some creepy, grainy, blurry footage of children and dolls, and occasional close-ups (also grainy) of the band members' hands and instruments. They definitely have a strange aesthetic. In addition to those images, the drummer was wearing a crown of some sort, and Jonsi's coat had what looked like tinsel hanging from it. More power to them, though. They'd be nothing without their creativity and eccentricity.

They closed the show with an energetic rendition of "Gobbledigook", with members of the opening band banging away at drums and the audience clapping along. Actually the clapping ruined it for me. Audiences can not be depended on to have rhythm or keep time, especially for a song with so many time changes. It's distracting to hear the ever-quickening claps fall out of sync with the band.

I enjoyed each and every track of the set, though, until the encore. I could've done without both of those. The first one was one they'd supposedly never played live before, and featured three of them on acoustic guitars. They dedicated it to one of their crew members who was sick. The song was pretty boring. They're not the same without their sound effects. The second song was one of those ridiculously long building crescendo pieces that always annoy me for displaying the band's self-indulgence. Encores are extra, though. The rest of the show was very nice. It was most definitely worth the trip to New York to see it.

Bonus:

Gobbledigook lyrics and translation!

(thanks Shanie)

(also thanks to jen lemen for the picture)

Concert Review: Built to Spill at 9:30 Club - 9.23.08

It's not everyday you get to hear one of your favorite albums played in its entirety. Yesterday was one of those days for me, and I rather enjoyed it.

I'll get to the rest of my comments on Built to Spill's performance of their 1997 masterpiece Perfect from Now On, but first a few words about the opener, the Meat Puppets. I was vaguely familiar with them as an early alternative band from the 80s or 90s. I'd forgotten that some of their songs were performed by Nirvana on the now-legendary MTV-Unplugged album. That was one of my favorite tracks on the album. Also, it turns out two of the Meat Puppets' members backed up Nirvana on a few of the tracks on that live record. So, the 9:30 Club crowd was treated to a performance by someone who was respected by a legend, but I don't think most people noticed or cared until they played "Plateau", which was the only song that anyone in the crowd sang along to (after I got there anyway, maybe midway through the set). Their performance was nothing special. Nineties-folk-country-alternative has not aged well. During one song, though, they brought out a cardboard cutout of our sitting president and ripped his head off. The crowd seemed to like that. It felt a little bit like the eve of the revolution.

When BTS front man Doug Martsch and his band mates (3 guitarists including DM, a bassist, a cellist, and a drummer) came on the stage, it was hard not to notice how out-of-style and outdated they appeared. Martsch wore a baggy orange t-shirt (with a picture of Kurt Vonnegut - that is cool) and baggy blue pants, and he was sloppily bearded and balding. He looked like somebody's unemployed, alcoholic, uncle. Bizarre.

Then they started playing the first familiar chords of "Randy Described Eternity", and everything made sense again. His innocent, high, pleasantly whiny voice sang out his insightful lyrics over intertwining guitar melodies:

Every thousand years, this metal sphere ten times the size of Jupiter floats a few yards past the Earth. You climb on your roof and take a swipe at it with a single feather; hit it once every thousand years. Til you've worn it down to the size of a pea. Yeah, I'd say that's a long time, but it's only half a blink in the place you're gonna be. Where you gonna be? Where will you spend eternity? I'm gonna be perfect from now on. I'm gonna be perfect starting now.

Gotta love those lyrics. The album is full of witty, ironic, deep lines. It's also full of excellent guitar-work and song-writing. And they played the whole damn thing. It was quite a treat. Perfect differs from other albums in that the songs are longer and more musically ambitious than their other more poppy albums (which are still very good). They were very faithful to the recording, except for a few missing guitar solos (most notably on "I Would Hurt a Fly"), which was a little disappointing. Otherwise, Martsch and company did exactly what they came to do: play a decade-old modern classic from beginning to end. The guitar melodies were crisp, the cello fills were rich, and Martch's singing got stronger as the night went on.

Their first encore was "Car", a fun little poppy track I really like from There's Nothing Wrong With Love. I was happy to hear it. I wish they'd just ended the show there, though. For their second encore, they played a song I wasn't familiar with, and don't care to be, since it went on for about 20 minutes of self-indulgent, boring "jamming" that I can do without. There were so many fake-me-out almost-endings to the song that I can't help but think they were playing a joke on us. Good one Doug. It didn't take away from the rest of the performance, though.

The show was great. Somehow, it didn't even sell out the 930 club, even though tickets went on sale months ago. What the hell? How does Vampire Weekend sell out two shows in December and Built to Spill not sell out one?! Anyway, if you ever have a chance to see them, please do. Martsch is an indie rock giant in my book. He'll spend eternity in rock heaven.

Concert Review: Mos Def at the Kennedy Center - 9.21.08

What? Mos Def the rapper? At the Kennedy Center? Yup, he seemed as surprised about it as you are (if you're surprised). OK, maybe he wasn't surprised. After all, he's a jack of all trades (rapper, singer, poet, actor, probably a bunch of other stuff), so why should it be a stretch that he performed on the same stage where Itzhak Perlman and Pinchas Zuckerman performed the night before? It's not. He nailed it. He's as awesome as I thought.

I have to admit, I'm not actually much of a fan of Mos Def, not because I don't like him, but because I don't end up listening to a whole lot of hip-hop. Amongst rappers, he's one of my favorites, though. But I don't have much knowledge of his songs, so, no there's no playlist here. The Kennedy Center's website previewed the the show thusly: "Artist Mos Def explores hip hop, jazz, and soul with his band, drawing from original compositions and material by Miles Davis, Beyoncé, James Brown, and Gil Scott-Heron, among others." Sadly, along with not knowing much Mos, I don't know much by these other artists either, so I'm not sure how much original stuff he played and how much of it was a rendition of an old (or new) classic.

All I can say is, Mos Def really puts on a show. He's talented and smart, hilariously charming, and genuinely sentimental. He had a band called "Amino Alkaline - The Watermelon Syndicate" backing him up. They consisted of piano/keys, guitar, drums, bass, an 8-man brass section, 10-woman string section, and a DJ in a pear tree. They had a projection screen showing old-timey photos, tributes to recently deceased heroes Isaac Hayes and Bernie Mac, as well as this awesome picture:


That shot got the crowd really excited. Including me. I mean, damn, what an awesome picture of an awesome moment in American history. Mos didn't shy away from political statements. He even sang his version of the national anthem, featuring a substitution of "and the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air" into almost every line of the song. It was funny and poignant, but it wasn't the musical highlight.

He and his band switched it up from jazz to hip hop to rock to spoken word to soul effortlessly, and didn't seem uncomfortable with any of them. Two of the covers I did recognize were Madvillain's "All Caps" and Radiohead's "Reckoner", which both did justice to the wonderful originals.

The venue just didn't seem right, though. People seemed to be uncomfortably wondering why everyone else wasn't getting up and dancing. The sound wasn't great, either. They couldn't seem to get very crisp amplification for the vocals, so his raps were muddled and incomprehensible unless you knew them already. Also, the Kennedy Center staff seemed overly eager to get the show over with. Toward the end, a blond woman who was clearly not associated with the band was quite obviously telling the musicians to pick up the pace. The show started at 7:00 on the dot and let out about two hours later, which, admittedly, with no opener, was a decent length for a show. But Mos and the crowd seemed like they wanted more. There's nothing wrong with the Kennedy Center keeping to a different set of procedures from the 930 club. The venue just seemed to make things a little bit stuffier than most Mos Def fans were probably comfortable with. Or maybe it was just me. Who knows? All I do know is that I saw a good freakin show.

dr. dog show

i know i've already written about dr. dog and not much else, but i felt i'd be remiss if i didn't review their show at the iota club in arlington last friday. the fact that it was in arlington and i still went should indicate how enthusiastic i was about seeing them. i despise arlington and its many douchy young inhabitants. the venue itself was kind of crappy as well. apparently, it was originally 3 adjacent lots that they lumped into one space, but there's a random load-bearing wall right in the middle of the audience area.

the show, however, was excellent. the fivesome from philly did not disappoint. they were spot on with their singing and instruments - no small feat for a band that uses a lot of vocal harmony and complex instrumental segments. i got a better feel for the band than after just listening to the album, particularly for the two front-men: scott (aka "taxi") and toby (aka "tables"). (by the way, i love the fact that their nicknames could double as names for sarah palin's kids.) there seems to be a functional balance between the two despite obviously having two very different styles. "tables" is the cool, comfortable, suave one; "taxi" reminds you of that kid that played magic in the cafeteria. "tables" is straight-up bluesy; "taxi" is indie-folk.

the band stayed faithful to the brilliance of the recorded versions of the songs without being rigid. they played most of their latest album, fate, but mixed in several old favorites. unlike at some shows, not knowing their entire catalog in advance didn't take away from the experience at all, because their songs are so effortlessly accessible. it's like you already knew the songs before you heard them. to get the crowd immediately pumped up, they started their set with "the old days", which, in the humble opinion of this "reviewer", is their best accomplishment as a band. i've described it in detail in my review of the album. the alternating groovy, frantic, and anthemic sections of the song had the crowd dancing, singing, and jumping around immediately.

during the several long pauses for technical difficulties throughout the set, they kept the crowd entertained with their wit and humor. they seem like a very non-rock-star-ish group of guys that i'd happily hang out with just for fun. i hate going to a show of a band i like and realizing they're a bunch of assholes. the crowd, however, had its share of assholes, but what else could one expect from arlington, va? all i have to say is, it's a good thing i was able to keep my cool when the biggest douchebag i'd ever seen stepped right up to the front row right before the set, because otherwise, i might have missed the show while sitting on a curb with my hands cuffed. (actually, i didn't even really keep my cool. i was totally provoking him. luckily, a girl near us in the crowd used her feminine wiles to get him to leave. as i waved goodbye, he gave me the finger and called me a faggot. arlington baby!) so, dr. dog, please come back to d.c. again, but please make sure you're booked at the black cat or dc9!