28 posts tagged “california”
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09/21/09 BOTTLENECK* Lawrence, KS 09/23/09 GRANADA THEATER* Dallas, TX 09/24/09 EMO’S* Austin, TX 09/25/09 WAREHOUSE LIVE* Houston, TX 09/26/09 Spanish Moon* Baton Rouge, LA 09/27/09 Bottle Tree* Birmingham, AL 09/29/09 MASQUERADE* Atlanta, GA 09/30/09 CAT’S CRADLE* Carrboro, NC 10/01/09 9:30 CLUB* Washington DC 10/02/09 Trocadero* Philadelphia, PA 10/03/09 Paradise Rock* Boston, MA 10/04/09 KNITTING FACTORY Brooklyn, NY 10/08/09 TERRACE CLUB Princeton, NJ 10/09/09 Twisted Branch Charlottesville, VA 10/10/09 Duke Coffee Durham, NC 10/21/09 CMJ @ PIANO’S NY 10/21/09 CMJ @ CAKE SHOP NY 10/24/09 CMJ @ THE DELANCEY NY * with Ra Ra Riot Discography
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Their sound is formulaic Sarah Records indiepop, you know, music designed for you either close your eyes or look at your feet while you sway slowly under a non-aggressive 80s modern rock vocals. Sometime there's even a break and the song goes from sleepy dreamy to catchy upbeat (see: "Show Some Love, When Your Man Gets Home" and "I Left My Love in Nagasaki").
While many songwriters write about themselves, I don't get that feeling with this band as their subjects are all over the place: Asians (Korea, Japan), small-town love stories ("Sadie & Andy"), suburban couple in Germany ("Martina and Clive Krantz"), and Dear John letters ("Sylvie"). Story-wise, it's very diverse and interesting, and I also get the impression that the songwriters, Jesse & Matt Kivel, are also well-read and well-traveled, collecting little stories for their songs.
So, while "Shout it Out", the preceding single, is pretty much a love song, I felt "Sadie & Andy" is a better love song. Actually, the love song is on Andy's part, who longs for Sadie. Sadie, on the other hand, evolved and moved on, while Andy is stuck as a grocery stockboy. The same theme is recycled on "Sylvie", about said-girl who went away, although on this song, there's a hint of humor on the song, especially about the gift of "socks".
While these are sad songs, but I think this song would be great to be heard life - especially with surprise female guest vocalist - such as Amy from Ice Palace (the studio version features Meredith Metcalf on girl-vocals).
If you see the band live, yes, they are touring with Ra Ra Riot, you may get confused about the band members - that's because singer Jesse Kivel is a twin brother of bassist Matt. I am assuming you can pick up their album at one of their shows, if not, you'll have to wait until September 29th to get Cocoon of Love.
09/20/2009 17:28:08 ♥ vu (
) ♥princeton-band.com ♥ myspace.com/princetonmusic
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09/23/09 Ooh La La Festival LA, CA
Discography
09/25/09 Joe’s Pub New York 09/26/09 Maison Française Washington 09/29/09 Empty Bottle Chicago 10/13/09 Club 106 Rouen 10/21/09 Espace Culturel Six Fours 11/25/09 Prince Bandroom Melbourne 11/26/09 Powerhouse Brisbane 11/27/09 Factory Theatre Sidney 11/28/09 Festival Centre Adelaide
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So what's interesting, right off the top, is that the folk-ish band writes and sings in English. I believe most of the songs are written by Daumail, so he also sings on most of the song. His voice is very unique, almost nasally, but you get used to it after a few songs. There are some vocals from Imbeaud, which often sounds very melodic, but unfortunately she's mostly used as backup.
Daumail seems very obsessed with flying - particularly birds (owls, hummingbirds, and vultures). He later sings, "I hate birds" on "Tell Me". Even their poppiest, and I think their best song, is about queen "Owl". The song doesn't really make sense to me, but I know at some point there is a missing treasure in the forest and a bear hunter.
If you like that LSD-ness, combined with what people are comparing the band to other artists like Sufjan Stevens and Nick Drake, then you definitely need to check out Cocoon. Apparently, they have a huge buzz in the UK, having selling out shows across Europe. They are playing some tiny venues in the US, so if you're lucky enough to live in those major cities, check them out.
If you can get around the flash-y Minty Fresh website, I'm sure there are instructions on how to buy My Friends All Died In A Plane Crash. Looking at amazon, I see that it's priced ridiculously at import cost of $38 (hint: used is only $12).
09/20/2009 17:28:08 ♥ vu () ♥ frompandamountains.com ♥ myspace.com/listentococoon
You know, the festival is only four days, but it really seem like weeks.
While having every band in the world merge at one place might sound like a great idea... sometime their appearance conflicts with other artists that you also want to see. So one of the biggest problem I had was sacrificing who to see.
Music happens from daylight (probably closer to 10am start) until two in the morning, or even later.
I usually started my day around 8am, working out my schedule for the day. Sometime it's logistics, sometime it's time-issues, but usually I have a full day's worth of stuff to do. I don't follow my schedule to a T, but there are certain items that I absolutely cannot miss (scheduled interviews takes priority over shows).
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- Offline gmail. This worked! I read/did most emails offline and when I was connected, all emails were sent, marked as read, etc.
- iPod Touch, worked like a charm. I was able to grab onto various (free) wifi to receive emails or websurf (maps), etc.
- Austin Convention Center's SXSW wifi stayed up most 99% of the time. Wonderful!
- Cash (ATM) availability
- Blocking off 6th street for pedestrians
WHAT SUCKED
- AT&T Network, apparently everyone in Austin had an iPhone
- Walking......
- Sony Memory Stick not supported on my laptop
- Bands playing 30 minutes or less
- Badges are ridiculously expensive ($600-$700). I think they should make it more affordable, especially since most places don't bother to check for a badge and/or were free. If there was a cover charge, it is usually under $10.
I guess my problems are not really that bad.
DAY ZERO (Tuesday)
Travelling… nothing too exciting. My least favorite state was the one with the road tolls (I think this was in Oklahoma). We did stop in Oklahoma City to see Blackwatch Studios (myspace). We got to hear a few songs from Minneapolis' Cedar Avenue (official/myspace) band from their forth-coming long playing record. The few songs we heard were incomplete, but it sounds really layered with a variety of tracks.
By the way, if the name Cedar Avenue sounds familiar to you, it is because Kristin reviewed their debut album a while back.
DAY ONE (Wednesday)
Getting my barring was hard. I didn't know where any of the streets were. So when people text me: come over to (name of venue), I replied and ask what the cross streets were. Since walking around was my main means of transportation, I ended up crossing out outlier venues immediately.
Wednesday was evening-only, so I mostly went to see some British acts over at Friend's. These guys were all from the London area, with the exception of Liverpool's Wave Machines (official/myspace). These guys creeped me out with their masks that they wore on stage - however, due to heat and comfortableness, they took them off half way into their short set. Also caught a bit of Jay Jay Pistolet (myspace), whose singing voice is very peculiar... it's like he sounds like he's sing out the side of his mouth.
When Mumford & Sons (myspace) took the stage, it was very, very, very crowded. The audience loved them and it's apparent that these guys are going to blow up this year.
The Havana Bar had some Spanish showcase, featuring mostly Mexican bands such as Songs For Eleonor (myspace), Satin Dolls (official), Cosmopolitan (myspace), and Los Fancy Free (myspace). With the exception of The May Fire (official/myspace) and Spain's Capsula (official). We like Spanish acts, so be sure to read more Mexican Summer and my coverage of Los Fancy Free.
DAY TWO (Thursday)
I think this was the big press day, I got to meet & greet Victoria who setup the interview with Solid Gold (myspace). She was kind enough to have me in the Myspace Music event, featuring some artists that I really enjoy: Kate Tucker, Meiko and Ed Harcourt.
To kick off the party was The Real You (myspace), a power-pop band from Seattle, Washington. According to their biography, they've been on constant tour since forming in early 2007 - so I'm sure you'll run into this young band eventually.
I haven't been keeping up with Kate Tucker (official/myspace), but apparently her latest project is with a band called The Honeydove (myspace) - who debuted at SXSW! Unfortunately, I had prior commitments, but I would've liked to have seen her new band play at the Beauty Bar.
Anyway, the nicest bit about her set was that she wanted everyone at the event to get a copy of her last album, "I want to give you my music!"
So if you weren't at the event, you missed out. Hey, maybe you can stop in and say hi to her in Washington:
- 04/05/09 Sunset Seattle, WA
05/21/09 Chop Suey as honeydove Seattle, WA
Meiko (official/myspace) had a guest trumpet player on for most of her set (she requested him on for the rest of show because I guess she felt more comfortable with having someone else with her). She actually started her set with "Piano Song", which ironically just her and her guitar... She made some funny comments, such as "I've never played to a bunch of porta potties before".
You get the impression that she was happy to be there, and maybe it's yellow-iest dress combined with her orange/red dyed hair, but she looks gorgeous.
Ed Harcourt (official/myspace) was very engaging…. During "Until Tomorrow Then", he got down to the audience and walked around, singing and putting his hands around people while everyone was filming and taking pictures. Enclosed is a video evidence.
Harcourt is releasing a new six-track EP called Russian Roulette out on May 5th, but SXSW audience were privy to some of his new songs courtesy of Dovecote Records and Directv. Pay close attention to "Caterpillar", as this is a personal song about his newborn daughter being placed in an incubator as they helpless sit and wait.
Went to an open-door new talent showcase, this was not an official sanctioned SXSW event (you'll find that there are many, many unofficial events), so I don't have a listing of who played at what time. They were all giving away their CDs, but I couldn't bother to pick them up (this would require me to carry around stuff, and I didn't have a hand bag ready). Reminder for next year: bring a man purse.
Also went over to check The Elevaters (myspace) and Rumspringa (myspace) at the Hi-Lo venue. While Elevaters were fun and energetic, it seems the drums/guitar duo of Rumspringa had a lot of problems with their equipment. They had to cut their southern-sounding melodic set short after four (?) songs, quote from the singer, "my shit ain't working."
DAY THREE (Friday)
The busy day. Walked all over town basically. My only out-of-the-way venue was at 3 o'clock to see Superdrag (official/myspace) at Guero's, which I thought was far walking there. I ran into one of our RV family, who we'll call Rose because she looks like a pint-sized Pippettes, complete with dress and all. We walked back across the river so I can make it to my Asteroids Galaxy Tour (official/myspace) interview (this was delayed because of some miscommunication).
Afterward, headed over to Beauty Bar to see Solid Gold play, mustache and all. I can tell the audience was having a good time, especially the girl at the backstage.
Then snuck over to see this punk(ish) band that MTV was covering. I didn't catch their name, but it sounded something like Dirty____ Something. The singer had bleach blonde hair and eye shadows.... and likes to walk around with no shirts on.
Evening was spent mostly at the Scotland show: We Were Promised Jet Packs (myspace), Dananananaykroyd (official/myspace), Camera Obscura (official/myspace), The Proclaimers (official/myspace), Glasvegas (official/myspace), Primal Scream (official/myspace). I was in-out so I did end up missing Glasvegas & Primal Scream, but thanks to Bob for sending in some pictures.
DAY FOUR (Saturday)
Saw a few bands in the daytime at the Press Here Garden Party at the French Legation Museum across the Freeway (this is actually closer than it sounds). The walk there was interesting, and I discovered a no-seating Wendy's on the right side of 7th Street. Yep, I ended up having dinner there since they were making these chicken things that's not available in Minnesota.
I got to the Garden just in time to see Jeremy Jay (myspace), and enjoyed the most of the day with The Soft Pack (myspace) and Diane Birch* (myspace) before heading over to 900 Red River to see Jeremy Jay again.
Listened to Camera Obscura afterwards with those Peelander-Z, as I previously mentioned.
Headed back to the Garden to see Melissa Auf De Maur (official/myspace), who started her set with three cover songs: Nancy Sinatra's "Bang Bang", Danzig's "Devil's Plaything", and The Smiths "Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before". Although the first two went off pretty well, she totally messed up on "Stop Me" - which is understandable because that song has a lot of Morrissey's lyrics and also they had only practiced it the night before in their hotel room.
It wasn't long before people started filling up the seats at the Garden to see Laura Marling (official/myspace). She was joined on stage by Marcus Mumford, I think. He played percussions and sang backup, although I have to say that Marling would've done just fine with her lovely voice and acoustic guitar.
Saw Late of the Pier at the Bat Bar later that night. Since it was being broadcast live on Directv, I think the pressure got to the band and it was just embarrassing to watch. Towards the end, they seem to not be so nervous, and the (rather long) setlist ended with men in death masks coming on stage to carry the band offstage. I don't have Directv, is there a way for non-subscribers to watch this?
Honey Ryder (myspace) was really happy to be Austin, I think this was their first ever US appearance or something. I believe also that their name came from a James Bond girl ? I don't know much about them, but they seem to have a wider audience and following in the UK, where their single "Fly Away" entered the UK Top 40 at #31.
GoldieLocks (myspace) is 75% English and 25% Swedish from Croydon (South London). She raps to DJ Sports (?), who is wearing this Skeletor T-shirt. After the show, she wanted to give everyone in attendance her EP, which actually went pretty fast. As I previously mentioned, keep an eye on this one.
There's no denying that The Gin Riots (myspace) have quite a few hardcore fans here, as evident by a bunch of Gin Riots T-Shirt in the audience.
It's been a few years since The Crimea (official/myspace) toured in the US, so I was happy to be there for them on their second and last SXSW appearance. They were the last band on my list, so it was kind of a relief when it was all over.
And as corrected by superfan Christopher, Tara Blaise shared the stage to sing backup for the band.... Highlight of the show was then Davey Macmanus stepped down and sang in the center of the audience.
* A note on Birch is that she has these incredible legs, but too bad they were well-hidden behind her piano on stage.
03/29/2009 17:50:12 ♥ vu ()
♥weheartmusic.com♥podcast.weheartmusic.com♥news.weheartmusic.com
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11/15/08 Mojoe’s Rock House ( w/ Person L) Tinley Park, Illinois
11/16/08 HI-FI Club (w/ Person L) Lakewood, Ohio 11/18/08 Xtreme Wheels Buffalo, NY 11/19/08 Jaggard Ume Altoona, PA 11/20/08 Webster Underground Hartford, CT 11/21/08 Valentine’s Albany, NY 11/22/08 Crocodile Rock Cafe Allentown, Pennsylvania 11/23/08 Loft Poughkeepsie, NY 11/25/08 Maxwell’s Hoboken, NJ 11/26/08 Khyber Philadelphia, PA 11/30/08 Garfield Artworks Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 12/01/08 Agora Ballroom Cleveland, OH 12/02/08 Empty Bottle Chicago, IL 12/03/08 Slowdown Omaha, NE 12/04/08 Marquis Theatere Denver, CO |
They were also recently appeared on Matt Pinfield's show on 101.9 RXP. You may remember Pinfield from MTV's 120 Minutes. And as of yesterday, the band was on Daytrotter, so basically they are doing all the rounds and people can't seem to get enough of them.
This band is based out of Oakland, California, and only have one four-tracks EP. I did like their song "Awake" and the slower song "New Year's Day", which closes out the EP. The main song, "Turn Me Off" is pretty rocking, kind of reminds me of 90s alternative music. If you like sensitive/sissy music, you'll definitely need to give Audrye Sessions a try.
Currently looks like the EP is only available digitally (ala iTunes and amazon). That should hold you over until their full-length to drop on February 17th in 2009.
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heavywaterexperiments.com ♥ myspace.com Not exactly scary, but definitely creepy, the cover art to Heavy Water Experiments' self-titled album shows a woman semi-melting due to a lens distortion. Since I think cover art also lends itself to the overall feel of the album, I would have to say that this album is also moody and dark. I thought one of the more amusing names they used to describe their sound is "Pink Sabbath," which is a very good self-description of the band: a cross between Pink Floyd and Black Sabbath. Also what's worth noting about this band is that it features singer and bassist David Melbye on his 8-string bass/electric guitar. I believe most common bass guitars are four string, and I'm assuming that the extra double bass lines are for low and high of each music note. I can't say that I have the ear to pick up these subtle differences, but they definitely don't really sound like a typical band. The bass isn't at all that aggressive, not like, say, Primus, but it is a big part of their sound. "Anodyne" is the stand-out track for me. Melbye's vocals come in loud and clear on this track and the waves and waves of guitar and sound layers go up at crucial points. Check them out at the Derby:
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kineticstereokids.net ♥ myspace.com/kineticstereokids I like, nay, I love doing these singles/EP reviews because these are a quick listen. Judging from the Misfits-type cover artwork, you would think that Kinetic Stereokids are only two kids (one playing the upright bass and the other, the drums)... but their 'space lists at least five band members (although I think there's only officially only four members, judging from their promotional pictures). Their Have A Nice Day EP came out last Tuesday, October 21st which really consists of only two songs, "Have A Nice Day" and "Blunder". The third and bonus track is "Explosions Were Heard", which was recorded live On KEXP. I am assuming it is only a bonus because their 7" color vinyl could not spare the room to fit in an extra six minutes. I actually really enjoyed their live song. It shows me that they have mastered the art of incorporating samples into their live songs and I get the impression that the singer likes to be very, very close to the microphone (listen closely for his spitty lyrics). Also stay tuned at the end of the song, where you can hear the DJ talking to the soft-spoken band members. If you like those Broken Social kids or Arcade Fire kids, I think you'll really like these Kinetic Stereokids. Their Have A Nice Day EP is out now on Overdraft Recordings. Definitely check out their insane Halloween show coming up on the 31st:
01 Nov 2008 (Scene) Metrospace Lansing, MI 08 Nov 2008 The Aloha Flint, Michigan |
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gtommac.com ♥ myspace.com/gtommac G Tom Mac, aka Gerard McMahon, is my special guest for W♥M Podcast #28. His latest release is Thou Shall Not Fall, which was recently released as part of The Lost Boys: Tribe. I did manage to rent the sequel on DVD, as I do own and love the original Lost Boys movie by director Joel Schumacher. Talking to Mac, he explained his involvement with both movies, which I'm sure he must've answered a billion times. He also tells me that there will be a tour in Spring of '09, which I will also be mentioning when the time arrives on W♥M, as it seems only a few dates are confirmed at this time (be sure to be at the Virgin Megastore for the signing and spot Corey Heim).
11/01/08 Dracula's Ball Shampoo Nightclub Phila, PA After using "Box of Fantasy" as suggested by Mac, the song ended up stuck in my head for a few days, thanks to its catchy guitar riffs! I also really enjoyed his theme song to another movie, I-See-You.com. Although I hadn't heard anything about this movie, based on the song, it feels upbeat, like a comedy or something. You can get the album via iTunes, but I do recommend getting the CD from amazon. |
joetown.com ♥ myspace.com/joetown Rounding out my vote for scariness is Joe Delaney, aka Joetown. Looking at the all-red cover art for Pills And Ammo, which was released just last August, I can tell you that Joetown scares me. He looks like a cross between the Devil and Jack the Ripper. Anyway, Slash from GNR is one of Joetown's biggest fans, and you can see why: Joetown is an excellent guitarist and songwriter. It's mostly classic 70's style guitar rock, so if you're not into going out drinking at a bar and rocking out, this album might not be your thing. Although mostly guitar-driven songs, I did enjoy the bass-y sound of "Broken Man" and the bluesy 46 second "Devil as Woman" (which I suspect is a cover song?). Some of the weird tactics Joetown uses are distorted vocals and odd sound effects. Speaking of Blues, Joetown thinks most of his songs are basically blues songs: If you like guitar shredding and don't mind a few f-bombs, you'll love "My Anger Knows No Bounds". This sounds almost metal with the hardcore singing. But I've decided to go with "Hole In My Soul" to represent Joetown. This song features a lot of the distorted vocals I mentioned earlier. It's pretty much guitar-city on this song. Pills And Ammo is out now, you can pick it up from CD Baby. |
Links: weheartmusic.com news.weheartmusic.com
Loquat was the first of three bands for this Greycoats' CD release party. What's interesting about the Greycoats' set is that they had movies projected as they play. Although it's interesting, I found myself distracted by the moving picture. Each movie is timed exactly to the music, most of it went pretty well, except for the 50s "Day the Earth Stood Still" which ended early because they had cello sound problems. It looks like, according to their official and myspace, that they are going to be tour mates with Loquat... And of course, Loquat played an hour earlier. They started playing shortly after 7:30pm, which is kind of early, so I reckon a lot of latecomers missed them... However, it did look like there were a lot of Loquat fans (and families) in the audience. The main act was Chris Koza (chriskoza.com/myspace), who I was told that I've seen him before, opening up for Jeff Hanson. He had a keyboardist, violinist and the standard guitarist/bass/drums, and I seriously don't remember that many band members at the Hanson show. Koza was easy-going, relaxed even, and the best part was they had carved this Halloween pumpkins the night before and had put them on stage. He named one of them "Luis" or "T___" I couldn't make out the second name over people's laughter at the ridiculous name. So check out Loquat and Greycoats on tour. PS, apology for the white text for RSS readers! |
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10/16/08 Live TV on KARE 11, Minneapolis, MN
Read More
10/16/08 The Cedar, Minneapolis, MN 10/17/08 The Hideout, Chicago, IL 10/18/08 Illini Union Courtyard Cafe, Champaign, IL 10/20/08 Gypsy Hut, Cincinnati, OH 10/21/08 Annabell's, Akron, OH 10/22/08 Red and the Black, Washington DC 10/23/08 The Fire, Philly, PA 10/24/08 Ace of Clubs (CMJ), NY 11/04/08 Bottom of the Hill, SF, CA |
Singer Kylee confessed that she was quite hungover when they recorded the song:
| Kylee Swenson wrote: Mon, Jul 28, 2008 at 1:41 PM |
If you only knew how hungover I was when I sang that Smiths cover. Oh man, it hurt so bad. Thanks for the kind words, We Heart Music. See you guys October 16 when we play in Minneapolis, finally....
I don't know what the big deal is, but they really, really, want to play in Minneapolis! The weather here is getting a little chilly, I recommend a heavy sweater when going out at night.
The cool thing is that they will be appearing on KARE 11, our local station here. I'll have to find the listing hopefully try and tape it.
Anyroad, the album is still somewhat dreampop, with electronica. Swenson's vocals is still sugar sweet here. It's all good though, if you've ever liked female-fronted bands, Loquat should be right up your alley.
Some of the strong tracks includes the first song, "Harder Hit". I'm glad to see that the band also love this song as it is also their promotional music video. The video is based, no, more like inspired, by the French film "Le Ballon Rouge" (The Red Balloon).
Other songs I thought was very strong: "Sit Sideways", which has a funky feel to it at the beginning, but the electronic and piano keys brings it back to a nice rhythmic beat. I mildly smiled at the line "I'm rubber and you are the glue" on "Clearly Now".
Also, check out "These Kinds Of Friends" too. Listen to the first few bars of the song - does it remind you of Nancy Sinatra's "Bang Bang"? Maybe it's just me.
Secrets of the Sea is out now on Talking House Records, where you can purchase the album directly for an even-steven $10. Look for them on the rest of the tour through the midwest and eventually at the monster that is CMJ (they take the stage at 11pm).
Enjoy their video:
 Cold War Kids Set List ♥ Fine Line Cafe, Minneapolis (10/10/08) |
11 Oct 2008 Vic Theatre (SOLD OUT) Chicago
12 Oct 2008 Newport Music Hall (SOLD OUT) Columbus, Ohio 14 Oct 2008 Paradise Rock Club (SOLD OUT) Boston, Massachusetts 15 Oct 2008 Webster Hall (SOLD OUT) New York, New York 16 Oct 2008 Williamsburg Music Hall (SOLD OUT) Brooklyn, New York 17 Oct 2008 Theatre of the Living Arts (SOLD OUT) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 18 Oct 2008 Nightclub 9:30 (SOLD OUT) Washington DC, Washington DC 20 Oct 2008 Cat’s Cradle Carrabo, North Carolina 21 Oct 2008 Mercy Lounge Nashville, Tennessee 23 Oct 2008 Lola’s Ft. Worth, Texas 24 Oct 2008 Emo’s Alt Lounge (SOLD OUT) Austin, Texas 25 Oct 2008 Warehouse Live Houston, Texas 26 Oct 2008 Voodoo Music Experience New Orleans, Louisiana 03 Nov 2008 Irish Centre Burmingham 04 Nov 2008 ABC Glassgow 05 Nov 2008 Academy Dublin 06 Nov 2008 Ritz Manchester 07 Nov 2008 Astoria London 09 Nov 2008 AB Brussels 10 Nov 2008 Paradiso Amsterdam 11 Nov 2008 Mousonturm Frankfurt 12 Nov 2008 Knust Hamburg 13 Nov 2008 Vega Copenhagen 15 Nov 2008 Lido Berlin 16 Nov 2008 Lucerna Music Bar Prague 17 Nov 2008 Vienna Arena Vienna 18 Nov 2008 Atomic Cafe Munich 19 Nov 2008 Abart Zurich 21 Nov 2008 Circolo degli Artisti Rome 22 Nov 2008 Spazio 211 Turin 23 Nov 2008 Rockstore Montpellier 24 Nov 2008 Razzmatazz 2 Barcelona 25 Nov 2008 Moby Dick Madrid 27 Nov 2008 Le Vigean Bordeaux 28 Nov 2008 Le Phare Toulouse 29 Nov 2008 Bataclan Paris |
So, this Cold War Kids' show on October 10th, was sold out. Lots of younger-looking, er, youths, but there is the odd retired guys (!) and the rude professional photographer. Oh, let me also mention that despite having a photo pass, it was ultimately useless as the Fine Line does not offer any sort of safe haven for photographers.
AA Bondy Fine Line Cafe, Minneapolis (10/10/08) ♥ photo by vu
It was a bonus for me, as I did review American Hearts last year and seeing the songs played live. Some highlights was when he said he was going to do a whole Christian song right before "Vice Rag" (the opening line was "sweet, sweet cocaine"). The set was pretty low-key until Dylan, I mean Bondy went electric with the last two songs, "Killed Myself When I Was Young" and "American Hearts".
Cold War Kids storm the stage with two piano-driven songs ("Every Valley is Not a Lake" and "We Used to Vacation"), before singer Nathan Willett took center stage. What's kind of interesting to note is that most of their set, they were backlit, which makes for impossible photography without the aid of the flash.
Speaking of flash, during "Robbers", the lights was almost turned off and the smoke machine worked overtime to show off the flashlights they had brought on tour. I'm sure this sounds stupid, but it was pretty cool to witness.
The audience loved all their hits, especially this one, "Hang Me Up to Dry":
Links:
coldwarkids.com myspace.com/coldwarkids myspace.com/aabondy
Here's a quicky, just because there are some news & notes. Since, you may have noticed, I like doing these theme posts, this theme are one-song submissions.
They are very easy to write about (hey, it's just three minutes of your life!) but because they're based on one song, there's really not much I can write about.
First up, if you have a need to get all the latest music news, check out our announcement page. It's updated nearly every few hours, so news junkies will love this.
Some interesting news to note: watch DIG for free, Skybombers Announces new US Tour Dates, download Jeff Hanson music, and if you're in New York - you guys are so lucky. You could be attending Spiegelworld Festival!
That's just a few items from the nearly 100 post I've made since its birth a few days ago!
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LOQUAT
loquatmusic.com ♥ myspace.com
I actually really love San Francisco's Loquat, so imagine my surprise to find that I have an advance copy of their brand new album, Secrets of the Sea - which is not out until the third quarter of this year. I'm probably not even supposed to talk about it until October, but what I can tell you is that it's very, very good. Just keep your eyes here, or site.w♥m for the latest news. Since I can't unveil any music from the new album, I will tell you that I first discovered her a few years ago when Loquat covered The Smiths' classic "There is a Light That Never Goes Out". Since I was already a huge Morrissey/Smiths fan, it's easy to fall in love with her version... which is a safe and very faithful cover. You can download the song from their flash official website.
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THERESA ANDERSSON
theresaandersson.com ♥ myspace.com
Since I am in love with all-things Swedish, here's a handsome girl called Theresa Andersson. Looking over her press release about her tour dates and the dazzling 700k youtube views. The weird thing is that the press release doesn't indicate any link to the actual video, but if you were curious, it is her playing in her kitchen (in New Orleans?). I was given one of her song, "Birds Fly Away", from her upcoming album Hummingbird, Go! (is that a nod to Thunderbirds Are Go!?) on September 2nd, and I thought it was very 60s pop girl-sounding, but with weird percussion instruments. I was happy to see that Mr Tobias Fröberg is producing her album.
Trust me, this is a girl worth keeping an eye on. |
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THE DARES
thedares.com ♥ myspace.com
Speaking of keeping an eye... Here's The Dares, an up-and-coming power pop trio from California, by the way of Vermont. Maybe I'm just old, but usually this kind of high-energy, on the verge of punk, type of music really isn't my cup of tea. However, I would have to admit this "Love Me When I Leave" is pretty catchy. It's very short, I had to re-play it a few more time to hear how well produced it is. They're currently signed to Zomba Recordings, which is a division of Sony/BMG, so expect a push from them on popular radio this Summer. Even if they don't do much this year, youth is on their side, I'm sure you'll hear from them next year. |
THE SPACE BETWEEN THINGS
myspace.com/thespacebetweenthings
After three version of his "Towels" song, Chris Hobson, aka The Space Between Things finally settled for his perfect version of "Towels". The irony would be if I f-ed up and uploaded the wrong version :/ I'm not given a whole lot to work with here, just one song and no biography. Instead, he directs me to an interview he did at Daydream Generation, which showcase the awesomely snowy Toronto (which means, shock, he's Canadian). Daydream must really like him, as he's also on their Daydream Generation 5 free compilation (over 300mb of music!) So happy downloading and let me know what you think of his song? |
Links:
weheartmusic.com
So the two albums out of the pile I want to talk about today are the prog albums! Hence, the name of this article! Vu sent me The Atomized Dream by Statesboro, Georgia's Canvas Solaris (the way less metal one) and Dark Deceiver by Pleasanton, California's Zero Hour (the way more metal one) to cover. Both have really different sounds, but both kind of fall into a “prog” sort of thing, although in totally different ways. So hey! Even though they'll definitely appeal to different kinds of music fans, I figure that's enough excuse to just talk about both bands in one post!
The first band I want to talk about is Canvas Solaris. These guys remind me of The Fucking Champs, but more technical and less jokey. Apparently at some point in time, these guys were a death metal band. Now they're just strange and awesome prog rock without vocals. The first track, “The Binaural Beat,” focuses on sort of Mega Man-esque electronics with guitars providing a nice flourish to them. The musicianship is awesome, but with an excellent sense of restraint. The second track, “Reflections Carried to the Mirror” has more of a metal vibe to it, but in that really “prog” sort of way, where it sounds like the background music to an awesome 80's video game played through the best sound card money can buy. I love this sort of thing. The breakdown has a really cool vibe to it that I can't quite describe. “Chromatic Dusk” has cool, syncopated percussion and an almost-dance guitar riff going on. The keyboard tone reminds me a little bit of early Boards of Canada. “Patterns Spiral Into Swarm” starts out just sounding like a Fucking Champs song, but then breaks down repeatedly with weird synth parts played over a combination of what sounds like both live and programmed drums. “Heat Distortion Manifest,” on the other hand, just throws ambient synth parts right out there from nearly the beginning with the guitar breaking them up. Eventually it builds up into an awesome divebombing guitar thing. Then halfway through, it breaks down again into ambient territory before not even bothering to really build up, so much as just instantly switch gears in that cool way that only a really tight band can pull off. “Photovoltaic” is one of the longer songs on the album. It starts off with a kinda chilled out acoustic guitar/piano/drums thing and then almost dead on, halfway through the song, the distortion kicks in and it gets louder. The flanger effect is pretty cool, as is that cool fast bass riff in there. The last couple minutes are more straightforward, with plenty of weird rhythms, but also a lot of that “I'm playing Mega Man!” vibe. The next track, “Solar Droid,” is all about the glitchy rhythms and crazy guitar work, sort of in the vein of early Dillinger Escape Plan, in that there's not a lot of obvious repetition. The last track is the longest. “The Unknowable and Defeating Glow” starts off with what sounds like hand drums and an electric guitar playing a repetitive lead bit while the synth builds up under it. This track is pretty much what the rest of the album seems to have been building up to. It's epic as hell, with lots of cool synth effects, glitchy rhythms, and progressively louder and longer chaotic bits breaking them up. This track is awesome.
Unfortunately,
it doesn't look like these guys are on tour. But I would definitely
recommend checking them out if you're into things like Dillinger
Escape Plan, The Fucking Champs, Mr. Bungle, or things along those
lines. You can also go check out the samples on their MySpace page.
Secondly, Dark Deceiver. Based on the cover art, I didn't really think I'd be into this at all, and even though it's really not the kind of thing I'm really into, I have to give these guys props for the sheer technicality of this thing. This is a good thing. This is on the heavier end of prog-metal, with lots of distortion, thrashy but complex riffing, and a vocalist that reminds me a lot of Dio when he lets it fly. This guy's range is actually pretty awesome. The drumming is really heavy on double bass. Really, half or more of this album probably has fast double-bass going under it. The first track, “Power to Believe,” alone has more time changes and guitar solos than some entire albums. But, of course, it's prog-metal, so that just kind of comes with the territory. The title track, “Dark Deceiver” has some really “prog” vocals going on. Most listeners will either find them hilarious, or be able to at least appreciate the technicality of them. I don't know how much in-between there is for something like this. The guitar on this song is just insane shred. These guys definitely have their technical skills down, and this album seems to be all about them. The next track, “Inner Spirit” takes a good two minutes for the vocals to come in, but it's a twelve minute song, so that's kind of excusable. It kind of has a De-Loused in the Comatorium vibe in a few places. After that are a couple shorter tracks. A welcome breather. This album is pretty well sequenced. “Resurrection” is a kind of slowed down track. It's still pretty damn fast, but for this album, it's a “slow” track. The guitar riffs are cool, and kind of snake around each other in an oddly enthralling way. “Tendonitis” is also pretty short, and I'd assume named after the consequences of recording this thing. It's also got a silly-ass little sample at the beginning and end that makes me thankful these guys aren't taking themselves too seriously. “The Temple Within,” at this point, is the longest track left on the album. It's full of strange tempos that would probably make most bands' heads spin. Kind of like the whole album, really, but they're particularly strange here. “Lies is a shorter track. It's more straightforward than most of the other stuff here. Definitely not one of the album's stronger tracks. “The Passion of Words” makes up for it, though, with more of that rhythmic complexity that makes this band so cool. The last track, “Severed Angel,” opens with a quiet ambient noise bit that builds up with blast beats getting progressively louder before everything else comes in and just kinda starts playing along with it. It's the second shortest track on the album, and to be honest, it doesn't really go anywhere. It just keeps doing that for two and a half minutes, before going into something that sounds like an intro, and then back into blastbeats. An odd ending for the album, for sure.
Anyway, the album is out now, and these guys have a couple live shows coming up. On July 12th, they're playing the South Texas Metal Fest. Then in October, they're heading to Baarlo, Netherlands for Prog Power Europe on the 4th, and they're playing shows on October 31st and November 1st in Copenhagen at the Rock for Prog Power Scandinavia. If you like your music fast, heavy, and technical, these guys might be up your alley. And, of course, they have a MySpace page you can check out.
-Soup
 Hellapop Festival (May 24th) ♥ Bands: The Definite Articles, Teamawesome!, iji, Tinkture, Hey Three Eyes, The Creepy Crawlies, James Rabbit, Charlie Don’t Surf!, The Paper Orchestra, The Panduhs, Old Hack, Tippy the Vegan, Music from Anteria |
Okay, so I've never been an avid calendar user (too much work!), but lately I've been organizing myself with W♥M Calendar so I know which concert dates to attend and what CDs are being release when. Since I also use Outlook for calendaring, Google does offer Calendar Sync which seamlessly sync both outlook and W♥M calendar (so I can manage offline or online).
I believe the calendar is shared among all the weheartmusic.com users by default (but you can set it to private or "friends only"), so, anyroad, I know someone will be attending Hellapop Festival (May 24). This looks really fun, and I would be there too if I lived in California.
I thought I'd mention two bands doing this festival that I thought looked interesting.
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Tinkture looks like a group of very young ladies, into DIY punk, possibly Riot. I thought "Pyrotechnics" is a very fast and feels very garagey. The vocals has a southern sound to it too. I generally like these DIY punk, as you've probably figured from my various punk articles.
I couldn't help but think of Supergrass's "Alright" when I heard "Farther Away" by Shadow Puppet Theatre. These guys looks very hip and are snappy dressers on top of that. Plus, they seem like they would hang out at all night cafes. They are from Modesto, and consists of singer/guitarist, Adam Bishop, and upright bassist, Jessica Jones.
These are only two of the many, many bands that's attending the Hellapop Festival, so be sure to check them out. That Team Awesome sounds pretty fun, as well as Charlie Don't Surf (which may have stolen their title from Apocalypse Now, but they seem too young to actually have seen that movie - so I vote for Veronica Mars).
Links: myspace.com/popsongromance
www.tinkture.com
myspace.com/shadowpuppettheatre
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