Collected Show Reviews: 2013-
2013 was the year I was "single," and the last time I was single. I'm a big fan of solitary pursuits like reading and running, and I'd hardly call myself a social butterfly, but being single in your 30's is much different than being single in your teens and twenties.
Show Review: Ducktails/Mark McGuire/Lost Ships (3/21/13)
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| Ducktails, from Vogue Magazine |
Show Review
Ducktails
Mark McGuire
Lost Ships
@ The Void
Another well attended show which makes it at least 3 shows in a row that I've been to that haven't ended in a crushing disappointment in terms of attendance. I've been helping with the on-line marketing of selected events around town and I feel like the strategies employed are working. It makes me very optimistic about the ability of the online world to multiply real world attendance for live music events on a local level.
The first band was the nu project of Gentleman Jon Greene, called Lost Ships. Two piece Shoegazy/ballady alt pop. I'm not exactly neutral since I frequently employ Mr. Greene via his recording studio Electric Orange, but it was an exciting debut. Lost Ships is way ahead of most bands on their first show, including features like being able to seamlessly transition from one tune into the next without an awkward five minutes of standing around and returning. They also have a clearly defined style of song writing and a compelling sound. From a local show perspective they are ideal because they could work with a wide variety of different sounding bands. Certainly worth a listen at a local show.
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| Mark McGuire |
The revelation of the night was touring support Mark McGuire(ex-Emeralds.) Solo guitar/multi instrumentalist he came across like a one man Ratatat. He lost some momentum and crowd attention during the middle of the set with an extended spoken-word interlude, but the overall impact was striking AND Peter Hoslin of San Diego City Beat showed up essentially to see him.
Ducktails did their thing in front of a crowd that had peaked in terms of size and attention span for Mark McGuire. Far be it from me to question a band that has 2 million last fm plays and a deal with Domino Records, but I would have expected more people to be there FOR Ducktails, and I would guess that only about 30% of the crowd was there for that purpose. It's not a question of lack of familiarity within the local market- Ducktails played Soda Bar within the last year or so. It's not a question of not having a new product out on the market- the nu record "dropped" in January of this year. It's not a question of them sounding different/worse live- the performance was steady and the songs came across so well you could Shazam them.
So what is? How come a band with two million last fm plays and a well promoted event not generate 150+ paid attendees. The only explanation I can come up with is that the people who saw them last year probably were not that excited about the show, and that impacted a potential increase in audience size this time around.
That is a fine illustration to the limits of a Pitchfork driven Audience: They will come out and see you live the first time, but if you don't kill that Audience is not going to expand the next time through. Ducktails, with their clean, effective live performance is not a band that "sucks live" a la your Salems, but in my mind they didn't outperform, and both opening bands did- strictly in terms of Audience turnout- I'm not making any artistic judgments.
Show Review: R. Stevie Moore//Lake\\Plateaus @ The Void (3/3/13)
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| R. Stevie Moore |
R. Stevie Moore is an indie/diy legend who does not tour a whole bunch. Last night was a pretty special occasion. If you were one of the morons who went to the Starfucker show at the Casbah (which was sold out) I truly am sorry for you. I mean there were plenty of people at The Void last night for R. Stevie- I would call it packed- so this isn't like a sad FB "you guys didn't come" kind of observation it's just a factual statement that being a fan of Starfucker is embarrassing.
Also, I'm not saying that I'm some huge super fan of R. Stevie Moore, I'm just saying that the choice between the two entertainment opportunities is so tilted in favor of going to R. Stevie Moore that making the other choice means that you are stupid.
Plateaus were great- really tight- crowd loved it- they need to keep touring- perhaps touring California with Slipping Into Darkness would be a solid idea. IN fact- it would be solid. That should happen this Spring.
Lake was a really cool K Records band that sounded like a K Records band- a mix of dulcet indie pop (which K Records pretty much invented) and jazzy indie pop (a la Sea & Cake.) They were pretty well ignored by the crowd- which is most regrettable but somewhat predictable considering they were bookended by two raucous garage rock acts.
R. Stevie Moore certainly delivered the goods- like a Sea Punk Santa Claus (i.e. a guy who looks like Santa Claus with his hair dyed blue) he veered between racuous garage rock, mellow slow songs, rambling spoken word read from a notebook and a solo "intermission" set that ran between the first set and the encore, which was also lengthy and included a cover of "Wild Thing." R. Stevie seemed to be enjoying himself greatly and having a good time- the crowd certainly loved him, though attentions began to wander during the solo intermission.
Really fun night, with really good music- and I basically wanted to write this review in case there are any Starfucker fans out there- seriously- that band is stupid. Yes, hugely popular (6 million last fm plays!) but stupid- because... the name. Starfucker?!? You might as well be a Screamo band with that name.
Thursday night is Wax Idols and Cathedral X you should def. check that out. (FACEBOOK EVENT PAGE)
Show Review: Veronica Falls, Brilliant Colors & Golden Grrls @ The Casbah (3/31/13)
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| Veronica Falls |
Show Review
Veronica Falls
Brilliant Colors
& Golden Grrls
@ The Casbah, San Diego.
Hard to believe that last night was the first time I'd seen Veronica Falls. I felt an affirmative duty to go last night, like I had disrespected Veronica Falls by skipping their previous San Diego experiences. The point was driven home a few weeks ago, when I saw my friends posting various social media updates from the New York City date of this same tour. Essentially, the sole and only purpose of a show review on a blog is to make a personal endorsement of the live show of a particular act. If you aren't prepared to do that, you probably shouldn't review the show.
Personally, I'm interested in the mechanics and comparisons to be drawn between various shows, but from the perspective of people who read this blog it's "Veronica Falls Show Review" typed into Google that typically bring them here.
That goal is served better by reviewing the first show of a tour rather then the last, but Veronica Falls will be touring the UK & the EU so I suppose there will be people in those markets who are looking for opinions on the subject.
Veronica Falls is a great live band, well polished, with solid musicians playing all instruments and great song writing. It's hard not to compare them to The Pains of Being Pure at Heart. In fact, their "similar artist" tab on Last Fm is the biggest "miss" I've seen on that site. They've got The History of Apple Pie, Girls Names, The Babies, Widowspeak, Christopher Owens & Torres. You've got to be kidding me. How can The Pains of Being Pure at Heart not be in that top 5? It seems impossible. I would argue that they are the English analogue of The Pains of Being Pure at Heart- and I think The Pains of Being Pure at Heart are an incredible, really viable band with a strong fan base, so that's a good comparison.
The crowd was fair but not great last night, no doubt having Foxygen playing across town at the Soda Bar diminished the available Audience. The turn-out was roughly in line with the "100 paid per 1 million last fm plays" that I use as a predictor of show attendance. It seems to me that Veronica Falls last release on Slumberland was compromised by the move from Revolver/Midheaven to the Orchard- kind of caught in the window during the transition.
I was equally excited to see the opening bands- both of whom also have releases on Slumberland Records. In case I haven't actually said it, Slumberland is one of several indie labels: In The Red, K Records, Hozac, Captured Tracks, Sacred Bones, Secretly Canadian label group & French Kiss label group that I actively track. The main thing that elevates the listed labels from the labels I work with is sheer number of release. If you want to go pro in the Indie Record label game you need- minimum- one LP release per label for quarters 1, 2, 3 & 4 with nothing released after early October. Due the trailing nature of digital royalties having a consistent release schedule is the only way to ensure that you don't experience precipitous drops in monthly revenue. Getting the number of releases up to one, per quarter, per label with no releases after mid October is basically the only professional goal I have in the music business. Everything else besides accomplishing that goal is literally meaningless.
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| Golden Grrrls |
Rushing to the Casbah to get there in time for Golden Grrls- I suspected that they would take the stage early... and they did. I caught three songs but it was enough to see that the buzz I've noticed about them online is borne out by the live set. They have crisp, catchy tunes and an easy manner that would seem to indicate a good deal of practice.
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| Brilliant Colors |
Main support Brilliant Colors also had good, well written, catchy songs. They don't really have a "look" but I am quite sure that they don't give a fuck about that shit and that would laugh in the face of anyone who brought it up. They seem to be in the same spectrum of Bay Area bands like Grass Widow: not necessarily the flavor of the month but a good band, dedicated to their art and willing to work out.
Watching the show last night I got the distinct feeling that not repping for all three bands on a consistent basis in this forum represented a failure on my end. I regretted not previewing the show, and missing prior shows by Veronica Falls & Brilliant Colors. As far as I'm concerned, if a band continues to tour and put out new records they deserve support. If any of these bands is playing in your town- go see them. Hope Brilliant Colors comes back soon (they are from the Bay Area, not England, like the other two bands.)
Show Review: Iceage & Milk Music @ The Casbah (4/1/13)
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| Iceage singer Elias Bender Ronnenfelt |
Show Review
Iceage &
Milk Music
@ The Casbah San Diego, CA.
Like Veronica Falls, Iceage is a band that has certain friends in common. Also, I was involved in a decision to hire their PR firm for a project. Iceage has done pretty darn well for a bunch of young, nihilistic punks from Denmark. Last week, I was briefly in Los Angeles, where Crocodiles were recording with another Danish national, Sune Rose Wagner... so that is A LOT of Denmark.
Interesting fact about Denmark: They actually had their own colonies up until the 20th century: Iceland and Greenland. People don't really realize that Iceland was an impoverished colony into the 20th century- things didn't really turn around there till after World War I. Another interesting fact about Denmark is that they had a top flight national Ballet troupe in the 19th and 20th century. And of course you've got Soren Kierkegaard, Hans Christian Anderson. Funny thing about Copenhagen is that it is a surprisingly long way north of Amsterdam- like a 10-12 hour train ride.
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| Milk Music: buzz band alert, fans of Wipers, Dinosaur Jr. take note!!! |
Opening band Milk Music is the third band out of Olympia that has made it on to the national stage in the last several months/couple years (Gun Outfit and Lake are the other two I'm thinking about.) If they don't remind you of the Wipers you haven't listened to the Wipers, though the band I heard more often on the patio was "Dinosaur Jr." The sound was a mixture of punk, metal and rock played with sloppy enthusiasm and verve. Quite easy to see the appeal and I would not be surprised to see them established as a national touring band by mid summer. Milk Music is an act you want to know about sooner not later so you don't look dumb.
Iceage pulled about 200 people- not a sell-out but crowded. They pulled pretty much every single one of the floating 100 person Audience that most respected indie/punk bands can pull at Casbah/Soda/Void. They also had another 100 of what you might call "hard core Iceage fans." Seemed like a lot of the same people I saw at the John Maus show a few months back. I'm not sure why I've never seen it mentioned- but they lads in Iceage are really good looking dudes. I guess that irrelevant for a bunch of Danish teen punk nihilists but I was struck by the charisma of the live show and the Audience really dug it.
Like another hardcore influenced band with an indie Audience that I've seen in the last few months (Metz), Iceage have a huge upside because the "heaviness" of the sound gives them an entree into the world of punk/hardcore/screamo fans that goes to the Warped Tour. They clearly are not savvy pop careerist- judging from how they carry themselves and who they associate with. That is to their credit. I like how they are playing US clubs instead of trying to simply play large festivals. Speaking highly of them. They seem like a cool bunch of guys with the right priorities. Too bad they are on Matador though, not a fan of that label.
Show Review: Kurt Vile and the Violators at the Casbah (4/13/13)
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| Kurt Vile live show |
I agreed to help a friend with his start up business because, frankly, it's a good fucking business- science based. Right now he is going around talking to different companies- huge- global-billion dollar businesses- and I'm all like concerned and trying to prep him for these encounters. He is blithely unconcerned. And when I ask why he says, "Because I have the nuts." In other words he has the knowledge and skill set that makes him irreplaceable and crucial to any effort to capitalize on his business ideas.
I was thinking about that conversation as I watched Kurt Vile play to a sold out by 930 PM Casbah. Kurt Vile doesn't need to move around on stage or give much of a dynamic performance because he has the singing/songwriting nuts. He's also got fans- 250+ of which were willing to shell out 20 bucks to see him last night. He's also got solid indie credentials, five million last fm plays and a BNM in his back pocket. So I could honestly say that the live show is a pretty static affair, but who gives a shit? His fans don't care- they were super into it. Matador and booking agents don't care because he is selling out the venues he plays.
I ended up just listening to most of the set on the Casbah smoking patio beecause of the crowded interior and lack of a dynamic stage performance, but I'm glad I went because I think Kurt Vile will be around for a long time and his songs are very good. Kurt Vile has the nuts. He doesn't need to prance around like a pop punk Nimrod.
Last night was additional evidence that you don't make money at a rock show in San Diego until the bros show up. The bros were out last night, and it was glorious. I feel like the bro demographic really shows a lot of potential. Bros aren't some unchanging force, they are actually people and I've begun to recognize some of the people as belonging to that particular audience segment. They always seem well behaved, more so then say the Audience at the Bronx show at the Casbah earlier this year.
And you know, the fact is that the hard core scene 50 in San Diego couldn't sell out a doughnut shop during a cop convention. The Bro audience can call up their non-scene girlfriends, and talk to their non-scene bro buddies they play amateur sports with etc and boom you've got a sold out Casbah show no problem.
Maybe bros aren't into synth rock and atonal K Records inspired indie pop, but they like Kurt Vile, and they like the Crocodiles and plenty of other good bands. It's like assembling a coalition to win an American political campaign- there are different interest groups, and they need to united behind one Artist/Candidate for that Artist to experience success in the market place.
I see no reason why that same Audience wouldn't respond to bands like Plateaus, Heavy Hawaii or Mrs. Magician- let alone Cuckoo Chaos. I think maybe the question I was left with last night was, "How do they bros come to decide that Kurt Vile is worthy of their 20 bucks? What are their sources for that information?"
I also want to make it clear that these statements are based on my personal observations of specific people- I'm not generalizing at all. If you were to show me stills of Audience members walking the front door I would be able to identify who I am calling "bros." I'm not using bros in a negative sense and I respect their taste in music.
Show Review: Nick Cave @ The Balboa Theater (4/17/13)
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| Nick Cave |
Show Review
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
@ The Balboa Theater
I'm not a Nick Cave fan- at all! It's crazy- Zoo Music is partially named after a Birthday Party song (Nick Cave early band)- you would think I would be into him. But just not! Same thing with Tom Waits! And most of the films of Jim Jarmusch (Mystery Train, Down By Law excepted.) At the same time I deeply respect Nick Cave and the career he has fashioned ad-midst the ongoing collapse of the music industry.
If you are looking at a younger Artist and trying to figure out "Well- what would be a good career to emulate?" Nick Cave would be high on that list. Tom Waits would be high on that list. I'm talking about mature artists who have a career when they have not absolutely prostituted their art. Compare the dignity of Tom Waits & Nick Cave with the off-putting late career antics of Iggy Pop and Lou Reed. All I'm saying is that choices have consequences.
First time at the recently renovated Balboa Theater (located in the Gaslamp at Horton Plaza.) They have knocked down the abysmal Sam Goody building so now you can see the Theater facade from Broadway & 4th and let me tell you it was a good look. The theater itself was a pleasure- seats weren't too small and the sound was AMAZING. From my second row balcony seat the mix sounded great- and The Bad Seeds were rolling seven men deep? Eight men deep? Keyboards! Fiddles! Xylophone! Synths! Pianos! Guitars! Atmospheric noise elements on loop!
Being a Nick Cave NOOB I hesitate to say anything about the performance except for the fact that he played for close to two hours. That he played his hits. That the crowd fucking loved every g-d minute, that Cave relies heavily on the theme of Dr Faust where the Doctor sells his soul to the devil in exchange for knowledge. This story was appropriated by Blues aficionados most often in the narrative surrounding "lost" Blues Men from the Delta and the idea that they sold their soul to the devil at the crossroads- and their lyrics to that effect.
Nick Cave seems like a sophisticated, erudite kind of guy so I'm assuming that he is hip to Dr Faust and Goethe etc. He has crafted this image that has a relatively narrow but deep appeal- deep enough to sell out 1000+ cap venue with tickets that cost between 70 and 100 plus dollars and sold out instantly. That's a good Audience!
Even without a firm grasp of the catalog I was deeply impressed by the set. I was less impressed by the Audience- shout out to the guy sitting next to me who watched the whole- two hour- performance through a pair of opera glasses. Rock on, my man. Looking down from the balcony it was hard to ignore the advanced... age of the crowd. I would probably attribute that more to the cost and difficulty of obtaining the tickets vs. a knock on the age of Cave's fan base. Still, to feel like "the youngest person there" as a 37 year old- at a ROCK concert is something else. I've felt older at the Opera.
It is pretty clear from everything that Nick Cave says and does that he fucking hates playing the rock touring game and probably thinks a good portion of his casual fan base are morons. I don't know how you could watch that performance and be deeply, deeply impressed with Cave's live show. And the man himself. Nick Cave runs his own show- puts out his own records, books his own tours etc. DIY as fuck. Lesser Artists could learn something from his hard core DIY approach and the long term success that has resulted.
Show Review: Weedeater, ASG @ Soda Bar San Diego (7/10/13)
Show Review:
Weedeater
ASG
@ Soda Bar San Diego
I'm always interested to see a packed Tuesday night show in San Diego. Nothing testifies to the drawing power of a successful diy/indie band like drawing a crowd on a Tuesday night in San Diego. I can remember the rare occasions where I've been to a succesful Tuesday night show... Pains of Being Pure at Heart....in 2009? DIIV? 2011?
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| Weedeater |
Weedeater pulled a very solid crowd of metal dudes, hipster metal dudes, the slightly less metal significant others of those dudes a bunch of pasty white guys wearing cool t shirts and shorts, and a smattering of normal looking chicks who must be... big Weedeater fans? IDK. I think San Diego misses out on a lot of the more diy/indie/pitchfork approved metal acts because few of those bands actually come from the west coast, so they never really do diy tours on the way up. By the time they get to San Diego they have a booking agent and may already be in a position where they are skipping San Diego to play Phoenix/LA instead.
I was impressed by the energy level of the crowd. It was nice to see an Audience that was totally, totally up for the show and not particularly interested in posturing and making the scene. Openers aSg are also from North Carolina, and just put out an LP on Relapse Records- said record: Blood Drive, got a 7.6 on Pitchfork. I didn't know that until just now, but it doesn't surprise me- it was obvious that aSg is a band that knows what the fuck its doing up there. What the fuck they are doing up there is playing melodic stoner rock- vs. the stoner metal of Weedeater- heavy stoner rock, but stoner rock for sure- not stoner metal.
For fans of the genre aSg is worth a look on their current tour.
Headliners Weedeater had the Audience pumped for the life show. Throughout the performances, songs were punctuated by spontaneous expressions of enthusiasm from the crowd. It's literally like a surfeit of emotional energy being generated by the Audience and the ultimate expression of a succesful live performance by a band. Weedeater creates a tremendous volume of sound for a three piece, and after last night I think I would point the drummer and the way he uses cymbals to create that volume. There is simply an immensity about the live sound of Weedeater that I think draws people to their show.
This wasn't the first time I've seen them live- and I would go again.
Show Review: Neil Hamburger, Comedy Icon (7/19/13)
Show Review:
Neil Hamburger
@ The Casbah, San Diego, CA.
I've been meaning to see Neil Hamburger forever. Hamburger is a character played by Gregg Turkington- Turkington used to be a fixture in the San Francisco indie/diy scene- and had his own record label, Amarillo Records. The character Neil Hamburger is often compared to the Andy Kaufman character Tony Clifton, and while that may be a stretch, it's not a stretch to consider Hamburger a lineal descendant of Andy Kaufman, in the exact same way that Tim Heidecker is obviously inspired by Kaufman's comedic heritage.
The timing of this show is funny because Drag City released a new Andy Kaufman record this week, and the Pitchfork album review had me thinking about Kaufman, Heidecker and Turkington/Hamburger prior to seeing Hamburger perform last night. The one sentence summary of Neil Hamburger is that he's a "bad on purpose" comedian, and that this performances are as likely to provoke boos vs. applause, but now going on 15 plus years with the routine, obviously any crowd who shows up to a performance is not only going to not boo, but will certainly applaud and be excited to see a living legend of Alt Comedy.
Another funny correspondence between the show last night and the wider Kaufman inspired legacy of alt comedy came as I waited for the show to begin- I was looking at my Twitter feed and I subscribe to Patton Oswalt- another alt comedian who takes his indie/diy heritage seriously (or at one point, see the Comedians of Comedy to hear him break it down for ya'. So he was in San Diego for Comic Con, and while I'm waiting for Hamburger I see that he posted a picture on twitter that is the view from his 20th story hotel room, looking down on Comic Con attendees like a lord regarding his serfs.
What goes for musicians goes for comedians as well, and it was hard not for me to appreciate Hamburger for "keeping it real" and lose a little respect for Oswalt at the same time- even though I still like the guy. Hamburger's performance was as I expected it to be based on youtube views etc- awkward timing on the jokes and alot of tasteless celebrity bits. Fucking hilarious though. Hamburger is a real treasure.
Show Review: Milk Music, Colleen Green, Hannibal Buress & Widows @ The Casbah (7/21/13)
Review:
Milk Music,
Colleen Green,
Hannibal Buress
& Widow @ The Casbah
One of the benefits of running a record label is that I am spared the existential questions that ought to typically accompany a 37 year old single man who spends a lot of time hanging out in rock clubs. The flip side of that is that going out isn't typically a leisure time activity but it is a trade off I gladly make.
Last night was the conclusion of the Art Fag/Impose Three Nights at the Con, and it was the best attended night of the three day event. Attendance was likely driven by the headliner Nobunny, AKA Justin Champlin. The strong attendance last night was another exhibit in the brief supporting the proposition that the garage rock/punk scene continues to be a strong- perhaps the strongest- underground rock genre in the United States. Both last night's bill as well as the recetnt Shannon and the Clams concert were as well attended as any shows I've been to in the last five years.
With Nobunny, we're talking about an artist who hasn't released an LP in over three years but can still draw 200ish paid on a Saturday night in San Diego.
Local openers Widow played a sprightly brand of pop/garage/punk that sounded like it had come out of a time warp from the mid 90s- not a bad thing, and probably a band that could develop a local following- they had friends and fans there last night.
Hannibal Buress did a surprise set- and the lack of attention from the audience was embarrassing. In fact, I wasn't even going to review this show but I wanted to just to personally apologize to Hannibal or his Google search reading assistant for the Audience- I'm assuming that all the Eric Andre show fans were at the House of Blues waiting for him to make his scheduled appearance. I'm a fan of the Eric Andre show, and I'm a fan of Hannibal Buress, and his material last night- while brief- was hilarious- particularly the bit about tough rappers like to brag about being on Molly, which is in fact, a very not-tough substance, "I'm looking at this purple wall and feeling emotions and shit."
So Hannibal- if you are out there- sorry man- that crowd sucked last night and you deserved better.
Colleen Green was not feeling it last night but she can do no wrong in my eyes. I hope I get another chance to put out another one of her LPs in the future because let me tell you, I would go all out- really treat her like a queen. I have an abiding conviction that she has a lengthy and productive career in front of her.
Saw Milk Music for the second time in a couple months. Last night it was ultra clear that the primary reference point for Milk Music is Wipers. I'm not even sure that there is another band to compare them to, unless you are talking about other bands that are equally influenced by Wipers. They certainly have a something that makes them stand out.
Show Review: Sonny and The Sunsets, The Memories & Teenage Burritos (7/26/13)
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| Sonny of Sonny and the Sunsets |
Show Review:
Sonny and The Sunsets,
The Memories
& Teenage Burritos
@ The Casbah
Sonny and the Sunsets is a show I had circled on my calendar because this is a guy who is a prolific song writer, is located on the West Coast, and works with a respected, established indie (Polyvinyl.) I don't know it for a fact, but I don't think he tours very much- I have no memory of seeing a show advertised here in San Diego in the past. He has had four Pitchfork reviewed LPs since 2010. Tomorrow is Alright was released in 2010 on Soft Abuse. (1) Hit After Hit was released by Fat Possum in 2011. (2) Longrime Companion was released by Polyvinyl in 2012, and Antenna to the Afterworld was released this June. (3)(4) All except for the 2013 record have been favorably reviewed.
Unbelievably though Sonny and the Sunsets total number of Last Fm plays is UNDER 100,000. That number is shockingly low, incredibly low. Heavy Hawaii, a local band with ONE LP and ZERO Pitchfork reviews has almost 70,000 plays on Last Fm. Colleen Green has 212k. It's a discrepancy that points to many of the weaknesses that come with being a non break out, but well reviewed Artist on Pitchfork- just that is not enough to gain you a significant Audience, especially if you aren't an active participant on the US/CAN/UK/EU indie rock touring circuit.
My observation is that Sonny and the Sunsets hasn't had a break out record- which- four records in to a career is a bit of an issue, but that they still have incredible up side- the live show- I mean there are so many song writing influences and so much stuff going on in the music that it is almost awe inspiring, particularly when you consider the one or two trick ponies that dominate the indie rock club circuit. To lump Sonny and the Sunsets in with the only stalwarts of the Bay Area Garage Rock scene is misleading and does him a great disservice. Sonny and the Sunsets are much more delicate and have a much deeper repertoire of stylistic influences then the other bands up there, and the fact that they remain essentially undiscovered despite four Pitchfork reviewed LP's makes them an intriguing possibility for the future.
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| The Memories (includes members of White Fang.) |
The Memories rolled in on the back of a just released LP on Southern California's hottest indie, Burger Records. Is there anything Burger Records CAN'T Do? Notably absent last night were any an all Burger Records Bros- a developing Audience that was out in force last Saturday night for the NOBunny show at the Casbah. The Memories play a louche style of stoner indie (Burger Pop?) that reminded me of an indie band fronted by Danny McBride. I didn't mind it at all, and neither did the crowd. Their musicianship was competent, and they had a professional and agreeable stage presence. The Memories share key members with another Portland based act, White Fang, and I gather that is the softer side and White Fang is the harder side. Whatever, it's worth doing- thematically it fits in with the FIDLAR/Pangea/Wavves "let's get high and fuck" genre of skater punk (and aren't those a bunch of proud Moms?" so you know it can sell. Plus they've got that Burger Records thing going.
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| Teenage Burritos, second coming of Bratmobile> |
Here's what I have to say about Teenage Burritos: They are the second coming of Bratmobile. Before I wrote that sentence I actually went onto Spotify and listened to a couple Bratmobile cuts to confirm the hypothesis. Seriously, go listen to Bratmobile and tell me I'm wrong. To me, it means that an Audience exists for a Teenage Burritos, I think you could make the case that the time is nigh for a revival of K Records/Kill Rock Stars indie pop- especially with Kathleen Hannah making her big come back with Julie Ruin.
One thing that Bratmobile had in spades was punky attitude- a very evident point of view. I don't see that yet in Teenage Burritos, but seeing a finished LP with artwork would help in that department.
The crowd last night was tiny- it felt great- I had so much fun last night compared to a relative ordeal last weekend at the Casbah. There can be no doubt that I prefer a show which is a failure from the promoters point of view- sad but true- my interest basically stands opposed to that of the show promoter and I feel bad about that sometimes.
Show Review: Speedy Ortiz @ Soda Bar (7/29/13)
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| Speedy Ortiz frontwoman, main man Sadie Dupuis |
Show Review:
Speedy Ortiz
@ Soda Bar
Had Kremlinologists on my mind at this show last night. During the Cold War, Kremlinologists were people who specialized in the interpretation of the actions of Communist States, particularly the U.S.S.R. that did not have a free press. The idea behind the TERM Kremlinology is that the lack of a free press required a more well developed set of interpretive antenna, that one had to sift official and unofficial statements by the government and state controlled media as a fortune teller sifts tea leaves to predict the future.
But I think Kremlinology is a good way to describe the study of any closed institution that doesn't have open disclosure of it's ways and means. You can consider the difference in the level of information disclosed by a publicly traded corporation vs. a privately held corporation: the publicly traded corporation has an annual statement which it is required to produce by law, as well as quarterly statements, also required by law. A private corporation doesn't need to do any of that. So, you wouldn't need a "Kremlinologist" to discuss a publicly traded corporation, but would for a privately owned corporation.
I bring this up because I was watching Speedy Ortiz perform last night. Speedy Ortiz is a four piece female fronted band out of Boston that almost certainly received the most surprising Best New Music nod from Pitchfork in this calendar year, and it happened last week. If you are smart and actually recognize the importance that Pitchfork approval plays for an unknown indie band, such events are most revealing, because it is how you see what aesthetic values really get the Pitchfork editorial staff moving.
You only have to read the Lindsay Zoladz written Best New Music review once to recognize that Pitchfork cares about lyrics. Pitchfork likes emotionally intense, emotionally sophisticated lyrics. That's not ALL that they like, but if you do that you have a leg up. This characteristic of emotionally open/deep lyrics is something Speedy Ortiz shares with another Pitchfork approved artist I recently saw (Majical Cloudz.)
If you listen to the LP (Major Arcana) it is also clear that the cluster of 90s alt rock influences like Liz Phair and Jawbox as well as sources suggested by Zoladz (Archers of Loaf, Helium.) put Speedy Ortiz in a category that has always been near and dear to the heart of the Pitchfork Editorial viewpoint. Here's a 10 for Neutral Milk Hotel's. In The Aeroplane Over the Sea. Personally, for me, that review is probably the point of greatest divergence between my own aesthetic preferences and those of Pitchfork. I would give that Neutral Milk Hotel record a zero. I'm not saying I'm right and Pitchfork is wrong- it's actually the opposite.
Same thing with Speedy Ortiz- the cluster of emotionally aware lyrics and 90s indie rock stylistic influences is not something that appeals to me, but it is obvious why it appeals to Pitchfork, and why they would be awarded a Best New Music for their debut LP.
The live show is muscular compared the relatively delicate recordings. The Major Arcana LP review mentions that Sadie Dupuis has roots as a bedroom recording artist, but she brought a fleshed out band to San Diego for the live show. There was a muscular drummer, a well versed bassist and competent guitar work. And of course Dupuis, singing and also playing guitar. I'm listening to the LP right now for the first time as I write this, and comparing the music with the show I watched last night, the clear comparison is Liz Phair. Is the world hungry for a new Liz Phair? It's a valid question, and only time will tell. For sure, the door is wide open for her to drive right through and she seems likes a deserving Artist who should be rewarded for her hard work over a period of years.
Part of being a succesful critic is being able to acknowledge talented artists who may have different influences and goals then that of the critic. Something you see again and again in Arts criticism is that critics pounce on differences as flaws in Art. Then, after a popular audience embraces the differences, critics back pedal and revise their own opinions to justify the differences. Speedy Ortiz is a clear example of a respected critical source leading the Audience in that regard- Speedy Ortiz had 275 listeners the week before their record came out, the week after: 5000.
So now the only remaining question is do those 5000 people embrace Speedy Ortiz or do they only listen once because of the Pitchfork review? Do they buy tickets to the show? Do they buy the album? Every other question is settled by the review. And the review makes perfect sense if you possess even a rudimentary understanding of Pitchfork's long standing editorial viewpoint that favors the sounds of "classic" 90s indie rock.
Show Review: Madeon @ Voyeur (8/2/13)
Show Review:
Madeon @ Voyeur
It is so funny to me when you go to a "gaslamp" type club and there are all these women dressed up like, let's face it, prostitutes. I don't have a problem with that- and I'm not denigrating women for doing it, but it is what it is. What possesses an otherwise sane woman to strap on a pair of six inch heels and a skin tight dress that highlights all your unflattering bulges is beyond me, but that was the story last night at Voyeur. I'm strictly live and let live when it comes to difference in Audience culture but it was difficult for me not to speculate on the mindset.
Mandeon attracts a trainspotter heavy crowd simply because he works at a pace that leaves every other dj in the world who isn't Jeff Mills gasping for air. His sets typically switch between songs every minute or so, with numerous stylistic flourishes that he shares with other similarly succesful djs. This means that people come to watch Madeon in the same way they watch a band, and those people were present last night.
From my position on the balcony I could see a cluster of devoted fans- 100% male- by the way- clustered around the stage for the entire set, pumping their fists in Ecstasy. Madeon has moved away from the mash-up heavy style that brought him to international prominence. His newer material actually sounds more like an old Jeff Mills set- with plenty of heavy techno and electro beats and hardly any recognizable samples. It is a promising direction for a promising talent, and my sense is that Madeon will be a force in the EDM world for years to come.
As for Voyeur, well.... to each his own. There were plenty of trainspotters there last night who were obviously just watching the Madeon headlining set- maybe 50% that and then 50% club trash.
Show Review: Ritualz, Micro Genre, Dark Techno, Witch House & Sea Punk (8/9/13)
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| Ritualz- Ghetto Ass Witch album art |
Show Review:
Ritualz
@ The Void
Any attempt to classify or distinguish different types of popular music is a discussion of genre. Errors are often made by critics who use genre distinctions/classifications as a judgment on the value of entire categories of music. Of course, genre simply distinguishes between different kinds of music by noting similar and disparate characteristics of the music, genre distinctions shouldn't have anything to say about whether one genre is better or more valid then another. Quality distinctions either come within genres or across over lapping genres, or by transcending genres.
Within this area of aesthetics, the most important development in the last decade has been the emergence of the term "micro genre." Micro Genre refers to a category of music which traditionally would NOT be considered a "genre" because it lacks certain features that ALWAYS characterize genres in popular music. Things like: Artists, Fans and Records. Instead, Micro Genres possess advocates and collectors- people who are interested in the creation of genres and typically interested in the idea of genre in a way that isn't linked to any particular kind of music.
Two "micro genres" have enjoyed particular attention in the last two years. First, there was Witch House. Wikipedia defines Witch House:
Witch house applies techniques rooted in chopped and screwed hip-hop – drastically slowed tempos with skipping, stop-timed beats– coupled with elements from genres such as noise, drone, and shoegaze. (1)
Foals @
The Wiltern, Los Angeles
The only time I miss being married are the hours between 10 AM and 6 PM on Saturday and Sunday. Those are the times when couple activities predominate, whether it be eating brunch, running errands or hanging out with mutual friends. So thank god for LA. Some place to go on the weekends where I'm not constantly reminded of my failed relationship.
I went up to see Foals on Friday night not because I'm a fan but because I'm interested in any quasi-indie rock band that can sell 1800 tickets to a concert. It's like "How does one get from 250 tickets sold to 1800 tickets sold." I find actually going to such concerts and seeing the actual people who attend gives me some sort of concrete of idea of who those people are- that are buying tickets. And of course I get to see the band itself, and the venue, and how the band, the audience and the venue interact.
It's kind of like being an executive for a double A minor leagues baseball team and going up the major league ball park and watching a game in the big stadium. I was told as a young lawyer that when you are helping a more experienced lawyer and watching them do their thing in Court, pretend like you are doing it.yourself. I try to bring that approach to music stuff.
Foals was sold out or close to it. The Wiltern is a class venue- a really great place to see the show because of the excellent sound and the art deco-y style of the lobby and building. The crowd was impossible to pin down other then having a lot of music supervisor types and a whole bunch of guys and gals wearing striped sailor style shirts.
I have no idea how Foals managed to get to 40 million last fm plays- let's say 100 million is enduring Top 40/legend status- so 40 million is almost half way there- without obtaining hardly any attention from the mass media. At the same time, they've gone from a band that Pitchfork didn't like (first record 5.9) to one that Pitchfork respects (last record was a 7.) So Foals are popular, critically respected and sell both tickets and records. That is a pretty neat trick.
It was clear from the live show that they do it by playing an accesible, likeable form of rock and roll that appeals to a wide range of potential audience members without alienating any of them. There is no part of Foals that is alienating or off putting. They are hugely likeable and people do in fact like them. The conclusion I drew that any kind of lasting, significant popular success inevitably comes at the expense of abandoning "edgy" and alienating aspects of a look or sound that might alienate potential audience members.
It sucks to write this, but I'm convinced that the future means releasing music that I personally find boring, because that is what people want. They want boring, easy to digest music. They do not want to be challenged- maybe you can find 250 people who want to be challenged, but if you want to sell out the Wiltern on a Friday night you had best sand off the rough edges and get with the program. Sad but true.
Show Review:
Jessica Pratt @ The Casbah
Whenever a singer/songwriter makes it on to the national new music radar screen it is an impressive feat because there are so damn many singer/songwriters out there. Trying to distinguish oneself as a solo singer/songwriter is something like trying to get picked for American Idol: Good...fucking...luck. So even though I'm not a fan of the genre, I notice when a "basic" singer songwriter makes it onto the radar screen.
For Jessica Pratt, that happened late last year when her self titled debut LP got a solid Pitchfork review. (1) Something to consider when an Artist operating in such a crowded field "makes it" is that Pitchfork classifies review by GENRE- they themselves say that the Best New Music distinction is based on an Artist transcending their genre/s, so that must follow for the selection of album reviews themselves: i.e. that they represent the best of their particular genre. (2)
Thus, the most impressive achievements are artists who emerge out of crowded genres, and there is no genre that is more crowded and less popular on an Artist by Artist basis then singer/songwriter.
One song is all that it took to establish that Pratt is a talented, accomplished singer/songwriter. One of the aesthetic qualities that I look for is delicacy/fragility. If you listen to Top 40 music, it is crystal clear that delicacy/fragility is frowned upon as an aesthetic quality. Top 40 music is inevitably the opposite of fragile and delicate. Pratt doesn't have a fragile voice, but her music has a fragile quality that really connected with me and my aesthetic values.
For me, the essence of DIY is the idea that it could disappear at any minute; that you need to enjoy something right now because it may never return. Jessica Pratt successfully engaged that emotion last night and I was deeply impressed by her performance- she is worth checking out on too.
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| Yacht Rock Revue is an actual Yacht Rock cover band from Atlanta that exists, and, as it turns out, is incredible. |
Show Review:
Yacht Rock Revue
& Pacific Dimensions at
The House of Blues HOLLYWOOD, CA.
Yacht Rock Revue is The Beatles of the Yacht Rock "scene." If you had to ask me, I would say that "Yacht Rock" as a thing that exists dates to 2005, when the online video series "Yacht Rock" appeared on line for the first time in March 2005. (1) I would argue that after that series debuted there was an associated Yacht Rock scene that mostly consisted of DJ nights in your basic Top 20 markets in the USA. Entirely domestic, with no international counterpart. No original artists came out of it. Something more then a meme, but less then a scene. Peaked maybe in July 2007. I did one post on Yacht Rock- July 2007. (2)
If you had asked me before Saturday night the current cultural status of Yacht Rock I would have said, "Dead as a door nail!" But man, did Yacht Rock Revue- an actual band from Atlanta that exists and played to a packed house at the House of Blues in Hollywood Saturday night- prove me wrong. Turns out: Yacht Rock is not only alive and well, but in fact more popular then ever. And Yacht Rock Revue fucking nails it.
This show was both the best show I've seen all year and also the most depressing. Here are like, hundred of people, Saturday night and what do they get excited about? Yacht Rock covers from the 70s and 80s . Wow. Couldn't help but think about the contrast between the reception accorded Yacht Rock Revue and what greets a typical indie band playing the Echo.
So, so many Captain's hats. And... this was unexpected... an ethnically diverse crowd? I mean what? EVERYBODY LOVES YACHT ROCK. Local DJ duo Pacific Dimensions opened the show with an exclusive set that blended non-duplicated Yacht Rock tunes with a wider selection of 80s party jams. The crowd also loved that as well.
The highlight of the Yacht Rock Revue show were the guest stars: The guy who sings "Brandy" and the principals of the band Player playing "their number one hit" Baby Come Back. It was pretty special. The name is so generic that it makes them seem almost more authentic. Of all the things... Yacht Rock Revue. But man they just nail every single song.
NOTES
(1) Yacht Rock Wikipedia entry: Yacht Rock was an online video series following the fictionalized lives and careers of American soft rock stars of the late 1970s and early 1980s. The series debuted onChannel 101 at the June 26, 2005 screening. It placed in the top five at subsequent screenings until the June 25, 2006 screening, where it placed seventh and was canceled. The show remained a popular download on Channel 101, convincing the creators to make two additional episodes independently. The 11th episode, featuring Jason Lee as Kevin Bacon, debuted during a screening at the Knitting Factory in New York City on December 27, 2007 and was later included with the other episodes on Channel 101.[1] On May 5, 2010, the 12th and final episode of Yacht Rock was released onto YouTube and Channel 101.
(2) Vanished Empires July 2007: One of my sources on the 411 on what's hot right now is my "off line" "friend", Nicky Shingles, bassist of fifty on their heels. He's the chatty one! Nicky has turned me onto Aqua Teen Hunger Force- all kinds of shit, really. Anyways, one of the conversation topics over the last several months has been what Nicky calls "Yacht Rock." I'm not really sure what side of the "on the rise/on the fall" trend spectrum but my best guess is that "Yacht Rock" is a "buy". Yacht Rock is also really, really You Tube friendly- as this dope post by Music Snobbery aptly demonstrates. It would be cheesy to steal his vids- but please, go check out Chicago's "If You Leave Me Now", Seals & Croft "Summer Breeze", and of course- "Sailing" by the IMMORTAL Christopher Cross. Mom was a soft rock aficinado, shall we say? Lots of memories involving san francisco and volvos.
Music Snobbery is a NYC based music blog, but don't hold that against it...
and YACHT ROCK!!!
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| Tobacco from Black Moth Super Rainbow is a handsome lad. |
Show Review
Tobacco
Zackey Force Funk
@ Casbah San Diego
You can't talk about Tobacco, the front man/main man for Philly psych outfit Black Moth Super Rainbow, without first discussing Black Moth Super Rainbow. Black Moth Super Rainbow is almost unique among contemporary indie bands in eschewing standard-issue interaction with the media. Despite this choice, they have obtained a moderately large Audience in a traditional DIY fashion. They currently have 52,000 Facebook fans (1) and close to Nine million Last Fm plays. (2) But, they are also a band that has been around for a full decade and averages a substantial but unspectacular 2500-3000 listeners a week. (3) Their most recent effort, Cobra Juicy released in October of 2012, received solid marks from Pitchfork (4) but has only gained 28,000 listeners since release- compare that to 164,000 listeners for 2004's Dandelion Gum LP. (5)
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| Tobacco had The Seven Fields of Aphelion with him I believe |
Tobacco, meanwhile, gets a later start dates, 2007, and has a lower but still very respectable 3 million listens on Last FM. (6) What Tobacco doesn't have is a record out, the last release was the LA UTI EP in November of 2010. (7) He does have 30,000 Facebook fans, which is in line with what you would expect from the main guy of a band with 52,000 fans, i.e. something more then half of them. (8)
Like Animal Collective, another band/collective that I respect but don't necessarily listen to, Black Moth Super Rainbow has created an artistic identity that has successfully generated a sustaining audience, many of whom bought tickets in advance for last nights 13 USD ticket. You can tell interesting things about the Audience of a specific artist based on the relationship of pre-sale tickets to walk-up. Pre Sale tickets are typically bought by people who don't go out frequently, and those who have a strong relationship with the headlining Artist and less often by walk-up buyers who are afraid of being shut out of a hot show. Walk up tickets typically are purchased by frequent scene habitues, people who have heard about a show via word of mouth, and people with little or no connection to the headlining artists (people out for a good time on a weekend, friends of the opening band.)
Last night it was pre-sale heavy, and walk up thin. That's something I would expect for a band with a solid fan base but no album out. The audience was somewhere between backpack hip hop and backpack edm, lots of white guys with glasses looking like they stepped out a 90s Beastie Boys video, and a fair number of girls who looked more like EDM fans who frequent indietronica spots like El Dorado. They were super into opener Zackey Force Funk, who seemed to be aiming for a Chromeo type vibe. The internet says that Zackey Force Funk and Tobacco are collaborating on an LP for a project called Demon Queen and yikes.
Tobacco took the stage with, if I'm not mistaken, fellow Black Moth Super Rainbowian The Seven Fields of Aphelion, who is a woman. She was playing synths and Tobacco was doing lap top/analog stuff and singing into a mic. They were both behind a budget EDM style front piece that said "TOBACCO." The biggest surprise to me is that Tobacco is a buff bro looking dude. I guess that is easy enough to find out using Google Image Search but I def. had an image of BMSR being a bunch of scrawny indie looking cats.
The crowd was def. stoked to be there but it was hard core fans only- no floating scene types in site. I didn't know a soul, except for the people working, who I also don't know but at least recognize. Tobacco has fat beats to be sure, but the visual element is, I think, always going to be limited since he has to sit there and manipulate analog synth type stuff while he sings. He can hardly be capering around on stage, which I guess explains the collaborative LP with opener Zackey Force Funk, because he does little besides capering around on stage.
Show Review:
Dirty Beaches
SISU
Chasms
Los Angeles, the Echo
San Diego , The Void
It was extremely gratifying to see all the people who turned up for the sold out Los Angeles Dirty Beaches show and the almost sold out San Diego Dirty Beaches show over the last two nights. Los Angeles was a particularly inspiring site with sold out shows both for Dirty Beaches at the Echo and downstairs at the Echoplex for Cold Cave as well; with a line down the block for people who didn't have tickets but wanted to get in.
In San Diego there was an even split between pre-sale and walk up: 50/50- and I've never personally seen the Void that crowded other then for the opening night and the Shannon and the Clams show.
Both performances were well received- all the bands were appreciated at both venues. Merchandise sales were strong at both venues. Audience enthusiasm was high at both venues. At the same time it's humbling to consider that being to sell out the Echo and almost sell out an under 200 cap venue in San Diego puts a band at the very lowest rung of the ladder of music business achievement.
Going to the Cold War Kids show at the Wiltern on Thursday night really put that observation in perspective. In the seven-ish years I've been doing this it's the first time I've been apart of a tour that had that kind of back-to-back success (that I witnessed on both occasions) and there is so far to go before any kind of a reasonable living can be derived from the performance and sale of recorded music.
Because after all, what is it worth to be cool? Here is my take: Coolness is what brings you to the attention and interest of people who are uncool but who have money. If you are a cool artist/label/band you can do two things: Trade your cool for someone else's money or try to build something yourself (yourselves) that uses coolness to atttract "un-cool" general population audience members. I.E. either you do it yourself or you let someone with money and experience figure it out for you. Just being cool isn't enough. There are not enough Audience members with money who care to make a lifetime of cool financially rewarding.
Selling out a 200-300 cap venue in LA is great, but it is quite literally the lowest rung that a viable band can occupy. It's the starting point, not the end. While I was at the Echo show Friday night, it was hard not to remember that the last time I was back stage at the Echo was in 2009 when I saw Wavves play a similarly sold out show- spring 2009. Four years plus later, Wavves is playing the X Fest, and the Artists I'm working with is trying to again sell-out the Echo.
I'm not really troubled by it, because I can't imagine any of the Artists I work with being particularly stoked by a 430 PM slot at the X Fest, but it is impossible to deny that shows Wavves being way "ahead" in the climb up the music industry ladder. At the same time, I feel a sense of accomplishment because I know that when Dirty Beaches sells out the Echo 'we" i.e. the artist and label- are keeping 100% of the money derived. There is no psuedo-indie taking the digital sales money, there is no d bag manager taking 50% of the ticket sales.
It's a trade off- we're all further away from that mass audience, but controlling what we've manager to generate ourselves. It is a DIY outfit, for better or for worse, but the last couple of days it's felt better.
Thanks to Goose Island and DoLA for the tickets!
Pharmakon &
Body of Light
@ The Void San Diego
Watching Pharmakon is like seeing a Margot Tennenbaum esque woman being possessed by a Japanese water ghost, playing music that seems to have sprung forward in time from early Throbbing Gristle period Industrial/Noise Music. Most impressively, it is just her, one person- Margaret Chardiet- there is no dopey looking dude twiddling knobs while she makes her unearthly screams. Pharmakon inverts the traditional pop formula of pairing an edgy/threatening looking image with a sound that is rooted in America popular music song conventions. Rather, Charadiet pairs a preppy image (seriously, she was wearing a black Polo dress) with a sound that is edgy/threatening.
I think if you had to look at the overall Pitchfork aesthetic sensibility, she represents a larger category of Artists who are seeking to bring extreme sounds to mainstream Audiences using a variety of "cloaking/disarming" strategies. Liturgy would be another well documented example of what I'm talking about. The two actual genres where this strategy is a verifiable phenomenon are death metal and noise. I think tied to this inversion of traditional pop formula is the idea of the rock concert as a performance/performance art.
I had a conversation with Shub for Dirty Beaches about their recent performances in Southern California and he said, "We want the Audience to see it as a piece, like a movie." After seeing their performances, I totally get that, and I believe that Pharmakon has similar ideas. She is an Artist, performing a piece, which is called "Pharmakon plays a rock club."
Chardiet showed real maturity and sophistication during the Audience interaction portion of her performance. Like many DIY/Indie artists she walked into the small crowd gathered around the stage, but she actually walked up to individual audience members, touched them on the shoulder and made eye contact- which is a far cry from the useful thrashing and wailing that you see. She successfully created a moment of intimacy with the Audience that was completely at odds with the harsh, discordant nature of the performance.
Thus, you can see how Pharmakon is manipulating multiple conventions of the DIY/indie scene at the same time during her performance. So if it isn't already clear, I was deeply impressed and I highly recommend you see Pharamakon live if given the chance- you will not regret it.
Openers Body of Light was another one man show that worked in the emotive gothy territory of Cold Cave, a band I saw over the weekend in two piece form. The singer/only guy on stage had a noticeable presence on stage that engaged the attention of the Audience. He wore leather gloves, a white t shirt as well as a belt. I frankly question the belt or the leather gloves- one or the other. But there was a lot to recommend Body of Light, particularly to fans of emotive goth pop. He actually reminded me of Majical Cloudz.
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| Blouse frontwoman Charlie Hilton |
Show Review:
Blouse & Feathers at
The Void San Diego
Watching Feathers play their all-girl take on trad synth pop, I was considering the possibility of buying new deck shoes/topsiders for this weekend's Vampire Weekend/Beirut Hollywood Bowl show. The Vampire Weekend show is Saturday, which does not leave enough time to buy online, except by perhaps using some kind of Amazon service that requires signing up. Leaving aside the issues of delivery, there is the simple question of what one gains by showing up in an obviously new pair of deck shoes at a Vampire Weekend show at the Hollywood Bowl. I would think that you might be mocked by more knowledgeable attendees, mocked about the newness of ones topsiders. The prospect of shoe-related mockery at a Vampire Weekend show was enough to make me physically shudder, and frankly made it hard to focus on the opening band.
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| Charlie Hilton of Blouse |
After the set, sitting at the bar using my smart phone, I looked up Feathers last.fm profile. Unfortunately Feathers was also the name of a short-lived Freak Folk act fronted by garage-rocker King Tuff. The earlier Feathers put out a record on Devendra Banhart's Gnomonsong label in 2006, and that record accounts for most of the profile plays/listeners on Last FM. Meanwhile on Facebook they have 3000ish fans. So they've got entry level listenership. On the positive side, they are an all female synth pop band- so huge potential audience out there.
On the negative side, people are going to be sexist because the music industry is sexist and permeated by the male gaze. I thought they showed potential but will rise or tread water based on the larger popularity of the synth pop genre. Genre is unfortunately crucial for band with smaller Audiences because genre functions as a separate spectrum for drawing Audience attention. Artists will often come to the attention of new Audience members because of their placement in a specific genre with which the audience member is already familiar.
The idea of liking "new music" is always mediated by genre awareness on the part of the listener. Jf a lesser know Artist is working in a disfavored genre with few natural adherents, their job is tougher and it makes the talent level of the Artist more important for gaining any kind of wider Audience. Synth pop is def. what I would call a disfavored genre at the moment. I'm talking about drum pad driven, with synthesizers and a lead singer, synth pop. So that is an uphill trek for Feathers but I wish them the best on their journey.
You can't talk about Portland based, Captured Tracks signed band Blouse without mentioning the fact that they once used drum machines and no longer use drum machines. Blouse is now a trad indie four piece with a live drummer and a sound that is best described as trad indie rock. It probably bodes well for their long term future, but ultimately the particular method of delivery is secondary to the presence of singer/guitarist Charlie Hilton. Blouse is going to succeed or fail based on her popularity irrespective of the arrangement of the band around her.
It's inconceivable, given their relationship with Capture Tracks, that the decision to abandon synths and drum machines in favor of guitar and drums, was anything other then an honest organic artistic decision, so more power to them I say. It can hardly hurt their appeal. As long as Hilton is fronting the band the style of delivery of the music is unimportant. Personally, I find her compelling but coming so soon after Pharmakon blew my mind (last night) the indie rock vibe failed to click. Not their fault, mine.
Vampire Weekend
@ The Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles CA.
It seems like the most appropriate way to describe Vampire Weekend is in terms of their popularity. 2 million Facebook fans, 67 million last fm plays total, 45,000 listeners last week, #40 on the Last FM Top 500 Artist Chart. Sold out show at the Hollywood Bowl. Perhaps the only qualifier is that the show only sold out 24 hours prior to show time, and that Vampire Weekend, unlike say, Depeche Mode, did not have a multiple night stand at a similarly sized venue.
Billed as "America's Largest Natural Ampitheatre," the Hollywood Bowl has a seating capacity of 18,000 and ample grounds surrounding the theater, with a food court of dining and merchandise purchasing options. Those in attendance looked like they had been sent from central casting to represent the diversity of America's well-to-do upper middle class in Southern California.
One might reasonably expect that the audience for Vampire Weekend to be somewhat less diverse then it actually was. Included in the Audience were many young children who appeared to genuinely enjoy the show and knew the music. A 6 or 7 year old girl in front of me videotaped THE ENTIRE show on a tablet type device. A group of high school girls seated three rows up relentlessly practiced the art of self portraiture or "selfies" as the Oxford English Dictionary calls them, using the flash function on their smart phones at least 20 times during the set of opening act Beirut. Across the aisle, a group of college age women had among their number a young woman wearing a sedate Hijab, or Islamic headscarf.
Behind me, an ethnically diverse couple of young professionals sang and dance in the aisles. As I strolled between sections of the amphitheater during the headlining set, I saw young and old, couples and groups of singles, representatives of all the major ethnicities of Southern California, and all of them- ALL OF THEM- looked extremely excited to be seeing Vampire Weekend live.
The performance itself can be summarized in a brief epigram, "Vampire Weekend delivers." To be properly considered an epigram, of course, that statement can't simply refer to the live performance. Rather, Vampire Weekend delivers across the board with a remarkably sensitive consistency that marks them as one of the leading rock bands of the here and now. Simply to put them in a class with other top 50 rock band on the Last FM Top Artist Chart: Artic Monkeys (1), Coldplay (4), Radiohead (6), Kings of Leon, Muse, Imagine Dragons, The Killers, Arcade Fire, The Black Keys, Mumford and Sons- this is a chart that looks at total numbers of listeners on Last FM on a weekly basis.
I suppose you could make a plausible argument for Radiohead, Arcade Fire and perhaps the Black Keys, but for my money Vampire Weekend is the coolest out of the class of Top 50 worldwide rock bands. They do their thing with a minimum of controversy and ego, eschewing misguided attempts to change the economics of music (Radiohead), insanely pretentious and bizarre lyrical themes (Muse), and being Coldplay (Coldplay) in favor of just doing their fucking job ok?
At the Red Bull funded after part at the hotel bar at the Chateaus Marmont (this is as supposed to the Bar Marmont, which I believe is a stand alone venue next door to the Hotel.) I came face to face with Vampire Weekend front man/songwriter Ezra Koenig and was impressed at his coolness. He has the looks of a matinee idol, the skin of a fashion model. He stood quietly in the midst of well wishers, politely nodding and responding to the conversation. He very easily could have been a label executive or a&r rep, a lawyer, a doctor. Koenig does not channel the frenzy of Bacchus for his art, rather his is the classicism of a Roman orator, weaving rhetoric together in an attempt (succeful) to charm the masses.
In another day and time, Koenig would have been a priest or perhaps a magician. Today he is a rock star. If you are someone who seeks to deny Koenig and Vampire Weekend their due, you are someone will never succeed in the music industry, because if you don't get Vampire Weekend, you don't get the music business. Keep your eyes closed if you must, but please no tears, this is Vampire Weekends world and we all just live in it.
Calexico, Justin Townes Earle & Jessica Pratt
@ Way Over Yonder Fest
at Santa Monica Pier t
Los Angeles, CA.
Disclosure
in the Hotel Lobby of the W San Diego
Disclosure, in town for a couple days before their sold-out gig at the House of Blues San Diego on Wednesday, took the stage at the W San Diego with all the swagger and majesty of a rock band. The one who isn't wearing sunglasses in the photograph above was actually wearing a guitar. They had microphones for singing/talking, and stood before an array of impressive looking keyboard/synth type apparatus. Watching from the hotel lobby downstairs (which itself requires a wrist band or room key, Disclosure appeared to be performing in a style that they believed would appeal to "rock" Audiences in the United States. A guitar, ok?
And then, two songs in, disaster- a sudden flash of LED lights and poof, the entire set vanished into thin air, all at the same time. Darkness. A five minute pause, and then again: The LED lights, a syncopated 4x4 beat and the beginnings of vocals and keyboard licks. But not, another flash, and Disclosure as a "live" band was done for the night.
So what did they do? They DJed the W Hotel San Diego lobby from the DJ sconce situated above the "Library" bar. And it sounded exactly the same. Exactly the same. I can only guess about what was live and what was Memorex in their initial set up but the answer has to be "a whole lot of it." Not that this bothers me in any way. Sitting in the lobby of the W Hotel San Diego lobby last night watching Disclosure "perform" I was struck by the idea that in some way, the Audience actually is the Artist, in the same way that he people who like something on Facebook are that something.
Using that type of analysis, the performance is essentially meaningless is the Artist-Audience brings a good time without needing any kind of stagey performance type bullshit from the Artist. This kind of Artist-Audience is at the heart of the concurrent rise of EDM, where the "Artist" is essentially a conductor, urging the Artist-Audience onward in paroxysms of Dionysian delight. If you look at this Artist-Audience from a rhetorical standpoint, the Artist-conductor is doing a superb job of communication with the Audience-symphony because of the emotional response they elicit.
I have a simply philosophy when it comes to deciding how much bullshit I am willing to put up with to see new music. "Is it something young women like?" Excluding most top 40 and "screamo" style bands. Young women have been important taste makers since the dawning of what Jon Savage called "the teen age" half a century ago. As young people move away from male dominated critical hierarchies (print publications) as sources for developing their personal aesthetics, the power of young women increases because men are at as great a disadvantage using newer micro medias as women were at using older mass media.
So ultimately if these young women love Disclosure, and they do, who gives a fuck about what some Male critic thinks about their "authenticity" as live performers. And why the fuck does Disclosure think they have to do something like that to gain an Audience? Their Audience doesn't care at all.
Before going to the Saturday edition of this two day festival, I spent a small amount of time wondering whether someone would mention Bob Dylan's famous 1965 performance at the annual festival in Rhode Island. The subsection of Newport Folk Festival Wikipedia page devoted to the subject is called "The Electric Dylan" controversy.
During that performance Dylan "plugged in" to hoots of derision from the Audience. In the words of the Wiki, "some audience members booed" the performance. If you are someone who seeks to understand the history of popular music in 20th century, this episode stands for the proposition that Audiences can be wrong. Obviously, "the electric Dylan" controversy is a case study in the management of Artist/Audience relations, but one lesson that SHOULDN'T be extrapolated is that Dylan was some kind of victim. I would wager that he intended to evoke such a reaction, and he was making a clear statement that as an Artist he wouldn't be limited by genre conventions. It's a standard Artist tactic, but the electric dylan controversy is probably the best, and certainly most famous example.
So, it happened 15 minutes into the set of the first Artist I saw perform, Justin Townes Earle who is not to be confused with Robert Earl Keen. It is fair to say this is a brave new world for me in terms of taste. On the drive over I heard the latest Blake Shelton number, Sure Be Cool If You Would, which was played about 1,000 times on Last FM last week- that's good but in no way great. It was crazier then the time I listened to an Afrojack DJ set on Sirius/XFM driving back from LA at 3 AM a couple months back. In a different way of course.
Regarding the first reference to the Electric Dylan at the Way Over Yonder festival, it was during the performance of Justin Townes Earle, who was obviously intoxicated, but not in an unprofessional way. I've seen plenty of unprofessional musicians, and I thought that Justin Townes Earle was funny and disarming and has real talent. Polished, he was not. For me though, imperfection is part of successful Art. Perfection is robotic, corporate, monotonous.
However some fans did not agree with my benevolent assessment of the performance and there was some heckling to which Earle responded by referencing the Electric Dylan controversy in a more-or-less coherent fashion. So everyone had to drink.
The festival was held in an outdoor setting at the Santa Monica Pier. I would say that the combination of venue/promoter/talent was just short of being "magical." The Santa Monica Pier is a pretty accessible location, with plenty of parking at the venue and in nearby Santa Monica. The location is essentially behind the row of shops and restaurants that line the Pier, and in front of the Ferris wheel and other ride type features.
If you haven't seen a show at the Santa Monica Pier it is worth a look. They also show movies in the same location. Calexico was the reason I agreed to go to the show and they did not disappoint. In fact, they crushed it. It was a regal, commanding performance, with slide guitar, mariachis and cover versions to spare. (Joy Division! Minutemen!) The crowd ate it up and so did I- Calexico is so good.
On the way out I caught a couple songs from Jessica Pratt- who I've now seen 3 times in the last two months. She is a real talent! You should see her if she plays your town.
HAIM
@ The Casbah San Diego
I'm fully cognizant of the downside to operating out of a secondary market. San Diego is essentially the southern most outpost of the "Greater Los Angeles" media market that itself encompasses multiple top 20 markets in the United States:
1. Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA MSA: 9,377,938
11. Riverside-San Bernardino, CA. MSA: 3,108,211
14. San Diego, CA MSA: 2,798,201
15. Orange County, CA. MSA: 2,735,375
We are talking like 20 million people, and San Diego has about two and a half million of those people, making it basically one tenth of the second largest "Greater MSA" in the United States (behind NYC, which includes portions of multiple states.) That means if you look at the music emerging out of San Diego sized market, it will be uneven. There will be ups and downs, there will be bands that 'get out' and bands that never do. In the mean time, the geographic location of San Diego proximate to Los Angeles ensures that there will always be a steady stream of the latest n greatest new thing, because all those new things have to go through Los Angeles, and a heft percentage of acts that play Los Angeles will play San Diego.
And so I found myself at the sold out (two months ago) HAIM show at the Casbah. Like XX, they are a band I don't like, but it seems like an obvious choice to see them at a Casbah sized venue if only to relieve oneself from the need of ever seeing them again in a larger sized venue. The ongoing triumph of HAIM, whose debut record is out now on Columbia Records, is a mixture of savvy production and even savvier marketing. In fact, if they gave out Grammy awards for the marketing of a new artist, I would call Columbia Records/HAIM the winner this year.
I was shocked at how old the crowd skewed. I was expecting something similar to the group that showed up for the Disclosure set but instead it was more librarians, Moms and even Grandmas. And their dates. And a few rabid male super fans.
Expecting something along the lines of a synth washed/drum pad playing/70s gauzy dream rock experience, HAIM instead played with a live drummer and presented like a fairly conventional trad indie four some who just happens to write top 40 hits. Live, the hookiness prevails but the slick production does not, leading me to ask whether this band is destined for main stage Coachella performances and arena rock slots or WHAT. Don't get me wrong- they do their thing and their fans fucking love it, but one would expect the extraordinarily slick production choices to carry through to the live set. After all, savvy professionalism under a haze of phantasmal innocence is what HAIM is all about, right?
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| This is Curtis Harding. His performance last night at the Burgerama Burger Recods Caravan of Stars Tour (San Diego stop) was worth talking about. |
Show Review:
Burgerama Burger Records Caravan of Stars Tour f.
Gap Dream & Curtis Harding
Black Cat Bar San Diego
Being a firm believer in the principle of "conservation of energy," I look at the feverish activity of Fullerton based, Sony distributed, Burger Records with a mixture of envy and horror. Burger Records: Hangin' w James Franco! Filming Youtube Documentaries! Organizing a 30 city US Tour with a bunch of bands w<100k .="" andd....="" fm="" it.="" last="" lp="" nbsp="" on="" one="" out="" p="" plays="" put="" s="" that="" this="" year="">
Last night was a doubly appealing opportunity because it was at a previously unfrequented venue, Black Cat Bar in San Diego. Black Cat is located off the 15 on University Avenue, in sight of the freeway entrance, essentially. Black Cat bar has a smallish stage in the corner. It's not a bad venue, with the exception of the two standard size pool tables that crowd the space where a larger audience would stand. It wasn't a problem last night, and I'm assuming that pool playing Audience must be important to them if they have not one but two pool tables, but it would be a reason NOT to have a larger Audience show at this venue.
But last night it was perfect for the 50-100 people who showed up for the San Diego edition of the wide-ranged Burgerama 2013 Burger Records Caravan of Stars Tour Burger. I happen to be a fan of the original Carvan of Stars Tour, which was booked by Dick Clark, so I see what Burger is trying to do there and I appreciate it.
The stand out performer last night was Curtis Harding, an African American from Atlanta who combines some real vocal "chops" with a standard ish garage rock line up. But that voice is enough to make the well seasoned listener stop whatever they are doing and watch the performance. If Burger does indeed have an LP and not just a 7" they have a potential break-out star on their hands. If they do not have the Curtis Harding LP someone should snap that up right quick.
Show Review: Festival Supreme Was A Total Fucking Triumph (10/21/13)
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| Jack Black: marketing genius for the success of Festival Supreme |
Show Review:
Festival Supreme Was A Total Fucking Triumph
First and foremost, let it be said that the first edition of Festival Supreme, the "music/comedy" Festival created by actor/singer/apparently brilliant business person Jack Black, was a total fucking triumph. I'm just saying this from the perspective of a fan of Mighty Boosh and Tim & Eric, and someone who likes some of Jack Black's movies but not others, and who is not a Tenacious D fan. The underlying concept of combining music and comedy in a music festival format was simply genius. It was EASILY the freshest festival concept/actual experience that I've been to since the first time I went to Coachella. Furthermore, Fesival Supreme was sold the fuck out.
How sold the fuck out was Festival Supreme? Well, before I made it inside I spent 15 minutes standing next to John C. Reilly and a woman someone told me was Jack Black's actual wife, and they had trouble getting a ticket for John C. Reilly, before he was actually physically led inside by one of the ticket distributors. Because they "ran out" of tickets. I'm not complaining about this, I'm saying this is evidence of how successful this event was.
Inside it was a standard situation where there were levels of access. At least four different badge categories ranging from general admission, to purchasable VIP, to a not for sale GUEST as well as "WORKING" for the help, and "ARTIST" for the performers and their entourages. I'm merely describing the badges. Assuming you had a GUEST/WORKING/ARTIST badge, there was ALSO an accompanying wrist band that was either red, blue or yellow. Red was the lowest level, with blue being next and then yellow being the highest level. Again, I'm not making this observation in order to complain, but simply to demonstrate the facts of the situation because I find them personally interesting.
Aside from being a witness to the triumph, I was there specifically to watch The Mighty Boosh. I watched their 30 minute set standing in between a couple that had driven from Sacramento for the occasion. Said she, "We were driving near San Francisco and they said something about it on the radio, then I looked it up and I said, "PULL OVER- WE MUST BUY TICKETS TO SEE THE MIGHTY BOOSH." On the the other side was a guy sporting a Mighty Boosh tattoo on his thigh. This was near the back of the crowd- so who knows what it was like up front. Boosh showed up with Naboo and Bob Fossil (resplendent in his blue leisure wear.) Boosh delivered a crowd pleasing 30 minute set- better then what I saw at Comic Con a few years back. People were mad for it. Afterwards, I overheard a staffer tell another staffer say that the performers had to be ushered to the Artist reserved area outside of the festival for fear that "they wouldn't be able to move in the crowd."
Zach Galifianakis was next up. He did ten minutes of material. Seemed short, but to be fair if you looked at the schedule his slot just had a starting time. I missed Will Forte and Hannibal Buress. Triumph the Insult Comic Dog was passable, didn't watch Adam Sandler, but he seemed like a real normal cat.
Tim & Eric were hilarious- they performed as a band with bassist, two drummers and a keyboardist- with Tim and Eric both on guitar. They managed to turn in a set that was both funny AND musical, and also managed to be funny without telling jokes, which is maybe the most impressive part of what Tim Heidecker is accomplishing as a mature artist. His humor is character driven and appreciating it doesn't necessarily mean that you "like" Tim Heidecker in the way that Adam Sandler fans "like" Adam Sandler. In fact, I think you can appreciate Tim Heidecker as an Artist and not like him one bit. I liked the film he acted in (The Comedy), I liked the Tim & Eric movie, like the show, liked his stand-up set. I think he's a comic genius, but he also seems like a total dick. Some of that is probably why he is a great artist.
Tenacious D played and were joined on-stage by Lonely Island. The Audience LOVED Tenacious D- again- I stood next to two hardened "Crust Punk" types- they had patched jackets etc. I watched them demonstrate that they had interlocking Tenacious D hand tattoos, to the bemusement of the middle aged "industry" type woman they were talking to. She immediately began trying to figure out who was the "top" and who was the "bottom," and it was actually as funny a moment as any of the many funny moments on stage.
Besides missing Hannibal Burress and Will Forte, I also missed Sarah Silverman and Craig Robinson. The only dud of the day was the Maya Rudolph Prince cover band. They did not do any of the Prince hits. It was not an all woman band. I don't see why you would do a comedy female Prince cover band and not play Prince songs. Were they playing originals? I couldn't tell. It didn't play. There was also some band from the internet that did songs about Internet Memes like "Run Tell Dat" and "Double Rainbow."
It's worth mentioning that Lonely Island was excellent. It's a shame that they haven't played life more often- I would totally go see them do a full show. Annnd... way to go Jack Black- you nailed it.
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| Maria Minerva showed steady Artistic/Performance development. |
Show Review:
Passion Pit
@ SDSU Open Air Theater
Maria Minerva & Cherushii
@ The Void San Diego
Oh gosh what do I say about the Passion Pit show at SDSU Open Air Theater that doesn't make me sound like a snobby dick? I got nothing. Passion Pit has a ton of fans in the coveted 18-24 demographic. My favorite moment of the show was when the college age guy in front of me, who was aggressively dancing and fist pumping in his seat, made "challenging" eye contact with me as I sat immediately behind him with my head leaning against my hand in typical "bored" posture. His look seemed to say, "What- how can you be at this AMAZING Passion Pit and NOT be moved to dance." Looking back at him, I tried to say, "Go for it, bro." Then he turned back around and the moment was broken.
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| Passion Pit guy |
The SDSU Open Air Theater is a nice venue though. Would go back.
At The Void the crowd was sparse but it was the right 20 people, as they say. The discovery of the night was Cherushii, a Bay Area dance music producer who performed with an array of drum machines, synths and other devices. It was pretty organic, and it seems like she is right in tune with what Pitchfork is feeling. She has a 12" coming out on November 3rd on 100% Silk. She could have a national/international career with her retro/contemporary/classic EDM sound. I almost want to say it's "tech/house."
Maria Minerva showed much improvement from her last performance- she answered many of the questions her last show raised. Would have been better to tour with an album out- which I hear is coming next year on Not Not Fun. I'm like "Soooo Maria- happy with Not Not Fun?" Trying to be all casual. She stayed at my house and I bought flowers and fucking scented candles because I want a Maria Minvera record so bad but it went NOWHERE. She is a fucking cool woman though. So smart. So smart. Very interesting.
Father John Misty at the
House of Blues San Diego
Last month, when I saw Yacht Rock Review at House of Blues Hollywood, I had a good time, so it can not be said that every House of Blues is a nightmarish hellscape from which none emerge unscathed. The Father John Misty show there last week raised more questions than it answered. Questions like, "Why do people go to a concert if they want to loudly talk and drink at a bar?" Mainly that question, because that was the main impression generated for myself, and apparently, Father John Misty.
The floor set up at the House of Blues San Diego restricts drinkers to a raised platform at the back of the room, and being unaware of this fact, I purchased a beer and had to stand there for 20 minutes while I sucked it down. There was a very loud woman standing right next to me, and after five minutes, Father John Misty waited till she said something distinctive enough to respond to and told her to "shut up." And she did, FYI.
I'd have to say that Father John Misty, myself and my companion shared a perspective on the short-comings of the House of Blues audience and the House of Blues itself. 3/4 of the way through his said Misty launched a crisp, brief tirade in the direction of the management, and he complained about the crowd (justifiably so) on several occasions.
I left the concert with an appreciation for Misty as a song writer and a performer, I was wholly unfamiliar with his work outside of his prior gig drumming for Fleet Foxes (Fleet Foxes have drums?) and I was pleased to learn that Misty is a wry observer of contemporary social mores with a song writing style best described as a mix of country, folk and indie. He's one key phrase away from a legit radio type hit, and I would bet he delivers at some point.
As for the crowd, San Diego, you are SO embarrassing to me. My guest was from out of town. It was their first show in San Diego EVER and you go and do that.
Skin Town @ The Void
I listen to almost no "new bands" on record/cd/internet because really I don't care unless you can make it to San Diego and play in front of 10-15 people and continue on your way. That is the bare minimum for me. If you are someone making music in your bedroom and it's awesome and people love it that is great, but it doesn't "matter" until the live show takes shape.
That requirement is especially important in music genres where live performance is a challenge. The popular music genres most impacted by this are EDM and hip hop, an as a fusion between the two, "PBR&B." Pitchfork & the Internet can embrace such Artists all they want, but there needs to be a real world equivalent of club tours similar to what indie rock bands can pull off even at a DIY level. Such infrastructure simply does not exist, at least not in a way separate from the indie rock circuit that already exists. This observation about the challenges facing a further dissemination of PBR&B- a genre now over 2 years old according to Wikipedia- is not based on aesthetics, simply on the realities of the audience for live music in the United States.
Of course an Artist like the Weeknd, i.e. one who makes it to the Billboard Top 40 level of Audience size, will simply play stadiums like every other Top 40 Artist, but beneath that and above the mass of inchoate would be amateurs is difficult to terrain.
Skin Town has a couple weapons in the PBR&B arsenal. First, Nick Turco, the music guy, is talented, he can tickle the ivories and has a firm grasp on the ways and means of "future r&b." Vocalist Grace Hall clearly knows how to shake it and has respectable chops. With an album already on the books, they've made it to San Diego "in support" of said album, but they clearly haven't played many live shows together. The use of two cover songs in the middle of the set was a weak choice, particularly weak for a Monday night show in San Diego after taking the stage near to 11 PM as the opening band. I would leave the covers for a banging Friday night show in LA or NYC.
Still there is enough there to work with- plenty of potential in an admittedly hot genre. I think if you can identify a genre you can then properly ask how many fans exist for that particular genre in each specific touring market, and then use that figure as a baseline for what the expected audience for an unknown band will be.
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| Vampire Weekend front man Ezra Koenig sports Babar jacket. |
Show Review: 91x Wrex The Halls:
w/ Vampire Weekend, Queens of the Stone Age, Arctic Monkeys & Alt-J
@ Valley View Casino Center (i.e. the San Diego Sports Arena)
First things first kudos to 91x for putting together a legitimately watchable alt rock holiday radio show. I've actually never been to an event, period, at the Sports Arena/I Pay One Arena/Valley View Casino Center, besides Kobey's Swap Meet (which is outside in the parking lot.) It's not that I consciously avoid arena rock concerts, but actually, yes I do consciously avoid arena rock concerts.
This show, however, was different, notably because the tickets were free, and because I had backstage passes and an invitation to hang out in Vampire Weekend's dressing room. These freebies were NOT provided by 91x, thank you very much, but they were certainly appreciated. I was really looking forward to seeing both the bands and the crowd, and a pre show drink at the Chili's in the parking lot only got me more excited.
Bands started early but my companion wasn't interested before Alt-J so that was the first band I saw. I skipped Alt-J at the Casbah last time through even though I knew it was "catch them at the small venue while you can" situation. Live in concert, in front of a capacity (16,000?) crowd, Alt-J made it perfectly clear why they have vaulted to prominence: They play a non-derivative brand of easy listening alt rock performed by four talented singer/musicians who seemed focused entirely on the music. Particularly notable were their multi-part vocals and harmonies, which reminded me of bands like Fleet Foxes, as well as Gregorian chants. The crowd very much dug it, singing along to even non single album cuts and enthusiastically "rocking out" to music which is arguably not "appropriate" to rock out to.
Arctic Monkey played next. Not a huge fan historically but the new record has been growing on me. Frontman/singer/guitarist Alex Turner was in robust form, playing to the crowd in a way the resembled the capering of a Top 40 Artist, while the band competently rocked behind him. The short-ish set was laden with songs from the new record as well as greatest hits, and I was duly impressed, if not converted.
Skipped Cage the Elephant to hang out in the Vampire Weekend dressing room.where Rostam and Chris B casually discussed topics ranging from recent PBS documentaries on Narco-Culture, to the fan-made Barbar embroidered denim jacket that singer Ezra Koenig would be wearing that night, to the history of Mexican cinema, to the capacity of Emirates Stadium, home of Arsenal FC, to Echo Park real estate prices, to A&R pitches, all within the span of the Cage The Elephant set.
Further proof that the band members of Vampire Weekend are smart guys, period, no qualifications. The members present also seemed normal and well adjusted. Most unusual for musicians in my experience. They certainly fully deserve their success. I'm not someone who gets particularly star struck, but I do pride myself on being able to conduct an intelligent conversation with other intelligent people, and it was easy to see the intelligence on display. Considering how often intelligence actually works AGAINST success in the cultural industries their success is all the more remarkable.
Their set was warmly received by the Audience and it unspooled with clockwork precision. I don't see how you can fail to be won over by Vampire Weekend.
Putative headliner Queens of the Stone Age had a harder task, filling the cavernous venue with a multitude of guitars. Without the softening sounds of keyboards and samples, their well designed trad alt rock felt a tad stale next to the cultural vibrancy of the Vampire Weekend set but seriously who gives a fuck. Crowd loved it, sold out, good job 91x. Consider Dum Dum Girls for 2014? Broken Bells? Just a couple suggestions.
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