If you were at Firebird last night, you got a little taste of the Brooklyn music scene. You also got what felt very much like a homecoming show for the headliner.
White Rabbits, a band who got its start at Mizzou, came across as catchy and technically proficient on their album It's Frightening. The album was good, but if I'm being honest, it struck me as neither exceptional nor memorable.
The show last night blew me away and unseated Matt&Kim for the best show I've seen in 2009.
The short set was tight, and though there were a lot of musicians on stage, their sound wasn't muddy and none of the musicians stepped on each other's toes. They played songs that I recognized from the new album--Percussion Gun, Company I keep, and Midnight and I were standouts--but they also managed to pull out what I could only assume was some older stuff. They were engaging and kept the crowd interested. I rarely say this, but I could've done with a smidge more crowd interaction. The length of the set didn't lend itself to much banter, but they sometimes didn't pause between songs--something that is always a little off-putting for me when I want to clap.
There were two opening acts--one of which I really dug (Suckers) and one of which (Glass Ghost) didn't really work for me.
I give Glass Ghost an 'A' for effort--they played bulk of their set with a singer/keyboard player and a drummer. But the singer just didn't "sell it" in a way that convinced me he was anything more than either disinterested or terrified. I am curious to hear the album, though, to see if their setup works better that way.
I loved (loved!) Suckers. Read this article to get the gist of why they're so awesome. My husband and I thought they sounded a little bit like Clap Your Hands Say Yeah or TV on the Radio. Their music was interesting and their set was tight. Clearly they're skilled musicians, even if I didn't always get what they were doing. They featured 'two' lead vocalists who carried the band through their range of music and a drummer who was amazing.
Overall, it was a fantastic homecoming of sorts with an enthusiastic crowd and skilled musicians.
Showing posts with label concert reviews. Show all posts
Showing posts with label concert reviews. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Monday, October 19, 2009
Mike Doughty at the Duck Room
This is a 'things I love' blog. As such, I don't spend much time dwelling on things that suck. It's just more fun for me, the author, to write about those things that are awesome. And the more fun it is for me to write, the more fun it is for you to read.
That having been said, I have to start out this review by saying that this concert "experience" was the worst I've ever had. There were these guys standing behind me that would. not. shut. up. Seriously...for the entire show, they were either talking really loudly or singing really loudly. And no amount of looks or subtle 'hey...do you mind?' comments would shut them up. They were hell bent on being "those guys" at this show. They were clearly fans of Doughty because they knew all the words to all the songs. Doughty himself even had to ask the audience to 'take it down a level' not once but twice.
The best part of the evening was when the lady next to me lost her shit and yelled at Doughty.
The exchange went something like this:
Lady: Do you ever go to someone's job and take the broom out of their hands?
Doughty: Huh?
Lady (slower): Do you ever go to someone's job and take the broom out of their hands?
Doughty: Uh...no?
Lady: Those guys (pointing behind her) are stealing your broom, Dude.
The guys didn't get booted, but at least her public shaming shut them up for five seconds. I would love to buy this lady a beer. Do you know her?
That having been said, the show was pretty awesome. I think the venue wasn't quite right, but Mike Doughty and Scrap were awesome. It was a "Question Jar" show, which meant that Doughty played acoustic guitar and his only accompaniment was Andrew 'Scrap' Livingston on the cello or bass guitar. It also means that the audience got to submit questions which Doughty and Scrap answered during the course of the evening.
Turns out that Doughty won't play at your wedding, loves cherry sno cones, would go to the 1982 Knoxville World's Fair in a Time Machine, loves Steinbeck, and only sometimes misses the drugs. Also, he's still f***ing that chicken.
The limitations of playing an acoustic set meant that Doughty had to make careful choices about which songs he could tackle. Some of his catalog just doesn't stand up to that kind of limitation. But he did pull out a couple of surprises--top among them was Saint Louise is Listening. He also played a lot of songs you'd expect him to play in a setting like that--Janine, Unsingable name, Madeline and Nine, I Hear the Bells. He pimped the new album, playing about half of it. Standouts included (He's got the) Whole World (in His hands) and (You should be) Doubly (Gratified).
Staying true to his roots, his "fake last song" before the encore was from his Soul Coughing days--Soft Serve--and was, for my money, the highlight of the evening.
I was worried about the Question Jar element of the evening. Stage banter is good, but only if the person doing it is witty enough to make you care. Good singers, it is my experience, aren't always great at banter. It was nice, though, the way that Scrap and Doughty managed to interact and answer questions thoughtfully.
I think the Duck Room wasn't a great venue for this show. I'd never been there before but some frustrated post-show tweets lead me to believe that it isn't a good venue for bands who want the quiet, intimate show that a space that small has the potential to provide. I'm not sure, though, what would've been better. Off Broadway, perhaps? The only thing I know for sure is that I will probably not go back to the Duck Room any time soon.
Overall, a good show. Not a great show, but that was more to do with the venue and the concert goers than the performer.
That having been said, I have to start out this review by saying that this concert "experience" was the worst I've ever had. There were these guys standing behind me that would. not. shut. up. Seriously...for the entire show, they were either talking really loudly or singing really loudly. And no amount of looks or subtle 'hey...do you mind?' comments would shut them up. They were hell bent on being "those guys" at this show. They were clearly fans of Doughty because they knew all the words to all the songs. Doughty himself even had to ask the audience to 'take it down a level' not once but twice.
The best part of the evening was when the lady next to me lost her shit and yelled at Doughty.
The exchange went something like this:
Lady: Do you ever go to someone's job and take the broom out of their hands?
Doughty: Huh?
Lady (slower): Do you ever go to someone's job and take the broom out of their hands?
Doughty: Uh...no?
Lady: Those guys (pointing behind her) are stealing your broom, Dude.
The guys didn't get booted, but at least her public shaming shut them up for five seconds. I would love to buy this lady a beer. Do you know her?
That having been said, the show was pretty awesome. I think the venue wasn't quite right, but Mike Doughty and Scrap were awesome. It was a "Question Jar" show, which meant that Doughty played acoustic guitar and his only accompaniment was Andrew 'Scrap' Livingston on the cello or bass guitar. It also means that the audience got to submit questions which Doughty and Scrap answered during the course of the evening.
Turns out that Doughty won't play at your wedding, loves cherry sno cones, would go to the 1982 Knoxville World's Fair in a Time Machine, loves Steinbeck, and only sometimes misses the drugs. Also, he's still f***ing that chicken.
The limitations of playing an acoustic set meant that Doughty had to make careful choices about which songs he could tackle. Some of his catalog just doesn't stand up to that kind of limitation. But he did pull out a couple of surprises--top among them was Saint Louise is Listening. He also played a lot of songs you'd expect him to play in a setting like that--Janine, Unsingable name, Madeline and Nine, I Hear the Bells. He pimped the new album, playing about half of it. Standouts included (He's got the) Whole World (in His hands) and (You should be) Doubly (Gratified).
Staying true to his roots, his "fake last song" before the encore was from his Soul Coughing days--Soft Serve--and was, for my money, the highlight of the evening.
I was worried about the Question Jar element of the evening. Stage banter is good, but only if the person doing it is witty enough to make you care. Good singers, it is my experience, aren't always great at banter. It was nice, though, the way that Scrap and Doughty managed to interact and answer questions thoughtfully.
I think the Duck Room wasn't a great venue for this show. I'd never been there before but some frustrated post-show tweets lead me to believe that it isn't a good venue for bands who want the quiet, intimate show that a space that small has the potential to provide. I'm not sure, though, what would've been better. Off Broadway, perhaps? The only thing I know for sure is that I will probably not go back to the Duck Room any time soon.
Overall, a good show. Not a great show, but that was more to do with the venue and the concert goers than the performer.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Matt and Kim: Heroes of New Sincerity
Okay, so there's this phenomenon known as "New Sincerity."
Basically, New Sincerity thumbs its nose at postmodern cynicism. It's an oversimplified explanation, but it'll do. Most notably, New Sincerity has been linked to Jesse Thorn's show The Sound of Young America. Heroes of the New Sincerity include Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, and Shaq.
I went to see the band Matt and Kim last night, and walked away believing that they, too, could be considered Heroes of the New Sincerity. Two musicians from Brooklyn, Matt and Kim seemed to be having the time of their lives as they danced, handclapped, and crowd surfed their way through their hour-long set.
If you've heard the Bacardi ad that features the song 'Daylight,' you've heard Matt and Kim. And though their second album is way more polished than their first, the song clip in the ad gives you the basic idea of who they are.
The set was tight and featured a ton of songs while, at the same time, making room for banter that rivals that of Banter Queens Tegan and Sara. Highlights included the aforementioned Daylight as well as Kim singing on Lessons Learned, a song they debuted at last night's show.
The band seemed genuinely overwhelmed that they had such a large crowd (300+) show up for the show. They made every effort to keep it clean for the kidlets in the audience (as an aside: who takes elementary aged kids to an all-ages show on a school night? Matt and Kim didn't even go on until 10!) and they put themselves on risers on the stage so that people in the back of the club could see them.
The show ended with an impromptu dance party and the band sticking around to take pictures with the horde of starstruck fans.
At first, I couldn't imagine that Matt and Kim were sincere. They were so...happy. And energetic. I was sure this was an indie rock joke that I just didn't get. I was sure that they were jaded hipsters who would reveal their true selves before the set was over. The thing is, as the set went on I grew more confident that they really were sincere. They just really love playing music and they love the fans who come to their show.
So, in conclusion, Matt and Kim are awesome. And heroes of the New Sincerity.
Basically, New Sincerity thumbs its nose at postmodern cynicism. It's an oversimplified explanation, but it'll do. Most notably, New Sincerity has been linked to Jesse Thorn's show The Sound of Young America. Heroes of the New Sincerity include Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, and Shaq.
I went to see the band Matt and Kim last night, and walked away believing that they, too, could be considered Heroes of the New Sincerity. Two musicians from Brooklyn, Matt and Kim seemed to be having the time of their lives as they danced, handclapped, and crowd surfed their way through their hour-long set.
If you've heard the Bacardi ad that features the song 'Daylight,' you've heard Matt and Kim. And though their second album is way more polished than their first, the song clip in the ad gives you the basic idea of who they are.
The set was tight and featured a ton of songs while, at the same time, making room for banter that rivals that of Banter Queens Tegan and Sara. Highlights included the aforementioned Daylight as well as Kim singing on Lessons Learned, a song they debuted at last night's show.
The band seemed genuinely overwhelmed that they had such a large crowd (300+) show up for the show. They made every effort to keep it clean for the kidlets in the audience (as an aside: who takes elementary aged kids to an all-ages show on a school night? Matt and Kim didn't even go on until 10!) and they put themselves on risers on the stage so that people in the back of the club could see them.
The show ended with an impromptu dance party and the band sticking around to take pictures with the horde of starstruck fans.
At first, I couldn't imagine that Matt and Kim were sincere. They were so...happy. And energetic. I was sure this was an indie rock joke that I just didn't get. I was sure that they were jaded hipsters who would reveal their true selves before the set was over. The thing is, as the set went on I grew more confident that they really were sincere. They just really love playing music and they love the fans who come to their show.
So, in conclusion, Matt and Kim are awesome. And heroes of the New Sincerity.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Concert review: BTE at the Pageant
I was nineteen the first time I saw Better Than Ezra. I was a sophomore in college and they were touring behind How does your garden grow. It was an epic show that ended with them playing an acoustic set in the parking lot because the sound in the venue was terrible. I feel in love with Kevin, Tom, and Travis and have been a BTE junkie ever since.
On Saturday night, I saw Better Than Ezra for the ninth time at the Pageant. Nine times of seeing one band over eleven years seems staggering, right?
The long and short of it is, I'm not as young as I used to be. And, honestly, neither is BTE.
The biggest change to the band is new drummer, Michael Jerome, who made his StL debut on Saturday night. Travis McNabb, the band's long-time drummer, left the band to tour with Sugarland. Jerome, who certainly has mad drumming skillz, brings a different flavor to the band. McNabb's larger-than-life persona and tendency toward the flashy were replaced by Jerome's understatedness. In my mind, it moved BTE from feeling like a trio toward feeling like a duo with a touring keyboardist and drummer.
The band opened with Turn on the bright lights, the hallmark of how far the band has come in the 20 years they've been making music. A mid-tempo rock song, Turn on the bright lights is a 'nothing special' kind of tune that gets new life breathed into it when played live. For whatever you can say about how lame Better Than Ezra has become, you can hardly question their skills at playing live. They have the audience in the palm of their collective hand from the first note to the last chord.
The first three songs featured a very distracted Kevin. He was having problems with the amp, and he flat out didn't sing about 1/3 of Misunderstood. I would've preferred that they stop the show for a minute rather than this half-assed attempt to keep the show going despite technical difficulties.
The band finally got its act together and played an impressive show filled with songs from Paper Empire, some older hits, and some quirky covers. I would've preferred more songs from How does your garden grow and Closer, but a die hard fan always leaves wanting more, right?
All in all, BTE has lost a half-step over the past few years, but proved they can still get a crowd up and moving.
Set list:
Turn on the bright lights
Good
Misunderstood
All in
Extraordinary feat. Sexy Back (cover--Justin Timberlake)
Absolutely still
King of New Orleans
Sincerely Me
Get you in
Live again
Boom boom pow interlude feat. Michael Jerome's drumming
Nightclubbing
Laid (cover--James song)
Juicy feat. Miss You (cover--Rolling Stones)
Desperately wanting
Encore 1 (just Kevin--acoustic):
Jolene (cover--Ray LaMontagne)
Porcelain
Encore 2 (entire band):
Just one day
Let my love open the door (cover--Pete Townsend)
In the blood feat. Song 2 (cover--Blur)
On Saturday night, I saw Better Than Ezra for the ninth time at the Pageant. Nine times of seeing one band over eleven years seems staggering, right?
The long and short of it is, I'm not as young as I used to be. And, honestly, neither is BTE.
The biggest change to the band is new drummer, Michael Jerome, who made his StL debut on Saturday night. Travis McNabb, the band's long-time drummer, left the band to tour with Sugarland. Jerome, who certainly has mad drumming skillz, brings a different flavor to the band. McNabb's larger-than-life persona and tendency toward the flashy were replaced by Jerome's understatedness. In my mind, it moved BTE from feeling like a trio toward feeling like a duo with a touring keyboardist and drummer.
The band opened with Turn on the bright lights, the hallmark of how far the band has come in the 20 years they've been making music. A mid-tempo rock song, Turn on the bright lights is a 'nothing special' kind of tune that gets new life breathed into it when played live. For whatever you can say about how lame Better Than Ezra has become, you can hardly question their skills at playing live. They have the audience in the palm of their collective hand from the first note to the last chord.
The first three songs featured a very distracted Kevin. He was having problems with the amp, and he flat out didn't sing about 1/3 of Misunderstood. I would've preferred that they stop the show for a minute rather than this half-assed attempt to keep the show going despite technical difficulties.
The band finally got its act together and played an impressive show filled with songs from Paper Empire, some older hits, and some quirky covers. I would've preferred more songs from How does your garden grow and Closer, but a die hard fan always leaves wanting more, right?
All in all, BTE has lost a half-step over the past few years, but proved they can still get a crowd up and moving.
Set list:
Turn on the bright lights
Good
Misunderstood
All in
Extraordinary feat. Sexy Back (cover--Justin Timberlake)
Absolutely still
King of New Orleans
Sincerely Me
Get you in
Live again
Boom boom pow interlude feat. Michael Jerome's drumming
Nightclubbing
Laid (cover--James song)
Juicy feat. Miss You (cover--Rolling Stones)
Desperately wanting
Encore 1 (just Kevin--acoustic):
Jolene (cover--Ray LaMontagne)
Porcelain
Encore 2 (entire band):
Just one day
Let my love open the door (cover--Pete Townsend)
In the blood feat. Song 2 (cover--Blur)
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