I'm completely drained and nearly deaf today after the concert at the Fine Line last night. The venue is a smaller version of First Avenue with classier floors giving the place a golden tint instead of seeming like a dark pit. My biggest qualm with this concert was the crowd. Normally, people keep to their place and move aside when someone passes through. The people around me were spot stealing vultures that moved every time you stepped slightly to the side to talk to your friend. As the night went on, the people crammed in closer as if the walls were closing in. Generally, it's nice of you to keep to your area and avoid too much jolting about so as you don't elbow strangers in the side when trying to mime things for your girlfriend. Since you can't generalize about such things, I didn't care that I bounced off everyone around me whilst grooving to the music for the rest of the night.
The three acts that night had a progression in themselves from grungy to clean cut. Nearly every member of Louis XIV had a greasy mullet going except for the two violinists. It was fitting for their hard rock tunes led by their drunken master (he took a swig from a bottle of wine after and sometimes during every song). One of the things that surprised me was the backup singer. He had his moments and his own songs and boy was he singing high up. His nasally singing received grand applause every time he sang solo, but sometimes unfortunately sounded like an alto chipmunk. All in all, they were an entertaining motley crew but I won't go searching for their next gig.
However, the other two bands I'd love to see again. They would both be from the UK.
Hot Hot Heat has the power pop/rock down. The entire set was a huge bundle of energy, pushed out by the band and sent back by the crowd. The lead constantly shuffled back and forth on the stage to sing to both sides. I thought he might swallow his mic because of how wide his mouth would open. I loved the feel of it all, but I couldn't help cringing when the singer threw back his head and a rainstorm of sweat would fly into the air. I'll just be ignoring that little factor. When the band left the stage, the drummer told some people in the crowd to come buy him a drink. Nothing like socializing over a pint.
Then there was the band I came to see: Editors. They were the nicely trimmed short hair group of the evening. I must say, some of their songs I didn't really care for. What I basically knew was I loved "Munich" and some of their other songs were okay too. Their sound live enhanced the originals beyond levels I imagined. I could pick out each part clearly without struggling, which might have attributed to my massive hearing loss that night. Many songs I never really listened to are now embedded in my brain. The Editor's lead looked like if you mixed Shia LaBeouf and younger Edward Norton, at least I think so even if Gretchen doesn't agree with me. It seemed as though he was pouring his soul into his music, so much so that he bent low over his piano sometimes to the point of collapsing. A bit awkward, but understandable. The Editors may have more mellow vocals but they brought the intensity and pace of HHH. The lights are obviously the coolest for the headliner, so the whole ambiance was brilliant. After the concert, my feelings about the band changed from "like" to "love".
There was one band that had a few mess-ups I found amusing, but it's been so long since the concert, I can't even remember who, what and when. It took me long enough to finish this post I began a week ago.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Checking In With the Locals
Found this comment on Hockey Night's MySpace:
"My god are you the most frustrating band on the planet?
Where the fuck are you? I NEEEEEED Hockey Night."
My feelings exactly. I can't even remember the last time I saw them (I do remember it was a bit lacking though). My iPod music changes relatively often when I get new tunes or get sick of tunes, but HN's For Guys' Eyes Only hasn't ever left. Of the 400 some songs currently on my iPod, it managed to be randomly shuffled back into my life.
Please come back soon, Hockey Night.
At least Roster McCabe is coming out of hibernation February 23. Missed Kubla Khan as they crept from the shadows for a few January shows. Of the many Hopefuls related bands, Kid Dakota is the only one with shows coming up of which there are several so I need to finally see them! I'm thinking Feb. 9 at the Triple Rock! ^-^
"My god are you the most frustrating band on the planet?
Where the fuck are you? I NEEEEEED Hockey Night."
My feelings exactly. I can't even remember the last time I saw them (I do remember it was a bit lacking though). My iPod music changes relatively often when I get new tunes or get sick of tunes, but HN's For Guys' Eyes Only hasn't ever left. Of the 400 some songs currently on my iPod, it managed to be randomly shuffled back into my life.
Please come back soon, Hockey Night.
At least Roster McCabe is coming out of hibernation February 23. Missed Kubla Khan as they crept from the shadows for a few January shows. Of the many Hopefuls related bands, Kid Dakota is the only one with shows coming up of which there are several so I need to finally see them! I'm thinking Feb. 9 at the Triple Rock! ^-^
Friday, January 11, 2008
The Bird and the Bee Concert - 1/10
The Bird and the Bee were kindly welcomed by a full house at the Varsity Theater last night. The Varsity was looking chic with full carpeting, seven disco balls and little christmas trees tucked in corners. The crowd trickled in for the first hour to form what looked like a sell out show. The opening band sounded more like the recorded ambient music that played as people mingled instead of an in the flesh performance. I hardly remember much more than they played soft rock.
Another thirty minute wait though there was no mass set change needed and Bird and the Bee stepped out. Inara was the voice and the storyteller while Greg played the life out of his guitar and various keyboards. All the backup singing was prerecorded so just the two of them were there. Inara wore a fun pink, orange and white polka dot dress while Greg just had a casual black suit and white tie. The music was twisted enough to be different but not ruin their songs. At the end of Because, Greg pulled out a tiny keyboard that played notes that sounded amusingly like techno dog noises. They played one new song that's expected on a digital Valentine's Day EP. Keep your eyes peeled, it's worth a listen.
Between songs, Inara semi-awkardly told stories with swearing and an occasional flop ("that was a joke" she had to inform us). But she praised the audience enough to keep them happy when she told her weird stories. Minnesota is apparently colder than Canada. My favorite story was about her friend's shirts. The friend thought that if her shirts weren't worn in awhile they felt neglected. Poor shirts. In the end, they just spun around to pretend they had gone off stage and immediately followed with their encore.
Overall, The Bird and the Bee pleased. They could work on their stage presence, especially the quiet Greg (except when he was strumming that acoustic guitar!), but I'm sure they'll have another sell out next time they come around. My pictures and vid of the event are a pathetic blurry distant mess. We stood so far back we were five steps from the merch table. I like it back there many times, particularly when it's a newish band to me or I want to see the whole stage. Plenty of heads were in the way, but we all enjoyed our time squeezed in the Varsity. I found myself wishing for Mates of State seeing the duo up on stage. I hope they'll be touring around by fall since they're recording a new album with Jim Eno. But who knows with their brand new kid (congrats to them).
Inara and Greg in shake-o-cam
Inara on bass
Greg; I thought it was cool how he seemed like the only thing in it.
Another thirty minute wait though there was no mass set change needed and Bird and the Bee stepped out. Inara was the voice and the storyteller while Greg played the life out of his guitar and various keyboards. All the backup singing was prerecorded so just the two of them were there. Inara wore a fun pink, orange and white polka dot dress while Greg just had a casual black suit and white tie. The music was twisted enough to be different but not ruin their songs. At the end of Because, Greg pulled out a tiny keyboard that played notes that sounded amusingly like techno dog noises. They played one new song that's expected on a digital Valentine's Day EP. Keep your eyes peeled, it's worth a listen.
Between songs, Inara semi-awkardly told stories with swearing and an occasional flop ("that was a joke" she had to inform us). But she praised the audience enough to keep them happy when she told her weird stories. Minnesota is apparently colder than Canada. My favorite story was about her friend's shirts. The friend thought that if her shirts weren't worn in awhile they felt neglected. Poor shirts. In the end, they just spun around to pretend they had gone off stage and immediately followed with their encore.
Overall, The Bird and the Bee pleased. They could work on their stage presence, especially the quiet Greg (except when he was strumming that acoustic guitar!), but I'm sure they'll have another sell out next time they come around. My pictures and vid of the event are a pathetic blurry distant mess. We stood so far back we were five steps from the merch table. I like it back there many times, particularly when it's a newish band to me or I want to see the whole stage. Plenty of heads were in the way, but we all enjoyed our time squeezed in the Varsity. I found myself wishing for Mates of State seeing the duo up on stage. I hope they'll be touring around by fall since they're recording a new album with Jim Eno. But who knows with their brand new kid (congrats to them).
Inara and Greg in shake-o-cam
Inara on bass
Greg; I thought it was cool how he seemed like the only thing in it.
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
My friends at home in Louisiana and I decided that instead of exchanging Christmas presents this year, we would instead exchange mix CDs. I was pretty excited about this plan, as I kind of tend to be a fan of imposing my musical tastes on other people. Oh, and acquiring lots of new music from my friends with very little effort has been pretty great as well.
Before I listened to the CD that one of my friends had made, she told me that a couple of the songs were by a band that had actually played in my hometown last summer. They're called Them Who Must Not Be Named and, as their name suggests, they mostly sing about things relating to Harry Potter.
From what I've heard, their story is something like this: The three or four members of the band met at a release party for the sixth Harry Potter book, and they decided that they should form a band. Even though they don't even all live in the area, between the release of the sixth and seventh Harry Potter books they managed to scrape together something like five songs for a CD, then performed them at a local release party for the seventh book. That was really all they wanted to do and, having served their purpose, they disbanded immediately after.
All of this didn't really make me believe that this band would be terribly worth listening to. The list of Bands Who Have Played In My Hometown is very unimpressive, both in length and in content, and while bands like Harry and the Potters or Draco and the Malfoys can entertain me for a little while, it's hard for me to take them entirely seriously. But in the course of listening to the CD my friend made, I of course listened to Them Who Must Not Be Named. And contrary to my snobbish expectations, they are actually good.
I realize that it's hard to say that a band is Good when they only have five known songs and when I've only heard three of them. But what I mean is that they have a good sound, something of a mix of Rilo Kiley and Tilly and the Wall and something a little different. They're cute and happy, and their somewhat unpolished sound seems intentional (think Sunny Day Real Estate) rather than due to the things that are certainly actually to blame (lack of funds and such). My friend mislabeled the track listing for her CD and completely left one of their songs off of it. I listened to the mysterious unlabeled track on the CD a few times before I asked my friend what it was and had absolutely no idea that it was by them. No joke. They sound that much like a Real Band.
All in all the band's songs were a pleasant surprise and I wish there were more of them. I'm not saying that everyone should rush out and listen to them, because I honestly don't know where they would exist outside of a bookstore in Bossier City, Louisiana in July of 2007. It's just that they came together so randomly, and very likely didn't take their little project seriously, but then they actually did something impressive. I can't help but wonder what might have happened had these people come together for more than five songs and one night, or how many other little groups are out there who truly have the potential to do something but, for whatever reason, either don't want to or can't make themselves heard past a small community. Of course there is the possibility that a band like Them Who Must Not Be Named would lose its momentum after five songs and fall into the Okay category, but really, who knows? Apparently nobody, because they're already over. But it's interesting to speculate.
In high school my Very Smart friend gave me a CD he'd made entitled "Unsigned Bands" and told me that I would probably only like about seven of the songs on it. He was exactly right, as it turned out. I told him so and said that some bands are unsigned for a reason. But, I'm realizing, not all of them.
Before I listened to the CD that one of my friends had made, she told me that a couple of the songs were by a band that had actually played in my hometown last summer. They're called Them Who Must Not Be Named and, as their name suggests, they mostly sing about things relating to Harry Potter.
From what I've heard, their story is something like this: The three or four members of the band met at a release party for the sixth Harry Potter book, and they decided that they should form a band. Even though they don't even all live in the area, between the release of the sixth and seventh Harry Potter books they managed to scrape together something like five songs for a CD, then performed them at a local release party for the seventh book. That was really all they wanted to do and, having served their purpose, they disbanded immediately after.
All of this didn't really make me believe that this band would be terribly worth listening to. The list of Bands Who Have Played In My Hometown is very unimpressive, both in length and in content, and while bands like Harry and the Potters or Draco and the Malfoys can entertain me for a little while, it's hard for me to take them entirely seriously. But in the course of listening to the CD my friend made, I of course listened to Them Who Must Not Be Named. And contrary to my snobbish expectations, they are actually good.
I realize that it's hard to say that a band is Good when they only have five known songs and when I've only heard three of them. But what I mean is that they have a good sound, something of a mix of Rilo Kiley and Tilly and the Wall and something a little different. They're cute and happy, and their somewhat unpolished sound seems intentional (think Sunny Day Real Estate) rather than due to the things that are certainly actually to blame (lack of funds and such). My friend mislabeled the track listing for her CD and completely left one of their songs off of it. I listened to the mysterious unlabeled track on the CD a few times before I asked my friend what it was and had absolutely no idea that it was by them. No joke. They sound that much like a Real Band.
All in all the band's songs were a pleasant surprise and I wish there were more of them. I'm not saying that everyone should rush out and listen to them, because I honestly don't know where they would exist outside of a bookstore in Bossier City, Louisiana in July of 2007. It's just that they came together so randomly, and very likely didn't take their little project seriously, but then they actually did something impressive. I can't help but wonder what might have happened had these people come together for more than five songs and one night, or how many other little groups are out there who truly have the potential to do something but, for whatever reason, either don't want to or can't make themselves heard past a small community. Of course there is the possibility that a band like Them Who Must Not Be Named would lose its momentum after five songs and fall into the Okay category, but really, who knows? Apparently nobody, because they're already over. But it's interesting to speculate.
In high school my Very Smart friend gave me a CD he'd made entitled "Unsigned Bands" and told me that I would probably only like about seven of the songs on it. He was exactly right, as it turned out. I told him so and said that some bands are unsigned for a reason. But, I'm realizing, not all of them.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
The Whigs and Super Furry Animals
Despite the fact that someone hasn't post anything, I have a few things.
I peruse some of the Minneapolis venue sites about once a month. Thankfully I do this otherwise I'd miss so many more gigs than I already do. Case and point: The Hives are coming. Yes!
Some other bands that caught my attention, if only for their name, are The Whigs and Super Furry Animals.
The Whigs: short, strange, old school British party and on the front page of the Varsity Theater page. I couldn't not look. Turns out they are based out of Athens, GA, home of the Elephant 6 collective. Point for them. Their nicely designed web page earns them more points (yay designers). Musically, I've been there done that, but they've got a mix of tried and true formulas that combined with a live performance could be worthwhile. For a mere Hamilton, I might give them a whirl.
Upon looking at their disco, I realized I did know of the Super Furry Animals. But it was the presence of their gig listing not just the Varsity, but the extra promotion on First Ave that tipped me off to you're stupid if you don't at least take a peek. Well these Welsh folk have a different sound, sometimes even in a different language. Their psychedelic webpage tips off the psychedelic music but with a different fusion of rock and ballad. Some of their songs seem more like an acquired taste I don't have, but I haven't completely written them off.
A hint for Gretchen: how about that new President's album? *wink wink*
Links for Whigs and SFA:
The Whigs Official Site
SFA Official Site
I peruse some of the Minneapolis venue sites about once a month. Thankfully I do this otherwise I'd miss so many more gigs than I already do. Case and point: The Hives are coming. Yes!
Some other bands that caught my attention, if only for their name, are The Whigs and Super Furry Animals.
The Whigs: short, strange, old school British party and on the front page of the Varsity Theater page. I couldn't not look. Turns out they are based out of Athens, GA, home of the Elephant 6 collective. Point for them. Their nicely designed web page earns them more points (yay designers). Musically, I've been there done that, but they've got a mix of tried and true formulas that combined with a live performance could be worthwhile. For a mere Hamilton, I might give them a whirl.
Upon looking at their disco, I realized I did know of the Super Furry Animals. But it was the presence of their gig listing not just the Varsity, but the extra promotion on First Ave that tipped me off to you're stupid if you don't at least take a peek. Well these Welsh folk have a different sound, sometimes even in a different language. Their psychedelic webpage tips off the psychedelic music but with a different fusion of rock and ballad. Some of their songs seem more like an acquired taste I don't have, but I haven't completely written them off.
A hint for Gretchen: how about that new President's album? *wink wink*
Links for Whigs and SFA:
The Whigs Official Site
SFA Official Site
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