Category Archives: Live Review

by | July 20, 2010 · 1:22 pm

TUiW Goes to the 2010 Pitchfork Music Festival

Pavement closes the festival

TUiW hit the 2010 Pitchfork Music Festival this past weekend, and for those that couldn’t make it out, here’s our blow by blow recap:

Friday
Arriving a little late at the festival, the first act I saw was Robyn, who brought a high energy set to the early evening of Day 1. Armed with a band that consisted of two keyboard/synth players and two drummers, Robyn started the dance party with chart-climbing single “Dancing On My Own,” but sadly left out her American breakthrough single, “Show Me Love.”

Broken Social Scene

Broken Social Scene followed, packing the stage as usual with 4-5 guitarists at once. The only downside of the set was Lisa Lobsinger, filling the role occasionally filed by Feist, Emily Haines, or Amy Millan. Lobsinger has a great voice, and “All to All” is one of my favorite tracks on Forgiveness Rock Record, but Lobsinger hardly swayed as she sang and brought little energy to the high energy band. Her bandmates however brought the fire, especially with closer “Meet Me in the Basement,” their instrumental “anthem” as Kevin Drew called it. Closing out the day were indie rock stallwarts Modest Mouse, who took to the stage with “Tiny Cities Made of Ashes” and largely played some of their deeper cuts alongside singles “Dashboard” and “Satellite Skin.” Issac Brock screamed and shared knowledge with the crowd, but it was during Modest Mouse that the first signs of Pitchfork’s poor stage setups started to show. Anyone to the side or too far past the sound tent had a hard time hearing any of the banter, and the music was garbled. All this aside though, the band put on a great show.

Saturday
Opening the day were Free Energy, the James Murphy-produced outfit that genuinely seemed overjoyed to be playing at the festival. The band bounced their way through the impossibly catchy “Free Energy” and “Bang Pop,” and most definitely won over a slew of new fans. Real Estate was a great early choice, with their gentle rocking floating through the oppressive heat before Delorean brought up the energy level with a frantic set that at times evoked M83, if M83 were huge U2 fans. They were followed by one of Saturday’s best acts, Titus Andronicus,

Titus Andronicus

who got the weekend’s first mosh pit going as they ripped through tracks from The Monitor and got the crowed to yell in unison “You’ll always be a loser!” from “The Future, Pt. 3.” The band got major props in my book for dedicating a song to a girl in attendance that they had heard had been in an accident and missed a prior show, a classy move. Unfortunately, the high of Titus Andronicus was followed with the low of Raekwon. Just after his DJ took the stage, technical problems hit, and the Wu Tang Clan member didn’t even hit the stage for another 10 minutes, where he was again slowed by technical glitches, that were followed up by a short, uninspired set that clearly had all of its energy drained from it. Over on the too small Balance Stage, the Smith Westerns put on a more than pleasant set in the shade that would have been better if the sound on the stage didn’t turn the vocals into an indecipherable mess. The smaller stage had a number of problems with, particularly that it was in a small space with limited ways in and out, but the poor sound system made it hard to hear anything if you weren’t positioned right at the sound tent. All of that was thrown out the window during Wolf Parade, who didn’t need banter to show they were clearly loving playing the festival. The band didn’t slow down at all, blasting songs from their superb Expo 86, as well as older cuts like “This Hearts On Fire” and “Soldier’s Grin.” The highlight however came with the monstrous “Kissing the Beehive” closing the set, sending the crowd into a tizzy. All of that excitement would then be immediately followed by the much dissed set by Panda Bear, which consisted mainly of Noah Lennox holding down a few keys on a synthesizer and yelping every now and then as crazy images played on the big screens. The epic scope of Person Pitch was nowhere to be found, and left me hoping that Tomboy sounds better on record than it did live. The night was closed with an epic set by LCD Soundsystem, helped in part by a crowd that was so ready to go nuts they started cheering when the giant disco ball was raised above the stage well before it started. Now, I’ve seen James Murphy and Co. a few times, but this was easily the best. Though the set lacked much of This Is Happening (only “Drunk Girls,” “Pow Pow,” and “I Can Change”), the crowd went absolutely nuts during a particularly pulsing rendition of our favorite song, “All My Friends.” Though few of the twentysomething hipsters can identify with a song about being an aging hipster, the song hit the right note, and created a frenzy of dancing and singing along that was a major highlight of the festival. Capping their set, the band played the chorus of “Empire State of Mind” before hitting the reprise of “New York I Love You, But You’re Bringing Me Down,” ending the day on a really high note.

Sunday

Best Coast

Kicking off my last day of the festival was Best Coast, a band was really excited to see. Bethany Cosentino led the trio through songs from the band’s early singles and EPs, before giving a taste of her forthcoming album Crazy For You, which sounded great. She also got in one of the best punchlines of the festival, joking, “You guys remember Woodstock in the 90s? This reminds me of that.” While Girls played a set that sounded pretty close to their record, Washed Out produced a great set of chillwave jams, but I personally had a hard time getting into a guy playing with his laptop, so it could have been better. Just as the sun went behind the clouds for a while, Beach House took the stage, bringing the soft sounds of Victoria Legrand’s voice and Alex Scally’s spiky guitar to a crowd that seemed more than happy to slowly nod their heads as they jammed along. Songs like “Walk in the Park” carry a little more power live, adding some extra punch to the Teen Dream tracks. Local Natives played to a huge crowd surrounding the tiny Balance Stage, bringing tracks from Gorilla Manor to life with their three part harmonies and thundering drums. Surfer Blood too played to a big crowd, bringing a little more rock with their now polished live act that didn’t disappoint. Next up came a phenomenal set by St. Vincent,

St. Vincent

who played all material from Actor with a tight backing band that brought the grandeur of the record into a smaller, but equally stunning sound. Annie Clark brought some of the best guitar work of the weekend to tracks like “Just the Same But Brand New” in a set that, while perhaps a bit too soft for its timeslot, was among the best of the weekend by far. Here We Go Magic impressed me quite a bit, bringing an energy I didn’t expect and getting the crowd moving through the hot afternoon. Everyone that wasn’t at Here We Go Magic was busy at Major Lazer, the Diplo-led crazy factory that featured Chinese dragons, ladder leaps, and a huge party. A Major Lazer show can really be described in so many ways, but its truthfully something that has to be seen for its total craziness be believed. Anyone that was wiped out by Major Lazer got a blast of the chillwave from Neon Indian, who brought a whole band together to groove through tacks like “Terminally Chill” for a big crowd. After Neon Indian, many people stuck around for noise duo Sleigh Bells, but with Neon Indian running over and technical delays, the band went on quite late, and apparently suffered through some sound issues, before finally breaking through and bringing the noise. Meanwhile, Big Boi led the crowd through songs from solo and Outkast repertoires, and even brought with him a crew of really awesome 10-and-under breakdancers. And then it was time for Pavement, the big draw of the weekend. With Drag City’s Rian Murphy offering a hilarious sequel to an act he used to do in Pavement’s heyday opening (highlighted by his claim that, “I’ve been listening to Pavement since 1991, so I’ve been waiting for this reunion for 20 years!”), the mood was frantic for the band, who shut down the festivals webcast under suspicious circumstances. The set was a little more uneven than their triumphant turn at Coachella, with songs like “Stop Breathin,” “Stereo,” and “The Hexx,” hitting perfectly, and others, such as “In The Mouth A Desert” and “Cut Your Hair” coming out sloppily. They still served as a fantastic closer for the weekend, which was laden with more bright spots than otherwise. Pitchfork puts on a great festival, with its small size, constant flow of sets, and high quality acts. If issues like the sound and size of the Balance Stage can get worked out, then there’s nothing to stop Pitchfork from being among the best festivals in the country.

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by | April 22, 2010 · 4:58 pm

TUIW Goes to Coachella: Sunday

Stephen Malkmus of Pavement

TUiW spent the past weekend in Indio, CA for this year’s Coachella festival. Here’s our recap of Sunday:

Local Natives
The L.A. band got a lot of support from the locals at Coachella, who packed the tent well in advance of their set. Local Natives worked through tracks off of their stellar debut Gorilla Manor, and brought even more energy to tracks already filled with plenty. Album stand outs “Sun Hands” and “Airplanes” sound even more gorgeous live, as the band’s stellar harmonies floated over a more raw, live sound. With a great debut and a tight live performance, the future looks awfully bright for Local Natives.

Owen Pallet
Owen Pallett brought his quirky, formal style of violin and looping (complete with a multi-instrumentalist accompanying him) and focused mostly on tracks from Heartland, his really good new album. The show also featured Pallett’s amiably goofy stage presence, like when he referred to the stage he shared with Jonsi and Bradford Cox as the “gay ghetto” and then asked his accompanist if he had tried “cornholing.”

Deerhunter
Though they were beleaguered with technical problems, Deerhunter put on a fantastic live set, thanks in large part to the enthusiasm of frontman Bradford cox. During one particular technical setback, Cox improvised a Coachella songs, pondering the number of people who OD’ed or had faulty condoms. He also gave a shout-out to fellow Coachella performer Julian Casablancas before closing with “Disappearing Ink,” on which he admitted to ripping off Casablancas’ vocal style. The rest of the set was full of fantastic, fuzzed out jams, with the highlight being a great version of “Nothing Ever Happened.”

Yo La Tengo
It was oddly delightful to see Yo La Tengo, a band that has toiled so long in relative obscurity, play the main stage of a major festival. Their brief set functioned as a kind of greatest hits and the band tore through songs like “Autumn Sweater” and “You Can Have It All” (complete with some stylish dance moves) while saving enough time for one of their trademark noise freakouts at the end. All in all, it was an immensely satisfying set from a great band.

Spoon
Continuing the theme of unexpected bands triumphantly taking their rightful place as festival headlines, Spoon played a great set to an adoring audience. While the show didn’t reach further back than Kill the Moonlight, it featured all of Spoon’s newest essentials, even if the crowd didn’t seem as into the songs from their newest album. Also, Bradford Cox joined the band on guitar for “Who Makes Your Money.”

Pavement
For what we’d estimate was a sizeable minority of Coachella-goers, this was it. The reason we shelled out $300 and drove 20 hours to a desert in the middle of nowhere in California. So was it worth? Hell yes. From the first strains of “Silence Kit” to the triumphant finish of “Cut Your Hair,” Pavement was back with an energy and a fire that betrays the slacker storyline. Playing a range of music from across their career (but centered on Slanted and Enchanted and Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain) Pavement was, simply, everything we dreamed they’d be.

Thom Yorke and Atoms for Peace
They weren’t Radiohead, but Thom Yorke’s new band injected new life into 2006′s good-not-great The Eraser (which they played through from start to finish). Yorke was bouncy and energetic (and had a bit of an unofficial dance-off with Flea) and all the stuff he played was great, but the highpoint was when he played “Airbag” on just an acoustic guitar and then moved to a piano for “Everything in Its Right Place.”

Gorillaz
A somewhat disappointing end to Coachella, Gorillaz much lauded stage showed was stripped down, with the band appearing as themselves as pictures and weird video clips playing behind them. The music was alright, but without the much discussed holograms or even a video of the cartoon’s singing, it was a fairly typical set. There was no Lou Reed appearance, as was the rumor floating around, but De La Soul (who performed on their own earlier in the day) and a video of Snoop Dog appeared to rock out with Damon Albarn and co.

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by | · 12:46 pm

TUIW Goes to Coachella: Saturday

Beach House

TUiW spent the past weekend in Indio, CA for this year’s Coachella festival. Here’s our recap of Saturday:

Beach House
When Beach House took the stage, they promised to “cool us off,” and they easily succeeded. Playing their dreamy pop in the middle of the day might not have seemed like the best of situations, but it was perfect, with the crowd gently swaying to tunes from their stellar Teen Dream, as well as favorites like the gorgeous “Gila.” Jay-Z was in the house watching (he reportedly saw The xx too) as the band did a cover of Gucci Mane’s “Lemonade,” which they passed off as a “work in progress.” One of the better sets of the weekend, Beach House started Saturday with a chill bang. (Just a note, we missed both Girls and Camera Obscura thanks to traffic and water lines. Thanks Coachella!)

The Raveonettes
With the rest of their band stuck in Europe due to the volcano in Iceland, the Raveonettes’ Sune Rose Wagner and Sharin Foo played on as a duo. This didn’t stop them from bringing the noise as Wagner’s droning, fuzzy guitar riffs blared over Foo’s bass and steady drumming. Both admitted to being nervous and uncertain about playing just the two of them, but they hardly missed a beat, playing their blend of 50′s and 60′s rock run through a blender with the Jesus and Mary Chain. The Raveonettes were one of the great surprises of the weekend with their really phenomenal set.

Dirty Projectors
In the year since we last saw the Dirty Projectors, they became some of the bigger indie darlings of 2009, thanks in part to their funky hit “Stillness is the Move.” The band didn’t disappoint at Coachella, their syncopated guitar riffs and perfectly timed vocal harmonies intertwining effortlessly. The Dirty Projectors have garnered all sorts of praise and dislike for their unique sound, but regardless of what you think, they are a terrific live act. The set was also made better by the fact that we stood right next to Vincent Chase himself, Adrian Grenier (!).

MGMT
Congratulations bro! MGMT is already getting a lot of flack for their new, different record, but you have to give them credit for sticking to their guns and playing new songs with as much gusto as the older, much loved ones. While the crowed danced and sang along to hits “Time to Pretend” and “Electric Feel,” they mostly seemed bored during the Congratulations tracks, and genuinely disappointed that the band didn’t even play “Kids.” It’s going to be an uphill climb for MGMT.

Major Lazer
Major Lazer was probably the most ridiculous live show of the whole weekend. Their show quickly turned into a sort of rave, with the unhappy MGMT fans coming over to dance and party. A manic blend of hip-hop, trance, and electronica, Major Lazer is all about one thing: dancing.

Flying Lotus
Though he was sadly not joined by Thom Yorke (who appears on his new record), Flying Lotus put on a great set of chopped beats and hooks, and appeared to be having way more fun than your average dude at a laptop. Like Major Lazer, Flying Lotus is all about dancing, but with more emphasis on hip-hop than dance. Those disappointed by the absence of Yorke were treated to an awesome live remix of the Radiohead track “Reckoner,” which stood out in an all around stellar set.

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by | April 21, 2010 · 6:59 pm

TUIW Goes to Coachella: Friday

Grizzly Bear perform at Coachella

UIW spent the past weekend in Indio, CA for this year’s Coachella festival. We just arrived back in our respective homes, so we’re working on our reviews, which will all be up over the next two days. To start though, here’s our recap of Friday.

P.O.S.

A former punk rocker who has since incorporated more rap into his repertoire, Minneapolis’ P.O.S. started Coachella off with a loud and raucous bang. While it’s too easy to call him “rap rock” P.O.S. definitely comes from that mold.

Baroness

Those of us here at TUIW aren’t the biggest of metal fans, but that didn’t stop us from enjoying Baroness. Each of their songs sounds like the epic finale, but there’s always one more. Baroness didn’t have a huge crowd listening, but it’s safe to say that everyone there was having a blast.

Sleigh Bells

It’s not hard to understand why M.I.A. is so smitten with Sleigh Bells, who put on a manic freakout of a show. Internet hits like “Crown on the Ground” sounded even better live, and songs from their forthcoming debut LP were fantastic. Get ready world, here comes Sleigh Bells.

Yeasayer

We only caught a little bit of Yeasayer, but they drew a huge crowd to see them. Making the most of their patented blend of indie styles, Yeasayer put on a somewhat expected show, one without much variety from their records. The highlight though was easily “2080,” with it’s crowd pleasing screaming at the end.

Ra Ra Riot

Both of us were impressed by Ra Ra Riot’s live show, which had so much more energy than their record might have suggested. The songs were all so much more immediate live than they were on the record. A samples of their new record were pretty good, making that one we’re excited for.

Lucero

The best way to describe Lucero is if the Drive-By Truckers played up their Springsteen influence a bit more. With horns filling in the gaps between the Southern Rock riffs, Lucero made the most of the small, but ardent crowd listening.

Grizzly Bear

Clearly the year spent touring behind Veckatimest has improved the live versions of its songs by the band. Playing to an enthusiastic crowd, the band absolutely blew the doors off songs like “Fine for Now,” while playing quieter songs like “Cheerleader” with the perfect amount of frailty. Both of us had seen them play Bonnaroo last year, and easily agreed this was a much better show.

LCD Soundsystem

James Murphy and Co. picked up exactly where they left off with the first show of the This Is Happening tour. The jury’s still out on the new stuff, but classics like ‘Us v Them,’ ‘All My Friends,’ and “Yeah” sounded as good as ever, and Murphy even improvised a hilarious verse on “Losing My Edge.”

Jay-Z

Jay commanded a crowd of 75,000people like no one we’ve ever seen before and clearly had fun doing it. His set was one of the weekend’s most anticipated and Hova didn’t disappoint. He tore through fan favorites like “HOVA” and “99 Problems” and was easily our favorite of the weekend’s three headliners.

Fever Ray

Given how rare a show from Fever Ray (or The Knife, for that matter) is, her set on Friday night was a can’t miss show that didn’t disappoint. Backed by an awesome band and a trippy light show, Karin Andersson played all the key tracks from her solo debut and ended the first day on a high note.

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by | March 22, 2010 · 1:51 pm

TUIW Goes to SXSW

The music section of SXSW is really more like an alternative Spring Break than some sort of professional music conference. From Tuesday night to Saturday (technically Sunday morning) I saw pieces of over 60 shows by pretty much every member of the indie rock class of 2009-10. I’m not going to go into every band I saw, so instead, let’s talk about a smattering of the most interesting ones.

TUESDAY:

Metric: There was a time where Metric was one of my favorite bands, but a lengthy hiatus and a weak follow-up album killed some of my enthusiasm. Still, live, the band is a force to be reckoned with and their style of slick, highly polished pop-punk is so distinctive and big that I’m a little surprised they aren’t a much more famous band. Their show at the huge Fader Fort on Tuesday showed that Metric are a band that could have no problems entertaining arena-sized crowds, if only they could sell enough tickets.

WEDNESDAY:

Here We Go Magic: I know HWGM as friends and tourmates of Grizzly Bear and for their excellent first record, which was pretty sedate and deliberate. So I wasn’t expecting their show to be as raucous and thumping as it turned out to be. The songs were ratcheted up and their new stuff, for a record due out later this year, was quite good.

jj: jj put out one of my favorite records of 2009 but they were, without a doubt, the biggest disappointment of the week. Their show consisted of singer Elin Kastlander standing alone on a bare stage while someone hit play on instrumental versions of their songs, which she then sang over, without enthusiasm or energy. The bands other member, Joakim Benon, eventually wandered through, lit a cigarette, and stared at her while she sang. As performance art, jj’s set was kind of amazing, but as a show, it sucked.

Sleigh Bells: Sleigh Bells, however, were as advertised. One of the hottest bands to spring to life in the last 12 months, pretty much all of their praise has focused on their live show, since the band only has a few demos to its name as far as recorded output goes. Nonetheless, their show was a frenetic dance party, almost as if a Madonna show and a Metallica show were happening on the same stage at the same time. Unlike other bands, Sleigh Bells found a nice balance between utilizing loops and samples and actually putting on a show.

THURSDAY:

Local Natives: Local Natives just put out their kind of incredible new record a few weeks ago, and arrived at SXSW at the perfect time to build on that buzz. Their songs have a pop live that I wasn’t expecting, while bringing out the energy and sunny pop vibe in their music. I saw them twice and was impressed both times, especially with their insanely catchy single “Airplanes” which seems destined to be in a car commercial very soon.

Surfer Blood: By my rough estimation, Surfer Blood played approximately 3,200 shows at SXSW, which makes sense since their record is perfect spring break music. Filled with chunky guitar riffs (Weezer is a common reference, but I’d compare their single “Swim” more to Van Halen) and thumping percussion, Surfer Blood makes music that is perfect for a sunny, boozy day. But, while their show was serviceable, it lacked the energy that comes across on the record.

The Besnard Lakes: Led by a husband and wife duo from Canada, The Besnard Lakes make music with the rustic feel of Grizzly Bear, but the sweeping grandeur of The Arcade Fire. I would hazard a guess that Stubbs’ outdoor amphitheater was the largest venue they’ve ever played, but soaring songs like “Albatross” had no problem filling the space.

Drive-By Truckers: DBT are a Southern rock band, not a Confederate rock band, and that crucial difference gets at why Patterson Hood’s awesome band works for me in a way that, say, Kid Rock or .38 Special doesn’t. The band’s music has a dark, gothic edge (reminiscent of one of my favorite writers, Flannery O’Connor) but Hood doesn’t forget to just flat out rock. It was my first time seeing DBT (and I suspect I was one of the few people there who was more excited for them than either of the two headliners), and they didn’t disappoint.

Band of Horses: I’ve seen Band of Horses twice already, but it seems like they’ve been a little revitalized by their new material. They’ve fully embraced their country side to solid effect as the new songs sounded pretty good. I was surprised that it seemed like they had as many fans at Stubbs as Broken Social Scene, but they definitely earned even more this weekend.

Broken Social Scene: I’ve seen Broken Social Scene 4 times now and, if this time wasn’t quite as transcendent as when they’re at their best, it was still a darn good rock show. They devoted most of their set to airing the new material from their forthcoming album, but it all sounded interesting and fit right in with their old stuff (including a nice run through “Anthems of a Seventeen Girl” featuring Emily Haines on vocals).

FRIDAY:

Free Energy: Between this band and the new LCD Soundsystem song (which sounds like L.A. McCartney), it seems like DFA is branching out to other 1970s sounds besides disco. Free Energy is a power-chord, glammed out 70s rock band that wouldn’t be out of place opening of Aerosmith in 1974 (except they’d, you know, blow Aerosmith away). If you want to have a good time, see a Free Energy show or, failing that, just by their record and crank the stereo.

Washed Out: Washed Out mastermind Ernest Greene has been hesitant to tour and its easy to understand why after seeing him live. The show basically has Greene cueing loops on a sampler and singing over it – not exactly the most compelling stuff (added to the fact that I kind of don’t like his record to begin with). He brought out a band to spice things up, but it couldn’t rescue a show that just wasn’t working.

Best Coast: Best Coast’s winsome, fuzzed out beach pop made for some of my favorite songs of 2009, despite the fact they’re singles and Bethany Cosentino hasn’t put out an LP yet. Live, the songs don’t lose their melancholy beauty but, except for her two big songs (“Sun Was High” and “When I’m With You), the set dragged a little and the crowd didn’t seem totally into it. Still, “Sun Was High” was positively gorgeous and I can’t wait to listen to the full record.

Memory Tapes: Another chillwave, sample-tastic band, but Memory Tapes also has a post-punk edge to it that came out live (unlike his compatriots in Washed Out and Neon Indian, Dayve Hawk actually plays guitar at his show) and really helped the excellent songs from “Seek Magic” come out live. The crowd was really into it and all in all, it was an excellent show.

Neon Indian: I was fully prepared for a “they are who we thought they were” rant about Neon Indian but, I’ve got to admit, I kind of dug his show. Flanked by a live band that seemed a little more prepared and fine-tuned than Washed Out’s, the songs had an energy and directness that the album was missing. I still think “Psychic Chasms” sounds too much like a lazy first draft, but I now have a little more hope for the future of chillwave than I once did.

SATURDAY:

Wye Oak: Wye Oak’s live show consists of Jenn Wasner singing (and her voice is positively haunting) and playing guitar while bandmate Andy Stack plays drums with one hand (and both feet) and keyboard with the other. However, beyond being technically astounding, their music retains its patient beauty live, and was definitely one of the highlights of the weekend for me.

Titus Andronicus: I’ve been thinking about “The Monitor,” Titus Andronicus’ newest record, for a while and trying to formulate what exactly to say, but I’m glad I got the chance to see them live. I liked them a lot when I saw them last year but, I don’t know whether it’s the confidence that comes with the added experience of a year or the insanely high level of their new songs, but they were on a totally different plane. Their highbrow punk rock was blistering and epic (in a 45 minute set, they got through 4 songs, including the 15 minute “Battle of Hampton Roads”). Making a 68-minute concept record about the Civil War may be an inherently ridiculous undertaking, but Titus Andronicus pulled it off, in what may have been my favorite set of the weekend.

Woods: Woods is kind of a weird band. A lot of their set is devoted to noise and cassette looping and its difficult to tell how much of the singer’s odd timbre is his voice and how much of it is caused by the special effect microphone he uses. But, as a huge fan of “Songs of Shame” it was really awesome to see them take their pretty, pastoral folk songs and turn them into Crazy Horse-esque jams. They are decidedly esoteric, but highly rewarding to listeners who can get into it.

Real Estate: Real Estate’s show is kind of the opposite of label-mates Woods. While a live setting brings out Woods’ eccentricities, it irons out Real Estate’s, giving an immediacy to their winning, beachy, Jersey Shore shamble. It made for a really great show, as they tore through songs like standout “Beach Comber” and “Suburban Beverage.” I saw them twice and was not disappointed either time.

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by | December 14, 2009 · 10:21 am

Live Review: Land of Talk – Radio Radio 12.11.2009

Elizabeth Powell and Land of Talk are a kind of indie rock conundrum. They had a great debut with Applause, Cheer, Boo, Hiss, followed that with the terrific Justin Vernon-produced Some Are Lakes, and just recently released the TUIW approved Fun and Laughter EP. On top of three great releases, they had a stint opening for indie superstars Broken Social Scene, which saw Powell stepping in for the female vocal parts originally recorded by the likes of Feist, Emily Haines, and Amy Milan. Despite an absence from performing, due to Powell losing her voice, Land of Talk should be hailed as one of the best up and coming bands out there. Yet somehow, they remain a hidden gem. As one guy at their show at Radio Radio in Indianapolis commented to me, “Why aren’t there more people here? These guys are huge on satellite radio!”

Smallish crowd size aside, Land of Talk rocked the doors off of Radio Radio Friday night. From the raucous opener, “Corner Phone,” through docile closer “Troubled,” the band played through a pleasing set list that showed off all of the band’s strong points and made a great case for them as a band that is one great album away from making the big time. Land of Talk doesn’t really have a polish on any of their studio releases, and live, they bring the same raw sound while being able to up the intensity and urgency of every song. Among the highlights of the set were rips through “All My Friends,” and “Some Are Lakes,” a more restrained take on “Young Bridge,” and a really fantastic performance of “It’s Okay.” On the latter, the band took the slow song and ratcheted it up at the end, taking it from a slow burn to a full out fireball. Noticeably missing from the set were only a few songs, Applause opener “Speak to Me Bones,” and the terrific “Death By Fire” from Some Are Lakes.

But the absence of those songs didn’t hurt the show in the least bit. Land of Talk are a superb live act that is perfectly in sync on stage. Powell manages to switch her voice back and forth between a punk aggressiveness and a devastating sweetness with unbelievable ease, as the band switches between the two throughout their set. The indie rock world is littered with bands that make a good record in their living room, but can’t back it up on stage. Land of Talk is not one of them. Every amount of energy heard on their record is amplified in the live show, and music that I thought I couldn’t like more was somehow even better live. Like I said, Land of Talk is really an album away from really getting big. How they haven’t yet is still a mystery to me, but soon enough, this great band is going to get their due.

Michael’s Score: 92

Tangled Up In Wires Grade: A

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by | November 11, 2009 · 2:10 pm

Tangled Up in Wires Goes to Fun Fun Fun Fest

(Image borrowed from AV Austin because I lost my camera like a couple months ago and wasn’t that close to Les Savy Fav anyway)

So, since I live in Austin, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to check out Fun Fun Fun Fest. Now in its fourth year, Fun Fun Fun Fest is a small festival that focuses more on getting quality, buzzy bands than big names to headline. If you’re a fan of standardized testing (and who isn’t) you can think of it like this:

Lollapalooza : Pitchfork Festival :: Austin City Limits : Fun Fun Fun

With a stacked line-up and beautiful weather all week leading up to it, I set off for Waterloo Park on Saturday afternoon, looking forward to two days of excellent music. Here’s who I saw and what I thought, band by band:

Times New Viking: First, I had to represent Columbus by seeing these guys. I had never seen them live, but I was pleasantly suprised. Their fuzzy, noisy sound was well-suited for the outdoors (and the glorious weather we had on Saturday – 78 and sunny) and they didn’t lose a beat from the record. An excellent way to start out the day.

The Night Marchers: I wandered over to the Black Stage to meet some friends and The Night Marchers were playing while I was over there. They were pretty boring and they had one song where the singer, amusingly, never sung any lyrics; he just yelled “WOOOOOO” the whole time.

Shonen Knife: Shonen Knife started life as a Ramones cover band before making their own music. They are three Japanese women who wear bright dresses and rock out and while that all sounds great, the music was a little too bland for me. It sounded like they had never really advanced past the Ramones cover band phase and I think there was too much gimmickry to cover for a weak sound.

James Husband – The stage name of James Huggins, a member of Of Montreal, James Husband makes fuzzed-out Elephant Six style music that was decent, but didn’t leave too much of an impression on me. He’s definitely not the showman that Kevin Barnes is, but then who is.

MC Chris – I didn’t really see MC Chris (nerdcore is annoying), but I had to share this story. As I was walking to the bathroom, I passed his stage and someone yelled out a request. Then MC Chris went off on the guy and was like “Of course I’ll play my hit, you fucking idiot. I’m just saving it till the end so no one leaves and I can pretend I have a fanbase!”

No Age – “Did you feel that?” asked drummer and singer Dean Sprunt after a particularly engaging performance. The answer was definitely yes. This is probably the band I was most looking forward to and they did not disappoint. They were rowdy and fun, even inspiring an impromptu mosh pit towards the front.

Death – I honestly wasn’t expecting too much out of Death. Their story is fascinating (in case you don’t know, they were a band in Detroit who was playing punk music in 1975, a year or two before The Ramones and The Sex Pistols, but never saw a release or got any recognition because they refused to change their name) and I really liked the record, but I thought it was more interesting as an archaelogical find than an actual album, plus after 30 years I’d figured you’d lose a step or two. But I sure was wrong. They had a intensity and immediacy that few of the other bands at the festival had and it was great to see them finally getting a moment in the spotlight.

Fucked Up – My ears were still ringing the next morning from the ferocious, passionate assault leveled at me by Fucked Up. The ironic mosh pit at No Age had nothing on the one here, egged on by frontman Damian Abraham jumping into it. Most of the show drew from their amazing second album, Chemistry of Common Life, and I could see Fucked Up leading a full-on hardcore revival.

Les Savy Fav – Not to be outdone by the portly Abraham (who took off his shirt one song into Fucked Up’s set), Tim Harrington went from a wedding dress to ultimately wearing nothing but a set of purple leggings at the Les Savy Fav show. The highlight was undoubtedly when he crowd-surfed ON TOP OF A LADDER, which he rode like a surfboard. One fan jumped on to the ladder, grabbed the mic, and started singing and, for his troubles, Harrington climbed on top of him and humped him. All of that really happened.

Destroyer – I wanted to see Jesus Lizard but they were running late, so I ducked over to see Destroyer instead and was so transfixed by Dan Bejar’s lush melodies and fantastic voice that I couldn’t pull myself away. There were only about 50 people at the stage, so the show had a hushed, intimate feel, despite taking place at night on a festival stage. It was the perfect ending to day one.

This Will Destroy You – Day Two started with the grey sky, but everything was dry until This Will Destroy You came out. It started drizzling literally the moment they started playing. Fortunately it didn’t detract from their Explosions In the Sky-esque post-rock, which was hypnotic, but also had a bit of a hardcore edge.

Fuck Buttons – Unfortunately it rained harder by the time the weekend’s other fuck band came out, so I was hiding under a tree on the other side of the stage. Still, Fuck Buttons put on a good show and their ambient, electronic meandering sounds quite good live.

Atlas Sound – I was really excited to see Atlas Sound but, unfortunately, this wasn’t really the right venue. They needed a more intimate, less damp circumstance for their dream pop to really shine. I was also a little underwhelmed by the live version of “Walkabout,” which was hamstrung without the presence of Panda Bear. Still, Cox did his best to put on an entertaining show, defying a joke about jam bands in the festival by saying he would “jam the fuck out whenever I want” and playing the beginning of “Fly Away” before asking the audience if they liked Lenny Kravitz (a question greeted with icy silence).

Car Stereo (Wars) – Austin has its own Girl Talk and his name is Car Stereo (Wars). The difference between the two is pretty much negligible, but it was a fun show nonetheless. Car Stereo (Wars) also had his own hype man who, dressed in a blue button down and pink shorts, was basically a bro-ed out Flavor Flav.

Broadcast – By this point it started pouring so I was in no mood for the ambient explorations of Broadcast. It was an awful atmosphere to see them in, so it doesn’t feel fair to review their show.

Health – Fortunately, the rain died down and things  got a lot better. I stopped by Strange Boys randomly and was really impressed with what I saw before moving on to the band that turned out to be the show of the festival. Health is a noise band from the Smell scene that also spawned No Age and live, they absolutely tore it up. I was expecting to see another blog band that wasn’t very good live but instead they had crazy energy backed by a set of truly fantastic songs. I can’t recommend them enough.

Mission of Burma – Mission of Burma seemed a little calmer than I was hoping, but all in all they played a good set, even if it leaned a little heavier on the new stuff than I would have liked.

Crystal Castles – After having the chance to see them twice and missing them both times, I finally got to see Crystal Castles and I was not disappointed. Their show had a manic energy and the crowd went totally nuts and Alice Glass jumped around and assaulted audience members with a strobe light.

Of Montreal – Of Montreal’s ridiculous show was the perfect way to end the festival. Kevin Barnes has gotten even crazier since I last saw him and this time the show included molesting ninjas and an entire vignette where kids unwrapped a Christmas gift as their proud parents looked on. After starting with a few songs from Skeletal Lamping, which may be the first record ever made as a cover story (“no honey, Hissing Fauna wasn’t about all the sex and drugs I did while we were broken up, its just my new direction. Look at this new album I made”) they tore into the old stuff, even finishing with “The Past Is a Grotesque Animal.”

The King Khan & BBQ Show – They were supposed to play a set at Fun Fun Fun but it got mysteriously cancelled, so to make up for it King Khan & BBQ played a free aftershow at Red 7 which was insanely fun. It was a small, crowded space, and the band thrived in it, making for a fun end to a fantastic weekend.

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