August 2008 concert 2: Freezepop at El Corazón
Category: Music

I am seriously behind in my music blogging! A month ago, on Saturday August 30, I went to El Corazón to see Freezepop. On the bill were no less than five bands including Freezepop, an unusually large number for such a show, and they turned out to be a very diverse bunch. My best guess was that the club figured with Bumbershoot going on, they'd throw as many different bands as possible onto the bill and someone would show up for something. I don't believe this served the bands very well, and I think that a smaller assortment of bands with more similar styles would've made for a stronger show and better attendance, but then I've never booked club shows before and it's possible with Bumbershoot also happening nothing would've made a difference. Also on the bill was The Fading Collection, Blue Light Curtain, Ambulance for Angeles, and Cursed Lullaby.

I don't have much to say for Cursed Lullaby, a female-fronted quartet that might as well be named "Metal Band™". They had adequate musical proficiency but were completely unoriginal. My friends dubbed it "angry kitten rock" and commented that they wanted to take the singer home, cuddle her, and tell her everything would be okay. I could see them appealing to teenagers but I can't imagine how anyone past their early 20s could take them seriously. If you like goth-tinged metal though, these guys are the stereotype of it so you might dig them.

Ambulance for Angeles are a duo on synths/vocals and synths/guitar/backing vocals. They played angsty midtempo electronic pop that was very earnest-sounding in that early-twenties way. I liked that they bridged the space between songs with moody bass throbs. I enjoyed them more than Cursed Lullaby and they have some potential, but I feel they need to develop some more.

Blue Light Curtain are a trio including guitar and vocals, synths/drum machine and vocals, and drums. They were perhaps the oddest band in the lineup but I liked them the most of the three I didn't know. Their music was a heavy shoegazer style, though lacking most of the guitar shimmer and feedback often present in shoegaze; in a sense they were goth without being goth. All of their songs were sort of extended chants, with some repeated verses but no actual verse/chorus structure. They introduced one song as being inspired by Twin Peaks, and that seemed to describe their sound well, weirdly ominous - I thought of it as "music to watch stormclouds roll by". Most of the songs had about the same medium tempo and I felt they could've used a little more variation, but then toward the end they played a song that was a little more upbeat, less ominous, more rocking. I enjoyed their set quite a bit and will be looking for them at other shows in the future.

The Fading Collection are often billed as an electronic band, but as they played their first heavy rock songs I was suddenly struck by their resemblance to the opening metal band - similar powerful and soaring female vocals, similar crunchy guitar riffs, although not quite as heavy. It was only as they got into their set and started bringing out the dancier songs, with more overt electronic instrumentation and samples, that they distinguished themselves from the goth metal sound. Even then, I found that I wasn't getting into the music as much as I expected; despite their enthusiastic playing, they just weren't quite bringing it. This has been my experience the previous two times I've seen them, and I'm reluctantly concluding that they may be a better studio band than they are live, but still they're not actually bad live and I can always listen to the albums.

I was much too busy bopping and singing along to Freezepop to do more than jot down a couple quick notes; needless to say, they were awesome and I had a blast. They had a fourth player this time, named Seth, on electronic drumpads, and the addition of a live percussionist freed up The Duke to play more keytar and less sequencer, as well as allowing Sean to rock out on electric guitar for Freezepop's two big Guitar Hero hits, "Brainpower" and "Get Ready 2 Rokk". Still, the QY-70 was not forgotten, and got its turn for a bow during the classic "Freezepop Forever". In fact, the show was quite heavy on the old school songs, including "Harebrained Scheme", "Science Genius Girl", "Chess King", "Summer Boy", and "Plastic Stars". But newer songs were represented too, building to the awe-inspiring "Less Talk More Rokk". Once again, despite playing late at night the day after their big show at PAX and only two days after arriving from the East Coast, Freezepop put on a fantastic fun show full of energy and (no pun intended) enthusiasm, and I've seldom seen another band match their consistency. My only regret is that one of my favorite Freezepop songs, "Tenisu No Boifurendo", isn't well-suited to these hyper shows, though perhaps they could try something like the Kodomo remix version...

As I've noted in the past, El Corazón is not friendly to my iPhone's camera, so my pictures are all kinda crappy. Still, I have a few of Blue Light Curtain, just a couple of The Fading Collection, and several of Freezepop.

8:17 AM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

Bumbershoot 2008: Monday
Category: Music

I had a pretty good time at Bumbershoot this year. I was going to do a single post about it, because I thought I could keep it short, but of course it's just gotten longer and longer as I write. So, I'm going to do separate posts for each day after all. All of my photos can be found in my Bumbershoot 2008 set on Flickr.

Read about Saturday at Bumbershoot 2008.

Read about Sunday at Bumbershoot 2008.

Monday

Monday I made it down to Bumbershoot toward the later half of the afternoon. I had no plans before seeing Battles at 7:45, so I wandered about for a while. I stopped to watch some of Strange Fruit, a sort of mime theater performance done by two couples atop tall flexible poles. It was indeed strange, but also funny and cool. I hung out by the Du Pont Fountain for a while, hoping to catch another performance of the Bottled Operas that I saw on Saturday, but they did not come by before I had to head across the Center for the Battles set. However, while I was there, a couple people came by and asked to take my picture with their friend, Little Roy the Corduroy Boy; you can see the photo of us here. (I didn't realize at the time that Little Roy's appearances were actually officially scheduled events.) [Strange Fruit photos start here.]

Battles were hands-down the best act I saw at Bumbershoot this year, and no question gave one of the best performances out of all the acts. Drummer John Stanier reminded me of Animal from the Muppets, flailing fast and furiously at his drums, although with a precision and control Animal could never match. I almost expected Stanier to explode Muppets-style with a flash and bang, leaving nothing behind but a wisp of smoke. The rest of the band were slightly more restrained but no less enthusiastic, and together they roared through a thunderous set of instrumental, highly-danceable art rock. The first part of the set, from the opening bass loops of "Race: Out", was a continuous half-hour of music, and they barely paused later to do more than say hi to the crowd while setting up the next song. I didn't recognize all of the music, so some of the first half may have been new, but they definitely finished with the two singles "Tonto" and "Atlas", followed by an extended "Race: In". They led into "Atlas" just with a very simple sampled beat, a steady tik, tik, tik, tik, for a good two minutes while they were adjusting other equipment, but that simple beat was enough to get the audience clapping along in anticipation. When they finally broke into the song, a bunch of kids surged forward and nearly started a full-fledged mosh pit, causing a Bumbershoot staff member to wade in to the crowd and warn them to simmer down a bit. Battles played a full hour of exciting and vital rock that ought to kill the label "math rock", and I can't wait for their next show. [Battles photos start here.]

After that set, pretty much anything was likely to be a bit of a let-down. Still, I went to see Mike Doughty, since my sister said I should introduce myself to her friend Andrew "Scrap" Livingston, who was playing bass for Doughty. As a solo artist, Doughty's gone the singer-songwriter route, playing folk-tinged rock à la Dave Matthews, and frankly I just didn't find it that interesting, even when he covered his own Soul Coughing song "Circles". After listening for a few songs, I wandered off in search of ice cream and then went to hear the first couple songs by Minus the Bear. I returned for the end of Doughty's set, waited around for about 15 minutes until Doughty came out from backstage briefly, and managed to catch him before he disappeared again just to ask him if he could get the bassist for me, which I thought was a little funny. After chatting briefly with Livingston, I went back to hear the last 20 minutes of Minus the Bear, who sounded all right and finished with "Knights", the single I recognized from airplay on KEXP. Although the high point of Bumbershoot had passed already for me and the final acts weren't so great, I still left feeling quite satisfied with the evening and Bumbershoot in general. [A few Mike Doughty photos start here.]

5:24 AM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

Bumbershoot 2008: Sunday
Category: Music

I had a pretty good time at Bumbershoot this year. I was going to do a single post about it, because I thought I could keep it short, but of course it's just gotten longer and longer as I write. So, I'm going to do separate posts for each day after all. All of my photos can be found in my Bumbershoot 2008 set on Flickr.

Read about Saturday at Bumbershoot 2008.

Read about Monday at Bumbershoot 2008.

Sunday

Sunday afternoon I stayed at home to do housework, but I made sure to get down to Bumbershoot in time for Sons and Daughters. I didn't recognize many of the songs and I expect they were mostly from the latest album, This Gift, but they did play "Rama Lama" and "Dance Me In" along with a few other older songs. The band was clearly having a great time, with singer Adele Bethel and guitarist/singer Scott Paterson both avowing several times that they loved Seattle, and the audience loudly returned their love. I'd still like to hear them mix in the acoustic sound of their previous album rather than play all electric, but I enjoyed the performance very much. [Sons and Daughters photos start here.]

Afterward, following my sister's directive to "find out if he's any good for real for real," I headed over to see Final Fantasy, the solo project of violinist Owen Pallett. Although his MySpace page lists his genre simply as "pop", his music had little in common with the conventions of modern pop or rock. Rather, he essentially plays baroque fugues, building the songs by sampling himself playing short parts and looping the samples one on top of the next. I thought of this as "techno-baroque", although using "techno" may be misleading as it had nothing in common with the electronic genre of dance music. He occasionally used a keyboard to create loops as well, tapped on the violin for sound effects, and also sang lyrics. I noted that he held his bow baroque-style, a little higher than the modern style, and also mostly held the violin baroque-style in front of him; this style seemed to facilitate the other performance elements (pizzicato, tapping, and singing). Pallett certainly was a skilled violinist with good tone and vibrato, switching smoothly between plucking and bowing the strings, and just as smoothly picking up a complicated part from a loop and playing it live again. He did play one song "acoustic" as he called it, using no sampling or loops, which helped me assess his talent. I was also quite impressed that he could keep track of all the different parts at once from memory, adding and dropping loops throughout each song. Lyrically, the songs did not seem to be geek-heavy despite his video-game-inspired name; what I picked out sounded more like typical themes of relationships and modern life. After hearing Final Fantasy, I have to say that he is indeed quite good for real for real... but I'm still not sure how much I actually enjoy his music. I have had a few bits of his songs stuck in my head since then, so I think I need to pick up one of his albums to consider it some more. [Just two photos of Final Fantasy, here and here.]

10:46 PM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

Bumbershoot 2008: Saturday
Category: Music

I had a pretty good time at Bumbershoot this year. I was going to do a single post about it, because I thought I could keep it short, but of course it's just gotten longer and longer as I write. So, I'm going to do separate posts for each day after all. All of my photos can be found in my Bumbershoot 2008 set on Flickr.

Read about Sunday at Bumbershoot 2008.

Read about Monday at Bumbershoot 2008.

Saturday

Beehive had an unenviable slot, opening Bumbershoot at noon on Saturday, and a difficult space, being on the smallest stage, tucked away in a corner of the Seattle Center out of sight or even hearing from most of the festival. So I was concerned whether they'd have much of an audience, but fortunately the seats were mostly full by the time they started, and stayed that way through the set with additional people wandering up too. Beehive went for a heavier rock sound to start and covered Queen's "We Will Rock You" as well as the Beatles' "Helter Skelter", presumably to help warm up a crowd unfamiliar with their work. They've been playing "Helter Skelter" for a while and bring their own sound to it, but I felt "We Will Rock You" didn't fit so well with the rest of their songs. Still, it was a good set overall and they definitely won over some new fans. [Beehive photos start here.]

After Beehive, I wandered a bit, running into the dance troupe acornDance doing a funny performance, until I met up with my friend Gina, and we went to see Barcelona. Quite simply, Barcelona sounded like they heard Jeff Buckley's song "The Last Goodbye" and said, "Let's make a band!" Sure, they picked a good song to emulate, but... they needed a little more than that. Gina and I wandered around for a while after that, and stumbled across a performance of Byron Au Yong's "Kidnapping Water: Bottled Operas", which involved musicians playing percussion in the Du Pont Fountain pool and playing the water itself as a percussion instrument. That was pretty cool, and I wish I'd seen more of it or caught another performance later in the weekend. However, Gina and I both wanted to get some food and try to catch Nada Surf in the secret KEXP Lounge, so we didn't stick around for the whole thing. While we were eating, we missed out on getting spare tickets into the Nada Surf show, which perhaps is poetic justice. [Photos of acornDance start here and photos of "Kidnapping Water: Bottled Operas" start here.]

Gina had to leave early, and after hanging out with David and Alethea of Beehive for a while, it was time for me to catch Mono in VCF. Despite spending at least 10-15 minutes on a sound check before their set started, the band suffered from feedback problems for the first half of their set. Several of the songs also sounded a bit rushed, as though they just wanted to get through as many songs as they could, which was unfortunate as their lush, expansive music needs space to breathe to achieve its full effect. On the positive side, the EMP's SkyChurch performance hall is well-suited to their sound and image, and undoubtedly they made a better impression on new listeners because of it than they would have on one of the outdoor stages. They played a couple new songs and brought out Mark Pickerel as a guest vocalist to sing a duet with Kim Miller, the Lee Hazelwood song "Some Velvet Morning". It was a good set, but I've heard them play better, and much as I love their debut I'm still eagerly awaiting more new music from them. [Just three photos of Mono in VCF, starting here.]

After Mono in VCF, I left Bumbershoot for the day, as I already had plans to go see Freezepop at El Corazón. I'll write up that show once I've finished the rest of the Bumbershoot reports.

10:24 PM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

Bumbershoot 2008 recommendations
Category: Music

Bumbershoot 2008 is coming up this weekend, August 30 to September 1, and I'll be there all three days. These are my recommendations:

Saturday

• Beehive at the Wells Fargo Stage (Northwest Court), 12 noon
• Mono in VCF at the EMP Sky Church, 6:30 pm
• Kinski at the EMP Sky Church, 9:30 pm

• Sons and Daughters at the Rockstar Stage (Broad Street), 7:45 pm
• I also plan to see Final Fantasy at the Wells Fargo Stage, 9:15 pm, per my sister's request to "go see final fantasy after sons and daughters and tell me if he's any good for real for real."

• Battles at the Rockstar Stage, 7:45 pm
• I'll also be going to see Mike Doughty at the Starbucks Stage (Mural Ampitheatre), 8:45 pm

3:48 PM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

Aug 08 concert 1: Film School at Sunset Tavern
Category: Music

Last Friday I finally got to see Film School, who played at the Sunset Tavern. I've been meaning to catch them for a while now but had unfortunately missed a few opportunities, so despite feeling tired I made the effort to get out to the club and once again found that my saying is true, "It's always the right decision to go to the show." Opening for Film School was Blue Skies for Black Hearts and The Purrs.

Blue Skies for Black Hearts are a typical rock quartet of two guitars, bass, and drums. Given their name and that they were opening for Film School, I was expecting their style to be goth/shoegaze. I arrived pretty late to the show and came in to discover they seemed to be just an ordinary indie blues-rock band. I didn't hear anything remarkable, but as I missed most of their set I really can't say too much more about them.

I first saw The Purrs a little over a month ago in June, and at the time I felt that their music was pleasant but uninspiring. At this show however, I found that their music is growing on me. It ranges from moody, shoegazer-y songs such as "Disconnected" and "Taste of Monday", to the brighter pop rock of "She's Got Chemicals" and "Miles Away" (which I was disappointed that they didn't play). Although The Purrs rarely seem inspiring, they do seem to be dependable for solid and enjoyable rock, and I think next time I catch them I'm going to pick up one of their albums.

Film School are a quintet led by Greg Bertens (vocals/guitar), with Dave Dupuis (guitar), Lorelei Plotczyk (bass), Jason Ruck (keyboard/synth), and James Smith (drums). They played a solid set of classic shoegazer rock. I don't actually have much to say about it, I just drank in the swirling guitars with a grin on my face. They did do an awesome version of "11:11", the single from their previous, self-titled album which first caught my attention. Although the vocals did seem a bit weak live, they made up for it with an extended opening that began with a beatless wash of soaring guitar sounds, eventually bringing in the opening drum rhythm. It'd be easy to compare Film School with a band such as My Bloody Valentine and say well, they're doing nothing new. But you don't have to be innovative to be good, and Film School are quite good. I'm glad I finally got to see them and I look forward to their next show.

• Bumbershoot is Saturday August 30 to Monday September 1; I'm going to see Beehive and Mono In VCF on Saturday, Sons and Daughters on Sunday, and Battles on Monday, along with whoever else sounds interesting.
• Also Saturday August 30, Freezepop are back in town at El Corazón (as well as at the Penny Arcade Expo on Friday night Aug. 29).
• Black Rebel Motorcycle Club are at the Showbox (at the Market) on Sunday September 7.
• Balkan Beat Box make another attempt to play in Seattle, this time at Neumos on Saturday September 13.
• Goldfrapp are making one of their few North American tour stops in Seattle at the Showbox SoDo on Wednesday September 17. I'll be getting tickets for Goldfrapp very soon; they did one of the best shows I saw in 2006, and I have no doubt this show will be just as awesome.

1:57 AM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

July 08 concert: DJ Shadow & Cut Chemist at Showbox SoDo

Last Saturday I went to the Showbox SoDo to see DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist on their joint "Hard Sell" tour. Opening for them were two hip hop groups, Greyskul [sic] and The Mighty Underdogs.

This was my first time at the Showbox SoDo, a big open warehouse space that seems to have at least as much room as the original ("at the Market") Showbox. Formerly the Fenix, it's been open for almost a year now, and still looks nice and clean. For this all-ages show, the drinking section was fenced off behind the mixing booth situated in the middle of the floor; there's also a partly-enclosed bar in a raised section off to one side, which I did not check out. My only real complaint was that it's big enough that people in the middle of the front area were able to toke up a couple times during the main set, as evidenced by the sudden cloud and stench. The second time it happened, a staff security guard arrived near me and seemed to be trying to peer through the crowd to spot the offenders, but to no avail. To be clear, my complaint is specifically that that stinks and I don't want to be breathing it in; have a little common decency and consideration for your other concert-goers, and keep it outside.

Greyskul are a local rising hip hop group featuring two rappers and a backing DJ. Unfortunately most of their performance was lost on me. Their focus was on the rap of course, but if you don't know it, it's hard to follow along and appreciate what they're doing. For Greyskul it was all shouty rhyme and uninspired rhythm, and I quickly lost interest. I was reminded of the line from "Thou Shalt Always Kill", "Thou shalt not make repetitive generic music," a command they'd do well by heeding.

The Mighty Underdogs are a hip hop supergroup featuring rappers Gift of Gab and Lateef the Truth Speaker with DJ/producer Headnodic. I found their set more interesting and more entertaining, no doubt in part because they made better use of melody in their music. Also, the rapping sounded smoother to me, lacking the shoutiness of Greyskul, and Gift of Gab did some impressive quick rapping that even I could appreciate without knowing the words.

DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist's "The Hard Sell" set featured the two turntablists playing a live set mixing over 250 original 45-rpm records. The set opened with an amusing '60s-style educational film, which you can view on YouTube, explaining the concept of the set and the parameters: 8 turntables feeding into four mixers, an effects box for echo, and two banks of guitar pedals for loops. The 45s covered the entire range of popular music since their invention in 1949 as well as spoken word, soundtracks, sound effects, and other oddities - such as a sort of doo-whop version of "Eye of the Tiger", or the lyrics of the Gilligan's Island theme sung to the tune of "Stairway to Heaven". At one point they did a sort of "dueling banjos" scratch-off, looping and scratching a heavy tango riff, and they somehow had trash-talking 45s on hand for when one of them screwed up. The set was interesting and enjoyable but not really exciting - I didn't feel a clear flow to the set, no build of energy toward a climax. With no definite songs, there was nothing to anticipate; at times the music was more ambient than melodic. Late in the set, they teased the opening of DJ Shadow's "You Can't Go Home Again" and I hoped for a moment that they'd do a live remix, but instead they went into something else. (Presumably "You Can't Go Home Again" includes some original material by DJ Shadow and not just record samples, making it inappropriate for this show.) Overall it was a good show and I'm glad I went, but I think it could've used a little more focus and energy.

2:26 AM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

June 08 concert 2: Mono In VCF at Neumos
Current mood: okay

Two Saturdays ago, on the 21st, I went to see Mono In VCF at Neumos. They headlined a bill that included Ivan & Alyosha and The Purrs, as well as a fourth band.

The listed opening act was The Major Cities, but I'm not sure that was who actually played, as judging from that page The Major Cities is a solo artist project, while the band that played was a synthpop quartet. Unfortunately I came in late, about halfway through the opener's set, and I didn't catch their name when they mentioned it at the end, although it seemed to be something other than "The Major Cities". Normally I just wouldn't bother to discuss them at all, since I'm not sure who they are, but I liked them quite a bit - they had a very fun New Romantics style that made me smile, and I'd love to hear more. Maybe I'll get lucky and see them again soon.

The Purrs are a straightforward pop-rock quartet, including bass and lead vocals, guitar and backing vocals, guitar, and drums. They played a solid if mostly uninspired set of '90s-style alternative rock. I was reminded a lot of Buffalo Tom, a band that's made some good tunes but has never quite hooked me as a fan. I did recognize a couple songs in the set from airplay on KEXP, "She's Got Chemicals" and "Miles Away", both of which were catchier than the rest of the set. "Miles Away" in particular has a great lead guitar line and demonstrates that the band's capable of writing a good pop tune, but overall to me they felt like a fine second-tier band - one that's enjoyable enough to hear on the radio or catch by chance at a show, not one that's going to inspire a lot of people to come out to a show.

Ivan & Alyosha, I have to say, were less inspiring than The Purrs. Celebrating the release of their latest CD The Verse, The Chorus, the duo (neither of whom are named Ivan or Alyosha) on bass and keyboards appeared with a backing foursome on acoustic guitar, keyboard and guitar, guitar, and drums. Their music was mostly mid-tempo bittersweet pop-rock, in the vein of Crowded House. It was decent but never really held my attention.

Mono In VCF came as a five-piece for this show, with producer Martin Feveyear ..board joining the regular band lineup of Kim Miller (vocals), Hunter Lea (guitar, synth & organ, vocals), Jordan Luckman (bass guitar), and Jason Falk (drums). I found this show less enjoyable than the previous two I've seen, through no fault of the band - the crowd was very noisy and chatty throughout the set, and despite her powerful voice Miller's vocals were a little lost up front as the main speakers are set up high to project out into the room. They played a new song, which was good, but then they did not play an encore, which was disappointing. Though there's not a bad song on their debut album and it's great to hear them live, they still could use some more material soon just to keep shows interesting. Also, Miller could use a tambourine or other light percussion instrument for the extended instrumental sections, as she seems a bit lost simply stepping back and tapping the beat with her foot like she currently does. Still, these minor details don't prevent me from recommending that you catch Mono In VCF live whenever you can. In fact, they're next playing a late (11 PM) show at The Triple Door on Saturday July 19th for just $10, and if I hadn't just accepted a party invitation for that night, I'd be there, as I still think The Triple Door is the most suitable place for their music.

I haven't yet uploaded my photos from the show, I'll update this post when I do.

10:46 PM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

June 08 concert 1: Annuals at Neumos

A week ago on Tuesday the 10th, John and I went to Neumos for the return of one of my favorite new bands, Annuals. Headlining the bill was Times New Viking, with Psychedelic Horseshit and Fabulous Diamonds opening. We arrived at Neumos just before 9 to find the club empty and no sign of a band on stage yet, so we stepped into Moebar to have a drink. We ended up missing most of Fabulous Diamonds' set, catching only the last two songs, and regretted that we did not get to hear more - once again demonstrating that it's always worthwhile to catch the opening act.

Fabulous Diamonds are a duo on synths and drums, with both musicians sharing vocals. What we did catch of their set was experimental goth/trance music that was beautiful and interesting enough to make us pick up their CD, 7 Songs, to find out more about what we'd missed.

Psychedelic Horseshit are a guitar, bass, and drums trio, with a keyboard played mostly by the guitarist but occasionally by the others, and lead vocals handled by the guitarist. Notably, the drummer used a large cardboard box as his kickdrum. They played a sort of experimental punk rock that tended towards noisy and loud, the sort of band who begin their set with a chaotic mix of sounds that makes it unclear whether they're still checking their instruments or playing a tune. During the last song, the drummer came up front and knelt on the floor with one tom to hit with one hand while playing the keyboard with the other, and the guitarist jumped down in front of the stage to noodle out the ending. I found them interesting overall, but not particularly appealing.

Annuals are probably my favorite discovery from last year, and I've been looking forward to their return since they last visited in November. The only disappointment from this appearance was the reduced amount of multi-player drumming - guitarist Kenny Florence did not have a tom this time, and bandleader/multi-instrumentalist Adam Baker only played his tom a bit in one song. However, this undoubtedly reflected the more mellow, contemplative sound of the new songs on their latest EP, Wet Zoo, and perhaps if they'd been doing a longer, headlining set, they would've brought out the full-force drumming. Still, there was plenty of intensity and enthusiasm even in the new songs, which included at least one from their next full-length album due out in September. Baker had some microphone trouble during the first verse of set opener "Complete or Completing" but fixed it in time for the chorus, and the band showed their professionalism by playing unperturbed throughout. Chills ran down my back anticipating the explosion of sound as they began "Brother", and I was delighted that they closed again with the joyous, anthemic "Do You Like It", which hopefully will also be on the next album. I can see that "eagerly anticipating" will be words I use a lot in connection with Annuals, as that's how I feel about their next album and their return to Seattle in the autumn.

Times New Viking are a trio on synth and vocals, drums and vocals, and guitar. They played a non-stop train of short, loud punk-pop songs. They had something of the bright pop sound of Mates of State, but rather more rough and punk than pop - though in the very brief pauses between songs, they introduced several of them as "pop song number (x)", showing perhaps a sense of irony. Their singing was not very tuneful, a bit shouty though at least not the really obnoxious screaming or growling of hardcore punk and metal bands. They were also overly loud, seeming to think they should be loud for its own sake. They played with more enthusiasm than skill, and although many bands would have trouble following Annuals, Times New Viking really sounded amateur and bad to John and me. We stayed for twenty minutes or so, and then decided to cut out early. Still, it'd take a lot worse to spoil a show that included Annuals, so we were happy overall.

Photos of the show start here.

12:44 AM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

photos and schedule update
Category: Music

Just a quick update that I got my photos from the Ladytron show uploaded. Datarock photos begin here and Ladytron photos begin here. As usual, the photos of the opening band are better because I was able to get closer to the stage.

Coming up this week, Annuals at Neumos on Tuesday! Later this month, Mono In VCF are back in town on Saturday the 21st, also at Neumos. Beehive recently updated their MySpace page indicating they're also playing on the 21st at the Fremont Fair; unfortunately the Fair's site doesn't have the music schedule up yet, so I don't know whether it'll conflict with the Mono In VCF show.

9:37 PM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment