Category: Concert Review

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Concert Review

Peter Bjorn and John Rock Cat’s Cradle

Do you have a band that somehow changed your perception of music? I remember falling off the face of popular music in middle school after discovering last.fm. I don’t really know how things happened, but I got sucked into the vortex of independent music more quickly than I would have thought possible. I’m not proud of some of my origins- I started with Oasis, moved to Muse, swung to Paolo Nutini… I made a quick pass by Mika (yeah, I was that guy).  From there, things started to get really good, though.

Peter Bjorn and John were probably the first ‘this is really good!’ band that I ever listened to. “Young Folks” is enough to get anybody off their ass and into a sunshine mood. The album Writer’s Block was a significant brick in my musical foundation, and one that I am certainly proud of. On Friday of last week, I had the opportunity to see them live at Cat’s Cradle. I of course jumped on the chance!

Bachelorette opened for them, and I was sorely disappointed with her performance. She seemed like a delightful woman, and she was of course gorgeous like all Swedish women, but the performance went awry when she encountered technical issues. She was mixing from two Macbooks and experienced software problems at least four times in her short set. These always occurred mid-song, and she would just giggle and start over. Each time, I was pulled out of the beautiful layers she was setting into motion and forced to start over with her. I have explored her LPs more after seeing the show to see what her studio sound is, and I can only conclude that she was just having a bad night. Her pleasant air and eventually beautiful performance doesn’t erase the painful awkwardness that comes with seeing a musician fail on stage over and over and over again. Elaborate visuals were projected behind her that moved in synchronization with the music, but I couldn’t help but wonder why so much time was spent on arranging those when the sound itself wasn’t even correct…

Peter Bjorn and John absolutely shined. Somehow, my friend and I managed to find standing space at the front center of the stage. It was the most perfect spot that could be imagined. Peter, the lead vocalist, was one of the most energetic musicians that I have ever seen perform. He would constantly lean over us and rip on his guitar. His dance moves were beyond epic. The band members were extremely personal with the crowd, calling one fortunate soul on stage in the middle of the concert to receive a pat on the back from Peter. Peter grabbed a microphone half way through the show and jumped into the crowd. Yes, I did grab his back. I haven’t washed my hand since!

Peter Bjorn and John played two encores. On the first, the drummer (John) returned to the stage with a banana. He attempted to capture the sounds of him chewing it as he subtly mocked the organic smuggery that sometimes exists in Carrboro. The band played reworked songs from “Living Things,” explaining that they had to improvise as their synthesizers were too heavy to fly to America. The result was chilling and wonderful! In their second encore, the band played some old favorites like “Amsterdam” and a rousing rendition of “Young Folks” commenced by Peter on the harmonica. He moved to stage-right and again dove into the crowd. I didn’t see a single person not shaking their hips in the way that only good rock can make an entire audience do. The show was wonderful.

The band stayed after their performance to sign merchandise. I purchased a remix of the Writer’s Block album featuring such awesome tunes as “Sitar Folks” and a Girl Talk remix of “Let’s Call It Off.” Of course I got my vinyl sleeve signed by the band. The night was incredible and ended a wonderful week at Cat’s Cradle that was kicked into motion by Yelle Tuesday night. Concerts like this one remind me that music is my raison d’être. Keep your ears perked for an upcoming interview with Peter Bjorn and John on WKNC!

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Concert Review

The Mountain Goats come home

On April 8, the Cat’s Cradle was bursting with excitement as two local legends came home to play together in one epic evening.  That night the lucky few who managed to get their hands on a ticket (the show sold out weeks in advance) got the opportunity to see the North Carolina-grown bands: Megafaun and The Mountain Goats. I arrived a bit late, just in time to see Megafaun play their last two songs. Even though those two songs were fantastic, I was disappointed to have missed the majority of their set, but I arrived just in time to see what I came for: John Darnielle and The Mountain Goats.

I doubt that even some of the most devoted Mountain Goats fans present could have anticipated just how fantastic of a show it was going to be. There were literally too many great moments to list, but I’ll do my best to outline the highlights.  The show consisted of a healthy mix of tracks off of the new album and old classics. Before playing ‘Birth of Serpents,’ John told a short story regarding the origin of the song. He talked about a time where he recently went to Portland and tried to reconnect with an old friend, only to find that his friend had been run over by a car and died the previous year. The audience fell to a hush and listened with an impenetrable attentiveness as the stage erupted in a cavalcade of emotion and sound.

As with most Mountain Goats shows, there was a segment in the middle where the band left the stage and John did a solo set.  The set began with someone in the audience shouting, “play My Favorite Things,” to which John shrugged, said ok, and launched into a funny unreleased track about Coltrane.  The show carried on with songs about vampires, women with mystical powers, and crystal meth.

For the last song of their set, The Mountain Goats asked Megafaun to join them on stage.  Both bands, accompanied by just about the entire audience, performed ‘This Year,’ and it seemed as if the entire Cat’s Cradle was pulsing to the beat of the song.  The band then returned for a four song encore, which included the fan favorite ‘No Children’ and ended with the entire crowd chanting “Hail Satan!” as they closed with ‘The Best Ever Death Metal Band in Denton.’

But that wasn’t all.  The band then returned to the stage for a second encore and played “California Song,” during which John left the stage for the night giving the other members of the band a chance to flex their skills. The show made for a truly magical night and is a memory that will surely be cherished by each and every fan that had the opportunity to make it that evening.

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Concert Review

Dr. Dog at the Cradle

 

The Philadelphia-based psychedelic, indie rock group Dr. Dog performed a stellar show Saturday, April 9, 2011 at the Cat’s Cradle. They performed a most appropriate set of songs exploring their three latest albums: We All Belong, Fate, and Shame, Shame.  The crowd was primed with the lovely set from the North Carolina group Floating Action.  They set the stage to what ended up being the best Dr. Dog show I have seen; being that it was the fourth time I have seen the incredible band. To highlight: the band entered the stage right…the crowd went wild…instruments were plugged in… sounds exploded out of those amplifiers and my mind, as well as the several hundred minds around me were filled with the sounds of AWESOME!  Toby, the bass player, said that the Cat’s Cradle is a special venue because it was one of the first venues the band had played at outside of Philadelphia, PA.

[in terminator voice], “They’ll be back!”

If you are unfamiliar with this band, some would say they sound like a modern Beatles, but I would argue they have an extremely unique sound especially on there first and second albums, Toothbrush: an introduction to Dr. Dog and Easy Beat. Easy Beat is my personal favorite album, but these guys have the Midas touch, and it is exhibited in all their art.

“Be careful of the judge inside| His gavel and his stand collide. |But he’s only guilty of what’s wrong. “  -an excerpt from Easy Beat

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Concert Review

Papercuts Float Through Raleigh

This past Thursday served as the end of March (and, hopefully, the cold). It also served as the second show WKNC has presented at the still-pretty-newly-reopened Kings in downtown Raleigh (the first being this year’s Double Barrel Benefit).

UK-via-Italy act Banjo or Freakout opened the show with a set of airy songs not too far removed in style from Papercuts. Backed by a drummer and bassist/guitarist, main man Alessio Natalizia worked his way through a set of songs culled largely from his recently released, self-titled full-length debut. The first half of the set saw the trio playing songs full of interesting arrangements, with Natalizia’s echo-laden, airy vocals up front. Unfortunately, the remainder of the set saw the band work their way through a handful of interchangeable standard-indie-rock songs that lacked the charm of the first half. That said, it’ll be interesting to see where Natalizia takes Banjo or Freakout’s sound.

Jason Quever, the main force behind Papercuts, brought along a full band to flesh out his dreamy songs, reminiscent of a male-fronted Beach House meets The Clientele. Touring behind the release of new album Fading Brigade, one of the best releases of 2011 so far, Quever and his band brought the songs to life with the sort of laid-back energy found on the recordings. The small, but appreciative, crowd swayed along to the effortless grooves of songs like “Do What You Will” and “Chills,” cheering the band back out for a brief, but well-received, encore.

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Concert Review

Thursday is the New Friday – Future Islands Night 1

“Thursday is the new Friday,” proclaimed front man Sam Herring as he watched the sea of hands surge upward. The first night of Future Islands’ Raleigh performances had begun. The hype was building earlier as the shirtless front man and drummer of Ed Schrader’s Music Beat screamed into the microphone as he rapped his drum. A ghoulish low angle light illuminated his body, yet the tactic seemed appropriate and fitting. Islands’ entrance was quick, but their deliverance was timely.

Dressed in more formal attire (which Herring seemed to slowly rid himself of as the night progressed), they delivered crowd favorites like  “Tin Man” and “Long Flight” which were played back to back. Both tracks are off of Future Islands’ sophomore release “In Evening Air.” The Baltimore band also showcased some new tracks which I suspect are part of a rapidly approaching album release.  Herring’s usual stage facial expressions seemed surprising less theatrical Thursday night. I did, however, have a sneaking suspicion that the band was holding back for their second night. Fellow WKNC DJ The Mensch commented on the evening’s performance:  “Having never heard Future Islands in concert I wasn’t entirely sure of what to except.  Through, hearsay I knew they were amazing live from the chitchat around the studio… It’s safe to say that this was one of the best, if not the best concert I have ever seen in the Triangle.”

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Concert Review

Ben Sollee played a great show at Casbah on Saturday, February 12

Saturday night, my man and I celebrated Valentine’s Day early with a great show at Casbah in Durham. The only other time I’ve been to Casbah was to see Crooked Still, which was in an intimate seated setting. I was expecting this, but the venue quickly filled to standing room only.

After the first song, it was evident why opening band Humble Tripe was “humble.” The one man band slammed on a travel dulcimer, and chugged out a few repetitive chords on his acoustic guitar while singing cute lyrics about his life. I’ve heard studio recordings of Humble Tripe and described them as “if Bob Dylan and Bon Iver had a baby and then dropped it off in Durham,” but I don’t think those expectations were met. This could be because his recordings usually feature more than just Shawn Luby on guitar. Shawn brought to stage Catherine Edgerton of Midtown Dickens to play the occasional harmonica, tambourine, and of course her signature singing saw. Her bubbly presence took the heat off Shawn for a little while and as a budding saw player, I took notes on her technique. Humble Tripe is a band to listen to while sitting on a blanket at a small music festival feel, not as an opening band for a critically acclaimed artist like Ben Sollee.

Ben Sollee, former member of the Sparrow Quartet, is a dapper young cello player from Kentucky. He started things off with a short vocal performance, bluesy and emotional. He then brought in Phoebe Hunt (of The Belleville Outfit) on violin and Jordan Ellis on drums to do “Something, Somewhere, Sometime” off Dear Companion. This live rendition was a bit different from his version with Daniel Martin Moore, bringing in some rock elements and definitely changing my idea of going to a “slow cello concert.” They continue playing upbeat, jazzy at times, bluesy at times music occasionally featuring a bass guitar, drums, cello, and violin. It was fast paced and well instrumented. I enjoyed the more down-tempo songs, but I can see the newer songs really catching on in the indie rock scene—look out for his upcoming album. Ben’s voice was amazing in every song and so perfectly melded with Phoebe Hunt’s, which was reminiscent of Norah Jones or Regina Spektor at times.

Ben was also a great banter-er; a quality many musicians lack. He told tales of how he came to the ideas of songs—his description of “The Prettiest Tree on the Mountain” was as poetic as the tune itself, and he constantly introduced his friends on violin and percussion. The group definitely had chemistry; probably from their adventures on bike, touring across America. That’s right. On bike, with a cello and a drumset.

The best part of the show, aside from the group dynamic and perfect instrumental choreography, was the first encore “Only A Song.” Ben Sollee explained how this song is off of Dear Companion, an album to raise awareness about mountaintop removal coal mining. He doesn’t want this song to be a protest song, thus its name, but rather to inspire people to think a little harder about their actions in the world.

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Concert Review

Monotonix in Review

So Monotonix played at Kings last Thursday. I had no idea what to expect. I’ve heard that it is a good show and that they are “crazy” but man oh man… my buddies did a horrible job preparing me.

I was sad to leave the battles at Tir Na nOg (we had Shards, RBT, Squall and Thieves) but I could hear Kings beckoning me so I finally departed.  Kings was packed. I grabbed a beer and stood in the middle of the floor, a good spot to watch the band play on stage. But they didn’t play on stage. Monotonix clears a space on the ground and begins. I can’t see a thing and move to sit on the bar where I finally get a look at the insanity.

PBR cans (most with PLENTY of beer left in them) are flying everywhere. The band is crowdsurfing, the audience is crowdsurfing. There is beer in my hair and I’m amazed watching Monotonix literally play ON TOP OF the crowd. A few held up one band member and a few people held up his drum to play. (Did I mention that they are hardly wearing clothes?) I get scared as the band moves in my direction.. the bar. I have to scoot over so they can set up right next to me and a roommate. I’m a bit close for comfort but I was not about to give up my sweet spot. The singer grabs a dollar out of the tip jar, puts it somewhere…. unmentionable… and then throws the dollar down. The band seriously played everywhere but on stage.

(picture from when they played at the old Kings… I didn’t have my camera this night… glad I didn’t.  Who knows what Monotonix would do to it if they got a hold of it???)

Thanks Monotonix.  I had a great time.

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Concert Review

Ellos Me Tengan (The Yo La Tengo Show Recap)

If one were to compile a canon of influential independent artists that have truly shaped the genre,  Yo La Tengo would certainly have a spot on the list. At least that’s what I’ve been told. The New Jersey trio began their debut over twenty-five years ago.  Now that’s something to contend with. I wasn’t even born. Sunday night marked the second night performance for the band at Cats Cradle and although it didn’t officially sell out (like the previous night), I still encountered parking issues and a crowded venue. I’d never seen Yo La Tengo perform, but I had spun their tracks modestly over the air in the past and was somewhat familiar with their discography. Needless to say, I had a lot of expectations.

My first surprise for the evening was the crowd itself. As someone who’s use to seeing Cats packed with a  rowdy youthful bunch for shows of the likes of Caribou or Of Montreal, Tengo’s turnout was a lot more, well, experienced. Not that I’m complaining, but it certainly did speak to the years of influence and fan base the band has acquired. My second surprise of the night was right after frontman Ira Kaplan, drummer and wife of Ira, Gerogia Hubley, and bassist James McNew took the stage. A large game show wheel was carted to the front. Its pie slices were outfitted personally to fit song choices to be played by the band that night. A few selections included songs by their associated acts, Dump and the Condo Fucks. Another pie slice featured songs with people’s names in them. The band finally chose an overly eager man in the front row who convinced us he had been waiting at Cats all week for the show.  His spin lasted a few moments before stopping on the choice for songs that started with the letter ’S’.

DJ Chuck also attended the show and commented that “Yo La Tengo have been around so long, and their catalog is so vast, that it’s hard to know every song of theirs. They did close out the set with a couple I did know however, those songs being the fan-favorite Sugarcube and Sudden Organ."  He continued on to say, ” after a half-hour break, the band came back on for their second, wheel-less set. Running through a barage of songs that ranged from quiet and pretty to loud and full of feedback, the band closed the set with a 20-plus minute song that started out quiet and gradually built it’s way up to a noisy climax, with guitarist Ira Kaplan swinging his guitar around like a madman, inducing all kinds of feedback.“

The band came back out for a short encore consisting of Autumn Sweater, their cover of Daniel Johnston’s Speeding Motorcycle, and another cover which Chuck nor I didn’t catch the name of, but was a quiet, acoustic number.

I was pleasantly happy that Yo La Tengo pulled tracks from their most recent album release from September 2009, Popular Songs. It’s a great album which features the bluesy sexual rock and roll of Here To Fall, beautiful folk with More Stars Than There Are In Heaven and nostalgic instrumental with The Fireside. Yo La Tengo’s show proved to be just as versatile where their age was showing- in a good way. The trio seems to have adapted to the trends of music over the years, but they have never let it label or define them. Their performance had me on Sunday, (Ellos me tengan), and I think I can finally appreciate their role within this eclectic music genre.

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Concert Review

Megafaun Show RECAP!

Saturday, January 22, the second night of the Megafaun weekend, I was lucky enough to get into the sold out show. I got off work at ten thirty and raced over to Kings. Upon entering I found out that I had missed Cloudlines. Super bummed, I reached for a Duck Rabbit Milk Stout. I made my way through the crowd and took a seat at my favorite viewing spot, behind the sound booth. Brad Cook was the first of Megafaun to walk out on stage. The crowd excitedly greeted the rest of the band as they got ready to play. We were greeted back with “What the f*ck did we do to get all of you here tonight,” …or something like that.

After a couple songs, Megafaun talked of the band Megafun and jokingly played one of their super fun, silly, dancy tracks. The show continued, and I stood singing along to my favorite song of theirs, “Volunteers.” I must say it is too good live. Another beer in the show was wrapping up. The audience was still as enthused as when Megafaun first got on stage (some of these guests still enthused since last night’s show).  The show had ended and we clapped ourselves to death until we got our encore. The song would be acoustic. No microphone either. The ENTIRE audience was silent. It was eerie and amazing to have a packed out show fall dead silent to hear what Megafaun was offering us. Following this song Megafaun pulled some extra friends on stage to play other instruments, including a harmonica.

A great show.  This was my first time seeing a full Megafaun show.  Can’t wait to do it again!

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Concert Review

Beggars save night from colossal failure

Kings Barcade hosted the kickoff of the Beggars and Colossus’s 2011 North Carolina statewide tour Thursday, Jan. 13. Fortunately for the audience, the opening act was worth the $6 admission price.

The Beggars, classified as punk/rock/soul on their MySpace page, is a five-piece band from Detroit proper. Almost 700 miles is a long way to come to play for the two dozen or so people milling around Kings at the beginning of the set, but the group didn’t seem to mind. Vocalist Steven Davis swaggered around the stage wearing a red polo, khaki pants and a pair of white wrist sweatbands looking like he could be right at home at a 1980s Sunday afternoon family reunion – until the music started. Davis and his band mates were, in a word, enthusiastic. The singer’s theatrics included frequent jumps into the audience, losing his loafers and socks on more than one occasion, tossing the microphone around, crawling on his knees across the stage, a string of “fuck, yeah!”s in between songs and a backwards somersault from the floor back onto the stage. With all the jumping around, he even split his pants (a fact they specifically requested to be put in this blog). Davis slipped off the stage at the start of the last song, returning with “super limited edition” tour merchandise – a six-song CD and spiffy black tee.

The 45-minute set opened with “Same Costume as Mine,” a quirky song about matching outfits punctuated by the superb saxophone work of Rod “Pool Party” Jones. That got the crowd pumped up and kept them there through “FRK,” “It’s All About Me,” “Gold (My Neck I’ll Hang Around),” “25 Miles,” “Us Dudes (Wee get so Rad),” “Sleepaway Camp” and “Thieves.” Their finale “Stop, Drop, Rock n’ Roll” had the crowd chanting the chorus and pumped for the show’s headliner.

Colossus lead singer Sean Buchanan joined the Beggars on stage for “Stop, Drop, Rock n’ Roll,” which gave the first hint of intoxication. He made it clear he had a few too many when he crashed in to the drum kit in the middle of the second song. After a brief interlude, Buchanan regained his composure and the show continued. When he knocked over another drum, the band called it quits after the fourth song. The lyrics weren’t coherent enough to get any song titles.

Those who saw Colossus before Thursday should choose to remember them from previous performances. For those experiencing the Raleigh rock/metal band for the first time, consider giving them another chance. Colossus really does display “talent like a Viking lets blood on a battlefield as Independent Weekly’s Bryan Reed wrote. While the crowd did grow from the original two dozen, perhaps it was best there were limited witnesses.

The 2011 North Carolina statewide tour continues Friday, Jan. 14 at Pinups in Greensboro and Saturday, Jan. 15 at Reggie’s in Wilmington. The Beggars conclude their trip of the Wolfpack state Sunday, Jan. 16 at the Reservoir in Carrboro. Colossus will play again Saturday, Feb. 5 for the second day of the Bull City Metal Fest at Casbah.