RSS
MWARD + Norfolk & Western @ MWARD + Norfolk & Western
By Dan - Rocks In Your Head - 04/16/2005
Having had the opportunity to see Devendra Banhart in concert recently, I was looking forward to Mward's upcoming show at La Sala Rossa. You see, these types of shows are tricky. People don't seem genuinely ready for the influx of folk artists in 'the scene'. There's almost too much going on these days. All you have to do is check out the gig-list at Esoteric or somewhere online; Montreal is a haven for live venues and shows these days, thanks in part to the lovely promoters at Blue Skies Turn Black.
For those who were anticipating MWard's return to Montreal, he did not disappoint. The kid's got charisma and talent to boot. His guitar playing is rough and often times deliberately sloppy, but in the way that sounds great if the rest of the band is tight and doing their jobs well. And thankfully, his tone is pretty solid as well. The show was a tad short, but Ward managed to pull out all of the stops, switching from psych-folky rhythms to blues-tinged rock at the drop of a dime. Although I missed the Norfolk & Western opener, I suppose the set was but a warm-up before hitting the stage supporting Mr. Ward and his folk-inflected tunes.
The last half-year has brought us Devendra, Sufjan Stevens and a throng of talented mucisians who are challenging preconceptions of the folk genre and giving rise to a welcomed scene, at least for those of us who share a nostalgia for the days when troubadors walked the earth in search of spirited youth like ourselves. Or am I reading too much into the whole scene? Regardless, MWard is a part of the scene and with only three (available) albums under his belt, this kid has got a promising future. If you haven't already picked up last year's Transistor Radio, do yourself a favor.
[Tune in to Rocks In Your Head every Monday 6pm – 8pm]
STRAYLIGHT RUN + Honorary Title + Gratitude + more @ Cabaret La Tulipe
By Mikey B - The Lonesome Strangers - 05/04/2005
In the last week, I’ve been privileged to see some amazing bands. Motörhead robbed me of my aural virginity, Goldfinger rocked my pants off and Straylight Run put me to sleep.
Due to some guestlist mix-up that was fortunately settled after 40 minutes, I missed the punk/emo stylings of Chicago’s Spitalfield (pronounced Spittle-Field) who were touring in support of their new album Stop Doing Bad Things. Their debut album Remember Right Now came out less than two years ago on Victory Records, and I managed to get a promo copy of it. Since I happen to like a lot of bands that get tagged as “emo”, people assume I will like any wussy emo shit that comes along. The Weakerthans, Jets To Brazil, Jimmy Eat World... they’re great bands on all levels. But Spitalfield? Their songs are alright, until vocalist Mark Rose’s bland standard teary-eyed lyrics spill out. They’re predictable, and sound like an ultra watered-down version of Thursday. If I really want to see them, I guess I can wait a few weeks until they come back with Silverstein, who aren’t half bad.
I made it into La Tulipe just as Gratitude was starting up their set. They opened up for Jimmy Eat World back in November, where they gave a jaw-droppingly unusual live performance -- in the bad sense. Here, the over-the-top, exaggerated stage antics of vocalist Jonah Mantranga stole the show. Combine the dancing cheesiness of Moulin Rouge with an Olympic ribbon twirling floor exercise, mix in a few emo fist clenches, and you get a Gratitude live performance. What’s unusual is that their record isn’t really terrible. It consists mostly of sappy ballads that’d probably make the next cut of the O.C. soundtrack. Unfortunately, I listened to their album after having seen them live, so while it was playing, I'd get flashbacks of a grown man onstage whirling and twirling like a ballerina. Listen to the CD and judge for yourself and if you think you can endure their live performance, be my guest.
During the break, I got to hook up with my neighbors Alex & Dave who were at the show. Thank God I found someone I knew. This show was boring as fuck, and Alex woke me up a bit. I don’t think I’ve ever seen this guy sober, which is awesome. I wish I was plastered for this show, I would’ve probably had a better time.
The last time I ventured to La Tulipe, it was to review the pop rock duo Tegan & Sara. That show was insane, and the venue was packed to the gills. For this particular spectacle, the place was half full. The floor was pretty empty for all the opening acts, which is pretty lousy, but not surprising. The best part of this kind of show, was the assembly of cute emo chicks. Wall-to-wall cuties everywhere. Too bad for me, I never really approached any of them. We wouldn’t get along anyways, these bands suck, and these girls have lousy taste in music. What a great pick up line!
The Honorary Title came on next, and they had been greatly overhyped by my sweet yet tipsy friend Anastasia. I was told that if I liked Bright Eyes, then I’d love this band. Well, I didn’t. The band is actually a duo, but performs as a quartet live. Vocalist Jarrod Gorbel kicked into his set with a few songs that made him sound as if he were singing love songs in a wedding hall. Harmless, bland, and a little cheesy, his vocals did have a diluted Iggy Pop feel to them. Just a little raspy and unfettered, with that slick emo sensation. Their musical ensemble was much more similar to Dashboard Confessional’s than to that of Bright Eyes. For those of your snickering right now, YES, there is a difference. If you like Dashboard, you’ll probably like these guys. Their onstage banter was pretty unusual, as the vocalist did yell out something along the lines of “blowjobs!”, and later on, their bassist mentioned that they love Ontario. Aside from that, their interaction with the audience was heartfelt, I’ll give 'em that. I think I’ll download some of their songs, because I’m thinking that their live performance didn’t do them justice.
Next up were the headliners, Straylight Run who were greeted enthusiastically by the entire audience. As most people know, the band was formed by John Nolan & Shaun Cooper, both former members of Taking Back Sunday. Along with Will Noon on drums, and Nolan’s hot sister Michelle on keyboards, Straylight Run was formed just a little over a year ago. Although I received a copy of the CD a long time ago, I had never given it a chance. Now that I was reviewing the show, I thought maybe this would be a good time to give it a whirl. I must say that I was intrigued with some of the titles on the album, like “Existentialism On Prom Night”, “Tool Sheds & Hot Tubs”, as well as having the album's opening track being a tearjerker called “The Perfect Ending”. The record is pretty tight, combining great pop melodies with sweet melancholic vocals. The guitar/piano dynamic works well, whereas it does grow annoying with several other bands. The problem with their live performance has nothing to do with them as a band. It has everything to do with the caliber of bands that preceded them. By the end of the night, I was so exhausted, I could barely keep my eyes open. When they were open, I would usually be focusing on their dreamy keyboardist Michelle.
“HEY JOHN, YOUR SISTER’S HOT!”…
I had imagined yelling that out all night. This would’ve been hypocritical of me, having two sisters of my own and I happen to go nuts whenever anyone makes a sick sister joke. I get a little stabby.
Michelle did sing backup vocals and sang an unreleased song that made me nearly fall out of my chair. The show ended off with the beautiful “For The Best”, an ode to confusion and uncertainty. The song became my favorite song of the night, next to Michelle’s song. They then played a quick encore, which they said was somewhat of a rare occurrence on this tour.
So to summarize; don’t waste your hard-earned money going to these less-than-stellar emo shows unless you really love the bands. In this case, I didn’t really like any of them until Straylight Run came on. I was sleepy before the headliners could even make it onstage. Next time these guys go on tour, I’ll be sure to bring a case of Red Bull. Either that, or skip out on the openers.
[Tune in to The Lonesome Strangers Tuesdays 12pm - 2pm]
NEW ENGLAND METAL & HARDCORE FESTIVAL: Day 1 @ Palladium
By DCU - No Sleep Til Bedtime - 04/22/2005
Wake up early in Montreal, head to the border expecting the worst… AND nothing; 20 seconds talking to the border guard and away we were to the most incredible metal concert North America has to offer (of course after stocking up on Labatt 50s, JD, and Jager’s at the Duty-Free).
The metal fest was setup with two stages with shows commencing concurrently on each. The upstairs (second stage) was a large room with a gallery, comparable to maybe slightly larger than Foufs. Downstairs featured the main stage, about the size of Metropolis, but designed much more effectively with multiple levels allowing you to check out the action no matter where you stand. So here are some quick reviews of the many performances which I saw, sorry if the details are minor as fetivals like such can be a sensory overload.
SECOND STAGE
ION DISSONANCE (15:30 - 15:50)
It was really cool to check out our locals down there, and it was even more amazing when people were going insane for them. A really intense pit broke out for their set as they blasted through several tracks, and even though I've seen them many times before, their stuff never gets old, as they gave one of the best performances of the fest. The amount of kicks and windmills during "The Death of One Man..." was just incredible. A great start to the day and a sign of things to come.
CATASTROPHIC (16:00 – 16:20)
Second time I've seen these guys in concert, the first was several years ago. I wasn't impressed then, and this time was much worse. There was barely even anybody around to watch their set. I have know idea why they decided to do this comeback/reunion or whatever, but it isn’t working.
THE MINOR TIMES (17:10 – 17:30)
I've been excited to see these guys live since I heard their recent album "Making Enemies". They play a style of technical hardcore which I guess is comparable to Ion Dissonance, but with a more quirky warmer edge to it. Their set was pretty cool, the sound was really thick and intense while still showing a lot of technical skills that translated really well to the live setting.
MAIN STAGE
THE ESOTERIC (15:50 – 16:10)
For a band with members of Coalesce, Today is the Day, and Reggie and the Full Effect they create a sound all their own. In the live setting the mix of hardcore, metal, and alt-rock came off admirably, as they showed much diversity in a festival full of straight up hardcore and metalcore bands. The crowd wasn’t so much into these guys, but lets just chalk that up to playing the big stage early in the day… gotta conserve energy!
PREMONITIONS OF WAR (18:00 – 18:20)
The album they released last year, Left in Kowloon, never really impressed me, so I didn't really know what to expect. I don't know if it was the live setting, or that I didn't spend enough time with that record, but they were really damn good live. With a rather piercing metal sound they rifled through a bunch of tracks, including new stuff. Excellent set that has made me go and dig out their album again.
(20:00 – 20:30)
Now this is a band which just keeps on surprising me. With the release of their previous album Frail Words Collapse they cultivated a huge following with their metalcore style, and constant touring schedule. They played an incredible high energy set barely stopping for a second; playing hit tracks like "94 Hours" as well as new music from the forthcoming Shadows are Security. This set really impressed me as one of the best performances of the festival, and I have no idea why Unearth was headlining over As I Lay Dying as these guys blew literally every other band of the day out of the water. They closed out their set with the crowd favorite "Forever" causing the floor action of windmills and slam dancing to intesify to the wildest I had seen all day. All of us who went for the fest persisted on singing it in the hotel room for the rest of the trip of course.
OBITUARY (21:00 – 22:00)
No matter who I seemed to mention to that I was going to this festival, everyone seemed to flip out when they found out Obituary was playing. I personally have never been a fan of the band, but I was still incredibly excited to see if their performance would initiate the coming apocalypse, as others had described it to me. They took the stage in due time and hammered away for an hour straight with classic death metal that everyone loved, save for the hardcore kids. My main issue with there set though was that I found myself bored at certain moments. Their playing was amazing, sounding like a band who had not missed a beat, but still the energy level was kind of low and I was left slightly disappointed. Maybe headlining their own gig, where I have not been standing on my feet all day, frantically going from stage to stage would make the difference, but I really was not that excited by the end of their performance.
UNEARTH (22:30 – 23:30)
Some people have attributed great things with Unearth, and last time I saw them (many a year ago) their drummer was not allowed pass the border into Canada (he was actually replaced by John from Cephalic Carnage, an interesting performance in and of itself), so I was interested to see the band which had come so far from opening for Shai Hulud to being one of the headliners for one of North America’s biggest festival. And I could not have been more disappointed. The fact of the matter is, I am not such a big Unearth fan, I think in the metalcore style which they play (and arguably helped pioneer) there are many other bands doing more creative and exciting things. That being said, I had no problem with this at the show, but my bigger issue was their onstage antics. Doing beer funnels between songs, playing guitar behind your head, I don’t know how everyone else feels about these kind of antics, but generally I like the music to speak for itself, and I really wasn’t impressed.
HATEBREED (24:00 – 1:00)
If you’ve seen Hatebreed before you know exactly what to expect. A high energy show complete with patented chugging breakdowns, tough guy hardcore talk, and lots of kids throwing kicks and punches... and it totally works! Although I’m never totally blown away by their performance, like usual, it was rock solid from beginning to end. Lots of old school material for the diehard fans, and of course new stuff off The Rise of Brutality. Not much more to elaborate here, can’t expect too much more from a festival headliner.
GARBAGE @ Metropolis
By Ash - Primetime! With Ash and Leeland - 04/24/2005
“Bow down to me!”. When I first heard Garbage, mainstream radio was still in an acceptable state. Their song “I’m Only Happy When It Rains” was, well, pretty much the best song on the radio at that time. On the air alongside Garbage were the Smashing Pumpkins, Oasis, the short-lived Kula Shaker, Bush and a variety of other radio-friendly bands that were just cool enough to make not-so-mischievous teens like myself feel somewhat rebellious. Those days have long since past and we’re now at the mercy of Coldplay, Keane and Interpol to save us from the tasteless disaster that is contemporary radio. While Garbage is not what they were at the time of their self-titled debut or even Version 2.0, they do remain significant. Although I never heard anyone say “Garbage is my favorite band”, they’re still a band that has managed to transcend both cultural and class barriers. Garbage is and has always been a band that falls into both the alternative and pop categories, depending on who one asks. Catchy enough to be mainstream, while very much at home with the marginalists. This was very evident at their April 24th concert at the Metropolis. Here, an enormous mix of people came together to sing along with and in many cases worship Shirley Manson, “supervixen” extraordinaire. While the boys at the concert admired Shirley in an almost masochistic dominatrix manner, the girls, dressed somewhat like her, seemed to be under her spell also, but for reasons I can’t truly comprehend.
Aside from being eye candy, Shirley also sang fantastically. She was right on song after song. I had my doubts prior to the concert, but was soon proved very wrong. Also, being Garbage (originally studio geek Butch Vig’s side project), the sound was great, almost too good. A flaw/quality to note -- depending on how you look at it -- was that each song was played perfectly. While I didn’t mind that each song sounded exactly as it would on CD, others may have desired some variation or creative changes on the part of the band. Still, we have to keep in mind that this is Garbage, not Iron Maiden. Another flaw/quality to note is that the show was for the most part made up of songs from the first two albums. Songs like “Paranoid”, “Push It”, and “I’m Only Happy When it Rains” really got the crowd going, as desired by the band, I suppose. Two songs I really didn’t want to hear were “Queer” and “Stupid Girl”. Still both were played and no one else seemed to mind. Overall, the concert had all the songs one associates with Garbage, a few of the new tracks and no fillers. I would have appreciated hearing “The World is not Enough” or “Milk” but you can’t have everything in life. A true downside to the concert was its length. It was definitely on the short side, especially for a band with enough catchy tunes to play twice as long -- make an effort! The stage itself was as good as it could be for the Metropolis. Cool lighting behind the band -- made up of many small bright dots on the wall -- perfectly complemented the band’s sound and look. There were also four television screens behind them flashing images at the crowd.
Overall, it was a very good concert with no extras. It brought me back to the days when Garbage reigned on the airwaves. Still, while it felt good while I was at the concert, I felt no urge to replay to their CDs once I got home or even to go out and purchase the new album. As a means of entertainment, the concert did not disappoint. However, as a means of promotion, the concert failed to rekindle the Garbage bug I had all those years ago.
[Tune in to Primetime! With Ash & Leeland Thursdays 8pm – 10pm]
HANDSOME BOY MODELING SCHOOL + Rondo Brothers @ Cabaret La Tulipe
By Döc Holidae - Phantastiq Cypha - 04/14/2005
Nathaniel Meriwether says it best: “It’s a handsome thing, you wouldn’t understand”. And it’s true; if you haven’t heard of The Handsome Boy Modeling School, you don’t understand. Chest Rockwell (Prince Paul of De La Soul fame) and Nathaniel Meriwether (Dan The Automator from the Gorillaz) came out in 1999 with So... How’s Your Girl and recently released the follow-up album White People. Both albums use stylish samples and Handsome Boy graduates on numerous tracks. The first single "The World’s Gone Mad" off of White People has Del Tha Funky Homosapien, Barrington Levy and Alex Kapranos (Franz Ferdinand) working together to make a smooth flowing track that’ll have you really thinking the world’s gone mad.
“Handsome is as Handsome does”, proclaimed Chest Rockwell. That’s just one of many lines used by the Chest and Nathaniel at their show on April 14th @ La Tulipe in the east end of Montreal. The opening, The Rondo Brothers, was good but not memorable. Not even the La Tulipe box office can remember them. Somewhat of an R&B meets rock. I listened to them only as I was walking around and meeting members of Handsome Boy Modeling School. I actually had the chance of talking with Prince Paul before the show started. I stood outside with him for 10 minutes before he had to go in and start his set. Handsome Boy weren’t just performers, they’re deejays who never forget that a good show only comes from getting a good vibe and that’s what they got. We gave them our respect and they crowned us 100% handsome. Make sure next time they’re in town, you get the chance to be crowned.
[Tune in to Phantastiq Cypha, winners of CJLO’s Best On-Air Duo or Group, every Friday 9am to 12pm]
ARSENIQ 33 + Floating Widget + Wolfunkind @ Cabaret
By Johnnybot - Turn Down the Suck - 04/29/2005
This show had a bit of an odd bill. While both Arseniq 33 and Floating Widget are very good bands, they are completely different from each other. The contrast was a little too strong and the show suffered from it despite individually good sets.
France’s Wolfunkind were up first. Their sound was a sort of hard-rocking, almost metal, type of funk. While the term funk-metal would lead one to assume that a band sucked, Wolfunkind were actually pretty darn good. They were in complete control of what they were playing and presented it in tight little package. Wolfunkind were exactly the type of band that you’d expect to find opening for Arseniq 33.
Floating Widget, however, isn’t the type of band that fits with Arseniq’s style. This caused a bit of a problem, as the audience, who were there almost entirely there for Arseniq 33, didn’t seem to get it. At one point, I even heard someone explaining to his friend what “this new trend called stoner rock” is. Don’t get me wrong, Floating Widget is an awesome band, but they just didn’t manage to connect with the crowd. Besides that, the only other issue was that the vocals were a bit overpowering in the mix, but otherwise, it was a very good, very rockin’ set. The band played a couple of songs that aren’t on Praises –- it’s always a good thing to hear new material live. The song “I Wanna Be A Robot” was definitely a highlight of the night, as was the intro of “Resurrection”, which was pure desert rock magic.
Unlike just about everyone else present, I was there to see Widget, so there was some temptation to leave early since I was already satisfied. However, Arseniq 33 had just enough appeal to get me to stick around. Oddly, during their set, I had the weird feeling that I didn’t really belong there. I’m only a casual listener of Arseniq 33 and just wasn’t able to feel the enthusiasm that was spewing from all of their fans. I was left thinking: “Yeah, they’re good, but come on guys, they aren’t that good”. I do have to admit though that Arseniq 33 does deliver live. They’re super-energetic, frantic even, and were simply blazing. For example, their cover of “Ace of Spades” put Motörhead to shame; and surprisingly enough, the crowd actually slowed down during that song! For fans, it was an excellent set.
Overall, it was a good show, even if the sum of the parts was greater than the whole, if you know what I mean.
[Tune in to Turn Down The Suck Mondays 1:30pm – 3:00pm]
GOLDFINGER + The Bottom Line + Black Maria @ Club Soda
By Mikey B - The Lonesome Strangers - 05/01/2005
It is no secret to most people that know me that I love Goldfinger. So this review might be slightly biased since I’m getting the chance to review one of my favorite bands. For years, I’ve been going to every one of their shows and I’ve never left disappointed. I go absolutely berzerker, singing along to every song and I usually get the shit kicked out of me. Sunday night’s show at Club Soda was no exception.
As usual, I arrived to the venue late, and I caught the end of The Bottom Line’s set. Although they did have great presence mixed with upbeat stage banter, the band was forgettable. They basically sounded like a middle of the road Drive Thru Records band. If you’re over 18 years of age, you’ve probably outgrown most of these poppy whiny New Found Glory-esque bands by now. Sugary and sweet, they attract the younguns and their appeal wears off once you’ve listened to better punk music… or real punk music.
Actually, it wears off when you lose your virginity. There, I said it.
Enough hatin’. Those guys aren’t even on Drive Thru! After their set, I gave all my personal belongings to my hottie friend Amelie, so I could get into that pit for Goldfinger. Five minutes later, I realized that their was ANOTHER band playing.
GODDAMMIT ! I am here to see Gold-fucking-FINGER! I don’t give a FUCK about opening bands! To be fair, The Black Maria did put on a pretty damn good set. I did feel a little sketch when I saw them get onstage; I had a feeling I’d be seeing another one of those lame-O screamo/emo/hardcore/douchebag bands. You know, the kind who talk big and tough about slitting wrists and suicide, then you see their 100-pound bassist wearing cosmetics and sucking in his cheeks like a guy who ate a sourball. The Black Maria were entertaining, like a harder version of The Used -- they do lie somewhere on the brighter side of that whole screamo scene. The difference with The Black Maria was that I was almost able to decipher what they were saying on stage, something that doesn’t really happen with a lot of crappy nu-punk hardcore bands. I’d have to say that they’re one of the better Victory Records bands out there. For example:
Catch 22 & Voodoo Glow Skulls… GOOD
Atreyu & Hawthorne Heights… BAD
Waiting for Goldfinger was like waiting for porn to upload on your computer in 1997. The wait was well worth it, even though there was no naked Posh Spice at the end of the spectacle. Yeah, you heard me.
"The Final Countdown" was blasted over the speakers as Goldfinger took to the stage. Greeted with insane cheers from the eager audience, they surprised even me when they came out playing "I’m Down" as the opener to their set.
”I’M DOWN, AND YOU’RE KILLING ME… I’M DOWN, BUT STILL YOU MEAN NOTHING TO ME!”
It’s as if everyone knew every word to every song being played, with each song being a personal favorite for someone or other in the audience, from the poppy ex-girlfriend ranting of “Counting The Days” to the anger-fuelled madness of the song “Question”.
”YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT PAIN IS,
YOU HAVEN’T SUFFERED ONE IOTA SO JUST STOP YOUR WHINING,
YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT PAIN IS…
STOP COMPLAINING POINT YOUR FINGER, I’LL TELL YA WHO TO BLAME”
A few times during the song, John Feldmann jumped into the crowd and sang while crowd surfing. He did it a few more times during the show, to the audience’s delight. While playing “Open Your Eyes”, Feldmann got onto one of the giant speakers 15-20 feet high, and jumped into the crowd just as the peak of the song hit. An impressive feat, considering John Feldmann & co. have been touring rigorously throughout the past ten years. It seems as if no one has ever seen a bad Goldfinger performance. Sunday’s show was supposed to be played at Montreal’s Metropolis, which holds about 2500 people. Instead, the show was moved to Club Soda down the street, which is considerably smaller. You wonder how a band might react after such a change in venues. It didn’t seem to affect them one bit; all the energy, all the fun and all the excitement of a punk rock show was displayed during their amazing 16-song set, which featured mostly older songs. This did surprise me since I thought they were touring in support of their newest album Disconnection Notice. They also did just release a greatest hits CD/DVD package not too long ago. It doesn’t really matter, because it didn’t really seem like they were there to promote anything.
The only thing that did bother me was the overzealous attitude the boys in Goldfinger have towards a vegan/vegetarian lifestyle. For people who don’t know, John Feldmann and the Goldfinger crew believe strongly in animal rights, and have been large advocates for a vegetarian lifestyle for quite some time now. This doesn’t bother me that much, since I am against animal cruelty, fur and all that kind of stuff. However, a vegetarian lifestyle is not for everyone, especially for a guy who’s part of an Italian family, and has a father that loves hunting.
Asides from the veggie propaganda that laced each and every Goldfinger show, the spectacle was just too amazing for words. The high point of the show was when Feldmann invited fans on stage to sing along to their classic “Mable”. This has always been a Goldfinger tradition, and boy is it a great one. Yours truly got onstage, sang along and went totally nuts. Then, I performed a totally botched stage dive after the song. Yeah, I still ache all over.
I walked out of the show covered in sweat with no voice, holding onto half a drum stick with my dear life. My co-host Spanky G made off with a drum cover, so we proceeded to play with them once we left the stage area. During their last show, we each made off with a setlist autographed by the entire band, something I have hanging on my wall of fame. This time, I’ll just have to settle with a jagged piece of wood.
Great show, as always. I’m not all that surprised.
[Tune in to The Lonesome Strangers Tuesdays 12pm – 2pm]
FISCHERSPOONER - Odyssey
By Dan - Rocks In Your Head - 04/05/2005
Okay, admittedly this is not a full, encompassing review. I have neither the time nor the urge to do a full review. So instead, I'll hit you kids up with a two-part review, splitting this new Fischerspooner CD in half. Here goes part 1:
(Get your mofo booty on the dance floor, people!)
That should be the entire review, but I'll flesh it out a little for your reading pleasure.
Call it electronic/electro-clash/dance/whatever...this shit is pretty cool. I'd heard of the band's first release (#1, May 6th 2002) that supposedly contained a sweet track called “Emerge”, but didn't follow up too quickly. Word had it that the album was lacklustre apart from a couple of tunes. This new album, however, is pretty sweet stuff.
The album kicks off with “Just Let Go”, a synth-heavy anthem with a hint of noisy guitars. Clubbers will get the most out of this one if only for its delicately layered simplicity. “Cloud” has an opening bass line that carries the tune and never lets up, and has what I might call a post-shoegaze feel to it. Like if Slowdive had kept their dancier remixes going and Christian Savill had re-joined and contributed some of the mood that Monster Movie does so well. “Never Win” has a hook reminiscent of Pink Floyd meets Front 242, polished and packaged for the dance floor.
Things start slowing down at this point, but the steady flow of “Kick in the Teeth” and its uptempo chorus keeps the album flowing nicely. The song could easily become a raver's anthem considering its lyrical content: a subtle hommage to Ecstasy and the many gratifying pleasures derived therein. “Everything to Gain” is a darker tune than most of the album's tracks, and “We Need a War” has some sweet harmonizing to cap off the first half of the album.
There is a retro feel across this album, but there's none of that 80’s cheese that we've come to hate. Solid recording all around, though some will accuse Fischerspooner of over-polishing some of the tunes. The bottom line: this is better than most material destined for the dancefloor and it WILL sound really good and potent if the club's system is up to par.
If you're a DJ looking to get down with Fischerspooner, I recommend throwing in some Front 242 or New Order just to prime your listeners beforehand. Then when something like “Never Win” hits people's eardrums, they'll be sufficiently primed and pumped for more.
Part 2 of the review coming soon.
[Tune in to Rocks In Your Head Mondays 6pm - 8pm]
Sharon Jones and The Dap-Kings @ El Salon
By Christopher Bussmann - Bop and Beyond - 04/28/2005
Opening with a funky instrumental set, the Dap-Kings had bodies moving to their grip-tight buggalo, priming the audience for their four-foot, eleven inch soul dynamo front-woman; and when she took the stage the place exploded. Sharon can sing, she can dance, and she can connect with the fans - bringing them on stage to sing-along and dance, telling them stories about 'back in the day' and how each song came about. Sharon Jones is a performer in the true and versatile sense of the word. And she is a star.
With her band on fire, Sharon ran through a good mix of new and old tunes as well as two sexed up, funk intensive covers of songs far removed from the genre: Woody Guthrie's "This Land Is Your Land" and Janet Jackson's "What Have You Done For Me Lately?". By the time they laid into their encore of "Lay It In The Cut," from their debut album Dap-Dipping, Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings had the crowd thoroughly exhausted and thoroughly pleased. In the span of just two short hours, they managed to tear the house down, rebuild it, torch it, and dance on its ashes.
[Tune in to Bop And Beyond every Wednesday 2:00pm - 4:30pm]
HOT HOT HEAT + The Futureheads + Louis XIV @ Metropolis
By Matt - Idle Minds - 04/22/2005
Awful, Excellent, and not the train wreck I was expecting.
Easiest review I ever wrote!
…what? I have to write more? Damnit…
For people who love bands that sound like other bands, last Friday’s show at the Metropolis was a night to remember. And I don’t mean that as a negative... these days, it’s very hard to find a band that doesn’t sound like someone else, or an amalgamation of various bands. The trick is to do it well.
Unfortunately, San Diego’s http://www.louisxiv.net/ "> Louis XIV don’t do it well, at least not live. I’ve listened to their new album The Best Little Secrets Are Kept trying to get acquainted with their songs before the show and to be honest, they do a pretty good approximation of 70’s glam-era David Bowie -- faux British accent and all. Unfortunately their live act left a lot to be desired. What sounds like cool/retro on CD sounded like generic FM rock on stage (cough... CHOM... cough). Their second song literally sounded like a cross between Bryan Adams and AC/DC. And then there was the creepy dedication of their song "Illegal Tender" to "all the young girls out there", specifically the twenty or so 16-year-olds on the dance floor with the glow sticks. Yikes. By the way, the non-lead-vocalist/guitarist in the band should never be allowed to play the piano or sing again, unless he’s planning on starting a Simple Plan cover band. Then again, I've never seen such a good crowd response for the third band on a three-band bill, so what do I know. As they say, “chacun à son goût” (that’s French by the way… look it up).
The crowd cheered when the huge Futureheads backdrop came down during the downtime and I cheered up a bit (or maybe it was the beer). The 80s revival aspect of the other two bands is hammered home by the Elvis Costello and The Cars playing on the PA. Let me start by stating that I love the http://www.thefutureheads.com/ ">Futureheads album. Even though I usually joke that I preferred them when they were called XTC, these guys have talent in spades. Having missed them the last time they were through town (headlining... sigh), I was pretty excited to be seeing them. Despite some fairly spotty sound quality (I blame the venue), they didn't disappoint. Starting things off with "Le Garage" (the usual opener), the band from Sunderland played a fine selection of songs off their debut release. What struck me about The Futureheads was the tight musicianship and excellent vocals from all four members. The strength of the vocals was very apparent by their excellent rendition of "Hounds of Love" by Kate Bush where the members trade syncopated oh’s as a background to the main vocals. An excellent set by an excellent band that I hope to see more of in the future.
(Can you tell I like this band?)
The Futureheads left the stage, and a very high pitched "Hot Hot Heat" chant started on the floor. Did I mention the twenty or so 16-year-olds with the glow sticks? After hearing the same 3-4 songs from The Clash's London Calling a couple of times and a few delays -- at one point, the lights went out, and then came back on. My guess is that it was a hair malfunction -- Vancouver's http://www.hothotheat.com/ ">Hot Hot Heat took the stage.
Let me get this out the way…
To lead singer Steve Bays: 70s-era Roger Daltrey called... wants his hair back. And oh ya... I think Mick Jagger trademarked those crappy dance moves.
Ok... phew… now I can get on with the review.
As I mentioned at the beginning of this review, Hot Hot Heat’s set was not the train wreck that I was expecting. It wasn’t fantastic by any means, but it was enjoyable enough. I rank their Sub Pop album Make up the Breakdown as one of the better albums of the first half of this decade, and it still ends up in my CD player to this day. Their new major label debut Elevator left me a little cold. It’s growing on me a bit, but it’s nowhere near as good as Make up the Breakdown. That being said, the show’s strengths were the older songs and its weakness were the newer songs (shocking!). Truth be told, the new songs did sound a lot better performed live, but it doesn’t prevent them from being weak songs in the first place (don’t get me started on “You Owe Me An IOU”! Errr…).
For the most part, the set alternated between songs from Make up the Breakdown and Elevator. Highlights were “Island Of The Honest Man” -- best song on the new album, in my humble opinion -- an excellent version of “Get In Or Get Out” and the set closer “Bandages” which got the whole floor pogo-ing. Low points were a very sloppy version of “This Town” and “Save Us S.O.S”, some pretty horrible stage banter, a temperamental bassist and weak sounding drums. Overall, simply not a very fun band to watch live: the music’s alright, but the band just doesn’t have the dynamics for a good live act. I won’t be rushing out to see them again anytime soon.
To summarize again: Awful, Excellent, and not the train wreck I was expecting.
[Tune in to The Idle Minds Sundays 4pm – 6pm]
Pages
Staff Login | Advertise | Our Location | RSS | Contact Us
