Today, I interviewed James from Yo La Tengo. We talked about the new album, "Popular Songs," touring, cover songs, the album's art (which is fantastic) and various other topics. Lot of stuff in only 20 minutes.
This leads me to a question: What's the most embarrassing tune in your iPod/record collection/stack of 8-track tapes? Send me an e-mail at kcoffey@owh.com.
Thanks in advance for the responses. Anyway, onto headlines!
• Creed tickets to next week's show (Wednesday) are only 10 bucks for a limited time. You have until Monday, Oct. 5, at midnight to lock them down. I assume they're getting rid of these tickets because no one is buying them. Count me not surprised at all.
• Paul McCartney has a new CD/DVD coming out. He played at Citi Field, the home of the New York Mets, as a celebration of sorts to open the field. If you recall, the Beatles played a famous concert at Shea Stadium, the Mets' former residence.
• From the "How awesome does this sound" department: Mos Def and the Black Keys jammed at Spin's offices.
• Pearl Jam's new release hit No. 1 on Billboard's charts. See the below entry on the Monsters of Folk.
• Want some new Nirvana? Pitchfork has a previously unreleased track from the "Bleach" reissue at their site.
• Others aren't a fan, but I quite like Jimmy Fallon's show (if only I stayed up late enough to watch). I should have last night because Sunny Day Real Estate was on.
• Britney has a new "club track." It's called "3."
• Springsteen and E Street Band are going to play several albums in their entirety.
• Don't know if you're on Twitter or not. I am. A lot of musicians are too. Here are 10 to follow.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Monsters of Folk debuts at No. 15
Those Monsters know how to chart records.
The indie super group of M. Ward, Jim James, Mike Mogis and Conor Oberst sold nearly 35,000 records in its first week, enough to hit 15 on the Billboard charts.
A pretty good debut, doing better than Oberst's solo records, but not nearly as good as his Bright Eyes albums.
"Outer South," out in May, it did more than 19,000 copies (14,361 physical and 4,823 digital) in its first week. Oberst's self-titled solo release with Merge sold 28,918 copies in late 2008, charting at No. 15. Bright Eyes hit No. 4 on Billboard in 2007, selling 58,000 copies of "Cassadaga." In 2005, "I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning" debuted at No. 10, selling 56,000 copies.
It should be noted that these are all debut week numbers. "Wide Awake" has gone on to sell hundreds of thousands of copies.
I wouldn't have expected this release to do as well as Bright Eyes, to be honest. For the casual music fan who has heard of Bright Eyes, it's probably not as apparent that these are the same dudes.
Once the music gets out there (both on the road and on the radio) I bet this thing will sell a lot more records.
We shall see.
The indie super group of M. Ward, Jim James, Mike Mogis and Conor Oberst sold nearly 35,000 records in its first week, enough to hit 15 on the Billboard charts.
A pretty good debut, doing better than Oberst's solo records, but not nearly as good as his Bright Eyes albums.
"Outer South," out in May, it did more than 19,000 copies (14,361 physical and 4,823 digital) in its first week. Oberst's self-titled solo release with Merge sold 28,918 copies in late 2008, charting at No. 15. Bright Eyes hit No. 4 on Billboard in 2007, selling 58,000 copies of "Cassadaga." In 2005, "I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning" debuted at No. 10, selling 56,000 copies.
It should be noted that these are all debut week numbers. "Wide Awake" has gone on to sell hundreds of thousands of copies.
I wouldn't have expected this release to do as well as Bright Eyes, to be honest. For the casual music fan who has heard of Bright Eyes, it's probably not as apparent that these are the same dudes.
Once the music gets out there (both on the road and on the radio) I bet this thing will sell a lot more records.
We shall see.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Thom Yorke and... Wait!? What!?
So, Thom Yorke...
Interesting guy. He released those solo tracks last week and now has decided to play a few live shows (something he rarely does without Radiohead).
Who does he recruit for his band? Flea. Yeah, that Flea. The one from Red Hot Chili Peppers. Does anyone else find this to be a somewhat odd combination?
It would be really wild if Colin Greenwood was replaced by Flea. I guarantee the next Radiohead album would have a different sound.
Anyway, the press release states rather sternly that Radiohead is not, in fact, breaking up.
Read the rest of the release:
Interesting guy. He released those solo tracks last week and now has decided to play a few live shows (something he rarely does without Radiohead).
Who does he recruit for his band? Flea. Yeah, that Flea. The one from Red Hot Chili Peppers. Does anyone else find this to be a somewhat odd combination?
It would be really wild if Colin Greenwood was replaced by Flea. I guarantee the next Radiohead album would have a different sound.
Anyway, the press release states rather sternly that Radiohead is not, in fact, breaking up.
Read the rest of the release:
Thom Yorke announced last night at http://www.radiohead.com/deadairspace/
that he has assembled a band to play a pair of shows October 4 and 5 at Los Angeles' Orpheum Theater. Thom, Joey Waronker, Mauro Refosco, Flea and Nigel Godrich will play material from his 2006 album The Eraser as well as new songs.
Local act Lucky Dragons will support.
Radiohead is not breaking up.
As previously reported, Thom Yorke released the FeelingPulledApartbyHorses/The Hollow Earth 12-inch on September 21. The single will be released digitally October 6. Both tracks were produced by Nigel Godrich and mastered by Bob Ludwig.
Early headlines!
Social Distortion was pretty awesome last night. I'm pretty tired today.
In other news, I did finally talk to Mike Mogis yesterday, and I'll post some of that stuff later. Also, the Kings of Leon refused an interview request, saying that the band is "taking a break from press." That's a new one...
Anyway, I didn't get to them yesterday, so here's an early version of headlines!
• The woman who inspired the Beatles song "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds" has died.
• Hayley Williams of Paramore went blonde! Craziness. Good thing I got a reference to the "fiery-haired frontwoman" in the paper a few days before the makeover. Video here.
• They announced the new season of Austin City Limits. Everyone from Mos Def to Okkervil River to the Dave Matthews Band are on the list. And everyone's hyping up Them Crooked Vultures (the Zeppelin-Foo Fighters-Queens of the Stone Age supergroup), whose episode will air Feb. 6. Cool names, but I'm not entirely convinced. Here's some shaky video from a Brixton Academy show.
• Weezer are getting a lil help from Lil Wayne for the track "Can't Stop Partying" on the band's new album, "Raditude." Sounds like it could be cool. On that note: Folks, this album is likely not going to be as good or groundbreaking as their first three-or-so albums. Get over it and stop complaining. This "They're calling their album 'Raditude?' What a joke" and "It'll never be as good as 'Pinkerton'" bullshit that I keep hearing is annoying the hell out of me. The band you fell in love with in high school/college moved on. It was 15 years ago. So should you.
• Bon Iver did a set in an LA cemetary. At sunrise. I thought the set they did last weekend at Slowdown was pretty awesome, but I'm pretty sure the cemetary show wins first prize.
• You can stream the "Where the Wild Things Are" soundtrack.
• Unrelated to music: I am a nerd. So, naturally I love this Star Wars Jedi bathrobe.
In other news, I did finally talk to Mike Mogis yesterday, and I'll post some of that stuff later. Also, the Kings of Leon refused an interview request, saying that the band is "taking a break from press." That's a new one...
Anyway, I didn't get to them yesterday, so here's an early version of headlines!
• The woman who inspired the Beatles song "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds" has died.
• Hayley Williams of Paramore went blonde! Craziness. Good thing I got a reference to the "fiery-haired frontwoman" in the paper a few days before the makeover. Video here.
• They announced the new season of Austin City Limits. Everyone from Mos Def to Okkervil River to the Dave Matthews Band are on the list. And everyone's hyping up Them Crooked Vultures (the Zeppelin-Foo Fighters-Queens of the Stone Age supergroup), whose episode will air Feb. 6. Cool names, but I'm not entirely convinced. Here's some shaky video from a Brixton Academy show.
• Weezer are getting a lil help from Lil Wayne for the track "Can't Stop Partying" on the band's new album, "Raditude." Sounds like it could be cool. On that note: Folks, this album is likely not going to be as good or groundbreaking as their first three-or-so albums. Get over it and stop complaining. This "They're calling their album 'Raditude?' What a joke" and "It'll never be as good as 'Pinkerton'" bullshit that I keep hearing is annoying the hell out of me. The band you fell in love with in high school/college moved on. It was 15 years ago. So should you.
• Bon Iver did a set in an LA cemetary. At sunrise. I thought the set they did last weekend at Slowdown was pretty awesome, but I'm pretty sure the cemetary show wins first prize.
• You can stream the "Where the Wild Things Are" soundtrack.
• Unrelated to music: I am a nerd. So, naturally I love this Star Wars Jedi bathrobe.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Fall Music Preview
If you've been outside in the last few days, you've noticed it's fall.
Must be time, then, for a Fall Music Preview.
I went ahead and highlighted the biggest concerts coming to town and biggest album releases. It's all there, along with a load of music clips for you to listen to:
• Main story (focusing on the Monsters of Folk)
• Notable fall concerts
• Notable fall album releases
I imagine that some may not agree with me, but that's totally cool. What are the albums/shows that you're anticipating most? Tell me in the comments.
Must be time, then, for a Fall Music Preview.
I went ahead and highlighted the biggest concerts coming to town and biggest album releases. It's all there, along with a load of music clips for you to listen to:
• Main story (focusing on the Monsters of Folk)
• Notable fall concerts
• Notable fall album releases
I imagine that some may not agree with me, but that's totally cool. What are the albums/shows that you're anticipating most? Tell me in the comments.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Looking ahead at the weekend
There's a lot going on this weekend, musically. I won't be able to get to any of it, really, as I'm committed to a bunch of other stuff.
• Tonight is Os Mutantes, the Brazilian psychedelic rock band. I was first turned onto them by Brian at Anitquarium Records (their website doesn't point this out, but the store is located on 13th St., just north of Howard. Go check them out). I'd really never heard of them until he told me it was his favorite record at the time. Anyway, they had been apart from the mid-70s until a few years ago, but are now back together and have a new album, "Haih Or Amortecedor."
• Airborne Toxic Event is at Slowdown tonight, but the show is sold out. I wanted to go, but have other stuff going down. I saw them at Lollapalooza and they were fantastic. Hopefully, they'll do that "Goodbye Horses" cover (originally by Q Lazzarus and in "Silence of the Lambs") that I heard them do. Quite good.
• UUVVWWZ is doing the Sydney tomorrow night. They seem to be playing Omaha a lot more since they signed with Saddle Creek. I wonder when they're going to do some new stuff, since their album was out with Darren Keen's label since sometime last year.
• If you like hip hop, check out Brother Ali at the Waiting Room tomorrow. I don't know the material well, but his publicist has been e-mailing me about it constantly for the last week. If you're interested in listening, go to Ali's site.
• Sunday is Flogging Molly at Stir. I first saw them at Warped Tour like 8 or 9 years ago. It was one of those, "Who is this band? Let's go check them out," kind of situations. They're a good live band, but I have to admit to liking the Dropkick Murphys a little better. They're louder and a little more punkrock, in my opinion.
Anyway, lots of options. If you plan on hitting any of these up or want to tell me how they were, say so in the comments.
• Tonight is Os Mutantes, the Brazilian psychedelic rock band. I was first turned onto them by Brian at Anitquarium Records (their website doesn't point this out, but the store is located on 13th St., just north of Howard. Go check them out). I'd really never heard of them until he told me it was his favorite record at the time. Anyway, they had been apart from the mid-70s until a few years ago, but are now back together and have a new album, "Haih Or Amortecedor."
• Airborne Toxic Event is at Slowdown tonight, but the show is sold out. I wanted to go, but have other stuff going down. I saw them at Lollapalooza and they were fantastic. Hopefully, they'll do that "Goodbye Horses" cover (originally by Q Lazzarus and in "Silence of the Lambs") that I heard them do. Quite good.
• UUVVWWZ is doing the Sydney tomorrow night. They seem to be playing Omaha a lot more since they signed with Saddle Creek. I wonder when they're going to do some new stuff, since their album was out with Darren Keen's label since sometime last year.
• If you like hip hop, check out Brother Ali at the Waiting Room tomorrow. I don't know the material well, but his publicist has been e-mailing me about it constantly for the last week. If you're interested in listening, go to Ali's site.
• Sunday is Flogging Molly at Stir. I first saw them at Warped Tour like 8 or 9 years ago. It was one of those, "Who is this band? Let's go check them out," kind of situations. They're a good live band, but I have to admit to liking the Dropkick Murphys a little better. They're louder and a little more punkrock, in my opinion.
Anyway, lots of options. If you plan on hitting any of these up or want to tell me how they were, say so in the comments.
Cheap tickets for Stir
Sometimes it pays to use Twitter.
I follow the Stir Concert Cove, mostly because they announce acts on there sometimes and because they always post interesting things about what's going on backstage.
Today, they posted about cheeeeeap tickets. I think they're trying to fill up the shows.
Anyway, go to stircove.com today at the following hours for $5 tickets to Cheech & Chong and Flogging Molly (that's Sunday).
Posted at Stir's Twitter page:
• Five Dollar Friday! $5 Cheech & Chong tickets! stircove.com ONLY, 4:20pm-5:20pm today ONLY, Code: SMOKE
• Five Dollar Friday! $5 Flogging Molly tickets! stircove.com ONLY, 5pm-6pm today ONLY, Code: MOLLY
I follow the Stir Concert Cove, mostly because they announce acts on there sometimes and because they always post interesting things about what's going on backstage.
Today, they posted about cheeeeeap tickets. I think they're trying to fill up the shows.
Anyway, go to stircove.com today at the following hours for $5 tickets to Cheech & Chong and Flogging Molly (that's Sunday).
Posted at Stir's Twitter page:
• Five Dollar Friday! $5 Cheech & Chong tickets! stircove.com ONLY, 4:20pm-5:20pm today ONLY, Code: SMOKE
• Five Dollar Friday! $5 Flogging Molly tickets! stircove.com ONLY, 5pm-6pm today ONLY, Code: MOLLY
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Headlines! He-Man, Cursive and more
Well, I was supposed to talk to Mike Mogis the other day. Then yesterday. Then today. Still hasn't happened. Guess the uber-producer/"I-can-play-every-instrument-under-the-sun" guy is pretty busy.
When that happens, I will post some stuff that won't fit into the Monsters of Folk story that I'm writing.
Went to Built to Spill last night. Outstanding show and I got to talk to Doug Martsch for a little bit afterwards. He might be the nicest guy in rock 'n roll. And he also might have the best beard in rock 'n roll. Just sayin'...
I'll write a proper review later. Until then, feast on headlines!
• Unrelated to music: The new He-Man movie still might get made. Other people are hoping it doesn't come to fruition considering what a travesty they consider "Masters of the Universe" to be. I, for one, love that movie. It's one of a handful of films that defined my childhood. (It also features fine performances by Frank Langella, Courtney Cox and Dolph Lundgren.)
• The Foo Fighters have one of the new songs from their greatest hits comp out. Listen.
• Here's one of those new Thom Yorke songs.
• Don't think I've mentioned this in the blog yet, but Cursive did a Daytrotter set the other day.
• MGMT was on "Yo Gabba Gabba." Stereogum has the video.
• GeekSugar did a post on the three best sites to find live music in your town. Those sites are cool, but I recommend checking your local sources, like 1% Productions, SlamOmaha, (shameless plug) Omaha.com or the website of your favorite venue (most of the local spots have one). If you're looking for general tour information on any one of thousands of bands or venues, I'd definitely check out Pollstar. Concert tours are (very literally) those guys' business and it's all they do.
• Unrelated to music: I'm so glad Nicolas Cage never ended up being Superman.
• Neutral Milk Hotel will reissue its albums on vinyl.
• Paramore has a new album. And the entire thing is streaming online.
• Spin has a Q&A with the Monsters of Folk.
• Lily Allen might have given up music. She says that she doesn't plan on doing another album.
When that happens, I will post some stuff that won't fit into the Monsters of Folk story that I'm writing.
Went to Built to Spill last night. Outstanding show and I got to talk to Doug Martsch for a little bit afterwards. He might be the nicest guy in rock 'n roll. And he also might have the best beard in rock 'n roll. Just sayin'...
I'll write a proper review later. Until then, feast on headlines!
• Unrelated to music: The new He-Man movie still might get made. Other people are hoping it doesn't come to fruition considering what a travesty they consider "Masters of the Universe" to be. I, for one, love that movie. It's one of a handful of films that defined my childhood. (It also features fine performances by Frank Langella, Courtney Cox and Dolph Lundgren.)
• The Foo Fighters have one of the new songs from their greatest hits comp out. Listen.
• Here's one of those new Thom Yorke songs.
• Don't think I've mentioned this in the blog yet, but Cursive did a Daytrotter set the other day.
• MGMT was on "Yo Gabba Gabba." Stereogum has the video.
• GeekSugar did a post on the three best sites to find live music in your town. Those sites are cool, but I recommend checking your local sources, like 1% Productions, SlamOmaha, (shameless plug) Omaha.com or the website of your favorite venue (most of the local spots have one). If you're looking for general tour information on any one of thousands of bands or venues, I'd definitely check out Pollstar. Concert tours are (very literally) those guys' business and it's all they do.
• Unrelated to music: I'm so glad Nicolas Cage never ended up being Superman.
• Neutral Milk Hotel will reissue its albums on vinyl.
• Paramore has a new album. And the entire thing is streaming online.
• Spin has a Q&A with the Monsters of Folk.
• Lily Allen might have given up music. She says that she doesn't plan on doing another album.
Owl City
I need to get some questions together for my interview with Owl City.
If you haven't heard the electronic-pop "band" (it's just one guy, Adam Young), go listen.
Anyway, I'd like to drop in one question from a reader. Sooooooooo, e-mail me or post comments here on the blog. I'll ask Adam the best one.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
What a week(end)
The last five days has been, by far, the best music-centered five days that I've had in the last year.
Friday, I got to see Silversun Pickups at Slowdown. If you recall, the LA foursome kicked out one of my five favorite sets at Lollapalooza over a month ago. I was pretty pumped to see them coming back.
Saturday, I witnessed Bon Iver in all its glory. I also saw them at Lolla. While it was cool, I was about 150 yards away and I could barely see the stage. Saturday, I was on the floor at Slowdown and could have hit Justin Vernon in the eye with my cell phone if I felt like throwing it. Much better show.
Took the day off Sunday, but got to check out Phoenix at Slowdown on Monday night. Holy crap. One of the top shows (if not the best) I've seen all year.
Let's break it down:
Silversun Pickups
Like I said, I was excited to see this band again. Walking into Sokol Underground, it was hot. Not as hot as a Faint show, but holy soaked t-shirt was it nasty. Turns out the show sold out.
I showed up late and missed the openers (in fact, I inadvertently showed up late every one of these nights and missed the opener at each show... I need to have a better concept of time, I guess).
After "No Secrets This Year" and "Royal We," frontman Brian Aubert acknowledged the heat, saying "It's hot as fuck in here, man," before remarking that "This is a beautiful place." I don't know if Sokol is beautiful, but it's certainly a weird venue.
The band kept things up-tempo and loud, but didn't drown themselves out. The floor folks were bouncing the whole show.
Fun moments were when bassist Nikki Bonninger took some vocal parts in songs that she usually only does backup for. And drummer Christopher Guanlao is a spitfire. He easily has the highest-mounted cymbal on a drum kit that I've ever seen and the kid can certainly play.
I don't have much to say about keyboardist/synth guy Joe Lester. But, then again, his parts are kind of designed to fit into the background and fill out the sound of Aubert's fuzzy guitar parts and the drums.
It's quite amazing to me that Aubert is able to play his guitar that way and sing at the same time. Most of the songs are riff-based melodies, meaning that it's not verse-chorus-verse-chorus. Aubert's parts sound similar verse to verse, but they're always changing in subtle ways.
Anyway, they blew the roof off the joint with "Panic Switch." (Watch the YouTube video. Audio quality ain't great, but it will do.) Then they did it again with "Lazy Eye." It was incredible to see them rile up the crowd and practically tear down the walls with one song before amping it up to another level on the next one.
Sadly, most of the crowd hear the two songs they came for and left before the encore. For me, it meant a closer spot, but folks could have stuck around to hear "Substitution" (the group's new single) and a few more songs.
Bon Iver
The OWH's Dane Stickney and I wandered down to Slowdown to see Bon Iver on Saturday. We weren't sure what to expect. I saw the group at Lolla, but like I said, I could barely hear it and certainly couldn't see.
I mean, Bon Iver's album has 9 songs on it. What were they going to fill the rest of the time with? And most of the songs on the record are Justin Vernon with an acoustic guitar (there's more than that, I know, but them's the basics). What could they possibly do?
Well, they got loud, for one. Vernon actually strapped on a Les Paul for most of the show. It wasn't Metallica, blow-your-ears-out loud, but the volume was quite a bit higher than expected (in a good way... it was pretty cool to hear some of these songs with a little more oomph behind them).
The band was also augmented with a full three drum sets, which were all utilized during the live rendition of "Skinny Love." Vernon actually took a seat on a stool and strummed his acoustic while he sang, but the drums came crashing in on the chorus. (Watch below... drums were louder in person, but still cool in the video.)
That was probably my favorite moment, but they also did a cover of "Your Love" by the Outfield that was amazing. "I hope it's not too ironic," Vernon said before starting the song. It could have been, if they did it the wrong way, but it ended up being quite excellent with the slow, moving melody that they accompanied it with. (Here's a link.)
They closed things out by playing "Worried Mind" with opener Megafaun (whose few weird-ass songs I saw, I didn't like very much), a slow folk tune. (Another link.) Everyone went home happy.
Phoenix
Not joking, maybe the best show I've seen in 2009. It was outstanding, from the lights to Thomas Mars' vocals to the crowd dancing up a storm.
They got the night going kicking things off with "Lisztomania," up-tempo enough to get the crowd going and representative enough to give a taste of what was to come, but not so much to blow their whole wad at the opening. (See below...)
The group's drummer was on fire. His drumming wasn't Neil-Peart-like intrusive, but it was in your face enough to be the backbone of the whole band. Everyone played off of him.
The set was heavy on "Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix," the group's latest album but considering the amount of times that I've listened to that disc lately, I certainly didn't mind. I honestly didn't know the band's older songs as well, but they fit in the set wonderfully.
In my mind, the group was so good because they took a set of songs that were (by themselves) amazing and then went ahead and performed them. They didn't get onstage and pick through their parts. They threw themselves into it and really put on a show. Just looking at the band, it was apparent in their movements and in their eyes.
Frontman Mars was easily the most grateful person I've ever seen onstage, bowing and thanking the crowd in both English and French.
But Mr. Mars, we should have been thanking you.
Friday, I got to see Silversun Pickups at Slowdown. If you recall, the LA foursome kicked out one of my five favorite sets at Lollapalooza over a month ago. I was pretty pumped to see them coming back.
Saturday, I witnessed Bon Iver in all its glory. I also saw them at Lolla. While it was cool, I was about 150 yards away and I could barely see the stage. Saturday, I was on the floor at Slowdown and could have hit Justin Vernon in the eye with my cell phone if I felt like throwing it. Much better show.
Took the day off Sunday, but got to check out Phoenix at Slowdown on Monday night. Holy crap. One of the top shows (if not the best) I've seen all year.
Let's break it down:
Silversun Pickups
Like I said, I was excited to see this band again. Walking into Sokol Underground, it was hot. Not as hot as a Faint show, but holy soaked t-shirt was it nasty. Turns out the show sold out.
I showed up late and missed the openers (in fact, I inadvertently showed up late every one of these nights and missed the opener at each show... I need to have a better concept of time, I guess).
After "No Secrets This Year" and "Royal We," frontman Brian Aubert acknowledged the heat, saying "It's hot as fuck in here, man," before remarking that "This is a beautiful place." I don't know if Sokol is beautiful, but it's certainly a weird venue.
The band kept things up-tempo and loud, but didn't drown themselves out. The floor folks were bouncing the whole show.
Fun moments were when bassist Nikki Bonninger took some vocal parts in songs that she usually only does backup for. And drummer Christopher Guanlao is a spitfire. He easily has the highest-mounted cymbal on a drum kit that I've ever seen and the kid can certainly play.
I don't have much to say about keyboardist/synth guy Joe Lester. But, then again, his parts are kind of designed to fit into the background and fill out the sound of Aubert's fuzzy guitar parts and the drums.
It's quite amazing to me that Aubert is able to play his guitar that way and sing at the same time. Most of the songs are riff-based melodies, meaning that it's not verse-chorus-verse-chorus. Aubert's parts sound similar verse to verse, but they're always changing in subtle ways.
Anyway, they blew the roof off the joint with "Panic Switch." (Watch the YouTube video. Audio quality ain't great, but it will do.) Then they did it again with "Lazy Eye." It was incredible to see them rile up the crowd and practically tear down the walls with one song before amping it up to another level on the next one.
Sadly, most of the crowd hear the two songs they came for and left before the encore. For me, it meant a closer spot, but folks could have stuck around to hear "Substitution" (the group's new single) and a few more songs.
Bon Iver
The OWH's Dane Stickney and I wandered down to Slowdown to see Bon Iver on Saturday. We weren't sure what to expect. I saw the group at Lolla, but like I said, I could barely hear it and certainly couldn't see.
I mean, Bon Iver's album has 9 songs on it. What were they going to fill the rest of the time with? And most of the songs on the record are Justin Vernon with an acoustic guitar (there's more than that, I know, but them's the basics). What could they possibly do?
Well, they got loud, for one. Vernon actually strapped on a Les Paul for most of the show. It wasn't Metallica, blow-your-ears-out loud, but the volume was quite a bit higher than expected (in a good way... it was pretty cool to hear some of these songs with a little more oomph behind them).
The band was also augmented with a full three drum sets, which were all utilized during the live rendition of "Skinny Love." Vernon actually took a seat on a stool and strummed his acoustic while he sang, but the drums came crashing in on the chorus. (Watch below... drums were louder in person, but still cool in the video.)
That was probably my favorite moment, but they also did a cover of "Your Love" by the Outfield that was amazing. "I hope it's not too ironic," Vernon said before starting the song. It could have been, if they did it the wrong way, but it ended up being quite excellent with the slow, moving melody that they accompanied it with. (Here's a link.)
They closed things out by playing "Worried Mind" with opener Megafaun (whose few weird-ass songs I saw, I didn't like very much), a slow folk tune. (Another link.) Everyone went home happy.
Phoenix
Not joking, maybe the best show I've seen in 2009. It was outstanding, from the lights to Thomas Mars' vocals to the crowd dancing up a storm.
They got the night going kicking things off with "Lisztomania," up-tempo enough to get the crowd going and representative enough to give a taste of what was to come, but not so much to blow their whole wad at the opening. (See below...)
The group's drummer was on fire. His drumming wasn't Neil-Peart-like intrusive, but it was in your face enough to be the backbone of the whole band. Everyone played off of him.
The set was heavy on "Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix," the group's latest album but considering the amount of times that I've listened to that disc lately, I certainly didn't mind. I honestly didn't know the band's older songs as well, but they fit in the set wonderfully.
In my mind, the group was so good because they took a set of songs that were (by themselves) amazing and then went ahead and performed them. They didn't get onstage and pick through their parts. They threw themselves into it and really put on a show. Just looking at the band, it was apparent in their movements and in their eyes.
Frontman Mars was easily the most grateful person I've ever seen onstage, bowing and thanking the crowd in both English and French.
But Mr. Mars, we should have been thanking you.
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