- Part 15

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School of Seven Bells with Active Child from The Social 10.15.10

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Oct 182010

Grossi aka Active Child slappin' da harp!

Active Child packed a ton of vocal power and emotion into a short set with only 2 musicians. Pat Grossi had a bass player assist as he played harp, guitar, and synthesizer. Tall and redheaded, Pat comes across like the anti-Josh Homme as his expansive, well trained voice filled the club. A darkly, brooding and sadly introspective sound, Active Child brings together elements of 80’s new wave and goth like New Order or Joy Division, but stripped down. Grossi moved gracefully from solid baritone to ethereal falsetto in each song with his trademark choir trained voice.

SVIIB

School of Seven Bells was down one Deheza sister and plus one drummer. The heavy-ish drummer gave the live interpretation a little more balls. Songs like “Babelonia” sounded almost like My Bloody Valentine with the hazy vocals mixing with the sludgy, distorted guitar layers. New Wave-y guitarist Benjamin Curtis had the panache while singer – the remaining Deheza sister – seemed in her own world as she belted her beautiful and ghostly lyrics and added accents on the gee-tar.

Caribou @ Backbooth

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Oct 182010

caribou_backbooth_orlando_kisses-and-noise Caribou is bringing his darkly danceable brand of indie-electronica to town this evening at Backbooth. I think this may be the first trip to Orlando and could be a really good show for the intimate venue. In my Rocktober run-down last month, I deemed this a “do not miss” show and I’m going to stick to my guns even though I have nothing but a few cool albums to back it up.

The Flaming Lips from the House of Blues 10.14.10

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Oct 152010

Coyne leading the charge @ HOB

I posed the question yesterday about the Built to Spill show at The Social vs. The Flaming Lips at House of Blues. I’ve seen both before. The Lips are an amazing live show while BTS in a tiny place like the Soash is almost too cool to miss. Well, a photo pass for The Flaming Lips materialized thus making my decision for me. Once at the Lips show, I thought, “How could I have missed this?” Their concerts are explosive and powerful … moving even. The House of Blues was filled to capacity and the crowd was electric all the way through. The encores were deafening, killing my ears more than the music.

This is mostly due to Wayne Coyne’s charisma and ability to engage the audience. Dancing characters, 4 billion tons of confetti, lasers, overwhelming strobes, and a vast catalog of crowd pleasing songs don’t hurt either, but Wayne is able to captivate the audience on a very personal level. Despite the grandiose nature of the performance, it is very down to earth, almost lackadaisical. Yes, the band emerged from a giant pulsing, psychedelic vagina projected on a 2-story screen, and yes Wayne did re-enact the Embryonic motif of coming alive in a space bubble and walking on the crowd on the floor of the HOB, but the band milled about, tuning their own instruments for a good 45 minutes before the show. You would expect a grand unveiling, but Wayne is walking around checking equipment, talking to the crowd, and shaking hands while the band tunes and monkeys with everything from guitars and keyboards to confetti cannons. Then, the lights dim and the show starts. It is such a spectacle that you forget they were hanging out earlier.

Surfing the crowd

They rolled through classics like “She Don’t Use Jelly,” “Yoshimi” and a handful of others. I wished they worked in “Waiting on Superman” or “Race for the Prize” or even “Fight Test,” but it was a great set nonetheless – even if someone in my direct vicinity hadn’t used deodorant … in 2 weeks … then shit themselves. I hope it doesn’t become an association or “smell aversion” I develop that ties to the band.

I’m sure Built to Spill was epic and I wish I could have seen them, but the Flaming Lips are just too big of a show to miss, especially in a small venue.

Legends of the Fall ...

Awesome crowd response …

Amazing …

More pictures from the show on the Kisses & Noise facebook page. “Like” it. Now!

Even more images on the Kisses and Noise Flickr page. Flick it. Now!

Sleazy McQueen, Active Child, and School of Seven Bells @ The Social

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Oct 152010

Another promising show in Orlando at The Social Tonight. School of Seven Bells brings their hot chick dream pop along with the eerily sublime and uber-talented Active Child. SVIIB is a Brooklyn trio with pretty songs that could deliver or be a snoozer like Au Revoir Simone – not sure. Active Child could be interesting if he is able to re-create the darkly beautiful lushness on his debut Curtis Lane. It’s electronic with random live instruments – including the harp – and choir-like vocal presentation. If it is a one man show (Pat Grossi) it could be difficult to pull off, but if there are additional musicians it could add power and tension for a moving live performance. Listen to “I’m in Your Church at Night” to get a sense of the hymn-like subtle beauty.

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Decisions, Decisions: The Flaming Lips vs. Built to Spill Tonight

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Oct 142010

Wayne Coyne in the space bubble - Langerado 2006 (I think, I can't remember)

I knew it would come to this – with so many shows this month there was bound to be overlapping. Well, there wouldn’t be if the Lips didn’t cancel part of their tour when they were supposed to be here a few months back. I get ticket, they cancel, they reschedule on the same night another powerhouse plays The Social. I’ve seen both bands before, but the allure of seeing a band like Built to Spill in a place like The Social vs. the psychedelic carnival of The Flaming Lips at HOB is indeed a conundrum. My heart goes with the smaller band at the intimate venue while my ticket situation (and my wife) lean toward the Lips. Wayne in the bubble for the first time @ Coachella 2004 …

Better, full version of “Conventional Wisdom” here.

Ted Leo and The Pharmacists @ The Social This Evening

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Oct 132010

Here is another acclaimed talent coming to town this month. He is an example of another cult talent that I’m aware of and heard many times, but don’t know much about. Like The National, he seems to accrue fans that absolutely adore his work. Ted’s proto-punk has morphed into a sort of anthemic, low-fi indie rock. Pharmacist shows are known to be raw and rife with kinetic energy.

Pharoahe Monch @ The Social Tonight

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Oct 122010

Hip hop mainstay Pharoahe Monch will be rockin’ The Social tonight as Rock(rap)tober rolls on. “Simon Says” was a mainstay on my WPRK show way back and Pharoahe Monch has continued to put out solid music ever since. Apparently his name is derived from a bad haircut that left him looking like a monchichi (remember them?). I can sympathize as my thick hair, when shaved, looks the same after a few days and earned the same comparison. My lyrical stylings never garnered any cool monikers though. Pharoahe is held as one of the premiere lyricists in hip hop and Kool Moe Dee actually regards him as one of the best, #26 on his list of all time MC’s. This is certain be a killer and probably late show at the Soash.

Blitzen Trapper and Avi Buffalo from The Social 10.8.10

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Oct 112010

The show opened with Pearly Gate Music which was some guy with an electric guitar that reminded me a little of Lilly Taylor’s character in Say Anything, I kept waiting for him to belt, “Joe lies! / Joe lies when he cries!” The music was quiet and poignant, but if that’s what music sounds like at the pearly gates, then I’m glad I’m going to hell. His MySpace music player sounds like he mixes in more instruments for the recordings to be fair.

Avi Buffalo played a short set punctuated by their super-catchy single, “What’s in it for?” The group was stripped down since the last time they were in town opening for Rogue Wave. It seemed like there were more members of the band last time. I’m not sure if this was a trio to tour with Blitzen or a new direction for the group. The way the diminutive Avigdor’s (Avi) guitar playing is progressing he could find success as a 3 or 4 piece.

Blitzen Trapper took the stage earlier than posted to begin a really weird and short evening. The bass from DJ Scratch ‘n Sniff upstairs at Sky 60 was rattling through Trapper’s rather loud performance. At one point they asked if that was a theme in Orlando, “if House music just pumped everywhere you went.” Something was up – full moon maybe? The crowd was thin in number and odd in personality. Some music fans were peppered throughout, but the crowd was dominated by frat meatheads, slutty college girls (not that I’m complaining), and a strange proliferation of cougars.

People were sloppy drunk and engaging the band in weird banter. Singer, Eric Earley, proclaimed that both of his harmonicas broke (I’m not even sure if that is possible). Finally, Eric sliced open his thumb (I think while struggling to open a beer bottle) and stopped playing to seek out a way to ebb the bleeding. Whilst wrapping his thumb in duct tape, a girl emerged from the audience with an unopened box of bandages. I asked her, “What the hell are you doing with a box of band aids at a show?” She responded, “ I know, it’s weird. I just bough them today.”

They did forgo one of their coolest songs in “Wild Mountain Nation,” but still had enough tunes to make for a good show. BT has that sort of 70’s radio, southern mountain rock feel like the Ozark Mountain Daredevils, which sounded great and well-played when the chaos dimmed enough to focus on the music.

Vampire Weekend, Beach House, and The Very Best @ Hard Rock Tonight …

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Oct 112010

beach-house-band_orlando-music-blog -kisses-and-noise Vampire Weekend continues to tour behind the well-received Contra. I’ve seen Vampire Weekend and I’m not sure how they will translate in a much bigger venue, so they aren’t a draw for me really. Beach House is the band to see tonight. The funny thing about Googling them here is in an effort to find out about the band you will end up booking a weekend in New Smyrna. This dream pop duo has close ties to Grizzly Bear lending vocals to a handful of songs while Grizzly Bear members helped to engineer their latest album, Teen Dream. The indie meets The Lion King sounds of The Very Best could be interesting too.

I’m not sure if this is an official video or not, but this is a great song. It is so simple, but it builds so gracefully and sounds so big by the end.

This definitely isn’t the official video (can’t embed it), but it’s fuckin’ weird. This song features vocals from Vampire’s Ezra Koenig, which would be pretty cool if he performed this with them tonight.

Blitzen Trapper w/ Avi Buffalo @ The Social Tonight!

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Oct 082010

Portland's Blitzen Trapper

Northwestern beard-y folks will be stopping by The Social this evening in the form of Blitzen Trapper. These guys are in the same vein as other northwesterners like Modest Mouse and Built to Spill, but embrace a slightly more country or rustic feel in their brand of indie-alternative. Blitzen’s been here several times, but I’ve missed them all. Avi Buffalo is a band of 19 year-old wunderkinds with surprising penchant for catchy, heartfelt pop rock. They were here a few months back with Rogue Wave and revealed a slightly space-y, psychedelic side to their sound.

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