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Skysaw Review from The Ritz in Ybor City, FL

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May 262011

skysaw_reina_chamberlin_pirog_2 Following my recent enchantment with Skysaw’s Great Civilizations and subsequent interview with Jimmy Chamberlin and Mike Reina I was itching to hear this band live. It was odd to see Jimmy’s trademark drum kit positioned in the area of the opening band with Minus the Bear’s kit behind it on a riser, but that unique tom tom set up had me giddy nonetheless.

NOTE: Jimmy had his yellow Yamaha kit set up with tape covering the logo presumably because he is now a dw guy.

As they lit in to “No One Can Tell” there came that wondrous thundering lilt that I missed so much on one of my last visits to The Ritz for the Pumpkins club tour. Mike Byrne is fantastic, but I just have an affinity for Chamberlin’s style; a style that I routinely alluded to as pummeling in the interview without focusing on the other side of the coin in the light, brisk, nuanced delicacy that completes his sound.

The crowd was surely there for MTB and I overheard some of the younger whippersnappers trying to figure out who Jimmy Chamberlin was. “You know, I think he was the drummer for the Smashing Pumpkins before.” This nearly made me break into my 3 Stooges Moe Howard impression, “Why I oughtta” and smack all the 3 hipsters in succession with one brisk stroke.

skysaw_chamberlin_2_kisses-and-noise The turnout for this show was not nearly the Chinese fire drill that showed up for MTB at Firestone for Anti*Pop 2009. Skysaw had a smaller audience to work with. They pulled off the equally beautiful and bombastic “Capsized Jackknifed Crisis” smoothly as Jimmy’s drum work piqued some of the listeners’ interest. The band seemed to tighten as the show went on. The crowd appeared divided as some were already fans or had paid enough attention to dig it. Others continued conversation, not ready for the slightly head-y or prog type vibe of the Eno meets early Genesis sound Skysaw sometimes evokes. The sweet and soft “Tightrope Situation” was nearly drowned out by audience chatter.

skysaw_kisses-and-noise_live_2 Some jerks were even screaming, “last song please!” and “no more!” The odd thing is that this all changed by the last few songs. Honestly, even though I enjoyed the thoughtful presentation of music, I was kind of missing the wide open rock frenzy that I’m used to seeing JC orchestrate. Skysaw really lit it up live, but it was more subtle than the Pumpkins’ histrionic flair. Then they ended with the unreleased “Cathedral” and unleashed a can of whoop ass on everyone’s face. The once lackluster crowd filled in the floor of the venue; the talking turned to howling and screaming, and Chamberlin dropped a crushing solo within a psychedelic jam that allowed Anthony Pirog to open up the rock guitar a little bit more with some face melting antics.

Release the Kraken!:

The bruising ending to “Cathedral” snapped the audience in line. The almost silent greeting Jimmy got as the last one to come on stage was contrasted by the raucous cheers of the final ovation as he exited. I swear the same people I heard complaining were the same ones stupefied at the end. “Last song please” turned into, “Whooo, Yeah!” “That’s how it’s done!” “Jimmy!” And “Ho-lee shit!” I think the last one was me.

Hangout Music Festival 2011 – Gulf Shores, Alabama

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May 252011

What a cool concept; a music festival on the vast sugar sand beaches of the Gulf Coast. A near perfect backdrop set in the redneck Riviera was the stage for some great music in Foo Fighters, My Morning Jacket, Dead Confederate, Ween, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, Flaming Lips, Widespread Panic, Girl Talk and tons more.

Hangout in Full Swing

Day 1 Rundown:

The Nocturnals lit up the afternoon with a rockin’ and soulful performance from the hippy-turned-temptress Grace Potter

Grace Potter

Jim and his Musical Contraption

My Morning Jacket put on another fantastic festival show as the sun set. They played a crowd pleasing mix of favorites and tracks from their upcoming album Circuital. MMJ opened with the slow, creeping and climactic “Victory Dance” working the crowd into hysteria by the end with James’ possessed shrieking. They moved straight into another new track, “Circuital,” then worked in classics like “Gideon,” “Wordless Chorus,” and “Steam Engine.”

Festival Moment: Jim James recalls a high school spring break where he got tossed out of a bar in Gulf Shores.

Widespread Panic was Widespread Panic. Performance painter and New Orleans legend, Frenchy, followed the action around all weekend with a creative, prolific outpouring of work covering Dumpsta Funk at an early late-night show, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, My Morning Jacket, and Foo Fighters. Check out Frenchy’s website for more original artwork.

Festival Moment: Panic covers “Fairies Wear Boots.”

Frenchy Paints Widespread

Day 2 Rundown:

Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips

I could hear Primus from where I was. Tunes like “Jerry was a Race Car Driver” and “My Name is Mudd” were as sloggy and prog-y as ever. The Flaming Lips were, well, the Flaming Lips – a band that puts on a festival spectacle at a festival or in someones garage.

The Foo Fighters have never done much for me. In fact, the only song that doesn’t sound like monotone FM radio rock buzz to me is “Everlong.” I DO know that Dave Grohl is cool as hell and Pat Smear is sort of a living legend. The cool factor would get me out to see them, but I never took the time. At Hangout I took the time to watch them slay about 40,000 people:

Festival Moment: People who waited patiently for Cee-Lo to show up were treated to a special impromptu set from the Foo’s as they covered some classic rock as filler.

Day 3 Rundown:

Trombone Shorty

Despite the festival appearing to a be a bit oversold and the event staff being challenged with the duties associated with a crowd of this magnitude the 2011 Hangout Festival seemed to go off without any noticeable glitches.

Trombone Shorty held it down during a hot, humid afternoon set. His stage served as the “kids” stage for the first part of the afternoon before being co-opted by the older crowd for the later part of the day. I didn’t realize this at first and thought, “man there is a lot of swearing coming from the kid’s stage.” I think this confusion spilled over to the youngsters as well because Shorty got paid a visit by 5 year-old Dylan Miles during a somewhat “blue” rendition of Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On.” Little Dylan was everywhere with sightings around the festival from playing foosball with Dean Ween to hanging out with artist, Frenchy. Rumor has it, he sat in for a quick acoustic “sesh” with Dave Grohl. Other bloggers caught on to Dylan Miles as well.

Dylan Miles: Musical genius? Clever kid that gets backstage? Cute midget? You decide.

Ween looked lean and … mean. Both Deaner and Gene (Dean-and-Gene-Ween heh heh, huh-huh heh) dropped some weight since kicking drugs (or so I’ve heard). Gene especially as he was even skinnier than he was as a young man. Dean shredded and Gene’s voice was as sharp as ever as they moved through a wide range of excellent festy songs like: “Freedom of ’76,” “Take Me Way,” “Johnny on the Spot,” “Stroker Ace,” “Buckingham Green,” and “Ocean Man.”

Festival Moment: Ween covers Bowie’s “Let’s Dance.”

The beachfront park seemed to be perfectly suited for a festival with built-in bar and stage areas and enough room to accommodate larger stages, trailers, and the armada of port-o-potties needed for a massive crowd. Although the span of the venue was manageable the delicate sugar sand made traversing the property laborious even for the most experienced Floridian. The sand did allow fans to build mountains for better views or dig custom holes with seatbacks for comfortable lounging and viewing.

Girl Talk brought the party and may have been underestimated by the organizers as his Boom Boom Tent performance brought about 3 or 4 times the tents capacity as dancing lunatics poured out of the tent, across the broadwalk and out into the beach.

Festival Moment: The area was far too packed to be safe so fire marshals cleared out the walkway to the VIP area to my chagrin. Moments later security, police, and fire officials were dancing and filming the scene on their iPhones.

Even though waste disposal was sufficient and well positioned the supposedly ecological generation didn’t seem to give a shit about piling bottles, food, and other junk on an otherwise pristine beach. I found myself fighting back the urge to A) walk around, pick up the bottles and B) trying not to choke hipsters and hippies with their own refuse. On the other hand, the overnight clean up crews seemed efficient at removing the waste and leaving the beaches a blank canvas to be painted with garbage the next day.

The Black Keys sounded great, but I was far too far away for enjoyment. Paul Simon closed out the festival. I left before he came on. I will kick myself when he croaks, but for now – meh.

PHOTOS BY: HEATHER FRECHETTE

Sleigh Bells and CSS Rattle Firestone on a School Night

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May 022011

css_at -firestone_orlando_kissesandnoise

The spunky and energetic CSS – Cansei de Ser Sexy not Cascading Style Sheets – tore up the Firestone and played as if they were headlining. Aptly named uber-cutey, Lovefoxxx, invigorated the near capacity crowd with sassy dancing, pseudo-stripping, and audience engagement in between songs like the one-time ubiquitous iPod anthem, “Music is My Hot, Hot Sex.”

Sleigh Bells – defined as ‘noise pop” – has always struck me as an indie sugar pop band trapped in side the muscular frame of a metal / punk outfit. Kind of like The Refused meets She and Him or something; SB marries ultra-catchy hooks with walls of guitar and deafening volume. My perspective on them is only codified when the wall of Marshall amps on the stage is revealed and a guitar tech is tuning a classic metal guitar – I can’t remember if it was a Jackson or B.C Rich now, but either way it very thrash-y or Slayer-ish. Like Slayer, the crushing amplitude is probably achieved with the house sound system and the amps – save one or two – are probably shells there simply for decoration.

The eighties pop being played between sets (some great classics and a perfect extension to the bands showcased) faded out, the lights dimmed and then came some blasting death metal. As the stage lights hummed to life, Sabbath‘s “Iron Man” came on in synch with stacks of LED strobes between the amps. The “Iron Man” track was accompanied by Derek’s live guitar and given a Sleigh Bells remix treatment before giving way to “Crown on the Ground.”

They ripped through a short set comprised of tunes from their debut, Treats. The ultra hot hottie, Alexis Krauss, joked after a rousing encore from Firestone fans, “You should see a band with more than one album!” She crawled down from the stage to do an a capella rendition of “Run the Heart” for the crowd before announcing, “That’s all we have.” I was hoping with all the time since the release of Treats and since they were last here opening for LCD Soundsystem that they may have whipped up a few more anthems, especially since its a 2-person operation, but nothing. I’ll let it slide this time!

Dr. Dog from The Social – 4.14.2011

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Apr 172011

The first time I heard the name Dr. Dog – I think it was at a festival – and I just assumed they were a jam band. Then I heard some tracks off Fate and decided they were not a jam band. I got an advanced copy of Shame, Shame and over time was drawn in by the album’s Sgt. Pepper-ish approach. It felt very rock ‘n roll Beatles with well constructed songs, great musicianship, harmonizing vocals, and held together with a pop sensibility. Shame, Shame ended up being one of my favorite records of aught 10.

Though I’d missed them many times before I was now caught by Dr. Dog’s powerful mojo and made a point to see this show. They were downgraded at the last minute from The Beacham Theatre to The Social, but kept stadium volume despite the diminutive digs. I did not anticipate Dr. Dog being one of the loudest shows I’ve seen in a while. The powered through an eclectic set, an equal mix of their various albums and EP’s. They do have Beatle-esque quality with shared duties at front man. Both have incredible and distinct voices and both are equally great on their instruments – the fedora’d Toby Leaman on bass and Scott McMicken on lead guitar who was looking a little Franky Goes to Hollywood for some reason.

In front of a series of stained glass panels Dr. Dog unleashed on The Social. The crowd was loud and knew every word of the setlist. They weren’t even thrown off by the Architecture in Helsinki cover of “Heart it Races.”

Some of the catchier songs like “The Old Days ” and “Unbearable Why” were played at an amped up pace and with a punk-like tenacity. There were moments where the soaring duel guitars, country jam overtones and unique vocals sounded something like the child of Blind Melon and the Smashing Pumpkins. It was weird, they were able to channel some serious rock fury through their delicately arranged combination of jam, country, and pop / alternative rock.

Queens of the Stone Age Concert Review from Center Stage in Atlanta – 3.21.2011

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Mar 232011

Queens Incinerate Center Stage in Hotlanta

Queens of the Stone Age unleashed a precise and brutal attack on Atlanta’s Center Stage Theater (formerly Earthlink Live) Monday night. QOTSA kicked off this mini tour in support of the re-release of their eponymous debut album at SXSW a few days ago. Usually I’m not big on re-releases, especially when the original release was digital, but any excuse to catch a Queens show is good enough for me.

They blasted through their first album in its entirety with just a few shuffles of song placement for better live presence. Songs like “Regular John” and “Avon” are usually delivered in extendo-jam versions at shows, but Queens played the majority of the Queens of the Stone Age as it is heard on the album. Jams were reserved for “Solid Gold” and “The Fun Machine Took a Shit and Died.”

Although the songs were kept to their album presentation they were tightly wound and precisely executed with josh Homme’s patented buzzsaw assault. The band was seamless and effortlessly peeled off song after song with a blend of well-oiled ease and brute force. The small-ish venue was enraptured from the first note and whipped into a frenzy by songs like “Mexicola” and post-Queens of the Stone Age releases in “Feel Good Hit of the Summer,” “Little Sister, “Something in the Wolf” and by the crushing fury of the uber face-smasher “Song for the Dead.”

The guys are lean, mean, and sounding like a fucking flaming freight train of rock. I imagine this is a tour to breach new ears with and rally support for the re-release, but also to tune-up the rock chops for final recording and touring behind a new album which better be out soon.

Broken Social Scene Soldier Through Set at Firestone, Orlando 2.13.11

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Feb 152011

OK. This show was weird. Not crazy or anything, but the presentation was kind of stilted and incongruous. Broken Social Scene sounded great and worked a thorough playlist that included “7/4 Shoreline,” “World Sick,” “Texico Bitches,” and “Lover’s Spit,” but lead singer, Kevin Drew, was battling laryngitis or lung issues and made it known. His voice sounded pretty good, but very early in the show Kevin revealed he was in a great deal of pain and was losing his voice. This notion and his obvious discomfort, first, made every song seem like it was the last. The crowd just kept getting the feeling that the show was going to be called any minute.

Second, it led to some interesting improvising with the set as they scrambled on-the-fly to work in songs where he didn’t have to sing. Some songs for female vocalist and super-cutie, Lisa Lobsinger, were arranged sequentially including “All to All,” then a series of instrumentals were brought out. After her songs I thought it was over. After the instrumentals I thought it was over, but they kept playing. Then Kevin returned to do some softer versions of songs including “Superconnected” with a little Modest Mouse “The World at Large” lyrics sprinkled in for good measure. Now I thought it was over for sure as he kept pointing to his throat and people off stage were pointing to their watches (in preparation for Latin Night which fucks up every show because they start earlier than listed BTW).

Next they continued with some songs that were definitely vocally challenging because there was more loud singing and he soldiered through. They played “World Sick” which I thought for sure would be the closer. Then they played “Lover’s Spit” which seemed like a perfect outro. Then they asked, “One more song?” They proceeded to play two. So I’m not sure if he was sick, rebounded a little at the end, or their dedication to the audience made him fight through his ailment, but it ended up being nearly 2 hours and didn’t come across completely seamless. Other than that I liked it.

Smith Westerns and Yuck! from BackBooth in Orlando – 2.3.2011

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Feb 092011

smith-westerns_live_backbooth_orlando-music-blog Chicago’s Smith Westerns are gaining plenty of acclaim and buzz around their latest album, Dye it Blonde. They have Chi-Town sound in their 70′s guitar rock approach with the indie twist of subtly downplaying a sound that could be much larger in favor of hooks and bright melodies. Orlando music aficionado , Bao, compares them to the dreamier side of T-Rex and I would have to agree. They sounded good and even brought their sonic approach from Dye it Blonde to tunes from their abominably recorded debut album. This unlocked the core melody and vibe of a song like “Tonight” from the shackles of the purposely low-fi and sometimes grating sound it has on the record. That being said, I’m going to have to go with Yuck! for stealing the show. They brought an unabashedly big sound that took me by surprise and ended their set in a screeching jam out. I like.

Little Dragon: Blowing Minds at BackBooth – Orlando, FL 1.26.2011

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Jan 272011

Upon entry I was greeted by Portland, Oregon’s Billygoat in the middle of their set. It was gorgeous, haunting, ambient music created with drums, guitar and the vocalist working a synthesizer and an array of other electronic equipment. This was set and synchronized to some of the most stunning digital animation I’ve seen at a show like this.

Seeing Little Dragon live is a neck breaking collision of soul, electronica, and rock ‘n roll. Their last appearance at BackBooth in 2010 brought out about 60 rabid fans. This time around the venue was packed. I guess appearing on a Gorillaz album does wonders for publicity – being completely awesome helps a lot too. Vocalist, Yukimi Nagano, who seemed a tad shy on the last time out worked the room with a strengthened charisma while the insanely talented gang of Swede’s that comprise the band ripped a hole in the time-space continuum that pulled the BackBooth into a swirling vortex of energized dance rock. No, I was not on acid.

These guys are on the verge of something huge. They have the right mix of unique sound, talent, charisma, musical arrangement, live presentation, and mass appeal. They deliver their smooth electro neo-soul like a rock band. The volume was crushing and they often turn 3-minute singles into 10 minute exploration jams. The vibe was fun and intense. It is one of the few shows I’ve attended where it is packed shoulder-to-shoulder but everyone is dancing like it’s a club. When I say everyone, I mean everyone including guys … white guys! Nearing the finale there were moments reminiscent of Radiohead with bassist / sampler, Fredrick Källgren, hunched over his devices twisting knobs and warping sound along with a pulsing house-like disco party freakout brought on by Erik Bodin’s clever drum work and Håkan Wirenstrand‘s driving keys that shook walls and made it feel like an Ibiza ecstasy party. I nearly had a pants-off dance-off with myself.

New Music: I think they said the song was “Bitter Tears“ “Summer Tears” from their forthcoming album …

Yo La Tengo Fills The Social Despite a Class 3 Kill Storm – 1.25.2011

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Jan 262011

Signed Vinyl of the Score to Adventureland

On Tuesday night the godfathers of indie rock swept into The Social on the heels of Rain-a-geddon – more commonly known as a thunderstorm in these parts – and proved why they maintained their status for over 20 years. They embody everything that “indie” stands (stood) for. Besides being eligible for a pension from Matador Records they are quirky, fun, somber, experimental, sweet, and can flat-out rock when necessary powered by Ira’s roaring guitar rig.

They opened the show by announcing that there would be 2 sets, the first being determined by the spin of a Wheel of Fortune inspired wheel. Pure chance would determine what Orlando got to hear. It was to be spun by a member of the audience and YLT would have to play whatever the fates imposed. There were 8 categories including: Dump (James’ solo recordings), Sounds of Science Pt.1 OR Pt. 2 (the instrumental recordings of Ira and Georgia), “S” songs (YLT songs beginning with the letter “S”), TV sitcom (they would act out a sitcom, which would be very interesting), and Condo Fucks (YLT’s cover band alter ego) to name a few.

This concept is basically a band saying, “We’ve been playing for over 20 years … fuck it. Let’s make it interesting” It is extremely impressive for a band to have that many songs at the ready and just be able to slide into a set based on the spin of a wheel each night. The second set, a more traditional setlist, will not be repeated from night to night either.

We got “S” songs.

The show exemplified YLT’s style with quiet moments, sing-along moments, low-key and intimate banter followed by flashes of epic rock.

Washed Out Poops Out @ BackBooth 1.22.2011

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Jan 242011

Ernest Green called the show about 5 or 6 songs into their set Saturday night. “I’m having some problems with my computer if you haven’t already noticed,” he bemoaned. I guess he couldn’t get Garage Band open. Beach ball! This time around he brought out a band: a rhythm section, and another dude on synthesizer to accompany Ernest and his computer along with a girl that dipped in and out to play tambourine and synth. Several people noted that the performance was much better than his last trip where he played as a one man band (computer). I thought the bonus of bringing on musicians and 4 or 5 synthesizers would be that you could play through and around songs that failed to open on your laptop?

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