Noise rockers, The Big Pink and A Place to Bury Strangers, visit Houston

I've been eagerly awaiting this show for a month now and, I must say that, it lived up and even surpassed all of my expectations. The show took place in the intimate setting of the Warehouse Live ballroom amid smoke machines, laser-type lighting, and strobe lights. The music, ambiance, and levels were absolutely perfect. The venue was almost completely filled which only added to the energy in the room.

The first band was "A Place to Bury Strangers", a noise rock band from Brooklyn whose music contains echoes of excellent shoegaze and noise artists like The Jesus and Mary Chain and My Bloody Valentine while still sounding very fresh and original. The band included a bassist and guitarist on vocals and a drummer. During their set the stage was dark, smoke-filled, and occasionally interrupted by stabs of lighting and at the end, an explosion of strobe lights. Their stage presence was strong as they rocked back and forth, up and down, and danced in the flickering storm of light and smoke. The visuals combined with the almost tribal drumbeats of some songs and their erratic dancing made their set mesmerizing to watch.

I'm well acquainted with their music but I'm not going to waste any time naming too many songs, as usual, because I can never remember set lists. Just trust me when I say that it was great. If you haven't heard of A Place. . . and you're open to noise-rock and shoegaze (more noise-rock though) then I'd encourage you to start with their eponymous first album. You won't be disappointed.




This one isn't too sharp but I still think it's cool^


One of the best photos^



A Place to. . . was a hard act to follow, in my opinion; but The Big Pink were just as exciting. The lighting was brighter for their set so my photos are a lot better, even at a 3200 ISO the first set was hard to shoot. When front man, Robbie Furze, came out I was immediately drawn in. His crazy outfit and hairstyle were very glam-rock, which is always a plus for me. They played all the songs off their debut LP "A Brief History of Love" and even though a lot of them are very electronic and tightly produced there was enough of a live sound to the set that they all sounded organic rather than a very loud pre-recorded recital as some electronic bands do live. I didn't realize how much guitar was on the album until they played live. Furze was constantly playing guitar and acting as the backbone of the band rather than any of the electronic textures being used. It was a very robust performance with the highlights being "Frisk", "Count backwards from ten", "Velvet" and "Dominoes". Furze told us that he thought it was one of the best gigs on the entire tour so hopefully that means that they'll return to the Bayou City soon. The minute I see tickets for their return, believe me, I'll be the first one in line.






I'll upload another video from The Big Pink later. I'm having some internet issues.

Diving into Sonic Youth

I listen to almost any kind of music you can imagine. If you recommend something to me, no matter what kind of misgivings I might have at first, I'll give it a listen. However, there are some bands I've avoided listening to because the person who recommended them to me was a prick. I hate to sound so shallow but people can ruin bands for me even if said band is undisputedly excellent. I won't reveal the name of this person but he ruined any chance of me getting into Sonic Youth at an earlier age because he was a giant, self-righteous, pedantic, music snob. I've since started talking to him again in an effort to make sure old wounds don't fester but back in the day he was a colossal jerk.

Since that time, I've experienced and loved lots of other sort of underground bands with huge cult followings such as Joy Division and Suicide and now I know that just because hipster pricks like the band doesn't necessarily mean that a band is overrated. Leaving my musical baggage behind, I've started to listen to Sonic Youth for the first time and am really enjoying their music. I don't know why, other than the stigma I've already explained, why I'd hate them. I've listened to plenty of other noise-rock and shoe-gaze by now and am pretty accustomed to that sound. I feel like I'm ready to listen and in the coming weeks will try and review something of theirs.

After writing-hiatus Steve Miller Band has new stuff

According to Spinner.com, the Steve Miller Band plans to release two brand new albums in June, after a lull period of seventeen years! Seriously who doesn't love the Steve Miller Band? Who wouldn't be excited by this news?

New Business Cards

I designed, printed, and cut out some business cards for the blog last Thursday and here's what they say:

Track of the week: Cotton Strands by Wolf People

As I was browsing through the archives of a great music blog called Tiny Tapes I found this UK band and I was instantly enthralled. Their style is a sort of jazz-funk-indie fusion definitely reminiscent of sixties pop but with a more modern vocal style. Wolf People's videos are just as cool as their songs and this one in particular caught my eye:

With lots of horns and a generous helping of jazz flute the song hops along at a leisurely pace with the warm hiss of tape in the foreground. It reminds me of summer and blue skies. The song is called "Cotton Strands" and it just makes me happy. I hope you guys like it too.

Hockey plays Houston with the Postelles and the Constellations

I only got into Hockey a few weeks ago after identifying them with the Shazam application on my iPhone but ever since then I haven't been able to get them out of my head. The front man reminds me slightly of Julian Casablancas from the Strokes but also kind of reminds me of James Murphy from LCD Soundsystem. He sometimes sings his heart out in that throaty Strokes manner but then does the cool talk/rap/sing thing that James Murphy is so famous for; it's a synthesis that sounds great on mp3 but even better live.

Ben Grubin has an excellent presence live even though he's a shorter guy. That really did surprise me about Grubin; from his very commanding voice and amazing range I kind of expected someone looking like Tom Petty or something (he sounds like Petty at times) but he's a very short very young looking guy. He was festooned in some eccentric looking attire consisting of a knit cap with tassles, a dangling feather earring, and a long tunic-like t-shirt. Grubin would have been right at home on MGMT's Oracular Spectacular album cover. He danced convincingly, swinging on the mic stand a couple times, playing guitar, and even drums on occasion. I was a little disappointed about how the performance sounded just a little canned and not as live but I'm sure that has more to do with the electronic nature of the music rather than the performance, which definitely had me singing along. I say this only out of honesty and not to denigrate the performance which I thought was, overall, really great. Hockey's guitar player wowed me almost as much as Grubin with dead on accurate and articulate licks to go with the precise, electronic, beats.

Learn to Lose by Hockey^


3AM Spanish by Hockey^




The two bands that played before also impressed me. The opening one was called the Postelles and I saw them play in 2008 with the Wombats in Boston and remember thinking their performance was pretty hot back then and that notion was only reinforced. I didn't even know they were on the bill this time and was pleasantly surprised to find them playing the Warehouse, as I walked in and saw the bass drum with their name on it. They play a loud but poppy almost 50's revival type rock that definitely contains echoes of the Ramones if only a little less punky. They did, however, do homage to the punk kings of Queens with an excellent cover of "Beat on the Brat". Even after seeing them twice, I haven't had enough. Check out their White Night EP that just came out in March. It's pretty cool.

Beat on the brat^



The second opening band that went on was the Constellations and they were the only band playing that night that I didn't have any opinion on before the show. I'd heard one song by them but wasn't completely sure what I thought about them. By the time the show was over I was positive that I loved them. The vocalist, Elijah Jones, was standing next to me during the Postelles' set without me even knowing. He was a crazy looking guy with long, blond, curly hair, with a jean jacket and jean bucket hat. I noticed the Postelles waved to him once but I didn't pay that any mind until he got up there and started doing his thing. They opened with a great number called "Setback" which was trippy, loud, and full of energy:


Setback by the Constellations^

Their set was dominated by Jones' Beck-like rapping and singing over different mesmerizing, funky, beats. The keys were especially hot. I was really blown away by their psychedelic but incredibly dancy music. The last song they played was a cover of Tom Waits' jazzy number about advertising called "step right up". It's absolutely one of my favorite Tom Waits songs and I was singing along once I realized what they were doing. I'd already been treated to a great cover of "beat on the brat" by the Postelles and now it was "Step right up"; the night just kept getting better and better. During one of their last numbers Elijah jumped out into the audience and started running around like he was nuts, running into people and then collapsing onto the floor. I loved it. Here he is on the ground:
















Jones was just as cool as the vocalist/rhythm guitarist from the Postelles. I handed him a business card for the blog and we talked about Tom Waits me for a second while he was breaking down the equipment. Classy guy. The Constellations' debut album, Southern Gothic, comes out in May. Be sure to look for it. From what I've heard, I'm sure it will blow your minds.

Yet another great show in the Warehouse Live Ballroom.

MP3 Review: 500 Days of Summer soundtrack

My fianceé and I watched this movie a couple months ago and it was a great little indie love story. If you haven't already seen it then I urge you to go out and rent it. The soundtrack for "500 Days of Summer" was also phenomenal and included a wide range of artists including The Smiths, The Temper Trap, Simon and Garfunkel, and the Black Lips, just to give you an idea of the diversity. Think of a more grown-up version of the "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist" soundtrack and you'll probably get an idea of what I'm talking about. There's a sort of indie feel to the soundtrack but somehow the compilers weren't afraid to go back in time as opposed to "Nick and Norah" where all of the songs selected were written more or less in the past five years. The inclusion of bands old and new on the "500 Days" soundtrack has allowed me to basically treat it like a cool playlist; it's eclectic enough to remain interesting for a long time. I love the "Nick and Norah" soundtrack too but just for different reasons.

One of the best songs on the soundtrack was "There is a light that never goes out" by the immortal Smiths. It fit the mood of the movie perfectly. The lines "to die by your side well the pleasure, the privilege is mine" go along well with the main character's obsession with Summer and I'll admit I'm just a fool for endeavor that includes a well placed Smiths song or two.

The other older song that made the soundtrack memorable for me was Hall and Oates' "You make my dreams come true". With the dated-sounding keyboards (albeit very cool) and overly happy mood it might not seem like a great fit for such a melancholy movie. However, when played alongside other songs on the soundtrack and its representation of the main character's hope for something more than unrequited love from Summer it really seems to fit. The song marks a time in the movie before the main character, Tom, realizes that the relationship isn't going to go anywhere; the calm before the storm.

Some of my other favorite songs on the soundtrack were a number by Doves called "there goes the fear", two excellent songs by Regina Spektor ("Hero" and "us"), and a She & Him cover of the Smith's "Please, please, please, let me get what I want".

I won't rate soundtracks the way I rate normal albums because they're only a compilation of stuff by different artists and can't be thought of the same way as a regular LP. I'll just say that I highly recommend the movie and the soundtrack.