Feb 24
DaraAmericana, Psychedelic, Southern Rock, Thrash
so here’s the story – I came to love one song (“Good Bye Mary Lou”), a punkish bluegrass song, by this no-name band called Angels of Light and propagated it through all mixes therewith – I had a vague notion of Akron/Family but didn’t know they’d been the backing band for Angels of Light until I read their show bio – the show bio also mentioned Michael Gira as the lead singer of Angels of Light which got Rockboy excited because he knew him as the lead singer of the Swans – anyway, we went to this show because of a string of distant associations – I was mostly pleased and the anti-anything-remotely-psychedelic Rockboy was not – they are in essence a jam band, tapping such a wide variety of sounds that I characterize them officially as a schizophrenic band – they literally have no distinguishing characteristic which, even if I am a girl who loves variety, may not be a good thing for a band looking to make a name for themselves – they began with a song that made me love them: a more psychedelic Songs: Ohia (melancholy folk) – suddenly it was thrash which firstly is a signature move of this generation (to intersperse loveliness with hardness) and secondly seemed an misguided attempt to prove they’re not soft or that they’re hip to all aspects of our culture – but in sum, it didn’t sound good and it didn’t sound organic – they then proceeded into the other tagsound of this generation of music, Afro pop, which they did very well, reminding me of Paul Simon – in the end, I believe that they will return, if they want to endure, to the sounds that are their strength: very pretty and sophisticated pop – if it matters, they dress like 70s road hippies with t-shirts and bandanas which seemed to me a lame attempt to suggest campfire jams
Feb 24
DaraGoth, Heavy Metal, Jam Band
equal parts stoner metal, 80s goth, shoegaze, and jam band (at least during some of the drum solos) – you’re probably picturing a bunch of guys on stage right now… you big sexist – but no, an all-girl band, and girls of about 23 at that – breaking through all the barriers, this generation of girls are – and hotties, every last one of them, with the sort of style that redeems it – the shy one with bangs covering her face and a flannel shirt a la the 1990s on lead electric guitar with the voice of a sweet demon – the main vocalist also on electric guitar with Robert Smith’s hair in white and a longish tailored black jacket – pretty-pretty girl on bass in dead-center who ought not to have chewed gum through the whole show – and then the drummer…. oh the drummer… when they were setting up, I thought, ‘there’s one bitter glum girl’ but by the time she got going she was helplessly ecstatic, hands and grins a-flying – some people were born to be drummers and this girl is one of them – she is the driving force behind the band, leading her friends and the audience from slow melancholy wailing to driving thrash to genuine dance rock beats – they used echo effect on all of the vocals which is kind of cheating but definitely created an effect, reminded me of Siouxsie in spirit to some extent but of a much harder Mazzy Star most definitely – general aura reminiscent of The Cure with one song in particular completely replicating the dark ringing undertones – especially skilled at mixing tempos without seeming false about it and then drawing you into a lovely mindless repetitive loop of drone – their most memorable song, although maybe not their best song, was ‘Billie Holiday’: it began with one of them harmonizing original lyrics to the others spelling out B-I-L-L-I-E-H-O-L-I-D-A-Y – it sounds cheesy but it wasn’t – the song then progressed into a dark cover of “My Guy” – can’t figure these girls out in general… I would speculate they’re clean upper class girls with solid music training and burner leanings but that would just be speculation – it is not speculation to say that I like them quite a lot – 3 other best things about the show: 1) crowd was distinctively hipster-folk (consciously but casually dressed: shabby chic pants, camouflage hats, belly button length beards, etc.) but probably because Akron/Family followed, 2) their email list asked your gender, and 3) a guy in the crowd raised his hands up in the shape of a heart and kept flicking it at pretty-pretty but she didn’t (or refused to) notice
Jan 29
DaraCountry, Goth, Rockabilly
formerly in Flat Duo Jets – night and day, fantastic guitar player and great singer, gothic rockabilly?, this raucous acoustic set was accompanied only by his junkie sister on a weird box-drum that she tapped and thumped very well – made me think of Italian operas (dark emotion in his voice), David Lynch (had a song that quoted Blue Velvet), Searching for the Wrong Eyed Jesus (gothic country), Jonathan Richman (mixed trinkling melodies with odd singing),…
Jan 15
AndrewAlternative Rock, Jam Band
Bluesy rocker band fronted by Celeste Griffin who adds a good deal of authentic vocal grit to an already stellar performance. The set was ethereal and graceful and wholly captivating to anyone in the bar tonight.
Jan 15
DaraBlues, Country, Indie Rock, Soul
Although it was the first time in some ten years that both primary contributors to Concert Central were actually at a concert together, we only saw a couple of songs. But the band still managed to make their goodness clear. A rootsy indie sound and fronted by a very lovely young girl with a great voice. Originally from Alabama but now in Austin
Dec 09
DaraGarage Rock, Hard Rock, Punk, Thrash
There really is no other musician who has mattered more than Jay Reatard in the last couple of years. I realize I may say this more often than I should, but for Jay Reatard, it’s the truth. He reins in diverse aspects of rock into a sound that is all his own, a sound that encapsulates the fury and angst of frustrated youth. I envision him as a troubled prodigy who can’t start enough bands to keep himself sated. His Lost Sounds material is what changed my world, but this night he played his solo material which is similar but less synthy and gothic. A barrage of raw garage punk. Unceasingly intense. Which could have been a boring annoying wall of sound, except that his material is also finely crafted and well executed. The sound was not what you would call crisp or tight, but it didn’t displease me. The show ended with two audience members jumping on stage and attacking him. Rather than an amusing band antic, it was disturbing and upsetting. Rockboy maintains it was staged, but I maintain that PMS and Jay Reatard being attacked do not go well together.
Dec 09
DaraHeavy Metal, Thrash
The inside show we were not there for. Literally overflowing with metalheads of the shaved head, scary sort – militaristic. Young guys would explode out of the crowd, back from being in the mosh pit, sweaty and barely containing their raging mindless testosteronic energy. Meanwhile, their girlfriends were texting. Despite all that, and the lead singer’s screamo antics, the band was really good. They were from California and played a tight set of driving metal-hardcore, incorporating both staccato riffs and heavy grooves. The audience was young and knew the words to their songs; we were obviously the only people in the room not in the know. They were also explicitly political.
Nov 14
DaraA cappella, Indie Rock, Orchestra
Gorgeous. Not the transvestite stage spectacle and loud queer politicizing I expected, but rather a focus on the music, which is more beautiful and orchestral than I realized from their studio recordings. I finally understand why they’re described as chamber pop. Young cute Canadians – maybe not cute – they were each a little dorky and odd in their own way. The lead singer pleased me with his tall lankiness and dark eyes, and his distinctive prettily quirky voice that warms me like the sound of a well-liked familiar friend. There were two fiddlers, a keyboardist, an occasional trumpeter, a drummer – maybe 7 or 8 people on stage total? Their songs are complicated but hooky, like The Shins but more comfortable. They toy with sounds and their voices and the instrumentation in a sophisticated and sonically pleasing way. They’re often billed as “gay church folk music,” and part of what attracted me to them in the first place was their blaspheming of religious imagery by jumbling it up with explicit homosexual lyrics. While there is something majestic and holy in their sound, the term “folk” doesn’t do credit to their sound. This band and I were meant for each other.
Nov 14
DaraIndie Rock, Modern Rock, Singer/Songwriter
a former member of The Hidden Cameras and a golden frosted fairy of a man – he’s near albino – his voice was both good and interesting, but his singer-songwriter style grew old very quickly – towards the end of the set, the band moved into indie rock material that was more exciting
Oct 30
DaraNew Wave, Punk
for some reason, I remembered this band as sounding like The Slits but they don’t and they didn’t so I can get over that disappointment – they’re pop punk at best and 90s pop alt-rock at their worst – they’re from Australia – they’re not bad but get tiresome, especially with the lead singer’s need to constantly promote her personal image of a life-embracing free-spirit hippie-punk – although I did enjoy her description of having to clench her vagina to hold on while sitting on the shoulders of one of the audience members – is Australia more sexually liberal than the US? – she rode the shoulders of this white Mr. T in order to swirl her ribbon in the middle of the crowd in burner fashion – the awkward Mr. T was forthwith smitten and the most engaged member of the audience and the first to the merch table after the show – otherwise she was all pretty smiles and engaging friendly banter – of the same school as all of the bands that have ‘clap’ in their titles and the joyous-thrash neo-new-wave bands – her jumpy performance made it clear why they opened for The Go! Team the first time I saw them – the more moderately happy guitarist did an impressive and thorough job with the soundcheck, I thought – there was a bearded keyboardist – my favorite though is the drummer: she’s a little awkward curly haired school girl with round eyes and when she gets going on the drums, her eyes glaze over and she smiles vaguely at nothing like a bobblehead
Oct 28
DaraHeavy Metal, Punk
totally chanced upon this show and were surprised it wasn’t more hyped and more crowded – I had a clear vision of the lead singer of the Dead Kennedys since I was a girl and Jello was not that man – he is a middle-aged tubby slightly flamboyant (although straight per google) loud opinionated man – this is his new band and I don’t know how extensively they tour or if they even put out CDs – they were great – I heard punk-metal but Rockboy insists just hardcore punk – although he leapt around the stage like an angry fairy, he was backed by two scary-and-mean-looking metalhead-type guitarists, 1 stoner boy guitarist, and a drummer – the songs were prefaced and followed by political ranting from Jello – most of the songs were also explicit references to political issues close to Jello’s heart or residence, such as working in the dot.com industry in northern California – I don’t like songs that deal with such specific political issues, not timeless and kind of cheesy for some reason – Jello came out in a weird pinkish sack of a jacket but removed it to reveal a shirt made from an upside-down American flag and removed that to reveal a black t-shirt and removed that to reveal his 50-year-old belly – he’s an astonishing performer – in addition to bounding around the stage and singing ferociously in his unmistakable theatrical voice, his face was constantly contorting to further get his message across and he was a remarkably good mime – I wasn’t always sure what he was acting out but it was precise – a unique performance – when they finally played “California Uber Alles” and “Holiday in Cambodia,” it was very very exciting
Oct 28
DaraBluegrass, Folk, Punk, World Music
I loved this show and so did the crowd –I think this band is basically the foundation for slam-grass and the gypsy punk movement – impossible not to dance to a rowdy accordion – and then the old Irish ballads communicate a sense of warmth and companionship – although not always the vocalist, Shane McGowan was the center of the show – the band wouldn’t be half as interesting without his slurred snarling vocals – having just watched the movie biography of his life (Should I Fall From Grace), I was firstly amazed that they were charging so much to see a man who was such a high liability for not showing up or not being able to perform and secondly felt a kinship with him like I kind of knew him – I figured he must have sobered up if they were touring like this – not a bit – his spoken words were so unintelligible (partly because of his accent but mostly because of intoxication) that a band member would translate what he was saying for the audience – funny and horrifying all at the same time – like the irresistible draw of looking at a car wreck – he frequently left the stage between songs and progressively relied more on the microphone to hold him up – despite all of that, his singing was mostly on target–it was disturbing or touching that his band members accommodate him as he is so that he can perform and that his fans almost celebrate his self-destruction – part of his mystique – oh and he’d gotten his first set of false teeth recently but didn’t wear them to perform…. someone said the movie about his life should be shown to kids to terrify them into sobriety – “hghgthzzz” as Shawn would say
Oct 26
DaraA cappella, Art Rock, New Wave, Prog Rock, Thrash
complex and sophisticated music that was possibly based in Afro-pop or new wave but verged into prog rock – absolutely inventive – lead vocalist/guitarist communicated musical genius to me and I fancy he wrote the songs and what with his crazy guitar skills he couldn’t help but throw a little prog into the music – his voice was also very good… something between Antony and the Johnsons and Elvis Costello and Paul Simon – he was usually accompanied by three female backing vocalists who created a fabric of sweet noises that went from an ethereal drone to a’cappella to screaming – sometimes they would juxtapose their harmonizing almost in a beat boxing fashion so that it created a synthy sound which was amazing – departures from the general sound included the beginning of the set in which the lead guy used an electric guitar in a singer/songwriter style, when he accompanied the black-haired female vocalist in a very pretty jazz vocal, when the entire band would bend over at the waist and incongruously thrash to finish a song (just made me giggle), when the bass guitarist brought out an upright bass which added a jazz feel again to the music, and when the blonde female vocalist took over the stage in a liltingly funky M.I.A.-like song – in other amusing sidenotes, the band generally engaged in anti-cool posturing with the lead guy wearing two massive cardigans, the bass guitarist in an old-school sweatshirt that had some witty saying on it that I forget now, the black-haired vocalist in a plain black t-shirt with a little necklace, etc. etc. – there was also a drummer whom I’m sorry to say I could not see at all
Oct 26
DaraArt Rock, Funk, Hard Rock
WomanInCharge, true to form, didn’t invite me to this show (Dirty Projectors) but told me I was going… this band was darling darling darling – smiles washed over the crowd – had the stage presence of Matt & Kim: happy clean jumping dancepunk – the little girl with the long hair in a barrette and the green eyelashes painted under her right eye was fierce and inflamed with a voice that reminded me of Grand Ole Party and maybe CocoRosie – her compatriot guitarist with the 70s fluffed hair matched her energy – lots of drums, a keyboard, a whaw pedal, occasional trumpet, sometimes a saxophone – a synthy disco rock inferno – maintained hyped up stage presence until it was certain that the audience had been saved – they almost outshone the headiners
Oct 16
DaraModern Rock
we were dubbed number one fans without our consent – they were supposed to go on at 9pm, at least in my head – they were supposed to go on at 10:30 or 11pm, at least in their head – they didn’t go on until 11:30pm but in the meantime they were a little too excited that we were the only non-band-members there at 9pm and the few of about 10 non-band-members by the time they went on – most every band member shook our hand and we were given t-shirts – and it turned out the recommendation I’d seen for them at Waterloo was posted by a buddy who works there – this all made me suspicious but they were kind of excellent – the first song was so terrible I almost left immediately but the 2nd was a dramatic turn-around into funky short guitar riffs and stiff drum beats a la Gang of Four – I remain most suspect of the lead singer’s unimpressive quiet complaint of a voice but the sound system was among the worst ever so it’s hard to say
Oct 16
DaraGarage Rock, Hard Rock, Punk
a motley crue for sure and Austin no-names but I thought they were great – a happy-dad keyboardist, a stringy haired lurching ex-hippie lead singer, a punk kid on bass guitar and a slick-guy drummer (smelled like a ‘session drummer’ to Rockboy) – their music reflected these disparate influences – some blend of a garagey, punky, post-punky rock – lots of energy too
Oct 16
DaraIndie Rock, Modern Rock
everybody wanted to see them at SXSW and nobody saw them – they were three very young girls from Brooklyn harmonizing in a pleasantly monotonous almost atonal fashion – not what I expected but it was an acoustic set so can’t really judge – maybe a little pretentious in the Yo La Tengo way with their disregard for hitting the right note – the flatline melodies were intentional and while the FrustratedPhilosopher found it to be obnoxious hipster posturing, I found it comforting – created a pleasant drone – they were described as surfer girls which made me like their sound more – they were also described as having opened for Jay Reatard (awwww) and Sonic Youth which did not at all fit their sweetie sweet vibe
Sep 05
DaraModern Rock
a caricature of a rock band, tight black jeans, shaggy hair, wan faces, slapping the microphone in the palm of the hand, they had the energy and the skill and even the diversity but whatever happened to originality?
Aug 31
AndrewAlternative Rock, College Rock
Despite illness canceling one show earlier in the week, the Counting Crows were in fine form during their Boston stop on the Traveling Circus and Medicine Show. Lead singer Adam Duritz started on the festivities with an extended PSA for the non-profits at the venue. Then the full company, the band plus Michael Franti and Spearhead and Augustana, came out for a rousing two-song introduction to the party. The Counting Crows took the stage on their own for the opening set that included a beautiful version of If I Could Give All My Love.
For their two sets, the Counting Crows covered a lot of ground, including a healthy dose of August and Everything After, Omaha, Mr. Jones, and Anna Begins. They brought out a rarity, the Nanci Griffith track Going Back To Georgia (which Duritz sang on and co-wrote), and from the new album When I Dream Of Michelangelo.
This was a fine, fine performance, and the format of the night, each band playing a shorter set intermixed with collaborations, actually worked. There was a seemless transition between sets. Some of the best songs were collaborative efforts, like Why Should You Come When I Call and a cover of Bob Dylan’s Just Like a Woman. The night ended as it began, with the full company on stage, pounding through a rousing version of Paul Simon’s Cecilia and the Crows’ own classic Rain King.
Aug 31
AndrewCollege Rock, Emo
Augustana contrasted pretty sharply with the other bands by being an understated cross between Coldplay and Bob Dylan. Their two sets during the night where fine performances despite being low key pop affairs, giving the crowd a break from the frenetic energy of Michael Franti and Adam Duritz. Their music was mellow-bordering-on-emo, and their stage presence was completely swallowed up by the other bands. It was hard to see how they could carry a show on their own.
Playing the track Boston would have been pandering except it was the highlight of their set.
Aug 17
AndrewAlternative Rock, Rock and Roll, Singer/Songwriter
Tori Amos gave an exquisite performance, starting with a three-song whammy including a big, big version of Big Wheel. The Sinful Attraction tour rolled into Boston for the last U.S. stop showing no fatigue from the twenty-plus dates that came before. The show began and ended on a euphoric high. The setlist was heavy with American Doll Posse tracks and a big nod to From the Choirgirl Hotel.
There wasn’t much talking, aside from introducing the band, but just a seamless run through some of her best tracks, including a heavenly solo version of Silent All These Years on the Bösendorfer (during the Lizard Lounge segment). The new material was pretty, but simply couldn’t match the depth of her older tracks which was more obvious by her pairing Tear in Your Hand against Welcome to England (the new album’s first single). Of the new material, Flavor, stood on its own the best, bookended by two amazing performances, Space Dog and Hotel respectively.
She picked a lot of songs that really focused on her vocals and keyboards, shunting Matt Chamberlain’s drums and Jon Evan’s guitar parts to the background. Especially songs like The Power Of Orange Knickers and Digital Ghost which climaxed on her performance alone, the backing instruments very much seemed like an afterthought.
The surprise of the night was when Tori came out in her Santa persona (from the ADP album) to pound through throbbing versions of Raspberry Swirl and She’s Your Cocaine and Body and Soul during the encore. Holding a martini glass, Santa flicked her drink on the crowd in the front row. But here’s the thing, the costume change revived the energy of the show in a way I couldn’t have predicted. The collective vigor of the venue, including from Tori herself, took a huge upswing with Santa on stage, matching the power of Big Wheel in a way that nothing in between could hold a candle to.
Tori Amos setlist
Give
Big Wheel
Cornflake Girl
Bells For Her
Space Dog
Flavor
Hotel
Tear In Your Hand
Welcome To England
Jamaica Inn
Silent All These Years
You Know I’ve Gotta Go improv
Cool On Your Island
Lady In Blue
The Power Of Orange Knickers
Talula
Digital Ghost
Precious Things
Strong Black Vine
Encore
Raspberry Swirl
She’s Your Cocaine
Body And Soul
Aug 17
AndrewAlternative Rock
Heard two songs of their opening set for Tori Amos. The music seemed chill but didn’t make an impact. However, a couple people who saw the whole set only had rave things to report. We got a free sampler disc of their music so I will give it a listen.
Aug 15
DaraPunk
old curmudgeon of a lead singer yelled at the crowd halfway through the first song, something about tossing stuff on stage – crowd wasn’t deterred and continued to mosh properly – mix of 70s punk that I really like (“I Love Livin’ in the City”) and frat-punk that I really dislike (“More Beer”) – the heat was ridiculous and I was in inappropriate shoes: lost the energy to analyze and remember but, as far as I remember, they were good
Aug 15
DaraPunk, Surf Rock
can’t go wrong blending surf into punk
Aug 15
DaraPunk
relatively clean cut older guys – looked and sounded so California that I was awash in homesickness – reminded me very much of Offspring though maybe more skatepunk – made the huge mistake of never playing the song I love by them, “Gutters of Paradise,” the lyrics of which express the punk ethic that I most appreciate
Aug 08
LORDZUEGMAAlternative Rock, Indie Rock, Rock and Roll
My wife and I recently attended a “Blue October” concert on saturday August 8, 2009 at the “Marquee Theatre” in Phoenix, Arizona. I also had the opportunity to share a few brief moments with the bands lead singer (Justin Furstenfeld) in the parking lot behind the “Marquee Theatre” he was in pain and asked me to open a prescription bottle for him for his wrist. Justin allowed us to take a few photographs of him with me and some other fans and also he did some autographs in his book titled “Crazy Making,” he also autographed some t-shirts for other fans as well. Justin talked about how he gets fined by some bible belt arenas for singing the word “Fuck” and they fine him $1,000 per word. I say they are not living up what they preach and are being greedy which is against the bible.
My wife took photographs of me with the rest of the band as well. I was able to get autographs and photographs of Jeremy Furstenfeld-Drums, Ryan Delahoussaye-Violin, CB Hudson-Guitar, and Matt Noveskey-Bass.
They are all very fan friendly as they exited the “Marquee Theatre” and came directly over to a group of about fifty or so fans. They talked to us, shook our hands, hugged some of us, talked about some personal and band issues going on. They are just a bunch of fun guys. They are still real people that have not yet been consumed by the fame.
I personally would recommend everyone going to a “Blue October” concert. The concert was full of energy and the band was able to hypnotize as they engaged with the crowd.
Aug 05
AndrewAlternative Rock, College Rock
Jason Mraz spent the first few minutes on stage introducing his band, a unique way to get the party started. But it was a rippin’ party, complete with a short set from the back of the venue that gave the crowd back there some lovin’. Mraz is an awesome stage performer, with a beautiful range and a way of transitioning between ballads and long extended jams that feels natural and keeps the audience engaged from start (an introduction by Bushwalla) to finish (a lengthy goodbye to the audience just Mraz on stage by himsefl). There were no hiccups in the almost two hour set, highlighted by a soaring version of Only Human, a singalong of I’m Yours (complete with Bob Marley’s Everything’s Gonna Be Alright).
Marz stripped down to the bare essentials for a short set from the back of the venue, shown on the video screens in black and white for the benefit of the people in the front of the house. Included a spine-tingling version of At Last that segued into Sleep All Day. The band jammed while Mraz made his way back to the mainstage for an encore of Clockwatching (including a hint of the Charlie’s Angels theme song) and The Dynamo Of Volition.
Jason Mraz setlist
Fun, Fun, Fun
The Remedy (I Won’t Worry)
Make It Mine
Who Needs Shelter
If It Kills Me
Live High
Only Human
Unfold
Beautiful Mess
I’m Yours/Everything’s Gonna Be Alright
Butterfly
Back of the Venue
Lucky
Never Too Late
At Last/Sleep All Day
Copchase
Encore
Clockwatching
The Dynamo Of Volition
Jul 31
AndrewAlternative Rock, Electronic
Depeche Mode ripped through an impressive set during their Boston-area stop of the Tour of the Universe. The band, Martin Gore, Dave Gahan and Andy Fletcher plus two backing musicians, tore through a hits-heavy set drenched in dance grooves. They transformed their songs into club classics and it was a shame that the show wasn’t at a standing-room only venue. Instead, it was at the craptastic Comcast Center in Mansfield 20 miles south of Boston on a rainy, humid day with people crammed into their seats, bouncing along as best they could without whacking a person around them.
The stage was set in a wash of lights with an enormous disco ball mounted above the band that acted as a secondary projection screen. The images though, were more distracting than illuminating, especially in light of the pure sound that turned electronic classics like Policy of Truth and Enjoy the Silence into pulsing techno tracks. Gahan’s voice, which has never been that fluid, held up well. Though granted, he let the audience do the singing on the chorus of a song more than once (kind of a cheap trick, that is, but then he’s always taken some vocal breaks down their shows).
DM opened with three songs from the new album, In Chains, the sinister and superb Wrong and Hole to Feed. From there, they turned over the show to classic and current hits from the exceptional stripped-down version of the Gore-sung Home to one of DM’s best post-Violator tracks It’s No Good and their recent smash Precious. They closed the main set with Never Let Me Down Again and went way back for the encore with Stripped and Master and Servant.
Depeche Mode setlist
In Chains
Wrong
Hole To Feed
Walking In My Shoes
It’s No Good
A Question Of Time
Precious
Fly On The Windscreen
Little Soul
Home
Come Back
Policy Of Truth
In Your Room
I Feel You
Enjoy The Silence
Never Let Me Down Again
Encore
Stripped
Master And Servant
Strangelove
Encore 2
Personal Jesus
Jul 21
DaraAlt-Country, College Rock, Hard Rock, Punk
sported the polish and confidence of a band who has performed for years and years – almost want to write them off as silly party boys but they managed to pull off sunglasses at night, coordinated movements, and holding the guitar up for the audience to worship because they are sincere in their worship of rock and because they can back it up with some really good music – very nearly 3 separate bands within one: they had very tight garage punk songs that were distinguished by short punctuated segments a la The Hellacopters, they had songs that were spot-on expressions of the nichey genre ‘punk n’ roll,’ and they have their country a la Cracker – lots of wah wah pedal too – they’re fun for the whole music family
Jun 27
AndrewElectronic, New Wave
Burnt Fur’s second show in a month was in the seedy underbelly of the Cantab Lounge, a place optimistically referred to as the Club Bohemia. Burnt Fur nailed an hour long set with their signature mix of electronic beats and industrial edge. The band was brilliant, tackling the jangly new wave track Redux and the sound effects-heavy Pixelated Black with the same aplomb. It took a couple of songs to find their groove, but once it clicked with the track Warm All Day from their first LP release Unfurl , the energy levels shot through the ceiling.
Fronted by Scott Harrison, he managed to channel his inner Siouxsie Sioux even on a minuscule stage at the Cantab. The foursome traded off guitar duties during their set and sole female Jean Kennedy even took a vocal turn on a sublime cover of The Cure rarity The Upstairs Room. Rounded out by Ian St. Germain and Patrik Tirda, the band pays homage to their pop sensibilities on tracks like Radiate. But the real highlight of the evening was the triumphant new track, Reverie, slated for their upcoming EP release later this summer.
Burnt Fur setlist
Strange Vacation
Radiate
Warm All Day
Redux
Reverie
The Upstairs Room
Cats
Homage
Vitriol
Pixelated Black
Jun 07
DaraBlues, Glam, Punk, Rock and Roll
an accessible mix of post-punk, blues rock, glam, and punk n roll sounds but in reality proto-punk which makes them even more amazing: the sounds are rightfully theirs – basically a genuine classic old-school rock band insofar as the music, the talent, the stage presence and the look, especially Mick-Jagger’s-doppelganger David Johansen singing in his frilly shirt – only other original member of the band was Sylvain Sylvain in a little salmon-colored beret (he charmingly joined Black Joe on stage) – my favorite might have been the heavily eyelinered goth-esque guy on bass guitar who was wearing an incongruent pinstriped shirt and black vest and baseball cap (?) – enjoyed the lack of pretension and posturing – “Stranded in the Jungle,” “Personality Crisis,” original version of “Trash” followed by a reggae version of it
May 30
DaraHard Rock, Heavy Metal, Thrash
this was a band that was on our radar during SXSW – we never ended up seeing them though which wasn’t a big deal since they’re local – this too was more of a chance sighting than anything else but I was still disappointed – I expected more psych metal and less screamo – the music was heavy and complicated (good) but the vocals were grating and annoying: too discordant to even be screamo –the lead singer was fascinating though with his spawn-from-the-river-like writhing – noise-rock meets no wave – possibly, possibly it was my own bad attitude and the fact that I should have been in bed…
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