Jul 01
AndrewFolk, Indie Rock
That She & Him (Zooey Deschanel & M. Ward respectively) are darlings of the indie circuit is without a doubt. A sold-out all-ages show at the House of Blues Boston and an audience that was down with the duo’s plush, folky arrangements was all the proof necessary.
The first half of the set was rough. Deschanel seemed to have somewhere else to be and rushed through a dozen tracks in nearly as many minutes. They were pitch perfect, sounding just like the album and it was so disconnected, I might as well have been listening to the album. Great studio tracks like Lingering Still and Black Hole came off lacking any sort of warmth. Deschanel channels Peggy Lee like nobody’s business. Waid played his slide guitar with a bottle of Sam Summer, and just about everyone took turns on the keyboard at one point or another. With the Chapin Sisters providing background vocals – and a stellar backing band – it should have been anything but boring.
To be fair, the sound at the show wasn’t great. The backing vocals were hard to hear except when they shouted and given the talents of the Chapin Sisters, they weren’t given much to do anyway. The energy from the stage was lackluster at first and the audience was attentive the way you would be watching television. But it wasn’t until they sent away the band that the remarkable attraction between Deschanel and Waid was apparent. And then sparks flew.
A three-song solo set just She and Him, including a gorgeous duet on Smokey Robinson’s You Really Got a Hold On Me, changed up the energy of the show and proved why people love this band. After that, even with the band back on stage, the entire template for the night shifted. Deschanel seemed to have warmed up, and the audience warmed up to her. Hearing Waid’s unique, muscular vocals was a treat (shame he waited to the last song of the night to take up a lead vocal on a rollickin’ Roll Over Beethoven). They rocked out once or twice too, notably on their singles – a spastic, thumping version of In the Sun and an enthusiastic run through of This is Not a Test. Everything worked better in the second half, including a playful interlude during Sweet Darlin’ where Waid and Deschanel played the same keyboard simultaneously.
The show ended on a proper high. It was a shame they couldn’t capture that energy from the start, but they got there all the same.
She & Him setlist
Black Hole
Thieves
Over It Over Again
Lingering Still
Take It Back
Home
Sentimental Heart
Change Is Hard
I Thought I Saw Your Face Today
Brand New Shoes
You Really Got a Hold on Me
Would You Like to Take a Walk?
Magic Trick
Gonna Get Along Without You Now
In The Sun
Don’t Look Back
This Is Not a Test
Riding In My Car
I Was Made For You
Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?
Sweet Darlin’
Encore
Fools Rush In
Roll Over Beethoven
May 28
DaraIndie Rock, Psychedelic
[Chicago, IL] when I hear this band, I hear hugeness, stages, and screaming in my head, and I genuinely thought this band was HUGE – “Double Vision” is one of my favorite songs of the last few years and they sound HUGE and everytime one of their songs come on I think ‘I like this band so much,’ but the crowd was modest and they were just average joes – apparently, this is achieved through the use of voice echoing, distorted guitars, walls of sound, and good musicianship … it’s a little contrived but it’s pretty effective – in person, they’re difficult for me to describe – although I had them classified in my head as garage punk, in person, they made me think of hard shoegaze and indie rock – I don’t know… they were cute and that song inspires me everytime and their sound pleases me immensely even if it’s kind of cheating – I particularly like the guy’s voice and their psychy-pop ethic – plus a female guitarist, always good, and she was appropriately detached and cool without being a hipster at all
May 28
DaraHard Rock, Indie Rock
[Austin, TX] two skinny guys on guitars and a girl on drums – I enjoyed them but don’t have a lot to say about them – I guess they were garage punk but with shoegaze or noise rock overtones – music was minorly intense but felt simple – the bassist did go into nice groovy finger-intensive leads – what defines them to me is the intensity of their lead singer (on guitar) – he spent 10 minutes telling the sound man to turn up the monitors on the vocals and then harped on it in between songs too – amusingly, intense guy kept turning to the drummer girl to start songs with a 4-3-2-1 whatever and she (supposedly suffering from strep throat) messed it up like three times
Mar 20
DaraElectronic, Indie Rock, Modern Rock
[Knoxville, TN] on my and Rockboy’s lists – it was just too cold to listen properly – they were fine but I was more impressed by WhoMadeWho – this band was similar, electro-rock, but they were more indie and less bombast – this band deserves more listen
Mar 19
DaraElectronic, Indie Rock
[Vancouver, Canada] this show was so hilarious I could hardly stand it and it wasn’t even intentional but a perfect storm of the setting and the band and the audience… – so I had this band listed as a mid-level possible show from my research but we decided to go because Rockboy had heard that SPIN listed them as 1 of 7 top unheard bands… and because we were exhausted and it was close to where we were – so it’s the worst venue ever, a little alcove in a crappy Mexican restaurant with timid waitresses crossing right in front of the stage throughout the entire set – the first audience members to arrive were two pre-pubescent boys who were totally subdued but clearly thrilled to be at a rock show – they tried to stand as coolly as they could which amounted to being totally stiff and uncomfortable except for when they’d shake their heads to shag out the hair as 00s middle school boys do – the band was unremarkable looking except that the female co-vocalist had crazy curls and a cute little body and an obviously fun attitude AND the lead singer was a dead ringer for Jack Black – he was genuinely funny, talking to the crowd with his little Canadian accent and apologizing for the band’s drunkenness – the band sounded like a pretty decent version of The Faint and a frumpy stocky jokey guy fronting them was just an incongruous fit: he’d switch from stomping his feet and hopping around with his voice altered into a robot’s voice to telling us stories about beavers from Canada – plus, being drunkish and all on Texas margaritas, he’d step into the ‘crowd’ of 10 people and sing in their faces or follow the waitresses around – he was so cute and harmless, it was like a family mixer instead of a rock show – when he stomped up right in front of the 2 boys, they did their best to look unmoved even though it was clear they were simultaneously horrified and thrilled – when he danced in front of the mid-teen emo-girl, she totally lost it and actually broke her aloofness to giggle – when he danced after the waitresses, they screamed a little and hurried faster on their way – when he strayed into the rooms of the restaurant where people were eating, he was totally ignored and returned to the stage a little defeated – his antics (and the great music) eventually drew a crowd of 15-20 people but it seemed to be people who’d been dining there for the most part – but suddenly everybody was dancing including the kid with flip flops and a backpack on and the curly haired girl with a military jacket and the sweet laughing woman with her boyfriend – at one point, he had to yell at his bandmate who had joined the dancing crowd, “Hey, you’re in the band, remember?!” – so, in sum, I say listen to this band, but recorded rather than live, because otherwise you’ll just laugh
Mar 18
DaraCollege Rock, Indie Rock, Modern Rock
[Santa Cruz, CA] I have a small crush on David Lowery, both for this band and Cracker – the music was great, didn’t realize how many songs I knew from this band, but the man disappointed me – he flinched and stopped at one point, looking as if he’d been hit by something, but it turned out he’d somehow been shocked by the microphone – once he recovered (30 sec later), he started tapping his guitar to the microphone to show us the sparks and yelling that we should never return to this place – eventually one of the venue’s employees ran up to the stage to apologize but David grabbed his beer from his hand, poured it out on the stage, and pushed the employee, telling the crowd “See, he’s drinking while on the job” – he had a right to be upset but he took it too far? – they finished their set but ended by saying there wasn’t time for Cracker to follow as scheduled
Mar 18
DaraIndie Rock, Pop, Psychedelic
[Montreal, Canada] repetitive lite indie rock band with psychedelic touches – I was unmoved but may have been the setting because they’re pretty easy on the ear as per myspace
Mar 18
DaraElectronic, Indie Rock
[West Palm Beach, FL] four guys pounding on keyboards, guitars and drums to create a head-bobbing passionate electro rock – they also pay attention to the hook in their melodies – bouncy, happy but serious, good band
Mar 17
DaraCollege Rock, Indie Rock
[Los Angeles, CA] didn’t find this band striking but it was in part due to total exhaustion – keyboards, guitars, and drums – kind of spacey lo-fo indie rock – appreciated their genuineness
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
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 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
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.
Mar 21
DaraIndie Rock
vaguely remember liking them several years ago – the sound was really good at this venue but it had an outsdoory festival feeling which was too un-SXSW to stay – dark sonic indie rock – nuanced – nice vocals too
Mar 20
DaraAlt-Country, Indie Rock, Pop
I have an extreme fondness for this band’s vocal harmonizing and general sound (please see “Shake Our Tree”)… quirky fun indie pop with interesting lyrics – very unfortunately, the Mohawk’s sound system totally failed the band and underplayed the voices and highlighted the less interesting instrumentation – additionally, in what I saw (a lot), they did not play my song – I think it’s possible they’re solid song crafters and it’s just a matter of being better on album than live – their physical appearances were interesting enough though that I suspect the Mohawk is to blame
Mar 20
DaraIndie Rock
I had an idea that they were a Belle and Sebastian type band but not a bit of it – they’re an electronic-sounding indie rock band who apparently have an illustrious producing career though that may have been bad information from people near me – from Sweden and it’s not a guy named Peter Bjorn and a guy named John but rather three guys… I’d be annoyed if I were Bjorn
Mar 19
DaraBritpop, Indie Rock
a return to the shoegazer label – three girls who made me giggle because they were so self-conscious and wobbly as rock stars – a sad statement on what a white middle-class upbringing does to a girl – had a pop sound but also a few more rocking songs
Mar 19
DaraBritpop, Indie Rock
clear that on the same label as Your Kisses Cause Crashes, they were more passionate and more crescendoing though – 2 guitars and drums – the lead singer sounded like Conor Oberst
Mar 18
DaraElectronic, Indie Rock
Another instance of my distorted perspective of band popularity – I realized in the morning that not marking this band as my #1 for the day had been an oversight but I doubted that we’d even get in because they were so huge… … we were one of thirty people maybe on a distinctly uncrowded patio. Don’t know if it was the day, the time, or if I really have no sense of band status, in my own little world of total music access. Anyway, they were fantastic. They sounded less electronic live than they do recorded. They’re just high-quality textured indie rock with pleasingly quirky twists in the riffs and the vocals. The lead singer was endearing and enthusiastic with his one feather earring. The crowd was mostly young gay males but I think it was more a function of the neighborhood than the band, though the feather earring gives me pause. They ended with their HUGE HIT “Ghetto Ways.” Well, their #1 fan, at least, was very pleased.
Mar 16
AndrewIndie Rock, Jam Band
The Films started strong on their set. Heavy influences of the Kinks and the Who were readily apparent. But after the fourth song, Pour it Out, where the boys were joined by Butch Walker on piano, their set kind of fizzled. Their look was straight out of Young Indiana Jones, their jams were stuck in the 70’s and there was an unsettling southern vibe to their music. But not a Athens, GA vibe, more like rural Tennessee. Nothing was bad but if you had told me they had just won a Battle of the Bands contest, I would have believed you.
Nov 24
AndrewArt Rock, Indie Rock
Amanda Palmer stormed into Boston for the first two nights at the Paradise Rock Club, supported by the Danger Ensemble. Palmer’s solo album is a force of nature, as is the performer herself on stage. Playing keyboard solo and accompanied on about half the songs by violinist Lyndon Chester, Palmer ran through most of the songs from her solo album, keeping the audience riveted with soft love lorn songs like Ampersand and the tragic Blake Says. Musically, Palmer has never sounded better. She pounded through spirited versions of back to back Dresden Dolls’ tracks Backstabber and Coin-Operated Boy. During Guitar Hero, she played air guitar and lip synced to her own track from the front of the stage.
She stopped the set twice, once to auction off a signed guitar from the music video for Guitar Hero (it went for $790). Later, she went to a segment called “Ask Amanda” where she answered questions from a hat. It was that kind of show.
The Danger Ensemble is a four-piece performance group that acted out scenes on stage while Palmer played. Some of the pieces were stunning, like the tour de force of “Will Kiss for Kash” during Coin-Operated Boy. During Have to Drive, the Danger Ensemble reassembled in the audience, pushing the crowd away to make a space to work with and proceeded to climb on each other like a living sculpture. It was engrossing and Palmer was happy to share the attention.
The show opened with a eulogy performed by Palmer’s mother (getting the crowd to sing along to Abide with Me) before Palmer herself appeared through the crowd in a white shroud and launched into Astronaut.
The show closed with a lip synced extended version of Rihanna’s Umbrella, a singalong cover of Bon Jovi’s Living on a Prayer with The Builders and the Butchers supporting and Ryan Sollee sharing lead vocals. Then Vermillion Lies and Emperor Norton’s Stationary Marching Band joined the rest on stage for a wild romp through Leeds United. It was that kind of night. Amazing.
Oct 24
DaraBlues, Dance, Indie Rock, Psychedelic
the high quality of their sound was immediately apparent – rich and full despite it being an acoustic show, I take note of them because of the distinctive voice but that actually became annoying – seemed contrived – he does have a good voice but could change up on its nasally execution every now and then, very attractive band – appear serious and smart, did a short set of only three songs but with a wide range of sounds from psychy indie rock to hoppy dance hit “Something Is Not Right With Me” in which the drummer continued to play drums with his left hand while shaking the shaker with his right hand… which was terribly impressive to me
Sep 27
DaraHard Rock, Indie Rock, Prog Rock
these unassuming boys put on an intense show, a loud wall of noise though definitely not psych-metal – the meticulous melodies and indie yearning hurtled forward as if on a upward bound rumbling train give them a sound that is quite their own
Sep 27
DaraBlues, Indie Rock, Psychedelic, The Vault
Rockboy discovered this band at SXSW this year and I’d come to like them a lot too – I kept telling him that she sounded like some 70s singer… Janis Joplin… but that wasn’t quite right – it became suddenly and blatantly apparent seeing them live: the round expansiveness and tone of every note of her voice is verbatim Jefferson Airplane… Grace Slick – her voice is the band though the other aspects are just as appealing – she sits playing drums in the center while outputting this incredible voice flanked on each side by matching boys: lead and bass guitars – Rockboy describes them as a mix of White Stripes and The Yeah Yeah Yeahs which is accurate with the bluesy driving minimalism of the former and the feminine intensity of the latter – incredibly young crowd who of course could not understand in totality the greatness of this little band
Sep 19
DaraAlt-Country, Glam, Indie Rock, Singer/Songwriter
knew them from one song that I really liked on Pandora but was more interested when I found out that Stephen Malkmus of Pavement is a member – turns out they’ve been around since the late 80s – the lead singer David Berman is very engaging – he’s thin (a la melancholy drug abuser) with swagger and sunglasses and a speak-singing low voice that alternated between sounding like Lou Reed and David Bowie – they’re like a lo-fi country or indie rock band with a poet/glam rocker fronting them – Emo’s was overflowing with random people – the whole band had class and I am a new fan
Sep 19
DaraAlt-Country, Indie Rock, Singer/Songwriter
started by informing the crowd that he’d started the tour with a band but was with a band no more, generally seemed bitter and Emo’s is just a venue entirely unsuited to a singer/songwriter, otherwise he did a good job for being a lone guy on a big stage, nice voice and sufficient stage presence, think his purported nuance was lost on a crowd of that size though
Aug 14
DaraIndie Rock
no, local band, insipid indie pop, maybe I’m being harsh but that was my initial and enduring feeling
Jun 28
DaraIndie Rock, Punk
lead singer was Lars’ buddy who is always at Beerland, they were a stripped down minimalist type post-punk, spoken vocals, would need to see them again to rate their interest level
May 31
JamieIndie Rock
Opener: The Black Lips
I’ll admit that I think the Raconteurs are brilliant. I have both their albums in heavy rotation on my ipod, so I went into the concert at Manhattan’s Terminal 5 knowing all their songs and most of the lyrics. Their songs always tell a story, sometimes with an ending you don’t see coming. We scored a great view up on the third level, looking over the shoulders of some bored people leaning over the railing. The screens were dependably grainy, so I was glad for the view. All in all, the show delivered few surprises, just a rock solid performance. Jack and Co. didn’t break till well over an hour into the show, consistently flowing from one song into another. Throughout the show, Brendan Benson was as subdued as Jack White was energized. Maybe that’s what makes them work so well together.
The Raconteurs opened with the title track of their new album, “Consoler of the Lonely” a schizophrenic song that also opens the CD. Like much of their music, “Consoler” takes what could have been an average rock song and adds a twist, alternating between two drastically different tempos and styles. A few songs later, Jack White took over on the keyboard for one of my favorite tracks, “You Don’t Understand Me,” followed immediately by “Top Yourself,” a song of spurned love. Benson sang the last verse softly, over subdued, sustained chords, which set up the cowboy-styled opening of “Switch and the Spur.” On the CD, I didn’t enjoy that track that much; it feels a little too corny. But performed live, it connected in a way that I never expected, and it featured a thrilling guitar solo by White just before the final section.
When the band transitioned into “Intimate Secretary,” one of the goofier tracks on the first album, I was disappointed by the blandness of the performance. There was no contrast between sections, making the song one long string of strange lyrics and sustained volume. It was followed by “Old Enough,” a country-tinged track thanks to the surprising addition of violin to the band’s musical texture.
The excitement of “Old Enough” led into a four-song section which was the peak of the whole show. It started out with a fabulous rendition of “Rich Kid Blues,” with long slow breaks after each fast section, leading into Benson’s slow, sweet vocals. A droning bass line became a downright creepy version of “Level,” with Benson and White trading extended solos. The final solo guitar line turned into a non-syncopated version of the intro to “Steady as She Goes,” the monster hit off the Raconteurs first album. Benson led the song with guitar solos in every break. The zenith of the whole show was a frenetic and powerful performance of their psychedelic blues track, “Blue Veins.” White’s guitar solo was almost overwhelming in its emotion, but he brought it down to a soft level before coming back crashing loud. White’s vocals and guitar playing were so over the top, he nearly knocked over an amp during an awesome extended coda that closed the song.
That was the sole break in their performance, with the roadies running around the stage putting everything back in place. The crowd was so energized after “Blue Veins,” they didn’t stop clapping and cheering the entire 10 minutes the band was off-stage. When they came back to finish up their set, they came out with “Broken Boy Soldier,” White frequently using a voice box set up near the back of the stage. I liked his use of the voice box (and what I think was a delay button hooked up to it), there was for no apparent reason a mirror attached to the setup. When he used the voice box, he turned his back to the audience and stared in the mirror. (My friend and I spent most of the walk home discussing various theories, most of them centering around narcissism and just plain old weirdness.)
The first words anyone spoke to the audience were from Jack, asking “Everything all right?” When the crowd cheered in response, the band broke into a sped-up version of “Salute Your Solution.” I thought it was an excellent decision, as the uptempo opening contrasted more with the slow sections contrast and made the song much more exciting. “Many Shades of Black” followed–hands-down my favorite on the new CD–but without the horns featured on the album, it lacked energy.
The show closed with “Carolina Drama,” a brave choice given how mellow its ending is. Most bands save their most exciting song or biggest hit for the ending, but the Raconteurs chose a slow, intense story to end their set. It gave the show a lot of closure, though, and we walked out feeling like we’d gotten more than our money’s worth.
Setlist
Consoler Of The Lonely
Hold Up
You Don’t Understand Me
Top Yourself
Switch And The Spur
Intimate Secretary
Old Enough
Together
Rich Kid Blues
Level
Steady As She Goes
Blue Veins
Broken Boy Soldier
Salute Your Solution
Many Shades Of Black
Carolina Drama
May 31
JamieGarage Rock, Indie Rock
The Black Lips from Georgia opened the show, and their potentially interesting music was overshadowed by the frenetic—and occasionally revolting—stage antics of their guitarist. While the band played songs which all seemed to come off a ’50s compilation CD, the guitarist would frantically whip around the stage performing all the tricks he could think of. It’s fine to have one or two gimmicks, but he did the same thing for every song: he’d knock over his mic stand and catch it with his foot before it hit the ground; he’d strum over his head or with his tongue (are we back in the ’80s now?); and worst of all, he’d spit a huge wad of phlegm into the air and—brace yourself—catch it in his mouth. A middle school gross out trick at best, he did it over and over again throughout the set. Maybe that’s his way of amping up the routine.
Their music was an updated version of ’50s chord progressions and drumbeats, played louder and faster and crunchier for a modern audience. The annoying guitarist also played vocalist on a few numbers, singing in an odd imitation of Bob Dylan, both in terms of the timbre of his voice and general incomprehensibility. I think in a smaller venue or perhaps on CD, I might have enjoyed their music, but I was too distracted by the mediocre performance.
Apr 29
DaraIndie Rock, Pop, Psychedelic
pop pop pop rock, then picked it up a little to “rock” as they said but it was more like pop pop rock then, I liked the lesser pop version but overall they were quite good, 60s jangly pop with psychedelic edges, I suspect that the gray-hair member of the band is behind their sound rather than the cutesy-voiced singer but who knows
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