Concerts

Concert Review: Naked and Famous, Vacationer, Now, Now, April 5, Sound Academy

Posted on April 10, 2012 by guestwriter in Concerts | Leave a comment

Dear readers: I automatically get points off for arriving slightly late for the opening act I was supposed to shoot and getting my beloved camera confiscated at the door of Sound Academy. In lieu of my non-existent opinion, go check out Now, Now, which was the first opening act for The Naked and Famous and in town to promote their recently released sophomore album Threads. Check out the song School Friends below.

The second opening act of the night, Philly’s own Vacationer serenaded the quickly amassing crowd of…young people – please don’t get me started on the fact that this was my first all ages show! – with the compliment that we were all very sexy. Those words warmed up the youngsters (and some oldsters) for the band’s dreamy, beach-with-synth sound. You can get more of Vacationer with their recently released first LP, Gone, here. The delivery approached energetic, with the band’s synth player hitting the Roland keys with gusto.

As Vacationer struck their set, the crowd started to enlarge exponentially, something I realized much to my dismay as I tried to angle for a good view of the stage. With my being prodded from every direction, and regaled with the stories of the very loud and slightly intoxicated, The Naked and Famous took to the stage to screams of delight. I decided I was going to suffocate in my initial position, and moved myself facing the left of the stage, where I could see a bit of the band’s lovely front woman Alisa Xayalith. Hitting the synth, and hypnotically dancing to her band mates’ accompaniment, she moved music from stage to audience with expressive hand movements. Hits off the band’s impressive electro-pop Passive Me, Aggressive You album debut of 2010, which was lauded by the likes of the BBC, were played.

Songs like Punching In a Dream and Young Blood had the crowd wailing choruses right back to the band. The addition of a well-executed lightshow charged the space with a palpable energy.

Unfortunately for me, being elbowed, having drinks almost tipped on me, and also being privy to a couple’s tongue-wrestling right in front of my nose, I decided to hightail it out of Sound Academy. No doubt that I am going to enjoy The Naked and Famous by dancing to their infectious pop at full blast behind the closed door of my bedroom!

Concert Review: Ben Howard, April 5, Mod Club

Posted on April 9, 2012 by Paul in Concerts | 1 Comment

Ben Howard is a British folkie whose star definitely seems to be on the rise.  He made a big impact at this year’s SXSW, impressing Gary as well as some British woman I shared a shuttle bus with one night.  That informal poll of exactly two people suggested to me that he was going places, obviously.  The thing is, I had never heard of this guy until SXSW, yet apparently he’s pretty huge already.  So before the show, I took it upon myself to familiarize myself with his debut album Every Kingdom.  First impression after a few listens: production-wise, the album sounded great and Howard’s got quite a few catchy songs.  The impression I got was that he’s kind of like the Brit answer to Ray LaMontagne.  He’s got that same sort of vibe to his performance as well as sharing an ability with LaMontagne to attract a largely female audience.  

Walking into the Mod Club shortly before 8:30 on a Thursday night, I really didn’t expect this place to be as packed as it was.  I take it that Howard and his bandmates were also a little taken aback and pleasantly surprised by the turnout as well.  There was a fair bit of enthusiasm on display from the audience and more than a few shouts of “I Love You Ben!” (and at least one fellow who professed his love for Howard’s bass player)  With that kind of enthusiasm, it’s easy to get swept up in it all.  I even found myself joining in on the singalongs for songs like “Old Pine” and “Keep Your Head Up,” though I imagine it didn’t have quite the same effect as when Gary saw him play a church.

Not that everyone in attendance was entirely enamoured of the show that night.  I overheard one (drunk) girl in the crowd complaining that the rest of the audience weren’t quite into it enough: “No one’s enjoying themselves.  They’re all chill.”  Another guy outside commented that the show was “…underwhelming.  A lot of wanking and it wasn’t even interesting wanking.”  Yes, I like to eavesdrop on other people’s conversations and later quote them in my reviews … don’t judge me.  All complaints aside though, Howard knows how to put on a fairly impressive show.

Concert Review: School of Seven Bells, April 5, Black Cat

Posted on April 7, 2012 by halley in Concerts | Leave a comment

7 Reasons to see School of Seven Bells:

  1. Solid sound.  The band has a great line-up of songs. While I find some bands that fall under the ‘dream pop’ label end up churning out a lot of identical-sounding songs, School of Seven Bells manages to produce tunes that are identifiable and catchy. I particularly like “I am under no disguise” – that one will definitely stick in your head.
  2. Great name. The band is named after a mythical South American pickpocket training academy. Baller.
  3. Gender balance. At least at this show, School of Seven Bells was one of the few indie bands that came to stage with legit two men, two women. No tokens here. Everyone pulls their weight.
  4. Stage set-up. The band, at least at the Black Cat, had a tasteful stage set-up. They kept decorations/lights/distractions to a minimum – only lighting the stage with their trademark three-circle signage.
  5. Great hair. Everyone on stage had beautiful locks. I was especially impressed by Benjamin Curtis’ cool asymmetrical mullet/Mohawk.
  6. Awesome accoutrements.  Both women on stage had great jewelry. Big dangly earrings, bangles, gigantic necklaces. According to my male concert companions, it made them look like “really hot Egyptian princesses.” Well done ladies.
  7. Kind words. The band wasn’t chatty, but when they did speak it was to effusively thank their fans. Back at you guys. Looking forward to seeing what your new album, Ghostory, will offer.

Concert Review: Ozric Tentacles, April 3, The Hoxton

Posted on April 6, 2012 by Paul in Concerts | Leave a comment

At this past summer’s Hellfest, I struck up a conversation with two Australians while waiting for Hawkwind to go on. Now, of course, these guys knew nothing of Hawkwind and were only there to secure good spots for Kyuss Lives!, who were playing immediately afterwards, so I took it upon myself to educate them somewhat on what Hawkwind were all about.  As we spoke, a mysterious Norwegian emerged from the crowd, looking vaguely like a wizard with his long, whitish blonde hair and his hoodie pulled up over his head. “If you like space rock,” he said in a conspiratorial tone, “You should check out Ozric Tentacles.” Shortly thereafter, he disappeared into the crowd … as if he had never been there at all. I made a mental note that day to take him up on his sage advice and check out Ozric Tentacles.  After all, this dude may have been a wizard.

Ozric Tentacles have been around since 1983 and made their name on the UK festival scene, becoming known for their spacey, psychedelic instrumental jams with a heavy electronic element. Led by founder Ed Wynn, the band were back in Toronto after who knows how many years, playing for a crowd of dedicated prog aficionados. And fans of opener Squid Lid.

Yes, Squid Lid, a Toronto electro/industrial group were the openers for the show. In many ways, they made sense on the bill – both acts have a lot of electro elements – but in other ways, I’m not sure there was that much crossover between the crowds. I get the feeling that the guys in Squid Lid are maybe fans of Ozric Tentacles and wanted on the bill, or perhaps someone just thought it would be cute to have a band with “squid” in their name opening for a band with “tentacles” in their name. Regardless, they played a decent set, albeit one that was in my opinion, too long by about 20 minutes. After a couple of instrumentals, they brought out a female singer who started out with a cover of Tom Waits’ “Clap Hands,” which sounded kind of cool and unique. Their later attempt at a cover of Bowie’s “Fame,” however, was less than stellar. The singer had a pretty good voice and also seemed to add a bit of sex appeal to their show. After all, two guys in Mad Max-esque costumes with facemasks and squid hats don’t exactly scream sex appeal … unless you’ve got a Cthulu fetish.

Finally, the Ozrics took to the stage, much to the delight of all the prog fanatics up front and pretty much ended being all that I’d hoped they would be. They often fell into the kind of propulsive, repetitive groove that Hawkwind is so fond of and also had a spacey, dubby vibe at times. While there were  lots of guitar heroics and hot synth action on display, the bass was most noticeable much of the time. I know I just used this phrase recently in relation to Absolutely Free, but I think the term “cosmic odyssey” would also apply nicely to Ozric Tentacles as well. This was a pretty satisfying concert experience. Despite not really knowing any of their songs, I became totally immersed in the vibe of the whole thing (That sounds sooo hippy … I’m sorry) and would now count myself of somewhat of a fan. So thanks, mysterious Norwegian guy … thanks for everything.

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