There once was a band named Caveman, and they hatched a big old plan
To play a show at the Horseshoe, as best as they can
On the heels of their debut record, CoCo Beware
They wanted to play their hearts out, so the people would care.
The bar was hot, and not many people were there
Opening for them was a band named Hospitality, for it was a stage that they shared
Lead singer Amber Papini wore a short black dress
as the leader of the trio, they tried to impress
I wasn’t quite down with their slower tunes,
I questioned myself, “did I come too soon?”
an upbeat twee number arrived and Amber’s voiced shone
“Finally!”, i thought, and I was not alone.
Caveman took the stage next, almost dressed up in suits
It was their moment, they had fans to recruit
The band was all business, their stage banter barely a peep
Their influences reigned everywhere, like the acting choices of Meryl Streep
I found I was a bit lost amongst all their loud sounds
They seemed to perform at a pretty consistent level, no peaks or valleys to be found
With multiple drums on stage, they were heavy on percussion
With one album and an hour set, it seemed to be too long
like Sidney Crosby’s concussion
Maybe I am picky because the crowd seemed to enjoy
the indie rock sounds, of these five New York boys.
Washington DC – The Millennium Stage at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC has a free show every day of the calendar year. When you put on 365 free shows in 365 days, the quality of said performances are necessarily going to differ widely. Well, I’m happy to report the Stage is off to a good start in 2012, hosting a brilliant performance by Argentinian musician/singer/songwriter Sofia Rei on January 5th.
Sofia’s sound is just magical. It immediately evokes her South American origins – throaty, exotic, lively and a little folksy. Her actual voice is a force that puts pop singers’ tinny and overly-synthesized vocals to shame. I literally had to close my eyes to listen to it – just so I wouldn’t be distracted by the duller people, sounds, décor, etc. in the room. She sang a variety of songs that she wrote herself, including one called “La Gallera” which she said was inspired by her experience watching rooster fights in Peru. She also sang one or two songs taken from her knowledge of traditional folk music, including “La Ilorona” as well as a few songs she adapted from other South American singer/song-writers, including “El Tamalito” by Andres Soto. All her songs were in Spanish (which I can neither speak nor understand) but the language barrier didn’t even register in terms of enjoyment – the vocals and instruments were just beautiful.
Sofia was definitely the star of the show – sporting a beautiful summertime, open-backed gown, as well as fun summer accoutrements such as an armband and big colorful hoop earrings – but her band was also exceptionally talented. She was supported by three musicians, Eric Kurimski on guitar, Edward Perez on bass, and Yayo Serka on drums. All great.
Sofia was definitely out of my ‘normal’ music league but I was so happy I got to see her. I would definitely recommend checking her out if you have a moment to spare.
Everyone likes awards right? Especially when they are random and whimsical..right? Here’s the rest of my favorite concert moments. Since it’s my blog, I’m just going to call these awards The Panickys. I would call it the Rickys, but that oozes of ego boasting.
2011 Panicky for Concert Where I Saw the Most Friends
Sloan, December, 2011 – The Great Hall
Before I joined this cultish indie blogger group I am now apart of, I rarely knew anyone at concerts. Since that fateful day, I seem to run into at least a few people at shows. While I’ve seen a lot of friends at a lot of shows, the Sloan show was by far, the one I went to with the most amount of people I knew there. I didn’t talk to most of the people I knew there, because I had a good spot. It helps that the show was phenomenal, and a nice cap off to a phenomenal concert year.
2011 Panicky for Concert with the best backdrop/environment
The National, Llevant Stage, Primavera Sound, June, 2011
Brooding band, sun setting, beautiful weather and the Mediterranean Sea at my back. Even Matt Berninger mentioned how amazing it was for The National to play a set at that particular time at that particular place. Pure magic. Second best sunset show I’ve seen (after Coachella 2004, where Belle and Sebastian played a sunset show).
2011 Panicky for Concert where I formally gave up on a band
Interpol, Llevant Stage, Primavera Sound, June ,2011
I used to love Interpol, their brooding, atmospheric debut was one of the better records from the past decade. Sadly, the band has failed to consistently improve/expand on their sound and seeing the band go through the motions and play their inferior new tracks was a tough pill to swallow. Maybe Carlos D left at the right time, but I’m pretty sure that the sixth time I saw these guys was my last, until of course, the Interpol reunion in 2019.
2011 Panicky for Best Unexpectedly Great Concert
Erasure, Sound Academy, September 2011
The 80s synth-pop band put on one of the best shows I saw in Toronto this year, delivering a hits filled set at their show in September. The track selection for this set was perfect, building momentum slowly and then exploding in an outburst of color, melody and hook filled choruses, instantly transforming yours truly into a big time Erasure fan.
2011 Panicky for Best Unexpectedly Great Local Concert
Allie Hughes, NXNE, Wrongbar, June, 2011
Given the amount of large shows I go to, it’s probably not fair to group them with the smaller, more intimate local shows. So Allie Hughes gets the Panicky for the local version of best unexpectedly great show. Catching her on a whim at NXNE, I wasn’t expecting too much but came away awfully impressed by Allie’s theatre meets indie music mashup. Fun, original and filled with good music. A definite highlight of NXNE.
The Walkmen, Primavera Sound, June 2011
I only caught the tail end of the Walkmen (who Allison confuses with the Watchman, 9 times out of 10) set at Primavera Sound, but they sang the only song I would ever want to hear – The Rat. Seriously, listen to it. It’s one of the best tracks from the past decade and should have launched the band into the stratosphere. It didn’t, but that doesn’t make it a great moment to hear that song live.
2011 Panicky for Best Show I Do Not Remember
Yeasayer, Microsoft Party, Austin, March 2011
As chronicled in my article here, the PM crew indulged a bit too much at the free booze fest and as a result, I missed/forgot what happened at the Yeasayer show. Still, this was better than my performance at the Woodhands show in 2010. I didn’t have to review the Yeasayer show, I kinda had to review the Woodhands show and instead ended up making references to Fast and Furious in the article.
2011 Panicky for Show with the Highest Dancing Crowd/Collapsed Floor Potential
Sheezer, Sneaky Dees, NXNE, June, 2011
While they didn’t dress up as Spice Girls aka their Halloween show, Sheezer’s Sneaky Dees show was the perfect storm of great music, amazing crowd and really small space. The crowd was more than amped to see the Weezer cover band at 2 am at the height of NXNE and the result was a venue long mosh pit which was literally floor shaking. Great show.
Hail to the digits. The 9:30 Club came through in fine form on December 23rd. Despite the fact that 90% of DC’s residents get the hell outta the nation’s capital come the holidays, the venue put on a great show with four awesome, and mostly local, bands.
The Blackbells were the first of the four – hailing from faraway Brooklyn, New York. I’d seen the band perform once before at DC9, and remembered them as pint-sized energy bombs (for some reason the musicians all look diminutive on stage). They did not betray memory. The musicians put their all into the show, complete with guitar-waving, stage-kneeling, and general rocking-out. They remind me a good deal of the artists of my first-ever CD – Oasis –and I generally enjoy their sound. Try This is Home if you’re looking for a sample.
Next came the Silver Liners, a five-man band from Washington, DC. First thing’s first: kudos to the unassuming, mussy-haired, glasses-wearing keyboardist who was balling in a BRIGHT teal/emerald muscle shirt. As my concert companion, Ursula, remarked: “Dude looks good in gem-tones. NBD.” Hats off to you, Sir. The band was great – my favorite songs included American Girl and Just Like the Rest. The Silver Liners also made an attempt to cover a Vampire Weekend track which didn’t sound quite right, but it was still fun to hear. Another thing to say about the band: they were pretty exceptional in terms of the members’ instrumental flexibility. They not only switched instruments throughout the show but also had an interesting set-up with two drummers. One drummer had the more conventional drum-set, and the other was jamming on a set that included all types of percussive tools, including a tambourine and a cowbell-esque device. Whatever the exact combination was, it sounded good.
Unexpected highlight of the night was definitely The Static. Again, to quote my ever-articulate bestie Urs: “O. M. G.” The band claimed it was their debut performance but the impeccable showmanship they displayed honestly made me doubt their claim. They were sooooooooo good. The lead singer sported a mo-hawk that was literally a foot tall and his dance moves were, for lack of a better, word stunning. It helped that he was dressed in skin tight jeans, a mid-ruff shirt, and…. Wait for it…. Snake-skin boots. Win, win, and win. I also <3’ed the variety of costumes on stage – apparently a few of the band members got different memos re: dress code. The keyboardist came on stage in a suit tie, eventually stripping to a muscle shirt and suspenders. One guitarist was rocking out in a very suave looking brown leather jacket, creating an almost Euro-feel. Loved loved loved. The band performed several great original songs and amazing covers, including songs by Bob Marley and the ever classy LMFAO – they also incorporated a costume change and a Santa guest appearance into the show. In super unfortunate news, I cannot find a single link to either the band’s website or songs – so all I can do is wish them luck in getting their act out of DC and around the country.
The headliners were next. The Dance Party is an awesome band – I’d also seen them perform at DC9, and again, my memory and expectations were not disappointed. The lead singer just defies all physical norms – being probably over 6 and a half feet tall and maybe 50 pounds (10 of those pounds being his beautiful blond hair). He’s always all over the stage, channeling Michael Jackson, singing falsetto, dancing, just generally dominating the space. His guitarists and drummer are also super solid performers and they rocked their way through several of their well-known hits, including my favorite: Pretty Girl. It was also cool to see this local band give some loving to their friends in the crowd: lots of high-fives and thumbs-up.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_aif7RFNTY
All in all, a great way to rock out of normal life and enter the super laid back-food coma state of the holidays.
