On Monday night, rhythm and blues revivalist Nick Waterhouse and his backing band The Tarots strolled into town and delivered what I can only describe as a precise and focused recreation of what 50’s era rhythm, blues and soul band would sound like, if it happened in today’s era. In case you haven’t heard about Nick Waterhouse, he is a California based musician whose solid debut album, Time’s All Gone painstakingly brings you back to the days of Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis Presley. It’s a little bit of rock, a whole lot of roll and as seen at the Great Hall on Monday, a whole lot of dancing.
Taking the stage shortly after 10:30, Waterhouse and the sharply dressed band quickly launched into a bevvy of what I can only assume was songs off their debut record. Featuring a drummer, horns, guitars, keyboard and a sultry female backing singer, the backing band provided plenty of ammunition for Waterhouse, who exuded confidence on stage, get the crowd moving. It was interesting to see Waterhouse on stage. As someone who only has one album under his belt, the man had swagger and confidently orchestrated his band and crowd throughout the night. When you release an album such as Time’s All Gone, you clearly are a student of the game and judging by the live show he put on, it would seem that study bled across to concerts as well. The man just knew what to do with a live show, he knew how to get the crowd going, knew when to show appreciation for the band, knew when to let someone do a solo and knew how to end off a show (bringing back the opener for a cover, something he has done most shows of the tour). It was all very good, but for me, felt a bit as if it was scripted. Maybe I’m not used to seeing a show this slick from a band with a debut album.
The crowd absolutely loved it and there was a decent dance floor near the front, which reminded me of this skit.
Virgin Free Fest is a beautiful thing. For those of you who don’t know it, it’s an annual music celebration put on by Virgin Mobile that combines three stages (the Pavilion Stage, the West Stage, and the Dance Forest) and dozens of awesome bands. It basically combines six loves of my life: free things; music; dance forests; boardwalk fries; people watching; and natural light. A few highlights I’d like to mention (but not expand on):
1. Santigold is amazing, as are her back-up dancers;
2. Ben Folds Five and Alabama Shakes: solid sound;
3. Youth of America: furry animal-scarf-hand-warmers are not flattering. For anyone; and
4. Dude wearing the T-shirt that said “Homophobia is gay” – kudos to you.
Now, what I do want to expand upon: Nervo. My sister and I had a hand-written post-it note of bands we wanted to see and stages we needed to get to (#lifewithoutasmartphone) and at 4:00 we were scheduled to go see Ben Folds Five on the Pavilion Stage. Except. Except except except. We had to walk by the Dance Forest to get there… where Nervo was playing. We’d never heard of Nervo, but when you first hear Nervo… well, I defy you to walk by the duo without busting a move (or a wiggle or two) when they’re spinning their beats. The Australian twins have that DJ’s touch of knowing when to drop the beats and what beats to drop. And how could you possibly ignore the beautiful blonde twins who were offered a modeling future, but decided music should be their true focus? Such a good life decision.
If you judge a blog post about an artist by the picture accompanying the blog post, then you would immediately think that King Charles was a character from the movie The Princess Bride. You would be wrong. In fact, King Charles is a singer songwriter from London who has released a delightful folk-pop record this year. The man is quite gifted musically, playing guitar, cello and piano (according to wikipedia) and it all shows in the music, which is extremely pleasant.
The man opened for Mumford & Sons earlier this year for part of their US tour, but don’t worry, King Charles does a lot more then this:
in every song. Here is a sample of one of them, check it out.
Walking through the gray, cold rain to a solid but grungy bar to hear three up-and-coming indie-rock bands last night I felt far from a Norman Rockwell character. However, walking home after the show three hours later, I couldn’t help but think I’d just had an experience that would enable me to tell one of those Norman-like-reminiscent “You y’ung’uns won’t believe this… but back in MY day us kids could see all THREE of those bands for $10” stories. All three bands were awesome – and the fact that the show was so intimate and inexpensive just made my head spin.
First up, New Cassettes from the U.K. I loved these guys – and though I am really trying to refrain from band comparisons these days, I can’t resist but say they reminded me of my first CD ever – Oasis – in their rock-inspired instrumentals. The ultimate sound is a bit more upbeat and energetic than Oasis – I especially liked Bite Your Lip for its enthusiastic sound. The band was impeccably decked out in an all-black ensemble which included vintage American wear such as a retro Mickey sweater and English-inspired threads sporting Led Zeppelin logos. They were super gracious to the meager crowd who’d trickled in on the cold rainy Sunday – and I can only hope/expect they will be selling out big stages both in London and American soon.
Next up, the band I’d particularly come to see: White Arrows. I’ve been listening to this band’s Get Gone on repeat for the past two months (no lie) and so I was super pumped to see them live. They did not disappoint. First, their light and fog-machine set up was awesome: super trippy and it totally fit into their more techno soundscape and it included a light-up tambourine. The lead singer, Mickey Church, and his band came out in appropriately-fantastic wear: Hawaiian shirts, Buddha shirts, shirts with corgi dogs… all very much approved. The band played Get Gone early on, and also played a bunch of other songs with which I was less familiar but nonetheless totally loved. The band includes brother and half-brother combinations, and the family-feeling was semi-apparent, both in looks and in the comfortable presence the band had. I also want to give a special shout-out to the keyboardist/computer member whose falsetto singing was a.ma.zing. They put on a very very fun show – and were also super friendly to the crowd. They mentioned they work with the non-profit Invisible Children and encouraged the audience to check out the organization while avoiding any type of offputting preachiness. If only all artists could walk that delicate line….
And lastly, taking the stage at 10:30, Family of the Year. Real talk real time, I did not foresee staying for the headliners, if only because I’d been to Free Fest the night before, it was rainy and cold, and unlike some in DC (ahem federal employees), I did not have Columbus Day off the next day. However, between listening to the openers, I got to talk to Alex, the touring bassist from Family of the Year, who was probably the nicest person I’ve met in the last six months. It was great to hear from him the ups and downs of band life and it made me super curious to hear Family of the Year. I was glad I decided to stay. Family of the Year has an awesome folkesie/rock sound that I haven’t heard before in other bands. Their songs have a catchy story-telling rhythm to them that sets their tunes apart from other bands. My favorite was The Stairs, although the band’s biggest song right now is St. Croix. Also, kudos to the female lead whose beautiful vocals, black cape, long red hair, and bright red lipstick made her seem straight out of a fairytale.
Long story short, all three of these bands deserve scores of admiring fans adoringly cheering them on at mega-stages (New Cassettes selling out to Brit-pop-loving-hipsters; White Arrows dominating the indie- techno-scene; and Family of the Year capturing the imagination of folk-rock fans) and I plan to be the annoying old-timer bragging about my avant-garde musical taste when that happens.
