The Antlers with Port St. Willow, The Great Hall, September 25th, 2012

Posted on October 1, 2012 by lauren in Concerts | Leave a comment
The Antlers

The Antlers in Vancouver at The Venue

In the words of LCD Soundsystem:  “I hear you and your band have sold your turntables, and bought guitars”. In a world of dubstep, laptops and Apple, The Antlers are a classic example of what live music should be. They cast a spell in their live shows, and hold a power over their audience.  It is very rare (at least for me) for a band to evoke such a strong emotional response, part of it I find, is where you were when the albums came out. Hospice for example is very clearly a themed album on death, loss and loss of love. If you were anywhere in the vicinity of those emotions and leaned on the album or Burst Apart as a crutch, seeing it live possesses you and transports you back into that time. Listening to the records, you are touched mostly by the lyrics and the arrangements, however it is the passion the play with at the live shows that affects me the most. Silberman and their touring guitarist/bassist Timothy Mislock rip through the guitar arrangements and you can see how The Antlers have grown together and  gained a more solid foundation in their music writing, as they changed up and added more to the older material.

The Antlers aren’t a band that write lyrics for the hell of it, and then just play them, because that’s what they enjoy doing. Vocalist and lyricist Peter Silberman, is earnest and lays these raw emotions out bare, making it seem like this is his only catharsis. Penning his most intimate of feelings his only release and playing them for the masses is almost like his tragic torture, once moved past those moments, he is forced to relive them and we through his power, are transported back with him every time.

The Antlers, at the Great Hall

The Antlers, at the Great Hall

It is this talent and power that draws me back to them every time, even though sitting through that hour and twenty minutes or so of musical bliss is also so emotionally taxing. The Antlers played a great mix off of Hospice, they called that part of the set “the Hospice block”, a good mix off of Undersea and from Burst Apart as well as some new jams. Having seen them in Vancouver just a week prior (the top picture is featured from that show, far better than any pictures I could get at Great Hall), I was pleasantly surprised that the set list wasn’t identical.

Port St. Willow opened for them, a music project by Nick Principe, a brooklyn based artist. He sings in a high falsetto, and his music carries lilting, haunting melodies.

If you have not yet seen The Antlers, and this review is your first impression, check out their live performance at KEXP (also the greatest online radio station, based out of Seattle).

Concert Review: Dry The River, September 25, The Garrison

Posted on September 28, 2012 by Paul in Concerts | Leave a comment

I will admit that when any band gets heavily hyped, I am often simultaneously hopeful and skeptical. Hopeful that it will be as good as everyone says it is, but always a bit doubtful as to whether they can live up to the hype. In the case of London folk rockers Dry The River, I can attest that these guys do have the goods live. Of course, I knew that already, having caught the band at this past summer’s Roskilde festival in Denmark.  Before that, what I had heard of their recorded output sounded good, yet hadn’t strongly piqued my interest. After seeing them live though, I was struck by their songcraft and strong vocal harmonies. And having seen them in a festival setting, I was now curious to see how it would translate to a smaller club setting.

And the answer was that they still sounded good, albeit with a bit of a shaky start to things. Entering the stage to the strains of Rush’s “Limelight,” the band began playing “Shield your Eyes” but had to cut it short and start again after the song was overwhelmed by massive amounts of feedback. Apparently, this was the first time they’d ever had to do that. If that’s true, it’s an impressive track record.  Despite a few sound issues, the band quickly settled into a groove. Barefoot singer Peter Liddle led the group through a set of songs from their debut Shallow Bed, which highlighted the aforementioned vocal harmonies. These dudes can sing – I’m talking CSNY level harmonies. Even without the harmonies, Liddle’s got a pretty impressive voice, one reminiscent of singers like Patrick Watson or Jeff Buckley. And their songs ain’t bad either, with each number ending in a big emotional crescendo. 

The crowd was certainly into it throughout the show, singing along with every word to every song and just generally getting worked up.  At times, it was just as rewarding to watch the audience reaction as it was to watch the band. And then of course, by the end of the show, the boundaries between audience and performer had all but disappeared. “We’ve had as much fun on this stage as we’re going to have,” announced the band as they returned to the stage for an encore and then promptly left the stage, taking the show out into the middle of the crowd for one last song on the floor. While this is by no means a new trick, it’s certainly an effective one.

Song of the Day: Frankie Rose – Know Me

Posted on September 28, 2012 by halley in Song of the Day | Leave a comment

Frankie Rose, first of all, has a great name. Second of all, she makes fabulously melodramatic music. Her new album, Interstellar, is a ten-song adventure in feelings and emotions. My favorite from the record is “Know Me” whose poppy beginning segues into Rose’s smoother vocals, landing in a nicely balanced beat that will stick with you long after the three-minute song is over. If you like Frankie’s original Dum Dum Girls sound, you’ll appreciate the dream-pop influence that makes itself manifest in her newer work. If you’re not a Dum Dum Girls fan, Rose’s sound is unique enough that there’s a good chance you’ll enjoy her solo effort anyway. Either way, who doesn’t need a little melodramatic soundtrack action in their life every once in a while? Indulge yourself.

Concert Review: Patrick Wolf, September 25, The Music Gallery

Posted on September 27, 2012 by Ricky in Concerts | Leave a comment

patrick wolf

Watching Patrick Wolf wow the crowd at the Music Gallery on Tuesday night, I re-confirmed something I already knew.

Patrick Wolf is an extremely talented musician.

In town to celebrate his tenth year of making music, Wolf played what the promoters labelled as an “acoustic” show that spanned his entire discography. Make no mistake however, this was not your usual “coffee house I just got back from South America and now I’m a worldly musician with many tales and an indigenous poncho” type of acoustic show. This was a Patrick Wolf acoustic show and if you are a fan of his music, you will know that this would be a multi-faceted affair. Easily switching between all sorts of instruments ranging from grand piano, harp, saw and all sort of midget sized guitars, Wolf (with the help of two musicians) played the type of “acoustic” show that was only befitting of someone who creates the richly layered music that Wolf does. If anything, having an acoustic show highlights Patrick Wolf’s amazing vocal work, which would probably easily win any American Idol/X-Factor/The Voice shows.

Accompanying this tour is Sundark and Riverlight, a re-imagining of many tracks from his back catalog. This record served as the primary material for the show. For me, it was quite interesting to hear classic tracks such as Hard Times, and Vulture in a different light. There’s that weird moment where you are like “is this… why yes it is!” I guess it’s some sort of rediscovery process, you know the type – like when you switch up the flavor of mustard in your burger or something.

This was a completely different experience then the last time I saw Wolf, which was an absurd and chaotic party. This show was more subdued (the crowd was mostly silent, but could not resist the clapping part to The Magic Position) affair but yet, I came out completely satisfied. Hopefully it won’t take three years to see Wolf again, as I would love to see a show featuring his Lupercalia/Brumalia releases from last year.

« Previous   1 2 ... 465 466 467 468 469 470 471 472 473 474 ... 785 786   Next »