It's almost mind-boggling to think about Thursday as a live act. I've been seeing Thursday at least once a year since 2001, and often two or three times a year. And no matter when or where I've seen them they always leave it all out on the stage, each and every time. Whether it's inside or outside, in New York, New Jersey, or LA, at high noon or late at night, playing in front of 200 or 2,000, or playing a 30 minute Warped Tour set or an almost two hour set at their holiday shows at the Starland Ballroom in Jersey, it doesn't matter: they put all their energy into their show each and every time. I just can't understand how a band can do that day after day for so many years. And the crowds are always excited and love every second of it. I've never been to a Thursday show and walked away disappointed. Never. They are simply the best live act I know. It never gets old and I don't think it ever will.
On this night things were no different, although the Knit was one of the smaller venues Thursday has played recently. The band performed War all the Time front to back, and then came out for a four song encore which included "Autobiography of a Nation" and ended with "Jet Black New Year."
Thank you, Thursday, for making an old guy from Jersey feel like he's 20 and back home again, at least for one night.
Two of CER's absolute favorites, playing back to back at Spaceland for free on a Monday night. This is why I love LA.
Local Natives were on first, and I don't think I've heard them sound better. They held back a little on the vocals, pursuing harmony over an unneeded vocal assault. And they even sounded great without their violinist. Each of the six previous times I've seen LN their violinist, who the band refers to as "Amanda Violin," played with them. When I noticed she was not with the band this time, I thought I was in for a poorer set, like when Princeton plays without their string section. But surprisingly I didn't miss her presence.
The band played their typical, albeit great, set list. If I had any criticism, it's that they need to add some new songs to their live show, although I doubt many people have seen them enough to consider this critique. I'm sure they'll add something to the mix for their August Spaceland residency. In all, if LN were the only band playing that night I would have left happy.
Here's a video of them playing "Cards & Quarters," which is the b-side to their soon-to-be-released single for "Sun Hands." Notice Kelcey playing the keyboard with his right hand and the drum his left at the same time; I don't know how he does that.
Then up comes Castledoor. They played well and it was a fun set, but it didn't match the experience I had seeing them at tiny Temporary Spaces back in May: Spaceland was too packed and too warm to repeat that.
Here's a clip of their cover of "It Ain't Me," which they burned onto 100 CDs and handed out for free.
Pictures (EDIT: deleted because, as an anonymous commenter noted, they came out very poorly)
I walked in during the second half of Wallpaper's set, as they were covering Bel Biv DeVoe's (That Girl is) Poison. It seemed fun, and they had autotune going. Wallpaper's gotten a bunch of hype from their remix of "Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell,"(download) and, more recently, for their response to Jay-Z's new single "Death of Autotune," which features the line "I've got 99 problems but my pitch ain't one." After Poison, though, I wasn't particularly impressed with their set. They've got a great sense of humor but there's nothing particularly noteworthy about them live.
Casxio was up next. A couple minutes before Casxio started I made my way towards the front of the Key Club, and then right as they took the stage a tall guy with a girl walk stand right in front of me. Usually that would not be ok, but this tall guy was Joshua Jackson, so I let it slide. (But I did take a picture of the top of his head with Casxio, included below.)
As you'd expect, I thoroughly enjoyed Casxio's set, although I not as much as their Spaceland show. This was mostly due to the layout of the Key Club, which puts the stage pretty high above the floor, so there's simply more distance between the band and the crowd.
Datarock headlined. I was relatively excited to see them, but I couldn't make it through their set. It felt very oppressive: the music was very loud, there was almost too much energy, and I don't know who thought flashing bright white lights at the crowd was a good idea, but there were bright white lights consistently flashing the crowd. It was unpleasant, but plenty of people seemed very pleased. I left about 20 minutes in.
For my more detailed review of this tour at the Troubaour, go here.
Another excellent night.
Harlem Shakes: Loved their set again, and the sound was better this time -- Lexy's vocals were finally loud enough. They started off quiet as usual but the sound guy turned them up about a minute into their second song. There were more people who seemed interested in The Shakes than at the Troubadour, but that could simply be because the Echoplex is triple the size. And again, another loud round of applause as they finished their set.
Passion Pit: Another great set with a fun crowd. I had some issues with the couple who barreled in front of me after the first song (the main issue being their odor), but once I moved over it dissipated. The encounter threw me off a bit, and I got slightly bored/tired halfway through their set, so I moved over to the left some more and started dancing, jumping, etc. along with everyone to my left and had a great time.
Which show was better? I'd say it's a tossup, and I keep going back and forth. The Troubadour was smaller and came first, and I think Passion Pit played better, but the sound for The Shakes was superior at the Echoplex and the venue was a lot darker than the Troubadour, which made Passion Pit's set feel like more of a party (looking back The Troubadour was quite bright). Either way, both shows are at the top of my list for the best of 2009. It was a privilege to be able to see this tour twice.
Here's a video of The Shakes finishing up Radio Orlando (my video of this song from the Troubadour show stopped before the end).
My first of two consecutive nights at the Troubadour. I got to The Troubadour at 9:55, thinking I would see the end of Shaky Hands' set. When I got there no one was playing; rather, a band was setting up. Since Shaky Hands were supposed to be on at 9:30, I guessed that the show was late. But then saw the kick drum, which had a picture of The Thermals new album. So they're early?
Kind of. The set up and sound check were complete by 10:15, and the lights went down. I was sitting in the balcony and walked downstairs when the room darkened. But The Thermals waited to go on until 1030. It was hot, I was tired, and I thought about leaving. That would have been a mistake.
The Thermals put on a great show. They're a big ball of energy and fun. The bass player was consistently bouncing, the drummer would stand up at the beginning of songs and rile up the crowd, etc. I was particularly pleased to see a three piece band; they're just aren't enough of them out there. The band played for an hour with a one song encore. After the show the bass player and drummer went out to the edge of the stage for high fives. They played like they loved it, and they finished by showing their fans their appreciation. Got to love that.
This is the "punk-rock" the kids should be listening to. Anyone who's ever considered going to the Warped Tour should be listening to this band. I highly recommend their new album.
I've always been ambivalent about the Troubadour. Wherever I've lived in LA has been within walking distance, so I've never had to drive there, and that's a nice perk. And the venue is set up wide, instead of long, so you can get close. But I think the stage is too low or something to that effect, because it seems like at the Troubadour, more than any other venue I can think of, it's really easy for someone to get in your line of sight, even for someone like me who's over 6 feet tall.
But after this show I'm ready to say that I really like the Troubadour, but probably more for the quality of bands they book to play their small venue more than anything else. Seeing Passion Pit and the Harlem Shakes at the Troubadour was a great experience; definitely one of the best shows I've seen all year. And seeing these bands in such a small venue would never happen in New York, where The Shakes are locals and Passion Pit is just up north, so score one for LA.
The Shakes were scheduled to go on at 9:15, so, thinking that the place would soon be packed and wanting to reserve a good spot for the rest of the night, I showed up at 9. The place was practically empty, which surprised me. It might have also surprised the band as well, because they didn't go on until 9:30, when the place was leaning towards half full.
I've loved The Shakes since I heard the first 30 seconds of "Niagara Falls" on their Myspace page in March; they can't do wrong in my eyes. They're even better live than recorded, and they did not disappoint this night. I thought their set was great, even if the sound was a bit off (there was an echo-y quality to it) and the vocals were a little low, so I took out my earplugs. The first time I saw them at SXSW the vocals were so low that I don't think anyone could hear them; it wasn't nearly as bad this time but I was concerned for a minute or two. I definitely appreciated that they played a track or two off their EP. They covered all the hits, with the exception of "Niagara Falls" and "Sicko." Judging from the applause at the end of their set they earned many new fans.
The Shakes' set would have been enough to make it a great show. But no. Less than half an hour later out come Passion Pit. I wasn't into it for the first minute or two, but once I adjusted I was blown away. So much fun, so much energy, and the crowd was loving it. They almost turned the Troubadour into a dance floor, albeit a dance floor where everyone is facing forward and trying not to get in each others' way. I had thought some of the tracks on Manners, their new album, were a little on the slower and on the more boring side, but live they pulsed with restraint, and made for excellent foils to the more blatantly dance-y songs. And they even made the songs sound as much as they could like they do on the album. When they played "Little Secret," for example, they played the shouting sample from the album, instead of the bandmembers just doing the shouts themselves.
If I had one criticism I'd say they played one song too many; after the first song of the encore my ears began to hurt (partially my fault because I didn't use my earplugs) and my feet started to hurt as well. I can't think of anything else. The band played like they loved it, and despite the small size of the Troubadour they acted as though they were genuinely grateful for us even being there. But after a performance like that, it was us who were grateful to them.
I can't wait to see this tour again tonight at the Echoplex. It will be different, but I know it's still going to be amazing.
It was a folk-rock/alt-country night at Silverlake Lounge this Wednesday, and the show was well worth the trip.
I walked in for the last song and a half from Pilot Speed. They's from Toronto, play a variety of modern rock, and are on Wind-Up Records (none of which I knew before I saw them). I liked what I heard.
Leslie & The Badgers played next, and covered the twangy country spectrum. Leslie is sweet and has a great voice, and the band was in sync. Nashville should be all over this; they would make a good crossover band.
Or, the Whale followed. Before tonight I knew nothing about this band besides their name. They absolutely stole the show. Or, the Whale is from San Francisco and they simply have it together. Great folk/americana. Vocal harmonies (both male and female), a very talented keyboard player, and a lot of energy. They're releasing a new album in September, and hopefully that will coincide with playing some more LA shows. This is a band I will be seeing again.
Here's a video clip:
Olin & the Moon closed out the night. The entire show was very off schedule, so while Olin was supposed to be on at 11 they didn't take the stage until 11:40, and by then Silverlake Lounge was mostly empty. You can probably see where I'm going with this: it wasn't their best set and they knew it.
In April I mentioned that when I saw Avi Buffalo in early March at 3 Clubs it didn't seem they enjoyed playing. Sadly I was disappointed with their set this night as well. The songs are pretty good, Avi is definitely talented, and I know they're young and playing to an audience that's older than they are, but the band's stage presence is lacking.
One issue is that Avi doesn't typically take center stage; instead, he stands stage right and the keyboard player, Rebecca Coleman, is placed in the center. She's got a great voice, and is more than capable, but I don't think she smiled once during the set and she was usually looking down at the keyboard or to her right at Avi; practically no eye contact with the audience. Same with the bass player; he stood angled towards Avi most of the time and rarely looked out into the audience. And no fault of their own, but it was so dark on stage that I could barely even see the drummer.
It was great being back at Silverlake Lounge last week; it had been almost three months since the Local Natives residency. Even better was that the place wasn't packed like it is during residency shows.
Hello Dragon was scheduled to go on at 10 but started more towards 10:40 because Divisible had a really long sound check. I liked their set, although I was a bit bored during some of it. Overall their power-pop/pop-rock sound is pleasant to the ears. They have both a male and female singer, but the female vocals are rarely anything but backup, which is unfortunate. They were offering free CDs at their merch table and I picked up The Quantum Explorers. My favorite tracks off the album are "Birds of Prey" and "Stephen Hawking."
The second of Gangi's May residency at Spaceland. I went to this show expecting good things from Saint Motel and to be mildly fascinated by Gangi. My experience was almost exactly the opposite.
I was unimpressed with Saint Motel. I like their recorded output, but their live show didn't bring anything to the table. After their set I expected to stay for a couple Gangi songs and leave early.
Gangi, though, was a delight to see. They're simply a "cool" band. I really liked how they began most of their songs with various samples and then dove into more traditional indie rock territory, while the samples continued to loop. They played new tracks and old tracks, and I'm looking forward to hearing the new songs and seeing them perform again in the future.
My only regret: that I didn't see Gangi the Monday before, when Head Like a Kite opened.
I wouldn't have called myself a fan of Iron & Wine before their show last Saturday, but I'd say I'm a fan now. I don't think I've ever listened to any of his songs by myself. But I did enjoy his set at the Greek Theatre last summer opening for The Swell Season (which was one of the more annoying sets I've ever seen). And Rona is a fan so when I got the Troubadour's weekly email that said Iron & Wine was playing I knew I had to go.
It was nice being at the Troubadour again, especially since it's just a 15 minute walk from my apartment. There's still something about the layout that makes me like Spaceland a lot more, though.
I got inside for the last two songs of the opener, The Yogoman Burning Band. I hadn't seen a ska/reggae/soul band in a while, and I wish I arrived earlier.
Iron & Wine took the stage about 15 minutes ahead of schedule, which was definitely a good start. I was very impressed by the crowd -- they were almost completely silent during his set; no people talking at the bar, etc. That definitely improved everyone's experience. I tend to like the one-guy-on-a-stage-with-a-guitar if he's engaging, because you can fix your gaze on one object and focus on the music. And Beam is engaging and has a great sense of humor. He was cracking jokes and pointing out his mistakes as he played. Him plus the quiet crowd created a particularly intimate setting -- significantly intimate that when he sang the line "fuck the man" from "Trapeze Singer" I yelled out "woooo" and he cracked a smile. That was cool.
[begin mini-rant] About 35 minutes into the set, though, my focus and concentration was broken by an unknown tall man who will be referred to as "The Swayer." The Swayer was about 3 people in front of me, and began the show to my left, out of my line of sight. But as Iron & Wine's set continued, he kept moving more and more towards the right, for reasons I don't understand. And he swayed, and swayed noticably. I looked around and didn't see anyone swaying as much as this guy (is there really much to sway to for an acoustic guitar show?). The combination of moving to his right, being over 6 feet tall, and swaying eventually meant that he was in my line of sight, but not consistently enough that I could move myself and solve the problem -- the swaying meant that sometimes I could see, and sometimes I couldn't. And being tall myself I didn't want to annoy the people behind me by dramatically changing my position. I wanted to tell The Swayer to stop but the crowd was so silent that I didn't want to make a scene. [end mini-rant]
Despite The Swayer I really enjoyed Iron & Wine's set. I'm not sure if I'll ever see him again since he typically plays larger venues, but I'd definitely consider it.
Local Natives are obviously a CER favorite; just look over to the playlist I include on the right side of this blog or see my Featured Band: Local Natives post, the only featured band post I've ever done. Nonetheless, I was worried before the show that with this being my sixth time seeing Local Natives I'd be less impressed simply because I've seen them so many times.
But once they started playing those worries disappeared and I really enjoyed their set. Taylor said afterwards that the vocals were a bit low (he also generally said that they've been disappointed with the sound at their LA shows), but the band plays with so much energy that even if one or two things are off it's always a great set.
To be honest, I was a bit disappointed with Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros. Maybe I just wasn't in the right mindset or maybe The Regent Theatre isn't the best venue, or maybe I wasn't close enough to the stage, because a bunch of people were seriously into it: jumping up and down, clapping, etc. I'm guessing it was a combination of all three that hindered my appreciation.
It seems like The Zeros may be somewhat of a "cult" band. I don't mean this in a bad way at all; I just mean that if you like them and give yourselves over to them you're a lifer, but if you aren't feeling it you might be bored. I would similarly characterize The Polyphonic Spree: either you love(d) them or you didn't care for them. But with The Spree I was drawn in almost immediately at their amazing CMJ Music Marathon set in Brooklyn back in 2002 (it definitely helped that the Spree played in a great performance space with their choir singing behind illuminated stained glass above the rest of the band, but that show is still one of the best things I've ever seen).
So I'm still reserving judgment on Edward Sharpe; I didn't get drawn in on Thursday night, but hopefully I will in the future.
I had been trying to see a Castledoor set since December, but something always got in the way. I arrived too late for their sets at the Sweater Festival and Check One Twosday, and couldn't get myself out the door for their show at the Echo in March or at Bordello in February. But I got to make up for that by seeing them twice last week in two very different settings: at their Shouting at Mountains record release show on Tuesday at Echoplex and then a last-minute show at Temporary Spaces in Hollywood on Friday. Needless to say, I'm a fan and really looking forward to their June residency at Spaceland.
Record Release Show
This show lined up three of the most likeable bands in LA, if you combined stage presence/personality with the accessibility of their music: Princeton, Castledoor, and the Parson Red Heads.
I arrived at the Echoplex a little later than I wanted to. I was greeted at the door by a surprising list of set times: Castledoor was playing before the Parson Red Heads. I was still there early enough, but I would have expected the reverse. The Echoplex was a nice change of pace after seven straight shows at Spaceland. There was a lot of space and places to sit between sets.
I was able to see about 20 minutes of Princeton's set. I'm a big fan of their EP, which contains the only four songs they've ever released. I'm a bit skeptical of their new songs, though, especially the ones where one of the twins sings in a low monotone. I also wish they would play with their string section more often; of the three times I've seen them, only once have they had strings. The strings sound significantly better than the keyboard replacement.
And then I finally got to see a full Castledoor set. The band came out and I'm guessing most people were surprised that singer Nate Cole had dyed his hair platinum blond. Most of the songs they played were from the new album, but they also threw in "Magnetic Forces" and fan favorite "Dumpster Diving" from their first EP. I stood towards the back of the floor, right in front of the sound booth. But even though I was that far back Castledoor's energetic live performance was still able to reach me, although undoubtedly not as much as if I had been closer. Overall I was impressed with Nate's energy and the emotion with which he sings and performs.
Here's a video of "Across the Border"
And here's a video I found on YouTube of Nate introducing "Fifth Tambourine" by passing out a box with 60 tambourines in it.
The Parson Red Heads closed the show. I like them and they perform really well, but I wasn't too interested that night; I wanted something with a little more edge. I decided it was time to leave when after each song I kept hoping that for the next one they'd break into a World Record song.
Temporary Spaces Show Last Friday Castledoor tweeted about a free show at Temporary Spaces that night in Hollywood. I had no plans, so I decided to check it out.
Temporary Spaces is a cool small club. It's about half to three-quarters the size of the Silverlake Lounge, and was a nice change from the relatively large Echoplex. Castledoor opened with "Fifth Tambourine" and kept me smiling for the duration of their set. I love watching bands who act like they're really happy to be there, and Castledoor fits that description.
Went to the Silverlake Lounge to see the Local Natives on December 8, 2008 and fell into the local LA scene. Started my blog on February 21, 2009 to keep track of it all.
ChanceEncounterRecords@gmail.com
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