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Column: It Shows
SXSW From the Frontlines of Daytrotter: Jakob Dylan and Neko Case
Jakob Dylan with Neko Case at Daytrotter
Austin, SXSW 2010
Light banter and familiar chatter among the room full of musicians sets the tone for what turns out to be a striking session by Neko Case and Jakob Dylan (yes, son of Bob, as if you didn’t know that). Dylan’s voice kicks in with, “Nothing like the whole wide world for us” and Case’s greets his, taking the song to harmonious heights, his voice raspy and familiarly American, Case’s twangy and honeyed, but with a bite. Through the walls of the control room, “striking” is the word that first comes to my mind. This song swings slowly, fitting in perfectly with the expansive Texas landscape outside and the casual vibe of the studio itself.
Jakob Dylan has a new record coming out in April titled Women and Country, and that first song, “Nothing But the Whole Wide World”, is the leading track off the album. Dylan’s been off my own personal radar for a while now, but hearing his voice being put down on tape like this makes me want to dig up the story of his last few years. (A quick search reveals that post-Wallflowers’ last record in 2005 he released a solo album in ’08 called Seeing Things.) Case, of course, scored big with her last record, the critically acclaimed Middle Cyclone, and together they bring a moody mix of country and Americana soul to the reel like few collaborative efforts are able to achieve.
SXSW From the Frontlines of Daytrotter: ARMS
ARMS at Daytrotter
Austin, SXSW 2010
ARMS, from Brooklyn, are doing their session in the room next door, while I sit in the control room with the engineer and a few others. Right now, they’re laying a melodic guitar line over a steady bass beat, noodling over that line, and then opening up like a flower. The sound cuts out and they lose the mix in the control room, so they are starting the next song again, sprinkling over their rhythm section a propensity to tastefully jam, flavoring the steady beat with a nearly whimsical pop melody.
Now the tape is rolling for real to capture this one for posterity, and the levels are all equaled out here in the control room. Todd Goldstein, who used to be be with Harlem Shakes before they disbanded in 2009 and whose vocals right now sound sorta like Ben Gibbard’s on this song, sings earnestly, and beautifully. “That was ‘Emily Sue Pt Two’” he says, once the track is over, collaborating with the engineer and deciding that’s a take.
Live Show Review: The Big Pink at Great American Music Hall, SF
The Big Pink, A Place to Bury Strangers, and 10 Echo
March 10th at Great American Music Hall, San Francisco
Last night’s show at Great American Music Hall was a display of shoegaze, circa 2010. Opener, Los Angeles’ I0 Echo, brews thick, stormy, guitar-heavy music behind the vocals of the female singer (who goes by the name I0), which resulted in loud, atmospheric noise that aptly set the tone for even louder, more atmospheric noise as delivered by supporting act A Place to Bury Strangers. Once (still?) hailed as the “loudest band in New York,” ABTBS projects a deafening roar of apocalyptic sound, reliant on the effects from the thumping strobe lights on the crowd and the wall and themselves to induce that feeling of being caught, suspended, by the pull of a performance. This band grabbed my attention a few years back with their self-titled debut, on which they crafted industrialist noise rock in a way that is accessible and surprisingly always very listenable. For a band that relies on the abrasive, they don’t neglect melody in their songs, no matter how high the decibel may be set. The noisy chaos of their live show has never failed to catch me rapt among the audience, standing in the path of their volatile shoegaze, always reaching for my earplugs within the first few minutes, which, of course, I forgot to bring last night. Ouch.
Live Show Review: Avi Buffalo at Bowery Ballroom, New York
Avi Buffalo
March 3rd at Bowery Ballroom, New York
Avi Buffalo is the less-complicated-sounding moniker for the band of Avigdor Zahner-Isenberg, a Long Beach, CA guitar whiz-kid and recent Sub Pop signee whose shimmering, Shins-like pop often frames sudden, explosive outbursts of noisy riffage. Not that such displays of skill––or the comically jittery, mildly sweaty spectacle of Avi’s physical freak-outs that accompany them––have found anything less than an admirer, here. And Avi’s excuse to rock out is no run-of-the-mill excuse for indie rock.
Avi sings like James Mercer filtered through freak-folk foil, and his guitar playing reflects Ira Kaplan’s in its alternating channels of intimacy and intensity. Its not the cleanest, prettiest sound all the time, but it doesn’t have to be. Idiosyncrasy is indie rock’s delight, and Avi’s quirks translate well to the stage.
People are probably going to call this “twee” at some point, due to the innocent, dreamy melodies that Avi Buffalo lay down. To me, twee hides a subversive element––lasciviousness, bitterness––under a dainty veil, and I’m not quite sure that’s what the band’s got going on. They’re too wholesome, too genuine, too “safe” to go that route. Perhaps to a fault. But Avi’s skill as a guitar player, his quickly fretted, cascading picking, his blown-out psychy codas, are enough to counteract the assumptions one might form about your average band of indiekinder. These guys are a band to watch.
Live Show Review: Noise Pop: !!! at Mezzanine, San Francisco
Noise Pop!: !!! and maus haus
February 27th at Mezzanine, San Francisco
Saturday night at Mezzanine felt like, in a lot of ways, the culmination of Noise Pop—even though it wasn’t quite over yet. There were still Sunday’s films and festivities, but the night show had sold out long before, and Monday night’s seated show didn’t take festival badges and seemed more like a random hanger-on to the festival lineup. And since there hadn’t been an initial kickoff party at Mezzanine like there has been in year’s past, this Saturday’s !!! show seemed to aptly serve as the all-inclusive party that many of us find essential to the week-long festival.
Mezzanine is a great space, but the sound can be easily compromised because of its high ceilings and relatively expansive size, and for a band like supporting act maus haus, whose music relies in intricate layering and glitchy sampling, I felt like it wasn’t quite the best venue for those not yet familiar with them to get their first impression. But they laid down a fantastic set regardless and really stretched out, doing an expansive string of noisy, inventive songs and proving once again why they are one of the best that San Francisco has to offer.
Live Show Review: Noise Pop! Atlas Sound at Great American Music Hall, San Francisco
Noise Pop!: Atlas Sound, Geographer, The Magic Wands
February 26th at Great American Music Hall, San Francisco
For the most part, I’ve been a casual fan of Bradford Cox’s music, from Deerhunter to Atlas Sound. I know he’s doing something amazing and can appreciate that, but it’s music I wrote off to fitting a certain mood and I’ve left it to that. That is, until I witnessed his performance as Atlas Sound this past Friday at the Great American Music Hall. Now I’m convinced of what I’ve suspected all along: He’s a true musical genius. And he also loves to connect and talk with his audience. His dad was there. He covered Neil Young’s “Don’t Cry” during the encore. He took off his sweater at one point and said he was going to recreate the cover of Logos. He’s just really likable.
The layers of guitar and drum sounds and delay and his ethereal voice washed over the glorious venue and audience in lush and ambient art folk. Songs would build up and break down in a instant. After awhile, this does get somewhat repetitive, but he kept everyone entertained throughout by keeping up the banter. All of this seemed to come out of him was relative ease, which was possibly the most disarming thing about his performance. Whatever he’s doing, it’s inherently all him, not forced or contrived at all. The setlist contained “The Screams”, “Walkabout”, “The Orchid”, “Quarantined” and he closed out the night with “Logos.” read more
Live Show Review: Noise Pop! Scout Niblett at Cafe Du Nord, San Francisco
Noise Pop!: Scout Niblett, Greg Ashley, Tape Deck Mountain
February 25th at Cafe Du Nord, San Francisco
In terms of female musicians on the scene today, Scout Niblett doesn’t fit neatly into people’s categorizations of what a female singer-songwriter should be. She dresses in drab, baggy clothes, and her unwashed hair pulled back in a low, lifeless ponytail. Her voice is a thing of raw emotion, warbling, screaming, high-pitched caterwauling, whispering. Her music is full of charming weirdness, softness, darkness, romance and damage, minimalist rockers, and heavily distorted disgust. Yes, please!
However, because of the certain oddities she conveys in presentation and her music, I was unsure of how this would translate onstage. These things certainly make her seem a little unapproachable. However, I am pleased to report that seeing her at Cafe Du Nord this past Thursday was an experience that showed her to be an extremely intense performer, but also a delicate and friendly one. She played a nice mix of old and new tunes, most of them from 2007’s This Fool Can Die Now and this year’s The Calcination of Scout Niblett. Moments of her set ping-ponged from sheer outbursts of emotion to dainty smiles and friendly banter… oftentimes all within the same song. The audience in attendance hung on to her every whim, male and female alike, reveling in the honesty of her approach. Although, I do think that with Scout Niblett, you either get it or you don’t, and if you don’t, there’s not necessarily much point in telling you why you should. But I’m happy that I get it. She’s remains one of my favorite musicians, period. read more
Live Show Review: Noise Pop! Four Tet at the Independent, San Francisco
Noise Pop!: Four Tet and Nathan Fake
February 26th at the Independent, San Francisco
Kieran Hebden, the man behind the Four Tet moniker, packed the house for his Friday night set at the Independent. The show was one of the first to sell out on the entire Noise Pop schedule; with his latest album, There Is Love In You, which has been garnering critical accolades since it was released on Domino Records in January, he’s been high on the radar, as evidenced by this highly anticipated, headlining slot. Four Tet lives in the UK and plays ever-evolving electronic music that is circuitous, intricate, diverse, and oftentimes ambient. Tonight though, he wanted to make us dance a little bit.
Kebden is a producer who works intricately within his craft, building sonic palettes with a variety of tools, his sound continually evolving with new production techniques and technology. His music, as it teems with samples and spins and builds, borrowing from anything from folk to hip-hop, is the stuff that you get lost in, the stuff that you can continue to explore with any number of repeat listens.
Although he himself remained engrossed in his multitude of mixers and laptops throughout his performance, his set was high-energy, bright and illuminating under the always excellent multi-hued lights of the venue. But because there wasn’t much to, you know, look at throughout the duration of his lengthy set, some sort of visuals or film projections were missed… Guess I expected a multi-media stage presence, with some mood-inducing elements cast in black and white or color on the wall behind him, but turns out Kebden remained detached and the show was about the music and the music alone.
Live Show Review: Noise Pop! The Dodos and the Magik*Magik Orchestra at Palace of Fine Arts, San Francisco
Noise Pop! The Dodos and the Magik*Magik Orchestra
February 25th at the Palace of Fine Arts, San Francisco
I was a few minutes late to the Palace of Fine Arts on Thursday night, so when I walked in to join the hushed and seated audience in the darkened theater, a percussionist for the Magik*Magik Orchestra was already deep into his solo routine, a stark and unconventionally rhythmic display of his percussive talents. He was followed by a solo piano performance before the rest of the sprawling orchestra came out on stage. During the first composition, instead of using bows, the string section was playing with what I heard later was electric toothbrushes. They played a few arrangements and were joined on their last song by local treasure, John Vanderslice, who sang with them.
The Orchestra then filed off and a brief intermission broke up the sets, during which most people headed out to the lobby to down a glass of wine or chug a beer before the Dodos came out in stage, a trio of alternative folkers that play rackety pop with Meric Long’s seamless vocal range helping his playful lyricism shine. Their summery songs sparkled on the wide stage in that theater setting, and the audience appropriately showed their adoration at the end of each song with rapturous applause and whistles.
Live Show Review: The New Mastersounds at the Fillmore, San Francisco
by: Shaun Beall
The New Mastersounds with Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue
March 13th at the Fillmore, San Francisco
San Francisco’s Fillmore Auditorium embraced a one-two funk-party punch this past Saturday night. The Leeds-based New Mastersounds made a trip across the pond for their spring tour and were supported this evening by New Orleans’ native, Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue. It was an appropriate pairing of acts, as both bring different styles to the modern funk world and boast a level of success in their ability to get the crowd to shake it.
Trombone Shorty got the party started with a well-executed mix of both covers and originals. “Trombone Shorty” Andrews is a very dynamic performer who is equally adept at trombone, trumpet, singing, conducting, and working the crowd. He switches between each of his trades at will. He leads a six-piece band that features another horn, percussion, drums, bass, and guitar, and though they played a selection jazz, hip-hop, rock, and soul, the music was clearly rooted in the loose, rubbery funk that hails from New Orleans. Twenty-four year old Trombone Shorty has command of his instrument and a sound that hardly reflects his young age. He and his band brought lively character to a set woven from original music mixed with modern covers, like Mystikal’s ”Shake Ya Ass.” In addition to featuring tracks from his new album Backatown, we also saw Trombone Shorty offer up a sexy version of Al Green’s “Let’s Get It On” and Lenny Kravitz’s “Fly Away.” The energy of the set and power of soul really gave me the impression that 2010 is going to be a breakout year for Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue.
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by: Shaun Beall
published: March 18, 2010
in column: It Shows
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