The Lone Bellow w/Greg Holden, Nov 16, 2013 at 6th and I Historic Synagogue

Greg Holden, 11-16-13, 6th and I

Lone Bellow, 11-16-13, 6th and I

Eric and I went to this show because Bob Boilen of NPR All Song Considered said it was one of the best live acts he saw last year. I like the music, and you can't beat 6th and I Historic Synagogue as a venue, and it was a Saturday night, so no brainer - definitely worth going!  Helpful hint: the venue is only 2 blocks from the Chinatown metro station, and parking sucks near the Verizon Center, so metro is the way to go. I recently learned that metro is staying open until 3 am on weekends now, which is even better!

The opener, Greg Holden, was extremely personable, but Eric and I didn't care for his music which sounded very Nashville-country, even though he's originally from the UK. My big critique for him was that he only said his name one time, and he mumbled that! It's an opener's job to make sure the crowd remembers who you are. Since his name wasn't even on Songkick or the 6th and I website (at least after the show started), that was a big mistake.  It took some digging around on the internet to put his name in this post.

The Lone Bellow was extraordinary live. They are technically a trio, though there were 5 people on stage. It's vocal-driven American folk, but mostly uptempo. The harmonies are beautiful. If they had just been gifted musicians, that would have been fine. I would have felt I got my money's worth. Thing was, they were also engaging performers. They came into the audience to sing unplugged twice. There were stories about a crazy uncle from White, Georgia. There was jumping up onto the bannister rail at the end of the stage. There was excitement and energy on stage--I understand why it was one of Mr. Boilen's best of the year. They absolutely deserve that label. EXCELLENT live show.

Side note: There was one VERY enthusiastic man in the front row who annoyed me and Eric by jumping around like a maniac, motioning to the crowd to get up and jump with him, trying to soak up the band's attention for himself. The advantage of 6th and I is seats. Standing means that short people (like me!) can't see anything. I was very happy with the band for encouraging people to sit back down several times. It made a huge difference in my ability to enjoy the show.

San Fermin - October 24, 2013, DC9

If I'm lucky, about once a year I find a new band I love, go to their debut album tour show in a 200-500 person venue, and am blown away. That's if I'm REALLY lucky. Ladies and gentlemen, I got lucky last Thursday night. San Fermin was amazing live. This buzz band lived up to the hype.  See NPR article. 

DC9 is a hole-in-the-wall kind of venue. Their show area holds about 200 people. It's in DC, and it's on 9th Street, hence the name.  Jill and I found incredibly lucky parking and arrived before the opener, but turns out we could have been later - the venue lied about start times, by an hour or so.

The opener, East Ghost, a local band, was not good. The Tobacco Teeth song they have up on Band Camp may have the worst lyrics I've ever heard. They were decent at playing their instruments, but I liked nothing they played and looked at my watch several times.  I was worried I wouldn't be able to stay awake much longer.

Rae Cassidy and Allen Tate, lead vocals, San Fermin 

Ellis Ludwig-Leone, San Fermin Composer

That changed the second San Fermin took the stage. I worried that their slower, moody sound would mean a boring set. That worry was completely unfounded. They had energy, talent and a quiet charisma that made me want to come back and see them again. I didn't realize at the time, but Lucius is not part of the band right now, and that didn't hurt at all. The new lead vocal Rae absolutely blew me away with her virtuosity and charm. It was also her birthday, and the crowd serenaded her with the band joining in. It was fun and memorable. The brass guys were entertaining to watch on stage and the drummer was sweetly enthusiastic.  His blue eyes looked so blue I thought it was glow-in-the-dark contacts, but it turned out to be a trick of the blue stage lights. Definitely his color.  Ellis, the classically trained composer of all of the songs by the band, seemed confident and at ease on stage introducing songs and performers between numbers. The band has recently been the victim of the theft of all of their equipment - $28,000 worth - and are running a kickstarter on their website to replace it.  This show was done with rental equipment. We were very lucky the show wasn't canceled. I am so glad Jill and I went out on a cold Thursday night to see this band.

Austin City Limits - Day 3 - October 13, 2013

Day Three of Austin City Limits was rained out for the first time in its history. After 3 years of drought, Austin got 12 inches of rain overnight, flooding the park.  Here's the video.  Until we saw the video, we thought they'd just open a little late, maybe cancel the first few acts to clean up from the storm. Once the video came out, we didn't blame them one bit. No way was that fixable in a few hours. The promoters immediately came through with refund announcements, so even though thousands of people were sad, no one really complained. There was nothing more they could have done to make it right.

On the bright side, though, we immediately started following all the artists who were supposed to play that day on Twitter and were awarded with pop-up show announcements all day long. It felt like a mini-SXSW experience.

Dana drove me around in the morning to see a bit of Austin. We went to a photo exhibit at a UT art gallery and to lunch before we started scoping out the popup locations, trying to figure out what could be paired with what.

We managed to see two of the shows - Mowgli's in the parking lot of a homeless shelter in the afternoon (acoustic) and then Franz Ferdinand in a little 750-person club at night.

Mowgli's pop up show, 10-13-2013

Dana at Mowgli's

The first pop-up we heard about was the Mowgli's, which I'd call a bunch of happy hippy folksy rockers. They decided to do an acoustic show in a parking lot across from a homeless shelter, and "admission" was anything a homeless person might need - toothpaste, shampoo, etc. We got there a little early and had fun chatting with everyone else in the crowd, updating each other on the Twitter posts we had found. The band pulled in in a van and trailer, and we all formed a circle around them, sitting so everyone could see. Dana had the BEST seat (her photos above). She was even on Austin 360's video! Katie and I were more to the side. I was almost directly behind the band in the second row, so I could see well, but couldn't hear the vocals as well as the people they were facing. Still, it was an AMAZING experience. Absolutely unforgettable. Who gets to do that? After, we dropped off our stuff at the shelter and hurried over to the line to get into Franz Ferdinand.

Initial reports for FF were that the doors would be opening an hour after we arrived. That got pushed back a couple times.  I did a rough count when we arrived and we were right on the edge of the 750 capacity, so all the time we were waiting in the drizzle, we weren't completely sure we'd get in. Katie and Dana went to a market for food, and left for a bit to get my jacket, and once a street performer came by to rap for us, but otherwise, we just talked to the people around us and had fun. After being asked why we were in line about 15 times in the first 3 hours of the wait, we started telling people "flu shots". There was one 20-something girl who was completely perplexed and had us doubled over laughing. We were getting pretty slap happy in line, and the line was moving at a snail's pace. We were still in line when the band got out of a cab in front of us.  Dana snapped the paparazzi photo below of the lead singer, Alex Kapranos. We finally got in the door minutes before the band when on stage. Only 30 more people were let in after us, according to the door man.

The club was death-metal themed, so the décor was entertaining, but quickly forgotten when the band took the stage. FF really has ENERGY. They didn't have a lot of space to move, but they still gave the appearance of doing a lot, and they sounded great, except when Alex tried to talk to the crowd, which sounded like "Mhhmemm TEXAS mehmenehhhh DRUMS mmemsejmemm AUSTIN..."  The club (Infest) was a long rectangle with the stage at the sort end, and we were near the back, so the view was spotty, but not horrible. An excellent experience for me. On the way home, we did a drive by of the Grouplove/Mowgli's/Smallpools/maybe Walk on Moon???  We can't prove the last one, but that's whose song we heard during the drive by. Might have been a cover, though.

Photo below from the Infest Facebook page - shows how packed the house was. See where the spotlight is on the chick on the riser?  We were standing in her drink splatter zone.





Austin City Limits - Day 2 - Saturday, October 12, 2013

Dana and I arrived at the festival just after the gates had opened. We went to Parquet Courts for about two songs, including the famous song, "Stoned and Starving".  They were really bad live. So young, and so stoned. Two band members tried to talk to the audience between songs and couldn't manage one sentence between them both. So we bailed and went to the free stuff - photo booths, popsicles, henna tattoos, hair braiding, etc.

Killed about an hour, then went to Walk the Moon, which I don't love, but Dana does. We sat in the shade near the port-a-potties because it was getting REALLY hot. The high was near 100 that day. Oddly, the view was pretty good from there, and it wasn't smelly at all. Walk the Moon were very dynamic on stage. The lead singer even crowd-surfed.

I left to try to meet up with a high school classmate I hadn't seen for years, only to discover that he had texted when I wasn't paying attention and needed to postpone. While I was gone, Dana noticed an opportunity, grabbed a recycle bag, and earned herself a free ACL T-shirt for 15 minutes of picking up bottles and cans in the field. Her experience inspired me to do it too, later in the day, after Grimes. Totally worth it, and the festival is AMAZINGLY clean because of that program.  At some point, I grabbed some food and saw a few minutes of a gospel choir that had dancers in white-face masks - honestly, one of the most creative and energetic stage shows I saw at the festival - and the only stage with a tent, so completely out of the sun. For a while, I just hung out under a tree reading near a small stage just to have some time out of the sun. It was REALLY hot and humid.

I managed to find Dana without texting (miracle!) and hung out for a short time until she went to Silversun Pickups while I went to Little Green Cars. This period of time was one of the hardest for me. Three bands I really love overlapping. First, Little Green Cars, who sounded incredible live. They are so powerful, and they all sing. The guitarist  (or was it bassist?) isn't hard on the eyes, either. I left early to catch a couple songs at Joy Formidible. Also really excellent live.  Great audience interaction.  Then left THAT early too to catch half of Grimes, who was absolutely mesmerizing on stage and sounded fabulous. The crowd was huge. It was hard to get close enough to see.

Little Green Cars, ACL, 10-12-2013



Grimes, ACL, 10-12-2013

I found my high school classmate next and hung out talking during Passion Pit for half their set (meh), then saw the first song of Kendrick Lamar's set. So not my thing, but I could see the appeal. He immediately got the crowd moving. It was then that I noticed how incredibly crowded the place had become.  It was hard to move through the crowds.

Met up with Dana and Katie at the Shouting Matches, which is a Bon Hiver country music side project. Again, meh. Dana and Katie had been at Wilco, and Dana had scored a VIP pass for her and a guest for the main stages, so she and Katie had front row seats for Wilco and later the Cure. Robert Smith sounded great, but he stood in exactly one place and just sang, never speaking to the audience.  I stayed for about 45 minutes of the Cure's 2 hour set, checked out 2 songs at Kings of Leon (the singer just stood there, relying on the strobe lights behind him for excitement- boring!), then I left early, exhausted. (I passed on my turn front row and let Katie stay.) Minutes after I wanted into Katie's house, it started raining, so Dana and Katie came home soaked through.  Cure photo below - Dana took that one.

 

Austin City Limits Day One - Friday, October 11, 2013

Yeah! I FINALLY got to go to a real music festival, and in Austin, which was also a first! I had a lot of fun, but I also came away with a clearer perspective about what to expect from a festival. If you are expecting elaborate stage shows, you won't get it. Even performance quality is a bit spotty. If you are expecting the festival atmosphere and black-box sets with stripped down performances, then you're on the money. I had a good time, but it wasn't a life-changing experience. Worth it once in a while and an excellent vacation centerpiece, but I'm not going to start seeking out all the major festivals as part of a bucket list. It was good, but not that good. Anyway, on to what I saw.

Katie, Dana, and Anita

While in Austin, I stayed with Dana's friend Katie, who lives only a mile from the park where ACL takes place. She was an awesome hostess and really fun to hang out with.

Friday morning, I walked over by myself before the gates opened so I could be there for the first act of the day - the Orwells. I'm really glad I did. They were funny in a train wreck kind of way. It's a bunch of fresh-out-of-high-school teen boys who have a punk-pop sound and lyrics that are about girlfriends, murder-suicide, and other teen boy fascinations. Most of the boys on stage just faded into the background, but the lead singer seemed to be channeling the spirit of a drunk transsexual. He wasn't dressed as a girl, but he was squirming around in suggestive ways that are more common to a girl. For a while he writhed on the ground and sucked on his microphone. He does have long hair, so that was in character. Honestly, I think he was very high. Vocally, he was all over the place. Sometimes he was WAY off key.  Other times he blew me away with a gravelly low sound that was gorgeous and I didn't expect from him. I'm curious what will come from this band in the future. There were a few sprinkles of rain during this act, but it cleared up.


Orwells, 10-11-2013, ACL

I left Orwells early and headed over to Fidlar, which was also a punkish rock band. Fidlar might also sing of the virtues of getting high, but they really had their s**t together on stage. Poised, confident, fun, smart, high-energy - the crowd loved them, me along with it. I would consider seeing them again.

Next was Savages, a third punk-ish band, but all women this time. I don't like their music much, but I'd heard they were amazing live. Honestly, I didn't agree. The singer looked a bit intense, but I didn't see the famous energy. The band made an unfortunate choice of costumes - all black, the same color of the stage, so they were pretty much invisible. Dana met up with me here.

Next, I rushed back across the park for Thao and the Get Down Stay Down, where we met up with Katie. Thao was excellent. One of the best performances of the weekend. Really high energy, excellent musicianship, great performance, plenty of audience engagement. I really liked that show. I would consider seeing them again.


Thao, 10-11-2013, ACL

I had a little break in my schedule when I ate, then I saw a couple songs by Electric Six, which was much different than I expected. Apparently, they have a LOT of albums, and the one or two songs I like by them are not typical. I left quickly and headed over to Fun. for a couple songs, then over to Local Natives for nearly their entire set. I was tired and sat for most of it, so I didn't see much, but they sounded great.

I think I grabbed some food, then went to part of Wild Belle, which looks like a band from the 70s, but sounds like a hybrid of reggae, jazz, pop, and some others. There was a saxophonist in the band. It was very cool and hip sounding. Photo below.

Next was Purity Ring, which was briefly delayed by rain and tech problems. By then, it was dark, and we were using our strobe-light bracelets to find each other. (Worked FABULOUSLY). Purity Ring was amazing (again - I've seen them before) and they had added extensively to their synesthesia music-light show.

Last on day one was Depeche Mode. They had an awesome stage set with impressive lights and video segments, and the lead singer did a fantastic job parading around and keeping the energy up. He sounded and looked great, too. The other band members looked 10 years older than their early 50s actual ages. I did a google image search and you wouldn't believe how young they looked when they started out. You can watch them grow up in photos.  Photo of our view at the show below.

American Authors and Mowgli's at Rock and Roll Hotel, August 7, 2013 by guest blogger Sharon Rosenblatt

Yeah! My very first guest blogger!  And she's a real writer - she's even been published in legit things. You can tell she takes writing seriously by how she actually mentions the music in her review, unlike me. The reason I gave Sharon a gift card was because the 4 venues that used Ticket Alternative in DC suddenly jumped ship for another ticket distributor, so it was use it or lose it, and I already had enough shows on the books to make my kids mad at me for a month.  So Sharon took it off my hands.  Thanks Sharon! Anita

I apologize for the delayed review. However, I realize that the timing couldn’t be more perfect because the Mowgli's are coming back to DC on November 13, 2013, with the Royal Teeth and X Ambassadors. Now, with no further ado, my almost two-months delayed review!

I think the most difficult part of being a fledgling Indie music fan like myself is the blank stares I receive when I say I’m going to a concert. Sure, part of the fun is bragging to people that the band I’m going to see is the ‘next big thing’ but it does get a little lonely on Mt. Smugness. Luckily, I am well-versed in the art of peer pressure, and that is how I coerced brought my boyfriend Anthony to a concert of a band he’s never heard of and one I only know from Spotify. So, to all you cooler people than me, I present my review of the Mowgli’s and American Authors.

Most of the credit goes to the goddess of this blog, Anita, for offering me use of her gift card to Ticket Alternative. I scoured through pages of bands, and recalled that I had maybe somewhere heard of the Mowgli’s. Ah, that’s right, the lineup for Lollapalooza, yet another music festival I’m too broke to attend. I saw that American Authors was opening, and I knew their hit song “Believer” from the few times I get to listen to Alt Nation in cars other than my own.

Usually, my MO is to buy tickets to bands I know more than one song to, but Anita was graciously offering, and I decided to break tradition. So, getting over my fear of driving to H Street to the Rock and Roll Hotel, I dragged a cheerful Anthony with the promise that if we made it before 8, the beers were cheaper and the wings were half-off.

As someone who has never been to the Rock and Roll Hotel, let me just say it was love at first sight. My favorite venue is typically your Merriweathers, but my heart secretly yearns for a gritty, grimy bar that is full of human spirit.

Too late to hear the first opener (but we did make it for $3 PBRs and half-priced wings), a Philadelphia band called Buried Beds, Anthony and I busted our way to the front of the sweaty crowd to watch American Authors set up. I’m not sure if many of you will agree, but watching a band doing their own set up and sound check is very humbling, and makes me love them more. I could tell that this quartet from Brooklyn was going to rock because their foreplay was setting up kickdrums. Also, it never hurts when they do sound checks on banjos. This wasn’t going to be my average concert.

You might know American Authors from spot in the Lowe’s commercial, or like me, you can’t get enough of “Believer” from your Spotify station. Don’t try to Google them, because you get links for syllabi about American literature. Not for much longer. This band is going to be big. They are a lovable group of hipsters from Brooklyn who released their EP in September. With only about half a dozen songs, they make up for lack of quantity with musical power. American Authors is a very happy band that has a good amount of spunk.

I didn’t know all of the songs, but I couldn’t help but bop around. The lead singer banged on the drums, and I enjoyed the positive vibe. American Authors values friends, family, and making your own luck. This isn’t the band you’re going to listen to when your boyfriend leaves you—American Authors is cheerful and a little edgy. With titles like Best Day of My Life, Luck, and Home, you’re in for an endorphin rush that’s coupled with twangy banjos and soulful mandolins.

AUTHOR’S NOTE: As a result, I’ve now seen American Authors twice since this concert. They opened for the Airborne Toxic Event at Rams Head earlier in September, and again at a free concert I attended in Philadelphia. They’re much better in a smaller venue, instead of an outdoor concert full of posers. I’m looking forward to seeing their newer releases, but until they write more songs, it might be a while before they perform at 9:30 [Club].

Once the sweat dried off me and my claustrophobia abated, I was geared for the Mowgli’s. The video for “San Francisco” is the stuff that butterflies, sparkles, and ponies are made of. Like American Authors, the Mowgli’s are a happy band. Not surprising, considering they are all from California. A modern-day answer for the Beach Boys, the Mowgli’s have a commanding presence that can lift the sourest of moods with songs like “Emily”, “Hi, Hey There, Hello” (which my boyfriend and I are trying to learn as a duet with him on guitar), and the always inspiring “Carry Your Will”. The lyrics aren’t poetry or particularly intellectual, but the harmonious sounds of guitar and drums will leave you grinning and dancing.

If you’re into a little bit of West Coast rock coupled with a rush of serotonin, the Mowgli’s are your band. They’re alternative enough to fulfill your musical needs without being mainstream, but still not off the deep end because they are California hippies. The Mowgli’s are a massive band (I think I counted six or seven members), and they could demand a crowd at your larger venues as an opener, but I think it would diffuse them. Did anyone see them at Lollapalooza? I’d like to see how that would compare.

Check out the videos for San Francisco or The Great Divide (also the title of their second album). Then, considering joining me in November, as part of the DC stop on the Mowgli’s Random Acts of Kindness Tour.

http://www.ticketfly.com/purchase/event/375525?utm_medium=bks&utm_medium=459899

 

Free Fest, Merriweather, September 21, 2013

Little Green Cars, Merriweather, 9-21-13

 I arrived at Freefest at around 10:30 am on Saturday September 21, 2013, determined to get a parking spot in the main lot of Merriweather.  It worked.  I got in, got my T-shirt and cup (because I wasn't lucky enough to score a free ticket), and hung out in the dance forest until Ghost Beach went on. They were very good live, as I expected, since I'd seen them open for Robert DeLong the week before. They know how to work a crowd.  After a while, I went to check out the other acts playing. First, I stopped by the Knocks. They were two guys at computers using samples. There was nothing entertaining about their live show. I don't understand their appeal. Then I stopped by Sky Ferreira. That girl has a great voice, even if I'm not all that found of her pop tunes.   Next I went to Little Green Cars, who started out folksy and progressed towards a more rock sound during their set. They were a very pleasant surprise.  All of the band members sing - all 5. Beautiful harmonies.  I stopped by Washed Out briefly, but I don't love his music, so I left for CHVRCHES - one of my main reasons for coming to the festival.  The lead singer was tiny, and looked almost fae. Beautiful voice and face. Reminded me of Grimes without the artist attitude and pot. Her two band-mates were on platforms next to her, and it just accentuated how short she was. They did a lot of new songs, including one that featured male vocals.  The performance wasn't amazing, but it was good enough to see again when they come back to town. The rain started during this act, and Dana arrived just as they were finishing their last song. The next act - and the other reason I was excited for this festival - was Icona Pop. Dana and I got up fairly close to the stage, so we could actually see some of the stage show without the screen. The duo had a LOT of party girl energy, and they looked like their supermodel selves. They were very good live - worth seeing.  They sounded good, though they did clearly have a fair amount of their background music recorded, not live.  I thought they would have had a wilder, more gimmick-filled show, but no such luck. No one I saw all day had a great gimmick.  The rain really started to come down during Icona Pop. Dana and I wandered around for a while listening to City and Colour in the background (meh) but the next act I wanted to see wasn't for 2 hours, so we both ended up calling it a day at around 5:30 pm.  Since the rain never let up, and the photos I saw online were nothing special, I feel good about that decision. 

Washed Out, 9-21-13

Chvrches, Merriweather, 9-21-13

Chvrches, Merriweather, 9-21-13

Icona Pop, Merriweather, 9-21-13

Icona Pop, Merriweather, 9-21-13

Dana, Merriweather, 9-21-13



Anita, Merriweather, 9-21-13

Ghost Beach, Merriweather, 9-21-13