Grouplove, Portugal The Man, Typhoon at Merriweather, September 12, 2014

Eric and I took Natalie to Merriweather last Friday. We took Natalie because she likes Shark Attack by Grouplove and Merriweather is a fairly kid-friendly venue, and it was a Friday night show, so she could stay up late. I wanted to go to this show because I love Typhoon's recorded music and Eric and I remembered a Black Cat show of Grouplove as one of the best concerts of our life. Plus, I remember Eric accidentally seeing Portugal The Man at Freefest and saying he liked them. So win-win-win on all the acts. Didn't quite work out that way, though.

Typhoon, Merriweather, 9-12-14

First, Typhoon was very good, but we arrived late due to traffic and me getting stuck at work later than usual. They have a dozen or more people in that band, so every day they stay together is a blessing, in my opinion. I've seen them live once before downstairs at 6th and I Synagogue. Both times I felt that the recorded music was superior to the live. I also don't quite understand why there are SO many duplicate instruments in a band where a great deal of the music is quiet. I thought extras of the same instrument were for volume. The band was casually dressed in jeans and Ts and didn't really have any sort of stage show.  I honestly don't remember any banter in the half of the set I saw. Still, I liked them best of the three acts that night.

Portugal The Man, Merriweather, 9-12-14

After Typhoon, I went to the box office and to get food. While I was gone, lawn seats were invited to fill in the back of the pavilion, so I met Eric and Natalie substantially closer to the stage to see Portugal The Man. They had a very psychedelic, trippy screen and laser light show, and they sang in falsetto for most of the songs. I think they did some covers, but for all I know they were covering themselves from a decade ago.  I really don't follow this band at all. I was very confused about what I thought I remembered from Freefest and what was on stage. Maybe I've mixed up Freefest band names in my head, but the shows where entirely different. Last time, I remember "guy" music, not a bunch of falsetto.  I remember at least a little energy on stage - not just standing around letting the lights do the work. I'm 50-50 on whether it was the same band. I know pretty much none of their music, so it wasn't all that great for me. There was a lot of fake smoke for Portugal and later Grouplove.

Grouplove, Merriweather, 9-12-14

Grouplove come on last, and I was expecting a LOT. When Eric and I accidentally saw them opening for some other band a few years ago, we were blown away. I can't remember anything about the band we were there to see, but Grouplove is vivid in my mind. It was a band with 3 front men: the male vocalist, the female vocalist, and the bassist. Each was mesmerizing to watch. Incredible charisma, entirely unforgettable.  The nonsense lyrics of their songs did not reduce my respect for their talent at all. So that's what we were expecting. Unfortunately, one of those three characters, Sean Gadd - the bassist, left the band earlier this year. And the male lead, Christian Zucconi, looks a lot more mainstream with his buzz cut hair. The female lead Hannah Hooper has developed an ever better stage presence, though. They've gone high-budget with tons of light effect and still have a lot of energy on stage, but it was diluted compared to the Black Cat experience. Fun, but not amazing. We were happy to leave before the encore.

Lowell at DC9 on September 7, 2014

I LOVE Lowell's recorded music: edgy (highly sexual) lyrics with pop electronic music. Cloud 69 is one of my favorite releases of this year. Based on her recorded music, I was expecting something amazing at her show. I was a bit disappointed. I think she might have been having trouble with her voice that night. Maybe a cold?  Her performance quality was impressive - she gave it her all - but the sound of her voice was not as good as her recorded music. She also had a lot more slow songs than I realized. I've only ever listed to a few upbeat ones she's written. I found the slower stuff a bit dull. I have to give it to her for playing her heart out with almost no one in the audience. She danced around with abandon for the couple dozen people standing around staring at her.  It felt very exhibitionist of her, and I was impressed by her nerve. She was wearing a home-made fishnet style dress that occasionally flashed boob.  The home made part was where she strategically added Lowell in white duct tape and Sharpie. I left before the main act (Money).


My Photo:

Lowell, DC9, 9-7-14

Infinitely Better Photos from All Songs Considered:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/allsongs/

Summer Concert Review Catch-up: Queen, Neutral Milk Hotel, Circulatory System, KONGOS

Sunday, July 20, 2014
Queen + Adam Lambert
Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, MD, US

This show was entirely for Eric's benefit. I did not enjoy it much at all. The point of Queen, in my opinion, is Freddie Mercury's voice. Adam Lambert is not an adequate substitute, though to be fair, he can hit all the notes. But he's so unintentionally goofy, it's painful to watch. He doesn't even begin to pull of the leather-clad look he's going for. And some of what he says between songs was so uncool, it made me cringe. There was no opener for this show and Queen did play a long time. The original members - the drummer and guitarist - did a very good job and thoroughly impressed Eric. We couldn't see all that well because everyone was standing and we were pretty far in the back of the lawn. I spent a lot of time sitting and reading, which, of course, elicited the drunk 50-something lady near us to give me her thoughts about reading at a show. Yet another reason I dislike drunks.

Queen at Merriweather 07-20-2014

Friday, July 25, 2014
Neutral Milk Hotel  with opener Circulatory System 
Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, MD, US

This show was really pleasant. You couldn't have asked for better weather that night, and the music quality was perfect. You could hear every word clearly, and the type of music was really relaxing. I enjoyed laying down, staring at the sky, cuddling with Eric for a good chunk of the show. Circulatory System started off with something odd but transitioned to better music with every song they played. By the middle of their set, Eric and I both really liked them. The only negative was when we looked at them on the screen. They looked like extreme slobs. Not ironic slobs, but actual slobs. It was disconcerting to see where the music was coming from, so we stopped looking. Neutral Milk Hotel was serious about no photographs. They didn't even allow projection onto the big screens, so I really never saw what they looked like. They sounded just like the recordings. It was as close to a nostalgia concert as I'm willing to get. Eric was amazed by the hipster contingent at the show, but really, how could there not be?


Monday, August 18, 2014
KONGOS 
U Street Music Hall, Washington, DC, US

KONGOS has been opening for a bigger band for this tour, but something went wrong and they ended up doing this pop-up show with only a few days notice at U Street Music Hall. I was thrilled to get tickets - I thought it would instantly sell out, but somehow didn't. Trish went with me. There was no opener, which was fantastic because it was a Monday night and I had no interest in staying up really late.

It's hard to explain the show. Rockin', gritty, with tons of disparate influences. I had a really tough time seeing the stage because of a bunch of tall men in front of me, so mostly I just listened. Sometimes I heard blues, sometimes rap, sometimes hard rock, sometimes Irish, sometimes jammy, sometimes 70's inspired sounds - it was really all over the place. The songs they are famous for are not the main part of their sound, and honestly, I can't figure out what "their sound" is. The rough, yelling quality of Come With Me Now didn't really translate to the live show. On another note, I thought the guest rapper was a great addition to their show. Good musicianship overall, and great energy, even without a ton of audience interaction. I can imagine this band growing into something very big if they can come up with a few more hits.

KONGOS at U Street 08-19-2014

KONGOS at U Street 08-19-2014

Katy Perry with Capital Cities and Ferras on June 25, 2014 at the Verizon Center

I took my daughter to see Katy Perry for her 9th birthday; we went with my friend Laura and her 9 year old daughter. We had nosebleed seats at the Verizon Center, but I still felt we saw everything clearly, so I didn't mind. (Verizon center hold 18,000 people - it's an indoor stadium in the heart of DC.)

Ferras, Verizon Center, 6-25-14

We arrived at 7:10 and the first opener was already going strong: Ferras, who I have since learned is a Jordanian singer-songwriter based in LA and the first to sign onto Katy Perry's new label. He was a little to boy band/R&B-sounding for my taste, but he did have stage presence. He spent most of his time behind keyboards, so he didn't move around much on the huge stage, but he did have a pink neon sign of his name behind him. I give him a "meh".

Capital Cities, Verizon Center, 6-25-14

Capital Cities went on at 8 pm. I had previewed more of their music before attending this show, and it turns out I like a few of their songs, not just the famous one "Safe and Sound". Capital Cities is technically a duo from LA, but they brought a few other musicians on the tour with them. The trumpeter really stood out on stage, and I liked the band's neon jackets with the reflective stripes as costumes. They were better about using the whole stage than Ferras. They walked the catwalk sometimes and had a dance-party to a remix of Safe and Sound as their exit song where the band just danced and ran around like maniacs. It was adorable, and smart reinforcement of their hit single. (They also played the original version in the middle of the set.) The band was also savvy enough to remember to tell the crowd their name, unlike Ferras. (That is my #1 pet peeve with openers  - it's marketing 101, musicians!)

Katy Perry went on right at 9 pm and was coming back for an encore at 11:15 when we left. I almost never see shows with 2 hour sets, so that was a bit of a shock to me, but honestly, she kept our attention the entire time. All the rumors I'd heard about her amazing stage shows were 100% true. She brought it. Elaborate video backdrops, huge props that came up through trapdoors in the floor of the stage, a giant V shaped runway with general admission standing room in the middle, conveyor belts as part of that runway, amazing laser lights (better light design than I've ever seen at an show), acrobats, amazing dancers, lots of costume changes - you name it, she did it. By the end of it, I could see why someone would shell out $175 for a floor seat to this show. (And a lot more for VIP "experiences" like meet and greets.)

Here's the set list: (with my notes of what happened when)

• 

  Katy Perry Prismatic intro, Verizon Center, 6-25-14
1. Prismatic - glow tube costumes, gemstone background, best glitter effect ever from laser lights, arrived through floor that opened like gem facets, umbrellas and glowing spears
1. Roar 
2. Part of Me 
3. Wide Awake 
4. This Moment / Love Me 

Katy Perry Prismatic intro, Verizon Center, 6-25-14

1. Egyptian - rode an oversized gold puppet horse, hunks in chest straps, a rapper as the sphinx in a cartoon video,  twisty platform rose high in the air with Katy on it.
5. Dark Horse 
6. E.T. 
7. Legendary Lovers 
8. I Kissed a Girl 
9. Cat-Oure - a long, funny kitty meme cartoon video for set change (does she EVER know her audience!), cat costumes, reference to "Katy Kats" fan club, cat couture runway show to Vogue, oversized cat scratching posts with carpet perches
9. Hot N Cold 
10. International Smile 
    (Contains elements of 'Vogue' by Madonna)
11. Acoustic - sunflower set, fairy princess costume, selfie photo, gave a pizza to a kid, talked to all the kids in the audience in a way that connected well
11. By the Grace of God 
12. The One That Got Away / Thinking of You 
13. Unconditionally 
14. Throwback - harness flying, silk over the audience pit, cloud effects, platform and crazy 1-story-high bell skirt  yin-yang dress, giant puppet butterflies. 
14. Walking on Air 
15. It Takes Two 
16. This Is How We Do / Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.) 
17. Hyper Heon - neon 80s clothes, neon floating parade float balloons in audience (including Cover Girl marketing tie-in lipstick), inflatable full sized pink convertible that dancers rode in, moving neon letters that spelled out various words, Katy wore a bra made of 2 big smiley faces with a third big one on her butt
17. Teenage Dream 
18. California Gurls 
19. Birthday 

Katy Perry Hyper Neon closeout, Verizon Center, 6-25-14

1. Encore:(We missed this)
20. Firework 

James Blake at the Lincoln Theater, June 12, 2014

This is what I posted about this show on Facebook as it was happening: "I worshiping at the temple of dub step - a James Blake concert in the very civilized Lincoln Theater. Gorgeous sound, but this show is sleepy! Probably should not have bought this ticket. I thought it would be the amazing dance party I saw him play a couple years ago. At least I got an awesome seat in the front. Sometimes it pays off to go to a show alone."

James Blake, Lincoln Theater, 6-12-14

James Blake, Lincoln Theater, 6-12-14

What I meant is that there was an almost religious quality to the music that night. The first half the the set was haunting, spare, soulful, and yes, slow. By the time I was ready to leave (it was a school night!) the tempo was just starting to change. I stayed for 2 songs that were progressively more dance-able than anything prior. I think if I'd stayed until the very end it would have turned into the dance party I remembered. 

One thing that really surprised me about this show was the exceptional diversity of the audience. James Blake appeals to every demographic, apparently. Very cool, but I wouldn't have guessed that.  

I arrived late, so I missed the opener entirely.

Air Traffic Controller, June 7, 2014 at Iota

I have been wanting to see Air Traffic Controller for more than a year, ever since I heard "You Know Me" from their 2012 album NORDO. They've been a band since 2009 or so, but they started to really break out last year. I really thought they were more established than it turns out they are. They are entirely professional as performers - excellent live, very engaging and talented. It would have easily had been a favorite concert of the year for me if I hadn't just received some worrying news about Eric's health (further testing determined it's a minor issue, but it sounded VERY scary when we first heard it.) So I was distracted. We did have seats though, which is rare and very appreciated.

Air Traffic Controller, Iota, 6-7-14

Air Traffic Controller, Iota, 6-7-14

I was amazed that so few people were there to see them. They are a little like Decemberists or other pseudo-folk indie acts. The vocals are great, and I love several songs on their album. They were a top favorite of mine in 2013. Good news for you, though - they are coming back to the DC area at Iota on Friday, August 22, 2014.  Iota is at the Clarendon/Courthouse metro stop, if you don't know. It's about as small as the name states, but a great venue all the same. Tickets are day-of only and usually about $10 cash.

Ingrid Michaelson, Storyman, Sugar & the Hi-Lows, May 23, 2014 at Lincoln Theater

Eric, Laura, and I went to the Ingrid Michaelson show at Lincoln Theater on U Street last night. It was Laura's first time at that venue and she was very pleased with it. It's a pretty restored historic theater, it has seats, and it's across the street from the metro - so it's a welcome pleasure for old folks like us gen-Xers. Eric and I arrived a few minutes before doors were supposed to open for this sold out general admission show and the line was literally all the way around the block and back down the alley, nearly circling the building. I feared the worst, but they got us all into the building in about 20 minutes - impressive!

Sugar & the Hi-Lows, 5-23-14, Lincoln Theater

The first opener was Sugar & the Hi-Lows, a Nashville-based duo that was very good at the retro/twangy Nashville sound. They also has a great stage presence; they were very comfortable engaging the crowd. I was particularly impressed by their marketing savvy. They did the smart thing for an opener: they projected their name HUGE on the screen behind them. (I can't count the number of opening acts I've seen that never told the crowd their name.) This duo talked up the merch in a charming way, too. So if I were a fan of their type of music, I'd be singing their praise right about now. None of us loved it, though, because none of us are into that sound.

Storyman, 5-23-14, Lincoln Theater

The second opener was an Irish duo called Storyman that used to be called Guggenheim Grotto. Again, great banter, excellent voices, very good musicianship, but again, not our favorite style of music, or at least, none of the songs wowed us. We all agreed that we liked them more that the first opener, but no one in our little group was excited about them.

Ingrid Michaelson, 5-23-14, Lincoln Theater

Ingrid Michaelson was REALLY good. She's much better live than recorded. Her vocal range and the power of her voice are completely impressive, and she is a very entertaining performer, with the a slightly geeky, hot-awkward-chick stick she does. You can tell that she and her band put a lot of effort into delivering a memorable experience to the crowd. There were sing-alongs, there were silly gags, there was a rendition of a popular song performed as a polka, there were celebrity impersonations, there were guest artists - it was a full-on variety show. This was the third time Laura and I have seen her live, and we were both glad we did. Ingrid puts on a reliably fun concert - worth the money and time.  I recommend it.