The Concerts Thread

[slqrick]

Saw Chvrches last night at 1st Ave in Minneapolis. Great show, as expected, the lead singer is just adorable on every level, but the only thing that bothered me was the amount of douchebag bros in the crowd holding their fucking smart phones above their heads so they could get some stuff to post on youtube, which of course was blocking the views of myself and about a dozen others around me. I had to go up to two of them and tell them to stop, which they did without a fuss, to their credit, but still....

Man, kids these days. Looking forward to seeing Jungle in a few weeks, cuz that's assigned seating at tables.

Yeah, really wanted to see them here in NYC and avoided the concert for the same reason. Also, I didn't have the time and really wanted to go, but that's the reason I tell myself.

[dreamdead]

Continuing this complaint, we went and saw Chvrches in Tulsa on Sunday night and had the most obnoxious drunkards beside us who wanted to take pics of how wasted they looked, hold exaggerated poses, knock into us while dancing, and shout to each other over all of the intersong banter. Incredibly noxious experience, though the band itself was quite good. Martin has killer energy and the band knows how to draw on that...

Also ran into the openers Summer Cannibals in a Panera Bread outside of St. Louis the next day as we embarked for Chicagoland. That was kinda cool.

[number8]

The phone thing is pretty much standard at this point. It's at every single concert I go to now. The only times I could avoid it is when it's a punk show and a mosh pit starts. Then those assholes stay at the back.

I went to see Foxy Shazam last week. It bothered me that everyone I told about this just stared at me blankly not knowing who they are.

[Acapelli]

I went to see Foxy Shazam last week. It bothered me that everyone I told about this just stared at me blankly not knowing who they are.

you made up that name didn't you

[number8]

They're basically hipster Queen. Super fun show.

[Wryan]

They're basically hipster Queen. Super fun show.

*research*

Rep after rep for introducing me to this crazy mess. Awesome. Frontman and trumpet dude are hot. Songs are hot. Everything's hot.

[number8]

During their concert, crazy beard keyboard guy would walk around the stage shirtless holding his keyboard on his shoulder like a boombox and play that way. Hot trumpet guy would toss his trumpet high in the air and catches it right before blowing into a solo. It was awesome.

[number8]

I also went to see Chvrches.

[bac0n]

Anybody here in to Jungle? I saw them on Friday.

1) They came.
2) They kicked ass.
3) They said thanks.
4) They left.

It was so fucking awesome.

[bac0n]

Oh, and the opening act was Beat Connection. Seattle act, very evocative of Magic Man. D_Davis, you probably know these guys, but if you don't, you should check them out. And if you know any of them personally, tell them that that one incredibly wasted guy from minneapolis says hi.

[dreamdead]

Off to Pitchfork in Chicago again for the full weekend. Today I'm excited for Hundred Waters, Sharon Van Etten, Sun Kil Moon, and Beck. I'll likely roam around otherwise between these bands and people-watch.

[dreamdead]

Day 1 at Pitchfork done. Missed the first half of Hundred Waters opening due to an ungodly ineffective entrance set-up that took up about 35 minutes. What I got to see and hear was wonderfully evocative, layered, and imaginative. Can't wait to revisit their material in the coming weeks... Sharon Van Etten, Giorgio, and Beck were all excellent, with Giorgio's various old-man hand moves endearing, and the constant 4/4 beat solid if a bit uniform. Slightly concerned how much the crowd was mocking his moves, though the people I was near seemed sincere. Sharon, meanwhile, is charming and I suspect her new album will keep growing on me.

Sun Kil Moon was so frustrating. The composition with a full band was absolutely astounding, but Mark asked for more echo and delay on his vocals before they started, which had the effect of muting and masking his precise lyrics, turning the whole set into an unintelligible strumming. Would love to see him at a small venue since I've not seen any clips of him otherwise asking for echo there.

[number8]

Haha, I won tickets to 311 and couldn't go.

[ledfloyd]

Did you catch St. Vincent dreamdead? I watched her on the webcast. She killed it.

[dreamdead]

Did you catch St. Vincent dreamdead? I watched her on the webcast. She killed it.

Yeah, she was awesome. We saw her in Tulsa back in March, so things weren't too different musically, but the precision she has with this iteration of her band is phenomenal. Her shredding remains the highlight, and once again her extensions with the Strange Mercy material was just so cool. She also broke "character" more which was fun.

Otherwise, the Tuneyards were the surprise of the day. Really just an enjoyable performance. I'll have to check their material out later. Cloud Nothings were good and delivered, though their extended finale felt less natural... Somehow this climate wasn't especially ingratiatingly for The Field. It was fine, but the wandering crowds worked against my interest, though I love his debut. We don't know too much of Neutral Milk Hotel, but they were good. Wonderfully mixed. But Sarah already had a headache and today's the killer early line-up (Speedy Ortiz, Deafheaven) so we left to get more sleep to be back at the fest by 12ish.

[ledfloyd]

Yeah. Tune-yards are great. I would highly recommend whokill. I'm still working on processing the new one.

[Spinal]

Haha, I won tickets to 311 and couldn't go.

That's like winning twice.

[dreamdead]

Pitchfork day 3:

Speedy Ortiz was fine. I wish they had a bit more intrigue in their choruses since I love their influences, but I'll throw on Pavement and be reminded of memorable melodies, which Speedy doesn't yet really have.

Mutual Benefit was really pleasant. Languid, but pleasantly so. Picked up their album and look forward to exploring its sonic space.

Deafheaven was mad fun. I was in the first row and experienced their music the way I wanted to--in a throng of people all committed to the musical style. I look forward to hearing where they go from here--they played a new song that sounded like it advanced the aesthetics of Sunbather more, so I'm hoping they continue to progress.

Jon Hopkins was really good--the best of the electronica bands I heard over the weekend. A few spots where hiphop on other stages threatened to drown him out, but otherwise good.

Real Estate was enjoyable to a fault. Everything but "Talking Backwards" kept a single pace, which dulled our interest a little. I feel this way with their newest, too, which frustrates me since they're good at what they do.

Slowdive = bliss. So happy for the band's rejuvenation. Their heavier take on "Crazy for You" was phenomenal, and "Souvlaki Space Station" equally great. A wonderful band mix--when Neil wanted to go heavy, they were louder and more piercing than anything Deafheaven had on the table.

Grimes's set was getting drowned out by the sheer number of people. I'm interested in her new album when it gets released, and found the theatricality of the dancers enjoyable, but missed most of the music to be closer to Kendrick's stage. She is frenetic and committed, though.

Kendrick Lamar took to the stage 20 minutes late, but ran through a solid set. His command of the stage was dynamic and I loved the throwback to 2Pac--left a little early to get on trains without the madhouse exit that we experienced last year, but I'm really excited to see where he takes his next album thematically.

[DSNT]

Pitchfork day 3:

Slowdive = bliss. So happy for the band's rejuvenation. Their heavier take on "Crazy for You" was phenomenal, and "Souvlaki Space Station" equally great. A wonderful band mix--when Neil wanted to go heavy, they were louder and more piercing than anything Deafheaven had on the table.

So much envy! How did Rachel sound?

I saw Mojave 3 in Asheville a number of years ago and there was practically nobody in the audience. Maybe a dozen people at most. I requested 'When the Sun Hits' and he said the band didn't know the song.

Afterward Neil was in the club bar and I got to have a beer with him. He was super cool, friendly and all that. He didn't seem fazed by the poor crowd showing. Of course I asked about Rachel and he said she was too ill to perform (hearing problems), and he liked doing his softer Americana stuff. And he put on a great show with Mojave, who I think were underrated and under-appreciated, but cannot compare with Slowdive.

So bummed that I cannot catch one of the reunited shows.

[EyesWideOpen]

Saw Lorde in Vegas on Tuesday and she is one hell of a performer. Great show.

[bac0n]

Anybody here in to Jungle? I saw them on Friday.

1) They came.
2) They kicked ass.
3) They said thanks.
4) They left.

It was so fucking awesome.

These guys are back in town tonight playing the Minneapolis 1st Ave Main Room in support of their debut album. Stoked to go see them again.

[bac0n]

So, as expected, Jungle was even better than last time. They had a hell of a lot of energy, and were clearly exhilarated to be performing. It was infectious. One particularly cool thing that happened was when, about 3/4 the way through their set, they mentioned that it was one year ago to the day since they first performed together on stage, so in a sense, the show was their 1st birthday celebration.

All in all, a great time. Highly recommended that you catch them when they come to your neck of the woods.

[D_Davis]

Great night last night. Played an amazing show at the opening of the Northwest Loopfest (playing again in Portland tomorrow), and I saw the best musical performance I have ever seen.

Hideki Nakanishi, aka Mandoman, a mandolin looper from Japan. Hands down, the single most awe-inspiring, mind melting thing I've ever heard someone do with a musical instrument. Completely out of this world sound design.

[Russ]

Daniel, that sounds amazing. Link(s)?

[DSNT]

Superchunk.