Home

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Concert poster: The Tender Fruit w/ Starmount & Filthybird

myspace

I heart me some blue grassy alt country indy-roots(tm) mountain girl twang rock n' f'n roll and there will be some of it when the Tender Fruit plays The Pinhook Saturday May 2 in Durham as this poster alludes to. I recommend you go get yerself a tall boy and do some hoot'n and hollerin'. You'ins (yes that's right, you'ins is the new y'all) can read what I said 'bout the tender fruits here: Show Review: The Tender Fruit

Monday, April 27, 2009

Show Review: The Rosebuds at Golden Belt

The Rosebuds

Golden Belt, Durham
April 24, 2009


Unplugged, off the stage, in the audience, nice fox, "and it don't mean nothin' at all," but it reminded us why we spend our Friday nights in front of a stage instead of in line at a night club. We'll look back in twenty and realize that we are having the best times of our lives right now and unreplicable moments like The Rosebuds taking the last three songs of their set into the crowd with acoustic instruments and five hundred back-up singers will be the burned-in memories that recall the smiles to our faces.

In front of their hometown crowd and after a lengthy road trip, The Rosebuds gave a stellar performance and the entire night followed suit. From Bowerbirds' Phil Moore taking the stage with Lost in The Trees along with Ivan, to The Rosebuds doing a song with the Lost in The Trees orchestra section, the Friday night benefit concert for the Durham Arts Council at Golden Belt was full of surprises. In measures of excitement and energy, this was one of the best shows of the year. Now that I think about it, the last time that I wrote about a "best show of the year" it was The Rosebuds at Cat's Cradle with The Love Language and Megafaun; I guess they have a knack for making things grand.

The Golden Belt staffers pouring Sierra Nevada and Chardonnay were a delightful bunch of smiley folks also and the space is nothing short of beautiful. I am hoping for more concerts, more surprises, and more memories from this place.

Images from Friday night;

Kelly Crisp
Kelly Crisp/The Rosebuds

Brad Cook
The Rosebuds

Joe Westerlund
The Rosebuds

More Kelly
Kelly Crisp/The Rosebuds

The Rosebuds
The Rosebuds on stage with the Lost in the trees orchestra section

Ari Picker
Ari Picker with about 1/3 of the orchestra-pop wonder Lost In the Trees in frame

Friday, April 24, 2009

Show Review: Luego with The Tomahawks

Luego

Duke Coffee House April 17, 2009

The Bull City just saw a hot weekend of music, Duo-Fest III, in-store performance by Thao at Chaz's, lo-fi fuzz champs North Elementary at Pinhook, campus concert series with Mecca Normal and The Tender Fruit, and kicking it all into gear was an alt country showcase of Luego and Tomahawk at The Duke Coffeehouse House Friday night. Luego who apparently has performed over two dozen shows since forming had not been on my radar until I saw them on the bill with Tomahawk and gave a listen. After Friday's show I have instant missile lock. Luego embodies everything that is great about the local music culture. We have very talented and hard working bands that place as much importance on fans enjoying the night as they do about their music being perfect. Luego combined crisp, angled melodies with good ol' boy guitar riffs and a wealth of energy to keep the room swirling with electricity.

Remarkably polished and with depthful arrangements, the killer track on Luego's five song EP titled Mean Time handed at shows or streamed from MySpace is the hill billy blue grass single-worthy "Run Away". Light and airy with sprinkles of piano notes and hand claps, this song could be the sound track for the beautiful blue North Carolina Spring we are enjoying.

Newly formed group The Tomahawks shared the stage with Luego on Friday, and did so in more ways than one. Not only did Tomahawk open for Luego, but two of their members play both bands. Singer Songwriter Jeff Crawford shares lead vocals in Tomahawk and plays bass in both groups. Tomahawk fills the air around many of Jeff’s original solo works with drums, bass, and more guitars bringing his music to the next level. Nick Jaeger, rarely seen doing anything but grinding out finger numbing southern guitar licks on stage with MAX Indian not only lays down lead guitar for Luego, but picks up the mic for Tomahawk and displays a surprisingly elevated vocal range. Given the bands obvious Southern rock roots and influences its easy to imagine their thick creamy guitar hooks and even easier to let it pour into your ears.

Duke Coffee House is rapidly becoming one of my favorite spots to see shows first and foremost because it's cheap. Aside from the minimal cover we're normally paying, the venue is byob and in the case of Friday night, Luego front man Patrick Phelan invited everyone into his cooler. Hooray Duke for sponsoring our pursuit of a good time, hooray Luego and The Tomahawks for making it happen.

visit their myspace profiles

Luego myspace
The Tomahawks myspace
Peter Holsapple myspace

More Images from Friday night:

Luego
Luego

Luego front man Patrick Phelan with Jeff Crawford and Nick Jaeger in background


The Tomahawks
The Tomahawks
Nick Jaeger of The Tomahawks and Luego

The Tomahawks
Multi-instrumentalist Jeff Crawford singing for the Tomahawks. Crawford also plays bass for Luego

The Tomahawks
The Tomahawks

Chris Stamey and Peter Holsapple
The dB's
The opening set was played acoustic by Chris Stamey and Peter Holsapple of The dB's

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Duo-Fest III Review

Duo-Fest III

Bull City Head Quarters, Durham
April 18, 2009


There is a special place in my heart for minimalist rock and there is no more special an event to witness it than at the annual Duo-Fest in Durham. On Saturday at 3 PM duo bands from the triangle and some from outer space assembled for half hour long sets alternating between a bedraggled gravely concrete and unmistakably urban outside stage, and the mechanized work shop surroundings of BCHQ's inside stage. Ear plugs in or lighters out, my eyes were open and here is what I saw.

Battle Rockets
Battle Rockets
First to fire were Chapel Hill instrumental radicals, Battle Rockets. Maneuvering within experimental dream sequences and luring refrains, Battle Rockets positioned the audience off guard before rising to deliver their gut punching draconian choruses which immersed the room with a wall of sound so colored with tone that it deserved a frame. Like all good instrumentalist groups, with the pretense of a story told through vocals removed from the equation, their arrangements become more complex and their complexity becomes more intriguing.

Sawteeth McTweedy
Sawteeth McTweedy
The crowd now building numbers, scurried toward the sound of acoustic strings being plucked as Sawteeth McTweedy warmed up on the outside stage. McTweedy introduced their brand of neo folk music in the most gorgeous weather of the year and went on to set the bar of expectations up high for gorgeous days yet to emerge. Their magical set of acoustic hammer-on soul and irresistible breaks took every advantage of the beautiful atmosphere to bear a "you would have had to be there" performance. Interchangeable on drums or strings, Ruth Eckles and Joe Rizzolo took the mic for three songs each and captivated a half hour of time that will stay locked in memory for ever.

Basalt
Basalt
My festival survival rules are, I don't walk when I can sit, I don't sit when I can lay down, (and for that matter I don't just lay down when I can sleep, but with guitars screaming I nary get that opportunity.) So Back inside for Greensboro art rock duo Basalt, I took a seat against the wall to save the legs for the long day ahead. My first impression of Basalt was one of intrigue. It's difficult to place a genre here but the glassy reverberated guitar, sparkly high-hat drum ticks and lofty near-falsetto vocals gave me a vintage disco lounge diva meets rock feel and the feeling was good.

Scientific Superstar
Scientific Superstar
Next up on the outside stage was the mathematical impossibility of Scientific Superstar. Attempting to count how many ways this band breaks the boundaries of the conventional while making alluring danceable hooky engaging strange music will over load your processor. The over-driven bass, standing drummer, terracotta percussion instrument (which shattered on queue at the end of the set, I have a piece), weird synth and looped up recorded messages are just the beginning indication that these guys are not aware of any boundaries.

Fortress of Swatches
Fortress of Swatches
Affixing ear plugs before heading back inside for the Wilmington, NC based garage spazz rock Fortress of Swatches, between songs my eye balls stopped rattling long enough to make out a Marshall JCM2000 sitting atop two cabs. Others tried, but this group wins the prize for loudest duo at the festival. Interchangeable on both drums and strings, They each create a base of fuzz and electricity from which they layer heat and super sonic noise. Thirty minutes was just what I needed to blow the cobwebs out. Invigorated (and slightly deaf) I stepped out the back for the next set.

Sequoya
Sequoya
Pardon me if I appear biased toward the next band. The acoustic ballads and heart-felt stories told by Sequoya was a highlight of the festival for me. Bonnie and Matthew are of genuine folk archetype and their kindred music of folklore and life lessons behaves universally. With more substance and less awareness of self, Bonnie's voice is reminiscent of Jewel. My advice, check out "weary" and check out "rocket" and then check it all out.

Victor Victor Band
Victor Victor Band
Drawing a crowd of vintage guitar rig aficionados before the set was the pleasant surprise of the day Victor Victor Band, a completely hooked up blues rock duo who most closely resemble the style which the masses relate to when the term "rock duo" is mentioned. With blues riffs caked in vintage tube tone and cuter-than-meg drummer girl stomping the kick (and pressing the keys) this band easily draws comparisons. I won't mention any names but I can further describe them as white, and I also think I recall Jamie's shirt having stripes. It's the recommendation of this blogger to have a listen to Victor Victor Band.

Danielle Victor

Danielle Victor of Victor Victor Band (drums and keyboard)


Space Lab
Space Lab (Sound System)
NASA has stated that with a lens powerful enough, mankind could peer into the past by viewing remnants of reflected light billions of light-years from earth, or we can just ask Space Lab, cause guess what? They are already out there. Space Lab performed one of the most enrapturing performances at the festival. Thirty minutes felt like a time warp as these two magicians peered their bionic tables of wires, knobs and analogousness turning the entire night into a giant robotic mind trip. Word.

The Saint Peter Pocket Veto
The Saint Peter Pocket Veto
The only thing more unique than The Saint Peter Pocket Vetofront man Bran Nieboer's finger board style guitar playing is the pink Gibson he plays it on. This high energy noise punk instrumental group stacks layer upon layer of riff heavy sound incorporating the occasional un-amplified vocal scream which barely audible above the screech and ream of distorted guitar, held its own as a meaningful addition to their spectrum of sound.

Beloved Binge
Beloved Binge
With dusk in full effect the crowd trickled outside in preparation to watch and listen to Beloved Binge, the hometown duo favorite whom can be described as the smallest band of gypsies in existence at (2). With their classic pop-up-top hippie van parked in the drive and a kiddy xylophone under the microphone, Beloved Binge delivered a pop culture collage of whimsical folk tunes, jangly guitar, and drum stick brushes which struck everything from guitar strings to keyboard keys, an ensemble that expanded the culture of the evening and caught more camera flashes than the Beatles at Shea Stadium. (You know what I mean.)

All Your Science
All Your Science
Readers need only scroll this blog down a couple of pages to see how I feel about All Your Science. I was reminded again of their ALTERNATIVE VEX MARKING this group melees as the Back Pack Drum Set documentary was screened before their set. Drummer Z-Man, a genuine minimalist, has adopted a bicycle only lifestyle and has not only adjusted his life and work to comply, but his art as well. Constructing a rock drum kit by hand which is fully transportable in a back pack, Dave eliminates the need for an automobile even for transportation to gigs and rehearsals. The documentary not only highlights a unique approach to life by one man, but introduces Z-Man as an utterly likable personality and down to earth activist. As for their set, nothing short of spectacular. AYS provided a much anticipated prelude to their forth coming unnamed album by playing one unnamed track, a twangy gem which alludes to AYS re-inventing themselves. I am on pins and needles.

Mecca Normal
Mecca Normal
Under the cover of dark a folklore legend took the stage and proved the point that dynamite comes in small packages. Front woman Jean Smith of Kill Rock Stars artist Mecca Normal ran the lengths of emotion and took her audience with. Side splitting laughter at her dirty jokes one minute and heart wrenching sorrow in her stories the next, I became mesmerized by her sheer magnitude of presence. I've always said that I like to listen to songs told by people who have been more places I have been and seen more things than I have seen and suffice to say, these were them songs. Jean Smith is the more enlightened among us and captivates the crowd with her worldly prominence. With wisdom abound, it was interesting to note that the majority of her songs told stories about her own life and times as a single woman dating and living in Seattle as opposed to imparting political or cultural theory. She sang in the moment and placed as much value on personal virtue and being happy as we anticipated that she would place on cultural change. This performance was a rare treat.

Trophy Wife
Trophy Wife
Trophy Wife are adorable post grunge scremo hypnotic psychedelic bad ass chicks from D.C. and because their guitarist broke a string on her axe by thrashing and destroying, we also discovered that they are funny as shit. The witty banter whilst changing out a string ranged from the best worst joke of all time to embarrassing stories of meeting Dave Grohl. OK here is the joke, “what does the egg say to the pot of boiling water? It may take me a while to get hard, I just got laid by that chicken over there”...bwa ha ha ha ha. None the less, a little screamo is always a good thing if for no other reason than it reminds you that screamo exists.

Trophy Wife


Veelee
Veelee
Veelee, another instrumentally interchangeable girl/guy duo brought a big drum sound, sparkly and hooky. Two distinct and equatable sounds were noted depending on whom of Ginger or Matt were on the mic. Their biggest asset on Saturday was stage presence and chemistry, it showed that they enjoyed making their music and invited the audience to enjoy watching. I dig the guitars and Matt has a sweet one, Fender American Telecaster Thinline Deluxe reissue, which is cool and by cool, I mean totally sweet.

Veelee

Veelee's Ginger. Duo-Fest promoter Dave Cantwell in background


The Curtains of Night
The Curtains of Night
The Curtains of Night closed the event the same way it began, with a handful of die hard minimalist rock fans huddled in a little room eyes peered at the stage. Curtains is the ultimate head banging duo, Nora Rogers' double amp stack drenches the room with power chords deftly fingered on, in my opinion, the most beautiful guitar ever made, a fireglo 600 series six-string Rickenbacker with dual high gain pick-ups. It looks like a 67’ fastback Shelby Mustang disguised as a guitar. The only distraction from the beauty was the amazing drumming skill of Laura Fitzpatrick, which was so utterly inspiring that it makes me want to play drums.


The Curtains of Night

Nora Rogers' Fireglo 600 series Rickenbacker


The Curtains of Night


A few hand shakes later, it was lights out at BCHQ. This event was spectacularly successful in upholding the values of minimalist rock. It was moderate and artistic, DIY and un-polished, self promoted and un-sponsored, and it held its head high while keeping on the down low. Congrats to everyone who participated, bands, fans, and promoters. Nicely done!

Saturday, April 11, 2009

All Your Science

Vol. 1 Artwork


share this on facebook
Busting up I-40 at 90 mph with All Your Science "Just Go" at my stereo's peaked volume, I came to conclude three things; I have yet to find a system loud enough to properly credit this song's ability; I should stop listening to this song while driving; and that this is one of the best break-up songs ever conceived.

Pressing the envelope of alternative music in every direction, "Just Go" doesn't follow the usual songwriter formula for relating listeners to heartbreak by dressing up 80 beat per minute minor chords with a sob story, instead it transfers emotion on a chemical level, triggering senses that usurp the mind's perceptions of lyrics and meanings and diffuses eerie heart pounding anxiousness directly into the chest. The hypnotically grinding current of vintage electric guitar and thunderous drum splashes strike a delicate parity with the softly delivered melody of Lu Lubenstien's despair drenched shoe gaze vocals. Like lightening to thunder, you feel the angst first and you understand its meaning after.

The note grinding build-ups and uncontrolled free-fall washouts commanded by front girl Lu Lubenstein's vintage axe and Z-Man's sizzley drums combine for a mesmerizing arrangement that deftly communicates the song's raffish nature, but the arrangement of this song is just the beginning of the All Your Science alternative vex marking. The readily noticeable DIY recording emphasizes lo-fi fuzz, unkempt reverberation, and over driven..., well everything. But from the chaos, All Your Science manages to project the grainy imperfect character of the recording as the central esthetic, not a distraction from it.

This blemished character is replicated throughout the album, which in fantastic minimalist form is dubbed Vol. 1, and it quite successfully suggests an alternative expectation for recorded music. Moving in a "less is more" direction, this album challenges the norms for what is accepted and even desired in a recording. As with the suspenseful flowing emotion of "waves,” the varied inflection of its single repeated note would likely disperse into the predicted if not for the crowded tone of over driven signals and out of phase microphones. But like an intriguing antique image, we stare in to it longer to see what may be hidden.

As an added measure, All Your Science thumbs their nose at establishment by self-releasing their spray-painted album and giving them away for free at shows, which are predominantly home grown house parties. All Your Science walks the road less travelled and makes it look appealing. I hope that at the end we find a stereo loud enough give "Just Go" the justice it deserves.

All Your Science's next study on the effects of sound wave modification on human beings will be held at Bull City Headquarters in Durham on 4/18 as part of the Duo-Fest III line-up.

see and hear AYS at these profiles: myspace reverbnation

ShareThis