Live Review: Death Cab for Cutie - Bonnaroo 2008

I think the most disappointing thing I experienced at Bonnaroo (other than Kanye totally disrespecting not only the entire Bonnaroo community but the entire music community) was the major conflict on Sunday. As I mentioned in my review of Narrow Stairs, Broken Social Scene’s main set and Death Cab for Cutie’s only set overlapped by 30 minutes. To make matters worse, the “Other” tent (where BSS was playing their main set) was running about 30 minutes behind.

Panic sets in! On one hand, Broken Social Scene was putting on an incredible show, and was promising to play until they were dragged off stage. On the other hand, I didn’t want to chance missing any of the new Death Cab songs I knew they would break out early in their set.

And then there was a sign… About an hour into their incredible set Broken Social Scene played "Anthem for a Seventeen Year-Old Girl", one of my favorite songs. This was icing on the cake which was already iced, so BiggieC and I made a break for Death Cab for Cutie.

We made it to the “What” stage while they were finishing up their fourth song of their set, “Crooked Teeth” from Plans. This was just in time to catch my favorite song (so far) of Narrow Stairs “Long Division”. While they didn’t break out into the uber-jam I was hoping for, Chris Walla let it hang out just a little bit on the synth for those who wanted to squeeze every last ounce of party out of the waning festival.



Death Cab split their set between their two most recent albums Narrow Stairs and Plans with older songs (but nothing pre- We Have the Facts and We're Voting Yes). Throughout the set the band stayed tight and preformed at the level their fans have come expect night after night. Highlights for me included “Cath..”, “Company Calls”, and “I Will Possess Your Heart”.







As my first Bonnaroo experience drew to a close my bitterness toward Bonnaroo’s for overlapping Broken Social Scene and Death Cab for Cutie faded. What did I really have complain about? I had been treated to two of my favorite bands in just a manner of hours. As the sun set over Manchester, TN Death Cab closed out an epic 4 days of music with their most epic song, “Transatlanticism”. It was indeed a "Movie Script Ending".

Live Review: Broken Social Scene @ Bonnaroo

One of my favorite bands making music right now, Broken Social Scene, played two awesome sets at Bonnaroo. I could not have been more psyched about their second set closer, the bombastic, three-fake-endings jam out, It's All Gonna Break.

Part 1:



Part 2:



I particularly love the ending because it is, in my mind, a bit of a shout out to Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Free Bird" (if you like the comparison or not, these boys know their rock and roll history and that is respectable).

Both of the sets were a solid array of favorites from the entire Broken Social Scene catalog, including some of the newer "BSS presents" numbers. Although this kind of soapbox behavior usually annoys me at concerts, the most surreal moment of both sets came when Kevin Drew decided to get a little political:



"Put down the bong and vote for Obama..."

Obamaroo '08

This was one of my favorite performances of the weekend along with the Sigur Ros late night and My Morning Jacket nearly four hour set.

Live Review: Radiohead (5/8/2008 & 5/9/2008) Atlanta & Charlotte

Last week I was on Radiohead overload and I loved it. I think maybe every single person I know in this city was at the Atlanta show. They are so damn popular now. I mean no matter what sort of style or taste in music of people I know, they all at least can appreciate this band. One down side of this is that there is going to be a crowd with some douches in it, as I've heard many people complain. But I would challenge anyone to tell me about a sold out show at Lakewood that didn't have its share of annoying people attending.

That said, I was probably one of the more annoying people at the show. Since I had seen them 4 times before this and I was pretty much stone cold sober for all of those concerts, I decided to get blotto for this one. Since the night is pretty much a blur, and most people reading this blog were probably also there, I'm just gonna note a couple of things:

• I do not like overbearing cops and security at concerts, and there was way too much of that. People were getting arrested two cars down from where we were hanging out before the show. Why is it illegal to drink on private property at a concert but its ok to walk around with alcohol on Georgia Tech campus, which is lawfully not allowed anytime, during a football game? It is just such a stark contrast between the Phish shows I would go to back in 2000 at Lakewood and what that place has become now. I mean there really isn't much else worthwhile about seeing a show at that sized venue except the bigger-than-life party atmosphere.
  
• While I'm ranting about how much I don't like Lakewood, Liars just didn't sound good in that venue. It was really disappointing to be listening to songs you know and love but not really enjoy them because you are like 7 miles from the stage. It made me not feel so bad being unable to catch a Radiohead show with Grizzly Bear opening.
  

Anyways, since a torrent of the Atlanta show has yet to surface, here's some vids:

"Pyramind Song":



"Lucky":



"Talk Show Host":




To do the review of the Charlotte show the next night, I want to welcome Ohmpark's newest contributor, Josh West. I'm looking forward to many more great contributions to the site from him, and since he is a total Radiohead super-fan, this is a very appropriate debut:

@ around 1:39pm Friday 9 May 2008, I strolled through the door at Ohmpark to find comparable degrees of hungoverness to my own. We recounted the slides of our memory as an obligation – needing to put to rest the previous nights ecstasies in Atlanta in order to fully anticipate lightening striking us twice. With that, we were on the road to Charlotte where Radiohead was waiting once again.

Fast forward to the house lights falling. We found our way with beers in hand to the middle of the lawn as the cheers of the crowd gave way to the slow, soulful "All I Need." After a few songs to warm the crowd, as well as the band, and then…
all engineering efforts began to come alive. For starters, there are five cameras scattered about the stage positioned on a band member, instrument, or both and their feeds are displayed side by side in the widest of widescreens behind the band. So, if you're at the back of the lawn, you can still see Jonny go apeshit.

The fun (and electrical engineering) doesn't stop there. The band also decided to drape themselves in 50 or so waterfalls of light that vary between about 20 to 30 feet in length each. When they're in the middle of a jam, you can see this shit from space.
And for the rest of the evening, as they sprinkled a song or two from albums past amidst our new In Rainbows favorites, the five piece came off as very seasoned and highly coordinated professional showmen – because they are. At times I couldn't decide on the most interesting thing to watch – whether it be Thom's maniacal dancing or the other thing on the screen they happened to be making noise with at the time. Thankfully, there was only one thing to listen to.

Further, when you have accumulated the catalogue that Radiohead have over the past 15+ years, you can construct a setlist that has it all. They're like that campy-ass summer blockbuster movie that has something for everyone, except they're actually good. The opportunity to serenade his girlfriend during "Exit Music (For A Film)" proved to be too much for one young gentleman. Juxtapose that with this really long-haired girl completely wigging out and bumping into everything during "Idioteque" – but hey, don't we all? I smelled plenty of the sticky during "Sail to the Moon" and the pit went nuts for Thom on the kit throughout "Bangers & Mash."

…which lead promptly into the highlight of the evening as the main set closed with an absolutely explosive "Bodysnatchers." I've been challenged to find the words and the best I've got is this: never before has the onslaught of sight and sound translated into my body moving the way it did. I'm white, getting older, and I'll be very pressed to recreate such an outcome. Others around me, notably Biggie C, were also appropriately affected.

The band, as well as I, got a much-needed break after that. However, the treats continued as they returned to the stage to perform back-to-back numbers not appearing on major albums with "Go Slowly" followed by "Talk Show Host."
Most of the crowd proceeded to wet themselves after the first chords of "Planet Telex" and it was actually here that I felt the band silenced all doubters wherever they might be found – getting everyone going on an oldie. The lights were synced perfectly and undeniably pained over for this one. They held this ace for long enough and were really just showing off at this point.

The show closed with the perennial favorite, "Paranoid Android" introduced in one of Thom's few addresses to the audience as, "This one's a naaass-tee lit-tle bas-tard" followed promptly by "Reckoner."
In all, everyone had the opportunity to laugh, cry, clap, sing, dance, hug, fist-pound, high-five, bob their head, hold a lighter (if you're into that), burn one down (cause I'm into that) and look at the people around them periodically with that holy-shit look on their face.

If they're coming to a city near you, bottom line: go to the show. If you have to, drop some bills on the dude about 1000 feet from the venue who looks like your dad. He'll be referring to the band as "Them Radioheads." You'll pay more than face value on the ticket, but this is pragmatically irrelevant. Get in.

You can download the Charlotte show here. Jonny took some pictures on the Radiohead blog, and here are a couple:

Live Review: The Mars Volta (4/4/2008) House Of Blues, Myrtle Beach, SC

Ever since The Mars Volta show originally scheduled in Atlanta last weekend got canceled, I had been pretty bummed. The Mars Volta are very high on my list of favourite bands and I had only seen them once before at Bonnaroo 2005. So when I learned late last week that tickets were still available for the Myrtle Beach show, some of the crew and I decided to at the last minute to go. A very wise decision.

We arrived at the venue a little over an hour before the doors opened and already there was a large crowd. The House Of Blues had a VIP line to get in the venue before everyone else, and you had to purchase $15 worth of stuff from their store to get let into it. I had never seen anything quite like that before. Then upon entering the venue when doors opened, the security searches were about as comprehensive as I have ever seen. They used metal detectors and we had to empty our pockets into containers. I felt like I was at the airport. I got inside and quickly staked down a spot a few bodies from the front of the stage.

The Mars Volta would come on a few minutes later than scheduled and play for slightly over 2 hours and 45 minutes. It was everything I had hoped it would be. Thomas Pridgen is an absolute beast on drums. At certain points, Omar would be acting as conductor through jamming sections and it almost appeared like he was pissed at his band every once in a while. Maybe that's just the way he does it. I thought Cedric really shined, hitting everything flawlessly. He was throwing what I thought were guitar picks at Omar's brother playfully throughout the show. Also, I don't believe his hair is real. The setlist seemed to be a bit smaller than other setlists I had seen, but rather than getting to hear a ton of songs, I got to experience a ton of jamming, and I think I prefer that from this band anyways. Here is the set as best as I can determine, but there was a bunch of in-between parts I did not recognize at all:

Roulette Dares
Viscera Eyes
Wax Simulacra
Goliath
Ouroborous
Tetragrammaton
Agadez
Cygnus
Aberinkula
Drunkship

The venue itself had some of the best sound I've ever heard. About half way through the show I left my spot up front to hit the bar and I would just walk from one place to another and everywhere sounded great. The way the building was shaped was also very neat, as there were inclines in the floors so that you could see the stage from just about anywhere. Despite the fact I'm not the biggest fan of tight security, it seemed to be a necessary evil in such a professional arena. Especially considering the crowd, which was the one part of the experience I did not enjoy. Near the beginning of the show, a whole bunch of meatheads pushed their way to the front, and the crowd was full of examples why I would never want to live in Myrtle Beach. Cedric even had to yell at the crowd between songs because they were all talking through quiet parts and committing other various rude concert etiquette infractions.

But all in all it was a fabulous experience and I hope I get to catch them again sometime soon. Hopefully they'll reschedule their Atlanta date.

Live Review: Dead Meadow, All The Saints, Untied States (2/18/2008) The Earl

Last Monday night I caught one of the best shows in Atlanta so far this year. Three seriously kickass bands played some amazing sets. First up was one of my favourites from Atlanta, Untied States. They are currently working on a new album and I really like the new stuff. Also, I think new(ish) drummer Erin Santini's style blends very well with their sound. If I had to pick the most underrated band in all of this city, it is these guys.











The second band was another A-town outfit, All The Saints. This was my first time seeing them, and I was blown away. They felt sort of like if Deerhunter was a classic rock power-trio. Their drog-rock jamouts were ridiculous. I'm looking forward to catching them again at SXSW and you can catch them in Atlanta St. Patrick's Day night opening for A Place To Bury Strangers and Holy Fuck.







California's Dead Meadow closed out the show and it was a total stoner-rock jam session as one would expect from these guys. I luckily just got turned on to them a few weeks before this show and have been thoroughly enjoying their newest album, Old Growth. I think this is the first time I saw someone drinking a Black and Tan on stage. They aren't exactly the most progressive band in the world, but what they do, they do extremely well, and I thought they really rocked out hard.

Live Photos, Videos, And Review: Yeasayer, MGMT, Morning State (1/18/2008) The Earl

Before throwing down at 1084 for our party last week, we went down to The Earl to catch this great show. First up was Atlanta's own Morning State. They had just recently recorded their first full-length album and the label they had just signed to went under, so they had to go and re-record the entire album with Asa Leffert (Dark Meat, The Pendletons, The Whigs) in Athens, Ga so they could release it. Recording an album is a big undertaking, so I'm sure having to do the whole thing again would be frustrating, but it looks like they've made the most of it:

“The whole label thing sucked. It was really nice to have someone tell us that they were going to front the money for our album and release it and spend a bunch of cash on marketing it. When the label folded we had hoped to keep what we recorded but in order to do that we would have had to sign another contract and we decided it was best to walk away from that whole mess and just do it all over,” says frontman Russ Ledford. “We’re really excited to have a chance to re-make the album though and create something even better. We also have a lot of energy because of this whole situation, and I think that’ll really come out in the recordings.”

This recent show they brought it hard and I think they were the best I've seen them live yet:




Photo by Biggie C





Next up was Yeasayer, whose album All Hour Cymbals I've been jamming hard since I discovered it. The four-piece were incredible live and had so much energy on stage. The lead singer somehow cut his hand when he was jumping on his monitor and had blood running down his arm for half of the show, but it didn't seem to phase him too much. Biggie C took some photos:





See the blood:







"Wait For the Summer":



You'll notice in this second video that the crowd was a bit fratty. Others noticed as well:



The final act of the show was the other New York band, MGMT. I had seen them open for Of Montreal on Halloween last year and enjoyed them. They played another good show, but I think Yeasayer's complete awesomeness kind of overshadowed them a bit. I found myself really digging some parts and not really into others. I bought the album, Oracular Spectacular, at the show and I think it is pretty great. This band certainly has potential to be something special. Biggie C got some nice shots:











Since I had technical issues and couldn't get a video, here are some MGMT goodies:

MGMT : Oracular Spectacular : Weekend Wars


"Time to Pretend":

Live Review: Dan Deacon, Ultimate Reality, Toy Party Attack (1/7/08) Eyedrum

Last Monday night we went to the non-profit art gallery Eyedrum. After a long wait for the doors to open, we went inside and got ready for the show. The first act of the night was a guy dressed like he was from the great depression and sporting an antique looking guitar and a banjo (I think). He sang with what I would describe as an extreme satirical version of Tom Waits voice, but this guy was completely serious. He did two songs and then some woman who was with him took over playing some other weird stringed instrument and did some songs. After that Toy Party Attack took over:





Toy Party Attack was a duo made up of Bean from Lenny's and a dude who works at Criminal Records. They employed a wide array of musical toys and gadgets. If I could imagine some kids taking these devices and being the most skillfully annoying they could possibly be with them, that is how I would describe TPA. I dug it. Also, one of the guys would run into the crowd and grab people and push people around and was probably on the cusp of getting his ass beat.

After that fiasco, it was time for Ultimate Reality, which is a film by Jimmy Joe Roche that splices together Arnold Schwarzenegger movies in a really trippy way with Dan Deacon scoring the music. As they show the movie on a projector, two drummers sit in front of the screen and play to the music:





Here's a taste of what the video was like:



I thought it was really awesome and hilarious and if I still did psychedelics, It would be the perfect thing to watch on those. After that it was time for Dan Deacon to perform. Dan's performance heavily relies on including the crowd as he set up his table of gear in front of the stage and allowed the crowd to gather around him. Here's his setup:



He also did lots of silly crowd interacting like this:



The performance was really fun and I can't wait to catch him again at Langerado:

"Snake Mistakes":

Live Review: Smashing Pumpkins (6-26-2007) The Orange Peel, Asheville, NC

Photos by Jill Donnelly

Before i go into my review of the show, i think I'll give you my perspective on the band. In a time period where old bands seem to reunite every hour, one of the most important reunions in a while clearly seems to be the Smashing Pumpkins, despite only two of the original members being part of it. The ascension of the Pumpkins in the middle '90s represent a high water mark for the last golden age of pop music and underground music peacefully coexisting together. After dominating the Billboard charts, the Grammys, and the MTV music awards with Mellon Collie And Infinite Sadness, they were probably the last "biggest band in the world" to really exist. As a teen at the time, The Pumpkins represented everything I loved about the '90s music scene. I had to purchase Siamese Dream several times due to playing the tape so much it would get ruined. Mellon Collie is inextirpably linked to almost all of my memories of the summer of 1996, one of the best summers of my life. But midway through that summer, with the overdose of their touring keyboardist and the subsequencial kicking out Jimmy Chamberlain from the band would mark the beginning of the end of not only the Smashing Pumpkins, but also the end of an era in music. I can remember being so angry about them kicking Jimmy out of the band. I mean you're in a rock band, you're supposed to be doing drugs! That combined with the release of Adore, which to this day I still don't really like (I mean Kid A is the same idea, only 1000 times better), officially ended my fanboy days with the Pumpkins.

So, after waiting a few years worth of reunion rumours and the lame ticket buying experience, i finally got to see a band i loved as a kid in a tiny 1000 person venue just an arms length from Billy Corgan. We got to the venue probably around 3pm in the afternoon and there were only about 50 people in line in front of us. I think this wait would technically be longer than what i waited to get up close for Radiohead at Bonnaroo last year but at least in line here you could purchase beers and food easily and get out of line to use the restroom so it wasn't that bad. The opening band was pretty good even though they were not my style (although I wish i went one of the nights Deerhunter was opening). The Pumpkins came out next and rocked out for three hours. Billy Corgan was very much the star of the show and even if this is completely the case musically, the dynamic just seems unbalanced without James Iha's stage presence. The Faux-Iha replacement, Jeff Schroeder, played his part brilliantly from a musical perspective, though. Very "shoegazy" jamming stuff that I enjoyed alot. The Faux-D'arcy, Ginger Reyes, looked like she could have fallen apart at any second. She held her own, but it was very entertaining to watch her constantly watch Billy and Jimmy looking so scared. They even brought along a Faux-overdosed tour keyboardist.

Overall, the show was really great, but I think it was lacking a little to my high expectations. Mostly because I didn't really know but a handful of songs. This usually doesn't deter me from enjoying a band, but it did seem to a little this time and as i think about it I'm still not quite sure why since most everything i didn't recognize i enjoyed a lot. I think maybe there is just a clear difference between the old stuff and post-Mellon Collie Billy Corgan stuff. Also, I don't think it really detracted from the music at all, but there was something lacking in my mind without at least James in the band. Regardless of my own critical thinking getting in the way, i highly recommend checking them out somewhere along what I'm guessing will be an endless amount of touring (hey, i asked for it) and I'm excited to hear the new album that came out today.

See the setlist, listen/download the show here (Thanks to Chud for pointing this out)

You can find an endless amount of info on the Asheville residency at Smasheville

Live Review: Black Keys, Dinosaur Jr (6-21-2007) The Tabernacle

I've been to shows at the Tabernacles countless times but I've never gone to a show there early before. It was really strange being in that building with the lights on and hardly anyone there. Also, it seemed either Camel cigarettes sponsored the show or bought out the venue because they allowed smoking again and had Camel ads everywhere. We were calling it the "Camelacle". After waiting a while up front, Dinosaur Jr came on and rocked a pretty short set. About half of the set was songs from the new album, which I like a lot. What was most interesting to me is they were playing songs from Dinosaur Jr's entire catalog, instead of just songs off of the albums with Lou and Murph. Unfortunately, they seemed to mess up the songs they did from post-Lou/Murph-Dino Jr, including J totally missing a part on Out There and the other guys busting out laughing. Overall though, it seemed more endearing then annoying from the listeners point of view and my 3rd show seeing the original line-up reunited was very good.









We decided to go up to the balcony for the Black Keys as we were all still tired from Bonnaroo. The Black Keys are a band that I respect but don't really like . They are just too conventional rock 'n' roll for my taste, but they put on a great show and after seeing the White Stripes sound too thin as a two-piece the weekend before, the Black Keys filled out nicely and proved a two-piece can hit you hard in a live setting.

Live Review: Galactic, Cypress Hill, Beach House (5-12-2007)

Last Saturday night I went and checked out the Southern Comfort Music Experience being held for free in Centennial Olympic Park downtown. The show was free and 21+, two things I'm a fan of. The rainy weather during the day kept the turnout very low, so we were easily able to get front row for Galactic. As I mentioned before, we pregamed watching a Stanton Moore instructional video, and it was a great way to get ready for a Galactic show. This was the first time I had seen them without "The Houseman" doing vocals, which I had hated in the past, so I was looking forward to hearing them as an instrumental group. They came out and put on a great show. I'm very picky about which jambands I like, and these guys are definitely a group I enjoy. They do a great job of taking genres and styles that have been very played out and breathe new life into them. Near the end of the set, Hip-Hop artist Mr. Lif joined them on stage to do a few songs including one off of the upcoming Galactic "Hip-Hop" album that will feature collaborations with Lyrics Born, Ladybug Mecca (Digable Planets) Gift For Gab (Blackalicious) and unfortunetly Lateef The Truth Speaker (man does he suck), plus many more. (There are reports that Charlie 2na will be performing with them at Bonnaroo) . Here's some pics:















We decided to get out of the front to avoid the rowdy rednecks and the highly efficient and large security force for Cypress Hill. There was a slight downpour for a few minutes between sets, but it was the only rain we'd see. Cypress Hill came out with no elaborate stage setup as i had seen them use the first time I saw them, but they still brought the music full force. Despite a little new material from their upcoming album, the set was very "hit-friendly" and the entire crowd celebrated with billows of smoke.



I left near the end of Cypress Hill's set to catch Beach House at The Earl. I arrived with plenty of time to get up front and enjoy this great duo. They did some new songs, one i really loved, and perfect renditions of their self-titled album's best stuff. I seriously recommend checking out their album if you haven't, because it is beautiful. The boys from Deerhunter were next to me at the show and they seemed to be digging it too. They closed with "Master Of None", probably my favourite of theirs. The lighting was even worse than last time so I didn't get any really good shots, but you can always look at Biggie C's photos of Beach House earlier this year at The Earl. I wanted to catch The Clientele, who was on afterwards, but it didn't work out.



Galactic torrents:

Galactic 2007-01-26 Roxy Theater, Atlanta, GA

Galactic 2007-01-27 Roxy Theater, Atlanta, GA

More goodies:

Cypress Hill and Sonic Youth: I Love You Mary Jane

Beach House : Master Of None

Live Review: Blonde Redhead, Annuals (5-4-2007) Variety Playhouse

Last Friday night I celebrated being done with finals by catching this. We got there at ticket time and it was already fairly packed. Annuals came on first, and I would describe them as a poor man's Arcade Fire with almost a jamband tinge to the sound. The front man, Adam Baker, looked like he was on mushrooms or something. The six-piece featured 2 full drum sets, a pair of drums for the lead guitarist, and even Adam Baker himself had a drum to beat on from time to time. Overall, the total sound seemed to be a little too schizophrenic for me; it seemed like people's parts didn't really blend together well. They were great for an opener, but I doubt that I would exert a ton of effort to go see them again. Here's some pics from my phone:











Between the two bands, the Variety Playhouse actually dropped the curtains in front of the stage, which almost never happens. When the curtains opened, Blonde Redhead brought it full blast. The lighting they employed was really cool because it was so subtle and created a an interesting light "aura" for the band. Musically, it was hard for me to make out the vocals often times in the front where i was, but other than that, I was very impressed. The set was heavy on songs from 23, but I've actually been digging on that album the more I listen to it. I know it's not quite as adventurous as their best work, but if you can overlook that, there's some amazing material on it. The three-piece was spaced out far away from each other and they seemed to have a confident yet awkward stage presence, with guitarists Kazu Makino and Amedeo Pace pseudo-flirting with each other as they jammed out and watching drummer Simone Pace's facial expressions were hilarious as he would get really into some entrancing rhythms. Kazu even had an enormous stuffed horse to sit on when playing keys. Overall, my first Blonde Redhead show was everything i hoped it would be.

Live Review, Photos, and Videos: The Books, Todd Reynolds (4-20-07) Variety Playhouse

Review by sleo
Photos by BiggieC
Video by bobloblaw79

Friday night The Books tour stopped in Atlanta promoting the new tour/online only Play All DVD. The show started out with Todd Reynolds, a masterful violinist with effects pedals and a bass drum. Todd also used a large screen to display many graphics that were developed by a variety of artists. Not only could Todd play a mean violin with twists and turns throughout his elaborate, overlapping melodies, but his use of the pedals and bass drum also added an intriguing element of intensity to his visual effects. My favorite visualization shown by Todd was a portrayal of riding on the British monorail. The artist took footage from the front and back of the train at the same time and displayed each perspective side by side. The journey down the rail was traveled at the same rate of Todd’s violin bow, and quickly became mesmerizing to watch. Todd had also cleverly designed his musical piece around his artist friend’s footage to coincide with the changing directions, speeds, and overlaps of the different angles from which the artist filmed his journey on the rail.

Then The Books took the stage and totally blew me away. It’s not often enough that I get to go to a show that has so much going on in their music and on stage that I can’t even tear my eyes away. The duo also utilized the large screen on stage with several videos that went along perfectly with every song. They showed a wide variety of footage, from creations of simplistic and distorted graphics of the alphabet to old family videos. Nick consistently held the mellow tone of their music with his acoustic guitar, while Paul contributed dramatic melodies on his skeletal cello. Throughout all of their songs, several different samples of voices and music filled in over the acoustic sound of their instruments from what seems like quite an extensive library of sounds. There was not a large turnout for the show, yet the crowd that was there was thoroughly entertained as the sounds of their enthusiasm throughout the entire performance was thunderous. It was additionally nice to be able to chillax and see everything going on with such a friendly and upbeat crowd. Todd Reynolds came out to join the duo for a few of their songs, which made for a more complex and compelling performance. They even did a phenomenal cover of a Nick Drake song from his album Five Leaves Left (which they admitted to having done last year at their performance at the EARL). I had a great time at the show and really can’t wait to see what else these guys can come up with.

(Click for larger photos)

Todd Reynolds



The Books

















"Cello Song" (Nick Drake cover)
Note: The video is very dark but the sound quality is listenable)

Live Review And Photos: Ratatat, 120 Days, Despot (4-10-07) The Loft

Last night, my Ohmpark buddies and I went to the best show I have seen yet at The Loft in Atlanta: Ratatat and 120 Days. Sugarkane dropped this band on me only a few weeks ago, and I have been trying to catch up. I found the crowd at the show to be an uncommon mix of indie hipsters and video-game styled music enthusiasts. I blame this on the venue's proximity to Georgia Tech; perhaps one of the only 'subculture' groups in the city with as healthy an addiction to Internet celebrity and fanfare as the indie crowd. Those 'old-wave' synths and lo-fi sine waves really get those pencil pushers moving...

Ratatat pull an interesting array of fans together by using their old-school aesthetic to drive their rock star image and still somehow bring a heavy dose of hip-hop into their music. Personally, I love their take on some of the popular trends in music happening today; one being the http://www.8bitpeoples.com type synths. The other, of course, is the pervasive influence of hip-hop culture and how it has become an increasingly central part of mass entertainment culture through the Internet. Ratatat accomplishes a unique intersection of subcultures and styles without becoming confusing or undefined; they have a defined sound.

I had the hardest time explaining to my friend what made Ratatat better than other bands that have latched onto the 8-bit-synth trend/aesthetic (depends how much you scoff/respect it). I hate to say this, but it was the same thing that birthed rock into the mythic proportions it was to consume: the guitar. It makes the entire live show for a band that's noise-space is 75% synthetic. Other bands have attempted this approach ( http://www.myspace.com/anamanaguchi to a further degree, for example), but not quite to the sweet spot of trendiness that Ratatat has found....

I should also mention 120 Days, who put on a great opening set. Probably pretty disappointed with American crowds; piles of guitar effects strung up with the analog synths proved these guys could play the trendiest dance club as easily as a a rock and roll dive. I was very impressed and ran home to check them out; I think most of the crowd was surprised.

Note from BiggieC: Ichuda got to the show after Despot was on. I personally enjoyed him very much. I was stoked to see he could rap without a hype man or DJ. His best song was "Get Rich or Try Dying."

Also I'd like to thank Catherine for granting me a photo pass.


(Click for larger photos)


Despot







120 Days
















Ratatat

Live Review: DJ Klever, Snowden, Variac (3-31-07) Lenny's (Plus, The Ohmpark Kenny Crucial Challenge)

Saturday night while Biggie C and Sleo went to the Ted Leo show, I decided to play the hipster and go to Lenny's. After grabbing some food and watching the first half of the Florida v. UCLA Final Four basketball game in Little Five Points I journeyed alone to the show. When I got there the place was very empty, but was packed tight by the end of Snowden's set. The hipster bicycle club Faster Mustache was celebrating its second birthday and everyone who's anyone in the Atlanta indie scene was in attendance including Bean Summer (Lenny's booking agent), Preston Craig (KissAtlanta and Decatur Social Club), and Kenny Crucial. Ok, we're going to stop the story here for a minute to talk about Kenny Crucial.

Last year at Bonnaroo, Sleo and I waited 6 hours to have a good spot for the Radiohead show. About midway through sitting and standing in a packed crowd, this guy is trying to squeeze past us and Sleo starts yelling at him. Apparently some other folks were holding his spot in front of us , and we eventually let him pass. Now I could go on a digression about concert attendee etiquette, but I'll spare you. After we got back to Atlanta, we started to notice the same guy that cut in front of us at almost all of the shows we were going to. We even developed nicknames for him. Just a couple weeks ago, Creative Loafing here in Atlanta ran a cover story devoted to this same guy. He goes by the name "Kenny Crucial" and you can learn more about this "local legend" and "Philosopher" at his own site. Well, now the Atlanta scene is consumed with Kenny-Crucial-Mania. Even Atlanta Music Guide, who is always like 3 years behind the trends, has an article about him. So, I'm going to bite. We here at Ohmpark will feed into the hype and have some fun with this.

Another weird personality I met this year while hitting fests was Beatle Bob. Beatle Bob looks like a retarded Gallagher Brother( ok, a more retarded Gallagher Brother) and i first saw him at Wakarusa last year at the Camper Van Beethoven/Cracker show on stage dancing around in a really strange and ridiculous way. I later talked to him briefly at Bonnaroo and saw him go on stage and introduce both Sonic Youth and Sleater-Kinney at Lollapalooza. There are many mythical stories about Beatle Bob such as the fact that he has supposedly gone to a show every day since 1996 and disputed claims that he was a radio DJ in St. Louis (his hometown). He is known nationally , has a dance named after him, somebody is making a documentary about him and there is even a petition to have him stop being such a spectacle called Beatle Bob Sit Down.

So, here's the deal. St. Louis can suck it. We're going to try and make Atlanta's own Kenny Crucial bigger than Beatle Bob. It's going to be a difficult endeavor because Beatle Bob is very big. We are going to undertake a multi-phase plan. Phase one: We are announcing the Ohmpark Kenny Crucial Challenge. KC needs even more exposure. He needs full coverage. So, from here on out we are challenging you, the reader, to catch Kenny Crucial at shows with your camera phone. You can send your pics to icaughtkenny@ohmpark.com or just post them at Camura if you have an account. We will post the best phone logs here and keep up with the adventures of The Crucial One. After a yet-to-be-determined time, we will award the photographer of the best Kenny Crucial pic some concert tickets to a band they like. Most likely. So, be on the look-out. He is usually at the front of the most hipsterish show of the night. Here's a pic to help you find him, but it's not hard:



Good luck!

ok, what was i writing about? Oh yeah, the show. First I saw Variac and they were ok. Kinda sounded like a sloppy mix of Blur and the Black Crowes. They aren't bad at what they do, it is just what they do is kind of boring and derivative. After a tri-cycle race inside the venue was held, Snowden went on. I had never seen Snowden, but they have been hyped pretty heavily lately and some believe they could be the Nirvana that breaks the Atlanta scene through. I listened to their music and I always thought it was good, but I just didn't understand why everyone was so in love with them. Well, after seeing them live, now I know. They take that Bloc Party intensity and amplify it ten fold. They are the anti-Interpol in that way. I highly recommend you check them out live because it was amazing. I don't know that they can single-handedly blow up the Atlanta scene, but they a great band:







Next up was DJ Klever. This was my first time seeing him as well and it was off the chain. I hadn't seen a crowd in a club dance that hard since I was a raver. He led off with a Tomahawk Chop anthem with a beat and it then went all over the place. Just an amazing DJ. I mean, he is an international superstar and rightly so. I'll be catching him and Snowden every chance i get:







Klever is touring with the Gza and they will be doing Atlanta on May 28th at the Loft. Snowden are playing with the Selmanaires on April 7th at Rob's House.

Live Review and Photos: Explosions In The Sky, The Paper Chase, Eluvium (3-13-2007) Lenny's

It seemed like forever since i had raced down to Criminal Records to scoop up the last 2 tickets for this show. I had no idea who was even opening for Explosions In The Sky until a couple days earlier. Me and Biggie C arrived one minute after the supposed door opening time and were barely able to secure a spot in the front row. Lots of kids with "X"s on their hands were already setup. After The crowd quickly grew behind us, Eluvium came through the audience and climbed on stage right next to me. With all three bands' equipment cluttering the small stage, it seemed to be the only way to get up there. Eluvium's new record, Copia, is really good and I've been jamming it a lot over the last month or two so i was very excited when I learned he was on the bill. Eluvium is the stage name of Seattle's Matthew Cooper. He plays really ambient and distorted music on a keyboard and guitar. His performance was much more "wall-of-sound" than I had expected from the very mellow album, and continued a trend of being way too loud to not have earplugs(I'm stupid, I know i should be wearing earplugs to shows but they are just annoying to me). Looping each instrument into massive sonic waves, it was even better than I expected. The underage kids surrounding us were not impressed but good music taste often takes a while to develop. I'll post some Eluvium tracks next week. Biggie C with some pics of a very dark stage: (click to enlarge)







Shortly after that, The Paper Chase took the stage. i didn't really know anything about these guys, but they were great, and very very loud. I heard one of the kids around me describe them as "jagged noise-pop"(which they obviously found on Wikipedia), and that's them exactly. Front man John Congleton was extremely entertaining between singing great, Jamming some amazing, piercing guitar lines, and dancing around in a really awkward way. The rest of the band was going at it like machines and it was well worth the damage it did to my eardrum. I'll have some songs from these guys next week too: (click to enlarge)







So, for those who don't know, Lenny's has just recently moved to a new building down the street from the old one. I was not a big fan of the move at first because I liked the old, crappy, tiny place and that building has a lot of history (like this DVD I have of Cat Power with Steve Shelley drumming there back in 1995 when it was called Dottie's) But the new place is pretty cool, especially the murals across the wall. That said, it was a very unfavorable location for an Explosions In The Sky show. First, the stage is very short and the EITS dudes are often on the ground playing with their pedal gear so most could not see what was going on. The sound setup and "shotgun" building shape combined with the thick sea of people made for greatly different volumes depending on how far away from the stage. Being lucky enough to be in the very front, my concert experience was quite different than most people I've talked to who also attended the show.

While EITS was setting up, all three of the axe wielders came on stage with an old suitcase containing about 7 pedals each. After setting up, they then laid down the rock. The entire set was pretty much one big crescendo. I really can't remember a show where the music had such a steady building momentum. I remember seeing Mogwai twice last year and thinking it was rather "underwhelming" and kid of wondered if post-rock could really grab you in a live setting and EITS proved that i could. The venue exploded in cheers at the Set's conclusion and after the crowd roared for what i thought was an impressive plea for an encore, One of the guys came out and said they didn't have anything else. Encores sometimes seem so cheesy to me that it doesn't bother me when a band comes and just puts forth the show with no bells or whistles and just kicks ass with pure sound. The way the entire show built up and let loose, I can understand why it would be hard to just throw another song in afterwards. Overall, a great show and i highly recommend you check out EITS when they come back (they said they'd be back in the fall). Hopefully they will play in a venue better suited to them. Just make sure to bring some protection for your ears because all I could hear afterwards was ringing until I passed out.

(click on image to see the full size)

Live Review: Producer Battle at Apache Cafe (3-6-2007)

Last Tuesday night I went to Apache Cafe to watch my friend, JR Christ, compete in the Producer Battle. Every Tuesday night, Apache cafe hosts the weekly World Famous Mic Club night there where MCs can battle each other in freestyle competitions. I've been to these many times and have always had a great time. Now, once a month, instead of the MC battles, they have producer battles and this was the first one I have seen. Dres the Beatnik hosts the event and has a lot to do with the success of this weekly. Sometimes there is a live band featured for the MCs, but this night it was DJ Scissor Hands and some other DJ throwing down records.

The way the producer battle works is each producer brings a bunch of one minute tracks they made. It's done tournament style where two producers go head to head in the best of three rounds. Each round, one producer plays a track, then the other producer plays a track, and afterwards the winner is decided by how loud the crowd cheers for each producer, measured by some device that reads the decibels of loudness that Dres wields. 110 decibels marked the best crowd response. When someone scored in the lower 90s, Dres had a catch phrase: "Good Year, Bad Score".

It's obvious that the producer who goes last tends to have an advantage so coin flips decide who goes first. Watching the battles, there were certain things that gave producers clear advantages. The best tracks had a about a 10 second intro/build up and then would explode with some heavy bass and serious beats making the crowd go wild. Getting Dres into a track and having him dance around on stage clearly helps get crowd approval. JR Christ battled the very first battle and won 2-1. In the semifinal round, he battled a very animated character from the Battery 5 crew (which was highly represented in the battles) who had a dance routine for all of his tracks and had some guy sitting close to the stage playing cheerleader for him. JR Christ battled hard losing the first round, winning the second round, and forcing a tie in the third. In the overtime round, the Battery 5 producer dancing on stage with Dres was too much for JR Christ to overcome, but the battle was clearly the best of the night and much respect was given to both.

The most interesting part of the night came in the MC freestyle battles that occurred between the producers battles. Dres explained in detail before the battles began that MCs were expected to freestyle, not come in with a rap they had already written, and that if they caught an MC using something they already wrote, they would be banned from Apache Cafe for life. About halfway through the night, an MC started a battle with what sounded clearly previously composed to even my ear and suddenly Dres stops the kid. All the lights come on inside the club and Dres makes everyone in the place stand up. A mock court goes in session to determine whether the MC was freestyling or not. First, people from the crowd come up and say why they thought he wasn't freestyling, and if there are 3 good reasons, the MC is in serious trouble. This particular MC got called out on having his rhymes not go along with the music, one girl saw him practicing before he went on, and finally none of his words ever specifically addressed the MC he was battling. With this, the MC had one last chance. He had to freestyle about a subject that the audience came up with and prove he can freestyle. The subject that the audience finally settled on was "underground pigeons with herpes at the waffle house". The MC did a somewhat decent attempt, but the final decision would come with the audience cheers for and against banishment from the club, and the crowd overwhelmingly cheered for him to get kicked out. They took a photo of the kid, and he was promptly showed the door. It was such a surreal experience.

I highly suggest checking out Apache Cafe on a Tuesday night, especially the monthly producer battles. It's nice to see a place where true old school hip-hop is still alive and well. Make sure to bring your blunts.

Live Review: Moe. (3-3-2007) The Tabernacle

This past Saturday, I got some free tix to see moe. from my buddy, Kevin and 91.1 (Ga.Tech radio). I used to be really into moe., as I always thought they were one of the best jam bands out there, and thus, I would never miss a show. It’s been a couple of years now since I’ve seen them, and was pretty excited to see what they had been up to. Well, the story of this show starts in the lot.

Moe. plays at the Tabernacle, here in Atlanta every year, they always book at least 2-3 shows in a row, and are well known for their huge lot parties (full of the usual lot shenanagans). When I arrived (what I thought was) “late” to tailgate and whatnot, I was astonished to see such an empty lot. Wondering where all the fans were, I opened up a beer, sat on the trunk and jammed to a small, hippie, bongo circle. I was instantly distracted as the APD started swarming around the lot. Several regularly dressed folks jumped up and started holding guns to people’s heads all around me. One guy in particular, dressed like he was ready to jam with moe., is holding a gun to a guy’s head and using a taser to restrain (and I emphasize) A STONER WHO IS JUST SITTING ON THE GROUND, and then he takes his empty bag that had previously had weed in it (I think he ate it all or something when the undercover ratgirl sitting with him jumped up and yelled, “he’s got it!” while pointing down at the tased victim). People were getting arrested all over the lot.

As I was completely disgusted by this sudden police revolt, I simply wanted to get inside to ‘safety’. Much to my dismay, walking up to the entrance, I see two more kids getting pulled out of the venue in handcuffs, escorted by cops holding sacks of weed.

Before I get too off the topic here over my extreme disapproval of how my tax dollars were being wasted on harmless citizens… on to the actual review of the music.

OH MY F@#KING GOD, they were still playing the same motherf@#king shows I have seen so many times before. No new tricks, jams, or stage/light production. I felt like I was in an inescapable hell (as I did not drive that night). How in the world do these guys still have such a huge following? One answer to that could be that the crowd surrounding me was definitely much younger (high-schoolers, college freshmen, and the like). But regardless, I still cannot understand this huge fascination of the so-called hippies (who are traditionally the type to thrive for revolution and change and innovative music) for this lame-ass band that has been putting on the same show over and over again for years now. To top it all off, moe. closed out the night with a cover of Blue Oyster Cult’s “Don’t Fear the Reaper.” Yeah……I’ve seen them do that at least 3 times before (and I reiterate, this was over 2 years ago!!!); but, hearing that beginning riff was like sweet relief, because I knew I could finally get the f@#k outta there!

I am so over it.

Live Review and Photos: Sparklehorse (3-4-07) Variety Playhouse

Last Sunday's Sparklehorse show was short and sweet, like this review. First up (since Deerhunter dropped out) was Jesse Sykes and The Sweet Hereafter. The band was not bad for an opener but not too impressive either. I'm always kind of put off by a name that's "Somebody" and "the other guys' band name". I mean it's one thing when you're a music legend from some other band, but when you're not even the best musician in your band and the band is backing you, well, it just doesn't feel like they're in it for the music.

Sparklehorse came out and rocked hard and concisely. The set contained only a few songs off the latest Dreamt For Light Years In The Belly Of A Mountain(#14 of 2006), but was very entertaining and i just really love this band. The drummer's daughter was dancing around on the stage most of the set and even had her on a piano or something to play during the show. Biggie C got some great photos as per usual: (click to enlarge)



















Check Out Sparklehorse

Show Review for the Week

So I was originally asked to do a review about the fantastic Mastodon show we attended last Saturday night at Center Stage Atlanta. This, in combination with the sentiment of a few other nameless colleagues, came to illicit a nasty and ugly reaction from me that I'm sure most music people can relate to; I'll tell my story here.

What was so frustrating about the world (read: the people around me that I discuss music with) getting so excited over Mastodon isn't merely the fact that I have been listening to them (and, it follows, sharing my praise with 'the crew') for the better part of five years.... I can handle the redundancy of an old superstar for me being newly discovered by a friend... It happens to me all the time; there are countless bands whose shocking effect on me were the result of my own negligent listening practices; I didn't even get into Pink Floyd until college, for example. But what frustrates is when people forget that you have been going to Mastodon shows for five years only to have a show like the one at Center Stage finally wake your idiot friends up. The Center Stage performance was great, but not in comparison to Mastodon/Darkest Hour at the Echo Lounge in 2004, or Mastodon/Dillinger Escape Plan at the Masquerade six months later. Yes, I am being a pretentious prick, but yes, I told all you motherfuckers so years ago.... Mastodon is an awesome band and I was sure the Center Stage performance was going to be great before I bought the ticket. My only complaint being that there was no encore for the hometown crowd, but then again, the show was probably full of nubile second and third timers anyway.

My point is, instead of wasting my breath on deaf ears, praising an amazing band like Mastodon like I have been doing to no avail for the last 5 years, I want to review another show I attended this week; Red Sparowes/Kylesa/Irreversible. I missed Irreversible's set, but I wanted to mention them here because I've seen them before; they are a promising local band that fit the bill well; experimental stoner jam metal in the vein of Isis, Sleep, etc. I arrived halfway through Kylesa's set, who were a pleasant surprise to see. The last time I saw Kylesa was at the old Velvet Elvis in Savannah (before it became the Jinx), probably about 7 years ago. They have since added a second drummer, which, while somewhat asinine, was used enough to satisfy my skepticism (read: dueling drum solo, and yes, thats all it takes). The highlight of the set was a cover of Pink Floyd's 'Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun', which droned through 10 minutes of the classic riff. I couldn't help but remind myself that the last time I saw that song played was by Roger Waters itself in September.

Red Sparowes totally took me by surprise. The entire post-rock, post-metal, whatever thing has been pretty faddy lately, it seems everyone is getting their fingers into it. Bands like Mogwai and Explosions in the Sky are successfully maintaining movie soundtrack gigs, and the sound's influence can be seen across a staggering array of genres. Red Sparowes really dig into some of the more cliche characteristics of this sound, but without the trite-ness that can come with the repetitively mountainous song dynamics that post-rock bands are usually guilty of. The band consists of members of Isis, which definately is perceptible in the Red Sparowes' set. I would liken it to Isis with less distortion, better drumming, and more delay pedals. The video show also was interesting by virtue of its existence, although not particularly impressive. I would go as far to say that this show was better than Mogwai at the 40 Watt last year, if it must be compared. I know all of Mogwai's music, so they probably had more working against them; but .... if intensity could be the measure of a post-rock band, the Red Sparowes show wins out; I was more overwhelmed. I still don't know any of their songs, but they made a new fan out of me Thursday night, which is the best thing that can happen for both performer and audience member; the beginning of something beautiful.

Yo La Tengo : Live Review

Last Saturday night I went to see Yo La Tengo and it was one the best concert experiences of my life. This was the third time I had technically seen them, but the first was at Bonnaroo and I only caught the last half of the set, and the second time I got so drunk that I had to go sleep on the sidewalk outside the venue halfway through the show. This time though, I arrived exactly at ticket time clean and sober. Well, mostly. I was able to easily secure a spot on the stage right in front of the guitar setup as pretty much everyone there already was sitting in the seats. It ended up being literally the best spot in the house. My view:


Tenement Halls opened and I was not very impressed. It wasn't so much bad, but too conventional poppy and boring for me. Had it been a 5 song set, I think it would have been fine, but 10+ songs from these guys were a little too much for me. After that, though, Yo La Tengo took the stage with Ira Kaplan on the keys and James McNew on guitar for the first two songs and a second, primitive drum set for the third. After that, McNew moved over to bass and Kaplan took the guitar and went into Pass The Hatchet, I Think I'm Good Kind, the opener on Yo La's newest LP, I Am Not Afraid Of You and I Will Beat Your Ass. Before the show, we decided to makeup the term "drogging" for the psychedelic drone-prog-rock jamming that artists such as Kaplan and Thurston Moore employ (someone needs to make a wikipedia page for that), and much drogging was to be had from this point on. They were on top of their game for this show and had alot of funny moments such as McNew telling the story of meeting a bum in LP5, or Georgia Hubley distracting Kaplan while he was talking, or them declaring their love for The Masquerade, or Kaplan stopping Sugarcube about 30 seconds in to tell us about a Jethro Tull show they had just watched where Ian Anderson kept stopping a song. I have to say that seeing Ira convulsing and shaking in the groove while playing like a madman on guitar is a transcending experience:





Pretty much still in shock from the pure awesomeness of the main set, I didn't notice Ira starring at my t-shirt at the beginning of the first set until he addressed me by "hey you with the Built To Spill shirt" and went on to say that I could make a request for all the Built To Spill fans here tonight. I thought he was getting crazy and wanted to do a cover so I requested Carry the Zero, My favourite BTS song. "No, I meant one of our songs" Much laughter ensued and then they played a spectacular version of Stockholm Syndrome (my favourite YTL song) for me with a very Doug Martsch-esque take on the solo. I don't think I've ever felt more of a connection with a band on so many different levels at a show ever before. But that wasn't it. After taking a request from a chick, and playing another great song I didn't recognize, they came out for a second, 3 song encore including a really cool version of Autumn Sweater that had Georgia pounding out beats, James hitting a groove, and Ira singing and hitting a few piano notes here and there. Oh yeah, then they came out for a 3rd encore.







Basically, if you have never seen these guys, you're missing out. The new album is incredible and they are amazing musicians. I'm hearing rumors that they may be at Bonnaroo this year. I sure hope so.

Jeff Tweedy, Atlanta 1/29

Last night's show at the Tabernacle featured an enigmatic and very much in character Jeff Tweedy berating an adoring sold-out crowd. Having ditched his band for a tour in favor of the very direct and effective intimacy of a solo acoustic set, the show was able to wander between his campfire vibe alt-country (for the record, i hate saying that) tunes and Tweedy's confrontational and insecurity-prone banter as freely and unprofessionally as he saw fit. Halting in the middle of the first verse of "Via Chicago", Tweedy asked the audience to help him out --- he had forgotten the lyrics. Adopting the persona of a trapped hero, his surly treatment of the audience brought to mind conventional images of the behavior of other iconic frontmen crowd-bashers (Waters? Corgan?.....Bixler?). Although cautiously, he performed in a way that was ultimately confident in his spell over the audience, who fed off of the tension created by Tweedy's act. I would go as far to say that his use of stage banter holds more merit as a dualistic tool of dynamics; his songs are so delicate and revealing, that by the end, his natural reaction is simply that he must take back what he has given away. 'No, Atlanta, you do not know me as you think you might'. His compensation for what he gives away in song is the rejection of the crowd on a personal level. This tension sets the audience up for the shift in mood back to Tweedy's often melancholy tone within a song. In a strange reversal of roles; for some songs excitement was almost exclusively built in the margins between songs, and torn down during the course of the next song.

As for the actual performance (when Tweedy remembered the words), it was, of course, flawless. His vocals and guitar arrangements were surprisingly complete in covering some of the more instrument-heavy Wilco songs. He was 'prepared' for this set; it's cleanliness once he was in song only supports any argument affirming his stage persona's at least partial superficiality. He played a good spread across his career; heavy on some more recent Wilco hits. Some personal highlights: Heavy metal drummer (in an acoustic set, an obvious extension on the song's irony), The Lonely 1 (as the only man on a stage filled with nothing but 6 guitars, some harmonicas and a rug), and Passenger Side (Chris Carraba don't know shit about sing alongs).

On a side note, the Minus 5 opened as a three piece, apparently with only one member of the original band. They sucked, especially the only dude that was actually in the band.

I would have a hard time considering any other solo acoustic show from any other frontman/artist as engaging. Jeff Tweedy is at the special point in his career where he has the history and catalog to truly develop his character onstage, which he effectively used last night to drag the audience closer by pushing them away............ for 30$ a seat.

1. Spiders (Kidsmoke)
2. new song (Be Patient With Me)
3. Remember The Mountain Bed
4. Cars Can't Escape
5. Promising
6. I Am Trying To Break Your Heart
7. Muzzle Of Bees
8. new song (What Light)
9. The Ruling Class
10. New Madrid
11. Via Chicago
12. Hesitating Beauty
13. Heavy Metal Drummer
14. Gun
15. A Shot In The Arm ]

Encore 1:
16. Someone Else's Song (without PA)
17. Theologians
18. Jesus, Etc.
19. The Lonely 1

Encore 2:
20. I'm The Man Who Loves You
21. Passenger Side
22. Dreamer In My Dreams (without PA)
23. Acuff-Rose (without PA)

Live Show Review: Camera Obscura

Camera Obscura
January 17th, 2007
The Earl, Atlanta, GA

Just got back and it was a good show. They played pretty much everything off of Let's Get Out Of This Country for about an hour and then played a three song encore. The crowd was very talkative and Frontwoman Tracyanne Campbell completely forgot the words at the beginning of one of the songs, but they still shined. A great first show of the year for me and them. Here's a video: