Photos: Evangelicals, This Piano Plays Itself, Sound On Film @ Drunken Unicorn (6/30/09)

Sound On Film:

More Sound On Film photos

This Piano Plays Itself:


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SXSW Day 2 (Thursday): I Guess I’m Gloating


All Photos by Clint Miller

We started day two with a mad dash through traffic to make it to the I Guess I’m Floating day party in time to catch Oh No Oh My. We made it moments after they began their set, and they went on to play all my favourites off of Dmitrij Dmitrij plus a new one. It was a really good first set of the day.

Next up was a band called Arizona. I have no idea how I have heard of this band, but for some reason the name sticks out to me. They turned out to be great, with some serious guitar jams. The lead singer had a really unique, weird voice that added an interesting dimension to their sound. Check it:


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Ohmpark Mixtape #5: Holiday Chillout Mix

For this mix, I worked hard to pick out the very best holiday songs I could find from the artists we heart and put them together in a dreamy, surreal, maybe creepy sort of overall piece. For instance, Evangelicals have a Christmas song b-side from somewhere, but there’s something more special about “Snowflakes” from The Evening Descends that just sets the mood I’m going for much more appropriately. I hope you enjoy, and happy holidays to all of you!

Au : I’ll Be Home For Christmas
Bodies Of Water w/ No Small Kindness : O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
Snowden : White Christmas
Atlas Sound : Requiem For All The Lonely Teenagers With Passed Out Moms
My Morning Jacket : Silent Night
Death Cab For Cutie : Christmas (Baby Please Come Over)
Evangelicals : Snowflakes
Deerhoof : Little Drummer Boy
Sufjan Stevens : O Holy Night
Low : Blue Christmas

Evangelicals (10/09/08) at The Drunken Unicorn in Atlanta, GA

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“What’s the deal?” I read from my phone, a message from Davy. He’s already at The Drunken Unicorn enjoying a opening set from Atlanta’s Tealights. The deal is I’m currently meandering through sweaty dancing Hot Chip fans on the way out of Variety Playhouse because the security oaf won’t let me sneak out the side door during the encore. Shortly after I arrive to the Drunken Unicorn to see a small turnout for Evangelicals (maybe 25 people) which is a bit bittersweet as I’d hoped more people would be into one of my current favorite bands. The set consisted mostly of songs from one of this year’s most stellar albums, The Evening Descends. As much as I like the production on the album, the song’s stand out on their own in a live setting.

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What Up In The ATL?

Best shows in Atlanta from October 6th – 12th:

Monday:

Hollow Stars @ 97 Estoria

The Roots @ Tabernacle

Wednesday:

Say Hi, Jukebox The Ghost, Sleep Therapy @ Drunken Unicorn

Thursday:

Hot Chip, Growing @ Variety Playhouse

Evangelicals, Chainestereo, Tealights @ Drunken Unicorn

Pattern Is Movement, We Versus The Shark, Pegasuses-XL @ Under The Couch

Cordero, Batata Doce @ The Earl

Friday:

Ra Ra Riot @ Drunken Unicorn

Saturday:

The Allman Brothers Band @ Chastain

Evangelicals : The Halloween Song
Say Hi : These Fangs
Pattern Is Movement : Bird
Ra Ra Riot : Dying Is Fine

Photos: SXSW Day 2 – 3-13-08 in Austin, TX

Genghis Tron

Holy Fuck

Phosphorescent

Evangelicals

Bon Iver

SXSW 2008 Day 3: Friday

I started out my Friday trying to catch Bon Iver again because my camera ran out of batteries the night before right after they started and I wanted to get some videos, but I arrived at Emo’s too late to get anywhere near the front, so i just enjoyed some more of their stuff and moved on to the next venue. I caught the end of another Kaki King set, wich was cool because I missed the very end of the set i caught Wednesday night.

After that it was time to catch Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin. One of the guitarists had broken his amp, so they played as a 3 piece instead, and it really sounded to me like something was missing, so I left after a few songs.

After getting a great steak and brie sandwich at some weird biker bar, I went to see Evangelicals again. It was hard to hear the vocals in the particular spot I was in the night before, plus I really love this album, so I was very happy to catch them do another stunning show. That is another cool thing about this festival; If I want to see a band I love multiple times, it is no problem. Here is some live videos:

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SXSW 2008 Day 2: Thursday

Yesterday I started my day at Emo’s, but it was so crowded and I wasn’t really digging the bands I heard so, I dipped out across the street to the Brooklyn Vegan party at Emo’s Annex (there are about 700 different Emo’s venues) because the BV party the night before was so much fun. I caught a band called WHY? that was pretty good.

After that, I decided to just walk up and down the main strip and listen to the music coming from each bar and try to discover some bands I hadn’t heard of. Outside some Irish pub I heard a really intriguing band, so I went inside to check them out. It was a band from Dublin, Ireland called Delorentos. They were total dance-rock, like Bloc Party before they started getting all soft and lame. I got a live video, but Google video is acting hella lame today, so I can’t post the plethora of vids i took yesterday until a later date. But I did manage to find their official video(although I don’t think it is their best song):

After some more walking around I heard another band that sounded promising from a dive called Agave. The Brooklyn, New York trio Appomattox rocked really hard, doing loud post-punky rock.

After that it was time to head back to the Annex, where I caught Men, members of Le Tigre doing the laptop DJ thing. The day before, me and Biggie C were discussing this new trend where bands go DJ and how most of the time they aren’t that good at it, but this was an exception as they rocked the dance floor hard.

After that, it was time for Phosphorescent, one of the artists I was most excited about seeing at SXSW. He put on a great performance, doing much heavier versions of his stuff than I would have guessed considering how soft and low-key the album is.

Near the end of the show, I noticed Matthew Houck kept looking at someone in the crowd and cracking up laughing. I finally heard someone screaming stuff at him and turned around. It turned out to be Miles Seaton of Akron/Family acting like he was an obsessed fan. For the Phosphorescent finale, he came down into the audience and sang to the Akron/Family boys:

After that, we stuck around and caught Holy Fuck. I’m not much of a dancer and these days it takes something really special to get me to throw down, but Holy Fuck is just the perfect combination of dance music and noise for me to get really into it. You ATLiens who will be around town on Monday really need to go down to The Drunken Unicorn and catch them playing with A Place To Bury Strangers and Atlanta’s badasses All The Saints.

After a short break in the onslaught of great shows, I went and caught Islands. They played almost nothing but new material, and it sounds great. I took a ton of videos, so expect those to show up here sometime in the next few weeks.

After that, it was on to Mohawk’s patio to catch one of then night’s best line-ups. I got there just in time to catch the end of another Phosphorescent set, where he closed with a 10 minute vocal looping jam. After that, I discovered another great act from California called Bodies Of Water. Really cool stuff with lots of vocal harmonizations. They will be at The Earl Monday night with Sons And Daughters so there is another hot Atlanta St. Patty’s Day show you can catch.

Then it was time for Evangelicals. I have been in total love with their new album, so I had been really hyped up for this show. They did not disappoint. They came out with massive blacklights and a fog machine, dressed in a style that was half goth, half candy-raver, and went through songs off the new record. Again, expect many live videos to pop up around here in the near future.

Next up on the outdoor stage was Bon Iver. They went through a handful of the beautiful songs on For Emma, Forever Ago, and wow did they sound good. If you have yet to pick up this album, you are missing out.

After that, we switched up things entirely by seeing Indian Jewelry. I would describe their sound as Liars meets Atlanta’s Subliminator. It was a spectacle of strobe lights and minimalist percussionists that were there more to dance than to make music. Very interesting show.

We closed out the night at Emo’s Outside stage. I got there just in time for the end of Islands’ set, but this time they closed with the amazing “Swans (Life After Death)”. Unfortunately, the one dark moment of the entire festival came as some sound guy walked out on stage with a few minutes left in the song right and the PA shut off. They actually cut off their last song. Nick Thorburn found a microphone that was still hooked into the PA and yelled “Fuck SXSW!” Everyone started booing, it was a crazy scene.

After that debacle, We ended our night with an awesome set from Austin’s The Octopus Project.

It’s on to more music, so I’ll holla at you later.

What The Hell Am I Listening to?!?

Evangelicals (Norman, Oklahoma)

I think right now if I had to pick my favourite album to come out this year, it would probably be Evangelicals‘ second album, The Evening Descends. It is so psychedelic and so operatic. This is one of those albums where I get excited as each new song begins. The kaleidoscopic sonic journey certainly gives a nod to fellow Oklahomans The Flaming Lips as well as many other folks, but the last thing you could accuse this band of is being unoriginal with its mix of influences. If you haven’t rocked this one yet, don’t delay any longer:

Skeleton Man
Party Crashin’

Evangelicals Myspace

Buy The Evening Descends Here

Beck (Los Angeles, Ca)

Beck is one of my favourite musicians and every time I return to one of his albums, I fall in love with what he does all over again. I recently picked up a copy of the Deluxe Odelay, and have been partying like its 1996. I have really enjoyed the Deluxe reissues I have picked up over the years as they are always full of fun extras, but I have to say this may be the best Deluxe album version I’ve got yet in terms of bonus material. Very much worth purchasing:

Brother
Strange Invitation
Beck Myspace

Buy Odelay (Deluxe) Here