Live Music Spotlight ::: Vampire Weekend at The Fox Theatre

Vampire Weekend

w. Jacuzzi Boys

Monday 05/05/14

Fox Theatre

Atlanta, GA

One thing is certain, Vampire Weekend fans know their lyrics. This entire sold out show was singalong 4,700 concert goers strong. This made for a great atmosphere that felt like a full on party. The mood was set from the beginning as the Brooklyn quartet came out to Drake's 'Worst Behavior'. In late 2013 Ezra Koenig reviewed the Canadian hip hop artist's latest release Nothing Was the Same for The Talkhouse. 

One song Koenig did listen to though was “Worst Behaviour” and was particularly taken by a specific line: the “motherf*****s never loved us” one.

“It really struck a chord,” Koenig explains. “There are SO many motherf*****s out there. I’ve been making music since I was seven years old (started with piano) so I’ve been betrayed more times than I can count. You know how many people talk s*** behind your back and then try to be your best friend over the course of 22 years in the industry?? Drake only got into music like five years ago, so if you see how angry he is — IMAGINE HOW I FEEL.” 

The overall review made headlines on music blogs, becoming more of a story than it was. It's awesome and laughable that they come out to this song, as it is a great mood setter, the band has had many questions as they took a meteoric rise, and it's a kind of wink and nod at the whole thing. 

After taking the stage and a quick lap around, the group quickly broke into their first single, 'Diane Young',  off their latest critically acclaimed album Modern Vampires of the City, which received 2013's best album of the year from multiple publications including Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, and Slant Magazine. This was a song, as well traveled and rehearsed as they are, we wondered how well it would come across live with the voice inflections and modulations. That turned out to be a silly question as it blew the roof off and set the night into a furious dance party. 

As they did for most of the night, the baroque rock group jumped  between their three albums with White Sky coming next off their sophomore release Contra. This song had more energy live thank comes across your home speakers. You didn't have to wait for the first lyrics, "As a young girl" to come from Ezra's lips to get a feverish response from the crowd, as many of their songs do, the opening guitar riff sets about a chain reaction. This was the case for 'Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa'. Returning to their newer material with 'Unbelievers' (video below). The theme heavy song was a fan favorite. As lead singer Ezra Koenig told NME: "Even though that song has some heavy themes about trying to figure out your place in the world and what you believe in and how your beliefs affect your relationships to other people, we don't mind goofing off a little bit." 

Follow us after the jump to see more from Vampire Weekend's Atlanta show, setlist, and future US tour dates!

Live Music Spotlight ::: Arcade Fire at Aaron's Amphitheatre at Lakewood

Arcade Fire
w. tUnE-yArDs & Kid Koala
Friday, 05/02/14
Aaron's Amphitheater at Lakewood
Atlanta, GA
6:30 doors open
7:30 tune yards
8:10 kid koala
8:45 Arcade Fire

We don't like to pump up a single show or album too much, because we understand music, as much as anything is very opinion driven.  A song can be listened to many times, but when it is heard that one time in the right setting, at the right time, or with the right people it can click instantaneously.  With only one of us having seen Arcade Fire, it was easy to believe in their talent, reputation, and work ethic to know this was a 'can't miss concert' in Atlanta.

To fully discuss this show the first thing that needs to be discussed is expectations and hype.  Arcade Fire is largely regarded throughout the music scene as the best live act on the road today.  Some of our group had been waiting nearly five years to see Arcade Fire due to various complications.  You were always told how incredible they are live and it builds into something in your mind is larger than life.  But there is that tiny doubt in the back of your head that whispers, “You love Arcade Fire, but can they really live up to these outlandish expectations that you have created?” The answer to that question was destroyed in the first 3 seconds on the show with a resounding “YES.” You can watch their live shows on TV or the internet, listen to countless audio recordings from shows, but nothing prepares you for what is to come. 

From the onset of listening to sound check you can tell how much not only Win Butler, but the entire ensemble puts in to each second of each song. The times retaking and practicing a song from the beginning during at the end of a US tour was impressive. They also worked on their cover of 'Tequila' into 'Normal Person' numerous times. In the actual show they only played about 10 seconds of 'Tequila' (aka Zima) and Win seemed less than thrilled with it, just because it wasn't completely perfect. This wasn't a bad thing, just a snapshot of how much they care and want to make everything perfect for the audience.  Very few artists of this caliber strive to not only give the fans a perfect show, but make each show a different memorable experience.  Too many bands these days write up one setlist for a tour and it doesn’t change for the rest of the year.

The set up of the concert was perfect with the openers to make quick transitions and leave very little downtime between sets. We found it a little weird that Aaron's parking did not open until 5:30p, with gates opening at 6:30p. It might be that we're use to seeing people tailgating for hours at Lakewood and Verizon around shows like Phish, Widespread Panic, and Dave Matthews that all have their own following and the parking lot turns into it's own event.

tUnE-yArDs came on promptly at 7:30p, but to very little fanfare as it was a late arriving crowd. We're sure many people were coming from work or studying for exams and had to fight rush hour traffic along with a home Braves game, just two exits away. Tune-Yards is the music project of New England native Merrill Garbus. When performing live, Garbus creates drum loops on the spot, and layers these with ukulele, and vocals, in addition to electric bass played by Nate Brenner. She mentioned and thanked her new touring band with included two high energy wood drummers/dancers, a talented, percussionist Dani Markham who also added vocals. Merrill's setup and display is impressive, but her yodeling can easily be lost on the audience. The highlight of the set was probably the beginning when Arcade Fire’s own Sarah Neufield came on stage to play her violin along to the opening song. This was the last stop on her tour with Arcade Fire, as she mentioned multiple times how thankful she was for being asked to join them. Between having been on tour for some time, the impending release of her new album Nikki Nack (available this Tueday), and the seemingly small crowd you could tell she was exhausted, though she gave it her all.

The quick transition between tUnE-yArDs and Kid Koala was mere minutes as the Montreal native's DJ booth setup was off to one corner of the stage. This was a perfect setup as it allowed for the breakdown of Tune-yards and the production that is setting out the ten plus instrumental arrangements for the night's headliner. Kid Koala put on a great show as a throw back to the original DJs who spin multiple vinyls and even works without headphones and did so flawlessly. With mixes of our own Outkast and Roy Orbinson tributes for Mother's Day, he was on top of his game.

Check out what Arcade Fire did to bring the house down after the jump

LIVE MUSIC SPOTLIGHT ::: CHILDISH GAMBINO AT THE MASQUERADE MUSIC PARK

For the writers of this blog, this was a show that we could not have been more excited for. Donald Glover is one of the most talented people in entertainment today. From writing for 30 Rock at age 25 to starring on Community to having a great stand-up comedy following, Glover was already more accolmplished than most people his age, but that wasn't enough. His first love was music and he took that step in the form of Childish Gambino. From seeing him at Bonnaroo in 2012 fresh off the release of his first real album Camp, we really wanted to see if his live show had evolved as much as his songwriting and production had. That question was answered very quickly at this show. Because the Internet showed just how much he had evolved as a rapper from mostly rapping about girls and how everybody doubted him to asking meaningful questions about life, existence, and how the hype surrounding the internet has turned people into followers and sheep at times. He still leaves some time to rap about girls, but on a much more sophisticated level that shows how much he has matured as an artist.

The first thing that we noticed about this show was the production value. The tour is called the "Deep Web Tour" and attendees can download the Deep Web app that only works onsite and turns the show into an interactive experience. As you can see in the picture to the right, there was one part of the show that allowed app users to vote on "how they were feeling." Another really cool aspect of this show was how it tied in to the concept of the album. Because the Internet is a concept album that Glover wrote an accompanying screenplay for. In the screenplay, Childish Gambino is "The Boy", a young adult living in a mansion with his friends, dealing drugs, and trolling people on the internet. At the show, the stage had a large screen where an image of the inside of a mansion was projected onto. There were also people in the background sitting on couches and just acting like they were hanging out. At one point (during the song The Party), "The Boy" gets fed up with everything and kicks everyone out of his house. At the end of the Because the Internet portion of the show, Gambino performed the song Earth: The Oldest Computer (The Last Night). While the song is going on, the "mansion" in the background starts to crumble and fall to the ground. This is one (of MANY) of the instances where the production value was amazing. 

(Crawl)

(WORLDSTAR)

(Shadows)

 

(The Party)

Follow us after the jump for more video and insight

New Music Spotlight ::: A Review of St. Paul & The Broken Bones - Half the City

ST. PAUL AND THE BROKEN BONES – HALF THE CITY

Ever head of St. Paul & the Broken Bones? Before you listen to them, here is a picture of them. Now we’re not ones to make assumptions, but when we first saw this six-piece band come across the for show announcements the initial thought was indie-folk stringers, more of what’s hot right now. Well you know what they say about assumptions. The truth is this sextet from Birmingham, Alabama has recreated a sound as rare as any in music, emotion packed soul with gospel winged tipped vocals dripping with musical talent. It’s not James Brown, Otis Redding, or Charles Bradley you’re hearing, but the pipes of Paul Janeway. Going by the stage name St. Paul, like many soul giants before him he was raised in a small town with gospel music as an influence. Matching his golden voice are the Broken Bones comprised of Browan Lollar (guitar, vocals), Andrew Lee (drums, percussion), Jesse Phillips (bass), Allen Branstetter (trumpet), and Ben Griner (trombone, tuba). The ensemble began in 2011 around the time fellow capstone state natives, Alabama Shakes (who’s Ben Tanner, produced Half the City), started making grumbling in the musical belly. Similarly styled, I hope they’re strapped in for a similar meteoric rise to the hearts and ears of music fans everywhere.

The group’s first LP, Half the City is the work of years of playing small shows, and enough enthusiastic post-gig pats on the back to give the group enough confidence to focus on the band and postpone previous career paths. With the release of Half the City those previous career plans seem to be put on hold. For having such an entrancing voice the Broken Bones shine just as bright and compliment the throttling screams. The album opens with a simple collection of percussion, bass lines, and horns that tempt St. Paul’s heavenly cords out to play on ‘I’m Torn Up’ a song with emotion that makes you feel part of the relationship. ‘Don’t Mean a Thing’, another passion filled relationship reflection likens a foregone love to losing his kingdom and even if you didn’t understand the English language you could deduce as much just from listening. At the age of 10, Janeway was being groomed to become a preacher where he mastered the pulpit as he does the stage. It’s on songs like “Call Me” that you can hear this soul-raising ability come through channeling the Godfather of Soul, Mr. James Brown. The record is a complete balance between vocals and instrumentals with neither outshining the other, which is difficult with the clout that each brings. ‘That Glow’ takes Half the City to a melodic stream of horn and keys to match controlled belting and a hypnotic guitar. The middle chapter of the album ‘Broken Bones & Pocket Change’ is a song that brought Janeway and former friend Jesse Phillips back together and into the studio for what later became this jaw dropping collection. It’s easy to see when this song was laid down why they realized it could be something big. ‘Sugar Dyed’ begins a string of upbeat, optimistic songs reminiscent of Chicago.

 The album closes with ‘It’s Midnight’ a story of a mother consoling her son after love lost as only a southern mother could. The perfect ending to this storybook album, the horn heavy track with tickled ivories evokes the feeling of last call on a long night. The twelve track debut comes across beautifully for a group that made their reputation on earth shattering live-performances.

Top Tracks

Call Me

I’m Torn Up

Like a Mighty River

B Rating: 85

R Rating: 89

Overall: 87

Local Dates: Thursday 03/20/14 w. Betsy Franck, Tedo Stone at the Georgia Theatre

Like this album? Try….from 2013 

Charles Bradley – Victim of Love

James Blake – Overgrown

Aaron Neville – My True Story

Justin Timberlake – 20/20 Experience

New Music Spotlight ::: Album Review of St. Vincent - St. Vincent

ST. VINCENT – ST VINCENT

If a modern day Mount Rushmore for the women of indie music was erected (not a bad idea for a posting…stay tuned) there’s no doubt Annie Clark would garner her fair share of the discussion. Better known to the masses as St. Vincent, she has created a sound all her own by cultivating various elements into a wild chamber of pop-rock explosion. Raised in Dallas, Texas she learned to play guitar at twelve before working through her teens as the tour manager for her uncle’s band. She had a three year stint at Boston’s Berklee College of Music before returning to the lone star state. Shortly after her homecoming she joined the rock army that is the Polyphonic Spree. In 2006 Clark left TPS to tour as part of musical mastermind, Sufjan Stevens’ band.

After nearly a year on the road Annie began her transition to St. Vincent. Originating from Saint Vincent Catholic Medical Center where poet Dylan Thomas died in 1953. Deciding a place where ‘poetry goes to die’ fit her persona perfectly. She took the moniker after hearing it in Nick Cave’s ‘There She Goes My Beautiful World’. In July of 2007 she released her debut Marry Me (yes, it’s an homage to the Arrested Development line) to rave reviews. Since her beginning she shared the attention commanding sounds shared by her former associated acts, but with her own added flair. She has since recorded and released 2009’s Actor, Strange Mercy two years later, and collaborated with former Talking Heads’ lead singer David Bryne on Love This Giant in 2012.

In St. Vincent’s opening song ‘Rattlesnake’ it’s easy to picture the violet-tinged curls bouncing along to “sweatin, sweatin” in a Walking Dead-esque summer heat. The guitar sliding track delivers her voice and brings the scene to life. On December 9^th, 2013 St. Vincent announced the upcoming album release and immediately uploaded “Birth in Reverse” for free download. The track is a manic mashing of 80s dance party meets raw Sublime-like lyrics that create a get up and go energy that won’t be ignored on any set list during her upcoming tour.  Annie’s lingering voice carries the Pinocchio-like fairytale driven track, ‘Prince Johnny’ channeling early works from the First Lady of Pop, Madonna. The Disney theme isn’t new to St. Vincent as she has stated that her sophomore album Actor was inspired by many of their films.

Beginning with the fifth track, Digital Witness, the album really becomes magical. The second single off her self-titled album came in mid-January.  The horn rich track demands “give me all of your mind, I want all of your mind” and there’s no negotiation. Movement invoking instruments leave the listener spellbound, with no choice but to nod along to beat. Not ready to release her captive audience, St. V serenades on ‘I Prefer Your Love’ over simple drums and strings. The song discusses her closeness with her mother, written when her mom was ill (she has since recovered). What is left is a sigh of relief and a beautiful account of their bond. ‘Bring Me Your Loves’ channels tUnE-yArDs like afro-beat looping reverbs into one of the more electronic selections on the album. The electric feel continues of the remaining three songs.  Throughout the album, St. Vincent shows off her amazing musical range and leaves the listener in an entranced fog. The only negative would be St. Vincent could have been better tracked.  The different sounds often come one after another and can come away as choppy.

It’s no coincidence that Miss Clark is sitting on a futuristic throne of the cover of St. Vincent. It’s a royal seat she’s commanded time and time again with each new venture. It may be time to crown the new queen of indie pop-rock.

Top Tracks

Digital Witness

I Prefer Your Love

Regret

Rattlesnake

Psychopath

B Rating:  86

R Rating: 89

Overall:  87.5

Local Dates: Saturday 03/08/14 w. Noveller at The Tabernacle

Like this album? Try….from 2013

Born Ruffians – Birthmarks

Glasser – Interiors

Bats for Lashes – The Haunted Man

Au Revoir Simone – Move in Spectrums

The Polyphonic Spree – Yes, It’s True 

Festival Spotlight ::: Bonnaroo & Party in the Park Additions

Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival
June 13-16
Great Stage Park ::: Manchester, TN

Namely the additions of The Mowgli's, ON AN ON, Wake Owl, Capital Cities and He's My Brother, She's My Sister are amazing additions toward the bottom of the lineup.
Also, this will mark the first year of an exclusive EDM tent. One of the three (This, That, or Other tent will now be an EDM tent.

Updated Bonnaroo Playlist

Party in the Park

May 19
Centennial Olympic Park ::: Atlanta, GA

Yeasayer is a great addition, on par with the level of act anticipated, but a better choice than I expected.