Twin Shadow at the Glass House

Check out my photos of Twin Shadow, Poolside and Mini Mansions at the Glass House over at Stereogum.

Them Crooked Vultures at the Wiltern Theatre

As 2009 winds down and "Best of" lists start to appear across the internet, Them Crooked Vultures should be perched high upon those lists. If you could enter the equation of John Paul Jones + Josh Homme + Dave Grohl into a calculator, the calculator would and should explode. This combination exploded in real life on stage at the Wiltern, as they celebrated the release of their magnificent eponymous debut album.

Mini Mansions




I didn't hear who was opening the West coast dates for Them Crooked Vultures but quickly surmised it would be Mini Mansions since they opened up the East Coast dates. I previously saw Mini Mansions twice when they opened for Autolux at the Detroit Bar and enjoyed their '70s flavored psychedelic pop.

I was busy shooting the first three songs but did enjoy "Majik Marker". As a reminder, it is Michael Shuman from Queens of the Stone Age playing drums, guitars and vocals. Tyler Parkford shares the vocal duties while laying down the haunting piano chords while Zach Dawes switches between drums and bass. They have an 8 song EP that you can get here.

Them Crooked Vultures



The cheers from the capacity crowd at the Wiltern were deafening when the members of Them Crooked Vultures emerged from the shadows. The sonic boom you may have heard last night was the introduction to the sludgy "No One Loves Me and Neither Do I".

It was hard not to take my eyes of John Paul Jones who was playing a custom bizarre bass made by Manson basses. I recognized the contraption since it has a Korg Kaoss Pad installed in the body just like Matt Bellamy from Muse. John was creating some out of this world alien screams with the help of a slide.

"Dead End Friends" could have been a lost "A-side" from the Queens of the Stone Age's Songs for The Deaf with its boozy start and stop swagger. Speaking of booze, "Mind Eraser, No Chaser" sounded like a full on bar room brawl with thunderous drumming courtesy of Dave Grohl. One must really see Dave drum live in order to fully appreciate how hard he slams his drums. I am surprised the drum kit was still standing at the conclusion of their set.




The howling metallic guitar screams of "Scumbag Blues" punctuated the marching drum beat and stomping bass line. I have attended many shows at the Wiltern and this by far was the loudest. "Elephants" starts a little bluesy but quickly devolves into a runaway freight train before the brakes are applied for a groovy coasting pace.

While formal introductions didn't necessarily need to be made, Josh introduced the band. It was appropriate that John Paul Jones got the loudest ovation with Josh quipping "He's my favorite too". Dave Grohl demonstrated his drum mastery again with the walloping intro of "New Fang".

I was surprised to see Josh play a Fender Telecaster during some of the songs as he did for "Reptiles" as Dave Grohl assisted on background vocals. "Gunman" just plain rips with its memorable face melting riff and hi-hat crush. I could easily take a full album of "Gunman" type songs.




John Paul Jones took a turn on the organ for "Caligulove" while Josh and Alain Johannes attacked your eardrums with their massive guitar riffs. Josh's vocals were soaked in delay and reverb for the hallucinogenic "Spinning with Daffodils". The encore seemed took on an extended jam session vibe as they deconstructed "Warsaw Or The First Breath You Take After You Give Up". At the conclusion of their set, I know Them Crooked Vultures will be placed high on my year end lists of memorable concerts.

Them Crooked Vultures Setlist at the Wiltern (11/17/09)
"No One Loves Me & Neither Do I"
"Dead End Friends"
"Mind Eraser, No Chaser"
"Scumbag Blues"
"Elephants"
"Highway One"
"New Fang"
"Reptiles"
"Gunman"
"Bandoliers"
"Interlude with Ludes"
"Caligulove"
"Spinning in Daffodils"
"Warsaw or the First Breath You Take After You Wake Up"

Autolux at the Detroit Bar

Autolux continue to be a staple of my live reviews here at Amateur Chemist. I caught their show at the Detroit Bar earlier this year for OC Weekly and was blown away. I was fired up for a repeat sonic drubbing.

The Dabbers




I thought that mustache looked familiar. It belonged to Zach Wentz (Drums,Vocals) who was pounding away on his mini Gretsch drum kit while fronting The Dabbers. I remembered Zach from his stint in Kill Me Tomorrow. Shelby Gubba (Bass) was pretty in polka dots rocking a Epiphone Thunderbird bass muddied up by a Pro Co Rat distortion pedal.

"And I Was Like, And They Were All" crackled like an old tune coming from a transistor radio with Shelby adding background vocal harmonies to Zach's poem reading vocals. "Afraid of Catching" is another bass guided tune in a similar league of Death From Above 1979. The Dabbers received a pretty good response from the Detroit Bar. I wonder if this is a side project for Zach or a full time gig because it is tough to decide which band I prefer.

Mini Mansions




Mini Mansions continue to make waves. Ironically, I last caught up with them when they opened for Autolux at the Detroit Bar in April. Mini Mansions supported Autolux for the entire tour which definitely helped refine their set and improve their chemistry.

Mini Mansions worked through a few songs on their myspace page and even included an interesting cover of "Heart Of Glass". "Majik Marker" was the standout of the set with its skewed Beach Boys and Pink Floyd vibe. Mini Mansions recently scored another major gig opening for Them Crooked Vultures out on the East Coast. I will be keeping a close eye on their progress and you should too.

Autolux






The wait for a new Autolux album continues to test the patience of their devoted fanbase. After hearing a bunch of new songs on this particular evening, I think the wait will be well worth it. A syncopated drum shuffle combined with the guitar wizardry of Greg Edwards started things off with the new song "Census". The familiar guitar howls of feedback for "Audience No. 2" from their pending album Transit Transit convinced me that Autolux never lets me down in the live performance department.

One might suspect that playing material from their first album must be bordering on tedious for Autolux. I was surprised to hear some new sonic twists during "Subzero Fun". Carla would add a little extra drum fill or Eugene would add a touch of bass feedback. I grew excited to see how Autolux would rework some of their older material. "Capital Kind Of Strain" and "Plantlife" oozed with buzzsaw fuzz guitars and Eugene's ethereal vocals lifting the tunes.

Carla would take on the vocal duties for "The Science of Imaginary Solutions" after Greg triggers the guitar loop that propels the song. "Kissproof" is another new song that will blow you away. Carla was crushing her drums while Eugene added a loopy bass line amongst the guitar washes of Greg. Autolux is simply on another level.

"Robots In The Garden" and "Blanket" were revisited from the past until Carla triggered her MPC for the oblique sounding "Highchair". The characteristic drum intro of "Turnstile Blues" garnered cheers from the adoring crowd as they closed out their main set. "Reappearing" and "Headless" were the encore selections that ended the evening with Greg turning up his amps to 10 to let the audience drown in feedback as a mini ode to My Bloody Valentine. I only hope that I have the new album in my hands before I see them again.

Chemical Reactions

A slew of new releases continue to bombard the music fan. Bands need to release albums in order to have an excuse to tour, so I imagine the average cycle between albums for bands will generally shorten.

It also won't be uncommon to see some bands do 2 or 3 tours supporting one album. I honestly can't remember seeing this many great bands on tour at once. It only looks to get worse as bands realize the only way to make money these days is tour or to be Josh Freese.

Gliss

Devotion Implosion obliterates any notion of a sophomore slump for my favorite Los Angeles based trio, Gliss. The recording of this album was meticulous, as the sounds and tones are well-crafted. "29 Acts Of Love" immediately attacks you with a noise burst before intoxicating you with its groovy bass and shattered glass guitars.

I wasn't familiar with any of the new material when I caught them at Spaceland in February, but immediately recognized most of the songs when I listened to the cd. This very rarely happens. Gliss will be playing the Roxy on June 5th.

Great Northern

Another band avoiding the sophomore slump would be Great Northern. Remind Me Where The Light Is is extremely strong from start to finish. This album begs to be licensed to a movie soundtrack or various commercials. While Solon Bixler (Guitars/Vocals) doesn't sing on as many songs as I would have liked, he upped the ante in the sound department and conjured some intricate textures for the album.

Even though there is less of Solon, having more of Rachel Stolte (Vocals) is not necessarily a complaint as she really stretches out her vocals and becomes more of the focal point of the band. The recommended song for you to check out would be "Warning" with its lonely drumbeat and haunting piano riff that builds until it explodes into a climatic chorus. Great Northern will be hitting up the Echoplex with The Dears and Eulogies on May 23. I previously saw Great Northern rock the Roxy back in March.

Metric

If you want to talk about singing for the fences, I say look to Metric. I haven't seen Metric since October of 2007 when they played the Download Festival in San Francisco. I remember when I wrote that review that I heard the song "Stadium Love" and couldn't find it in their catalog.

Fantasies fulfills the promise of "Stadium Love" and I won't be surprised when Metric starts rocking stadiums with their batch of synthesizer fueled anthems. It should also be noted that Metric (along with Josh Freese) have wisely employed Topspin to distribute their album. Metric will be playing the Wiltern on June 8th.

Mini-Mansions

Another band that recently caught my eye was the emergence of Mini-Mansions which features the musical talents of Michael Shuman from Queens of the Stone Age and Wires On Fire. I was impressed when I saw them open for Autolux at the Detroit Bar.

Self-described as "Dark Comedy" music, I picked up more of a Replacements mixed with psychedelic vibe. We all know Michael shreds on the bass, but it is nice to see him step out and display some of his other musical skills. I will keep you posted on any upcoming shows.

Autolux at the Detroit Bar

Check out my photos of Autolux and The Pity Party at the Detroit Bar over at OC Weekly. This was easily one of the top 5 shows ever at the Detroit Bar.