Mew at the Detroit Bar

Detroit Bar is having one heck of a year. Autolux, Dinosaur Jr., School of Seven Bells, Ra Ra Riot, Foreign Born, Chairlift, Grand Duchy, We Are Scientists and Los Campesinos! have all rocked the Detroit Bar this year. If I were forced to crown the show of the year at the Detroit Bar, it would hands down have to be Mew.

Free Lions




It has been a year since I last caught up with Free Lions at Spaceland. Things have apparently changed as they have reconfigured their band and added some extra members. Free Lions had some family members in the audience cheering them on and they performed a variety of different songs touching elements of pop, progressive, ballads and moments of space rock. In a year, they have garnered 8291 hits to their myspace page. They should be extremely pleased that they opened for Mew.

Mew






Mew captivates live. It may take a few listens to fully appreciate their recorded material, but seeing them live is another experience. I first caught them at Street Scene in 2006 and was reeled in by the astonishing vocal range of Jonas Bjerre (Vocals/Guitars).

I was excited to see them open for Nine Inch Nails at the Hollywood Palladium and was hoping that the Nine Inch Nails fan could appreciate their ethereal space dream rock. The jangly knife sharp guitars of "Circuitry of The Wolf" bled into the swirling "Chinaberry Tree" from their album And The Glass Handed Kites to open the set.

Bo Madsen (Guitars) soon reached for his Danelectro baritone guitar for a chunky version of "Special" that trailed into "The Zookeeper's Boy". I was up at the front of the stage and water started to drip from the ceiling as the temperature was rapidly increasing. It wasn't like the oven of Nine Inch Nails at the Echoplex but comes in a solid second place.

Accompanying the members of Mew on the stage was the tour manager, a guitar tech and a sound mixer to make the stage quite crowded. The number of people on stage had a purpose though since the sound was perfectly mixed. Mew finally dipped into their new material with the tropical sounding "Hawaii Dream" and "Hawaii" from their latest album No More Stories.

"Beach" is my favorite track off their new album with its disjointed time signature changes and wobbly bass line. Mew returned to some older favorites with "Am I Wry" and "156" with a barrage of their unique visuals being projected along the back wall of the Detroit Bar. Bo Madsen would again display his guitar skills with the wrinkly riff of "Repeaterbeater".

As tired as I was from going to concerts four nights in a row, I felt a surge of energy during "Introducing Palace Players" that helped me make the drive home. By no seeming coincidence, Mew closed the evening with "Comforting Sounds" which couldn't have been anymore fitting for a banner night at the Detroit Bar.

Pigeon Detectives and Lemon Sun at Spaceland

A balmy Saturday night was the setting for a trio of divergent bands to grace the stage at Spaceland. I seem to keep missing Lemon Sun who have been playing the local circuit for quite some time. I was also curious about The Pigeon Detectives who have a large fanbase in the UK.

Free Lions




Free Lions unassuming took to the stage and announced they were happy to be at Spaceland. A curious two guitar setup with drums and two alternating singers. This unique arrangement was indicative of their melodic space tinged pop songs. Calvin (Guitars) had an Epiphone hollowbody guitar that howled when used an ebow to start off one of their songs. They have about 1056 profile views on their Myspace page and currently are working on an EP . Free Lions will be playing the Detroit Bar on October 14 as part of the free local band Tuesday showcase.

Lemon Sun





It clear that Lemon Sun came out of the gates with something to prove. An assortment of people started to shake and dance their way to the front of the stage which only gave the band more energy. "Congratulate Our Thievery" sizzled with an overdriven opening guitar line and hard thumping bass. It also didn't take long for the vocal harmonies and keyboards to nuzzle their way into the mix. A hard driving drumbeat combined with another weaving overdriven guitar line entitled "Run With The Faithless" raised the temperature a few notches. "The Thrill" slowed down things for a bit as the guitars went back and forth between clean and lightly distorted tones. Lemon Sun quickly ran out of time and the cheers for another encore were dashed when the house music went up. I potentially see a residency in their future.

Pigeon Detectives





The Pigeon Detectives seemed confined by the smaller stage as Matt Bowman (Vocals) furiously paced the stage back and forth. "This Is An Emergency" was their opening track that musically fell in the same vein as Arctic Monkeys and The Strokes. The Pigeon Detectives are signed to Dance To The Radio records which is founded by the guitarist from Forward Russia who is also from Leeds. High profile shows with The Kaiser Chiefs and Kasabian have significantly raised their profile, but they have yet to release any material here in the states.

"Take Her Back" had a punk swagger to the tune that reminded me of the Swingin Utters as Matt grabbed a girl from the audience and proceeded to sing to her. My initial thoughts of how they sounded like The Strokes came to mind again during "Everybody Wants Me" as the guitar melody was oddly familiar. "I'm Not Sorry" was fast and furious as Jimmi Naylor (Drums) pumped out the four on the floor beat and constant hi-hat shuffle. The Pigeon Detectives are currently embarking on a large European tour and it will be interesting to see if they try to make a big push here in the States.