Tokyo Police Club at Iceland Ice Skating Rink

Check out my photos of Tokyo Police Club playing some hockey over at Stereogum.

Weezer at the Cox Arena

I am proud to say I was in the Weezer fan club back in 1994. My member number was #870. I first saw Weezer in 1995 with the mighty Archers of Loaf and Shufflepuck at the Hollywood Palladium. Sophia Coppola and Spike Jonze were standing next to me checking out the show.

I managed to catch Weezer numerous times over the years at the Whiskey, Universal Amphitheater, Shoreline Amphitheater, Irvine Meadows, Glass House and making a quirky appearance on the Warped Tour. Weezer has been on tour supporting the Red Album backed by Angels and Airwaves and Tokyo Police Club.

Tokyo Police Club






I just caught Tokyo Police Club less than a month ago at the Detroit Bar. Elephant Shell has been consistently popping up on my ipod with its sullen Casio keyboards and propulsive bass lines. Tokyo Police Club didn't waste anytime on stage as they feverishly tried to play as many songs in their set as possible.

I was amazed how comfortable Tokyo Police Club appeared on stage. Their sound was mixed well as Graham Wright's keyboards floated above the driving bass and guitars during "Juno". Dave Monks (Vocals/Bass) had opted for a Fender bass for a cutting round sound for "Your English Is Good" as the crowd clapped along during the intro to the song. Greg Alsop (Drums) was the driving force behind "Tessellate". Josh Hook (Guitars) added his technical noise flourishes to "Nature Of The Experiment". I only wish Tokyo Police Club were given a few more minutes to throw some in some extra songs into their set.

Angels and Airwaves







Talk about home field advantage. Cheers from the nearing capacity crowd started as a large Angels and Airwaves backdrop was revealed. Angels and Airwaves hail from San Diego and is fronted by Tom Delonge (Vocals/Guitars) who used to play in Blink-182. Tom surrounded himself with an ensemble cast of local heroes most notably Adam Willard (Drums) who used to play in Rocket From The Crypt. Angels and Airwaves are finishing up their tour behind I-Empire as they were on the Warped Tour this summer.

I think Tom likes synthesizers more than I do as I spotted a Moog Voyager, Kawai 88 and a Yamaha Motif Xs7 on stage along with massive amounts of guitar gear. Dialogue sampled from a launching of a space shuttle was pumping through the soundsystem as a swell of synthesizers started to amass. The cheers grew louder as the members of Angels and Airwaves took to the stage. Tom had his custom signature Gibson Hollowbody chiming out the notes for "Everything's Magic". David Kennedy (Guitars) and Matt Wachter (Bass) helped carry the sonic load by occasionally going to their keyboard stations to create a large wall of sound for Tom's ambitious songs.

A musical toy box intro gave way to the machine like drums and underlying piano riff for "Start The Machine". Tom seemed to be having a good time on stage, as he realized nothing beats playing to your home crowd. The marching drums and gigantic swirls of delayed guitars for "Heaven" were punctuated with blasting lights to give the song an epic feel. Tom later switched guitars to a war torn custom signature Gibson hollowbody guitar adorned with an Angels and Airwaves logo that looked pretty cool.

Tom did a little bit of VH1 storytellers when he explained the meaning behind the song "Sirens" which apparently is true to the lyrics in the song. The delay was cranked to epic again for an extended version of "The Adventure". I don't think The Edge from U2 uses that much delay. Adam was killing it on the drums as Tom's phaser pedal was set to stun. Tom announced they would be back in one year as they closed out their set to a large hometown ovation.

Weezer









I recently spun Weezer's blue album and realized how awesome their guitar tone was for that album. It was the perfect blend of fuzz and distortion. I was blown away though when I spotted two Diezel VH4 amplifiers on stage. Weezer joins the ranks of Muse, Tool, and Smashing Pumpkins as devoted users of Diezel amplifiers.

Clad in white jump suits, the men of Weezer started to crank out the chords of "My Name Is Jonas". Rivers Cuomo (Vocals/Guitars) didn't even sing the opening lines of the song as Brian Bell (Guitars), Patrick Wilson (Drums) and Scott Shriner (Bass) alternated vocal duties. I instantly had flashbacks about tuning my guitar down one half step to play the whole Weezer blue album from start to finish. The hits did not stop all night as they tore into "Pink Triangle" from the underrated Pinkerton album.

A wahstastic version of "Perfect Situation" had me singing along with the crowd during the chorus. It had been so long since I had seen Weezer live that I forgot how much I enjoyed their songs. "Susanne" was a total shock to me as I still have the Australian import cd of "Undone (The Sweater Song)" on which it was originally featured but found new life on the cult classic movie "Mallrats". Weezer had shed their white jumpsuits for some slick red track suits with Weezer emblazoned on the back to coordinate with the color of their new album.

Tom Delonge came out to assist on the vocal duties for "Undone (The Sweater Song)". Rivers would later rock the headset microphone for "Pork And Beans" as he would power slide across the stage while singing the song. Rivers absolutely shredded during the solo of "Dope Nose". The goodwill amongst the bands continued as Josh from Tokyo Police Club came out to play a little guitar for "Troublemaker" as Rivers paraded around the stage. Patrick stepped up to the microphone with his Fender Stratocaster for a ripping version of "Automatic" from the new album.

Brian showed his dexterous guitar skills for a wah soaked solo during "Hashpipe". "El Scorcho" took an interesting turn as Rivers jumped onto the shoulders of a security guard to solo in front of the crowd in true rock show fashion. The highlight of the night surprisingly was their cover of Pink Floyd's "Time" with the vocals handled superbly by Patrick. I also have to mention his guitar solo for the song was probably the best guitar solo by a drummer that I have ever witnessed.

A collection of devoted Weezer fans joined the band onstage for "Island In The Sun" as a flute solo was incorporated into the song. "Beverly Hills" and a rousing cover of Nirvana's classic B-side "Sliver" continued to keep the energy off the charts. The show hit its apex with a house burning rendition of "Buddy Holly" replete with a giant electronic flashing "W" Weezer logo. That is what I call a "Rock Show".

Tokyo Police Club at the Detroit Bar

A whole lot of shows were going on Wednesday. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Spiritualized, and Cat Power were at the Hollywood Bowl and MGMT was at the Henry Fonda Theater. I didn't hear about MGMT but I heard Nick Cave was epic. I opted for my own epic show with We Barbarians, The Whigs and Tokyo Police Club at the cozy Detroit Bar.

We Barbarians




It has been almost a year since We Barbarians hit the scene opening for the Delta Spirit at the Detroit Bar. I have practically worn out my copy of their debut EP "In The Doldrums" and was excited to see they posted a few new tracks on their myspace page along with the news that a full length album is due in December.

The crowd had started to file in as We Barbarians constructed a solid set featuring a few new tracks that hopefully will be on their new album. The sullen organ notes of "Yesmen and Bumsuckers" gave way to some ambient guitar notes as Davey Quon (Guitars/Vocals/Keyboards) switched back and forth between the instruments. Nathan Warkentin (Drums) and Derek Van Heule locked down the rhythm section to give Davey space to float his textural guitar arrangements on top of their songs. "Sixes and Sevens" starts with a volume swell of reverb guitar before Nathan comes in with a tight drum shuffle. We Barbarians will be back at the Troubadour with Mando Diao on November 3rd.

The Whigs





The Whigs rocked the Detroit Bar like their life depended on it. An explosive trio hailing from Georgia, The Whigs had nothing left on the stage as they were sweat drenched two songs deep into their set. "Mission Control" served as a slow cooking introduction to the band as Parker Gispert (Guitars/Vocals) strummed his Gibson hollowbody guitar. The floor started to shake courtesy of Julian Dorio (Drums) as he pummeled his drum kit for "Like A Vibration" and the Whigs started to unleash their rock fury on the unsuspecting Detroit Bar audience.

The jangling guitars of "Hot Bed" immediately triggered mass foot tapping as the Whigs were already hitting their stride. Tim Deaux (Bass) was adding background harmonies and a heart thumping bass line via his Gibson SG bass. The Whigs imbibe the essence of southern rock but assault it with a ferocity that I haven't seen in awhile. Vocal harmonies rained down once more for the southern fried "Production City". Parker kept the momentum alive with a rambling version "Right Hand On My Heart". It was impressive to see a trio conjure this much noise as each member was vital to their collective sound. The Whigs will be back in October with the Kooks playing the House of Blues Anaheim on the 27th and the Hollywood Palladium on the 28th. I probably will be at both shows.


Tokyo Police Club





I had mentioned in a prior review of We Barbarians that I will probably like your band if you play a Gibson Ripper bass. When Dave Monks (Bass/Vocals) approached the microphone with his own Gibson Ripper bass, it only took a few notes for me to be sold. Tokyo Police Club strategically mixes elements of Jawbreaker, Weezer and the Rentals for bash and pop caffeine fueled songs.

Graham Wright (Keyboards) was primarily anchored to his Alesis Micron keyboard frantically whipping up ascending or descending synth lines to the fast paced rock tunes. A twenty song setlist blazed by in 55 minutes as they raced through their tunes. "Box" kicked off their blazing set as Josh Hook (Guitars) worked in some colorful guitar squalls to racing bass line.
"Graves" had the requisite "oohs and aahs" hovering around the bursts of tremolo guitars. Elephant Shell is the latest release from Tokyo Police Club and clocks in at the 28 minute mark. The brevity of the album actually helps the band as it is very easy to hit the repeat button. I will admit I was suckered in by the combination of the Alesis Micron and strategic guitars of Josh.

"Your English Is Good" had people breaking out the dance moves and I even spotted a mini mosh pit. I wasn't surprised they covered The Rentals "Friends of P."."Tessellate" reminded me of an upbeat song from The Promise Ring. Tokyo Police Club capped their set with a number of selections from A Lesson In Crime and strongly closed the evening with "Be Good". Tokyo Police Club will head out with Angels & Airwaves as the openers for Weezer. I hope to catch either the Forum show on 10/17 or the Cox Arena show in San Diego on 10/17.

Tokyo Police Club pedalboard


Tokyo Police Club setlist at the Detroit Bar
"Box"
"Graves"
"In A Cave"
"If It Works"
"Sixties Remake"
"Juno"
"Your English Is Good"
"New New Song"
"Centennial"
"La Ferrassie"
"Cut Cut Paste"
"Friends of P."
"Nursery, Academy"
"Citizens Of Tomorrow"
"Tessellate"
"Shoulders & Arms"
"The Harrowing Adventures Of..."
"Nature Of The Experiment"
"Famous"
"Be Good"

Upcoming Shows at the Detroit Bar

I am still buried in boxes from moving but would like to point you to two shows that will blow your mind. Black Francis and Tokyo Police Club at the tiny Detroit Bar should be nothing short of epic. The price is right and parking is free. I think there are a few tickets left for Black Francis but both shows are going to sell out. Get your tickets through the Detroit Bar here.