Spoon at Little Radio

It was a hot time in city on Monday night at Little Radio. The semi secret show from Austin's finest Spoon was the place to be. I hope you were lucky enough to buy one of the first 150 copies of their new album "Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga" from Amoeba records or purchase tickets from Little Radio. I heard they added another double secret show the next night at Cinespace but I would not dare miss Adam Franklin(Swervedriver) at the Echo.



John Vanderslice got things cooking with his detailed storytelling songs. He was on stage solo with just an acoustic guitar. He frequently interacted with the audience asking them questions and adding some general banter. John had time in his set to complain about how the guitar capo was an antiquated device and that someone should improve it. John had some technical difficulties with his Boss Guitar Tuner Pedal and ended up handing it to a lucky audience member. As a proponent of crowd participation, John invited some fans up on stage to add some polyrhythmic clapping to his songs. He will be releasing a new album on Barsuk records entitled "Emerald City" on July 24.








I had strategically maneuvered my way close to the stage and had a close up spot to see Spoon in action. I have to admit I think they over commercialized "I Turn My Camera On" but I don't blame the band for wanting to grab some mainstream attention. I did enjoy the movie "Stranger Than Fiction" which served as a Spoon infomercial staring Will Ferrell. They started off with "Eddie's Ragga" , "Don't Make Me An Easy Target" and "The Underdog" to showcase some of their new tracks of their album. The show proceeded to heat up literally and figuratively when they delved into their older material such as "Quincy Punk Episode" and from the last album "The Beast and Dragon, Adored". Eric Harvey was kicking old school with his Korg M1 synthesizer along with a Digitech sampler. Britt Daniels was dripping sweat and notes from his Gibson ES 335 and Fender Telecaster. Britt was effectively using his Deluxe Memory Man coupled with his Vox AC30 to add some colorful guitar washes in all the right places throughout the night. Britt became so intrigued by a masked female fan in the front row that he asked her to put her mask on him and played half a song with it on. They capped their hour and thirty minute set with "I Turn My Camera On" and "I Summon You" to the delight of a packed house. I still can't decide which was hotter, the band or the temperature.




Spoon Setlist at Little Radio (7/16/07)



Britt Daniels Pedalboard

She Wants Revenge at the OC Fair

She Wants Revenge hit every single venue it could while supporting their debut self titled album. They played the Henry Fonda theatre, the Wiltern, the Troubadour, The El Rey, The Grove in Anaheim, The Galaxy Theatre, The Greek Theatre, Coachella, and managed to snag an opening slot for some of the Depeche Mode dates. Their live show has evolved since the first time I saw them at the Troubadour. I figured I would check out their evolution process at the Orange County Fair.




I missed The Make Out Party who went on stage exactly at 7:30. The Orange County Fair apparently runs on a strict time table as well as a strict curfew.

Louis XIV by the way of San Diego was next and play a sleazy, tongue in cheek brand of dirty rock. They used to open for the Killers back in the day and pitched in some background vocals for the Killers latest album. The sound mix for Louis XIV was pretty bad. "Finding Out True Love Is Blind" was slaughtered in the mix and the main keyboard parts were not heard. Jason Hill (Vocals/Guitar) was swaggering all over the stage with his Epiphone Hollowbody flanked by vintage Silvertone amps. Jimmy Armbrust (Bass) was rocking the Rickenbacker bass. They played an assortment of tunes from their debut album with only one new song in the batch. They will be resuming their tour with the Killers in September and have their sophomore album due this fall.





She Wants Revenge opened with a tension filled new tune titled "Written In Blood". It featured the baritone vocals of Justin Warfield (Vocals/Guitars). The song manged to melt in some cowbell along with the dark tension filled guitar lines. Adam 12 (Bass/Synths) had the rhythm section interlocked with Scot Ellis (Drums). Adam 12 was using a Roland Fantom-X8 most of time but twiddled with a sweet Moog Little Phatty synthesizer for "True Romance". Justin was showing off his tobacco Sunburst Gibson Hollowbody guitar running thru his Marshall half stack which is a far cry from his old setup of a small Fender amp and Fender thinline telecaster. "True Romance" had a shuffling drum beat with a pulsating synth line augmented by a walking bass line. "What I Want" was the most impressive of the new songs with a dangerous slinky bass line and a complementing guitar line that would make the boys of Interpol blush. Their sophomore album is due in October and I will go on record to say that "What I Want" will be the first single. I also hope to hear a lot more Moog Little Phatty on the album.


She Wants Revenge Setlist for the Pacific Amphitheatre at the Orange County Fair
"Written In Blood"
"Out of Control"
"These Things"
"Broken Promises For Broken Hearts"
"True Romance"
"Sister"
"What I Want"
"Red Flags and Long Nights"
"Someone Must Get Hurt"
"She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not"
"Disconnect"
"Tear You Apart"

Klaxons at the El Rey Theatre

It seemed like I just saw the Klaxons a few weeks ago at the Echoplex. The Klaxons are still touring behind their debut album "Myths Of The Near Future" which I picked up on my trip out to the U.K. a few weeks before it was released stateside. The album is a nice hodgepodge of dark acid synth lines, scattered drums, awkard guitars and rapid fire vocals. The true essence of the Klaxons lies in their live shows.



Fist Fite hailing from the musical hotbed of Oregon opened with an interesting mix of drums, bass, cheesy keyboard lines and barked vocals. Jonnie Monroe (Vocals/Synths) broke free from her keyboard rack a few times to entice the crowd to dance, but most of the crowd stared back. They sounded like a combination of Peaches, Kristeen Young, and Joan Jett mixed together.







The El Rey was completely packed when the Klaxons finally hit the stage. In order to fully appreciate the Klaxons live, one must be up front and center amongst the pile of sweaty kids dancing away. I jinxed myself for this show because I previously reported that I didn't see any glowsticks at the Echoplex show. The glowsticks were out in force tonight. I wonder how many of the kids in attendance actually have been to a rave. Simon Tayor-Davis (Guitars) was wielding a sweet lefty Jazzmaster or switching to a sleek Black Mustang. The only problem was that I didn't here any notes he was playing because the guitars were so low or the bass and synths were so high. James Righton was still holding down his synth lines with his Korg XP50 and his Korg Chaoss Pad 3 for the siren samples of "Atlantis to Interzone". Jamie Reynolds was hovering around the stage as he crushed out the bass grooves on his Rickenbacker bass. The crowd in the very front seemed to be having the time of their life while I played it safe on the sides. In retrospect, I probably should have moved up front to enjoy the show but then I remember when The Horrors played they seemed to have the entire audience engaged. At the rate the Klaxons are going, I assume they will play the Wiltern when they come back.


Klaxons setlist for the El Rey Theatre (7/10/07)
"The Bouncer"
"Atlantis To Interzone"
"Hall Of Records"
"Totem On The Timeline"
"Golden Skans"
"As Above, So Below"
"Two Receivers"
"Magick"
"Forgotten Works"
'Gravity's Rainbow"
"Isle Of Her"
"It's Not Over Yet"
"Four Horsemen of 2012"

Eskimohunter at Spaceland

It seems like every time a good band does a residency at Spaceland I have a show conflict that prohibits me from attending some free shows. I was excited to see that my calendar was clear to check out the noisy goodness of Eskimohunter.



The Secret 6 by the way of Long Beach were on at just a bit past nine and started things off with a hypnotic synth groove from a Nord Lead 2x as they delved into their space/power rock influenced songs. I remember seeing them in December of last year and enjoyed some of the riffs that James Thompson (Vocals/Guitars) was deploying on his Fender Stratocaster plugged into his Orange amp half stack. James was rocking out so hard he blew his string. Glenn Coie (Guitars, Keyboards) was providing some nice counter melodies on top of the songs. Their debut album comes out in August.





Mere Mortals based out of Los Angeles kept up the rock anthems with a heavy nod to the Brits. I detected elements of Oasis, Primal Scream, and Stone Roses in their songs. Mimi Star (Bass) by the way of Japan was the show stealer rocking out on her Schecter star inlay bass. She was rocking so hard her Bass amp fuse broke. I guess she wanted to upstage The Secret 6. They have a self released album "Rebel Radio" on itunes. Check out "Jesus Trip" and "The Hard Light".






Eskimohunter started into their set after a lengthy delay in setting up their gear. The agony of the delay was quickly abated by some stargazer rock that leaves the listener looking up to the stars instead of staring down at their shoes. Their listed influences are some of my favorite bands like Autolux, The Doves, My Bloody Valentine, and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. Jason71 was emitting hypnotic guitar lines from his Fender Jaguar as John Riccardi (Guitars) was the sonic wizard on his Gibson Les Paul and bevy of pedals littered at his feet. I will get a picture of his two pedalboards in a few weeks. Legallo (Keyboards) lived up to his superhero like name operating his Apple Laptop and spilicing in synth washes amongst the movie dialogue into their songs. I was especially impressed by their Depeche Mode cover of "Never Let Me Down Again". I highly recommend going to their July 23 show with the mighty Mezzanine Owls.

Great Northern & The Upsidedown at Little Radio

What better way to spend your lazy Sunday afternoon with Great Northern and The Upsidedown, a little Guitar Hero II, excellent hamburgers off the grill, and tasty cold beverages at Little Radio. There is no good excuse not to be at Little Radio's Sunday Summer camp.



The Upsidedown hailing from the musical hotbed of Portland stirred up the psychedelic with groovy throwback sun drenched sounds. Their listed influences were right on with elements of Dandy Warhols, Black Angels and Simon & Garfunkel. Their most recent release is "Trust Electricity" out on Reverb records and should resonate with fans of the psychedelic. Jsun Atoms (Vocals,Guitar) was dressed like a character out of Clockwork Orange providing some droney vocals that matched well with the washes of sound. Tristan Evans was impressive on her Rickenbacker Bass flanked by Sarah Jane (Keyboards, Tambourine) who added some percussion via the Tambourine as well as a few dance moves.





Warning. Great Northern is on the verge of becoming immensely popular. I hope you at least downloaded "Home" off itunes a few weeks ago as it was the featured download of the week. It is hard to think that I saw them six months ago at Little Radio for the Plug Awards. I have kept missing their shows due to concert conflicts but was eager to see them again. They recently released "Trading Twilight For Daylight" on Eenie Meenie records and it is an excellent album. The album features the soaring vocal melodies and lush orchestral string pads augmented by some dreamy guitar work. Solon Bixler (Vocals,Guitar) was coaxing guitar lines out of his Fender guitar effectively with a sampler and his Deluxe Memory Man. Rachel Stolte (Vocals, Keyboards) was the orchestral architect with her use of keyboard strings and piano sounds. Ashley Dzerigian was quitely playing her white Gibson Thunderbird bass until see stepped on her Big Muff Distortion pedal and got your attention quickly. Davey Latter (Drums) earned his money for the day pounding away on the drums in light of the increasing temperature in the venue. Overall though, it comes down to the fact that they write great songs that capture you and stick in your head. Some of the highlights included "Home", "Just A Dream" and "Telling Lies". They are playing the Belly Up on August 9th and Spaceland on August 10th. Get your tickets now before your friends tell you they saw Great Northern back in the day at a small venue.

The Decemberists at the Hollywood Bowl

I got lucky before 7/7/07. I magically got fourth row pool tickets for The Decemberists at the Hollywood Bowl backed by the L.A. Philharmonic. I was excited to see the L.A. Philharmonic from the fourth row let alone see The Decemberists. The package deal was sweetened with Band of Horses and Andrew Bird.




Ben Bridewell (Vocals,Guitars) and his Band of Horses started at 7:30pm sharp. I was slightly tardy due to the high volume of traffic surrounding the Hollywood Bowl. I did manage to catch the last three songs of the set. Ben was playing a wine red custom Gibson Les Paul with a capo on the third fret as he plucked out the ringing chords of "The Funeral". It did seem like the band was performing to the pool arena as Ben made a comment about the nice seats that the people had in front of me. Their performance reminded me of The Shins in that they let their songs do the talking. The pool area gave them a standing ovation. I don't know if it translated to the back of the Bowl but they are a band that you need to see in an intimate venue. Ben mentioned that their new album is due out in October which garnered some cheers from the audience.





Andrew Bird (Guitar,Violin,Vocals,Glockenspiel) made up for the fact that he was not backed by the L.A. Philharmonic by the skillful use of his loop station. Andrew would sample his violin playing and start stacking his violin loops to create an orchestral effect. I was also impressed with his spinning Janus Horn Specimen speaker that he would activate to provide a swirling and swooshing effect to his songs. Andrew was rocking out on his Gibson ES-175 hollowbody guitar. The audience received his songs quite well. Peter, Bjorn, & John were put to shame as Andrew whistled throughout the set very proficiently to add to the cacophony of sounds from his mini orchestra three piece band. His new album "Armchair Apocrypha" was released on Fat Possum records earlier this year and I will be checking it out.










The Decemberists came out to a rapturous applause and quickly started in on "The Crane Wife 1 & 2" with a nice ascending background flourishes from the L.A. Philharmonic. Colin Meloy (Vocals,Guitar) seemed comfortable onstage as he worked hard as he engaged the massive Hollywood Bowl audience. The Decemberists perform engaging storytelling songs that blend elements of indie rock, folk, progressive rock and tinges of country. Their songs sounded excellent with the backing of the L.A. Philharmonic. The arrangements were done very tastefully to add different colors to the songs but not overtake the songs or distract from them. Colin could have performed the songs by himself on an acoustic guitar and the crowd would have generated the same response. Colin did have some problems with his Z amplifier before "Perfect Crime #2" and made up for his lack of guitar duties by dancing around on the crescent of the pool circle. I have to admit I chuckled a bit when I saw his guitar tech was wearing a Mastodon shirt. "Los Angeles, I'm Yours" was ironic and reminiscent of when Death Cab for Cutie plays "Why You'd Want To Live Here". Colin tapped into his inner boy when he asked the crowd to pull out their cell phones and illuminate the bowl. I took a picture of it, but I must say it was even more magical for those who were in attendance. The Decemberists wrapped up the show with a glorious version of "Chimbley Sweep" that had the audience clamoring for more.


The Decemberists Setlist for the Hollywood Bowl (7/7/07)
"The Crane Wife 1 & 2"
The Infanta"
"We Both Go Down Together"
"Bagman's Gambit"
"Odalisque"
"The Perfect Crime #2"
"Los Angeles, I'm Yours"
"Tain (Parts i, ii, iii, iv, v)"
"O Valencia!"
"I Was Meant For The Stage"
"Chimbley Sweep"