The Fresh & Onlys w/ Woods and G. Green @ Sol Collective- 7/27/11
Posted: August 2, 2011 Filed under: Mediocre, Shows | Tags: G. Green, Music, Sacramento, Sol Collective, The Fresh & Onlys, Woods Comments OffSecond time I’ve been to the Sol Collective for a show and honestly it wasn’t nearly as fun as last time. I’m going to guess that it’s due to the last time having adventures in the surrounding neighborhood and no arguments about show etiquette (Though that was fun in its own right, just in a different, non-show-enjoyment way.) Oh, well, they can’t all be the absolute best of times. Even the artwork on the walls was of an overall lower quality. It looked like bad album cover art. I’m really starting to hate mixed media photography. Somebody ban the use of Photoshop in the art world.
The Fresh & Onlys are a band I’ve heard a lot about, what with them being bay area darlings and all, however, I haven’t even gotten around to seeing them. Now I can mark off the check box and I’m happy to do so. The band’s tastefully reverbed sixties rock music was catchy enough to grab my attention even for the songs I wasn’t as familiar with. My favorite part of set was their lead guitarist who absolutely tore up and down his axe’s fret board like it was nothing. It sounded amazing.
Operation Restore Maximum Freedom XI – 5/14/11
Posted: May 16, 2011 Filed under: Mediocre, Shows | Tags: Alak, Appetite, Charles Albright, Crossbill Records, Davis Samba School, Ellie Fortune, Gaarth, KDVS, Kites Sail High, NoBunny, Operation Restore Maximum Freedom, Operation Restore Maximum Freedom XI, ORMF, ORMF XI, Plainfield Station, Produce Produce, R. Stevie Moore, Sinbad from North Natomas, Zach Hill Comments Off
I came away from ORMF as a mixed bag, then again, considering the design of the festival, I don’t think there is any year that I wouldn’t. I can’t claim that I appreciate every genre under the sun, unlike the a guy I spoke with in the bathroom line, so not everything will be for me. [ED: Though neither does that guy, really, considering he is basically at a punk/underground festival where a lot of the groups sound similar and he "rolls" to trendy genre's like dubstep. Through, anyone that can say that they appreciate every genre with a straight face has about as interesting an opinion as someone who responds to the question, "What music do you like?" with, "Everything but rap and country."] In all honestly, a lot of the groups ran together, partly because of their short sets, but also because a lot just never caught my ear. Rather than try to write-up every band then, I think I’ll just go with the the two I remember most and then mention chronologically th main events I remember.
The highlight of the festival for me was definitely seeing NoBunny again. The high energy 60′s pop, punk, looney tunes act is always enjoyable. The fact that he was added to the bill as a replacement for another act that double booked themselves, made my ORMF so much better. I don’t think I would have even had a passable time at the festival if NoBunny had not been added to the bill. Finally seeing him up close was a so much better than standing at the back of The Hub and peering over shoulders. The unfortunate part of the set was that one of my favorite NoBunny songs, “Motorhead With Me”, was cut short after he fired a confetti cannon into the face of girl standing up front. She was okay though, and the fact that the song was cut sort so that NoBunny could make sure she was okay made him a classier performer in my eyes.
Wye Oak – Civilian
Posted: May 11, 2011 Filed under: Mediocre, Reviews | Tags: Civilian, Music, Wye Oak Comments Off
For a band with the same hometown as John Waters, Baltimore, MD, you would think that Wye Oak would have a stranger sound. What the band’s latest album Civilian ends up being for me, though, is more background music, with a few notable exceptions, than an album I would feel myself coming back to again and again. There are definitely a few jabs to be made about the record sounding very generic “indie” with really not build up and just a slow-tempo prod with delicate lyrics put on top. Some of the songs on the record make me think of Yo La Tengo, but without the punch and intensity that makes that band great.
I think my main problem, as it is with a lot of records, is the voice of its principle singer. While her voice is certainly not hard on the ears it comes off as emotionally flat. Add to that guitar parts that can tend follow the same sort of flat and repetitive trend of the vocals and you don’t have a good thing going. That’s not to say it’s all bad though, there are a few songs on the record that stand out and come forward with the intensity, emotional or otherwise, that I felt other songs lacked. Favorites are “Holy Holy” for opening guitar line, “Dogs Eyes” for the pounding drums and guitar riff, “Civilian” for the outro guitar solo, and “We Were Wealth” for the build into the outro.
Sister Crayon w/ Superhumanoids @ Sophia’s – 4/28/11
Posted: May 3, 2011 Filed under: Mediocre, Shows | Tags: Davis, Lovers, Sacramento, Sister Crayon, Sophia's, Sophia's Thai Kitchen, Superhumanoids 1 Comment »
Can I please get a little less Sacramento next time I go out to show in Davis? It wasn’t so much the sunglasses-at-night-crowd this time as it was some pushy-shovey-get-to-the-front-at-all-costs-group and a few very one track minded concert goers who exclaimed ”finally” when Sister Crayon took the stage. As not to rag on Sacramento completely, I will say that I have been to some great shows there, mainly at the now defunct Hub, but the more “mainstream” shows seem to just be filled up with a bunch of jerks and poor fashion choices.
Sister Crayon is from the aforementioned whipping boy, Sacramento, and play a kind of music that can be described, in broad brush strokes as, Unkle if they were fronted by a woman who sings like Thom York. She even dances around a lot, like Thom York. I wish I could have enjoyed them more, but I was partly distracted by the Sacramento townies bumping into me and getting way to into it. I really liked the new song they played as the last song of the set. I apparently liked it a lot more than some of the townies did, all they could do was drunkenly yell for a song they knew. Sigh.
Papercuts – Fading Parade
Posted: April 25, 2011 Filed under: Mediocre, Reviews | Tags: Fading Parade, Music, Papercuts 1 Comment »
For some reason I would not have pegged Papercuts as a solo project. Sure it makes sense now, but the spacious sound the “band” puts out would make me think they were some sort of two-man project, possibly bothers. Not so says Wikipedia, the band as the band is composed of Jason Robert Quever as it’s sole permanent member. If you are a fan of Beach House you may want to give Papercuts’ fourth record, Fading Parade, a try as it is full of similar finger-picked, slow-pop and distant, dreamy vocals. I think I want to like this record more than I actually do. There is pretty good sounding stuff, however, things just run together a bit.
I think what was telling about the record for me was a) not paying attention after a while of listening and b) asking myself “Wow, this record is still going.”, when in-fact the thing is only 38 minutes long. The sad part is that I really can’t tell what is wrong about the record or what is really good about it, which I guess is the problem. I think for lack of a better objective reason I’m going to go with the reverb that drenches the record, it kind of makes everything indistinct. There are at least a few good tracks, namely, “Do You Really Wanna Know” for the bass line and main guitar riff, “The Messenger” for the head-bobbing beat.
!!! w/ Who Cares? @ Townhouse Lounge – 4/13/11
Posted: April 14, 2011 Filed under: Mediocre, Shows | Tags: !!!, Chk Chk Chk, Music, Sacramento, Townhouse Lounge, Who Cares? 1 Comment »
I would like to point out how hilariously different the actual exterior of the Townhouse Lounge looks versus how it looks on the website. I think only about 50% of the neon remains lit and some of the broken glass dangles precariously over the heads of those standing in line to get in. Having said that, the night was significantly better than I would have guessed considering it started with some dub-step. I learned that dub-step sounds like a legitimate genre if you have earplugs in and are standing in a corner where you can’t hear the warbles. Of course at that point it just sounds like drum and bass. I also learned that when Sacramento dresses up to go clubbin’ there are far to many fedoras and sun-glasses-at-night. Come on guys, I may not be fashionable or cool but at least I’m not trying to be and falling on my face.
!!! are originally from Sacramento but currently have members living on both coasts. I love how they get called Dance-Punk like it’s a new genre, but who can complain when bands keep the new-wave dream alive? They have the feel of a more danceable Talking Heads with less irony. Their lead singer, Nic Offer, was certainly working the crowd and eventually came out in a white suit jacket that had flashing lights timed to the beat. I really would like to say more but the sound quality of the venue made everything so indistinct it kind of feel like listening to the same song over and over [ED: Ditto for the second act].
The Mountain Goats – All Eternals Deck
Posted: April 8, 2011 Filed under: Mediocre, Reviews | Tags: All Eternals Deck, Music, The Mountain Goats Comments Off
I think this is an instance of my feelings about a record changing as I give it a few listens. Initially, I was completely feeling The Mountain Goats‘ new record All Eternals Deck. I knew that I didn’t like it as much as my favorite records by Mr. Darnielle, Tallahassee and the previous record The Life of The World To Come, but I was enjoying it well enough. However, after giving it a few more spins I found that much of content of the record fell flat for me. The comment that I would make is that there doesn’t seem to be as much emotional intensity as my favorite efforts by the group. Am I just disappointed that I didn’t get another Tallahassee and am not letting the “group’s” sound evolve? Maybe, but I can’t help feel disappointed all the same.
The more I listen to the record the more I start to hear little things that may be termed production decisions I don’t agree with. Two instances of that are the songs “Damn These Vampires” and “High Hawk Season”. On the former there is a cheesy woodblock xylophone sound right at what should be the most punchy moment of the song, but, because of the woodblock, which I cannot un-hear, the moment ends up being less than stellar. On the latter it is the, honestly, over the top barber shop quartet singers that join Darnielle in a call and response as well as providing some melody and backing chords. I just can’t help cringing when I heard the “bass-y” and full sound of the “barbers” as they clash with Darnielle’s, admittedly, thin but emotional voice. It just doesn’t work. There also seem to be a few songs were the sound of the drums is way to area rock for their own good adding “thuds” to the songs that don’t mix with the more country-ish feel. I still like some songs like “”Estate Sale Song” for the pure intensity and “For Charles Bronson” for being a song referencing everybody’s favorite over the top vigilantly.
Goodnight Billygoat @ Villanova House – 3/17/11
Posted: March 29, 2011 Filed under: Mediocre, Shows | Tags: Goodnight Billygoat, Music, Villanova House Comments Off
Another week, another failed attempt to see local solo act(?) Pregnant. I was thwarted on two fronts. First my need to watch my Bearcats advance to the terrific thirty-two by beating Mizu in the NCAA b-ball tourney. The second was me thinking I could watch that whole game and still see Pregnant due to him being listed first on the “bill”. Sadly at the Villanova House a different permutation of the band order was chosen and I missed out. I did get to see one pretty good act before I bounced due to feeling slightly ill.
The act I got to see was Portland’s Good Night Billygoat. The band plays very well composed ambient music that sets the scene and mood for an accompanying stop motion animation film the band was also responsible for creating. I don’t think that it would be something that I would want to watch with out the live component, but with the band playing the live soundtrack to the visuals, I was certainly happy enough. I would describe the stop motion film as “pressing on your closed eyelids, and making a film inspired by the shapes you see.” It was pretty fun.
Brainstorm – Battling Giants
Posted: February 8, 2011 Filed under: Mediocre, Reviews | Tags: Battling Giants, Brainstorm, Music Comments Off
The caveat about this review is that I actually really enjoyed Brainstorm’s live set when I saw them open for Typhoon and AgesandAges. The band’s two person compliment, intricate riffs, tempo changes, and multi-instrumentation (including tuba) made them my other choice to get a CD from in addition to Typhoon. Battling Giants is the record I walked away from the table with, and after a few listens, I kind of wish that I would have picked up one of the other Portland band’s record. This is a disappointment for me as I did like their set but maybe there is something from the live set that doesn’t translate to the album, or vice versa. Either way, what’s printed on plastic does not really work for me.
I think the best way I can describe my problem with the record is how limerick-y the whole thing is. I joked with a friend recently that some of the tracks sound like pop re-envisionings of poems from The Lord of the Rings. Everything about the record is finely crafted and well-played, which is a definite compliment, but there is also a lot of space on the record which seems to make the frequent change of tempo, meter, and instruments all the more jarring. Some of it just comes off as goofy which is not to say all music should be serious, but goofy is not a descriptor I imaging liking. I do like a few tracks off the record “Bottom of The Sea” for one of the most straight ahead beats present on the disc, and “Lonely Ghost” for the dueling lyrics and drum-toms.
John Vanderslice – White Wilderness
Posted: February 1, 2011 Filed under: Mediocre, Reviews | Tags: John Vanderslice, Music, White Wilderness Comments Off
I sort of have a love hate relationship with John Vanderslice. On the one hand I love what he does for the musicians of San Francisco partly though his studio, Tiny Telephone, as well as being some what of a Musical Ambassador for the city. Also the live shows I’ve attended have been grin from ear to ear experiences. On the other hand I always come away from his albums with mixed feelings and his new record, White Wilderness, is no different. There are some tracks I absolutely love, others that I just shrug my shoulders to, and still others that I just cannot get behind at all. I suppose I could be accused of asking Mr. Vanderslice to make the music I want, but acknowledging that is not going to change my feelings towards them.
Maybe it’s my singer-songwriter aversion creeping in that’s causing me distress which is disappointing for me as I think John is an excellent musician. I think on this album I just don’t like some of the more woodwind centric arrangements on the record, which is quite orchestral. I’ve never been really been huge fan of clarinets, oboe, or bassoon which, for instance, feature prominently on so songs like “Alemany Gap”. I do enjoy some of what the record has to offer like “Sea Salt” for the lyrics and piano, “Convict Lake” for proving me wrong on the basson (or oboe), and “After It ends” for it’s simple rhythmic acoustic guitar. The cover of the Atlas Sound song “Walkabout” is quite good too.
