Tennis + Grass Widow + Jai Paul

Marathon :: Tennis

I've been sitting on this track for bit, and I finally have a chance to write a little bit today.  Tennis are a husband and wife duo, and they begun to pick up some steam in the blogosphere with the track "Marathon."  It's the perfect song for the summer.  It is poppy and infectious, and the vocals (at least to me) evoke the sort of 50s/60s girls vocals; they maintain the upbeat and carefree feeling that make it so summery.  It is destined for being on every summer party playlist.  At the same time though, I can't quite imagine listening to a whole album like this song though.  It is the type of song that so captures a perfect feeling, it seems having more songs surrounding it would ruin that if they were different or just be boring if they were the same.  Anywho, it is still a great song and definitely worth the download.

mp3: Marathon

Grass Widow

Grass Widow at AS220 in Providence, RI
Photo by the Teenage Elephant

I recently attended a Grass Widow show at Brown, and though there were only 50 or so people there, they absolutely blew me away.  Their songs are already catchy and danceable, but with the spirit they put into it, it turned the small gallery space into a party for those who were there for Grass Widow (unfortunately a lot of people were there for Grass Widow, a punk band from the 70s who went on after Grass Widow and who I missed).  Their harmonizing was spot on, and Raven Mahon's guitar propelled the songs into dance jams.  If you don't know Grass Widow, they're a San Francisco girl trio (as emphasized by the "Girls Rock!" spray-painted on the wall of the stage) who released a self-titled LP on Make a Mess last year and will be releasing a new one called Past Time later in August on Killrockstars.  They describe themselves as being 'Psychedelic/Visual/Surf,' but I think a better description is that they just are a band that weaves simple guitar, bass, drums, and harmonizing vocals together tightly and extremely well into a package that seems very refined and thought out, and most of all, incredibly satisfying and good to listen to.  Although they do at times sound like one of the many lo-fi/pop bands due to the clearly lo-fi style of recording, they rise far above the standards of the genre, and I believe they will be making quite a splash in the coming year.  Here are my three favorite tracks by them.  Listen and understand why I like them so much.

mp3: To Where
mp3: Celebrate the Mundane 
mp3: Shadow (Off of the new LP)

Jai Paul

Last but definitely not least is Jai Paul, an electronic guy.  The opening of this song reminds me immediately of Bon Iver's "Woods," (which I do enjoy, just not as much as his normal stuff), or perhaps it is something else that I can't quite place (maybe Sufjan Stevens' "You Are the Blood" off of Dark Was the Night?), and then the drums kick in (which are reminiscent of "Blood, Pt. 2" on Dark Was the Night) and you really think wow this song is going to be sick.  Which it is.  The beat is simple, but this simply (nice pun right?) contributes to the overall structure of the song by making the synth and laser-blasty things that much more impactful when they come in.  The vocals, which are layered of coos in the background, also sparse, and this really captures the longing that seems to be built into the way the different pieces of the song interact with each other.  Don't forget to go to his MySpace (as you are directed to at the end of the song.)

mp3: BTSTU

-- A Teenage Elephant

PS  Still collecting my thoughts on the Arcade Fire album (and it hasn't even been released yet!).  There aspects of it that I love (the music itself), and aspects I don't/waver between enjoying and not enjoying (the lyrics of some songs/the overall theme).  I will most likely post on it shortly.

PPS I'm getting really excited for the new Panda Bear album, how about you guys?  Also, Avey Tare just announced he will be releasing a solo album.

Coachella Day 3

The Thrilling Conclusion to a Three Part Saga!!!!

Sunday was easily my favorite day.  Although I really only saw five complete acts, they were easily the best acts of the weekend, and having them back to back made them that much better.  

Local Natives

(Not So Great) Photo by Me

I started off the day with Local Natives, one of my favorite up and coming bands.  They hail from LA, and on stage they admitted that they had dreamed of playing Coachella as teens, and that this was a fantastic experience.  The same could certainly be said for the crowd.  They absolutely packed the place, not to mention the fact that it was 2 in the afternoon and they were competing against Owen Pallett, King Khan and the Shrines, and (sort of) Rusko.  They played their set with lots of fire, which was certainly fueled by their excellent double percussionist set up.  All the songs were packed with energy.  Some of the slower songs were still sung with lots of passion, and the (on some songs) four (!) vocalists' harmonies played off each other perfectly, making them certainly reminiscent of an LA-Indie Grizzly Bear or Fleet Foxes.  My two favorites on the album ("World News" "Camera Talk") were sped up a little bit, giving them lots of pep and getting the crowd moving.  Songs like "Airplanes" had the crowd "Ooohhoohhhhing" with the band.  "Sun Hands" though, which is a very good song on the album though not the best (IMHO), was by far the largest stand out and concluded the show with a bang.  They played an extended six minute version of the song, and when they broke it down, the vocals turned into a yell  which the entire crowd picked up on.  As soon as the break was over and the guitar riff comes in, the crowd went crazy.  It was a perfect finish to a nearly flawless show.  They really showed how much potential they have with this show, packing a tent with not just LA people but people from all over.

Rusko

Although I really like dub (dubstep), I realize I have never really talked about it on the blog, and I sort of think I never really will.  I'm not quite sure why; partly because I don't really know how to describe it and partly because as much as I love it it sort of all sounds the same to me.  This show though I will write about, just because it was the first time I have seen dub live and secondly because it was plain fun.  The setting: the Sahara tent, completely packed, 3:00, hotter in the tent than out.  The music: lots of dub with some more samples/electro in between that made it go so much harder when the dub dropped.  Tons of people their to have fun.  Lots of the typical dub funky dance.  Truckloads of mindless fun.  I actually worked my way all the way up to the front, which was quite a feat considering I started all the way in the back.  It was a fight, but it was worth making it to the point where the music rumbled your clothing.  A comedic thing from the show: watching people trying to figure out how to dance to a new beat after a shift in the music.

After Rusko I saw a little bit of Deerhunter (whom I love) from afar.  I also saw a little bit of Yo La Tengo.  Unfortunately, I found them to be very disappointing.  It seemed to my like they didn't really care to be there, and I think when you perform there is a certain pride you should take in your music, and it just didn't seem to show, but that's just me.  Don't get me wrong, I love them, but I just didn't enjoy what I saw (the first three songs... I was too disappointed to stay).  

This is where the day got incredible; from here on out I was at the Outdoor Stage (not the main stage) for the next three bands, probably the best streak of bands in the whole festival (In My Opinion).

Jonsi

Jonsi and his backing band (Photo by None other than...me!)

More Jonsi (and a guy's ear) Photo by Me

Jonsi was fortunately unaffected by the volcano eruption that occurred in none other than his homeland, Iceland.  For those of you who don't know, Jonsi is the lead singer of Sigur Ros, and this show was in support of his solo album Go, which is an excellent one just released recently.  He of course had a backing band though.  The show was eccentric and passionate, which I think are two words that completely capture the style of the album.  He of course used his invented "Hopelandic" (its not really lyrics that are givverish... it's more just to turn the vocals completely into an instrument in his words) on some songs, wore a strange tasseled (I think that's how you would describe it... take a look at the picture).  All the songs really had the slightly mystical feel that is achieved by the foreign "lyrics" (some were also in icelandic), strangely pitchshifted samples, and Jonsi's falsetto, as well as the excellent use of non traditional instruments  (I think there was a theremin in there but my friend says there wasn't...).  Anyways, I think the crowd, who seemed as if they were there early for Thom Yorke/Atoms for Peace and Phoenix was really surprised by a great show.  

Phoenix

Photo by Me

This show brought the crowd down if you will.  Of all the shows I saw (with maybe the exception of some of the shows in Sahara, the Rave tent), the crowd was probably the most into this one.  This was probably the most "sought after" show in terms of bands/celebrities... Jay-Z, Beyonce and Solange were all sitting right in front of me (I was front row for all three shows), as well as the singer from Passion Pit, Russell Simmons (although he came late and seemed to be there more for Thom), Muse (!) (They also came late though and seemed to be there for Thom) and more.  When Phoenix came on everybody went crazy.  They played through every song on Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix as well as a few older hits ("Consolation Prizes" and I think they also played "Run Run Run" sorry I didn't write down the setlist) that were some of their more rock oriented roots.  I've seen Phoenix before, and they played a great show then, but that show paled in comparison.  

This was one of the best shows I have ever seen - that's how good it was.  Part of it was because the crowd was so into it and knew virtually ever lyric to every song, part of it because they really played to what the crowd wanted I think/their strength by playing all of Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, their poppiest/synthiest album.  The thing that's so great about that album is that every song on that album (except for maybe the three slower songs which are all in a row) could have opened the concert, so when they were all played, it was like a new wave of energy/joy was going through the crowd.  They of course opened with "Lisztomania" and closed with "1901."  Besides being a joyous/happy/poppy show, it was also in some ways a very humble show.  Their light/set guy was stuck on the other side of the pond because of the volcano, but instead of getting a new set design guy to do a new setup for the stage, they decided to just stick with a sparse stage and lighting; there were just a few white lights that occasionally moved over the band and once over the audience when they said "We want to see these people!"  As lead singer Thomas Mars said, "Tonight, it's just about the music."  

This was probably my favorite shot from all of Coachella.  Photo by me

Photo by Me

There were two very beautiful images in this show... the sun setting behind Phoenix and once when Thomas Mars asked the tech guy who was there to dim the lights, and when they came back up Thomas Mars was standing right over the crowd on the barricade singing to them.  Besides those two moments and all the massive sing-a-longs (so pretty much the whole concert...), my other favorite moment was probably "Love Like A Sunset, Pts. 1 & 2" which was also one of my favorites when I saw them before.  It was a long ten minute synth soundscape, that, now that I think about it, was coupled with a just finished sunset.  Pretty incredible sight.

Thom Yorke/Atoms for Peace

Photo by Me

As incredible as all the shows on Sunday were, this was hands down the best show of the weekend.  After waiting for an hour and the installment of some cool light fixtures, Thom Yorke, Flea, Nigel Godrich (Radiohead Producer), Mauro Rafosco, and Joey Waronker walked on stage to one of the largest crowds of the whole weekend despite inexplicably not being on the main stage (which resulted in me missing Spoon and Pavement, but there were absolutely zero regrets there, seeing as I got to see two incredible shows before hand and I was front row).  They started out (yes, this was just the beginning) by playing all of the Eraser straight through.  It was a completely different take though, and didn't really even feel like they were playing an album because of the style they used.  It was completely focused on the rhythm section, and with the two percussionist coupled with Flea's incredible slap bass skills, it took on a very funky/groovy (as in lots of rhythm grooves not as in "groovy baby") feel. 

Thom Yorke and Flea grooving to the rhythm based show (Photo by Me)

When they were playing through the Eraser, every song would start out as a just that, the song, but then would turn into long 5 to 10 minute jams.  Although Thom Yorke is incredible, in the Eraser part of the show it was Flea and the Rhythm section that really shined the most.  It was more of Thom Yorke's stage presence and almost his "MCing" that made him great in that part of the show.  Thom Yorke is normally very dour on stage, moaning the Radiohead lyrics, but here he was, to use a British word to describe a Brit, jolly, telling jokes and having fun on stage.  He pranced and writhed around the stage, grooving to the music just as much as the crowd was.  Flea also did his signature freak-out weird funky dance thing... very enjoyable to watch.  Oh his hair was also blue...  Nigel Godrich's synths, although not showy at all and staying mostly in the background, were played with the precision and thoughtfulness (i.e. they sounded like they were designed to perfectly complement the rest of the band's style) that could only be achieved by Radiohead's producer.

This photo illustrates how I (and most of the crowd) experienced Atoms for Peace/Thom Yorke: either grooving along to the music with my eyes closed, or having the intricate light fixtures meld with the music and the performers.
(Photo by Me)

This photNot one song in particular in the first half of the show really stood out because they were really just awesome jams.  It wasn't in stark contrast to the Phoenix concert right before; instead of tightly choreographed pop songs with 30,000 people singing, it was people closing their eyes and just entering their own world with the loose, spontaneous feeling grooves.  After playing straight through the Eraser, they took a brief leave.  Thom Yorke came back to open the encore, the rest of Atoms for Peace joining him later on.

Thom Yorke harmonizing with himself
Photo by Me

He started off with a brand new Atoms for Peace song, although this one was really just a brand new Thom Yorke song.  This song, if you didn't like the funk/rhythm style of the Eraser portion of the show, would certainly make you love the show even if you didn't like anything else in it.  It was Thom Yorke, an acoustic guitar, and a layering pedal.  It was an incredibly beautiful song, and it really showed why Thom Yorke is such an incredible and talented musician.  He harmonized with himself many times over in real time by using the layering pedals, all while crooning over a slow acoustic guitar piece.  It was truly beautiful.  Oh and it's called "Giving Up the Ghost," and let me tell you, it is a bit better than the similarly titled "Giving Up the Gun" (that was sarcastic because the Thom Yorke song is about a thousand times better than the Vampire Weekend one). 

 I will embed the video below, but I did not actually take it (I was actually a lot closer).  My only hesitation in embedding the video is that because it is from youtube, you won't get to experience it in its full glory/sound quality, but oh well it is worth it, and the AV quality is really good anyways. 

T

he person who took this video actually has great videos of every song in the show, which if you are like me and are a diehard Radiohead/Thom Yorke fan and want to experience all over again/for the first time, they are worth watching.

He than went on top lay some Radiohead tunes, namely the ballad "Airbag" (which they actually didn't play when I saw Radiohead at the Hollywood Bowl), and one of the great/"shocking" (when it first came out) opening songs for an album of all time, Kid A's "Everything In Its Right Place."  Then the band came back out for a rendition of Radiohead's "Paperbag Writer," returning to some of the more bass oriented roots of the first half of the show.  They finished up with "Judge Jury and Executioner" (it wasn't the Radiohead song though Myxamatosis, which has that in the name), and then the two songs from Thom Yorke's Twilight single, "The Hollow Earth" and "Feeling Pulled Apart by Horses" (which are both excellent songs despite being associated with Twilight).  They went out with a bang (more like a sonic boom...) with those two songs, getting really down and funky.  The whole show was really one of the best shows I've seen, but it was sort of hard to write about because of the fact that it was composed of long, funky grooves/jams.  

Afterwards, we walked over to see the Gorillaz, but we were just so blown away (as one of the people befriended at the show said "I can now die happily.")  by Atoms that we knew Gorillaz would sort of feel like  a letdown, which as much as I love them they did.  They just seemed a little boring from what we saw (a few songs).  We then went over to see Sly Stone (after his 5 hour delay), but it was just awful.  He just seemed so messed up.  Not that I ever would anyways, but it makes me not want to ever do cocaine...

And  so we went home without seeing all of the Gorillaz, but we had an incredible weekend and had just seen an incredible show.  Plus I had school the next day... 

To sum up my Coachella experience (I was thinking of doing a "People of the Coach" picture gallery, but I think it would be a little cheesy...): 75,000 people without a care in the world, just there to have fun and experience good music.  Lots of diverse people... if you can imagine or conjure up any strange style, I guarantee there was somebody like that there.  I was thinking of writing something like "I've never seen more... multicolored rayband wayfarers, bros without a shirt on, rave finger light gloves, fat men with ponytails, skinny men with ponytails, folk beards, etc." but I realized I could put absolutely anything in that spot because there were so many different types of people.  

In Six Words: 

The Best Weekend of My Life

-- A Teenage Elephant

Coachella Day 2

So, Day 2!
I started off Day 2 with two of my friend's choices, but both were enjoyable.  The first was RX Bandits, a sort of metal band with ska/reggae influences from Long Beach California.  Not really something I would ever listen to on its own, but at a concert it was pretty fun.  They drew a very large crowd for a noon show, as did the next band, Porcupine Tree, a pretty famous prog/psych rock band from the ?80s?.  This one I just sort of laid down on the field not to far from the stage and just took in Coachella as a whole plus some sort of trippy music from the band.  Nothing too special I thought, but I do think everybody should check them out because I do think they have a very interesting style.

Camera Obscura

Photo by Me

Camera Obscura played of course a lively show, but they were definitely dwarfed by Girls, who were playing the next tent over.  I opted to see Camera Obscura as I have seen Girls already (review here), and I got a front row spot for Camera Obscura which set me up for front row for Beach House.  The band meshed well together, playing to the crowd's pep on an early Saturday afternoon with songs like "French Navy," their ultra poppy/happy tune that got everybody singing.





Beach House

Photo by Me

Photo by Me

 Beach House finally realized their potential with Teen Dream, and it really showed in their performance.  The place was jam packed, with hundreds of people spilling out of the tent and into the sun.  Victoria Legrand's deep vocals echoed out across the tent over the crowd, putting everybody into what I like to call "the Grizzly Bear Trance"... everybody sort of closes their eyes and just sways to the music.  They were one of the few day bands that had set design, which consisted of these strange different sized pinata looking things dangling from the ceiling behind them.  Not quite sure what I thought of them, but whatever.  The music itself sounded straight off the record; lots of reverb and soaring vocals.  The most interesting part of the show I thought was how the music was actually played.  The guitarist had something that he was playing with his feet, which I am embarrassed to say i didn't what it was, although it looked/sounded like a "foot organ" if you will.  It created a very interesting performance aesthetic; Victoria Legrand with her wild tousled hair moaning out to the crowd, the relaxed, smiling with the eyes closed drummer, and the focused, sitting guitarist/samplist/foot organist.  Songs like "10 Mile Stereo" and "Gila" really seemed to move the crowd.  They even did one "new" song, a cover of Gucci.  Unfortunately I missed Temper Trap at Beach House, but it was definitely worth it.

Photo by Me

Photo by Me

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes

Before we go any further, there is a funny (and embarrassing) story to be told, involving me and a faux pas (committed by none other than yours truly).  So as I have said before (I think), I was front row for Camera Obscura and Beach House.  As you can see from my photos, there is an area in between front row and the stage where photographers/band members can enjoy shows.  In between Camera Obscura and Beach House, a pretty girl who was clearly from a band by her look/a person taking a photo with her sat down right in front of me in the area for bands/photographers.  I knew she was in a band and she looked a lot like one of the girls from Camera Obscura, but I wasn't sure.  My friend said "Yeah that's her," so I say to her "You guys were great!"  She gives me this incredibly strange look as if I am tripping or something and says after a long pause "I like your glasses."  It was a pretty strange response and I didn't know what to say so I just sort of said "Um, thank you" and she kept on looking at me and laughed.  A few minutes later I heard someone say to her "You guys are on next right?"  and she responded "Yeah, but I am so excited for Beach House and I just have to see a few songs."  And wham! it dawns on me... she was looking at me funny because she hadn't played yet!  Now, fast-forward an hour or two and switch locations to the Outdoor Stage (not the mainstage though).  You may be asking "What does this have to do with Ed Sharpe?"  Well here's the kicker.  I am a big Ed Sharpe fan, but had never seen a picture of them.  My friend and I get to the Ed Sharpe stage just as they are starting and look who is on stage... none other than the girl from my faux pas!  It was Jane of Ed Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes, who just about every Ed Sharpe fan/male Ed Sharpe fan worships!  I thought it was fairly funny, so I figured I'd include, but looking back on it I realize just how awful a story teller I am...

Photo by Me (I can put another shot up with Jane if you like)

So, back to the concert itself.  This concert was about as close to a Summer of Love concert as I think you are going to get from any contemporary band.  Lots of long hair, songs about love, lots and lots of people on stage, kids on stage, a singing, joyful crowd, etc.  It was a very hippie crowd, but also a very dedicated crowd.  Every song the entire crowd seemed to know the lyrics, and when Alexander (the lead male for those of you who think the lead is Edward Sharpe) and other members (including Jane) ventured out into the crowd, it seemed as if everybody swayed in to embrace them.  "Home" of course brought the house down.  Comedically, the crowd replaced the classic whistling with humming... I don't think the crowd was quite skilled/sober enough to whistle.

The xx

As much as I love The xx and as much as the crowd seemed to love them (it was mobbed), it wasn't really a thrilling show.  The music is enjoyable live just because it is good music, but slightly static and pretty much different in no way whatsoever from the album.  This wouldn't be a problem, except for the fact that it is not really interesting music to play live in my opinion.  There was one very interesting thing in an otherwise boring show (In My Opinion...) they didn't wear all black for what must be the first time!  Instead... they wore white!  

Photo by Me

Well I left the show after just a few songs, partly because it wasn't wonderful and partly because my friend (and I) had some plans for the rest of the day... unfortunately they did not involve that stage, which had an incredible lineup that day: The Temper Trap, Edward Sharpe, The xx, Hot Chip, MGMT.  This meant that I would miss Hot Chip and MGMT, as well as the Dirty Projectors who were on another stage.

So what are these plans we had that made me miss three bands that were all supposed to have had amazing shows?  To understand, we must first... TAKE ANOTHER TRIP TO STORYLAND.... (and this one will definitely get my friend mad... he hates this one).

Rewind three years.  2007.  I am twelve years old, have never been to a concert.  My friend and I are both obsessed with Muse.  We have tickets to go see Muse at the Forum in Inglewood.  His brother is taking us, along with one of his friends.  Make a long story short, we get there and as we are going in, we realize there are only three tickets, and four of us.  My friend gets the boot.  For the past three years, my friend has been dying to see Muse.  Muse at Coachella is a chance to fulfill his dream.  So how would we make up for not getting to see the concert three years ago (almost to the day)?  Getting front row for Muse at Coachella.

Muse

Now, I would like to say one thing real quickly.  I'm not as obsessed with Muse anymore, especially there new album which for the most part is awful (with the exception of the symphony), but they are still a fantastic band, in particular their early material and their live show.  They aren't really this blog's type of band though, but I still had to see this show.

So how did we get front row?  We got there straight after leaving the xx and stocking up on water... we were two and half+ hours early.  This meant we had to sit through Coheed and Cambria, who were awful in my opinion, and Faith No More, who I knew nothing about and put on one of the stranger shows I have seen (which was still pretty bad, and included Danny DeVito running half naked across the stage... writing that sentence was very enjoyable, seeing it was not).  What it also meant though was that we were front row for Muse.  And Muse is the type of band were front row is synonymous with epic.

Matt Bellamy rocking out on his Kaoss Pad-embedded guitar.
Photo by Me

Matt Bellamy on a Beautiful Piano.  Clear Cover, Light Up Keys
Photo by Me

Muse, as usual, put on an extremely rockin' show that managed to pull off things like green rave lasers, a keytar, light up shuttershades (!?), and weird robot animations (which they actually had the first time I saw them) without making it seemed over produced or cheesy.  Well maybe the robots/some of the other images on that were a little cheesy but whatever.  They really are a stadium/arena rock band.  The show featured some ballads (the always beautiful piano/megaphone piece "Feeling Good" - possibly my favorite song of the night), some rockers ("Uprising", which as bad as it is on the album is pretty fun live, and "Knights of Cydonia") and some tortured love love songs ("Time Is Running Out" "Hysteria").  Every synth sounded perfect, every riff sounded tight, every solo sounded creative and epic... all in all it was a Muse show.  One more thing that demonstrates just how cool Matt Belamy is... he is cool enough to pull off a change from neon pink pants to neon blue pants mid show.... The song "New Born" really demonstrated their range; it started off with the frantic keyboards, and then it changes to the dirty guitar sound midway through the song seamlessly.  There was some great jamming in between songs thanks to Matt Bellamy's Kaoss-Pad-Guitar, but not as much as at one of their own shows.  The only real disappointment was that they didn't get to play as much stuff as I would have liked because it was not their own show (which generally would last about 3 hours and two encores), although they did enjoy an encore.

Matt Bellamy.  Plus some lasers.  And a keytar.
Photo by Me

Unfortunately, also had to miss Major Lazer and Flying Lotus (whose new album is coming out... it's fantastic.).  We did stay for Tiesto, which featured some awesome bass drops and great trance/house music, but not much else.  Oh and bass that could be felt for miles.

All in All, Day 2 was a day were I got to see some great bands in the morning, and despite missing some great bands in the evening, still had a great concert experience.

-- A Teenage Elephant.

Coachella Day 1

 Hey Yall--
First of all you can check out all my photos from this and the coming posts here (I took over 300 but most of them weren't that great).
Yeasayer
So I arrived at the Empire Polo Club (the grounds that Coachella is on) at around 3:30, and after cutting about two and a half hours of line and avoiding the logistics nightmare, I made it to the Mojave tent just before Yeasayer started playing (they started at 4:20), so I was towards the back.  They packed the tent commanded the stage well and definitely got the crowd in a trance by starting with the slow, distorted opener from Odd Blood, "The Children."  At times, the synths didn't quite come through and the vocals sounded a little overwhelmed by the drums, but overall they played a crowd pleasing psych show, my personal favorites being their tried and true songs "2080" and "Ambling Alp."  Unfortunately, it was during the day and at Coachella, so the crowd wasn't treated to their signature light show, but it was still a very enjoyable first concert, even if it wasn't a perfect show.

Photo by Yours Truly

 Afterwards, I wandered into the Sahara Tent (the electro/rave/dub tent) for a few minutes of Aeroplane, which was essential just some good DJ-ing, but the tent wasn't packed as it would be for the rest of the weekend and the crowd wasn't as into it, so it just sort of felt like any other set by an electro/DJ artist.  When they did their remix of Friendly Fire's "Paris" they did get the energy levels up.

I saw one song by Ra Ra Riot, so I don't really have too much to say, except they looked like they were 16!

Then I saw the Specials, a really big ska band from the 80's (I did not know that, my friend told me that... I don't know if you guys knew or not so I included it...).  They had lots of energy and they were very danceable (I mean they are a ska band come on), but it didn't stand out to me in particular to write about on this blog, just because I don't love to listen to ska when it's not live.

Unfortunately, after that I had to miss two bands I would have loved to write about on here, Passion Pit and Grizzly Bear.  Over the course of the weekend I saw lots of bands that my friend didn't want to see, so I saw some bands he wanted to see.  We each tried some new stuff.  In this case it was Them Crooked Vultures.  It wasn't my style of music (harder rock), but it was certainly fun to see just because the crowd was really into it, plus John Paul Jones (of Led Zeppelin for my less musically educated readers) can rip it up on any instrument whatsoever, and Dave Grohl (of Nirvana) is such a rocker that it was still pretty fun, despite the loss.

LCD Soundsystem

Photo by Sam Wolk (the Teenage Elephant)

This was a show I was dying to see for pretty much ever, as LCD Soundsystem was one of the first bands that I liked when I started liking the music I like now when I got the album Sound of Silver when it first came out.  The show featured some of James Murphy's goofy antics, an all white getup and some excellent music.  The songs really emphasized the band's style of using repetitive drum beats for minutes on end and vocals that are usually essentially just spoken and then repeated in a shout.  If you dig LCD's style than the show was awesome; the music grooved like no other and everybody was dancing under a massive disco ball that hung over an otherwise sparsely lit stage.  At the back of the stage, Jay-Z's equipment loomed in the background, and when James Murphy was told he only had time for one more song when he still had three left, he went into a nearly 15 minute long rendition of "Yeah" that to me seemed essentially like a big "Fuck You Jay-Z" as people in the crowd either starting throwing up the Jay-Z diamond or dancing like there was no tomorrow.  After that he played yet another song, "New York I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down" before yielding the stage to Jay-Z's roadies.  The best songs were definitely "Yeah" and the always moving "All My Friends."  Other favorites were the new song "I Can Change" and the long, comedic "Losing My Edge."  Unfortunately he didn't play "Someone Great," the first song I ever heard by him and one of my all time favorite songs.

After that, unfortunately I didn't get to see Vampire Weekend (my friend really dislikes them, so we didn't see them), but hearing them from afar they did sound like they put on a good live show.

Sahara Tent
After we went to LCD we went to Sahara.  This is when the tent starting heating up, both literally and figuratively (even though it was 11 at night).  The tent was absolutely packed when we got there with Benny Benassi mid way through his set; there must have been about 20,000 people there.  Lemme tell you (it's hard to say that without sounding pretty stupid...) this tent is all about partying and nailing the bass drops.  It was very fun, though nothing in particular to write about, besides the fact that you get REALLY tired.  We left at around 11:30, which was before Deadmau5 went on, which we would have liked to have seen but we were just too tired and we knew we would have a big day on Saturday.  We then saw a couple of Jay-Z songs and left.

So despite missing a few bands and not seeing too many shows, Friday was an enjoyable day and served as great warmup for the front row madness that would be Saturday and Sunday.

--A Teenage Elephant

PS Yall should check out the Antlers cover of The xx... very interesting.

Paul McCartney Live at the Hollywood Bowl... That's Right, A Beatle... Live

I just saw a face I can't forget the time or place... the face was Paul McCartney's and it was at the Hollywood Bowl on March 31st, 2010.  I haven't really done any concert reviews recently, and even if this isn't the type of music I normally talk about, it's an absolute must for me to talk about it.  Last night, at the Hollywood Bowl, I saw a Beatle.  Being able to say that really means a lot to me; the Beatles are the most influential people in the history of popular music (i.e. music that isn't classical) no question, and to be able to see one of the most iconic figures in all of music performing live, let alone at a venue as incredible and prolific as the Hollywood Bowl, is a treat unimaginable, especially for someone like me, whose first CD (and yes I recognize the, if not irony, comedy that I'm talking about the Beatles and CDs not records... I guess that just goes to show how much of a lasting impact they have had) was a Beatles CD (Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band).  It it was one of, if not the, greatest concert I have ever seen.  Why was it so great?  There were almost too many reasons, and I'll get into them now.

First of all, the sheer length of the concert!  Paul and his excellent backing band (which includes Abe Laboriel, Jr., whom my friend whom I went with informed me is one of his favorite drummers...) played for nearly three hours!  There were two encores, but the breaks between each were barely more than 60 seconds, so Paul was pretty much rocking around the stage for almost 180 minutes!  I'd like to see a band that I go see on any other day play that long...  Also, Don't forget that PMc is 67 years old!

Next Up:  Paul's Stage Presence.  His experience (nearly 50 years worth...) certainly shows.  He is instantly charming and lovable, showing why Beatlemania struck.  He was at the same time very funny, quipping about the cold weather or the crowd, reminiscent, telling great stories from his days in the Beatles, and sentimental, telling emotional, but not cheesy in anyway, anecdotes about George, John and Jimi (Hendrix of course... no love for Ringo though... hmmm) and then going straight into beautiful tributes to them (the best song of the night was probably one of those tributes, but more on that later).

The next reason: Paul didn't just play Beatles (which I would have absolutely loved), but he also played some of his solo stuff and some of his stuff from the Wings.  As much as I love the Beatles (I know pretty much every song by heart...), I never really got into/listened to a lot of solo Paul; of course I knew Band on the Run, Jet, and the great Live and Let Die (I'm also a James Bond fan...), but to be exposed to this other stuff by PMc that I really probably wouldn't be exposed to was pretty cool.  Even though the Beatles material was wayyy better than most (but not all) of the PMc stuff, the PMc stuff was still great, and I enjoyed listening to some new songs.  My favorite of the ones I didn't already know was definitely Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five, which retained the pep and energy of the Beatles, but also had a slightly updated sound.

Those are the reasons that are sort of more about the performance, and now, the stuff about the music.

Not a single song lacked anything in any way.  They all struck the perfect balance between the different aspects of each song, whether it was how the keyboards played off the guitar, or how all the instruments sunk into silence as the piano took over.  Paul's voice never wavered, and as he would change voice registers he would almost shout, bringing a spark to the song.  All the songs had a certain energy to them, which was brought about by the fact that pretty much everybody in the Bowl knew pretty much every lyric to pretty much every song, and of course, sang those lyrics.  It produced the feeling that everybody really wanted to be there, and was sharing in the celebration of music; it created the perfect environment.  For me, the Beatle's songs were the best, but not a single song felt like a dud to me.

The first song that to me seemed just incredible was "I've Just Seen a Face."  The second he started playing it, it felt like Paul was thrusting you into the almost trance-like state that he is trying to express with the almost frantic vocals and the acoustics guitar, later being joined in by the rest of the band for harmonies that were just as good as the actual Beatles; that was another thing that I forgot to mention - all night long the harmonies were absolutely beautiful.


The next song that really stood out was "Blackbird."  Blackbird is of course one of the Beatles' most poetic songs, so of course when he played it solo and preluded it by talking about how they wrote it when they were looking at America and how horrible the South was at the time, and then saying, "We've come a long way baby," (although I wish he would have said "not long enough" - Prop 8 passed after all...), it was of course very moving and profound; the solo acoustic guitarist singing a song as poetic as "Blackbird" is classic image that never fails to stir emotions.


Right after that, Paul did something he usually doesn't do, making it that much more meaningful.  He talked about his regrets of his relationship with John ending prematurely, and then payed tribute to him with an acoustic "Here Today."  Rather than seeming a sad lament about "What could have been" it instead seemed to show a maturity, the idea of moving on, and what sort of seemed like acceptance and looking at what Paul could do in the future to be better.  It was a song I had never heard before, so it made an even deeper impression because I had no prior ideas about the song/it wasn't connected to anything in my head already.


A few songs later was "Eleanor Rigby".  There's not much to say about it; it's one of the greatest songs of all time (IMO), and there's nothing to compare seeing it live to for me.  


After "Eleanor Rigby" was what I think was probably the best song of the night, "Something."  Before playing "Something," he told a story about how George loved the ukulele, and how they would sit around all day and play it together.  One day, Paul said to George "I learned how to play one of your songs."  Paul (Hollywood Bowl Paul, not story Paul) then promptly started "Something."  The black stage with the sole figure illuminated contributed to the extremely emotional atmosphere,  and the uke sounded incredible.  Mid-song, the rest of the band came in, and Paul exchanged his uke for a guitar.  Images of George, Paul and George, and the whole band began to roll behind them, and Paul went into an epic guitar solo that in no way was about him, but was instead the ultimate tribute to George.  


And now, for some things that aren't as much about the music, but more funny things; I figured I would do them here since this is where they occurred in the set list (If you haven't noticed I've been going in order of the set list, which is below).  In the song "Sing the Changes," Obama was on the screen behind them, his image composed of stars that would explode and then coalesce again.   Later, "Back In The USSR" would be played with lots of energy and fire, just as it should.  After he told a funny story of how after a concert in the USSR, some Russian bigshot came up to him and said "We learn to speak English by your songs," which was funny enough because of Paul's storytelling and Russian accent, but it was made even funnier by the fact that there was a Russian guy behind me who was translating what Paul said in between songs for his mother, and when Paul said this he laughed and said "Da, Da," which means Yes, Yes, in Russian.  Also, along the translating lines, during the show I saw somebody a few rows in front of the stage who was facing the crowd, had the spotlight on, and from where I stood, seemed to be dancing.  I later realized that the person was doing sign language for the lyrics and the chatter in between songs!  It just goes to show how much people love the Beatles... Directly after "Back In the USSR" was "I've Got a Feeling," which wasn't a standout or anything, but I did have a funny comment about it that I think I will share...  After the song I turned to my friend and said "That's based off of the Black Eyed Peas song right?"  I found it comedic... I was kidding of course.  Another good BEP joke from the night: we were thinking about if there was anybody from our generation (i.e. 1990s/2000s)/anybody since the Beatles who are/will be as prolific as the Beatles and I said, "well, the Beatles are sort of the Black Eyed Peas of their generation...  Both of those were probably funnier to me than anyone else...


Later on... "Paperback Writer" had probably hands down the bets harmonies of the night.


After "Paperback Writer," they played "A Day In the Life," possibly the best Beatle/rock song of all time.  It was of course epic in all ways; it was one of the songs where the screen in the background actually had stuff that contributed to the performance.  It started out with what looked to be some sort of garden, but it was very sad and somber, partly because it looked almost like a graveyard and (this is a bit more obvious) because it was in black and white.  As they got to the end of the part where the music is starting to get chaotic and build up to the happier/second segment of the song, and the chaos starts to hit a zenith, two lone monarch (or at least whatever the orange butterflies are) butterflies started to flutter around the screen; they were the only color on the screen, and when they hit the chord that starts the second part, the garden seemed to stretch out behind them and fill with color, uplifting the spirits.  It really stood out to me because it managed to make you notice it and contribute to the atmosphere without seeming cheesy at all.  


Midway through the song though they did something very unexpected, which I guess some people may not have liked at all, but I thought it worked perfectly; they did a seamless transition into "Give Peace a Chance."  This song is of course the type of song that everybody sings along to, so in the middle song the band stopped playing and the entire crowd belted out "So give peace a chance,  All we are saying, is give peace a chaaance."  


At this point, the set was beginning to hit its climax.  The last three songs were pretty epic; he started with "Let It Be," probably the most "iconic" Beatles-song.  PMc on the piano again was about as classic as it gets.  Then he took up the guitar again for probably the highest energy song of the night, "Live and Let Die."  The song had the power guitar that its famous for, and it even featured pyrotechnics, including fireworks; even though it is sort of showy and uncharacteristic, it just made the song more colossal in how hard it hit every chord.  Then, of course, they closed with "Hey, Jude" on the piano, with about a 5-minute section of the crowd singing Na, Nah, Na Na Na, etc.  It was the culmination of a celebration of the Beatles right?  


WRONG!  They came right back out after barely more than a minute and played a very peppy, upbeat three song encore.  They started with possibly my favorite song of the night, "Day Tripper."  It had lots of pop to it, and it made you feel like they still had the energy and and feel that it put the energy back in you to be there for another three hours.  DAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay Tripper!


Then the always fun Lady Madonna, and then another exciting song; it was "Get Back" it felt very similar to "Back In the USSR."


They then went back off for barely a minute, and Paul came out for one final encore, again made up of three songs.  It started with a very beautiful "Yesterday" on acoustic guitar, and then the rest of the band came out for a guitar-solo laden "Helter-Skelter."  Finally, the night came to a conclusion with a perfectly suited "Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band" medley, which then flowed into "In the End."  Couldn't have ended better. 


One of the things that was very interesting was that despite being Paul McCartney, Paul never came off as cocky in any way; instead he came off as a humble guy, who despite selling out every single show he plays, still is amazed by how much people love him, and still manages to make a completely filled 17,000 seat amphitheater fell intimate.  


--  A Teenage Elephant


Set List


1.Venus And Mars / Rock Show
2.Jet
3.All My Loving
4.Letting Go
5.Drive My Car
6.Highway
7.Let Me Roll It / Foxey Lady
8.The Long And Winding Road
9.Nineteen Hundred And Eighty Five
10.Let ‘Em In
11.My Love
12.I’ve Just Seen A Face
13.And I Love Her
14.Blackbird
15.Here Today
16.Dance Tonight
17.Mrs Vandebilt
18.Eleanor Rigby
19.Something
20.Sing The Changes
21.Band On The Run
22.Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
23.Back In The USSR
24.I’ve Got A Feeling
25.Paperback Writer
26.A Day In The Life / Give Peace A Chance
27.Let It Be
28.Live And Let Die
29.Hey Jude


Encore
30.Day Tripper
31.Lady Madonna
32.Get Back

Encore 2
33.Yesterday
34.Helter Skelter
35.Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band / The End

DJ-ing on a Gameboy! Wait, What?

The title says it all, but if you are still wondering, I shall get there shortly.

Last night (Saturday), I went to the Windward Battle of the Bands at the El Rey (for those of you who don't know Windward is a fairly small private high school in LA).  Getting the El Rey for the night was definitely a big plus for the event, so even though there was only around a hundred people there, having the awesome El Rey marquis outside reading "Windward Battle of the Bands" and the crystal glow of the immense chandeliers illuminating the inside definitely made for a pretty cool environment/must have been a really fun experience for high schoolers playing a concert.  Oh, and also, the people playing were from all different schools, although many of the kids were from Windward.

The first band, the Modern Drone, were just meh.  They just sort of sounded like a bunch of teenagers playing music, nothing special. (Don't get me wrong, they are better musicians than me and I give them major props for playing, I just didn't think they were as good as some of the other bands.)

The next band, Range Life, were the band most likely to be seen on my blog on any given day, in terms of their style.  They definitely fit into the LA sound if you ask me.  Clean electric guitar, upbeat, tight drums etc. (so they definitely in with the Local Natives/Deadly Syndrome etc. scene/sound), but they had their own little spin on it too, with really good trumpet (riffs?) giving the song a slightly more complex feel.  Martin Isenberg's vocals remind me a lot of Conor Oberst; slightly raspy, a little bit of a shout, and lots of passion that add up to the feeling that he really cares about his music.  These guys were my favorites for the night, but I do think that band that won (not these guys) deserved it.  If you like these two songs become fans of them on Facebook, I'm sure they would appreciate it.  I also really like their lyrics...
mp3: Piece by Piece (It's only a download)
mp3: Things You'll Never Forget

The Yellows followed Range Life, and were super enjoyable/fun to listen to, but after talking to some of the guys in the band they said they just really came together for this show, so I'm not going to write too much about them (plus they don't have any mp3's for me so there's really no point).  They were a sort of jazzy/swinger/swanky fun mix style that I don't really no how to explain, but whatever (if you are reading this Micah great job).

The next band was not very good in my opinion, nor were they my (or I think anybody who reads this blog's) style, so I will pretty much just skip over them.  I think all I need to do to describe them is describe what the guitarist was wearing - he had super long curly hair, he was wearing a fur coat, which he later took, showing that he had no shirt on underneath, and  tight, black leather pants.  Oh, and later he started walking around with a Motley Crue t-shirt.  'Nuff Said.

Now, for the highlight of the night (IMHO)... DJ Jack Taylor.  So what Jack did was reprogram an ancient gameboy to essentially turn it into a sampler, and then took that idea, and ran.  What ensues from this crazy concept is a techno-y, electronic, 8-bit playground of sound.  It's filled with your fuzzy synth sounds, clear beeps and boops, and more.  Soon I'll get recordings of some of his stuff, I just haven't had time to get it from him.  He is making all the music live and in real-time... it's definitely one of the most creative/fun/interesting things I have ever seen.  Another cool aspect of it was just how the performance worked out; he started out on the stage standing there with just the gameboy and bopping his head up and down with everyone just sort of looking up at him, but then he hopped off the stage and just stood in the audience... it was a very unique performance, that's for sure.  The closest thing to his sound that I can think of is Anamanaguchi (who are really good, if you haven't checked them out).  UPDATE:  Upon just doing some Wikipedia freshening up, this style of using a game chip to create songs is called "Chiptune," and it turns out Anamanaguchi are also chiptune artists, explaining the similarity.  This picture below is just a little spread that I made of a single shot that I thought would sort of be cool... Tell me if you like it/think it's lame and cheeezzy.

Ya like?

But wait, there's more????

Vas Defrans were up next (and yes there band name is part of the testicle... what that says about them I am unsure of...).  They were probably the most skilled musicians, and probably the best performers.  They weren't really my style, but their talent, stage skills, and energy made me like them.  They were super aggressive; everything felt like it was pumped full of energy.  It seemed like they were always on the attack with intense guitar.  The lead singer was absolutely wrapped up in the music; he brought tons of energy... really the whole band did.  I know I keep saying that I just don't really know what else to say.  They had a sort of Mars Volta sound, and upon talking to one of the guys after, it turned out he was actually friends with one of the Mars Voltians (term coined).  They closed with a a cover, Sunburn by Muse.  They turned an awesome song into their own, which is the best thing that can be said of any cover.  I still haven't gotten a hold of any mp3s.

So... they ended up winning.  Time to go home right?  WRONG, there was still the much anticipated DJ set of the duo Treefrog.  It started with the lights completely out (the first time that happened all night) and the curtains drawn on the stage, and then...

The music from the iconic opening scene of A Clockwork Orange came on (that is one of if not my favorite movie and book).  The curtains were opened and on stage were four people, all dressed in all white with white suspenders and black hats, just like Alex and the Droogies at the Milkbar.  Then the other two guys went into the audience and pretty much just danced and the two main guys DJed.  Not much else to say about a DJ set (I don't really know how to review one anyways...).  It ended with most of the people who were still left on stage.  

All in all a good night...

And one more thing...

OK Go :: This Too Shall Pass

Well do these guys have a knack for making viral videos...  After already making an excellent video for the single from their new album, they then went on to make this video, which is essentially a giant Rube Goldberg machine set to music... what could be better...

-- A (Tired) Teenage Elephant