Live Review: Cursive, Man Man @ Variety Playhouse, 5/1/09

For Atlanta Music Guide:

Live Review: Cursive, Man Man @ Variety Playhouse 5/1/09

Three white animatronic cats perched atop a speaker preceded the five men of Man Man onto the Variety Playhouse stage after they finished their plain-clothes sound check and ventured off to get into costume. The cats would stay still barely long enough so that you’d think they were lifeless, then move just slightly and blink, reflecting the black light and making you jump out of your skin in a mixture of surprise and almost unbearable anticipation. When Man Man re-emerged in their all-white to match, the creepy kitties nodded in approval and the full, albeit young, Variety echoed enthusiastically...[Read more]



Also for Atlanta Music Guide:


Q&A with José Reyes, co-founder of Fringe

Four times a season, several seemingly disparate creative ideas come together harmoniously in one venue: classical chamber music, electronica DJ-ing, visual art, short film, performance art and essay. It’s an idea new to Atlanta, and it’s one of the most interesting evenings $15 can buy. Co-founded and run by Fia and Dana Durrett and José and Nikolle Reyes, Fringe has enjoyed almost two complete seasons of events and a heap of critical acclaim to go along with them. We talked to José Reyes about the inception of the arts series and what enthralled attendees can expect when they experience the fourth and final performance of Fringe’s second season this Saturday, May 9. For more information, visit FringeAtlanta.org, and to buy tickets click here.

Q: How did you guys come up with this idea? What made you want to do it in the first place?
A: Well, we met some friends — Fia and Dana Durrett — and they were telling us about their love of chamber music. We didn’t really know anything about chamber music, so we got to start learning more about it. As we learned more about it and traveled and listened to it in other places, we just realized that there’s something really awesome about hearing it in a small venue, but we were missing a whole younger group of people — essentially the iPod generation, which is basically anyone who is interested in technology and new stuff, or even older stuff, but in a way that would be more meaningful to them. We thought, “They [Fia and Dana] love chamber music. We don’t know anything about chamber music, but we do know about art and what we might do for a show and what that might look like.” It took about a year for all that to germinate into actually having a concert...[Read more]

Stuff that will rock. Part 2.

Above: Cursive

Upcoming show awesomeness:

On May 1, Omaha's Cursive and Philly's Man Man will play the Variety Playhouse right here in the ATL.

Now. We all know the FOA opinion on Man Man. There's a lot of screaming and dancing, etc. Case in point. But let's not forget our headliner, who released Mama, I'm Swollen on Saddle Creek Records in March. It's the latest full-length in their rather prolific career. Here's the single:

[MP3] Cursive - "From The Hips"

It's a show that will rock.


Also, The National hits Atlanta's Tabernacle May 27th. Bonnie "Prince" Billy hits the Variety May 29th. Bon Iver hits the Variety June 7th.

And tonight, Lazer/Wulf plays with McClane at East Atlanta's 529. It will rock, too.

It'll all rock.

FOAVOD: Man Man - "Rabbit Habbits"

Want to see some romance/werewolf drama set to a great song? Then watch this!

Live Review: Man Man / Yeasayer (Lenny's Bar 5/3/08)

(Photo credit)

I wrote this review for Stomp and Stammer's website. You can read more "Tales From The Moshpit" here.

Copy-pasting action:

If for nothing other than a sociological study on facial hair patterns in young adults, the Man Man and Yeasayer show at Lenny's would have been worth attending.

That being said, I'm glad this wasn't the first time I'd seen Yeasayer. The sound engineering this particular night did them no favors, mixing all the punch right out of Chris Keating's vocals — pretty much the whole draw of the band for me. Without it, their creations spiral downward toward — what did Jeff call their album? — "Airy, mystical shit that sounds like somebody got a ahold of a bunch of peyote and somebody's Johnny Clegg records." Well sure, Jeff, to me it gets that way if the sound in the club's bad. I really like 2007's All Hour Cymbals, even if it's a little far down the blissed-out spectrum for my usual tastes. You might feel the same, but once you see them live, you'll fall in love like I did. Keyword in that last sentence: "see." At the Lenny's show, I only heard them, and it just wasn't the same. I could digress at this point into an argument against Lenny's ever hosting acts that draw a crowd that large. The stage is too low to allow anyone under 6' a view of the action. (Not to mention their one-stall bathroom situation on a night when the crowd's at capacity...bad news.) Ordinarily, I love the way Keating convulses when he sings, as if the music may actually be killing him, gnawing out his internal organs, but he doesn't care — he'll fight through the pain to bring you, dear listener, the tune that may save your life instead. He sings like a musical martyr. I know that at another venue, Yeasayer both looks and sounds more compelling; all I experienced at this show was the shoulders of those next to me, the varying haircut profiles of the people in front, and lots and lots of projection screen psychedelia and bass. So. Much. Bass. The logistics of showgoing were so poor that night that I even danced to my favorite Yeasayer song, "Sunrise," with 12 of my closest friends in line for the ladies' room. Questionable venue choice to host two such high-profile and visually-stunning acts.

Yeasayer probably shared a good portion of the blame for the bar being so packed, but my instincts tell me it was mostly Man Man's fault. These men's popularity is, to me, unsurprising and incredibly well deserved. I can think of no music less pretty — or more beautiful. Lead-fellow Honus Honus (a.k.a. Ryan Kattner) writes the smartest music I ever hear, lyrically and melodically; it's technically worlds and worlds superior to what mostly passes as pop nowadays. The set for the night featured heaping helpings of material from their new Anti- Records debut, Rabbit Habits, like the frantic "Ballad of Butter Beans," the syncopated and moaning "Big Trouble" and the just-plain-effing-brilliant "Harpoon Fever (Queequeg's Playhouse)." Yes, that's a Moby-Dick reference. They sampled bits off their earlier releases as well, most memorably the slower and more nostalgic "Van Helsing Boombox" from 2006's Six Demon Bag as the final song in their much-cheered-for encore. The song features saloon piano, whistling and one of my favorite opening lines in all of music; "Only time will tell if I'll allow the scenery around to eat me alive," Honus croons gratingly over Pow Pow's gentle rim-tapping. While you're wondering what he might mean by that, the other boys are all busy. Honus climbs and kicks, playing his keys, but the others switch instruments. Guitar, bass, all kinds of brass and saxophone, and even more keys are represented (not to mention the occasional slide whistle). Pow Pow plays his drum kit side-by-side with Honus in front, the upright pole of his high hat sporting an impaled plastic rabbit and some feathers. The all-white all the guys wear contrasts with their unruly hair and sweaty skin streaked with face paint. Sometimes Honus plays a bowl of water as a percussion instrument. Tell me you wouldn't love to stare at all this forever if given the opportunity. I certainly wanted to, and was grumpy at being denied the vantage point, but as I've seen them play before, and Man Man makes me dance like a maniac, all was not lost. You don't even need eyes to appreciate something so viscerally compelling.

Wolf Parade - At Mount Zoomer

At Mount Zoomer, the forthcoming full-length from indie rockers Wolf Parade, will release June 17th on Sub Pop. I've been intrigued by this band for a minute now, and I still can't get "Call It A Ritual" out of my head. Accordingly, I wrote a review of it for this month's issue of Stomp and Stammer. The 'zine also boasts a cover on Mudhoney, my one-sentence sum-up of Man Man's Rabbit Habits and loads of other reviews and whatnot. Recommended reading!



At Mount Zoomer:

This Montreal side-project-happy crew's second LP sounds like a buffet tastes. It starts fresh and new and delicious. "Soldier's Gun" whets the appetite as the leadoff track, the first sweet synthesizer notes and mellow vocals launching square into poppy, post new wave territory. We are suddenly awash in a bright, pointillist guitar-punctuated waltz with warbling harmonies from singer Dan Boeckner, whose voice and delivery style remind more than a little of VHS or Beta frontman Craig Pfunder. He wails about chemicals and radio wires, beginning the album's consistent exploration of disillusionment and the darker sides of modern life.... [Read more]

[MP3] Wolf Parade - "Language City"

Show Docket 4/17/08

Coming up in the ATL!

Tonight 4/17 @ The Star Bar:
Pop Death Squad and Performer Magazine present Big Trouble in Little Five Points
with
Dead Confederate
The Constellations
Hands Down Eugene
9 p.m. FREE

Tomorrow, 4/18 @ Lenny's:
Wolfe Bros. & Video Bean along with Performer Magazine present Sound Check
with
The Selmanaires
The Coathangers
Sleep Therapy
9 p.m. $5

Saturday, 4/19 @ Variety Playhouse:
The Avett Brothers (!!!!!!!!)
Paleface
Christopher Denny & The Old Souls
8:30 p.m. SOLD OUT

Friday, 4/25 @ The Earl:
Tapes 'n Tapes
White Denim

9:30 p.m. $12

Saturday, 5/3 @ Lenny's:
Man Man (!!!!!)
Yeasayer (!!!!!!)
9 p.m. $12 (tickets still available! buy 'em!)

Thursday, 5/8 @ Lakewood Amphitheatre:
Radiohead.
Liars.
(*hyperventilate*)
SOLD THE HELL OUT. HAS BEEN.

Saturday, 5/10 @ Caledonia (Athens):
Fishboy!


It's going to be a great month.

Ball of Flame Shoot Fire - Grumpy Little Bird EP

[MP3] Ball of Flame Shoot Fire - "Red Meat"

Ok, friends. This is going to be hasty, but I wish very much that it wasn't. Things've been a little more than ridiculously busy recently (Langerado, deadline, incredible show last night - Liam Finn/The Most Serene Republic/Miracle Fortress). It's kept me from translating all my pages and pages of notes and intentions to the digital world. There are a few reviews I've been promising, and this one wasn't technically the first in line. But of all the things I've received in the mail because of Fear of Arthropods, this little record, Grumpy Little Bird from Pittsburgh's Ball of Flame Shoot Fire, is my favorite.

BOFSF:


Here's why (in awkward bulleted list format, no less):

-Giddy vocals: including, but not limited to, a bit of yodeling/cracking between octaves/falsetto/yelling. I'm sucker for falsetto. And warbling. This EP's got both. Smacks of Zach Condon just a touch, but not nearly as operatic. Imagine Beirut meets TV on the Radio, vocally.

-They're theatrical!: like Man Man (who they've played with, Tim from the band tells me), but not in exactly the same way. What struck me about the first 30 seconds of the EP is that there's emphasis (I just totally got a kick of using emphasis html around the word "emphasis," btw...)! Effective rhythm variations, saloon piano, time changes. This is more than your usual pop fare, and it's a little insane the same way Man Man is. Which isn't to say they're a Man Man ripoff at all. They're not. They go in for more balladry than Man Man does, but they've taken so much of what I love about that band and used it to their advantage. Kudos. (And they're weird without scaring me a little like some bands do that shall remain unnamed....*cough, Bearsuit, *cough...)

-Fun instrumentation: like when they use saxophone (which tends to annoy me, but doesn't here) without coming off like some sad attempt at smooth jazz. They walk this silliness line and perform it all with a sense of humor, but never make a joke of their music. It's fun without losing weight. "Down the Street" even features a cheesy electric organ effect, but it's performed so well technically and with such feeling. It's completely endearing. (It actually says "Yay!" in my notes, if you must know...)

-A few song-by-song observations: (not edited well, so there's a bit of repition - time restraints, sorry...)
Standout tracks are the lead, "Red Meat," and the as-crazy or, perhaps, crazier, "'rado." Maybe I like insane? "Vroom Vroom" features that saloon piano, punchy, slide guitar, saxophone; lead vocals slide into shaky falsetto of the most charming kind. Fast and committed. None of that mid-tempo crap. "Down the Street" is all cheesy electric organ, tracks of people talking in the background, lends to a social feel. Doesn't take away from the weight of the album. These guys have a sense of humor, but I've always thought that contributed to the credibility of music. "'rado" tends toward vocal stylings reminiscent of The Darkness, all squawks and Freddie Mercury-esque exclamations. Banging piano tempered with excellent timing and well-placed yelled choruses. These songs are almost tone paintings, to a greater extent than is often found in pop music. They illustrate their points, not only talk about them. A touch Ben Folds, bits of brass, occasional squeezing of too many syllables into one line (so charming!), a-la Xiu Xiu. "Vasco de Gama" does this, and is quite good, especially for use of the phrase "necessary expense" in very little space...the song talks about conquistadors over seriously beautiful ostenato parts and brass backing and octave vocal leaps. It feels like motown meets Coldplay. But not icky.

What else can I say? I take it this is a young band's first real release, and it's loaded with potential. I hope to hear more from these guys.



Says the band:
Grumpy Little Bird is available for purchase from Big Big Truck Records [which means you should just email or MySpace message the band] for 5 bucks. The tracks are:
1. Red Meat
2. Flaming Wreckage
3. Vroom Vroom
4. Down the Street
5. Rado
6. Vasco da Gama
7. Wolf Cry

(All images ripped off from BOFSF's Myspace)

Man Man + Yeasayer = So excited

I've talked about Yeasayer before, but in case you didn't believe me about the awesomeness and the stage mannerisms, check this out:

They were on Conan on Friday, performing "2080" from last year's All Hour Cymbals.


I've been increasingly more interested since I saw them live, and also since a song of theirs came on my clock radio Friday morning. It's not that weird, as I've got my alarm set to WRAS...songs I like come on all the time in the morning. What I did find strange, though, was that the song started at basically the exact second my eyes opened. And that it was called "Sunrise." Come to think of it, waking up to this every day wouldn't suck...



These guys have have thrown up a new video (thanks for the heads-up, Sara!), which you can watch and read all about on Drowned In Sound. And what's more, they're about to go on tour with MAN MAN. (Ack, so happy I can't breathe...neither could Austin, by the looks of that news item...) Even better, when aforementioned tour takes place they'll be stopping at Lenny's. Here. A five minute walk from my apartment. (It's too much! Think of all the flailing!)

For a taste of the glory expected this April from Man Man (through their pals at Anti-), check out the video thang Pitchfork did on them last year:



A live rendition of probably my favorite Man Man song, "Van Helsing Boom Box":


And for the record, Rabbit Habits sounds really good (consider that the FOA stamp of approval, or whatever). It really does. Sigh. Such talent! So many squeaky toys!

Oh, Echo! (part II)

More Echo pictures! Here comes the good stuff...

The Spree's horn section, after transformation into full-blown cult.

Hope for Agoldensummer

AVETTS!

Seth or Scott Avett. I can't remember. They're both too attractive to be differentiated from one another.

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. There. Are. No. Words.

Hands down my favorite picture of the weekend. Look how happy the guitarist in the back is....aw...

Alec Ounsworth. Sigh.




Megaphone. "Clap your hands! But I feel so lonely....Clap Your Hands! But it won't do nothing..."

Man Man! onslaught

Ye olde Skirts. I heart Jo Jo.


And that was Echo. All in all an excellent weekend, if exhausting.

This week, I saw Of Montreal (which I did get into, and I did write about, and it was fabulous...sorry for my previous whining...) on Wednesday, Pylon, the Selmanaires, and the New Sound of Numbers on Thursday. I'm tired. Just an excellent week.