just when i thought i could look forward to a nice relaxing saturday without any crazy roadtripping plans [FINALLY] for the entirety of my spring break, mike convinced me. he convinced me to drive the four hours north to dekalb, illinois to see treaty of paris [again] and state & madison. it was a fairly easy decision since one - i adore both those bands, two - all my chicago friends would be there, three - meesh and her parentals would be there, and four - honestly, what better plans did i have? so i rolled myself out of bed at noon, lazily got ready and was headed north by around two. my bladder was most definitely not in roadtrip mode so it took a little longer than four hours, but i arrived in plenty of time. and as i walked in, i was promptly knocked over by a collective group hug from sam, steph, claire, molly and meesh. have i mentioned how much i love them? well i absolutely adore them. so we hung out for a while and chatted it up, said hey to various band boys wandering aruond, and mike came over and pointed and laughed at me. he loves me, i swear, even told me i was his favorite person. WIN. [check that one off the bucket list.]
without a face [yes, again] played first and was hilariously entertaining as always. kirkland was next and they were really good. not exactly music i'd choose to listen to day in and day out, but they put on a great show and their lead singer, sarah, has an absolutely killer voice. next was state & madison, my chicago loves, and they were of course amazing as they always are. they're now tied for first place with cavashawn for "number of shows i've been to". ooh, the competition! [the magic number is sixteen if you were wondering.] and last but not least, was treaty of paris. quite the show, as was the one the previous night. they never fail to impress me, and phil kosch never fails to make me laugh with his crazy moves on stage.
so we all hung around for a while after the show, took some pictures, made fun of meesh for being WASTED [just kidding] and i made my goodbye rounds with most everyone. left around eleven, made it home by three thirty, crashed into bed.
/end last-minute-decision-saturday.
Monday, March 29, 2010
st. louis: treaty of paris
SPRING. BREAK. ...was ninety five percent of the reason i was STOKED about this show, haha. i hadn't seen treaty of paris since their january cd release show, and this was the perfect way to kick off my spring break in st. louis. i once again headed out to the firebird. the club was pretty empty, but it filled up as the night progressed and there was a pretty great crowd there by the end of the night.
the first band was surprisingly good; second band was without a face [henry is too precious for words. and his songs are hilarious.] and third was the trainwreck called nothing still. during all three previously mentioned bands, mike and i caught up on life, he made fun of me for this and that, and he somehow convinced me to drive to dekalb the following night to see treaty again with state & madison. he's damn persuasive and of course i can't turn down a show. so i eventually agreed and he gloated. we love each other. so treaty finally played and hot damn, i always forget how good they are. this was only my fourth or so time seeing them, but i feel like i've seen them a million times and we're old friends. all the guys are so friendly and they all love to give hugs. extra cool points for that one in my book. they played equal amounts of new and old songs, and everything sounded fantastic. i bought a shirt after the show, talked to most of the guys briefly, promised to see mike in less than twenty four hours, traded hugs, and made it home by around one. perfect way to start my break.
the first band was surprisingly good; second band was without a face [henry is too precious for words. and his songs are hilarious.] and third was the trainwreck called nothing still. during all three previously mentioned bands, mike and i caught up on life, he made fun of me for this and that, and he somehow convinced me to drive to dekalb the following night to see treaty again with state & madison. he's damn persuasive and of course i can't turn down a show. so i eventually agreed and he gloated. we love each other. so treaty finally played and hot damn, i always forget how good they are. this was only my fourth or so time seeing them, but i feel like i've seen them a million times and we're old friends. all the guys are so friendly and they all love to give hugs. extra cool points for that one in my book. they played equal amounts of new and old songs, and everything sounded fantastic. i bought a shirt after the show, talked to most of the guys briefly, promised to see mike in less than twenty four hours, traded hugs, and made it home by around one. perfect way to start my break.
st. louis: good old war and circa survive
finally. it's spring break so i can get caught up on all these bad ass show reviews. sorry i've been slacking, friends. the good old war/circa survive show was a week ago and i'm just now getting around to writing about it. better late than never, though.
so after a totally crazy weekend in chicago seeing we the living, i had but one more show to drag my tired self to in roder to complete the "best week ever' sequence of events. monday was a long ass day and by the time five rolled around and it was time to trek back east to st. louis, i didn't even want to go. but i knew i'd kick myself if i didn't. so i bought a red bull and everything was okay. the show was at the firebird; it was so weird seeing the venue sold out. the only other shows i've ever seen there have always been smaller local shows. very cool to see so many people packed in there. i got a fairly decent spot right in the middle of the crowd, but still couldn't see much. tall guys always manage to stand directly in front of me. the opening bands were so-so; obviously nothing amazing because it's a mere week later and i remember nothing spectacular about them. can't say i even remember their names. but good old war was amaaaazing! i bought their album with my chirstmas itunes money a few months ago and in a few short months, they've become one of my top played artists. LOVE them. the majority of the crowd seemed to know them too, which i was surprised about. i always feel like i'm ahead of the game when it comes to discovering the next indie-chic band, but i'm always wrong. i suck at being a hipster.
circa took forever and a day to get set up and i was already suffering from a severe case of concert back. so by two or three songs in, i decided to leave my middle-of-the-crowd spot for the back wall to lean against. the firebird's pretty small so i still had a great view of the stage. man, let me tell you. circa survive knows how to put on a SHOW. anthony green is probably the coolest person ever. maybe it's because he was most likely on four different kinds of drugs. but regardless, his vocals were flawless, which is pretty amazing considering the range at which he sings. i met up with a bunch of my friends who'd also driven in from columbia after the show, and we noticed a crowd forming around some dude palying an acoustic guitar outside. upon investigation, i realized i was standing five feet away from anthony himself, strumming away and singing some songs. anthony green, just chillin on the sidewalk. so freakin cool. i didn't stick around too long though; i had a two hour drive back to school and my energy level was in the negatives. but all in all, a totally rad monday. so happy i can finally say that i've seen circa in concert now.
so after a totally crazy weekend in chicago seeing we the living, i had but one more show to drag my tired self to in roder to complete the "best week ever' sequence of events. monday was a long ass day and by the time five rolled around and it was time to trek back east to st. louis, i didn't even want to go. but i knew i'd kick myself if i didn't. so i bought a red bull and everything was okay. the show was at the firebird; it was so weird seeing the venue sold out. the only other shows i've ever seen there have always been smaller local shows. very cool to see so many people packed in there. i got a fairly decent spot right in the middle of the crowd, but still couldn't see much. tall guys always manage to stand directly in front of me. the opening bands were so-so; obviously nothing amazing because it's a mere week later and i remember nothing spectacular about them. can't say i even remember their names. but good old war was amaaaazing! i bought their album with my chirstmas itunes money a few months ago and in a few short months, they've become one of my top played artists. LOVE them. the majority of the crowd seemed to know them too, which i was surprised about. i always feel like i'm ahead of the game when it comes to discovering the next indie-chic band, but i'm always wrong. i suck at being a hipster.
circa took forever and a day to get set up and i was already suffering from a severe case of concert back. so by two or three songs in, i decided to leave my middle-of-the-crowd spot for the back wall to lean against. the firebird's pretty small so i still had a great view of the stage. man, let me tell you. circa survive knows how to put on a SHOW. anthony green is probably the coolest person ever. maybe it's because he was most likely on four different kinds of drugs. but regardless, his vocals were flawless, which is pretty amazing considering the range at which he sings. i met up with a bunch of my friends who'd also driven in from columbia after the show, and we noticed a crowd forming around some dude palying an acoustic guitar outside. upon investigation, i realized i was standing five feet away from anthony himself, strumming away and singing some songs. anthony green, just chillin on the sidewalk. so freakin cool. i didn't stick around too long though; i had a two hour drive back to school and my energy level was in the negatives. but all in all, a totally rad monday. so happy i can finally say that i've seen circa in concert now.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
chicago: we the living
and you thought tuesday, thursday and friday were nuts? nay, my friends. just you wait. i had completely ruled out chicago weeks and weeks beforehand; i knew how tired i'd be by the end of #bestweekever and a seven hour drive just wasn't an option. i had already told the guys i wasn't going, too, and had pretty much written it off without much more thought. well nora tweeted me at some point during the week about it, and i immediately told her no way. then i hopped in the shower. now, i don't know about you, but the shower is my sacred place where i do all of my thinking, brooding, and contemplating, and come to all kinds of epic philosophical revelations. well, it was during that very shower, while i was conditioning my hair to be precise, that i made up my mind. i made up my mind to bite the bullet and make the trip up north to see we the living. i got out of said shower, texted nora, she told me i was crazy, and we planned out my eighteen hour jaunt. hot damn.
so saturday morning came way too quickly for my liking; seven hours of sleep was not enough for adequate catch-up time. but i rolled myself out of bed, showered, threw some clothes in my backpack, and packed up the car. my wonderful roommate had even made breakfast, so i enjoyed toast, bacon and the best coffee ever before heading north. the drive was relatively painless. it ended up being about six hours since for one, i was only going to la grange, and thus, two, skipped out on all the traffic of the city. i made it nora's house a little before seven. nora's friend olivia had made the last minute decision to fly in from nashville, so we had ourselves a little trio heading into to the city by around eight or so. we wandered around for a while, eventually got dinner, and headed on over to schuba's. they hung out in the bar for a while [since we the living didn't even go on until midnight, eek.] and i ventured into the venue and met up with all muh frands. so good seeing sam, stephanie, nikki and claire. love them!
it was so very entertaining running into each of the guys. brian saw me first and freaked out. "oh my god! you came!" precious. and then adam saw me and exclaimed "holy cow!"; then matt came over, shook his head at me, and we proceeded with a normal conversation [okay, so our conversations are never normal, but you know...]. ben didn't see me until he was up on stage. we made eye contact, he cocked his head, and gave me such a puzzled look. too funny. i am easily entertained. anyways, they played a fantastic set and i am so in love with both their original new music, and their new boom forest cover of travis' happy to hang around. can't get enough of it. also can't get enough of the new version of sound of love. so so good. matt also has a new favorite activity - in st. louis during 'all i need' he had pointed to me and katie and motioned for us to start slow dancing together. we laughed and complied, and had a quite a few spins around the dance floor. well this time, once again, matt pointed at me. i had no idea what he wanted at first, but it dawned on me. so i turned to megan,who was standing next to me and we slow danced our little hearts out. thanks matt.
my gaggle of girls left pretty quickly since they too had been on a crazy roadtrip of their own for a few days. so i hung around the venue for awhile after they left, talked to various people, and met ben's girlfried kelly who's probably the cutest thing on planet earth. we bonded over manchester orchestra and it was lovely. utterly ridiculous conversations then took place with matt and adam, we eventually sauntered out into the bar area, and chaos began. schuba's bar area is strictly 21+ and i was a minor. so i was royally pissing off the door guy who kept informing me to LEAVE NOW every ten minutes. sorry my ride is twenty two; do you want me to roam the streets for two hours? awesome, okay. so while i was avoiding eye contact with evil door man, matt and i bonded over how blind we are, and jp showered me wish adorable compliments and asked about my anxiety disorder. HA. clearly word travels fast in the van. those boys, i tell ya. they just kill me. we finally headed out, ate white castle at four in the morning and i passed out hardcore. the morning was unkind, but coffee helped to clear the hallucinations [err, what...?] and i was on my way back to columbia by around one. what a whirlwind. it was a good few hours in chicago, and i'd do it again in a heartbeat.
have i mentioned how much i love my touring life?
so saturday morning came way too quickly for my liking; seven hours of sleep was not enough for adequate catch-up time. but i rolled myself out of bed, showered, threw some clothes in my backpack, and packed up the car. my wonderful roommate had even made breakfast, so i enjoyed toast, bacon and the best coffee ever before heading north. the drive was relatively painless. it ended up being about six hours since for one, i was only going to la grange, and thus, two, skipped out on all the traffic of the city. i made it nora's house a little before seven. nora's friend olivia had made the last minute decision to fly in from nashville, so we had ourselves a little trio heading into to the city by around eight or so. we wandered around for a while, eventually got dinner, and headed on over to schuba's. they hung out in the bar for a while [since we the living didn't even go on until midnight, eek.] and i ventured into the venue and met up with all muh frands. so good seeing sam, stephanie, nikki and claire. love them!
it was so very entertaining running into each of the guys. brian saw me first and freaked out. "oh my god! you came!" precious. and then adam saw me and exclaimed "holy cow!"; then matt came over, shook his head at me, and we proceeded with a normal conversation [okay, so our conversations are never normal, but you know...]. ben didn't see me until he was up on stage. we made eye contact, he cocked his head, and gave me such a puzzled look. too funny. i am easily entertained. anyways, they played a fantastic set and i am so in love with both their original new music, and their new boom forest cover of travis' happy to hang around. can't get enough of it. also can't get enough of the new version of sound of love. so so good. matt also has a new favorite activity - in st. louis during 'all i need' he had pointed to me and katie and motioned for us to start slow dancing together. we laughed and complied, and had a quite a few spins around the dance floor. well this time, once again, matt pointed at me. i had no idea what he wanted at first, but it dawned on me. so i turned to megan,who was standing next to me and we slow danced our little hearts out. thanks matt.
my gaggle of girls left pretty quickly since they too had been on a crazy roadtrip of their own for a few days. so i hung around the venue for awhile after they left, talked to various people, and met ben's girlfried kelly who's probably the cutest thing on planet earth. we bonded over manchester orchestra and it was lovely. utterly ridiculous conversations then took place with matt and adam, we eventually sauntered out into the bar area, and chaos began. schuba's bar area is strictly 21+ and i was a minor. so i was royally pissing off the door guy who kept informing me to LEAVE NOW every ten minutes. sorry my ride is twenty two; do you want me to roam the streets for two hours? awesome, okay. so while i was avoiding eye contact with evil door man, matt and i bonded over how blind we are, and jp showered me wish adorable compliments and asked about my anxiety disorder. HA. clearly word travels fast in the van. those boys, i tell ya. they just kill me. we finally headed out, ate white castle at four in the morning and i passed out hardcore. the morning was unkind, but coffee helped to clear the hallucinations [err, what...?] and i was on my way back to columbia by around one. what a whirlwind. it was a good few hours in chicago, and i'd do it again in a heartbeat.
have i mentioned how much i love my touring life?
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
kansas city: manchester orchestra
it was a miracle i didn't lose my sanity last week. by the time friday rolled around, i was in severe sleep deprivation mode, yet somehow managed to make it through all my classes. somewhere within that week, my laptop crashed as well. nothing like a little stress on top of a week full of roadtrips with NO time whatsoever to deal with any problems that would arise. brianna found me on the floor holding my poor computer screaming expletives and on the verge of tears. i was three weeks away from getting an external hard drive for my birthday, and my laptop just HAD to crash. fortunately, my hard drive ended up being just fine, i [my dad] bought a new laptop and an external, and successfully transferred all my data over to the new laptop. so as sad as i was to see the old one go, i'm trying my best to embrace change and get used to the new one [complete with windows seven!] i'm now stuck with. but enough about my addiction to the cyber world.
by the time three o clock on friday rolled around, all i wanted to do was crash into bed. and that's precisely what i decided to do. there were four bands playing [o'brother, biffy clyro, the features and finally manchester orchestra.] and i'm only a fan of the last one. so i made up my mind to catch a few zzz's over hearing the opening bands. this is something i very rarely do - i'm all about staying for the whole show and giving each band my full attention. my own personal show morals, i guess you could call them. but i was more concerned for my health at this point, so naptime it was. i headed west to kansas city around seven and got to the beaumont club at nine on the dot. i caught the very end of the features and manchester was up next. absolutely perfect. i also secured a great spot. the pit was INTENSE and although i usually enjoy getting a little crazy and sweaty, this was not my night for it. so i stayed right behind all the crazy moshers and had myself a pretty good view and lots of pesonal space. manchester absolutely killed it, and i couldn't have been more happy with everything about their set. andy hull is such a beast; he's huge and burly with this totally amazing beard. you'd probably be scared to run into him on the street, and if you saw him in a gas station you'd think he was a trucker. but hand him a guitar and throw him on stage and he makes godly music. yumba. i left with warm fuzzies in my mind. that is, until i walked outside. it was raining and fifty degrees on my drive over. and it was twenty degrees and BLIZZARDING with two inches of snow already on the ground when i left. what. the. hell. by the time i got back to my car, i was literally covered in snow and drove home rather scantily clad... ha. it was a scary drive home and took way longer than it should have. nobody was ready for a random dumping of snow and the highways were terrible. but i made it home unscathed and literally crashed into bed the minute i walked in the door. insanity, i tell you. utter insanity.
by the time three o clock on friday rolled around, all i wanted to do was crash into bed. and that's precisely what i decided to do. there were four bands playing [o'brother, biffy clyro, the features and finally manchester orchestra.] and i'm only a fan of the last one. so i made up my mind to catch a few zzz's over hearing the opening bands. this is something i very rarely do - i'm all about staying for the whole show and giving each band my full attention. my own personal show morals, i guess you could call them. but i was more concerned for my health at this point, so naptime it was. i headed west to kansas city around seven and got to the beaumont club at nine on the dot. i caught the very end of the features and manchester was up next. absolutely perfect. i also secured a great spot. the pit was INTENSE and although i usually enjoy getting a little crazy and sweaty, this was not my night for it. so i stayed right behind all the crazy moshers and had myself a pretty good view and lots of pesonal space. manchester absolutely killed it, and i couldn't have been more happy with everything about their set. andy hull is such a beast; he's huge and burly with this totally amazing beard. you'd probably be scared to run into him on the street, and if you saw him in a gas station you'd think he was a trucker. but hand him a guitar and throw him on stage and he makes godly music. yumba. i left with warm fuzzies in my mind. that is, until i walked outside. it was raining and fifty degrees on my drive over. and it was twenty degrees and BLIZZARDING with two inches of snow already on the ground when i left. what. the. hell. by the time i got back to my car, i was literally covered in snow and drove home rather scantily clad... ha. it was a scary drive home and took way longer than it should have. nobody was ready for a random dumping of snow and the highways were terrible. but i made it home unscathed and literally crashed into bed the minute i walked in the door. insanity, i tell you. utter insanity.
lawrence: copeland farewell tour
night two of "devon's best week ever"! i was already exhausted from tuesday's excursion to st. louis and the measly four hours of sleep. but there's no excuse for missing a copeland show. especially their last show ever. and especially after they cancelled their st. louis date this past fall that i so kindly spent thirty dollars on... i''m not bitter, no way. only problem was that this show was in lawrence, kansas. which is a two and a half hour drive from columbia. and i had a nine am class to look forward to the following morning. BUT, i sucked it up and made the trip. because i'm devon, and it's just what i do. it was worth it, too.
i made really good time on the drive there and scored free street parking right across the from the venue. best feeling in the world if you've ever dealt with city and show-related parking. i was running a little late since my class didn't even get out until five [doors were at seven thirty] but i walked in at a little past eight and somehow, magically walked right up to the very front and center. what the hell. it's fucking copeland! not to mention deas vail, person l, and i can make a mess like nobody's business. i was seriously baffled. copeland's been around for a good seven years and have been on tons of national tours. i couldn't understand how this wasn't a sold out show, being their farewell tour and all. i'm definitely not complaining, but still. whatever. i missed a little bit of deas vail's set, but everything i heard sounded fantastic. i had just bought their new album 'birds and cages' a few weeks prior off amazon for a sweet two bucks and was already in love. up next was person l [kenny from the starting line's side project. once again, suprising that there weren't more starting line fans there.] and they were great. i saw them last summer in st. louis with mae and barcelona and bought their cd way back when. and after that was i can make a mess. [one of ace ender's many side projects.] they played a solid set and ace had some really funny stage banter. no idea where he comes up with the things that he talks about, seriously.
and last but certainly not least, was copeland. the band i've been waiting to see for a good two years. the band that is in close second next to brand new for the key to my heart. the band in close second in the fact that they could sound downright awful on stage and i'd still have a special place for them within my heart. with that being said, their set was good. not mindblowing, not fantastic, not EPIC, but good. i can't say i was disappointed exactly, because it wasn't that. they just didn't exceed my expectations i guess. all the songs were solid and i sang along at the top of my lungs to every last one, but they just didn't have that extra little something. maybe it's because i'd built it up for so long. i mean, i bought my ticket back in december. maybe it's because they're burnt out. it's a farewell tour for a reason, right? i'll just say that i t was a good show, i left feeling satisfied, and just a smidge let down. but all in all, it was totally worth the two and a half hour drive and three hours of sleep.
i made really good time on the drive there and scored free street parking right across the from the venue. best feeling in the world if you've ever dealt with city and show-related parking. i was running a little late since my class didn't even get out until five [doors were at seven thirty] but i walked in at a little past eight and somehow, magically walked right up to the very front and center. what the hell. it's fucking copeland! not to mention deas vail, person l, and i can make a mess like nobody's business. i was seriously baffled. copeland's been around for a good seven years and have been on tons of national tours. i couldn't understand how this wasn't a sold out show, being their farewell tour and all. i'm definitely not complaining, but still. whatever. i missed a little bit of deas vail's set, but everything i heard sounded fantastic. i had just bought their new album 'birds and cages' a few weeks prior off amazon for a sweet two bucks and was already in love. up next was person l [kenny from the starting line's side project. once again, suprising that there weren't more starting line fans there.] and they were great. i saw them last summer in st. louis with mae and barcelona and bought their cd way back when. and after that was i can make a mess. [one of ace ender's many side projects.] they played a solid set and ace had some really funny stage banter. no idea where he comes up with the things that he talks about, seriously.
and last but certainly not least, was copeland. the band i've been waiting to see for a good two years. the band that is in close second next to brand new for the key to my heart. the band in close second in the fact that they could sound downright awful on stage and i'd still have a special place for them within my heart. with that being said, their set was good. not mindblowing, not fantastic, not EPIC, but good. i can't say i was disappointed exactly, because it wasn't that. they just didn't exceed my expectations i guess. all the songs were solid and i sang along at the top of my lungs to every last one, but they just didn't have that extra little something. maybe it's because i'd built it up for so long. i mean, i bought my ticket back in december. maybe it's because they're burnt out. it's a farewell tour for a reason, right? i'll just say that i t was a good show, i left feeling satisfied, and just a smidge let down. but all in all, it was totally worth the two and a half hour drive and three hours of sleep.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
st. louis: am taxi, civil twilight, and company of thieves
take another look at that title and let it sink in for a minute. the combination of those three bands last night was one of the most amazing things i've ever had the privilege of witnessing. and it was at cicero's no less. cicero's which has a capacity of under two hundred. those three AMAZING bands, all of them signed, playing at cicero's. i feel like this was one of those shows that, in two or three years, i'll have the rights to brag about. i saw AM TAXI at cicero's. i saw CIVIL TWILIGHT at cicero's. i saw COMPANY OF THIEVES of cicero's. you might be thinking to yourself, "those bands don't seem like they'd go together very well." and you're right. sort of. stylistically, they don't really match up. but company of thieves and civil twilight have wind up records as their factor in common; am taxi and company of thieves have the wonderful city of chicago in common. i'm not exactly sure who invited who onto who's tour... but it somehow worked out beautifully. *sniff*
am taxi played first to an already packed venue. never in my life have i had to fight to keep my spot at cicero's, but this night was one for the history books. fortunately, i was lucky enough to be right up front and had a great view of the stage. i'm not as keen on my punk-rock influences as i am my indie-rock influences, but am taxi reminds me a little bit of rise against. and they did a mean cover of paint it black by the rolling stones if that sheds any light. i was never a big classic rocker, but you can't NOT bob your head to these tunes. and adam krier's voice - as my chicago folk like to call it - sounds like gravel and honey. delicious. i bought both their ep's after the show - for five bucks a piece, it was a steal.
next up was civil twilight. quite a striking difference in style compared to am taxi, but mind-blowing nonetheless. i've had these guys on heavy rotation for a few months now, and with each listen, the album develops itself more and more and hearing them play the songs live was a totally insane experience. i wish i could put into words the feeling of their set. they're a mere trio, but the wall of sound they produce is astounding. they weren't just playing music up there, they were creating a soundscape. it was what i'd expect a sigur ros show to feel and sound like, but with english words. it was ethereal almost. their lyrics are great, but they're nothing too complex. lots of repetitive words and sounds, and it works so well for them. steven, the lead singer [who also plays bass and keyboard] has this perfect falsetto and it almost doesn't seem real. the amount of power and sound that comes out of his body just doesn't match up with how calm and composed he is while on stage. he barelyeven opens his mouth and this absolutely perfect pitch comes flying out at you. that entire explanation probably makes me sound like i was on an acid trip, but it's the best i can do. just go see them live and you'll see what i mean. i had a brief chance after the show to make a fool out of myself and talk to them; they probably thought i was nuts. i blabbered on and on about how great they were and the word vomit just wouldn't stop. but just hearing him respond in that sexy south african accent was enough to keep me blabbering.
and finally. the band that brough the house down. company of thieves. words cannot describe the love affair i've had with this band for the past year or so. it's been intense. and since this was my first time seeing them live in an actual venue [wicker park fest was great don't get me wrong, but it's not exactly intimate.] i was beside myself with fan-girl giddiness. they opened with a new song, and actually played three or four other new ones throughout their hour and fifteen minute set. i was surprised to hear so much new material sounding so good already. but i guess i shouldn't expect anything less from miss genevieve schatz who has the voice of an angel. that girl can SING. she's probably five feet tall and a hundred pounds, but the voice that comes out of her is just insane. and she's the cutest thing, too. she's got these crazy little dance moves that she does and it's all very theatrical. ten bucks says she used to be a dancer [it's the hands, you can always tell a dancer by their hands] or at least involved in high school theater. [is it creepy that i'm making these wild assumptions about her? maybe.] she was just too much precious to handle and i wanted to squeeze her and force her to be my best friend. there was a point at the end of 'pressure' when the entire crowd was belting out the lyrics and when the song was over she exclaimed, "how do you guys know this song?!" she clearly has no idea how good her band is. if she thinks a city just five hours south of chicago wouldn't have her entire record memorized by now, well... i don't even know. but it was great. just great. post show was a little chaotic; it wasn't over until twelve thirty and i still had a two hour drive back to school ahead of me. so i made a bee-line for merch and bought those two am taxi ep's, talked to adam and then some of the guys from civil twilight, and headed out. was i disappointed that i didn't get to talk to anyone from company of thieves? yes. but did i value my sanity and precious four hours of sleep that i was doomed to? very much so. every bit of lost sleep was worth it though. that show was a fantastic start to my week of insanity.
tomorrow - lawrence, kansas for copeland's farewell tour
friday - kansas city for manchester orchestra
saturday - a ridiculous seven hour drive to chicago for we the living
monday - st. louis circa survive and good old war
i love my life.
am taxi played first to an already packed venue. never in my life have i had to fight to keep my spot at cicero's, but this night was one for the history books. fortunately, i was lucky enough to be right up front and had a great view of the stage. i'm not as keen on my punk-rock influences as i am my indie-rock influences, but am taxi reminds me a little bit of rise against. and they did a mean cover of paint it black by the rolling stones if that sheds any light. i was never a big classic rocker, but you can't NOT bob your head to these tunes. and adam krier's voice - as my chicago folk like to call it - sounds like gravel and honey. delicious. i bought both their ep's after the show - for five bucks a piece, it was a steal.
next up was civil twilight. quite a striking difference in style compared to am taxi, but mind-blowing nonetheless. i've had these guys on heavy rotation for a few months now, and with each listen, the album develops itself more and more and hearing them play the songs live was a totally insane experience. i wish i could put into words the feeling of their set. they're a mere trio, but the wall of sound they produce is astounding. they weren't just playing music up there, they were creating a soundscape. it was what i'd expect a sigur ros show to feel and sound like, but with english words. it was ethereal almost. their lyrics are great, but they're nothing too complex. lots of repetitive words and sounds, and it works so well for them. steven, the lead singer [who also plays bass and keyboard] has this perfect falsetto and it almost doesn't seem real. the amount of power and sound that comes out of his body just doesn't match up with how calm and composed he is while on stage. he barelyeven opens his mouth and this absolutely perfect pitch comes flying out at you. that entire explanation probably makes me sound like i was on an acid trip, but it's the best i can do. just go see them live and you'll see what i mean. i had a brief chance after the show to make a fool out of myself and talk to them; they probably thought i was nuts. i blabbered on and on about how great they were and the word vomit just wouldn't stop. but just hearing him respond in that sexy south african accent was enough to keep me blabbering.
and finally. the band that brough the house down. company of thieves. words cannot describe the love affair i've had with this band for the past year or so. it's been intense. and since this was my first time seeing them live in an actual venue [wicker park fest was great don't get me wrong, but it's not exactly intimate.] i was beside myself with fan-girl giddiness. they opened with a new song, and actually played three or four other new ones throughout their hour and fifteen minute set. i was surprised to hear so much new material sounding so good already. but i guess i shouldn't expect anything less from miss genevieve schatz who has the voice of an angel. that girl can SING. she's probably five feet tall and a hundred pounds, but the voice that comes out of her is just insane. and she's the cutest thing, too. she's got these crazy little dance moves that she does and it's all very theatrical. ten bucks says she used to be a dancer [it's the hands, you can always tell a dancer by their hands] or at least involved in high school theater. [is it creepy that i'm making these wild assumptions about her? maybe.] she was just too much precious to handle and i wanted to squeeze her and force her to be my best friend. there was a point at the end of 'pressure' when the entire crowd was belting out the lyrics and when the song was over she exclaimed, "how do you guys know this song?!" she clearly has no idea how good her band is. if she thinks a city just five hours south of chicago wouldn't have her entire record memorized by now, well... i don't even know. but it was great. just great. post show was a little chaotic; it wasn't over until twelve thirty and i still had a two hour drive back to school ahead of me. so i made a bee-line for merch and bought those two am taxi ep's, talked to adam and then some of the guys from civil twilight, and headed out. was i disappointed that i didn't get to talk to anyone from company of thieves? yes. but did i value my sanity and precious four hours of sleep that i was doomed to? very much so. every bit of lost sleep was worth it though. that show was a fantastic start to my week of insanity.
tomorrow - lawrence, kansas for copeland's farewell tour
friday - kansas city for manchester orchestra
saturday - a ridiculous seven hour drive to chicago for we the living
monday - st. louis circa survive and good old war
i love my life.
Monday, March 15, 2010
st. louis: the rad bromance tour
featuring the heyday, state & madison and cavashawn
finally reunited with some of my favorite [chicago] locals and oh boy, was it a fun friday night. actually thursday night was interesting too. state and madison needed a place to crash and although i wasn't at home in st. louis at the home they know so well, i did have a lovely little apartment with a couch and some floor space. so it was around four in the moring when they arrived. i let them in, went back to bed, and that was that. gotta love touring and crashing on random floors. so the weekend finally commenced at three on friday and i made my way home. stopped at the house for a little bit to freshen up, ate some dinner and headed out to the firebird. i was surprised to see people lined up outside, and even more surprised to see how many people were already inside. i'm not a big fan of this is energy, the headlining band, but they sure know how to draw a crowd, which was most fortunate for the bromance boys who needed fourteen hours worth of gas to get them to austin overnight. eek.
the heyday was the first of the three to play, and i had forgotten how great they are live. i'm kind of ashamed to say i haven't given their album as many listens as i should have, seeing as i've had it for months. they remind me of a delightful little mix of limbeck and the format. if that's your thing, definitely check em out, you won' t be disappointed. state & madison played next and MAN did they sound good. they always sound good live, but they sounded REALLY good this time. maybe it's because i hadn't seen them in so long and was excited, but regardless, it was great. the crowd flocked to their merch table immediately afterwards so that's always a good sign. loved the new songs they played too. can't wait for them to be released! and finally, there was cavashawn. scott's vocals never fail to make my jaw fall to the floor and benton never fails to make me smile with that permanent grin he always has plastered on his face. overall, it was the rad bromance boys that stole the show - the opening band was pretty terrible and like i said before, i'm not a big fan of this is energy.
it was so good to see some of my favorite people all in one venue, playing right after one another and all singing along to each other's sets and hopping up on stage to join in occasionally. i've said it before, but i love those state & madison and cavashawn boys like it's my job and it's always good catching up with them. scott and i talked crazy fan girls and tony and i gossiped about all things chicago-band related. nickolas about knocked me over every twenty minutes or so with huge bear hugs. and jonah thanked me about forty seven times for the amazingness of my apartment shower. the litte things in life, i tell ya. check out http://www.radbromancetour.tumblr.com/ for live updates on all their shenaningans at SXSW. it's entertaining, i promise.
finally reunited with some of my favorite [chicago] locals and oh boy, was it a fun friday night. actually thursday night was interesting too. state and madison needed a place to crash and although i wasn't at home in st. louis at the home they know so well, i did have a lovely little apartment with a couch and some floor space. so it was around four in the moring when they arrived. i let them in, went back to bed, and that was that. gotta love touring and crashing on random floors. so the weekend finally commenced at three on friday and i made my way home. stopped at the house for a little bit to freshen up, ate some dinner and headed out to the firebird. i was surprised to see people lined up outside, and even more surprised to see how many people were already inside. i'm not a big fan of this is energy, the headlining band, but they sure know how to draw a crowd, which was most fortunate for the bromance boys who needed fourteen hours worth of gas to get them to austin overnight. eek.
the heyday was the first of the three to play, and i had forgotten how great they are live. i'm kind of ashamed to say i haven't given their album as many listens as i should have, seeing as i've had it for months. they remind me of a delightful little mix of limbeck and the format. if that's your thing, definitely check em out, you won' t be disappointed. state & madison played next and MAN did they sound good. they always sound good live, but they sounded REALLY good this time. maybe it's because i hadn't seen them in so long and was excited, but regardless, it was great. the crowd flocked to their merch table immediately afterwards so that's always a good sign. loved the new songs they played too. can't wait for them to be released! and finally, there was cavashawn. scott's vocals never fail to make my jaw fall to the floor and benton never fails to make me smile with that permanent grin he always has plastered on his face. overall, it was the rad bromance boys that stole the show - the opening band was pretty terrible and like i said before, i'm not a big fan of this is energy.
it was so good to see some of my favorite people all in one venue, playing right after one another and all singing along to each other's sets and hopping up on stage to join in occasionally. i've said it before, but i love those state & madison and cavashawn boys like it's my job and it's always good catching up with them. scott and i talked crazy fan girls and tony and i gossiped about all things chicago-band related. nickolas about knocked me over every twenty minutes or so with huge bear hugs. and jonah thanked me about forty seven times for the amazingness of my apartment shower. the litte things in life, i tell ya. check out http://www.radbromancetour.tumblr.com/ for live updates on all their shenaningans at SXSW. it's entertaining, i promise.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
st. louis: we the living
i know you peed a little when you saw the title. because i know you're STOKED to hear about the amazing weekend i had with my biffers we the living. i talk about them a lot, as i'm sure you've noticed. [read about them here or here when i was a wee bit angry or here or here or here when i saw the best show of my life.] it was indeed a good weekend, and i'd been counting down for quite some time. we the living plays a hell of a lot of shows, but it'd been over two years since they'd played st. louis. TWO YEARS! ridiculous, i say. absolutely ridiculous. so i decided to make a three day weekend of it and came home from school on thursday night to hang out with my dad. we bonded over angelo's pizza and i enjoyed the small things in life [like watching youtube videos on quality wireless internet and finishing season three of one tree hill.] friday came quickly and all of the sudden it was five and matt was calling me. they were playing a secret show at lafayette highschool later that night so i decided to go hang out and watch the set. 'green room' time was interesting; we played catch and made epic slow motion videos with matt's new canon. [prepare for some seriously bad ass episodes of we the living television in the future, just sayin.] their set was interesting as well. let's just say there were a lot of technical difficulties and it was a nice little warm up for the following night at cicero's, ha. they played a few new songs though, and i'm super excited for all of it to get recorded. it sounds amazing. then some highschool girls asked which one of the guys was my boyfriend and i had a good laugh. we scarfed down twenty bucks worth of taco bell post show and headed back to my house for a slumber party. we watched dear jack and then we watched weeds. and then we lost half the group to sleep. so adam, matt and i had ourselves a little ping pong tourney downstairs and some delightful conversation amongst all the animals. [did you know that ghandi was gay? or that unicorns wear uniforms? or that matt has some seriously amazing break dancing skills? ask him about it sometime.] well five am rolled around and we decided it was best to hit the hay. oh the shenanigans, and that was only friday.
saturday involved grocery shopping, a starbucks run and some amazing lunch courtesy of brian and adam, and copious amounts of weeds season two. we eventually shipped out to cicero's and picked katie up on the way. arrival brought the unfortunate news that they were playing first at eight twenty, instead of nine like the website said, so i made some frantic phone calls to friends and everything worked out, thank goodness. cicero's can be really hit or miss, especially if you play first [when nobody's there yet] or last [when everyone's gone home]. but there was a great crowd and the show was amaaaaaazing. i really wish i could remember their set better, but i don't. i was just enjoying the moment and reminiscing about how things had truly come full circle. i was at cicero's, with two of my best friends, the very two people who i saw my first we the living show with, which was the day i met amanda and michele, which was the day that changed everything in my life for the better. not to mention i was surrounded by hazelwood west alumni who'd seen we the living two years before performing in our school's auditorium. LOVED it. i distinctly remember barometers being extra awesome, and i remember they played 'all i need' and i think two other new songs which i've forgotten the names of. and sound of love has taken on a new twist. jp plays guitar and sings like normal, but matt and brian ditch the bass and guitar, and bang on some drums and it's proooobably the coolest thing ever. think mutemath-esque drum bad-assery. [was that even a sentence?] i somehow ended up with a tambourine, too; that was fun. and then it was over. all too quickly it came to an end, but MAN did they sound good. we the living is out to change the world of music and i have full faith that it's going to happen soon. just you wait.
this is a video from the show, of the new and improved version of sound of love. <#
saturday involved grocery shopping, a starbucks run and some amazing lunch courtesy of brian and adam, and copious amounts of weeds season two. we eventually shipped out to cicero's and picked katie up on the way. arrival brought the unfortunate news that they were playing first at eight twenty, instead of nine like the website said, so i made some frantic phone calls to friends and everything worked out, thank goodness. cicero's can be really hit or miss, especially if you play first [when nobody's there yet] or last [when everyone's gone home]. but there was a great crowd and the show was amaaaaaazing. i really wish i could remember their set better, but i don't. i was just enjoying the moment and reminiscing about how things had truly come full circle. i was at cicero's, with two of my best friends, the very two people who i saw my first we the living show with, which was the day i met amanda and michele, which was the day that changed everything in my life for the better. not to mention i was surrounded by hazelwood west alumni who'd seen we the living two years before performing in our school's auditorium. LOVED it. i distinctly remember barometers being extra awesome, and i remember they played 'all i need' and i think two other new songs which i've forgotten the names of. and sound of love has taken on a new twist. jp plays guitar and sings like normal, but matt and brian ditch the bass and guitar, and bang on some drums and it's proooobably the coolest thing ever. think mutemath-esque drum bad-assery. [was that even a sentence?] i somehow ended up with a tambourine, too; that was fun. and then it was over. all too quickly it came to an end, but MAN did they sound good. we the living is out to change the world of music and i have full faith that it's going to happen soon. just you wait.
this is a video from the show, of the new and improved version of sound of love. <#
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
columbia: the avett brothers
not too much of a story leading up to the show, but you know. whatever. "home"town show means no crazy roadtrip or driving shenanigans. and no one accompanying meant i was just chillin in my seat alone next to some grandpas. speaking of grandpas. the average age of the crowd was probably around fifty. for real. i felt ridiculously out of place. but WOW, was the musical aspect of the night blog-worthy. the show was at a real theater too, you know, like with seats and stuff. so that was interesting; i definitely had a hard time sitting still.
the opener, low anthem, was fantastic and had quite the eclectic array of instruments. one including a saw. and the others... well i'm not even going to try guessing what all they were playing up there. i'm pretty musically-retarded when it comes to actual instruments and the like. but trust me when i say they were great and that you should check em out, specifically the song charlie darwin. it gave me goosbumps. and then the avett brothers. oooooh man. i thought i was excited, but this apparently wasn't the case... i'm surprised the guy in front of me didn't pass out when the curtain opened. he was jumping up and down like a giddy little fan girl. hilariously entertaining. they opened with january wedding and from there, i don't even know. i was just having a good time and trying to keep my jaw off the floor. amazing! put them on your list of bands to see before you die.
this is the closest i will ever get to seeing a "country" concert.
the opener, low anthem, was fantastic and had quite the eclectic array of instruments. one including a saw. and the others... well i'm not even going to try guessing what all they were playing up there. i'm pretty musically-retarded when it comes to actual instruments and the like. but trust me when i say they were great and that you should check em out, specifically the song charlie darwin. it gave me goosbumps. and then the avett brothers. oooooh man. i thought i was excited, but this apparently wasn't the case... i'm surprised the guy in front of me didn't pass out when the curtain opened. he was jumping up and down like a giddy little fan girl. hilariously entertaining. they opened with january wedding and from there, i don't even know. i was just having a good time and trying to keep my jaw off the floor. amazing! put them on your list of bands to see before you die.
this is the closest i will ever get to seeing a "country" concert.
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