hello friends!
there seems to be a bit of a buzz surrounding lyrical cacophonies lately. so here's my formal statement:
if you'd like to submit any music to me, i would be more than happy to give it a listen and write up a review for you. if you'd like me to review a show, please give me fair warning. i love to travel and i'm always down for a roadtrip, but notice a week or two in advance would be great. so if you're a band, promoter, or friend of a band trying to get word out, hit me up and i'll see what i can do. i simply like music, and i simply like to write. so what better to do than write about great music? spread the word, and as always, thanks for being a loyal reader. you really do mean a lot to me.
email: devonlmueller@gmail.com
xx
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Sunday, June 20, 2010
st. louis: the spring standards and wakey!wakey!
here's a story for you. my best friend is absolutely obsessed with the tv show one tree hill. she also just experienced a really painful break up. what ties these two things together, you ask? wakey wakey. wakey wakey (the brainchild of singer/pianist michael grubbs) was featured on one tree hill for a season and michael became a pretty prominent character in the show. so of course, the bff became obsessed with him and his music. so when her and the bf of three years broke up a few months ago, wakey wakey's "almost everything i wish i'd said the last time i saw you..." of course became the "break-up cd" of choice. so awhen angie found out wakey wakey would be in st. louis this past thursday, she just haaaad to be there. and she's not a huge concert goer these days, so she asked me to go with her. being the best friend, and being the music lover i am, i said yes. then promptly dropped twenty bucks on their discography, and ten bucks on the ticket. oy.
so the moral of the story is, that this was something unusual for me. i don't usually go to shows where i don't know the band and their music really well. and i usually go by myself, or at least with all of my "concert friends". so i drove to st. louis when i got off work, met angie for dinner, hung out in the loop for a bit, and drove on over to off broadway. there was a decent sized ctowd when we arrived, mainly consisting of girls who were (presumably) one tree hill freaks. not that that's a bad thing. i've become obsessed as well, and am just starting season six right now, and my netflix queue contains pretty much nothing else.
the first opener was decent, but nothing to write home about. it was their very first show though, so i guess they deserve a little bit of credit. but the real talent was in the second opener, the spring standards. they're from new york as well, just like wakey wakey so i presume they were on tour together. but woooow. they were raelly great. it was a little annoying how long they took to set up, but it was worth it. three part harmonies just sucker me in. lead singer was a girl, who also played keyboard, synth, and a couple drums here and there. and then there was the bass player and guitar player. and all three of them had fantastic voices. so when you put them together to create some great harmonies, the effect was mind-blowing and gave me goosebumps. that's always how i know - if a band gives me goosebumps live, they're good, and they've got real talent. because it's one thing if i enjoy listening to your CD but you suck live. so i very much enjoyed the spring standards, and highly suggest you check them out. it was a lovely little marriage of sounds, and i will liken them to a mixture of ha ha tonka and the hush sound. a little bit of twang with all the harmonies, and a lot of really great sounds elsewhere as well.
and next up was wakey wakey. angie was acting a fool. everytime michael grubbs walked past, she'd grab my arm and squeal. fan girl to the max! it was entertaining though, and i was happy she was having such a great time. their set-up was really simple and intimate - it was just him and a keyboard, a bass player, synth player, violin, and a drummer. and man were they all a great mix for each other. michael grubbs has this really great voice, and he sounded just like he did on all the albums i'd bought just a few weeks before. i can really appreciate his recordings because they're so real. you can hear the squeak of a chair here and there, and a few taps on the mic, too. and hearing him likve was no different. little things here and there that reminded you how real and raw everything was. and i just love that. he held the attention of a very captivated audience, and i really enjoyed the show even though i didn't know most of the songs. angie's not one to really stick around after shows, so we headed out right after the show was over. and it was probably for the better; i had to drive back to columbia and still make it to work early the next morning. but it was a great night with the best friend, and a great show too.
follow the spring standards: www.twitter.com/springstandards
and follow wakey wakey, too: www.twitter.com/wakeywakey
so the moral of the story is, that this was something unusual for me. i don't usually go to shows where i don't know the band and their music really well. and i usually go by myself, or at least with all of my "concert friends". so i drove to st. louis when i got off work, met angie for dinner, hung out in the loop for a bit, and drove on over to off broadway. there was a decent sized ctowd when we arrived, mainly consisting of girls who were (presumably) one tree hill freaks. not that that's a bad thing. i've become obsessed as well, and am just starting season six right now, and my netflix queue contains pretty much nothing else.
the first opener was decent, but nothing to write home about. it was their very first show though, so i guess they deserve a little bit of credit. but the real talent was in the second opener, the spring standards. they're from new york as well, just like wakey wakey so i presume they were on tour together. but woooow. they were raelly great. it was a little annoying how long they took to set up, but it was worth it. three part harmonies just sucker me in. lead singer was a girl, who also played keyboard, synth, and a couple drums here and there. and then there was the bass player and guitar player. and all three of them had fantastic voices. so when you put them together to create some great harmonies, the effect was mind-blowing and gave me goosebumps. that's always how i know - if a band gives me goosebumps live, they're good, and they've got real talent. because it's one thing if i enjoy listening to your CD but you suck live. so i very much enjoyed the spring standards, and highly suggest you check them out. it was a lovely little marriage of sounds, and i will liken them to a mixture of ha ha tonka and the hush sound. a little bit of twang with all the harmonies, and a lot of really great sounds elsewhere as well.
and next up was wakey wakey. angie was acting a fool. everytime michael grubbs walked past, she'd grab my arm and squeal. fan girl to the max! it was entertaining though, and i was happy she was having such a great time. their set-up was really simple and intimate - it was just him and a keyboard, a bass player, synth player, violin, and a drummer. and man were they all a great mix for each other. michael grubbs has this really great voice, and he sounded just like he did on all the albums i'd bought just a few weeks before. i can really appreciate his recordings because they're so real. you can hear the squeak of a chair here and there, and a few taps on the mic, too. and hearing him likve was no different. little things here and there that reminded you how real and raw everything was. and i just love that. he held the attention of a very captivated audience, and i really enjoyed the show even though i didn't know most of the songs. angie's not one to really stick around after shows, so we headed out right after the show was over. and it was probably for the better; i had to drive back to columbia and still make it to work early the next morning. but it was a great night with the best friend, and a great show too.
follow the spring standards: www.twitter.com/springstandards
and follow wakey wakey, too: www.twitter.com/wakeywakey
kansas city: the noise fm and ha ha tonka
i suck. plain and simple. it's taken me for-freaking-ever to get this show review written. i don't know what my deal is, but motivation certainly isn't a part of that deal anymore. it's summer; i have all the time in the world. but for some reason i can't find enough me-time to sit down and flesh out some blogs about my favorite thing in the whole world: music.
but all the complaining aside, i went to an amazing show last friday. and in even better news, i drove by myself but didn't have to make it through the entire show by myself. my friend carolina was there, as well as one of my coworkers, sam, who also drove over for the show. she looooves tonka, so we had ourselves a great little night. i missed of the first band, but it was still great timing. the noise fm was up next and we only had to wait a few minutes for them to set up before the show started. and like always, they sounded absolutely fantastic. but i would never expect anything less of them. after them was ha ha tonka, who are a fantastic group from the ozarks. they ride the line between alternative and bluegrass/country music. and to be completely honest, i don't listen to them much. they're just not a band i'd pick to listen to, or a cd i'd choose to stick in my car. but HOT DAMN do those boys put on an amazing live show. i've seen them a couple times before; once with the noize boyz in columbia, and once with ludo in st. louis. so i know a lot of their music, and i know a lot of their fans. this was definitely my favorite show of theirs, hands down. the atmosphere was really intimate and relaxed, they tried out a couple new songs, and there was even a dance off in the middle of the crowd at one point. good times, kansas city. you show me nothing but good times. i hung around for a little while and talked to austin, alex and carolina, swiped a @mrbudgetisacat sticker (yes, their cat has merch. you know you're nevious. don't lie.)and eventually said goodbye to everyone. i got home at an atrocious hour of morning, but it was worth it. quite the lovely friday night.
but all the complaining aside, i went to an amazing show last friday. and in even better news, i drove by myself but didn't have to make it through the entire show by myself. my friend carolina was there, as well as one of my coworkers, sam, who also drove over for the show. she looooves tonka, so we had ourselves a great little night. i missed of the first band, but it was still great timing. the noise fm was up next and we only had to wait a few minutes for them to set up before the show started. and like always, they sounded absolutely fantastic. but i would never expect anything less of them. after them was ha ha tonka, who are a fantastic group from the ozarks. they ride the line between alternative and bluegrass/country music. and to be completely honest, i don't listen to them much. they're just not a band i'd pick to listen to, or a cd i'd choose to stick in my car. but HOT DAMN do those boys put on an amazing live show. i've seen them a couple times before; once with the noize boyz in columbia, and once with ludo in st. louis. so i know a lot of their music, and i know a lot of their fans. this was definitely my favorite show of theirs, hands down. the atmosphere was really intimate and relaxed, they tried out a couple new songs, and there was even a dance off in the middle of the crowd at one point. good times, kansas city. you show me nothing but good times. i hung around for a little while and talked to austin, alex and carolina, swiped a @mrbudgetisacat sticker (yes, their cat has merch. you know you're nevious. don't lie.)and eventually said goodbye to everyone. i got home at an atrocious hour of morning, but it was worth it. quite the lovely friday night.
EP review: bad rabbits' stick up kids
i had a great opportunity come my way a couple weeks ago. under the gun is a great little music blog, and they were looking to hire new writers. so i sent an email their way, not expecting to hear anything back. well imagine my surprise when i actually got a follow up email! so i wrote up a resume and reviewed the EP they sent my way. baby steps, my friends. baby steps that will hopefully help me to move up one teeny tiny step at a time in the vast world that is the music industry.
i can't say i really like the music from a personal point of view, but bad rabbits really are a taleted group, so tried to write from a little bit more of an objective point of view. we'll see if it pays off soon, i guess. but here's what i wrote:
Never judging a book by its cover is the thing to do if you’re a bookworm. But if you’re a part of the ever-growing indie music scene, perhaps the proper saying would be “never judge a band by their album cover”. Well I must admit – I’m one hundred percent guilty. The minute I caught the name of the Boston band Bad Rabbits and their 2009 EP entitled Stick Up Kids, I googled away. And immediately wrote them off as “way too hip-hop” by a mere glance at their album cover. Too harsh? Definitely. Because once you take a listen to this infectious little EP, you’ll be hooked. Not to mention I’m a sucker for clean web design, and their Myspace looks flawless. It’s the little things that count, and Bad Rabbits have lots and lots of little things going for them.
Bad Rabbits are a unique mix of soul, hip-hop and poppy dance music. “Afro punk” are the words used on many of their online sites, and I quite like the new genre name. Because let’s face it, Bad Rabbits cross many genre lines and push lots of envelopes, but that’s precisely why almost everyone with any sense of musical taste will find something they like from this EP. Lead singer Dua Boakye has raw talent and an incredible voice and the stage presence to pull off such a unique sound. The music is high energy and forces you to get up and dance. I can imagine any one of these seven songs to be present in the classic movie scene: high school girl wakes up in the morning, turns on her stereo, grabs the hairbrush and starts belting it out. It makes you tap your feet, it makes you bob your head, and it makes you want to get out to a club and just let loose for the night.
The album is chock full of soulful vocals, soaring synth sounds, and a disco fever vibe that surrounds each and every song. It’s a delightful throwback to 80’s funk and R&B, but with a great pop twist. It’s like Prince with a modern music sensibility. Opener Booties sounds like a modern take on some old school Bobby Brown, while Stick Up Kids breaks it down into a dancy keyboard and guitar duet. Can’t Back Down features killer falsettos and if you aren’t grooving yet, this song will have you shaking your hips for sure. And while a lot of the music is electronic, Auto-Tune haters have nothing to fear. These guys have real talent and are really quite innovative. All the keyboard sounds you hear on the record are in reality guitars passed through a pedalboard. Pretty badass if you ask me.
If the seven unstoppable songs aren’t enough on their own, Bad Rabbits have a lot of other things going for them as well. A shout out from Travis McCoy (Gym Class Heroes) in front of hundreds at Warped Tour is sure to gain respect, not to mention he’s featured on the fifth song Girl I’m Like Damn!, and their clothing sponsor Karmaloop.com is confident that they will be the next big thing to come from Boston. If you want some good and funky fun, and need a bit of 80’s nostalgia, check out Bad Rabbits. Their new EP will definitely lead them to great places.
i can't say i really like the music from a personal point of view, but bad rabbits really are a taleted group, so tried to write from a little bit more of an objective point of view. we'll see if it pays off soon, i guess. but here's what i wrote:
Never judging a book by its cover is the thing to do if you’re a bookworm. But if you’re a part of the ever-growing indie music scene, perhaps the proper saying would be “never judge a band by their album cover”. Well I must admit – I’m one hundred percent guilty. The minute I caught the name of the Boston band Bad Rabbits and their 2009 EP entitled Stick Up Kids, I googled away. And immediately wrote them off as “way too hip-hop” by a mere glance at their album cover. Too harsh? Definitely. Because once you take a listen to this infectious little EP, you’ll be hooked. Not to mention I’m a sucker for clean web design, and their Myspace looks flawless. It’s the little things that count, and Bad Rabbits have lots and lots of little things going for them.
Bad Rabbits are a unique mix of soul, hip-hop and poppy dance music. “Afro punk” are the words used on many of their online sites, and I quite like the new genre name. Because let’s face it, Bad Rabbits cross many genre lines and push lots of envelopes, but that’s precisely why almost everyone with any sense of musical taste will find something they like from this EP. Lead singer Dua Boakye has raw talent and an incredible voice and the stage presence to pull off such a unique sound. The music is high energy and forces you to get up and dance. I can imagine any one of these seven songs to be present in the classic movie scene: high school girl wakes up in the morning, turns on her stereo, grabs the hairbrush and starts belting it out. It makes you tap your feet, it makes you bob your head, and it makes you want to get out to a club and just let loose for the night.
The album is chock full of soulful vocals, soaring synth sounds, and a disco fever vibe that surrounds each and every song. It’s a delightful throwback to 80’s funk and R&B, but with a great pop twist. It’s like Prince with a modern music sensibility. Opener Booties sounds like a modern take on some old school Bobby Brown, while Stick Up Kids breaks it down into a dancy keyboard and guitar duet. Can’t Back Down features killer falsettos and if you aren’t grooving yet, this song will have you shaking your hips for sure. And while a lot of the music is electronic, Auto-Tune haters have nothing to fear. These guys have real talent and are really quite innovative. All the keyboard sounds you hear on the record are in reality guitars passed through a pedalboard. Pretty badass if you ask me.
If the seven unstoppable songs aren’t enough on their own, Bad Rabbits have a lot of other things going for them as well. A shout out from Travis McCoy (Gym Class Heroes) in front of hundreds at Warped Tour is sure to gain respect, not to mention he’s featured on the fifth song Girl I’m Like Damn!, and their clothing sponsor Karmaloop.com is confident that they will be the next big thing to come from Boston. If you want some good and funky fun, and need a bit of 80’s nostalgia, check out Bad Rabbits. Their new EP will definitely lead them to great places.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
LOLLAPALOOZA: the magical list
in a perfect world, where i will never need to eat, drink, rest, or pee…
friday:
foxy shazam - 12:00-12:30
cymbals eat guitars - 3:30-4:30
neon trees - 5:30-6:15
OR
fuck buttons 5:00-6:00
OR
dirty projectors - 5:00-6:00
lady gaga - 8:00-10:00
saturday:
the morning benders - 12:00-12:30
rogue wave - 1:00-1:45
stars - 2:15-3:15
the xx - 3:15-4:15
grizzly bear - 4:15-5:15
edward sharpe and the magentic zeros - 6:30-7:30
phoenix - 8:30-10:00
sunday:
miniature tigers - 11:30-12:15
the antlers - 12:15-1:00
company of thieves - 1:00-1:45
freelance whales - 3:00-3:45
OR
minus the bear - 3:00-4:00
OR
mumford and sons - 3:00-4:00
frightened rabbit - 5:00-6:00
OR
mutemath - 5:00-6:00
mgmt - 6:00-7:15
arcade fire - 8:30-10:00
friday:
foxy shazam - 12:00-12:30
cymbals eat guitars - 3:30-4:30
neon trees - 5:30-6:15
OR
fuck buttons 5:00-6:00
OR
dirty projectors - 5:00-6:00
lady gaga - 8:00-10:00
saturday:
the morning benders - 12:00-12:30
rogue wave - 1:00-1:45
stars - 2:15-3:15
the xx - 3:15-4:15
grizzly bear - 4:15-5:15
edward sharpe and the magentic zeros - 6:30-7:30
phoenix - 8:30-10:00
sunday:
miniature tigers - 11:30-12:15
the antlers - 12:15-1:00
company of thieves - 1:00-1:45
freelance whales - 3:00-3:45
OR
minus the bear - 3:00-4:00
OR
mumford and sons - 3:00-4:00
frightened rabbit - 5:00-6:00
OR
mutemath - 5:00-6:00
mgmt - 6:00-7:15
arcade fire - 8:30-10:00
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
columbia: freelance whales
freelance whales: the love child of sufjan stevens, the postal service, and hellogoodbye. happy, poppy, synthy tunes for your summertime ears. love em! i heard about these guys from the amazing thedownplayer.com which gives away ten free songs every single week day. how amazing is that? well the very first set of ten songs i ever downloaded from their site included "generator (first floor)". and from there, i immediately went to itunes and bought the whole album "weathervanes". and boy was it worth it. a few weeks later i saw the show posted on mojo's website and immediately bought a ticket.
i wasn't too sure what to expect going to the show. i usually do my homework regarding the bands that i'm going to see, but i knew absolutely nothing about these guys. i didn't know if i'd be walking into a sold out show, or if i'd be the only person there. i have this problem where i think that all the bands i like are absolutely huge. and most of the time they're not. i was also a little uneasy about what they'd sound like live. freelance whales are definitely technology-friendly; lots of warbling synths, tinkly layers of bells and xylophones, banjos, mandolins and lots of other laptop-sounding noises. so i was curious to see how that would pan out on a stage. but it was great, and my medium level expectatuons were well exceeded. freelance whales have only been together for a year and half, and although you can tell, they still played a great set. vocals weren't quite as strong as they could have been, and there were a few little "oops" noises here and there, but they were easy to overlook. freelance whales produce a very ethereal sound that may not appeal to some, but i know i enjoyed myself, and hope i'll get the chance to catch them again at lollapalooza this summer in chicago. their bass player is also adorable; she had some sweet moves and reminded me a bit of gen schatz from company of thieves. yeah, i said it. i just compared someone to company of thieves. i'm not saying by any means that this chick was as bad ass a s genevieve. she simply reminded me of her cuteness and they shared a lot of the same sweet dance moves.
keep your eyes and ears open for freelance whales. they might need a few years to mature, but i am confident that we can expect great things from them in the future of the indie music world. if you're in st. louis, go check em out at off broadway tonight!
i wasn't too sure what to expect going to the show. i usually do my homework regarding the bands that i'm going to see, but i knew absolutely nothing about these guys. i didn't know if i'd be walking into a sold out show, or if i'd be the only person there. i have this problem where i think that all the bands i like are absolutely huge. and most of the time they're not. i was also a little uneasy about what they'd sound like live. freelance whales are definitely technology-friendly; lots of warbling synths, tinkly layers of bells and xylophones, banjos, mandolins and lots of other laptop-sounding noises. so i was curious to see how that would pan out on a stage. but it was great, and my medium level expectatuons were well exceeded. freelance whales have only been together for a year and half, and although you can tell, they still played a great set. vocals weren't quite as strong as they could have been, and there were a few little "oops" noises here and there, but they were easy to overlook. freelance whales produce a very ethereal sound that may not appeal to some, but i know i enjoyed myself, and hope i'll get the chance to catch them again at lollapalooza this summer in chicago. their bass player is also adorable; she had some sweet moves and reminded me a bit of gen schatz from company of thieves. yeah, i said it. i just compared someone to company of thieves. i'm not saying by any means that this chick was as bad ass a s genevieve. she simply reminded me of her cuteness and they shared a lot of the same sweet dance moves.
keep your eyes and ears open for freelance whales. they might need a few years to mature, but i am confident that we can expect great things from them in the future of the indie music world. if you're in st. louis, go check em out at off broadway tonight!
EP review: the webelos - "model citizen"
first impressions are everything, and the first impression i got from the webelos was a great one. okay, so actually it's a sequence of three firsts, but bear with me. it makes sense, i swear. (sort of.) so i was hanging out online, refreshing my twitter feed every thirty seconds like usual. and BAM! an @reply from someone i didn't recognize. it was the lovely webelos tweeting to tell me they liked the writing in this little blog here. and asked if i'd be interested in reviewing their new ep. WELL DUH, OF COURSE I WOULD! free music is the best, and this was the first band to ask me to review something on my blog. so naturally, i was extremely flattered and honored and stoked that they wanted me to listen to their tunes. nervous though, too. (what was i supposed to say if they sucked?) fortunately, that wasn't a problem.
the second and third first impressions (yeah, hush.) came when i checked out their myspace. the first song playing was "shift your gears" and i immediately thought of head automatica. major bonus points in my book. head automatica was my jam back in the day. and the next song was "oh miki", which reminded me of ben folds. more bonus points. now you're probably thinking i'm crazy to compare a band to both head automatica and ben folds, but give the webelos a chance and you'll see what i mean. for being a newborn band that just formed in 2009, they have a solid sound of their own and have some really great tunes. the webelos' first ep "model citizen" is six great tracks of pop rock and it's damn catchy. opening with my personal favorite "shift your gears", they suck you in and keep you listening. "can't look at you" gets your head bobbing, your feet tapping and and your fingers not so secretly playing hooks on your air guitar. "oh miki" is next with some sexy slow jams and great falsettos (ben folds like yeahhh) and "lucky roll", "peace for the wicked" and "souvenirs" keep this ep finishing strong.
being from chicago doesn't hurt either, you know my love affair with that city and it's music scene. i've heard the webelos' name thrown around a bit in my circle of friends from chi-town, but hadn't given them much thought until now. and i'm glad they reached out to me, because i'll definitely be keeping them on my radar. so if you like really solid pop rock, check out the webelos. after all, they're "hip as a neckerchief, clean as a sopabox" according to their myspace.
www.myspace.com/webelos
www.twitter.com/TheWebelos
the second and third first impressions (yeah, hush.) came when i checked out their myspace. the first song playing was "shift your gears" and i immediately thought of head automatica. major bonus points in my book. head automatica was my jam back in the day. and the next song was "oh miki", which reminded me of ben folds. more bonus points. now you're probably thinking i'm crazy to compare a band to both head automatica and ben folds, but give the webelos a chance and you'll see what i mean. for being a newborn band that just formed in 2009, they have a solid sound of their own and have some really great tunes. the webelos' first ep "model citizen" is six great tracks of pop rock and it's damn catchy. opening with my personal favorite "shift your gears", they suck you in and keep you listening. "can't look at you" gets your head bobbing, your feet tapping and and your fingers not so secretly playing hooks on your air guitar. "oh miki" is next with some sexy slow jams and great falsettos (ben folds like yeahhh) and "lucky roll", "peace for the wicked" and "souvenirs" keep this ep finishing strong.
being from chicago doesn't hurt either, you know my love affair with that city and it's music scene. i've heard the webelos' name thrown around a bit in my circle of friends from chi-town, but hadn't given them much thought until now. and i'm glad they reached out to me, because i'll definitely be keeping them on my radar. so if you like really solid pop rock, check out the webelos. after all, they're "hip as a neckerchief, clean as a sopabox" according to their myspace.
www.myspace.com/webelos
www.twitter.com/TheWebelos
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
columbia: local natives
wednesday, may 19th. i definitely remember the date of this one. that's because my dad had hip replacement surgery the morning before. and was still in the hospital recovering on wednesday. and didn't know i skipped town to go see a show. and still does not know the exact whereabouts of his daughter that night. whoops. ...but i really really really wanted to see local natives!
so that's what i did. i drove two hours on over to mojo's, caught the tail end of suckers, and met up with some friends who were in town from chicago, as well as my new friend carolina that i met a few days before in lawrence at the noise fm show. (isn't my life awesome? i know, you're jealous.)
we attempted to wriggle our way forward to the front of the sold out venue; key work being "attempted". this turned out to be impossible, so we turned around and wriggled our way back out and settled for an awkward spot right at the bar. why awkward, you ask? because i'm twenty and all the bartenders kept looking at me expectantly, and all i had to offer them was an idiotic grin and a wave of my hand with the giant, ugly X marked on it. sorry guys. my bad. it didn't take much to lift the guilt away though; the sweet sweet sounds of local natives' harmonies were enough to make... [insert noun] [insert verb]. pretty much any of those will work if they involve something like "hardened criminals" and "melt". but yeah, to put it more concretely, local natives blew my mind and gave me goosebumps. they sounded just like their album, if not better. and even though i couldn't see the stage very well, they have some pretty crazy-awesome fashion and haircuts.
post-show involved one friend storming out... and two friends getting more and more drunk and becoming BFFs with brian from suckers. things proceeded to get really weird. nora sucked down about a million blueberry vodka something or others, forced me to call wethematthew (why didn't we call ben fong, nora?!), and effectively convinced suckers that the three of us (me, nora and olivia) were witches because we all were wearing black. someone had a cape on... olivia discovered her shirt was like a cape... someone was high and then there were people doing the conga... nora scolded me every time i tried to leave... yeah. i really have no idea. but i eventually left and drove back to st. louis. it was great and it was weird. just another show, you know.
so that's what i did. i drove two hours on over to mojo's, caught the tail end of suckers, and met up with some friends who were in town from chicago, as well as my new friend carolina that i met a few days before in lawrence at the noise fm show. (isn't my life awesome? i know, you're jealous.)
we attempted to wriggle our way forward to the front of the sold out venue; key work being "attempted". this turned out to be impossible, so we turned around and wriggled our way back out and settled for an awkward spot right at the bar. why awkward, you ask? because i'm twenty and all the bartenders kept looking at me expectantly, and all i had to offer them was an idiotic grin and a wave of my hand with the giant, ugly X marked on it. sorry guys. my bad. it didn't take much to lift the guilt away though; the sweet sweet sounds of local natives' harmonies were enough to make... [insert noun] [insert verb]. pretty much any of those will work if they involve something like "hardened criminals" and "melt". but yeah, to put it more concretely, local natives blew my mind and gave me goosebumps. they sounded just like their album, if not better. and even though i couldn't see the stage very well, they have some pretty crazy-awesome fashion and haircuts.
post-show involved one friend storming out... and two friends getting more and more drunk and becoming BFFs with brian from suckers. things proceeded to get really weird. nora sucked down about a million blueberry vodka something or others, forced me to call wethematthew (why didn't we call ben fong, nora?!), and effectively convinced suckers that the three of us (me, nora and olivia) were witches because we all were wearing black. someone had a cape on... olivia discovered her shirt was like a cape... someone was high and then there were people doing the conga... nora scolded me every time i tried to leave... yeah. i really have no idea. but i eventually left and drove back to st. louis. it was great and it was weird. just another show, you know.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
lawrence: the noise fm and cowboy indian bear CD release party
hot diggity damn. i'm so freakin behind it's nearly laughable, but i'm incredibly OCD when it comes to cranking out these show reviews. so here ya go. short and sweet, since my writer's block hasn't done much of anything besides move a smidge, and i hardly remember what happened three weeks ago.
i'm gonna take a wild guess and say that the show was on a friday. (i think?) i'm too freakin lazy to look it up, and i just want to get this damn thing posted. so i won't say much about the show. i'll just express my undying love for the noise boys and how precious they are. have i mentioned they're from lawrence kansas? and that they have these adorable little southern accents? yeah, yeah they do. plus, being brothers makes things so cute, that you might throw up a little just seeing the two of them together. even better seeing them together amongst a sea of hipsters. someone somewhere in the land of twitter, tweeted this little gem: "If you wanted to kill all the hipsters in Lawrence come to the Granada with a bomb." see? too precious for words. i felt right at home at the granada that night.
the noise fm played a great show, as did cowboy indian bear. yeah, i went there. totally freakin general. i told you this wouldn't be much. i did make a friend though. it happens every time i go to a show alone; i always meet someone cool. her name is carolina (not like the state, but like a cool spanish sounding name) and we are musical BFFs. we bonded over brand new, and we also bonded over the fact that we'd both be at the local natives show in columbia a few days later. good times. we stood around talking for quite a while and eventually went our respective ways. twas a fun night in ku territory. (yeah, i go to mizzou.)
and for the love of god, please please please check out the noise fm's new ep. if you like muse, you'll love em, guaranteed.
http://www.thenoisefm.net/
www.twitter.com/thenoisefm
i'm gonna take a wild guess and say that the show was on a friday. (i think?) i'm too freakin lazy to look it up, and i just want to get this damn thing posted. so i won't say much about the show. i'll just express my undying love for the noise boys and how precious they are. have i mentioned they're from lawrence kansas? and that they have these adorable little southern accents? yeah, yeah they do. plus, being brothers makes things so cute, that you might throw up a little just seeing the two of them together. even better seeing them together amongst a sea of hipsters. someone somewhere in the land of twitter, tweeted this little gem: "If you wanted to kill all the hipsters in Lawrence come to the Granada with a bomb." see? too precious for words. i felt right at home at the granada that night.
the noise fm played a great show, as did cowboy indian bear. yeah, i went there. totally freakin general. i told you this wouldn't be much. i did make a friend though. it happens every time i go to a show alone; i always meet someone cool. her name is carolina (not like the state, but like a cool spanish sounding name) and we are musical BFFs. we bonded over brand new, and we also bonded over the fact that we'd both be at the local natives show in columbia a few days later. good times. we stood around talking for quite a while and eventually went our respective ways. twas a fun night in ku territory. (yeah, i go to mizzou.)
and for the love of god, please please please check out the noise fm's new ep. if you like muse, you'll love em, guaranteed.
http://www.thenoisefm.net/
www.twitter.com/thenoisefm
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