So catchy, it spreads like wild fire. So fun and unpredictable, you don’t quite know what rhythms you’ll hear next or how to move to it. And this same music is so exciting that it can literally feel like it has the power to speed up time so that 45 minutes feels like the blink of an eye.
To behold her, you have to reassure yourself that this stunning creature is not a mirage.
It is truly a revelation to experience both this level of intensity and gentleness of a human in the very same night. Talbot’s capacity for a such a depth of emotion is what makes each song feel genuine and exceptional both live and on album. This is no ordinary band or live show and you will be changed by listening.
Murdoch commented on all the wonderful bands later on while headlining and his sincerity as always came through. “If you can’t run into a member of Belle and Sebastian at Bowlie, what’s the point?!”
Belle and Sebastian have been a band for over 25 years and they have yet to disappoint with any of their albums or shows. Like a fine wine, they just keep getting better and one can’t help feeling more nostalgic the longer you’ve lived with their music as a daily comfort.
Though it was the last night of their tour, Allah-Las still played an engaging albeit somewhat short set that left the crowd yearning for more.
These songs became heartfelt anthems for a packed crowd believing in the power of music and grateful for the experience.
Olsen quickly began thrilling the audience with her ravishing songs but also making fans laugh with her jokes about taco bars, bad knees, teleprompters, green bandanas and Argo Tea. Even though she now lives in North Carolina, she can always come back to visit and be Chicago’s darling!
At the same time, her songs move at such a gentle pace to make the listener appreciate time passing and all the tender moments of her vocals over her guitar caresses. These songs are filled with heart and genuineness indeed.
Though Epiphany is not a typical rock club or music venue, it seemed perfectly fitting for the community who enjoyed sharing the type of shared spiritual experience occurring when any group of people come together to experience something which unites them as people.
There is a world you can escape to when you see Le Tigre play and it isn’t as much a world of the reality of the existing world but one of possibilities in which we all can have fun if we’re kind and not careless with each other and if we continue to pay attention and be engaged in our communities. I want to Keep on Livin’ in that world!
On a stage filled with illuminated elegance, Weyes Blood emerged to dazzle a sold out crowd with the type of lovely folk songs that harken to a different sort of time. These tracks have a beautiful melancholic feeling with exceptional melodies carried by creator and lead singer Natalie Laura Mering, who gives the self assured sense that she finds singing more natural than talking. Adding to the rich ambiance, Mering danced around in a floor length ball gown with a glorious ease throughout the 80 minute set
Both the lyrics and the song structures on The Smile’s 2022 album A Light for Attracting Attention go places that, if they were bodies, would be strange contortionists. One might find yourself wondering if a chord progression can actually evolve like that the way you’d wonder if a knee can bend in a certain direction.
It’s impossible to be unhappy while listening to Alvvays. There’s something so sincere and also buoyant about lead singer Molly Rankin’s vocals that reassure a human in their most melancholic of moments that everything is going to be alright. It’s not merely catchy pop songs she sings but lullabies to get you through your darkest days.
It goes without saying that The Roots are an absolute legend and they proved on top of their game. It was especially wonderful to see Questlove play drums again as well as to have “Damon “Tuba Gooding Jr.Bryson playing sousaphone, adding another layer to their songs and live set that was super animated! Captain Kirk Douglas was also hamming it up on guitar as usual. It was a fantastic way to close out the weekend!
People sometimes say that Rome wasn’t built in a day and that might be because of the complexity of all the layers upon layers of city built by human hands throughout its history. These are humans who bled and suffered yet still managed to create something that will stand the test of time and be a witness to what humans can actually achieve at their absolute height. The very same accomplishment can be applied to the songs by the band Low and it would be best if you experience their multifaceted layers as you would The Colosseum : in a state of perpetual awe.
The energy the chord progressions take on is incredible enough to write a dissertation on how feedback can evolve into something that feels a little dangerous and also a little healing at the same time. This time around seemed even more precious because, let’s be clear, in a pandemic like this touring isn’t easy. Yet, if there’s one thing to live through a pandemic for, it’s seeing Spiritualized play again.
It was no surprise the devoted audience knew all the song by heart, even when Present Tense was just released last month. Just about every song in their catalog could easily be a pleasing radio friendly hit. “Right Track / Wrong Man,” “Give it Hell,” and “In the Eyes of Our Love” are the kinds of songs that have the sort of light-hearted sensibility to elevate anyone out of a dark funk and came off especially well in concert.
The way the intensity was built up really brought to home the fact that Hana Vu is hopefully on the verge of what is to be a long an artistic career and is as genuine as they come.
There have been a few Music Frozen Dancing events when it is has been even unseasonably warm and the outside heat lamps didn’t even really need to be on. But, there’s always that Music Frozen Dancing day temperature the matches the February date perfectly. And, who would hold a festival outdoors in Chicago at the end of February anyway? Luckily, the same people who know the necessity of booking fantastic bands that bring the energy. You can’t get frostbite or die of hypothermia if you’re too busy dancing, right…..right?
Sometimes, it takes a single voice to evoke a mood. Slowly drifting across an audience of connected strangers and lingering in all the cracks between them. Then, suddenly a keyboard comes in and then a guitar, bass, and drums all connected by the grounding melodies of the vocals. In the sense of a shared experience, fans feel the intensity build in a way that strengthens the pieces overall. Yet, in the building is a strange sort of reckoning with the way the lullabies soothe.
While Williams dominated the stage throughout the set with a very lovely glam style and her luscious folk vocals, she also provided a safe space for the sold out audience to be in the moment enjoying the wonder of the songs.
No worries about Nada Surf’s ability to deliver the same kind of high quality live show that urges devoted fans to try to catch multiple tour stops. In fact, their over 2 hour set surely must have left the audience satiated and joyous.
Van Etten has also grown better at projecting her voice to fill larger venues in a way that doesn’t seem forced but more emotionally in depth in a way that makes the songs greater than ever. When she thanks her audience for coming, it’s just as heartfelt.
Neil Halstead: I would never write those exact songs at this point in my life. They are songs that come out of being 18 or 19 years old. It’s interesting how they still connect with many younger people. We’ve noticed that when we’ve been doing these shows there are some really young kids that are coming out and really loving the band and the records. We’re aware they are the same age as when we were first recording these tracks.
In a word, their hour long set was epic. We overuse that word in the human race just like we wear out words like amazing but nonetheless if you were hesitating even in the slightest about seeing them as they embark on their upcoming tour, think again. It could easily be the best show you’ve seen all year and one you’ll remember and cherish for decades to come. It will make any doubters a believer in the blissful power of shoegaze music.
It is strange to be anything at all and still we’re all glad for the shared experience of hearing someone like Jeff Mangum who is not like anyone else we’ve ever known.
England’s Factory Floor three piece started out slow but pretty soon female lead singer Nik Colk was starting to dance to her own rhythms as the heightened sense of beats took over the crowd and made for an awesome beginning set for many people. Some fans were even so appreciative of the beats by live drummer Gabriel Gurnsey that they started crowdsurfing!
If there’s no other Pitchfork festival band that you check out the full set for, make it Slowdive and you won’t regret it!
Yes, the night has darkness on it’s side but Elbow makes it all the more brighter and worth living, even if we still end up on the losing side.
Sunday proved to be another very exceptional day of gorgeous sunny weather and psychedelic bands that challenged the mind and explored both the outer reaches of the genre and the melodic harmonies that it could fulfill. Unlike the way many shows and some festivals are right now, Austin Psych Fest is filled with people who want to actively listen and learn and that makes all of the difference for the bands and the mood overall.
It was another lovely day in Austin to experience all kinds of psychedelic music with influences from folk to drone to metal to pop to rock. The day seemed to be about people experiencing how far the genre could take them and enjoying both the onslaught of noise from the more aggressive bands to the relaxing sounds of music with a much different tone. Austin Psych Fest offered the whole spectrum of the genre for those with an adventurous spirit.
It was clear from the lineup that the entire festival is chocked full of psychedelic wonder but the ultimate and constant pleasure of experiencing that all day long under the sunny Austin sky was remarkable.
