Annie Clark enacts a kind of science fiction story told in the relationship between herself and her guitar.
Not only does singer Nathan Hewitt bring to mind Swervedriver’s Adam Franklin, but the band also employs a similar no nonsense/no banter presentation, blasting through their ten-song set with workmanlike precision.
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.
They squashed my ego, broke down all barriers of self-definition and aesthetics that one might use as quarantine, left me standing there stunned with only these words: What can I say, it’s a great band.
“Stand up, your father’s passing,” someone might have said.
The Rocket has returned.
WMBR’s Jon Bernhardt rallies some ’90s indie rock heroes for a celebration.
The greatest garage rock band in the world, brought to you by the Reverend Little Richard Penniman.
For the encore, they closed with an incredible version of “Coming Down” which featured Dee Dee bringing down the house with her vocal acrobatics. What a treat!
After closing the first set with “Dear Mr. Fantasy”, Mason took a short break, and soon returned with a clear focus on his solo work. “We Just Disagree” opened the second set, noting to all that this was now a Dave Mason show.
The trio’s first of two final shows focused on the bash ‘em out, ramshackle yet endearing punk days of their first two albums, and the career retrospective was a treat for longtime fans.
This rare, one-off Northeast appearance by superb new San Francisco ethereal band Slowness was hypnotic and resonant.
This was a bill so strong from top to bottom that we braved the icy tundra and slippery roads to make it out to this show.
Paisley Underground favorites The Bangles, The Three O’Clock, Dream Syndicate and Rain Parade reunited in December for a show benefitting Education Through Music – Los Angeles. Chicago-based rock photographer Philamonjaro was at L.A.‘s Henry Fonda Theatre to document the evening in this photo essay.
In which Samson’s big pants emphasize and also encumber the parts of the body her dance pop compels to movement.
For those in the audience, there was also a sense of joy to finally see such a heralded band during their first ever tour of the Southeast.
I suspect her band has tried the songs at every conceivable speed and then, finding the right one, often at the pace of deceptive leisure, they can finally play and let out their endless sigh.
In his shifting pronouns, in person, I got the fullest sense of Oldham’s expansive affection.
Last Splash, recreated with astonishing opulence and precision for at least the first five songs, then with forgivably less precision after that.
Dim lights, a carefully prepared stage: Some part of the band’s magic comes from these kinds of monumental concessions to Hope Sandoval’s shyness.
A long-awaited situation.
Case & Co. play music with unpredictable energy, regardless the clarity of the vocal that guides it.
If slightly bigger crowds are a sign of things to come for the band, then it is well-earned as the new album is great and their live show just keeps improving.
In late September, The Replacements played their final show of 2013 along with Iggy & The Stooges, Flag, Public Enemy and Naked Raygun in Byers, Colorado.
Their status as showmen quickly overrides any indifference to the substance of the show.
Though the title of their brand new album is I Hate Music, this past Tuesday’s show at Union Transfer proved (as if they need any at this point) that in fact the exact opposite is true.
Though they are incredible on any sized stage, Yo La Tengo made the large one seem quite smaller by crowding together stage right/audience left which conveyed the truth of the band of how close knit they have become over the years both while recording albums and performing.
intellectuals rejoiced at the twee sounds of Belle and Sebastian with the many deep feeling and sometimes long winded lyrics arising from poets in their own right who read tons of books and relish in every moment of it. Theirs was almost a set where the fans made the experience even better than it would have been. It was almost a musical baptism dancing along to so many lost and found souls in the rain to some of our favorite songs with “I’m a Cuckoo,” “Piazza, New York Catcher,” “Stars of Track and Field,” “If You’re Feeling Sinister,” “The Boy With the Arab Strap,” “Judy and the Dream of Horses,” and the fantastic but very bittersweet encore “Get Me Away From Here I’m Dying.”
From the minute Bjork walked on to the stage, this reviewer actually started having heart palpitations as the bass was so loud it seemed to shake the very Earth. Also, the sense of anticipation in the air was so thick one could cut it like a delicious chocolate cake and eat it like a shared secret. Bjork was, in short, awe inspiring.
This year, Pitchfork Music Festival has arguably the best lineup it has ever had. For fans of a wide array of independent music, the festival boasts a variety of musical styles and genres to suit your fancy as well as some incredibly substantial headliners. The trend is such that many of the bands that play earlier on in the day end up playing the next year at Lollapalooza, so it behooves the music fan to get to the festival at the start of each day, which also might secure a good spot for experiencing the headlining band’s set of the night. It’s also clear that now perhaps more than ever, Pitchfork is making a concerted effort to represent creative women in music as well as men, which helps make the overall lineup for 2013 rather exquisite, not to mentioned well balanced.
The joy just permeates their very essence as they even stayed at the merch table after the show to chat with fans and sign posters and album booklets.
The Who performed its landmark concept album Quadrophenia on two nights in Chicago, IL. The set list may have been known in advance, but the veteran British rockers played with conviction and fire.
Although Pete’s no longer sells sweet treats, on this night Ashley and Brodeur nourished us with plenty of delicious ear candy.
Bragg and his very professional band are an excellent combo, and when you include his old and new songs, you’ve got a heady mixture.
This college-aged New York foursome’s marvelous just-released second LP Warned You is one of my favorite albums of 2013, so these two Greenwich Village shows were eagerly anticipated. Much to my surprise, the band was as convincing and formidable live as on record!
