Bon Iver w/ Black Mountain=really weird combo

On friday, I was lucky enough to have tickets to go see Bon Iver open for Black Mountain at the Bowery Ballroom. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Black Mountain, I can easily describe them as psychedelic rock. It is good ol' rock music. The resulting crowd was mainly boys many of whom suffered dearly from meathead syndrome. It manifested itself miserably all the way through Bon Iver.
There was a loyal Bon Iver following at the show, comprised mainly of girls and hipster boys. Fortunately, there were also some annoyingly loud, drunk meat heads too. Bon Iver doesn't really strike me as a concert to yell and scream and pump fists at. Maybe I am wrong, or just too sensitive. At any rate, Justin Vernon had two sidekicks playing along with him, which I guess I hadn't expected as he recorded the entire album by himself.
"For Emma, Forever Ago" was composed alone in a cabin in Wisconsin. Having gone to college in good old Madison for several years, I can appreciate everything about Wisconsin that I see in this album. I oozes with warmth and openess. In my experience, there is something about the midwest that the east coast cannot compete with, I would describe it as earthliness. There is such a solid sense of thankfulness in the album that I really attribute to Wisconsin. I felt that from so many of my friends in college, and I never felt it from anyone I had ever met on the East Coast. My whole life on the east coast was about improving oneself and moving ahead, constantly climbing a ladder, and never being satisfied with oneself. The portrayal of this attitude is key to the pervasive pretentious attitude in Boston. This is not to say that people actually felt that way, they just seemed to project that sense. Also, this is not to say that my peers in college weren't constantly striving to better themselves and competitively trying to move up in the world. They just didn't need to show it all of the time. In fact, many of my closest friends lived in what we would have considered to be near poverty compared to what we grew up with. Also, they were paying their own way through college, rent, tuition, books, everything. It didn't even occur to me when I left for college that someone would have to pay for those things oneself.
I digress...So, Bon Iver. A good show, although honestly I didn't feel that the two fellows that Vernon had accompanying him were really tight. I just felt that the show could have been more powerful. I would absolutely go see him again though since I do think that time would really heal the awkwardness that I sensed on stage. I think they would have benefited from more of a presence from the band, outside of Vernon himself.
Black Mountain was good, but it just isn't really my thing. Although I do think it could become my thing. I had an unfortunate experience surrounding attending the show to begin with, so I was not in a mood to stay and get beat on by the crowd. But Black Mountain was a solid performance of solid psychedelic rock. I would actually like to listen to them a bit and try seeing them again. They had great energy on stage, and also felt unified in a way that Bon Iver didn't.

Thats All for Now!

<3 The Elephant

Sufjan Covers the National Anthem at Carnegie Hall

Last Wednesday the Tortoise and I decided to check out the Tibet House benefit concert. So we each shelled out $40 to see Philip Glass, Band of Horses and Sufjan Stevens, among many others. We were told in advance that our tickets were sort of considered obstructed view, but having never been to Carnegie Hall, I wasn't aware of the magnitude of this claim. I was sort non chalant about this. Except that what was obstructed was our view of the piano on the far side of stage right. Well, the piano's not a big deal, right?
Unless you wanted to see Sufjan sing, Philip play or any grouping in between, then no, its no problem. Great if you are contented to listen. OK, admittedly a disappointment, and frankly, a bit of rip off. I know, I know, it's a benefit. What can I say? I still paid for it, so me bitching retrospectively doesn't affect the outcome of ticket sales. At any rate, Everyone was good, y'know, it was sort of a killer line-up. Included in the line-up of "among many others" were Tom Verlain and Ray Davies. While I really enjoyed Philip Glass's performance and Sufjan's wonderful cover of the national anthem, it was actually Ray Davies who made the evening for me.
While Band of Horses was fun, it doesn't have that unversal appeal that "Lola" has. In fact, my favorite part of the evening was Davies' sing along, in which the whole audience sang "L-O-L-A Loooooola" together. I doubt it was the first time Carnegie hall has experienced this, but it is pretty unusual for me to sing loudly in an atmosphere such as that one. In all truth, the sound quality in those sorts of spaces isn't good for rock. It bounces around too much, and loses a lot by the time it reaches the nose-bleed section. Having played classical violin for years, I can say with confidence that its excellent for an orchestra. It made the group sing along crystal clear and very fun. He closed the whole concert with a group rendition of "All Day and All of the Night". It was cool and fun.
I'm going to go ahead and admit that this is a lame review, but I just don't have that much to say, I couldn't see, and each band played about 4ish songs. Sorry Guys:(

<3 The Elephant

Concert Review: Dan Deacon at The Whitney

Have you ever experienced Dan Deacon live? This was my first time, and it took me by storm. This isn't a pansy-ass concert, it's an out of control experience. For starters it was at the Whitney Museum of American Art, which is in a pristine neighborhood surrounded by Carolina Herrera, Searle and Christian Louboutin boutiques. When I walked up to the Museum the line went from the entrance of the museum, up Madison and as far down 75th street as I could see. Yes, a full avenue block. I thought this was going to impact my ability to see the show, except the Walrus has a corporate membership with the Whitney (thanks Walrus!) so I just walked right in, and got in. The Tortoise met me, and after a few snafu's, we both got in (thanks entirely to the corporate membership). We sort of unwittingly got caught in the middle of the crowd, with our bags and coats on the floor in front of us.

First, Dan Deacon has us do some stretches, by way of telling us some sort of bizarre story. I really cannot describe this and accurately and do it justice. I also missed the memo on mixing and matching drugs. Holy shit, everyone was so fucked up, I don't know what these kids were taking. When the "dancing" (read: wild flailing, jumping, and shoving) began, being in that crowd was like standing in the ocean and getting absolutely pummeled by a wave, just completely over taken and not being able to do anything about it. Tortoise and I scrambled to get the HELL out of the crowd of teenage hipsters (not intended to be derogatory). We managed to meet up with some friends that we standing on the wall unit radiators overlooking the crowd. From there we were able to watch all of the crazy rituals, including a costumed dance off and the tunnel. Frankly. you should just experience this for yourself. If you can use some sort of substance prior to the show, I would encourage that. I think a few beers would have helped me out, but I enjoyed myself nonetheless.

So, in comparison to The Dodos, I would say that they aren't in the same category. Dan Deacon is performance art/social experiement, while The Dodos are just focused on music. I personally prefer The Dodos type of concert, but I had a blast at Dan Deacon. I didn't leave with the interior glowing feeling that I get after a great concert. Sometimes I still feel glowing and happy the day after a show. That is the true gauge of the quality of the show in my opinion. Dan Deacon was just such a unique experience that I would highly recommend it to anyone is isn't faint hearted (or weak spirited).

<3 Elephant

Concert Review: The Dodos w/ Phosphorescent

Matt Houck of Phosphorescent

Dude in plaid shirt on guitar (name anyone???) and Jeff Bailey on bass (who loved to show his back to the audience... only slightly annoying...)

The Dodos - Meric Long, anonymous guy on drums, and Logan Kroeber

Meric Long of The Dodos

Logan Kroeber of The Dodos

Photos courtesy of the Whale.... Enjoy!

I'm going to open this post by mentioning that Phil and the Osophers was actually the first band. I don't want to directly criticize talent, but this band could really use a third member. That person would be a singer. A talented singer. Actually, I would settle for an acceptable singer. I don't think the music itself was offensive, but dear lord, the singer was atrocious. In a sort of painful to listen to sort of way. I would love to hear their tunes again with another singer to properly publish an opinion of the quality of the songs.

Moving on: the show was Saturday, February 2nd at Union Pool. After the whole Phil and the Osophers incident I was looking forward to Phosphorescent. He had a troupe with him at this show, which i guess isn't always the case. He (Matt Houck) played a solid set. I can honestly say that if you like the super chill, Iron and Wine-esque sounds, this is the band for you. He put on a great live set, and I really appreciated his music. Forgive me, it has been a while since we were there. Moral of the story: good show. AND he has the absolute best tee shirts. Seriously adorable lion graphic. Very encyclopedia Britannica.

The real highlight of the show for me was The Dodos. I went just to see them. They really lived up to every one of my expectations. Lets breeze through the basics: tight set, energetic, crowd pleaser. More importantly though, they played a frenzied, percussive wildly flailing show. Every second of the first several songs had me chomping at the bit for more. They opened with "Men" which is my favorite song, and moved to "The Ball" and "Fools". These all have a similar, drum heavy, guitar hand pick feel to them. Their first album, Beware of the Maniacs, doesn't focus on this style of music, but includes it in a wide repertoire of styles. The key thing to remember is that there is a huge amount of sheer talent. They are on the same page at the base level. From there, they are inspired, creative and resonating with passion. All in all, if you get the chance to see them live, go. Its totally worth sitting through painful openers.

<3 The Elephant

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