Friday, October 11, 2013

The Helio Sequence and Menomena at Terminal West, Atlanta - October 10, 2013


The 1990's: a bunch of kids in Beaverton, Oregon, a suburb or Portland, hanging out and forming bands. They all become good friends and wind up playing at each others' gigs at parties and small clubs. Eventually, they get signed but to different labels and end up touring separately, recording separately, and proceeding on separate paths. Those paths diverged until this year, when they finally wound up touring together for the very first time.  Last night, that tour brought Portland's Menomena and the Helio Sequence to Atlanta, Georgia's Terminal West.

Menomena opened.


We've seen Menomena a bunch of times before, including a 2010 gig at Variety Playhouse, and then at MFNW 2012, right as they had released their most recent record, Moms, and were all over town.  We saw them three times that week (a KEXP daytime show at the Doug Fir and then later that same day their main MFNW set at Pioneer Courthouse Square, and at the OPB party at Mississippi Studios), and it felt like you couldn't walk into a coffee shop and not find Menomena performing in the back of the store.  This, then, was our fifth time seeing them. 


They were great as always, although the sound mix was fairly muddy for the first half of their set and bassist-saxophonist-multi-instrumentalist Justin Harris was plagued with equipment malfunctions (dead mic, broken guitar string, and some sort of laptop problem I couldn't comprehend).  But despite these setbacks (or maybe because of those setbacks), their quirky and complex songs were still entertaining and fascinating.


Before they started work on Moms, founding member Brent Knopf left the band to form Ramona Falls, whom we recently saw at Bumbershoot this year (and at the godforsaken Masquerade earlier this year). In his place, Menomena had two touring musicians, at least one of whom (the guitarist in the Maps & Atlases t-shirt) I recognized from the 2012 gigs in Portland.


The Helio Sequence got the honor of headlining.  We've seen them only once before, earlier this year at this same venue (Terminal West).  



The Helio Sequence consists of only two musicians, but together they sound like a much fuller band. Drummer Benjamin Weikel is able to produce bass-like lines with his bass drum and toms, while filling in other drum beats and looking like he's having more fun than anyone else in the room. Guitarist Brandon Summers creates layers of sound with loop pedals and other effects, and if you close your eyes, you'd think that at least a four-piece band was on the stage in front of you.


Their tightly structured songs don't leave much room for improvisation - this isn't a band that's going to suddenly go jam-band on you - but the sheer precision and craftsmanship that goes into their songs more than compensates for any lack of surprise.  They played a great set of fun, sunny rock songs and played them well, and that's more than most bands can say.


On a final note, the Rail King's streak continued: like at the past three shows I've gone to, I managed to get the best position in the venue last night - right in front of center stage, no one in front of me but the band and smack dab in the center.  Awesome.  But it wasn't as much of a challenge last night (getting and keeping that spot for Savages was the real achievement of the week), as the crowd was surprisingly small for these two bands - the twin billing last night of Passion Pit and The Joy Formidable at the godforsaken Masquerade may have lured many of the customers away.  

Hell, if it weren't for this show, I probably would have been there myself. 

Thursday, October 10, 2013

Savages at Vinyl, Atlanta, October 9, 2013


Last night, London's post-punk revivalists Savages played at Vinyl, part of the Center Stage complex in Midtown Atlanta.  It's been well over a year since I've been to a show at Vinyl - the last time I was there was a March 2012 concert by Fanfarlo, another London band.

I've been on a roll with audience position lately - for both Unknown Mortal Orchestra and Junip at Terminal West and last night for Savages, I managed to get a spot right in front of center stage (the actual center of the stage, not in front of Midtown's Center Stage complex).  No one but the band in front of me, and in the case of Savages, the performers mere inches away from my face.

The four members of Savages wore all black on a dimly lit stage (white lights only over the drummer, silhouetting the rest of the band), which would have made photography difficult, had they allowed it at all. I've heard that at recent shows Savages posted signs at the entrance encouraging people not to take cellphone pictures or videos so the band could "more fully immerse" themselves in the performance.

No such signs were up last night.  "We forgot to post them," singer Jehnny Beth explained as she walked to the edge of the stage and put her hand over the cellphone of a woman standing to my right.  After having taken pictures of their setlist and pedal board before the show began, I kept my cellphone and camera holstered for the rest of their set, and allowed myself to become more fully immersed in the performance.


Johnny Hostile, the band's mentor and boyfriend of Jehnny Beth, opened with a solo set, playing bass and singing to recorded samples.  His performance, reminiscent at times of the 70s band Suicide, set a New Wave tone for the night, and reminded us of a time when experimentalism and embrace of the avant garde was more accepted. Beth sang one song with him.  Reed player Duke Garman, on the bill for the show, did not appear.


Savages' set was as feral and direct as their name implies.  Jehnny Beth menacingly prowled the edge of the stage in her red heels as she sang, often performing less than a foot away from my face.  When at the microphone stage, she would swing her arms front and back like Ian Curtis of Joy Division.  Gemma Thompson approaches the guitar in a manner similar to Gang of Four's Andy Gill, often playing it not so much as a stringed instrument but instead exploring all the possible ways of getting sound out of her machine, including tapping her fingers on the back of its neck or pounding her fist on its body. Thompson's sonic explorations left it up to Ayse Hassan to carry much of the songs with her blister-inducing  strumming on the bass.  But the real delight was watching drummer Fay Milton perform in her near choreographic manner - not only does she involve her whole body in her playing, but she seems to be dancing with the drum set as much as playing it, sometimes holding one arm up in the air as she keeps the beat with the other, only to bring the raised arm crashing down at the exact right moment.  She also makes excellent use of her cymbals.


None of this would have worked, though, if each member of the band weren't such consummate perfectionists and talented musicians, and if their songs weren't so compelling.  Their set included a cover of Suicide's Dream Baby Dream, bookending the theme started with Johnny Hostile's opening set.  Their set ended with Fuckers, a song not found on their debut album Silence Yourself, but featuring a chant of "Don't let the fuckers get you down" before dissolving into a chaotic storm of feedback and noise and the band leaving the stage. The audience began to call for an encore before realizing that Savages had already given everything they had on the stage, and there was nothing left to be said.

Silence yourself, indeed. 

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Junip at Terminal West, Atlanta, 9-7-2013


Things change and everything's in a state of transformation. Impermanence is the only constant.  But it usually seems that when we notice change, it's usually for the worse - it's rare that we notice when things seem to get better, rarer still when good things get even better.  The reliably terrific band Junip, who last played Atlanta in a wonderful show at the Earl back in 2010, showed that they had gotten even better in the past couple years, totally mesmerizing the audience with their performance last night at Terminal West. 

Barbarosa opened.


Barbarosa is London's James Mathé, who is currently a touring member of Junip as well as their opener, too. He plays solo, bringing only a drummer on stage to join him for a couple of songs, and sings in a soulful manner somewhere between Active Child and James Blake, and not far at all from the warm croon of Junip's own Jose Gonzalez.  


When they played the Earl back in November 2010, Junip was a quartet.  They've expanded into a quintet for this tour, but the change was more than just the addition of Mathé.  With three keyboards/synths backing him (four when one member puts down his bass), their sounds is much more layered and lush than ever before, sometimes sounding light as a feather, other times heavy and ominous. At times, their electronic washes of sound brought to mind Moonface's occasional backing band Sinaii.


In any event, it was a transcendent set, with the audience - at least this member - getting swept away by the stream of music and being carried along, guided the whole time by Gonzalez' reassuring and warm voice.


It's a sign of a great performance that I can't even remember the sequence of the songs, other than they played their early hit Always near the beginning, and Line of Fire, the song featured in the series finale of Breaking Bad, toward the end (the encore?).  Back in 2010, their encore included a cover of U2's With Or Without You - with Sharon Van Etten singing no less - but as hard to believe as it is, their encore last night was every bit as good.  This was clearly one of the best shows of the season.

I know that I think that after almost every show, but this one really was something special.

Monday, October 7, 2013

Dude, I Was There!

Sallie Ford at Bumbershoot, August 1, 2013
KEXP video of the noontime Bumbershoot Music Lounge performance by Sallie Ford & The Sound Outside on Sunday, September 1, 2013.

Sunday, October 6, 2013

Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Terminal West, Atlanta - October 5, 2013


Crates loaded onto the stage, light rack lowered to hoist their banner, Unknown Mortal Orchestra snapped this pic of them setting up at Terminal West in Atlanta.


By the time I arrived at around 9:30 pm, everything was set up and ready to go.  Asheville's Jackson Scott took the stage first, fronting a young trio.


They were a fun band to listen to, playing effect-drenched, psychedelic rock.  Scott often pitch-shifts his voice as he sings, strangling it into a high-pitch whine, not unlike Athens' Reptar.  Despite their youth - I don't think the trio's ages added together exceed mine by very much - they still played a cover of Pink Floyd's 1967 Interstellar Overdrive.  In interviews, Scott has cited Syd Barrett as a major influence, but the bass in particular match the original recorded version from Piper at the Gates of Dawn note for note, while Scott occupied himself more with his effects pedals than with his guitar.  I think they may also have covered a Nirvana song, or at least part of one, but I'm not sure.  

They were a new one to me, but they apparently have at least one album out, have been favorably reviewed by Pitchfork, and have toured with Deerhunter and now Unknown Mortal Orchestra.  Should Scott continue with his music, it will be fun to see what directions his artistic trajectory decides to take him.


Unknown Mortal Orchestra took the stage a little after 11:00 pm and proceeded to ignite the theater with Ruban Nielson's incendiary guitar playing.

  
This is my fourth time seeing UMO, having caught them twice in their native Portland, once at the Doug Fir (2011) and last month at a very special performance at Branx, and earlier this year at Atlanta's 529 (with Foxygen opening).


Above, Ruben sitting and adding some guitar effects while working his extensive pedal board during Riley Geare's drum solo.  Below, crouching while tearing off some riffs during a song.  While he got off several earth-scorching guitar passeges during last night's set, there weren't nearly as many as at his triumphant MFNW set at Branx last month, reminding me of how lucky I was to have caught that special set.


Bassist Jake Portrait holding down an amp while playing.  Earlier in the set, a cinder block that was supposed to keep the amp in place came tumbling off.  Tragically, a beer was also spilled in the accident. The band didn't miss a beat.


Geare not only got in a drum solo, but he also wore a Mary's Club t-shirt. Mary's Club is Portland's oldest and probably seediest, as well as most beloved, strip club, more or less the Portland equivalent to Atlanta's Clermont Lounge.


Set highlights included From the Sun, Thought Balune, and How Can U Love Me, and they ended their set with a great version of So Good At Being In Trouble.  For their encore, Ruban took the stage alone for an acoustic rendition of Swim and Sleep (Like a Shark) before the rest of the band joined him, eventually ending the evening with Ffunny Ffriends.


Speaking of acoustic, UMO has a new 12-inch EP out, Blue Record, consisting of all-acoustic versions of songs from II, as well as a cover of Dirty Projector's Swing Lo Magellan.  The EP's cover photo, and also the banner behind the band during last night's performance, is of a nearly nude Janet Farrar, the Wiccan teacher and author, who also appeared on the cover of II. On II, she's holding a sword forward in a pose suggesting power or victory, and UMO had a banner with that picture behind them during their performance at 529.  But on the cover of Blue Record and on last night's banner, she's resting her hands on the handle of the sword, arms crossed, the pointy side touching the ground.  The latter is a more relaxed (and less revealing) pose, befitting the acoustic nature of the songs on Blue Record.  



Leaving the performance, I was glad once again to have a music venue as nice as Terminal West only a couple miles from my home.  Terminal West has a terrific string of dates lined up for the month, including Junip next Monday (tomorrow!) and The Helio Sequence and Menomena on Thursday. 

Rocktober lives!

Saturday, October 5, 2013

Quiet Hounds at The Swan House, Atlanta, Oct. 4, 2013


The Swan House was built in 1928 for Edward and Emily Inman, who had accumulated their wealth from cotton and investments in transportation, banking, and real estate. After their house in Ansley Park burned in 1924, the Inmans commissioned design of a new house on 28 acres in Buckhead. Sculpted and painted swans provide a recurring motif throughout the house and grounds, and the mansion's rear facade is sited at the top of a small hill with terraced gardens and a fountain cascading down the hillside. The grounds now host the Atlanta History Center, and the Swan House served as the Capitol for a party scene in the upcoming film The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and as both a backdrop and a character in the Quiet Hounds' performance Swans and Embers on the warm Atlanta evening of October 4, 2013.


The performance consisted of four acts in three locations on the Swan House grounds.  Act 1, Cat In Ashes, began with an actor portraying an Inman family member from 1928. After some brief interaction by the actor with the audience, a female character, The Phoenix, was introduced, who symbolized the City of Atlanta from 1864, the year Sherman burned the city to the ground. 


Quiet Hounds eventually took over the Swan House terrace at the top of a staircase and performed a brief four-song, acoustic set.  


After Act 1, the band reassembled on the lawn at the bottom of the staircase for a brief brass-band number for Act 2, No One Alone, before marching down to the bottom of the hill where a stage was set up for Acts 3 and 4, Reconstruction and We Burn, We Rise, which were basically a Quiet Hounds' performance.


The Quiet Hounds' sound can be called classic indie rock, combining strummed, jangly guitars with harmonic vocals into rousing, anthemic songs, sort of like a less bombastic version of Arcade Fire. Whether or not they need all of the theatricality and dramatics that have come to accompany many of their recent performances is open to debate, but you can't blame a band for stretching a little bit and expanding their artistic boundaries.  They are not a touring band and don't perform live all that often (I believe this is their first performance since a set at Athfest last June), so they make the most of each opportunity when they do.  


The Swan House served as a stunning backdrop for their set, and they didn't project their sigil, Bat-Signal style, onto the house (top photo) until the last song of their set.  The Inman and Phoenix characters made a brief appearance on stage toward the end of their set, possibly bridging Acts 3 and 4, but otherwise the band spent their time onstage doing what they do best - performing their intelligent and enjoyable songs, including a few new numbers thrown into the setlist for good measure.


They included a three-piece horn section to the band for this performance, which complimented their sound nicely.

The whole set wrapped up by around 10:00 pm.  Quiet Hounds have perfected the art of transforming each of their performances into an event, and this one was no exception.  No one, possibly including the band themselves, have any idea of what they'll do next or where they'll do it, and that only adds to the epic sense of the here and now that accompanies each of their performances.   


The IndieATL film crew was on hand recording the performance, so we can probably look forward to some video from the set in the near future.