Saturday, October 19, 2013

Friday, October 18, 2013

ZZ Ward

ZZ Ward at Bumbershoot, August 31, 2013
Dude, I was here!  I didn't know of ZZ Ward before this KEXP Music Lounge set at Bumbershoot this year but liked what I heard.  Performing somewhere near the intersection of blues, hip-hop, and rock, she won over the audience, most of whom seemed to have been pretty excited to be there even before she took the stage.  Every time I thought that I had her pigeon-holed into a "Oh, she's one of those types of performers" category, she'd take a turn and surprise me again.


This was just the second set of my first day, right after Thao and company, and served notice that I was about to discover a lot of new music over the next nine days.

Thursday, October 17, 2013

Noah & The Whale at Variety Playhouse, October 15, 2013


From the comments section on NPR's All Songs Considered website:
"I'm 50 and hubby of 32 years is 55. Just returned from the Austin City Limits Festival . . . What I loved in Austin was being about 30 years older than everyone else in the first three rows at the Noah and the Whale concert. The young twenty-something next to me screeched, "Oh, my god! He's so cute" when the lead singer took the stage. I know most of the words to their songs (better than the young 'uns surrounding me). Noah I found on my own but our adult kids love to share their music and new finds with us."
Yesterday, I said that Wednesday night's Noah & The Whale show "was a concert you could have taken your mother too without fear of embarrassment." NPR has now confirmed this. And yes, I'm aware of the irony that I'm older than both the commenter and her husband. 

Here's another letter from someone my own age:
I'm 59 and find I'm often one of the oldest, if not the oldest, attendee at indie rock concerts. Whenever I drag my friends, they have a good time. So I don't understand why there aren't more of us boomers at these concerts. Who cares if we're the oldest ones in the crowd? The young people are great. I ran into one of my daughter's friends at a recent Alt-J concert. He thought I was one cool dude to be there. LOL!
And there was another letter from someone even further down the road than I:
I'm 70 and way into indie music. My daughter and her husband, now in their early 30's, are pretty much imprinted with the music they liked in high school. My daughter did turn me on to Radiohead and Tori Amos back then, but when they go to concerts, it's Modest Mouse, Garbage, Sting and she'd rather listen to the Beatles and REM - with NIN the big generation bridger - I liked them first - but I don't think she's listened to Hesitation Marks yet. My biggest conversion success has been Arcade Fire and MMJ. I'll just have to take it slowly with them when it comes to Kendrick Lamar, Flying Lotus, Deerhunter... & the Rolling Stones. =)
Chris Rock does a routine about "that one guy you always see in the club who's waaaaay too old to be there." I may be that dude, but at least I'm apparently not the only one. And I'm pretty confident that I have better taste in music than the young 'uns lapping up the formulaic folk-pop at the Noah & The Whale concert.

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

LP at Variety Playhouse, October 15, 2013


Last night, LA-based singer LP performed at Atlanta's Variety Playhouse, her powerful and soulful vocals blowing the roof off of the theater.  



Noah & the Whale opened.



No, LP didn't really play last night.  I'm just engaging in wishful thinking - LP bowed off of the tour and cancelled her scheduled performance last night with Noah & the Whale, who would have headlined anyway. I guess I'm just trying to blow the mind of anyone who bought tickets but didn't go last night due to LP's cancellation.

I was almost one of them. 

I don't really know much about Noah & the Whale, other than they were the band in which both Laura Marling and Emmy the Great go their starts and that both are no longer with the band, and that Pitchfork included their debut album among the "Worst New Music" of 2008. 

Onstage last night, they seemed to be a pleasant enough group of guys, and were reasonably proficient on their instruments, but at the same time came off as far too restrained and inoffensive, and too eager to please everyone.  This was a concert you could have taken your mother too without fear of embarrassment. Worse, no whale ever appeared on stage.

LP would have shaken things up a bit.

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Dude, I Was There! (The Joy Formidable)


Bumbershoot.  KEXP.  The Joy Formidable.  Dude, I was there!

Song List:
The Ladder Is Ours
Little Blimp
Maw Maw Song
Cradle
Whirring

Monday, October 14, 2013

Prisoners

There's so much win here, from Sharon Van Etten and J Mascis collaborating on a John Denver tune to Aimee Mann playing a Denver wannabe geek.  

Actually, that's pretty much everything there is to like in this video.

Sunday, October 13, 2013

Trampled By Turtles (Dude, I Was There!)

Trampled By Turtles at Bumbershoot, September 2, 2013
Clearly and by far, the Trampled By Turtles set at the KEXP Bumbershoot Music Lounge was the most laid back and relaxed portion of the entire Labor Day weekend.  Coming as it did between hard rocking sets by Lissie and The Joy Formidable, it was a little disorienting and easy to overlook, but in retrospect may have been just what was needed on Day Three as we approached the final stretch.



Enjoy. . .