alt-J

Alt-J at The Tabernacle, Sept. 23, 2013

New song from Alt-J.

Alt-J and Lord Huron at The Tabernacle, September 23, 2013

In my first Monday-night concert since Sallie Ford and Thao back on March 18, I went to The Tabernacle and saw Alt-J for the fist time since March 6.  L.A.'s great Lord Huron opened.

Lord Huron plays buoyant indie-rock with equal touches of country-folk and ambiance. They've passed through Atlanta before, but I was never able to catch them, so I was glad to see them paired with Alt-J, not just for my own listening pleasure, but also so that they could get exposed to a wider audience.  

Lord Huron is as much a visual project as a musical one.  They performed before a lovely backdrop of western mountains and dressed in western clothes, including frontman Ben Schneider's trademark fedora, which came flying off at times as he furiously beat a floor tom or wailed on his guitar.  It was a terrific set, and one that ended far too quickly - I could have listened to them for another hour and not been bored.  

But the audience was there to see England's Alt-J.  We last saw Alt-J, as mentioned above, back in March, but their star has continued to rise since then and they've grown from playing the mid-size Masquerade to filling the Key Arena at Bumbershoot and selling out the Tabernacle.  As you may recall, I passed on seeing them at Bumbershoot due to the ridiculously long lines to get into Key Arena and the cost of all the other sets I would have had to miss just to see them.  But there were a great many people who obviously thought it would have been worth it, as they had packed the arena.  I might have considered it worth it just as I had for M83 the year before, but passed knowing that I had Alt-J tickets for later in the month.

It was a sold-out show last night at The Tabernacle, as well.  After opening with their usual intro, Intro, they launched into Fitzpleasure, and before the set was even half over, they covered their most popular songs, including Something Good, Tessellate, and Matilda.    

Since last performing in Atlanta six months ago, singer Joe Newman has grown his hair out a little and grown a beard (clean-shaven face at The Masquerade below), giving him a look more appropriate to the band's sound.  They also now employ synchronized stage lights instead of the Awesome Wave aerial photograph backdrop they used at The Masquerade (although it would have provided an interesting contrast to Lord Huron's backdrop).  

Alt-J at The Masquerade, March 8, 2013

Their sound was pretty much the same - which is a good thing - but in addition to their improved appearance, that also had a lot more swagger.  The boys are getting comfortable on the large stage.

"You're by far the loudest audience of the tour," keyboardist Gus Unger-Hamilton announced during the encore, before launching into Breezeblocks, adding, in typical reserved British fashion, "but in a good way, of course."

Final note:  the show started at the unusually early hour of 7:30 pm - not doors opening at 7:30, but the actual show beginning, Lord Huron taking the stage at 7:30.  With only two bands on the bill, I was able to get home by 10:00 pm, before the first band usually even starts at 529.

Bumbershoot, Day Three - The Men

If Superchunk was an early-afternoon kick in the pants, The Men's set at the Fountain Lawn was like getting punched in the face, repeatedly, for a full 45 minutes.  But in a good way.  Loud, uncompromising, confrontational, and fun, this Brooklyn band lives up to its hype.

I actually skipped Alt-J for this.  With all due respect to The Men, the main reason I skipped Alt-J was because I would have to have been on line from the time the gates opened at 11:00 am to get into Key Arena to hear their set.  I heard there were actually lines to get into the line for the Key Arena performances, and unlike Death Cab For Cutie last night, there were no live simulcasts of the Alt-J performance at any of the busy stages.  

It's all good though, because I have tickets to see Alt-J with Lord Huron later this month back home in Atlanta.

Wooden Indian Burial Ground

After winning first-come, first-served tickets on Monday for Thao & The Get Down Stay Down at the KEXP Music Lounge during Bumbershoot, I've managed to snag tickets to several more KEXP shows, including Sallie Ford & The Sound Outside, Superchunk, ZZ Ward, and Charles Bradley, "the Screaming Eagle of Soul."  I literally can't go near my computer without tickets to shows falling in my lap (okay, literally, I can, but you know what I mean).  

This is a good thing, of course, but it's causing me to have to rearrange my festival schedule. F'rinstance, since I'll be seeing Sallie Ford at 12 noon on Sunday, I can skip her Saturday-night set at the Plaza Stage and instead go see Washed Out at the Fountain Lawn.  Fortunately, none of the shows I've gotten into are scheduled during any "must-see" sets, although I'll be cutting it pretty close post-Superchunk to see alt-J.

But anyway, there are no longer any "dead zones" in my Bumbershoot schedule, or times where I'm forced to choose between several bands of whom I've never heard.  I won't even be seeing The Flavr Blue, even though I posted a video of them here to get myself better acquainted.

The schedule for MFNW is even stronger, and there's only a handful of bands on that schedule that I don't know.  One such band is Portland's Wooden Indian Burial Ground, who'll be opening for Unknown Mortal Orchestra at Branx following Animal Collective's set at the lovely Pioneer Courthouse Square (Portland's Living Room).  But based on this video for Heliocopter, I'm pretty impressed - they may be the only band in the world that could hold their own after a set by Animal Collective. 

Alt-J and Hundred Waters at The Masquerade, March 6, 2013

Here are the photographs from last Wednesday's Hundred Waters / Alt-J concert at the godforsaken Masquerade. I was able to work my way up close to the stage just a few rows back from the stage, which was pretty satisfying considering I had to drive all the way from Birmingham, Alabama for the show.

Worth every mile.  A great concert.  Here are the pics.

HUNDRED WATERS

ALT-J

Alt-J

I drove home from Birmingham tonight to see Alt-J perform at the godforsaken Masquerade.  I don't have time to blog about it now because I have to drive back early in the morning, but I'll just point out that Soundcheck's Maura Johnston and Chris Weingarten included Alt-J among their Worst Music Of 2012, their least favorite, least memorable and just plain worst music of the year, calling Alt-J a "mealy indie-rock gruel barely bolstered by thin, noodly attempts at 'prog rock,' paired with a sour whine."

On the other hand, All Songs Considered's Bob Boilen raved, "This record has sucked me into its trippy world like no other. Each pop/art/rock song here morphs from verse to chorus to bridge with deft precision. Rarely will 20 seconds go by before a tune unfolds with shifting arrangements, jolting starts and stops — solo voice to harmonies, solo instrument to full band — something we expect from prog-rock and rarely get with catchy pop music. The lyrics are the secret potion, though, dispensed in a way that feels cartoonish at times, film noir at other times. That exaggerated style creates a puzzle that unfolds with each listen, revealing bizarre stories and characters in phrases that are fresh and mysterious, funny and sometimes brutal. Listen over and over for lasting effect." 

I found it to be worth the drive.

Hundred Waters

Hundred Waters at 529, October 26, 2012

Well, isn't this nice?  First, we had Saturday night's surprise (at least to me) appearance by Austra opening for The xx, and now it's just been announced that Gainesville's Hundred Waters will be opening for Alt-J at the godforsaken Masquerade on March 6 (a show for which I've already bought tickets).  When a band you like is added to a ticket you've already bought, it's an unexpected bonus.

We last saw Hundred Water during Rocktober 2012, when they headlined at the 529 on October 26.  It'll be nice seeing them again, and so soon.

A Preview

Oh, look.  Japanese violinist Kishi Bashi is coming to The Earl on March 14 (strangely, not a Monday).  I skipped Bashi's performance at the Doug Fir Lounge during MFNW, where he opened for Moonface, so this will be a chance to make up for what I missed.  

On top of the recently announced Alt-J show at the god-forsaken Masquerade (March 6) and the Thao & The Get Down Stay Down / Sallie Ford & The Sound Outside billing at Smith's Olde Bar on March 18, it looks like the annual March Madness event (the vernal equivalent to the autumnal Rocktober) is starting to take shape.

The Winter Doldrums may extend through December and January, but should end by February 9 when Jonathan Richman comes to Atlanta for a two-night stand at The Goat Farm.

I've already got my tickets for Richman, and looking further ahead, have already bought tickets for Seattle's Bumbershoot 2013 on Labor Day weekend.