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. 

Ramona Falls and Social Studies at The Masquerade, Feb. 15, 2013

Last night, after three days working long hours out-of-doors, on my feet all day and much of the time spent either crouching down or bending over, subject to Georgia winter weather that ranged from a cold, raw rain to warm and sunny skies, I was sore and tired and wanted either a hot bath, a long sleep, or both.  I'm not complaining (hey, it's a living) but instead of indulging myself in creature comforts, I went instead to the godforsaken Masquerade to see Portland's Ramona Falls. I was tired and hungry (I went straight from the job site to the concert), but despite it all enjoyed the music.

Readers of this blog know that I'm not a fan of The Masquerade, and the thought of putting up with its various discomforts and indignities on a night when I was tired and hungry to begin with was not an appealing prospect.  But a modicum of research revealed that the show would not be at the notorious and aptly named Hell stage while a metal band thrashed upstairs.  The show was held in the newly redecorated Purgatory lounge, which allows an intimate proximity to the bands even f it does have an annoying post right in the front of the stage and even if it does charge $7 for a domestic beer.  My physical fatigue was already strike one, and the venue was strike two.  It wouldn't have taken much for a strike three to get me to leave.

Strike three almost came from the parking situation, or lack thereof.  The City of Atlanta recently completed its new Historic Fourth Ward Park, and while that's a good thing (yea, parks!), the park took over what was formerly the parking lot for The Masquerade.  There was limited street parking along North Angier Avenue, and if I hadn't found the one remaining spot available on the street, I don't know where I would have parked. But I did find a spot, even if it was a long walk away from the venue, so strike three was narrowly averted.

Despite my attitude, the opening band, Loraine, was a pleasant surprise.  Loraine is a new five-piece instrumental band from Atlanta consisting of Ryan Love on drums, Justin Young and Eric Anderson on guitars, Josh Mendez on guitar and bass, and another, uncredited guitarist.  The obvious comparison is to Explosions In The Sky, but frankly, they play better at times and don't make the audience wait through such long quiet portions of their songs until the payoff bursts of guitar.

They have an EP, An Autumn Evening, out which you can listen to below if you're an EITS fan.

Shortly after Loraine's set, San Francisco's Social Studies took the stage.

Social Studies are led by Natalia Rogovin (vocals, keyboards) and Michael Jirkovsky (drums), who were later joined in 2009 by bassist Jesse Hudson and guitarist Tom Smith.  They added a second guitarist, Ben McClintock, this year.  Their music has been described as an "arch take on modernist pop" as heard on their first album, 2010's Wind Up Wooden Heart.

The goal of their new album, Developer, was reportedly to strip things down to the basics, straighten out some of the more jagged lines of their previous work, and put the focus more on texture and mood. Lead single Terracur from the new album calls the bluff of a headstrong friend threatening to leave, while Away For the Weekend turns the tables to justify a departure.

Although Ms. Ragovin noted this was her first time playing in Atlanta, it should be noted that there is another  band from Atlanta also called Social Studies, who are probably closer to Shabazz Palaces' avant hip-hop than to their SF namesakes' indie rock.  According to Atlanta music blog Latest Disgrace, "I think what I like most about Social Studies is that they are not what the layman considers Atlanta hip hop. It’s not status driven. It’s not about slinging weed. It’s not 'Dirty South' bullshit. It’s fucking art. I like that they play shows in the East Atlanta Village. I like that they fit better on a rock bill."

In any event, the headliners were Portland's Ramona Falls, the new project of former Menomena keyboardist Brent Knopf.

Ramona Falls play an "alternately whimsical and brooding blend of electro-acoustic pop and left-field indie rock" (AllMusic). Since forming in 2009 (before we saw him perform with Menomena at Atlanta's Variety Playhouse in 2010), the band has gone through various changes in personnel and lineup. I'm not sure who Mr. Knopf brought with him to The Masquerade last night, but their Facebook page lists the band's members as Mr. Knopf, Lauren Jacobson (violin), Brandon Laws (keypads and guitar), and Jerry Joiner (drums), which matches up pretty well with the gender and number of musicians on stage last night as well as their more recent publicity photos.

Ms. Jacobson provided some nice fills to the band's sound, but the standout instrumental performance was the powerhouse drumming of Mr. Joiner. Their songs were full of quick, turn-on-a-dime changes and always surprised the listener with unexpected hooks. It was an interesting performance by some interesting musicians.

For those of you curious about such things, the band is named after a hiking trail and water fall on Mt. Hood in Oregon, where Mr. Knopf used to like to hike as a child.

Ramona Falls, Oregon

Mr. Knopf said that this was the first time he brought his Ramona Falls project to Atlanta (even if he had performed here before as a member of Menomena).  He apparently had made some friends at the merch table, though, as he had greeted several of the audience from the stage by name, and mentioned a couple of birthdays.  On stage, he was the consummate multi-instrumentalist, playing keyboards as well as electric and acoustic guitars and even a little mandolin. 

In addition to playing the violin, Ms. Jacobson provided some back-up vocals and even performed some supporting percussion using drumsticks on one of the monitor wedges.  

In all, Ramona Falls played a rewarding set of quirky pop-rock, completing the evening shortly before midnight.  After the show, I hiked the long chilly walk down to the end of North Angier to where I had parked my car, and finally made it home to bed, to sleep, and to rest.  As it turned out, there was no strike three last night.

Ramona Falls

Okay, so it's not the end of the Winter Doldrums, but it's something at least.  Portland's Ramona Falls, the project of ex-Menomena member Brent Knopf, will be coming February 15 to the godforsaken Masquerade, playing the miniscule room, Purgatory.  The room may be small, but at least you don't have the bands playing upstairs in Heaven thundering over your heads.

So the path out of the Winter Doldrums looks like this, if I can make it another month:  

1/17 - Purity Ring (Variety Playhouse)

1/19 - Helio Sequence (Terminal West)

2/2 - The xx (The Tabernacle)

2/9 - Jonathan Richman (The Goat Farm)

2/15 - Ramona Falls (The Masquerade)

2/17 - Cancun, Mexico (olé!)

2/13 - Unknown Mortal Orchestra (529)

And then March Madness, when, absurdly, there's a show almost every night of the month.