A three-concert week

I know this is kind of late, but a couple weeks ago I packed in three separate concerts into one week. It was tiring, and my ears were ringing pretty consistently after it was all over, but it was ultimately a very rewarding decision.

First up was Band of Horses at the Riviera. As could be assumed from my previous post, due to the band's new album, I wasn't super excited for this show. I got there in the middle of the second song, and the Riv was pretty packed. They sprinkled in new songs throughout the set, while a PowerPoint presentation flashed random images on the wall behind the band. At one point, they went strictly with songs from their first two albums, and I was having a good time singing along. They wrapped up with "Is There A Ghost" and "Funeral" before taking an encore break. They came out and played the first track from their first album -- aptly named "The First Song." I figured this would be the end. And it should've been. (So clever playing "The First Song" last.) However, they ended with "Georgia," a Cee-Lo cover that I felt really let the air out of the building. Weak ending to a below-average show.

A few days later I went to see Deerhunter at Metro. This show was outstanding. They played mostly tunes from their newest album, Halcyon Digest, but they also tossed in some songs from Microcastle -- the highlight being "Nothing Ever Happened," which they turned into probably a 10-minute (at least) jam. The band was tight and they sounded better than most acts at Metro. I'd definitely go see Deerhunter again, given the opportunity.

Rounding out the long week of music was the heavyweight billing of Hot Chip and LCD Soundsystem at the Aragon Ballroom. Hot Chip started promptly at 8, and they killed it. We were up close, and the sound was great for the Aragon. They played a decent mix of songs from their three most recent albums, comprising a set that was longer than your average opening act. It was a perfect lead-in to LCD. I saw LCD twice this summer, and they played the exact same set both times -- noticeably omitting two of my favorite songs off their newest album This Is Happening -- "Dance Yrself Clean" and "Home."

Luckily, I didn't have to wait long to find out if they'd leave these stand-outs off the setlist once again. The "Dance Yrself Clean" opener was one of the best live songs I've seen. Ever. Amazing buildup, with an explosion of energy when the drums kicked in. They played a number of favorites they also played this summer ("All My Friends," "Losing My Edge," "Yeah," etc.) before closing with one of my favorite songs of the year -- "Home." By the time LCD was wrapping up the set, I was pretty exhausted and sweaty. But it was all worth it.

It was a great week of music.

BOH's Infinite Arms: I've tried, but no

As I mentioned in the previous post, there have been a ton of great releases in 2010 -- many of which I was highly anticipating and then they came through big time. However, one release I was looking forward to that did not live up to my expectations is Band of Horses' Infinite Arms.

I've tried to like this album. Really, I have. But compared to their first two albums, it just doesn't match up. Infinite Arms is toned down a little. Not to say BOH's other albums are full-out rockers, but this new one is pretty tame. I like a couple of the tracks -- namely "NW Apartment" and "Older." But a majority of the album is a skip session for me. (Opener "Factory" is one song on this album I cannot stand.)

One difference on this album -- although not necessarily a detractor for me -- is that it features two songs, "Older" and "Evening Kitchen," that are sung by band members other than lead singer Ben Bridwell. The band took more of a "full band" approach on this record, which I appreciate, but maybe they're better off letting Bridwell take the reins by himself.

But then again, maybe not. As I said before, one of my favorite tracks is "Older," which was written and sung by guitar player Ryan Monroe. An article on BOH in Paste Magazine featured a quote from Bridwell that I liked a lot:

“I’ve been telling our management, or anyone involved—even Phil [Ek] before we started the record—that [Ryan’s song] ‘Older’ [was going to be on the record]. … There’s even people going, ‘I think it has a chance to be a single if you sing lead on it.’ And it’s like, ‘Fuck you, Ryan’s singing the song.’"

This quote gives me hope for the future of BOH. I don't think they're going to become the next Kings of Leon. I'm hoping they had kind of a dud album with Infinite Arms and will rebound with their next effort. I'm going to see them tomorrow night at the Riviera, so I'm hoping either they stay away from some of the new material (at least don't play "Factory" please!), or they play the new material so well that it makes me appreciate it more. We'll see.

Lollapalooza recap

Leading up to the festival, Lollapalooza 2009 didn't appear to have the headliners of past years. And while this proved to be true, the midlevel acts certainly held their weight, making for a great three days. Here are some of my thoughts:


Day 1:

The rain had already started by the time I walked through the gates around 12:15. I was pleased to see a much shorter line for three-day wristbands. Last year's wait pushed an hour, but I was able to walk right in this time. First up was Manchester Orchestra. At one point, lead singer Andy Hull remarked that it was the most people ever together in one place enjoying their music. I don't think the large crowd affected the group's performance negatively, though. It looked like they were having a great time on stage throughout their solid set.

Next, I caught Amazing Baby on the Citi stage. I was half-expecting this band to disappoint me. After really getting into their debut album, Rewild, I was eager to see how it would transfer to the live setting. I'd have to say it sounded pretty damn good. The lead singer, however, needs to practice his microphone twirling -- or just stop doing it.

After a strong set by Heartless Bastards and an interesting performance by STS9, I navigated through some lake-size puddles to the Playstation stage to catch the last half of Fleet Foxes. As always, they were really good. Vocals were dead-on, just like the other times I've seen them. My only complaint was that I didn't hear them play anything new. I've basically heard identical setlists all three times I've seen them.

To finish off Friday, I saw Andrew Bird and Kings of Leon. Andrew Bird was a treat, and KOL was WHO I THOUGHT THEY WERE. They actually started off with 5 or 6 old songs, which was nice. But then once the newer stuff started trickling in, the show started to go downhill.


Day 2:

I was most looking forward to Saturday, but it ended up being kind of disappointing. Joe Pug took the BMI stage (which was awesomely in the shade) with a full band. This gave his music more of a country feel than I was expecting. It wasn't a bad set, but it just wasn't want I anticipated.

Gomez played to a sun-beaten crowd. I had never seen them before, and I enjoyed it -- especially their excellent version of Led Zeppelin's "Bron-Y-Aur Stomp." That's probably my favorite Zeppelin song, so it put a smile on my face.

Saturday night, I was pumped to see TV on the Radio. Unfortunately from where I was standing they did not sound good at all. When they went into "Golden Age" early in their set, I didn't recognize it for a good minute. I'm not sure if it's the wind or what, but it seems like the Budweiser stage has the most issues with sound.

A bit dejected, I told myself Animal Collective wouldn't let me down. For a year now, I've been talking up their outstanding performance at Pitchfork 2008. I figured Saturday night at Lolla would be a perfect opportunity to recapture that magic. However, Animal Collective decided to waste about 40 minutes of their 1-hour set. Instead of pumping people up with a song like "Peacebone," they meandered through an extended "Daily Routine." The set did eventually pick up, when they played "Fireworks" into "Brothersport." But with all the time they wasted in the middle, they were unable to bring "Brothersport" to a close before Tool took the stage at 8:00 sharp, drowning out Animal Collective.

I'm probably not the right person on Claptrapped to write a review of Tool. I will say that I enjoyed them, and that I think they were probably the best headliner of the festival. But I wish I could have seen the band better. The stage's screens played videos, rather than footage of the band. For such a "mysterious" band, I was hoping to get a better look at them.


Day 3:

Sunday was my favorite day by far -- and I had thought beforehand that it would be the worst day. Things started out with a rocking performance by Portugal. The Man. They effectively built up intensity to the point of all-out fist pumping. I was very impressed and look forward to seeing them again sometime.

The next highlight of the day -- and possibly the best performance of the festival -- was Dan Deacon. Accompanied onstage by the Dan Deacon "ensemble" (comprising four synthesizer players, three drummers, and a mallet section) and, later, a full marching band, Deacon (pictured right) got the crowd jumping, dancing, and smiling at will. His songs build and build, all over crazy, distorted vocals. Deacon orchestrated crowd participation unlike anything I had ever seen. He instructed the crowd to start a giant conga line -- something I would never think would work, as well as a large circle, where one of his crew members led the crowd in an interesting interpretive dance. The dance culminated with him launching empty water bottles into the air. Soon the entire crowd was doing the same -- all in time with the beat of the music. (Check out this video to see what the hell I'm talking about.)

After solid performances from Passion Pit and Dan Auerbach, I was really looking forward to Band of Horses. Lou Reed, who was playing on the Budweiser stage -- across from where Band of Horses would be going on -- started 15 minutes late, so that pushed BOH's start time back 15 minutes. I was pretty annoyed, figuring Jane's Addiction would end BOH's set early since they were the "headliner." But when Jane's took the stage at 8:30, BOH lead singer Ben Bridwell shouted they would "blow that shit out!" The crowd went crazy, and BOH finished off an amazing performance. They played every song I wanted to hear, plus one new song. It was a perfect ending for Lollapalooza for me.

No. 29: Band of Horses

Band of Horses is a folk rock band that often draws comparisons to My Morning Jacket mostly due to the similarities in the voices of lead singers Ben Bridwell and Jim James, respectively. The band formed in Seattle but now lives and works out of South Carolina, and will hopefully be releasing their 3rd studio album sometime before the end of 2009.

The band's first two albums are a model of consistency; there are few, if any, songs I skip or seek out. The albums are solid efforts with some small peaks and almost no valleys. The My Morning Jacket comparisons are overstated -- the vocals are very similar and the bands both play a brand of folk rock, but Band of Horses seem to lack the curiosity and spectacle that make Jim James' band one of the best live bands today. I'm hoping Band of Horses will prove this wrong at Lolla, Sunday 7:30pm.


Band of Horses on MySpace

The Official Site of Band of Horses