SHOW-A-PALOOZA

Three shows in ten days. I am teh winnar.

Voxtrot @ the Echo, 3/12/06

Talking Heads, "Heaven" (live in Boston, 1979) - Last year, I saw Voxtrot's first L.A. appearance and immediately started calling them one of the two or three best indie bands in the country; two weeks ago I saw them and immediately started scaling my enthusiasm down. Not because of anything the band did, of course (they're just as razor-sharp when it comes to writing and/or playing their songs these days as they were last year when I got to be all cool), and I still wouldn't hesitate to put them in the same class as before, but as far as I can tell, the most impressive thing about them as a band is that they really do sound exactly as good as their EPs would lead you to believe. Obviously, this is at least awesome in part; by this point in my concert-going life, I've seen enough bands incapable of distinguishing between "playing yr music" and "playing yr music so it actually sounds good" to fully fill a Bonnaroo lineup, so it's nice to find a band that actually gives a shit. It is, however, not particularly thrilling - after all, when that's your reason for liking a band's performance, to a certain extent you're basically just patting yourself on the back for spending your money correctly. It should go without saying that you can probably expect to see them on Don't Call It That any day now.

Still, any time you see a band who can make significant structural changes to a for-the-ages pop song like the Talking Heads' "Heaven" and not offend stick-up-the-butt'd dorks like me, you've got to be doing something right. The big sticking point with me and "Heaven" is that I came about twenty years too late to appreciate it as anything other than, well, A Song That Sensible People Really Ought To Appreciate, which, while true, does absolutely no favors for the Talking Heads, who really must have been the absolute most fun band ever to see live back before David Byrne went all David Byrne on us. Voxtrot raving up one of their most poignant songs, then, was doubly great - I mean, not only do you get to bop around to some world-class music, but if you're like me, a cover like theirs is about as close as I'm ever going to get to using that song for its original purpose, namely "to be a really fucking good song to listen to". And THAT is what I want from my American indie-rock godhead - I just want them to not make me hate them.

(Click here to buy The Name Of This Band Is Talking Heads from Amazon.com)
(Click here to visit Voxtrot's site and order either/both of their EPs directly from the band)

Mystery Jets w/ the Noisettes @ the Troubadour, 3/20/06

Mystery Jets, "Alas Agnes" - If it hadn't been for the mighty Flavorpill , I can pretty much guarantee you that I'd never have gone to this show. I'd heard some Mystery Jets before, but nothing that would have put me in attendence for their show; it' s pretty telling when my favorite song by a band is a cover, the obvious exceptions aside. Truth be told, I was equally excited for the Noisettes, who seriously failed to disappoint - unsurprisingly, they peaked with the tornado of awesomeness called "IWE" (still available for download at the majestic Radio Free Internet), although why they chose to open with it lies outside of my comprehension.
The Jets, to their credit, weren't bad by any means; it was one of those shows where basically you just sit there realizing that a band isn't for you, since the bulk of their artistic project seems to be Not Being Indie Rock Descended From Either REM Or The Pixies - I mean, every song was packed balls-to-walls with hooks, but none of them were really kicking my ass, which I would assume is the worst possible outcome a band can get from their music.

And then they closed with "Alas Agnes", a song of theirs that I'd never heard before, and all of a sudden EVERYTHING was forgiven. I mean, I'd still just be kidding myself and you, gentle reader, if I tried to mount any honest excitement over the band as a whole (leave that to the NME, I guess), but WOW, it's like they collected every single hook they could come up that actually worked on me and put 'em all in one song. Better yet, they're the kind of hooks that play out really well in a live setting - I mean, obviously, but still, they'd been fighting a losing battle against an incompetent sound technician the whole night, and it was kind of shocking how "Alas Agnes" refused to be oppressed by the shitty live mix. It's the kind of song that, even if it doesn't totally win you over to a band's side, at least allows you a window into what all the fuss is about, and anyone who asks for more from a free concert featuring bands with which you aren't particularly familiar is an idiot of the highest order.

(Click here to buy Making Dens from Amazon.co.uk)

Guillemots @ the Hotel Cafe, 3/21/06

Guillemots, "Not The Chosen One" - Those of you who've been following this blog since I came absolutely unglued when the Guillemots decided to casually release one of the very best singles I've ever heard in my life at the end of last year will of course be entirely unsurprised that I thought they rocked the motherfucking world last night - it's really the only reaction you're going to get when a band turns you into the demented governess who thinks the baby is her own like how the Guillemots seem to have done with me. You might, however, be surprised to hear about exactly what I enjoyed, because it sure wasn't the stuff I was expecting to enjoy. Looking back, of course, it's almost predictable, but I just remember being shocked at how paper-thin and flatly unimpressive all the Guillemots' "big" songs came off - I guess it's a testament to their remarkably organic production that I was taken aback by the (retrospectively necessary) absence of, say, Those Huge-Ass Drums in "Trains To Brazil" or That Tinkling Piano in "Who Left The Lights Off, Baby?", but to be brutally honest, I remember thinking "Man, my favorite song in the world really sounds like this?" to keep from commenting on it. Maybe I should have stuck with Voxtrot.

Thank fuck, then, for EVERY SINGLE OTHER THING THEY FUCKING PLAYED. The Guillemots' dirty little secret (aside from the proper way to pronounce their name, of course) is that at heart, they're really just a (gasp) jam band, except they picked up the piano and the standup bass and the handbell rather than the blotter acid; consequently, drawn-out tours of duty like "Go Away" or "Over the Stairs" were practically electric with all the energy they put into playing them - I tremble in fear at how much fun it must be to see these guys in their actual element instead of in front of a wholly new crowd kept towards the back by dinner tables. But almost without exception, nearly all of my favorite moments from their set were the quieter songs, many of which were good enough to be album cuts from early Elton John records, and I say that as someone who's stood up for "Mellow" and "Sixty Years On" with the same ferocity others save for "Rocket Man". I mean, I've lost count of how many times I've filled the cup in anticipation of their album, but I think I'm pushing through to a whole new level of it now; I certainly had no idea that songs like "If I Had You", which I'd never heard before Fyfe Dangerfield stepped forward with a keyboard and effortlessly articulated an awful lot of stuff that's been in my head for years, were even in their repetoire; needless to say, it was easily the most spellbinding moment of last night and the song I'd certainly be posting right now if I had a copy of it to share. In the meantime, please content yrselves with the achingly beautiful "Not The Chosen One", which, in addition to ruling a whole lot, should give you some idea of the general scope of what I'm talking about, and which also got EVERYONE'S attention as the first song they played - it was practically revelatory after the Twin Towers of Anonymous Mediocrity they had opening. I mean, not that it's not revelatory on its own, but still. Anyway. GREAT show, even if it wasn't the great show I was hoping for. Oh, and yeah, still best band evarrrr etc.

(Click here to order From The Cliffs, the Guillemots' recent compilation of their magnificent first two EPs, from Amazon.com)