Show Review: Black Pus, RISD Art Museum, 9/15/2011

Have I mentioned that we live in Providence now?

So I went to see Black Pus for free at the RISD Art Museum on Thursday.  I didn’t bring a camera, but it looked kind of like this:

…his setup.

It wasn’t actually in the museum, but tucked away in this pleasant little covered terrace, kind of under and behind the museum.  There was almost no one there when Brian started—promptly at eight—after which, guided assumedly by the megaton-decibel-blast funneling out into the streets, the terrace filled immediately.

When you see Black Pus play there’s no necessity of distinguishing between individual songs—though I’m sure Brian was channeling noise from his recently released, FG-beloved Primordial Pus—because everything is presented in a soupy breath of energetic chaos that erases any effort to contextualize specific portions.  It’s an experience that asserts itself as something uniquely its own.

No Kids + Mount Eerie Show 10/19/2009

I've been burnt out on shows lately. Unless the conditions are perfect I usually end up annoyed, tired, bored, or pissed off at something/someone. I've seen way too many live bands to be impressed by much. So it goes without saying that I have recently been skipping out on shows that a year or two ago I would not have missed for the world. I knew that No Kids could get me out of my funk though. I had complete faith and walking into Kilby and seeing it packed with high school hipster youth decked head to toe in anything Urban Outfitters skeptically eyeing me in my old cargo maternity pants and Cosby sweater being followed by Thistle carrying our little 7 month old son didn't even set me back. I went there to be affected, and I was. No Kids played mostly new songs that after hearing I prematurely evaluated to Thistle "best album of 2010." The grooves were thick and bassy as expected, but an unexpected twist was that No Kids drummer was M.I.A. and Phil Elverum was Philling in (get it?) Phil played primarily the same beats, but added his own flourishes on the few songs that they played off of Come into My House. I love that album and wanted to hear it performed as recorded, but when all was said and sung, Phil's addition was very enjoyable, not better or worse, but different and good. The female vocals were replaced by harmonizing piano and No Kids grooved me right into remembering why I love to see bands live, and it felt gooooood.

Now, Mt. Eerie on the other hand, I was not looking forward to. Don't get me wrong I like Mt. Eerie, but I have seen them 4 times already and figured I would just leave after the first song. But then I saw their setup and thought maybe they would keep my attention. They more than kept my attention. The thing about Phil Elverum is that you never know what you are going to get. I have seen him play a show where he didn't even bring his own guitar and had to borrow someones and then sang songs to a cross legged audience out of a sketchbook that he had just barely written and although the songs were pleasant, they were almost always unfinished, botched and interrupted with giggling. This time around Phil's crew obliterated the tiny Kilby Court with an absolute wave of sound on the first note coming from No Kids on the keys, Phil on guitar and two drummers with intense setups. I'm talking gongs, mallets, wire brushes and the works. Let me just tell you, I am a sucker for two drummers playing synchronized beats and I was smitten from the first crash. Phil is at his absolute best when playing his metal sets. As I mentioned before, our 7 month old child was in attendance and even though he was adorned in his noise cancellation headphones we still felt it was WAY too loud for him. Thistle was outside with him, but it was raining and I wasn't able to enjoy Mt. Eerie's entire set. From what I saw (5 songs) they were playing Wind's Poem in it's entirety, start to finish. It was absolutely mind blowing.

We all know that a good Kilby show is the best kind of show. An attentive crowd in a tiny shack getting attacked by noise emanating from right in front of their faces- I love it. I really needed that show and it delivered more than expected. I feel refreshed, inspired, and ready to take on more live sets now. Bring it on.

-Sassigrass

Show In Review

The Alligators, David Williams, Headlights and Evangelicals at Kilby Court 3/26/08

The Alligators
Local Utah openers, The Alligators caught me off guard. They looked like old LoFi Cafe fans, complete with the hippest apparel and ultra styled hair cuts, attracting high school scenesters from all corners of the state. Then they played, and somehow I had heard their opening song from somewhere. I am still trying to figure out where that could have been. Anyways, what we heard was sugar coated upbeat pop that had infectious beats and forced an honest smile from my critically hardened lips. It wasn't amazing music, but it was enjoyable, and really sometimes that is all a band needs to put on a fantastic show.

David Williams
David Williams has surprisingly decided to go electric! His little folk tunes have taken on new life as of late in his live performances and have rocked the house down. It's the same great songwriting you have come to accept from Williams but with an little more pizazz.


Headlights
Recorded Headlights are all right, but have failed to keep my interest long enough for me to want to make it through a full album. The forced hazy male vocals just kill me. Most the crowd was there to see Headlights and seemed to be enjoying their simplicity. I thought they would be fun enough live, but I was ultimately bored and couldn't wait for them to get off stage after about 3 pleasant syrup songs so that I could hear the real reason I came to the show.

Evangelicals!
After about three fourths of the crowd left, a lengthy set up, a broken monitor and an exploding light bulb, Evangelicals raped the Kilby stage and left the remaining fourth of the audience unable to do anything but rock out in live music satisfaction to the fullest. If anyone deserves to act like rock stars it's these fellas, but they only brought the swagger on stage and left it on stage once they were done playing. They were very humble, very nice, and soooo glam! Just imagine eyeliner, glitter, strobe lights, fog machines, capes, nail paint, walking on the drum set, hanging on the rafters, wailing on the guitar so hard it brought them to their knees rock and roll! The Evening Descends is one of the most amazing albums, if not the most amazing album of 2008 thus far and was given complete justice and then some performed live. Everyone who left - What were you thinking!?

-Sassigrass

Vile Blue Shades, These Are Powers, Mt. Eerie, Calvin Johnson, and Mahjongg @ Kilby Court 2.27.08

SHOW IN REVIEW

Vile Blue Shades – VBS live spectacle has been covered before on the pages of FG and not much has changed. This isn’t a bad thing though. Let’s just say that Vile Blue Shades make an incredible argument for having the best live presence in all of Salt Lake City.

These Are Powers – And then, amongst modern indie legends such as Mt. Eerie and Calvin Johnson and seasoned “dance rockin’” band, Mahjongg, These Are Powers go and play the most swaggeringly powerful, ear blisteringly loud and uncompromisingly entertaining live set that I have ever seen. That’s right, I just went there; Kilby got pwned! I literally can’t think of any set that I have seen before (or after for that matter) These Are Powers that approaches such a high level of performance. The motley Brooklyn/Chicago trio hammered through modestly labeled “ghost punk” like they were releasing packs of wolves to maul each and every member of the audience in the name of love. Lead singer/guitarist and general cartoon character, Anna Barie, paraded lankly on and off stage singing, dancing, shredding and causing general elation and discomfort with her charmingly joyful smile and prankster/partier attitude. Backed by a jarring bombardment of thick bass and pounding drums and an endless field of effects pedals, Barie lead These Are Powers into glorious display of punk spirit at its finest. I am really slaughtering this review, but for those who were present, the memory of the spectacle of this show and its accompanying sound will forever be tattooed to the brain. So so so so so so so so so so so so so so so good. I can’t say it enough.

Mt. Eerie – And then, beautifully, after the most rockingest set ever, every one sat down for the quietest one. Having seen Mt. Eerie a few times before this show I honestly didn’t know what to expect. I can’t say that he has been the most consistent of live performers that I have seen and I tried to set my expectations low. However, in a stroke of incredible luck, Phil pulled out his A game and an acoustic guitar and proved why his Microphones/Mt. Eerie project is one of my all-time favourites. Running through a series of new songs and submitting to the somewhat belabored recommendations of the crowd, Elvrum laid on his awkward charm and beautifully lulled a packed and seated Kilby Court into glossy eyed adoration. Mint. I will undoubtedly be back cataloging for the next couple of days to retain the wonderful air of Mt. Eerie’s beautiful songs.

Calvin Johnson – I better start this out by saying that I don’t really listen to Calvin Johnson. I have heard a song or two, but they were neither here nor there and I just never really gave it a try and to be honest, probably never will. About Johnson’s set last night though, let me just say this: Calvin Johnson is a comedic genius. I mean that in the best way possible too. With a quaint, subtly awkward humor Johnson basically just rambled on through half of his set while playing really inspiring, humble songs the rest. With a magnificent baritone Johnson was an absolute knock out and aside from the glory of These Are Powers, the most pleasantly surprising musician among the foray. He just seemed so calculated and comfortable and seemed to be really enjoying himself up there. I don’t know if you could ask for much more than that – a modestly assured set of beautifully humorous and solid songs and banter.

Mahjongg – I feel bad for Mahjongg. Practically 2/3 or more of the crowd had departed by the time the band finished setting up and who can blame them? The show was as good as it was long and required stamina. Fortunately and despite of some technical difficulties, Mahjongg proceed to run the remaining crowd members into the ground with a polyrhythmic, bass heavy post punk dance party and wrung every last drop of energy from anyone left standing. Another really good set that was shamefully missed by most, but certainly appreciated by everyone who stayed.

Liars and Interpol Live At In The Venue

Guest Show Review
You remember silly putty. And how you could press it on a picture in a magazine and then stretch out the face into some humorous abstraction of the original. Well imagine pressing some silly putty on a life size version of Mick Jagger. Then begin stretching it taller and taller until you reach the point just before it becomes ridiculously too tall, but almost. Then exaggerate the already cartoonish characteristics of his face. Put a white suit on it and stick a microphone in its mouth and you have Liars’ lead man Angus Andrew. Once complete, place him on stage and have him prance around maniacally while spitting out verses over drone and reverb-laden tunes and dancing in the oddest manner imaginable. This is the spectacle of Liars. And if not winning over the In The Venue crowd, they definitely made them take notice. After their first song, the two guys standing directly in front of me looked at each other in horror as I smiled to myself. After the second song, one of them leaned over to the other and said, “I’m warming up to them.” The other responded by rolling his eyes. I guess he wasn’t warming.
The set was mostly taken from their most recent release, with a few songs from their next album. As a performance, they were wonderful, but musically they have always left me waiting. The percussion is amazing, and strong enough to sustain nearly any song, but it seems that Liars have recently leaned a bit too much on their strong rhythm section, and not enough on equally interesting melodies and instrumentation. As a result the songs are full of opportunity, but lacking in payoff. But as a stage presence, Angus Andrew and Liars are a show that no one should miss.
Interpol came out donned in, surprise, Black! They then preceded to melancholy the crowd into euphoria, whatever that means, or however that is possible. I was a bit skeptical of their live performances, having heard the tail end of their set at the Curiosa festival a while back, but in the hazy, dark, atmosphere of In The Venue, their songs sounded remarkably crisp. Paul Banks vocals, the culprit of my prior skepticism, were spot on and their linear guitars and backing bass, keyboard, and drums sounded great. However, it was quite a contrast going from the energy of Liars, to the stoicism of Interpol.
Being only somewhat acquainted with Interpol’s newest album, about a quarter of the way through their set they could have been playing the same songs over again and I wouldn’t have been able to tell. But that is part of the charm of Interpol. They have their unique style, it fits them to a T, and like the Strokes, for better or worse they don’t stray far from their established identity. And in the end, Identity is really what Interpol is all about, and they definitely succeeded in maintaining it.

-Spruce Lee

Arcade Fire and LCD Soundsystem Live at Thanksgiving Point

Guest Show Review

So I wasn’t really happy to be at the LCD Soundsystems/Arcade Fire concert. I was excited to see them play, but I was none too thrilled with the way I got there. Through a combination of misunderstanding, accident, and laziness, I purchased my ticket online from ticketmaster. That means on top of my $36 dollar entrance fee, I was charged a $9 service fee, another $4 US fee of some sort, and an additional $2 to be able to print my ticket! All in all I paid around $52, only to find out that I could have bought a ticket at the door for $36. So I was there, but I wasn’t too happy about it. Luckily we arrived just as LCD was beginning their set so I didn’t have much time to stew. And I know this is probably sacrilege, at least it was to the majority of the audience, but I was primarily there to see LCD, and The Arcade Fire were a bonus. Anyways, LCD began…

Jumping ahead, about three quarters of the way through The Arcade Fire’s set they played “My Body is a Cage”, with Win Butler singing “My body is a cage, that keeps me from dancing with the one I love, but my mind holds the key.” I’m sure these lyrics resonate with many risk averse people who just can’t bring themselves to drop all pretenses and dance. In fact it wasn’t long ago that I had such an aversion, skeptically scanning a dancing concert crowd, wondering if I was missing something, or if they were just more easily duped into having fun than I was. Either way, if James Murphy ever lamented in this way, he found the key long ago. I didn’t expect Murphy’s drums and sound loops to translate as well as they did on stage, but live, his songs are infused with a vitality that is lacking from the already energetic album versions. And even though dance music is generally most at home in a dark, strobe lit room, Murphy’s songs felt as if they were meant for the outdoor stage at thanksgiving point. His voice had a freedom that isn’t as present on the albums. And the atmosphere and energy of live instruments playing dance rock held the key for most of the crowd to dance with the one they loved, or whoever was standing next to them.

As LCD finished with one of my favorites, “New York, I Love You…” I was amazed at how much I enjoyed the show, and how quickly I had forgotten about the $52 I had just shelled out. I thought to myself that there was no way The Arcade Fire was going to top them. They didn’t, but they came close.

The Arcade Fire emerged. Four small circular screens played different clips of old 70’s religious sermons or infomercials. And there they were, dressed like some gothic troupe from the hills of Austria, ready to play nearly every song into a frenzy. And they did. Cameras placed in various spots on stage projected different members of the band on the four circular screens. By design the images were grainy and often black and white, giving the whole band an appearance of a gothic Bible belt revival. It was an odd presentation, especially with Win’s wife Regine Chasagne creepily peering into the crowd as if she were possessed (kinda freaked me out). Each of the ten members rearranged themselves throughout the set, playing different instruments and livening up their stage presence. The sound was typical for an outdoor venue, with much of the instrumentation getting lost in the mix, but The Arcade Fire effectively played their songs into their hallmark crescendo, and the crowd followed. And although there is much to be said for the intimate nature of many indie shows, of which this wasn’t one, there is also much to be said for a large crowd resonating the energy of a band on stage.

Michael Scott once said that presents were great because they were an opportunity to tell someone you like them a certain amount of dollars worth. I can now say that although I wasn’t initially happy with spending $52 dollars on a concert, I left the show liking it at least $52 dollars worth. Though I still would have preferred to have only paid $36.

-Spruce Lee

Battles @ The Urban Lounge 7/7/07

Show In Review
I have grown even more in love with Mirrored since my reivew, and I was very much looking forward to seeing it being played live. I think I was more excited for this show than I had been for any other show this year. All week I had been imagining "Race In" being played and how excited I would be. Then, it was Saturday, it was here. The Urban Lounge was packed, it being Will Sartain's birthday show and all. I can't say I paid a whole lot of attention to openers, The Future of The Ghost, and The Tremula- I was too anticipatory. Mr. Thistle seemed to really enjoy the reformed Tremula. The bits that I did pay attention to sounded a bit like At The Drive-In to me. The crowd really loved it. After they played, Battles sound checked for what seemed like a full decade then began playing-oh man, this was it! Oh wait, they totally slaughtered their album. It was like minimalized Mirrored, and maybe it was because I was expecting too much, but I was ultimately disappointed and would have been happier listening to their masterpiece album alone in my car. The sound levels sucked, which is weird, since they brought their own sound guy. Tyondai Braxton's guitar was completely drowning out Ian Williams, which removed all the subtle interesting undertones of the songs and placed in the forefront just the decoration. Most of the main substance was totally overpowered, and they stretched out every loop to about 16 measures longer than it is on the album, making it fairly boring. Maybe if I didn't have every count of the album memorized and had been expecting to hear it that way I would have been impressed, but it just wasn't as good as I wanted it to be. Overall, their album is still in my top 5 releases of the year thus far, but I could have passed seeing them live.

-Sassigrass


Thought I would add a little addendum here to kind of flesh out the openers minutely. I have seen The Future of the Ghost (who played first) 3 times now and I think they are getting a bit tighter each time I see them. Really good energetic post punk/pop rock vibes. I definitely think that if they keep progressing that they can become an important part of SLC music. As for The Tremula…wow! I remember exactly why I am in love with these guys. The played an absolutely powerful set of abrasive, experimental post punk exorcisms. Amazing drumming (of whom the member had flown in for the show I’m told) and awesome interplay between the dual guitar and bass onslaught. I miss music like theirs. I think the landscape of music is really absent of this kind of wonderfulness. I sincerely hope that this little one off reunion inspires The Tremula’s members to reconsider their retirement. Battles were definitely good as well but I can understand Sassigrass being let down considering her love for the album. It must be hard to evolve the songs as quickly in a live setting with the amount of looping being had. Battles were solid though. Just not quite the energy of what we love from their album.

-Mr. Thistle

Melt Banana, Vile Blue Shades, Agape: Live at the Urban Lounge 6/30/07

Show In Review
It’s Monday morning and I think my ears are still ringing from going to Melt Banana at the Urban Lounge on Saturday, June 30th.

The already exciting headliner was paired with equally exciting local openers, Agape and the quickly-becoming-legendary Vile Blue Shades. For me this would be a first time experience seeing all three acts. We arrived shortly Agape’s opening scorcher. A one man eardrum destroyer, Agape provided screechingly distorted feedback and screaming vocals to a surprisingly danceable beat with piano embellishments. Think Prurient remixed by !!! or The Sounds? However you want to attempt to describe it, Agape was incredibly, danceably abrasive and impossible to ignore.

Vile Blue Shades followed. Considering the veritable years of live shows I have attended in Salt Lake City it is difficult to understand how I have successfully avoided seeing Vile Blue Shades live. Having had their live sets praised numerously by several friends I felt that now was a good time finally see the allstar Salt Lake City behemoth. They did not disappoint. Carrying approximately 300 drummers, 400 guitarists and 500 additional members of standard rock instrumentation, Vile Blue Shades barely left enough legal capacity in The Urban Lounge for spectators. Exaggerations aside, Vile Blue Shades’ (sometimes unnecessary) 11 members (small by Polyphonic standards) packed a cocky punch. Reeling through a drunken barrage of desert rock, Vile Blue Shades owned the crowd, moving feet at their whimsy.

Following the truly rock antics of the Shades, Melt Banana proceeded to melt brains (and possibly bananas of any attendant vegans munching on a late night potassium binge). The Tokyo foursome shocked and annihilated the remaining brain cells of a very drunken crowd. Careening through a set featuring 10 second grindcore classics from their earliest releases to the more melodic (if melody can even be argued) and experimental escapades from their most recent releases, Melt Banana sent shards of squealing guitar shrapnel spewing out into the crowd backed by pounding bass and Olympic medalist breakneck punk drumming. Melt Banana’s lead singer chirped monotone indecipherables endlessly until everyone appeared deaf. The only downside was that a drink carrying crowd didn’t seem to want move much to the spectacle. I was hoping Melt Banana would generate the first revisit to a mosh pit since my high school days. But it wasn’t to be. While I probably won't be a regular at any future Melt Banana shows, this is a live band that I would recommend to everyone at least once before you die. It is an unduplicated live experience.

-Mr. Thistle

Marnie Stern: Live At Urban Lounge 6/25/07

SHOW IN REVIEW

When we first got to Urban there weren't many people there. The few that were there were mostly there for the local opener, Dead Horse Point. After they played there was no other opener, just Marnie Stern. It took the crowd 3 or 4 songs to really get into the music, but slowly people came out of the woodwork to gawk at the sheer amount of technical skill flying forth from the stage. It was amazing to watch the crowd, eyes widened, jaws dropping one by one. In fact, I have never seen an Urban crowd give that much attention to a band, and how could they not- their brains were being smashed by guitar shredding maddness. The sound was powerful and magic. It felt like Marnie and Robby's guitar were sending out waves of rainbows while Zach was supplying the lightning. It was like all the forces of nature combing and obliterating the Urban Lounge through one of the loudest sets I've experienced. The whole time I couldn't help but think about how Marnie and Zach should have children together. I mean, think how fast they could move! They could probly take over the entire world, cause they've got to be part machine. The most amazing thing to watch was Zach's bass pedel work. He plays double bass faster than I have ever seen anyone play double bass except he does it all with one foot and one pedel! Seriously, this trio was insane. After they finished playing the crowd stayed and masochistically screamed for an encore. After about ten minutes they were still yelling and begging for more. We finally left and saw the band outside, so I don't think the crowd ever got the encore they wanted. I wouldn't want to play an encore if I had just run a musical marathon. When they finished playing Zach outfit was entirely covered in sweat- there wasn't a dry spot on him. Overall, this show was one of the best shows I've seen so far this year. We postponed a vacation just so that we would be in town for this, and it was definately worth it. Oh, and we got out of there at 12:20a.m., which is an absolute record for an Urban Show. Amazing!

Sassy Grass