[...music...]

2009-04-01

it's been more than a year since i've been to a show by myself.

the opening act was sky larkin. i had not heard of them before. to me, they sounded like typical indie rock stuff. a couple of really catchy songs.

i was really excited about seeing los campesinos! play, especially since i had missed their show at cafe campus last year (a venue that singer gareth hinted wasn't so nice). their music is so cheerful and full of energy, and their live set was no different. i love the guy-girl vocals, the way the guy singer always seems to sing just slightly off-key, the full-band shouts, the prominent use of glockenspiel, etc... at one point, guitarist tom tried to say a few french sentences, something about his mother being a french teacher.

one song that really got the crowd moving was "you! me! dancing!". it's quite clever, how that song has an epic build-up culmintaing in an explosion of sound, at the beginning of the song, such that thoughout the song, it's pretty much a dancing frenzy. (well, it was a dancing frenzy by indie show standards.)

setlist:
ways to make it through the wall
the international tweexcore underground
documented minor emotional breakdown #1
my year in lists
drop it doe eyes
death to los campesinos!
miserabilia
"hahaha, we destroyed..."
knee deep at atp
all your kayfabe friends
you! me! dancing!
we are beautiful, we are doomed
sweet dreams, sweet cheeks

encore:
broken heartbeats sound like breakbeats

for the encore, they did that diy-basement-show thing of playing in the middle of the crowd.

i had gotten to the venue early, and found a prime spot in the front row. just before the los campesinos set, an art student/wannabe photographer muscled her way right next to me. throughout most of the set, she was pretty much in my face with her big fancy camera, taking countless pictures of the band, from every angle possible. ugh.

~~~

cd purchase: i got their non-album single "the international tweexcore underground".

hearing damage: although the show didn't seem loud at all, my right ear was ringing all night.

~~~

Labels: cd purchase, la sala rossa, los campesinos, shows

2007-10-01

beirut @ la sala rossa

i went to last night's show with rox. she's already posted a thorough rundown of the evening.

the opening act alaska in winter already started to play when the doors opened. too bad we missed the beginning of the act. this was one of those one-guy-disguised-as-a-band solo type of project. on stage, the guy mostly sang through a vocoder, busting out a few dance moves. the music was some kind of atmospheric lite electro (like something between m83 and imogen heap). but the entertaining part was the screen in the background, showing an array of videos of the guy playing all the instruments. he kept referring to his band as "we" when in fact the "band" was really just him and his clones on the screen. he even changed outfits to match whatever he was wearing in the videos.

alaska in winter, stripped down to his final outfit, including fuzzy hat, with his "band" on the screen:

the next act was colleen, another solo act, layering her music by playing sounds into a loop. it was suggested that we all sit on the ground during her performance. and so, there we sat, just next to the stage, meaning we could not see the performer at all. from what i heard, it was all instrumental, each piece focusing on one instrument. the first piece was on cello, the second on clarinet. the third piece was on acoustic guitar, but with a musical box sound in the background. the final piece was back on cello, but with wind chimes in the background.

i managed to sneak a picture while sitting down:

finally, beirut came on stage. i was surprised that all eight members managed to fit on the small stage along with all their instruments: trumpets, ukulele, violin, accordion, mandolin, cello, guitar, drums, flute, glockenspiel, tambourine, and more.

with this full band, it sounded like a mini-orchestra, playing this balkan-inspired indie pop. happy music i would have danced to, if given more room in that crowded venue. band leader zach condon sang in an almost operatic manner, waving his hands up, as if giving an important speech. haha, cute.

in between songs, he mostly spoke in french, with a very french accent. heh. i'm glad he included a cover of jacques brel's "le moribond" in the set. fun song (with not-so-fun lyrics, i think they are final words of a dying man). and every time he sang "je veux qu'on rie, je veux qu'on danse", i felt like doing a jig, haha.

i tried to get a picture of all the band members, but i think i missed the violinist, hiding behind those ukulele/mandolin players.

oops, i used the flash. notice the cute horn tattoos on the wrists:

the songs they played were familiar, but not familiar enough for me to know all the song titles. luckily, rox got one of the setlists after the show:

after the encore, singer zach condon came back on stage, alone with his ukulele. there was a joke about not needing the rest of the band, which resulted in an empty beer bottle rolling out from the side of the stage, probably thrown by a band member. funny. his final song was a cover of "hallelujah". it seems to be a popular live cover; i should learn the lyrics.

~~~

cd purchases: the first thing i got at the merch table were all the beirut cd's, since i had none of them: the debut "gulag orkestar", the follow-up ep "lon gisland", and the most recent "the flying club cup" that they were selling even though the official release date is next week. yay! then, after alaska in winter's set, i got his "dance party in the balkans".

~~~

Labels: alaska in winter, beirut, cd purchase, colleen, la sala rossa, shows

2007-05-04

ted leo & the pharmacists @ la sala rossa

i went to the show tonight with yeni, feeling very excited. i've mentioned several times in this blog, how much i love the man and his music, and so it is unnecessary to repeat how big of a fan i am.

vague angels were first. a band i had never heard of. i felt kind of bad for them, since they were playing to an almost empty venue. the music made me think of those scenes in the movies, where the protagonist drives an old car, alone on a long stretch of deserted road, with nothing but the sun and the sand, in order to escape some dark past. it was a mix of dark folkish pop-rock with a hint of country. the singer reminded me of conor oberst, but without the emo nor the angst. bonus points for an attempt at humour in the middle of the set, when the singer said something about bees and the end of mankind.

vague angels:

next were love of diagrams. kind of post-punk, straightforward indie rock. i liked the music; it was kind of catchy. but the vocals were atrocious, awful wailing, perhaps due to faulty equipment?

love of diagrams:

finally, ted leo and the pharmacists were on. great set, lots of energy. decent stage banter, making some jokes in between songs.

unfortunately, i was standing next to the guy exorcising his demons tonight; most of the time, i was trying to avoid being elbowed in the face. also, for some reason, i felt like such a dork in that crowd of cool cats. feeling so very self-conscious, i was not abe to let loose and dance, and enjoy the show as much i would have liked. small disappointments. bah. the hard-working ted leo will surely tour many times more; i will just catch one of his next shows in montreal.

most of the songs were from the new "living with the living":
- the sons of cain (a great way to open tonight's set)
- army bound (my second favourite of the album)
- colleen (not too memorable)
- a bottle of buckie (my favourite of the album)
- bomb.repeat.bomb. (such an angry song)
- annunciation day/born on christmas day (fun and short)
- the unwanted things (reggae-inspired, ugh)
- the lost brigade (with the long instrumental part that dragged on a bit)

from "shake the sheets":
- me and mia (always a hit)
- counting down the hours (my favourite of the album)
- little dawn (follows "counting down the hours" quite smoothly, like on the album)

from "hearts of oak":
- where have all the rude boys gone? (i found out about ted leo and the pharmacists through this song. it remains my favourite of all.)
- the high party (another favourite of this album)

from "the tyranny of distance"
- dial up (i think, unsure of this one)

after the set, ted leo barely left the stage before quickly returning for the encore, saying something like "thanks. there's no point in fucking around." it's so nice that he did not make the crowd wait. songs played during the encore:
- timorous me (my favourite, from "the tyranny of distance")
- walking to do (another fun song)
- ? (i don't recognise this one, maybe it's a cover?)

there were other songs too, but i have a weak memory.

blurry pictures:

~~~

cd purchase: none. i already have all the ted leo albums. the opening bands were good, but did not impress me.

hearing damage: it was the usual loudness, which means my ears will probably still ring until tomorrow morning.

~~~

edit: turns out the last song in the encore was "rappaport's testament: i never gave up", a chumbawamba cover.

~~~

Labels: la sala rossa, love of diagrams, shows, ted leo, vague angels

2005-10-02

ted leo/pharmacists @ la sala rossa

another one of those shows at la sala where people smoke too much, wearing tight shirts, tight jeans, and converse shoes. this one was part of the popmontreal festival.

first openers were geronimo. typical band where the guy tries to scream louder than the guitars. i couldn't really get into the music.

up next were north of america. damn, these guys were *loud*. (my ears... i went half-deaf during this set.) again, another band where the guys took turns trying to yell over the guitars. except that i enjoyed this one.

finally, ted leo & the pharmacists, the band i was there to see. i am so glad i went to this; it was much fun. even though i didn't know all the songs, i still danced (kind of) throughout most of the set. ted leo had some funny stage banter, and good interaction with the crowd. and they played some of my favourite songs, "where have all the rude boys gone?", "me and mia", and "the high party". i haven't seen many shows this year, but this was easily one of the best i've been to.

on my way out, i only saw north of america's merch table. i got a cd "brothers, sisters". i haven't had a chance to listen to it yet, my ears are still ringing from last night.

~~~

Labels: cd purchase, eal, geronimo, la sala rossa, north of america, popmontreal, shows, ted leo