The Antlers – First Unitarian Church Philadelphia

Last Wednesday May 18, 2011 The Antlers performed live for the first time in Philadelphia after the release of their new album “Burst Apart”. This was my third concert from The Antlers, but the first in which the band appeared as the main event of the night. Previously, I saw them opening to The Editors and The National. The Brooklyn band selected the First Unitarian Church as their venue, this time at the seated Sanctuary part, which provided a unique ambiance to the night and certainly helped on the overall delivery of their music.

Little Scream from Montreal opened the night with a presentation full of issues, improvised performances and what I would describe as strong though overused and exaggerated vocals. The Antlers came right next, focusing their show in “Burst Apart” although delightful versions of some favorites from “Hospice” were also included, to the most part in their amazing encore.

The band opened with “I Don’t Want Love”, exactly the way their album starts and a perfect sequel to the songs in “Hospice”. From there they put an 8-piece set before the encore. Worth mentioning were a superb version of “Parentheses” that surpasses by far the recorded version. Also an amazing version of “Bear” from “Hospice”, and an extremely powerful one for “Putting the Dog to Sleep”, which is the way the band decided to close this first part.

In all honesty, this song and the power behind the lyrics and music could be easily used by others as their prime masterpiece and as a successful closing song. The Antlers repertoire, however, allow them to stop here temporarily, leaving the audience hungry for more.



Really no words to describe the quality of the 4-piece encore primarily focused in their 2009 album....

“I wish that I had known in that first minute we met, the unpayable debt that I owed you”... cried front man Peter Silberman at the beginning of a flawless version of “Kettering”. To this amazing song, “Rolled Together” and “Two” followed.

The night ended with “Wake”, also from “Hospice” where both the lyrics and the interpretation of the band made this, probably the most intense finish to a concert I have ever experienced. Seeing Silberman cry repeatedly “Don’t ever let anyone tell you, you deserve that” as loudly as he could, surrounded by strong guitars, drums and keyboards is simply an indescribable experience...



It is clear that The Antlers and their approach to music are not for everyone. If your expectations for music include pure happiness, smiley faces and wet dreams of what life should be, these guys are not for you. The Antlers music is powerful, way more than usual. It travels from low deep sounds, building strongly and in a very calculated manner to deliver continuous powerful punches to the audience. The intensity of the music exponentially grows with the raw lyrics, which submerge you into sadness, joy, anxiety and every emotional journey you can imagine.

Seeing The Antlers live is for sure an adventure that can catch you cold, finding yourself with tears in your eyes and feelings you were not necessarily ready to deliver on a Wednesday night. Trust me, I saw a lot of that this week.

I leave you with the set-list for the night and a clip from the show for "Putting the Dog to Sleep".

Enjoy,

MM


The Antlers – Set-list May 18, 2011
First Unitarian Church – Philadelphia

1 "I Don't Want Love"
2 "No Widows"
3 "Parentheses"
4 "Corsicana"
5 “Bear”
6 "Every Night My Teeth Are Falling Out"
7 "Hounds"
8 "Putting the Dog to Sleep"

Encore:

9 “Kettering”
10 "Rolled Together"
11 “Two”
12 “Wake”

"Calgary" - New Song From Bon Iver - Download!

FOALS at TLA in Philadelphia w/ Freelance Whales

OK, before all the excitement from yesterday’s Foals show in Mexico City, here’s an overdue review from their show last week at the Theater of the Living Arts in Philadelphia on May 5, 2011.

An amazing 8-piece opening from Freelance Whales followed an eventless presentation from The Naked and Famous. Freelance Whales presented most of their Weathervanes great album, opening with “Generator First Floor” and closing with “Generator Second Floor”, including some of my favorite songs from that album such as “Location”, “Starring” and “Ghosting”. I should say that this band has grown significantly since I saw them first opening to Fanfarlo at Johnny Brenda’s about a year ago.

Foals performance, however, was for sure the main event, far beyond anything we saw that night and without a doubt one of the best live shows I’ve seen in Philadelphia. Their setlist, attached below, opened with “Blue Blood” and closed the night with an amazing performance of “Two Steps, Twice”.



Before last week, I have not joined the enormous excitement and recognition for this band, as displayed previously in this blog. For sure what I saw last “Cinco de Mayo”, made me add my name to that growing list of followers. The energy of the british band led by Yannis Philippakis is dangerously contagious and their live performance is flawless, making each and every song a dynamic experience that reproduces itself through the audience.

After the show I knew for sure I would like to be at last night’s Foals concert in Mexico City. I for one can’t wait for the review of that show.

In the mean time, I leave you with a clip taken from the Philly show for "Spanish Sahara", plus the setlist of that night.

Enjoy

MM


Foals Setlist for May 5, 2011 – TLA Philadelphia

1. Blue Blood
2. Olympic airways
3. Total Life Forever
4. Balloons
5. Miami
6. After Glow
7. Black Gold
8. Spanish Sahara
9. Red Socks Pugie
10. Electric Bloom

Encore
11. The French Open
12. Two steps, Twice

#MARVIN10 - Festival Marvin 10 años

Marvin revista musical que cumple 10 años en nuestro país, tuvo la gran idea de realizar un festival al más puro estilo del increíble SXSW. Varios venues pequeños (Condesa-Roma) albergarán las actuaciones de bandas evidentemente no tan comerciales, pero varias de ellas futuras promesas de la escena nacional. Para asistir deben de registrarse en la página de Marvin, y con solo $100 pesos tendrán una pulsera que les brindará el acceso a la mayoría de los eventos, salvo los conciertos particulares de los headliners.

Les dejo algunos vids de bandas que se estarán presentando, y el stream del EP de uno de los actos favoritos del crew, Yellow Yesterday. Enjoy...

BON IVER on Tour

Jagjaguwar has released today new dates for one of the most expected tours, at least to those somehow involved in this blog and to those following it. Bon Iver will release a self-titled album on June 21 and as of today, they will start touring the US and Canada immediately after that. They have decided to start of course in their own Wisconsin, touching important cities along their tour. Dates were published today by Jagjaguwar and the current list is included below.

Not sure about you guys, but I am getting my tickets this week for the Philadelphia concert at the Tower theatre on August 3.

07/22/11 Milwaukee, WI - Riverside Theatre w/ The Rosebuds
07/23/11 Milwaukee, WI - Riverside Theatre w/ The Rosebuds
07/24/11 Chicago, IL - Chicago Theatre w/ The Rosebuds
07/25/11 Indianapolis, IN - The Murat Theatre w/ The Rosebuds
07/27/11 Nashville, TN - Ryman Auditorium w/ The Rosebuds
07/28/11 Atlanta, GA - Cobb Energy Performing Arts w/ The Rosebuds
07/29/11 Raleigh, NC - Raleigh Ampitheatre w/ The Rosebuds
07/30/11 Richmond, VA - The National w/ The Rosebuds
08/01/11 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club w/ The Rosebuds
08/02/11 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club w/ The Rosebuds
08/03/11 Upper Darby, PA - Tower Theatre w/ The Rosebuds
08/05/11 Boston, MA - House of Blues w/ The Rosebuds
08/06/11 Holyoke, MA - Mountain Park w/ The Rosebuds
08/08/11 Toronto, ON - The Sound Academy w/ The Rosebuds
08/09/11 New York, NY - The United Palace Theatre w/ The Rosebuds
08/10/11 Brooklyn, NY - Celebrate Brooklyn! @ Prospect Park Bandshell

Below I leave you with a review/commentary for the upcoming album as it appears in the Jagjaguwar site.

Enjoy,

MM



BON IVER
Bon Iver, Bon Iver CD / LP (JAG135, released: 06/21/11)
First it was For Emma, Forever Ago. The soul in a refraction of icicles. A moment hanging like breath on air. And yet life – even still life – is not still. The story is not a story if it does not unravel. Your eyes you may cast backward, but the heart is locked in the chest and must beat forever forward. Bon Iver, Bon Iver is the frozen beast pressing upward from a loosening earth, one ear cocked to the echo of the ghost choir still singing, the other craving the martial call of drums tumbling, of thrum and wheeze. The desolation smoke has dissipated, cut with strips of brass. Celebration will not be denied, the cabinet cannot contain the rattle, there is meat on the bones.

It's there right away, in the thicker-stringed guitar and military snare of "Perth," and "Minnesota, WI." Anyone who had a single listen to For Emma will peg Justin Vernon's vocals immediately, but there is a sturdiness – an insistence – to Bon Iver, Bon Iver that allows him to escape the cabin in the woods without burning it to the ground. "Holocene" opens with simple finger-picking. The vocal is regret spun hollow and strung on a wire. Then the snare-beat breaks and drives us forward and up and up until we fly silent through the black-star night, our wreckage in view whole atmospheres below. The vocals in "Hinnom, TX" ease to the muffled depths, while the instrumentation remains sparse and cosmic. "Calgary" is a worship song to everything For Emma mourned, and at the point in the final track "Beth/Rest" when Vernon sings, "I ain't livin' in the dark no more" it is clear he isn't dancing in the sunshine, but rather shading toward a new light.

"Bon Iver is often equated with just me," says Vernon, "but you are who surrounds you, and for Bon Iver, Bon Iver I wanted to invite those voices as musical catalysts." Thus on the track "Beth/Rest" and throughout the album, we hear the pedal steel of Greg Leisz (Lucinda Williams, Bill Frisell), the uniquely layered low end of Colin Stetson's (Tom Waits, Arcade Fire) saxophones, the riffing of Mike Lewis' (Happy Apple, Andrew Bird) altos and tenors, and the lush horns of C.J. Camerieri (Rufus Wainwright, Sufjan Stevens). Bon Iver regulars Sean Carey, Mike Noyce and Matt McCaughan contributed vocals, drums and production, Rob Moose (Antony and the Johnsons, The National) helped with arranging and added strings, and fellow members of Volcano Choir, Jim Schoenecker and Tom Wincek provided processing.

Bon Iver, Bon Iver was recorded and mixed at April Base Studios, a remodeled veterinarian's clinic located in rural Fall Creek, Wisconsin. The main recording space is constructed over a defunct indoor pool attached to the clinic. "It's an unique space and destination; it's our home out here," says Vernon, who purchased the structure with his brother in late 2008 with the sole intention of converting it into his ideal recording studio. "It's been a wonderful freedom, working in a place we built. It's also only three miles from the house I grew up in, and just ten minutes from the bar where my parents met." The creation of Bon Iver, Bon Iver was a three-year process, and Vernon says the completion of the studio paralleled the completion of the album. "I was writing and recording in the windows of time snatched between tours in support of For Emma," he says. "When I finally came home to hunker down for a solid stretch there was a feeling of solid ground and an opportunity for liberation waiting in the space for me."

In the absence of solid ground, the whirlwind becomes a whirlpool, and Bon Iver, Bon Iver is Justin Vernon returning to former haunts with a new spirit. The reprises are there – solitude, quietude, hope and desperation compressed – but always a rhythm arises, a pulse vivified by gratitude and grace notes, some as bright as a bicycle bell. The winter, the legend, has faded to just that, and this is the new momentary present. The icicles have dropped, rising up again as grass.

- Michael Perry

Radaid - Lunario del Auditorio Nacional

Sofía Orozco

Radaid se presentó el viernes en el Lunario del Auditorio Nacional. Los de Guadalajara, comandados por Sofía Orozco, con base en el talento de cada uno de sus músicos, y en un par de excelentes voces, ofrecieron un espectáculo que dejó no solamente satisfechos a todos los presentes, sino convencidos de la enorme calidad y potencia que tiene en vivo esta banda. Definitivamente a título personal, considero hoy por hoy que Radaid es la banda más talentosa de la escena, y junto con algunas bandas relativamente nuevas como los amigos de Yellow Yesterday, de lo verdaderamente interesante, que desgraciadamente en México en los últimos años no es mucho. Les dejo un vid de su anterior presentación en el lunario (febrero de 2010). La canción es "La Gran Victoria", track de más de ocho minutos con distintos matices, conmovedor siempre.

Enjoy...

Warpaint & Noah and the Whale, (The Interface)

Las chicas de Warpaint, además de ser unas guapas, nos regalaron un gran disco el año pasado, sin duda de lo más destacado, además tendremos la oportunidad de verlas en vivo en México, la cita será el 9 de septiembre en el Voilá, les dejo su capítulo de Interface.

Es claro que el SXSW se está convirtiendo año tras año en un festival cada vez más relevante. Si bien es cierto que siempre ha sido ideal para descubrir y disfrutar de los nuevos talentos, en ediciones recientes igualmente bandas de trayectorias importantes han tenido el buen gusto de presentarse como parte de los eventos principales. Les dejo el vid de "Tonight's the Kind of Night", uno de los sencillos del nuevo disco de Noah and the Whale, que también estará presentándose en Lollapalooza, personalmente es uno de los actos que más espero.