Music Snitch

After multiple occasions of missing Minus the Bear either a day late or a city short, I finally caught up with them at the Ritz in Ybor City.  The band started things off with “Drilling”, a track from ‘Menos el Oso’, and proceeded along with a couple ‘Planet of Ice’ tracks, “Throwin’ Shapes” and “Knights”.  Their mellow tunes sounded groovier in a live environment and the audience was definitely soaking it in.  The set-list included a lot of new ‘OMNI’ material, such as, “My Time”, “Summer Angel”, “Excuses” and “Into The Mirror”, which was part of the three song encore.  To conclude the evening, MTB went with an oldie but a goodie, “Absinthe Party at the Fly Honey Warehouse”.

Minus the Bear was  pretty reserved on stage, but if you were expecting rowdy behavior, chances are, you never heard their music before.  Although, the bass player, Murchy, did show signs of life after just about every song, giving the audience two very enthusiastic thumbs up.  So I guess I’ll follow his lead and give the night a wink and a hand shoot.

Apparently the last time Murder by Death played at the Orpheum, one of their crew members (or maybe it was a friend) was thrown through a window, so I’m happy that didn’t deter them from returning.   The band recently hit the road in support of their latest album, ‘Good Morning, Magpie’, however, the setlist wasn’t really centered around their shiny new material.  Which is not a complaint…just an observation.

The four-piece kicked off their set with a few ‘Red of Tooth and Claw’ tracks, such as, “52 Ford”, “Ball & Chain” and “Rumbrave”.  Actually, I don’t think it was until mid-way through the show that ‘Magpie’ material appeared in the form of, “You Don’t Miss Twice (When You’re Shavin’ With a Knife)”.  Murder By Death trudged along to the end playing mostly older material like, “Comin’ Home”, “Dynamite Mine” and “Until Morale Improves, The Beatings Will Continue”.

There were no batty antics during the performance, simply a talented band perched on a dark stage illuminated with red lights.   They sounded great live, very rabble rousing, and the lyric howling crowd seemed to be happily drenched in whiskey fumes; I dug it!

And to top off the evening, Murder By Death ( or Adam Turla) came back out for an encore and slightly hushed the bleary-eyed crowd with a cover of, “Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)”.

This past weekend I had the pleasure of checking out Sunbears! at one of my favorite locations in Tampa, New World Brewery.  The Sunbears! rolled through town from Jacksonville for their vinyl release party.  The vinyl is actually a split four track record with MRENC.

I became a fan of Sunbears’ sugar topped tunes by way of their most recent EP, ‘Dream Happy Dreams’, and figured the show would be a breezy affair, which it was.  The duo’s sense of humor was the first thing I noticed as the projector screen behind them spiraled out large images of their heads.  For the majority of their set Jonathan sat behind his keys singing (at times picking up a guitar) while Jared banged away on his drums, but the show was definitely not stagnant.  It took me a few songs to notice that their music was in sync with the video clips behind them, but once I realized this, I couldn’t look away.  It was pretty cool, and something I had never seen before.

As far as the setlist goes, the duo played most of their Dreams EP and I believe a couple songs from their debut EP, ‘For Everyone.’  They also played a cover of New Order’s, “Thieves Like Us”, although the guy in front of me was chanting for an MJ cover.  To be quite honest, I was surprised at how good they sounded…I saw a few live videos floating around the internet prior to the show that did not do them justice.  It was a fun, colorful show and I look forward to seeing Sunbears! again.

After the show I had the opportunity to chat with the friendly bears! and ask them a few questions.

I noticed that your new 7″ was released via New Granada Records, does this mean you’re signed with a label now?
Keith, who is the president of New Granada Records, approached us about doing this split 7″ with MRENC (Eric, who is a good friend of ours) and we thought, awesome, let’s do it.  But no, we are not signed to a label.

Both of your EPs were independently produced, so do you prefer the DIY method or would you be open to a label?
So far it’s been working, but if bigger and better opportunities come along we would certainly be interested…but we can’t complain about how things have been going so far.  The cool thing about what we’ve been doing is that none of it feels bigger than what we can handle.

Yeah, the production quality on the EPs, especially Dream Happy Dreams isn’t too shabby.
We had a friend help us out with it.  He believes in our music so he took it, mixed it, and made it sound pretty sweet.  But we recorded the majority of it ourselves, probably 90%.  We recorded most of it in Jacksonville and some in California (vocals) and Atlanta (drums).

Have you played at any festivals ( or showcases) like SXSW or Austin City Limits?
We haven’t yet but hopefully next year we can get on that bandwagon.   Maybe we procrastinated a bit (smirking), and didn’t make the deadline, but it’s a lot of work to make that happen, with two guys.  But next year.

Do you have any plans for a full-length?
We have aspirations, yes (laugh).  We’re trying to write songs and get everything set up at home.  Our soft goal is to have it done by the end of the year.

Oh, and as for their ability to play music in sync with the projections behind them, they use a metronome.

I became aware of Fruit Bats last year via their album, ‘The Ruminant Band’.  I kind of liked the album, but after the first listen I figured their music would be best digested live, so I never really gave it a second chance.   That is until this past weekend…I needed a refresher run before seeing them live @ The CrowBar.

Walking into the show mostly unfamiliar with Fruit Bats’ body of work (four albums) turned out to be a great thing.   Without any real expectations, I simply sat back and  enjoyed a night filled with lovely pop-folk tunes.   The Bats started off the show in a nice little groove with “Primitive Man” quickly followed by “The Ruminant Band.”   The five-piece also played a couple older songs such as “Canyon Girl”, “The Wind That Blew My Heart Away” and as per requested by the drunkard yelling in the audience, “Seaweed.”

Johnson was the only Bat on stage exuding any recognizable energy, in fact, I don’t think the bass player ever moved, he was like one of the Queen’s Guards outside Buckingham Palace.  However, some of the Bats are multi-instrumentalists, which was nice because it enabled them to switch things up a bit on stage.  For me, Eric Johnson’s twangy vocals ( especially on songs like “Flamingo”) and the delightful sounds of lap steel stole most of my attention during the set. Towards the end of the show the frontman confessed that he was losing his voice but they were going to try to push through it and play some more songs.

Overall, the night was filled with really good music, and, it made me want to revisit their ‘Ruminant Band’ album.  Also, during the show I got a sneaking suspicion that the Fruit Bats would fit in perfectly at music festivals, such as the ones that pass through the Spirit of Suwannee Music Park.  They seem more like an outside band to me.

Take A Listen: The Ruminant Band from Fruit Bats

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Download: The Ruminant Band (Right click on link and select “Save Target As” in IE or “Save Link As” in Firefox)

The Whigs are certainly not new to the music scene, but I was recently introduced to the Athens grown trio a few months ago. While it was the promotional tracks from their forthcoming album, ‘In The Dark’, that spawned my interest, it was really the peer pressure from a couple Whig advocates that drove me to this show. No matter the motivation, I am extremely happy that I ended up at The Variety Playhouse last night.

I came across The Features a couple years back and felt pretty ambivalent about their sound, so I wasn’t in any real rush to get to the venue for their stage time. They were about midway through their set and in full stride as I scurried down to the crowded floor. I immediately kicked myself for missing even one of their songs because they sounded outstanding. The Features are hands down a live band, just like their touring partners The Whigs.  Matt Pelham’s voice emitted a southern sincerity that mixed seamlessly with the pulsating drums and raw believability.

I was so excited about The Features after the show that I downloaded some of their latest tunes, and while their recorded sound is by no means bad, it’s just not as good as the real thing.

I don’t want to pretend I know much about The Whigs, so I am not going to. To be honest I only recognized a few songs throughout the evening, “In The Dark”, “Hundred/Million”, “Right Hand On My Heart”, and one of my favorites from the night, “Ok, Alright”…as it had Parker Gispert hopping about.  The Whigs started their set confessing to the frat guy filled crowd that this was the largest Atlanta venue they have played as a headliner, so they were a tad bit nervous.   So were my friends right, are The Whigs really all that and a bag of chips…I would have to say, yes, yes they are. Typically it’s difficult for me to fully enjoy a show when I’m unfamiliar with the band, however this was not the case last night. The Whigs’ music is extremely inviting and almost taunts your body to move with the sound; as proven when I turned and saw the audience bouncing in unison. Each member of the trio dominated their role, but the drummer, Julian Dorio, he’s a special one.

Some of the songs appearing on the The Whigs’ set list were: “Technology”, “Written Invitation”, “Half the World Away”, “Like a Vibration”, “Production City”, and the show’s concluding track, “Need You Need You”.

Overall, it was memorable southern rock show and I definitely plan on catching The Features and The Whigs next time they pass through my neck of the woods.

It’s not often one gets to see four exceedingly talented and versatile musicians play together on one stage, which is why I tried to absorb as many details from the night as possible. With so much backlogged material between the lot of them, I should have figured the setlist would be on steroids, but I certainly wasn’t expecting three hours of non-stop music. Conor Oberst, Jim James, M. Ward, and Mike Mogis not only played Monsters of Folk tunes, but they also shared aspects of their solo efforts.

The evening started off with an energetic version of “Say Please” then got instantly mellow with the following tunes, “The Right Place”, “Soul Singer In A Session Band” (Bright Eyes cover) and “Slow Down Jo”. The pace picked back up a bit up with the string plucking song, “Man Named Truth”, which was followed by the introduction of Will Johnson, the bands’ drummer, to the microphone for a couple songs with Yimmy Yames. I really enjoyed Johnson’s voice; it was soothing in a raspy sorta way (think Ray Lamontagne).

As far as My Morning Jacket songs went for the evening, Jim James’ solo, acoustic version of “Look At You” was one of the most memorable songs of the night. The slow jam pretty much silenced the audience…at least until he started using his guitar as a drum machine ( I was diggin the hollow knocks). The song, “At Dawn”, which came later in the evening, sounded pretty vibrant with all the Monsters joining in with Jim, as did “Golden”.

Even though it seemed like M.Ward was filling more of a supporting role, his rendition of “Vincent O’Brien” was a standout moment for me because his honest voice made the not so chipper lyrics like, “He only sings when he’s sad/ But he’s sad all the time, so he sings the whole night through/Yeah, he sings in the day-time, too”, seem rather charming. Also, things got a bit playful on stage during the song, “To Save Me”, when Conor planted a kiss on Jim’s cheek while they hovered over the same mic.

Conor and fellow Bright Eyes’ member Mogis began their audience intimacy time with the semi-depressing, mandolin infused song, “We Are Nowhere, and Its Now”. The duo proceeded along with, “A Song To Pass The Time”, after which, Oberst called for “Jim, Mother Fuckin James” to join him on stage for a lovely, bare-bones adaptation of, “Lime Tree”.

Then there is Mike Mogis, the vocally silent backbone of the band. While watching him switch instruments multiple times (lap steel, mandolin, guitar), I concluded that he deserved a gold star for MVP of the evening.

After about 27 or so songs, and before the encore, Monsters of Folk got somewhat animated with their last (wink) song of the night, “Losin Yo Head”. (I think it was Oberst who flung a beer into the crowd, but don’t quote me cause I ain’t said shit). After some cheering and floor stomping from the audience, the suit-wearing fellows returned for three more songs. During, “Travelin’ Song”, Oberst was perched on the drum set kicking the cymbals right before he tumbled to the floor (from where I was standing it looked like he fell off stage, but apparently he didn’t). The show concluded with one of my personal favorites, “His Master’s Voice”, and a proper bow from Monsters of Folk.

While some of the individual performances were definitely outstanding, the most entertaining moments arose when the four gents (five with the drummer) were playing together as the Monsters of Folk.

After an elongated spell of waiting between bands, 45 minutes actually, The Mary Onettes finally took the stage at The Studio at Webster Hall. After the bands’ opening song, “Puzzles”, concluded,  lead singer Philip Ekstrom pleaded to the crowd, “hope it sounded ok anyway,” as he was apparently experiencing some technical difficulties. A few songs into the set list, which was comprised of both newer and older material (Void, God Knows I Had a Plan), and The Mary Onettes started having a little fun, however, they might have been the only ones. There were a few hollow claps and whistles through out the show but other than that, zero enthusiasm, no requests, no real attentiveness for a band who came a long way. Even in between songs, bassist Henrik Ekstrom tried to get some kind of response from the crowd with a, “so how about them jankees,” but nothing, just crickets.

The atmosphere was so perplexing that I could barely pay attention to the music. It’s as if this group of people were handed free pity tickets while walking home from work and decided to pop in to the venue and stand motionless in front of a Swedish band playing buoyant new wave tunes. Apparently their Brooklyn show at Union Hall a couple days prior was a bit shaky and plagued with glitches, so perhaps people bailed on this show.

Their concluding number, “Under the Guillotine”, sounded pretty crisp and intense…even with the club music from the other room rattling the walls and providing additional, impromptu bass kicks.

Take A Listen: Dare from The Mary Onettes

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Download: Dare (Right click on link and select “Save Target As” in IE or “Save Link As” in Firefox)

Who knew that Grizzly Bear was so popular with the youngsters? The only time I ever saw anything about Grizzly Bear in mainstream media clippings was when Jay-Z and Beyonce showed up at their concert. You crazy for this one Rick!

First to grace The Variety stage was the three-piece band Beach House, although they typically record as a duo. Right when the music started I noticed the lighting and how it was glowing off the triangle-shaped screen that was behind them…I dug it. Beach House plays lackadaisical tunes that are haunted by organ sounding keys, so the dark setting was very complimentary. Victoria Legrand’s voice is wonderfully ambient in a live setting, and in fact, I think she mesmerized the guy in front of me to such an extent, that he literally fell asleep. I really enjoyed their set until about four songs in, then I started getting somewhat antsy. The band was pretty much stationary the entire time, and the songs started blending together. Obviously going into the show I wasn’t expecting cirque du soleil craziness on stage, but the slightest bit of flare can go a long way, some added benefit of seeing a band live rather than hearing a recorded version of them…even if it’s “shoegaze”. And for some odd reason, their sound kept on reminding me of Napoleon Dynamite.  Don’t get me wrong, Beach House is still an ideal choice after a stressful day.

Next up to take the stage was Grizzly Bear…and might I add, their stage set-up was awesome. There were a bunch of mason jars dangling on stage with light bulbs inside of them, and the lighting technician did a spectacular job mingling the lights with the music (even though it messed with my photo taking). I, apparently unlike the masses, did not hop on the Grizzly Bear fan-wagon until fairly recently, and by recently, I mean after seeing them live.  Their latest album, ‘Veckatimest’, certainly brought them much deserved attention but with all the hype around them lately, I sort of got turned off. Now, I can honestly say, I get it, Grizzly Bear is a stellar, versatile, and talented band. I had no idea that they switch the vocals off between three members…it was a great way to subtly keep things fresh. They kicked off their set with the track, “Southern Point” and moved into “Cheerleader”, but after about five songs in, Grizzly Bear’s energy started getting noticeably brighter. The lovely Victoria Legrand joined the boys on stage to perform a live rendition of their newest, yet to be released single, “Slow Life”, which will be featured on the upcoming, Twilight: New Moon soundtrack.

While Grizzly Bear isn’t the most animated band to watch, as their music is pretty mellow, they never came off as stagnant, especially the bass player (and flute player, and tinkerer) who was continually changing roles. Plus I liked that they concluded their set with an encore performance of the slow burner, “He Hit Me”; it was a delicate closing to the evening.