10/28/2010: Wallpaper. - Houston, TX

Longtime readers of the blog are well aware of my perhaps frightening obsession with the Oakland, CA funk/pop band, Wallpaper.  (As of this writing, they are the5th most-blogged about artist on Audio Overflow, just above Muse and only one post shy of Sufjan Stevens.)  However, despite my incessant hyping of the group, I had never seen them perform live until last night at Fitzgerald's in Houston, TX!

It should go without saying that I was just in love with what I saw.  Ricky Reed's stage presence is as captivating as the character requires.  Whether he's making subtle jokes, renaming songs on the fly, or just singing and dancing, the guy has got his act down!  The energy that he gives off is absolutely infecting, keeping me moving and singing along the length of the set.  In addition, I'd be remiss not to mention the talent of his P.I.C. and drummer, whose skill is just unparalleled.  It's not a Wallpaper. song without a fresh beat, and Derrick (Arjun?) is the heart of the live show!

The group played through a number of songs from their debut LP, Doodoo Face, including "I Got Soul, I'm So Wasted," "Gettin' Drip," and set-closer "It's My Birthday."  They also mixed in a few new songs as well, including the just-released summer jam "Indian Summer."  When I first heard the track a week ago, I was a little unsure of its greatness.  However, after hearing it live, I have no questions; this is a straight party jam!  I loved it!  Disappointments?  Not many aside from the lack of "Txt Me Ur Love" or "I Ain't Most Dudes," though I understand that when you're playing a 30-minute set, you sometimes have to cut the less crowd-pleasing songs. 

Wallpaper. opened for The Heavy, who are making waves right now with their similarly funky sounds.  My apologies to the band for not sticking around for the show.  Believe me, if I didn't have to work at 6am this morning, I would have been there in the front dancing my ass off!  But hey, I did get to see Wallpaper., and I got to meet the guys after the show too! 

Listen, if you have yet to listen to this awesome group, do yourself a favor and catch them on the road soon!  The band is currently touring the US with The Heavy (Austin tonight!!), and you can check out their tour dates on their Myspace page.  Come back to Houston soon, guys! 

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10/8/2010: LCD Soundsystem w/ Sleigh Bells - Houston, TX

Typically when ACL comes around, Houston gets a few minor residual bands who do a show on their way through the state.  But this year has been good to us.  On one night I get to see Beach House and Vampire Weekend.  On the next, I see LCD Soundsystem and Sleigh Bells.  While Vampire Weekend was certainly an excellent show to see, this one totally blew it away!

This is Sleigh Bells.  That is a moderately large wall of amps.  My ears are still ringing.

I've been a fan of Sleigh Bells from the moment I first heard "Kids" and seeing them live has been an experience I've been dying to make reality.  They do not disappoint.  Quite the opposite actually; they're freaking amazing!  I had seen a few YouTube videos of their shows, and none of them come close to matching the sheer energy that is on display!  Derek's guitar shredding is enthralling and Alexis has the stage presence of Alice Glass.  She certainly knows how to get the crowd going.  Every song they played was amazing, primarily because they left out "Rachel" (thank heavens!).  I will definitely be seeing them again!

Next up is LCD Soundsystem.  Now, I've been hearing about how awesome LCD shows are for years, but until last night I have never seen one.

Damn.

This could very well be one of, if not the best live show I've ever had the pleasure of attending!  From the moment the band walked on stage, the Verizon Wireless Theatre turned into one giant party.  The band wisely eschewed some of their slower songs and kept the energy turned up with the best songs from all three albums.  This is Happening received most of the love, as expected, but it's also LCD Soundsystem's best album.  So fair trade.

It's blurry because I'm dancing.  No need to stop for a picture, really.

James Murphy.  How do you do it?  How do you take something so repetitive and easy and make it into some of the greatest music of the last decade?  How do you transform that into something that I'll not only pay to see, but pay to see again and again?  There wasn't a damn thing wrong with last night's performance.  And sure it could've been that I was a little tipsy, or that I was in the company of some very nice people; but that show was amazing, and I had the time of my life!  For real.

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10/7/2010: Vampire Weekend w/ Beach House - Houston, TX

A few nights ago, two really great bands came through town.

Beach House performs "Norway." Meanwhile, iPhone takes poor pictures.

Beach House has been getting regular plays on my iPod for months now, but mostly just the song "Zebra," which I adore.  The rest of their most recent album is awesome, but it's just not going to be featured on my regular rotation.  But damn, Beach House was amazing the other night!  Hearing "Norway" live was probably the highlight of the evening, besting anything that Vampire Weekend could come up with.  The band has this sort of ethereal sound that just flies out of the speakers and hits you in the chest.  If you're going to listen to Beach House, live is the best way to do it!

And then Vampire Weekend came out and put on a hell of a show!  This was the first time the band has ever been through Houston, and I feel like we did them right!  The crowd was loving everything they were playing.  Even total balls songs like "Taxi Cab" - just a live bore, really - was treated to applause and niceties.

Vampire Weekend does their thing.

One thing the band definitely has is showmanship.  Whether it was bursting onto the stage to rap music, Ezra's undeniable stage presence, or Chris Tomson's amazing drumming, the band is absolutely captivating!  In the little over an hour they played, they hit all the highlights of their first two albums, though I was a bit disappointed that they left out "I Think Ur a Contra."  Granted, it wouldn't really have livened up the crowd, but it is a gorgeous song.  Best song of the night was easily "Oxford Comma" which remains their crowning achievement in general.

It was a wonderful evenening and I had a great time!  The only thing better than this night was the next.

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9/13/2010: Crystal Castles - Houston, TX

Dear Crystal Castles,

This being the second time I've seen your live show in the last month, it should go without saying that I really enjoy what you do.  Your dedication to your music really comes through in the live setting in a way that I've rarely seen in all my years.  Crystal Castles is one of the few groups who actually sound better live than on recordings (more or less).

Ethan is god-like.  Whether he's playing a really cool retro synth or vocoding the crap out of Alice's vocals, his skills are easily the backbone of the group.  And yet despite this, Alice remains a particularly mesmerizing figure live; bringing a punk rock authenticity to a genre of music that is typically plastic and hollow.  Seeing her get molested by the crowd only to go back on stage and light up a smoke like it's no big deal is pretty badass.  Oh and Chris' live drumming?  Just perfect!  You guys really have your thing down!

If you ever come back to Texas, I will be seeing you again.  And so I thought I would politely request that if you're only going to play a 45 minute set that you make sure the intermission between the opening act and your act isn't an hour long.  That seems like an especially shitty move, considering that the only thing required for setup is clearing off his table and pulling a couple of black sheets of a drumset.  Also, it's also not good when the opening act "plays" a longer set than the headliner.  I certainly didn't pay to see a dude try to hype up the crowd for an hour, and I feel as if I'm not alone in that.

But seriously, you guys rock.  I have the sweatty clothes, sore muscles, and sleep deprivation to prove it!  Just keep the bullshit to a minimum in the future.

Much love,
Cale

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Free Press Summerfest 2010 (Day Two)

We arrived in downtown Houston during one of the worst rainstorms I've seen in the last several months.  About half a mile down the road was the entrance to the festival; in between, several thousand gallons of water falling from the sky.  Thank god for that plastic tablecloth that we just so happened to find in the trunk of the car.  It was not only a makeshift group umbrella, but a cape, and later, a place to sit on the muddy, slick hill facing the stage in Eleanor Tinsley Park.  Today was going to be an awesome day whether the weather wanted it to be or not.  My only goal was to get a quality seat at the main stage and enjoy myself.  And I did.

Stars

Stars has been on my live band bucket list for years now, and the opportunity to see them live was just as awesome as I had always hoped!  I had read a few months back that this tour would be filled with mostly new songs, and a few old ones thrown in.  Fortunately, Stars reached deep into their catalogue of pop hits and played their best for the crowd!  "Reunion," "Elevator Love Song," "Your Ex-Lover is Dead," "Midnight Coward;" pretty much every song that any Stars fan has ever loved was played.  And guess what?  They all sound amazing!  Perfect, in fact!

Stars put on a show that was better than I could have anticipated, and from what I could tell, everyone seemed to enjoy them as well.  Their album is due out soon, so check it out when it drops.  The new songs don't sound half bad.

Slim  Thug & Bun B
Alright, so it sort of goes without saying that I'm not the biggest fan of rap music.  But having grown up in Houston, I do have a soft spot for the kind of rap that these guys put out.  And I'll be damned, Slim Thug actually has quite the stage presence, and is kind of fun to watch live!  Seeing a sea of people bounce their heads and do that one-arm, in-tempo thing (kind of like a nazi-salute bouncing up and down), is a cool sight to behold.  On the other hand though, if all you need to do to perform live as a rapper is play your entire song (WITH vocal tracks) and then rap over it, sign me up!

The Flaming Lips
No surprise here, but The Flaming Lips are straight AWESOME live!  I've said it numerous times on this blog before, but for those who may be reading for the first time, I'll reiterate: they put on the best live show you'll ever see!  Seeing the Lips live is like being at a really huge party hosted by the nicest guys on the planet!  This is the third time I've had the good fortune of seeing the band perform live, but it was the first time that I've seen them from a distance (read:  not at the front of the venue being blasted with noise).

It may have been my favorite performance that I've yet seen from them!  They sounded absolutely stunning, and even Wayne Coyne's typically grating voice wasn't all that bad!  It's been 10 years since the band last played Houston.  Welcome back guys!

Final Thoughts

Listen, Houston isn't exactly known for its music scene, so Free Press Houston has had its hands full the last two years trying to remedy that situation.  If this year's lineup is indicative of a coming trend, I welcome it with open arms.  Last year's lineup wasn't half bad, and this year's was better.  Hopefully the hardworking people that made this festival happen can make it even more solid next year!

So yeah, the music lineup wasn't all awesome, but the actual experience of Summerfest is great!  The people are absolutely wonderful (rain or shine or mud), the volunteer staff were helpful in all situations, and portapotties were widely available and, more often than not, clean.  My only concern is that the festival is quickly outgrowing the confines of Eleanor Tinsley Park and the rest of Houston may not be as receptive to such a wild, weekend party.  But this weekend was an absolute blast, and I'd like to personally thank the hundreds of people that made everything run so smoothly for all of us in attendance.

See ya' next year!

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Free Press Summerfest 2010 (Day One)

So when you live in Houston, the live music scene pretty much consists of DJ sets, awful rap, and god awful metal bands.  Today's  lineup at Summerfest had all of this, and more.  Not all of it was awful.  Some of it was.

Perseph One

We arrived at Eleanor Tinsley Park just before 5pm, so we missed a lot of the earlier bands that went on (sorry, The Eastern Sea...next year?).  I headed over to the 29-95.com stage and caught the majority of Perseph One's set.  Perseph One (like Persephone...get it?) is like a female Zach de la Rocha, but instead of rapping about social injustice, most of the lyrics I got were about girls in pumps and "dick ladders."  It wasn't half bad really, and you can listen to some of the stuff on her myspace page.

Sugar and Gold
So after that, we headed all the way across the grounds to the Dos Equis stage and checked out Sugar and Gold, a pop band from California.  Now I won't just come out and admit to loving this band, but they did have some admirable qualities.  Their songs were all pretty danceable, and some of the synth and guitar work was catchy as hell.  Lyrically, it was a little brain dead, but that helped with the vibe they were trying to give off.

I make music on the side, and while what I make doesn't sound exactly like this, it's definitely along the same lines.  So I got some good ideas from the band, and I look forward to hearing more from them in the future.  As long as they don't go all 3OH!3 on us, we should be fine.  You can purchase their latest, Get Wet! from Amazon.com.

Ra Ra Riot
Ahh...finally a band I've heard of.  I feel bad for Ra Ra Riot, because although they were one of the biggest bands on today's lineup, they went on 3 hours before the headliner and were only allowed a 30 minute set.  Seems kind of a waste to come all the way out for that.  But the band soldiered on (despite some initial sound issues) and played an awesome set.  Sadly, an emergency situation in my group forced me to miss a lot, but I was able to hear the band play "Can You Tell," which I know better as "Can You Discover?" from Discovery's LP. That was a nice touch that I really enjoyed.  The band was the best act that I saw today.  Easily.

Ra Ra Riot has a new album coming out in August apparently, so be on the look out for that one.  I'm totally psyched for it now.

Kid Sister
Shit....just absolute bullshit.

Detroit Cobras
I had heard some good buzz about this band prior to the show, so I was excited to see what they were all about.  Unfortunately Detroit Cobras are a really bad cover band, or at least they sound like one (I think they ARE an actual cover band though.  How did they get this booking?

Girl Talk
Girl Talk was headlining the festival today, and even though I'm not really a big fan of the "music," I was excited to see what their show would be like.  Watching a bunch of people fill the stage and have a dance party, separate from the giant dance party in the crowd was a cool thing to experience for all of 15 minutes.  I left early because sometimes I enjoy original music.  Note to Houston Free Press.

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Show Review: Muse - Houston, TX (3/18/2010)

The first time I saw Muse live was just a few months ago when they opened for some really bad band with a douchy lead singer.  It wasn't the best way to see the band, as I later acknowledged.  What I really wanted - what I've wanted for years - was to see Muse headline their own show in a venue that suited them.  I believe that last night's show is probably as good as it's likely to get!

From all my experiences seeing Muse perform live (Hullaballoo Soundtrack, HAARP, and the U2 show), the thing that has always stood out to me was how the band is able to change up their sound in almost every song.  On the albums, Muse rocks!  In concert, they rock harder; largely because Matthew Bellamy seems to be ad-libbing guitar riffs constantly.  As a result, a 4 year old song like "Supermassive Black Hole" sounds fresh and exciting - not like something you've been hearing from Twilight fans' Honda Civics.

While my seats may not have been optimal (how presale tickets get you such crappy seats is beyond me), seeing Muse headline their own show was a great experience!  The set was fairly epic, despite my initial reservations.  Three regular ol' skyscrapers turned out to be giant moving platforms for each member of the band to perform on.  Despite the coolness of that, the best moments of the show was when the band was performing on the same stage together, not 10 years away from one another on separate platforms.

The best song of the night?  That's a toss up between "New Born" and "Stockholm Syndrome."  I'm continually disappointed by some of their newer songs live, specifically "Undisclosed Desires" which just continues to sound like an empty, unfinished Muse song.  "Unnatural Selection" was pretty lame as well, but I eventually warmed up to "Guiding Light" halfway through the song.  I was a little surprised to hear the band playing a bunch of interludes made up of other rock songs as well (including AC/DC and Jimi Hendrix), despite the fact that it was fairly awesome!

I'm still not entirely sold on seeing Muse live in an arena.  It makes me feel so disconnected from the band when I'm not down on the floor rocking out up against the stage.  But for what it's worth, I had a great time last night!  Of course, if any of you can get to Austin tonight to see them in a VERY intimate venue...uhh, you should already be in line for that.  Get going!!

Set List:
1. "Uprising"
2. "Resistance"
3. "New Born"
4. "Map of the Problematique"
5. "Supermassive Black Hole"
6. "Guiding Light"
7. "Falling Away With You (Interlude)"
8. "Hysteria"
9. "United States of Eurasia"
10. "Feeling Good"
11. "Bass/Drum Duet"
12. "Undisclosed Desires"
13. "Starlight"
14. "Unnatural Selection"
15. "Plug in Baby"
16. "Exogenesis: Symphony, Overture" (Encore)
17. "Stockholm Syndrome" (Encore)
18. "Knights of Cydonia" (Encore)

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Show Review: The Flaming Lips - Austin, TX (3/12/2010)

I just woke up about 5 minutes ago, and there some things going on with my body that I think people should know about.  First, my right ear feels like it's filled with liquid; like if I were to stick a needle in there, some gross stuff would ensue.  The sound coming out of it is muffled compared to that of my left ear.  Then there's my right leg, which feels like I've been jumping hurdles for 24 hours straight.  My whole body feels absolutely drained, exhausted, worthless right now...all because I chose to go see The Flaming Lips last night!

Totally worth it.

The more dedicated readers of Audio Overflow will remember that I last saw the Lips perform in September of 2007 as they toured in support of their awesome 2006 record (and Best of the Decade Top 15-er), At War with the Mystics.  Now the lips have a new album, one with an entirely new sound, and yet the show remained just as powerful as ever!  It actually is quite surprising to see how many of the songs from Embryonic actually work in the confetti-filled party atmosphere of a Flaming Lips show.  The band has managed to change their signature sound and style without sacrificing the very nature of what makes a Flaming Lips concert such an awesome experience.

Wayne Coyne has an uncanny ability to connect with every member of the audience on both a musical and spiritual level.  It feels weird to type that, but I believe it is true.  There is an old saying about having to give love before you can get love in return, and I believe Wayne is a perfect example of this proverb in action.  He is easily one of the most loving music legends one is likely to ever see.  So when he gets on stage and warns everyone that he may just destroy his set and crush half of the audience, it's done so with a nice blend of humor and genuine concern.  He really does seem to care for every member of the crowd of people singing along to his songs, wanting nothing more that to give them an experience that they'll remember for the rest of their life.

As is the case with most Flaming Lips shows that I know of, there are a lot of energetic, fun moments, and then there are those that are more touching and heart-felt.  This show was particularly more emotional than others, due to the recent passing of Sparklehorse frontman, Mark Linkous.  Wayne first dedicated "Vein of Stars" to the singer, before speaking candidly about his feelings on the deceased.  It was a truly touching moment as Coyne recalled memories with the singer and spoke about his thoughts on suicide and the passing of friends.  The band followed it up with "Waitin' for a Superman" from The Soft Bulletin, in one of the night's greatest moments.

My favorite performance of the night would have to be "She Don't Use Jelly," which remains just an amazingly classic rock song.  "See the Leaves" comes in a close second though, as the song has such a visceral energy that both exciting and, honestly, a bit unnerving.  Overall, it was an expectedly wonderful show.  Was the music too loud? Yes (especially when you're standing in front of $50,000 worth of speakers as I was).  Were the vocals flawless? No (they never are).  But The Flaming Lips are one of the world's best life acts because they know how to overcome their flaws to create something that is completely unforgettable and surreal!  When Embryonic first released, both Pitchfork and a particularly douchey friend of mine were quoted as saying that the album meant The Flaming Lips could finally lose the confetti cannons and get serious about their music.  Readers, I'm proud to report that -  apparently - they can keep the cannons and still rock!  Aren't we lucky?

Set List:

1. "Worm Mountain"
2. "Silver Trembling Hands"
3. "The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song"
4. "In the Morning of the Magicians"
5. "Vein of Stars"
6. "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Pt. 1" (Acoustic)
7. "Waitin' for a Superman"
8. "See the Leaves"
9. "Pompeii Am Götterdämmerung"
10. "Taps" (Iraq/Afghanistan War Tribute)
11. "The W.A.N.D."
12. "She Don't Use Jelly"
13. "Convinced of the Hex"
14. "Do You Realize?"

Oh...and how awesome were the DJ Lance Rock costumes!  If anyone from the show has good pics of the Yo Gabba Gabba! crew...send them to audiooverflow [at] gmail [dot] com!  My 3 year old nephew would love to see all the DJ Lances on stage!

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10/14/2009: Muse (w/ Special Guests U2) - Houston, TX

Okay, okay...maybe I got the billing wrong, but in my world that's the way things were last night.  Now I know that the reason 50,000 human beings decided to pay outrageous ticket and parking prices ($20 to park, seriously?) was to see U2 do their thing.  That's great and all.  I was there for the opening act.  That opening act was Muse.

Think back.  Way back.  Back before, well, back before you started reading this blog.  I wrote a list titled the "Top 5 Artists I Absolutely Have to See Live Before I Die!" Muse was on that list, and until last night I had never seen them.  So yeah, it was a big deal for me.  Of course, my seats were in the top section, nosebleed style, so me rocking out on the floor to Muse (the dream, baby) were thwarted early on.  Seriously, check out this view.

No worries though, because when it comes to seeing a show, it's always the music that takes priority.  Muse didn't disappoint.  In my opinion, they completely overshadowed the headlining act on a musical level, which isn't surprising, but still. The band didn't put on quite the spectacle that they're capable of, but that's to be expected seeing as how it's not really their set.  Also expected was the quality of the sound in Reliant Stadium.  It was poor for the most part.  This is why you don't play stadium shows.  Matthew Bellamy's vocals only really stood out from the muddled mix when he sang in his upper registry.  Bono's vocals sounded understandably worse in the mix.  Muse played for about 45 minutes.  Here's the setlist:

Uprising

Map of the Problematique

Supermassive Black Hole

Hysteria

Undisclosed Desires

Starlight

Time is Running Out

Plug-In Baby

It was essentially a brief overview of all their commercially successful songs in the United States...+ "Plug-In Baby."  The band did a good job of keeping things interesting, with cool instrumental breakdowns (the one after "Hysteria" was particularly legendary) and awesome new guitar solos.  Overall, a very solid set.  If you were at the show and you're new to Muse, here's a list of their Top 5 Songs I wrote over a year ago.  It still holds up for the most part.  That's a good place to start if you're interested (Absolution if you're looking to buy an album).

Now as far as U2 goes.  They were okay.  They put on quite an amazing show, but I just can't get into their music for the life of me.  Here are a few of my thoughts as the evening progressed:

• Bono dances like a total Walter.
• The Edge...seriously?  It's not 1990 anymore.  You can quit wearing the same flannel outfit.
• Music + politics = church!
• With the exception of "Vertigo" and "Stuck in a Moment," their best songs are still from over 20 years ago.
• The crowd, from what I could tell, was really cool.  Not aggressive or pushy, especially on the floor where those things tend to be common.  Way to represent, Houston!
• I think more people were applauding for the cool set tricks rather than the music.
• The house music was sweet (MGMT & M83, amongst others)

But as I said, a good show.  A good night.  Thanks to both of the bands for swinging by.

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Of Montreal - Houston, TX (11/12/2008)

This was my third time seeing Of Montreal in Houston, and fortunately the band opted to leave Numbers Night Club behind them and move on to far superior (in every way) venue, Warehouse Live.  The move seems to be one of necessity rather than preference, however, as there is no way a venue like Numbers could have handled a show of this magnitude.  

To describe the set, you need to know that the stage setup is massive.  Two giant platforms topped with drum-kits (yes, two drummers included), one platform with a smaller platform attached for Dottie to do her thing on, and a stage and screen in the center of the stage that rotates and moves at will.  The set practically swallowed the opening act, Icy Demons, whole as they played away in the shadow of this massive structure.

The band, themselves, were hit or miss - often blending pretty straightforward indie rock with what could only be described as an evil organ grinder's best musical moments.  The drummer was absolutely insane, and the backing trio that switched off on a variety of instruments and vocal duties were also entertaining to watch.  The lead singer had a rather unimpressive voice, but he used it well enough to where it didn't distract.  

Of course, the reason every single person was at the show was for Of Montreal.  Honestly, seeing pictures of this tour doesn't do the thing justice at all.  I, myself, had seen them and I had no clue what an incredible production the band was able to pull off.  Much of the credit goes to the absolutely wonderful troupe of talented actors that play multiple roles during the show's 1 1/2 hour runtime.  Buddha-like people, ninjas, old western saloon-dwellers, eagles, tigers, pigs (sexy bikini pig and naked fat-cat pig, mind you), assassins in camouflage, and probably a dozen other roles are assumed by this handful of people who add to the charm of the band without distracting from the music.

The band was awesome as usual, and seeing them in a larger venue really allowed them to perform to their heart's content without any restrictions.  Kevin Barnes was his normal diva-self, engaging in countless costume changes, one which included a suit made entirely of shaving cream, another which was mostly just him in "hoochie shorts" and covered in red paint.  The show had him engaging in all sorts of activities, including being dressed in women's clothes by a member of the acting troupe, trying to commit suicide in a variety of ways (ultimately achieving success by way of noose), and arising from a coffin in the aforementioned shaving cream suit.

For me, there was only one complaint for the night, and that was on the band's insistence on using a variety of vocal effects that often made Barnes' voice sound digitalized.  It simply detracts from the greatness of the songs in their original forms.  I can't remember if I had the same complaint the last time I saw them, but for some reason I think that I might have.  Song of the night is a toss-up between the live juggernaut "She's a Rejector" or the surprisingly awesome "Women's Studies Victims."  I would have to give it to the latter, I guess as it completely changed my view of the song.  "Gallery Piece" which I stated in my review of Skeletal Lamping, would probably fare better in a live setting, didn't.  I still don't enjoy it very much.

Friends and readers, I have been known from time to time to spout off about the sheer awesomeness of a Flaming Lips show, and I cannot begin to explain to you how much this new Of Montreal show compares in the size of production.  Certainly the Lips have much more capital at their disposal, and are able to accomplish things that Of Montreal simply can't.  But for ambition, complexity, bizarreness, and entertainment value, you'd be hard-pressed to find a better show in 2008 or the coming year.  If you like the band or not, you owe it to yourself to see what a creative group of individuals like Of Montreal and their friends can accomplish.  This is a rock show like none other! 

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(6/12/08) Mates of State w/ Headlights - Houston, TX

So Mates of State strolled through town last night, their first trip through in a few years, and I was pretty pumped as I had never seen them before.  However, I was just as excited to see Headlights, a band whose first album was my #9 album of 2006, and whose second I reviewed pretty fairly as well.  But disappointment was in the air.  Though I do enjoy Some Racing, Some Stopping very much, I was dumbstruck by the fact that Headlights didn't play a single song (not one) from Kill Them With Kindness, an album I consider to be better, song for song.

Despite that, the band put on a great show.  Tristan took over most of the vocal work, and really the only song that Erin sang lead on was their big hit from the new album, "Cherry Tulips."  Seeing the band dance around with such energy and vigor was really fun, and really helped get a crowd who wasn't all that familiar with their music into the show.  Of course, this dancing came with a downside.  Erin accidentally knocked over her beer, and began to unknowingly dance in the puddle that formed.  The front row got splashed (I got a drop or two), but she was kind enough to apologize afterwards.  Their best song?  Probably "Market Girl," which is still one of my favorite songs of 2008 thus far.  BTDubs, my camera isn't the best...so getting a good picture was tough with them moving around so much.

Real quick, I gotta get through this second band, Black Joe Lewis.  A really energetic 7-piece band complete with baritone sax, alto sax, trumpet, you know...all the good stuff.  And the band had a really good sound; kind of like a classic rock mixed with James Brown.  But to me, all of their songs sounded the same.  It was as if they had one song, with different riffs.  The crowd ate it up though, so good for them.

So...Mates of State.  What is there to say?  The band played perfectly, and managed to play a wide range of their music without focusing too much on their newer stuff.  You don't really get a feel for it when you're listening to their albums, but the band is incredibly talented.  Seeing Kori tear up two keyboards simultaneously while singing, and Jason do the exact same thing on drums...well, it was impressive.

The band brought along a couple of multi-instrumentalists with them.  They guys played strings on all of their new songs off of Re-Arrange Us, but they also played guitar, trombone, percussion, and whatever else the song called for.  My favorite song that the band did was either "Fluke" or "The Re-Arranger."  Both were performed with such energy and passion that singing along and resisting the urge to stand perfectly still came incredibly easy.  I've been waiting for the band to come through Houston for a while, and I was in no way disappointed.  After 18 songs, which being Mates of State songs, were all pretty short, the band waved goodbye and left the stage.  Then I went home.  I was exhausted.

If you went to the show last night, let me know what you thought.  Leave a comment below!

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