Concert Review: A.A. Bondy @ The Echo

A. A. Bondy just finished up at the Echo in Silverlake. First thing that stood out was his voice. Instantly recognizable as a great folk/pop timbre. Instantly. Nice little trio; drummer doubled on pedal steel and had a synth pad he used to trigger some samples (not too exciting, but noteworthy in terms of the electric sound they had on some tunes)...the pedal steel was quite nice, however. After three songs one might think that they were in for an insanely dynamic performance and they wouldn't be too far off, but for the lull in the center of the set. Somewhere in the middle of this lull the band went into a noise-rock/sound experiment of nob turning and feedback, but it just wasn't convincing. I was actually extremely relieved when they brought the intensity back up for the last couple of tunes because they executed it so much better. This was achieved by not solely raising volume and distortion, but doing so whilst maintaining the integrity of a very slow building 6/8 tumbler which they were able to climax beautifully before ending with a dissonant crash. A.A. also displayed some tasty travis-picking independence and the encore displayed the drummer's musicality and skill with a long set of extremely even and poignant double-stroke rolls within his compound metered groove. All in all this headlining set was very mellow, plenty eclectic, and overall, quite satisfying. Always nice to hear a band sound even better then their records.

Vampire Weekend’s California Tour is a Hot Ticket and a Great Show

Vampire Weekend is currently on a California tour to promote their new Album, Contra, due out January 12th here in the states. I caught up with these cats in Long Beach last night and the show was on hit. If you like polished bands that sound like the record then this is your band for sure...

So...Vampire Weekend is one of those bands that is insanely huge on blogs like Pitchfork, the Hype Machine, and magazines like Rolling Stone, etc. Bands always come around that just make journalist get all warm and fuzzy and nothing done by such a band could change that fact once the train leaves the station. Vampire Weekend seems to be one of these bands. They are total music nerds who met at Columbia University and borrow from genres that you don’t know so you think that they are the most original thing you’ve ever heard. Well, to me, this is what its all about. Study up on all kinds of music and know exactly what you are borrowing from where and why you are doing so. Then mix and match them and put your style into it and it becomes your “own thing.” Vampire Weekend has done a good job of mixing genres and their music has enough elements to keep it different from the norm here in the US without ever straying from the fact that they are insanely pop and pop only. So...how are they live? Brilliant. They sound great. Very tight. The drummer, Chris Tomson, has tons of energy and plays with a percussionist’s sense of musicality. (He also came out sporting a 90’s, Chris Webber, Warriors jersey, which basically gave me an instant bias that these guys were tight.) Chris Baio, bass, had solid energy and undeniable groove. The keyboard/guitar man, Rostam Batmanglij, plays the bulk of the ear candy and seems to be musical director. The front man, Ezra Koenig, sings great. He goes for all of the big notes just like the record and plays all of the licks note for note like the record and he dances and woos the girls in the front with his 15-year-old-boy face. Pretty much all you could ask for from a pop band. If you like the first record you’ll love the show and the second record sounds like it’s going to be a little different, but just as good.

Monsters of Folk Put on Quite a Show at the Greek last Sunday

I feel pretty lucky to have seen some awesome “big ticket,” shows in the last couple of weeks. Pearl Jam with Ben Harper and a guest appearance from Chris Cornell was a high powered anthem-fest and last Sunday’s Monsters of Folk show at the Greek was a display of top notch songwriting and vocal harmonies...

Sunday’s Monsters of Folk concert at the Greek Theater was definitely worth the high priced seats my girlfriend Adrienne bought for my birthday. We we’re toward the front of the middle section and the show was one that kept us glued to the chair with our mouths shut. The concert, to my delight, was run like a musical revue not unlike the Bob Dylan 1975-76 tour entitled the Rolling Thunder Revue. The musicians all started out together playing a few of the tunes from the new cd, but then the lineup broke down to just M. Ward for two songs off of his last record played solo. Then some duets with Oberst and eventually built back up to everyone on stage again. Oberst was next to have a solo moment in which he played the famous “We are nowhere, and its now,” off of Bright Eyes’ I’m Wide Awake It’s Morning, album from 2005. The track was dedicated to all the touring musicians in the crowd including his friends from Rascal Flatts whom he “put on the list.” Again the other members of the Monsters of Folk touring band came out one by one as songs built back up before coming down a third time for Jim James’ solo section, which also indcluded some great renditions of tunes recorded by his brilliant and honest band, My Morning Jacket.
The musicianship award is a tie on this concert and goes to Mike Mogis and M. Ward. Mogis showed his value as a sideman and producer by adding color and skillful picking to every song whether it be on electric, pedal steel, mandolin, or bass guitar. He also played some important percussion additions including a tasty little triangle lick on one of the full band tunes. M. Ward’s solo tunes showed off his wonderful finger picking skills and use of open tunings akin to the style of Leo Kottke and his contemporary, Ward’s hero, John Fahey. Mr.’s Ward and Oberst also played some piano and organ on a few of the more rocking tunes fu;; band tunes showing versatility. Conner Oberst seemed to be the leader of this outfit if you had to put a C for captain on someone’s shirt like a football team, but he, M. Ward, and Jim James all shared the lead role smoothly and harmonized behind each other’s tunes beautifully. The singing award has to go to James with his lovely highs and wide range soaked in insane amounts of reverb, as always, and hauntingly beautiful.
The songwriting and singing on the new album made this a highly sought after ticket for anyone who picked it up in time or is familiar with these three gentlemen’s catalogues. I usually adhere to the superstition of not listening to the record of a band on the way to that same band’s show, but I wanted Adrienne to get another run through and had no fears that M.O.F. would not live up to their first formal release as a group. I was not let down. Considering the mixture of outside and new material I was most thoroughly impressed with the fact that even the songs I didn’t know were too intriguing to step away from and kept me from ever getting up for snacks or beer. The only constructive criticism I felt was that some of the “rocked out” songs seemed a little corny next to the serene acoustic ones. It was cool for them to get louder, but the overdone girations seemed a little ridiculous at times. Overall, the concert was definitely top quality and these gents deserve more than the cult followings they each respectively have. Well done sirs.