Infinite Shuffle

February 7, 2013

The Vaccines and the nature of encores

Filed under: Concert, V — assman41 @ 4:55 am

When: February 6, 2013

Where: Lincoln Hall (Chicago)

Opening act: San Cisco

So, what exactly is the etiquette when it comes to encores. Should fans just expect them to happen, or do they need to fight for them?

That was the question my friend and I were pondering after watching The Vaccines play a rather blazing set last night. Having listened to the band’s live album earlier in the day, I knew that it might take a little longer for them to return to the stage for an encore.

As it turned out Wednesday night, the band members had played their last note well before anyone in the audience realized it.

This is a phenomenon I’ve never fully grasped. Before I ever started attending concerts, I’d read about encores and had assumed they were exclusive to only the most special of shows. According to a different friend of mine, encores have likely been around as long as there’s been rock ‘n’ roll.

Either way, by the time I was regularly attending concerts, it’d apparently become commonplace for bands to perform encores. And I quickly grew accustomed to the routine of the band leaving the stage, fans cheering for a bit, then eventually chanting “One more song! One more song!” And, without fail, within a minute or two, the band would return to the stage, re-tune their instruments and play anywhere from 1-4 more songs.

But that hasn’t always been the case. When seeing the band, Glasvegas, a few years ago, they weren’t able to do an encore because they only had about 11 songs under their collective hat, so they just played them all — in a less than lively manner I might add — then called it a night.

Another Scottish band took a different tact. I’ve seen the group, We Were Promised Jetpacks, thrice now. At the first show, they left the stage and fans assumed they’d be back shortly. But then the lights came up and that was it. The next two times I saw them, they at least warned fans ahead of time that they don’t do encores, then proceeded to fulfill that promise.

And that’s when I started wondering about the nature of the encore and what its point was. I mean, if basically everyone was doing it, is it really special anymore? Why not just forego it and play all the songs you want to in one fell swoop? Why throw in an unnecessary break just to build some suspense for the last few songs?

And what about the fans who are conditioned to expect an encore? Do we need to be corrected of this bad habit? Should we make sure, if we want an encore, to clap and chant and make it clear to the band that we want to hear more?

Unfortunately, at the end of The Vaccines’ show, the crowd was a little too lackadaisical in its request. There was a brief chant of “Three more songs!” and an even briefer “10 more songs!” but that was about it.

As we eventually filed out of the venue, one guy in the audience applauded the move by the band. To paraphrase his thoughts, when a crowd is really into a show and cheering loudly for an encore, it’s impossible to turn that down.

Maybe that’s all it boils down to. An encore should only happen when both the band and the audience have earned it.

What are your thoughts?

I posted on The Vaccines’ Facebook page asking them why they didn’t play an encore. If they happen to respond, I’ll be sure to update this post.

UPDATE

Based on posts from other fans on Facebook, and a brief status update by the band, lead singer Justin Young’s vocal chords were shot after pushing it too hard during the show. According to one commenter, they had an encore built into their set list, but they had to bail early. It would’ve been nice if someone could’ve at least told us what was going on, but what are ya gonna do?

February 3, 2013

145 – The Depreciation Guild

Filed under: Brooklyn, D — assman41 @ 12:01 am

Born nine years apart, my brother and I were never very close growing up. We had nothing in common — I was into sports and he was into music.

I’d often go into his room and stare at his posters of Culture Club and Pet Shop Boys and always be confused and curious. Growing up within earshot of his room was something of a blessing and a curse since it was impossible to escape the noise. But it also left me with a lifelong appreciation for ’80s music.

I didn’t really start to find my musical footing until after college. As I was starting to discover the indie scene, my brother was still heavy into his electronic music. But eventually, the two scenes started to overlap a bit and my brother started getting into bands such as Editors and MGMT.

So, finally, within the last decade, we actually had something that connected the two of us — a love of music. And, as the little brother, I was always trying to earn points by finding new bands for him. As it turns out, I was pretty good at it and have led him to a slew of great groups. But try as he might, he has not been able to reciprocate very often. He tends to overestimate my interest in electro-heavy bands because I may have liked one song by The Presets or Cut Copy.

But there have been those rare occasions when he’s been integral in me falling in love with a band. One such group is The Depreciation Guild.

I’d heard them for the first time in the summer of 2010 via the KEXP Song of the Day podcast. I thought it sounded like something he’d enjoy and played it for him. Then I noticed the band was coming through Chicago and suggested the show to him. He ended up listening to their music and said it sounded like something more to my liking. But I never delved any further.

Fast-forward about 2.5 years, when I unearthed our email correspondence regarding the Guild, and I finally got around to listening to the band’s entire catalog for the first time. And I immediately knew my brother was right — this was definitely a band I could get behind.

Too bad they broke up a couple of years ago.

The above song is actually the one that first turned me and my brother on to The Depreciation Guild. It comes from the band’s second and final full-length release, 2010’s Spirit Youth.

The song captures the band’s overwhelming shoegaze vibe, which permeates through all of the tracks in its catalog.

After listening to the album — as well as the band’s 2007 debut, In Her Gentle Jaws — it’s no surprise that front man Kurt Feldman is also the drummer for The Pains of Being Pure At Heart. Both groups share that notable shoegaze, dream-pop, post-rock niche. Other acts that come to mind include Wild Nothing, The Radio Dept. and M83.

While The Depreciation Guild will not be making any new music for the foreseeable future, you can still enjoy the small collection of tunes they left behind.

January 30, 2013

144 – Black Prairie

Filed under: B, Portland — assman41 @ 7:21 pm

Chances are, if you’ve ever heard of the band, Black Prairie, you know that it consists of several members of The Decemberists. And that’s pretty much where the similarities end.

Anyone seeking out Black Prairie and expecting to hear a slightly skewed version of the Portland indie gods that begat them are in for a rude awakening.

That’s not to say you won’t hear the occasional accordion or guitar line and be reminded of Colin Meloy’s crew. The problem is, those are the only sounds that the two bands share.

With Meloy absent from this project, Black Prairie is sorely lacking in the vocals department. Their debut album, 2010’s Feast of the Hunter’s Moon, was almost completely bereft of vocals.

In their place, the five-piece band churns out a form of bluegrass music that has a strong Appalachian feel, but also includes several other influences.

Last year’s follow-up, A Tear in the Eye is a Wound in the Heart, was more accessible, as only six of the 16 tracks were instrumental. On the rest of the album, the vocals were provided by Annalisa Tornfelt of Bearfoot and The Woolwines.

The strongest track, and the one that first introduced me to the band, is “Rock of Ages”.

I worried that it might be the only decent song on the disc, but there are a few more, such as “Nowhere, Massachusetts”, “Richard Manuel” and “Lay Me Down in Tennessee”.

Considering the progress the group has made between its first two albums, I’m not yet ready to write off Black Prairie. Hopefully, they continue to enhance their music vocally and build on their potential on albums to come.

January 21, 2013

143 – Family of the Year

Filed under: F, Los Angeles — assman41 @ 8:22 pm

It’s been almost two years since I saw them live at SXSW, but now seems like as good a time as any to talk about Family of the Year.

The indie-pop group from Los Angeles has roots in several different locales, particularly Massachusetts. Brothers Joseph and Sebastian Keefe were born in Wales and eventually moved to Martha’s Vineyard. They were part of a couple of regionally well-known bands in the Boston area. Eventually, they and some bandmates moved to L.A., where they met Christina Schroefer, thus completing the core group that would become Family of the Year.

While occasionally dabbling in some different musical genres, the vast majority of Family of the Year’s sound centers around beautiful male-female harmonies and pop-folk instrumentation.

That is the first track on the band’s debut EP, 2009’s Where’s the Sun. It was originally titled “Down to the River” but was changed when it was included on Songbook, the debut full-length that was released later that year.

While the album was a nice starting spot for the band, it only had one other real notable track, “Let’s Be Honest”.

During the next two-plus years, the group put out a trip of EPs — Through the Trees, St. Croix and Diversity. The most notable track from these that wouldn’t eventually make its way on a full-length in the States was “Chugjug”, which was included in a 2010 Advil commercial.

Finally, in July 2012, the band put out its sophomore full-length, Loma Vista. With its tighter compositions, stronger harmonies and catchier tracks, the album stands as a notable step forward for the band.

Some of the better tracks are “The Stairs”, “Diversity”, “Hero”, Everytime” and “Find It”. But the best track here, and arguably the band’s best to date, is “St. Croix”.

Family of the Year were actually just in Chicago on Sunday for the final day of the Tomorrow Never Knows festival. Unfortunately, the show was sold out by the time I became interested in it.

With any luck, it won’t be too long before they return to the Windy City.

January 16, 2013

Way-back Wednesdays II

Filed under: Uncategorized — assman41 @ 4:32 pm

Here’s the latest installment of ’80s videos I’ve thrown together. Enjoy.

Here’s the playlist in alphabetical order:

  • Bananarama – “Cruel Summer”
  • Beach Boys – “Kokomo”
  • The Cars – “Drive”
  • Phil Collins – “In the Air Tonight”
  • Dexy’s Midnight Runners – “Come On Eileen”
  • Echo and The Bunnymen – “Lips Like Sugar”
  • Eddy Grant – “Electric Avenue”
  • Billy Joel – “We Didn’t Start the Fire”
  • M – “Pop Muzik”
  • Men At Work – “Overkill”
  • Midnight Oil – “Beds Are Burning”
  • Night Ranger – “Sister Christian”
  • Gary Numan – “Cars”
  • Peter Schilling – “Major Tom (Coming Home)”
  • Bruce Springsteen – “I’m On Fire”
  • Billy Squier – “The Stroke”
  • Bonnie Tyler – “Total Eclipse of the Heart”
  • The Vapours – “Turning Japanese”
  • Whitesnake – “Here I Go Again”
  • Kim Wilde – “Kids In America”

January 14, 2013

142 – The Wombats

Filed under: England, W — assman41 @ 2:30 am

I still can’t figure it out, but for some reason I’ve heard multiple references to The Wombats in the past couple of months. It’s especially odd since they haven’t released an album since April 2011 and don’t appear to be anywhere close to putting out another one.

Nevertheless, those mentions led to me listening to the Liverpool trio’s two full-length releases, so I figured I’d write a little something about them.

I was first introduced to the band several years ago through the song “Kill the Director”, which was the third single off A Guide To Love, Loss & Desperation, the band’s debut album that was released in November 2007.

As you can quickly discern, The Wombats sound like any number of indie-pop/rock bands that were coming out of the UK about 5-8 years ago. Bands such as Arctic Monkeys, The Kooks and The Fratellis, to name a few.

That’s not necessarily the band’s fault, but it does make it sound less original. Also, that whole scene doesn’t really hold up as well nearly a decade later.

That being said, all of the bands put out some good songs, The Wombats included. Other strong tunes on that first album include “Let’s Dance To Joy Division” and “Moving To New York”.

The 2011 follow-up album, This Modern Glitch, added an extra electro vibe and also produced a few good songs, such as “Jump Into the Fog”, “Tokyo (Vampires and Wolves)” and “1996”.

The band still appears to be active, and it’ll be interesting to see if/how its sound has evolved — if it ever releases another album, that is.

January 9, 2013

2012 threeplay

Filed under: Brooklyn, D, England, P, Seattle, T — assman41 @ 10:16 pm

Since I spent much of my last few weeks focusing on the best stuff I’d heard during the past year, I wasn’t able to listen to too much new music.

But as I often do in January, I checked out several of the albums that I’d seen on others’ end-of-the-year lists but were totally foreign to me.

Here are three more bands who put out an above-average disc last year.

DIIV

DIIV is the brainchild of Zachary Cole Smith, a member of Beach Fossils who decided to try his hand at the whole solo thing.

Originally named Dive, this Brooklyn-based outfit takes very dream-pop sound of Beach Fossils and covers it in a heavy, dark shade of gloss. The songs on the 2012 debut, Oshin, are shoegaze with an electro twinge.

TOY

I’ve only listened to the self-titled album once, so I’m not totally sold on TOY. This London-based quintet fills its songs with distortion, but it doesn’t drown out the solid vocals or instrumentation.

Combining the best of shoegaze and psychedelia, TOY churns out some very droning, hypnotic tunes that are likely to put you to sleep.

Perfume Genius

The alter ego of Seattle resident Mike Hadreas, Perfume Genius is basically, at its core, just a dude and his piano. But Hadreas’ voice is so beautiful and he adds enough other layers that the music never gets boring.

Hadreas started recording songs after moving from New York to Washington, and he posted his work on MySpace. He was soon discovered by the British band Los Campesinos! and signed to their label.

Since then, Perfume Genius has released two albums — 2010’s Learning and last year’s Put Your Back N 2 It, the latter receiving plenty of critical praise.

December 31, 2012

Best of 2012 – My list

Filed under: Best of — assman41 @ 12:01 am

Rather than restrict myself to a set number of items to include in my various lists, I just went with whatever felt right. So, without further ado, I give you my Best of 2012 list, by the numbers:

THE 14 ALBUMS THAT I LIKED THE MOST

  • Of Monsters and Men – My Head Is an Animal … Favorite song: “Little Talks”
    Ever since I first heard “Little Talks” late last year, I have been in love with this album. I’m surprised by the lack of respect it received from all the critics out there.
  • First Aid Kit – The Lion’s Roar … Favorite song: “Emmylou”
    This one is solid throughout and made a late run at the top spot, but it finished in a close second. The album was a huge step up for this group.
  • The Darlingtons – Decades Dance … Favorite song: “To Break a Heart”
    I recall singing this album’s praises a few months ago, but when I went back to listen to it recently, I’d forgotten how amazing it was.
  • Dry the River – Shallow Bed … Favorite song: “History Book”
    This is a great album start to finish. And it’s even more amazing to see in a live setting.
  • The Lumineers – self-titled … Favorite song: “Ho Hey”
    These guys seemed to come out of nowhere to become everyone’s favorite indie band. I suppose the Bing commercial didn’t hurt, but really, it was the power of their music that propelled them.
  • Suckers – Candy Salad … Favorite song: “Bricks To the Bones”
    These guys were something of a dark horse for me. I figured they were nothing more than an honorable mention, but after several listens, the album continued to grow on me steadily moved its way up my chart.
  • Milo Greene – self-titled … Favorite song: “1957”
    Ever since seeing these guys on Last Call with Carson Daly, I could tell they had some talent. Then I listened to their album a few times and confirmed it.
  • Now, Now – Threads … Favorite song: “Lucie, Too”
    Like Yuck a year ago, this band surprised me with how much its music grew on me over the course of the album.
  • Kishi Bashi – 151a … Favorite song: “Bright Whites”
    This is the artist that the gents over at All Songs Considered trumpeted throughout the year. And with good reason. He has a sound that is different from anything out there today.
  • Rah Rah – The Poet’s Dead … Favorite song: “Prairie Girl”
    While there weren’t necessarily a lot of standout tracks on this album, the band’s sound is one that I will never grow tired of.
  • The Sun Parade – Yossis … Favorite song: “Nothing Lasts Forever”
    This was just some random album I discovered through Plixid.com, and it turned out to be a rare gem.
  • Best Coast – The Only Place … Favorite song: “The Only Place”
    Like First Aid Kit, this group took a huge step forward in 2012. With its tighter tunes and short length, this is an album that can be played all day on repeat.
  • Sharon Van Etten – Tramp … Favorite song: “Serpents”
    It’s difficult not to become entranced by her voice. And on this album, she got some help from her friends and put out her most complete offering to date.
  • Alabama Shakes – Boys & Girls … Favorite song: “Hold On”
    This band had been hyped since the latter portion of 2011, but it managed to live up to its billing by putting out an incredibly soulful album and one of the best songs of the year.

THE NINE SONGS THAT WERE ALSO WORTH NOTING

  • Japandroids – “The House That Heaven Built”
  • fun. – “We Are Young”
  • Team Me – “With My Hands Covering Both of My Eyes I Am Too Scared To Have a Look at You Now”
  • Fort Atlantic – “Let Your Heart Hold Fast”
  • Cloud Nothings – “Stay Useless”
  • Factories – “It’ll Be Alright”
  • Bahamas – “Lost in the Light”
  • Greg Laswell – “Come Back Down” (feat. Sara Bereilles)
  • Django Django – “Default”

THE 10 ESTABLISHED ARTISTS WHO PUT OUT SOLID ALBUMS

  • Avett Brothers – The Carpenter … Favorite song: “Live and Die”
  • Beach House – Bloom … Favorite song: “Other People”
  • Benjamin Gibbard – Former Lives … Favorite song: “Teardrop Windows”
  • Grizzly Bear – Shields … Favorite song: “Speak In Rounds”
  • Mumford & Sons – Babel … Favorite song: “I Will Wait”
  • The Shins – Port of Morrow … Favorite song: “Simple Song”
  • The Walkmen – Heaven … Favorite song: “Heaven”
  • Jack White – Blunderbuss … Favorite song: “Love Interruption”
  • Wild Nothing – Nocturne … Favorite song: “Only Heather”
  • The XX – Coexist … Favorite song: “Angels”

THE ONE ALBUM I PLAYED THE MOST IN 2012

  • The Vaccines – What Did You Expect From the Vaccines … Favorite song: “Wreckin’ Bar (Ra Ra Ra)”
    Although it came out in May 2011, I didn’t discover it until a year later. And I have since played it 17 times. They also put out an album this year — Come of Age — but it pales in comparison to the debut.

THE NINE ALBUMS I MAY HAVE MISSED

After scanning numerous end-of-the-year lists, there were some albums that I knew little to nothing about but piqued my interest.

  • DIIV – Oshin
  • Field Music – Plumb
  • Lower Dens – Nootropics
  • The Maccabees – Given To the Wild
  • Anais Mitchell – Young Man In America
  • Passion Pit – Gossamer
  • Perfume Genius – Put Your Back N 2 It
  • Toy – self-titled
  • Twin Shadow – Confess

December 30, 2012

Best of 2012 – Everyone else

Filed under: Best of — assman41 @ 12:01 am

As I’ve done each of the past few years, here’s a compilation of the various tastemakers’ “best of the year” lists. There were a lot of different No. 1 albums, but it seems as though Frank Ocean was the most critically acclaimed of the year.

And don’t worry. I’ll post my own list tomorrow.

  • A.V. Club … No. 1 album: Frank Ocean – “Channel Orange”
  • Alternative Press … No. 1 album: The Gaslight Anthem – “Handwritten”
  • Amazon. com … No. 1 album: Of Monsters and Men – “My Head Is an Animal” … No. 1 song: Delta Spirit – “California”
  • American Songwriter … No. 1 album: Bob Dylan – “Tempest” … No. 1 song: Shovels & Rope – “Birmingham”
  • BBC Music … No. 1 album: Kendrick Lamar – “good kid, M.A.A.D. city”
  • Clash … No. 1 album: Bobby Womack – “The Bravest Man In the Universe”
  • Consequence of Sound … No. 1 album: Frank Ocean – “Channel Orange”
  • DIY … No. 1 album: Liars – “WIXIW”
  • Drowned In Sound … No. 1 album: Sharon Van Etten – “Tramp”
  • Entertainment Weekly … No. 1 album: Frank Ocean – “Channel Orange”
  • Filter … No. 1 album: Tame Impala – “Lonerism”
  • The Fly … No. 1 album: Sharon Van Etten – “Tramp”
  • Gigwise … No. 1 album: Twin Shadow – “Confess”
  • Gorilla vs. Bear … No. 1 album: Grimes – “Visions” … No. 1 song: Usher – “Climax”
  • The Guardian … No. 1 album: Frank Ocean – “Channel Orange” … No. 1 song: Carly Rae Jepsen – “Call Me Maybe”
  • Insound … No. 1 album: Kendrick Lamar – “good kid, M.A.A.D. city”
  • Magnet … No. 1 album: The Walkmen – “Heaven”
  • Metacritic … No. 1 album: Frank Ocean – “Channel Orange”
  • MOJO … No. 1 album: Jack White – “Blunderbuss”
  • musicOMH … No. 1 album: Frank Ocean – “Channel Orange”
  • NME … No. 1 album: Tame Impala – “Lonerism”
  • NPR (All Songs Considered, listeners’ picks) … No. 1 album: Mumford & Sons – “Babel”
  • No Ripcord … No. 1 album: Kendrick Lamar – “good kid, M.A.A.D. city”
  • Obscure Sound … No. 1 album: Tame Impala – “Lonerism”
  • Paste … No. 1 album: Frank Ocean – “Channel Orange”
  • Pitchfork … No. 1 album: Kendrick Lamar – “good kid, M.A.A.D. city” … No. 1 song: Grimes – “Oblivion”
  • PopMatters … No. 1 album: Frank Ocean – “Channel Orange”
  • Pretty Much Amazing … No. 1 album: Fiona Apple – “Idler Wheel …” … No. 1 song: Fiona Apple – “Every Single Night”
  • Rolling Stone … No. 1 album: Bruce Springsteen – “Wrecking Ball” … No. 1 song: Alabama Shakes – “Hold On”
  • Rough Trade Shops … No. 1 album: Grimes – “Visions”
  • Spin … No. 1 album: Frank Ocean – “Channel Orange”
  • Spinner … No. 1 album: Fiona Apple – “Idler Wheel …”
  • Stereogum … No. 1 album: Fiona Apple – “Idler Wheel …”
  • TIME … No. 1 album: Fiona Apple – “Idler Wheel …”
  • Uncut … No. 1 album: Leonard Cohen – “Old Ideas”
  • Under the Radar … No. 1 album: Wild Nothing – “Nocturne”
  • Urban Outfitters … No. 1 album: Tame Impala – “Lonerism”

December 27, 2012

141 – Fort Atlantic

Filed under: Athens Ga., F — assman41 @ 1:14 am

The musical pairing that is Fort Atlantic likely saw its stock rise within the last week after having its anthemic single, “Let Your Heart Hold Fast”, playing during the climactic final scene of the most recent episode of How I Met Your Mother.

That’s certainly how I came across the group, which is basically Jon Black, a singer, songwriter and musical jack-of-all-trades, paired with drummer Josh Cannon.

The duo came together in 2010 after Black had been tinkering in his new home studio in Athens, Ga., wrote a bunch of new songs and decided what he created was bigger than anything he could handle, so he called in Cannon for support.

With the help of New York-based mixer/producer Tom Schick, they put together a 10-track, self-titled album that was released in May of this year. For the most part, the disc is full of solid folk/rock-pop. But at times they dabbled with the laptops a little too much.

The first two tracks — “No One Will Know” and “Career Advice” — are good old folk rock. Then comes the aforementioned “Let Your Heart Hold Fast”, which could easily be in consideration for everyone’s song of the year if anyone else actually knew the album existed.

After the mostly forgettable “Up From the Ground”, things go in a totally different direction with an artsy/experimental 8-minute-long “I’m Wrong”, which is an instrumental for the first five of those minutes.

That’s followed by “Movie Screen”, a very slow, churning, powerful song that is almost ballad-like. Then on “New York Lights”, Black brings things back to the folk side. Way back in fact, as he does his best Bob Dylan impression, right down to the harmonica.

Next is “My Love Is With You”, which is more of a modern alt-country ballad, something that Ryan Adams might sing. Then they close with a couple more forgettable tracks — “The Wrecking Ball” and “There Is Love”.

All in all, Fort Atlantic certainly have the potential to craft a great song, they’re just a little to hit-and-miss. Black and Cannon need to figure out what kind of band they want to be and then stick with it rather than jumping all over the place on each record.

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