The Blow Were Out Of My League

On May 15, minimalist pop duo The Blow performed at The Fillmore New York at Irving Plaza, opening for Electrelane. Of course, with half of the group (Jona Bechtolt) off doing his one-man YACHT thing, Khaela Maricich was left to perform by herself, as she often does. However, despite the fact that it was just a woman alone on stage with nothing except a microphone and a backing beat, The Blow did not disappoint.

For her first song, Khaela ushered in an evening of intimacy with the song “How Naked Are We Going To Get?” She stood on stage, solitary and vulnerable, an apt opening to her set. The song was sparse, even by The Blow’s standards, an invitation to the audience, bringing them into a pact with the performer, hinting at the emotional tension that underlies her otherwise poppy tendencies. For the remainder of her set, Khaela playfully danced around on stage, devoid of self-consciousness, with a kind of in-front-of-the-bedroom-mirror innocence. Her fragile voice sang about the allure of the unattainable, those things that are always just out of reach yet constantly beckon to us. In between songs, she offered lengthy anecdotes about the lyrics-writing process, providing a humorous version of her personal life.

The set formed a sort of narrative, a linear progression detailing one woman’s path to empowerment and emotional well-being. From the opener to the middle songs, Khaela sang of a lonely soul, someone seeking but never truly finding love and connections. By the end, happiness appears in sight. With “Parentheses,” Khaela seems to have found her elusive partner in punctuation, singing “I know I’ll be safe in these arms.” While things do not turn out perfectly, she’s finally okay with it. The love was real, but it’s over.

After The Blow finished, I left. Today, Electrelane got a “Best New Music” label from Pitchfork. Who knew?

Setlist:
How Naked Are We Going To Get
Big U
Knowing The Things That I Know
Hock It
Hey Boy
Eat Your Heart Up
Pardon Me
Pile of Gold
Parentheses
True Affection

P4k Fest ‘07

For rock-loving Europeans, the summer means one thing: festival season. The best bands in the world (plus the Goo Goo Dolls) descend upon the Old World in droves, bringing good times and good tunes to all the boys and girls. Meanwhile, the US is stuck with things like Bonnaroo, Ozzfest, and Lollapalooza. I mean, I love 3 Inches of Blood as much as the next guy, and Muse’s “Supermassive Black Hole” is, like, the best song ever, but sometimes I just want something a little more substantial and state-subsidized. Well, I don’t think the government is going to be tossing money to The Killers anytime soon (like they need it), so the Pitchfork Music Festival will have to do instead. Today, the final lineup was announced. In addition to all the great acts already linked to the festival, Pitchfork is now bringing Mastodon, Junior Boys, Voxtrot, Cadence Weapon, Brightblack Morning Light, the Field, Cool Kids, and William Parker Quartet. Earlier this week, I purchased my ticket. Now that I know Mastodon and Voxtrot will be there, it appears that my money was well-spent.

Bloody Pirates…

Just got back from the 8 PM showing of Pirates of the Caribbean: At the World’s End. I will not give any spoilers right now, I promise. I will, however, say that it is good, though I can tell you right now it was not my favorite of the series. (I’m not sure which of the first 2 is my favorite, but nonetheless…) I literally got home 5 minutes ago, and usually I have to stew about things more before I can give a proper review, which is why spoilers will wait until later, but I can tell whether or not I like a film by how I act on the ride home. After I finish watching a movie for the first time, I’m typically silent for the first 10 minutes or so following, but my silence has no bearing on how I feel about the movie. You can tell that based off whether or not I smile on the way home, and indeed I was smiling after this one.

I’ll admit, without giving away anything, that there were definitely portions of the film that made me raise an eyebrow or question how well it flowed from the the first 2 movies, and I feel it was a little slow to pick up from where it left off (considering how Pirates 2 stopped in this gigantic action sequence), but I feel like other elements–Like the amazing action sequences–balanced out those moments. Plus, it’s definitely better than certain other trilogies that came out this summer *cough*Spiderman 3*cough*.

!!! at the Metro

March 23, Carolina and I headed to the Metro to see !!! live without any real expectations of what their live set would look like. Seemingly nothing more than a dance and funk outfit, the possibility of an all-out 2-hour dance marathon appeared most likely. But at the end of the night, the crowd was a stew of b.o., junkies, and stripping. Oh, and Jeff Albert was there. Hey, Jeff!

Toronto’s Holy F*** took the stage in punctual fashion at 9:00 PM. And while I expected the band to just repeatedly seek attention by announcing their ridiculous name, their performance was an exciting and interesting electro-dance, mostly instrumental set of short tunes. Kevin O’Sullivan had described the band as “drum and bass with some f***ed up electronic s***.” I didn’t know whether to expect fun and energetic (IQU) or flat out disorganized noise (World’s End Girlfriend).

Pet peeves about live electronic acts? Songs that drag. Nothing to see on stage. But H.F. avoided both of those trends.

Beats were smooth and catchy and songs ended just before it felt like they were dragging. The drummer was in clear view next to a bassist who didn’t seem to add much to the performance except some type of conventional stage performance aesthetic. Two mix and electronic artists were the focus on opposite sides of the stage with all sorts of film reels, melodica, vocoder, turntable, and effects. A lanky feller in a t-shirt that had some joke about interpretive dance was really into it, and Carolina shot me looks to his head-bobbing, shoulder-twitching dance moves.

After H.F., !!! took the stage around 10:15, and here’s a rough setlist for ya’ll (any help with this is appreciated):

1. Myth Takes
2. All My Heroes Are Weirdoes.
3. KooKooka…
4. Must Be the Moon
5. Pardon My Freedom
6. Yadnus
7. A New Name
8. ???
9. Heart of Hearts
10. Break in Case of Anything
11. ???

Halfway into the first song, interpretive dance dude gets shoved repeatedly by some junkie with long blonde hair. Apparently fragile and not realizing that tends to happen when people get excited at crowded club shows, Kevin Bacon decides to summon the Metro’s security. Three times.

But the mosh was inevitable, and it lasted from the front to the end of the set. Carolina and I set a goal of discovering who was the most worthless member of !!! The award might go to one of the players that ‘helps out’ on percussion and plays saxophone on one song. Nic Offer danced to every measure, like a cleaned-up Mickey Avalon. Shaking hips, jumping around, and free to do whatever he pleased with the mic, he never looked bored–even during the !!! tunes that are mostly instrumental.

Mario Andreoni’s guitar sounded as crystal clear live as it did on Myth Takes (which might be their best ‘album’ to date). But the intricate bass lines and percussion are what drive the live music, and they did not disappoint.

Some unknown black female vocalist was just as entertaining on stage, dressed like Linnell from the Borat movie, she fired up the crowd and danced crazier than a Springer guest, adding more of a club dimension to the scene.

But the funk band had more of a punk crowd, and the pushing and jumping continued for 80 minutes. Tremendous energy on the whole floor, and !!! delivered big time. The night ended on somewhat of a disappointment though. The set was shorter than it could have been (especially for a $16 ticket), and I had never heard a crowd cheer louder for an encore and not receive it. Clapping and screaming continued for 15-20 minutes until almost all instruments were carried off stage and the finality of the show was obvious. No performance of “Me and Giuliani Down by the Schoolyard.”

Definitely check out !!! if they’re in the area, but expect a little violence and intensity along the way.