Heathrob – tonight in Jamaica Plain
Here’s just a bit of what you’ll be seeing if you hit up this show tonight…
Stripes and Blitzen Trapper in NYC
If you’re a curious Stripes fan and are wondering how their most recent live tour is going, the word is, they’re still the great live act that they’ve always been. Here is a brief review from a long time fan that recently saw them at MSG in NYC:
“I was more than a little tipsy, but the Stripes were great. They really managed to fill the Garden. I enjoy them pretty much every time, so if you’ve seen them before it’s a Stripes show (only now with a larger repertoire from the last time I saw them). That’s not a bad review, it’s just that I believe them to be consistently great live. They played for 2 hours though. That was crazy. “Death Letter” slayed.”
- Links of Interest
- More White Stripes tour info
- Official website
- MP3: “Icky Thump” (courtesy of turn the page)
And if you’re wondering how the critically acclaimed Blitzen Trapper gang translates in a live setting, here is another review from the NYC crew:
“I wasn’t too sure what to expect, but I made my way to the front of the stage with a large cranberry juice in hand (still recovering from the Stripes). The drummer and one of the guitarists (they have three) were on stage already. They announced that they had to summon the rest of the band. They both said, “Blitzen Trapper ASSEMBLE”, a few times a-la Anchorman. The other dudes then made their way to the stage. I’m sure when they discussed this plan it was hilarious, but it garnered only a few laughs. I was thinking to myself that it made me sort of embarrassed for them when I heard the dude behind me say “I’m sort of embarrassed for them.” They looked as I expected (lot of facial hair, cowboy boots) except for the singer who looked like a cross between Scott Baio and Bob Dylan all decked out in denim. They opened with “Devil’s A-Go-Go.” Shoegazers, they are not. Seriously, every guy in the band is doing a lot of spastic movement. The weird humor that didn’t go over earlier translated better into facial expressions and arm movements. Zero pretensions. And they sounded great. Certainly not very different than the record, but a lot of three-part harmonizing and guitar heroics.
Highlight for me was probably “Country Caravan.” Great tune. What I found interesting was that there was a faction of the crowd that was clearly not made up of prototypical indie rockers that you might usually find at a Wednesday Mercury show. They had probably seen more String Cheese Incidents than they had Guided By Voices. I suppose that the band look (and sound) that part, but it’s always a surprise to see a New York crowd dance. And sing. Overall I really enjoyed them and would see them again next time they are in town.”
And here’s another take on the show from another New Yorker:
“They were like that 70’s Show attitude on stage, in fact some jack ass in the band looked like a cross between Will Farrell doing “more cow bell” and Danny Masterson who jumped around on stage clapping his hands playing guitar every once and awhile. Great show but worth mentioning – they have a brutally ugly bass player they hid in the back of the stage.”
So in conclusion, Stripes are still as solid as a rock on stage and Blitzen Trapper are obsessed with Will Farrell style humor.
- Links of Interest
- More Blitzen Trapper tour info
- Official website
- MP3: “A Lover Loves”
- Stream “Country Caravan”
The Knife – Silent Shout Deluxe
So you didn’t get the chance to see The Knife perform live and it will probably be another six years before the chance comes along again. No worries, with the upcoming release of the Silent Shout Deluxe Edition, all you need is a screen big enough to trick the mind that you’re standing in the front row. (Kind of like what these guys are watching t.v. on)
The package, released by Mute Records, includes a full copy of the their critically acclaimed album, “Silent Shout”, previously unreleased audio disc, an Andrea Nilsson designed live show DVD, and the entire collection of Knife videos.
Links of Interest
www.theknife.net
myspace.com/theknife
Purchase “Silent Shout Deluxe Edition”
Watch a clip from the Andrea Nilsson designed show from the DVD below.
Heartbeats Live
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Deerhunter at ICA
| Hazel St..mp3 |
I’m about a week late on this post but if there is anything that is going to get me back into posting again after this 3 week hiatus, it’s this show.
I’ve heard about the new ICA (Institute for Contemporary Art) here in Boston for some time. And we’ve been meaning to check it out but it took Critique of Pure Reason and her genius idea to bring Deerhunter to play at the Barbara Lee Theater to get us there. And I’m glad I waited.
The venue itself was enough to bring this show experience up the ladder as one of the more memorable shows in my arsenal. The room is 1/2 walls and 1/2 giant glass windows. The view is of the beautiful Boston Harbor straight ahead and to the left, the downtown Boston skyline. When the show started, there were black curtains blocking these views. I knew that we were in this room but didn’t know if the curtains would be lifted. At that point I didn’t really care, Deerhunter was about to enter the stage.
I’m fairly new to Deerhunter. In fact Cryptogram new. I have a hard time recognizing individual songs unless they are introduced. However, I can tell you this, the power of each song at their live show is overwhelmingly impressive. The force of every note from the bass amp was enough to throw me to the back of my seat but I resisted and instead sat at the edge, bobbing back and forth. While part of me felt the urge to stand up the other part of my brain said, “hold on there big guy, this band deserves our attention and there is no need to go flaring your arms about.” I listened to this voice and sat staring in awe. As they ended the first song and started on the second, the back curtains slowly opened and a wave of sheer joy swelled over the crowd as the light came crashing in.
A real human moment occurred throughout the show as members of the band kept turning towards the giant glass windows behind them to see pedestrians walking along the promenade that existed just outside the venue. Here is where the public can sit and watch the sun go down over the harbor, but on this special night, they also got a sneak peak at the genius of Deerhunter. One particular pedestrian was a young boy, probably no more then five or six years old, peering
in to the window and then taking a step back to do a little jam to the beat.
For the encore, the band brought out the opening act, Keith Fullerton, who brought along his computers, where bleeps and bloops and hisses are created. They jammed out Lake Somerset off of Cryptograms and explored for roughly 12 to 15 minutes. It was during the encore that the left side curtains lifted and the crowd was introduced to the downtown skyline. So here we are, Deerhunter blaring away their noise rock in front of us and a perfect purple dusk sky hovering over the harbor and skyline, it was one heck of a serene moment.
And unfortunately this moron left his camera at home and the serene moments were left as a memory. The only pics I found were on Flickr – Click here to view.
Links of Interest:
Buy Cryptograms
Myspace Page
Deerhunter Blog
Label
About Editor
Name: Luke "Kip" Owen
Location: Boston, MA
Contact: kippy[AT]hip2besquare[DOT]net
Twitter: twitter.com/kipdog
Youtube: youtube.com/kipdog
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