The Clientele/Field Music/Zoos of Berlin @ The Blind Pig, 3/18/10

Yet another Thursday night in March where I had the opportunity to see a touring band that I was really excited about. This one in particular was a doozy, featuring the UK's Field Music. They are a band who combines Paul McCartney's more complex tunes with XTC at their poppiest, and one that I have been obsessively loving on since early 2007 thanks to their seriously perfect sophomore masterpiece, Tones of Town. Megabonus that, like Vivian Girls, Field Music's Brewis brothers were incredibly nice and approachable people.

My favorite band in Detroit, who also are hands down the BEST band in the D, Zoos of Berlin kicked off the night with a bang. Their set predominantly consisted of tracks from their fantastic debut full length, Taxis (which just so happens to have been my third favorite album of 2009). While this wasn't the tightest set I've seen of theirs, per usual they completely nailed live standards like "Century Rail" and the always fun "Electrical Way." It was a surprise to hear the deep cut "Countess Lessons." I'm not sure I've seen them play that one. Thankfully they didn't leave out this new song that I've seen them play a couple of times. It's one of their best yet, and takes their moody mix of jazzy, jangly post-punk and Bowie-esque kraut rock in a brighter and poppier direction. Great things are ahead, methinks.

Having nothing to do with talent, but everything to do with energy level, Field Music should have headlined this bill and The Clientele should have played second. Alas, this was not the case, and Field Music played a too short set because of it. Said set still featured plenty of highlights, along with a few slight disappointments. First of all, they played two songs from David Brewis' School of Language album, Sea From Shore. Sure, I really enjoy that record, but there are many Field Music songs I would have rather heard. Secondly, Tones of Town was CRIMINALLY overlooked. I was banking on them playing maybe three songs from it, and would have been satisfied with that, but they played only one. And, the worst possible one at that, in "Gap Has Appeared" (which is still a great song, but every other song on Tones of Town would have translated better live).

Enough complaining. Their set was still insanely impressive. The two dudes they brought along as extra musicians on the tour played their parts perfectly. It was a blast watching the Brewises interact with each other in all their charm and brotherhood. The crowd was treated to a display of some of the most mind blowing talent I could imagine, as the brothers frequently traded places between drums and guitar. Both are absolute pros at each instrument that they play (Peter also played electric piano), and I was especially impressed watching them sing insane melodies while playing intricate and quirky as hell drum beats.

The band's latest full length, Field Music (Measure), was the point of this tour, so obviously that's what most of their set was made up of. "Them That Do Nothing," "Effortlessly," "Clear Water" and "Let's Write a Book" all rocked even harder than on record, and it felt good to be able to see how these complex parts are played by wonderful humans. On "Measure," the gorgeous string parts were played on guitar, and Peter's flowing lead part truly showed off his technical prowess on his "secondary" instrument (drums being his "primary"). This was one of the three top moments of the entire set, the other two being when they opened and closed with rousing renditions of "If Only the Moon Were Up" and "Tell Me Keep Me" (both from their debut self-titled record), respectively.

In spite of putting me in the mood to sleep, The Clientele still put on a good performance. I am not familiar with as many of their records as I would like, but their latest, Bonfires on the Heath, was my 37th favorite album of 2009. They were tight and really quiet. I was glad to hear the masterful slow pace of the title track, but even more so the upbeat, almost funky feel of "I Wonder Who We Are," which was one of my favorite songs from last year (#58, to be precise). I look forward to going backwards and checking out their older material. At times, The Clientele make me think of a darker, modern update on The Byrds, and I am way into that idea right now.

2010 Twitter Review Session #2

(16) It Was Easy - Title Tracks (Ernest Jenning)
Ex-Q and Not U drummer John Davis shows off his love for power pop, namely Elvis Costello, and succeeds. (7/10)

(17) Contra - Vampire Weekend (XL)
I'm surprised by how well these boys followed up their fantastic debut. Different enough, but Vamp Week enough. (8/10)

(18) Dear God, I Hate Myself - Xiu Xiu (Kill Rock Stars)
The poppiest and most accessible look into the disturbed mind of Jamie Stewart yet. Less noise, more catchy synths. (6.5/10)

(19) Odd Blood - Yeasayer (Secretly Canadian)
Trading in their bizarre, communal folk for MPP synths and rhythms. Not bad, not great. "Ambling Alp" is awesome. (6.5/10)

(20) A Chorus of Storytellers - The Album Leaf (Sub Pop)
The newest very pretty but very boring, mellow post-rock album from this pal of Sigur Ros. (4.5/10)

(21) The Besnard Lakes Are the Roaring Night - The Besnard Lakes (Jagjaguwar)
Impressive third album from this shoegazey, psychedelic and huge sounding Montreal atmospheric pop/rock band. (7/10)

(22) Dream Get Together - Citay (Dead Oceans)
Decent psychedelic rock 'n' roll with touches of folk, sort of like Led Zeppelin, only not memorable. (5.5/10)

(23) There is Love in You - Four Tet (Domino)
Smart, subtle and pretty interesting electronic jams, but few songs actually keep my attention. (6/10)

(24) One Life Stand - Hot Chip (Astralwerks)
Yet another mediocre electronic pop album from the critically acclaimed Hot Chip. "Alley Cats" is totes awes, tho. (5.5/10)

(25) Rain on the City - Freedy Johnston (Bar/None)
Dude who wrote "Bad Reputation," one of the best songs of the 90s. New album is lush, gorgeous, sappy pop/rock. (7/10)

(26) Realism - The Magnetic Fields (Nonesuch)
Stephin Merritt's latest, a completely unmemorable folk/pop record, is better than 2008's Distortion. (5/10)

(27) Work - Shout Out Louds (Merge)
Nice, unoffensive indie pop that doesn't really offer up anything interesting aside from a few solid jams. (6/10)

(28) Hidden - These New Puritans (Domino)
Dark, interesting and like nothing I've ever heard before, but I still couldn't really get into it. (5.5/10)

(29) The Monitor - Titus Andronicus (XL)
These guys are not nearly as good as all the music hype machines say they are, and this album proves it to me. (4.5/10)

Emotional Listening #5

Finally, back to geeky music blogging business...


Sugarless - Puller (Tooth and Nail, 1996)
Puller was another one of those underground Christian bands that I loved in early high school, and featured Michael Lewis, who had also played guitar and sang in For Love Not Lisa in the early 90s. On Sugarless, their debut for Tooth and Nail Records (now the leader in releasing the shittiest of Christian mall punk and emo), they sound somewhere between a more primitive version of Shiner and a more technical version of Hum with less catchy melodies. They also lacked the spacey and futuristic soundscapes of either of those bands. While their songs showcased complex structures, weird time signatures, insane stops and starts and those jagged guitar rhythms that I love, they tended to limit their guitar chord usage predominantly to drop D power chords and octaves (like another old Tooth and Nail band called Stavesacre, except Puller did it WAY better). Lewis' lyrics are very simple and vague, which is totally my jam, but I'm struggling trying to decide if these days I think they are corny or brilliant. Regardless, there is still plenty for me to enjoy here, and after all these years, I continue to be impressed by Geoff Riley's drumming. Also, I thought "Super Size It" and "Almost Always" were especially awesome when I was a freshman in high school, and I'm glad I still feel that way today.
Top jams: "Shut Off," "Back & Forth," "Prodigal," "Super Size It," "Almost Always"


Closer Than You Think - Puller (Tooth and Nail, 1998)
I actually got way into Closer Than You Think before I had ever heard Sugarless. I saw Puller play at a church in Livonia back in May of 1997 and was completely floored by them at that young age. For some reason I never got around to purchasing anything of theirs until right around the time that Closer Than You Think was released. I was relieved to find that this record sounded even better than I remember the band sounding live. I could tell they had mellowed out a bit, but truth by told, I think that had a positive effect on their sound, because this is the superior record. It's not as raw or tough sounding as Sugarless, and the songs aren't quite as complicated, but those elements still show their faces from time to time throughout the songs. "Out of My Head" and "Bring Me In" are solid examples of that. The majority of the songs have a poppier feel, especially the opener, "Wishing," and usually that bodes well for them. There are still weird time signatures, though, and Lewis' melodies are actually quite strong most of the time. I feel like time has been more of a cruel mistress to Closer Than You Think than Sugarless, but I thoroughly enjoyed revisiting them both, as they are two of the best albums the underground Christian music scene has ever offered, in my opinion.
Top jams: "Wishing," "Bring Me In," "She," "Light in Eve's Time," "Silent Film," "Am I Samaritan"


Ideal Lives - Rahim (Frenchkiss, 2006)
Talk about an overlooked band. If I remember correctly, there was a tiny circle of hype around Rahim when they released the Jungles EP on Frenchkiss in 2005, garnering comparisons to Q and Not U. In 2006 they released their debut full-length, Ideal Lives, and then everyone seemed to forget about them. They didn't put out another record until late 2008's Laughter, which was a split release between Pretty Activity Records and Flameshovel Records. This is a shame. I looked into Ideal Lives right when it first came out, and I thought it was okay. It's goodness didn't really hit me until I finally got around to giving it another chance more recently. J. Robbins did a fantastic job catching their live energy on this recording. The band sort of has a Q and Not U feel going on here, but their songs are less dissonant and more melodic, if you can believe it. "Klang Klang Klang" features some fascinating interplay between the guitar, bass and drums, and "10,000 Horses" and "Forever Love" are simply bad ass. It almost feels like the bass is the driving instrument, while the drumming is smart and innovative and the guitar is sparse and jagged. I like Ideal Lives more now than I ever have before.
Top jams: "Klang Klang Klang," "Something From an Amputee," "10,000 Horses," "Forever Love," "Enduring Love"


Echoes - The Rapture (Universal/Strummer, 2003)
Now this brings me back. Remember when dance-punk was a thriving, kind of popular thing? Ah, how trends come and go. I'm a little embarrassed for any band that tried to cash in on this style after 2004. However, the album at hand did things just right. Sure, The Rapture's Echoes was the best album of 2003, according to Pitchfork, and I still find that utterly ridiculous, but I can't argue that it's not a great record, because it totally is. In fact, it sounds better to me now than it ever has. This time around, I was completely caught off guard by the tracks at the end, "Love is All" and "Infatuation." These were just bizarre and annoying songs tacked on at the end for some nonsensical reason that I couldn't figure out. Now, I hear them as fantastic album tracks that give Echoes a more dense and versatile atmosphere. Plus, there are the obvious jams: "Olio" and it's blips and bloops and hypnotizing, pulsing beat and the chaotic (with blood-curdling yelps and all) yet somehow joyful party grooves of "Heaven," "House of Jealous Lovers" and the title track (it's bass line that descends the scale during the verses kills me). It turns out that Echoes has revealed itself as a much better album than I ever expected of it.
Top jams: "Olio," "Heaven," "I Need Your Love," "House of Jealous Lovers," "Echoes," "Love is All," "Infatuation"

Vivian Girls/Male Bonding/Fawn @ The Magic Stick, 3/11/10

A couple Thursdays ago I was blessed with the opportunity to see Brooklyn's Vivian Girls live in concert for my second time. Their brand of noisy, lo-fi garage-punk was something that I didn't quite understand, let alone enjoy, until after seeing them at the 2009 Pitchfork Music Festival. As awesome as their set was at the fest, it was even better seeing them in a smaller, more intimate setting (even if crowd attendance was lower than I expected).

The night started with a solid set from Detroit's very own and very new Fawn. Made up of Christian Doble (Copper Thieves, ex-Child Bite, ex-Kiddo), Alicia Gbur (ex-The Nice Device) and Matt Rickle (Javelins, Thunderbirds Are Now!), Fawn is a Detroit supergroup of sorts still in the process of writing songs and feeling each other out. This being their third show, those details were pretty evident. However, they played a good set (unfortunately with one downer that I could have done without), bringing to mind a cleaner Pixies. Doble's melodies were straightforward but strong, and Rickle's drumming was the highlight of the set, trading your typical pop and rock 'n' roll beats for more complex and interesting ones and throwing in subtle intricacies here and there.

Male Bonding followed, and while in all honesty I had little interest in watching them and was distracted by friends in attendance, I was somewhat pleasantly surprised by what I heard. I didn't pay enough attention to further explain, really, but I'll take a stab at it. It seemed like they were playing a chaotic yet anthemic and melodic version of punk rock. I guess I heard a little Wipers and Nirvana in their sound, but their song structures were a bit more muddled than that. Also, I think I heard a few emo chords in there, which is totally cool by me.

Vivian Girls headlined with an anxious and feel good set packed with most of the hits from both of their records. They started things off just right (and quite surprisingly, to me) by opening with "I Have No Fun," from 2009's excellent (and also my 11th favorite album from that year) Everything Goes Wrong. From then on they mixed and matched, showcasing their bizarre merging of wonderfully flawed, Beach Boys-style harmonies with jangly and droning guitar chords on jams like "Wild Eyes" and "When I'm Gone" (probably their best song, and at the very least my 10th favorite song of 2009). Somewhere in there they found the time to play a fantastic rendition of Everything Goes Wrong closer "Before I Start to Cry." It was hard for me to imagine their set being any better, and then they came out for one of the best and shortest encores I've witnessed, basically sprinting through two of my three favorite songs from their 2008 self-titled effort: "All the Time" and the blazing fast "No."

That particular Thursday evening turned out to be a great night filled with pop-infused punk rock (or the other way around in Fawn's case) and good buds. The night was made even better when I ran into Viv Girls at a gas station in Ypsilanti on their way to Chicago and they were incredibly nice and approachable. What a group of talented, bad ass cuties!