Monday night’s show at the Bowery Ballroom reinforced that while Tegan and Sara are dabbling in the genre of electronic/dance, they will never forget where they come from, and will continue writing inspired music accessible to all of their devoted fans. It’s an ongoing love affair, and it’s a whole lot of fun.
It was a quiet election day eve and Other Lives made their return to the Valley of the Sun. They've come to Phoenix before as the opener for Radiohead back in March and opening for rock royalty has definitely taken their public awareness to new heights. They returned this time as the headliner at Crescent Ballroom, a much more intimate venue than the giant Jobing.com arena they played last time.
Building his reputation playing guitar – he now plays alongside Axl Rose and Nikki Sixx in two of the most popular bands in rock & roll – Ashba is now making his name on the other side of plucking chords: as a businessman. I sat down this past weekend with Ashba during GNR’s current Vegas residency and talked to him about this part of his life … after I asked him about those crows that decorate his chest.
While this concert revealed the inconsistent quality of his recent solo work, and also exposed just how central Death Cab For Cutie’s instrumentation is to the power of their songs, Ben Gibbard put on a thoroughly enjoyable and downright exquisite performance.
It’s a safe bet that very few of the folks who attended the Jimmy Herring Band/Victor Wooten Band double bill at Durham’s beloved Carolina Theater thought they would leave the building with any other performer’s name on their lips. As much as everyone marveled at the blatant and inspiring display of musicianship put on by Herring, Wooten, and their bands, no one could seem to stop talking about vocalist Krystal Peterson.
Jack White closed out the festival with an enormously simple set of tantalizingly spirited music with minimal frills. At almost twenty songs, White, in pinstripe suit and fedora, smoldered and chased the rock & roll dragon, proving once and for all that he is one of the maestros for all others to emulate and aspire to.
With their widely-acclaimed fourth album, Violent Waves, self- released on August 28th, one might have expected silence from a crowd where, while half the crowd looked like they’d turn their noses up, “Ugh, I liked ‘em better in 2005,” and the other half looked like they were hardly old enough to drink, let alone vividly remember Green’s transition from Saosin to Circa Survive. Despite these differences, everyone seemed satisfied with the set list, which varied in a good range of the band’s discography.
Raleigh's Lincoln Theater felt just a little like Manchester, Tennessee when the Bonnaroo 365 tour stopped there on the first day of November. It wasn't because of heat or odors, but high-quality music. White Denim, who proved to be one of the real festival's biggest hits this past summer, anchored the show along with fast-rising Chicago quartet Maps and Atlases and brand-new Brooklyn duo Tiny Victories.
Not quite full, but definitely buzzing, San Francisco's Fillmore Auditorium once again welcomed Saint Etienne with enthusiasm, and Saint Etienne brought their trademark quirks with them.
Just like teenagers try on various guises in an attempt to ultimately find themselves, bands too try on different styles. And for the most part it’s a healthy sign of growth. What makes it heartbreaking is when you liked (even loved) what they were and not what they now are. And that is what made me so sad the other night at the Bowerbirds show at the Crescent Ballroom.
