And for a band so young, they’ve already established themselves as a compelling studio group, but as they demonstrated at their show last night, they’re a much more engaging live act, and one absolutely worth seeing before they explode into a wildly popular group– which is only inevitable at this point.
Young The Giant continued the great rock groove started by Walk The Moon, but proved again why they’ve already become so popular– both on record and on stage.
Perhaps even more so than Mermaid Avenue, New Multitudes is a definitive tribute from four of Woody Guthrie’s most faithful latter day apostles to the beauty, poignancy and political poetry of the many sides of this genuine folk hero on the 100th year of his exuberant existence as an essential entity of the true American spirit.
On “Phantom In The Valley” lead singer/guitarist/song-writer Ethan Miller sings about “Dusty notes of music/at the far end of the world!” but you don’t need to travel all that way to find Howlin’ Rain’s inspiration. Just head into your parents basement and dust off the milk-crates that host your big brothers mid 70’s “classic” rock albums from a time gone by. This is a big meaty album, a return to arena rock pomp and excess; knowing that in advance will clue people into the pluses and minuses fairly early of Howlin’ Rain’s newest release The Russian Wilds.
As for Cursive, they are a distinct new incarnation of the band, one that is both more mature and progressively ardent. While I am Gemini may be an obtuse tale of split personality delusions, they still put on a show that's as comprehensible as it is blaring. Cursive's live show translates: “We're brilliant, we're sophisticated, we're surly and we still know how to rock.”
Whether with his work with ex-wife Linda Thompson that garnered him attention by some, or his routinely strong solo offerings which others have sought out, the musician rarely makes a creative, career-jeopardizing miscue. So it's not that much of a surprise that this live concert from Glasgow's Royal Concert Hall in January 2011, Thompson slowly warms up the audience with a first set featuring 11 of 13 tracks off his latest studio album Dream Attic.
Perhaps it’s because Geographer is a hometown band that made the room seem even more alive, but last night’s crowd was downright ecstatic for their performance.
It’s surprising, and quite rare indeed, when a performer is younger than the average age of the audience in attendance; however, 22 year-old Niki Roza Danilova, better known as Zola Jesus, drew such a crowd to her performance at the historic Great American Music Hall in San Francisco last night.
This stripped-down, mostly acoustic affair captures friends Caetano Veloso and David Byrne collaborating on each other’s catalog of songs, during the Brazilian musician’s week-long Carnegie residency in 2004.
A significant contribution to the broadening genre of LA indie-pop, Princeton’s Remembrance of Things to Come leaves the listener anxious to hear where these four musicians are headed as they develop a consistent, rich and intriguing sound.
