I’ve written CD and live reviews for several publications, including About.com and Performer Magazine Northeast. I’ve found that reviews can sometimes deaden your enjoyment of music, so I’ve moved away from them of late, but am open to writing about new bands I really dig.
Bostonist
Quasi @ Middle East Down
“I feel like I just got beat up by awesome,” we marveled following Quasi’s show at the Middle East on Tuesday, and the throbbing of Janet Weiss’ drums echoed in our being for a full day afterward. We’re still recovering from the onslaught of tight riffs, gorgeous chords, and devastating beats wrought by Quasi, but we wanted to share our experience with you while the sonic wounds were still fresh. [full review]
Caspian & Slowest Runner @ TT the Bear’s
Slowest Runner is a Brooklyn band with dual NYC and Montreal roots. The group’s multinational origins reflect diverse musical influences that alternately clash and blend in layered sound. Calling themselves “instrumental post-baroque,” the various members attack instruments to force out noises that balanced the beautiful with the experimental, blanketing their surroundings in melody and bringing smiles to the faces of their fans. The show didn’t feel like a plodding, slow workout, but rather touched on a feeling like a runner’s high: the showgoer’s high you get when the band is in perfect sync, racing toward sonic victory and sweeping you along with it. [full review]
Passion Pit, Phoenix, Spoon @ Orpheum
As Bostonist gets older, we find ourselves having a harder and harder time enjoying live music. Whether it’s House of Blues staff waving flashlights in our faces or sucky sound at the Wilbur, we find ourselves more easily irritated by all manner of interference with our enjoyment. Fortunately, last night’s WFNX Miracle on Tremont Street (featuring Passion Pit, Phoenix, and Spoon) was a show relatively devoid of interference (other than ushers enforcing the Orpheum’s seating structure). However, it was also devoid of anyone older than us. Fortunately, this didn’t ultimately interfere with our enjoyment of headliner Spoon, but it was a bit of a weird feeling. [full review]
St. Vincent @ Somerville Theatre
A Disney Princess for the indie rock crowd, Annie Clark lived up to expectations in terms of both musical performance and crowd banter. Having attended Berklee, Clark is familiar with this area. Though she said “Thanks, Boston” near the beginning of the show (and was quickly corrected by an audience member: “This is Somerville!”), Clark defended her local cred with stories of busking in Davis (“I earned six dollars”). She stopped and restarted one song, justifying it with “I saw Chaka Khan do that once.” Last night was the first stop on a five-week tour; Clark described what her band members would be doing in a few weeks: Anthony will be cursing and smoking, Bill sobbing, Dan hiding in the corner, and Evan playing Hall and Oates on the saxophone. When fans groaned at Clark’s announcement of the last song, she quipped, “Apparently no one in this room has ever experienced an encore.” [full review]
About.com
I reviewed recorded and live music for AltMusic.About.com beginning in 2007. Here are a few excerpts.
On its MySpace, Darla Farmer describes itself as spewing “musical venom.” Sadly, the band doesn’t seem to realize that people don’t always want to listen to something poisonous. Rewiring the Electric Forest has a few too many venomous moments.
Pennsylvania’s Damien DeRose records under the name Peasant, and his sparse, guitar-driven tunes certainly hearken back to simpler days. You can almost see the Peasant caressing his guitar, wearing a shabby little suit, and perhaps holding out a worn hat for tips.
Tulsa is from Massachusetts, not Oklahoma, and the misleading nature of the band’s name is echoed in the dreamy vagueness of its tunes. Working toward grand truths without approaching them head on, Tulsa takes a roundabout, reverb-drenched path to musical enlightenment.
SXSW 2008
I covered SXSW 2008 for AltMusic.About.com. It was an amazing, fun experience; Vampire Weekend (say what you will, the live show was infectious) and Born Ruffians were probably the highlights.
The name “Dead Confederate” conjures up gory images of slaughtered soldiers on the battlefield, and indeed Dead Confederate‘s music is intense, unforgiving, and capable of slaying audiences—in a good way.
Somewhat reminiscent of Sparkle Motion from Napoleon Dynamite (but way more rockin’), YACHT perform staccato hand motions to match their music, and engage in raucous dances to get the crowd moving. The members often dance in the crowd itself, and can always be counted on for truly wild moves. Sweaty and excitable, YACHT put on a unique, unforgettable show.
Traditionally a blues venue, Antone’s welcomed SXSW with open arms on the third day of the festival. From Bear in Heaven‘s trippy psych-rock to Basia Bulat‘s gorgeous voice to Vampire Weekend‘s exciting afrobeats, Antone’s hosted an epic SXSW showcase.
The Bat Bar in the Austin Convention Center was perhaps the most posh venue of all the SXSW stages. Set up in style with neon lights and tons of cameras, the Bat Bar performances were filmed live for DirecTV. Whether due to the filming or just love of performance, Sons and Daughters put on a standout show at the Bat Bar on Day 4 of SXSW. Lead singer Adele Bethel wore a figure skater-type costume of green spandex with gold sequin trim, and her commanding stage presence lent the band’s set an extra edge.
Worst Performance of SXSW 2008: The crowds were the worst part of SXSW 2008. I’ve never seen such a boring bunch of dowdy prigs. Even at the much-hyped Vampire Weekend show (for which the line stretched around the block more than 4 hours before the band’s set time), most of the audience members stood around like they were still waiting in line for the concert, rather than experiencing amazing live music that half of America would kill to see. Particularly in comparison to the moshtastic enthusiasm at The Faint last year, the pervasive audience apathy was bewildering. Did everybody have mono?
Lollapalooza 2008
I had the opportunity to cover Lollapalooza 2008 for Andrew Fersch of alrightimwrong.com. From watching Radiohead to meeting Will Sheff, it was an amazing musical experience. Excerpts are no longer available at alrightimwrong, which has removed content from guest contributors, but the beginning of the day three summary follows.
Any memories of the negative energy at Rage Against the Machine’s latenight set on Day 2 were soon erased on the third day of Lollapalooza 2008, which saw the Blakes and What Made Milwaukee Famous get things off to a solid, rockin’ start. We briefly had the impression that The Blakes were Australian (maybe we were thinking “The Blokes”…) but the band is actually from Seattle. They make music that’s more a little lighthearted than their grunge predecessors, offering straight-up guitar riffs without synth, keyboards, or other embellishments. The crowd was extremely engaged for this exciting early performance, creating an auspicious aura for the rest of the day.
Northeast Performer
I’ve written album and live reviews for Northeast Performer magazine.
Zox: Line in the Sand. The Providence, Rhode Island foursome Zox has been described as “violin-laced reggae rock,” but the band’s latest release, Line in the Sand, takes their sound further from Rusted Root and more toward The Faint. The synthy, 80s-inspired instrumentation is professional and the production is high quality, but the sonic wall created by the interplay of guitar, bass, and electric violin occasionally grows so strong that several songs are nearly indistinguishable. Fortunately, the album is interspersed with some standout tracks capable of keeping the listener’s interest.
Mamadou: Live at the Middle East. When Mamadou Diop came out on stage at the Middle East on Friday, February 8, he was totally ready to rock. Decked out in a camouflage-safari outfit, complete with camo pants, safari vest, and pith helmet, Diop was more than prepared to lead his audience on a journey through a musical jungle of Afro-Caribbean grooves backed up by traditional West African drums. And that’s just what he did, rocking the Middle East with fast drumbeats and joyful guitar chords. Diop kept the evening upbeat but not sappy, advising audience members to “stay your own self,” and backing up his positive attitude with vibrant sounds.
