Posted in Live Music on March 27th, 2009 by chrisrorie
THURSDAY 3/19: Andrew Bird (Stubbs)
Andrew Bird at Stubbs, Austin TX 3/19
(photo credit Christopher Schmitt)
Andrew Bird’s immense talent was readily apparent during his Thursday night showcase at Stubbs, even as sound problems impacted his band’s performance noticeably. They handled the situation in the manner expected of seasoned performers, and at times it was unclear that anything was wrong. We later discovered that monitor problems plagued the band throughout the entire set - a serious fucking handicap for musicians performing the complex and hugely pitch-reliant string compositions Bird is known for. The fact that it was unnoticeable at times is a testament to their musical abilities. I’m looking forward to checking Bird out again soon, in better conditions, because I love his new album Noble Beast- especially the instrumental interplay of “Anonanimal”: .
Posted in Live Music on March 25th, 2009 by chrisrorie
WEDNESDAY 3/18: Rolo Tomassi (Cannibal Cheerleader), Past Lives and These Arms Are Snakes (Red Eyed Fly)
I was let down by Rolo Tomassi at the Cannibal Cheerleader day party in East Austin. I hadn’t heard them before, but positive reviews compared them to Mars Volta. Turns out they’re strong instrumentalists who are immature songwriters and performers. I’m normally a fan of frenetic arrangements but not without an underlying flow or theme to each piece. Rolo Tomassi’s lack of structural foundation and seriously contrived dancing turned me off immediately. If you’re interested in young, technically impressive bands with chaotic song structures, I’d check out Fall of Troy instead - they earned their hype withDoppelganger.
I was greeted with a surprise as I approached the Red Eyed Fly on Wednesday evening. I was gearing up for the raucous Snakes show I’ve come to expect, when I recognized two Indian dudes on stage setting up with openers Past Lives. As I struggled to place them, one of two vocalists for the Blood Brothers took the stage, and I realized they were his cohorts from the Seattle post-hardcore band. I’ve always liked them. Their instrumentation was just cool enough to make up for the squeels of two overly dramatic vocalists (Cecilia and the Silhouette Saloon is a good example): .
Blood Brothers - Cecilia and the Silhouette Saloon .
Past Lives has retained much of the dynamic that I originally liked about the Blood Brothers, but they’ve refined their approach. Their work is more fluid than BB ever was, allowing time for the music to develop a trance-like intensity that ebbs and flows. Blood Brothers served as a backdrop for teen angst, largely a result of the stark contrasts between quiet whines and ear-splitting squeels. Past Lives feels more mature - subdued and amplified in most of the right places. I’ll be listening to them for a while (their debut EP is called Strange Symmetry).
These Arms Are Snakes at Red Eyed Fly, Austin TX 3/18
I was absolutely blown away by These Arms Are Snakes tonight. The band is utterly reliant on their frontman Steve Snere, but that’s not meant to be disparaging to the other members. They are great performers in their own right, and they’d be the center of attention in a lesser band. We’re all just so damned lucky, however, that Snere can deliver the Main Attraction so well. In the course of the 1.5 hr set he jumped, climbed, and writhed his way through the equipment and crowd while barking shouts and distorted, mechanical melodies. At times his performance channeled Johnny Depp’s Keith Richards mixed with Hunter S. Thompson. This sounds contrived as shit, and certainly has the potential to be, but it rang completely genuine against the backdrop of chemically-fueled paranoia that their best songs instill (see “Subtle Body” below).
I saw a lot of good bands at SXSW ‘09, but These Arms Are Snakes planted a high bar on the first night that wasn’t beaten this year. I can’t say enough good things about this band.
