Ramblings of a Redhead Music Snob

Ok friends, lets not get too excited! I’m really not considering a move to LA, see below for reference. Although, right about now that Cali weather is sounding quite nice! So here’s a bit about last night’s show.

Art Brut/Spinto Band/Annuals – Irving Plaza – 10/19/06

heres my take: annuals – so badly wanted to like them, but just couldnt get into them. they didnt excite me, their music didnt blow me away, a bit disappointing.

spinto band – ive officially seen them tooooooooo many times. they were good, but nothing great. they seem almost gimmicky at this point. the first few times it was fun, now im bored. the act doesnt change, and they need new stuff. ive seen them since they first released an EP, and werent on a label. they finally released a cd, and ive still been seeing them. time for new stuff before i make another venture.  For those that have never seen them, they are worth seeing, don’t get me wrong.

art brut – eddie is fun! but this being my third time in a few months, has become too much. like spinto band, its the same stuff. the first time was by far the best. its worn off a bit, and their new songs as eddie mentioned are no longer new if youve seen them in concert. so its all the same stuff. he jumped into the crowd during ‘move to LA’, or maybe that was ‘modern art’. either way its always amusing watching eddie figure out what direction LA is. too bad he was pointing south, and would have gone to Florida, but that song is ridiculously catchy. ‘im considering a move to LA, he’s considering a move to LA’. as i only saw some of the songs, i did hear ‘bang bang rock & roll’, which I somehow blanked out and ‘Formed a Band’. Art Brut will always be entertaining, and any band that refers to themselves in third person is quite cool in my book. Besides Eddie in ratty old socks (and he has BIG feet), never wearing shoes is always a cool site. And he was waving to us in the front row before the show started. Awwww, what a guy! Jasper – excellent as always. He seems like such a cool person, clearly having a great time. And he’s ace on guitar. I felt Eddie’s vocals weren’t as loud as they should have been and often times were drowned out by the guitars. Not necessarily a bad thing when he does say ‘and this is my singing voice’. 🙂

10/11/06

Where’s your head at… wheres your head at..where’s your head at.

 So, maybe you are asking yourself why that sounds so familiar. It was in an advert not long ago (or maybe long ago) for a car. Probably volkswagen, but I’m entirely not sure. Anyway, the guys behind the music are Basement Jaxx.

Went home from work last night to miserable weather. Forgot my umbrella, and my white blouse was now sheer. I was so tired that I went to lay down on the couch and woke up to Dancing with the stars, freaking out wondering what time it was. Needless to say I was running late. Finally made it to Webster Hall to a line of people in the pouring rain. Met up with Luke, and got into the club to catch The Double. The Double was an interesting band. They were plagued by all sorts of sound problems, and it seems they could barely get through a single song. When they finally were playing, it was good stuff. Lead singer has a voice reminiscent of Morrissey. Guitar was weak at best (more problems), but they were good. One thing which I couldn’t escape, were gay guys on either side of me making out to the full extreme. I was pretty sure there was going to be full on sex at any moment. I guess one couple got so carried away, because they grabbed their stuff and ran off. I’m not one to mind PDAs but to that extent I was a bit put-off. I really wanted to tell them to grab a room, but I guess they got the idea. The good part is, once they left I had an amazing view in the very front.

10:15 – Basement Jaxx take the stage to Intro. The crowd goes crazy, the screams envelop the club. The Jaxx performed with a brass section – trumpet, trombone and sax (in kilts and make up no less), and an abundance of singers/dancers. I think at any one time there might have been at least 8 people on the stage.  A BBW takes the stage in this striking blue gown. And she has one hell of a voice. Next 2 women come out, dancing and singing up a storm to the Jaxx’s amazing beats in the background. The dance music is going strong, with each new song a new costume appears and sometimes new singers. The dancing is contagious, the crowd so loves them.  And the crowd is as diversified as the singers on stage. Everyone on the floor is either dancing, singing, or jumping. “Take me back to ur house” was catchy, and the woman who sang on it, might have been the one from the album. She actually reminded me of the singer from the opening band the night before with Lily Allen. (Lily Allen should have been there last night, after all she is in the city) She had one hell of a strong voice (the only white woman to be singing that night).  And the crowd loved her. The costumes were amazing, from gowns, to other such outfits, with a rapper wearing a cape that was partially filled with a UK flag and the other side a Jamaican flag. The highlight of the night was the single “Wheres your head at”. The intro is awesome, with just the beats, and then finally Felix leaves from behind his mixing board area, and comes to the center of the stage mic in hand, singing ‘wheres your head at’. He’s jumping all over the place, one of the singers comes out with him, and her voice complements his. Felix is getting the crowd to go crazy, jumping, dancing. At this point I thought for sure the stage was collapsing. I have never felt it so powerful. The song lasted a good while and was pure dance entertainment, especially when the gorillas (the brass section) came out onto the stage, reminiscent of their video.

During one part of a song, one of the women went over to the brass section, got down on her knees and looked up their kilts. And then teased the audience pulling it up ever so slightly. The guys looked so embarrassed. The Jaxx had one encore, a song off their new album, that I can’t think of at the moment. The show ended with all the performers coming together on stage and dancing and taking a bow at the end (in true Broadway style)!

And lucky for me, I managed to get another setlist for the collection.

9/26/06

Last night was one of those nights where I just really wasn’t sure how it would all turn out. I have had this ridiculous cold, and had been sneezing all day long. Was hopped up on plenty of Sudafed, and this homeopathic remedy called “ColdCalm”. Now whether or not either of them worked, is really hard to say. I was hoping to crash for a bit before the show last night, but Anthony was at my place nearing 6pm.

Got to Irving Plaza right around 8:40. No clue if we were right on time for Of Montreal, and hopefully not late. Indeed we arrived at a good time. The show last night was part of Wired Magazine’s NextFest (if i got the name correct) which was advertising new cool gadget type things. Beck was the curator for the event, meaning he was choosing the artist’s last night, of which he thought would be the next best thing. Which for Beck is Of Montrealand Jamie Cullum.

 Ando so begins begins our odyssey. Kevin comes onto the stage looking gorgeous as always. May I please borrow those boots. In red knee-high boots and a short skirt. Dottie was wearing a very sparkly tank top, looking cute as always. Bryan and Matt were both pretty close to me. Bryan in a way cute dress and Matt in a Russian eskimo hat. The show began with “So begins our Alabee” … the lyrics of the first line, being the title of the post. They played a lot of stuff off of the new album which releases in January 2007. The other majority came from The Sunlandic Twins. Kevin is an entertaining singer, zipping off the stage to change from his skirt into _very_ short shorts, which were also very tight, and a cute little shirt. I was seriously picturing him walking around the Castro in that outfit. I’ve seen many a gay boy in those short shorts. Very few can pull it off. Kevin can. There is also a scene in which Kevin is pulled to the floor by Dottie, hands bound behind his back and gagged no less. Very interesting. By this time Kevin is shirtless. I think my heart might have stopped beating.  The rest of the band is very good as well, with guitar solos happening here and there, and the band feeding off of each other’s energy as well as the crowds.

The crowd was very into music. The whole front was just people dancing and singing along. When “Disconnect the Dots” came on the crowd went into a frenzy singing along, dancing. Kevin was clearly having a great time on stage, dancing as much as the crowd. Their last album was very indie pop sounding and very catchy songs. Although the song titles would never lead you to believe that the choruses could be so sing-along friendly and catchy. So for a fun, upbeat, dancy show, with great ‘costume’ changes (if you will), of Montreal is not to be missed.  Now if they only do a cover of “You’re so Pretty, We’re so Pretty” from the Charlatans, I think that would sum it all up!