Ramblings of a Redhead Music Snob

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Posts Tagged ‘Independent’

Sondre Lerche Brings Pleasure to the Independent

Posted by xneverwherex on May 21, 2017

Sondre Lerche
Dedekind Cut
Independent
May 2, 2017

Sondre Lerche brought a dance party, as well as his charm, to the Independent on Tuesday. The Norwegian-born, Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter is currently out on tour for Pleasure, a companion piece to 2014’s Please. He emphasized the pleasure, ready for a dance party and to let loose.

Lerche entered the stage dancing to an ’80s synth intro and kicked right into the dance-heavy

Sondre Lerche

Sondre Lerche

“Soft Feelings,” the first song off his new album. He stayed in constant motion from that point on. Pure indie dance pop track “Bad Law” had Lerche dancing up a storm along with the audience. Later on, Lerche performed “I’m Always Watching You” solo, with only his guitar as accompaniment. He didn’t even sing into his microphone, creating one of the most intimately touching moments of the show. It was so quiet during the song that every note rang out emphatically. Lerche’s soft vocal delivery was beautiful.

As a songwriter, Lerche has a knack for love as well heartbreak. As he sang “Legends,” his heartbreak was palpable: “Please disregard/ My endless hope/ It just paved the way/ For the end of our rope.” Without missing a beat, Lerche’s band—drummer David Heilman, bassist Jordan Brooks and keyboardist Alan James Markley followed up the lonely number with guitar-driven, crowd-pleaser “Phantom Punch.”

“Let’s revisit sins from the past,” Sondre said, introducing earlier material. He performed “No One’s Gonna Come” from his debut, Faces Down. With its jazzy guitars, the song had Lerche crooning like Burt Bacharach. The song continued to build, eventually incorporating a gaggle of thrashing guitars and an emotional punch. Like no other, Lerche segued into a slow jam. Talking about the weather, he threatened to take off his shirt, which had both men and women erupting in joy, (and later followed through). He then bent down and serenaded women at the front of the stage during “Minor Detail.” To say that it didn’t make my day would have been an understatement. It felt like it was just for me at that moment.

Sondre Lerche

Sondre Lerche

The beautiful soaring harmonies of Markley, Heilman and Lerche on “Two Way Monologue” made it seem like the three had been performing for years. In truth, this tour almost didn’t happen after two of his original bandmates were denied entry into the country (thanks Trump, really) and Brooks and Markley were last-minute replacements.

The band concluded the concert with a 15-minute rave/dance party. As the drums kicked in, and a techno beat kicked in, Lerche hopped onto the floor and formed a dance pit with concertgoers. His arms in the air and sweat dripping down, he implored everyone to let loose with reckless abandon.

New York experimental artist Fred Welton Warmsley, performing as Dedekind Cut, opened up the concert and took early arrivers down a rabbit hole into sonic exploration. Without notice, he would shift from thumping bass filled with feedback and reverb to a dark and moody mix. There was no time to acclimate with styles. As soon as it felt like there was a recognizable dance rhythm, it would morph into another genre with overlaid heavy tribal percussion. The way he played with samples and used sound to create unique mixes was amazing.

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Ibeyi

Posted by xneverwherex on April 3, 2015

Ibeyi
Flo Morrissey
The Independent
4/2/15

Ibeyi, the much-hyped SXSW band from Paris, had finally emerged in San Francisco. Ibeyi, meaning twins in Yoruba, had to be the most adorable twin sisters I had ever seen perform. I guess one word that kept coming to mind while watching them was ‘precious’. And their set was just that (which is not to take anything away from how brilliant they are).

The sisters came out to the stage to a crowd that was beyond excited to finally be seeing them perform. They kneeled down and picked up the candles on the stage and lit them before starting their first African chant. Add some traditional Cuban drums, and the beats came alive with Naomi keeping a consistent beat throughout the show. Coupled with sister, Lisa-Kaindé, singing in Yoruba (a bygone Nigerian and Santeria language) and the show was already that great.

The show felt at times voyeuristic as we watched the sisters perform chants and folk songs for the Yoruba gods. Lisa-Kaindé talked a lot about the gods and who they were and how they were a part of the songs. It felt like we were almost invading this sacred world, but the way they made the audience a part of it was nothing short of special.

Ibeyi

Ibeyi

The blend of Afro-Cuban, French music set to drum beats was a minimalist sound but simple and beautiful. With the piano playing of Lisa-Kaindé against Naomi’s drum beats and the strong vocals it was so easy to get lost in the music. The sultry dance moves as they glided across the stage just added to the ambience of their music. As the twins went into their single ‘River‘, they dedicated it to the gods (possibly Oshun and Shango – one was definitely for the water and the other earth) and had the crowd sing along “wash my soul again” as they sang “I will come to you river”. The end result was just beautiful as the crowd became a part of their show.

The crowd, who was filled with lots of very polite women (someone even complimented Lisa-Kaindé’s dress), would apologize each time they bumped you or wanted to squeeze in and take a picture. And it felt all too fitting with the sisters on stage who had that same vibe to them. They were all too thankful to be playing and so excited that the crowd was so into them. The crowd was electric and sang along to most of the songs as well as continued with the clapping as instructed. Songs like “Oya” just stood out with the gorgeous piano playing and warm/strong vocals against the simple percussions keeping up the beat. And “Ghosts” is nothing short of spectacular. You can just feel the pain in their voices as they harmonize together and come together as one. The pianos and drums together with their chanting and vocals just makes for a beautiful song.

In short, this is a band to see. While their music itself is simplistic, when they perform together its really something beautiful and magical. The twins come together as one and take us into a world that rarely we get to see. Its usually hard to translate that into a live performance but theyve managed to do just that. In a nutshell, its just precious and will take you out of your own world/life for just a bit.

Opener Flo Morrissey came out to a very loud audience. She was soft-spoken and picked up her guitar and played a short acoustic set. She had some good songs and her vocals are nothing short of impressive – strong and powerful – but she just couldn’t compete with a crowd that was far louder than her. It seemed most the time you could barely hear her singing but Im sure in the right venue she would be pretty awesome to hear.

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