The Japandroids| The Glasshouse in Pomona | 04.22.13

I was intensely excited to see Japandroids, because their song The House that Heaven Built was my very favorite song of last year. Once again, we delve into Brandon's fave genre of Canadian indie rock, and I put emphasis on the rock part. Their music never fails to get me hyped up, so I was looking very forward to a good old fashioned throw down with these guys. As an added bonus, Brandon also very much enjoys the opener, Cloud Nothings, who also seem to specialize in straightforward, fist pumping fun.

The Glasshouse is a great little venue, very close to the Fox Theater, and we have seen some very memorable shows there (Jimmy Eat World, Motion City Soundtrack, Metric, just to name a few). However, the advertised door/show times usually seem to have no bearing on the actual set times. We often arrive close to show time only to see a handwritten sign in the window saying that the openers wouldn't be going on for another couple hours. So, we just hang out in the car and then make our way over after a nice nap or something. This time I was forward thinking and thought maybe we could call ahead and find out what the deal was for the night. Worked great.

There is a small balcony where we usually like to stand - back in the day it was sort of unfinished and would always be INSANELY hot, so we have some fond memories of finding a tiny square directly under a vent up there and huddling together to cool off during a show. Those days seem to be over, as they have slowly been remodeling that area and it's a much nicer spot now. There used to just be small cutouts in the wall through which to view the stage, but now that whole wall has been completely cut in half so it's very comfortable and unobstructed. The A/C didn't kick in for a while though, so we had some brief flashbacks to those hot nights of the past.

When Cloud Nothings took the stage, they didn't say much and just ripped into their guitar fueled set with an energy that didn't really match their laid back style. I wasn't too into it because I am one of those superficial people who prefers her music with lyrics, and for the most part they just waled away on their instruments. When they played the one song of theirs that I did know, Stay Useless, I enjoyed it very much and so did the crowd, but otherwise they didn't really thrill me too much. Brandon felt that they seemed to shed their album persona for a more neo-Nirvana-like attitude, perhaps feeling the pressure to keep up with the Japandroids' raucous reputation.

 

As I mentioned, the set times were actually more than accurate this time, and the polite lil Canadians of Japandroids very sweetly came out a few minutes earlier than posted, introducing themselves to us and chatting us up a bit before proceeding to melt our faces off.

These two adorable boys pulled the same sideways drum layout as Joy Formidable (is this a new thing? because I LOVE it) so we had a wonderful view of both of them. They also were able to really interact with each other, which I would think is important for a rock duo, and they seemed to be have such a great connection.

Although they mentioned several times how beat they were after Coachella, they turned in a solid performance and were ready to "leave it all on the stage" since it was the last show of their current run. We did think they wanted a bit more enthusiasm from the crowd, which was definitely rocking out but come on - it was a Monday night. Many present probably had rough weekends, and as Brandon pointed out, that probably included attending Coachella themselves. It was a valiant effort. 

Before launching into their "big hit" (air quotes by the lead singer), the aforementioned The House that Heaven Built, they explained that they have made ONE video, and it's for that song, and it demonstrates how the crowds normally react when they play that song - which is to say they go apeshit. I don't think the people in attendance that night exactly lived up to that expectation, but I for one was extremely excited to hear it.
 

Obviously it took me a week to get this blog post finished because we are seriously tired from such busy weeks recently. This week we're taking it easy with just one show on Thursday, and it's close to home! Whew.

Purity Ring | The El Rey Theater in Los Angeles | 04.18.13

Our third show this week brought us out to the El Rey in LA, which is a great little venue but has an odd layout so we're always a bit torn about seeing shows there. Brandon's not a big fan of standing throughout a whole show because of his back and knees, but sometimes they do have chairs lining the walls or we kind of find room against the railing, so it's kind of a crap shoot. Although I am not nearly as into Purity Ring as Brandon is, I could not pass this one up because I was incredibly curious as to what their live shows might be like. They are a Canadian duo made up of a guy and a girl, and I had read that they use "a custom-built, tree-shaped instrument to drive both live sound and lighting" and "both wear clothes custom designed and sewn" themselves. Their music is ethereal with hauntingly freaky lyrics, and since they are mostly electronic they certainly speak to me on some level, especially after watching the  weird ass video for my fave song of theirs, Fineshrine.

Once again the doors were not till 8 so we were able to leave late and got there pretty quickly. For some reason, however, the doors were still not open when we go there so we had to wait in line for a while. Thankfully the delay in opening the doors didn't push back the show time too far. I never mind hanging out at the El Rey. The pre-show music was a mix of hip hop and top 40, which kind of surprised us but the crowd seemed to be eating it up with a spoon.

 

I am not really sure what genre Purity Ring fall under, but I guess opener Blue Hawaii fits the same bill: guy on the sampler mixing beats and sounds, girl wailing weird combinations of words and phrases. They announced that they would be starting out slow and building, and they surely did that. At first they were a bit meek, the singer admitting she was very nervous, hair in a ponytail, standing still. By the end, her hair was down, she was dancing and flailing around to the hard thumping rhythms they were cranking out. It wasn't until halfway through that although they were dressed very plainly (him: buttoned white shirt, her: over sized Purity Ring t-shirt and jeans) I noticed that they both had slashes of grayish green paint across their eyes. I kind of loved that random dash of oddness; it suited them well. I was definitely pretty pumped after watching them, as was the rest of the crowd. When they left the stage, the pop warm-up music resumed, culminating with Taylor Swift's Trouble, which is apparently a big hit with the hipsters?? No idea wtf was going on there, but pretty much every person in the room (besides us) was dancing and singing along. As soon as it ended, the lights went down and Purity Ring triumphantly entered.

 

Before I get into the performance aspects, I need to paint the backdrop for this tale. Bear with me, because I really don't know the proper names for much of what we saw, but I will do my best to accurately describe everything, and thankfully Brandon took a ton of pictures to help illustrate. The stage was dominated by long thin poles from which hung large cocoon-like lamps. To the right was a bass drum on a tall stand, and to the left was a rig made up of the control panel with smaller lights surrounding the male half of the duo. These lights seemed to be connected to the music, and he would play them like drums which would light up when struck.

The singer prowled the stage, often holding up an orange work light like a torch. She was marvelous, seeming to me to be a demented, menacing fairy queen, luring us into her enchanted (possibly dangerous) forest.

She clutched at her dress, clawed the air, mussed up her hair, all with a twisted smile on her face and a gleam in her eye.

At times she would pound the bass drum and cause it to light up - I likened it to a full moon while Brandon got the impression of a beating heart.

This was truly a piece of performance art from beginning to end. We could not take our eyes off the pair of them the entire time. They were so in sync, so dramatic, so deeply committed to what they were creating for us. I could not stop smiling. On a purely superficial note, about 2/3rds of the way through, the lights became quite a bit brighter and I got a good look at the male half of the duo. Wow. So lovely. Never cracked a smile till they were leaving the stage, but I thought he was quite beautiful in his intensity. They ended rather abruptly and did not come back for an encore, despite the crowd chanting "ONE MORE SONG!" long after the house lights came up.

Finally! A show we both agreed was a thoroughly entertaining evening for everyone. I was honestly scared when I turned around to look at Brandon afterwards and get his reaction because there was NO way he could possibly refute the magic we had just witnessed and still be my husband. Thankfully we were both firmly on the same page and spent the ride home rhapsodizing about our experience.

Next up: Japandroids at the Glasshouse on Monday! How the hell can we go wrong with that?

The xx | The Fox Theater in Pomona | 04.17.13

When I first got wind of the so called "Coachella shows" that were going to be announced, I started chanting "XX at the Fox" over and over to Brandon, so I am pretty sure I willed this show into existence  He has been a big fan since he first heard them, but somehow they fell completely under my radar until one day I heard Angels on XM and pretty much lost it. Although their first album didn't do much for me, I couldn't get enough of the second album, Coexist, every song ripping my guts out every time I listened to it. So, of course I was crazy excited at the prospect of seeing them live, and the Fox is one of my very favorite venues, due in no small part to the fact that the drive to Pomona is much more palatable than the trek to LA. It is also a gorgeous building, reminiscent of the Wiltern, and the view from the balcony is wonderful. Being the old fogies that we are, we always choose to sit up there rather than brave the lower area. Little did we know that wouldn't really matter for this show....

Talk about a polarizing night. Leading up to the show, Brandon pulled one of his famous flip flops, and suddenly decided that he doesn't really like The xx anymore and that even though he loves their first album, their latest album sucks. That was news to me, as he seemed as excited about going as I was when we first got the tickets. [Editorial speculation: It sort of seemed like he was just having a bad attitude due to my disinterest in the Polica show as well as the Hannah Georgas album, which he vehemently denies.] So, going into it, I knew he was going to be overly critical but I hoped he would still enjoy it.

Doors were not until 8, so we left pretty late and the drive was traffic free. However, once we got there at around 8:30, the line was still completely wrapped around the entire building. We got in right before 9 and the balcony was already packed but we found a couple of good seats on the aisle, and the seat in front of me was broken so that ensured a great view. Or so we thought...

Opener Nite Jewel went on promptly at 9:01, which was a lovely change from the previous night's long wait. Her set was slightly tedious, but I applaud her bravery for going out there with just her keyboard and rocking it out. The crowd was polite enough and she seemed pleased with their reaction. Little did she know what was simmering just below the surface.

The show was sold out and there was a lot of intense energy filling the house. The second there was even an inkling of movement on the darkened stage, everyone went absolutely ballistic. They were on their feet from the start of the show and never sat back down again, even filling the aisle ways of the balcony in vain attempts to get a better view. Being the personal space person that I am, I was more than a little annoyed at the girl who decided to stand next to my seat in the aisle and creep closer and closer to me throughout the show, finally ending up halfway into my seat. She also kept flipping her hair over her shoulder and whacking me in the face with it, and her boyfriend smacked my arm every time he put his arm around her. Someone almost got shanked, is all I am saying.

The xx came out dressed all in slick black and looking solemn, from what I could see. Of the otherwise spectacular show, my only negative comment would be that a lot of the time the lights were pointed directly out into the audience, so it was hard to make out what was happening onstage. I was immediately overwhelmed by how rich and beautiful their voices sounded. These two clearly have no need for ProTools - their voices were pure and lovely the entire night. I was was also incredibly impressed with the percussion/electronics guy in the back who was definitely earning his paycheck. When I was listening to their music earlier this week I started to wonder what the instrument usage would be and assumed they would rely heavily on synths and other electronic means. I was pleasantly surprised that this guy ran around like a maniac from bass drums to steel drums to keyboards, filling the air with gorgeous, layered sounds. It seemed that the majority of the audience agreed with my assessment of the majesty we were beholding. Every time the singers opened their mouths to sing, they were met with ecstatic screams and cheers. Their stage banter was limited to a few quiet "thank yous" between songs, but at one point Oliver Sim did say something like, "Keep screaming - you're making us feel like One Direction!" I found the sound and lighting to be equally mesmerizing, putting me into sort of a trance even though I wasn't partaking of any of the mind altering substances being enjoyed by those around us. I am going to let you in on a lil secret: I am kind of a weirdo and often find myself tearing up when we go to shows because I become very affected hearing songs I love live. Brandon makes fun of me a lot for this, so I had to fight REALLY hard to keep it to myself last night. I managed to hide it well most of the time but I did let one tear slip during the glorious final song, Angels, my very fave. I just couldn't hold back any longer.

I walked out euphoric, completely blown away by the performance, so it came as quite a surprise when Brandon announced that he thought it was awful. He complained that it was one of the most boring shows he has ever been to, noting that they slowed down even the up tempo songs that he likes to a crawl. "It felt like I was slowly drowning," he said. He was also bothered by the fact that the lighting techs didn't seem to remember the fact that they had lasers at their disposal until 40 minutes into the show and that in spite of all the elaborate staging, they did nothing with the "big white parachute" behind them. Although technically proficient, he said they seemed like they were still hung over from Coachella and that they would rather be sleeping.

In case you're interested in judging for yourself, here's a snippet someone posted of the show. Great example of the crowd's reactions as well.

Not gonna lie, we argued quite a bit on the way home about this show. He finally begrudgingly admitted that it sounded beautiful, but he also claims that he found the vocals muddled and unintelligible half the time which... I wonder if he needs to get his ears checked. There was such an extreme divide between our experiences that I really felt like there had to be an emotional reason behind his passionate disregard for a show that I found to be enthralling.

Another item of note: I never got a good shot of it, but here you can kind of make out the fact that on one side of the Fox theater sign the neon was turned red and the F and O were turned off so it was just a big red X. NO idea if this was intentional or not, but I gotta admit I got chills when B pointed it out. Whether due to serendipity or design, it was a very cool sight.

Next up is Purity Ring, another one of "his" bands that I assumed he would be excited to see. Who knows how tonight will go...

Poliça | The Observatory in Santa Ana | 04.16.13

This will be an insane week, show wise. Thanks to Coachella, lots of amazing shows are happening this week and next at our local venues. We're going to four of those shows, and I am simultaneously thrilled and exhausted just thinking about it. Let's jump right into this mess!

We're easing into it with a nice, calm show at The Observatory with a band Brandon likes called Poliça. (He kept calling them Policia, so I thought it might be a Mexican Police cover band until I looked it up and corrected him.) American band, Polish name. Brandon's interest was sparked because the lead singer was involved with Gayngs. They are a bit boring for me, but of course I am always willing to go to one of B's shows since I drag him along to so many of mine!

The Observatory must still be remodeling the upstairs because they were still seating for dinner downstairs, and the night started off well for us because they gave us one of the booths in the highest tier rather than the uncomfortable tables/chairs. We soon realized this was probably not because we've developed a rapport with the host, but rather because the place was completely dead. Even towards 8pm (supposed show time) there were still maybe only 50 people on the floor, which may have contributed to the delay in starting. Brandon got his fave, the Nebula which is basically a fancy bacon cheeseburger, and a few minutes later we heard the waitress tell another diner that they were out of bacon. After initially high fiving B for getting the last of the bacon, I started thinking that was odd to run out of the item that makes up two of the five entree items. Although the food is very good, they really need to get it together a bit and provide more options, or at the very least be able to provide the few options they do have.

Something we noticed right away was that the dj seemed to be relying pretty heavily on Radiohead for the pre-show music... and then a commercial came on. Apparently on nights like that they are content to use Spotify instead of a live person. This would be fine, but at least spring for the paid version. I struggled to stay awake while listening to all that Radiohead while simultaneously becoming impatient for the show to begin. 

Finally the opener appeared at almost 9, as mentioned. We had joked about their name, Night Moves, with the host when we first got there, singing the Bob Seger song. It's a bit cheesetastic. As soon as they barely strummed their instruments, I said it was gonna be loud and popped in my earplugs. Brandon scoffed at me, and then started whacking me with one hand and the other held out for his own when they commenced playing. It was blown out and uncomfortable to say the least, but the earplugs helped tremendously. Those babies have been lifesavers on more than one occasion. Anyway, this band was was not really noteworthy, except that one of their songs was called Cosmic Titties. I approve.

Poliça went on around 10ish, and I comforted myself in the fact that they only have one album so there was no way they could play for much more than an hour. Pretty negative attitude, I know, but it was my thought process. As I am not a fan and had only heard a couple songs before last night, I can't really comment on how they sounded except that I couldn't understand anything the lead singer said. I kept imagining lyrics based on the sounds she was making and concluded that their songs contain lyrics such as "slap the donkey," "you play with cheese," and "I'll ride your foreskin." Brandon claims none of that is true, but I stand by what I heard. I guess I am just not cool enough to get them. They are from Minnesota, but the lead singer is super pretentious, all twitchy with a weird, with an affected accent. Maybe she is originally from another country, but she claimed she is from Colorado and Minnesota so... yea. No idea what to make of her whole demeanor, which was off putting to me. Brandon pointed out that she reminded him of the short haired chick from The Following, and I couldn't see anything but that when I looked at her going forward. Late in the show she announced something about having self esteem issues which also kind of rubbed me the wrong way. I only nodded off briefly, and it was much more upbeat than I expected. 

Brandon, on the other hand, enjoyed the show very much. He said they were very tight and was extremely impressed that they have no guitar player - just an incredible bassist and two drummers, and then the lead singer doing a bunch of freaky sampling of her own voice and other noises. I thought that part was entertaining. He also really enjoyed the lighting, mostly because of the interesting mix of colors, such as blending fuschia with the blue, or yellow with green, creating an interesting contrast and contributing to the overall vibe.

The highlight for me was that they closed with a cover of Nobody by Keith Sweat, complete with piles of AutoTune and funky beats. Surprising, but strong.