Live Review: Deerhunter, Pylon, Jay Reatard and Times New Viking @ Variety Playhouse; The Spooks, Cola Freaks and Mourdella @ Star Bar, 10/31/08
[Above: Jared Swilley of the Black Lips plays in Halloween-appropriate band The Spooks.]More good bands than Bonnaroo. The release of a long-awaited record. A 3-D extravaganza. A horde of crazed Danes. A theremin. A cassette so limited it doesn’t really exist. The Black Lips wearing bed sheets. And Jay Reatard playing (gasp) an acoustic guitar. It’s just another Halloween in Atlanta, as Deerhunter headed a line-up of hipster-approved indie rockers at the Variety Playhouse, while Black Lips side-project The Spooks descended upon the after-party at Star Bar, supported by a cadre of local bands and the aforementioned Danes. ... read more
Found in: Local:AtlantaLive Review: The Renegades (Black Lips), The Stolen Minks, Goodnight Loving, Jack of Heart @ The Earl 10/16/08
“The last time we played these songs, I couldn’t grow facial hair,” bassist Jared Swilley joked as PBR cans flew over the heads of the packed house at the Earl, where he and his Black Lips bandmates reconvened as The Renegades for a somewhat-secret show last Thursday night.... read more
Found in: Local:AtlantaLive Review: Manchester Orchestra, Lowry @ Star Bar 10/16/08
[Above: Manchester Orchestra's Andy Hull]Onstage, Manchester Orchestra mixes the captivating vocals and compelling arrangements of its records with hardcore guitar and screaming, as lead singer Andy Hull abandons his sweet, high tenor for larynx-wrenching wails. I could listen to his on-record singing voice for hours and be happier for it, but last night all I could think was what a shame it was. ... read more
Found in: Local:AtlantaLive Review: The Avett Brothers @ Georgia Theatre, 10/3/08
Before last week, I'd only seen the Avett Brothers live in festival settings-- all rife with dust, sweat and unsuspecting patrons about to have their notions of the banjo's hokey limitations fully obliterated-- so maybe a certain trend I noticed Friday night in Athens is a long-standing, midsize-venue-specific one that I just never had the opportunity to witness before. Or maybe, like the Grit and the Polish Sausage Man and the Dawgs, it's just unique to that great little town. Either way, hanging in and around the Georgia Theatre that evening was a notable number of young gentlemen dressed in... read more
Found in: Blogs, Ctrl-VLive Review: Atlanta Eighties Punk Reunion @ The Masquerade 10/4/08
[Above: The Swimming Pool Q's, shown here playing in downtown Atlanta in the early '80s, performed at the Masquerade Saturday night.] Full disclosure: I am not the city’s leading expert in the ways of punk. I discovered punk as a seventh grader in the early 1980s, first through new wave bands like Blondie and Devo, then later through a local Macon band called Vex. As high schoolers, my friends and I moved on to shows by local Atlanta and Athens bands, and then to records by more established national bands: Black Flag, Social Distortion, The Ramones, Dead Kennedys. And though... read more
Found in: Local:AtlantaLive Review: Lindsey Buckingham @ House Of Blues 10/2
Gift Of Screws is Lindsey Buckingham's second solo album in two years following a nearly 15-year gap, and he didn't shy away from showcasing the new material at the House Of Blues on Thursday night, even if most of the attendees were likely expecting his Fleetwood Mac hits (and even if many minds were perhaps preoccupied by the concurrent Cubs playoff game and VP debates, no doubt to blame for the less-than-capacity crowd). ... read more
Found in: Local:ChicagoLive Review: Motörhead @ Roseland Ballroom, 9/20
"We are Motörhead, boys and girls. And we play rock 'n' roll." With this simple statement of fact, fabled frontman Lemmy Kilmister opened the legendary British rock band's set at the Roseland Ballroom, launching into a high-speed rendition of "Dr. Rock" that kicked off a night of fist-pumping, pretension-free thrash. In their 45+ minute set, the British heavy metal band ran through almost all of the fan favorites including "Metropolis," "Killed By Death" and "Overkill," as well as the obligatory rendition of "Ace of Spades." They even dusted off their acoustic guitars for an encore performance of "Whorehouse Blues." And though Lemmy and the band... read more
Found in: Local:NYCLive Review: The Stills @ The Music Hall of Williamsburg, 9/18
The Stills neither look nor play like they sound. Saturated onstage in an electronic bonfire glow, vocalists Dave Hamelin and Tim Fletcher didn't resemble the sensitive, love-lorn Canadian art school graduates they portray so well on their three studio albums. Every note they struck accompanied a natural rock god pose or back-flowing hair sweep, and despite the fragile undertones of their albums, the theatrics didn't feel insincere in the least.... read more
Found in: Paste:LocalLive Review: Ólöf Arnalds @ Lutheran Church of the Messiah 9/16
A prominent figure in her Scandinavian music scene or a number of years, the folk singer/songwriter, guitarist and charango player (and new mother to an 8-month-old son) Ólöf Arnalds took the stage on Tuesday evening at Greenpoint's Lutheran Church of the Messiah with openers Sam Amidon and Kría Brekkan to a crowd of wide-eyed Brooklyn fans. ... read more
Found in: Local:NYCLive Review: Hot Chip @ Metro 9/29
There is an inherent, if not unspoken, risk in electronic-tinged outfits performing live. On one hand, they could turn out to be soulless programming presentations; on the other, studio wizardry can fail to produce any real electricity in concert halls, and could even fail to translate at all. Thankfully, such was not the case on the second evening of Hot Chip's two-night stand at the Metro, where the band took the stage to a comfortably full room of attendees in rapt attention.... read more
Found in: Local:Chicago
