April 18, 2009

You know when it rains in this town I get washed away.

(April 18th, 2009 Millvale, PA - Mr. Small's)

Copeland is a band I've always liked, but I've never loved. Maybe it's because I've never seen them live, because right now I love them. This is a show I almost didn't go to because I've just never been that into any of the bands on the bill, but it was on a Saturday night, so I opted in. I couldn't be happier that I did.

The bill could not have been any more diverse. The first act was Brooke Waggoner, a gracious young lady and a few of her musically inclined friends. Brooke plays piano and sings, and she also had a cello player, violin player, guitarist, and backup vocalist, all female save for the guitarist (who had an AMAZING beard f.y.i.). She plays a refreshing brand of very piano driven singer-songwriter rock that fans of Copeland would certainly be, and certainly were, happy with. Her set was fantastic, each little musical quirk brought about by the strings or the sparsely included guitar parts really managed to stand out. Brooke also has a fantastic voice and is a really nice girl. If you ever manage to catch her live show, listen, and afterwards walk right on up to her, she's more than happy to talk.

Following Brooke was a band called Paper Route. I'll come right out and say it, I could not have possibly been more impressed. They sounded like Mae playing Dredg songs. Or maybe Dredg playing Mae songs. It was actually very different, and a very captivating live show. I only hope the songs that they played, mostly from their upcoming album Absence, are as good on record as they are live. If this is the case, this record (which I'll be ordering shortly) is sure to be on my top ten of 2009. Their set was downright mesmerizing. More mind-blowing than anything though was the fact that it was the first time several of the songs had ever been played live, something I'm grateful I witnessed. If you get the chance, go see Paper Route. You won't regret it.

Next up was This Providence. I have heard many good things about their live show (I was with a couple girls who had already seen them three times), but I had trouble getting into their newest work, Who Are You Now?. I was pleasantly surprised and equally impressed by their live set though. It was fun to listen to. They're one of those bands that plays a style of music that I'm not particularly fond of, but I can still enjoy them, because they're good at what they do. Very poppy stuff, likely coming to a city near you very soon. Note: thank Lua for the set list.

set list:
Sure as Hell
Playing the Villain
Sand In Your Shoes
Letdown
A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing
Keeping On Without You
That Girl's A Trick
My Beautiful Rescue
Somebody To Talk To
Waste Myself

After three really great bands and meeting a few very cool people, I had actually forgotten why I was in a humid church at ten o'clock on a Saturday night. Then I saw Aaron Marsh carrying equipment on stage and it hit me: I was in the same room as Copeland, one of the better bands making music today. I got very, very excited, and was immediately gratified. Two songs from You Are My Sunshine opened the set, as expected, but I was glad. YAMS is a fantastic album as far as I'm concerned. Still, I was hoping for some old songs, because, well, Copeland's entire back catalog is also wonderful. My wish was granted with "When Paula Sparks" and "No One Really Wins," two of my favorite Copeland songs. A very mixed set followed, material from every album except Beneath Medicine Tree followed. They also played a phenomenal cover of the Smashing Pumpkins' "Tonight, Tonight," a song that is certainly not easy to cover well. The set ended with "You Have My Attention," quite possibly my favorite Copeland song, and I found myself absolutely choked up. It felt wonderful. I was stunned with just how good the band sounded. Aaron Marsh, the band's frontman, is also very comfortable with a guitar in his hands or behind the keyboard. The set ended, chants followed, and an encore of "Brightest" and "Testing the Strong Ones Followed," and I felt a little dulled by it. As bad as I wanted to hear more from BMT, I think "You Have My Attention" would have been the perfect way to end the night. Nonetheless, it was a fantastic set. My only complaint was it felt fairly routine, they've probably played the same or a very similar set list each night on this tour.

set list:
Chin Up
The Grey Man
When Paula Sparks
No One Really Wins
To Be Happy Now
On The Safest Ledge
Sleep
Control Freak
The Day I Lost My Voice (The Suitcase Song)
Tonight, Tonight (Smashing Pumpkins cover)
Careful Now
Pin Your Wings
You Have My Attention

encore:
Brightest
Testing the Strong Ones

This set list may or may not be spot on, I'm not entirely sure.

April 15, 2009

Initial Thoughts: mewithoutYou - it's all crazy!...

This is weird. Very weird. Not like anything they've done before. I'm not sure how people are going to feel about this. I'm not even sure how I feel about it.

April 10, 2009

Kevin Devine - Brother's Blood


Here’s the thing about Kevin Devine: he writes amazing songs, but he has yet to churn out that one amazing album, his Deja Entendu, if you will. While I won’t say Brother’s Blood is that, it’s most definitely a step in the right direction. Its is complete with good songs start-to-finish, but is also a cohesive work in and of itself. It cannot be lumped into one specific genre either; it dances between soft acoustic numbers, emotionally charged anthems, and straightforward rockers. Sometimes it’s great, but it’s always good.

I can’t find anything I don’t like about Brother’s Blood. There isn’t a track that stands out in a bad way; there isn’t a moment where I find myself disgusted. It continually satisfies. Still, whether or not this is even Devine’s best album could be debated. He seems to be stuck in a rut – while writing good albums isn’t a bad rut to be stuck in, he needs that career defining moment to come. But again, he continually shows progress. Make the Clocks Move proved he could be one of the better songwriters in the scene. Split the Country, Split the Street showed he could rock with the best of them. Put Your Ghost to Rest was the album that should have put him on a pedestal, and Brother’s Blood is the record that shows he wasn’t lost in the shuffle. Unfortunately, that’s not how it worked, but that’s exactly how it sounds.

The thing that always stood out about Kevin Devine, to me at least, was the softer songs he wrote. Songs like “Lord, I Know We Don’t Talk,” “A Billion Bees,” and of course “Ballgame,” don’t just fit a mood, they make a mood. With the release of Brother’s Blood, “All of Everything, Erased,” “It’s Only Your Life,” and “Tomorrow’s Just Too Late” (the latter of which features Jesse Lacey of Brand New) can all be added to that collection. Of course, Kevin’s not a one trick pony. Just when you think all he can do is write brooding lonely acoustic ballads, he plugs in and you find yourself losing your voice.

Anyone who saw Kevin Devine and the Goddamn Band with Manchester Orchestra will be familiar with the rousing versions of “Carnival” and “Another Bag of Bones” that appear on this record. Both songs were originally released as acoustic demos on Kevin’s Myspace (like all but one song on this record), but were drastically reworked to include the Goddamn Band, like all but three of the demos that appear on Brother’s Blood. The only song that was not previously released as a demo was the title track, probably the single strongest song on the album, clocking in at almost eight minutes, every second of which rocks with intensity never illustrated by Devine & co. on a recording until now.

Every track on Brother’s Blood deserves to be mentioned though. “Hand of God” is possibly the strongest song lyrically, but musically gets a tad monotonous. Still, it is much improved from the original demo. “Fever Moon” is a very relaxed, down-tempo, almost Latin flavored jam that never seems to build up to anything, but is perfect for a dimly lit night in a humid southern state. “I Could Be With Anyone” is an ideal choice for the album’s first single, but “Yr Husband” would fit just as well, both are standard power-chord rockers, both are very lyrically strong. For that matter, Brother’s Blood’s biggest sell is probably its lyrics. Devine continues to grow as a songwriter with each release.

All in all, I believe Brother’s Blood will prove to be one of the stronger releases of 2009, and should be expected to appear on many end of the year lists on the positive end of the spectrum. My only complaint is it still isn’t that album – the one that we’re all waiting for from Kevin Devine, the one that we all know he has in him. But that should take nothing away from this release. Front-to-back it’s an unquestionably solid record, worthy of any praise that it receives, and will surely take any critiquing in stride, but has to be listened to in order to be judged. It’s sure to make fans of Devine very happy, and hopefully will draw many more in. Musically, vocally, lyrically, production-wise, overall this record is a nine-out-of-ten: it needs to be heard.

http://www.myspace.com/kevindevine

April 5, 2009

Here's to the night - to my coma and my brand new set of eyes.

(April 5th, 2009 Pittsburgh, PA - Altar Bar)


I’ve been to my fair share of concerts. Sometimes I dance, sometimes I scream, sometimes I mosh, sometimes I just listen. I’ve never cried though - that is until last night. April 5th, 2009 was the last time that Once Nothing, self-proclaimed ‘blue collar metal,’ will have played together. In the nine years that Once Nothing has been a band, they’ve played hundreds, quite possibly thousands of shows, but all others pale in comparison to that one.

At both Once Nothing headlining shows that I’ve seen, they’ve done the same thing. Before they begin their set, they dim all the lights and play Alison Krauss’ “Down to the River to Pray” (link) over the venue’s PA system. It creates an indescribable atmosphere, the anticipation gets to everyone. People were crying before Once Nothing even took the stage. When they finally did there was no busting right into the song, Todd Lowry, the band’s vocalist, came right out and told us what the night would consist of (“some old songs and some new songs”), before introducing “Goodbye Hollywood,” from the Earthmover EP. The set was very mixed, very balanced between newer material from their Solid State Records debut, First Came the Law, all the way back to songs that were on very limited EP releases, pre-Voice of the Paragon EP. Four songs from First Came the Law and one from Voice of the Paragon followed, guns a-blazing, and I thought I would certainly lose my voice. The venue is full at 800, and I’d be very surprised if that number wasn’t exceeded. I found myself pinned against the stage for a majority of the set - as far as I’m concerned, it was the place to be.

The next two songs were classics amongst fans of the band. “Gunfire is the Sound of Freedom” and “All My Heroes are Cowboys” both originally appeared on Earthmover EP, but were re-recorded for First Came the Law. There was more audience participation throughout the set than I’ve ever seen at a metal show. “Cowboys” was also kicked off with a phenomenal drum solo by Giuseppe, one of the better drummers around today. He has to be seen live to be fully appreciated.

Following those were two classics in Once Nothing’s repertoire, “How to Build a Sandcastle,” played in full, and “Hand Grenades Solve All My Problems.” They blasted through “Sandcastle,” and the crowd sucked up every second. A few unexpected guests were brought up too, Once Nothing’s very first guitarist and drummer. Many people in the crowd (including myself) had never even seen them before. They had been playing in the band when I was just eight years old. I wasn’t listening to ‘blue-collar metal’ in second grade. It was quite a moment nonetheless.

After “Hand Grenades” Todd came out and told us that these would be the last two songs Once Nothing would ever play. “Whiskey Breath” was first, and this performance was not on par with the last time I saw them, unlike the rest of the set. It was the only song I wasn’t happy with, or at least wasn’t as happy with as I was last May. Following that Todd told us the story of “Waves,” and actually went to tears. Everyone was choked up. It was quite a moment. Finally, he decided it was time, and on the count of three, we saw “Waves” one last time. It was incredible. By the end of the song, right before “Can I get a hallelujah?” the stage was flooded with people. I can’t even begin to describe the sheer emotion that overwhelmed every person in that venue. Instruments were broken, people were crying, screaming, flailing, jumping, it was a beautiful mess. And just like that, Once Nothing was nothing once more.

There are no words for just how much this final show meant to everyone in the venue. It was evident in our faces, in our voices, in our very being there. No one questioned the band’s decision to end their run. We knew it was time, and we knew we should make the most of it. I can’t imagine there was a better way to go out.

set list:
Goodbye Hollywood
The Intimidator
Put Some Stank On It
The Dust of a Town
Juliette or At Least What’s Left of Her
Columbus Wasn’t Looking For America
All My Heroes Are Cowboys
Gunfire is the Sound of Freedom
How to Build a Sandcastle
Hand Grenades Solve All My Problems
Whiskey Breath
Waves


This wasn't intended to be a good review. This is just me recounting one of the better concerts I've ever been to.

April 4, 2009

Initial thoughts: Manchester Orchestra - Mean Everything to Nothing

I just decided something. I will never compare this album to I'm Like A Virgin Losing A Child. Virgin is one of my favorite albums of all time, top three for certain. That said, Mean Everything to Nothing lacks nothing upon the first few listens. In the next couple days I'll continue evaluating and hopefully review soon. To sum up what I think I'll have to say though: it's not disappointing. At all.