Categorized | Concerts, Kansas City

Tilly and the Wall @ The Granada, Lawrence KS

As was evident from the Lawrence, Kansas show, the family has clearly grown. Yes, tapper is pregnant as her slight bulge and dress with a baby and umbilical cord showed (it’s a girl!), but the band’s family has grown in another respect. The Lawrence performance showed that “family” means more to than just a blood connection because that night, Tilly made every single person inside the Granada feel like they were a part of their family.

The family atmosphere was abetted by Tilly’s good friends in the opening acts. Omaha’s opened with a unique blend of jazz, rock and hip hop music and fast raps. It took the group a bit to warm up, but they soon found their groove. The addition of a full band was a nice variation from the usual rapper/DJ combo. You knew the group was on a roll by watching the increase of dance moves in the audience.

conchance 2

Red “war” paint decorated the next band and as one member ferociously banged on a tom drum and the singers used effects to distort their voices, there was something attractively primal in their sound. At first, I wasn’t sure what to make of them, but they kept me entranced with their raw energy and experimental noises that teetered between incomprehensible to crystal clarity. , from Kansas City, is one group that I’ll be looking out for more in the future.

band 2b

Lawrence natives were the last of the openers, but certainly not the least. Their jangly rock never fails to impress me and as usual the bass player’s beautiful bass guitar with its rich, warm sound seemed as if it would be the star of their set. Yet, I was surprised that the real performance stealer was the addition of trumpet to a song, giving their sound a greater fullness. They gave a solid performance, but their Americana rock almost bordered on out of place with all the dance bands that filled out the rest of the bill. Almost.

4th 2

Omaha’s got the party started even before they took to the stage. As they shifted equipment, they tossed balloons out to the crowd and blasted the hits in honor of the recently departed artist. Their bass drum even read in neon tape: R.I.P. MJ. The MJ hits and balloons appeased the crowd for some time, but soon they were clapping for Tilly. The band hopped and skipped out on stage to jump into “Cacophony.” Since Jamie is pregnant, the set up had to be tweaked a little and she played her usual tap part on a drum. She did this for other songs, played keys and still danced with her arms for most of the set. I’m sure that the audience would have excused her from all tapping, but she worked in some lighter taps for a numbers.

At first, I felt sad. What’s without tapping? But this show really was a special treat. Even without their signature tapping, was fun, fantastic and full-sounding. They proved that they don’t use the tapping as a gimmick. They can be great with any arrangement. Whether it is just vocals and guitar to all six members stomping, they are entertaining.

tilly 1

tilly 2

The crowd nor the band wanted the night to end. After the set had already ended with a big dance party on stage for “Rainbows in the Dark” that had a girl from the video, the openers, and our very own photographer, Nick Davis, on stage dancing, the band came back for an unpracticed encore. They even stuck around and continued dancing to hits and dishing out hugs as the venue cleaned up the glitter (because after all, Tilly may still be Tilly without the tapping, but would Tilly still be Tilly without the glitter?).

tilly 5

The whole show really was like being at an intimate party with your closest family and friends. Hopefully, Tilly won’t play strangers to KC as long as they did last time and come back sooner for another show. Besides, as the sister city to Omaha and like all proud aunts, we want to see the baby!

tilly 3

Set List:
Cacophony
Dust Me Off
Beat Control
Blood Flowers
Nights of the Living Dead
Tall Tall Grass
Chandelier Lake
Falling Without Knowing
Sing Songs Along
Pot Kettle Black
Rainbows in the Dark
//
Pictures of Houses
Freest Man
Too Excited

: website | myspace | interview with Jamie Pressnall | O review | Phila 1, Phila 2, NYC live shows

Related Posts

This post was written by:

Bethany Smith - who has written 745 posts on popwreckoning.


Contact the author

This website uses IntenseDebate comments, but they are not currently loaded because either your browser doesn't support JavaScript, or they didn't load fast enough.

One Response to “Tilly and the Wall @ The Granada, Lawrence KS”

  1. kathleen says:

    So I totally googled Conchance and you were the third hit. Awesome! I’m adding you to my reader as we speak!! Miss ya girl.

Trackbacks/Pingbacks


Leave a Reply

Advert

What's new on PW:

Posting tweet...

disclaimer

All media content contained within PopWreckoning is meant to enhance reader appreciation for the art and medium. Please support artists you discover here by purchasing albums, attending shows and buying merch.
Contact us should you wish for certain media to be removed from PopWreckoning.

Concert Calendar

July 31, 2010
Tokyo Police Club @ Record Bar, Kansas City MO

August 2, 2010
The Vans Warped Tour @ Sandstone at Cap Fed, Bonner Springs KS

August 3, 2010
Lady Gaga @ Sprint Center, Kansas City MO

August 3, 2010
Happy Birthday!! @ Replay, Lawrence KS

August 6-8, 2010
Lollapalooza @ Grant Park, Chicago

August 10, 2010
Gogol Bordello @ Uptown, Kansas City MO

"PopWreckoning is better than Pitchfork." - Shawn Fogel

PopWreckers

Publisher ::
Nick Davis (KC)

Editor-in-Chief ::
Joshua Hammond (KC): email

Managing Editor ::
Bethany Smith (KC): email

Contributors ::
Mary Chang (DC)
Melissa Cowan (Kansas City)
Annastasia Gallaher (Seattle)
Jon Gitchoff (St. Louis)
Marc Z. Grub (Toronto)
Tatum Hengel (Oregon)
Patrice Jackson (Kansas City)
Tracy Nunnery (San Fran)
Casey Osburn (KC)
Reni Papananias (NYC)
Amanda Sorell (Lawrence)
Dese'Rae Stage (NYC)
Thomas Starks(Seattle)
Abbie Stutzer (KC)
Sara Swiecki (LA)
Abby Williamson (Seattle)
Todd Zimmer (Kansas City)