popwreckoning

The last time I saw Miike Snow perform there were a few thousand people dancing at an outdoor stage for a late afternoon set at Lollapalooza. The last time Miike Snow played KC, it was for a smaller, but still large crowd at a packed, free outdoor show. So I should not have been surprised that when Miike Snow announced an indoor concert at a bar that holds less than 200 people that it would sell out. Yet, like an idiot, I waited too long and when I went to go buy a ticket I was regrettably under the belief that I was out of luck.

Well, the good lords of the dance (not to be confused with this lord of the dance) must have been with me when I on a whim decided to swing by the Record Bar to see if I really was SOL the night of this show. A kind bouncer helped get us in just in time for the set.

Electro beats filled the tiny venue and as the clicks and clacks of the looped guitar and drums wafted through the place with the smoke, bodies slowly began moving in rhythm. It was as close as Kansas City ever seems to get to dancing, which is really saying something about the power of this music. At first the Swedes (Miike Snow is a band – not a person, if you didn’t already know) opted to play in white masks, adding to the ambiance and mysteriousness of their tunes, but with time, the guys finally peeled the masks off, but by that point, they were no longer needed to set the mood.

The set had a new song or two thrown in, but for the most part stuck to variations off tunes from their self-titled album. Popular radio single “Animal” finished the evening off in a version of the song that was about three times its normal length and the final run of the chorus, “I change shapes just to hide in this place, but I’m still, I’m still an animal. Nobody knows it but me when I slip, yeah I slip, I’m still an animal,” continually got faster and faster forcing the dancing audience to almost end as though running in place.

My only real disappointment was that with such an epic rendition of “Animal,” the return for a slowed down encore, though appreciated, was drab after the craziness that the encore had to follow. But who can really complain when a great band gives you even more music? If you get a chance to catch a show on this tour, buy your tickets now. I doubt this group will continue to play such small venues much longer.

Though not that expensive or outlandish of a set piece, Beach House‘s giant silver diamond piñata adornments had the people in attendance buzzing.

I was kind of hoping that at some point, someone would take a guitar to the piñatas and confetti and candy would fly out, but that sort of action is too violent for a dream-pop show, so the diamonds simply served as prom  like decorations. Prom is an appropriate theme for the type of show that was going on in the Granada because both Beach House and opener Bachelorette produce tunes perfect for romance and a little light, sway dance.

Bachelorette is New Zealand’s Annabel Alpers. A charming vocalist that layers loops over loops that would make her a fun tour mate for someone like Andrew Bird. Vocally, she has a classic, vintage sound like the vocals in Camera Obscura, but she marries the vintage vocals with more electronic beats giving her a modernity. She was under the weather, so parts of her performance were a bit rough, but excusable amongst her light coughing. She blushed when the audience asked her to play more, but her suffering voice couldn’t oblige.

Beach House came out fully embracing the prom vibe, wearing 80s-style jackets with sleeves rolled up and asking the audience if they were ready for some romance. As the group breathily played their way for popular tunes off their newly released Teen Dream, their upcoming EP and older classics, the audience reciprocated with singing along and leaning closer to their loved ones. The band didn’t do much more than play through their songs, but they played them well and played what the audience wanted to hear. The songs sounded fuzzier than recording, but that might be a venue issue and not so much the band.

While, this night was candy/confetti free, it was a pleasant show and highly recommended for those looking for a nice show to take their dates.

Broken Bells – comprised of the Shins‘ James Mercer and Danger Mouse (better known to his mother as Brian Burton) have announced their first headlining tour of North America. The jaunt across our continent begins May 18 in sunny San Diego. The duo’s trippy, psychedelic, pop-tinged self-titled debut album was released on March 9 and is available now in regular and deluxe editions. Check out the promo video for “The High Road,” the first single from the album, below.

Tour Dates
May 18 – Humphrey’s Concerts by the Bay / San Diego
May 19 – Henry Fonda Theatre / Los Angeles
May 21 – Regency Ballroom / San Francisco
May 24 – Wonder Ballroom / Portland
May 25 – Showbox at the Market / Seattlke
May 26 – Commodore Ballroom / Vancouver
May 29 – Gothic Theatre / Denver
May 31 – Vic Theater / Chicago
Jun 01 – St. Andrews Hall / Detroit
Jun 02 – Queen Elizabeth Theatre / Toronto
Jun 04 – Royale Nightclub / Boston
Jun 05 – Fillmore New York at Irving Plaza / New York City
Jun 06 – Electric Factory / Philadelphia
Jun 07 – 9:30 Club / Washington DC
Jun 10 – Center Stage / Atlanta
Jun 11 – 40 Watt Club / Athens, GA

Broken Bells: website | myspace | Broken Bells review

We bet that you’ll look good on the dance floor when the Arctic Monkeys come to Lawrence. That’s why we want to make sure you’re there and having a grand time.

PopWreckoning has been given a grand opportunity, thanks to Velocity Media, to give our fans the chance to see the Arctic Monkeys with Sleepy Sun for free. The show will take place at Liberty Hall (Lawrence, Kan.) on Monday, April 12 at 7 p.m.

PopWreckoning will be giving away 4 pairs (8 total) tickets to the show. This contest will end at 5 p.m. the day of show. Winners tickets will be at the door when you arrive at the show. Please make sure you include your full name and email in the comment, otherwise I can not get in touch with you to tell you that you have won.

Winning is simple (and only two steps).

1. Comment in this article the answer to the following question: What’s your favorite Arctic Monkeys’ song and why? PopWreckoning staff will read your opinions and choose the best four day of show.

2. Repost this article on either your facebook, twitter, myspace, blog, website or other social media tool. Spread the wealth, then send us the link (by posting it in your comment).

Then show up at the bar and have fun watching a great band on us.

PopWreckoning has been given a grand opportunity, thanks to Velocity Media, to give fans the chance to see garage rockers The Whigs and Band of Skulls for free.

The show will take place at The Riot Room (KCMO) on Monday, April 12 at 9:00 p.m. PopWreckoning will be giving away 4 pairs (8 total) of tickets to the show.

This contest will end at 6:00pm the day of show. Winners’ tickets will be at the door when you arrive at the show. Please make sure you include your full name and email in the comment, otherwise I cannot get in touch with you to tell you that you have won.

Winning is simple (and only two steps).

1. Comment in this article the answer to the following question: Band of Skulls says their “Friends” are all so “beautiful,” but now describe your “Friends” in a word replacing beautiful. PopWreckoning staff will read your opinions and choose the best four day of show.

2. Repost this article on either your facebook, twitter, myspace, blog, website or other social media tool. Spread the wealth, then send us the link (by posting it in your comment).

Then show up at the bar and have fun watching a great band on us.

As much as I like to believe I’m an expert at finding out about bands before the rest of the masses, I found out about Fanfarlo just like many others in Kansas: the radio.

“Harold T. Wilkins” started picking up rotation on 96.5 the Buzz and I was hooked by the indie folk goodness that somehow managed to put me in a brilliantly chipper mood despite the dour lyrics of an empty life:

“Your dreams will become part of the future and coincide with the past
You spend all your time by the radio waiting for the signal
But inside, you’ll always feel the same, even when you wake up”

Beautiful, but cold and almost too close to my mood on my worst days. But like I said, instead of getting depressed and withdrawing further into a personal shell, the guy-girl harmonies, the piano, violin, the acoustic guitar and occasional brass instrument blare put a smile on my face.

Now as much as I love this band, I found myself in a bit of a predicament for their Kansas City show. Long before they had announced they’d be playing the Record Bar, I had purchased to see Passion Pit – a vastly different band – up the street on the same night. I decided to take a gamble and the second Passion Pit ended, I ran too Fanfarlo.

My timing was perfect. The sextet had just finished tuning the violin to carry at a respectable volume with the other instruments (I know from experience how difficult it can be to set this up).

Now I don’t know what happened to this band that they have such bleak and jaded lyrics, “And so we’re running down our street, arms stretched out to the sky /Antennas for the poison and the lies /The delinquency of time,” but it makes for a good album and show.

“Drowning Men” started off the set and true to the radio single, the group modestly played a song with weighty lyrics over chipper indie music. They switched places and instruments between songs, showing they were a band with more talent and tricks than expected. They stuck to songs off of Reservoir and a few new tunes. They spoke little, except to say that it was a special night – the birthday of Simon Balthazar - who for all the weathered emotions and years of practice and skill his singing and guitar work exude, managed to show little of the beatings of time on his youthful face.

When the group ended with “Luna,” the crowd cheered for more, but Fanfarlo had exhausted their rehearsed song list. With Kansas City left aching for more tunes, I can only imagine how much bigger their show will be the next time they come to town.

Set List:
Drowning Men
I’m a Pilot
Finish Line
Harold T. Wilkins
We Live By the Lake
The Walls Are Coming Down
Atlas
Waiting in the Wings
Comets
Fire Escape
Luna

Tuesday night at the 9:30 Club should have been captioned “the Night of Squeals.” Barring the predictable female reaction for Paolo Nutini I witnessed last summer (lots of screaming and near fainting), I have never heard so many superlatives and proclamations of “oh my god” coming from fanboys and fangirls alike. This felt like a surprising response, for this was for a show featuring three acts from three very different backgrounds: Melbourne-based rock band the Temper Trap co-headlined with London pop/soul singer Florence Welch (fronting the collective Florence and the Machine), with support provided by Danish indie rock group the Kissaway Trail. Looking back, it now seems quite appropriate that on the day, D.C. was experiencing completely unusual sweltering temperatures for the beginning of April, because the action on stage was equally as torrid.

The Kissaway Trail is a five-piece rock band from Odense, Denmark, signed to Simon Raymonde‘s Bella Union label in Europe. I first heard of them via their second album Sleep Mountain, to be released in America on April 20. Their songs run the gamut of dream pop (every member providing harmonizing vocals, like in the awe-inspiring “SDP” that closed out their set) to all-out rock jams with wailing guitars. Lead singer Thomas L. Fagerlund, looking most definitely not Danish wearing a New York Yankees baseball cap, alternated between keyboards and guitar while providing powerful vocals. “New Lipstick,” another track from Sleep Mountain, was a set highlight for me. Unexpectedly, what I found funny about their performance was their sixth “member.” I’m not sure if he was a friend, roadie, or tour manager, but he was throwing his body into every shake of his tambourine and maracas, to the point that I thought his suspenders might break off.

Florence Welch, frontwoman for Florence and the Machine, arrived on stage, cocktail in hand, wearing an all black outfit that was topped off with a black hat that did a good job of obscuring her trademark fiery red hair. Almost. During her soulful, less than 1-hour set, she sang to a Washington crowd that appeared to know every single word of every single song from her 2009 Mercury Prize-nominated debut album, Lungs, that she played. Fans behind me swayed as if put in a trance by their pop heroine. This was possible, as during some songs like “Blinding” (where she wrapped herself in a shawl and you could barely see her face) and “Between Two Lungs,” Welch looked possessed by the music. When she tested the audience to jump higher and more vigorously to crowd favorite “Dog Days are Over” than fans the previous night in Philadelphia, everyone enthusiastically took up the challenge, pogo-ing along with the London singer with her bare, very long legs.

“Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)” is probably the best Florence and the Machine song in terms of eliciting audience participation, and as a set closer, it was amazing watching everyone’s arms in the air as the song lyrics instruct. The crowd loved it and the whole set, and who could blame them? I would like to note that anyone receiving that level of adulation would have been excused for feeling cocky, soaking up the adoration of the masses. But not Welch, who would smile almost bashfully at the crowd, thanking them in a soft-spoken voice when fans sang along to her songs, cheered for her, and shouted “I love you Florence!” I’m not a huge fan of Welch’s singing style, but I have to admit, she has incredible charisma on stage, and there’s no wonder why this ginger siren sells out large venues in the UK so quickly and easily every time she announces a tour at home.

Florence and the Machine Set List
Howl
Kiss with a Fist
Hurricane Drunk
My Boy Builds Coffins
Between Two Lungs
Drumming Song
Cosmic Love
Blinding
I’m Not Calling You a Liar
Dog Days are Over
You’ve Got the Love (the Source / Candi Staton cover)
Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)

For a brief moment between the headlining sets, it was possible to stretch and get a breath of fresh air at the barrier, because many Florence fans left the club as soon as her set was over. But their prime spots were quickly snapped up by equally fanatical Temper Trap devotees. I was really interested to see this act because I was not blown away by their debut album Conditions, so I hoped they would sound better live. And boy, I was right. The album is like an attempt to bottle dynamite. The Temper Trap‘s brand of thrilling guitar rock with lead singer’s Dougie Mandagi‘s unusual (for a man in rock) falsetto is just damn exciting in concert. I was expecting their hits “Sweet Disposition” and “Fader” to be amazing (and they were). But equally great or possibly even better were “Soldier On,” with lead guitarist Lorenzo Sillitto trading his guitar temporarily to play keyboards and bassist Jonathan Ahearne‘s sultry bass line, and “Love Lost,” with a lighting backdrop reminiscent of Phoenix‘s “1901.”

The show-stopping moment of the night was when Mandagi drank from a bottle of water, then poured the remaining contents of the bottle on the top of a big drum for the appropriately-titled instrumental “Drum Song.” He then threw the bottle into the crowd and started pounding the drum furiously with two sticks. This provided an unexpected, appreciated, but all too brief cool off for the sweaty crowd. The last song of the night was “Science of Fear,” my favorite from Conditions, had Mandagi’s commanding voice and jangly guitars that got bodies moving. Just perfect. Keep an eye on this band, they could be the next big thing.

Personally, I think the Temper Trap killed it but the large contingent of Flo fans would have no doubt disagreed with me. If you’re interested in seeing any or all of these acts (and you should be!), please visit their MySpace pages for individual band tour info (see links below).

The Temper Trap Set List
instrumental intro
Rest
Fader
Fools
Down River
Love Lost
Soldier On
Sweet Disposition
Resurrection
Drum Song
//
Rabbit Hole (new song)
Science of Fear

The Temper Trap: website | myspace
Florence and the Machine: website | myspace | Mercury Prize Nominations Announced
The Kissaway Trail: website | myspace

Schuba’s Tavern, while a pleasant place, is unremarkable from the outside. The casual bus rider might pass the venue and think Schuba’s Tavern and Harmony Grill would be a nice place to grab a bite to eat or a chill time for a beer before snatching a game at the nearby Wrigley Field. The last inclination a casual passerby would have is that Schuba’s houses some of the best concerts to pass through the great city of Chicago.

Even after entering the front door, I had my doubts that I was at the right place for the sold out double gigs with Cymbals Eat Guitars. The buzz band and Chicago’s own Pitchfork’s darlings was playing two shows at Schuba’s. A 6 p.m. show with Freelance Whales opening and a 9 p.m. show with Bear in Heaven opening. After being directed to the back of the Harmony Grill, I found myself in a rectangular room much like a spare meeting room in a church basement. I’m so used to the look of the bearded flannel-wearing hipsters, that I was surprised to see an almost bro-ish crowd wearing the baseball caps and Northface fleeces and clutching their Budweisers. I definitely wasn’t in Kansas anymore where a show like this would have you scratching your head in wonder at how some homeless bum afforded a ticket when they couldn’t even afford a shirt that wasn’t from the dumpster.

As the show got going, I stopped thinking the Chicago crowd appearance was a difference in city style issue, but instead a testament in how the different styles of the bands I was watching could appeal to almost anyone from the hipster to the average Joe.

This mass appeal was perhaps the most obvious in Freelance Whales a charming indie group accented with xylophone and mandolin, so as to prevent them from getting snubbed from the Pitchfork posse, but playing synth-pop melodies that allow them to appeal to the mainstream masses who set Owl City‘s “Fireflies” as their ringtones. As is common in so many indie groups lately, Freelance Whales impressed by switching instruments and vocals between songs. Inbetween tunes, the Buddy Holly-looking front man awkwardly, but sweetly thanked the crowd before announcing a cover of a song by one their Chicago friends. They saved the best treat for last and covered Broken Social Scene‘s “Shoreline.”

For the first time ever, I saw a crowd ask an opener –a relatively unknown opener–back up for encore. However, considering the tight time schedule for this show and that the band’s album doesn’t come out until April 13, which they had already played their catalog as well as covers, they just came back up and thanked the crowd again with quick bows of their head. They were genuine in personality and incredibly talented. They’ll be back to Chicago for the highlighly anticipated Lollapalooza and you can bet that I’ll be at their set.

Check out Freelance Whales’ just debuted video for “Generator 2nd Floor”:

Then it was time for the double booked Cymbals Eat Guitars, whose confusing moniker made a bit more sense once the heavy drums blurred over the shredding on the guitars. I guess the group was rocking too hard because lead singer Joseph D’Agostino lost his whammy bar not once, but twice from his guitar.

The floor shook as the band abruptly shifted tempos in their songs that all came to jarring stops. It was raw and energetic and vastly different to the gentle melodies of the opener. Once I got over the shock of the genre-change, I got into it and started stomping along.

I guess D’Agostino’s guitar wasn’t the only thing having trouble holding up. Dripping in sweat, he apologized for being sick, thanked the crowd and dashed out into the cool, rainy night after the last song’s completion. It was amazing to think he’d have to muster that much energy again for a second set in just a few hours, but c”est la vie–that’s the life in a band.

CEG will also be back in Chicago for Lollapalooza and I look forward to seeing D’Agostino in an even better condition.

Chances are good that you’ve heard of Julian Casablancas. His recently released solo album, Phrazes for the Young, has been well received by both media and fans. However, chances are you know him better from his work with the epic indie band The Strokes.

Popwreckoning has been given a grand opportunity, thanks to Velocity Media, to give our fans the chance to see Casablancas for free. The show will take place at The Beaumont Club (4050 Pennsylvania KCMO) on Saturday April 10th at 8:00pm. Popwreckoning will be giving away 4 pairs (8 total) tickets to the show. This contest will end at 6:00pm the day of show.  Winners tickets will be at the door when you arrive at the show. Please make sure you include your full name and email in the comment, otherwise I can not get in touch with you to tell you that you have won.

Winning is simple (and only two steps).

1.  Comment in this article the answer to the following question: Who would you like to see Julian Casablancas collaborate with in the future and why? Popwreckoning staff will read your opinions and choose the best four day of show.

2. Repost this article on either your facebook, twitter, myspace, blog, website or other social media tool.  Spread the wealth, then send us the link (by posting it in your comment).

Then show up at the bar and have fun watching a great band on us.

In terms of the Kansas City music scene, it doesn’t really get much better than seeing bands at The Record Bar. In fact, the only way we at Popwreckoning could enhance The Record Bar experience, is by letting you see bands at The Record Bar for free.  We’re doing  just that thanks to the  nice folks at Velocity Marketing.

In this contest, we will be giving away 4 sets (8 total) tickets to Heartless Bastards at The Record Bar (1020 Westport Road KCMO) for Saturday April 10th, at 10:00pm. This contest will end at 6:00pm the day of show.  YOU MUST BE 18 YEARS OF AGE WITH ID TO ATTEND THE SHOW. Winners tickets will be at the door when you arrive at the show. Please make sure you include your full name and email in the comment, otherwise I can not get in touch with you to tell you that you have won.

Winning is simple (and only two steps).

1.  Comment in this article something you’ve done to make you a Heartless Bastard. Note, being vulgar does not land you tickets. In fact, it will most likely cost you your tickets and your comment will be deleted. If that makes us Nazi, Germany, fine. However, we’re also not Jerry Springer. Be creative, but not trashy.

2. Repost this article on either your facebook, twitter, myspace, blog, website or other social media tool.  Spread the wealth, then send us the link (by posting it in your comment).

Then show up at the bar and have fun watching a great band on us.