popwreckoning

PopWreckoning will celebrate its 3rd birthday by hosting a The Poison Control Center at Record Bar in Kansas City, Missouri on Monday, October 4.

The Poison Control Center, whom recently opened for Pavement here in Kansas City, will headline the show. It will also feature Mansions, O’Giant Man and Max Justus.

The show will cost $7 at the door. However, PopWreckoning is offering up a special deal to help you afford our party. If you come to the venue with a Pavement ticket from the September 11, 2010 show, we’ll let you in for 5 bucks flat. Furthermore, if you’re attending the evening Deadmau5 show at the Uptown Theater or The Mountain Goats show at the Bottleneck, you can show up at our show after, present the door guy with a ticket and get in for 3 bucks flat. That’s how badly we want you to join.

The show starts at 9:30 p.m. with Mansions. 10:15 will feature Max Justus, followed by O’Giant Man at 11:15. Your headliner, The Poison Control Center will melt your face at 12:15 a.m. (giving you plenty of time to make your way to the show after Deadmau5). This show is 18+ with legal ID.

Come support local music, the Record Bar and local media. PopWreckoning thanks you for your support.

For those that are unaware, most bands use this little piece of paper called a ‘set list’ during their shows. This paper helps the band keep track of what songs they plan on performing and their order for a particular evening. Set lists are especially useful for bands with lots of members, a fairly extensive catalog and the plans to play for a long time in a mid- to large-sized venue. A perfect example of a band that would need a set list is New York-by-way-of-Ohio indie rock band The National.

So yes, “Lemonworld” is a fantastic song and it is nice to show a band you appreciate a song. However, when the band takes the time to explain that (1) they have a set list and (2) if they keep getting heckled for a song, they’ll feel less likely to play it, then it is probably a good idea to stop shouting “Leeeeemonworld” nonstop. And yeah, “Lemonworld” was nowhere to be found on the set list, but it still hefted 18 of their other darkly poetic masterpieces. So it was understandable that the band was a little frustrated that their picks weren’t enough to appease the entire crowd. But they handled the heckling well.

So after explaining the concept of a set list and then joking about how they’ll play requests as long as that is the next song on the list, front man Matt Berninger announced, “This is ‘Lemonworld’…I’m joking. This is a song about eating people.”

This story shows off the primary contrast between the National at a club/venue show compared to the National at a fest. The National were frequent guests at some of the Summer’s biggest festivals (Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, etc), but in broad daylight with shorter set times, the band’s greatest interaction was with their wine glasses and not so much the audience. They played through songs which were difficult to differentiate once they were all done. It made this reviewer a little hesitant to see them again in such a short time period after this Summer, but their Kansas City show at the Uptown was a completely different ballgame. The group was still suited up and clutching wine glasses, and for the first few numbers, there was a tension that made it seem like this show would be a repeat of the fests. But then they broke loose.

Once feeling more warmed up, Berninger looked up from the floor, moved his mic out closer to the crowd and prowled the stage in a triumphant step that matched the triumph of the brass section. His rich baritone layered over big instrumental arrangements. Sometimes he sang almost in a revered lullablylike lull and other times he built up into a passionate howl. When he hit the more scream-like levels, it looked as though he was throwing his whole body into making the sound.

For a long time, it was hard to watch anyone else. But then Berninger drew attention to drummer Bryan Devendorf. “The pressure’s on,” said Berninger referencing the fact that Devendorf plays C&C Drums, made by a local company whose owners were watching the drummer. Devendorf must do extra well under pressure because the guy was explosive to watch and exercised more dynamic control than most drummers are capable of in their entire life.

Though Berninger was hard to stop watching for too long. When it came to the encore performance of “Mr. November,” Berninger reached his howl-like volume levels with everyone excitedly shouting, “I won’t fuck us over,” and that singalong moment would have been enough to make the song feel epic. Then, Berninger grabbed the microphone, jumped off the stage sang a chorus bracing the front row of the crowd and then he proceeded to enter the heart of it. It’s the moment that gives security heart attacks, but makes the hearts of fans skip a beat.

My only critique was that after a moment like that, “Terrible Love” had a tough act to follow to match the excitement. Perhaps, “Terrible Love” is more like the cool down after a work out. Either way, the show was fantastic and a vastly epic improvement to the band’s festival appearances.

Also fantastic was the opportunity to finally see Canadian violin virtuoso Owen Pallett (previously Final Fantasy). This is the man known for composing practically every string arrangement for anyone who’s an anybody in indie music. Seriously, his resume boasts all Arcade Fire albums, Beirut, Basia Bulat, etc. He was just nominated for a Polaris award…again. The guy makes Andrew Bird look like a beginner. Since Pallett is a solo writer, he began his performance with just him at the microphone with his violin, keyboard and loop pedal. He was later joined by his lone touring musician that helped him fill in some of the percussive gaps and harmonies. The modest musician apologized before one tune for always messing up, but promising to do his best. So despite a few hiccups, Pallett’s opening performance on this tour is not one to miss. Pallett’s warm vibrato, beautiful tremolo and pizzicato flourishes carried the audience through the story of Lewis, the romance of Win and Regine and more. With each looped tale, Pallett won over the hearts of many who might not have previously realized they already heard his work with many of their beloved tunes on their iPods.

The National’s Set List:
The Runaway
Anyone’s Ghost
Mistaken for Strangers
Bloodbuzz Ohio
Brainy
Slow Show
Squalor Victoria
Afraid of Everyone
Available/Cardinal Song
Conversation 16
Apartment Story
Abel
Daughters of the Soho Riots
England
Fake Empire
//
Vanderlyleeeeee (Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks listed on the set list, but All the Wine performed)
Mr. November – in the crowd
Terrible Love

The words “Beach Ball” conjure up images of sun, warmth, sand and water. Well Kansas City music lovers that headed to 96.5 the Buzz’s Beach Ball battled clouds, cold, mud and the threat of constant rain. Nonetheless, the swift disappearance of Summer and harsh realities of Fall didn’t stop this outdoor music fest from being a success. Fans were smart enough to don jackets and ponchos before heading out to see the Smashing Pumpkins, Cake, Anberlin and more.

While typical festival complaints would have been that each act had too short of a set, the rapid pace of the double stages and short sets worked in favor for this fest. It gave people less time to dwell in one location feeling too cold or getting bored with any act that wasn’t their cup of tea and giving up on the fest and going home.

AM Taxi had the privilege of kicking off the 5th Buzz Beach Ball. The rockers thrashed about the stage while fans shook rain sprinkles off their shoulders to raise fists to pump to “Fed Up.” Cooled down music and cooled down temps quickly followed their set as the folk rock of locals Dreams Are For Rookies rapidly followed on the second stage. The group puts a twist on the typical folk rock with the rich adornment of a cello.

After the Homegrown act finished, it was back down the hill for dark piano rockers Civil Twilight. A surprising amount of audience members knew more about this South African band’s songs than just set closer, “Letters from the Sky,” and the band took kindly to this warm response by delivering a set with more energy and flair than the last time I saw them in a dark Lawrence venue.

The rain thickened during what should have been local act Six Percent’s set time up at the second stage. However, the band was delayed by the challenge of an uncovered stage, so this half hour was treated as ‘time to eat warm food’ while concert workers attempted to make a makeshift cover for the act set to follow.

Fortunately, The Limousines weren’t deterred by the rain and played one of the most fun sets of the entire day. The quirky dance rock trio got the crowd moving and singing to “Very Busy People” and by the time they reached new hit “Internet Killed the Video Star,” everyone had a smile as they danced and shouted, “I’m a terrible dancer, I ain’t gonna lie, but I’ll be damned if I ain’t gonna try.” These guys have only gotten better since their last buzz show and their energy is contagious.

A Silent Film were this mystery act from the UK. Audience members had only recently started hearing the Keane-esque “You Will Leave a Mark” on the radio, but it quickly rose up the request lines. But aside from that song, little else was known about these guys. Heck, they hadn’t even played a show in the States before, so they probably knew even less about their audience in return. So whether out of curiosity or genuine love, the lawn was packed to watch these boys on the second stage. For their debut, US performance, even in the most miserable conditions, they killed it. Heavy piano chords and big drums made for a perfectly beautiful outdoor set that almost seemed to clear the skies and bring out the stars by the pure magic of it. Below you can find a video from their first ever United States show.

Anberlin followed A Silent Film with another high energy rock set. The guys are frequent faces at these Buzz events and just like the Limousines, they only seem to get better each time. Though they played songs from their entire higher catalog, they heavily promoted their latest release that came out just a week prior to this show.

Local ska act, Six Percent, delayed by the rain earlier, took to the second stage after Anberlin’s set and played a brass heavy set of covers and original songs. While some covers, “Final Countdown,” were triumphant, others such as a Weezer cover left a lot to be desired.

Beach Ball alumni Cake has been kind of silent on the new music front, but as they showed at Buzz Beach Ball, they have plenty of new material they’re ready to release in January. Half their set seemed to be new songs, but they still helped the audience quickly learn these tunes for singing along before the speak-f0lk rock act brought out some better known songs such as “Going the Distance.”

Local darling Beautiful Bodies showed why they’re on the top of the local food chain as they closed out the second stage sets. Front woman Alicia Solo came out wrapped in Buzz banners before breaking out and starting the rock. The group treated their performance as a celebration, sipping champagne and flashing sly smiles as they broke out new tunes after a year-long absence from the local music scene.

The Smashing Pumpkins. What can be said that can even measure up to the surreality of seeing one of the most influential rock groups? Sure the line-up has changed over the years, but Billy Corgan is still on top of his game. This set gave all the hits a fan could want and more. Throw in the addition of a breath-taking stage set with mosaic windmills and you have a perfect way to end out the night. It was well worth the wait through cold and rain for this.

Local Natives made their way up to Seattle on Friday for a sold-out gig at the Showbox at the Market with North Carolina’s The Love Language and The Union Line hailing from California.

The show brought out a crowd so large that the line curled around the block past the iconic Pike Place Market sign, but it was also a Friday night.

The Union Line played a great set of their sunny Southern California indie rock with just enough soul to get your feet moving. “Pearls” was a pretty good tune, and this is definitely a band worth watching out for. With their brand of indie rock, you could hear their stuff on college radio in no time. I was surrounded by anxious teenagers waiting to see Local Natives, but the fans were very positive and perceptive toward The Union Line, with multiple guys around me shouting to the band as they were clearing out their gear, “you guys kicked ass!”

The Love Language was up next, after what seemed to be an excruciatingly long intermission. I’m pretty sure the band was up there for at least 20 minutes trying to get things set up, testing the mics, making random conversation with the people in the front row. But at least they didn’t get frustrated with the technical difficulties, and played an awesome and energetic set.

You don’t normally hear of a lot of bands that come from Raleigh, North Carolina. But The Love Language is North Carolina without the cheesy twang. However, I did hear lead singer Stuart McLamb say y’all at least a couple times.

The Love Language were quite charming on stage, dancing around with each other to their retro blues psychedelia. Keyboardist Missy Thangs not only pounded the keys, but swung around the stage crashing a tambourine ebulliently against her thigh as McLamb’s bangs became soaked in sweat.

After another tediously long waiting period, the band we all came to see stepped on stage and the crowd went wild. And when guitarist Taylor Rice professed his love for Seattle as their favorite tour destination, we returned the love quite loudly as they jumped right into a fantastic and powerful version of “Camera Talk.”

And apparently Paseo is their favorite tour food. Are they sure they aren’t local?

Needless to say, the enthusiastic crowd made them feel at home at the Showbox.

Obviously with having released just their first album Gorilla Manor, there wasn’t a large cataloge to play from, but that meant that everyone in the venue knew all the words to all the songs. It was interesting, because I’m not used to hearing all the songs off one album, but I’m looking forward to many more albums from this band. If Gorilla Manor doesn’t land on all the “best of 2010″ list, I’ll be upset. Seriously, that album is so good.

So naturally, the show was good.

I had caught half of Local Natives’ set back in May at the Sasquatch Festival, but playing to the small Showbox, it was a much more intimate experience with their powerful harmonies ringing along the rounded walls.

It was when the band broke into the melancholy, yet upbeat “Airplanes” that you could almost imagine the people walking along 1st St. being able to hear the echo of “I want you back, back, you back!” reverberating from the Green Tortoise Hostel on the corner of 1st and Pike to the gum wall below the Market.

A few of my favorites from the night were “Wide Eyes,” “Shape Shifter,” and of course “Who Knows Who Cares.” The last of which was their “last” song of the night, with Rice’s strong and earnest vocals accompanied by keyboardist Kelcey Ayer and guitarist Ryan Hahn, and it was so beautiful.

But because there were two songs clearly missing from the set, the band came out once again after the crowd had started chanting “SUN HANDS” for the encore. Well, they didn’t get to that quite yet. “Cubism Dream” was the first song of the encore. It was nice, but it paled in comparison to the last song – the glorious and dynamic “Sun Hands” – which started out with a drawn-out intro with the quick beat from drummer Matt Frazier. Then after the haunting  choruses of “ahhh ahhh ahhhhhhhhh,” everyone in the crowd threw up their hands and sang along to “and when I can’t feel with my sun hands, I promise not to lose her again!” And then the band extended the bridge into this rocking break-down where the floor of the Showbox almost felt like the bouncy floor at the Crystal Ballroom in Portland.

It was so much fun.

Set list:
Camera Talk
World News
Warning Sign
Cards & Quarters
Sticky Thread
Wide Eyes
Shape Shifter
Stranger Things
Airplanes
Who Knows Who Cares

Encore:
Cubism Dream
Sun Hands

Collaboration albums tend to be hit or miss with ratings and reviews, and this collaboration is no exception. Sure, there are some albums, like Alisson Krauss and Robert Plant’s Raising Sand that are wonderful, not to mention collaborative projects like The Liquid Tension Experiment that are musical genius, but pairings like Eminem and Elton John make most audiophiles cringe. Lonely Avenue is a great collaboration between Ben Folds and Nick Hornby and is definitely one of the best collaborations I have ever stumbled across.

Ben Folds is known for both his solo work and the work of Ben Folds Five, the band that started out of nothing and topped indie music charts for a good chunk of the mid-to-late 90’s. After breaking up, Folds pursued a solo career, touring the country and charming audiences multiple times over. Nick Hornby is a British author who is famous for his groundbreaking novels, such as High Fidelity and About a Boy. Combine these two great artists and you have an album that just screams for attention, attention it deserves to the highest degree. Filled with both complex lyrics and breathtaking music, the entirely of Lonely Avenue is a masterpiece from start to finish. It doesn’t pull punches and leaves you gasping for air, for the very meaning of everything and anything, and leaves you wanting for more.

The lyrics are completely Hornby through and through- reminiscing on life, touching on sports, love, being a guy and everything that entails. Captivating as his literature and screenplays, the songs bloom with the kind of down-to-earth and heart-wrenching passion that many aficionados have come to expect from his novels. There’s a little something for everyone and singing along to the addictive tunes is not a challenge at all, as the hooks are definitely there in spades. Not at all unlike Folds’ previous lyrics, they still hold a lot of the raw emotion that his lyrics tend to convey, just a with a twist that is all Hornsby.

Couple this with the legendary genius of singer-songwriter Benjamin Scott Folds, Ben to the rest of the world, and you have one hell of an album. Heavy on piano and other more orchestral sounds, it piggybacks on the sound that Folds’ has been building for years- indie alternative rock with a tiny bit of old school jazz (no doubt leftover from his musical education at University of Miami’s Frost’s School of Music) and some seriously classical structure. Beautiful tunes spill forth to entice you in a time when things weren’t so good but they weren’t so bad either- the times when all of us were young and thought we knew how to conquer the world. From dance songs about young love to the bittersweet ballads of heartbreak, the album is perfect from start to finish.

From wonderful lyrics to the signature sound that accompanies the name Ben Folds on an album, this is a perfect fall release to grab. Pick it up tomorrow, September 28th and check out the entire album streaming live at http://www.myspace.com/benfolds

Track Listing:

1. “Working Day”
2. “Picture Window”
3. “Levi Johnston’s Blues”
4. “Doc Pomus”
5. “Your Dogs”
6. “Practical Amanda”
7. “Claire’s Ninth”
8. “Password”
9. “From Above”
10. “Saskia Hamilton”
11. “Belinda”

Website: http://benfolds.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/benfolds

Not Sitting from Karoshi on Vimeo.

We love monster! We love Karoshi! We love that amazing guitar solo at the end of “Not Sitting!”

Karoshi are two brothers, Dan and Sam Burt, that make electronic pop music. In their latest video the mixers put together a creative Frankenstein love story meets rock star success story. Jenny Jones provides the group’s lead vocals.

The video is directed by Nick Light, filmed by Andy Johnson, sets, props and design by Frankie Appleton with post production Katy Connon. Watch it above.

Not Sitting is the debut release from Karoshi due out on October 9 on Suitcase.

You can find more from Karoshi at Karoshimusic.com.

PopWreckoning is pleased to announce that we’re sponsoring a CMJ showcase this year with some amazing bands that are sure to make you dance.

If you’re heading to CMJ or you’ll be in the New York City area on Saturday, October 23, head to the Studio  at Webster Hall at 6 p.m. for High Fidelity: A CMJ Showcase. Get your dance on with My Dear Disco, Black Taxi, Deadbeat Darling, Blip Blip Bleep, and Saturday Astrology.

You can learn more about My Dear Disco and their pioneering of the DanceThink genre here and check out a video of the Michigan act’s live show below.

The showcase is free to CMJ badge holders, but others can buy a $10 ticket in advance or a $12 ticket at the door. You must be 19+.

This event is presented by HMG Associates and MezzoForte Productions and co-sponsored by VenusZine, PopWreckoning, Next and 107.1 FM the Peak.

The Temper Trap have been touring so much and in so many places in 2010, I’ve lost count. So I consider the Trocadero gig in Philadelphia the start of their “latest and greatest” North American tour, if you will. The Melbourne-based band played to an enthused crowd there Sunday night. It’s pretty uncommon for me to know about all three bands on a tour – usually I’ll know the headliner and probably one of the headliners peripherally, but on this tour, I was stoked beyond belief that two of the best electronic bands of the moment would be support for the Temper Trap.

Brooklyn’s the Hundred in the Hands have just released their self-titled debut album on Warp Records last week, and it’s an amazing effort. Definitely in my top 5 of albums of 2010, I think it would handily beat out LCD Soundsystem’s This is Happening in a head-to-head contest on the dance floor. You always wonder how electronic bands translate (or don’t) in the live environment, and I can say without a doubt the Hundred in the Hands passes with flying colors. The only issue I had was with some of the instrumentation getting muddled, which I think was more of a fault of the venue’s sound system and not a reflection on the duo. Weirdly, the front row of the standing crowd stock still for the entire night, and it was us and my new friends in the second row that were kicking up our heels to the Brooklyn duo (and the rest of the night for that matter).

Eleanore Everdell (lead vocals / synths) sings, at times, with a yelping howl not unlike Natasha Khan of Bat for Lashes but I think Everdell does this better, because her disaffected voice is perfect for dance music. Check out the amazing “Last City,” the opening track on their album, with its “oh oh oh OH ohs” that will make this an earworm for sure, and even better live. “Pigeons,” a single getting a lot of airplay on British radio, is another gem. A fascinating sidenote: Hundred’s guitarist (and also beat master) Jason Friedman has the same model of Rickenbacker as Delphic’s Matt Cocksedge, so I was doubly blown away by equipment prettiness.

So the next two bands of the night I had been lucky enough to have seen last at Roskilde Festival in very sunny Denmark in July. Delphic released two singles, “Counterpoint” and “This Momentary,” in their home country in 2009. While these didn’t race up the UK singles chart, they generated enough interest such that when the Manchester, England band let loose their debut album, Acolyte, early this year on their own Polydor imprint Chimeric, the buzz was enormous. I was already a big fan of theirs after hearing Acolyte in January, and it quickly became the soundtrack to my cardiovascular workouts for the rest of the DC winter (read: shoveling during the second biggest snowfall ever recorded in Washington). The band have no idea of this particular reason for my great affection for their music. Interestingly, it became clear Sunday night that I, along with the aforementioned second row of fans at the Trocadero, were going to use Delphic to soundtrack quite a workout.

I should probably mention that despite it being autumn on the East Coast already, the inside of the Trocadero was hot. Steamy. Boiling. By the time Delphic started their second song, the synthtastic “Doubt”, the shirt of lead singer/bassist James Cook was already soaking wet with sweat. He seemed unperturbed by this, singing his heart out on tunes like “Red Lights,” complete with requisite red lighting and concluding with a monster synth outro – just what you’d expect from three English boys who are self-described “synthesizer geeks.” Keyboards/synths man Rick Boardman surprised me, singing his backing vocals with so much enthusiasm, I was floored. He sings in a higher register than Cook and frankly, you haven’t heard sexier high-pitched male vocals in a dance song since the Bee Gees days. “Halcyon,” the song that cemented my love for the band (used somewhat freakily for a UK mobile phone advert, I can’t be the only one who thinks James Cook singing “give me something I can believe in” has absolutely nothing to do with mobile phones), was fantastic, with guitarist Matt Cocksedge ripping his now famous guitar solo.

Even though it appeared that myself and one other guy next to me (clutching a Delphic press clipping from NME, no less) were the only people in the whole club to even know who they were and what they sounded like, by the time the set closer “Counterpoint”, with the swells of its guitar and synth and Cook’s upbeat yet sad lyrics of “but you don’t come back around / it seems to me that we will never be” and his emphatic declaration that “nothing’s wrong / nothing’s wrong with today,“ everyone was already on their side, pumping their fists in the air. See, Delphic may write songs about love and heartbreak like other bands, but they write and play them in a way you will force you to take notice, because you won’t be able to keep still. This is music that makes you want to dance.

Delphic Set List
Clarion Call
Doubt
Red Lights
This Momentary
Halcyon
Counterpoint

The way things are going for the Temper Trap, I think they could very well be playing stadiums in the near future. They have the swagger, they have the confidence, and they certainly have devoted fans. In Washington, maybe a quarter of the attendees show up before or around doors and the rest amble in at the appointed set time for the headliner. Not so with Sunday’s Temper Trap show. I have never in my life seen such a long line outside a venue before doors, going for what seemed like miles down Arch Street. Thanks to two wonderful openers, the Trocadero crowd was drenched in perspiration and ready for the headliner.

All too predictably, “Sweet Disposition,” the song on the “500 Days of Summer” soundtrack that made the Temper Trap a household name in America, got the loudest crowd reaction. But my buddies and I in second row standing had a good time pogo-ing to “Fader,” “Love Lost,” and even “Down River,” the latter with its unusually plodding verses but endearing, shoutable chorus of “Down river! Down river!” and odd spoken lyrics from bassist Jonathan Aherne. I think a lot of people went to this show knowing nothing but “Sweet Disposition” and maybe “Fader,” but they all came away with a feeling of euphoria, seeing a band close to or at its peak in performance terms. Dougy Mandagi grinned through the entire set, later reaching out to the crowd at the end to shake as many hands as he could.

The light show for their final song, “Science of Fear,” was a war between strobes and blue spotlights. This is the level of light show Muse uses on tour. So it’s not a far stretch of the imagination to imagine envision the Temper Trap playing Madison Square Garden or the Meadowlands sometime soon. They won’t be playing clubs for much longer. Watch this space.

The Temper Trap Set List
introduction
Rest
Fader
Fools
Down River
Love Lost
Soldier On
Sweet Disposition
Resurrection
Drumming Song
//
Rabbit Hole
Science of Fear

Tour Dates (dates with all three bands except those noted)
Sept 29 – House of Blues / Boston
Sept 30 – Wellmont / Montclair, NJ
Oct 01 – Terminal 5 / New York City
Oct 02 – Le National / Montreal
Oct 03 – Capital Music Hall / Ottawa
Oct 05 – Phoenix / Toronto
Oct 07 – Newport Music Hall / Columbus
Oct 08 – DC9 / Washington, DC^
Oct 09 – Austin City Limits / Austin*
Oct 09 – MOTR Club / Cincinnati%
Oct 11 – St. Andrews / Detroit
Oct 12 – Metro / Chicago
Oct 13 – Turner Hall / Milwaukee
Oct 14 – First Avenue / Minneapolis
Oct 18 – Crocodile / Seattle%
Oct 19 – Woods / Portland%
Oct 21 – Popscene / San Francisco&
Oct 22 – Fox / Pomona, CA
Oct 23 – Club Nokia / Los Angeles
^ Delphic only
* the Temper Trap only (festival appearance)
% the Hundred in the Hands only
& Delphic and the Hundred in the Hands only

The Temper Trap: website | myspace | @ 9:30 Club | @ Bonnaroo 2010, Day 1 | The Temper Trap Announce August-October North American Tour with Delphic and The Hundred in the Hands | @ Showbox at the Market
Delphic: website | myspace | American Release Details of Delphic EP | Delphic’s Debut Album Streaming on Their MySpace
The Hundred in the Hands: website | myspace | ‘Pigeons’ takes flight with Foals’ remix

On the first of a two-night run at the Paramount in Seattle, Vampire Weekend redeemed themselves Wednesday after a last-minute cancellation last month at Marymoor Park. While it may not have been a summer Sunday night at an outdoor amphitheater, the show was still lovely in the recently remodeled classic Paramount Theater with its phenomenal acoustics and towering ceilings.

While I haven’t been to the Paramount in over a year, I completely forgot that when the Paramount says the show starts at 7:30, it doesn’t actually mean that’s when the doors open, so I arrived literally during the Head and the Heart. Hearing some friends gushing about them afterward, I felt terrible that I didn’t get to see more of their performance.  But I did go home to listen to the the local six-piece’s soft piano-laden pop harmonies, and I strongly suggest you look them up. I didn’t get the chance to see them for more than a few minutes, so learn from my mistakes. I mean, most of the crowd didn’t give them nearly the love they deserved, because they were just anxious to see Vampire Weekend, take two.

Shortly before 8:45, Vampire Weekend took the stage, decorated with floating chandeliers ascending and descending high above the band, like their first album cover come to life. Starting right into their new single “Holiday,” the band played their hearts out with the 18-song set and a 4-song encore.

“It’s not a Sunday in the Park but thanks for being here,” Koenig exclaimed to the crowd. “We can pretend it’s a nice summer day.” The theme of redemption rang throughout the night, with Koenig actively including the people in the show. In fact, at one point during “Giving Up The Gun,” a fan got up on stage with a homemade sign with the resounding chorus line “Go on,” and she flailed it around wildly next to keyboardist Rostam Batmanglij.

“Good for her!” Koenig said, as she jumped off the stage at the end of the song.

As I stood to the right of the stage, I couldn’t help but notice how light Chris Baio is on his feet. Seriously, once you see his fancy footwork, it’s hard to pay attention to anything else during the show. I mean, “Cousins” and “A-Punk” already made me want to dance, but seeing Baio’s moves made it impossible to resist shaking my hips just a bit.

Who am I kidding? I didn’t stop dancing. Well, except during the slow and ethereal “I Think Ur A Contra,” which I was so pleased to hear, because they didn’t play it at Sasquatch back in May, and it’s one of my favorites off Contra. It was a nice break from the otherwise effervescent hits.

Another nice surprise of the night was a Springsteen cover. I’m sure plenty of the kids in the house had never heard Springsteen’s “I’m Goin’ Down,” but Vampire Weekend did the song great justice. Hopefully it isn’t a one-time thing.

After their cheeky hit “Oxford Comma,” the band stepped off stage the first time, which was short-lived as they jumped back on stage with “Horchata.” Naturally everyone went a little nuts.

“We haven’t played this song in a long time, but someone on Twitter requested it, saying ‘You owe us!’” Koenig said, and then agreed with said tweeter, starting into the riffs of “The Kids Don’t Stand A Chance.” It wasn’t nearly as energetic as one would expect in an encore, but it was so charming that the guys tried their hardest to redeem themselves after the disappointing cancellation last month. In case you aren’t familiar, it was August 31, and the Dum Dum Girls and Beach House had both finished their opening sets, the crowd sat around for an hour before the band announced that the show was cancelled. Koenig’s voice had been strained that day and when he saw a doctor he recommended Koenig not sing because of inflamed vocal chords.

Needless to say, the crowd was less than enthused that they had to drive home without seeing Vampire Weekend. So three weeks later, all the Marymoor Park tickets were honored at the two-night run at the Paramount.

“I don’t want to apologize too many times, so I’ll say thank you,” Koenig said. “We couldn’t ask for anything better than for you guys to give us a second chance…and then plus to get to play with Seattle’s own the Head and the Heart. We’ll never give you the run-around again.”

Finishing out the lengthy set, for “Mansard Roof,” Koenig instructed the crowd, “the only way to dance to this song, just go with it,” is to do spirit fingers. Spirit fingers, you ask? Why yes, actual spirit fingers. “And your arms may get tired, but this is a short song!” So everyone’s hands went up, with their fingers wiggling up to the sky as the quick song built to the final song of the night – “Walcott.”

As the second song referencing Cape Cod, it was quite an epic sing-along with Baio on an upright bass and Koenig shouting out jubilantly “Don’t you wanna get outta Cape Cod tonight?” over and over again until I feared his voice may give out again.

Going back to what Koenig said about never giving Seattle the run-around, I can’t help but agree with an inexplicably loud guy from the crowd:

“You’re forgiven!”

Set list:

“Holiday”
“White Sky”
“Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa”
“I Stand Corrected”
“M79″
“Bryn”
“California English”
“Cousins”
“Taxi Cab”
“Run”
“A-Punk”
“One (Blake’s Got a New Face)”
“I’m Going Down” (Bruce Springsteen cover)
“Diplomat’s Son”
“I Think UR a Contra”
“Giving Up the Gun”
“Campus”
“Oxford Comma”

Encore
“Horchata”
“The Kids Don’t Stand a Chance”
“Mansard Roof”
“Walcott”

Murder By Death lead vocalist, Adam Turla was nice enough to let PodWreck interview him. Tune in below to hear about his lone trip to the Tennessee Mountains and our typical Would You Rather’s.

In the middle you’ll hear “As Long As There Is Whiskey In The World,” a song off their newest album Good Morning, Magpie. You can also find a video on their website.