popwreckoning

“We love the 9:30 Club, so we weren’t sure if this [playing Constitution Hall] was a good idea,” admitted singer Thomas Mars of Phoenix somewhat bashfully to a sold-out D.C. crowd Monday night. It was a completely understandable worry – the last time Phoenix came to town, they played (and sold out) the comparatively tiny Rock ‘n’ Roll Hotel, and the 9:30 is the usual next stop for a band with a growing fanbase. Mars and his group needn’t have worried: the throng that came this night to the 3,700-seater venue were ready and willing to dance and show their appreciation for the the alt-rock / dance band from Paris.

Support for the evening was provided by the young Northern Irish indie pop / rock trio Two Door Cinema Club. I don’t mean to brag, but I’m pretty sure I’m their biggest American fan. Even though they’ve been selling out headlining gigs in the UK with ease, I was incredulous when I heard they were coming to play in North America so quickly (their excellent debut album Tourist History was just released in Britain in March). The Washington gig was only their second ever in America, having played with Phoenix at Atlanta’s Tabernacle 2 days before. Despite this, no hesitation in playing for an unfamiliar audience was evident from their lively set. They began with “Cigarettes in the Theatre,” which seems an appropriate title for a song by a band who named themselves after an actual cinema they frequented back home in Ireland. This one is actually a song about how red-headed lead singer Alex Trimble met his girlfriend.

Sometimes I wondered how the lyrics to their songs could tumble out of Trimble’s mouth so effortlessly and as frenetically as Sam Halliday (lead guitar) and Kev Baird (bass) could play their instruments. After playing a blistering rendition of the single “Something Good Can Work,” Baird told us, “this is our first time in America. America loves the Irish!” Everyone laughed. “We saw your [D.C.] sights.” Trimble added, “we saw the White House. The President lives there.” This caused more laughter before the band started into “This is the Life,” a song with a chaotic outro that upon first listen I immediately associated it with Republica‘s “Ready to Go.”

“What You Know” is one of my favorites from their album, with a sweeping chorus of “and I can tell just what you want / you don’t want to be alone / you don’t want to be alone / and I can’t say it’s what you know / but you’ve known it the whole time / yeah, you’ve known it the whole time.” Simply fabulous were Trimble’s vocals against the backdrop of Halliday’s melodic guitar leading the charge. Before saying goodbye, the band let loose with “I Can Talk”; if there was any song in their arsenal that could get people out of their seats and dancing, this was it. Tourist History was released this week in America and is available now from Glassnote Records, so if you love frenzied, guitar-driven indie pop, I highly recommend buying a copy today.

Two Door Cinema Club Set List
Cigarettes in the Theatre
Undercover Martyn
Do You Want It All
Something Good Can Work
This is the Life
What You Know
Eat That Up, It’s Good for You
Come Back Home
I Can Talk

Phoenix have been around for over a decade, but they’ve remained pretty much a mystery to me, even with songs like “Lisztomania” gaining a foothold in the American radio mainstream. For sure, their album Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix (released in 2009) winning the Best Alternative Album Grammy and a Cadillac commercial featuring “1901″ have both helped them gain fans. They also explain how a band who played a little club the last time they were in town could sell out an indoor behemoth like Constitution Hall. Numbers like “Fences” and “Girlfriend” showcased the band’s dance bent, while others like “Playground Love,” a tune billed by Mars during the band’s encore as “a song we wrote with [fellow French band] Air,” showed a softer, more sensitive side.

The professional light show looked like it would be more at home at a stadium show than Constitution Hall. There was enough strobe and colored lights to potentially cause epileptic seizures and temporary blindness. Given the choice, I’d rather not be blinded when I’m trying to enjoy a concert; I ended up turning away from the stage when the lighting became too bright. The crowd however appeared unfazed by the light show, content to scream for the band in between songs and jump, dance, or do a combination of the two while the band played on, reveling in the adoration from their fans.

The lighting was not the only unusual feature of the night. Not afraid to be one with the locals, Mars chose to jump up on a speaker stage right and then (aided by an extra long red microphone cord) headed into the upper tier, to the surprise and utter delight of the crowd. After “1901″ was played and the hall was still dark, I thought the show was over. Instead, Mars reappeared in the middle of the floor, singing along to an extended ending of the song before pulling girls up with him as he made his way back up onstage, nearly inciting a riot as gig-goers followed him, madly rushing and clambering onto the stage to join him and the rest of the band. Judging by my fellow blogger Abby’s experience seeing Phoenix at Seattle’s Showbox SoDo in January, maybe this is just par for the course for Phoenix these days.

Phoenix: website | myspace | @ Record Bar | @ Monolith 2009 | @ Rumsey Playfield | Remix Monday: Phoenix – “Love Like a Sunset” | Remix Monday: Phoenix – “Fences” | 107.7 The End’s Deck the Hall Ball 2009 | @ Showbox SoDo
Two Door Cinema Club: website | myspace | Two Door Cinema Club To Tour with Phoenix in Spring, Headline First North American Tour | “Something Good Can Work” video

The last time Phoenix played Kansas City, it was at a 200-capacity venue for a free MySpace secret show. Though I know people drove for miles to see that and waited in line all day, I think Phoenix was a bit shocked at their popularity. Now, nearly a year later, Phoenix returns to Kansas City, but this time at a significantly larger venue with a 2,500-some capacity. Again, I knew people were driving for miles to see this and show had quickly sold out. Yet, again, I think Phoenix was surprised at their popularity, half-expecting that at any moment, they might wake up and be downgraded back to a 200-capacity venue with no one in attendance.

It’s weird to think that this band, which has been releasing albums since 2000 and a band that has roots in Daft Punk and Air, just in the past year became popular in the United States. They seemed to skip that in-between growing popularity phase here: one night no one knew who they were in this country, but then they wake up in the morning and they’re a household name, selling out massive venues.

The band’s performance on SNL had a lot to do with the launch of their success, which I’m kind of thrilled about because now I get to see them multiple times in a year instead of sitting at home wishing they’d come play KC, while I import their albums from France. I also like to think that the band’s crazy rise to stardom in the states challenges them in their stage show to show that this wasn’t a fluke and they deserve this success. And after seeing them three times in the past year, I can attest: they are that great live.

Opening for the show was supposed to be the Irish rock group Two Door Cinema Club, but they had to cancel due to the volcanic activity in Europe disrupting air travel. Locals the Roman Numerals filled in at last minute. I was really looking forward to Two Door Cinema Club, having blasted “I Can Talk” and “Something Good Can Work” fairly solidly on my car play list fairly solidly for the last few weeks, so I was pretty dismayed that they canceled and a local band that I felt was a little over-saturated in the market was filling in. However, I think the offer of opening for such a huge name really pushed the Numerals to outperform their standard. They put on their most dynamic set and energetic set that I’ve ever seen them do. Now knowing that they can play that explosively, I hope they can meet the bar set as this show and continue to outperform themselves.

Some of the guys in Phoenix had mentioned to me that their light show had also been affected by the European volcano due to their light guy getting stranded. They said they had to make some amendments to their usual show. Despite knowing this change up, the light show blew me away. Sure, there were lots of strobe effects, but they also knew how to use dark space. Band members were cast and shadow or spotlighted when appropriate for a big solo–which was refreshing to see that all members were given equal respect and not just the lead singer given the spotlight. One of my favorite moments of the light show was during an instrumental interlude where the stage went dark and the amps were slowly outlined in neon lights in this big growing effect that mimicked the growing dynamic of the music. Beautiful.

Now, that being said about the astounding lights, they really were just a bonus. The band’s aural performance was enough to impress, but to get killer lights and music? Lucky. The set mixed songs spanning the length of the Phoenix catalog and I was pleased to see that so many knew more than just “1901″ and “Listzomania.” The band has some slow numbers, but for the most part, they’re upbeat alternative rock songs. While they’re not what one would generally consider dance music, they’re surprisingly easy to dance to, but KC did need some encouragement in this department. “This track is supposed to be a dance track, so if you guys don’t mind,” said singer Thomas Mars before “Girlfriend.” His recommendation was quickly taken to heart by the audience and the house lights were even brought up so the band could watch the audience dance.

Mars was a giant ball of energy, singing his heart and engaging the crowd by reaching his hands out to them and at times, even entering the throngs. “Where would you go” he sang on “Lasso” and seemed to answer himself by showing that where he’d go is into the crowd. Usually just the front rows benefited from this, but during the encore, he disappeared during “1901″ only to appear deep in the crowd and then surfing his way back to the front.

The encore was a blast, not just because of the extended “1901″ with Mars deep in the crowd, but because we were treated to two special stripped down versions of “Playground Love” and “Everything Is Everything.” It was nice to see that even though you can see this band frequently and get some of the same songs, you’re not necessarily getting the same show.

Phoenix Set List:
Lisztomania
Long Distance Call
Lasso
Consolation Prizes
Fences
Girlfriend
Armistice
Love Like A Sunset
Run Run Run
Rally
Countdown
Rome
//
Playground Love (Stripped)
Everything is Everything (Stripped)
1901

Standing within the box that is the Kansas City music scene, Thieves seem to have gotten a little lost.  Coming from nowhere, they’re suddenly everywhere, earning their role in a complicated and sometimes closed-minded blue collar music city. However, it is important to make it perfectly clear that sometimes being lost here isn’t always a bad thing. It seems to me that if anything, this group of guys finds itself ahead of the curve, leaving behind a scene three to five years behind the national trend, which hangs its hat on the fame of The Get Up Kids. While the godfathers of the modern emo movement have earned and deserve our praise, the time has come to reestablish and rebuild our struggling scene. I have little doubt that this could be the band to do it.

One would swear when spinning their new disc, Dividers, released Saturday, November 5 at the Record Bar, that the sounds spilling from the speakers surely must be a previously established, national act.   While half the credit of this must go to the production values of  Ryan Cork and The Punch at Premier studio in Lenexa, Kansas, the band’s polished, atmospheric tendencies offer entertainment by themselves.

Take “Swan Song,” Divider‘s opening cut, for example.  Ticky-tack electronic drums skip down a path towards a haunting guitar and vocal combo that would make even Mars Volta proud.  Blended in a way that makes the band appear to be a united force, rather than a group of individuals caught up in guarding their images and defined roles, the album’s first track sets the tone for this epic, flowing journey into a musical conversation with Thieves.   It’s pretty clear, they have something to say.  They’re not just vocal and guitar solos. They are their message.

“In House. In Host,” the album’s second cut, it escalates the intensity of Divider a touch.  With a fist pumping fury and an air raid feel, Thieves scream, “I try to fight it but the devil is breaking down the door,”  over pounding drums and muted guitar.  If for no other reason, this song’s ability to condition the listener to adopt the semblance and spirit of the song is breathtaking and worth the listen.

From power struggle to power ballet, the album’s third cut, “While You Were Sleeping,” is at its best if listened to through headphones.  The listener’s ability to pick up every casual drum beat and urgent radio transmission is imperative.  The calm piano introduction and soft vocals remind me of something one might find on The Virgin Suicide soundtrack alongside any number of Air tracks.  I also find it without a doubt to be the strongest track on the album and one of the best local tracks of 2009.

Skipping over the very pretty musical track in “Transit,” Divider’s fifth and sixth tracks “Mecca”  and “E. 130″ sport a very European style signature which cohesively constructs a sound that mixes the likes Radiohead’s quitar structures and vocal whails with The Postal Service’s electronic instrumentation.  You can check it out for yourself, free of charge, by downloading the album here, until December 31, 2009.

Trust me, you should.

Track Listing:
01. Swan Song
02. In House. In Host
03. While You Were Sleeping
04. Transit
05. Mecca
06. E. 130

Thieves: website | myspace

Air‘s Love 2 sounds like it could be the soundtrack to a Mad Men episode if it was filmed in space, and the actors’ were French. 

Love 2 is heavier than Air’s other albums because the band used live instruments while recording the album.

It wouldn’t be an Air album if there weren’t a few strikingly beautiful ambient songs, some 60s spy tracks, and lounge music.

The ambient masterpiece of the album is “Heaven’s Light.” The other atmospheric tunes include “Tropical Disease,” “You Can Tell It To Everybody” and “African Velvet.”

“Heaven’s Light” contains sounds of the cool peace one finds in the middle of a lush forest at nightfall. “Tropical Disease” conjures thoughts of a summer boat ride. Odd flute-like sounds are played over wavy piano chords and a subtle drum beat. “You Can Tell It To Everybody” has a light reggae feel and “African Velvet” has a jazz rhythm with a few sax solos.

The spy-esque and film noir inspired tunes include “So Light Is Her Footfall, “Be A Bee,” and “Eat My Beat.”

“So Light Is Her Footfall,” incorporates “wah” guitars that whine and lean along to tell a story out of a 60s thriller (perhaps Charade, since the Air guys are French and all).

“Be A Bee” plays like a driving song, with interspersed Go! Team-like chants, beach-pop rhythms, urgent sirens, and robotic clicks. “Eat My Beat” has a psych-rock feel.

The few songs on the album that sound like Air, but don’t at the same time are “Love,” “Missing The Light Of Day,” “Sing Sang Sung,” “Night Hunter” and “Do The Joy.”

“Love” is filled with random chirps and animal noises that drop in and out over a blanket of soft music and light bells. “Missing The Light Of The Day” sounds like a slower, lighter Hot Chip track with 80s synths. “Sing Sang Sung” reminds me of other Air songs I love/hate, such as “Sexy Boy,” and “Cherry Blossom Girl.” The track plays like a delicate, disco summer jam.

“Night Hunter,” has a quirky clap beat that has electronic noises akin to those that would be played at a cantina in a Star War’s film. “Do The Joy,” contains gauzy vocals mixed with rough robotic voices, and a grinding psychedelic rock guitar that fades in and out of the song.

The band recently announced that Love 2 is now available in a limited edition box set. If interested, pre-order it now.

Tracklisting:
01. Love
02. So Light Is Her Footfall
03. Be A Bee
04. Missing The Light Of The Day
05. Tropical Disease
06. Heaven’s Light
07. Night Hunter
08. Sing Sang Sung
09. Eat My Beat
10. You Can Tell It To Everybody
11. African Velvet

Air: website | myspace

Wait a second…is that…sun?

Yes, the second day of Monolith saw some sun. Though I must stress “some.” Granted “some” was a significant improvement to the cold, icy rain that drizzled on concertgoers the entire day before.

Feeling encouraged by the slight appearance of sun, Monolith’s second day promised to be good.

We Were Promised Jetpacks // Woxy.com Stage @ 1:40-2:20 p.m.

I started off with Scottish group We Were Promised Jetpacks. I couldn’t decide what I liked more. Their music or their stage banter with the audience.

During a brief break in their set, a girl shouted out, “Say four,”

“Whore?” asked Adam Thompson, causing the audience to erupt with laughter. “I’m not some kind of Scottish circus freak. I can’t roll into town and say whatever you want.”

The group just released their debut this past summer and while they cite their influences as Frightened Rabbit and Twilight Sad, I’d say they have mainly the accent in common and while I like those other two bands, I think We Were Promised Jetpacks had the most enjoyable live show after seeing all three at Monolith.

“I’m going to let you in on a secret,” said Thompson near the end of their set. “This might be our only good song. We peaked.”

I wouldn’t let Thompson’s modesty fool you. All their songs are good.

Rahzel // Esurance Music Stage @ 2:30-3 p.m.

I was a bit disappointed with the arrangement of the next options at the festival. I could either see DJ rapper The Pirate Signal or hip hop artist Rahzel. These genres are not really my thing and I was disappointed that there weren’t any alternative genre options when the rest of the line up was pretty good about having variety at different stages.

I decided to sit at the top of Red Rocks and watch some of Rahzel. Rahzel, is perhaps better known either as the “beat boxing champ” or as a member of The Roots.

The first ten minutes were painful. I find having a DJ yell, “We’ve got the champ; we’ve got the champ” over and over while some other guy simply talks kind of lame. That “warm-up” part was something I could have done without.

But then, Rahzel finally showed off his beatboxing skills. First it was White Stripes‘ “Seven Nation Army” then a little Justin Timberlake and countless other popular tunes. And that was bad ass.

Neon Indian // Woxy.com Stage @ 3-3:40 p.m.

Now Neon Indian was more my speed with its synth heavy lo-fi pop. It is the project of Alan Palomo of VEGA.

Monolith was the first ever live performance of the band, but as Palomo’s bold movements and twists of the microphone cord made it look like they had been performing forever. His female bandmate on keys was a bit more timid though and I’m not sure if that was her personality or nerves.

I expect this group to blow up soon because let’s be honest…who doesn’t love the synth?

Monotonix // Southern Comfort Presents Stage @ 3-3:30 p.m.

So I didn’t intend to see any of Monotonix and then I accidentally ended up seeing too much.

After emerging from the depths of Red Rocks, I was surprised to see a large crowd huddle in front of the Southern Comfort Stage, yet no one was on stage nor did it look as though anybody had been on stage. Crews were already setting up for the next band. Yet there was some weird sort of rap rock…I’m not quite sure how to describe what was going on soundwise…coming form the middle of the croud.

Suddenly, from the depths of the crowd, a skinny, shirtless man with long hair was lifted on to the shoulders of the crowd. This was Monotonix and the people were just eating his performance up. I finally got to see him, but this is also when I saw too much of him.

It wasn’t long before he was mooning the crowd and I decided it was time to take my leave from the spectacle and check out another band.

The Dandy Warhols // Esurance Music Stage @ 3:30-4:15 p.m.

Maybe it was the singer’s stripped shirt, but there was a definite sailor swagger to the Dandy Warhols.

They seemed happy to be playing, but there was also an aloofness that made it a little difficult to connect with their live show.

The group was at their best when songs called for extra percussion effects like on “The Legend of the Last of the Outlaw Truckers.” The band sounded better and seemed happier on songs like that.

Set List:
Burned
Trucker
Junky
Good morning
I Love You
Holden Me Up
The Last High
Bono
Get Off
U2BF
Wasp
P/Boys

The Love Language // Radius Earphones Stage @ 3:40-4:20 p.m.

Looking at the stage set up for The Love Language, my first thought was that two separate bands were going to duel for the ownership of the drummer. Two keyboardists faced each other and two singers stood side by side. It was crowded for such a tiny stage.

But once I heard the band start to play, it was quite clear that something different was happening on stage. Instead of two separate bands battling for control of the drummer, siamese twins would be a better image to conjure up. The band was a single entity, but at the same time, as they switched from song to song, they showed different personalities. The Love Language are Siamese twins, not joined at the hip, but at the drummer.

Aside from walking away from this review with that weird imagery, know that soundwise, they really are the language of love. They are just happy-sounding and sweet and tons of other things that make you want to curl your toes with glee. There was a carefree nature about the music and the performance, so carefree in fact, that the band hardly flinched when all their foot-stomping knocked one of their keyboards off the stand.

Set List:
2 rabbits
providence
nocturne
blood
brittney
blue angel
sparxxx
manteo
lalita
hello mary lou

The Thermals // Southern Comfort Presents Stage @ 4-4:45 p.m.

I’ve had the privilege of seeing The Thermals before.

I just love the nasally stretch of the singers vocals, “Nooooow weee cannnn see,” the bassists growth from nonchalance to lost-in-the-moment jumping, and the unabridged enthusiasm of the constantly smiling drummer.

Yet, since I had seen them before, I regrettably had to pull myself away to catch some acts I had never seen before. Next time, Thermals. Next time.

Set List:
Return
Afraid
Future
Trivia
Let go
How Know
Call Name
Back Gray
Sick
Trip
100 %
Strosa
Pillar
Culture
We See

Bad Veins // Woxy.com Stage @ 4:20-5 p.m.

Two guys, flowery wood boxes, a big film machine and a telephone. Sounds like the beginnings to a weird sitcom, but really this was just the beginnings of Bad Veins, a duo that features a tape machine named “Irene.”

The guys and “Irene” produced a really full sound, but I’m not entirely convinced I understand the purpose of the telephone bit.

While I’m sure many in the audience inadvertently wandered in, they stayed because they group was unique and good.

HEALTH // Radius Earphones Stage @ 5-5:40 p.m.

HEALTH – OMFG.

I can’t decide if I love the festival organizers for booking some amazing bands or hate them for booking some amazing bands in ridiculously small rooms.

If you were one of the lucky few who didn’t get shut out of HEALTH’s set, you know how amazingly fortunate you were to witness them live. Each band member was all over the stage, jumping and thrashing. I’ve never seen so much energy from a electronica rock band.

If you were unfortunate enough to get shut out, get in your car and drive somewhere to see them even if that means driving to an airport.

This is a band everyone must witness once in their life.

The Twilight Sad // Woxy.com Stage @ 5:40-6:20 p.m.

The Twilight Sad rounded out the Scottish trio performing at the fest.

A schedule change moving Savoy earlier and shifting Passion Pit and Phoenix later due to a cancellation from illness in MSTRKRFT‘s camp made it so I wasn’t conflicted with choosing between Twilight Sad and Passion Pit.

The set was hauntingly beautiful, but a bit of a downer. A technical hiccup in the set lightened the mood a bit as the band awkwardly stated, “Wish we knew some jokes.”

They were talented, but awkward and shy, which I suppose is fitting for their music. Plus, they had accents, and who doesn’t love a good accent.

Set List:
Doonstairs
Faster
Hit Single
Eyes Oot
Mooth
Rabbit
Sheepdng

(not typos, just how they wrote it out on the set list)

Tigercity // Radius Earphones Stage @ 6:20-7 p.m.

Tigercity was some smooth, easy-listening and I unfortunately was just too revved up to go see Passion Pit to truly enjoy this group.

It wasn’t that Tigercity was bad and they had the recipe for everything I love–synth! It was just that it was more so something that was more appealing to an older crowd that still wanted to be hip than what I’m into. Sorry Tigercity.

Set List:
Fake Gold Other Girls
Graz 75 B
Ancient Lover
Power Stripe Solitary Man
Red Lips D Water
A Better Place James
My Type
Let Her Go
?
Mallory

Passion Pit // Southern Comfort Presents Stage @ 7-7:45 p.m.

OK, again, I don’t know why the festival organizers didn’t put Passion Pit on the main stage because the entire day this was the band that I heard everybody talking about going to.

They were good the last time I saw them, but I can’t get over how much the stage presence has improved. Every band member was all over the stage, jumping off monitors and the kick drum and falling on the floor.

The crowd makes a Passion Pit set. They know all the right times to respond and sing back the vocals.

High-pitched vocals have the potential to be obnoxious, but in Passion Pit’s case, it is pure fun and add the electronica beats and you have a non-stop dance party.

I could have been content to end the night here, but some of my favorite French rockers were getting ready to take to the main stage.

Set List:
make light
i’ve got your number
let your love grow tall
little secrets
to kingdom come
better things
sleepyhead
smile upon me
…can’t remember what was played here…
the reeling.

Phoenix // Esurance Music Stage @ 7:45-9 p.m.

Phoenix has been in the music game for a long time, but it wasn’t until Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix that the States finally took notice of these French rockers.

Yes, the lyrics don’t always make sense (remember English is not their first language), but they sure sound good and are tight musicians.

Think Air with a dash of Daft Punk–this comparison shouldn’t be too hard considering all these artists are part of the Versailles scene.

Phoenix started strong with “Listzomania” and even stronger with “1901,” a song that blew audience away when performed on SNL.

My night ended with Phoenix. Sorry Mars Volta, but I had an eight hour drive that had to be completed before my roomies’ class the next day.

But it doesn’t matter. I couldn’t hope for a more perfect end than Passion Pit and Phoenix.

Set List:
Listzomania
Long Distance Call
Consolation Prizes
Lasso
…sorry, blanking on this part of the set…
Girlfriend
Rome
Too Young
1901

Monolith: website | day 1

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