popwreckoning

Kansas City doesn’t usually dance at concerts, but if there were to ever be an exception to that rule, it would have been Friday night’s show at the Beaumont Club with Foals, Freelance Whales and The Naked and Famous.

Beaumont Club is usually one of the few venues that you can count on to start on time, but Friday, they actually started just a few minutes early.  Unfortunately, many were still in line to get in when New Zealand’s The Naked and Famous took to the stage with “All of This,” the opening track off their debut album, Passive Me, Aggressive You. Then the familiar synth trickle intro to “Punching in a Dream” resounded across the venue. If the audience wasn’t already hooked on this band with the first song, this one did the trick. There’s no way to stand still for this addictive Passion Pit-esque tune. A little later in the set, audience member’s who had just seen that week’s episode of “Gossip Girl” and heard “The Sun” were treated to a live rendition of the song, which at times had musical similarities to some of Phoenix‘s more instrumental-based songs. “Girls Like You” and US radio hit “Young Blood” ended out the stellar set. Alisa Xayalith and Thom Powers almost sounded even better live than on record as they traded vocals back and forth for the two final electropop numbers. Do yourself a favor: catch them live if you can. In a soon-to-be-posted PopWreckoning interview with bassist David Beadle, he says that the band should be back stateside for a headlining tour in Fall 2010.

The Naked and Famous Set List:
All of This
Punching in a Dream
A Wolf in Geek’s Clothing
The Sun
(The Source)
No Way
Girls Like You
Young Blood

“Cute,” “Adorable,” “Happy” are all words that come to mind as when New York five-piece Freelance Whales take to the stage next. But just because the band have a cutesy pop sound – thanks mostly to their avid use of glockenspiel – don’t brush them off as not serious music. They may sound like Owl City, but their songs also have the depth of a Death Cab for Cutie. The band played songs mostly off their debut album Weathervanes, many of which are familiar to through their popular use on TV shows and Starbucks commercials such as “Generator ^First Floor” as well as “Generator ^Second Floor.” But it has been just about a year since the release of their banjo-plucking swirl of a debut, so they also had plenty of new songs to share with the audience. The new songs still had the bright, sound that makes them so lovable, so look out for an official release of these songs soon. Of course, the song that really got the crowd’s attention was “Hannah,” which has winding musical phrases matching the winding spiralcase mentioned in the lyrics. This was a big singalong number that really got people smiling.
The UK’s dance-rock outfit Foals headlined the night’s electric lineup. About three years ago when this group came through the US right after their debut, Antidotes, release you could count on a band that sounded great, but seemed lost in their own little world on stage. They gyrated to their tunes, but never looked up from their hands. It made them come across as a little shy and uncertain of their own performance. Well in the three years since, they sure have changed their live show performance and they seem like a brand new band – one that’s confident in their playing and capable of embracing the audience. The result – they still sound great, but it’s even easier to get hooked as their new-found enthusiasm is contagious. It’s now as interesting to watch them as it is to listen.

Foals began with “Blue Blood,” the opening track off their sophomore release Total Life Forever. The set was an even mix of songs off that album and debut Antidotes, the second track alternated to the debut’s “Olympic Airways,” and then switched back to the sophomore release for “Total Life Forever.” The vocals on that song are just a blast to sing along to, “I knoooooow a place…” the audience howled along. “To your house,  down to your house,” the audience seemed to follow singer Yannis Philippakis‘ every crescendo and decrescendo for this song. But as the Foals’ set went on, all eyes were on drummer Jack Bevan. The man was a machine and tore up nearly every beat. Walking around the Beaumont before the set, Bevan is an unassuming figure, easy to glance over. But behind the drum set? He’s a jaw-dropping power house. He often added to his challenging rhythms by standing from his seat before a song and clicking his sticks together to get the audience to clap a pattern, but then sitting back down to play an unexpected syncopated rhythm. Bevan was the reason songs such as “Spanish Sahara” stand out as such amazing dance numbers. Seriously fantastic.

Foals’ Set List:
Blue Blood
Olympic Airways
Total Life Forever
Balloons
Miami
After Glow
What Remains
2 Trees
Spanish Sahara
Red Socks Pugie
Electric Bloom
//

?
The French Open
Two Steps, Twice

*Freelance Whales photos by Andrew Dunlap

New York City’s folk pop band Freelance Whales (pictured right) and Oxford, England indie dance rock band Foals will be touring North America together in April and May. In several markets (San Francisco, New York City, Philadelphia, and Washington, DC) the two bands will be co-headlining. The support act for this tour is Auckland, New Zealand electropop band the Naked and Famous.

Tour Dates
Apr 10 – Commodore Ballroom / Vancouver*
Apr 11 – Showbox at the Market / Seattle*
Apr 12 – Wonder Ballroom / Portland*
Apr 14 – Great American Music Hall / San Francisco (Freelance Whales co-headlining with Foals)*
Apr 19 – Fitzgerald’s / Houston*
Apr 20 – Loft / Dallas
Apr 21 – La Zona Rosa / Austin*
Apr 23 – Firebird / St. Louis*
Apr 25 – Varsity Theater / Minneapolis*
Apr 26 – Metro / Chicago (Freelance Whales co-headlining with Foals)*
Apr 27 – Outland Live / Columbus*
Apr 29 – Beachland Ballroom / Cleveland*
Apr 30 – Phoenix / Toronto*
May 01 – Le National / Montreal*
May 02 – Paradise / Boston*
May 04 – Terminal 5 / New York City (Freelance Whales co-headlining with Foals)*
May 05 – TLA / Philadelphia*
May 06 – 9:30 Club / Washington, DC (Freelance Whales co-headlining with Foals)*
May 07 – Ottobar / Baltimore*
May 08 – Met / Pawtucket, RI*
*with the Naked and Famous

Freelance Whales: website | myspace | @ Rock ‘n’ Roll Hotel
Foals: website | myspace
The Naked and Famous: | myspace

While on holiday in England in April 2007, I saw the indie rock group Hot Club de Paris open for Carl Barat and Gary Powell‘s post-Libertines band, Dirty Pretty Things, at London’s Shepherds Bush Empire. I was very confused that the trio was singing harmonies with an English accent and not a French one. Turns out the band is from the Northwest of England, Liverpool to be exact (yes, the home of the Beatles), and is comprised of principal songwriter / lead vocalist / bassist Paul Rafferty and a pair of brothers, Alasdair (drums) and Matthew Smith (guitar). Songs like “Shipwreck” from their 2006 debut album Drop It ’til It Pops turned into singalongs that Sunday night at Shepherds Bush, confirming to me that even though they aren’t massive in Britain like, say, Coldplay, they’ve got a devoted fanbase at home and in Europe. And for a British band, that’s a major thing to have under your belt: it gives you the clout to keep making records.

Hot Club de Paris‘ last two EP releases in the UK, With Days Like This as Cheap as Chewing Gum, Why Would Anyone Want to Work? (released February 2010) and The Rise and Inevitable Fall of the High School Suicide Cluster Band (released May 2010), have now been combined into one album for their North American album debut, the whimsically titled Free the Pterodactyl 3. Their record label, Moshi Moshi, may not be familiar to you, but past acts like Florence and the Machine and Friendly Fires should be, having released their earliest works on the indie London label before moving on to bigger things.

Hot Club de Paris is an interesting amalgamation of punk and pop. They make music under their own terms, putting out what they want (which explains why they put out two EPs in the UK last year instead of one long player) and bowing to no one. The backstory of the title track of the album is described by Moshi Moshi as “a slow and wistful jam about singer Paul Rafferty’s scrape with the law whilst attempting the liberation of a 3-metre fibreglass pterodactyl from a derelict fun fair with a couple of friends.” Sounds like a punk, all right (watch the black marker and drum-centric promo video for the song below). Their sound is at times angry and angular as math rock, but also maintains a pop edge, making them accessible to anyone. I mean, really, what punk band can you name that regularly breaks out into three-part a cappella harmony at a gig? While I haven’t seen the band in four years, I imagine “The White Town Express (Get High, Stay Low)” would be perfect to showcase their gorgeous harmonies live.

My favorite songs from this band are of the winsome, up tempo variety. “I’m Not in Love and Neither Are You” and “Dog Tired at the Spring Dance Marathon” have fun guitar lines running underneath the insistent, shouted vocals. “Dance a Ragged Dance” has feel-good harmonies and the proof that well-read Rafferty is handy with choosing words (“…buildings / booked basement parties, sad times / the moonlight lit a kiss on the stairs…“) without abandoning punk (“we can either dance or die!“). The song also ends with xylophone, more Freelance Whales than punk.

Despite the name, “Biggie Smalls and the Ghetto Slams” is not a rap song at all but instead tells the story of young kids and their ill-fated band. If you haven’t figured this out already, Hot Club de Paris likes to be different, but not for the sake of being different: it’s just not in their nature to operate any other way. And I’m glad, because their sound is all that’s great about the young North. “The Rise and Inevitable Fall of the High School Suicide Cluster Band” and “Fuck You, the Truth” (with the question, “are you guys having a good time?“, and response from the crowd, “noooo!“) are more punk, but there’s something charming about the way the lyrics are shouted at you. You want to root for this band. It’s not hard to imagine fans at a gig shouting the words back at them, fists in the air. Me? I want to be a part of that.

While Free the Pterodactyl 3 is not a cohesive album (and if you’ve read this far, you understand why this is the case), it’s a good introduction to an exciting Liverpool band that deserves success on this side of the Atlantic.

Track Listing:
01. I’m Not in Love and Neither Are You
02. The Rise and Inevitable Fall of the High School Suicide Cluster Band
03. Fuck You, the Truth
04. Biggie Smalls and the Ghetto Slams
05. Free the Pterodactyl 3
06. Dance a Ragged Dance
07. Dog Tired at the Spring Dance Marathon
08. They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?
09. The White Town Express (Get High, Stay Low)
10. Three Albums and Still No Ballad
11. Noses Blazing
12. Extra Time, Sudden Death

Free the Pterodactyl 3 is available now from Moshi Moshi.

Hot Club de Paris: website | myspace

By now I’ve probably exhausted the fact that Neumo’s gets really hot. But Monday’s Tokyo Police Club show puts all those other shows to rest. I can easily say it reached over 100 degrees in that place. But what can you expect when Seattle was 90+ that day and Neumo’s is a completely black building? Thankfully my friend and I had grabbed a couple bamboo fans from my house before we left.

Like I said, Tokyo Police Club came to Seattle on Monday with openers Freelance Whales and fellow Canadians Arkells. I was surprised that there weren’t more people lined up outside the venue when I got there with half an hour to spare, but I was unaware that there had been an in-store down the street probably going on right as I got there at 7:30. But once I did get in line, I made some new friends, one of which had a camera similar to mine – a DSLR. It was her step dad’s camera, and when we got to the door, she was completely unaware that they weren’t going to let her in with it. She’d taken the ferry, so there was no car for her to put her camera in. After I made my way to the front of the stage, I waited to see if she’d gotten everything squared away. About ten minutes later, she walked through the door, camera in hand and a wristband just like mine.

“How’d you manage to get in?”

“The owner wasn’t going to let me in, but I was outside crying and I saw some people walk out from the venue and was like, ‘are any of you in the band?’”

She then told her story to Graham, the keyboardist from Tokyo Police Club, and being the cool guy that he is, he talked to their manager and got her name on the guest list so she could get a photo pass.

That made me smile so big, and the show hadn’t even started yet.

Right around 9 p.m., Arkells came out onstage and surprised me. I wasn’t aware that they were even playing that night, and they were really good garage rock, kind of a mix between local darlings The Lonely Forest and the early days of Rooney, with strong and driving pop hooks. A couple great songs in particular were “Ballad of Hugo Chavez” and “John Lennon” off their 2008 debut Jackson Square.

Arkells was remarkably energetic for how early it was in the evening, using Neumo’s small stage to their full advantage, even with 5 guys in the band. At one point, lead vocalist Max apologized for getting to the in-store late earlier that day, because Nick, the bassist, had been scouring the city for a Ken Griffey Jr. jersey. Sadly, he didn’t find one.

After a few more kicking tracks, Griffey got another shout out.

“We’re gonna snap. This is the first time this has been done in Seattle, are you ready?” Max asked the audience, raising his hands up to get ready to snap.

“Let’s get three snaps for Freelance Whales!” And we all snapped while the rest of the band let out three power chords.

“How about five for Tokyo Police Club?”

“Let’s give nine snaps for Ken Griffey!” This one got the most cheers.

And just to be cheeky, “And eleven for the dearly departed Super Sonics!”  Then a resounding “awwwww” from the crowd while we all snapped eleven times.

During the intermission, some guy offered to buy me and my friend drinks if we let him use our fans. We didn’t take his offer of a drink, but let him borrow one of our fans for a few minutes. Those fans saved our lives, I’m pretty sure.

After Arkells’ strong set, the roadies unloaded the stage and reloaded it with several more instruments, including a watering can hanging off a keyboard, for Freelance Whales. I didn’t think that I would like Freelance Whales after I heard them the first time. I don’t normally like music that’s so…adorable, but the deep instrumentation is what pulled me in. Plus, I’m a sucker for a good banjo riff.

Freelance Whales, while a softer follower to Arkells, kept it interesting by switching instruments multiple times. At one point, Doris Cellar was playing the keyboards, then the far under-utilized harmonium. Chuck Criss would play the bass then the banjo. Kevin Read played guitar with a cello bow and then the glockenspiel. And that’s all but just a taste of the range of the band’s talent.

The room, however, had mixed feelings about Freelance Whales. There was a girl standing behind me that was screaming throughout their set, a guy next to me proclaimed his love for Doris, and then there were a few people up front who were just anxious to see Tokyo Police Club. It’s understandable, because their energy is far less in-your-face than Tokyo Police Club, or even Arkells, but I didn’t find them any less wonderful.

A few of my favorites of their set included “Hannah,” “Generator ^ First Floor,” and “Great Estates.” All of which were from their debut album Weathervanes, released on Frenchkiss Records this last April, which is awesome in its own right.

In all the broad instrumentation and shuffling around the stage, I never saw anyone beat on the watering can I mentioned earlier, but I may have missed it.

By the time Freelance Whales had finished their set, the air above the crowd was the usual hot and sweaty Neumo’s atmosphere, but the air beneath our chests was surely 110 degrees. I wanted to take my shoes off, but I feared major toe-stepping.

Once the fog machines had filled the room, making it even harder to breathe, that’s when everyone shoved their way to the front, decreasing the comfort level exponentially. I’m pretty sure I left at the end of the show with more sweat from other people on my back than my own.

The exuberant Canadians started out with “Favourite Colour” off their highly-awaited second album Champ. I have to say, frontman Dave Monks is only 23, but he’s got the charisma of someone much older than 23. Tokyo Police Club proved to be a really good time, even though I was getting battered from behind me. The band played through some old favorites like “Graves” and “Centennial” off Elephant Shell, and even “Box” off the Smith EP.

I particularly liked “End Of A Spark,” another new track. It had more mature hooks and heavier sound, but it was still completely Tokyo Police Club. Dave’s quirky voice and bass in the forefront of each track makes Tokyo Police Club’s sound much more than any indie pop-rock bands that came before them.

Waiting for one of my favorite songs, “Tessellate,” I endured the moshing going on behind me, but once it was over my friend and I made our way out to enjoy the rest of the show with a semi-constant flow of fresh air. As it was plenty warm outside at midnight, we stepped out for a minute and found at least a couple people who’d almost passed out inside the venue.

I guess that’s a testament to both Tokyo Police Club’s wicked energy and Neumo’s lack of proper ventilation.

As we were just about to walk back inside, our new friend with the photo pass walked outside.

“I was getting thrashed around in there. And when Dave saw, he leaned down and asked if I was okay. And then told the crowd to back off.”

Dave Monks has charisma and class.

Seeing that we’d expected there to be a couple more songs before the last song, we were surprised when we heard the opening riffs to “Your English Is Good,” which is my all-time favorite Tokyo Police Club song, so we ran back inside and rocked out before the encore.

Once the main set was over, a lot of people left. I thought, “Did we miss more than we thought? Was that the encore?”

It wasn’t, because a couple minutes later, the guys walked back out on stage, and started a familiar riff, but not a Tokyo Police Club song.

“My name is Jonas! I’m carrying the wheel. Thanks for all you’ve shown us, this is how we feel!”

A Blue Album-era Weezer cover? I think, yes.

Even though I was standing far off to the side of the stage, I was dancing around and singing along like it was 1995, and it was awesome. Not only was it vintage Weezer, but Tokyo Police Club pulled it off really well, and it got the room ready for what was to be the most fast-paced finale of a show I’ve experienced in a long time – “Cheer It On.” That song ended up being a giant sing-along dance party, which made the temperature raise 5 more degrees in the 2+ minute song.

I’m not even going to post the set list, because they rearranged it so many times during the show that it wouldn’t be accurate.

For fear of going on for forever, I’ll just say – Tokyo Police Club was a roarin’ good time. And they’re pretty nice guys, it turns out too.

For even more photos from that night’s show, head over HERE.

Third time really is the charm. Twice before I had purchased a ticket to see Tokyo Police Club in Kansas City, but twice the band had canceled on me. Sure, I’ve been able to catch the happy Canadian rockers in other cities, but it just isn’t the same as seeing them in your home in the comfort of a favorite bar.This particular show found Tokyo Police Club fans packed into the RecordBar for the band’s long overdue KC performance. Opening for them were alt rockers The Arkells and indie pop group Freelance Whales.

I missed the Arkells, but did arrive in time for Freelance Whales. Think of PlayRadioPlay or even an Owl City type sound if Owl City was indie and used a bunch of fun percussion instruments such as triangles and xylophones. It was adorable, and quirky and fun. The band started with my favorite tune, “Hannah,” so they had me dancing from the get go…too bad the rest of the bar patrons didn’t feel like dancing at this point in the show.

The stiffness of Kansas City crowds has long been a pet peeve of mine, but somehow, Tokyo Police Club broke through this stiffness and got people to move and dance. *gasp!* It’s extra impressive when you consider that people were dancing to a band that isn’t an electronica dance act, but a rock group. Plus, people were packed into the tiny venue like sardines. I think TPC just quickly enchanted with one of the best light shows that I’ve ever seen inside that venue and they played with an enthusiasm level that was contagious. Can you imagine my surprise to learn that singer Dave Monks was feeling sick this evening, but still gave 110 percent and smiled the whole time.

The set was packed with songs off the new album from the Julian Casablancas-esque “Bambi” to the raucous single “Wait Up (Boots of Danger).” But classics like the clap anthem “Tessellate” and the wonderful “Nature of the Experiment” also rounded out the set. The band even treated Kansas City to a brand new, never before heard tune as an apology for skipping the town so often. Awww. TPC had an encore planned, but they had already pushed their set well past the bar’s last call and with the house lights on in the venue, they had to end the night with “Your English Is Good.” Although, after the insane dancing and singing along to that number, I can’t imagine any song being able to top that.

We all went home happy and I can say with great surety that it’d be good to have them back.

Set List:
Colour
Nature
Box
Top 5
Spark
Cave
Tessellate
Hands
Big Diff
Not Sick
Be Good
Bambi
Food
Gone
Citizens
Breakneck Speed
Boots
Your English
–
Graves & Cheer It On – not played

Photos by Patrice Jackson.

Tomorrow, Friday, August 6, Lollapalooza kicks off. Here are our recommendations for Friday survival and fun.

Tip 1: Let’s start things off with the weather. Unlike last year, it is supposed to be sunny all weekend! Yay! However, this means it will also be hot, even with the festival being set up next to the lake. So stay HYDRATED. And as awesome as it is, beer is not a means of hydration. WATER is a must. Fortunately, Lollapalooza, does have water stations set up (you can usually find them by port-a-potty areas). So there’s no excuse for not drinking water. And when you’re done with your plastic bottles or cups, make sure you recycle. Lolla has plenty of recycling stations throughout the park.

Another tip: Sleep. Especially tonight (Thursday) because between the actual fest, stuff to do in Chicago, and after shows, you won’t get much sleep the rest of the weekend.

Tip 3: Show up early. Especially on the first day when they have to put wristbands on. If there’s a band you want to see, it will take awhile to get through the check-in and over to the stage, so don’t plan on seeing a 1 p.m. band showing up at 12:50. It isn’t going to happen. There are two entrances to help people get in Grant Park quickly, but it will still take some time. Also, show up early because there are some great bands that start playing really early in the day. Don’t regret missing These United States at 11:15 a.m. because you were still watching TV at your hotel.

Tip 4: RSVP. There are tons of free events going on after the festival. More great bands, free drinks and more fun. But there’s a catch. A lot of them require RSVPs. So plan your post show fun now and double check if you need to RSVP. There’s some good recommendations on free after events here.

Tip 5: Watch bands you’ve never heard of. Look at the schedule. I’m betting you haven’t heard of quite a few of the bands playing, but go check them out. Did you know that just a few years ago, Lady Gaga played one of the smaller stages during the day? No one really knew who she was then, but now she’s headlining! So go discover someone awesome.

—-

Five bands to check out each day:

Friday: These United States (11:15 a.m.), Jukebox the Ghost (1:45 p.m.), My Dear Disco (3 p.m.), Devo (4 p.m.), Lady Gaga (8 p.m.)

Saturday: The Morning Benders (12 p.m.), Skybox (12:30 p.m.), Dan Black (3 p.m.), Gogol Bordello (3:45 p.m.) Cut Copy (7:30 p.m.)

Sunday: Health (11:30 a.m.), The Antlers (12:15 p.m.), The Dodos (1 p.m.), Freelance Whales (3 p.m.), Yeasayer (4 p.m.)

—-

PopWreckoning will be at Lollapalooza! We’ll post our reviews, photos and interviews over the next few days here. For more immediate coverage, follow PopWrecker Bethany on Twitter at twitter.com/glowah.

PopWreckoning is giving away tickets to see Canadian alternative rockers Tokyo Police Club on July 31 at the Record Bar in Kansas City, MO. They’re playing with the Postal Service-esque Freelance Whales, so it will be an all-around awesome show.

We only have a few pairs of tickets up for grabs. The contest will end at 3:00 p.m. the day of show (July 31). Winners’ tickets will be at the door when you arrive at the show. Please also include your full name and email in the comment so that we can get in touch with the winners of the contest.

Winning is easy, simply complete the following steps:

1. Comment in this article with your answer to this: Is your English good? Are you the Nature of the Experiment? Comment and tell us what school course you’d take with the boys in Tokyo Police Club whether it’d be an English, Science or Music course. It could even be Partying 101. PopWreckoning staff will read your answers and choose from our favorite ones the 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, best (and easiest) of all, show up at the venue and enjoy the show, compliments of PopWreckoning. Good luck!

Lollapalooza is an intense experience, but a fun one. Should you manage to find energy after already having spent 12 hours listening to music in downtown Chicago’s Grant Park, then it’d be in your best interest to continue the festivities with official Lollapalooza afterparties.

Thursday after shows include Devo with Dirty Projectors, Slightly Stoopid with Collie Buddz, The New Pornographers with The Dodos, The Big Pink with Night Gallery, and Cymbals Eat Guitars with Young Galaxy.

Friday shows include MGMT, Cut Copy with Dragonette, The Walkmen with Warpaint, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros with Freelance Whales, Wild Beasts, and Rogue Wave with Gamble House.

Saturday shows are The National with The Antlers, The Black Keys with the Morning Benders, Minus the Bear with Miniature Tigers, Blitzen Trapper with Avi Buffalo, The Soft Pack with Royal Bangs, Wavves with Harlem, Gogol Bordello, and Precision Guided Musicians featuring Hot Chip (live), Rusko, Steve Porter and more.

Sunday ends with Phoenix with Toro y Moi and HEALTH with Chandeliers.

Tickets for the after shows go onsale Friday, June 25 at 10 a.m. Get them here.

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.

Cymbals Eat Guitars is now quite the formidable band. When I’m doing my usual trawling through British music magazine web sites, it’s great to see an American band get praised. Here’s an example: a couple months back, respected Fly Magazine brought the band into their London office to record songs for their FlyTV in the Courtyard series; not just any band gets invited to do these. Their profile has dramatically increased since the last time I saw them, in September 2009 at the Black Cat, opening for fellow New Yorkers the Pains of Being Pure at Heart.

At the time, they had a different line-up and amp problems plagued their set. Having been hand-picked by Wayne Coyne to support the Flaming Lips for a London residency last November and having played well-attended and well-received shows across the UK, Cymbals Eat Guitars already have some invaluable experience under their belts. Last Saturday night they played a sold-out show at the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hotel in Washington. I don’t think the gravity of the event was lost on singer Joseph “Ferocious” D’Agostino, who sat cross-legged with guitar in lap prior to playing, as if gathering his thoughts and getting into the zone.

However, there were two opening bands, one of which I’ve missed twice before and the other I knew nothing about. You know you’re in for a unique experience when you see a banjo, a Korg, a xylophone, and a watering can filled with plastic drumsticks lined up on a stage. Collectively, Freelance Whales, a quintet from Queens, New York City, sound as if the masculine synth bits of Passion Pit and the mellowness of folky Fanfarlo has a love child. At times lead singer Judah Dadone sounds like Michael Angelakos but looks more like “the Big Bang Theory”‘s Johnny Galecki when plugging away at his Korg or strumming a guitar or banjo.

Otherwordly synths may seem at odds with the folk music aesthetic but for Freelance Whales, it works. “Ghosting,” a highlight of their set, was described by Dadone as being about “sleepwalking to try and find your soul mate.” There’s quite a lot of industry buzz about this band, and it’s well-deserved: whether it’s masterful instrumentation or rich harmonies that ring your bell, there’s a lot to like about this band. Their self-released debut album Weathervanes will be released on April 13 in America.

I didn’t know anything about Brooklyn-based Bear in Heaven going into this gig, so I was pleasantly surprised – and even a bit wowed! – by the trio’s eclectic mix of experimental, rock, and dance sounds. The band is definitely rocking the facial hair: drummer Joe Stickney has a beard that makes him look like a cross between George Carlin and Jarvis Cocker, and the other two have mustaches. Memorably, leader Jon Philpot (vocals / synth / guitar) responded with a jovial “mustaches forever!” when crowd-goers went ape about their love of what was described by someone near me as “one fierce mustache.”

Based on their grungy lumberjack look, you would not expect such interesting music. I definitely was not expecting the sheer power of drumming from Stickney, which worked great as the backbeat for the experimental numbers (like the fabulous “Lovesick Teenagers”) as well as the more dancey ones (“Wholehearted Mess,” for one). Guitarist Adam Wills gets kudos for discussing his pedal set-up with the guitar heads down at the front.

In their current incarnation, Cymbals Eat Guitars appear tighter live, a more well-oiled machine, with little discussion between band members required to move from one song to the next. In addition to playing tracks from their critically received Why There Are Mountains, they also debuted several new songs, including one that required keyboardist Brian Hamilton to artfully balance a triangle to hang from his mike stand. The highlights for me were “Under a Hazy Sea” and a personal favorite, “Indiana” (described to me by new bassist Matt Whipple with “I like to think of it as our Sonic Youth song that becomes a Beatles song“). On most songs, D’Agostino looked blissfully lost in the music while wailing on his guitar but when singing, the emotions pour out of his body as easily as the sweat beads roll off his cheeks. Whipple is an asset, his backing vocals a welcome addition to the live Cymbals Eat Guitars sound. These are four guys who are still very young and have a lot of promise.

Tour Dates
Mar 10 – Pilot Light / Knoxville, TN
Mar 11 – Ear / Atlanta
Mar 12 – Harvest Of Hope Festival / St. Augustine, FL
Mar 13 – Will’s Pub / Orlando
Mar 14 – Engine Room / Tallahassee
Mar 16 – Mango’s / Houston
Mar 17-21 – South by Southwest / Austin
Mar 22 – Rhythm Room / Phoenix
Mar 23 – Casbah / San Diego
Mar 24 – Echo / Los Angeles
Mar 25 – Bottom Of The Hill / San Francisco
Mar 28 – Crocodile Café / Seattle
Mar 29 – Biltmore Cabaret / Vancouver
Mar 31 – Kilby Court / Salt Lake City
Apr 01 – Hi Dive / Denver
Apr 02 – Replay Lounge / Lawrence, KS
Apr 03 – Turf Club / St. Paul
Apr 04 – Schuba’s / Chicago
Apr 06 – El Mocambo Club / Toronto
Apr 07 – Il Motore / Montreal
Apr 08 – Middle East / Boston

Cymbals Eat Guitars: website | myspace | @ Black Cat
Freelance Whales: website | myspace
Bear in Heaven: website | myspace | interview with