popwreckoning

Saturday at SXSW was a day of great excitement mixed with a little sadness. This was the final day of the festival, which meant there some big heavyweights to look forward to, but this was also it. When the music stops on this day, it’s time to go back to reality.

I had big plans for Saturday, and sorry folks, but they didn’t include Kanye. I didn’t really care to trek all the way out to that venue just to gain street ‘cred.’ Saturday I was anticipating seeing Community’s Donald Glover rap, Panic! at the Disco‘s return with just two of the original members and of course, some of my favorite local bands.

I began my day on a very sunny rooftop (hello, sunburn) to interview some of the fantastic artists on Big Picture Media‘s roster. PopWreckoning talked to bands such as LoveBettie, Death on Two Wheels and more. We even talked to a representative from To Write Love on Her Arms. You will find those interviews posted on PopWreckoning in the come days.

After grabbing some much needed coffee after the interviews, I decided to check out the PureVolume House. I hadn’t been yet this year and was feeling guilty for already missing out on so much of their amazing lineup. PureVolume throws one of the best parties at the fest. After grabbing some free pop chips and and a drink, I found a nice spot to watch James Vincent McMurrow. I had heard the name, but had yet to actually hear any of the music. The vocals were amazing – just beautiful. The gentle folk tunes performed a nice backdrop for this guy’s standout voice.

Home Video followed with some fun pop rock songs, but I had to head out after just a song because I had a long walk to catch one of my favorite formerly-local bands.

I hope these guys know how much I love them, because it was quite a trek across the interstate to find the tiny park that the Noise FM were about to play in. My poor feet! This Chicago trio (formerly of Lawrence, Kan.) delivers fun indie dance rock songs. Singer/guitarist Alex Ward‘s voice was a little scratchy from the jam-packed week of performances, but it was still fun and his sore throat didn’t stop his good humor – there were plenty of jokes to be had about the Pabst sponsorship.

From there it was back to the main stretch of the fest to catch the ever-so-wonderful Chop Shop/Atlantic Records Showcase. (PopWreckoning has interviews to come from that showcase as well, so keep an eye out). Scars on 45 had just started when I made my way in. The six-piece British band quickly had me hooked with their catchy indie pop tunes with passionate lyrics.

After Scars on 45, I caught another performance from Kansas City’s very own the Republic Tigers. I had already caught them at SXSW at the Central Presbyterian Church, which was an ok performance, but the guys seemed a lot more together for this one. It was a huge improvement and especially showed on their newer songs, which were a lot more engaging this time around. Perhaps all they needed was that extra rehearsal, but boy, what a difference it made. “Merrymake It With Me” especially stands out from the new material and really gets you dancing.

My final Chop Shop/Atlantic performance was the rock/punk act the Joy Formidable. Frontwoman Ritzy Bryan was mesmerizing to watch as she executed some beautiful dynamic control. The petite woman has some power to her pipes.

A brief phone charge and a giant water later, I found myself in line in front of Red 7. A group of us were eagerly anticipating seeing one of our favorite NBC comedy stars: Donald Glover. But instead of performing comedy, we’d get to see him rap. Unfortunately there seemed to be some confusion about what line we were supposed to be in. Our line had merged with a line for the Beauty Bar’s “secret show.” The secret act? Death from Above 1979. It was very tempting to stay in the line I had accidentally ended up in for Death from Above 1979. Very. But I was excited about Glover and there were like 20 other acts I wanted to still see that night. If I went to DFA, I’d be committing myself to only seeing them after a long wait. I tweeted what I was considering, but settled on finding the correct line for Glover.

Some running around with a group of Glover fans and we finally found where we were supposed to be for Glover’s performance as Childish Gambino. By some crazy luck, once inside the venue, I found myself standing right next to Glover’s “Community” co-star: Danny Pudi. Nicest and most genuine guy ever. He talked to everyone around him, answered tons of questions and took photos with a people with a very authentic smile. It was great to see him there supporting his best friend, not only on television, but in real life as well. When it came time for Childish Gambino to start, Glover began with, “Alright. Where’s my boy, Danny? Let’s get a light on Danny.” A spotlight found where Pudi was standing and everyone cheered. With a big grin, Glover finally set into his first rap.

Glover’s rapping isn’t quite as smooth as his acting, but he has a lot of potential. His lyrics are hilarious and filled with pop culture refrences. Some roughness to his voice and occassional rushing of the lyrics against the music where his primary flaws, but those are things that I have no doubt he can work out with more practice and chances on stage. This was, after all, one of his first live performances as Childish Gambino.

From Childish Gambino, I found myself at Stubbs. I had no idea who was about to perform, but there was a group of guys very, very excited in the front row. I asked them the band about to play. “Tres Mountains!” they excitedly responded. They looked a bit aghast when my face still didn’t register any sign of recognition. “Pearl Jam‘s guitarist!” They finally cheered together. I admit, the music was not my type of thing. The guitar solos were pretty amazing, so I get the excitement there, but as a whole, the songs really blended after awhile: none really stood out.

In complete contrast to Tres Mountains, the band that followed blew me away. Awolnation came out and the way the audience responded, you would have thought that this was some sort of legendary act that had been around for years – not some band that just got their first single on the radio just a few months prior. Perhaps some of the excitement was carryover for singer Aaron Bruno, who started Awolnation as a solo project after his other band, Under the Influence of Giants, went on hiatus. Awolnation is atmospheric indie rock – there’s almost a spacey quality to it, but it is also very heavy, and thusly, grounded. It isn’t what I’d usually call danceable, but there’s an element of dance to it at times. It’s a big blend of a bunch of different genres and these guys pull it off well.

Bruno is very charismatic on stage. A stretch of his arms produces a wild cheer from the crowd. A reach out of the microphone gets a huge chorus response. Bruno was also the first musician that I heard bring up the tragedy of the earthquakes and tsunamis in Japan. He not only voiced his concern and support of the country, but he also wrote it on his arm.

The band I was most eager for at Stubbs was Panic! at the Disco. I know that I lose hipster points for liking such mainstream music, but I can’t help it; they’re fun. This performance was a of particular interest to me because not only were they debuting several new songs, but it was also one of their first performances since the band was reduced to just two of the original members: singer/pianist Brendon Urie and drummer Spencer Smith. Two friends filled in on the bass and guitar parts vacated by the former bandmates.

This was a ridiculously fun set. We laughed, sang and danced. Urie has one of the most animated faces that I’ve ever seen in music. Even when he flubbed some lyrics on a new song and had to peek at a cheat sheet, it was still a fun moment. I also really enjoyed when he squeezed in “super moon,” into of his lyrics: “your eyes are the size of the super moon.” This band has come a long ways from when I first saw them six years ago and brushed them off as Fall Out Boy ripoffs. I stand corrected for my younger self’s comment.

To end out my night, I decided I would hole up at the PureVolume House. They had a great lineup planned to close out the evening. One of my favorite violinists, Owen Pallett was finishing tuning when I arrived. I found some friends at the venue and found a spot to watch Pallett. They had never even heard of him and were a bit wary of a guy with a violin, doubting he could really rock out. Their jaws dropped once he began playing. Pallett is a one-man show, but he creates his full sound by engaging in loops. He plays out a line on the violin and records it. Then plays it back as he plays or sings something new. It’s fun to watch him build songs on stage. His music is sweet and breathtaking. For those unfamiliar, you might recognize his signature sound on some early Arcade Fire work. He used to heavily involved with their string arrangements and he even wrote one of his songs about the love story of Will and Regine from that band.

I had already caught a Cults set during SXSW, but they continued to impress with their mysterious lyrics and lo-fi indie rock.

It was getting late and I was ready to grab some Z’s before having to drive back home the next day. However, I was determined to make SXSW go out with a bang, so I planned on sticking around for PureVolume’s final band of the night: Das Racist. Some DJ kept the crowd awake and moving, but what should have been a fifteen minute started to turn into over an hour. Finally, the duo in Das Rascist jumped up on the stage. After all the anticipation, this was my biggest flop of SXSW. These guys were so drunk that they were barely together and coherent. It was a complete mess. Some drunk kids up front still seemed to enjoy it, but after waiting for as long as I did for the shit show, I quickly left after two songs. This was not worth it, but at least I saw plenty of other amazing acts to make up for it.

My phone had died ages ago, shortly after my last tweet about possibly seeing Death From Above 1979. So I was surprised when I had tons of missed calls, missed texts and missed tweets about what happened to me. True, I hadn’t meant to be out past four – dumb Das Racist’s fault – but the amount of worry about my whereabouts seemed a bit much. Turns out the Death from Above 1979 set turned into a riot and police had to come pepper spray and taser some of the crowd. People thought I might have been a part of that because of my last tweet. Eeks. Maybe I ended out my night the right way after all. Regardless, this was a very memorable experience and I look forward to seeing what future years at SXSW bring.
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Check back for interviews from SXSW. You can see more from PopWreckoning’s Bethany and her experience at SXSW at the following links: Day 1, Day 2 and Day 3. Check out more photos from Saturday, March 19 below:

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

Owen Pallett is pleased to announce a North American tour in support of Heartland, his third full-length and first for Domino Records.

Download the new Simon Bookish remix of Heartland track “Keep The Dog Quiet” here.

Tour Dates:
Apr 08 – Queen Elizabeth Theatre / Toronto
Apr 10 - Lincoln Hall / Chicago
Apr 11 – Varsity Theater / Minneapolis
Apr 12 – Turner Hall / Milwaukee
Apr 13 – Wexner Center / Columbus, Oh.
Apr 14 – Andy Warhol Museum / Pittsburgh
Apr 15 – Black Cat / Washington DC
Apr 18 - Coachella Festival / Indio, Ca.
Apr 20 - Institute of Contemporary Art / Boston
Apr 22 – Webster Hall / New York City
Apr 25 – First Unitarian Church / Philadelphia
Apr 27 – The Earl / Atlanta
Apr 29 – Granada Theater / Dallas
Apr 30 – The Mohawk / Austin
May 05 – The Independent / San Francisco
May 08 – The Crocodile / Seattle
May 09 – The Vogue Theatre / Vancouver
May 10 – Alix Goolden Hall / Victoria, BC
May 11 – Aladdin Theater / Portland, Or.

Owen Pallett: myspace

Owen Pallett’s Heartland is one of those albums that sounds good through speakers, great on headphones and (I’m guessing) mind-blowing live.

It’s also one of those albums that ages extremely well, so after a week cozied up with Mr. Pallett’s first work under that name, most of my original complaints are moot.

Pallett — formerly working under the name Final Fantasy because, yeah, he’s that video game-loving boy genius — started out as a classically trained violinist in Canada. He wrote film scores and operas before finishing college, and this wild level of training and the multi-instrumental result warrants an obvious comparison to Beirut or Andrew Bird. It also makes Heartland so musically lush. The intricacy of each song means every track is exciting in its own right, but the album also blends each seamlessly together – enhancing the work’s orchestral quality, but also making it just the tiniest bit boring. No one song stands out in its entirety, but the intro on “Flare Gun” or the piano melody on “Tryst with Mephistopheles” might be stuck in your head for hours.

Heartland – despite its cavorting multi-layered instrumentation – remains mellow throughout. Pallett’s earnest voice is sometimes frustratingly monotone when set against the range of his violin, but the variety and beauty of the music makes up for sometimes forgettable lyrics. The words seem to be included to reassure listeners who are uncomfortable with the idea of an ‘instrumental’ album. Though Pallett hasn’t crafted something terribly catchy here, Heartland doesn’t need to be – it’s just beautiful.

Track Listing:

1. Midnight Directives
2. Keep the Dog Quiet
3. Mount Alpentine
4. Red Sun No. 5
5. Lewis Takes Action
6. The Great Elsewhere
7. Oh Heartland, Up Yours!
8. Lewis Takes Off His Shirt
9. Flare Gun
10. E is for Estranged
11. Tryst with Mephistopheles
12. What Do You Think Will Happen Now?

Written by Zoe Martin

Due to copyright issues, violinist Owen Pallett is using his own name henceforth for his solo work. His albums previously released under the name Final Fantasy will be reissued and his upcoming album Heartland will be released January 12 as an Owen Pallett project.

Pallett has issued the following statement on the name change:

Friends,

I began playing solo violin shows in 2004. Although it was essentially a solo project, I named the band Final Fantasy, as the experience–and the tone of the material–was reminiscent of the hours and hours I had spent as an adolescent playing those epic JRPGs.

But the laws of trademark infringement exist for good reason, and so I am voluntarily retiring my band name. In the new year, my record Heartland is coming out, and it is my first to be released in many territories, including Japan. With this in mind, I feel it is in my own best interests to definitively distinguish my music from Square/Enix’s games.

So, I am no longer playing shows as Final Fantasy. Subsequent releases, including Heartland, will be issued under my own name, Owen Pallett. Prior releases will sometime soon be re-packaged and re-issued.

I thank Square/Enix their kindness and support, and I thank you all for your understanding.

Salud!

Owen

Owen Pallett/Final Fantasy: website | myspace | plays to please review

To celebrate the January 12 release of Heartland, Final Fantasy will be playing several shows, including dates in San Francisco, Chicago, and New York City. The third Final Fantasy full-length and the first for Domino Records, Heartland is the product of nine months of work in four countries. It is a fully orchestral record, designed to exist simultaneously as an album, a 45-minute piece of orchestral music and a set of songs for looped violin and voice.

Owen Pallett explains Heartland:

“The songs themselves form a narrative concerning a farmer named Lewis and the fictional world of Spectrum. The songs are one-sided dialogues with Lewis, a young, ultra-violent farmer, speaking to his creator. The album was compositionally modeled upon the principles of electronic music. The principles of analog synthesis informing symphonic writing, like an inversion of a Tomita record. These songs, too, were designed to be as dense with polyphony as the Final Fantasy live shows can become. While writing it, I kept an image in my head of putting so many notes on the page that the paper turned black. This record encapsulates a whole year of work for me, and was difficult to see through, but I’m immensely proud of the results. I hope you enjoy it.”

For a free MP3 of “Lewis Takes Action” from Heartland, visit here.

Tour Dates:
Jan. 14 – Bottom of the Hill / San Francisco
Jan. 16 – Schubas / Chicago
Jan. 18 – Bowery Ballroom / New York

Final Fantasy: website | myspace | plays to pleasei review