popwreckoning

Not too long ago, I had the chance to see a private university show of Jack’s Mannequin. This show came shortly after Andrew McMahon‘s solo tour to support the release of Dear Jack. As a result, it was one of the group’s first shows as a full band after that break and while they were a little unpracticed (McMahon said they hadn’t played “Swim” in three weeks as a band even though that is the current single), they had an extra eagerness to their performance and a desire to have some fun during this reunion.

Erin McCarley opened up. The folk rock singer has roots in the Hotel Cafe and as a result, she has a definite Ingrid Michaelson and Sara Bareilles vibe. Joined by friend and musical companion Jamie Kenney on piano, McCarley impressed with her powerful vocals and Kenney provided a great compliment when he harmonized with her.  When “Love, Save the Empty” came up in the set, the predominately female audience filled with your stereotypical “Grey’s Anatomy” fans got excited to hear the song popularized on the show, but I got excited when she took on Suzanne Vega‘s “Tom’s Diner.” She made the song her own in an excellent rendition.

Andrew McMahon is one of my favorite performers. I love how he can make a huge room (in this case a gymnasium), feel like an intimate living room show as if he’s playing for his closest friends. I also love the crazy amount of energy he pours into his set. As his fingers fly across the key, he wraps his legs around the bench and bounces up and down until a final burst of energy causes him to either jump up on the keys or even hit the piano with his chair like he did on “Bloodshot.”

I also love how unique he makes each of his tours. There was a new intro added on “Dark Blue,” “Holiday” began as a solo piece, and I love when he slips into a cover of “U2″ and works bits of “The Mixed Tape” into  “MFEO.”

Though “What Gets You Off” is the supposed “Orgasmanator” of the set, I would say that the audience got a greater high from “Bloodshot” or being rebellious enough to curse at a Catholic school during “Holiday.”

They band graced the crowd with a three-song encore that included their popular cover of MGMT‘s “Kids.” Since it was a school function, it was an early night, but the band gave the audience a complete and fulfilling experience.
Set List:
I’m Ready
Bruised
The Resolution
Miss Delaney
What Gets You Off
Dark Blue
Rescued
Spinning
Holiday From Real
Crashin
Swim
The Mixed Tape
Bloodshot
MFEO
///
Kids (MGMT)
Watch the Sky
La La Lie

Jack’s Mannequin: website | myspace | interview 2009 | @ kegs and eggs | @ midland theatre | @ sokol underground | interview with pt. 1 | interview with pt. 2 | dear jack review

An intimate gathering of Weezer fans greeted me at the entrance of the Hollywood Palladium in eager anticipation of KROQ Presents Weezer and Wax. The line twisted around the block; garnished by Weezer tee shirts and multi-colored converses. Controlled chaos reigned supreme; courtesy was common, but the amount of positive energy was outrageous, unharnessed, and completely apparent.

The Palladium housed the crowd comfortably (I had enough room to air guitar solo to “My Name Is Jonas”) and by the time Wax ascended the stage, the balconies were teeming with anxious fans. For those who are unfamiliar with Wax, I don’t blame you. This particular show was their first live set in 14 years, and marks the reunion of Weezer and Wax sharing the same bill since they toured the same LA circuit in ’92 (Both bands moved to LA the same year). But, it sure didn’t seem as if they had lost their touch over the past decade plus. Their ska-studded set was energetic and efficient, despite the fact that the crowd hadn’t the faintest idea where this band had materialized from (I would guess the 90’s from the sound of their set).

But, the main attraction was yet to come, and it was blatantly acknowledged in the restless arena as Wax put up the Weezer “W” and gracefully bowed offstage. In between sets, the energy level heightened considerably. A horde of little girls donning Weezer gear skipped gleefully around the Palladium chanting the headliner’s moniker, and a roar went up in the arena once a KROQ crony had sufficiently introduced the band. And then there was Rivers. Rivers Cuomo has to be one of the greatest entertainers I have ever had the courtesy of observing from two feet away mid-performance. His gestures were overdramatized, leaving girls squealing with every awkward lunge of his limbs.

Appearing in matching white sweat suits, the band also sported a minor change of roster: drummer Pat Wilson armed himself with a bass for the set so that accomplished drummer, Josh Freese, could join them on electric drums (Freese has played with A Perfect Circle, The Vandals, Devo, and NIN). Their performance was nothing less than fantastic. Rivers made use of several props (a trampoline, a football, and his water, just to name a few), and smashed his acoustic guitar at the end of “Undone” after dragging it behind him while crawling on the brink of the stage. Rivers definitely glows in all of his delightfully geeky splendor. The set list included several unexpected covers including Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs” and Blur’s “Song 2,” as well as, several new tracks off of their new album Raditude (one of which included a guest appearance by Sara Bareilles for a duet with Rivers). The band is swiftly heading East in support of the new album; their next show is scheduled for December 1st at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago.

Weezer: website | myspace | @ maryland heights | Raditude review

Expecting a return to the days of the Blue album or Pinkerton from Weezer?  Quit living in a world of naivety. Weezer doesn’t want to be that band. They’ve been there; they’ve done that. This new change in direction is due to Rivers Cuomo’s new found flair for pop music , allowing the touch of Butch Walker and a cast of pop/rock masterminds such as Tyson Ritter of All-American Rejects. I’m here to pose the question that’s the elephant in the room, and that would be, is that really such a bad thing? Here me out now, Weezer was always at their best with crunchy guitars and geeky hooks and with this album they offer a glimpse into the promise they can have in a new found world of making pop music.

While I prefer the Weezer of old, like I’m sure most of you do, I can’t help but appreciate Rivers and gang for taking a big, big chance with this change in style demonstrated to a T with the incredibly catchy single “(If You’re Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To.” Weezer was never one to add too many things to the melting pot, so with these new found collaborations, one can only imagine the random Rivers has in store for us. I’m referring to those Spinner performances with Kenny G (yes, Kenny G, Chamillionaire and Sara Bareilles which you can see here

While the flair for pop doesn’t always work, I’m looking at you “Can’t Stop Partying,” the pop shines through when they let the whoa’s fly in “The Girl Got Hot.” One gripe I have is that some of the lyrics are a little too tongue in cheek with their references to partying, clubbing and simple premises, but this definitely is their best album in quite some time following the so-so Red album of 2008 and Make Believe of 2005. For those who lost faith, this album could make you a believer again.

Simply put, Weezer just wants to have fun, won’t you join them?

Track listing:
01. (If You’re Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To
02. I’m Your Daddy
03. Girl Got Hot
04. Can’t Stop Partying
05. Put Me Back Together
06. Trippin’ Down the Freeway
07. Love Is the Answer
08. Let It All Hang Out
09. In the Mall
10. I Don’t Want to Let You Go

Weezer: website | myspace | @ maryland heights

Maybe it was the way Chicago can lure just about anyone back with its upbeat Midwestern charm, but it took Greg Laswell only four months to re-visit the darkened cave of Martyrs Restaurant and Pub. So this guy is critically described as the sweet genre’s “darling,” and with songs that have found solace in shows such as “Grey’s Anatomy” and the “Hills,” I expected an audience of well-dressed 18 to 34-year-olds with crushes. He gets such fanfare so easily because music is literally his industry. Producing, recording and performing aren’t anything that’s new to him, so I can only imagine how chuck-full his contact list is. Laswell knows the sincerity in networking.

I could only ask myself two things before getting my hand stamped and letting my eyes adjust to the near-blind visibility inside:

1. Will Greg’s tender guitar serenade re-associate my thoughts of him as just a romantic soundtrack staple?
2. Will there be any dudes inside the room, not holding onto their girlfriend’s bags?

The shows opener, a quirky girl named Elizabeth and her two partners dubbed “& The Catapult”, presented the crowd with a more interesting Sara Bareilles (someone the Laswell fans would be familiar with) and with an instrumental backdrop of fun, like a pinch of The Bird and The Bee. If The Bird and The Bee has the caffeine equivalence of a Grande, Elizabeth and the Catapult would equal a Venti.

It was on Elizabeth & TC’s stage that I was introduced to Laswell. He didn’t say much of anything before plopping down at the piano for a heart-melting duet, but from what I’ve read and heard, he doesn’t really seem to be the party starter.

Let’s say you, the reader, are familiar with any of Laswell’s records. In that case, this live performance only would have provided you with a better experience of a background band, the opportunity for singing along with/in front of a crowd (to separate the real fans from the I-only-know-the-single fans), and a close proximity. If you, the reader, are not familiar with handsome man’s handiwork, then envision a musical version of an old coffee mug filled with black joe, put in a vintage teaspoon dose of pure sugar and sip, and sit on a creaky rocking chair in the Adirondacks to watch summer slip by as you dream of The One that got away. Or a more prepared Bon Iver.

The band that backed Laswell when the meat of the show really took off, composed of a lead guy, a drummer boy, and a bassist. Out of four people on stage, three were wearing fedoras. Just go ahead and picture that, along with a scene from any enchanted indie flick where cute boy plays soulful confession to waitress girl right before they get it on. Ahhh the joy of social paramour drama.

By the end of the first song, “The One I Love,” it was clear that his deeper voice was winning me over. There were probably more guys in this room than girls and that he might be the only one to really pull off using “thee” in a verse.

Then I’ll send it out and let things be
if not for you
for me and the time I’ve spent
foolishly loving thee

Laswell is an amazing lyricist, which makes up for not being so lively on stage. There weren’t too many moments, I recall, of playful space-filling in-between songs: no jokes, no flirting with the girls who hid behind their fancy Canon and Olympus DSLRs, no explanations of titles or choruses.

Except for the fight. Other than explaining how second song “Sing, Theresa Says” was an adorable ode to his grandmother, Laswell did at one point acknowledge a fan. Said fan was yelling to the stage, urging for the singer to do a duet with said fan’s girlfriend. This led to a half-embarrassed Laswell to say no, no, he couldn’t allow that, and then fan and girl start fighting. Good-mannered Greg then used his charm to intervene and say, using much more tender verbiage than mine, to knock it off and grow the hell up and stop messing up his set.

The fedora-ed band plus the bassist got into the music personally, like when the more upbeat “That It Moves” showed up. There was a lot of looking at each other and bouncing to the sound of each beat they all made, and despite a smoother set, they band got sweaty.

Some songs were solo, a sprinkle of the songs were played in conjunction with a very normal looking “Greg’s friend from LA” (who must not have gotten the fedora memo), and the majority of the set never swayed to sleepy thanks to such an up-tempered band backing.

Laswell’s laid back-with-a-smile demeanor wasn’t a shocker, but his Lauper cover, “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” all but had me laughing out loud. It’s literally a 5 mph version that you could put on to usher guests out of a closing club, and it’s good.

It was somewhere in the middle of the set that my neck snapped my head up in confused recognition. A soft, bouncing piano that carried two teasing notes down the scale. I knew that song…at least until the chorus, which is where he lost me. It was “Off I Go,” the season-ending “Grey’s” anthem. I’m not a “Grey’s” fan, but I could absolutely add Three Flights From Alto Nido to my LP collection, or any of his EPs—his sound would totally work for my Sunday night dinner parties.

Set List:
The One I Love
Sing, Theresa Says
That It Moves
What a Day
Girls Just Wanna Have Fun
Days Go On
Amazed
Off I Go
Comes and Goes
Do What I Can
Salvation Dear
High and Low
Embrace Me
I’m Not Out
How the Day Sounds

Greg Laswell: website | myspace