I love simple concert lineups. As much fun as it can be to sit through four openers (hell, I've found some of my favorite bands that way), sometimes it's nice to actually have a sense of when the headliner will be on. There's also a certain reassuring hubris to a two-act show, as if the bookers didn't feel the need to hedge their bets. In the case of Wednesday night's Roosevelt // Shallou double-feature at The Chapel in San Francisco, the two complemented each other so well that a longer bill would only have distracted from their chemistry.
Shallou, a solo electronic musician from Chicago, took the stage with a second performer to kick things off. I hadn't listened to any of their recordings before the show, but their set had us all rapt by the end of the first song. His style isn't earth-shattering in its originality, utilizing the familiar patterns of a lot of today's futurebeat artists, but the execution was absolutely flawless. Considering his last EP was released at the end of 2015, I'm excited to hear what's next.
Roosevelt, a solo musician as well, surprised everyone (well, at least me) right off the bat by coming onstage with a band. It hadn't occurred to me that his synth-heavy pop would translate well to guitar, bass, and drums, but its roots in disco made that fairly obvious upon reflection. His drummer, who bore a striking resemblance to Packers linebacker Clay Matthews, was endlessly fun to watch, and brought the studio version of the beats to life with high-energy flourishes and a fantastic stage presence. They made for a hugely likable trio, and I'd recommend catching them live if you have even the faintest interest in Roosevelt's music.
Last Tuesday, May 17, Finnish dream-pop wonder Jaakko Eino Kalevi put on a killer performance at Brooklyn's Baby's All Right. Accompanied by Melbourne's Sui Zhen, it was a night of magic, wonder, and plenty of eccentricity. Check out some pics from the show below.
Jazz and punk may seem like strange bedfellows on the surface, but they have more in common than you might think. There's an improvisational element to both (more deliberate for the former, and more emergent for the latter), and in their day both genres were pretty solidly subversive. Saying that they're musically compatible, however, would have been a much tougher sell prior to the release of Freind's latest EP, Lemon.
Now, I'll probably get lambasted by the geeks among you for saying that a punk album with a single, Gilberto-esque outro actually counts as having jazz elements, but bear with me. Yes, Lemon is primarily a sludgy, manic, eclectic art-punk EP—but that little bit at the end of "EarthBound," the final track, feels like such a natural (if abrupt) transition that I couldn't help but start drawing parallels.
Freind draws from a huge diversity of influences—grunge, synth pop, hardcore, and dream pop, among others—that it's hard to put this album into any sort of box. The opener, "Chemtrails," sounds like an early Josh Homme track; "The Pleasure Is All Mine" has a playful, cheesy-horror-movie vibe; "Loops" is a mashup of dream pop and shoegaze, with layered vocals awash in reverb and an eventual wall of guitar noise towards the end; "Bebop" goes for cutesy, goofy indie synth pop; and "EarthBound" is a heavy psych rocker in the vein of the Black Angels, but, you know, more interesting.
All of these elements are executed with such consistency that you barely even notice the stylistic swings on a first listen. It helps that the unifying thread of crunchy guitars are present in just about every track, but it goes beyond that—Freind clearly have the confidence to do each of these disparate genres well without batting an eye.
So perhaps that's why I made the subconscious connection to jazz: Lemon is unapologetic about its experimentation. It never feels like lampshading—"Look how crazy we're being, guys!"—and instead owns its scattered weirdness to a degree that you just feel compelled to go along with it. Sure, maybe only one track sounds like "The Girl from Ipanema," but Freind are nonetheless carrying a torch of innovation that goes back decades. Now all their next album needs is a horn section.
Our NYC friends No Smoking Media have been putting on some consistently fantastic showcases lately. If you don't believe me, go check out their Benefit Concert for Bernie Sanders tonight at The Gateway in Brooklyn. Sadly, the fact that I occasionally have to do actual work to survive in this city is preventing me from enjoying this one, but I managed to swing by their killer showcase last Thursday at Palisades featuring one of the better bills I've seen in a while. All the way from LA, The Breathing Effect were accompanied by three local favorites: Zetetics, Altopalo, and The Pluto Moons. Pictures were taken. Notes have been written.
Also special shout out to Dominick Chang for the amazing visuals.
The Pluto Moons
I have a lot of respect for this band's recorded work, ever since I heard their 2013 record Mannequin Legs. But I didn't realize, until I actually found myself standing in front of them, that I've never seen them live. It was a strange feeling.
Pretty much everything I personally love about music is exemplified in the work of The Pluto Moons. Their musicianship is even more pronounced live, where they take their audience on an awe-inspiring, genre-bending joy ride that's as mesmerizing as it is oddly comforting—it lets you know that there might be someone in this world as crazy as you.
Zetetics
I've had my eye on Amani Fela ever since I happened to see him play in some girl's living room for an art opening a few years ago. I remember, at the end of that show, going up to him and expressing my gratitude at seeing a contemporary of mine rap with so much style and intellect. I'm glad to see he's still at it.
Zetetics are an interesting group. Simply saying they're a hip-hop collective doesn't really do them justice. All four members come together to form a style that's wholly unique, delivering beautiful poetry enveloped in a sonic tapestry that takes inspiration from hip-hop, jazz, funk, and psychedelic music. And they absolutely kill it live.
Altopalo
Followers of the blog know my love for Altopalo. This concert was really no different, and by that I mean they haven't deviated from their incredibly impressive past performances.
The Breathing Effect
The Breathing Effect's self-titled 2014 EP has been one of my most played records since its release lat February (the day after my birthday, actually). These guys are incredibly tight and easily some of the most talented musicians I've seen assembled on a stage this year. They fly through dense soul-, rock-, and jazz-inspired arrangements with an ease that could only come across as the epitome of cool. In a lot of ways, I'm reminded of the stories my dad tells me of seeing Herbie Hancock during his Headhunters tour, and you can't get much better than that.
Last Tuesday, the always amazing Brandon Bakus headed to Baby's All Right, camera in hand, to capture a fantastic night of music: In Transit Records were holding their 12" compilation release show featuring Tall Juan, Triathalon, Acid Dad, and The Britanys. Check out pics and notes from the night below.
Tall Juan
Tall Juan is a great example of how attitude and stage presence can define a performance. Even though he was up there all by his lonesome, his energy made him seem as if he were an entire band crammed into one person.
His skill as a performer was dwarfed only by the music itself, which enveloped the audience in a fun (and somewhat aggressive) Ty Segall-esque vibe.
Triathalon
Next up was an amazing set from Savannah, GA's Triathalon, whose fun and easy performance was a crowd favorite from the start. Like so many of our favorite bands, when it comes down to it, they just seem like normal people. It was like a group of guys just walked out of the crowd and decided to start playing. Plus, they had matching shirts, which is always cool.
Acid Dad
Acid Dad were completely insane, and their name seemed apt after the first few songs. Imagine a middle-aged man doing acid for the first time, wandering around the NYC psych and garage-rock scene. Then imagine his experience being made into a movie. Then imagine the soundtrack to that movie. There you go: Acid Dad.
The Britanys
Last, but never anywhere close to least, the always-excellent Britnays wrapped the evening up with the seamless, grungy, classic indie-rock sound they do so well. After blazing through a killer set, they rounded out the night with a single, solid power chord. What else would you expect?
