Category Archives: Reviews

Passion Pit and Youngblood Hawke

Two nights ago, a group of us went to see Passion Pit. I was excited to see them, and one of the opening acts, Youngblood Hawke (which I interviewed back in August and you can check it out here). Youngblood Hawke’s set was really fun and upbeat. A friend of mine didn’t know who they were, but said she really liked them. They played all of the songs from their EP. The crowd was really pleased with “We Come Running” when they ended their show with the recent alt rock hit. They were a great predecessor to Passion Pit.

When Passion Pit came out, everyone went crazy. Their first song was “Take a Walk” and it was awesome! I was surprised because it’s not very often that a band starts out with one of their biggest hits, but they did, and I liked it. They mixed between songs from Manners and their newest album Gossamer. It seemed to me that everyone really digs Manners more. Things were a little slowed down when songs from Gossamer were performed. Then, at the very end everyone perked right up when they finished their set with “Sleepyhead”. I couldn’t WAIT to hear it and apparently everyone else felt the same. It was also super cool that all the other band members that were touring with them all came out on stage to dance around. One of them was taking video of the whole thing, catching glimpses of the audience and the other musicians jammin’ out. My favorite parts of their performance were the first and last songs. They had a great turn out for their first show in Pittsburgh. Make sure you check out the awesome video at the top of this post that someone took of the finale. It gives me chills of happiness when I watch it and remember that feeling of being there.

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LIVE: Cut Copy

Months ago when I saw in an email that Cut Copy was coming, I immediately made my arrangements to attend. Finally, they were coming! I couldn’t believe it and I had to be there. Thank goodness I was, too, because they put on a helluva show. I got a prime spot towards the front where I could see and still be relatively comfortable. The venue was filled. Everyone was excited and sweaty with anticipation.

Then the quartet of dudes entered the stage. The crowd was on point; ready and in dance mode. “Where I’m Going” from the latest album, Zonoscope, was played at the beginning of the set. I like that it was thrown into the beginning for some measure against some of the lesser known songs. They all led up to the second half of the show, which was more pleasing than pink starburst.

Dan Whitford stood there belting out songs while a fan (a literal, electric fan; not a person…haha, although I would have done it. I love you, Dan!) blew air through his luscious hair, evoking images of a cheesy 80s heart throb movie. In fact, I read an interview online from Seattle Gay News where the writer asked what the secret is to Dan’s hair. Guitarist, Tim Hoey answered saying Whitford’s actually working on his own hair line. Jokingly, Hoey added, “he basically modeled it on the bad kid from Karate Kid.”

“Lights and Music” broke out, and when it did, everyone went completely ape shit! I get chills just thinking about the seconds leading up to the first chorus. Just picture everyone in a movie theater sitting on the edge of their seat, waiting for that crucial moment you know will happen. I nodded my head along with the beat of the 5 second interval before all broke loose. The lights start blinking different neon colors, everyone is fiercely dancing and screaming while Dan Whitford is loudly singing “Lights and Music, are on my mind.” It’s definitely one of my FAVORITE concert moments.

Whitford keeps going, “Fading with the color you see in my face, cold and crystal you can’t hide ‘cuz your tears race. I’ll be waiting by in time, put your dreams away. You’re holding hope open for the one making you wait.” At this point, everyone is clapping with the beat, ready for the next chorus again. The cheering, screaming and clapping all gets louder and faster. I remember dancing fluidly as one with the crowd while smiling and laughing like a little girl the whole time. Wondrous.

After that serving of hotness, the band moved on with “Take Me Over,” another crowd pleaser. They just kept coming after that. “Out There on the Ice” and “Hearts on Fire” blew me away and left me dazed and dumbfounded. Cut Copy had us all in the palms of their hands. It was a big, sweaty dance party. All of my favorites were played. Plus, they came back out TWICE to play ONE more song. And they totally jammed out, too. If you have a chance to catch one of their shows, you better go. I mean, I would go even if they only played “Lights and Music,” it’s that awesome. I couldn’t have asked for a better set list. I came, I saw and I danced (my ass off).

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Filed under Holy Freaking Crap!, Reviews, Shows

NEW: Noah & The Whale

The album isn’t officially released until next Tuesday, but you can stream it now over at NME (click image above). I’m digging the opening track and am happy with it’s placement. “Tonight’s The Kind Of Night” reminds me of classic 80s rock, listen to the guitar riff in the chorus, you’ll hear it. “L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N.” has a cool Tom Petty vibe. “Wild Thing” continues the similarity to Tom Petty; only this time throwing in a tiny bit of Springsteen. I like the new album, though I gotta say it’s not what I expected. “Give It All Back” is one of those “looking back” kind of songs. Though, I guess if you think about it, they all are; the album is called Last Night on Earth. ”Just Me Before We Met” jumps out at me; it is so beautiful (with out being slow and sappy, of course). The violin used in the track just adds another layer of character that makes this song probably my favorite from the album. “Paradise Stars” is a sweet little instrumental interlude before the winding down with the last three songs. The final track, “Old Joy” is a bit too morose for my taste, but I guess it’s a good way to end the album…the “last night on Earth.”

Tracklisting
1. Life Is Life
2. Tonight’s The Kind Of Night
3. L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N
4. Wild Thing
5. Give It All Back
6. Just Me Before We Met
7. Paradise Stars
8. Waiting For My Chance To Come
9. The Line
10. Old Joy

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Filed under Highly Anticipated, new albums, Reviews

Girl Talk at Stage AE

Pittsburgh native Greg Gillis (better known as Girl Talk) was the first to give a show at brand new Stage AE next to Heinz Field. I love everything about Girl Talk and with this being my third show, I was excited to see how all would fare in the new venue.

Click here to read the rest at Pop Damage.

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Wakey! Wakey! Show @ Brillobox

Mike Grubbs and I

There are quite a few different reasons you might have heard of Wakey! Wakey! If you are from New York, particularly the Brooklyn area, not only are you familiar with the band, but you’ve likely seen them perform. Other reasons might be because you are an avid reader of Spin, NME, Pitchfork and the like. But, the biggest reason you might have heard Wakey! Wakey! is from a show called One Tree Hill. The main man of the band is Mike Grubbs, who debuted as a character on the show last November.

Click to read more at Pop Damage

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Show Review: Plants and Animals

Post classic rock is the descriptive term the members of Plants and Animals sometimes use when categorizing their band. Some might refer to it as plain and general indie rock (but really, what can’t be called that?) or a jam band. They can be called all of these genres; what matters is that this 3-piece band ROCKS.

Click here to read more over at Pop Damage

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Highly Anticipated: This Is Happening

LCD Soundsystem’s new album This Is Happening, was supposed to be released in March, but was pushed back to May. So now, in about a week, we’ll be able to have it (May 18th).

Sadly, James Murphy has informed the music community that this will be his fourth and last album as LCD Soundsystem. I can’t help but to feel sad that ‘this is happening’. :(

Read an interview with him from Clash Magazine here

ALSO…click here to preview the whole album! I have a feeling I’m going to wear it out this summer!

Track Listing:

1. Dance Yrself Clean (Starts off slow, then surprises you with a ‘BAM!’ into some loud dance music)

2. Drunk Girls (Has some musical elements very similar to ”North American Scum”)

3. One Touch

4. All I Want

5. I Can Change* (Reminiscent to the likes of Erasure, Yaz, The Cure, Love & Rockets, etc.)

6. You Wanted a Hit*

7. Pow Pow (sounds like the Talking Heads)

8. Somebody’s Calling Me

9. Home

* = my favorites

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Filed under Highly Anticipated, Interviews, new albums, Reviews

So Many Dynamos

 

So Many Dynamos latest album, The Loud Wars, was released in June through Vagrant Records. This indie rock palindrome band has been around for awhile, though. One of their tours back in 2006 included a couple of shows with John Vanderslice. They’ve also shared the stage with many others worth mentioning, including Ra Ra Riot and Harvey Danger.

The first song, “Artifacts of Sound” was originally named “Out of this Party” but was changed after realizing that would be their third song with “party” in its title. There are a few parts of the song, as well as the album, where their sound brought the Lost Prophets to mind, particularly their song “Rooftops”. But, what I immediately found interesting on my first listen of the album is that all of the songs seem to have two parts to them. There were a few occasions where the sound changed so drastically that I had to look and see if I was still listening to the same track.

The next three tracks, “Glaciers”, “The Novelty of Haunting”, and “New Bones” have an unusual twist to their melodies. All three of these songs contain melodies from past So Many Dynamos songs performed backwards! What a creative dynamic, Dynamos! Not to mention, the songs are like stories, where the listener is able to pinpoint their climaxes and resolutions. “Oh, the Devastation!” and “The Formula” use group vocals to thankfully break up the monotony a little bit.

“Friendarmy” is a little bit calmer and quieter of a song, but not the lyrics. “You think we’re kidding, we’re not. We’re only playing but we’re playing God.” “It’s Gonna Rain” brings back the loudness but in the middle of the song they throw in some small video game sounding bits. Listen to the song in its entirety, and you’ll especially see here what I mean about the two songs in one. All of a sudden towards the end, the song sounds much happier, even though the band is yelling “I don’t want to make amends; I want to make a mess.”

Though I admit I have a tough time picking them out, the album does have some similarities to other bands. But, they definitely have their own spin to their music. Sometimes the confusion of not knowing where the song is going, makes the song excitedly better.  With that said, I have been enjoying The Loud Wars all week, which is more than I thought I would.

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