Los Campesinos! – 23/05/08

As we get past the ticket desk, we hear the now-familiar (after his support slot for British Sea Power last week) sounds of Jeffrey Lewis, who this time is back with his band, the Jitters, for another (at times) educational performance.

Along with autobiographical songs such as “The Last Time I Did Acid I Went Insane” and “Don’t Be Upset”, he performed some of his more unique songs, including “The Complete History of Punk Rock and Its Development On the Lower East Side: 1950 – 1975″ and “The Complete History of Communism: Part 3″ which give him a chance to showcase his other outlet – comics. Using a slideshow projector instead of simply flipping through sketchbooks (as he did last week), he described in surprising detail the October Revolution.

Personally I think his act works better with his band (which includes his bassist brother, Jack Lewis), and if you ever get the chance to see him live, take it. You’ll like him after a few listens.

Then it was time for the headliners. Since they played at the Mod Club in December on their “Sticking Fingers Into Sockets” EP tour, they have released their debut full-length “Hold On Now, Youngster…” (which was recorded in Trenton, their lead guitarist Tom told me ) which has received generally positive reviews. It was released on the Arts & Crafts label, with Aleksandra saying what with that and due to the band camping down in the area for about two months last summer to do the album, the band feel as though Toronto is their second home. Or rather their third home, as all of the band met each other while attending Cardiff University. As Tom told me, they started talking at bar nights, with Neil and Gareth living together in the same house. However, none of them are actually Welsh, with Tom hailing from St. Albans, Gareth from near Glastonbury and Aleksandra from Russia.

They came out and opened with ”Broken Heartbeats Sound Like Breakbeats” before rattling through every song on the album –  including a cover of Pavement’s “Frontwards” -  seeming to play with a bit more confidence than their previous visit. I was impressed at how tight of a band they are, for being a band barely past their second birthday. The only niggle I noticed was Aleksandra (keyboards and main female vocals) seems really quiet, though whether this is her live voice or just a microphone issue, I could’t tell.

Still though, you can tell they’re a relatively new band simply by the amount of energy they give off. Lead singer (and glokenspielist) Gareth was the main outlet throughout the set, stamping around and spitting out his lyrics until he was visibly worn down, including an exhausted “We Throw Parties, You Throw Knives” outro. However he still acknowleged the audience with banter during songs (which is something missing with a lot of bands), telling a story about pissing off a whole crowd last week when he told them how much he dislikes New York, and why “We Are All Accelerated Readers” should explain why to break up with your significant other.  At the end of the main set closer “Sweet Dreams Sweet Cheeks” he clambered up a speaker cabinet while the rest of the band chanted out the same two lines. As they finished, arms around each other, Gareth was up over the dividing wall and that was it.

Until! They all came back out and did “2007: The Year Punk Broke (My Heart)” with Tom and Gareth switching instruments halfway through. Then that was it.

Talking to Tom after the set, he felt that the show went well and was happy to be back in Toronto, though he wasn’t sure if he preferred Lee’s Palace or the Mod Club (and their only other visit before that was at the Horseshoe Tavern). Aleksandra, however, admitted that the Mod Club felt a bit “too upscale” for them, feeling they were better suited to tonight’s venue. She told me that they’ll be starting to record for an EP in Seattle within the next couple of months, which she said she was excited about.

So at the rate they’re going, expect to see them back in Toronto in the winter, if not earlier.

last song i heard – “call it a ritual” – wolf parade

Red Hot Chili Peppers Spilt Up For Now.

 

Though their last album was released almost exactly two years ago, to a collective response of “errm, it’s ok”, the Red Hot Chili Peppers are still apparently busy. When they’re not burning their houses down or off recording bizarre solo albums, they’re out and about touring to people who hope they play their twenty year old material and none of their new MuchMusic-style fare.

They’ve been so busy, in fact, that they’ve decided to pack it all in for at least a year, to focus on the basic things in life.

Anthony Kiedis, confirming during an interview with Rolling Stone:

 

“Cooler heads prevailed and the discussion at the end of our last tour was, ‘Let’s not do anything Red Hot Chili Peppers related for a minimum of one year, and just live and breathe and eat and learn new things.’”

Anthony Kiedis confirmed during an interview with Rolling Stone. So according to him playing songs for two hours a night was getting in the way of them being able to ingest foods and open your mouth and suck in a bit. It must be a tough life.As Kiedis says, though, it’s a good time for everyone in the band to go off and try different things.

 

“I was about to have a brand new son. Flea is very inspired to re-up his musical direction and ability and skill and he wants to learn new stuff. John has been firing away on his own, making different solo projects. And Chad joined a jazz band and went to Japan.”

Seems like the drummer had the right idea then. Though Japan probably isn’t far enough.

All in all, expect Kiedis to team up with Gwen Stefani and Flea to release a solo “epic” based on his insiparitons during his recent third-world charity trips.

 

Sound bad? Hey, at least it’s not another “Hump De Bump”.

 

last song i heard – “crash” – the futureheads

 

 

British Sea Power – 16/05/08

 

 

If you’ve been reading this regularly (which I’d be astounded at if anyone actually is) you might have noticed a review of British Sea Power’s “Do You Like Rock Music?” a few months back. I’ve been a fan of them from hearing their first album though had never seen them (or anyone else) live – the curse of living in Northern England. However, I had heard that their live show was a sight to try to see.

 

So then. Here we are at Lee’s Palace last Friday, and three bands for $15. I got in about halfway through Jeffrey Lewis’ set, which utilised sketchbooks, a violinist, a tape recorder, and not much else. It seems that he was performing to a tough audience, who mostly observed the set in silence. However, after a cover of the excellent Crass song “Big A Little A” and a song about a giant brain that eats cities, he seemed to have won over a few in the crowd. All in all an interesting set, especially considering it was a solo performance. He’s back one week later supporting for Los Campesinos! with his band, the Jitters, which will be an interesting comparison.

 

Next up were The Rosebuds. As they came out and took their positions the keyboardist, Kelly Crisp, started shaking hands with people in the first few rows, which I thought was a nice touch. The first thing I noticed when they started playing was the keyboard, which had more bass on it than most conventional bassists play with. With almost a new-wave touch they rattled through songs off their latest album “Night of the Furies”. I’d never heard anything by them before so I can’t say I was blown away by them, but they played some good (almost pop) songs. A little bit too much lyrical padding (“whoa whoa whoa / whoa whoa whoa” etc) but other than that a decent set.

 

Then it was the headliner’s turn. After the stage was decked out with foilage and an introduction by Kay Von (who usually goes around wearing one of the worst designed t-shirts I’ve ever seen), the band came out to a recorded version of “All In It” and proceeded straight into “Atom”. Their set mostly consisted of material from their most recent album, with a few taken from their debut (Carrion”, “Remember Me”, “Blackout”) and (unfortunately) only one from their second (“Oh Larsen B”). The band seemed quite passive during the first half (or so), though they seemed to pick up as they went on, with most of their energy going towards “Rock In A” – a highly improvised (apparently in the key of A) 12 minute long closer, which was the perfect way to end. It was one of the few times that I haven’t felt the slighest bit bothered when a band hasn’t done an encore, having made the last song count.

 

(And before I finish, I have to say that seeing them perform their pro-Polish song “Waving Flags” made the night complete.)

 

last song i heard – “ich bin der stricherjunge” – stereototal

 

Crystal Castle’s Inspirations Figured Out.

Crystal Castles =

Jones from Nathan Barley =

last song i heard – “can’t say no” – the helio sequence

Most Watched Video Of The Week – #2

Adam And The Ants – “Goody Two Shoes”

last song i heard – “stand and deliver” – adam and the ants