popwreckoning updates |  |
- Conor Oberst & the Mystic Valley Band @ Beaumont Club, Kansas City MO
- MeWithoutYou @ the Granada, Lawrence KS
- The Pains of Being Pure at Heart Announces North American Tour
| Conor Oberst & the Mystic Valley Band @ Beaumont Club, Kansas City MO Posted: 03 Jul 2009 02:04 PM PDT To many in the music scene, Conor Oberst is a hero. Love him or hate him, the guy does have a way with words. And despite the frequent comparisons to Bob Dylan, Oberst is versatile and more than a rehash of Dylan. I guess you could say that with projects that have ranged from Desaparecidos to Bright Eyes to the Mystic Valley Band, he is a man of many hats…or at least one very large, Amish looking one. Oberst recently played the Beaumont Club in Kansas City in support of his sophomore release with the Mystic Valley band, and despite some less than toneful or interesting openers, the crowd was excited for their music god. However, depending on what you came to the Beaumont Club for that night, you either loved or hated that show. If you were strictly a fan of Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band, than you probably enjoyed the show. Backed by some amazing musicians such as Nik Freitas and Nate Wolcott, it was hard to be disappointed by the tight musicianship. They faithfully played through MVB hits with record quality. However, if you were there as a Bright Eyes fan or even a fan of Oberst’s legendary stage antics, you more than likely bailed early. Or perhaps, you stuck around for the encore, still desperate for a Bright Eyes song before you left disappointed. Oberst made it more than clear that the projects are separate, so stay away from this tour if you were hoping for some Wide Awake or Digital Ash to make its way into the encore. As for his antics, Oberst’s stage personality was lacking this show. I’ve seen videos where he drunkenly gave away guitars or other shows where he gave mini guitar lessons. For this performance, he hid behind his large, Amish-looking hat that kept his face in shadows the entire show (and makes it downright impossible to get a decent picture of the guy, hence the lack of photos). At the most, he would mumble a dedication in between songs to some random group: “This one goes out to all the pathological liars tonight.” I would like to think this was just an off night or because this was the first time I had seen an Oberst performance outside of his hometown of Omaha, and I would hate to think that Oberst is one of those musicians that can’t be enjoyed sober, but there was just something dull about this whole evening. Set List: Conor Oberst: website | myspace Related Posts |
| MeWithoutYou @ the Granada, Lawrence KS Posted: 03 Jul 2009 12:58 PM PDT It's all crazy! It's all a dream! It's alright and it's all in a concert that made yet another amazing night in Lawrence, Ks. If you couldn't figure out from that terrible attempt at a pun in my lede, the concert was MeWithoutYou's tour with the Dear Hunter and Kay Kay and the Weathered Underground. Seattle's Kay Kay and the Weathered Underground just appeared on my radar that day. Early in the morning, I heard one of the radio DJs talking about how this was one of her favorite bands and I was surprised that the local radio was able to talk about a band of which even I had never heard. Then to my pleasant surprise, that same band happened to be playing the show I was attending. With nine people on stage all on unique instruments such as tuba, cello, trumpet, bass, violin and more, they reminded me of Broken Social Scene, at least in appearance. Yet, once the collective started playing, they made it apparent that they harken more toward a rock group like Queen than an experimental rock group like BSS. That isn't to say they weren't adventurous musically, because they were, but I think the Queen comparison was just more of their component. At one point half the members even started doing a clap, clap, hop, which I viewed as their equivalent of the same action matching "We will, we will, rock you." Their sound is kind of like that vaudevillian rock that Panic! At the Disco was striving for, but Kay Kay accomplished with a bit more grace.
Continuing a very theatrical evening, Dear Hunter followed with their big Act project telling the story of a man from birth to death. In the story, after his mother's death, the boy attempts to learn more about her by going to a whore house like one she used to work in. There he falls in love with a prostitute, but can't come to terms with her way of life. The next act follows more tough decisions as the world is ravaged by a World War and the man must decide what his role must be. It is a big project, and when it comes to concept work, it can be difficult to do justice to the piece as a whole when you are limited by time constraints, but Casey Crescenzo was more than up to the challenge. The cinematic music reminded me of Explosions in the Sky, and it alone was more than expressive enough to tell the story, but fortunately the band isn't simply instrumental because then we'd miss out on Crescenzo's passionate vocals and the story in his lyrics. Many of the songs came from the band's newest album that came out just over a week ago, Act III: Life and Death.
MeWithoutYou also told stories in their set, but their presentation was quite different from the other acts. Their most recent release has a bit more of a singer songwriter sort of vibe and with a set that featured hanging laundry, they had a bit more of a gentler vibe. But once Aaron Weiss and company actually took to the stage, they exploded into a fit of energy and jumped around and violently struck their chords in a passionate fit that you wouldn't expect from a group inspired by Bob Dylan. Weiss's distinctive voice blended with the audience in a harmony that is rare because it depends on the audience knowing all your songs as perfectly as this crowd did. The band delivered a lengthy set, which may be common from the group when they're acting as a headliner, but it may also be them acting obligingly since they are taking a sort of "hiatus" after this tour. With their witty metaphors, lessons and passion, hopefully the break won't last too long. At least the Weiss brothers will keep the music alive in some smaller tours of their own.
Set List: MeWithoutYou: website | myspace Related Posts |
| The Pains of Being Pure at Heart Announces North American Tour Posted: 03 Jul 2009 10:24 AM PDT
Tour dates: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart : website | myspace Photo: Annie Powers Related Posts |
Tipped last month by Britain’s Q magazine as one of the “10 Best New Bands on Earth”, NYC indie rock band the Pains of Being Pure at Heart have posted on their official website a string of North American | You are subscribed to email updates from popwreckoning To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
