popwreckoning updates |  |
- Jack Peñate and Miike Snow @ Rock ‘n’ Roll Hotel, Washington DC
- New HBO Comedy starring Jason Schwartzman; Features New Coconut Records’ Songs
- The Dandy Warhols @ The Beaumont Club, Kansas City MO
- Bite Sized Reviews
| Jack Peñate and Miike Snow @ Rock ‘n’ Roll Hotel, Washington DC Posted: 20 Sep 2009 11:13 AM PDT
Jack Peñate went on first. I know his music thanks to British radio airplay of songs from his latest album Everything is New that came out just last month here in America but has been out in the UK since late June. He started with the title track from the album, followed by “Second, Minute, or Hour,” a jaunty single from his debut album Matinee, during which he banged away at his guitar. Having recently seen the video for “Be the One” here in America, I was not expecting him to pick up a guitar during his whole set (the video has Peñate standing in front of an old-fashioned microphone in a church like he’s Morrissey or something). This would not be only surprise Peñate had in store for us. Through the course of his set, Peñate played most songs from his current album – as I expected, “Pull My Heart Away” was absolutely gorgeous live, pop balladry as its best, and “Tonight’s Today” and “Be the One” (his other singles from Everything is New) were lively numbers that got the crowd dancing. What I was not expecting: Peñate to take to the piano for “Body Down”, nor the audience interaction that Peñate engendered, summed up best by his involving some very surprised and willing kids in the front to sing the chorus of “Let’s All Die” with him, Peñate’s song urging us to live life to its fullest. For his sophomore album attempt, he recorded the kind of songs he wanted to make, and the love shows when he performs them. Set List:
Nearly all of their songs ended with drawn-out instrumental outros, with lots of synth whirrings, sonic drum noises, and guitars crashing. Sometimes you didn’t know when one song ended and the next began. But this is fine because overall, the music felt like it was designed for the mellow clubber, eager to hear fresh beats from the latest flavor of the month. Well folks, the latest flavor is this band. “Silvia”, a song you can hear on the band’s MySpace, turned into an unexpectedly loud singalong: the crowd definitely knew their Miike Snow. At the end of their set, they decided to leave the stage one by one and the club was still dark, spirited audience chanting for an encore ensued. About 10 minutes probably went by before one of the venue staff gave the all clear to turn the lights back on, which caused most of the crowd to boo and hiss. Usually when I attend gigs, it’s obvious when an act is not coming out for an encore, because the lights will go up and loud background music will come on. In this case because there was a delay in the lights and music coming on, I can understand why the crowd felt cheated, because it did seem like we were supposed to wait in the dark because the band was going to return for more songs. Maybe they planned to and changed their minds because of the sound problems? We’ll never know. One thing’s for sure: I hope both acts will return to the Nation’s Capital triumphant with more mainstream popularity. Set List:              Jack Peñate: website | myspace | Everything is New review Related Posts |
| New HBO Comedy starring Jason Schwartzman; Features New Coconut Records’ Songs Posted: 20 Sep 2009 10:00 AM PDT
Today, Sept. 20, his new series created by Jonathan Ames debuts on HBO at 9:30 p.m. EST. The series “Bored to Death” the show follows the misadventures of a fictional Jonathan Ames as he pursues his quixotic dream of emulating his heroes from classic private detective novels. Schwartzman plays aims in the series. It also stars Ted Danson and Zach Galifianakis. In addition to starring the series, Schwartzman’s Coconut Records released a new song for the show for use as the theme. Check out the show’s trailer below and be sure to watch the show: Most Commented Posts |
| The Dandy Warhols @ The Beaumont Club, Kansas City MO Posted: 20 Sep 2009 09:00 AM PDT I’ve been a devoted Dandy Warhols fan since I was fifteen. When I first saw their video, “Not If You Were The Last Junkie On Earth,” with dancing syringes and all, I knew I would be hooked to their indie-pop sound for life. This was my second time seeing the Warhols live. While I enjoyed the previous set more, the Warhols still put on a lovely show this time around. The biggest problem of the evening was the Warhols’ sound. Live, the Warhols sound more like a jam garage band than a psychedelic rock group. Many of the effects used on their albums are absent in their live performances. Also, Courtney Taylor-Taylor (vocals, guitar) had a few issues when switching from mic to mic. His vocal effects sounded a bit muffled, and he was hard to understand at times. OK. I’m done with the bad. Now, onto the good. Openers and Beat The World label-mates, Spindrift, began the show with their rolling, dark, psychedelic country rock. People in the audience reported that a member of the Brian Johnstown Massacre came on stage and danced around during part of Spindrift’s set. That would have been pretty sweet to see. After all, The Warhols and Massacre had, like, the best rock feud ever. The Warhols got on stage around 10 p.m. They played a great two our show full of fan favorites and audience requests. Last time I saw the Warhols, I was too far away to really see anything, but this time, I got to watch the show from the front. The stage set up was simple, and dark blue, red, and green lighting was used. The only frill on stage was Zia McCabe’s (keyboards) tiny, blue hued lava lamp. The tall and lean Taylor approached the mic, slowly tipped his black hat to the side, cooly leaned back, and began to sing to the trip inducing tone of “Be-In,” the first track off Come Down. As the Warhols transitioned into the syncopated, grinding bass of “Shaken,’” folks on the floor began to gradually move towards the front of the room to dance (aka do the semi-drunk shimmy). McCabe’s rhythm producing ability is great. The beautiful, sprite-like McCabe not only looked amazing in her love themed shirt and darling lip ring, but she rocked the electronic bass beats. Before launching into “You Love Me,” Taylor thanked everyone in the audience for coming, and McCabe shouted that KC was the best stop on the tour yet. Taylor went on to say he and the band enjoyed some Oklahoma Joe’s BBQ the day before the show. Before the Warhols arrived in KC, they asked people “what’s so great about KC BBQ” on their Twitter page. The band also chronicled their trip to KC on their blog. The songs that got the biggest response from the audience that evening were the Warhols’ older hits; “The Last High,” “Bohemian Like You,” and “We Used To Be Friends.” After the crowd was wound-up, the Warhols finished up the show with a great mix of tunes. The fast-paced, drugged out “Horse Pills,” featured Brent DeBoer’s crazy awesome drumming abilities. I swear; the man is a metronome. He slightly teetered and tottered back and forth as his frizzed out hair bobbed above his frantic moving arms, which were clothed in a Brian Jonestown Massacre shirt. The rompy, and dirty “Get Off” was followed by the trance track, “The Wasp In The Lotus,” which featured Peter Holmstrom’s guitar rock outs, and the band’s far out lyrics: Hoping and smoking That’s what I keep hoping That broken and smoking That’s what I keep coping After finishing “Boys Better,” and a slow version of “The New Country,” the Warhols thanked the audience, and told everyone that McCabe would be spinning at the Beaumont after their set ended. Before the Warhols left the stage (they had to adhere to the strict 12 a.m. curfew – lame), they asked the audience what they wanted to hear. Thanks to the people on stage right, the Warhols decided to end with “Minnesoter.” Taylor then made one more mention of Massacre, and said he had recently spoken to Anton Newcombe (Massacre’s singer). I believe Taylor said Newcombe was in Germany, working hard. Taylor said Newcombe was a machine, and then struck the opening cord to “Minnesoter.” Set List: The Dandy Warhols: website | myspace Photo by: Bethany Smith Related Posts |
| Posted: 20 Sep 2009 07:00 AM PDT Here at PopWreckoning, we’ve officially hit a level of mail that makes it impossible for us to give full reviews to every band. However, this does not mean we believe that these bands shouldn’t be granted some for of press. It simply means we have to scale it down a bit. Therefore, he have opted to create a feature called Bite Size Reviews, which shall appear several times a week. This feature will contain five reviews each under 100 words and links to the albums website, myspace or label. We believe this is the best use of our mail and hope you too enjoy the reviews. They are as follows: Into The Presence – Into The Presence The contrast of bright spots to obnoxious spots of Castevet is pretty fascinating in itself. Musically this band could go riff for riff with the best of them. Think Get up Kids meets Casket Lottery. Vocally however, they leave a lot to be desired, for me at least. (Without Vocals 7 of 10 stars, With Vocals 5 of 10 stars) Caio My Shining Star – The Songs of Mark Mulcahy Michael Stipe once said, ” Mulcahy is one of the greatest voices of our time.” I must say I respect his opinion. This album of covers from the likes of Thom Yorke, The National, Dinosaur Jr, Frank Black,Ben Kweller, Elvis Perkins and others is a fantastic listen and a brilliant way to discover an artist whom may have slipped under your radar. This album is a steal. (9 out of 10 stars) The Twilight Sad – Forget the Night Ahead Obviously from across the pond, The Twilight Sad is nothing but an easy listen for fans of the U.K. sound. The highly anticipated follow up to the groups 2007 Fourteen Autums and Fifteen Winters is far more cluttered and in your face than Forget the Night Away, it also seems more direct. These changes are for the best. (7 out of 10 Stars) As Tall As Lions – You Can’t Take It With You Simply stated, Triple Crown Records does not release bad albums. You Can’t Take It With You by As Tall As Lions will end that streak of brilliance. Shifting in and out of multiple signature sounds happening in the current indie scene, like emphasizing drums, backwards masking, and the UK sound somehow coming out of New York. Soothing trumpets hidden throughout songs like “Go Easy” lead flawlessly into flawlessly contrasting guitar solos, giving the album the creativity and confort of a Coldplay album while managing to keep the edge of Nightmare of You. While it is easy to give a listen, it is difficult to take out. (9 out of 10 stars) Related Posts |
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