popwreckoning updates |  |
- Uncommon Existence: Thursday @ the Bottom Lounge, Chicago IL
- Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson US Tour
- Perez Hilton Tour – Semi-Precious Weapons, Natalie Portman’s Shaved Head, and Ladyhawke @ the Showbox at the Market
- John Legend @ Austin City Limits 2009
- Them Crooked Vultures @ Austin City Limits 2009
| Uncommon Existence: Thursday @ the Bottom Lounge, Chicago IL Posted: 04 Oct 2009 09:00 AM PDT Proving that talent and success aren't just proven in record sales – Thursday stands among the best performance acts around. As the Jersey-based band entered the stage to a fully excited and cheering Chicago audience, front man Geoff Rickly raises his left arm in confidence. Shadowed in the darkness of the Bottom Lounge, all sit in anticipation for those first harsh and abrasive tones (”For the Workforce, Drowning”) to clamp down our ears and drag the audience through an hour and a half of hell… And so begins another day on the job for Thursday, the New Jersey Post-Hardcore outfit currently on tour with Fall of Troy and Young Widows. With guitarist Steve Pedulla and Tom Keeley dolling-out crushing riffs and massive sounds, the band quickly drove their set through the come-to-expect 1-2 combination punch of “Between Rupture and Rapture,” and “Division St” from the band’s 2003 release of War All the Time. Just as things were hitting an open stretch of highway, little heard Andrew Everding chimed in with a cold touch of the keys to add a needed spot from the creepy dept. in the band’s trio of “The Other Side of the Crash/Over and Out (of Control),” the surprising “Paris In Flames” and “Understanding In A Car Crash.” As he was recovering (possibly as a brief intermission for the band to catch its breath) lead singer Rickly launched into his traditional, mid-show rant – tonight's lesson: “staying true to yourself and standing up in what you believe in.” "Friends in the Armed Forces," featured Rickly at both his finest vocal shredding and also was the most intimate show moment during an introspective and whispered lyric of, "Stay with me now,” quickly followed the "preachy" moment. Only stopping briefly to gather himself off the floor, Geoff and co. quickly followed up their first Common Existence single with the blistering “Autobiography of a Nation” and “Beyond the Visible Spectrum” to close out the mid-section of the evening. Spotted echoing piano licks, quickly building airy vocals and giant black balloons in a sea of white strobe lighting, the new “Circuits of Fever" brought a much needed production number for this worn down audience. Though the bass (provided by a United Nations’ Bassist**) was bit weak in the knees, drummer Tucker Rule provided enough backing to help the rhythm section hold together. As a side note, if anyone has doubts that this band can pull off a production number, just check out a video of the song on YouTube from this past Spring's Taste of Chaos tour. With our lead vocalist leaping into the audience to begin “Sugar in the Sacrament” to close out the initial set – one could only look on to the band in revelry at how this group truly is able to marry their emotional content and sounds together to create, for lack of better terms, one hell of a show. Upon dropping the mic, Rickly stumbled off stage to join his group for a much needed rest. A two song encore began with the group’s last new song from Common Existence for the evening, “Subway Funeral,” and just as you think the performance or the band can’t give anymore, then comes the crowd favorite “Jet Black New Year,” which saw our fearless leader climb to unthinkable heights up the venue's wall of amps. Thursday performed extremely well and with great precision for the songs they put on display; notable numbers: “Jet Black New Year,” “Circuits of Fever” and “Division St” (best live version I’ve heard). Minus a few missteps from the sound op, Guitarist Keeley who seemed to cower behind his amp tower for the first 1/3rd of the show and no great variations on the a-typical Thursday set list; this show was rock solid. Overall this is by far the best performance of this band I have seen in the last five years – Rule’s drumming has improved, Rickly’s vocals were strong and spot-on and the band (as a whole) were as confident as ever in themselves, which is no small feat given the amount of changes and acrobatics the group has seen in the past few years; one can tell they are happier than ever to finally be back where they belong. Time, perseverance, fortitude, strong studio material and passion is what great bands are made of. Many have tried, few have succeeded but to this industry, and more importantly to their fans, Thursday show they can stand and deliver as one of the best acts around anywhere. Overall Show Grade: A *- Bassist name has been omitted as United Nations has a lineup consisting of masked-faced members who are in a revolving door; Geoff Rickly did not divulge the musician’s name during his introduction. Written by M.W. Miles Related Posts |
| Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson US Tour Posted: 04 Oct 2009 08:30 AM PDT Saddle Creek’s newly signed Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson is embarking on a co-headlining tour with Warpaint and These United States after playing CMJ. Tour dates below and be sure to either digitally check out the new album Summer of Fear now or buy a the CD Oct. 20 or the vinyl Nov. 24. Tour dates: Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson: myspace Related Posts |
| Posted: 04 Oct 2009 07:25 AM PDT As much of a twat Perez Hilton is, he puts together a rad tour. Yes, I just said rad. Rad is common slang of the 80s, and last night made me feel like I'd jumped back into the 80s, with the tweaky intros Perez put together and the synth-heavy music all night. Well, Semi-Precious Weapons weren't synth-heavy, based on lead singer Justin Tranter's outfits, one could see why I felt like I was in 1986. I hadn't heard much of them before last night, and I was pleasantly surprised how much fun I had. They were great openers, bringing the room's energy up to the highest degree at most points during their set, especially during Tranter's banter between songs. He swore profusely, and at one point, he shouted "c*nt!" multiple times, because he said he "couldn't give up saying it." And of course when he changed his clothes on stage. From one pair of tights and crazy heels to another pair of tights and crazy heels. As my friend Laura said, "His junk was everywhere," when he was changing the tights.
It was quite an eyeful. But the music wasn't bad. It was like heavy 80s glam rock with hints of Chris Crocker (you know, the "leave Britney alone!" guy? That's what he kinda looked like). My favorite track was "Magnetic Baby," and it was one of the best received, with Tranter almost throwing himself into the crowd to get people to shout into the mic. The guitarist was pretty wicked, and the bassist was ridiculously spazmatic, scraping his bass against most of the hard surfaces on stage to get a intense sound. He also held out the neck of the bass to the crowd for fans to play the bass for a bit. The mixture of their energy – from the hardcore punky bassist and the glamtastic Tranter – made for an interesting live show. I didn't know any of the music beforehand, and most of the crowd wasn't there to see Semi-Precious Weapons, so it wasn't nearly as energetic had they been the headliners. But it was a good way to get the crowd going though, as a majority of the people at the show was there to see Natalie Portman's Shaved Head. They are Seattleites, after all.
And they were technically the reason I drove down to Seattle last night to stand in line, not knowing if I would get in. Ida Maria was originally on the tour, but she canceled last week due to an illness. So Perez, being the master of connections that he is – hit up one of his favorite new bands Natalie Portman's Shaved Head to fill in for the remainder of the tour starting in Chicago. Before they joined the tour, I contemplated going to the show because of Ladyhawke, but at that point, she was the only reason I would go. But after NPSH joined the tour, I was all over that. But I will say right now, a friend of mine told me after Bumbershoot that NPSH was way better in smaller venues and that they sucked at Bumbershoot. Now, I don't agree with the latter statement, but I will verify the first statement. They are SO much better in small clubs. But then again, most bands are. Intimate stages always make everything better. They started out "Slow Motion Tag Team," one of my favorites, and after that, they kept the dance party going. I don't know what it would be like to see NPSH in another state, but at this point I'm glad I'm from Seattle, because undoubtedly NPSH has some of the best fans around – especially in their hometown. They even referenced some classic Seattle figures. "We see a Mariners hat, a Seahawks hat, a Nirvana shirt… but there's another Seattle fashion staple," and Claire England started to put her hair in a side ponytail and we all know where that was going – next song, "Sophisticated Side Ponytail." There was this guy standing behind us – I'll call him Plaid Guy – but he was hilarious. When NPSH were setting up their instruments, he kept shouting at Luke, "Shaun [Libman]! Shaun!" I tapped him and was like, "I'm pretty sure that's Luke [Smith]." Then he felt all stupid and said, "that's why he's not listening to us!" Apparently, Plaid Guy REALLY wanted them to play "Bedroom Costume," which wasn't on the setlist that had already been taped to the floor. So when Claire came out to set up her synth, Plaid Guy yelled, "put a synth here!" And when Claire put her synth right in front of us, he thanked her profusely and was all "I love you!" And almost demanded they play "Bedroom Costume." And lo and behold, the third song in, Shaun prefaces the song with, "we're gonna play this one for those guys over there." And Plaid Guy went apeshit crazy. But the best part was during "Beard Lust," Shaun said something like "are you guys ready to dance? This guy looks ready!" And they asked people to jump up on stage for a dance off. Or just a big fat dance party. I didn't feel like tripping over things, and my feet were slightly achey, plus, this way I could get pictures of the dance party. Yeah, it was pretty sweet. After they finished "Iceage Babeland," I was beat. My feet hurt, I was hungry, I was thirsty. I would have been satisfied going home right then with what we'd already seen, but WAIT! We had yet to see Ladyhawke, the headliner to Perez's synthtastic tour. The mood overall was totally different for Ladyhawke's set. Her band was all decked out in black, and her microphone stand was decorated with a string of Christmas lights, and there was a lack of banter or interaction with the crowd, at least at the beginning. It didn't mean it was any less awesome. That way, we just got to witness an amazing artist at work. People were more just listening to the music and grooving to Ladyhawke's smooth beats rather dancing their ass off. It was a great vibe, even though I knew people were tired. The songs sounded awesome, and Ladyhawke's crazy eyes helped. She does make some crazy eyes. Nobody really danced until she played her last two songs, "Paris is Burning" and "My Delirium." Those were fun songs. Justin Tranter even made an effort to crowd surf during "Paris in Burning." It didn't work so well, him being like 6'4" and the crowd quite tiny, but he still did get in an "I love you!" to Ladyhawke before the crowd lowered him and his 6-inch heels down. Ladyhawke came around the stage to sing right to people on the left and right ends of the crowd. She's just so cool.
Plaid Guy grabbed the setlist that was taped to the floor in front of us too quickly for me to grab it. Oh well. She was still awesome. The crowd was quite a bit smaller for Ladyhawke, mostly because a lot of the NPSH fans had to leave because they had homeroom in the morning. It was an all ages show, after all. But it was amazing, just the same. Semi-Precious Weapons: website | myspace Related Posts |
| John Legend @ Austin City Limits 2009 Posted: 03 Oct 2009 08:05 PM PDT Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee John Legend is beautiful, soulful and, as if you needed to see a list of his collaborations, nominations and awards, exceptionally talented. He performed at this year’s Austin City Limits to hundreds of fan, pulling off a fantastic performance. John Legend: website | myspace Related Posts |
| Them Crooked Vultures @ Austin City Limits 2009 Posted: 03 Oct 2009 07:54 PM PDT Supergroup Them Crooked Vultures stormed Austin City Limits this year and delighted the crowd with their brand of power rock. While an amazing front man, you can’t be mad at a band that puts Dave Grohl (Nirvana, Foo Fighters) back on drums. Especially when the wild beats he produces support the sick licks of vocalist and guitarist Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age, Eagles of Death Metal) and bassist and keyboardist John Paul Jones, formerly of a little band called Led Zeppelin. The video below doesn’t nearly do these über-talented musicians justice, but until you get to see them live, it’ll have to do. Them Crooked Vultures: website | myspace Related Posts |
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