11.10-14.2010 Wintersleep / Ra Ra Riot / Listening Party / Parlour Steps / Hey Marseilles

Being unemployed/barely employed sometimes has it's advantages. For one you can sleep in until 11 am and go to as many shows as your savings will allow. So when I had the opportunity to see Wintersleep a bunch of times on their Canadian tour, I jumped at it. I was only planning on covering the BC shows because I don't think anyone cares about the US shows, but they do have some other Vancouver content so I might as well squeeze it in.

Seattle



Seattle's always had a pretty weird set of rules against fun (infamous Teen Dance Ordinace or as my friends in Seattle referred to as the "Footloose" laws), so it wasn't really a surprise when I heard that you couldn't have alcohol on stage. Not really a problem for me, but still weird for those who play music.



Never really got to see Parlour Steps in Vancouver so it was nice to finally catch a set of theirs, even if it's not in Vancouver. Most of their songs are mellow indie rock-ish. Crowd seemed to be into them. For some reason I keep getting a alt-country vibe from them, but I can't explain why.



Most people were there to see Land of Pines. You could tell because by the end of the night there were probably only 30 people watching Wintersleep's set. Those that were though, were treated to a encore of Danse Macabre. It was originally supposed to be Nerves, but Danse was requested by one the die hards pretty much the entire night.



Portland






This was at Mississippi studios, which was more like a really small theatre. Very interesting almost vintage vibe to the place. Parlour Steps opened up this show as well. I think i'm they're starting to come around on me. I really enjoyed their set this time. I didn't stick around for Hey Marseilles. I can only say that they sounded like Beirut from what I heard of their soundcheck. Not much to say about this show.

Victoria



Victoria's show was at a medium sized theatre called Alix Goolden Hall. It used to be a church, but is now used by the Royal Conservatory of Music, so you can imagine how cool this venue is. Listening Party's set was probably highlighted by someone in the balcony starting the wave. It took him about 3 tries, but once the rest of the balcony jumped aboard, the whole building ran with it. It went around for 5 or 6 revolutions.

The immense size of the venue, coupled with the awesome lighting made for a fantastic show. My only complaint was the crowd, which was a bit sterile. People who wanted to dance were directed to the side of the venue and security made sure people stayed in their seats otherwise. I know Vancouver has a reputation for audiences not dancing and keeping their hands in the pockets and showing now excitement, but at least they'll stand up at a rock show. Patrons were left sitting, awkwardly, until the encore. Even then the encore songs only had about half the crowd standing.



Vancouver




Listening Party was well received at this show. Probably because they're partly based here. They had fair amount of their fans singing along in the first 5 rows. I'm still not sold on them. Ra Ra Riot's first day on this tour was today. It's kind of weird how the band Rah Rah has also opened up for Wintersleep as well. On the same tour as well. I had checked out Ra Ra Riot when they first started getting a lot of buzz from their first album a few years ago. To be honest, on record, I thought their sound was okay, but nothing spectacular. Their live show has since convinced me that I should revisit their albums. They turned a lot of heads at the Commodore tonight. Might have been the larger stage, but they were pretty energetic onstage, moving around and engaging the crowd who ate it up.



Found out that Wintersleep's show was being recorded for a later broadcast on Sirus Radio. Pretty cool. I wonder how many shows I've been to the Commodore have been broadcasted on Sirius that I don't know about. This show was probably the best one I saw out of the five. Sold out and lots of energy. Nerves was a the perfect closer for the night with it's extended outro and drum solo.

Whistler




Pretty weird seeing Wintersleep in a small venue, Garibaldi Lift Company, which was essentially just a large bar. Ra Ra Riot opening up again. I think the show probably would have done better if it was during ski season, which won't happen until the week or so after. That being said, the venue was decently filled by the time Wintersleep got on. Ra Ra Riot's set was well received, though they didn't move around as much as they did the night before. Smaller stage I guess. Actually the venue had a very living room like vibe to it. Of note, during Wintersleep's set, the cellist and violinist joined in for "Preservation". It was a nice touch. Although it got me wondering why they weren't conscripted for the intro to "Experience the Jewel". Oh well.

Surprisingly, the setlists for the shows were pretty similar. Pretty much a good mix of all 4 albums. Not too many big changes from a year ago. Whistler didn't get "Nerves", which I assume having something to do about hitting the 1 am curfew. Actually one thing I did notice, is that while they do seem to be playing the same number of songs on the set, they're taking less breaks in between songs. A couple of last tidbits. I actually did hear Wintersleep try to work through "Migration" during their soundchecks, but I guess not enough practice. Also the stuffed/toy dog is named Jenny.

03.26-28.09 Wintersleep / An Horse

....And on the Vancouver side of things. Its been a while since I've made a post. Almost 4 months in fact. For anyone who actually reads this blog, it's quite fitting that the first (Vancouver-ish) review of the year is none other than a 3 show Wintersleep run. Winding down their successful run of shows supporting their latest album Welcome to the Night Sky, this leg was primarily a SXSW / Westcoast run with An Horse.

Portland
I'm not quite sure if Wintersleep has ever played in Portland before. The venue was double booked. Wintersleep in the smaller room "Lola's" and radio rockers Blue October in the main room, Crystal Ballroom. While the building was quite equipped to handle both shows, there was quite a bit of bleed through from the upstairs room to the downstairs. During many quieter parts, you really could not help but notice the bass coming through. Amusingly, the Blue October seemed to be the running joke throughout much of the night. I actually overheard some of the buildings staff quip during load in:

Guy 1: When is Blue October getting off the stage?
Guy 2: Not soon enough.

The opening band (whose name escapes me) seemed a little out of place. They played a sort of folk/lounge kind of music. I don't remember much, but seem to recall that their bass player was quite good and the singer's voice was good. An Horse, who was playing a co-headlining slot, probably should've taken the headlining slot as about half the crowd left after their set. I'm guessing their buzz can be attributed to their Tegan and Sara vibe as their recent Letterman appearance. But seeing as they only have 1 albums worth of material, I guess it doesn't matter that much. They played quite well, I definitely liked them more than I thought I was going to. Their singer, Kate, even has some amusing stage banter, which I always like.

Wintersleep played quite well considering they just drove 10 hour from San Fransico. The setlist consisted of songs from their last 3 releases. No new songs were played, and no encore was played. The set was about 45 minutes. I didn't actually mind too much. It's nice having long sets, but its also nice having small intimate shows too. This may have happened during An Horse's set, but also of note:

Wintersleep: So do you guys like Blue October?
Crowd: No.
WS: Really why?
Crowd: Because we aren't 12.

Setlist:
Drunk on Aluminium
Archaeologists
Caliber
Astronaut
Weighty Ghost
Murderer
Search Party
Laser Beams
Oblivion
Miasmal

Seattle
Seattle was actually somewhat special in that it was one of the only dates that was an all ager. The venue, The Vera Project, was pretty cool. Definitely the best run all ages venue that I've ever been to. If you've ever been to Portland about 5 years ago, it's what the Meow Meow should've been. Clean, decent sound system, with a good lighting system. I've got a feeling that it benefits from grants or some sort of assistance, but still whatever it takes to keep something like this alive is cool.

The first band to hit the stage was an all girl local highschool jazz kind of outfit, Deer Boy. Of their set, 2 things came to mind. The first, they were very good considering how old they were. They were able to hold my interest, which is better than about 1/2 of the opening bands that I've seen in the past. The other was that there was a toddler crawling through the crowd during their set...sigh, comes with the territory I suppose. Deer Boy has some potential. Their stage presence does need some polish however. Their singer appeared distracted/disinterested at times, or maybe just not used to singing and playing the guitar at the same time.

An Horse played another wonderful set with the crowd eating them up.

Wintersleep played a pretty similar set to Seattle. There was one major change. Insomnia was played, which was a nice treat. Miasmal also opened the set, which I always find refreshing. Pretty standard set otherwise, no new songs again.

Setlist
Miasmal
Archaeologists
Caliber
Drunk on Aluminum
Weighty Ghost
Murderer
Insomnia
Laser Beams
Oblivion

Victoria
Finally the last show on my run was Victoria. In some ways, this show played out similar to a hometown show when compared to the last couple of shows on the tour. Indeed the last couple of times, they've been Victoria, the crowds have been pretty wild, tonight was no exception.

An Horse took the stage first. No surprises here, crowd loved them. Doesn't seem to matter whether it's in the States or Canada, the crowd was into it.

Before I get to the Wintersleep portion of the review, possibly the coolest thing happened even before the doors opened. For one of the songs, they actually played a rousing rendition of Neil Young's Words. They also soundchecked the acoustic guitar for Assembly Lines, but alas both didn't make it to the show (Words was on the setlist). The Victoria show had a good vibe, but different than the previous nights. This one definitely had the big time sold out feel to it. The setlist was similar to the previous nights with a few additions. The new songs that they've been road testing last year, "Baltic" and "Encyclopedia" are definitely starting to grow on me. "Baltic" especially, since it's got a cool little jam at the end of it. "Danse Macabre" ended the first set, although it didn't have the extended 10+ minute jam. The only disappointing part was that the set was rather short in comparison to the previous Victoria shows. I was told however, that the fact that they haven't really been playing 90+ minute sets probably factored into things (because they were doing shorter sets in Europe and the US). Also they're probably going to be heading into the studio again to record, which hopefully means a new album soon.

$20/$0
$20/$0
$40/$0

These Arms Are Snakes - Angela's Secret (live 2.1.2004)

Angela's Secret (live 2.1.2004)
These Arms are Snakes
Meow Meow
Portland, OR

Murder By Death - Those Who Stayed (live 12-10-2004)

Murder By Death is a quartet from Bloomington, Indiana. Their discography includes 2 albums out on Eyeball Records and their newest record, In Bocco al Lupo, which was released last year on their own record label, Tentshow Records. They also have a long out of print self-titled EP, when they were known as Little Joe Gould. The band combine conventional rock instruments, keyboards and a cello to produce a sound that could be described as being some what like Johnny Cash if he dabbled in punk with gothic western overtones. good stuff.

Those Who Stayed is an instrumental song off their first full length album Like the Exorcist, But More Breakdancing. Together with Those Who Left, another longer instrumental off the same album, the two songs are refered to as the 'Medley of Evil' when played live.

Every Time I Die - Thunderstruck Intro (AC/DC)

Every Time I Die
Thunderstruck - ac/dc cover
10.18.2004
meow meow
portland, or

Pelican - Aurora Borealis (live 8.13.2005)

06.04.2003 Explosions in the Sky

Since its been pretty slow in terms of the shows, I thought I would write a bit about some of the older shows that happened before I was blogging. Classic posts if you will. Most of these are shows when I was still living in Portland.

At the time, I was not much of a post-rock fan. In fact, I had hardly heard of the genre, and I had certainly not heard any eits songs. But my bro told me to go so I did. The show happened at a place in NE portland called the Blackbird (which was actually gutted and turned into a deli or something a few months later). The building itself is very well arty. theres a small kitchen, with tables, recessed playing area and dinky stage. I think i got there around 8 or so and the was told that bands got on stage at around 10. That and there were 5 bands tonite. Doing the math in my head... yea that didn't sound good at all.

After waiting a couple of boring hours and trying to kill time. The first few bands played. I really don't remember anything about them except they weren't to impressive and they had funny names. The swirlies, the Lillies and Lazarus. There was also another local i think, making it even longer.

Before eits gets on, I try to get some girl to save my spot, cuz I got some stuff to prepare near the soundboard. The soundguy was pretty cool as I recall. Anyway at this time it is really late. 1-2 in the morning and in a surreal sort of way, the place is packed solid and right out side the streets are completely empty. I get back and find that the bitch doesn't save my spot. My memory is kinda hazy, but I think I was trying to get her to save me a chair or something. Whatever, I decide to stand right in front of her, blocking her veiw. With that, eits hit the stage.

I am completely floored. I think that was one of the first times I've ever been to a concert and totally blown away by a band that I've never heard before. They play for about an hour, which at the end felt like I could hear them play all night. Every song had the pleasent characteristic of long building passages. At times I really couldn't tell one song from the other, but at the same time I was mesmerized by the whole experience that I really didn't seem to care.



setlist:
memorial
greet death
yasmin the light
first breath after a coma
the only moment we were alone.



At the end of the show, I left feeling suprisingly awake at 2 in the morning. I didn't feel the same the next day.

$40/$8 probably one of the best shows I went to all that year.

06.14.05 dredg/circa survive/pale pacific

late night driving from seattle->portland. pretty much left right after dredg and drove to portland. thank you criuse control. scariest thing happend while exiting the I205, due to it being dark, i could only see about 20 m ahead of me. well i didn't have time to swereve out of the way of fender in the middle of the road. i thought my tires would be blown for sure, or maybe i punctured one of the tanks. luckily nothing. the 'teg is built like a tank!

pale pacific and circa were ok. i'm still not overly impressed with them. found rodney before the show. got plugged in the board no problems. unfortuneately it appears the signal was too hot for the m1 to handle. came out with a lot of static despite having safe levels. :(((((((((((((((

dredg was awesome yet again. kept to the same setlist, but shuffled up the songs. the portland crowd sucks. they'll mosh for anything. at the end of yata, they did a similar jam thing like in seattle. they teased crosswind minuet this time. yeah *drops jaw.* drum take down was a pleasant suprise. dino stayed at the end and played a little piano ditty. pretty cool.

tried out my wide angle lense. it appears it has a hard time handling spot lights. the glare is pretty nasty.

dredg setlist

ode
same ol' road
sanzen
(sample)
tanbark
planting seeds
(kid)
(slide)
it only took
jamais vu
(sample)
of the room
(sample)
hungover
sangreal
(slide improv)
bug eyes
(sample)
triangle
(the ornament)
yatahaze
canyon
(drum take down)