melophobe - concert reviews and concert photos

Ozomatli + Nathan Maxwell & the Original Bunny Gang - Crystal Ballroom (Portland, OR; Nov. 5, 2009)

2009-11-11T16:40:35-05:00

The evening began rather auspiciously. I had been looking forward to seeing Ozomatli for months, but the night was rainy and the first to show up at the Crystal Ballroom were teenagers, parents with their kids and kids talking about how they overcame “white man’s disease” (as far as I could tell, they still couldn’t dance). Fortunately, my concerns did not materialize; the audience turned out to be great, and the music exceeded my lofty expectations.

The opening group, Nathan Maxwell and the Original Bunny Gang was fantastic. Though brand new and completely unknown, the Gang quickly stole our hearts. The sound was well balanced, and you could hear the lyrics (gasp!). With good singing, great guitar solos, and an infectious enthusiasm, the audience was quickly enthralled with the band. And the band was clearly enthralled with playing music: the players never stopped smiling, and even the drummer sang along despite not having a mic. Before the end of the set, I was convinced that the Original Bunny Gang was the best opening act I had ever seen.

For those of you familiar with the name Nathan Maxwell, this may come as no surprise. As the lead singer of Flogging Molly, Maxwell is a veteran of the stage. He told me after the show that he had been writing this music for awhile and decided to finally produce it. He recruited his father to jump on the drums, his best friend and first-ever band-mate to hold down bass, and a friend of a friend to play the guitar. The group had only played together for a total of seven hours prior to the show, but the lack of practice was not evident. One can only wonder what magic they will produce in the coming months or years.

And this was just the prelude to the main act. Ozomatli’s music is perfectly suited for live shows. They are the consummate performers, and this show exemplified their skills perfectly. Their music - a beautiful fusion of Latino, Middle Eastern, hip-hop, among other styles - is incredibly energetic and moves even the most lead-footed individual. As performers, they dance harder and get even more worked up than their throngs of dedicated supporters. With the audience and band feeding off each other, the concert simply ratcheted up the intensity with each passing song. Finally, in the second to last song, Ozomatli brought down the house with their popular classic, “Como Ves.” Never before have I danced so fiercely, sung so loudly and smiled so widely. It was a full-body workout that left me, the audience, and Ozomatli breathless, dripping with sweat and euphoric.

It was truly an incredible concert that didn’t leave a soul disappointed. If you have a chance to see them live, block out the night, call up your dancing-buddy and buy a ticket immediately.

DOWNLOAD: Ozomatli - Magnolia Soul (MP3)

ozomatli nathan maxwell and the original bunny gang crystal ballroom portland

Keb’ Mo’ - “Live and Mo‘“ - Borrow It

2009-11-11T14:00:35-05:00

Keb’ Mo’s been doing his thing for a long time, and for the most part damn well. Apart from a couple genuine highlights, though, Live and Mo’ is not an essential addition to his catalog. New track “Government Cheese” shows this old school apostle of the blues at his best.

Reminds us of: Eric Clapton | Robert Cray | Curtis Salgado

Keb’ Mo’: (Website | MySpace)

keb' mo' live and mo' fifty word review album review music

A Sunny Day In Glasgow - “Ashes Grammar” - Borrow It

2009-11-11T14:00:11-05:00

A bit like bathing in cotton candy: sticky, indistinct, lurid, slow going. And probably not as much fun as it sounds, except for the headrush ignited by the emergence from fog to icy clarity. Is it churlish to hope for a choon in the midst of these deliciously gauzy textures?

Reminds us of: Röyksopp | Animal Collective | A gay disco bar as rendered in a teen movie

A Sunny Day In Glasgow: (MySpace | Website)

a sunny day in glasgow ashes grammar fifty word album review

Múm - Aladdin Theater (Portland, OR; Nov. 4, 2009)

2009-11-10T23:34:25-05:00

Who here has heard of Múm? Clearly many Portlanders, as evidenced by the packed Aladdin Theater Wednesday night. And for good reason.

Mum’s show at the Aladdin marked a rare live performance of their native Iceland (and Europe). Formed in 1997, Mum hasn’t stopped composing new and inspiring psychedelic, electronic, funky, unusual, special-effects tunes since. Simply put, they are a group of born musicians with innate capabilities to compose. They have fun experimenting with all possible sounds traditional instruments can possibly utter, as well as unconventional, often times, custom-made instruments. All mashed up and combined with amazingly angelic soft voices and a passion that can be felt when listening to them, and watching them, live on stage.

The audience was mesmerized. I had assumed it would be a seated show. A show during which people would comfortably sit and calmly listen. Instead, it seems like no one had the audacity to relax on their seats! No dancing, no mosh-pit, no drama. Just simple, respectful, standing reverence towards their truly hypnotizing music.

Their latest release, Sing Along to Songs You Don’t Know, was released this past August via download through Gogoyoko. I encourage you to get the album and look at our photos here on melophobe while the album is playing in the background. You will not be disappointed.

DOWNLOAD: Múm - Hullaballabalu (MP3)

mum aladdin theater portland

Springsteen plays ‘The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle’ live (download)

2009-11-10T23:08:38-05:00

The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle is a love song to characters and the worlds that flow around them. The songs are lyrically dense (in a good way), the music is compositionally sweet and Bruce knew his fans wanted another go-around with it, so he played it in full this weekend. If you click HERE you just might be able to be pretend you were there, in the crowd at Madison Square Garden. Enjoy.

Taper Info:

Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band
Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
November 7, 2009
A Bakerstuff Recording

Church Audio Cardioids CA-14 > CA-UGLY Pre-Amp >
Edirol R-09HR > CD Wave Editor > FLAC Frontend

SETLIST:

disc one:

Thundercrack
Seeds
Prove It All Night
Hungry Heart
Working on a Dream
The E Street Shuffle
4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)
Kitty’s Back
Wil Billy’s Circus Story

disc two:

Incident on 57th Street
Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)
New York City Serenade
Waitin’ on a Sunny Day
Raise Your Hand
Does This Bus Stop at 82nd Street?
Glory Days
Human Touch
Lonesome Day
The Rising
Born to Run

disc three:

Wrecking Ball
Bobby Jean
American Land
Dancing in the Dark
Higher and Higher

Springsteen plays ‘The River’ live (download)

2009-11-10T22:56:58-05:00

The River. What needs to be said about The River, except maybe, wow. There are other Springsteen albums I like better, but for some reason, in the last year whenever I go to put some Springsteen on, 9 times out of 10, it’s The River. If you love that record too, you can download the complete performance of it from Madison Square Garden last weekend right HERE.

Taper Info:

bossman284’s version
Madison Square Garden - NYC
November 8, 2009

AT933 (4.7 Mod)> Battery Box> Edirol R-09

“The River”, what more needs to be said. Incredible night of music.
This is an excellent recording. IMO one of the best of my recent uploads.

Thanks to everyone who made this recording possible. And if any one out
there has an extra ticket to Buffalo, drop me a line.

Enjoy!

Setlist:

Wrecking Ball
Introduction to the River
Ties that Bind
Sherry Darling
Jackson Cage
Two Hearts
Independence Day
Hungry Heart
Out in the Street
Crush On You
You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch)
I Wanna Marry You
The River
Point Blank
Cadillac Ranch
I’m a Rocker
Fade Away
Stolen Car
Ramrod
Price You Pay
Drive All Night
Wreck on the Highway
Waiting on a sunny day
Atlantic City
Badlands
Born to Run
Seven Nights to Rock
SWEET SOUL MUSIC
No Surrender
American Land
Dancing in the Dark
CANT HELP FALLING IN LOVE
Higher and Higher

‘Madvilliany’ Follow-up is in the cards and in the works

2009-11-10T20:33:18-05:00

Here’s the news from A.V. Club:

According to the good folks over at Stones Throw, one of the niftiest independent labels around, DOOM and Madlib are reportedly in Los Angeles working on a follow-up to their 2004 cult classic Madvillainy. Details are scarce but Stones Throw artist J.Rocc previewed some new Madvillain during a recent appearance on Eastvillageradio.com’s “Fat Beats Live”.

[VIDEO] New Freestyle app for Iphone

2009-11-10T19:46:20-05:00

New video showcasing the Freestyle app for the IPhone. Now you can record and mail out your words to anybody who you think wants to hear them with the help of a note pad, a rhyming dictionary, and 10 beats.

Stream the entire Them Crooked Vultures album now

2009-11-10T19:45:18-05:00

You don’t have to wait till the 17th anymore to hear the new Them Crooked Vultures album. Shit, let’s be honest, you didn’t have to wait anymore because it leaked. That aside, the Dave Grohl/Josh Homme/John Paul Jones supergroup has made their entire new album (self-titled) available on Youtube for you to listen to at your discretion. The link is below and the first track from it is right here above the text.

Link here

Land of Talk + Eulogies - Doug Fir (Portland, OR; Nov. 4, 2009)

2009-11-10T19:20:02-05:00

Winter will soon be upon us, which means more layered clothing and less outdoor activities. If you’re like me, the thought of transitioning from the warm and energizing days of summer to the frostbitten and melancholy days of winter is as shocking as stepping from a sauna into a popsicle. Fortunately, for our emotional well-being, little reminders of summer pop up periodically during these frigid months and warm things up a bit. Land of Talk did just that.

The opening band, a Los Angeles power-pop quartet called Eulogies, merely broke the silence with a handful of proficient but formulaic garage-pop songs that sounded suspiciously like an ode to Weezer. Power-chords and repetitive choruses abounded until Liz from Land of Talk reluctantly agreed to join them onstage for a duet. Unfortunately her talent was muffled by the band’s shrill musical bleakness.

After a suspenseful twenty minutes between sets, Land of Talk crept on stage and started the show with much needed urgency during “Give Me Back My Heart Attack.” Liz, adorned in a little green skirt, red plaid button-up shirt and gray suede boots crooned her songs of conflict and frustration with self-assurance and a refreshingly sunny temperament.

The band was pleased to hear so many requests from the relatively small audience and even dedicated “Some Are Lakes” to a couple celebrating their anniversary. “It’s OK” slowed things down and must have really captivated the audience, because after the applause, the room went completely silent.

Despite their warm impressions, Land of Talk hail from Montréal - a village whose winters beat the snot out of Portland’s. They are quintessentially Canadian indie-rock: a bunch of effortless beauties with the smarts and spirit to amuse, and the aggression and creative talent to be taken seriously. With the likes of Feist, Arcade Fire, Broken Social Scene, The Dears, Metric, Sloan, The Weakerthans, The New Pornographers, Stars, Wolf Parade, The Sadies, and Peaches, Canada seems to own an unfair percentage of the scene. But don’t blame Canada, thank it.

DOWNLOAD: Land of Talk - Sea Foam (MP3)

land of talk eulogies doug fir lounge portland