melophobe - concert reviews and concert photos

Electric Guest’s Summer Snack Sound Coming To Portland

2012-05-24T01:57:16-05:00

For every group like Beach House that wants you to sit down and ponder on their record, there is another like Electric Guest that just want you to have fun with theirs. Recently making noise for hooking up with Danger Mouse on their recent album, Mondo, Electric Guest’s summertime smooth sounds are like a mix of Broken Bells, Foster the People, and all those other style-mixing pop groups making sugary snacks right now. Is this a bad thing? How could it be? If you are interested in catching them live, they’ve got a show coming up on May 27th at Portland’s Mississippi Studios. Might be working checking out if you like wearing your sunglasses at night.

Here’s what they sound like if you are new to their game.

alabama shakes – boys & girls – 6.8

2012-05-22T02:03:38-05:00

Brittany Howard’s slurry, big-hearted warble lets Alabama Shakes get away with more cliché and sentiment than it should. (There are more “bless-my-souls” here than a Christian pop album.) The sonic structures surprise more than most Memphis R&B records and the music’s fuzziness conveys more ambiguity than the oft-insipid lyrics.

Reminds you of: Amy Winehouse / The Black Crowes / Sharon Jones, with less Dap-Kings and more Lynyrd Skynyrd

Alabama Shakes: Official / Facebook

black mountain – year zero: the original soundtrack – 4.0

2012-05-22T01:38:42-05:00

Black Mountain is hipster prog—droning keyboards, monotone slacker vocals, and a post-apocalyptic vibe. The two best songs—“Breathe” and “Modern Music”—are the shortest and catchiest. The band likes them least; the latter’s chorus calls it, sarcastically, “another pop explosion, another hit recording.” Wish there were more of those here.

Reminds you of: My Bloody Valentine / The Church / Dream Theater

Black Mountain: Facebook / MySpace

ace hood – starvation – 5.2

2012-05-21T18:10:38-05:00

Ace Hood’s mad, justifiably: His daughter’s dead, haters hate, ho’s trifle, and Dad’s a deadbeat. But he’s still thugging, loving Momma too much, glorifying money, and being a selfish 23-year-old. He’s praying, though, so maybe he’ll learn raw anger isn’t a sustainable lifestyle. Till then, he’s just like his dad.

Reminds you of: Notorious B.I.G. / Lil’ Wayne / Kanye West’s massive ego

Ace Hood: Label / Facebook / MySpace

Laura Gibson – La Grande – 7.4

2012-05-19T05:19:06-05:00

La Grande pairs an expansive musical landscape with rugged, western imagery, but the sense of vastness saturating the album is best understood in counterpoint to the necessary limits of individual choice explored in the patient, assured songs Gibson pins thoughtfully to the night sky as the world spins on below.

Reminds us of: Mirah | Sarah Jaffe | William Blake’s Marriage of Heaven and Hell

Rating: 7.4

Laura Gibson: (Official / Myspace)

Father John Misty + Har Mar Superstar - Brighton Music Hall (Boston, MA; May 16, 2012)

2012-05-18T23:48:18-05:00

The combination of R&B crooner Har Mar Superstar and the folk-tinged rock of Father John Misty seemed like an odd billing at first. With the exception of their similar last names (Sean Tillmann and Josh Tillman, respectively) the two seemed to have little in common. But after seeing their show Wednesday night at Brighton Music Hall, it all somehow made sense.

I’d had little exposure to Har Mar Superstar beyond the awesome George Michael cover he did with Gayngs a few years ago. From what I could gather, he looked like Ron Jeremy, acted like Prince and was fond of taking his pants off during shows. All of these things are indeed true. Over the course of his set, HMS strutted, sweated, breakdanced, stripped, sweated some more and even took a break to walk to the bar and order a drink. By the time he got to his last song, he was wearing nothing but a pair of leopard print briefs and an attitude. It was all incredibly entertaining. It does seem a shame that his onstage antics overshadow his genuine talent as a singer. His interpretation of dirty, 90’s-style R&B is performed with a level of reverence and skill that I did not expect. A lesser performer would have resorted to ironic parody to make this type of act work. I was pleasantly surprised to find that was not the case here.

Following this spectacle was no small task, but Father John Misty took the stage and immediately won over the audience with his humor and charisma. Tillman introduced us to the Misty character on his excellent new album Fear Fun. With hip swinging, tambourine shaking swagger, he brought each track to life on the stage. Those familiar with his more understated solo work as J. Tillman or his stint behind the drums for Fleet Foxes may have been taken aback by his performance, but under the new moniker he’s free to defy any preconceived notions. Consisting of the new album in near entirety, the set was impressive, endearing, and most of all really fun. Whether belting out album highlight “Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings” or showcasing his vulnerable falsetto on the night’s closing song “Fun Times in Babylon,” there was not a single boring moment.

The evening turned out to be about more than great music, it was about showmanship and performance. Seeing these two embody their musical alter egos was a reminder of how much fun it can be to play along.

This is Sally Hatchet:

DOWNLOAD: Father John Misty - Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings (MP3)

[VIDEO] Juan Deuce “Menahan”

2012-05-11T10:29:38-05:00

smooth into the weekend with this breezy cut from Juan Deuce. Straight outta Providence, Rhode Island, the scruffy Deuce has been opening for some hip hop legends this year (GZA, Schoolboy Q), and released The Mechanics EP that features production from Falside. Look for Team Shabazz to take over Fête next Friday night (5/18) as Juan Deuce warms the stage for Talib Kweli. Oh, did we mention you can win some tickets here? You can.

[VIDEO] G-Eazy - Marilyn ft. Dominique LeJeune

2012-05-09T18:56:24-05:00

It’s a painful take on the “man gonna cheat” and “woman gonna put up with it” trope, delivered with a Weezy-tinged kiss-off flow. Sure it’s pop, but the soft guitar and hook from Dominique LeJeune makes it a smooth contender for 2012’s summer (late spring) joint. G-Easy’s been working with lil Wayne and A$AP Rocky, so we expect to hear much from him very soon.

Willis Earl Beal - Music Hall Of Williamsburg (New York, NY; Apr. 26, 2012)

2012-05-09T03:01:11-05:00

I first fell in love with Willis Earl Beal’s voice after stumbling across video of a phenomenal performance under a bridge somewhere. His voice, powerful and soulful and emotive, was absolutely transfixing. His star quickly rose on the blogosphere as people caught wind of his fantastic (in all senses of the word) backstory. But it always came back to his voice. That voice.

When his debut album, Acousmatic Sorcery, dropped earlier this year, many people were taken aback. Where was the voice? Instead of booming bass and neo-soul, listeners were greeted with lo-fi experimentation. To some, the album sounded – as Beal eloquently put it on stage at Music Hall of Williamsburg – “like a bunch of bullshit.”

Let me assure you that Willis Earl Beal’s live performance is anything but a bunch of bullshit. He’s as captivating as they come; he prowls around the stage, standing up, sitting down, standing on chairs and draping himself in spraypainted bedsheets. His only accompaniment is a reel-to-reel tape player and the occasional noodling on electric guitar, but the man could stand on an empty stage and command your attention. It’s a show that is difficult to describe in words.

Willis Earl Beal’s voice will give you goosebumps, shivers, and every other sort of visceral reaction you might have to seeing greatness in person. It’s textured and full of emotion, raw and yet acrobatic and capable of nailing high notes. If Beal weren’t averse to being pigeonholed as a neo-soul singer, you’d think of Cooke and Redding – high praise indeed. And though his act is full of conceits that might strike you as false in the hands of someone else – sunglasses, toothpick, mixed drink with an untouched straw – he comes off as completely genuine.

It sounds like hyperbole, but it is not. Willis Earl Beal is a unique talent, unlike any artist I have ever seen in concert. Go see him live. Go hear that voice.

DOWNLOAD: Willis Earl Beal - Sambo Joe From The Rainbow (MP3)

It’s all good, see Fishbone for free at Fête

2012-05-08T23:48:17-05:00

Before you get all nostalgic for 25 years of rock-steady music, let’s just celebrate the magic that is a Fishbone show…
We’ve been all excited to finally get to see Everyday Sunshine: The Story of Fishbone this spring. Narrated by Laurence Fishburne, the documentary has the usual share of opining musical heads (Flea, Gwen Stefani , Perry Farrell, Rob Trujillo, Questlove, and Chuck D) but it more importantly it captures the feverish intimacy between band and audience.

Come get a free taste of Fishbone at Fête on Saturday, May 19th. We have some tickets to give away, so leave a comment and we’ll announce the winners on 5/17. Even if you don’t score tickets, the great folks at Fête are offering an amazing combo offer: Talib Kweli and Fishbone for $40! Here’s the link: Fishbone/Talib package