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Photos / Live Review: Frodus, Sick Weapons, Caverns, Solar Powered Sun Destroyer @ the Talking Head (2009.05.08)

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Also photographing that night: the inimitable Josh Sisk.  Peep his shots here.

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MP3: Frodus – The Earth Isn’t Humming

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MP3: Caverns – Dancing With the Scars

Solar Powered Sun Destroyer opened what was sure to be a memorable night. At first, I wasn’t sure if they were on the right bill or not.  Having not seen or heard them before, I didn’t know what to expect. They were good, don’t get me wrong, but they weren’t really what I was expecting. I guess seeing a show headlined by Frodus, I was expecting more of a scream-y band.

Now, I’m not making a case for bands that sound different not playing shows together. Their sound was post rock-ish, and compared to what I knew lay ahead, just didn’t really blow me away. Better suited to open a Mogwai show, I felt. I guess it was just the whole mood of their set which was much more hushed and restrained than everyone else who played this evening. The set started, ended and re-started abruptly because of a loss of sound, which I’m told was possibly due to their own lighting (awesome, by the way, pretty blues and whites in an otherwise completely dark Talking Head).

I missed Caverns at Aural States Fest. I had heard they were pretty active, and I wasn’t misled. It seems like Early Humans have been channelled by 2 of DC’s finest new bands: Imperial China and Caverns,  and I couldn’t be happier. What’s more, just like Early Humans, both bands are 3 pieces.  Coincidence?

Caverns play a form of instrumental and highly technical metal/punk augmented by piano. Guitarist Kevin Hilliard commanded attention, from the stage and the floor, for the duration of their set. Back and forth he runs like a madman. Into the crowd, back to the stage, hardly ever stopping except to heap praise on the night’s stars: a recently reformed Frodus. He utilized every inch of floor space he could find, and when he ran out he pushed his way into the crowd to open up an even larger hole. At one point he accompanied piano player Patrick Taylor with his foot (a welcomed display of histrionics). The band chugged along at breakneck speeds, propelled by Ross Hurt’s drumming. Several times throughout the show Hilliard paid homage to Frodus. “The best band ever from DC,” according to Hilliard. I don’t know if I’d go as far as to say “best band ever,” but definitely in the top ten. I reserve the best spot for Fugazi (speaking of bands reforming…).

Sick Weapons, I must admit I had never heard of, and I felt guilty because I got the feeling I’ve been a little behind the times. It was apparent that I may have been the only one there who hadn’t heard of them before. The crowd gathered much closer to the stage for their performance. Singer Ellie Beziat swigged from her bottle of Natty Boh, and even rapped a little, recalling a grade school project. It’s not the rap they’ll be remembered for, but the way in which they pumped everyone up for what was still to come: the gods of spazz, Frodus. Sick Weapons played sleazy Baltimore punk with no filler or frills, just the way we like it. Just like blue crab and Old Bay, that’s all we need.

Frodus is a band I that I’ve known about since their release Fireflies but had never seen live…until now. My expectations were high, and I was anxious to see them. Fortunately, they did not disappoint. I really never thought that I would ever see this band perform live, so the news that they were back together was so great to hear. The place really went apeshit for these guys and it’s easy to see why.

Drummer Jason Hamacher started things off with a little “deep tissue massage” on a willing member of the audience, just to loosen things up. Then on went his gloves, and for the next hour Frodus rocked the Talking Head. At one point someone asked Hamacher to try and kick him in the face. That never happened, but he did make his way from the stage mid-song, trading off drumming with guitarist Shelby Cinca.  Diving into the crowd, he was passed along the ceiling and then back to his kit to finish the song without missing a beat. This show may as well have been billed as “Frodus Karaoke” because I’m not sure who sung more, Cinca or the audience. It was clear that a lot of people in the audience knew this band, and knew them well. This was clearly who everyone was there for.

The evening ended with the  classic “Cha Chi” to which Cinca told the disappointed crowd, begging for more, “DC bands don’t do encores.” When it was all over I picked my jaw up off the floor and tried to clear the sound of sirens from Cinca’s bullhorn from my ears into the next morning. If Wall Street is reading this, your asses best be hiding right now because Frodus is back in a big way (and I think they’re gunning for you).

Album Review: White Rabbits – It’s Frightening (TBD)

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MP3: White Rabbits – Percussion Gun from the forthcoming LP It’s Frightening

White Rabbits have always been a concussion ensemble of vicious rhythms and unconventional minor compositions. With It’s Frightening (release May 19 2009), they take things in a different direction. Overall, It’s Frightening is not as danceable as their freshman effort, but has more intricate compositions and lush textures as well as a consistency that Fort Nightly (2007) lacked.

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Running Am-UK with Baby Venom: Pre-Tour-Natural

Everyone welcome Dave, Sarah and Nathan of Baby Venom. They’ll be doing some guest tour-blogging while they head over to the UK. I’ve taken the liberty of cheesily naming their column “Running Am-UK.” Enjoy!

Head over Heels
Head over heels

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MP3: Baby Venom – Frank

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MP3: Baby Venom – Moms and Dads

We are about to go on our first ever tour. Our first ever shows outside of Baltimore City.

We = Baby Venom.  From left to right: Natal Duncan, Davey C. Section, Sarah Bortion.

You will hear about our experiences on tour for the next month (spoiler alert: we’re playing with Deerhunter May 18th!).

Live Audio: The Pains of Being Pure At Heart @ the Talking Head (2008.05.05)

pains-flier

Thanks go to Shawn Breen for recording the set!  My review of the show (complete with Shantel’s wonderful pictures).

The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart
Talking Head Club
Baltimore, MD
May 5, 2009

Source: M-Audio Microtrack II @ 48/24 bit
Compression: wav > flac, wav > mp3
Taper: Shawn Breen

At the request of the band, we’ve posted only a few of the choicest cuts from the set.

Notes:
Lineup: Secret MountainsDeleted ScenesZazaThe Pains Of Being Pure At Heart
Sound: Chris Freeland
SUPPORT LOCAL MUSIC

02.

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 This Love Is Fucking Right!

04.

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 Come Saturday

07.

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 103

Photos / Live Review: The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart, Zaza, Deleted Scenes, Secret Mountains @ the Talking Head (2009.05.05)

All photos: Shantel Mitchell

All words: Greg Szeto

Secret Mountains started off a bit unsteady, but really grew into a precious and nicely textured bit folk pop; in particular, lead-singer Kelly Laughlin’s vocals grew really warm and full (despite having a nasty cough between songs).  I’ll be on the look-out for their future work.

DC’s Deleted Scenes’ much-ballyhooed debut, Birdseed Shirt, didn’t really leave a lasting impression on me, or Alexa.  But as I suspected, things really opened up for their sound live, where I got the full sense of their grand range and the broad textures used in their sound.  In particular, the track “Ithaca” that I felt languished on the album, really expanded live into an appropriately grand gesture that swept you away.  I really got a better sense of their refined arrangements, and the myriad small touches that make them much greater and more diverse than the average guitar-bass-synths-drums rock outfit.  Add in their excellent stage energy, and I was duly impressed.

Deleted Scenes perform “Ithaca,” Live @ the Talking Head

Zaza cut the lights and seduced me like no other group on the bill.  The slinky bass grooves were motivating, and played well with the crushing weight of guitar.  A mere three-piece, they made effective use of loops, effects and a drum machine to amplify their sound to epic proportions, sounding more like an army than any 3 people should have a right to.  While their theatrics and music may have felt a bit over the top at times, their meticulous attention to atmospherics and every seeming detail of performance right down to the sultry, swaying bassist completely absorbed you in their performance.

The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart were almost exactly what I expected: good kids having a good time playing good tunes.  Their perfectly-pop compositions rang true, sugar-y and bouncey, hitting all the right nerves.  For all their shoegaze-y aspirations, I thought they were a bit timid and reserved, especially in contrast to the preceding lusciousness that was Zaza, and their precious and affected vocals turned just a bit too much out-of-tune, but overall, a respectable and satisfying set.

Thanks to Shawn Breen for catching the audio, and the band for being so kind as to grant us permission to post it.  You can find excerpts from the set here.

The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart

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Album Review: Dirty Projectors – Bitte Orca (Domino)

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MP3: Dirty Projectors – Stillness is the move from the forthcoming full-length Bitte Orca (2009)

There’s a strange pattern of listenership between Dirty Projectors and myself. Here’s generally how it works: every few months I excitedly stumble upon one of their albums at some miscellaneous record shop. I’ll take it home, cherish the album art that the indie gods have bestowed upon me, set my player on repeat, and amongst the other indistinct tunes, I’ll find one sole outstanding track that absolutely dominates my musical interests like a newly acquired puppy.

For example: the beauty-saturated The Glad Fact’s most sincere track (“Lit From Below”) ran through my speakers for the majority of last January, whereas the grand harmonies of “Not Having Found” played the same role for The Getty Address last June. Over a year and a half after my first experience with Dirty Projectors, “Rise Above” still hasn’t vanished from my play cue, and that’s all I’ll say about that. It’s always been worth the trouble to shuffle through Dave Longstreth’s discography for these rare tracks, which is exactly the state of mind I utilized while first listening to Bitte Orca.

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Frodus – Conglomerate International

conglomerate
Frodus – Conglomerate International

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MP3: Frodus – Psaurcacneosisa

In honor of Baltimore’s Frodus Friday, here is their 1998 LP Conglomerate International in its entirety.  Click on the album cover above to download.  If you love it, buy the reissue from Gilead.

Memorize the words.  Shout along at the packed show tonight, Talking Head, 8PM doors.

Live Review: Mahjongg @ the Talking Head (2009.04.28)

mahjongg

Mahjongg, Live in Chicago

Four men approach the stage- setting up a drum set, keyboards and a sound machine, the lanky lead vocalist straps on an electric guitar behind a standing microphone, setting a loop that skips like a broken VHS tape. So starts the captivating metamorphosis of Mahjongg.

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Interview: Frodus (w/ Shelby Cinca)

frodus-promo-2Frodus play a packed bill at the Talking Head Club tomorrow, Friday May 8 with Aural States’ friends Caverns, Solar Powered Sun Destroyer and Sick Weapons! Doors @ 8PM / $10. Be there.

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MP3: Frodus – Suspicion Breeds Confidence from Split 7″ with Trans-megetti(1996)

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MP3: Frodus – Explosions from Explosions 7″ (1997)

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MP3: Frodus – Lights On For Safety from Frodus/Roadside Monument Split (1997)

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MP3: Frodus – Invisible Times Lines from Muddle Magazine Promo Flexi 7″ (1997)

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MP3: Frodus – The Day Buildings Mysteriously Vanished from Conglomerate International (1998)

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MP3: Frodus – There Will Be No More Scum (Alternate Version) from Songs From the Penalty Box 3 (1999)

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MP3: Frodus – Disco from Split 7″ with Atomic Fireball (1999)

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MP3: Frodus – The Earth Isn’t Humming from And We Washed Our Weapons In The Sea (2001)

The name Frodus (Wiki) may instantly ignite a cascade of warm fuzzies in the pleasure centers of your brain, or it may just ring hollowly, unrecognized.  The DC-area post-hardcore stars burned quickly and melted down ca. 1999, leaving in their wake a massively acclaimed album (And We Washed Our Weapons In The Sea) to be released two years post-mortem on Fueled By Ramen, and finally bringing them deserved amounts of critical acclaim and an expanded fanbase…just a bit too late for them.

The wide variety of music loosely brought under the label post-hardcore has, over the past decade, dilated into a bloated and diffuse parody of itself.  A regiment of clone artists took up post-hardcore’s tattered banner as they achieved mainstream success and a significant dilution in style in the mid-2000s, while the icons of the genre moved on to other sounds and styles, barely reaching the success of their forebears.  Frodus is one of the genre’s most brilliant standard-bearers, formed amidst the wave of early 90′s post-hardcore artists and counting as peers greats like Refused, Glassjaw, Quicksand and Snapcase as well as established acts from the Dischord stable like Fugazi and Jawbox.

Thankfully, those who weren’t lucky enough to catch Frodus the first time around should find it a lot easier now that it seems they have reunited, amiably and permanently.  A series of reunion shows promising to pick up right where they left off, showing the usurpers how things got done in the good old days, and a promise of new material that is hopefully only the beginning of a reclamation of the post-hardcore genre from mediocrity.  I got the low-down from lead singer/guitarist Shelby Cinca (also of the Cassettes, Decahedron, Triobelisk, tons of other projects) about all things Frodus and Frodus Escape Plan (reunited).

Aural States: Let’s get a history lesson, crash course style.  Way back when…how did it start?

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One Track Mind: Mike Watt – “Dirty Blue Gene” (Captain Beefheart cover)

neon-meate

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MP3: Mike Watt – Dirty Blue Gene (Captain Beefheart cover) from Neon Meate Dream Of A Octafish (2003)

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MP3: Captain Beefheart – Dirty Blue Gene from Doc at the Radar Station (1980)

In my review of Mike Watt’s brilliant performance Saturday night (outshining even the massive Dinosaur Jr.), I remarked that he bears some startling similarity to Captain Beefheart.  From the scorched-raw vocals, to the frenetic free-jazz breakdowns soaked in punk rock, there were just too many instances of this parallel for it to be coincidence.

I love it when I’m right.  Behold, a little searching unearthed Mike Watt contributing an extremely faithful cover of “Dirty Blue Gene” to a 2003 Captain Beefheart tribute comp titled Neon Meate Dream Of A Octafish.  The original was a classic Beefheart track: blistering, mind-bending instumentals (only outdone by the lyrics themselves) that congeal into an oddly satisfying and remarkably funky groove.

I think it pretty much speaks for itself.

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