screams, whispers and songs from planet earth

Category: Reviews Page 6 of 11

Leslie and the Badgers with Ferraby Lionheart @ T.T. The Bear’s Place ~ May 16, 2010

Leslie and a few of her Badgers.

Leslie and a few of her Badgers.

It’s fair to say that Los Angeles isn’t best known for its country music, but there is a small and growing scene, partly coming out of the alt-country history of Laurel Canyon, and supported by an excellent folk/country/roots blog, When You Awake. Leslie and the Badgers are proud purveyors of this fine country tradition, made all the more authentic by Leslie Stevens’ Missouri upbringing. But there’s also a lyrical and musical sophistication, a big city street-wise sensibility, that for me, sets them apart.

They’ve been really moving along lately, with shows supporting Roky Erickson and Okkervil River, and a recent performance on NPR’s Mountain Stage. They were joined this evening at T.T.’s by Ferraby Lionheart, a Nashville/Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter with a love of old-timey entertainment and a unique quirkiness worthy of his unusual name.

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Local Natives with Suckers @ Great Scott ~ May 8, 2010

Local Natives at Great Scott

Local Natives at Great Scott

So I’m a little late in reviewing this show (it’s been a weird few months), but I happened to turn on WFNX, just in time to hear “WFNX, where new music starts – Local Natives, ‘Airplanes.'” Wow. Yeah, ok, they’re not really new, and the monumental song in question was on a 5-track EP of early studio tracks and a Daytrotter Session that they were selling at shows back in January 2009, just after they had moved from Orange County to Silverlake in Los Angeles. But it’s great to see them getting recognition so well-deserved. They’ve toured all around Europe and the U.S. now and have a huge following, but this ‘FNX nod made me happy. Because it means a lot of new listeners ahead of their August 5 show at The Middle East. So I’ll take the opportunity to boast that I was amongst the first in Boston to know of this great band. True, I didn’t get to see them play their first shows at the Silverlake Lounge or Spaceland, but being ‘East Coast challenged,’ I do what I can.

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Sea Wolf and The Album Leaf @ the Paradise Rock Club ~ April 30, 2010

Alex Brown Church of Sea Wolf

Alex Brown Church of Sea Wolf

Some Mercury retrograde weirdness pushed the schedule back a bit, and bands were still sound checking as fans gathered in the Paradise front lounge. But it was well worth the wait when Sea Wolf took to the stage. And The Album Leaf were all-encompassing, quite amazing, and they even brought along a string quartet! Nice.

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Gogol Bordello with DeVotchKa, Jesse Malin & The St. Marks Social @ the House of Blues ~ April 28, 2010

DeVotchKa @ the House of Blues

DeVotchKa @ the House of Blues

It’s surely a testament to fine musicians and a memorable performance when one can still recall details of a show even when it takes two weeks to review it. Such is the case of ‘punk/rap Ecuador-by-way-of-the-Ukraine exploding gypsy caravan’ Gogol Bordello and that delicious musical smorgasbord, ‘Eastern European wedding band of your wildest dreams’, DeVotchKa. Oh yeah, and The St. Marks Social was pretty good too.

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Searching For Elliott Smith (documentary) @ Somerville Theatre ~ April 26, 2010

SearchingForElliottSmith

Depression is a funny thing. Funny as in strange, unfathomable. There’s a desperate need for human connection and comfort, often combined with abusive behavior and a pushing away of those who are the closest. Medication, even when it’s by doctor’s orders and well-intentioned, seems almost random, as in “let’s see if this works.” How can one explain what it’s like to witness this happening to someone you care about and be helpless to do anything about it? Frustrating, harrowing, soul-destroying. I’m not talking about the gifted singer-songwriter Elliott Smith right now… I’m talking about my mom. A few days spent in a psychiatric ward, riding out manic-depressive pendulum swings brought on by incorrect medication levels, gave me kind of a unique perspective to discuss a beautiful spirit taken from us far too soon.

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Kaki King with An Horse @ The Middle East Downstairs ~ April 17, 2010

Kaki King @ the Middle East Downstairs

Kaki King @ the Middle East Downstairs

This was definitely an evening for aficionados of impressive guitar heroics, but it was also a surprisingly good night for indie pop fans. Kaki King can definitely play a mean guitar (in fact, several different ones, in varying ways and styles), but she also has a sweet voice and can craft some decent songs, making for a varied set that moved from light and melodic to jaw-dropping guitar sorcery to intense ambient/fusion.

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Evelyn Evelyn with special guests Jason Webley, Amanda Palmer and Sxip Shirey @ OBERON ~ April 13, 2010

EvelynEvelyn

EvelynEvelyn

I was not sure what to make of this new “Siamese sister duo”, Evelyn Evelyn. Technically speaking, they’re Parapagus Tripus Dibrachius twins, and while their story is unique and compelling, one can’t help but question the undoubtedly good intentions of Jason Webley and Amanda Palmer, who are bringing these lovely but vulnerable young girls to a worldwide audience, embarking on a rigorous touring schedule that would be physically challenging for a healthy individual with two arms, two legs, and one head. Though of course, like everyone else at the sold-out OBERON that night, I was curious and had to see and hear these remarkable sisters.

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Robert Francis, Lawrence Arabia, and Fanfarlo @ the Paradise ~ April 11, 2010

Robert Francis at the Paradise, Boston

Robert Francis at the Paradise, Boston

A warm, gentle breeze has been blowing in from the West, sweeping awesome L.A. artists into town like an unpredictable weather pattern blowing exotic birds in from off their usual migration path. Ok well, it’s kinda like that. It’s also the case that a growing number of the Silverlake/Echo Park area bands that I’ve regularly featured here have been (rightfully) achieving wider success and have been madly touring all over the f’ing place. Robert Francis is one of those artists; a thoughtful and personal singer-songwriter strongly steeped in folk tradition, but rocking out more since last year’s Before Nightfall. He’s been back and forth between Europe and the U.S. so much lately, it’s more likely you’ll see him in Boston – or Brussels for that matter – than in his native Los Angeles.

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Boston Bands This Week: Vivian Darkbloom

Vivian Darkbloom at the Royale, Boston

Vivian Darkbloom at the Royale, Boston

TONIGHT: Vivian Darkbloom @ the Middle East Upstairs, with Seven Shades Of Grey, Hannah & The Bloodlines, and See Green

I’m going to profile one band this week, Boston’s Vivian Darkbloom. I had the pleasure of seeing them perform with The Airborne Toxic Event last week, in a special ‘invite only’ show, part of Jack Daniel’s Studio No. 7 series. I was going to do the review first, tell you how much I enjoyed these ace musicians and technology geeks from MIT and Harvard, and then give some background and highly recommend their upcoming show at the Middle East as part of my ‘Boston Bands This Week’ feature. But I had a problem. As soon as I began to wade through my 140 photos and 10 videos, I came to a realization: if you’re a Boston band and you’d like this particular reviewer to give you some blog love in a timely fashion (they’re playing the Middle East Upstairs Wednesday night) it might not be the best idea to perform on the same bill as Airborne Tox. So I’ll have this serve “double duty” – a few words about Vivian Darkbloom’s powerful set at the Royale to an appreciative audience, and a mini-profile/show preview.

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The Features and Manchester Orchestra @ the Paradise Rock Club ~ March 30, 2010

Manchester Orchestra at the Paradise

Manchester Orchestra at the Paradise

After loading the last two giraffes onto the ark Tuesday night, I headed down to the Paradise to catch… well, the last two bands – The Features and Manchester Orchestra. Apologies to Biffy Clyro and O’Brother, but a show that starts at 6:45pm is good for those who have to be up in the morning, but it does make things challenging for those not in town. I hope someone was there for those early sets!

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