Azure Ray's Maria Taylor takes a break from her role in both that duo and the band Now It's Overhead with her fourth full length solo record, "Overlook". It's a rootsy record, with its share of folk and a strong country bent, but it also packs enough bite to separate itself from the pack of others doing similar music right now.
Taylor's fluttering, sweet voice is certainly part of the appeal. This album is not going to knock any walls down or break any new ground, but Taylor gets the most out of the 32 minutes she packs these nine songs into. The ballads are all rather exquisite and among the strongest tracks here, with "Happenstance" and its telling of 'this cold night in Alabama' a highlight. Slower tracks like "Idle Mind" and "This Could Take A Lifetime" are stripped down to their acoustic core, with touches of piano and slide guitar added on for ambiance.
On opener "Masterplan", Taylor explores a darker side with a solid lone beat in the background, sampled cut up vocals buried in each speaker and Lester Nuby III contributing attention grabbing drum fills. It stands, with the ballads, as an album highlight. The catchy country-blues of "In A Bad Way" features Nuby III on guitar as well.
Although I don't see "Overlook" making my Best of the Year list, it is another 2011 release certainly worthy of mention. An enjoyable mix of folk, country, blues and even some Southern rock, it ensures Taylor is an artist just as worthy of being heard outside of her band projects.
"Overlook" was released in the U.S. August 16, 2011 on Saddle Creek Records.
Although 2011 has seen its share of strong releases, few have gotten me as excited upon first listen as Active Child's debut full length "You Are All I See". I had received a free mp3 of the track "Hanging On" and could not get over its gorgeousness, so obviously seeking out the complete album was mandatory. And was it ever worth it.
New Jersey's Pat Grossi has concocted a one of a kind here, and there is little doubt it's headed for plenty of year-end Best Of lists, including mine. I haven't been this blown away by a 2011 album since the new Bon Iver. How to describe Active Child's music? Well you have to start with that voice. It comes as no surprise after listening to the angelic, soaring falsetto he employs throughout this record that Grossi is a former choir member, singing with the Philadelphia Boys Choir. His vocals call to mind the likes of Jimmy Somerville or Antony Hegarty, yet retain a completely unique voice all their own.
Musically, it's as if Grossi took a blender, tossed in a heaping portion of 80's synth pop, added a pinch of dubstep, sprinkled in various electronic influences and topped it off with ambient and classical ingredients to produce this dizzying collection. One minute it is screwing with your head, the next blowing your mind with its beauty. I've truly heard nothing else like it this year.
"Hanging On" is the song that captured my interest, and it stands as my favorite track here. Using Grossi's sighing vocals, harp, a slow beat and soundscapes of keyboards, he laments "I just can't keep hanging on to you and me" in one of the loveliest break-up songs you're bound to hear. Yes, the track is that stunning. Album closer "Johnny Belinda" matches the beauty of "Hanging On", an icy cool orchestral masterpiece topped off with Grossi's magical vocal work.
Other highlights include the trippy "Way Too Fast", a mindfuck if ever there was one on here, as Grossi distorts and slows his voice down at times over forebodingly dark music that mixes with his altered vocals and a strange scratch effect that sounds like someone lighting a match. "High Priestess" has an ethereal melody with tribal drums beating over the top while "Shield & Sword" sounds like some strange love child of Pet Shop Boys, Depeche Mode and Bronski Beat. "Playing House" featuring How To Dress Well (aka Tom Krell) is electronic R&B, as Krell performs a soulful duet with Grossi.
"You Are All I See" truly needs to be listened to as a whole as singling out individual tracks only tells part of the story. It is one of those 'headphone albums', a work that is best experienced with the lights out, a good pair of headphones on, and your eyes closed to get lost in its brilliance and beauty. Essential listening.
With another Number One single in "Kiss", a hit album in "Parade", and his second motion picture opening in less than two months, Prince had good reason to be in high spirits in the first half of 1986. That seems to be captured in this short, but electric, near 40 minute performance at the Minnesota Music Awards, recorded May 20, 1986.
Prince's confidence in the superiority of this expanded version of The Revolution, and their ability to funk up any challenger to their throne, is obvious as he exhibits a tongue in cheek arrogance mixed with genuine cockiness in their ability to kick serious ass. With the dissolution of The Family, Prince added Eric Leeds and Jerome Benton to The Revolution, along with new guitarist Miko Weaver, trumpet player Atlanta Bliss and back-up singers and dancers Greg Brooks and Wally Safford. The Revolution was now an all-out rock, soul, jazz and funk review at the peak of their powers.
In addition to picking up three awards this night at the Carlton Celebrity Room in Bloomington, Prince And The Revolution closed the night with this set and Akashic Records has released the first soundboard recording of this show. Previously circulating in an audience recording, this soundboard tape is a vast improvement, but a few warnings need to be heeded. Despite being soundboard, the first half of the show has a noticeable buzz in the background deep in the mix as it seems a keyboard is pumping out feedback. It serves as an annoyance more than anything and is only really noticeable during quieter moments onstage. Also, the soundboard recording does not include the "extended portion" of "Kiss" so a good quality audience recording of that portion of the song has been edited in to give a complete record of the show. Overall, I'd give the sound quality a weak B, but it is still a nice release to get this show in a clear enough soundboard form.
As for the show itself, after a brief intro Prince And The Revolution go into a shortened version of "Raspberry Beret", before full length versions of "Girls & Boys" and "Life Can Be So Nice" back to back just like on "Parade". "Girls & Boys" is a rousing version, but the stuffy, non-responsive audience gets under Prince's skin as he berates them from the stage in a hilarious tirade. "Man all you tired fools get yo ass up! What the fuck you think this is, GET UP! Shit! Fuck it I'm goin' home. COME ON!" he shouts before singing the first verse. He gets flustered with the lack of audience interaction a few other times during the set, and it's damn funny.
Next the band segues into "Controversy" incorporating a chant from the unreleased song "All Day, All Night" into the jam. By this point Prince now has the crowd in the palm of his hand, even if he has to implore them to "Clap your hands. CLAP YOUR HANDS! Jesus Christ!" but even they can't resist when they kick into the highlight of the show, an over seven minute version of "Mutiny", one of the many Prince penned songs for The Family. Prince turns this into a massive jam with an Eric Leeds sax solo that he brings to an end with a cheerful "Eric, shut the fuck up", the male backing singers chanting "St. Paul, Punk of the Month!", directed at the former lead singer of The Family who left the band, while Wendy and Lisa sing "This is what it's like in the Dream Factory whoa-whoa" from the unreleased song "Dream Factory". A killer performance.
The set ends with the extended version of "Kiss", performed much as it was recorded for the 12" maxi single, and that single's B-Side, "Love Or $". It's a short set, but incredibly loose and funky all the same. Prince's frustration with the crowd ("You people give me a bad attitude!") makes for highly amusing listening. "I thought Minneapolis was funky, I'm going home" he says at one point. Well, maybe this awards show audience wasn't funky, but Prince And The Revolution sure were on this night.
Dallas based Shapes Stars Make return with a new single, and a new drummer, with their first release since last year's full length "These Mountains Are Safe". The single "Into His Ghost" has been released via the band's Bandcamp page as a 'name your price' download, meaning it's technically free, but the option to throw something their way in exchange for new music is there.
This marks the first recording new drummer Stephen Hudson appears on. Hudson also engineered and mixed the track. "These Mountains Are Safe" was among the many fine releases of 2010, and you can find my enthusiastic review of it here. The new single continues in the direction of that album, with singing guitars, a melodic vocal by Michael Gooden and the powerful drumming of Hudson.
The trio of Gooden, Hudson and Jon Cook plan to continue to record new material, as well as hit the road for some shows in the fall. Hopefully another full length album is in the works for the future. You can download or stream the track below.
The Austin, Texas band The Calm Blue Sea is enjoying somewhat of a second life. Originally self-released in 2008, their self titled debut album has now been re-released with two bonus tracks recorded during the original album sessions, and they are getting considerably more attention on this go round. NPR featured the album on their First Listen series and Esquire has fawned over them, amongst others and with good reason.
The Calm Blue Sea will certainly draw comparisons to the most well known post-rock bands, from Mogwai to Explosions In The Sky. This music is dramatic, with most songs six minutes or more long, giving them room to breathe and explore multiple movements within each track. There are pounding, pulsing, intense passages and quiet, contemplative moments of sheer beauty.
Although I strongly recommend the album in its entirety, there is not a bad song here, my favorites include the majestic opener "We Happy Few", which makes good use of the piano amongst the powerful guitars, "This Will Never Happen Again", which steadily builds with a repeated guitar line playing over an eerie sea of atmospheric keyboards before furiously boiling over with an assault of drums and guitar, and the nearly ten minute "The Rivers That Run Beneath This City", which starts as a quiet, melodic guitar piece before drums and keyboards slowly are added along with soaring, crying guitar work for a bombastic second half.
Also not to be missed is "After The Legions", the slowest track on the album with shimmering piano throughout, it is absolutely mesmerizing. I love the prominent use of piano on many of these tracks, it takes The Calm Blue Sea's music to even more sublime places. The Austin quartet definitely needs to be a part of the conversation when it comes to the great instrumental rock music being made today. This album is gorgeous.
"The Calm Blue Sea" reissue was released in the U.S. August 2, 2011 on Modern Outsider Records.
My first real exposure to the power of My Morning Jacket's live performance came in 2008 when I caught a performance of theirs on Austin City Limits. They weren't even the real reason I recorded the program, it was a split show with Death Cab For Cutie taped in 2005. As much as I like Death Cab, it was the MMJ set that left me stunned and speechless. Much like I do anytime I see a band or musician that grabs my attention, I immediately had to seek out more of My Morning Jacket. Luckily a new album and tour was right around the corner to solidify my new found addiction to this band.
The "Evil Urges" album came out in June of that year, followed by another appearance on Austin City Limits and a tour. This was my first chance to get to see them in person and it was a simply amazing show at The Fillmore, cementing the fact I will see them anytime they come to the area. It was a near three year wait, but thankfully they returned behind their wonderful new "Circuital" album, this time for an outdoor show at the Meadow Brook Music Festival in Rochester Hills. As excited as I was for this concert, I had no idea of the epic night onstage that was in store.
After an opening set by Neko Case, My Morning Jacket took to the stage right around 9PM. They wasted no time getting into material from "Circuital" as the show opened exactly like the album, with "Victory Dance" followed by the title track. I like this intro to the show, sometimes bands start a concert with a big new song, sometimes they go the old classic route to get the audience into it, but this made for a great opening and the crowd responded. They stuck with "Circuital" material for one more song, "You Wanna Freak Out", before their first older favorite of the night "Off The Record".
The first "Evil Urges" song of the night was next as they played their radio hit "I'm Amazed" before a couple of other older faves, "Anytime" and "Lowdown". The next song was the perfect example of why you never know quite what to expect at a My Morning Jacket show. Jim James took center stage for a solo acoustic performance of "Wonderful (The Way I Feel)" but seconds into the song, it was clear something was wrong with his guitar. No problem, he took it off and proceeded to deliver an awe inspiring a cappella rendition without missing a beat. A roadie tried to get him a working guitar, but James shooed him away and carried on with nothing but his voice, before the band joined in near the end. It was a brave move, and the audience let James know how much they loved such a moment of spontaneity. Thankfully, the fan video below captures it perfectly.
After another new song,"Slow Slow Tune", it was time for another fan favorite with a performance of "Lay Low". The dual guitar attack of James and Carl Broemel was as fierce as ever. This is the essence of what makes a My Morning Jacket show so great. The musicianship is top notch, the band is so perfectly in tune with each other, and you never know when a song will take a diversion into an extended jam, with unmatched guitar heroics. And speaking of extended jams, nothing, and I mean NOTHING could have prepared me for the performance of "Dondante" that followed.
Even in its eight minute studio version on 2005's "Z", "Dondante" is a powerful song. A tribute to a friend and ex-bandmember of Jim James who committed suicide after a lifetime of battling mental illness, the song goes to a whole other place in its live incarnation. I've watched many clips of MMJ playing this song, but on this night it was extended to just over 20 minutes in a jaw dropping version. With an extended intro and outro, lots of guitar improvisation in between, Patrick Hallahan's impeccable work on the drums and the lighting effects onstage, it absolutely blew me away. Broemel's signature saxophone solo at the end was even much longer than on record Please tell me there is a high quality video of this performance somewhere out there on the Internet.
If you're getting the idea by now that this was a long show, you're spot on. The main set was still nowhere near finished as "Gideon" and "Smokin' From Shootin'" followed, with the ending of "Run Thru" tacked on to the end of the latter. They returned to the new album for "First Light" before another of my all-time MMJ favorites "Touch Me I'm Going To Scream Pt. 2" was played, with Bo Koster doing his thing on keyboards. James then donned his black cape and danced his best vampire moves for "Touch Me I'm Going To Scream Pt. 1" before they closed out the main set with "War Begun".
An encore is hardly ever in question anymore at a concert, the only real question is how long the band is going to play during it. My Morning Jacket made the most of it at Meadow Brook with a five song encore, starting with fan favorite "Wordless Chorus" that had the audience singing along to its, well, wordless chorus of 'Ah's'. The new "The Day Is Coming" followed, slowing things down for a few minutes before a spectacular finale. Opening act Neko Case returned to the stage, along with a couple members of her band, for what James said was a 'new song' they had just written at rehearsal that day. It was pretty obvious from the way he was going on, they were about to play a cover and that they did kicking into a rendition of the Stevie Nicks/Tom Petty classic duet "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around". Case played the role of Nicks perfectly, even going out of her way to sound like her during her vocal parts. I am not the biggest Neko Case fan, but this was a very cool performance. Check the fan video after the pictures.
The night ended with the staggering one-two punch of "Holdin' On To Black Metal" and usual closer "One Big Holiday". In "Black Metal", My Morning Jacket have created a new rock anthem that will surely be a setlist constant for years. The guitar riff on this song is a monster and all the meaner live than on record. 'Two Tone Tommy' Blankenship's bass work surely rattled some teeth on this one as well. The celebratory anthem "One Big Holiday" seems like the obvious choice to close the show, but the story of the band being discovered works for me every time so no need to change anything. Its status as a fan favorite is not in any jeopardy given the jumping, dancing, fist pumping and joyous vibe at Meadow Brook during the performance.
23 songs, a 20 minute "Dondante" and a nearly two and a half hour long show were packed into this night in Rochester Hills, Michigan. With so many acts skipping this area these days, a massive thanks to the band for returning to Metro Detroit with this tour. I suppose I really didn't need further proof, but this concert confirmed what I already knew. My Morning Jacket are simply the best live act out there right now.
A few weeks ago, I reviewed the astounding new soundboard recording of Prince's 26th birthday show at First Avenue. The following year, Prince And The Revolution again celebrated his birthday with a Masquerade Ball at the St. Paul Prom Center, once again focusing on rare and brand new material. Unfortunately, there is not a soundboard recording circulating, but 4DaFunk has cleaned up the audience recording of this funk fest on their second release of this show, "27 v.2".
This release is sourced from a low generation tape recording. The first couple minutes are pretty muffled as the recorder was hidden under a coat according to the notes on this release. Remember, this was 1985, when recording a show took a lot more creativity and required the need to be a lot more covert. You can clearly hear when the person recording the show finds his "sweet spot" and sets up to tape the rest of the show, by the improved sound quality about two minutes in. 4DaFunk, as always, have done their jobs to clean up the audio as best as possible for the best recording of this show circulating at this point. Prince's vocals are very clear throughout, the bass can get a little heavy at times but it does not drown out the music. Just be advised, this is a 1985 audience recording and, no matter how cleaned up it is, it is not going to be close to a soundboard source. I'd give it a solid 'B' for sound quality, a huge improvement over any previously circulated version.
As far as the show itself, Prince And The Revolution open with the first public performance of "A Love Bizarre", which would see release over two months later on Sheila E's "Romance 1600" album. Sheila was a guest onstage for a good portion of this show as well. Prince seems to forget the lyrics as he repeats the first verse instead of singing the second, but its pretty obvious this is a new song to the band. Another new song follows as Prince And The Revolution are joined by St. Paul Peterson, Susannah Melvoin and Jerome Benton from The Family for an over 14 minute version of their song "Mutiny". St. Paul sings lead on this performance. The Family's one and only album would not see release until September of that year, so this was another new song to those in attendance.
After a two minute Sheila E. drum solo, the band slows things down for the public premiere of "Sometimes It Snows In April". This song would not see release for almost another year, on the "Parade" album in late March, 1986. It's obvious the song is a work in progress at this point as Prince sings the first two lines of the song, then it becomes an instrumental performance save the chorus which the band has worked out, full lyrics and all. It's a fascinating look at a song in its skeletal form. Prince tells the crowd 'y'all wanna get a drink or something, it's cool', probably aware of the funk explosion they were about to lay on them the rest of the evening.
The first familiar song of the night starts a 30 minute non-stop funk marathon as they kick into "Irresistible Bitch". I simply love the way The Revolution re-worked this song live, usually leading into the unreleased "Possessed" as it does on this night. Eric Leeds and Eddie M. on saxophone add to the massive groove emanating from the stage on this performance. Given his incredible Sign o' The Times and original NPG bands, I think I have underestimated The Revolution over the years and listening to these shows is a great reminder of just how bad-ass this band was.
"Possessed" then runs into a brief workout on The Time's "The Bird" featuring Jerome Benton helping with the chants. This leads into the seemingly improvised "Drawers Burnin'", a hilarious song with Prince singing in his 'Morris Day voice' and Benton again backing him up on the chant. This song has also been referred to as "Burn It" in the past, but that seems to be more from crappy recordings of this show making it hard to tell what they were saying. Prince starts by singing 'Asshole tried to take my picture, kicked him in the neck! Sued me for a million dollars I said what the heck!' as Benton chants 'Drawers Burning' in between each line. Musically the song is little more than a popping bassline and drums, but it is still funky as hell. 'Good drawers hard to find, bad ones follow you home', too funny. Prince asking a woman in the audience 'Do your drawers burn honey? Sing!" kills me as well. I highly doubt this song was ever considered to be recorded, it all seems pretty much made up on the spot.
The night closes with a 13 minute version of another Prince written track given to Sheila E., "Holly Rock". Sheila rocks the timbales on this performance, again a debut as this song would not be released until September on the "Krush Groove" soundtrack. In all, six of the eight songs played on this night were unreleased at the time and two have still never seen the light of day.
It's a shame Prince pretty much cut out these birthday shows after the following year's concert in Detroit, which was far less interesting than the '84 and '85 Minneapolis shows as far as material played. They were loose, fun and drowning in new, rare material, a fan's dream. Although a soundboard recording would be wonderful to see surface some day, at least fans finally have a decent , highly listenable, totally enjoyable quality recording from this 1985 classic.
I was a little late in the game when it comes to Matthew Ryan. My first exposure to his music was last year's "Dear Lover" (Released digitally in 2009 but on CD in February of 2010), and it went on to become one of my Top Five of 2010. That has left me with a lot of catching up to do with his back catalog, but I am happy to put that on the back burner as Ryan has returned with a new album that cements his place as one of the finest songwriters working today.
"I Recall Standing As Though Nothing Could Fall" is a departure from the exploration of intimate personal relationships explored on "Dear Lover", and also a departure musically from that album. Many songs here boast electronic beats and flourishes and there are a lot less acoustic based tracks, but the extra waves of production do not take away from the brilliance of Ryan's lyrics or his message. After an album about various stages of relationships, Ryan is taking on the shitstorm that all of us, no matter where we live these days, is dealing with. Wars, social unrest, political gridlock and a political system in America that no longer works, natural disasters, financial disasters and on and on. As he writes on his blog, "we're all living it. And no matter how hard you wanna tune out, it just keeps coming in waves of cold static."
So with this album, Ryan says "I wrote an album in defense of our humanity amid the modern conflict and its constant blizzardly assault." His ultimate message? "Tomorrow will be exactly what we allow it to be." In spite of all the wrong that is going on, it is an empowering and ultimately hopeful call out to all of us.
Ryan's cool rasp is part of the charm of his music. I almost think his music wouldn't have the same emotional power without it. A song like opener "The Sea" with its relaxed beat and melody gains beauty from Ryan's raspy delivery. "Hey Kid" is a call, perhaps to the younger generation, to not give up in light of all that is wrong. "All Of That Means Nothing Now" is one of the heavier tracks on the album, with searing guitar work.
As much as Ryan features electronic beats and more fleshed out tracks on this album, the more stripped down moments still carry the same wallop they did on "Dear Lover". The sparse, acoustic "I Don't Want A Third World War" rips at your heart as Ryan sadly sings 'our darkness is catching up with us' before asking, "Look a child in the eye and say what were you hoping for? You shouldn't expect too much'. It's an indictment of how we are failing not just ourselves, but our future. It's hard to do this type of material and not come across heavy handed, but Ryan has the gift to avoid that. At this point, I doubt there is a topic he can't tackle in a mature, intelligent fashion.
Also stunning is the performance on "I Still Believe In You", featuring Olly Knights of Turin Brakes. Musically the song is little more than a soft, lone drum beat, atmospheric keyboards and a somber piano that comes in at times, but the delicate vocal work delivers another message of hope and belief. There is little to interpret as far as the message to "I Want Peace" but Ryan envelopes it in anger, with a combo of heavy drums and foreboding keyboard. Album closer "All Hail The Kings of Trash" is a straight up rocker that Ryan snarls through from start to finish, with the title becoming a chant I'd love to hear a crowd bellow in unison someday at a show.
Although the majority of the album deals with larger issues, Ryan leaves a reminder of his prowess when it comes to songs about personal relationships with the remarkable "Song For A Friend". Lamenting an old friendship that has drifted apart and how quickly the years pass, he sings 'Oh my friend, I'm worried. Time's a shark, and in a hurry.' The song closes with the heartbreaking 'On nights like this, I drink my share of whiskey/And wade in the flood of loneliness that was so foreign when you were with me.' This is another of Ryan's spare arrangements, primarily piano with some strings added near the end and it's lovely.
If you are like I was, and are new to the music of Matthew Ryan, that needs to change. He tackles some heady subject matter on "I Recall Standing..." and it is an album that is needed in these times. It's music that moves, inspires, questions and calls you to act and, just like "Dear Lover", is essential.
"I Recall Standing As Though Nothing Could Fall" was released as a download June 22,2011. It will be released on CD August 23, 2011 on the Dear Future Collective label.
One trend I have not been able to pick up on is this whole "indie electronic" thing. I love electronic music. Faithless, Moby, Underworld, Way Out West, Plastikman and many more are among my favorite acts of any genre. But try as I might, album after album of this retro, electronic, whatever indie stuff leaves me feeling unfulfilled. I tried to like Passion Pit and Yeasayer, wanted to love Cut Copy and Hot Chip, attempted to enjoy Little Dragon, all to no avail. They just made me reach for my classic 80's synth-pop records and never look back. Then came Young Galaxy.
Hailing from Vancouver, the trio, with the help of Swedish producer Dan Lissvik, have produced an album that touches on that classic 80's synth pop sound, but also mixes in modern day electronic beats and a heavy helping of chilled out bliss for a compelling listen. Although the two male members, Stephen Ramsay and Stephen Kamp contribute on vocals, it is the work of Catherine McCandless that takes this album to the next level. I've always believed a strong female voice can take good electronic music to new heights and McCandless does exactly that here as she moves into more of a lead vocalist role.
Two of McCandless' lead performances here are also the album's strongest tracks. "We Have Everything" has a jumping beat and the strong melodic presence that dominates the album. "Blown Minded" is simply stunning, with an equally impressive video to go along with it. McCandless declares "I was born blown minded with an eye on oblivion" as a sad lone keyboard line plays over the slower beat. It's just a great song.
"Shapeshifting" is a bit of a departure for the band, who primarily have been considered a dream pop outfit, mixed with indie rock. Even though this is much more of an electronic direction, there are still plenty of ethereal, dreamy moments as on the soothing "Peripheral Visionaries", the echoed, dark spaces contained within "High And Goodbye" and the harmonies found on "The Angels Are Surely Weeping".
I continue to find more and more gems coming out of the Canadian music scene, and you can add Young Galaxy to that list. It's refreshing to hear an album that dabbles in a retro synth sound but is able to make it fresh and, most importantly, enjoyable to listen to. Do not sleep on "Shapeshifting", a melodic, beat laden, triumphantly chilled out musical journey.
"Shapeshifting" was released in the U.S. February 15, 2011 on Paper Bag Records.
I go into each concert I attend with a different set of expectations. Some artists I know to expect the unexpected, from what they'll play to how long they'll jam on or completely change their songs. For example, I would go into a Prince or My Morning Jacket show not knowing what to expect and drooling over the possibilities. Others, I know to expect a fairly rigid setlist with faithful recreations of their studio work.
That brings us to Death Cab For Cutie. This was my second time seeing the Bellingham, Washington indie-stars gone major label (and no, they're not frigging sellouts), with the first coming back in 2008 at this same venue behind the "Narrow Stairs" album. The thing with a Death Cab show is you get a bit of a combination of the expectations I mentioned above. On the one hand, you know they will play certain favorites at every show, and you want to hear the likes of "Soul Meets Body", "I Will Follow You Into The Dark" and "Transatlanticism". You also know they're not going to stretch out very much from their studio work. You don't go to a Death Cab show expecting an epic 13 minute jam on "Cath...". But they have a big enough catalog, especially when promoting a new album, to keep you guessing night to night what surprises or curveballs might make it into the set, and they never fail to put on a tight, entertaining show.
Death Cab's set on this night was a nice mix of older material, even going back to their earliest works, most of the key tracks from "Transatlanticism", "Plans" and "Narrow Stairs", and a generous portion of their fine 2011 release "Codes And Keys". The opening act on this night was Scotland's Frightened Rabbit, who I have to admit we only caught the last few songs of so I can't even begin to give a fair review, although many in the crowd loved them.
Death Cab's set opened with "Bend To Squares", the first song on their 1998 debut album "Something About Airplanes". The opening of the set was heavy on older material as they did not touch on their new album until six songs in. They jumped all over their early catalog after "Bend To Squares", heading into "The New Year" from 2003's "Transatlanticism", "We Laugh Indoors" from 2001's "The Photo Album", "Crooked Teeth" from 2005's breakthrough "Plans" and "Photobooth" from 2000's "The Forbidden Love EP".
The first "Codes And Keys" track of the night was "Doors Unlocked And Open". I definitely noticed the new songs went over well with the crowd. I sensed at the 2008 show that if they weren't playing something from "Plans", many in the crowd were lost, but I did not get that vibe at this show. Much to my delight, two of my favorites from "Narrow Stairs" followed as they played "Long Division" and the haunting "Grapevine Fires" back to back. The title track from "Codes And Keys" was then the second new song of the night.
One of my all-time favorite Death Cab songs, "Summer Skin" was next, but it got off to a false start as drummer Jason McGerr's snare drum was clearly broken, the song missing its key snare rolls. Ben Gibbard stopped the song asking "I believe we have a broken snare drum, is that true? I believe it to be true. Is Anybody a physics major? Do you have any idea what a bitch a drum is?" It was a funny moment, they got the drum repaired and started up this gorgeous track once again with no problems this time. An intense version of "I Will Possess Your Heart" then followed.
Chris Walla, Nick Harmer and McGerr then left the stage for the customary Gibbard solo performance of "I Will Follow You Into The Dark". The band then returned for two tracks off the new album, first single "You Are A Tourist" and the should-be single "Underneath The Sycamore". Gibbard then introduced "Meet me On The Equinox", their contribution to the "Twilight Saga: New Moon" soundtrack with an annoyed, but joking "Contrary to belief, this song is NOT about vampires." They then dipped back to 2000's "We Have The Facts And We're Voting Yes" for "Company Calls".
The main set closed with some of the band's best known songs, "Soul Meets Body" and "Cath..." sandwiched around the new "Stay Young, Go Dancing". "The Sound Of Settling" then brought the set to an end, with the obligatory crowd cheering for an encore to follow.
The encore was everything you want out of the finale to a concert. They started with the simmering "Home Is A Fire", my favorite song off the new album, before "Title And Registration" kicked in to loud cheers. They returned to "The Photo Album" for "A Movie Script Ending" before closing the night with their epic masterpiece, and one of my favorite songs of all-time, "Transatlanticism". This is just one of 'those' songs for me, I'll never forget the first time I heard it. Personal circumstances, the lyrics and the beauty of it all had me in tears, and I was thrilled when they closed the 2008 show with it. I was not sure if they still ended their shows with it, but was ecstatic when I heard the train effects and the opening piano line. Unlike the 2008 show, many in the crowd were singing along and the band killed it. The build-up of this song is amazing, and watching McGerr pounding on the drums at the end as the crowd joined the band in the 'come on' chant was everything I go to concerts for. Truly a euphoric performance.
Death Cab seemed extremely excited by the crowd response on this night. It was indeed head and shoulders over the 2008 show at the Fox. A good audience can take a concert to the next level, and that definitely happened on this night as the band fed off all that energy and delivered an excellent show.
