Best Music Videos of 2009: PART 4
Monday, December 7th, 2009
Posts Tagged ‘Grouper’
Dan Deacon – Paddling Ghost
Department of Eagles – No One Does It Like You
Dinosaur Jr. – Over It
Grouper – Hold The Way
Kanye West - We Were Once A Fairytale [directed by Spike Jonze]
M83 – We Own The Sky
The Mae Shi – R U Professional
Matt & Kim – Lessons Learned
MGMT – Kids
No Age – Losing Feeling
Rainbow Arabia – Omar K
The Walkmen – On The Water
show review: Animal Collective and Grouper at The Fox Theater
Wednesday, May 27th, 2009
Setlist -
Chocolate Girl
Leaf House
Summertime Clothes
What Would I Want Sky
Daily Routine
Slippi
Lion in a Coma
Fireworks
Encore:
Banshee Beat
My Girls
Brothersport
You ever have one of those moments where you are at a concert, wondering whether or not what you are witnessing is real? You think you’re someplace else. You’ve just zoned out.
The other night, I had one of those moments. I’d had been looking forward to checking out Animal Collective and Grouper at the Fox Theater for quite some time. The band were one of the best live shows I’ve seen in a long time. I found myself smiling the whole time and bobbin’ my head endlessly. It was the type of show I would have kicked myself for missing.
Grouper
I mean, I guess to start with Grouper, you gotta talk about Liz Harris. Harris’ music is a mixture of softly-strummed acoustic guitar and her delicate, dreamy vocals, both of which are heavily drenched in reverb. She isn’t known for stage presence or charisma, but her ability to transport you. Playing mostly off last year’s Dragging a Dead Deer Up a Hill, she moved me with her avant-garde guitar plucking and her quiet, hazy vocals. It was like a nightmare I didn’t want to wake up from. I mean that in the best way possible.
On a side rant: Animal Collective is gaining a new younger audience. They’re disrespectful, loud, obnoxious, and overly sedated. Not all of them, but just the few I bumped into that night. These shows need to be 21+…that is all.
Animal Collective
Almost as if to say, “We will smash your expectations”, the band opened up with two older songs, “Chocolate Girl” and “Leaf House”. Both were in the art-rock vein, “Chocolate Girl” very expansive, while “Leaf House” was more intense. But after that, Animal Collective went to the mid-way point of this year’s Merriweather Post Pavilion, with the super fun “Summertime Clothes” sliding directly into the new indie summer anthem. While appreciative of the old material, the quite-thick crowd really lit up with “Daily Routine”, and the wackier, noisier vibes of the following “Slippi.”
Animal Collective
Things continued with “Lion in a Coma” off Merriweather Post Pavilion and “Fireworks” off Strawberry Jam. The encore brought “Banshee Beat,” which I believe was an improvement live vs 2005’s Feels. However, it was crowd favorite “My Girls” that showed the most energy, a driving intensity that really reached the crowd (no doubt helped by the chorus, “I don’t mean / to seem like I care about material things / like a social status / I just want / four walls and adobe slabs for my girls. WOOO!”).
Animal Collective
So I’m back from my Animal Collective journey and let me tell you, it’s amazing out there. The locals are nice but the out of towners are getting kind of rowdy. But don’t let that deter you from this very special band. This is history in the making people. Catch it while you can.
Animal Collective – Fireworks
Animal Collective – Slippi
Grouper – Heavy Water/I’d Rather Be Sleeping
This Week In Bay Area Live Shows: May 24th – 30th
Sunday, May 24th, 2009
Well today is the last day of the San Francisco Popfest and probably the best day to attend one of the shows. After all today is Dear Nora, Eux Autres, ChEAP RED, Birds of California, and the ever so wonderful Botticellis at Café du Nord. This is a great opportunity to witness the best in local music and up and coming bands that you’ll be listening to later on because your friends told you to or Pitchfork gave them a 8.1 and you figured, “Hey! They’re good but certainly not the most innovative or cred-boosting I’ve hear this year.”
Right.
Anyway, you also have The Dears, Great Northern and Eulogies playing The Independent tonight as well as the biggest midget in the game Lady Sovereign and Chester French at the Rickshaw Stop. Monday, Flight of the Conchords and Arj Barker bring the laughs to the Berkeley Community Theatre.
Tuesday hosts Animal Collective and Grouper at the Fox Theater in Oakland. I’ve been waiting months to finally see these guys and hear the new tunes live. Could this be the best show of 2009 for me? We’ll see. In San Francisco, you have Boston’s Passion Pit rocking out at Bimbo’s 365 Club to a sold out crowd. I remember seeing them at the Middle East Downstairs in Cambridge playing for like 5 people and thinking to myself, “…cool.” Now look at them.
Wednesday I’ll be zoning out at the Mezzanine with M83 and James Yuill. I haven’t seen M83 live yet but from what I’ve heard they’re fantastic. Also St. Vincent returns to the Bay with Pattern Is Movement to play Bimbo’s 365 Club. I would have liked to go to see her but my heart belongs to M83 right now. Our good friends at Ears of the Beholder are going and will most likely be giving a report of the festivities. So stay tuned.
Thursday explodes with Black Moth Super Rainbow and School of Seven Bells at the Bottom of the Hill, the lovely Jenny Lewis at the Fillmore, The Prodigy at The Warfield, King Khan & The Shrines making noise at The Great American Music Hall, and Japandroids with No One and The Nobodies & The Happy Hollows at Hemlock Tavern. No lack of options here.
Friday Friday Friday! Wolf Eyes and Black Dice at the OCD Warehouse and Sun Kil Moon and Mia Doi Todd at The Great American Music Hall. I HIGHLY suggest attending Sun Kil Moon even though Langhorne Slim will be folking it up at The Independent. It’s tough, but a wise choice.
Saturday wraps up the week with indie-punks The Thermals at the Bottom of the Hill, The Roots at Davies Hall in San Francisco, and goth-tronic band Woven and instrumental locals Cloud Archive at the Hemlock Tavern. Woven made our top 20 Best Albums of last year with Designer Codes and are definitely worth checking out if you’re into dark electronic Aphex Twin vs Elliott Smith music.
See you out there!
Woven – My Conditioning
Dear Nora – My Guitar
Japandroids – Rockers East Vancouver
Mia Doi Todd – My Room is White (Dungeon Mix)
This Week In Bay Area Live Shows: April 26th – May 2nd
Sunday, April 26th, 2009
Berkeley’s annual Hip Hop in the Park is here again with some great performers. Blu & Exile, Bambu, J-boogie, Bayonics, Bayliens, Rising Asterisk, and Da Magic Foolbus are all coming out for the thirteen year strong tradition of genuine and innovative hip-hop. It runs from noon ’til 5pm on Saturday at the People’s Park, so bring friends and enjoy yourselves.
Tonight has Mos Def and dead prez kickin’ it at the Mezzanine. Tomorrow, reggae legend Alpha Blondy plays The Independent. Tuesday Cold War Kids play the sold out Fillmore and Grouper performs at the Totally Intense Fractal Mind Gaze Hut (best venue name ever?). Ladytron and The Faint co-headline the Fillmore both Wednesday and Thursday. Surf rockers NODZZZ play El Rincon in San Fran on Wednesday. The insane garage rockers known as The Black Lips and Flowers Forever will be at The Great American Music Hall and Thao with The Get Down Stay Down rock The Independent on Thursday. On Friday, the very talented Yann Tiersen and Asobi Seksu will play The Great American Music Hall and Maria Taylor and The Whispertown 2000 will perform at Café du Nord. And consider yourself lucky if you’re seeing Van Morrison at Berkeley’s Greek Theatre on Saturday.
See you out there!
Maria Taylor – Lost Time
NODZZZ – In the City(Contact High)
Flowers Forever – Black Rosary
Thao with The Get Down Stay Down – Swimming Pools
Blu & Exile – LoveLine(s)
This Week In Bay Area Live Shows: Apr 19 – 25
Sunday, April 19th, 2009
Surprise! Mos Def is playing Yoshi’s in San Francisco tonight. I’m not sure when they scheduled it but this morning was the first I’ve heard about it and as far as I know, tickets are still available. Probably because it was last minute and the fact that tickets are at the bargain price of $60 each. I love me some Black Jack Johnson but not enough to pay that much. In addition to today’s festivities, The Killers are playing the San Jose State Events Center, Mastodon and Kylesa are going to tear up The Great American Music Hall, and Kimya Dawson and Jonah Matranga will be playing their brand of sweet singer-songwriter pop at the Rickshaw Stop.
As for the rest of the week…uh…it’s a lot. Monday is actually pretty packed. Bloc Party and Menomena play the Fox Theater on Oakland, Black Kids, Mates of State and Judgement Day play the Independent two nights in a row, Atmosphere and P.O.S. (who has made one of the best hip-hop records of the year) play The Warfield, The War On Drugs and Rademacher perform at the Bottom of the Hill, and Cypress Hill celebrates 4/20 at the Fillmore. On Tuesday the ever so amazing Fleet Foxes and Blitzen Trapper swing by the Bay again at the Fox Theater in Oakland. Wednesday finds the Stones Throw Tour with Peanut Butter Wolf and James Pants at the Great American Music Hall. Thursday has Dan Deacon partying it up the Great American Music Hall, A Place to Bury Strangers play Popscene, and Ida Maria with The Limousines perform at The Blank Club in San Jose.
The weekend looks promising too. Friday has Vivian Girls and Abe Vigoda rocking The Independent, Papercuts play Café du Nord, Kid Koala cuts at Mighty, and Boston’s Mr. Lif spits rhymes at the Bottom of the Hill. And Saturday you have Autolux at The Great American Music Hall and the lovely Grouper at the Hemlock Tavern.
whew. Lots of stuff to do. See you if you’re going to Dan Deacon shindig.
Judgement Day – Air Raid
Dan Deacon – Padding Ghost
Grouper – Heavy Water/I’d Rather Be Sleeping
Blitzen Trapper – Furr
Mr. Lif – I Heard It Today
P.O.S. – Let It Rattle
