Apostle of Hustle - Great Scott 17 June 2007

I celebrated my first Father's Day as any good father would. By ditching my family after bedtime and hitting some great music in the city. Apostle of Hustle, Broken Social Scene guitarist Andrew Whiteman's "side?" project, played the small dive bar Great Scott. My feeling was it would sell out and be too small. No? Probably only 50 people there. Chalk it up to no school kids and a Sunday night. Maybe, but wow, I was a bit surprised by the lack of support. Oh well, their loss. (They being the people that missed the show) The show was sickness. It's my 3rd BSS-related concert of the year, and my 2nd show in a row featuring a band that starts with Apo- for those keeping score at home. I want to say that this was the best of the BSS bands, but it really is a tough call up against that amazing Do Make Say Think show I saw earlier. Though it was a bit better than Feist's live offering from a week ago. With Apostle you from the start are working with freaking excellent material. Folkloric Feel was a fantastic debut, and their latest National Anthem of Nowhere is one of my faves so far this year. I can't get enough of the title track lately. They whipped that track out early in the set, where many bands might have held it for the last song, or encore. And eventhough I love it, it wasn't nearly the hightlight or even all too memorable. One thing that I never really thought about going to the show was that this band is just a trio. They get a lot of guest spots for the recordings, so how would it translate to the stage? Very well. During the aforementioned song it really struck me as Police-esque. Whiteman's vocals invoked Sting. Thankfully they didn't just rehash the new album, though I think they may have opened with the first and second tracks. They played a healthy mix of both albums and mixed in some great stage banter and some downright odd stage antics, made even odder by the fact that they were even remotely planned. Prior to one of their spanish-influenced tunes they hung a ratty plastic streamer with colored and spanish-esque triangles hanging down (like a grand-opening type decoration except with a spanish theme) from two stands across the stage. Then they hung 3 pieces of paper up with words written on them, though I am blanking on what they said. Whatever it was it didn't make much sense and was not explained, but it was bizarre. Since they were just the guitar, bass, drums trio, you might expect a lot of sampling and looping filler, but those were used very minimally. The synthesiser was only used on 1 or 2 songs. They were very much the rock-pop trio playing a really eclectic bit of music. Such a great show. Here's a sample:



Also, as long as we are on the subject of Broken Social Scene, don't miss out on the fresh new sample from their next project Spirit If...
Kevin Drew - Tbtf

The opener was Memphis, a band led by Stars' Torquil Campbell, and possible featuring other members of Stars and Metric. Tough to find any hard info on this band. Live, I couldn't really get into them too much. The music was good, but Torquil's singing and antics bugged me too much. Kind of a cross between Brian Setzer and that guy from the B-52's? I would like and then hate a song moments later. Very late-80s modern rockish for the most part. Torquil also sat in with Apostle for 2 songs, Animal Fat (awesome!) and another which I can't remember.

6/9 dude! (air guitar)

Part I: Feist and Grizzly Bear
Saturday night I pulled a rare Boston double-header. It was a most excellent adventure. But you know how in the movie the protagonist's get a glimpse of the future (and it's most excellent music)? Similarly here, I will give you glimpse of the night's climax .... Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!pollo Sunshine rocked it!
But before I get to the Berklee-trained Apollo Sunshine, the night actually began AT the Berklee Performance Center. I walked in during Grizzly Bear's set. The stage was dimly lit, and the music was somber. It was at times lush, at others dreary and drab. I just can't imagine seeing these guys in a club. I don't really know how I feel about the set, and by the end of the night I practically forgot it even happened, which I guess is not a good thing. Certainly nothing sticks out as being too great, but nothing too bad either. I think walking in in the middle hampered my enjoyment of the set as a whole.
Set break music was After the Gold Rush, which outshined the openers, but then again it is a great album.
My expectations for Feist were probably set too low. Never underestimate a Broken Social Scene member! On my first few listens, her new album strikes me as a mostly mellow vocal showcase. But live, Feist and her band put some real muscle behind the music. I'm not super familiar with the songs, but I am fairly certain most of them were reworked for the live setting. There was real thought put behind the live show I think, and it showed. Feist weilded a guitar for much of the night, and shredded some nice down and dirty licks to boot. Midset she broke it down for a couple of solo acoustic tunes. The 2nd of which she was joined by the "ghost of vaudeville" (didn't catch her real name) who tap danced the beat. It sounded great. The crowd was very attentive and got involved when called upon, which was pretty often, but were also respectfully quiet when need be. After a nice two song encore, it was time to head off to Cambridge for part 2.



Part 2: Apollo Sunshine and Frank Smith

Saturday night also featured a great lineup at the Middle East. Drug Rug and AA Bondy got things started. Unfortunately due to part 1 of my evening, they were missed, and even worse I missed the first half of Frank Smith. If only the phone booth time machine was working properly. Having been shut out of their farewell to Boston gig earlier this year, I was not going to miss out on their first return to town. I am a little gaga over Frank Smith to be honest, so walking into the middle of their set pained me a bit. Let me back up just a little though. Namewise Frank Smith is the opposite of bands like Iron and Wine, Bright Eyes, Loney, Dear etc. They are a band with the name of an individual. There is no person Frank Smith, just the band Frank Smith. Capisce? (Well, do you understand?) So they moved from Boston to Austin a couple of months ago, this was their first trip back. Their new album just came out, in addition to an EP they recorded with Juliana Hatfield. They play their own brand of rocking rollicking alt-country music. They are led by Aaron Sinclair on guitar and vocals and Brett Salia on banjo, and also feature pedal steel, bass, and drums. It's twang rock at its best. They brought Hatfield out for the second to last number to play a track from their new EP. Then they closed it out with a rocking version of Apocalypse Circa Now. It seems that the band which was a side project for everyone involved at one point, has, since the move, really tightened up the whole act and pushed the boat forward. I see great things happening for them in the near future.

Next up was Apollo Sunshine. I have now had the fortune of seeing them 3 times in a little over 6 months. Both of the last shows I saw were "special" shows, first the holiday homecoming gig in Andover, and then the super small and intimate one off show at the Lily Pad earlier this year. Special or not, neither held a candle to what went down Saturday night. From the opening notes of the raging Better Change Your Mind, all the other wonderful music I saw that night faded to the background, mere memories if even that. Apollo Sunshine owned, or should I say pwned, the night. Holy hell, Better Change Your Mind was deep dark funky insanity. One of the better set openers I have seen in a looooooong time. Previously when I saw them I came away intrigued and interested. Now I was hooked. They are generally a trio, but they were joined this night by an extra guitarist and percussionist for the entire set. I can't say that this is what made the set so great, but they certainly didn't hurt. The sound was fuller for sure, and the guests fit in seamlessly. I didn't catch either's name when they were so briefly introduced, though I am pretty sure the guitarist was Quentin Stoltzfus of Mazarin, who played a few shows with them this winter. Apollo Sunshine's sets don't change up too much, but the way the songs are played are so different every time it doesn't matter. They play so loose it's tight. My only complaint seems to be a common one with them, the set was just too damn short. Though if it is quantity not quality you seek, Apollo Sunshine jams non-stop quality into their set. Party on dudes, and be excellent to eachother!

Uninhabitable Mansions

Uninhabitable Mansions, the most reclusive band in the myspace era, is the duo of Robbie Guertin of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and Chris Diken, a non-Clap Your Hands Say Yeah alumnus of Connecticut College, with whom I use to have the pleasure of working. They recorded some very nice tunes in their "studio" over a few different sessions and offered them up on their myspace page. It is reminiscent of the pre-Broken Social Scene band, KC Accidental. The music is somehow tied into a multimedia art installation project they were involved in that was inspired by the methods used to survey fish populations, and the futility therein. The project also includes a companion book. As myspace only allows three songs at a time, their music has fallen out of the public's reach, and so I provide it all for you here. There also appears to be 3 new tracks to stream over at their myspace page so go check em out. Chris has recently joined his mate in the city of 5 boroughs so we will hopefully hear more from the both of them very soon.
Uninhabitable Mansions the art installation the website (I think you could get lost in this website for days)
Uninhabitable Mansions the band the myspace page
Uninhabitable Mansions the music (deleted by request 7/08):
A Few Things to Learn
I Found Your Beard
Lady Hater
Muscle War
Orphan Avenger
Pirate Moths Unleashed
The Grass Cut Me
The Whatever Motion
This Time No Cops

Another friend of mine just graduated from the Boston Architectural College and his thesis project is pretty damn interesting, AND music related. He designed a new campus center for the Berklee College of Music. It also serves as a great segue to my next post, because I'm headed to Berklee on Saturday to check out Feist and Grizzly Bear. Anyway, check out the Music Workshop, A Campus Center for the Berklee College of Music Based on the Concept of Tonal Gravity.

The Sea and Cake - Paradise, 5 June 2007

I caught The Sea and Cake in support of their latest effort, Everybody, last night at the Paradise. As they all took the stage after the opener, Loney, Dear(more on them later), finished up, they meticulously prepped their instruments, pedals, environs, etc. No techies or roadies, each musician took care of his own stuff. And I have never seen it taken more seriously, which explains why they were doing it themselves I suppose. John McEntire chose his sticks for the evening like one would examine diamonds for an engagement ring. It was all worthwhile it would turn out. The music was fantastic through and through. They are a motley bunch, seemingly put together by random chance. You would never put them together as a grouping of any sort from a crowd of people. They were individuals. The way they looked for sure set them apart, but also the way the played and enjoyed playing, they each had their own methods. Not to keep picking on McEntire, but I'm not sure I have ever seen a drummer get so much pure and intense enjoyment from playing, his expressions were priceless. I'll hopefully get to see him again next month with Tortoise. Where was I, ah yes, they were all their own individuals...but when they got on stage and played their music, they gelled seamlessly into a BAND. The music flowed effortlessly, and it was TIGHT, no (or very little) leads, just pure solid music. They play peppy without being too poppy, cerebral without getting too out there. The music washes over you like the sea, and is easily digested like cake... (oy) The set was about 80m including encore. The Paradise was comfortably full, I would say around 80% sold? I would have thought they would have drawn better, maybe it's owed a little to the early week slot when school is not in session.



The opener, Loney, Dear, was good. Pleasant Swedish singer-songwriter stuff. Most of it was enjoyable, and a couple songs really stood out. One in particular, Ignorant Boy, really grabbed me. It was described as being simple but difficult by Emil Svanangen, who IS Loney, Dear, apparently. Not sure how I feel about this trend of individuals to give themselves a band name, it's a little odd I think. But there was a band... So anyway, this song, Ignorant Boy (sample on their site) was basically just nomenomeno sung over and over and over in 4 part harmony with a building marching beat, which sounds potentially awful but it worked really well. Listening to the sample of the recording, I must say it sounded way better live. Unfortunately, it wasn't the song I recorded, and this was probably their mellowest and quietest song, so it didn't come out too well.