Showing posts with label Le Loup. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Le Loup. Show all posts

06 July 2008

All-Star Break: Live Mix

Half of aught-eight is in the books. Time to reflect mix style. Here are samples from most of the bands I've seen so far, some from the exact show I saw, some from the same time period, some not even close. Enjoy...

Benton Harbor Blues - Fiery Furnaces - 30 June 2006
KD REVIEW
Krdish - Syme - 5 March 2008
KD REVIEW
I Had a Dream I Died - Le Loup - 15 October 2007
KD REVIEW
Unknown - Charlie Hunter Trio - 19 February 2008
KD REVIEW
Something for Rockets - Benevento/Russo - 1 March 2008
KD REVIEW
Dondante - My Morning Jacket - 13 June 2008
KD REVIEW
Battle of Evermore - Alison Krauss and Robert Plant - 15 June 2008
KD REVIEW
Power Lord - Campbell Brothers - 13 November 2004
KD REVIEW
Ain't Got Nothing to Go Wrong - Dead Meadow - 29 March 2006
KD REVIEW
Can You Tell - Ra Ra Riot - 30 January 2008
KD REVIEW
Spine of a Dog - moe. - 12 June 2008
KD REVIEW

DOWNLOAD MIX

04 May 2008

Le Loup @ Bug Jar

Was back at the Bug Jar once again on Saturday night for Le Loup, a DC-based septet that is picking up some critical steam (see NPR). Seems these days that any band with more than 4 members that includes some unusual instrumentation is going to get the Arcade Fire comparisons, accurate or not. These guys fall into that trap, if it was even a trap, but the comparison could not be more spot-on in this case. I mean, we're not talking clones here, and it really has nothing to do with instrumentation. It is all about the rhythms, the energy, and the spirit of the music. Le Loup captures all of those things that the Arcade Fire possesses (ok, maybe "all" would be overstating it) in their own unique fashion. Most of their sound comes from their triple guitar attack, backed by some fantastic drumming, solid unshowy basswork, and then sprinkle in some keys, and the occasional french horn and banjo. All of it is semi-conducted by their fearless leader Sam Simkoff, who split time between banjo, keys, vocals, and various percussive instruments, including a water cooler bottle. He is the brains behind this operation and gathered the rest of his crew from ads on craigslist. Hopefully Mr. Newmark gets some credit in the album's liner notes. The worst part of the set was its length at about 40m. Couldn't even stretch it to an hour, eh? Why can't bands with little material just throw in a cover or two? C'mon!

The opener, Lou Lou and the Sharp Sword, features Lou Lou, one of the Thievery Corporations lead singers, and a trio of local musicians on bass, drums, and guitar. Again the drummer was from Tiger Cried Beef, so I now have seen him play in 3 out of the 4 shows I have see this year at the Bug Jar in three entirely different bands. And he still kills. Appropriately enough for an evening where the featured act had a french name (Le Loup=The Wolf, FYI), Lou Lou sang in french for most of the band's set. She had a fantastic voice btw, and the backing band was killer. They played a nice blend, with a loungey French psychedelic vibe, nice sulrty blues, dancey pop. They were a ton of fun, and she thought so too. Hope to catch them again.