Yeasayer Release Preview of my soon to be favorite album of 2012

For those in the know (aka signed up to the email list), Yeasayer just released the the single to their upcoming sure-to-be-masterpiece album #3 entitled Henrietta.

Download it here: Henrietta

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Thr Drums Bring Out All the Kids @ The El Rey - 5/14/2012

Do you know where your children were last night? Chances are, they were at the first of two sold out shows by New York's, The Drums. As we made friends with the kids, scalpers, and homeless people giving away peace stickers, my friend lamented "It seems like a good time to be in high school". After over an hour outside, we were let in. For how long the line was, it was surprising how few people had the fan club will-call tickets. Too bad. They could have saved on some service charges.

There seemed to be a heavy British/Morrisey theme with both of the openers. Part Time took the stage at 8:45 sharp and played somewhat crooning yet entirely-too-long songs. The packed crowed loved them. Then Part Time played a set strikingly Smiths sounding tunes. You could tell the singer of Craft Spells had been working on his English accent for a long time. While talking in between songs, his American accent cracked like many of the other high schooler's in the crowd. Nonetheless, the crowd loved them too.

When the curtains finally raised for The Drums at 10:45, you could easily pick out the teenagers in the audience were too drunk for their own good. The set began with the 3rd song on their 2012 release, Portamento. Singer Johnathan Pierce's gawky dance moves enraptured the audience as he appeared to them as a blonde messiah...err, I mean Morrisey. They played through a nearly equal number of tracks off their new record as their debut with the latter clearly being the high energy pop-anthems that the kids came out to see.

Sadly, the sound at The El Rey didn't serve well to their catchy melodies and it was at times extremely hard to hear the second guitar. I don't think anyone else noticed though. Their first single off Portamento, Money, was played at an even faster pace than the album version which created a mini mosh pit of singing youth. After a brief exit from the stage, Pierce performed his soliloquy Searching For Heaven before the rest of the band came back for two more songs.

The great music, the underage drinking, the carelessness in fashion choices (high-waisted cutoff denim shorts outnumbered just about anything else), and the ringing in the ears do bring me back to my youner years seeing shows. Which lead me to agree with my friend, it does seem like a good time to be in high school.

Guantlet Hair - Live @ The Satellite Review 5/11/2012

What happened to being musically curious? I feel like that trait diminishes exponentially as people get older. Well, by people, I mean people I know. You see, I had four tickets for Gauntlet Hair at The Satellite last night (2 purchased, 2 deeded to me by the venue) and I could not convince a single friend to come out with me. Ok, ok....it was Friday. People had things going on already. But let me tell you, Gauntlet Hair was probably better than all of them.

I first heard about GH way back towards the end of April when Liza (the Paraliza) Richardson played them on KCRW She said something akin to "That was Gauntlet Hair. They're playing The Satellite in a few weeks". That was good enough for me. As soon as I parked, I whipped out my iPhone and bought tickets.

Fast-forward to last night. Despite 2/3 of the band playinig barefoot, these guys from Colorado put on a foot-stomping show that was sort of equal to (Explosions In The Sky - the boring parts) + WU LYF. Opening up with Mop It Up - the 3rd track on their self-titled debut on Dead Oceans, they played a nearly 45 minute non-stop set drenched in reverb, delay, and 808 beats coming from the drum set. To me, that sounds like a perfect way to spend a Friday.

As one friend of mine texted back upon being invited: "Hahahaha - that's the weirdest name ever. I commend them". And beyond their moniker, they are definitely worth the commendation.

A Quick Catch Up

Since I feel like writing again, I figured I should memorialize all the shows I went to (aka have ticket stubs for) since the Detour Festival post.

11/6/2008 - TV On The Radio @ The Wiltern
11/12/2008 - Dungen @ The Echo
11/21/2008 - Rodriguez @ The Echoplex
12/2/2008 - Smashing Pumpkins @ Gibson Ampitheatre
12/11/2008 - CCS/Natalie Portman's Shaved Head @ The Echoplex
12/18/2008 - Warpaint @ Bordello
12/20/2008 - Warpaint @ Space 20
12/21/2008 - Buddyhead Christmas @ Hotel Cafe
2/17/2009 - Lykke Li @ The Glass House
3/24/2009 - The Spinto Band @ Spaceland
5/9/2009 - Iron and Wine @ The Troubadour
5/29/2009 - Black Moth Super Rainbow/School Of Seven Bells @ The Troubadour
7/11/2009 - Camera Obscura @ The Fonda
8/29/2009 - Modest Mouse @ The Grove of Anaheim
8/30/2009 - The Mars Volta @ Hollywood Palladium
10/4/2009 - Miike Snow/Jack Penate @ The Echoplex
10/7/2009 - Fever Ray @ The Fonda
10/15/2009 - Dan Deacon @ The Echo
10/19/2009 - The Decemberists @ Royce Hall
10/29/2009 - Built To Spill @ The Echoplex
11/4/2009 - Pixies @ Hollywood Palladium
12/14/2009 - Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros/Fool's Gold @ The Mayan Theater
12/16/2009 - Zero 7 @ The Orpheum
12/17/2009 - Fool's Gold @ The Echo
1/13/2009 - Warpaint @ The Echoplex
1/14/2010 - The Builders and the Butchers @ Spaceland
1/15/2010 - Rebirth Brass Band @ The Roxy
3/9/2010 - Laura Viers @ Spaceland
3/12/2010 - The Cave Singers @ The Echo
3/24/2010 - Cymbals Eat Guitars @  The Echo
3/29/2010 - Warpaint/Moonrats/Dot Hacker @ Spaceland
4/16/2010 - Bad Religion @ Sunset House of Blues
4/30/2010 - Murder City Devils @ The Fonda
5/9/2010 - Les Savy Fav @ The Echoplex
6/2/2010 - Miike Snow @ The Fonda
4/5/2010 - The Buzzcocks @ Club Nokia
7/9/2010 - Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti @ The Echoplex
7/20/2010 - Omar Rodrigues-Lopez Group @ Spaceland
9/14/2010 - Omar Rodriguez-Lopez Group @ The Troubadour
9/16/2010 - Menomena @ The El Rey Theatre
9/28/2010 - The Black Keys @ Hollywood Palladium
10/5/2010 - Belle & Sebastian @ Hollywood Forever Cemetery
10/18/2010 - Foals @ The El Rey Theater
10/19/2010 - Manu Chau @ The Troubadour
11/16/2010 - Blonde Redhead @ The Fonda
4/2/2011 - Bill Frisell Trio @ Royce Hall
4/20/2011 - Paul Simon @ Kodak Theater
5/2/2011 - Battles @ The Echoplex
5/22/2011 - Yeasayer @ The Glass House
5/29/2011 - Prince @ The Forum
6/21/2011 - Jaga Jazzist @ The Troubadour
7/1/2011 - Blonde Redhead @ The Echoplex
9/29/2011 - Fool's Gold @ The Troubadour
10/18/2011 - Gotye @ The Satellite
1/16/2012 - Portlandia Tour @ The Echoplex
1/25/2012 - Alabama Shakes @ The Troubadour
2/1/2012 - Fujiya & Miyagi @ The Echo
2/9/2012 - Class Actress @ The Echo
2/23/2012 - Wye Oak @ The Troubadour
3/7/2012 - Blitzen Trapper @ The Troubadour
3/8/2012 - Crystal Antlers @ The Echo
3/20/2012 - Sharon Van Etten @ The Avalon
4/9/2012 - At The Drive-In @ Red 7, Austin TX
4/11/2012 - Charlift @ The Troubadour
4/17/2012 - Kimbra @ The Troubadour
 4/19/2012 - Wild Flag/First Aid Kit @ The El Rey Theatre
5/2/2012 - Tennis @ The Troubadour
5/4/2012 - Father John Misty/A.A. Bondy @ The Natural History Museum
5/7/2012 - Youth Lagoon @ The Troubadour

I'm back! Minus my hearing thanks to Youth Lagoon @ The Echo

Where have I been the last 3 and a half years??? I'm pretty sure I went to a show or 100. Twitter was invented too. More on that later. For now, I feel like writing about Youth Lagoon. Writing is all I can do to describe the show since the words coming out of my mouth in a verbal account would be unintelligible thanks to my new found deafness. It was LOUD. The subwoofer was like a weaponized subwoofer. My insides sloshed, my teeth rattled, my boogers dislodged, my ear drums melted.

Youth Lagoon played a late night set (only late because there was no opener) taking the stage around 10:50. I don't know his songs well enough to recall the titles but I was in a euphoric dance mood watching the young Trevor Powers layer his synth on top of some seriously awesome 80's drum beats. His friend Logan (no relation to Lagoon) provided the "real-life" instrument notes on a strat which complimented and balanced out the bedroom synthesizer feel of Trevor's part. Don't get me wrong, the music was great and I was dancing along to it whenever I wasn't protecting my ears from imminent rupture.

Coming straight from his opening set for Death Cab at Disney Hall, they played a short but sweet set to the very sold out crowd at The Echo. They played one encore and were finished by 11:30. If you know anyone who went to the show, give them a break should they constantly ask you to repeat yourself. I know I'll be doing that for a few days.