MINOR STORIES

Foals and Surfer Blood @ Visulite Theatre, 5/1/13

Coming into the night, I was not terribly familiar with Foals outside of a few songs I’ve heard (and dug) on SiriusXM. I left the night a huge fan, mainly due to the energy of lead man Yannis Philippakis (not to slag the rest of the band - they had a lot of energy too). He was a whirlwind all night long - hopping all over the stage, crowd-surfing, climbing a speaker to play guitar, and even crowd jumping from an elevated rail separating the pit from the rest of the venue. And the crowd responded in kind, feeding energy back to the band creating an endless loop of awesomeness. Check these guys out next time they come near you. Set highlights included “Inhaler,” “Spanish Sahara,” “Bloom,” and “My Number.”

Surfer Blood opened with “Floating Vibes” and then apologized for the delay but that it had “been a long day.” Unfortunately, the rest of their performance indicated as much. Perhaps not a dynamic performing band to begin with, this stop in Charlotte (not their first, contrary to what lead singer John Paul Pitts indicated; they played at Snug Harbor a few years back) did not provide a lot of energy. Even John Paul Pitts’ venture into the crowd for half a song towards the end of the set seemed obligatory and forced. In any case, every band has an off day so I’m willing to give them another chance live at some point in the future.

But man, Foals, you guys.

Jeff Mangum @ The Neighborhood Theatre, 1/31/13

While I had been wanting to see Neutral Milk Hotel or Jeff Mangum for nearly 12 years, my buddy Susong had little to no exposure to either him or the band (save for my lending him In the Aeroplane Over the Sea a few years back). Despite the huge difference in fandom, I think it’s fair to say that Susong enjoyed the show almost as much as I did - that’s how good it was. With Mangum being as reclusive as he has been, who knows if I will ever get to see him again but at least I will always have that one night in January 2013 when I saw a cult hero sing some of my favorite songs from sophomore year of college.

Kishi Bashi, Tall Tall Trees @ The Evening Muse, 11/4/12

The Evening Muse is a perfect venue for both of these artists, who largely perform solo with the aid of loops. Tall Tall Trees is the experimental folk project of Brooklyn-based Mike Savino and while he does perform with a full band at times, this was a smaller solo tour with largely just him and his banjo (he was joined on stage by Kishi Bashi for a few songs). He fills out his sound nicely with the use of percussion against his banjo and a looping machine and is able to create some sonically interesting textures for his songs which are at their core simple folk songs. 

Kishi Bashi is a classically trained violinist who has played in Jupiter One as well as played in the touring bands of Montreal and Regina Spektor. Similar to Tall Tall Trees, he uses a looping machine fill out his sound with his voice and violin and also some beatboxing (to great effect). The crowd was really into the set and it didn’t hurt that it was also K’s birthday (Tall Tall Trees led the crowd in a rendition of “Happy Birthday” towards the end of the set). While Kishi Bashi is about to go on a bit of a short hiatus, he said he would be returning to Charlotte in the spring and I would urge anyone I know to attend with me to come see this true musical talent in person.

White Denim, Maps and Atlases @ The Visulite Theatre, 10/31/12

The Bonnaroo 365 Tour came through Charlotte last night with Chicago’s Maps & Atlases and Austin’s White Denim. There was also a comic from New York, but she is barely worth mentioning.

I knew nothing of Maps & Atlases going in but they were a nice surprise. Kinda math-rocky with some west African guitar thrown in while not sacrificing any melody. Also, the drummer was a beast. Definitely a band worth checking into more. Special shout-out to the bass player who rocked gingham and rolled-up khakis and snaked around his end of the stage the entire set.

Once White Denim came on, they immediately launched into a 15-minute medley of their own songs and over the next hour-and-a-half, the band effortlessly moved between scuzzy blues-rock, psychedelic, and punk. One thing I hadn’t noticed on the albums that really shone live was just how good lead singer James Petralli’s voice really is. The rest of the band was very tight as well. While I actually had to leave before their set ended (it being a work night and all), I left quite happy with my decision to venture out on Halloween.

M83/Sun Airway @ The Fillmore, 10/7/12

While there were a few exceptions - an upgraded light show and “Kim and Jessie” (!!) - last night was more or less the same M83 set I saw in Asheville at Moogfest last October and in DC earlier this year. Nonetheless, they still brought it in their first ever show in Charlotte (and on a Sunday night nonetheless).

It was good to also catch a few songs from openers Sun Airway, a band from Philly who plays well executed dream pop with a minimal light show. Their second album Soft Fall was just released on the Dead Oceans label and I highly recommend checking it out. All in all, a great night of music.

More photos here.

Okkervil River @ Visulite Theatre, 8/27/12

Meant to post these earlier in the week but three shows in 5 days kind of knocked me on my ass. Can’t hang like I used to now that I’m 30.

More photos here.

bandofhorses:

Alpharetta//Georgia

TONIGHT! So pumped, especially seeing as how there appears to be some Yim Yames and Ben Bridwell crossover action going on between the Band of Horses and My Morning Jacket sets.

Last Nite: Gogol Bordello at The Fillmore, Charlotte, NC, 5/21/12

In a word: fucking amazing. I didn’t understand any of singing the entire night, but it really didn’t matter. And I knew pretty much nothing about the band coming in, but seriously, see this band live if you get a chance.

More 2012 concert photos here.

Last nite: Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros at The Fillmore, Charlotte, NC, 5/16/12

Great show last night - packed house, good music from Eddie Sharpe and his band of merry hippies. It was the band’s first time in Charlotte and they seemed very appreciative of a sellout crowd at The Fillmore, noting that they would be back sooner than later. 

More 2012 concert photos here.