Then, What IS Your Name?- The Ting Tings @ the Jensen Rec Center March 11, 2208

This is going to be a short post, for a couple reasons. Firstly, I'm going to a show tonight, therefore I'd like to have all my 'pending' reviews cleared out of the inbox. Second, this was a short show.

So, the Jensen Rec Center looks like a ratty shit hole on the outside, but inside is this uber slick artistic 'space' that they say you can turn into anything you'd like (to pay for). Maybe my superhero costume themed birthday party can take place here... I'll have to inquire about their fees. Anyways, since venues never like to post actual times up for bands, we showed up somewhat early, and in finding that the band was not scheduled to be on for another hour- and having no clue who the other bands were playing with, oh, sorry, tonight we came down to see the Ting Tings- perhaps I should have mentioned that at the start of this post. Although there will be a title when I finish writing this so I guess you would have read it.. there.. ok, moving forward, we ended up taking a detour drink break over at the Little Joy and happened upon a dead pony:

There seemed to be a miscommunication as to whether or not the Rec Center had a bar. Apparently it is event specific. They had one tonight, however, thank GOD I had some cheap PBR over at the LJ, cause drinks at the Rec were pricey. $10 is WAY too much, especially when it is a rec center.

So, tonight's show I guess was hyped up by a local popular radio station and, knowing that, was porportionately crowded. Oh! But they have air conditioning vents blasting up from the floor, which is clever- sorta. So we found one and parked ourselves stage right. We lucked out with some kinda less crowded bubble there unexpectedly. The side stage view was totally fine, she kept turning towards us during the set and the drummer was positioned so that he was pretty much looking to the side of the stage anyways. We were pleased, except for the camera flashes from the front, which made me do what I usually do not do, and that would be to shoot with the flash on.

The whole set I think lasted maybe 30 minutes. This would have been acceptable except for a few reasons. Mainly though that the price that was posted EVERYWHERE before the show turned out to be $2 MORE, even if you were showing up ONLY for that band 5 minutes before they started and had every intention of leaving as soon as they were done. I hate that, very much. Also, their outlandish drink prices. It was just irritating. But I will admit that the music was fun. The sheer hilarity of some of the lyrics shouted out above delayed music loops and possibly laquered chuck taylors was amusing. And it's always fun to bounce around a bit, I will never knock that. The fact though that when some music stations hype stuff ultimately leads to the price of the freaking air going up in price just for the event just seems abusive. However, it is a business and that's the way they choose to do theirs, and many people do not have a problem with it. I guess it's cheaper than the Staples Center. Eeesh.

Nothing But Happy Folks: Bishop Allen and Castledoor @ the Echo, July 31, 2007

Bishop Allen put out an album last week that included mostly reworkings of songs from the TWELVE EPs they put out last year. It's a really good album. It turns out they're also really great live too.

Last night Bishop Allen played to an almost packed Echo, thankfully no one ever stands to the right of the stage so it's usually about 30º cooler there (that's a tip for you readers, all three of you). Page Francis was supposed to play, but did not for reasons I never learned, which bumped Castledoor up to the number two position instead of first- good, considering I didn't want to show up too early so I still got to see them play. Yay.

Castledoor have been getting a lot of hype so I was keen to check them out. They run the vein of the poppy folk indie rock crowd (yes, it's a bit of an amalgam, but whatever) and they get you to want to dance and clap along with them. The lead singer, Nate Cole, seemed genuinely pleased to be performing and was all grins and shout outs to people he worked with that came to see his band play. They also get kudos for have a keyboard AND a xylophone. I know that they played "Magnetic Forces" cause they shouted out that that was what they were playing next. I think that they were a perfect band to open for Bishop Allen, that happy streak ran through both bands. So, yeah, all the hype is true, go check these local kids out.

Taking the stage, Bishop Allen look like a bunch of kids coming out of Harvard or something. Maybe it's to due with their traveling from the east coast, or not, I'm just guessing. The same happiness evidently present prior to their set was still there, beaming in the smiles of frontmen Justin Rice and Christian Rudder. Tonight they also had a fifth member in the band, but I do not know where he hails from (forgot the digital camera last night and took "real" photos instead. Once they're developed and scanned look for them here [approximately 6 to 8 weeks] so until then enjoy the generic photo).

People were attempting to dance in the smooshed crowd that gave off waves of heat you could see through the smoky stage lights. Songs were played off The Broken String, which actually are mostly songs off the 12 Eps from 2006, including Click, Click, Click, Click , The Chinatown Bus (which is an actual bus that runs from the Chinatown in NY to the one in Boston and is wicked cheap), Middle Management, and Like Castanets (a favorite of mine). There were also some songs I didn't quite recognize, but you know, that happens.

So yeah, pretty satisfying night of music. Even if the Echoplex had MIA downstairs and whenever the music came to a quite spot upstairs all you could hear was THUMPATHUMPATHUMPA, and it felt like an earthquake.

You Can Never Have Enough Keyboards- Oh No! Oh My! @ the Echo Saturday February 24, 2007

Austin just keeps bringing the good music lately. If it wasn’t for Texas’ crazy “shoot trespassers at will” laws and no basement in the Alamo, I’d highly consider that a place to move to. Oh No! Oh My! are yet another band that confirms my jealousy of this town.

I’m only going to review ONOM due to the amount of time I let lapse between seeing the show and me forgetting all the other bands that played with them. (I seem to be confusing a Bodies of Water show’s opening acts with who actually appeared this night. But I’ve been super busy, so let’s just let this slip this one time.)

First, Oh No! Oh My! packed the stage with enough people and equipment that one got the feeling of the stage collapsing in on itself every time someone jumped up and down, which was a lot. From what I’ve gathered, there are only 3 people actually in the band, and when they tour they ask friends/musicians to come along and play with them. Just to give you a glimpse as to crazy amount of instruments on stage, here is a sampling: guitars, drums, banjos, accordions, tambourines, bells, stomping feet, and keyboards, HOLY MOTHER OF GOD so many keyboards. Myself and a fellow keyboard enthusiast (read: nerds) where almost drooling all of ourselves at the Farfisa.

Instantly when they started playing everyone began to bop along to the music. A few of their songs are pretty popular on the indie circuit (“Walk in the Park”, “I Have No Sister”), but even I’m not sure where I actually heard of them first. Anyways, these guys are so full of energy and are fun to watch perform. It seems like the crowd feeds off them and they feed off the crowd and it becomes one big feeding frenzy of energy and catchy melodies that make you want to throw your hands up and dance silly, which they also do on stage.

I couldn’t help beaming; my face was on the verge of splitting in two right where the TMJ in my jawbones resides. ONOM’s music is happy without being sugary, electronic without wanting you to kick the kid with the glow sticks, and hip enough to pack the Echo to capacity. Oh, but there is that slight discrepancy between their live and their recorded music. The album’s liner notes say that it was made in their bedroom, so I guess trying to fit all that equipment into someone’s boudoir is a feat best left up to a magician of some sorts. The album comes off sounding a bit quieter and more stripped down. But I’m not reviewing the album, I’m reviewing the concert. And the concert was good.