Category: Live music

Live – Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Joe Walsh – St. Louis, MO – May 12, 2017

My wife and I honeymooned in St. Louis twenty years ago, and we ended up back there for our twentieth anniversary.  It was great timing because not only were we going to see the Cubs play the Cardinals (Cardinals win 5-3), but we also had tickets to see rock legends Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Joe Walsh.  Tom Petty has been high on my wife’s bucket list for years.  She’s also a big fan of the Eagles, so the addition of Joe Walsh was a win-win.

Joe Walsh just getting warmed up.

Mr. Walsh came out with nine people in his band behind him, including four back-up singers and two drummers.  He quickly got to work with “Meadows” and then dialed up “Ordinary Average Guy.”  You could tell he was having fun by then.  He threw down “The Bomber” by the James Gang (“Was part of that from Bolero?” My wife asked.  Answer: “Yes.”) and made my wife cry when he played “Take It to the Limit” and dedicated it to Glenn Frey.  “In the City” hits harder live than you expect it will, and people went nuts for “Life’s Been Good.”

I was yelling “Golden throat!” by this point, and sure enough he ended with “Rocky Mountain Way.”  It’s easy to forget how good a guitarist Walsh is.  He can still shred and the golden throat effects on this track are still fun after all these years.

Walsh proving he can still shred.

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers started their set with the first song off their first album – “Rockin’ Around (with You).”  They unleashed “Mary Jane’s Last Dance” next and played it so well and with such fervor that it could’ve been the encore.  “I could go home right now,” my wife said as we sat there with our mouths hanging open in stunned appreciation.

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers playing “Mary Jane’s Last Dance.”

They tore through many of their biggest hits, including “You Don’t Know How It Feels,” “I Won’t Back Down,” and “Freefallin'” (a big crowd favorite).  Two surprises were “It’s Good to Be King” and the lovely, acoustic “Wildflowers.”

“Wildflowers” – a lovely part of the set.

“Refugee” slayed the place, and the band was firing on all cylinders by this point. “Runnin’ Down a Dream” was almost a full-on psychedelic mind trip with its accompanying visuals.

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers getting trippy.

There was a nice salute to hometown hero Chuck Berry when they played “Carol,” and they ended, no surprise, with “American Girl,” which had everyone jumping.  It was a great end to a wonderful set.  It’s hard to believe Petty and his band are on a 40th anniversary tour, because many of his songs still sound so fresh.

“American Girl”

Keep your mind open.

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She-Devils release new single and North American tour dates.

She-Devils Share Video For New Single, “Hey Boy”
Watch HereNorth American Tour Dates Added;
European Tour Starts Next WeekSelf-Titled Debut Album Out May 19th On Secretly Canadian

“She-Devils are aware of some future truth that the rest of us aren’t privy to.” – NME

“intimate, dusty hybrid pop that searches for cosmic meaning in vintage sounds” – The FADER

“She-Devils…are creating a new way forward for tape looping. The group…dive into the souls of the samples they use, possessing them and finding otherworldly new emotions.” – Pitchfork

“She-Devils evoked the ’70s and ’80s electro-punk minimalism of Suicide and Soft Cell with an austere but riveting presentation.” – Chicago Tribune

A week ahead of the release of their eagerly anticipated self-titled debut album, She-Devils are pleased to share the new video for “Hey Boy.” The duo directed the video themselves, as with the all of their videos, and this focused vision creates a style that is very much in tune with the song. Bright and bombastic colors harp back to the video’s influences including the art of Yayoi Kusama, as well as 90s TV shows such as Pee-wee’s Playhouse, and 60s yé-yé music videos like Brigitte Bardot and Serge Gainsbourg in “Comic Strip.”She-Devils have expanded their North American tour in support of the album. In June, they’ll make their way through Canada and the Midwest hitting Do Division Festival and ending in the Northeast with a stop at Northside Festival. Come July, the duo will join Beach Fossils for a western states run. Starting next week, She-Devils will be in Europe for two London shows as well as a Saturday slot at The Great Escape Festival in Brighton, plus more. A full list of dates is below.

Watch She-Devils’ “Hey Boy” video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z98O1v9lUskListen & Watch:
“Hey Boy” stream – https://soundcloud.com/secretlycanadian/she-devils-hey-boy-2
“The World Laughs” video – https://youtu.be/lCRZCEQpOqY
She-Devils Tour Dates (new dates in bold):
Wed. May 17 – Paris, FR @ Pop Up du Label (Fireworks Festival
Thu. May 18 – London, UK @ Moth Club
Fri. May 19 – London, UK @ London Fields Brewhouse (Bad Vibrations Alldayer)
Sat. May 20 – Brighton, UK @ The Great Escape Festival
Thu. May 25 – Berlin, DE @ ACUD
Thu. June 1 – Montreal, QC @ Bar Le Ritz
Fri. June 2 – Toronto, ON @ The Baby G
Sat. June 3 – Detroit, MI @ UFO Factory
Sun. June 4 – Chicago, IL @ Do Division Festival
Mon. June 5 – Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle
Wed. June 7 – Philadelphia, PA @ Ortlieb’s
Thu. June 8 – Brooklyn, NY @ Union Pool (Northside Festival)
Fri. June 9 – Boston, MA @ Lily Pad
Wed. July 5 – Los Angeles, CA @ Resident
Fri. July 7 – Fresno, CA @ Strummer’s (w/ Beach Fossils, Ablebody)
Sat. July 8 – San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore (w/ Beach Fossils, Ablebody)
Mon. July 10 – Vancouver, BC @ Biltmore Cabaret (w/ Beach Fossils, Ablebody)
Tue. July 11 – Seattle, WA @ The Crocodile (w/ Beach Fossils, Ablebody)
Wed. July 12 – Portland, OR @ Holocene (w/ Beach Fossils, Ablebody)
Fri. July 14 – Boise, ID @ Neurolux (w/ Beach Fossils, Ablebody)
Sat. July 15 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court (w/ Beach Fossils, Ablebody)
Sun. July 16 – Denver, CO @ Marquis Theater (w/ Beach Fossils, Ablebody)
Tue. July 18 – Santa Fe, NM @ Meow Wolf (w/ Beach Fossils, Ablebody)
Wed. July 19 – Phoenix, AZ @ Crescent Ballroom (w/ Beach Fossils, Ablebody)
Thu. July 20 – San Diego, CA @ The Casbah (w/ Beach Fossils, Ablebody)


She-Devils album art

Live – The Black Angels and A Place to Bury Strangers – Chicago, IL – May 11, 2017

I will see The Black Angels or A Place to Bury Strangers at any opportunity, so having them both on the same bill is a win-win and a must-see for me.  Seeing them in Chicago’s Thalia Hall was an added bonus because the acoustics there are outstanding and there isn’t a bad place to stand or sit in the joint.

A Place to Bury Strangers were prompt, starting the show at 9:00pm sharp (which seems to be a trend in Chicago venues as of late).  They came out as they always do – loud and heavy.  They opened with “We’ve Come So Far” from Transfixiation and it was off to the races.  The addition of Lia Braswell on drums is a great one, as she practically beat her kit into the floor.  Her backing vocals bring a new dimension to many APTBS tracks, and I hope this trend continues on some new material.  Guitarist and lead singer Oliver Ackermann was on fire for their whole set.

Every APTBS show looks like a scene from a John Carpenter film.

They ended their set with a wild sequencer / synth / bass / light show that I’d seen them do before in Detroit.  They moved into the crowd and were soon casting laser lights and weird, warping synths beats and Dion Lunadon’s growling bass licks throughout the whole hall.

APTBS blowing minds and retinas in Thalia Hall.

As if that weren’t trippy enough, the Black Angels started their set with this image.

Do I detect a nod to Devo here?

“Take your acid now,” said a friend of mine upon seeing this.  The Black Angels opened up with “Currency,” the first single off their new album – Death Song (review coming soon).  “Bad Vibrations” (always a favorite) followed, and it again wowed the crowd.

The Black Angels dropping “Currency” from their new album.

This was the sixth time I’ve seen the Black Angels (and the third I’ve seen APTBS), and this might’ve been the heaviest set I’ve seen by them.  My wife (who’s seen them five of the six times with me) noticed this, too.  The version of “You On the Run” they played was certainly the heaviest I’d heard.  It bordered on stoner metal.  Christian Bland’s guitar seemed cranked to 11 in terms of volume and distortion for the entire show.  Stephanie Bailey further cemented her prowess as one of the best rock drummers of our time.  I say this every time I see the Black Angels live: Stephanie Bailey is their secret weapon.  I later realized this was the first show I’d seen in a while in which both bands had powerful drummers.

The Black Angels getting heavy.

They played many tracks from the new record.  “Half Believing,” “Comanche Moon,” “I Dreamt,” “Medicine,” “Grab As Much As You Can,” and “Death March” all sounded great.  They closed with “Young Men Dead,” which made one man behind me so happy that he rushed ahead of me to head-bang and share his one-hitter with the strangers to his left and right.

The Black Angels performing “Young Men Dead” during their encore.

This made six good shows in a row from the Black Angels and three straight for APTBS in my experience.  This tour is selling out across the country, so you’d better get your tickets soon if you want to catch it.  I also must give a salute to the two men who make up the Mustachio Light Show.  They provided all the wild and stunning visuals during the Black Angels’ set.  It’s a great addition to this tour.

Thanks to Oliver Ackermann, Steven Matrick, and Burgers Rana for getting me a press pass to this show.  I’ll have an interview with Oliver Ackermann posted soon as well.

Keep your mind open.

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Kelly Lee Owens adds North America dates to her world tour.

KELLY LEE OWENS ANNOUNCES FIRST NORTH AMERICAN TOUR
AND PRESENTS VIDEO FOR “THROWING LINES”
WATCH THE VIDEO HERE

DEBUT ALBUM OUT NOW ON SMALLTOWN SUPERSOUND
(above image by Kim Hiorthøy)

“Kelly Lee Owens sounds ethereal and jittery at the same time — not an easy thing . . . Her sounds are the rounded, rubbery boops and pings of techno, ricocheting all around; a steady but understated beat carries [‘Anxi’] into a complete transformation halfway through.” – The New York Times

“[Kelly Lee Owens] mixes dream pop and ambient techno on her immensely varied and fully-formed debut.” – Pitchfork

“The stunning debut album from [Kelly Lee Owens] is the aural equivalent of a hot-stone massage: It’s 45 minutes of gently pulsing electronic beats, sumptuous keyboard hooks, and Owens’ heavenly vocals.” – Entertainment Weekly “Must List”

“an album of contradictions, subverting dance music and pop structures at once.” – W Magazine
London-based producer Kelly Lee Owens is announcing her first ever North American tour in support of her self-titled, debut album, released this past March via Smalltown Supersound. On stage as on record, Kelly blurs the line between throbbing techno and pop vocal performances. For her first trip stateside, she’ll bring her meditative and immersive live show to FYF Fest, plus other major cities across the country.

Additionally, Kelly now presents the video for “Throwing Lines.” As Kelly describes it, “This is one of the poppiest tracks on my record and it could have had a showy video to match, but it feels good to take the piss instead – out of myself and that world.”

Kelly Lee Owens bridges the gaps between cavernous techno, spectral pop, and Krautrock’s mechanical pulse. It brims with exploratory wonder and delves into a variety of moods – sadness, anxiety, and darkly shaded ecstasy – with a trippy-eyed clarity and confidence. Since announcing her debut album, Kelly has quickly become regarded as one of the most exciting new artists to watch from the likes of Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, Entertainment Weekly, and way beyond.
Watch Kelly Lee Owens’ “Throwing Lines” Video –
https://youtu.be/oyx-lpJYGCg

Watch/Listen/Share:
Kelly Lee Owens album stream – https://open.spotify.com/album/3Zx14dyUjtZcEas89nZZfn
“Anxi” ft. Jenny Hval video – https://youtu.be/FdDf2Ib4B64
“Anxi” ft. Jenny Hval stream – http://bit.ly/2qZpJuq

Kelly Lee Owens’ Tour Dates:
(new dates in bold)
Wed. May 10 – London, UK @ Pickle Factory
Thu. May 11 – Amsterdam, NL @ De School
Sat. May 13 – Brussels, BE @ Les Nuits Botanique
Wed. May 17 – Toulouse, FR @ Art Gallery (DJ Set)
Sat. June 3 – Barcelona, ES @ Primavera Sound
Sun. June 11 – Paris, FR @ We Love Green Festival
Sat. July 8 – Cheshire, UK @ Jodrell Bank Observatory, Bluedot Festival
Wed. July 12 – Brooklyn, NY @ Good Room
Thu. July 13 – Montreal, QC @ Ritz PDB
Fri. July 14 – Toronto, ON @ Coda w/ John Talabot
Sat. July 15 – Philadelphia, PA @ Underground Arts
Thu. July 20 – Seattle, WA @ Q Nightclub w/ John Talabot
Fri. July 21 – Los Angeles, CA @ FYF Fest
Sat. July 22 – San Francisco, CA @ Swedish American Music Hall
Fri. Aug 11 – Göteborg, SE @ Way Out West Festival
Sat. Aug. 12 – Oslo, NO @ Øya Festival
Fri. Sep. 1 – Dorset, UK @ End of the Road
Sun. Sep 3 – Stradbally, IE @ Electric Picnic Festival
Thu. Oct 19 – London, UK @ Oslo Hackney
Wed. Nov. 1 – Sun. Nov. 5 – Reykjavik, IS @ Air Waves Festival

Purchase Kelly Lee Owens –
http://smarturl.it/KellyLeeOwens

Download hi-res press images –
www.pitchperfectpr.com/kelly-lee-owens/
Kelly Lee Owens online:
https://kellyleeowens.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/kellyleeowens/
https://twitter.com/kellyleeowenshttps://www.instagram.com/kellyleeowens/
https://soundcloud.com/kellyleeowens
http://www.smalltownsupersound.com/
http://pitchperfectpr.com/kelly-lee-owens

Rewind Review: MC 900 Foot Jesus – Live in Vienna – A.D. MCMXCII (2015)

MC 900 Foot Jesus (Mark Griffin) was one of the most innovative experimental and hip-hop musicians in the 1990’s. His 1990 album Hell with the Lid Off album shattered conceptions of hip-hop and was a weird, manic masterpiece chronicling madmen, drunks, schizophrenics, and the notion that “Truth is out of style.” He put out a couple more records after that, 1991’s Welcome to My Dream and 1994’s One Step Ahead of the Spider. He retired before releasing a fourth album, citing frustrations with the music industry, but has since come out of retirement and is again playing shows and working on that fourth record.

He’s released, for free, Live in Vienna 1992. It’s a radio station’s recording of a live show there, and it’s outstanding. Griffin and his longtime collaborator, DJ Zero (Patrick Rollins), throw down stunning beats and rhymes of tracks from the first two records.

The album begins with a brief interview with Griffin, in which he says he tries “to put you inside someone’s head who really sees the world in a bizarre way” with his music. This approach is evident throughout all of his songs, which feature bizarre characters and people who believe their worldview is the truth.

“Falling Elevators” opens the set, and the slightly evil bass, beats, and saxophone set the scene right away. “Adventures in Failure” lets DJ Zero cut loose (as does the saxophonist, who sounds like he or she is going for broke), and MC 900 Foot Jesus raps a story about a man so sick of his job and wife that he fakes a kidnapping scheme after he skips work and wrecks his car. DJ Zero scratching the sound of a car screeching to a halt is a stunning lesson to anyone wishing to work the wheels of steel.

“I’m Going Straight to Heaven” again has DJ Zero slinging scratches like a fastball pitcher closing out the ninth inning. Griffin raps through what sounds like a bullhorn microphone. Griffin and his band slow down a bit on “The City Sleeps,” a song about a serial arsonist. There’s more excellent saxophone work throughout it. “Truth Is Out of Style,” Griffin’s first big hit, follows, and DJ Zero’s turntable work is even more impressive on it live. The only blip on the track is when the Austrian recorders cut out a mention of Shirley MacLaine in the lyrics, probably thinking they’d get sued if they didn’t.

The beats on “Killer Inside Me” are killer indeed. MC 900 Foot Jesus raps about a man who pretends to be a simpleton but who is actually a psychopathic killer who strikes after luring his victims into believing he’s harmless. DJ Zero also gets to stretch his scratching muscles more than on the recorded version of the track. He’ll leave you gobsmacked with admiration. “O-Zone” is almost a weird dream with its warped saxophone and droning synths.

The performance ends with “Spaceman,” a suitably trippy song about a bum who gets drunk and high to the point where he sees himself floating away from the Earth. Is he dead? Are aliens kidnapping him? Is he suddenly free of gravity? I don’t know. It’s Griffin’s reality, not ours. Each reality is one’s own truth, and the truth is this live album is worth finding. I got my copy through MC 900 Foot Jesus’ Facebook page, so go there and grab it while you can.

Keep your mind open.

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Columbus Psych Fest reveals 2017 lineup…and it’s all free.

I don’t know if you’ll be in or near Columbus, Ohio on May 19th, but it would be worth your while to check out the Columbus Psych Fest if you are.  It’s a free show featuring at least ten bands at the Park Street Saloon.

Many of the bands are from the central Ohio area, and I can highly recommend Brujas Del Sol.  I also recently learned that Austin, Texas’ Ancient River will be playing there, and they are guaranteed to warp your minds.

Get there if you can.

Keep your mind open.

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Live – Ritesh and Rajnish Mishra – University of Notre Dame – April 27, 2017

My wife let me know about a performance of classic Indian music taking place at the University of Notre Dame for free on April 27th.  I love classical Indian music, so I was willing to stay up a bit late even though I had to work early Friday morning to catch this show.

The performers were a pair of brothers named Ritesh and Rajnish Mishra.  They’re classically trained and singing duets in classical Indian music isn’t easy since you have to harmonize and be able to improvise at any moment.  The brothers put on a nice show, and their enthusiasm was contagious as they laughed and cheered not only each other but also their backing musicians.

Tabla player Hindole Majumdar put down great beats and harmonium player Anirban Chakrabarty created a hypnotic drone and bass.  The four men performed for almost two hours with only ten minutes intermission.  This was also the third time the Mishra brothers had performed at UND, and they certainly deserved a larger audience than the couple dozen of us who were there.

The ragas they performed were spiritual at first and then playful by the end.  They also explained the beat structure of each before performing it.  I love that about classical Indian music shows.  The performers almost always give you a little music composition lesson at the beginning.

It was a nice way to spend the evening, and the lack of sleep was worth it.

L-R: Hindol Majumdar, Ritesh Mishra, Rajnish Mishra, Anirban Chakrabarti

Keep your mind open.

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Levitation France announces dates and first lineup.

While Levitation Austin didn’t happen this year, Levitation France is a go on September 15-16th!  This bodes well for the Levitation shows (a small one is being held in Austin the first weekend of May) making a full return next year.

The first wave of band announcements includes the Black Angels, Slowdive, Acid Mothers Temple, and Kikagu Moyo.  As usual, the Levitation festivals always have a great lineup, and this will be no exception.  Get to Angers, France if you can.

Keep your mind open.

 

Thee Oh Sees announce new summer U.S. tour dates.

THEE OH SEES ANNOUNCE AUGUST & SEPTEMBER TOUR DATES

Today, Los Angeles-based force of nature Thee Oh Sees announce a new batch of tour dates for the late summer that spans both the USA and the European continent. Could the new dates be an indicator of a busy 2017 from the John Dwyer-led outfit? Could these dates point to the possibility of a new record(s)? One can only hope…
THEE OH SEES TOUR DATES (new tour dates in bold):
Sat. Apr. 29 – Norman, OK @ Norman Music Festival
Fri. May 5 – Winterthur, CH @ Salzhaus
Sat. May 6 – Frankfort, GE @ Zoom
Sun. May 7– Rotterdam, NL @ Rotown
Mon. May 8 – Berlin, GE @ Columbia Theater
Wed. May 10 – Clermont-Ferrand, FR @ La Coopérative de Mai
Thu. May 11 – La Rochelle, FR @ La Sirène
Fri. May 12 – Rouen, FR @ Le 106
Sat. May 13 – Lyon, FR @ L’épicerie Moderne
Sun. May 14 – Paris, FR @ Trabendo
Tue. May 16 – Nottingham, UK @ Rock City
Wed. May 17 – Brighton, UK @ Clarendon Centre
Thu. May 18 – Nantes, FR @ Stereolux
Fri. May 19 – Rennes, FR @ Antipode
Sat. May 20 – Reims, FR @ La Magnifique Society
Sun. May 21 – Brussels, BE @ L’Ancienne Belgique
Fri. May 26 – George, WA @ Sasquatch Festival
Sat. June 3 – London, UK @ Field Day Festival
Mon. June 4 – Bristol, UK @ SWX
Wed. June 6 – Metz, FR @ La BAM
Thu. June 7 – Milano, IT @ Magnolia
Fri. June 8 – Ravenna, IT @ Beaches Brew
Sat. June 9 – Dudingen, CH @ Bad Bonn
Sun. June 10 – Nimes, FR @ This Is Not A Love Song
Mon. June 11 – Bordeaux, FR @ le block
Tue. June 12 – Tours, FR @ le temps machine
Thu. June 14 – Manchester University, UK @ Transformers
Sat. June 17 – San Francisco, CA @ Phono Del Sol Festival
Sat. July 22 – Sun. July 23 – Los Angeles, CA @ FYF
Sun. Aug. 6 – Katowice, PL @ OFF Festival
Tue. Aug. 8 – Hamburg, DE @ Molotow
Thu. Aug. 10 – Oslo, NO @ Oya Festival
Fri. Aug. 11 – Gothenburg, DW @ Way Out West Festival
Sat. Aug. 12 – Copenhagen, DK @ Pumpehuset
Fri. Aug. 18 – Saint Malo, FR @ La Route du Rock
Sat. Aug. 19 – Brecon Beacons, UK @ Green Man Festival 
Fri. Sept. 1 – Phoenix, AZ @ The Crescent Ballroom
Sat. Sept. 2 – Albuquerque, NM @ Sister Bar
Mon. Sept. 4 – Austin, TX @ Hotel Vegas Outside
Tue. Sept. 5 – New Orleans, LA @ One Eyed Jack’s
Wed. Sept. 6 – Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse
Fri. Sept. 8 – Philadelphia, PA @ Trocadero Theater
Sun. Sept. 10 – Brooklyn, NY @ Warsaw
Wed. Sept. 13 – Cambridge, MA @ The Sinclair
Thu. Sept. 14 – Montreal, QC @ La Tulipe I Le National
Fri. Sept. 15 – Toronto, ON @ Danforth Theater
Sat. Sept. 16 – Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom
Sun. Sept. 17 – Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall
Tue. Sept. 19 – Milwaukee, WI @ Turner Hall
Fri. Sept. 22 – Missoula, MT @ Monk’s
Sun. Sept. 24 – Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom
Mon. Sept. 25 – Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom

North Coast Fest announces (almost) entire 2017 lineup.

Chicago’s annual North Coast Music Festival has announced its (almost) full lineup.  They’re still keeping some acts secret for now.

North Coast is a mostly electronic music festival that’s promoted as the last fling of summer (It’s the first weekend of September.) before another depressing Chicago winter and Bears season wallops the city.

Some of the biggest names on the bill are Deadmau5, Damian Marley, Big Boi, Gucci Mane, and Ween.  They’re already offering tickets and layaway plans, so get your tickets while they’re cheap and still available.

Keep your mind open.