Live Review: Matisyahu w/ Flobots and HR (of Bad Brains)

Recently (on November 1st) popular reggae/hip hop artist Matisyahu's fall tour stopped in at Baltimore, Maryland's Rams Head Live. I was lucky enough (or so I thought) to get tickets to this show, however the first thing I noticed was that it didn't sell out, which has been usual for Matisyahu in the past. This was hardly discouraging to my hopes for this show though, I've seen him in the past once and it was spectacular. I had high hopes for this show, and sadly I was kind of let down.

I say "kind of" let down because the opening acts were fantastic. First up was HR of the legendary Bad Brains. Every time I'm presented with a chance to see a member of a legendary band I'm always skeptical, thinking it just won't be the same. I had this same concern when HR took the stage. I was right; it just wasn't Bad Brains, but it was one of the best performances I've seen in a long time.

HR's style is mostly a fusion of reggae and hip hop however he proved that he hasn't forgotten where he came from. I was ecstatic to hear the grungy sound of distortion in the guitars, see the keyboardist walk off stage, and finally hear the tempo pick up. I couldn't have asked more from their performance, great reggae and even a few hardcore songs. Watch out for HR on tour, this is definitely a show you don't want to miss.

The next act was rising alternative rock/hip hop band Flobots. I was extremely excited to see Flobots for one reason: I wanted to see "Handlebars" live. Coming into the show I would have been happy if they had just play that one song and walked off stage, but by the end of their set I was thinking their performance would rival what I was hoping to see from Matisyahu. They were easily the best part of the night with their most notable songs being "Stand Up" and "Rise." The band put on a brilliant performance showing their true talent as a band which only left me expecting great things from them in the future.

This is where the show took a heart-wrenching turn for the worst; the catalyst was Matisyahu taking the stage. Last time I saw Matisyahu was in 2006 at the last HFStival; his performance was amazing, the perfect end to a day of great music. Because of this it truly pains me to say that I was absolutely bored by his set, which lasted two and a half hours and was comprised of about 16 or 17 songs. If you do the math there you'll notice that that's about eight minutes per song. This wasn't uniform but it seems about right; just about every song included a long interlude which was basically the band jamming. Don't get me wrong, being a musician I can appreciate a good jam, but I can hear that without paying 30 dollars, especially when I'm paying to hear songs, not jams.

The band wasn't off, Matisyahu didn't seem like he was having a bad night, the set just progressed too slowly. I wouldn't take this as a deterrent from seeing him again, just a warning of what might be. A lot of people left during the set though, so we can only hope he'll take that to heart and get back to playing the songs that got him to where he is today. Overall I wouldn't count the night as a waste, the show was great, just a little disappointing. I skeptically await Matisyahu's next tour.

To find out more or hear these artists:
http://www.matisyahuworld.com/
http://www.myspace.com/matisyahu
http://www.flobots.com/
http://www.myspace.com/flobots

Live Review: Deerhoof (Middle East, Boston 10/23/08)

This thursday, Deerhoof played another sold out show on their tour promoting their newest album, (see below for review) Offend Maggie.

The Middle East is a great place to see a very loud, very intimate show. The venue is literally underground, it's built underneath of the bar and much smaller venue above. There's also no barricade, so if you get a good spot its just like being on stage with the band.

The show itself fell nothing short of what you would expect from a relatively underground band playing quite the underground show (sorry, couldn't resist). The show was very loud, very fast, and very...odd. Although the bands guitars and Satomi Matsuzaki's vocals usually take precedence on their records, drummer Greg Saunier without a doubt stole the show. His style alone is an exhausting combination of Mitch Mitchell and Keith Moon, with flailing elbows and nearly frightening grimaces. He often played more like he was attacking the drum set rather than keeping the rhythm.

Satomi on the other hand stood off to the left, isolated from the higher-octane members of the band. Rather than Saunier, it was really up to her to keep rhythm and remain the calm in the storm. Notably, she came on stage for the encore donning a massive tiger's head. She also skateboarded on and off of the stage.

The band played a lot from the new album, but also indulged in crowd-favorites, "Milk Man" and "Twin Killers". Save some drunks being thrown out of the club (and even that was entertaining) it was definitely a pleasant and exhausting experience. I would highly recommend seeing the band's live show, but only if you're a fan of their material. Otherwise you're in for an evening of very loud and very strange music.

For more information on Deerhoof's tour, album, etc., visit http://deerhoof.killrockstars.com/

Live Review: Of Montreal @ The Roseland Ballroom, Friday October 10th

Last Friday Of Montreal played at the Roseland Ballroom in the wonderful New York City. The show was at the Roseland Ballroom in Manhattan, which I must say is a wonderful venue. The show was in support of the new album "Skeletal Lamping" which I honestly haven't heard that much of.

The first thing you need to know about this show is that it was most likely pulled straight out of an acid trip, but we'll get there later.

First let's talk about the venue. Roseland Ballroom is an interesting place to say the least. It wasn't designed for the purpose of holding concerts so at first it seems quite large for a club, especially when you take the massive balcony into account. Regardless I'm not sure if I could think of a better place for a show like this. The show was almost as big as the room.....if that makes sense.

The first band was....interesting. They're called Love Is All and basically they're an indie dance pop band from Sweden. Basically they sound like a much less psychedelic version of Of Montreal and quite frankly I found them to be somewhat boring. However now that I've checked out their Myspace I have to say, they're ok. They had good stage presence and great interaction with the crowd but I think the fact that I was waiting for Of Montreal cast a shadow over their performance.

As far as Of Montreal's live show, as I said, it was pulled straight out of an acid trip. The first thing you noticed as the band came on stage was the interesting stage set-up with it's multiple risers for most of the band members and the band's choice of costume (which changed for lead singer Kevin Barnes on a regular basis). As far as the set list went, a lot of the songs were from their newer albums and it even featured Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit." This was definitely not the song I thought I'd see Of Montreal Cover, especially not with Andrew VanWyngarden of MGMT, which was the icing on top of the mushroom-filled cake that was this show.

All-in-all the show was great. Of Montreal's performance rivaled that of band's like Gogol Bordello, it was one of the best I've seen. I would suggest looking into some Of Montreal tickets in the future.




Andrew VanWyngarden of MGMT(left) Kevin Barnes of Of Montreal (right)





to hear Love Is All: http://www.myspace.com/loveisall8
to hear Of Montreal: http://www.myspace.com/ofmontreal
all pictures were taken from Pitchfork, please email vinylvisionsblog@gmail.com if you are from Pitchfork and would like them taken down

Live Review: TV On The Radio (Wilbur Theater, Boston Oct 13 2008)

Monday, TVOTR performed at the Wilbur Theater in Boston, a recent stop on their tour promoting their newest and undeniably most accesible album to date. I almost literally stumbled into a ticket and watched the show from the floor.

The best thing about floor tickets at the Wilbur has to be the building's 1914 foundation and existing architexture. Unlike modern rock clubs, you can feel the bass up to your knees through the floor. Quite the experience when Tunde Adebimpe cranks up the bass for "Halfway Home" (see my very amateur photogrphy above).

The band opened wit the intro track off Dear Science, a recurring theme of the night (they played everything off the new album save three songs). They also managed to play their established hits from 2006's Return To Cookie Mountain including "Wolf Like Me", "Hours", and a crowd-pleasing rendition of "A Method".

Interaction with the crowd prooved to be interesting, guitarist Kyp Malone remarking that, "It must be hard to dance sitting down..." The venue was full of die-hard listeners as well as a healthy helping of fair-weather fans. I stood just in front of a fifty-something-year-old couple who before the show started politely tapped me on te shoulder to ask if, "These guys are new right?"

All things considered, the show was very good, not great. A B+ performance if you catch my drift. The band is terrific and definitely worthy of spending a little money, or at least checking out their new album.

For more info on the band/album/tour, go to http://www.tvontheradio.com/

























































Gerard Smith (bass, left) and Jaleel Bunton (drums, middle) being interviewed before the show...One of the perks to living in downtown Boston.