Atomic Mama, Christopher Smith and Art Fad @ Neurolux (12/14/12)

I had actually planned to pass on this show originally.  Nothing at all against any of the acts--I'd just seen all of them several times in some capacity or another and needed to do a lot of work over the weekend.  Then I heard that this might be Atomic Mama's last gig for quite a while (no drama--Jake Warnock may have been recruited to play bass on tour for a very popular band from Boise).  That was enough to get me down to Neurolux.

I was somewhat alarmed when I only found about twenty-five people there.  This was at 8 pm, one hour after the designated doors time.  Happily, a pretty substantial crowd had built by the time that Atomic Mama played.

Art Fad opened the show.  This duo has apparently made quite a bit of progress since I last saw them.  While their tunes sounded as catchy as ever, their riffing sounded even sharper and more rousing, their drumming hit quicker and harder and their groove was much more limber.  Theo Maughan and Jacob Milburn's snarled vocals seemed to have ripened nicely, and I could even understand some of the lyrics.  Best of all, antimagic's montages of flashing colors, twisting shapes, weirdo film footage and 80's computer text created a new context for Art Fad's manic inchoateness.  Rather than the mere scribblings of punk-besotted ADHD cases, it came across here as the struggle to make sense of the postmodern age's information overload.  Might be a bit too much to read into it, but a darn impressive set nonetheless.

Next up was a solo set by First Borns' Christopher Smith.  His lean synthesizer instrumentals had a definite 80's robotic flavor to them.  He added just enough complexity to his steady beats and elegant hooks to make them hypnotic instead of boring.  This set had a few technical difficulties--the volume fluctuated and cut out altogether at various points--but not enough to detract from the music.  It helped, of course, that the music had antimagic's glowing squares, twirling spirals and oddball film clips to lean on.  I got a big laugh out of one montage that incorporated footage from the now-legendary bad movie Manos: The Hands of Fate.

He takes care of the place while the master is away.

Atomic Mama closed out the night.  While I must admit that I missed their drummer, these local favorites' mega-catchy tunes held up just fine thanks to their bubbling polyrhythms, dreamy synth blare, droll basslines and piercing guitar solos.  antimagic's clever, psychedelic, overpowering montages helped compensate for the sonic gap as well.  The crowd certainly didn't seem to mind the reduced lineup: they pressed in close, danced and screamed throughout the entire set.  If this group does go on hiatus, it'll definitely be missed.

You can find info on these acts on Facebook and elsewhere online.  Special thanks to Eric Gilbert and Duck Club Presents.

Lost Lander and Atomic Mama @ Neurolux (7/24/12)

Yesterday hit an uncommonly sour note for me.  A couple of weeks ago, I got a new job after a little over a year of unemployment.  It seemed absolutely perfect: it'd let me make use of my English degree, it'd pay me enough to get by and it'd give me enough free time to keep this blog going.  After going in one day for a few hours of orientation, however, I didn't hear anything from this job for a week.  I emailed them and asked when I should come back in.  The response that I received informed me that several of their more seasoned personnel had left their positions and that my current skill set did not suit their needs at this time.  They encouraged me to contact them regarding possible available positions... in 2013.

I didn't let this get me too down, however.  For one thing, I've done enough moping in my life to know that it doesn't get you anywhere.  (Indeed, those of you who may have tallied how many times I've mentioned Nick Drake in this blog have probably deduced that I've done enough moping for three lifetimes.)  For another thing, I figured that my renewed unemployment would give me ample time to read the Elizabeth Bishop and Sam Cooke biographies that I found in the clearance section at Hastings.  For yet another thing, my mood couldn't darken much when I was going to see my second favorite Treefort act later that evening.

I counted about forty people when I reached Neurolux.  That in itself would've made for a larger crowd than Lost Lander played to back in March.  Happily, however, the audience at least doubled by the time that the Portland-based band took the stage.  It probably didn't hurt that they shared the bill with local favorites Atomic Mama, who had just returned from playing the Massv Music Festival over in Ketchum and the Underground Music Festival down in Denver.

Atomic Mama's opening set felt mellower and more casual than the other performances of theirs that I've caught.  I didn't consider that a bad thing, however.  Indeed, it only pushed to the forefront the playful funkiness that underlies their music (gotta love that falsetto on Daniel Kerr).  It also showed off just how tight and confident a unit these three guys have become--they only need to glance at the ball to knock it out of the park.

As at last month's Delicate Steve concert, Atomic Mama's grooviness was aided and abetted this night by a surreal, funny, galvanizing projection show.  Both of these came courtesy of antimagic, the joint project of local VJ's Tyler Walker and Jason Willford.  Jason and I go all the way back to elementary school (almost twenty years now).  I've been aware of his talent since I saw his student films back in the early 00's, and I'm overjoyed to see him firing on all cylinders now.

Soon after Atomic Mama came Lost Lander, whose performance was broadcast live on Radio Boise.  "Here's hoping that Lost Lander can maintain their edge," I wrote in my Treefort Top 10 post.  Right from the start, they showed that they've done just that and then some.  They kicked off this night's set with the last song from their album DRRT, "Your Name Is a Fire," and transmogrified it from a sprightly, folky bagatelle to a swaggering, funky show of force.  Every song that came after followed suit: each sounded just as good as the album version, and most sounded better.  Matt Sheehy's clean, beguiling tenor sang out clearly, strongly and without a trace of that phony Donovan-esque accent.  What's more, the rapport between Patrick Hughes's lithely powerful drumming, Dave Lowensohn's calm basslines, Sheehy's dreamily searing guitar work and Sarah Fennell's tender keyboard parts made unmistakably clear that this is a band, not a solo musician and his underlings.  And as if the pumped-up renditions of their original songs weren't proof enough of their sharpened edge, their encore included a tense, menacing cover of Bruce Springsteen's "State Trooper," which stood toe-to-toe with any version of that song that I've heard (Springsteen's, Steve Earle's, the Drive-By Truckers').

This performance deserved its live broadcast.  It's just too bad that the folks listening on the radio couldn't see antimagic's montages, which went with the songs like beauty goes with truth.

You can find info on Atomic Mama and Lost Lander on Facebook and elsewhere online.  Special thanks to Eric Gilbert and Radio Boise.

Buster Blue, Atomic Mama and Delicate Steve @ the VAC (6/29/12)

If for nothing else, I'd have gone to this show for the chance to see Atomic Mama again.  They've been kicking some serious ass ever since they recruited their drummer, but I haven't gotten the chance to see them since their EP release party.  On top of that, I'd heard great things about Delicate Steve from a lot of people around town.

That word of mouth persuaded me to get down to the VAC good and early.  This proved a wise move...

I sat at the bar, read Dennis Lehane and watched the place fill up.  Come showtime, it wasn't quite jam-packed but definitely good enough for a Friday night in the summertime.

First up this night was Reno, NV-based five-person group Buster Blue.  This band certainly had talent: three members took turns singing, four members played different instruments as the set progressed and their songs mixed and matched bluegrass, swing jazz, dixieland, blues, folk and I don't know what else.  They sure could work a crowd too: they had almost everyone in the VAC cheering, dancing and clapping to the beat.  In spite of all this, however, I couldn't connect with these guys.  Something about their genre mix-and-match stuck in my craw--seemed too facile, too postmodern.  Granted, one of my favorite artists, Tom Waits, does something similar (the band cites him as an influence on its FB page).  But Waits is so idiosyncratic that he can make everything he touches his own.  From what I heard from Buster Blue, I just imagined that they've got some really diverse stuff on their iPods.  Still, I can't deny that they were entertaining, and I did appreciate the moment when they unplugged, stepped down from the stage and sang a song from among the crowd.

It'll be nice when I get to bring an actual camera into more venues.

After Bluster Blue came Atomic Mama.  Now this is what I call postmodernism done right: this band sounds like the lovechild of Led Zeppelin and Gary Numan (with a bit of Jimi Hendrix thrown in).  Grinding, psychedelic riffs and high-powered drumming meet blaring synthesizer hooks, industrial beats and simple, catchy tunes.  And not only does their music rock hard, it can be funny as hell.  This group was in particularly good form this night, and a projection show featuring clips from Akira and various cheesy sci-fi and suspense movies knocked the energy level up to 11.  And by the way, in case you're wondering: no, that's not a picture of a penis on the screen.

New Jersey-based, five-man band Delicate Steve closed out the show with a set that justified the hype around them.  To my ears, their music evoked Hendrix at his most lyrical ("May This Be Love," "Little Wing," etc.).  Rippling, stinging guitar work combined with funky drums, warm bass and Georgio Moroder-esque keyboard lines to create music that was all about uplift and joy.  Their set featured a projection show as well, but it wasn't as intense or intimidating as Atomic Mama's was.  Instead, the montage of movie clips and flashing lights seemed geared more towards coaxing people into the pleasures of the music.  A fine finish to the night.

You can look up info on all of these groups on Facebook and elsewhere online.  Special thanks to Eric Gilbert and Duck Club Presents.