Hollow Wood, Psycho Adorable and Ancient Psychic Tandem War Elephant @ the Crux (11/3/13)

A few days prior to this show, my now ex-girlfriend Jenn (long story, don't wanna get into it here) heard a song by Hollow Wood on Radio Boise and loved it.  She couldn't believe that a band like that was local, she said.  So when I told her about this concert, she readily agreed to check it out.  This worked out well all around, since the show gave me the chance to see Psycho Adorable's first performance back from their 11-week tour and to see the fantastically named Ancient Psychic Tandem War Elephant for the first time.

I counted over 50 people when I arrived at the Crux.  I saw some of my now former Exposition/Noisefan Music News colleagues (short answer: my connection with the Weekly made my continued association with NFMN untenable), Aaron Christensen (Mt. Joy), Samwise Carlson (Woodwind) and various scene regulars.  Jenn showed up midway through APTWE's set.

While I waited for the music to start, Amber Pollard's daughter Aubrey (possibly one of the most adorable children in the Treasure Valley) ran past me.  "Hi Ben!" she said.  She circled around and ran past me again.  "Hi Ben!" she said again.  Thinking about this now, I still smile.

Ancient Psychic Tandem War Elephant--which turned out to be Brett Hawkins's solo act backed by his brother Taylor on drums and Sun Blood Stories' Ben Kirby on bass--opened the show.  I liked Hawkins fine with just a guitar, but he got farther with a little help from his friends.  With Taylor Hawkins' steady beat and Kirby's viscous bass giving them support, Brett Hawkins' droning riffs had greater force and his vocals greater confidence.  Also welcome were Judah Claffey and Austin Lucas' maudlin violins (that there Lucas can play).  The set's earlier songs took me back to the days when "Creep" played on MTV.  The later songs sounded like Daniel Johnston having a drink with Jimmy Reed.

Psycho Adorable played next.  Their debut performance back in August left me with mixed feelings; it certainly wasn't bad, but it wasn't the fusion of styles and spirits I'd hoped for.  The bond between Bronwyn Leslie and Kelsey Swope felt much stronger here.  Even their outfits seemed to complement each other--grandma-ish blue house-dress and white mesh sweater for Leslie, grandpa-ish short-sleeve blouse and baggy gray trousers for Swope.  Also, while she's never seemed like a pushover (I saw her one time dressed as Kathleen Hanna), Swope gave off a much tougher vibe than last I'd seen her.  On the numbers where she took lead, her vocals sounded rougher.  On the ones where Leslie took lead, Swope stood and hovered (protectively?) over her partner while singing backup.

I'd be interested to hear more about their experiences on the road.  And I'll definitely be interested to hear what they come up with from here, together or individually.

Hollow Wood closed out the night.  Speaking of tougher, this group rocked a lot harder than last I saw them.  I don't know if Adam Jones was trying to channel Clint Eastwood with his poncho, but between the grinding guitars, the vrooming bass and the bubbling beats, the music almost channeled Zeppelin at times.  The vocals and the lyrics were edgier too ("OMG!" I thought. "Did they REALLY just say, 'I could f*ck a virgin'!?").  For me, everything came to a head with the dance-y number about 100 years full of pain and fear.  Instead of sounding trepidatious or despairing, the band barreled ahead as if they couldn't wait to enter the fray.  Sounded as melodious as ever too.  God bless 'em.  And Godspeed.

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

Charles Bradley & His Extraordinaires and Aaradhna @ the VaC (8/29/13)

As I've written elsewhere on this blog, I LOVE me some old-school soul/R&B/funk.  Stax, Motown, Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Al Green, Curtis Mayfield (with or without the Impressions)--I could go on all day.  This show caught my attention, then, because I'd heard talk of Charles Bradley being one of the best modern keepers of the old-school flame.  Admittedly, I did have some reservations after hearing his latest album Victim of Love, but they weren't enough to dissuade me from checking this out.

There were about 150 people at the VaC when I arrived.  I have no idea how many were there when Charles Bradley performed.  One thing's for sure: I'm definitely not the only one who digs the old-school stuff.

New Zealand singer Aaradhna opened the show.  This lady had me right when she sang the line "I don't wanna take that sh*t for granted" in her first song.  And with her other songs about getting bullied by the cool kids when you're younger and turning Miss Lovely's pretty smile into a frown, she kept me.  She had a whole lotta muscle in her sultry voice, but she was smart enough not to flex it too hard.  The medley that combined Willie Nelson/Patsy Cline's "Crazy" and Sam Cooke's "Nothing Can Ever Change This Love" was just gravy.  As for the song that borrowed the chorus from "Pressure Drop," hey, I love Toots and the Maytals too.

Charles Bradley played next.  This set was an object lesson in how live shows can sometimes top recordings.  While Bradley's massive vocals sounded a little one-dimensional on Victim of Love, they were just the thing to cut through the roars of applause here.  His high rasp and self-abasing scream bore the clear influence of James Brown, but he topped the Godfather of Soul for warmth and friendliness.  The same went for Bradley's whole stage act; while the set featured three costume changes, you never sensed any of Brown's vanity or control-freak egomania.  Instead, I actually believed the man when he said he loved the audience "to the bone" and "from the soul."  Meanwhile, the band couldn't match Maceo, Bootsy, Clyde et al., but 1) that's asking way too damn much and 2) they clearly learned their lessons well from Stax and Motown.  I may not have gotten a hug from the "Screaming Eagle of Soul," but this was still one of the best shows I've seen this year.

Sidenote: I feel like I should mention that I listened to Charles Bradley's 2011 album No Time for Dreaming afterwards and liked it a lot.  It features quite a few lyrics about being black and poor in America.  Now that's worth screaming about.

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

Bad Weather California, Sauna, Skating Polly and Deaf Kid @ The Crux (8/18/13)

Bad Weather California was one of my favorite acts at this year's Treefort.  Sauna was one of my favorites from last year's.  So it didn't take me long to decide to check this show out.

I counted eighteen people when I got down to the Crux.  When Bad Weather California played, I counted twenty-seven.  Not exactly a Treefort-size audience, but what're you gonna do?

Sidenote: this may be the most awesome show poster that I've ever seen.

Deaf Kid opened the show.  They changed their name to Black Lodge a while ago, but apparently, they changed it back.  I don't know why, but whatever--they sounded damn good here.  Jacob Milburn's voice sounded deeper and fuller, and Theo Maughan's sprightly drumming gave the music some extra muscle.  Even got a pretty solid groove going on the last song.

Skating Polly played next.  If you're not even eighteen and you can get Exene Cervenka to produce one of your albums, chances are you're gonna have something going on.  Which this very young duo did.  Their grungy drones, steady drums, screeching vocals and smart arrangements made me think a little of early Sleater-Kinney.  Their confident stage presence suggests that they may be in this for the long haul.  Time will tell, I guess.

Sauna followed Skating Polly.  It took them a couple of songs to get warmed up, but when they did, their serene vocals, playful tunes, propulsive grooves and fierce guitar solos sounded even better than I remembered.  The girls from Skating Polly went nuts (jumping, headbanging), and much of the crowd followed suit.  Easily one of the most fun surf/garage bands I've seen in the past couple of years (and I've seen a LOT of them).

Bad Weather California closed out the night.  At one point, it occurred to me that James Plane Wreck could've made a good opener for these guys.  Both groups seem to have a certain transcendentally trashy spirit, one which embraces the slackers, losers and working stiffs (i.e. most of us).  In any case, this Colorado band's anthemic tunes, smart lyrics and fiery guitars sounded just as fantastic here as they did back in March.  Would that every surf-garage-punk-etc. band could be this shrewd, this compassionate.

It's just a shame that this'll be their last tour.  But hey, you never know--Sauna said that they were going to break up last year, and look at them.

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

Finn Riggins, Jared Mees and Lionsweb @ Neurolux (8/1/13)

As I've written elsewhere, Finn Riggins was the band that sparked my interest in the Boise music scene.  After I saw them play the VaC one night (opening for tUnE-yArDs, if I recall correctly), I thought, "Wow, if a band like this calls Boise home, what else could be out here?"

This band represents another first for me: I wrote my first Boise Weekly feature about them recently.

So with all of this going for them, no way was I going to miss their last show for the foreseeable future.  As an added bonus, this concert presented me with a couple more firsts--specifically, the chance to see Portland musician Jared Mees and local act Lionsweb for the first time.

The audience at Neurolux already numbered about sixty when I arrived.  When Finn Riggins took the stage, there were so many people that I didn't even bother to count.  Unsurprisingly, I saw quite a few familiar faces in the crowd (Kelsey Swope, Sun Blood Stories, Lori Shandro, Sam Stimpert, Stephanie Coyle, etc.).

Lionsweb a.k.a. Bronwyn Leslie kicked off the show.  I'd heard good things from quite a few people about this local musician.  As soon as she launched into her a capella opening number, I realized that they weren't jiving.  Leslie's bluesy, powerful voice silenced all of the chatter in the room within seconds.  Her vocals and her haunting, Appalachian-esque songs sounded just as impressive bedecked with her simple guitar and piano (even if the chatter picked back up by the bar).  Andy Rayborn contributed some tasteful clarinet.  Some oddball black-and-white montages by Tyler Walker complemented the music's ominousness.

I'm lucky that I got to see her here; she and Kelsey Swope will be going on tour soon with their new project, Psycho Adorable (which, incidentally, I also wrote about in the Weekly).

Jared Mees played next.  When I interviewed him for the Finn Riggins piece, Eric Gilbert urged me to check out Mees's music.  Said he thought it'd be just my thing.  I doubt that he said that because Mees runs Tender Loving Empire, the label which Finn Riggins is signed to.  Anyway, he wasn't wrong.  The slight whine in Mees' rough tenor just added a little flavoring to his conversational delivery.  His punky folk/country tunes and smart, no-bullsh*t lyrics hit the part of me that admires Patterson Hood and Jason Isbell.  "Hiccup drunk in a pickup truck" has to be one of the best rhymes I've heard in a good while.

Finn Riggins' performance wasn't the most intense I've heard from them.  The set's casual feel didn't seem like a bad thing, however; it was like they were saying, "Hey, we're not going anywhere."  Besides, it's not like they didn't sound good: Lisa Simpson's pregnancy didn't seem to have affected her pipes much, Eric Gilbert's keyboards clanged and droned nicely and Cameron Bouiss was as smooth, precise and hard-hitting as ever (I feel kinda bad that I didn't include more about him in the Weekly article).

Anyway, what came through strongest during this set was the groove, the rapport both between the three bandmates and between the band and their audience.  This was especially true at the end, when Jared Mees came onstage to play a loose, loping jam with Finn Riggins.  The crowd cheered and whooped when the band finished and Bouiss wrestled playfully with Mees on the floor.  A good farewell (for now).

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

The Soft White Sixties, Sun Blood Stories and Northern Giants @ Neurolux (7/28/13)

In a way, I'd been waiting for this show for about nine months.  I'd seen the Soft White Sixties each time that they'd played Boise, and I'd walked away from each show convinced that they were a great band.  So I put this show on the schedule the second after I saw the Facebook event page for it.

I counted about forty-five people when I got to Neurolux.  When the Soft White Sixties played, I counted about eighty, sixty of whom were inside.  Part of me wondered if my little preview for this show helped bring some of these folks down, but that was probably just hubris.

Anyway, I bought a copy of the Sixties' new album Get Right as soon as I arrived.  As I took it back to my car (didn't want to risk having it stolen or damaged), I saw and heard Andy Rayborn practicing outside.

Northern Giants (formerly known as Modesto) opened the show.  At first, they sounded terrific: grinding metal, swaggering funk, terse solos, more nuanced vocals.  After a while, however, the songs started to blur together in spite of the sharp arrangements and solid chops.  I love my RAWK as much as the next guy, but this felt like a bit too much of a good thing.  Maybe these guys could vary it up some.  A couple soulful 5/6 numbers, perhaps?  Or some folky, acoustic stuff?

Sun Blood Stories played next.  I don't quite know why, but this group sounded colder, darker, more menacing here than they have in the past.  At times, I coulda almost sworn I was listening to Sabbath.  That wasn't a bad thing, I think--it could've just been a sign of how polished and confident that they've become.  In any case, Brett Hawkins added some nice little embellishments to his drum-work, and Amber Pollard showed off a pretty fearsome growl.  Meanwhile, Ben Kirby's gritty moan and yowling slide and Andy Rayborn's screeching sax sounded as strong as ever.

The Soft White Sixties's set confirmed my belief that this is one of the best modern rock bands.  While he slid all over the stage and yanked the mic stand around a la James Brown, Octavio Genera's raspy, honeyed croon evoked Al Green's sly tenderness.  Between the locked-in groove, the new guitarist's ripping solos and touches like the bass-and-drums breakdown on "Knock It Loose," Genera's bandmates sounded more than ready to play larger venues.  The band's smart blend of pop, soul and hard rock got the crowd dancing and cheering (especially the girls).

I sure will miss the days when you could see the Sixties play for $6.  There can't be many left.

You can find info on these groups on Facebook and elsewhere online.  Special thanks to Eric Gilbert and Duck Club Presents.  If you like what you've read and would like to help keep it going, click the yellow "Give" button.

Strange Americans, Brass Bed and Marshall Poole @ the Red Room (7/11/13)

Okay, so you've probably noticed that I'm posting this review waaaaaay after the actual show.  I don't think it's ever taken me this long to get a post out (not one on a live show, anyway).

I've got a good excuse, though.  A couple of weeks ago, I had a meeting with a couple of editors at the Boise Weekly.  They were interested in having me do some freelance music writing for them.  I've already completed a handful of assignments, including a review of the Blaqks' first headlining show.

Don't get me wrong; my blogging days aren't over.  It just means that I may not have time to write as many posts.  I'll post links for the stuff that I get published in the Weekly, though, so y'all can check it out.  If you want to, anyway.

Anyway, back to our normally scheduled programming.

Both Brass Bed and Marshall Poole had impressed me very much when I saw them last year.  So when I had the chance to see them both again, I took it.  It didn't hurt either that I'd never seen Strange Americans before (I do like a promising name).

I counted twelve people when I got to the Red Room, most of whom were out on the patio.  When Strange Americans played, I counted thirteen.  So it goes.

Marshall Poole opened the show.  If anything, this young Caldwell trio sounded even more impressive that they did last September.  Their thunderous riffs, fluid basslines and swift, muscular drums had slightly more of a punk feel than I remembered.  That could've just stemmed from their tight groove and sharp, concise songwriting.  As scorching as Rider Sloan's guitar solos were, what amazed me most was how Melanie Radford could sing while still plucking the strings like crazy.

Brass Bed played next.  In my post on their Neurolux show, I wrote that this Louisiana band sounded like the Beatles one minute and Black Sabbath the next.  I didn't quite hear that this time around, but that's not to say that they sounded bad.  Far from it: light, murmured vocals blended with pounding drums, twangy bass and phantasmagorical guitar sounds.  Both dreamy and rousing.

Strange Americans closed out the night.  Their massive riffs, hard rhythm section and soothing vocals and melodies weren't all that strange (kinda reminded me of Kings of Leon, actually), but they certainly weren't bad.  If the modest audience disappointed them, they didn't show it: the guys bounced, lunged and bent low as they played.  They also joked around between songs ("Can you tell we've played enough G-rated shows?").

You can find info on these groups on Facebook and elsewhere online.  If you like what you've read and would like to help keep it going, click the yellow "Give" button and donate.

Sallie Ford and the Sound Outside and Finn Riggins @ Alive After Five; Radiation City, Sallie Ford and the Sound Outside and Death Songs @ Neurolux (6/26/13)

I'd liked what I'd heard by Sallie Ford and the Sound Outside, but I'd never seen them play live.  When I saw that they'd be playing Alive After Five, then, I marked it down on the calendar.  I just hoped that I'd take enough notes before converting into liquid form.

There were so many people when I got down to the Grove that I didn't bother trying to count them.  I'd guess that there were at least a couple hundred folks.  When Sallie Ford played, there were maybe a couple hundred more.

I got there in time to catch about half of Finn Riggins' opening set.  Lisa Simpson's voice and guitar sounded as melodious, Eric Gilbert's keyboards as textured and Cameron Bouiss's drums as propulsive as ever.  It made me smile to see about a dozen people dancing, especially a couple of young girls and an elderly Asian lady with a tan Army hat.  The set's last song, "Pannin' For Gold," went out to Eric Gilbert's mom, who couldn't make it to this gig.  Nice fella, that Eric Gilbert.

Sallie Ford and the Sound Outside played next.  Rarely do formalists have both the heart to fully embrace their chosen traditions and the smarts to put their own stamp on them.  One part Wanda Jackson, one part Liz Phair, one part the vinyl-collecting librarian of my dreams, Ford is one of those few.  Originals such as the swaggering "They Told Me" and the sassy, surf-tinged "Bad Boys" sounded right at home next to the cover of Loretta Lynn's "Fist City."  Ford seemed a bit subdued, but her pinched, squealing snarl still struck a nice balance between geeky and sexy.  Her bandmates pitched in with strong, swinging rhythms and yowling guitar.  And if their "Heart of Glass" cover didn't quite fit, who cares?  It's a wise formalist who knows when to leave formalism alone.

Miraculously, I stayed close enough to solid after Alive After Five to make it down to Neurolux.  The show there excited me because it featured Death Songs, an act I hadn't seen in well over a year; the Cave Singers, a Treefort 2012 act I'd missed; and Radiation City, one of my top 10 Treefort 2013 acts.

Unfortunately, I learned when I got there that the Cave Singers' van had broken down, forcing them to cancel their appearance (lotta that going around, seems like--the same thing happened with the Nekromantix about two weeks before).  Radiation City and Death Songs were still on board, however, and Sallie Ford and the Sound Outside jumped on the bill to fill things out.

Death Songs played first.  I likened Nicholas Dellfs to Skip James in my review of his April 2012 performance at the VaC.  Hearing his eerie, quavery tenor and ominous but catchy tunes here, however, I thought that he sounded a bit too pop for that analogy to work.  I toyed with comparing him to Travis Ward at first, but Dellf's sharp cover of Townes Van Zandt's "Lungs" brushed that one aside too.  Works for me: I dig Skip James, but nowadays, I play "Snake Song" and "To Live is to Fly" more than "Devil Got My Woman."

Sallie Ford and the Sound Outside played next.  Third time's the charm: I don't know if it was the air conditioning or the beer or the two-set warm-up, but Ford stepped up her game considerably here.  Her vocal attack had more bite ("You may thinkofmeas just some littlegirlyoumet..."), and her interactions with the crowd felt more open and comfortable.  She even told a joke: "Don't have phone sex; you might get hearing AIDS!"  Meanwhile, the band sounded as smooth and strong as they did a couple of hours earlier, and the enclosed space seemed to give the music more concentrated force.  The dance floor filled up early on and stayed full for the duration of the set.

Radiation City closed out the show at Neurolux.  Their shiny tunes, chiming guitar and misty keyboard sounded just as dreamy, but their lithe, bouncy rhythm section sounded much funkier and more rocking than I remembered.  Also, while I'm loath to call someone's singing "soulful" (really, the word gets used way too damn often), Elisabeth Ellison's moans, coos and wails all but demand it.  "Heart of Glass" would've made more sense coming from them than from Sallie Ford.  Given the savvy elusiveness of their lyrics, however, "Happiness is a Warm Gun" worked just as well.

You can find info on these groups on Facebook and elsewhere online.  Special thanks to Eric Gilbert and Duck Club Presents.  If you like what you've read and would like to help keep it going, click the yellow "Give" button and donate.  Even $5 would help.