Post-All Points West Friday, I felt like all my energy and enthusiasm for live music were drained out of me. I don't know how you 3-day ticket holders did it. I missed a whole bunch of awesome weekend happenings like No Deachunter and M Ward, and I almost bailed on going to see Foreign Born at The Bell House. Thankfully, Hippies Are Dead reminded me of how much they enjoyed seeing Foreign Born at The Independent, so I got my act together and started walking to the venue.
This show was the last one of the nearly month-long North American tour of Foreign Born and The Veils. Spirits were high, and the band was downing shots at the beginning of their set. Although the audience at the Bell House was sparse after The Veils, Foreign Born seemed to enjoy themselves so much that I couldn't help but smile. I guess APW didn't squash the love of live music out of me. In an earlier post, I shared the highly repeatable "Early Warnings." Truth be told, Person to Person is full of little lines that find a way to bury themselves into your memory. The catchiness of the album became more obvious to me during the Foreign Born set, with each song having an addicting guitar riff. Some of you would disagree with me, but I really believe that the upper-range guitar lines are the isolating factor for why Foreign Born leaves an impression on listeners while sounding pleasant to the ears. Now, if we could only get them to abandon their seizure-inducing stage lights, maybe I would be able to pay more attention to what's happening onstage.
Also posted below is a saccharine summer song called "Surprise Hotel" by Fool's Gold. Fool's Gold includes two members of Foreign Born, as well as former members of We Are Scientists, The Fall, and Glasser. Micachu & The Shapes recently remixed the song, also below.
Early Warnings - Foreign Born
Surprise Hotel - Fool's Gold
Surprise Hotel (Micachu & The Shapes Remix) - Fool's Gold (via RCRD LBL)
August 6, 2009
Foreign Born - The Bell House 08.03.09
March 26, 2009
Micachu & the Shapes - Pianos 03.25.09
via Music Snobbery
It’s true that euphony cannot exist without dissonance, but sometimes noise, even when deliberate and carefully executed, is still just noise. I hadn’t completely bought into Micachu & the Shapes prior to seeing them at Pianos, but glowing reviews from the fathers of music blogging and my favorite person on Twitter convinced me to put aside my skepticism for a night. After last night, I think I’m in the camp of people who think Micachu is mostly hype, as much as I do enjoy some of their songs.
Perhaps I’m missing some glaring point, but I’m fairly confident that I “get” Micachu’s music. No note, yell, crash, or jangle is a mistake or slip; every piece is intentional. Seeing Micachu & the Shapes in person makes this meticulosity even more apparent. They confront chaos and embrace it fully, making for a one of a kind listen. In the end, my thoughts on Micachu come down to my personal preferences for musical styles and ideas. Last night at Pianos, I realized that about 80%+ of the music was rough discordance, which is not what I expected. Maybe because I’m drawn to the more melodic songs of Jewellery like “Golden Phone” and “Vulture,” I thought the set would be more along the lines of those songs. “Golden Phone” is an incredible song that is both fun to listen to and unlike anything I’ve heard before. It’s playful and like a musical riddle, as the song bounces around different degrees of consonance and dissonance. Most of the time, the lines between the two are blurred, which only makes the listener want to hit the back button in order to figure it out. But, when the melodic snippets were removed from Micachu’s music, I was left a little confused. It’s like a joke with no punchline. I needed more melody to balance out the noise. Judging by the faces around the room last night, I don’t think I was the only one who was a little puzzled.
So, I didn’t exactly like Micachu’s final show in NYC. But, don’t let this deter you from listening to Jewellery, since there are definitely some tracks worth checking out. I’m not ready to make abstract listening a regular activity, but kudos to those of you who do. For now, I will stick with my Grizzly Bears.
Jewellery will be officially released on April 7. Pre-order it here.
Golden Phone - Micachu & the Shapes | Alternative Link
Vulture - Micachu & the Shapes | Alternative Link
