Rooftop Playlist

I have been following Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs (Orlando Higginbottom) since early last year. He does not have a lot of music readily available but I have listened to remixes that are on iTunes, Household Goods, Prehistory, and Prehistory II over and over again. Wednesday he was in Austin playing at The Mohawk.

Unfortunately because it was on a Wednesday, the show was held inside so T.E.E.D did not have his dancers on stage or his lighting setup. It did not leave anything to be desired, though, because T.E.E.D does what he does so well that after the first song, you do not miss the gimmicks. Still, I would be lying if I said some light tricks would not have been fun to dance with. Nonetheless, T.E.E.D went on stage with his signature feathered outfit.

His set was just under 90 minutes and there were minor pauses and a little stage banter. Each track faded into each other, creating a continuous flow of thrashing dance beats. T.E.E.D blends your conventional electronic synthesizer styles but pairs it up just enough with vocals, drum beats, and some stark bass. He is a magician behind 3 full tables of equipment. He has formula for making music people love, no gimmicks needed, just some tenacious beats. Try playing his music at home, or in the car, or even walking down the street. I guarantee everything else would just be background noise because his music invokes a powerful even sublime set of emotions.

No disrespect to The Mohawk because I absolutely love their venue but their indoor stage is not made to accompany tons of people who went there to dance. I would have liked to see T.E.E.D in an indoor venue like The Parish. (I saw Digitalism, another electric group there and it was a great dancing experience.) It would have also been nice to see T.E.E.D. on the outside stage of Mohawk where people can comfortably dance with the visual effects (some people were upset if you danced into them, can you believe that noise?) Granted, though pitch dark,  constant camera flashes did make for an interesting “dancing” atmosphere.

T.E.E.D has a heavy fan base in the UK, with his first album dropping early June.

Music Video of Tapes & Money with live footage:

Live Version of Closer/Space Ballad/Trouble in London:

Better late than never:

Last Wednesday I caught The Black Keys at the Frank Erwin Center for the 3rd time in 2 years. Though I do not count the 2nd time, as it was hot outside in New Orleans and part of me was jamming out just to keep from passing out. I was skeptical at first because I still cannot fathom the idea of the band doing an arena tour, especially when one of the arenas is the Frank Erwin Center.

For a band that claims to be all about “good” music, I don’t understand why they would subject their great sound to such an awful venue with acoustics that are hit or miss. In the last few months I have seen two shows at the Frank Erwin Center besides The Black Keys, both of which were not terrible but not up to par. I will say this; the arena is not made for rap, and Drake sounded mediocre, while Radiohead sounded crisp but their sound still lacked fluidity, but neither performer was at fault.

Fortunately, The Black Keys’ music works for an arena like the Frank Erwin Center. The Black Keys are rock-and-roll-heavy with a lot of soul. Their sound, though not perfect, works with the acoustics of the venue. Putting my venue griping aside, The Black Keys can rock any space. I saw them in a more intimate setting during their Brothers Tour and it was by far the best show I saw in 2010. The same goes for their El Camino Tour.

The one thing that arena concerts force you to do is sit there and engage with music. Auerbach and Carney do exactly that; they both have a massive stage presence. The sound was loud and it amplified their usually brash, hard-hitting chords and pounding drums. Their set list (which you can see below) was heavily on El Camino and Brothers, but they added a few songs from various albums here and there. The Black Keys hit every note and key in stride. The encore was visually beautiful as they lit up the arena with their signature huge disco ball(s). With these guys, 90 minutes of music just isn’t enough.

Setlist: the highlighted denotes encore songs:

“Everlasting Light” by The Black Keys at the Frank Erwin Center:

Saturday April 14th I checked out Cursive along with two other bands; The Conduits and Cymbals Eat Guitars at Mohawk’s in Austin, Texas. Cursive is one of my favorite bands or maybe it is just Tim Kasher I am a fan of because as he said at the show he’s an asshole but for me that is part of his charm. I have seen Tim Kasher twice since I have been in Austin; his solo tour and, twice in Phoenix as Cursive and The Good Life prior to moving to Austin. It would be an understatement to say I am a huge fan of his music as each of his respective musical acts differs lyrically, vocally and musically.

Each band had almost a full hour-long set and the energy in the venue was high all the way from beginning to end. The Conduits kicked off the night with a great set. Their sound was rather bass-heavy but that could have been because it was a live performance and not an album. All the band members had great stage presence, particularly the bassist who seemed to be enjoying herself every song. I wish I could say the same for the lead singer who appeared to lack enthusiasm.

Next up was Cymbals Eat Guitars and they brought the energy level up even higher with their performance. Their performance was a bit heavier both musically and vocally. And to my surprise their sound seemed straight out of their albums. Lead singer Joseph D’Agostino’s high-range vocals fit perfectly with the guitar-heavy sound from the entire band. He even took time between songs to interact with the crowd, even if the crowd seemed to be made up of douche bags. But D’Agostino took it with a smile.

I don’t mean to take anything away from either of those two bands but I have to say the highlight of the night was definitely Cursive’s performance. The energy in the crowd and the whole venue was definitely at its peak by the time Kasher and the rest of the band hit the stage. I was impressed with the set list that was heavy on the best of their new stuff and the peak of their old stuff. Their set clocked in just under an hour and a half with an upbeat, vigorously played tempo. The 5-piece band of Cursive looked and sounded in sync playing off each other’s energy with raw energy and finesse. The highlight of the night was hearing Tim Kasher throw in a little TLC with his song “Art is Hard.” Who knew “No Scrub” could fit so nicely with Cursive’s hard-hitting progressive rock.

Check out Cursive’s new album I AM GEMINI.

I’ve always wanted to catch local Austin band The Zoltars but I always seem to miss their set when frequenting live music around town. I decided to drop by Trailer Space Records to FINALLY catch a set of theirs during SXSW. They will be putting out their debut full-length album Should I Try Once More? in April. This 4-member band takes a slow-moving, simple approach using only the basic bass, guitar, vocal, and drum arrangement but this arrangement helps the gritty, dark, and enduring lo-fi rock sound that weaves through their music. Even though there was a very small crowd in attendance, the lead singer still interacted with the people there. The singer’s high-range vocals mix very well with the melodic guitar sounds in their music and this was very apparent in their performance. Unfortunately, due to time constraints their set was cut a bit short but The Zoltars definitely did not disappoint in their performance, I would love to catch a full set around Austin in the future.

One of my favorite performers during SXSW was Spoek Mathambo not just because of his music but also he was genuinely a nice guy in person; happy to sign autographs while exchanging more than a few words with you. Spoek Mathambo recently released his second full album, Father Creeper which is full guitar, catchy and danceable beat. Mathambo is pumping out some creative and progressive music that’s an instant like. His opening track “Kites” immediately gets you hooked. The entire album moves all over the place in sound; rock, rap, funk, synth, and even a little metal elements but Mathambo makes it work well. As for his live performances during SXSW, no matter where he was, he was dominating every performance.

Key Tracks: Kites, Pump Some Red On It, and Let Them Talk

Live at the Spotify House in Austin, Texas