Monday, September 27, 2010

September ends and October begins with all kinds of great music playing downtown all weekend!

As September winds down and October begins there's a whole list of great shows to catch, starting with some fantastic Bluegrass bands coming to the Bottleneck this week, and ending with a gigantic music festival, Scion Garage Fest held within four of the best venues downtown.

First, local Bluegrass gods Deadman Flats will be playing with Oakhurst at the Bottleneck at 10 p.m. on Wednesday. Deadman Flats' style of speedy, punkish bluegrass and hilarious drinkin' country tunes makes every show into a hoedown of epic proportions. Oakhurst is a five-piece bluegrass jam band from Denver, that sound talented and easy on the ears. These two bands should compliment each other quite well, and make for a great mid-week concert to let loose at.

Then, Dirtfoot will be stopping by the Bottleneck to lay down some awesome bluegrass jams Friday at 10 p.m. with American Aquarium. Dirtfoot, the folk and bluegrass band from Shreveport, Louisiana always puts on a fantastic show to a big, enthusiastic crowd, so come ready to party hardy!

BUT, also on Friday at 10 p.m. The Spook Lights, one of Lawrence's coolest, weirdest bands will be on at the Replay Lounge along with Fag Cop, Strong Smells, and Wayne Pain. This show will only be $2 and these bands are most likely to play to a smaller, more personal crowd in the indoor part of the bar. The Spook Lights are awesomely quirky, full of passion and brilliant talent, not to mention lots of fun, addictive hits that all their loyal fans love. The band has a special style of old 60s pop rock crossed with a little bit of spooky, psychedelic surf rock to create something you won't hear anywhere else.

Now, granted it's pretty ironic that a bunch of indie rock bands would play for a festival that's blatantly sponsored by a big not-at-all-indie company, but Scion Garage Fest is going to be epic for music lovers. The festival involves a list of bands playing one after another at The Bottleneck, Liberty Hall, The Jackpot Music Hall, and The Granada. Most of the bands listed appear to be indie rock groups of one sub-genre or another. The best bands this reviewer is excited to see are opening and headlining at Liberty Hall. Rooftop Vigilantes, a Lawrence original band that's skyrocketing to fame is playing one last show in town before going on tour. Then The Raveonettes will finish the night at Liberty Hall at 11 p.m. The Denmark based indie rock band plays a style of oldies mixed with dark lyrics and slick, addictive guitar riffs. Some of their songs rock hard and fast, others are slow and sweet, but it's all well-composed, brilliantly executed music without compare. Try Aly, Walk With Me on their Myspace to get a great idea of their use of melodies, harmonies and harsh noise to make incredibly music. This may be one of the rarest bands you can ever see in Lawrence, these guys don't come around this area often. Be there!

But if neither of these bands is your cup of tea, there's dozens of other bands playing all evening and through the night at the other three venues this festival is being held at. So take your pick and have a fantastic weekend!

Monday, September 20, 2010

Electric Theory pumps up the Riot Room for Mouth to get wild

The Riot Room attracted a crowd of party people from Kansas City's Westport area and Lawrence folks that weathered the stormy night to make it out to see a great lineup of bands. This reviewer's favorites, Electric Theory and Mouth were big hits with the audience and turned the show into a dance party like no other bands could.

Electric Theory's set received a lot of attention from the crowd, which was previously divided between the indoor bar and the outdoor patio, which also had a bar and featured a DJ spinning hip-hop dance tunes. Their last song was especially epic, exemplifying the band's fantastic style of well-practiced jams, including pulsing bass and drums that are irresistibly dance-able. The crowd was getting down through the thrilling finale and then were left cheering for more as the next band began to set up.

Avant Du Futur, a band with an interesting sound but without an easily-found website, came on next. The foursome's combination of synthesizer mixed sounds, a woman's gorgeous voice and a sorceress of the violin made for some very interesting music. Their style of ambient, techno-infused, haunting melodies took the show through a mysterious trip into subtly growing, pumping dance tunes. The songs all seemed to blend together so the band virtually never paused during their set, but on the downside this included a few long, repetitive streaks that could have been cut down. Still, by the second half of their set the crowd on the dancefloor was moving non-stop to the pulsing rhythms and harmonious violin and vocals.

Two tough acts to follow, but still Mouth stole the show with their ever-improving, polished renditions of some of their best hits, plus new stuff everybody loved. The three-piece band really knows how to throw it down, and made the Riot Room dance floor into a wild party. Every instrument works in sync with the others, and they play off of each other to make every great song into a growing, pumping, funky jam that the crowd takes to quickly. The crowd was getting down from start to finish of this great set. In fact, the members of the band said they were given special permission to "just keep playing" as long as they wanted, enjoying the love and energy of an appreciative crowd to play on through the night.

Great music is worth traveling for, especially when it's at a good venue. The Riot Room is built to bring the audience up to the dance floor from the bar to enjoy the band. The show was partly great thanks to this comfortably spacious and well-designed bar. Most importantly, it was well worth the drive to KC to catch this fantastic show because these bands all threw down heavy sets that everyone enjoyed.

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Saturday night full of funky jam shows!

Between Lawrence and Kansas City there is a good show almost every night, especially on the weekends. This weekend there will be great shows everywhere, giving everyone choices for what party they want to rage it at.

Saturday night Rocket Science will be playing at the Bottleneck with Funkotron and Nadis Warriors. This show should be a great time for everyone in town. Rocket Science's style of groovy electronic funk and original drum and bass jams makes for great dancing, drinking, partying music. Anyone looking for fun downtown should check this show out at 8 p.m.!

The same exact night at 9 p.m. Mouth and Electric Theory will be playing in Kansas City at the Riot Room with Avant Du Futur, TooTheFace, and Re:Animated. Mouth's funky, jazzy jams have made some of the very best shows in Lawrence to date, so it's worth it to make the trip to KC just to catch them. On top of that the rising star Electric Theory is playing electronic breakbeats to get down to. They will undoubtedly have a great set. These two bands alone guarantee a fantastic show, but they're playing along with three other bands, for just $8. This is the best bang for your buck, hands down. So, if you're in Kansas City, or really interested in hearing some awesome music, this would be a great night to check out the Riot Room.

Sunday night Rogue Wave will be coming through town, playing their unique style of folksy, pop indie rock at the Granada at 7 p.m. for $15, according to Lawrence.com. Rogue Wave came through town a year or two ago, and played a fun set at the Bottleneck where the band members were friendly and talkative with their audience, if the show at the Granada is anything like that show, it will be a cool time for anyone down for some well-practiced indie rock.

Stay tuned for more great shows coming up in the next few weeks!

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Aotearoa impresses at the Eighth Street Tap Room

It's a rare pleasure to discover a brilliant new band, full of potential, just getting started. A diamond in the rough is exciting to see because you can hear the natural talent, the practiced skill and the capacity for greatness.

Monday night the Eighth Street Tap Room was hosting five different local bands, each given a short time slot to give the mixed audience of indie hipsters a taste of their style. Among the various bands playing was a duo that call themselves Aotearoa. The pair of musicians switched instruments for different songs, one on drums the other playing electric guitar. This band alone made the show worth the three dollar cover charge.
Their set was short, just a few quick songs, but it was impressive. The rhythmic drum beats and snappy, clever guitar riffs worked together in perfect harmony. The instruments backed up the singing to form funky songs that were easy to groove to and catchy enough that every song left the audience cheering for more.
Jake Lerman, one of the band members, looped guitar riffs to play a second guitar part along with the first, and even picked up a second pair of drum sticks and played fast, wicked percussion on a cowbell, cymbals and other percussion pieces alongside with the other drummer. Between the two musicians they produced more separate sounds in their songs than any average pair of artists could.

Aotearoa's style of funky, jam-band rock was danceable and fun, although you would not have guessed it from the shy crowd that stood around the Tap Room basement. Nonetheless the band's sound was fantastic and addictive and got the audience moving way more than the previous band.
Every song was a brilliant, but short piece, that could easily be extended to a full set. This band has the talent, skill and potential to rise up high in the local music scene. As a fan of bigger local bands with a similar style, this reviewer would like very much to see Aotearoa take a shot at opening for such big names as Mouth or The Floozies. With a little luck these musicians can meet up and see just how well they can work together. Keep an eye out for more shows from Aotearoa, they are definitely worth checking out.

Sound Tribe delivers sick set at the Crossroads in KC then The Floozies throw down for the afterparty

It was a perfect night for an outdoor show downtown in the city. The Crossroads at Grinders in Kansas City was set up with fantastic lights, lasers and fog machines to create an atmosphere of psychedelic electronica. A crowd lined up in the neighboring parking lot, along with folks gathered around cars surrounding the venue, tailgating the show. The air was alive with the eager fans' anticipation. It was clear that this would be a fantastic night.

Ghostland Observatory opened for the gathering crowd, playing electronic jams that included piercing, lyrics that were not always in tune with the music. The punk element the vocals brought was interesting, but it felt out of place with the rest of the songs. The crowd was appreciative, but the opener was not on par with the headliner.

When Sound Tribe Sector 9 took the stage, the audience went wild. It was just after 9 p.m. and the crowd was excited to jam. Throughout the set, the band played familiar songs to entirely different tempos, with odd sharp and flat chords, as if playing the songs in whole different keys. It felt satisfying to hear the band play something familiar, but new. STS9 met their own greatest challenge, finding a jam bands' balance between lovable classics and new, original material. EHM, one of this reviewer's all-time favorite songs was played fantastically well, stirring the crowd to a higher level of energy than anything else. The instrument's volumes were well balanced, to allow hardcore fans to usually hear the parts of songs they know well, but even so, there was an occasional omission of some sweet, lovable solo or riff that left one's ears with something missing.
Even with a powerful performance including some very well-done renditions of songs like Shock Doctrine, Rent and One a Day, there was a general outcry of shock and dismay when the band said goodnight at 11 p.m. Granted, two hours is a fairly decent set, but the encore's two songs were possibly the weakest in the set, and left the crowd feeling a little let down. In retrospect it was a great show, but at the time it really felt short.

Although the show at the Crossroads ended tragically early, The Floozies had spread the word about an afterparty show at the Crosstown Station around the corner. At the early hour of the night a trickle of music lovers who were far from finished partying made their way to the smaller, indoor venue, where one of the EZ brothers was playing songs to warm things up for The Floozies.
Mark and Matt Hill took the stage to an eruption of applause from friends, fans and music enthusiasts ready to get down. It was a long, and passionate set for the band, playing from before midnight until 2:30 a.m. and the brother's played with the intricate brilliance and funky soul. The crowd was grateful and packed the dancefloor butt to gut, getting wild and crazy through the set. Loyal Lawrencians who traveled for the show and stuck around to see their local favorites took the stage to dance behind the band, while a hula-hoop wielding seductress performed beautifully up front.
Sound Tribe might seem like a tough act to follow, but in the intimate venue, surrounded by friends and party animals, the Floozies proved themselves more than capable. The last song, a hot, funky rendition of Thriller, brought the house down, and left the crowd satisfied.

Sound Tribe threw down a great set, and even though it felt short, it really wasn't. This may not have been their very best set ever, but it was good, and original, and you can't ask for more from a jam band that is always trying something new when they play live shows. The Floozies made the night, when they picked up the energy right where STS9 left it. It would be great to see both these bands on the same stage someday!

Friday, September 3, 2010

From Quiet Arms rock the Granada and The Floozies get crunk at the Bottleneck

Thursday night the streets were alive downtown, with great shows up and down Mass. street. The Granada was hosting a CD release party while the Bottleneck celebrated the Homecoming of a local band that's just about to launch a new tour. Fans for both bands came out to show their support and partied like it was already the weekend.

From Quiet Arms followed close behind the last of their three openers, playing a fantastic set of songs off their new CD. The band's additional instruments filled out the sound, giving the band's stage presence a huge boost in strength. Between the three guitarists, two keyboards, bass, drums and vocals, the band blasted their audience with powerful, climactic songs. Unfortunately the crowd wasn't what it should have been, the Granada was about half full. But, to their credit, the fans were raging it hard, screaming and hollering between every song, cheering the hearts out. From Quiet Arms enjoyed a strong following of loyal fans.
"This was a great show, we had fun." Bassist Josh Adkins said.
The band may have had technical difficulties with an instrument, but it was completely covered by the brilliant work of the other musicians, producing a sound quality that was even better than any performance this reviewer has seen before.
"It was everything from the last four years of our lives, and it was awesome to have a good turnout," Vocalist Stephen Cabrera said, "It was a really good time. I'm happy it happened."

As if From Quiet Arms' show weren't enough to complete a Thursday night, The Floozies were still on at the Bottleneck when the show was over. A crowd of Floozies fans packed the Bottleneck, with beautiful girls crowding the stage, pulling a couple of lucky guys including yours truly up with them. Matt and Mark Hill played on until the bar was closing, finishing the night with brilliant, funky, jazzy jams. The next month will see The Floozies all over the midwest, but you will have one opportunity to catch them around here soon, when they play at the STS9 Afterparty this Sunday night.

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Previews for September's first epic week of concerts!

The month has barely started and already the Lawrence music scene is amped up with shows! Tomorrow night there are two great concerts downtown, another the next night, and even Sound Tribe coming up this weekend!

Thursday night, local music lovers will have plenty of options downtown. The Floozies are having their Homecoming celebration at the Bottleneck with South Carolina-based The Malah. The show starts at 9:30 p.m. for just $5. The Floozies' style of funky, jazzy jam is pure party music, and with a dedicated following of fans in Lawrence, this show is guaranteed to rock.

At the very same time, From Quiet Arms is having a CD release party at the Granada. The local Alternative Rock group has completed a 10 track album they are selling for just $5, and will be performing every song from the CD in order, at the Granada to give the audience a demonstration of what they've accomplished. The show starts early with three openers, Cloud Dog, Mother Culture, and PM Today. The headlining band comes on at 11 p.m. From Quiet Arms has taken their stage presence to a new level, with a third guitarist, and second keyboard to give their performance a fuller sound. Every crescendo and climax will feel tremendous with the band's added instruments, and the entire set will include an extravagant light show. This show will also be just $5.

Deciding which show to attend is a tough call, but no matter where you wind up, it's sure to be a great night for music downtown.

Friday night Mountain Sprout, one of the best bluegrass bands around will be coming up to the Bottleneck from their home in Arkansas. These guys really know how to party. Every show is a hilarious, boot-stompin', beer-drinkin' riot. Come ready to rage it with wild bluegrass folks.

Skipping ahead to Sunday: Sound Tribe Sector 9 will be playing at the Crossroads in Kansas City. STS9 usually stops by Lawrence a little later in the fall, but this is a welcome surprise, and the outdoor venue will be a great location for this epic electronic jam band to rock out at. Tickets sold at the Bottleneck were only $27. They may have already sold out, but if you can get there, it will be worth anything to be at this show.

This is shaping up to be a great month for concerts. Stay tuned for more previews of awesome shows coming up soon!