Monthly Music

I did not end up going to see Yo La Tengo two Sundays ago, as I mentioned I might. I got up pretty late on Sunday and had a bunch of things to take care of. However, last night I did end up going to Nectar to see KJ Sawka again, opening for Pnuma Trio and their guest Ryan Burnett of Single Path.

I’m not sure what to add to my previous review of KJ Sawka. The man maintains impressive levels of energy and enthusiasm throughout his hour-plus set of nearly continuous drumming. It’s definitely the kind of music you have to know well to pick out discrete tunes; some transitions are broad and obvious, but others blend seamlessly. The only bit I recognized from last time was a vocal sample that I know from DJ Shadow’s song “Six Days” (although I’m not sure whether it’s original to that song), and that sample doesn’t appear on his album, Synchronized Decompression. Actually, I don’t recall hearing any of the vocals that are on his album, but again, I”m not yet familiar enough with the material; he may have left those tracks out, or just not used the samples, or I may just be forgetting. After all, breakbeat is less about the recognizable single and more about the continuous beat for dancing, and there was definitely dancing going on.

The dancing continued with Pnuma Trio. The Pnuma Trio play a fast, heady mix of funk, jazz, and drum-n-bass. Their instrumentation included several keyboards and synthesizers, a PowerBook, a five-string bass, and a drum set; their guest Ryan Burnett played guitar and also used an iMac. The foursome demonstrated their virtuosity with tight arrangements, precise tempo changes, and some breakneck (break-finger?) playing. Initially their tempo seemed surprisingly fast for their funky sound, but they ended up varying the tempo frequently, both within the songs and from one to the next. The fast tempo didn’t stop the dancers, either; if anything even more people got up and danced. The band also made good use of stage lighting, featuring four multi-faceted moving spotlights (I’m sure there’s a short technical name for them, I just liked the alliteration there), and a little machine smoke to make the lights stand out. Unfortunately, I did not bring enough cash to pick up their CD, Live From Out There, but it’s available online at the Homegrown Music Network. The band’s from Memphis, so I suppose it’ll be a while before they’re back, but I’ll be keeping an eye out for them.

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I’ve got a couple shows in mind for November. On Sunday the 12th, Tahiti 80 are playing the Crocodile Cafe, and also doing an in-store appearance at Sonic Boom Records in Ballard at 6 pm - hmm, maybe I’ll just go to the in-store appearance, as it’s free. Then on Wednesday the 15th, Asobi Seksu return to Seattle and Chop Suey, where they played back on September 30. I meant to go to that show, and actually was anticipating it quite a bit, but then fate intervened and I wasn’t able to make it. So I’m very pleased that they’re returning so soon, and I’m expecting it to be pretty wonderful. Hmm, there are quite a few good bands playing in November - for example, Kinski’s playing the Crocodile this Friday the 3rd, I see Reggie Watts is doing another show at the Triple Door on the 16th, and a bunch of other big-name acts. As always, take a look at the calendar on the Three Imaginary Girls site for upcoming shows; The Stranger’s listings are more comprehensive, but only for the current week.

Last night I went to see Ladytron with CSS at The Showbox. I was having doubts about whether I really wanted to go to this show, because I’d just seen Ladytron back in April; it wasn’t likely there’d be much new to the show, so I wasn’t sure I’d enjoy this one as much as the last. However, I’d already agreed to go with John and Amy Peltonen, who’d unfortunately missed the previous show. My doubts turned out to be foolish, as Ladytron rocked the house and was totally worth seeing again.

Opening act CSS were a sextet, five women and one man, from São Paulo, Brazil - although the only hint of that was a slight accent (which I couldn’t identify) when the lead singer spoke between songs. The women included the lead singer, a bassist, and three guitarists - one of whom took over drums for the last few songs, while the other two played keyboards as well. The man mostly played drums, but near the end of their set came out to play guitar and bass on a couple songs. Musically, they had a ’70s-punk/rock vibe to them, reminding me of both The Ramones and Joan Jett. They played enthusiastically, and the lead singer worked hard to rally the crowd, though the band did seem to have a fair amount of fans in the audience. The singer even crowd-surfed twice during one song, something I believe I actually have never seen before. For one song they dragged Ben Gibbard (of Death Cab for Cutie and The Postal Service) out on stage to share a bit of vocals, which had me thinking they were a local band; it’s only now that I’ve discovered their Brazilian origins. I didn’t find their music particularly interesting, overall, but it wasn’t bad by any means. Mostly they just seemed like an odd choice as an opening act for Ladytron: brash, youthful, enthusiastic punk-pop rock, in contrast to Ladytron’s calculated, sophisticated, often-dark synth rock.

The notable difference between the previous Ladytron show and this one was the additional stage lighting; whereas the previous show had mainly moody red spotlights, on the Showbox’s larger stage they were able to add five light stands, each with four white spotlights and a large strobing lamp with red, blue and clear filters. As with the Goldfrapp show last May, the banks of lights facing into the audience added a real rock spectacle feeling to the show, heightening the excitement of the performance. In another similarity to the Goldfrapp show, as the concert progressed lead singer Helena Marnie let her detachment slide and roused the audience to bounce up and down, pump their fists in the air, and clap hands overhead. The lighting and the crowd-working accentuated the driving beat and danceability of much of the music, in contrast to the often dark and desolate lyrics. But loving Ladytron is all about taking delight in doom and gloom, and the audience was full of love. The set covered much of their latest album, Witching Hour, but older songs were featured too, including “He Took Her To A Movie”, “Seventeen”, and set closer “Playgirl”. The two-song encore brought the house down with the anthemic “The Last One Standing” and current hit “Destroy Everything You Touch”. It wasn’t long into the set before I had a big grin on my face, and by the end I was bouncing up and down and clapping in the air along with everyone else, very happy that I hadn’t passed up this show after all.

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There are quite a few promising shows this month. Besides Ladytron, I could’ve gone to see Melissa Ferrick last night at the Crocodile; tonight I’m missing out on Bettie Serveert at the Crocodile, Math and Physics Club at the Sunset Tavern, and the Dresden Dolls at the Showbox. Tomorrow I might still go see Yo La Tengo at the Showbox; it’ll depend on the mood I’m in, and whether I can get around to making dinner early enough. This Thursday, the 19th, Ghostland Observatory are doing two shows at the Crocodile. Stephin Merritt and Daniel Handler (aka Lemony Snicket) are at the Town Hall on Thursday the 26th, and KJ Sawka is at Nectar Lounge on Sunday the 29th. Next month, Kinski are playing at the Crocodile on Friday the 3rd, and Tahiti 80 are also playing there on Sunday the 12th; I’ll probably go to the latter show, and maybe to the former as well.