Voxtrot / Love Is All - Popscene - 11/2/06

"Charming" was the theme for the night. Both Voxtrot and Love Is All are quite charismatic and have the ability to win over people who come to their show but don't know their music. Annie and I got to Popscene early enough to watch Love Is All, hearing ahead of time that they put on a kick-ass live show. The studio versions of Love Is All's songs are okay and definitely have merit, but they're not really enjoyable in the normal sense.

Their live act, on the other hand, is quite enjoyable. The staccato yell-sing words over the crowded background of guitars, drums, and sax seems to resonate in your body. Apparently these Swedes have tapped into the alligator portion of our brains. It's difficult not comparing them to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. I mean they both have strong female leads with convoluted, noisy, artsy music. Listen to Talk Talk Talk Talk (below) and tell me that you couldn't see the Yeah Yeah Yeahs playing that. In short, despite their harsh sound, they won me over.

Voxtrot didn't need to win me over, they had me at hello. Ramesh is one of the best frontmen around. He makes girls swoon and boys question their sexuality. His playful style and bad dance moves are very enduring. His personality perfectly matches the light and hooky (yet still complex and interesting) music the band plays. The set was short (as all Popscene sets are), but they played enough new stuff to make me have doubts about their full-length debut. Their first two EPs are magical, but Your Biggest Fan seems to be a little too repetitive. I think a good producer could point them in the right direction though.

But don't think that I didn't like their performance. But I've seen them 4 times in the last year (my review from May and I'll have another review up shortly). I want them to evolve, and I think they're trying to move forward, I just think they need a little help.

Voxtrot - Mothers, Sisters, Daughters, & Wives

Voxtrot - Trouble

Voxtrot - The Start Of Something

Love Is All - Talk Talk Talk Talk

Love Is All - Busy Doing Nothing

Margot and the Nuclear So and Sos - Popscene - 8/3/06

Originally uploaded by ryanfoley.

Why is the percussionist (not to be confused with the drummer) always the most interesting person in the band to watch? My current theory is that as children these were the kids that constantly goofing off in class to get the teacher's attention. And now they get to bang on loud things to get attention.

Anyway, Annie, Thea, and I went to Popscene to catch Margot and the Nuclear So and Sos (which may be the worst band name by a good band ever). Popscene is the place in San Francisco to show off your leg warmers and bullet belt. It's also the place to go if you're indie and under 21. It's gotten to the point where I feel pretty old going there. How long do I have before I feel old at bars?

As far as the music, MatNSaS (which should be pronounced "mat-an-sass") played a relatively long set for Popscene. They have a very full sound, which one might expect with eight members. The overlapping male and female vocals add even more depth. Most of their songs are pretty mellow, which is nice, but the venue is really best for bands that bring the rock (Hot Hot Heat killed there). But a couple of the songs swapped acoustic for electric guitar and really kicked things into gear. Those were the songs that made me think this was a good show. With only the slower stuff, I'd forget about this show in a couple of months.

Maybe I'm just in the mood for a band that can get me jumping and dancing. Wolf Parade is in a couple of weeks and that should be the fix I desire.


Here is a pretty good video of one of their rockin' songs.

Love is a Number

Originally uploaded by ryanfoley.

I had intended to see Tapes 'n Tapes on Thursday. Even though they've got the hype machine that is the interweb pushing them forward, I still dig them. They're not the next Radiohead or anything, but a good band that I wanted to see.

Unfortunately, by the time we got to Du Nord, the show was sold out. I don't get it. Just a week prior I saw Spinto Band and didn't have any ticket problems. Is Tapes 'n Tapes bigger?

Anyway, we were planning on going to Popscene after the show, so we just went a little early. And White Rose Movement was there. I didn't realize that I had one of their songs in the old iTunes until I heard them play it (actually, I thought that they were maybe playing a cover).

So WRM (as I'm going to call them from now on) is the right type of band to play Popscene: British. That and their music is very danceable. I don't know if it would work in a larger venue or if people weren't in the mood to dance.

Anyway, like all Popscene sets, WRM's was short. But they rocked pretty hard while they were on stage. The singer was energetic enough to keep me interested. And the keyboard player was way cute.

When the set ended, the crowd devolved into the normal under-age indie dance party.