If you like live music (and I know you do!), you like Thunderbirds Are Now!. (As an aside, was I supposed to put a period after the exclamation point? I feel like all of this extra punctuation is making my third grade teacher spread the jam.) TAN! gives the best basic live show out there. Sure, bands like the Flaming Lips and Of Montreal can put on a good show, but it really is a lot of theatrics combined with the music. TAN! is just raw energy.
But when you've got a guy doing hand stands and the jumping-over-his-own-leg dance move, you know you've got something special. I've seen TAN! twice now, and they've killed both times. They have a new album out, which might not be quite as good as their last one, but still has many solid (and a few excellent) tracks on it.
The recipe for a TAN! show is 1) Start with a typical rock show 2) Increase the energy to as high as you've seen 3) Throw in a bunch of danceable beats 4) Get the audience involved by dancing in the audience and/or giving audience members tambourines 5) Have one band member walk that knife's edge of stage antics and real insanity. I think the only thing that could have made the show better is if there were more people there. The place was maybe half full. I don't understand that, but maybe the next time they come through town we can give them a better welcoming.
A big bonus is that these guys hail from Detroit. And the bass player graduated college with me (although I didn't know him then).
Thunderbirds Are Now! - Eat This City
Thunderbirds Are Now! - Eat This City (Video)
29 October 2006
30 May 2006
Rise Up In The Dirt
If you were wondering if the recent lack of posts was because of my indifference to blogging or my lack of interest in music, you were wrong! I was just in China for two weeks away from any live music I could understand.
But less than 4 days after getting back, I saw a show. I saw Voxtrot at Bottom of the Hill Sunday. I went with a whole mess of people (Ben, Rose, Kristin, Bethany, Jeni, Andrea, SEP, Stacy, Guy, Siobhan's aunt, Sionhan's aunt's friend), ran into a few people I hadn't seen in a while (Peter, Mike, Amy, Meredith, that high school kid from the last Voxtrot show), and met some cool new people (Brian, Annie, Andrea, Suzie, Curtis, Udi). Like the last Voxtrot show, this group of people enjoyed the set and had the most energy of anyone in the crowd. Unlike last time, we didn't ruin the show for everyone else aroun us by running into them.
Voxtrot is a really solid band with lots of good songs. And I'll keep going to their SF shows. But last night I was aching for some new material. They played some covers (New Order, Springsteen), but that didn't quite satisfy me. Maybe if they would have played some Flock of Segulls, like I requested (their response: "I wish!") I would have felt better.
Anyway, after the show, the crew went to Rotox for free Sparks and to hear Ramesh spin. It was a good time and the Sparks washed any lingering bad taste out of my mouth.
Voxtrot - Mothers, Sisters, Daughters & Wives
Voxtrot - The Start of Something
But less than 4 days after getting back, I saw a show. I saw Voxtrot at Bottom of the Hill Sunday. I went with a whole mess of people (Ben, Rose, Kristin, Bethany, Jeni, Andrea, SEP, Stacy, Guy, Siobhan's aunt, Sionhan's aunt's friend), ran into a few people I hadn't seen in a while (Peter, Mike, Amy, Meredith, that high school kid from the last Voxtrot show), and met some cool new people (Brian, Annie, Andrea, Suzie, Curtis, Udi). Like the last Voxtrot show, this group of people enjoyed the set and had the most energy of anyone in the crowd. Unlike last time, we didn't ruin the show for everyone else aroun us by running into them.
Voxtrot is a really solid band with lots of good songs. And I'll keep going to their SF shows. But last night I was aching for some new material. They played some covers (New Order, Springsteen), but that didn't quite satisfy me. Maybe if they would have played some Flock of Segulls, like I requested (their response: "I wish!") I would have felt better.
Anyway, after the show, the crew went to Rotox for free Sparks and to hear Ramesh spin. It was a good time and the Sparks washed any lingering bad taste out of my mouth.
Voxtrot - Mothers, Sisters, Daughters & Wives
Voxtrot - The Start of Something
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