Xiu Xiu, Shearwater, and Casiotone for the Painfully Alone at Ottobar

This past Thursday, I went to the Ottobar to see art punk rockers Xiu Xiu play.
Opening up was local band Thrushes. Their sound was very shoegaze, and the lead singer's voice was nice. For some reason she had a paper on her mic stand (lyrics?). They still seem a little tentative on stage, but a nice opening set.

Second on the bill was Casiotone for the Painfully Alone. He brought out about six or seven Casio keyboards, but he seemed to only play three of them. I really enjoyed his melancholy pop songs, and the sound and range he got out of the Casio keyboards was pretty impressive.

The third act was Shearwater. They were a rock outfit with a little folk influence, and the band itself were all very good musicians. They had lovely lady on upright bass and a band member named Howard. However, I didn't really love their songs and music all that much.

Headliners, Xiu Xiu were pretty great. Their sound is a mix of punk and free music. I was particularly impressed by their percussionist Ches Smith who reminded me of avant-garde percussionists I've seen. They also did a fantastic cover of New Order's "Age of Consent".