Jay Reatard with Cola Freaks at the Black Cat

I went to the Black Cat Tuesday night to see Jay Reatard play. It was a good crowd of mostly dudes, but the show was really great. The openers were the Cola Freaks, a really high energy punk band from Denmark. The lead singer was really intense and he went into the crowd and had people scream into the mic.
I've been listening to a lot of Jay Reatard records recently, particularly Blood Visions. He was pretty fantastic live- reminded me of punk shows I saw in college. He played his set with very little break between songs, and I'm betting that in my younger days, I would have wanted to get in on a mosh pit.

The Wedding Present at the Black Cat

Last weekend, I went to the Black Cat to see Britpop legends, The Wedding Present play. Before the show even started, David Gedge was talking to fans at the merchandise table which I thought was pretty cool.
Their set was a nice mix of some of their classics as well as songs from their most recent record, El Rey. The band sounded great, and Gedge broke several guitar strings. It was odd that their roadie, instead of being the stereotypical middle aged dude, was a young cute woman wearing an Obama button.
As with all their shows, they played their setlist with no requests or encores. During their show, Gedge said they don't do requests because it was too hard to remember all his songs.

Mission of Burma perform Vs. at the Black Cat

This past weekend, I went to see legendary band, Mission of Burma perform their album Vs. at the Black Cat.
Opening up was the band Versus, named after the Mission of Burma album. They haven't really played much since 2001, so I was pleasantly surprised at a chance to see them as well. They sounded good- playing a mix of old songs as well as some new ones.
This was my first time seeing Mission of Burma, and they were awesome. Their energy onstage really got the crowd going, even singing along. They had producer/musician Bob Weston on the sound board doing the effects for the songs. I really liked watching Clint Conley rock out. Despite their age, this band played better than a lot of younger acts.
For encore, highlights included "Academy Fight Song" and "This is not a Photograph".

Polvo at the Black Cat

So last night in DC, I was lucky to see the newly reunited NC noise rock band Polvo in their first show in 10 years.
The last time I saw them was opening for Pavement in the mid-90's. They made a crack about a lot of drunken 35 year olds in the audience tonight.
At first, they didn't seem as tight a band as before, but after warming up, they were pretty great. The new drummer seemed to fit in well to their vibe as a band. They played some familiar songs as well as a new song.

Their setlist included: "Thermal Treasure", "Every Holy Shroud", "Festher of Forgiveness", "Fast Canoe", "Tragic Carpet Ride", "Title Track"

The Raveonettes with Black Acid at The Black Cat

Three sold out concerts in a row in DC- I'm tired today.
Last night I went to see Danish band The Raveonettes at the Black Cat main stage.
The openers were a British band Black Acid whose style reminded me of old British metal of the 70's and 80's. They were actually very entertaining for me- the lead singer had on tight white pants and a sleazy voice.
I love the new album by the Raveonettes, Lust Lust Lust. It's their best to date- part Jesus & Mary Chain and part Angelo Badelamenti. In concert, they were really great. Their music needs to be heard really loud because of the feedback and noise made by their guitars- they remind me of the house band in Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me.
I was standing right in front of singer-guitarist Sharin Foo- she looked cool with her really blond hair, dark mascara and blue eyes. I also liked how their drummer only had 2 drum and a cymbal. One highlight of the concert was when they did a cover of Stereolab's "French Disko".

Xiu Xiu with Thao Nguyen at the Black Cat

The backstage area of the Black Cat was soldout last night for arty rock band Xiu Xiu and former DC musician currently getting a bit of internet buzz, Thao Nguyen.
Opening up was musician Chris Garneau, a musician who sang low key breathy pop songs accompanied by organ and cello. I was not a huge fan of his songs, and I wished he hadn't played so many songs with the exact same pace and mood.
Clearly the show was sold out because of fans of former local musician Thao Nguyen with The Get Down Stay Down. She was alright- the band had a lot of energy. Similar to musicians like Feist, she reminds me of Cat Power with less angst. I understand her appeal, and I though she put on a good show, but not quite my cup of tea.
Xiu Xiu still blows me away when I see them live. I appreciate how serious they are about their music, and despite half the room clearing out before they started, they were still impressive. Jamie Stewart is a really interesting frontman - his voice is very impassioned, and his guitar playing is interesting.

The Thermals with Reporter at the Black Cat

Sorry for the lack of posts recently. More venues are not allowing personal cameras- I saw Cat Power and Morrissey recently and they were cracking down hard on people with little cameras. Kind of sucks. Another show I went to, Feist at the Rams Head is viewable on MSN now. I'm the big head middle, towards the back.
So Saturday, went to the Black Cat to see The Thermals for the second time this year. Openers Reporter were pretty fun to see as well. Lead singer Alberta is friends with lickingpants and studioacorn, so I said hi to her at the merch table and wished her a happy birthday.
Didn't get as good a spot as last time to see The Thermals, but yet again, they were pretty great- high energy, fun music.

Patrick Wolf & Bishi at the Black Cat

Last night I went to the Black Cat to see Patrick Wolf play- it wasn't too crowded which was nice. Opening up was singer-sitar player Bishi from London. She mixed Indian music with a dance sound. Her voice was really nice, and it was fun watching her jam on the sitar. She mentioned her sitar teacher was in town but she was reluctant to have him see her as rock sitar is counter to what sitar is all about.
I was really happy to have had a chance to see Patrick Wolf. I've been following his music since Lycanthropy first came out. He is an amazing musician- playing guitar, viola, and keyboards. I wish his acccordion hadn't broke on the trip over.
He actually played a lot of songs from his earlier records- I got the impression he was burnt out on playing songs from The Magic Position.

The Thermals with The Big Sleep & Statehood at Black Cat

Last night was a great soldout show at the Black Cat with Portland's The Thermals.
Opening up was local group, Statehood. They had a lot of energy. Their sound was very post-punk. They actually reminded me some of Baltimore's Low Moda, but dancier- a lot of driving drums with staccato guitar. I enjoyed their set.
The second act was The Big Sleep from Brooklyn. They were ok- their sound was very rhythmic with a lot of feedback and electronic sounds. It became a little droning after a while - hence their namesake I guess.

The Thermals were pretty amazing live. They played with a incredible amount of energy, and the crowd was going crazy. Lead singer Hutch Harris was really charismatic on stage, and he seemed to really appreciate the excitement of the audience. Also, watching bassist Kathy Foster play was pretty hot- she has this cool mellow attitude to her performance- woo woo.

Joanna Newsom at the Black Cat

Last night, I was lucky to go to a sold out Black Cat to see Joanna Newsom play.
I've been a huge fan of hers since her first record, The Milk Eyed Mender, came out a couple years ago. My friends are split between those that love her music, and those that find her voice too annoying to bear. I understand their complaint, but I feel her voice perfectly matches her music and songs.
Her new record Ys just came out this week to great reviews. It's got amazing arrangements by Van Dyke Parks as well as recording by Steve Albini and mastering by Jim O'Rourke.
Last night started with Joanna Newsom coming onstage by herself. She did "Bridges and Balloons", "The Book of Right On", and a traditional Scottish song. Her harp playing was beautiful. I liked how she mentioned she had a callus that was particularly squeaky that night.
After warming up, she brought her band onstage: a guitarist who also played the banjo and a Russian guitar; a barefoot drummer who used mostly mallets and brushes; a musician who played accordion, jaw harp, and the saw; and a backup singer who also played the glockenspiel.
The whole group then played the Ys album in its entirety. They modified the orchestral arrangements for the smaller group- like a chamber music version of the album. The show was amazing. I was pretty astounded at Joanna Newsom's virtuosity on the harp and her ability to sing and play so intensely for a whole concert like she did.

Camera Obscura and Georgie James at the Black Cat

Two nights in a row of Scottish twee pop music!
Last night I went to the Black Cat to see Scottish band Camera Obscura and DC locals Georgie James play. It was a good crowd for a Sunday night.
First off, Laura Burhenn of Georgie James is really hot!
Since the last time I saw them, they have written several new songs. I do like their poppy grooves and they have a lot of energy live. John Davis mentioned that they are
in the midst of recording tracks for an album release. I look forward to that. Some of their new songs were pretty good. Touring with Camera Obscura will definitely get them some more exposure across the country.








I loved Camera Obscura!
Their new record, "Let's Get Out of This Country" is currently getting a lot of iPod play for me, and I was really excited to see them live. They remind me of what I loved about early Belle & Sebastian. Lead singer, Tracyanne Campbell is a cutey- she's really tiny, and her voice is so beautiful.
The band has a really full sound live as well. When they did the title track, they threw in a few verses of "Call Me Al" by Paul Simon.
I had a great weekend of Scottish bands! Scotland's for me!

José González, Juana Molina, and Psapp at the Black Cat

Last night, I went to a great show at the Black Cat - I'm pretty sure it was sold out.
Opening was a group from the UK called Psapp.
They've been getting some notice for having their song "Cozy in the Rocket" being used as the theme song for "Gray's Anatomy". Their sound is a pop with electronics, violin, and toy instruments.
They put on an energetic show, and lead singer Galla's voice sounded great- nice and smooth. She threw out knitted cats to the audience after naming them - I liked "Tampon Legs" the best. They also said they did a taping for Pancake Mountain that afternoon.

The second artist was singer Juana Molina, a former TV star from Argentina, who sings music that combines acoustic guitar and electronics. She just released her third record, "Son", and it's really good. She also, for some odd reason, is being grouped into the "freak folk" crowd because she is collaborating with Devendra Banhart (idiotic NY Times!).
I enjoyed seeing her at Coachella in 2004, and, despite some problems with the soundboard guys who couldn't get rid of her feedback, she was even better last night. Her vocals were amazing despite technical difficulties.
Headlining was José González, a Swedish musician of Argentinian descent who plays classical guitar and sings with a nice tenor voice. He did his popular song "Heartbeats", and I liked that he closed his main set with a cover of Nick Drake's "In the Morning". His guitar playing style is very similar to Drake's anyway.

He definitely drew a very young crowd. Oh, and I think I pissed off this guy (link below) for being up in front. As a rebuttal, he chose to stand behind me as I was at my spot once the doors opened. Second, I like to move to the music (the erratic movements?), not stand like a statue during a good show. And lastly, if the guy was 5'11", he's breaking ranks with his preferred standing chart- he should have been 2 persons behind me. Also, he was clearly a nonfan of the opening acts, so he should have waited in the rear during their sets.
Addendum: In case the guy drops his blog again (see comments), here's the image he posted of me.

Here is his post (he has a tracker so just cut and paste- sorry- he also keeps changing his blog- so if the link is dead, sorry): http://circumlocutionist.blogspot.com/2006/07/jose-gonzalezthe-worst-concert.html