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".

The Breeders at the 9:30 Club

I went last night to see The Breeders at the 9:30 Club. It was actually my first time seeing them play, and it was great. They played songs from all their records as well as some Amps tunes. Kim and Kelley Deal were really fun onstage, and their voices sounded amazing. Honestly, they were more fun to see than the reunited Pixies shows a few years ago.

SVA MFA Thesis Exhibition

Big props to my friend Brooklen, who just completed his MFA at the School of Visual Arts in NYC. I stopped by his MFA exhibit reception to check out his project, Merge/Feast, which focuses on food (of course) with families from different backgrounds and cultures.
Congrats.

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".

Stephen Malkus & The Jicks with John Vanderslice at the 9:30 Club

Friday night, went to the 9:30 club to see Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks perform in a sold out show. Wonder why he didn't come to Baltimore because it's a title of a song on his new album. Oh well.
The opener was John Vanderslice, who I had heard of, but not actually heard before. Not too bad- he had nice songs and his band was good. He gave props to vegetarian Chinese restaurant Vegetable Garden in Rockville.
This was my first time seeing Malkmus outside of Pavement. Janet Weiss formerly of Sleater-Kinney was also his drummer. They were really good- I still love Malkmus' quirky lyrics combined with his always interesting guitar sound.
He is definitely a big nerd- I recall a reference to the word "Frak" during the show.

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 Pogues at the Rams Head

Last week, I was lucky again to see The Pogues on their US Tour before St. Patrick's day. This time, they came to Baltimore!
Shane looked better than any other time I've seen him- this time he was upright, and I actually understood 90% of his speech. It was also good to see Phil Chevron play as he was treated for cancer last year.
As a tribute to The Wire, Spider Stacey dedicated "The Body of an American" to Mcnulty, and then asked for no one to give anything away about the last episode.
As usual, the band was on point- the sound at the Rams Head had the best sound of all the times I've seen the band play.
For the finale, when they played "Fiesta", Shane joined Spider in bashing his head with a tray. I hope they decide to come back to Baltimore next year.

Conservatory Avant-Garde Ensemble at Peabody

Last weekend, went to the Peabody Conservatory to see the Conservatory Avant-Garde Ensemble perform George Crumb's "Music for a Summer Evening (Makrokosmos III)". This was the first time I went to a concert at Peabody, and I was really impressed. The space, the sound, all were impeccable. I loved hearing the Crumb piece performed live.
In addition, they also performed a piece by Peabody student, Amy Beth Kirsten entitled "For a Dream's Sake" (pictured) which was really nice- I particularly liked the vocal part of the composition.
They also performed "Mugam Sayagi" by female Azerbaijani composer Franghiz Ali-Zadeh.

Matmos at Floristree Space

Last night, went to Floristree to see recent Baltimore transplants, Matmos play a benefit concert for the Transmodern Age art festival.
Despite a noisy crowd during their set, I enjoyed my first time seeing them play their music. It was definitely part performance as well. They started the set with a video projector during the song "Rainbow Flag".
During their song, "Rose and Teeth for Ludwig Wittgenstein", they had two guys drum using bunches of roses, and in the following song, "Germs Burn for Darby Crash", they shaved a guy's hair into a mohawk.

Cornelius at the 9:30 Club

This past weekend, I went to 9:30 club to see Japanese musician Cornelius play.
After eating some great soul food and bearing the set of a Medeski, Martin & Wood-inspired jam duo, Cornelius and his groups came on stage. They started with a large sheet in front of the stage- soon a video projection started introducing the show as the "Sensuous Synchronous Show". Then after seeing band members' silhouettes backlit on the sheet, it dropped down to reveal the band playing.
Cornelius and his band were really good. They changed music styles with great ease- from pop to ambient to metal to disco.
His video show though was pretty spectacular and, as promised, completely in sync with the music. Highlights included a video that started looking like sound waves, but was in actuality flowing water filmed sideways. I also liked another video that had a hand walking around a room.
Cornelius was also very engaging with the audience: he pulled a kid onstage to play the theremin, and he also passed a sampler with large buttons into the front row of the audience to play.
He put on a great show.

Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings at TLA

This past weekend, we went up to Philly to the TLA for a Daptone Records showcase of Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings. Opening up were label mates, the Budos Band. They played African jazz like the stuff from the Ethiopiques series. Groovy and fun for about 3 songs. The band reminded me of a bunch of band geeks, but they knew how to play.
See Sharon Jones onstage was amazing. She was small, about 5 foot tall, but so much energy. Her voice was spectacular, and boy did she dance on stage. Her style is so retro without any preludes towards kitsch. It was a fun night.