Little Radar release the rock at the Mohawk

Little Radar released their debut album, Up In Arms, last night at the Mohawk, and it’s about time — the band has been a local favorite for many, performing their upbeat, raucous pop-rock tunes seemingly non-stop around town. Up In Arms captures this energy perfectly, and barrels through a crisp six-song set giving you a taste of how great a Little Radar live show is.

“Cup O’Tea” is one of my favorite tracks on the record. It starts out slow and almost sea-faring, with waves of guitars playing on one another and wistfully sung lyrics by Sean Hale. Then, a little over halfway through, everything kicks into spunky high-gear, encouraging the kind of head-banging and hip-shaking the Empire Records staff were involved in.

Hale’s voice is particularly stellar on “Nature of the Beast,” which has an almost jazz-like rhythmic breakdown in it after each verse. It’s a high-powered ending that bookends Up In Arms‘ rocking opener, “Spitfire,” very well.

It builds on a beautiful Band of Horses-like EP the band had already put out (seriously, if you haven’t listened to the band’s Kill a Buffalo, do it now. I recommend “Wake Up” as your starter,) and solidifies Little Radar as an up-and-coming Austin band to watch.

The quartet were on point at their record release, proving why they are always worth a trip out to a local venue to see them perform live. Their live show puts even more muscle and bite behind their sound, and watching these four talented musicians do their thing is just a treat.

They also brought an incredibly talented group of bands along with them to celebrate. The Baker Family started the night off roaring out of the gate — it was somewhat reminiscent of Cursive’s emotional rock, but with its own flavor. The band is full of incredible instrumentalists; bassist Nathan Ribner is one of the best I’ve seen, wailing and flying up and down his instrument and acting as as much of a driving percussion force as drummer Darryl Schomberg II, who himself appears to disappear as his arms fly around his kit. “Mr. and Mrs. Baker” are the personality of the band, as Stu Baker bellows from his guts and Liz dances, sings, plays and is inviting and sweet, even in a Panda bear mask. They bowled me over and I immediately purchased their $5 cassette tape (with digital download inside!)

The Couch were up next, and kept dropping references (both verbally and musically) to the White Stripes and Jack White. Mostly, they were just a totally solid rock group with amazing energy and raw power behind their songs. In the same pure-rock vein as fellow Austinites Not in the Face! they add some attitude to our music scene, and they adore their friends in Little Radar. You can’t ask for much more than that.

The musicianship on display at Little Radar’s release show speaks to the quality they aspire to. Plug in and stay tuned to Little Radar.

Feist: Queen of sing-alongs at Stubb’s, 4/26/2012

There is something magically empowering about a woman who can shred on guitar. After all these years, the instrument is still dominantly wielded by men, so when artists like Feist step in to rock, it’s like a quick, cool breeze on a warm, sticky Texas night.

Leslie Feist was a bit preoccupied by our hot spring weather, making quips about how much she was sweating, but luckily her backup singers (Mountain Men) were ready with a blanket to fan her. If it wasn’t hot enough, Feist made it scorching with emotional pop-rock punches. Her set was all over the map, featuring beautifully executed songs from her latest album, Metals, and imaginatively reinvented older hits, like a stripped-down, tribal “Mushaboom.”

As any incredible bandleader would, Feist involves the crowd in her shows. Her performances are as much her fans’ as her own, as she commands sing-alongs, arm waving and clapping — sometimes all 3. During “Comfort Me,” there was a moment where she almost got the crowd to gently wave their arms from left to right, but participation was spotty at best. However, she was able to get attendees to “eeh” and “nah” along, so near the end of the song, she called, “Am I asking too much to do the arm thing, too?” That brought the laughter and eased the self-consciousness, and all arms were raised in the air to wave to the tune.

I tried to keep eyes on all band members during the performance, but it is nearly impossible to take your eyes off of Feist. For her stage setup, she had projectors spitting her and her bandmates’ images on a screen behind her and upside-down on the canopy above her in a trippy, ’70s-retro style reminiscent of things I’ve seen the band Chairlift do. When she’d rock back and forth, toward and away from the camera, with her long brown hair falling in front of her face, she looked like the most badass rock guitarist you could imagine from that era. Her gender was almost obscured and she transformed into a Deity of Rock, just there to rip it up.

You remember that Feist is a rocking woman, however, when she eggs on the ladies in lady-power sing-alongs. Her smile was probably not bigger than it was during “The Circle Married the Line,” and female voices raised up like Disney-cartoon singing birds for the line, “First light was, last light was alright when the circle married the line.”

She seemed empowered by that sing-along, and after the song ended, she declared, “Austin, you have sealed your fate! Because…you just sang along.” She then instructed us in groups to sing different notes for a harmony of “Ah”s. To break up the group, she said, “Can all the people who came here to meet someone sing ‘ah.’” Then, ‘Can all the people who came here with someone very specific and special sing, ‘ah.’” Finally, “I don’t know what other group there is…can people who came here to break someone up to be with that someone sing ‘ah!’ That’s a terrible thing to admit, you should be ashamed. Unless you’re singing ‘ah’ really loudly TO that person, like in their face!’” She ended the harmony by saying, “Are there any Canadians here tonight? I always like to ask that to show how fun Canadians are!” With everyone set, she broke into “So Sorry.”

“Undiscovered First” was one of the most striking songs, with a huge build, dramatic climax and intense flashes of white light from the stage to emphasize beats at the end of the song. It’s one of the coolest things about Feist live shows:  they enhance her recorded music, as her voice is allowed to unleash in a bigger space.

The biggest reaction of the night came with the one-two punch of “My Moon My Man” into “I Feel It All.” The latter elicited the biggest dance party, with shimmying, shaking and smiles all over the place.

The only hitch in the entire evening had nothing to do with Feist, and everything to do with the crowd. There were a lot of talkers, and apparently a fight broke out, as Feist edited the words of “Secret Heart” during her encore to reflect. (“Some violence goin’ on/Wish Austin would let me in on this secret…”) A fight? At a Feist concert? It was a diverse, hodgepodge crowd, but it’s awfully sad to have things devolve that way.

No matter the crowd, nobody could really take away from Feist’s performance. She was totally on, balancing big rockers with gentler, almost-folk songs. She was in charge, and we couldn’t have asked for a better leader.

Win, Will, Regine and Marika: A lesson in Haiti

I felt somewhat guilty about attending Arcade Fire’s talk about Haiti. I had always felt happy that a group of artists I admired so much were so passionate about what seemed to be a worthy cause, but I’d never really researched into Partners in Health, or read about why Haiti needed so much assistance, or tried to understand on a deeper level what Win Butler, Regine Chassagne and their cohorts were up to. It was merely a feel-good fuzzy moment at each concert, and kinda ended there for me.

So when I found out that my amazing friend Lisa had managed to score tickets to a lecture on Haiti by the band, I knew I wasn’t going because I was jazzed to hear about this little country. I was going because I am so in love with the music of the group, and how Win and Regine come across as people in interviews, that I wanted to do anything I could to learn more about them and get closer to them. It made me feel embarrassed, almost — knowing that these people I admired so much were hoping to talk about something they cared about, and I’d just have to nod along, not really savvy on the issues.

Luckily for me, Win, Regine, Will and Marika knew what they were up against, and they were OK with it. During their lecture, Win explained, “I don’t know if you’re here because you’re interested in Haiti and want to learn more, or because you’re a fan of the band, but either way that makes us connected and that makes us grateful, and we’re glad you’re here.”

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Young the Giant dive into night one at Stubb’s

Photo by Amanda

Maybe it was the smell of BBQ emanating from the soil inside of Stubb’s on Saturday night, but I swear Young the Giant single-handedly ushered in summertime in Austin, Texas. Between their catchy melodies, soaring, sparkly waves of guitars and Sameer Gadhia’s lion’s roar of a voice, Young the Giant sounds as if they can command nature. From a raucous but smaller-scale performance at Buffalo Billiard’s during South by Southwest last year to now, the band has garnered so much onstage confidence that it seems they were destined for sold-out-show status as quickly as they have achieved it, and musically, they have certainly earned it. Their first full-length release is solid from start to finish, with softer, breezy songs and wild, heart-pumping rock jams that weave together seamlessly.

The music, the madness and a whole lotta the Drums – SXSW 2012 Reviewed

All photos and video by Zack Teibloom

You’re walking briskly through the dark, a slight wind whispering through your hair, as tree roots present themselves like a Disney cartoon, seemingly meant for you to hop from one to the other as crunchy, fallen leaves collect and form a path leading you downtown. You no longer remember what day it is, and time is only meaningful as a marker for where you need to be, and what band you’re about to see. You’re so exhausted that other people and structure are flying past you in big blocks of color, but you just keep walking, determined not to miss that next band that you just really, truly have to see.

This is South by Southwest. It is constantly flitting from one show to the next on an almost-empty stomach, grabbing free breakfast tacos here and there when time permits. It is a creature with such a short lifespan, that you devote yourself, mind, body and spirit to it so that you can get the most enjoyment out of it as is humanly possible. This is what the festival brought me this year, and despite seeing fewer bands than I normally am able to, I feel that it was one of my most successful fests to date.

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Radiohead rocks, the crowd is stupefied.

Photo by @griffinshot - Tim Griffin, c/o Brooklyn Vegan

Radiohead has never made happy music. From their first hit “Creep” to now, they have always been a band to explore themes of political unjust and despair, of the downfall and conforming of the human race, of the end of the world. However previously, despite these dark themes, layers of guitar managed to keep a sense of warmth running through the songs. No matter how distorted, the familiar sound of six strings shouting out has helped audiences to jump, throw fists in the air, and forcefully rock out with a sense of unity. Even the saddest songs from the band’s pre-King of Limbs era (see “How to Disappear Completely”, “Street Spirit (Fade Out),” “All I Need,” et al.) had a sweetness to them that made them gently sad. Perhaps only “Fitter, Happier” was an indication of the kind of anguish we would be exposed to on King of Limbs.

Shot Through the Heart – Reviewed!

We had another amazing time at Frank on Friday, with four of our favorite local bands. From start to finish, the sound was tight and we were rightly rocked despite the stormy weather.

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Free Week Wrap Up

Free Week has come and gone, and this year’s was really quite glorious. Between our own showcase, new and exciting talent, and an old favorite back from the dead, I’d call it a riveting success. In case you were unable to participate, or if you did and were overwhelmed by choices, we’ve got picks below of some of our favorites.

Free Week 2012 – Featuring our own Broken Resolutions!

I know, folks. It’s cold outside for Texas, and as pretty as the days have been, the nights have been brutal. You might still be nursing a New Year’s Eve hangover, or perhaps you’re like me and feeling a bit despondent or melancholy about the passing of a year. Looking for something to brighten your spirits, wake you up and make you feel alive again? Look no further than Free Week 2012, Austin’s showcase of fantastic talent for those of us who blew all our money at the end of last year! This week is exploding with awesome showcases, and it may be a bit difficult to navigate them. That is what I’m here for. Below, you’ll see our picks for the best of Free Week — kicking it all of with our own showcase, Broken Resolutions, co-hosted by our buddies at CoolinAustin and featuring our favorite Austin acts. I have to work tomorrow, too; suck it up and we’ll make it worth your while. Plus! We now have free cake balls from SugaPlump Pastries. No excuses!

Read on for more suggestions…

AWM’s Favorite Albums of 2011

I think a part of the reason I like to make lists of my favorite albums of the year is selfishness. It helps me take stock of the art that was put out over the course of the year. It helps me remember shows I’ve seen, or moments I shared with new music. It helps me feel fonder about the year that has passed, and more hopeful for the year that is coming. It forces me to examine what this music meant to me, and why it meant that. I tend to favor albums whose tracks I loved, start to finish, that had meaningful lyrics or were soundtracks for important moments. Plus, I always favor risks. If I feel like a band played it safe and made a solid record, I’ll dig it, but for those who try to tackle huge topics through their art, I always admire it and end up loving it more.

For these reasons, I really could just jot down a list to myself, smile smugly, and move on. That said, I do think there is value in sharing lists, because it sparks conversations (or arguments, if you’re into that) and can potentially (and hopefully) help people discover new albums they may not have heard of before. This year, I found myself leaving off albums that contained a handful of unforgettable songs because the rest of the album was weak. I also found myself extending my list to a top-15 instead of top-10, including in my final 5 growers that I still need to spend more time with, but that were so striking in their own way that I had to include them. Without further ado:  my 2011 best-of list! Enjoy, be angered, argue and discuss. All is welcomed.