X-Tra Rant

Been meaning to write both of these for awhile but this week just got crazy busy. Both are crossposted from last.fm.

Fri 27 Jul – Bryan Scary and the Shredding Tears, THE HEDRONS, Tiger City

I’ve been meaning to post this review for a week now but just now getting the time to get around to it. Unforutantely that means it’ll be a little shorter and less specifics as I would have liked.

First band was Tigercity, with a style I never would have thought I would have liked. A poppy/funk/disco sorta sound. Barry Gibb called, he wants his voice back. But in all seriousness they were crazy fun and made me wish I could dance at all in a way that wouldn’t horrify and blind onlookers. Great fun and worth checking out for sure. I picked up their 6-track album Pretend Not To Love and have had alot of fun with it.

Next up was a band I had heard some about and was looking forward to seeing in person, THE HEDRONS from Scotland. Wow. Holy shit. As I told the lead singer Tippi after the show at the merch table “that was fucking SPECTACULAR.” Those girls rocked my socks off into next year. A great band of energetic punk rock, and not the more modern whiny faux-punk but real, honest to goodness badass punk rock songs. The stage presence of all the members was great, and Tippi knew just how to work the crowd, actually coming down into the crowd at Radio Radio with her mic during the last song of their set. Doesn’t hurt that they are all incredibly gorgeous and rocking the Scottish accents. You MUST see them if you have the chance.

And the final act for the night was a band I saw not too long ago and was glad that they were making a second swing through Indy – Bryan Scary and the Shredding Tears. They blew me away last time as the second to last act, and as the closer they did not disappoint. They played a number of songs from the new album they are working on (coming out in January hopefully, according to drummer Brian Bauer). Their music is so infectious and just plain FUN, and Scary’s interludes and stories he wraps around the songs in a live setting make seeing them live a great experience that enhances their music when you’ve heard only the album (The Shredding Tears). They played an encore and the crowd got them to play one more after that even.

Overall a spectacular show, ****. You should have been there.

That was Friday. Then hit another show on Sunday in Bloomington

 Sun 29 Jul – Man Man, Everything, Now!

Another review I’ve been putting off for lack of time. I’d never been down to The Bluebird in Bloomington, IN before. But with Man Man coming to town and Everything Now! opening (a local favorite of mine) I couldn’t miss it.

First up was Everything Now!, a band I saw play with Bryan Scary a few weeks prior. Local boys from Muncie I believe, they put on a heck of a show. I actually enjoy them live much more than I do their album Bible Universe. Live they come across as much more straight up pop/rock and less experimental. Solid show they put on and you should check them out.

I first heard of/saw Man Man at the Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago in 2006. Their massive level of insanity and noise backed by catchy tunes and bizarre lyrics immediately got my attention. I picked up both their albums The Man in a Blue Turban With a Face and Six Demon Bag (the latter being far superior, IMO) after that and fell in love with the crazy.

They did not disappoint at The Bluebird. The confined venue just enhanced the level of chaos to their show. Everything used as percussion (even one of the lights swinging from the ceiling at one point). Multi-instrumentalists switching between guitar, xylophone, trumpet, sax, random percussion, bass and keyboards. On the surface many of the songs sound like pure chaos but almost all of them have this hidden melody/tune beneath the crazy that ties it together. It basically feels like you are experiencing a show at an insane asylum where the inmates decided to form a band. You’ve got to experience them at least once.

As one friend who was present at the show said “I’ve never been to a show that I liked so much where I still didn’t want the album”. That is true, to a point. Man Man is a band whose live experience just CANNOT translate to an album. But when recording an album, it seems they are forced to pull back on the crazy a bit and focus on the songs which can actually be a good thing. So I would recommend at least checking out Six Demon Bag (their later and a bit more… structured album)

***1/2 show, if just because the small venue almost made Man Man a little TOO loud and overwhelming at times.
A good weekend for concerts. Thinking about maybe going to The Born Again Floozies at Radio Radio tonight and tomorrow, if I can convince a friend who’s possibly coming into town to go  to a show, Bigger Than Elvis (also at Radio Radio).