Summerfest day 3: Your Vilain My Hero and Miniature Tigers

Venue: The Miler Light Oasis (Summerfest grounds, Milwaukee, WI)

I have had multiple bad experiences with this stage and sound balance.  It also has the unfortunately problem of having two large sponsored beer pavilions right in the stage area. It makes for a drunk, obnoxious crowd. Add that to a stage with distorted sound and more people than it should hold and it’s a recipe for disaster. Not all the shows I’ve been here have been horrible, but it is not my favorite stage.

The show:

Your Villain My Hero (2/6) (partial review, only saw half the set) this was not my night for music.  On the one hand, this band had a lot of personality and energy. On the other, the cultural dissonance in some of the covers they performed was borderline offensive.  (Hint to new bands: if you’re covering a band a) do not insert your name into the song b) do not use their accent. Especially not if they are a different race from you. It sounds racist) On the other hand they get points for style and energy.  Their sense of rhythm and vocal tone were beyond bad. It felt like they were trying to hard to be sexy and falling completely flat.

Miniature Tigers: (2/6 live, 4/6 on cd) I had to check three times to make sure I’d found the right band because the sound difference was so big between their stage show and their album.  On stage they are reminiscent of a bad beach boys cover band-- waver vocals with weak guitar work and minimal talent overall.  The instrumentation was simply bad and the vocals too quiet for the mics to pick up. However, credit for effort and for their senses of humor. They were continually trying to interact with the audience and managed to get a lot of people actually moving and enraged. NO small feet for an Indi. band. They were funny, happy, and fully aware that they were not the show people came to see.

On cd, they are very reminiscent of fun. Indi pop with a pretentious but still entertaining fare. Posh.

(I saw part of fun. too but I’m not reviewing them, as I saw only fragments. )

Album review: The Local Nobodies--EP

Album review: The Local Nobodies--EP

I am continually impressed by the rise of small, independent artists as well as the relevancy of the local artist in the modern music scene. However, as with any industry, the signal to noise ratio is exceptionally high.


So, when a young man approached me at the Lupe Fiasco show with three paper sleeved albums and an eager smile I was simultaneously intrigued and skeptical.

It was a pleasant surprise.

The young man in question was Frankie Flowers of The Local Nobodies A playful hip-hop group local to Milwaukee, WI. While it is very clear they are a young band, they had a surprising sense of musical composition and rhythm. With judicious use of sampling and some auto-tune (used correctly, I might add) these guys bring an ear catching sound that is unique without being completely out of touch with the genre. It is hip-hop that is not sexist, which is refreshing. Front man Frankie Flowers mange’s to avoid many of the pitfalls that young hip-hop and rap artist fall into. He has a precise sense of rhythm a pleasantly cocky attitude.

Where The Local Nobodies falls short is composition. The album has a lot of stylistic variety witch can be good in an established artist. However, it comes across as Inconsistent in a newer artist.

Conversely, within the songs things get a little repetitive. I found myself missing a bridge on a few tracks. I would recommend longer verses as well.

I hear a lot of radio potential in these guys. They are catchy without being annoying and their style stands out.

(4/6) 

Road Trip Show: Summerfest day1-2 (Milwaukee, WI)

Road trip show, Milwaukee, WI 

Summefest day 1: Lupé fiasco (not reviewed)

Venue: The Harley Davison Stage on the Summefest grounds. 

The reason Lupe Fiasco is going not reviewed is the same phenomenon that occurred last Summefest with Maroon 5.  The volume wasn’t adjusted right for the number of people at the show. I understand the dilemma of balancing popularity with respecting the other stages, however a simple sound check would have solved a lot of the problems.

But seriously, Summerfest, would it kill you to sound check? 


Summerfest day 2: The Foo Fighters and Silversun Pickups
Venue:

The Marcus Amphitheater (4/6): will always have a place in my heart as the crowning glory of the Summefest grounds where I spent a large chunk of my youth. All told she aged well, while the decade old sound system has all of the failings of an aging system-- Heavy bass and a week  mid-tone section—the  judicious use of screens and  the even distribution of speakers minimize the sound distortion making for a pleasurable experience even when you are well back (Due to miscommunications, I didn’t get tickets until later, which meant I was almost in the lawn).

The show:

Silversun Pickups (5/6): I’ve been itching to see Silversun Pickupsn live.  I am often skeptical of more ethereal vocal qualities translating to a live show.  The moment they started their set I realized I had nothing to fear.  Despite what it sounds like, Brian Aubert’s voice is not a falsetto. His speaking has a higher register and where his lower range sound is where he is modulating his voice. Live it is something to hear. Aubert is also incredibly articulate. Many bands don’t think to enunciate; with microphone distortion  this oftem makes the vocals sound slurred. There are few artists who cane clearly understood live, Silversun Pickups is one of them.

It was interesting to see a band that relies as heavily on the bass as Silversun Pickups does.  Even when it’s a band that has a front man who is the primary guitarist, most bands these days rely on lead guitar to propel the music forward.  In the case of Silversun Pickups, it feels as though Aubert acknowledged it is difficult to play and sing at the same time, but still enjoys doing lead guitar work, so the songs were composed  in such a way that the more intensive lead guitar work happens most when he is not singing. To accommodate this they have a phenomenal bassist who is talented enough to fill in where there isn’t a lead guitar.  To the casual listener, the sound is smooth and dynamic but doesn’t feel as chopped up as one that style risks being. 

Speaking of the bassist.  Nikki Monninger is a slip of a thing and soft spoken, and her body language is playful. (At one point during a particularly bouncy song she did what I can only call a hop step—like she was skipping in place) Her soft soprano voice serves to highlight Aubert’s already ethereal voice lending an otherworldly feel to their choruses.

And she plays a wicked bass.  

Then there’s the drum work, which is precise and technical without sounding over-rehearsed.

Overall these guys were killer on stage and a great show.

Foo Fighters (5/6): The Foo Fighters is one of the few bands I’ve seen live that  are not only still going after over twenty years but are still musically relevant (as opposed to the bands that are running off of nostalgia).  There  is something in how a band that seasoned comports themselves toward the crowd that you don’t see in even bands that are ten years old. There is a wonderful balance of both professionalism and well-deserved cockiness that comes with time.  David Grohl  is not only wonderfully talented and energetic, but  also  has a perfect report  with the fans. It feels as though he has learned to really gauge what the fans need and play to it.  Beyond simply being talented, Grohl has  both a strong presence and  the ability to share the spotlight.  Even after having been in the scene for as long as he has, he still took the time to introduce the  band as though they were new, encouraging them to show off their talents and praising them.  IN particular his dynamic with drummer Taylor Hawkins was both touching and entertaining. Hawlkins made the comment that the best thing about him was being best friends with David Grohl)

Aforementioned drummer is exceptionally talented in his own right, standing out in a six man group all of whom are exquisite musicians. 

It was also a real treat to hear some of their old songs (In addition to newer things),  I hadn’t heard “My Hero” in over  a decade and I’d be willing to wager I was not the only one in the crowd to share that sentiment.  There was something for every era of Foo Fighters fans.

A well done show.  It was a pleasure.

Linkin Park -Living Things-

 Linkin Park, Living Things (4/6):

 Living Things has not yet been released in the US.(Today is the theoretical release date, but I haven’t seen hide nor hair of it being sold) However, I found a streaming version off it on iTunes. Linkin Park has been one of my “guilty” pleasure bands since back in the days of Hybrid Theory (2000) Back then they were defiantly mediocre teenager music at its finest, angst ridden lyrics, lots of screaming and  while there is a place for that, they were very much a one trick pony Linkin Park has improved with each album and honed their sound dramatically over the years. They even expernemented with other styles within their subgenre.  Living Things has all of the anger and edge that their older albums had but has a sophistication that comes with a band working at their sound for over a decade.

Both the vocalists have stepped into their respective styles with a new confidence and conviction that is contagious. Rapper Mike Shinoda has particularly sharpened his skills. It is clear he has studied other rap artists and taken the parts of the style that work with his voice into his own work.

The addition of an electronic element really makes the album pop and throws in an extra layer of dynamic sound that proves both innovative and pointed. The band as a whole has improved their sense of rhythm and precision both in vocalization and in music itself.

Overall, this album is edgy and vicious without being petulant and melodramatic.  It speaks to really pushing forward in the face of adversity.  Linkin Park has grown up with the fans and it shows.

Single of the week: Husky "History's Door"

I get lulls sometimes, when music is scarce in my neck of the woods, or when I just plain old tap out. To prevent this, I present to you "Song of the week" I will review single songs, usually new once a week in addition to my usual stuff.

This week's single:

Husky "History's Door"(3/6):

 “History’s door” was neither particularly stellar nor particularly horrible. One of the things that prevented it from being a really good song was the over use of auto-tune. This is especially obnoxious in Indi music where there is a lot of melody auto tune can be used well to create ambiance and make certain words stand out, however more often than not, it is used to mask a mediocre voice or sound 'cool," which I find distasteful. Have the artistic courage to put your actual voice out there or really lay on the distortion. Go big or go home. 

In that vein, it was like Husky was trying to make a polished studio produced album sound lo- fi. Either go minimal production, or don’t,-don’t fake it. I found that pretentious and off-putting.

That being said, the guitar work stands out in places as very clear and uses some interesting tuning adding a little twang. It is clear the guitarist is good. The lyrics are decent as well and I wonder what the vocalist sounds like without the auto-tune.  It seems as though there is talent buried under all of the distortion.

It grew on me a little as I listened to it again.