Frightened Rabbit is nothing if not sincere. The band members make music (written almost exclusively by lead singer
Scott Hutchison) that rips on emotion, with lyrics like a helmet-less motorcycle ride headed straight for a brick wall covered with dying ivy (that used to smell like daisies). "I might not want you back but I want to kill him," "I am armed with the past and a will and a brick," and "Twist and whisper the wrong name / I don't care and nor do my ears / I need human heat," are but a small representation...
[more] || [Brandon Hernsberger] || [07/30/08]
Houston is abuzz with talk about Chris Gray's recent article in the
Houston Press on the city's diehard goth scene. Though some might say that the glory days are past, Saturday's
Underworld show at
Numbers should be a sufficient argument against our spooky kids' premature burial. The night was slated to be one of decadence and debauchery, in celebration of local corset-maker
Kenny Arocha's birthday...
[more] || [Jef With One F] || [07/19/08]
Although this show took place a while back now, it has taken me this long to wrap my head around why a band as talented and musically interesting as
Manchester Orchestra would tour with a band as uninspiring as
Say Anything. I still can't give you an answer -- so instead I'll just give you all the reasons why I think Manchester Orchestra's indie-rock sound and genuine potential deserves to play center stage when they tour with bands that quite simply suck...
[more] || [Brigitte Zabak] || [07/19/08]
Sitting outside
Walter's on Washington around 8:45 Friday night before last, someone asks my friend Sean and I, "do you think
Her Space Holiday will be more electronic or acoustic tonight?", a question we could only shrug at. Having never seen
Marc Bianchi's electro-pop act live before and having not read much about their shows, I wasn't sure how the songs would be presented. Would Bianchi have a full band behind him? Or would it be more of a one- or two-person setup, with him relying on samples and synths?...
[more] || [Wes Buhler] || [07/11/08]
As I walked into an almost-empty
Meridian, I wondered, "Am I at the right show? Is
Black Mountain still playing tonight?" Then I remembered I was in Houston. And everyone was either recovering from SXSW or still there. As the opening bands came off-stage, the Meridian's small red room started to fill, but not enough to pack the house, which made for a great intimate setting. Faces started lighting up from the green glowing cube in the bass drum. When the first note was heard, bodies started to shake...
[more] || [Dwayne Cathey] || [07/11/08]