Down for a bit of a dance party, I headed up to Stubb's Bar-B-Q in Austin, TX yesterday for a hip show. Here's what struck me, what stayed with me, and why I have a greater appreciation for R.E.M..
First up were experimental rock duo, Crocodiles. The San Diegoans threw down a funky mix of jam electronica and lo-fi noise, art pop/rock. For a twosome who have been playing as Crocodiles for only about a year, they did their best to entertain the crowds desperately awaiting the headliners and succeeded in at least my eyes. Check out their album here.
First up were experimental rock duo, Crocodiles. The San Diegoans threw down a funky mix of jam electronica and lo-fi noise, art pop/rock. For a twosome who have been playing as Crocodiles for only about a year, they did their best to entertain the crowds desperately awaiting the headliners and succeeded in at least my eyes. Check out their album here.
Up next were crowd favorites, The Faint. Straight outta Omaha, NE, these new waving, lo-fi jabbing, indie rock post-punkers thoroughly entertained. Around since 1994 in various forms, The Faint brought a high energy, bouncy set to the outdoor stage of Stubb's. "The Geeks Were Right" and "I Disappear" stood out as highly addictive diddys as much as they do when listening to the songs in your own backyard.
So this brings me to my freak out moment of the night as I waited for Ladytron to appear on stage. I positioned myself closer to the front and in doing so cuddled up with the other patrons. I noticed two seemingly recognizable gentlemen to my immediate left and slightly in front of me, but didn't think twice to investigate. As Ladytron took to the stage, I began to see these aforementioned guys bob and jam out. "Michael Stipe?", I said to myself. One of my friends doubled the inquiry soon after and I found myself distracted for about 10 minutes trying to figure out if indeed Michael Stipe and Mike Mills were partying it up in Austin, TX on a Tuesday night in April. Needlessly to say probably, it wasn't them, but merely a faux R.E.M. duo who could have easily passed for the two Mikes 12-15 years ago. A lack of photographic evidence may decrease the likelihood you may believe my story, but so be it!
Despite the sidetrack, I felt the musical warmth of Liverpool's Ladytron soon after. The ten year old group has been belting out the electronica greatness and turning lovers of early 80's synth pop into believers. Electroclash greats like "Destroy Everything You Touch" and "Ghosts" mixed with indietronica standouts like "Seventeen" and "International Dateline". The crowd was into the performance and the band did not disappoint. Here's some pics from my vantage point.
0 comments:
Post a Comment