Triggers, Big Hurry, Pet Clinic
Friday August 13, 2010 at Howler's
with Bear, Sean, Paul, Lisa
My friends Bear and Sean were in town visiting during this weekend and I was able to treat them to a great local music show :-) I had actually sent Bear a video for Big Hurry's "Silver Screens" a few months ago but never heard whether he liked it or not. When he came into town I mentioned a rock show I wanted to see and when I said the words "Big Hurry" he became very excited. Sean drove into town early on Friday morning after basically driving through the night, so we let him nap in the afternoon and finally got out of my place around 6 pm to head to the Andy Warhol museum.
We caught the G2 bus to downtown and had a lovely stroll through the Cultural District and across the bridge to the museum, marveling at the skyline and PNC Park along the way. I had not been to the Warhol in quite some time and was glad to see lots of new stuff. Specifically, they have a Marcel Duchamp exhibit on now that was pretty neat, pairing some of his artwork in juxtaposition with Andy's for the sake of comparison. I didn't realize they were somewhat contemporary and were acquaintances. Of course, the urinal was the most famous part of the exhibit, but I liked some of the crazy film pieces, too (especially standing in a room with upwards of 12 screens all showing different short films). I think Sean enjoyed seeing the items related to The Velvet Underground, particularly the sheet music for a few songs on display by one of the elevators. Bear particularly liked the silver balloon room and made grand plans for having such a room in his future domiciles/offices. Meanwhile, all three of us enjoyed the fact that they had a happy hour bar on the ground floor where we had a couple beers and a gin & tonic (for me) and a "Warhol cosmopolitan" (for Sean) which was just a cosmo with blue curacao instead of triple sec so it had a vibrant purplish hue. As it turns out, we spent a bit too much time down at the bar chatting and staring at the giant portrait photo of Andy with really spiky hair, and we had to rush through the last couple of floors so we could catch a bus back to Bloomfield.
We left the museum a little after 8 and walked back to the Cultural District to catch the 86 bus down Liberty/Penn. I got a little turned around and wasn't sure which side of the street to stand on to get the bus in the right direction, especially given that the stop suggested by Google maps was on a street under construction, so we asked some nice gentlemen at the stop and they confirmed we were in the right place. After a few minutes, though, they left, but they later got on the same bus that we did a couple stops down the line. That confused me. Anyway, by this point we were starving and running out of time since apparently the show was starting at 9:30 and not 10:00 as I expected, so I suggested grabbing some quick slices of pizza. I had never been to Graziano's on Penn Ave. despite having stared at its glowing storefront from both the downstairs and upstairs windows of the Brillobox, so I took this opportunity to try it out. The pizza itself was quite good for what it was (quick and greasy) and really hit the spot. I just had a couple slices of cheese, but Bear had one of the thick-crust slices and also said it was solid. I'd certainly go back to try it again, especially after seeing their incredible selection of beer (lots of craft six packs to go).
We finally walked a couple blocks down Liberty to Howler's and relaxed outside for a minute after seeing that the music hadn't yet started. We went inside to find Lisa and Paul already there with a table, and handed our $5 apiece to Kelly, Big Hurry's singer, who was working the door. We started out with the cleverly-named Walt Wit beer on draft but moved on to PBR cans after learning that they were on special for the evening, 16 oz. cans for only $2. None of us really wanted to miss any of the show, so every once in a while one of our group would go to the bar in the other room and order a 6-pack and bring it back. By the end of the night, we had an impressive stack of cans on the table and they somehow were all positioned into a big pyramid in front of Sean.
The show itself was pretty crowded, and I like how the stage at Howler's is elevated so we could see just about everything onstage even though we were seated and the area in front of us had people standing. The first band was Pet Clinic, a local quartet with a grungy guitar vibe and a singer with high, nasal vocals that makes it all sound like Nirvana, Dinosaur Jr. and your favorite 60s garage rock band (say, The Seeds) thrown into a blender. Check out their MySpace page and listen to "Mister Yuck", particularly the accelerated drums and crescendo guitar solo starting around the 1:00 mark, and tell me you disagree. They were great live, a perfect beginning to the show with lots of rocking, noisy energy. I think the moment that sold Sean was when the guitarist's strap broke in the middle of a song and he just dropped to his knees and kept playing as if nothing had happened. He finished the set by sitting in one of the tall stool/chair thingies that an audience member gave up for him. A solid set overall; I'd like to see them again sometime. Another thing I noticed was that the guitarist/singer looked really familiar. I was pretty sure he was the drummer for Landline, another local grungy band I've seen play a few times as an opening act, and it turns out I was right, according to the names on their MySpace pages. But after an aha moment just now and some Googling, I've figured out that this guy is also the brother of the bassist in Meeting of Important People (!) and together the two of them make up the band Br'er Fox and I saw them open for Tapes 'n Tapes at the Club Cafe exactly 3 years ago when I first moved to Pittsburgh!!! What a crazy world.
Big Hurry went next and played all their hits, which is to say they played their songs and nailed it. I could listen to "Save Your Breath" all day, and they threw that in towards the end of their set, opting to play most of the "newer" Silver Screens EP songs first, plus some other songs that will likely appear on their forthcoming album. I'm excited for that album to come out, and I'm sure they'll play at least one "release party" show around town, so I'll be sure to keep my eyes and ears open for that. Their set at Howler's was great as usual, high energy and proficient, awesome rhythm section between Dani and Lenny, super-catchy melodic high-end guitar solos from Andy, and forcefully emotive vocals from Kelly. This is the kind of band that is greater than the sum of its parts, which are already great in their own right.
Triggers closed out the night. It's a name I've heard around town before but I didn't know anything about them before this show. I'll let their self-written bio describe their sound for me:
"If ELVIS COSTELLO shagged THE CARS and XTC and made a musical mutant child, that child would be TRIGGERS. If you hate HONEST, RIFF LADEN, HOOK INFUSED songs that hypnotize you with their MELODIES then, by all means, return to the pretentious moaning of some band of sods and do not listen to TRIGGERS."
And that's actually pretty accurate. "Power-pop" is a perfect descriptor for their song style and live show, with lots of high energy playing and bouncing around and singing. The keyboardist sometimes played keyboard with one hand and drum with the other, sometimes using a tambourine, and sometimes drumming with both hands. The drummer was all over the place, too, his flowing hair bouncing up and down in time with the music. It was quite a live spectacle, and I may have enjoyed watching the band members create the music more than I enjoyed the music itself, which is a strange phenomenon, but oh well.
Overall, this was a great collection of local bands and I'm glad I got to share some of the 'Burgh music scene with my out-of-town friends.
Pet Clinic
couldn't find anything ?!
Big Hurry
Interview with Draw Us Lines
Video of drum tracking
"Paper Trails" album version played over live footage
Triggers
Two songs live at Mojo's (Jamestown, NY) on 10-13-2007
Acoustic version of "Yer Bones"
"Run Fast, Run Far" live at Rex Theatre on 03-14-2008
Fan video for "She had me at takeoff"
Album review in the City Paper
Showing posts with label Howler's. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Howler's. Show all posts
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Concert review: Donora, Savoir Adore, Ennui, Mon Khmer
Donora, Savoir Adore, Ennui, Mon Khmer
Friday March 5, 2010 at Howler's
with Lisa, Spencer, Paul
This was quite the contrast from typical (of what I've seen) Howler's shows. I'm mainly thinking of the Black Hollies show last summer where there were, oh, 5 of us in the audience, passively sitting as they stuffed our ears to the brim with superloud psychedelic rock. This time, Donora rocked the house with their Yinzer dance-pop while a couple people CROWD SURFED. The concert-half of Howler's was more crowded than I've ever even seen the bar-half. What a difference a headliner makes; it's clear that Donora has a local following of friends/fans, since all of their shows are jam-packed or even sold out, and they seem to do a show in Pittsburgh at least once or twice a month. Leigh said she even heard a couple of their songs recently on a local radio station up in Boston. Neato!
We arrived during the first act's set, and spent the rest of the concert trying to figure out their name. I had trouble hearing the singer's words between songs, and there were only 3 acts on the bill but this guitar/drum duo was the first of four performances, so . . . I did manage to hear him say that they were typically a 5-piece band, but 3 members couldn't make it somehow, so they spent some time between songs figuring out exactly which songs they could play as a duo. I was digging their stripped-down sound, with hooky guitar riffs and shoegazy solos backed by upbeat rock percussion rhythms. Their MySpace page has a handful of songs with their full band and they sound a little different. I think I prefer the smaller band versions, actually; they feel more intimate and heartfelt. Oh yeah I just checked the Howler's website now as I'm writing this (a week later) and finally learned their name :-D
Next up was the perfect example of a band that truly fit their name: Ennui. I don't think any of the four of us particularly enjoyed them. I thought the instrumentals were cool, but the singer ruined everything, moaning/mumbling like a depressed drunk ghost into the microphone and almost drowning out the guitar and keyboard. Perhaps this works better in a smaller setting and I'd like to give them a chance, but they definitely didn't fit into the rest of the concert bill.
Savoir Adore played third. They were more in line with the other acts, playing toe-tapping percussive pop with female vocals and jangly guitar/keyboards. The guitarist was bouncing around and bopping his head more than anybody in the audience, too. Check out the videos below for a good sampling of their sound, particularly the music vid for MERP which is so upbeat and fun that it can't fail to make you smile :-)
Donora closed the show in their usual crowd-pleasing fashion and played most of their “hits”, including their cover version of M.I.A.'s “Paperplanes” (see the link below). As I mentioned above, a couple people even crowdsurfed during their set, prompting the singer to remark with a smirk that she did “not condone this”, but clearly they were loving it. They even played an encore! I'm glad to see them practically sell out so many venues around town, and I hope their success continues and sees them playing around the country.
Mon Khmer – Oslo and Anniversary live at Bowery Electric in NYC
Ennui – music video for Time & Place
Ennui – Heard You Say live in Lancaster, PA
Ennui - live recording from this very show!
Savoir Adore – music video for MERP
Savoir Adore – live at a SXSW 2009 house party
Donora – Paperplanes (M.I.A. Cover) live in their attic?
Donora – Saturday Night live at Mercurcy Lounge in NYC
Friday March 5, 2010 at Howler's
with Lisa, Spencer, Paul
This was quite the contrast from typical (of what I've seen) Howler's shows. I'm mainly thinking of the Black Hollies show last summer where there were, oh, 5 of us in the audience, passively sitting as they stuffed our ears to the brim with superloud psychedelic rock. This time, Donora rocked the house with their Yinzer dance-pop while a couple people CROWD SURFED. The concert-half of Howler's was more crowded than I've ever even seen the bar-half. What a difference a headliner makes; it's clear that Donora has a local following of friends/fans, since all of their shows are jam-packed or even sold out, and they seem to do a show in Pittsburgh at least once or twice a month. Leigh said she even heard a couple of their songs recently on a local radio station up in Boston. Neato!
We arrived during the first act's set, and spent the rest of the concert trying to figure out their name. I had trouble hearing the singer's words between songs, and there were only 3 acts on the bill but this guitar/drum duo was the first of four performances, so . . . I did manage to hear him say that they were typically a 5-piece band, but 3 members couldn't make it somehow, so they spent some time between songs figuring out exactly which songs they could play as a duo. I was digging their stripped-down sound, with hooky guitar riffs and shoegazy solos backed by upbeat rock percussion rhythms. Their MySpace page has a handful of songs with their full band and they sound a little different. I think I prefer the smaller band versions, actually; they feel more intimate and heartfelt. Oh yeah I just checked the Howler's website now as I'm writing this (a week later) and finally learned their name :-D
Next up was the perfect example of a band that truly fit their name: Ennui. I don't think any of the four of us particularly enjoyed them. I thought the instrumentals were cool, but the singer ruined everything, moaning/mumbling like a depressed drunk ghost into the microphone and almost drowning out the guitar and keyboard. Perhaps this works better in a smaller setting and I'd like to give them a chance, but they definitely didn't fit into the rest of the concert bill.
Savoir Adore played third. They were more in line with the other acts, playing toe-tapping percussive pop with female vocals and jangly guitar/keyboards. The guitarist was bouncing around and bopping his head more than anybody in the audience, too. Check out the videos below for a good sampling of their sound, particularly the music vid for MERP which is so upbeat and fun that it can't fail to make you smile :-)
Donora closed the show in their usual crowd-pleasing fashion and played most of their “hits”, including their cover version of M.I.A.'s “Paperplanes” (see the link below). As I mentioned above, a couple people even crowdsurfed during their set, prompting the singer to remark with a smirk that she did “not condone this”, but clearly they were loving it. They even played an encore! I'm glad to see them practically sell out so many venues around town, and I hope their success continues and sees them playing around the country.
Mon Khmer – Oslo and Anniversary live at Bowery Electric in NYC
Ennui – music video for Time & Place
Ennui – Heard You Say live in Lancaster, PA
Ennui - live recording from this very show!
Savoir Adore – music video for MERP
Savoir Adore – live at a SXSW 2009 house party
Donora – Paperplanes (M.I.A. Cover) live in their attic?
Donora – Saturday Night live at Mercurcy Lounge in NYC
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Concert review: Emily Rodgers, Lohio, Anna Vogelzang, Annie Palmer
Emily Rodgers & Her Band, Lohio, Anna Vogelzang & Annie Palmer
Monday February 15, Howler's
with Spencer
I grabbed a 54C on Craig Street and made it Howler's around 9:40. There are a few reasons that I like seeing shows at Howler's, even though I've only done that twice now. First, one can see the musical act (from behind) from the street; that's pretty neat. Second, the acoustics are always great, even though the room is just a big empty rectangle. Perhaps the plethora of t-shirts hanging on the ceiling dampens the harsh reverb or some shit like that (they're also fun to read when you're bored). Third, the atmosphere is always relaxed and casual; I feel fine getting up and walking to grab a drink at the bar, even if I'm seated in the front row of the audience-associated tables. Also, there's usually plenty of performer banter, and even if it is pandering for donations or CD/clothing/paraphernalia sales, it's at least endearing. The only downside is that the audiences tend to be rather lackluster, both in sheer numbers and in appreciatory applause. Tonight was no exception to that rule of two. At no point were there more than 15 people in the crowd. Granted, the main act was local and the touring openers were (well, at least one of them was, as far as I know) former locals. Still, there was minimal applause after each song, and I wish I could have been more encouraging towards the performers without . . . well, without embarrassing myself, I guess.
I walked into the concert side of Howler's during the middle of Anna Vogelzang's set and sat down at a fully-lit table on the front left side. I caught two songs with her playing guitar and singing, and was impressed with her voice; it was well-tuned, and even when the guitar strumming got frantic and loud and unrestrained, it felt emotionally natural and forcefully admirable. The lyrics were earnest and, at times, humorous juxtapositions of sounds and sayings. I wish I could remember some of them, but I found myself smiling outwardly at many of the little turns of phrase she managed to pack into her lyrical strummings. At one point, she related some current text messages to the audience, including a story about performing song requests on a live internet-broadcasted show via texts: “The future is now!” After a few songs, she switched to the banjo and played more songs in the same vein. I remain impressed by her musicianship and personability. Her set concluded with a mellow, melancholy duet with prior performer (whom I missed) Annie Palmer. At some point, I had gotten a beer from the bar and when I came back, I pulled out my Stewart calculus textbook and planned my recitation for Tuesday morning. Anna must have seen me doing this (I was in the “front row”, after all) since, later on, between sets, she came around to everyone handing out slips of paper with URLs for free album downloads, and made a comment about me doing homework during her set. I tried to say something to the effect of , “Oh, it's not like that . . . I'm teaching, actually” but it came out more like “Ohh . . . uhh . . . yeah. Thanks.” Oh well. She played a Lady Gaga cover song (and joshingly criticized an audience member for his too-quick denial of appreciation for her music) and referenced a YouTube video of her attempting to learn this song on her guitar while she was drunk. She quoted a few of the comments on the video, which were (like any internet thread) quite inane. Check that video out here. Also, the aforementioned paper slips with URLs for downloading her album “Cartography” were for this website. Be sure to check it out.
Next up was a stripped-down version of Lohio, and by that I mean two guitarists, one of whom sang. They sounded pretty interesting, and the non-singing guitarist played bottleneck/slide guitar style for a portion of the set and it sounded great. They included a few cover songs, playing Iron & Wine and Townes Van Zandt. It was pretty interesting, and it seemed like they were really just trying stuff out to see how it sounded in the club setting.
The final set was from Emily Rodgers & Her Band, as they were billed. This was essentially Emily on guitar and vocals, the talented guitarist from the stripped-down Lohio, a female bassist, and a drummer. Everyone seemed particularly proficient at their individual instruments, especially Emily and her voice; most of the appeal of her album “Bright Day”, which I downloaded on eMusic a couple months ago (and came out in October 2009), at least for me, is the haunting and ethereal yet forcefully present nature of her voice. She manages to make herself heard over the rocking guitars and bass lines without seeming strained or stretched. Spencer made a comment after the show while we were hanging out at the bar which was something to the effect of, “They sounded ok, but I didn't really like them overall because the guitarist could run circles around the others.” This seems like an unfair assessment (“X was not good because some element x of X was too good”) but it sort of makes sense. I don't particularly agree with it, and I did enjoy their set, even though it did seem like they were just running through the album I've already heard and the live versions were not overtly different, but I can see where he's coming from. I'll certainly check out any new material she puts out. Here's a video for the single “Hurricane” from her album.
Monday February 15, Howler's
with Spencer
I grabbed a 54C on Craig Street and made it Howler's around 9:40. There are a few reasons that I like seeing shows at Howler's, even though I've only done that twice now. First, one can see the musical act (from behind) from the street; that's pretty neat. Second, the acoustics are always great, even though the room is just a big empty rectangle. Perhaps the plethora of t-shirts hanging on the ceiling dampens the harsh reverb or some shit like that (they're also fun to read when you're bored). Third, the atmosphere is always relaxed and casual; I feel fine getting up and walking to grab a drink at the bar, even if I'm seated in the front row of the audience-associated tables. Also, there's usually plenty of performer banter, and even if it is pandering for donations or CD/clothing/paraphernalia sales, it's at least endearing. The only downside is that the audiences tend to be rather lackluster, both in sheer numbers and in appreciatory applause. Tonight was no exception to that rule of two. At no point were there more than 15 people in the crowd. Granted, the main act was local and the touring openers were (well, at least one of them was, as far as I know) former locals. Still, there was minimal applause after each song, and I wish I could have been more encouraging towards the performers without . . . well, without embarrassing myself, I guess.
I walked into the concert side of Howler's during the middle of Anna Vogelzang's set and sat down at a fully-lit table on the front left side. I caught two songs with her playing guitar and singing, and was impressed with her voice; it was well-tuned, and even when the guitar strumming got frantic and loud and unrestrained, it felt emotionally natural and forcefully admirable. The lyrics were earnest and, at times, humorous juxtapositions of sounds and sayings. I wish I could remember some of them, but I found myself smiling outwardly at many of the little turns of phrase she managed to pack into her lyrical strummings. At one point, she related some current text messages to the audience, including a story about performing song requests on a live internet-broadcasted show via texts: “The future is now!” After a few songs, she switched to the banjo and played more songs in the same vein. I remain impressed by her musicianship and personability. Her set concluded with a mellow, melancholy duet with prior performer (whom I missed) Annie Palmer. At some point, I had gotten a beer from the bar and when I came back, I pulled out my Stewart calculus textbook and planned my recitation for Tuesday morning. Anna must have seen me doing this (I was in the “front row”, after all) since, later on, between sets, she came around to everyone handing out slips of paper with URLs for free album downloads, and made a comment about me doing homework during her set. I tried to say something to the effect of , “Oh, it's not like that . . . I'm teaching, actually” but it came out more like “Ohh . . . uhh . . . yeah. Thanks.” Oh well. She played a Lady Gaga cover song (and joshingly criticized an audience member for his too-quick denial of appreciation for her music) and referenced a YouTube video of her attempting to learn this song on her guitar while she was drunk. She quoted a few of the comments on the video, which were (like any internet thread) quite inane. Check that video out here. Also, the aforementioned paper slips with URLs for downloading her album “Cartography” were for this website. Be sure to check it out.
Next up was a stripped-down version of Lohio, and by that I mean two guitarists, one of whom sang. They sounded pretty interesting, and the non-singing guitarist played bottleneck/slide guitar style for a portion of the set and it sounded great. They included a few cover songs, playing Iron & Wine and Townes Van Zandt. It was pretty interesting, and it seemed like they were really just trying stuff out to see how it sounded in the club setting.
The final set was from Emily Rodgers & Her Band, as they were billed. This was essentially Emily on guitar and vocals, the talented guitarist from the stripped-down Lohio, a female bassist, and a drummer. Everyone seemed particularly proficient at their individual instruments, especially Emily and her voice; most of the appeal of her album “Bright Day”, which I downloaded on eMusic a couple months ago (and came out in October 2009), at least for me, is the haunting and ethereal yet forcefully present nature of her voice. She manages to make herself heard over the rocking guitars and bass lines without seeming strained or stretched. Spencer made a comment after the show while we were hanging out at the bar which was something to the effect of, “They sounded ok, but I didn't really like them overall because the guitarist could run circles around the others.” This seems like an unfair assessment (“X was not good because some element x of X was too good”) but it sort of makes sense. I don't particularly agree with it, and I did enjoy their set, even though it did seem like they were just running through the album I've already heard and the live versions were not overtly different, but I can see where he's coming from. I'll certainly check out any new material she puts out. Here's a video for the single “Hurricane” from her album.
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