Concert review: A Sunny Day in Glasgow, Lohio, Landline

A Sunny Day in Glasgow, Lohio, Landline
Saturday Februrary 27, Brillobox
with Lisa, Chris L.-H.

I had purchased a ticket for this show a long time in advance since I was already buying tickets for some other Brillobox shows I really wanted to go to. I had at least heard of ASDIG via the whole Pitchfork/eMusic musico-blogosphere, so I watched a few videos on YouTube and listened to Ashes Grammar (their latest album) on Lala to get a good idea of their sound, and it seemed like it would translate well in a live show. The tickets were kind of an impulse buy right at the cashier at the grocery store, but I think it worked out.

I usually take the 54C to get to the Brillobox, but this time Chris was coming along from the other direction, so Lisa and I decided to walk to the 86A stop on Centre Ave. and meet him on the bus. As it turned out, we were both waiting for a (rather late) bus only one block apart. Oh well. We were waiting at the corner of Graham & Centre, right in front of the relatively new restaurant Avenue B, which features large (almost) floor to ceiling windows and outward-facing tables. As such, it felt a little awkward to be standing there for 20+ minutes alternating between staring down the street in the direction of the bus and turning around to catch someone in the middle of a slurp of soup or what have you. After a while I decided, and declared, that I was going to give these people “dinner and a show.” In retrospect, and in the moment, this is absurd, since I had nothing to do with their dinner; I did attempt to provide a show, though. The combination of recent flurries and warm-then-cold temperatures made for some perfect packing snow: just the right amount of moisture to form solid snowballs. I crafted three such spheroids from a pile on the sidewalk and commenced juggling. It was going pretty well for a while, and I did the only “trick” I can really do: switching from juggling 3-balls-in-2-hands to 2-balls-in-1-hand, then doing this with the other hand, and so on. After a minute or so, I caught them in my hands and tried to think of another trick, when I heard a knocking on the Avenue B window. A table of four up front was offering some applause, so I gave a mock bow while Lisa blatantly laughed at me. I started juggling again and tried to toss one around my back, but that failed miserably, so I threw the other two snowballs into the road in mock disgust. At that point, the same guy knocked on the window and offered support in the form of a wave of the hand as if to say, “Ahhhh, who needs it?” To stay entertained, I threw some snowballs at the mural on the side wall of the restaurant, but then the bus came and we took off.

Landline opened the show. This is now the 4th time I've seen them, and I keep liking them more and more. Heavy guitar rock, insane pounding drumming, thumping bass, with a nice variety of punk vocal stylings. I wish I knew where to find more of their music; these two songs on MySpace aren't enough, and I had portions of two of their songs stuck in my head for days, neither of which were available on their page. We overheard at least a couple of groups of people in the crowded room talking about them while they were playing, wondering who they were and such. I think that's a good sign. Their drummer managed to break even more stuff this time, continually knocking over the bass drum microphone, and snapping one of the snare drums off of its stand, trying futilely to fix it mid song, then giving up and banging twice as hard on the one that was still standing. Chris also made a comment about how he seemed to enjoy local opening acts more than some openers that tour with the national act, making a specific comparison to the openers at the Tortoise show the week prior. My point here is: you should see Landline play. Don't listen to Asa.

Lohio played next, and this time it was the full band. I liked them a bit better than the duet version I saw at Howler's, but they still fall under that category of country-twinged indie rock that isn't really my favorite style. For what they do, they do it pretty well. The guitarist who had been playing with all sorts of effects at the Howler's show stayed towards the back of the stage in the corner this time and filled their songs with guitar solos and neat effects. He seems to be the most instrumentally proficient, and the others were more performance-oriented and vocal. I also think the female singer/guitarist looked a bit like Annie Clark (from St. Vincent). Strangely, Lohio also seemed to be the big draw of the evening. The room was jam-packed for this portion of the show, and I noticed later that the crowd had thinned out towards the end of ASDIG's set.

ASDIG took the stage last and a little late for a Brillobox show, even for a Saturday. Their sound was reverb-heavy and thick for the whole set, a veritable wall of melodic noise. Strangely, the drummer wore headphones the whole time, maybe to tune out some of the reverb? It's funny to think that he was listening to Shostakovich while playing, or something like that. Maybe Raffi? Haha. Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed their set and found myself bopping around to the beat (although certainly not as much as the two dudes towards the front of the stage who danced nonstop for 45 minutes), but I'm not sure about listening to their music outside of a live setting. It probably works best as something to play in the background during a party or when I'm sitting around reading/working. The female voices were somehow perfect complements for the guitar-laden sound.

All in all, a solid concert: good openers, good headliner, good mix of genres. Before I go, I want to recommend a new (to me) beer that I've enjoyed at the last few Brillobox shows I've been to. They have a good selection of craft beers in cans for $4 at the upstairs (concert) bar, including a bunch from upstate NY's Butternuts Beer & Ale, and Oskar Blues' Old Chub Scottish Ale, one of my all time faves. Recently, they've featured a new one: the Chupacabra IPA from some Mexican brewery. I tried it on a whim, and it was quite tasty; not as hoppy as other IPAs I like, but it had a uniquely flavorful malt character. I just did some Googling and can't seem to find it though. I'm not sure this is the same brewery, since I specifically remember it labeled as an IPA (not a Pale Ale) and it did come in a can, not a bottle. I'll have to read the can more closely next time I'm there to get the brewery name . . . In the meantime, if you see it somewhere, try it!

update: ASDIG - link to mp3 downloads of a live show in Brooklyn on March 29 2010
ASDIG - Live @ Union Hall
ASDIG - Live in Philly
Lohio - Live on the radio

Concert review: Meeting of Important People, Chet Vincent, Landline @ Brillobox

Meeting of Important People, Chet Vincent and the Big Bend, Landline
Friday January 29, Brillobox
with Asa, Charlotte, Lisa

This show seemed to reinforce everything that I like and dislike about seeing shows at the Brillobox. I bought tickets for this show online a couple weeks in advance thinking it would likely sell out, and also having been turned away at the door at 2 shows in December (Donora and Do Make Say Think (although missing the DMST show led Spencer and me to discover the fun of the Brillobox Wendesday night pub quiz)). On the afternoon of the show, I convinced Asa and Charlotte to come along, as well, and Charlotte attempted to buy tix online but was turned away. She called the venue and whoever answered said that there were plenty of tickets left and as long as they showed up when the doors opened (9:30), they should be fine. And that is precisely what happened. But the place never seemed that full and I saw people being turned away at 10:30 or so. So I'm glad it worked out for us, but too bad for the others.

Anyway, Landline came on first just after 10:00, and they played a solid set of guitar-laden tunes that showed some pretty good variety within that genre, even. There were some melodic Pixies-esque numbers and some more yelpy, punky songs, and overall it was a solid amalgam. The drummer was hammering the skins like he was trying to break them, in rhythm. And he did! He knocked the bass drum mike over multiple times, requiring a guy from the front row, and the sound technician, to fix it (on separate occasions), and at some point he “drummed off” the cap on one of his cymbals. The bass player had crazy skinny arms. But that's irrelevant. The music rocked, even when we were all standing way too close to (i.e. right in front of) the speaker.

Next up was Chet Vincent. We moved away from the speaker during the break and I got an Old Chub at the bar. And then the band started to play. And then we went downstairs. I don't mean to rag on this band because they did have a solid, cohesive sound and if you like a sort of country twinge to your rock music, they might be right up your alley. However, the four of us decided to hang out downstairs for a while, especially since Asa & Charlotte had never been to the Brillobox before. I also told them beforehand that they needed to touch the walls upstairs, referring (in my mind) to the velvety black/white pattern on certain sections of the walls. Charlotte interpreted this differently and looked to me at some point early on in the evening while rubbing the plain, black-painted wall with a mixture of confusion and disappointment. I redirected her to the appropriate section of wall after that.

Anyway, we trekked back upstairs later on to catch MOIP finishing their setup. They launched into an energetic set of some of the songs from their self-titled album, threw in another rendition of “We Gotta Get Out of This Place” by the Animals (like the last time I saw them), and played a couple new songs that are supposedly on a forthcoming EP (in the recording process, so says their Myspace page). It was another solid and upbeat set, and the crowd really got into it. They played right over the chatter at the bar and I think I even saw some dancing hipsters!

All in all, a fun night. I enjoyed Landline a lot, personally, and I would gladly watch MOIP play their songs every week, given the chance.

I couldn't any videos of Landline, but they have a few songs up on their Myspace page
MOIP - I Know Every Street in This Town
Chet Vincent and the Big Bend - Blues Song