Good god, where do I begin? I was all set to make this a short review, what with the time change and all (fuck you daylight savings time!). But Midlake and their fans apparently weren't on the same page, as they all gave me so much to write about. Midlake ended the North American leg of their tour in Denver tonight in front of a sold out Hi-Dive. This sold out Hi-Dive was an experience quite unlike my recent Cold War Kids sold out Hi-Dive though. In a good way. I managed to get second row stage left by the time Midlake began, and there was no shoving, no personal space invasion, and no people pushing their way up front. It was glorious. In fact, the entire front row was pretty much occupied by just two people: annoying camera guy and annoying fanboy. I'm not sure which was worse... ACG was snapping pictures on average at least every 30 seconds. It wouldn't have been so bothersome except that he had one of those big, fancy cameras, and when he was standing in front of me to take a photo, I had a great view of the camera, and not much else. Dude must have taken at least 200 pics. In a 70 minute set. You do the math.

Perhaps slightly less annoying but definitely more creepy was annoying fanboy. A few of his highlights of the evening include: attempting to talk to the band members - WHILE they were playing; waving at the drummer with his index finger (a la "redrum, redrum"), I can only assume to get his attention; AFB actually tried to grab Tim's pants when he was moving over to the keyboards - Tim kind of jumped back and said "don't touch me!". Dude. Seriously. He also seemed quite desperate to make friends with everyone around him. The guy in front of me got sucked in and had to endure back slaps and one-armed hugs all night for this mistake. Every time AFB even hinted at glancing in my direction, I averted my eyes as quickly as possible as to avoid eye contact. To their credit, Midlake were doing a banner job of ignoring the guy for the most part. AFB left and headed toward the bar right before Balloon Maker, prompting this amusing exchange:

Tim: "Maybe he's gone!"
ACG: "That's just love."
Tim: "If that's love... there's nothing worse."

Sadly, AFB came back the very next song. Luckily, he left again a song or two later and this time, people near the stage kind of closed ranks, I suppose hoping that if he did return again, he'd have nowhere to stand. Go fans! But he did re-emerge in the middle of the last song. Approximately 30 seconds later, though, he was tossed for getting all up in some woman's face. I don't think it was mean spirited, I'm sure he was just trying to hug her or something (shudder... see what I mean about the eye contact thing?!?) but she pushed him away no less than 3 times before he got the message. I just wish he had gotten kicked out earlier. Freak.

Anyway, enough about crazy fandom... here's the setlist:

We Gathered In Spring
Roscoe
Van Occupanther
Bandits
In This Camp
Balloon Maker
Some Of Them Were Superstitious
Children Of The Grounds (new song)
Young Bride
Chasing After Deer
Head Home

I really like the new song, though Tim said that it isn't indicative of what the new album will sound like. The new album that they haven't started working on... lol. He also mentioned that they'll probably do another US tour of Van Occupanther, and hinted that they'd be back through Denver. Then he said that since they won't have a new album, the setlist will be the same so it'll be pretty lame. Oh well, I'll be there anyway... ;)

There were technical difficulties aplenty this evening. During the first song, Tim was having trouble with some cord or another, and it took a few minutes to get it fixed. Apparently they'd had trouble getting over Vail pass so didn't get a soundcheck. Some fan in sunglasses (a Corey Hart fan we discovered later...) yelled out "we were fucking stuck!" and was promptly dubbed the "drunk translator" by Eric P. The guy kept yelling shit, and Eric said he couldn't understand a word... that he needed a sober translator. :) Also during the long equipment repair period, we somehow got to talking about the scientific process. Hello high school science! We only identified the first two steps (problem; hypothesis; the drunk translator was called on for the third step but failed miserably) before they were ready to roll.

That Eric is a funny guy. It took me a while to pinpoint who he reminded me of, but it finally dawned on me: he's a dead ringer for Jimmy Fallon. If Jimmy Fallon had a beard. After Head Home, he gave "a special thank you to the drunk translator, the heckler, and to all of you". Awww...

OK, I try to always mention openers, but it's nearly 4:00 in the morning so this'll be quick. I arrived in the middle of Dust On The Breaker's set. The floor was pretty crowded when I came in so I settled in back by the merch booth 'til their set was over. Lots of talkers back there and I couldn't really hear the band.

During the set break, Hi-Dive played The Thermals' The Body The Blood The Machine, which lifted my spirits and reminded me of the ongoing Thermals countdown... only 12 more days until I see them at the Hi-Dive!!!!!! I decided to check out the floor in front of the stage and was pleasantly surprised to see there was lots of room, so I went on in. Next up was Minipop from San Francisco, who claimed that tonight was just their second show outside of California. They weren't mindblowing, but they were very good. Their debut album is due out soon (not too sure on the date, and I can't find it anywhere in a quick web search...); I shall have to check it out.

Wow, I do ramble, huh? Must get to sleep... I'll be back at the Hi-Dive in t-minus 10 hours - I'm taking my niece and nephew to see The Terrible Twos. Rock on.

 

Alright, we're gonna do this out of order tonight...

Snowden headlined at the Larimer Lounge this evening, with two opening bands - Everything Absent Or Distorted and Malajube. I begin with Snowden because they really weren't all that impressive. Mind you, I only stayed for (almost) 5 songs, but it was kind of a chore to get that far. I'd heard of Snowden, but had never heard Snowden, and I have to say that they had a hard act to follow in Malajube. I also have to say that they failed miserably. After the first song succeeded in doing absolutely nothing for me, I figured - to be fair - I'd stay for 5 songs. When the 5th song started, I knew it wasn't going to move me any more than the 4 that preceded it, so I left. They failed in one thing that Malajube did so well - to engage the crowd (even saying after about the 3rd song that it's "ok to move"). Additionally, Snowden seemed to take themselves entirely too seriously. There was no bantering with the crowd, no eye contact with the crowd, and most certainly no smiling. It was almost like the musical version of Office Space... It's too bad; I sensed that there was something that could be great lurking under the surface of their dull performance. Perhaps I didn't stay long enough, perhaps they were having an off night, but color me unimpressed.

Backtracking a bit, I arrived at the Lounge just in time to catch Everything Absent Or Distorted's final song. Pity. Based on that one song, it would've been a great set to witness. My initial reaction was to sum them up in two words: EAOD = geek rock. These guys were resplendent in collared shirts, sweaters and glasses, not to mention that both the accordian and the trombone were represented in that one song that I caught. When I got home I did some research and discovered that not only is the band local, but EAOD personnel includes a doctoral student, two lawyers and an acupuncturist. Geek rock indeed, this band is smart with a capital "S". I'm thrilled that they're from Denver... partly because there's a very good chance I'll get to see a full set soon, but also because of the dearth of good bands that hail from Denver.

And finally, Malajube - the band that I plunked down my hard-earned $8 to see... lol. Malajube is a five-piece band from Quebec (I couldn't find any decent pictures of them on the 'net... note to self: get a fucking digital camera already!). Everything's in french, and although I took french for 6 years in junior/high school, I can't understand a damn thing they're singing about. Nevertheless, I fell in love with last year's release Trompe-L'Oeil and was pretty excited when I heard they were coming to Denver. As much as I love the album, however, it didn't adequately prepare me for the live show. This band is waaaaaay more rocking on stage than I ever could have guessed from listening to Trompe-L'Oeil. They put on an entertaining, highly energetic set that made 45 minutes seem like 5. They were engaging, they were charming, and they all have very cute accents... :) They have everything that, in my opinion, Snowden was lacking. They actually interacted with the crowd - "Let me fix this problem of shit!" (equipment problems); "Come closer, I can't see you. My sweat is worth a lot of money". If you ever get a chance to see them, go - you won't be disappointed. Here's hoping for a headlining set in Denver before too long.

On repeat (Malajube - Trompe-L'Oeil):



Parce qu'on aime
fondre en larmes sous les draps
on s'aime comme ci comme ça
pour une dernière fois

Et s'il-te-plait
ferme la porte derrière toi
Et quand tu reviendras
je serai près de toi

Et si tu m'aimes
serre-moi fort dans tes bras
Est-ce qu'on ne s'embrasse pas
pour une dernière fois

Mais dis-moi à quoi tu penses
Et quand tu reviendras
Je serai près de toi
Pour une dernière fois

(Merci à Maude pour cettes paroles)

Maximo Park, who are playing gigs this spring at places like Melkweg (Amsterdam), Shepherds Bush Empire (London), Rock Am Ring (Germany) and T In The Park (Scotland) are playing our little Larimer Lounge in July. Yes, that's right... little, 200 capacity Larimer Lounge. w00t!

..I despise iTunes. I really do. Well, not the application so much - I use iTunes to listed to my iPod. But... the store. I mean, what a rip-off, right? However, sometimes iTunes releases such yummy compilations that its existence is almost justified. Almost. I only just stumbled upon this one, when I was searching for some (completely unrelated) information about Ed Harcourt. Fantastic playlist.

I won't hold it against you if you go to iTunes and buy it. I promise.

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah announced a tour some time ago. There was no Colorado date, so I didn't mention it at the time. They have now expanded the tour, and as there is still no Colorado date, it's not so significant to me:

03-07 Los Angeles, CA - El Rey *
03-08 Los Angeles, CA - El Rey *
03-09 San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall *
03-10 San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall *
03-11 Seattle, WA - Showbox
03-16 London, England - Koko
03-18 Oxford, England - Brookes University Student Union
03-22 Oslo, Norway - Cosmopolite
03-24 Stockholm, Sweden - Debaser
03-26 Berlin, Germany - Columbia Club
03-27 Cologne, Germany - Gloria
03-30 Paris, France - Cafe de la Danse
03-31 Amsterdam, the Netherlands - Melkweg
04-22 Milwaukee, WI - Pabst Theatre
04-23 Chicago, IL - Riviera Theatre
04-24 Chicago, IL - Riviera Theatre
04-25 Minneapolis, MN - State Theatre
04-26 Omaha, NE - Holland Performing Arts Center
04-28 Denver, CO - Temple Hoyne Buell Theatre
04-29 Salt Lake City, UT - Kingsbury Hall
05-01 Seattle, WA - Paramount Theatre
05-02 Portland, OR - Crystal Ballroom
05-04 Berkeley, CA - Greek Theatre
05-05 Santa Barbara, CA - Arlington Theatre
05-06 Los Angeles, CA - Walt Disney Concert Hall
05-08 San Diego, CA - SOMA
05-09 Tempe, AZ - Mesa Amphitheatre
05-11 Dallas, TX - Palladium Ballroom
05-12 Tulsa, OK - Cain's Ballroom
05-13 Austin, TX - Bass Concert Hall
05-14 New Orleans, LA - Republic
05-16 Tampa, FL - Tampa Theatre
05-17 Orlando, FL - Hard Rock Live
05-18 Atlanta, GA - Fox Theatre
05-19 Nashville, TN - Ryman Auditorium
05-20 Columbus, OH - Wexner Center for the Arts
05-21 Detroit, MI - Royal Oak Music Theatre
05-22 Toronto, Ontario - Massey Hall
05-24 Boston, MA - Wang Center for the Performing Arts
05-25 New York, NY - Town Hall
05-26 New York, NY - Town Hall
05-28 New York, NY - Town Hall
05-29 New York, NY - Town Hall
05-30 New York, NY - Town Hall
05-31 New York, NY - Town Hall
06-01 New York, NY - Town Hall

* with Vetiver

Wilco is streaming the new album Sky Blue Sky at their website, don't really know for how long. Clicky.

Now playing, obviously:

Two days later and I'm at Hi-Dive again. I really like this club, but tonight's sold out Cold War Kids show was so dramatically different from The Spinto Band on Wednesday that it's a bit ridiculous (see me pimping them? Nice...). There was a line to get in, even though I arrived close to 9:30; it was something like 25 degrees outside, but at least there were only a dozen or so people in line. Somehow, though, I found myself standing outside for at least 10 minutes. WTF?!? When I finally got to the door I was incredibly amused to discover that they were frisking people. I can't even remember the last time I was frisked at a show, let alone at a venue like Hi-Dive. Maybe it had something to do with the fight that broke out at The Spinto Band show the other night.... lol. Weird.

I finally entered the bar shortly before openers #2, Delta Spirit. The floor was already crowded and I hung out off to the side of the stage a bit, but somehow, without feeling like I really moved at all, I found myself mid-rabid-crowd by the end of their set. I'm not sure why, but this kind of thing always seems to happen to me. Delta Spirit had a lot of fans in attendance, which was a bit surprising to me. I'd never heard of them, and in doing a google search the only thing I really turned up was their MySpace page, from which I stole the photo over there <-, as a google image search of "Delta Spirit" merely unearthed several pictures of sorority girls... Delta, Delta, Delta, can I help ya, help ya, help ya?

They were good, they rocked out pretty hard, but I just am not a fan of bands where the lead singer doesn't play an instrument. I don't know why it bothers me so, but it does. Perhaps it's the fact that when they're not singing they've got nothing left to do but strut around, blow kisses to the crowd and do fancy microphone acrobatics. So cheesy. But it was a good set, just about the right length, and fun to listen to. Capacity for the Hi-Dive is around 300, and the floor in front of the stage was packed for the Delta Spirit set. Or so I thought. As soon as they left the stage people just started pushing their way in. Some dude who was around 6 1/2 feet tall went to pass in front of me, at least I thought he was passing, but then he planted. Right in front of me. I tried to tell him that I couldn't really see now, but he didn't seem to hear me all the way up there so I had to nudge him and give him a look. He said "Oh, do you want to stand in front of me?". Yeah, thanks man.

By the time Cold War Kids took the stage I had no personal space to speak of, was getting a bit claustrophobic, and despite being approximately 15 feet in front of the stage, had no real view. I decided to wait it out for a few songs and see if the band was worth putting up with people touching me on all sides. They weren't, so after about 4-5 songs I escaped back to the merch table area where there was room and I actually had a better view of the stage than when I was in the midst of the crowd. Not that they didn't put on a great show, but it will take something like The Thermals (20 days and counting!) for me to put up with a crowd like that. And on top of everything else, I had meant to bring the ear plugs Leah gave me the other day, but forgot them in my car. So in all, moving to the back of the room was probably a good plan.

I did manage to note most of the setlist:

We Used To Vacation
Sermons Vs. The Gospel (solving some technical problems)
Passing The Hat
Rubidoux
Saint John
Well, Well, Well (John Lennon)
Tell Me In The Morning
Robbers
Hospital Beds
God, Make Up Your Mind
Hair Down
? (new song)
Hang Me Up To Dry
? (new? not sure. definitely not on r&c)

The new song(s) sound a lot like Robbers & Cowards, same Cold War Kids sound. This is not a bad thing; I like them a lot and would certainly see them again. It just really felt like they should have been at a bigger venue than Hi-Dive. Maybe the Fox next time.... well, I can dream anyway.