Show Preview: Aimee Mann and Ted Leo @ Paramount (9.27)

aimee

Date Friday, Sseptember 27th
Location Paramount Theatre
Doors 7:00 PM
Tickets $40-$50 from Austin Theatre


When I first started talking about this show, RayRay was giving me a hard time because he thought Aimee Mann was just typical chick rock; homeboy is wrong.  For one, she’s worked with artists from Geddy Lee to Matthew Sweet, not to mention her role in the Independent Music Awards. And, accompanying her on the evening will be my man-crush, Ted Leo, who has a very valid history of his own.  I’m not sure how the night will work, as I know the two have been playing joint sets as The Both, but perhaps we’ll get a little bit of both on the evening.  Sure, prices are a tad steep, but have a feeling it will be a sepcial evening for all in attendance.

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/06-A-Bottle-Of-Buckie.mp3]

The White Wires – WWIII

Rating: ★★★★☆

When I first picked up this new gem from The White Wires, I took the label (Dirtnap Records), the album photo, and then I jumped to conclusions.  I figured it’d be some sort of garage rock record; I figured I dig it.  In a sense, it does both things, but WWIII is far from just your average garage rocker; it’s got a lot more pop sensibility and natural energy, giving listeners much more than, if they’re like me, bargained for on this listen.

“All Night Long” blasts in with your typical garage fair, or so it seems.  Guitars trade off from the speakers, jagged and distorted, but then Ian Manhire enters the fold.  He’s got a polished vocal, allowing his natural fondness for pop to shine through with his lyrics.  It’s a quick start, but in seconds you’ll be pogoing about your home.  That sort of sentiment continues with “It’s Been a While,” a track that features a rolling drum beat, accented by heavy-hit cymbals, and staggered guitar licks.  The chorus uses backing vocals to provide that extra bit of hook. But, WWIII isn’t just a blend of garage rock and pop-punk; it uses power-pop goodness to mix it up.

“The Magic” might not be the best song from The White Wires, but after three straight tracks of upbeat rock n’ roll in your face, it gives you a second to breathe in the power of a good power ballad.  Guitars twinkle, bass fuzzes out and everything else wraps together to create a wonderful tune I can’t wait to see the group play live. However, the calming effect of the sequencing only lasts briefly here, with the band eager to get back to what they do best–rocking your face off.

I like the youthful attitude that’s present throughout the entirety of WWIII, giving you a license to just enjoy the record without having to think too much.  “Let’s Start Over Again” is the perfect song to fit this sentiment, with lyrics in the chorus that reflect the simplicity of the song’s title.  In doing so, the band has created anthemic choruses that are perfect for the live show, letting fans jump about and sing along in frivolity. Then it moves right into the bubbling bass work of “And Then You Told Me,” which features the band providing you with a sharp-edged swinging sensation.  It sort of reminds me of a teenage Ted Leo, free of all the political heroics and legendary status.

Sure, I only filled the review with mention of a handful of songs, but you could easily use every track on WWIII as a lead single.  Only one song reaches beyond the 3 minute mark, keeping things tight and joyous in a short space.  It propels the record, but it also caters to durability for The White Wires.  You’re not going to get bored listening to this record (I promise!), and you’re going to find something to get you going on every track.  Take elements of pop punk, garage rock, power-pop, even power ballads–throw it in a blender with a gritty attitude, vibrancy and solid recording–you’ll end up with the perfect recipe for a great listen, and a great album from this Ottawa trio.

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/01-All-Night-Long.mp3]

Download:The White Wires – All Night Long [MP3]

Show Pics: Chaos in Tejas – Ted Leo (5/31)

Chaos in Tejas is that thing when you get ready for a show by not showering.

It is also that thing where randomly selected indie-punk-pop acts get thrown on stage in between hardcore and punk bands. In this case, The Mohawk featured Nathan’s man-crush, Ted Leo, had a set between Japanese thrash by Reality Crisis and old-school punk from The Mob.

To further confuse my ears, I stopped in for a bit of Big Freedia‘s set at Club DeVille.

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Chaos in Tejas Preview: Screaming Females

UPDATE: Apparently Marrissa had to cancel due to illness, but we’ll leave this up because we love the band. We’re just a few short days away from Chaos in Tejas, but we still have a few bands we think should be on your radar. Screaming Females is one such act, and one that you surely have to be aquainted with by this point…but if not, here’s the good word.

The New Jersey trio have been working tirelessly since o5/06, with five full lengths to their name–including this year’s excellent, Ugly LP. There’s all kinds of ways you can label the band, from punk to garage to perhaps metal (if you consider their recent tour with Tragedy), but the band has one key element that makes them something entirely unique, something you might consider a spectacle; they have Marissa Paternoster.

Marissa is probably one of the most unassuming women in rock n’ roll, that is until you catch the band live.  She stands about 5 foot tall, average fashion sense, almost shy in appearance.  But, when she steps onto the stage, something transforms her into one of the most powerful women in rock n’ roll.  She slings her guitar around as she furiously strums, and that voice, dear lord that voice.  I remember the first time I caught the group as they were opening for Ted Leo a few years back (and you all know I love Ted) and she almost blew Ted off the stage.  This by no means indicates that Jarrett and Mike (the other two) don’t own their instruments as well, but if you’re looking for a live performance that will change the way you look at music, then you don’t need to go any further than by watching Screaming Females.  I promise you, if you want to catch one band, it’s this one.

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Screaming-Females-Expire.mp3]

Download: Screaming Females – Expire [MP3]

Whitman – Weekends

Rating: ★★★½☆

It’s been quite a while since locals Whitman put out their debut album, Torch Songs. Since then their style hasn’t really changed too much; they’ve maintained a classic alternative sound while not getting too serious. Weekends is no exception to this style, delivering quality tunes that fall easy on the ears.

The album creeps out slowly, with Ram Vela’s vocals whispering through layers of echoes and atmospheric sounds on “Technicolor Blues.” It’s as though the band is feeling its way into your ears, analyzing the space that they are going to fill before they really kick into things. This kicks comes in the last forty or so seconds before the first song has met its completion. At this point, it’s clear that Whitman has woken up, and continues to pick up the pace on the second song, “NW Thurman.” Jumping right into things, Vela’s Ted Leo-esque raspy chords leads you right along, bounding atop bouncing piano and some “Ooh la la’s” in the background. Immediately on this track, there is that ‘good times’ mentality that this band perfects. It’s the perfect kind of song to bob your head easily along to and perhaps dance a little if you’re feeling up to it—it doesn’t demand anything.

This easy rock-n-roll continues through the duration of the album, exploring highs and lows, crazy times and falling-outs. “Barstools” comes across as a bitter recollection of a friendship gone astray. As Vela sings honestly that he would “rather be falling off barstools than hanging with you,” the electric guitar growls, the cymbals crash violently, and some synth all rage along with him, and it feels as though the song consists entirely for the purpose of driving this hated friend away, making sure he knows he isn’t welcome anymore.  Later on, Whitman slows things down a bit on “Manchester-By-The-Sea,” whose soft nature serves as a nice little meander from the consistent full-tilt pace. This song relies on a gentler strumming of acoustic guitar and instrumentals that stray from the buzz of before and we see a more delicate Whitman. The album finishes up with “Day Drink Part 1” and “Day Drink Part 2” which brings things back up before it reaches its conclusion.

Weekends is exactly what its name entails: relaxation. There simply isn’t a song on here that requires more than a good attitude to enjoy. With the weather warming up around here, count on this album to be perfect for blasting out of your open car windows.

Friday Top 10: Fun Fest Bands

Our Fun Fest coverage is nearing an end, but we have yet to give you a top artists post in typical ATH fashion.  So here ladies and gents is your ATH top 10 fun fest acts.  This is a list compiled by all of our writers and collaborators who did their best to check out as many bands as we could this weekend.  Keep in mind that we see as many bands as we can, but certainly can’t blanket the whole fest.  Follow the jump for list.

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Show Pics: FFF6 Day Three

Fun Fun Fun Fest photo coverage concludes at Austin Town Hall.

There is dust in every crevice…

…of my camera gear. Day three had a weird blend to it. Starting with an interview with WWPJ, We caught OBN III and Davila 666 at Black Stage followed by WWPJ’s set, Mate of State segued to MNDR and Austra. Jumpcut to Ted Leo,dial it back to dance party with Architecture in Helsinki, back up again for Hum and then Easing out with Black Lips and Slayer (?).

You know what is past the break.

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Leatherbag – Yellow Television

Rating: ★★★☆☆

In the aftermath of Hurricane Rita, back in 2005, lead singer Randy Reynolds relocated to our great city of Austin. Lucky for us he did, because after this, he formed the American Rock band known as Leatherbag. Six years, various changes in the band and multiple albums, later, the band consists of three members: Reynolds, Drew Emmons, and Daniel Blanchard. Together, they craft a classic rock record in Yellow Television, which reflects on the general current state of things in the world.

The first number is dubbed “Imitation Generation” and kicks things off quickly and with the flair that one would expect of Leatherbag. A solid drum beat, angled guitars lead your in what seems calmly, but then it has those yelled catchy choruses with group vocals adding some texture behind Reynolds’ vocals.  As the name already suggests, the song comes off as more of a social comment on the repetition of any creative work by this generation. He remarks that “love is dead and so is rock and roll,” which is a bit grim, but gets the point across that we are in need of a little originality, perhaps to be delivered by this band in some form? It’s a good opening beat, but it isn’t exactly spectacular.

Then Leatherbag transitions to the title track “Yellow TV,” which relies on that catchy chorus to pull you into this band’s style if they hadn’t already. From here on, the rest of the album is relatively similar to these first two songs; which is a double edged sword. There is still the alluring rock style, which at some points reminds me a bit of Ted Leo, on jams like “Waxing Nostalgic.” However, it gets a bit redundant when the beginnings of most of the songs start out in the same way; it gets hard to discern one song from the other. Some are just too similar for their own good and you can get lost on the natural order of this album. That being said, stick around for “Sincerity,” which is ten minutes of bluesy guitar and the variety you’ve been missing up to that point.

Overall, it’s a pretty solid American Rock album. You can find the slightly grunge guitars and the sincerely indelicate vocals that you’d expect as well as some surprising freshness that you wouldn’t.  Albeit, there are some weaker tracks, and it gets a little repetitive at points, but there is still something worth enjoying on Yellow Television.

Fun Fest Lineup Is Here

We’ve all been waiting for today, and we’ve all been super hyped on the 2011 Fun Fun Fun Fest. Honestly, the leaks and the info today on turntable.fm all seemed a little heavy on the hip-hop/electro side of things for me.  But, now that the line-up is on its way, there are some great gems. I mean, my man crush Ted Leo will be there. I’m stoked on seeing Cloud Nothings and Radio Dept, so much so, that I’d go alone for all that. But, as Transmission always does a great job putting this together, everyone’s going to find their own genre/niche of bands to get excited for.  So, do yourself a favor, head over to the SITE, and see who your favorites will be. Then leave us a comment and let us know…maybe you can give us a heads up on what’s hip. Also, don’t forget tickets go on sale for the 3rd round today.  Label me officially stoked!

Gold-Bears – Are You Falling in Love

Rating: ★★★½☆

With summer break looming over us all, it’s the perfect time for a twee-punk band like Gold-Bears to make their debut. As this is their first ever album released, this band is brand new to the music scene and looking to win a spot in your heart as well as your stereo. Surely you have room left for some jangly guitar and hazy percussion in there?

From the very first song, you can hear the clear alternative punk soundings of Gold-Bears. “Record Store” begins with flat sounding drums along with gentle acoustic guitar, and then some raging, yet even-toned, electric guitar streams in. Then the song picks up, and you have the carefully placed cymbal crashes along with breaks in the raging melody to that of the delightfully soft beginning. Meanwhile, the suiting vocals blend together with the instrumental aspects of the jam. After this lovely opening tune is finished, the band moves to “All Those Years.” On this one, some gang vocals continue the energy and are instantly reminiscent to bands like Ted Leo and Pharmacists. They’ve got that crash pop beat mixed together with the percussion of a more punk style band, which is noticeable on the third song.

After a pretty positive and upbeat start for Gold-Bears, they slow things down as they approach the middle of the album. The title track certainly stands apart from the rest of the songs in this body of music, as it is filled with foggy feedback and jingling tambourine that is sure to serve as an appropriate break from the quickness of the fast paced start. It’s the perfect placement of such a song that slows the listener back down for a breather, if only so they can jump back in at double time on the next number, “East Station Attendant.” This one is the direct opposite of its predecessor, fast, short and rocking.

Gold-Bears continue this impressive debut with more standouts like single “Tally,” that relies on gang vocals once more to carry the streaming beat. They close strong, yet delicate, and leave their listeners happy to have taken a chance on this band. For a first album, it is nothing short of appealing. So when you reach the end with them, and reflect on Are You Falling In Love?, you can answer with a yea, I’m pretty sure I am.

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/GoldBears-SomethingToThinkAbout.mp3]

Download: Gold Bears – Something To Think About [MP3]

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