Tortoise @ The Black Cat 2/16/10

courtesy of Tortoise

Indie-rock elder statesmen Tortoise played the Black Cat on Tuesday night and treated the modest-sized crowd to a set that was representative of their career modus operandi. Somehow their set managed to be simultaneously laid-back and intense in a way that was as mind-boggling as it was enjoyable. Covering the lion's share of their latest album "Beacons Of Ancestorship" Tortoise once again displayed their utter mastery of genre collision and band member inter-play.

A lot of articles online hail Tortoise as the "godfathers of Post-Rock" and while I don't particularly agree* I do recognize and enjoy the sea-change impact that they had on indie rock in the mid-1990's. No one on the indie landscape does quite what Tortoise does in practice or in sound. They are the ultimate instrument playing genre colliders. Tortoise does with instruments what DJs can only dream of doing with an arsenal of samplers; Tortoise swallows difficult genres (Jazz, Krautrock, Prog-Rock, Dub, Punk, the list goes on...) and reconstitutes them into insane progressive mash-ups that evoke their influences in brilliant, discordant, and challenging ways. The fact that they can do all that and still lay down a deeply enjoyable jam is Tortoise's own special brand of genius.

The Cribs @ 9:30 Club 1/19/10*

courtesy of The Cribs.

The Cribs treated DC to a fantastic evening of guitar-driven Brit-pop at the 9:30 Club on Tuesday night. Sporting their new 4-man line-up (now including pop-guitar legend Johnny Marr) The Cribs impressed and entertained the crowd of die-hard fans with a set heavily featuring material from their two most recent (and best) albums. While they did not stray very far from their musical comfort zone, the band did put on a dazzling display of their strengths that made for one of the most fun shows I have seen hit DC in quite some time.

Adam Franklin & The Bolts of Melody @ DC9 1/6/10*

courtesy of Adam Franklin

On Wednesday night, DC9 played host to Adam Franklin & The Bolts of Melody as they made DC the second stop of their month-long American tour. The small venue proved the ideal spot to observe and enjoy Franklin's guitar alchemy and emotional vocal delivery up close and personal. The band put on a really special set for the modest-sized crowd of Swervedriver fan-boys and guitar-geeks who braved the winter's chill to catch this mid-week show.

This is where every review and article on the planet about The Bolts of Melody offers a quick rundown of Adam Franklin's prolific career. If you don't know the man you can read about Swervedriver (personal favs of mine), the interesting Toshack Highway project, and Magnetic Morning on your own dime. For our purposes what is really important is that after many years of self-imposed exile from effects-pedal, guitar work Adam Franklin, one of the very best, has returned.

Arctic Monkeys @ 9:30 Club 12/8/09*

"My Arctic Monkeys Tickets" courtesy Greta Kauffman

Arctic Monkeys made their return to the 9:30 club in a rip-roaring fashion on Tuesday night with a set-list that mixed their trademark hyper-pop with their new album's dedication to song-craft and musical exploration. The effect was at times lost on the sold-out crowd but the combination of their good-will towards these Brit-pop phenoms and the lads' savvy use of radio hits peppered through-out kept the good times going for all. I was extremely pleased to see this young band so committed to their artistic development in a live show when so many other young acts fall back on crowd-pleasing when faced with sudden global levels of success.

I last saw Arctic Monkeys at the Coachella Music Festival in 2007 on the "Favourite Worst Nightmare" tour. The band in '07 was confident and beaming, clean-cut in hair and dress. Their set then was a barn-burning bit of guitar-driven Brit-pop that left everyone smiling. A great time but somewhat disposable on an artistic level; really a reflection on their sophomore album which to this day feels like a minor offering compared to their blisteringly awesome debut. Since I last saw them play, Arctic Monkeys have gone on to become one of the biggest bands in Brit-pop and have toured the world several times over; lead singer and songwriter Alex Turner put out an excellent 60's pop-inspired side-project (The Last of the Shadow Puppets); and the band has produced "Humbug", easily their most adventurous and daring music yet. The lyrical risk-taking and musical development on "Humbug" is a breath-taking statement by the band that they are serious craftsmen and represents their evolution from being the latest Brit craze to being vital musicians in a landscape full of one-n-done, Ipod commercial composers.

The Five Best Concerts In And Around DC For 2009

courtesy of 'bormang2'

One of the things that I am most excited about my return to blogging is that I have the opportunity to continue my year-end tradition of recapping the best concerts that I saw in and around the DC area.

For the uninitiated, this is a list of the best performances by musical acts that I saw in 2009 in the DC area. The list is based on individual sets rather than total concert line-ups. I consider any concert that I can drive to and back from in one night to fall within my radius of coverage. I'm keeping the list to 5 shows from now on because I catch great concerts all over the country and think I should only list the local cream of the crop. In other words, these are five DC area shows that can hang with the best shows in the country.

Re-entry!

I have decided to post all of my We Love DC concert reviews here as well. Enjoy!

Greater Than One - Index

Year: 1990
Genre: Industrial - Dance

Highlight Track: "Dubkiller"
Weak Track: "Metal"

Index is a nice meditative EP from electro-industrial pranksters Greater Than One that focuses more on the electro than the industrial and tones down their usual reliance on mile-a-minute samples by instead doling them out with restraint. I am tempted to call this their ambient EP if not for the inclusion of the track called "Metal" which features a pretty ripping guitar sample loop. Unfortunately "Metal" is also the album's weakest track; so the song is kind of a let down for fans of guitar use in industrial music.

"Metal" is a weak track because it begins with a grandiose orchestrated sound and then launches into a great abrasive guitar attack that ultimately repeats itself into oblivion. The track ends with no payoff whatsoever. This is extremely disappointing coming from a band that made some of the best sample orchestras of the late 1980's.

Fortunately for us the rest of the EP makes for great listening. As I mentioned before Index is ultimately more ambient (or background) than Greater Than One's other releases but that's not exactly a strike against it. GTO are very good at making cool sounding electronic music and this EP is an excellent example of their 'cool' factor. Especially the track "Dubkiller" which simulates the effects of shooting-up with sound. It is an industrial-ambient oddity that works on every level by first hypnotizing the listener and then waking them up with a final finger snap of sampled Christian radio. The listener is then left with the unsettling after-effects of processing all of the subliminal suggestions made by the song's subdued yet subversive samples.