Show Preview: The Whigs at HOB San Diego

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A couple of years ago at SXSW, you could not walk 2 feet without seeing a Whigs Mission Control promo poster. Don’t know if there is a direct correlation, but the single “Right Hand on my Heart” saw moderate success, with airplay on alt rock stations and certainly some name recognition amongst alt and indie rockers. The Whigs are currently on tour opening for BRMC in support of their new album and will be stopping by SD tomorrow at HOB. I took the new album for a spin to get familiar with the material before the show.

Artist: The Whigs
Album: In The Dark
Recommended if you like: college rock a la the Replacements
From the press kit:
“artfully combining the disenchanted swagger of ‘70s punk with the infectious, catchy bounce of ‘60s pop” - Filter
Standout tracks: “Kill Me Carolyne","So Lonely”
Why you should listen:
P-fork gave this album a horrible review, but I usually take that to mean that an album is more accessible to a larger group of listeners (remember their review of Airborne Toxic - say what you want but a #1 on alt rock radio is nothing to sneeze at). I’m not saying that this album is amazing, because it’s not, but it’s not a stinker either.
More info/listen: official/twitter

Manchester Orchestra at HOB San Diego

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I really should be in Seattle already but I decided that I *had* to see Manchester Orchestra tonight, mostly because I haven’t seen them headline in forever. I was hoping to get some old faves and I was not disappointed. Set list first....

Manchester Orchestra
HOB San Diego
3/7/10

Encore:
50 Cent
I’ve Got Friends
Where Have You Been?
I Can Feel A Hot One

Yes, yes, that is quite a set list. I was happy to get a full set where I got songs from their debut instead of just songs from their current album. And I was stoked to get a new song after “Shake It Out”, which I felt was a bit along the same vein, so definitely a good transition. It had been quite a while since I heard “Wolves at Night” and “Colly Strings” live and those really got me into their set. I also love the back to back of “Everything to Nothing” and “The River”, which I think has some of my favorite lyrics: I think I talk to you best when I sing / I sing about almost everything . Andy gets a little crazy at the end of “The River” and even though he broke two guitar strings, he kept at it. Another highlight was the set ending “The Only One” when most of the band left Andy out there to sing the first couple of verses solo before coming back to rawk the bridge out. The encore was way cool - they started with a new song about 50 cent (no seriously - check out video from 2009 SXSW here. ) And of course, they played their hit “I’ve Got Friends”. But I thought they ended the show perfectly with “Where Have You Been” and one of my faves from their current album “I Can Feel A Hot One”. WHYB is always a favorite of mine live and I had never seen ICFAHO so I felt very fulfilled after the show. Nice way to end my almost two week stint at home.

Tegan and Sara at Copley Symphony Hall

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A great show tonight at Copley....made even better by 3rd row center tix....Set list first....

Tegan and Sara
Copley Symphony Hall
San Diego
3/3/10

Encore:
Back In Your Head
Feel It In My Bones
Call It Off
Living Room

Yes, yes, a super long set list. Lots of new stuff, the best of the old stuff and the fun banter you expect at a Tegan and Sara show. For some odd reason, Tegan did most of the talking tonight - seems a bit out of character for her from the last times I’ve seen them. We had some rowdy people in the front row who started throwing bras on stage which made Tegan launch into a whole diatribe about bra shopping and the quilt they are making from all the bras that get thrown on stage for this tour. But yeah, the music was great - the material from Sainthood is awesome live, especially “Northshore” and the lyrics something’s so sick about this, my misery is so addictive... From the older material, I was especially happy to hear “Speak Slow” and “Nineteen”. The encore was especially good tonight with just Tegan and Sara coming out for the first two songs and Tegan playing the xylophone for “Back in Your Head”. Definitely a show to remember....

Dashboard Confessional at HOB SD

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It’s been forever since I’ve been to a proper show (my bad last night missing Nico Vega yet again) but I did manage to drag myself out long enough to catch Dashboard Confessional at HOB tonight. Yes it was your regular all ages clusterfiesta but at least it wasn’t at SOMA. (Actually if it was at SOMA I wouldn’t have gone at all.) Set list.....

Dashboard Confessional
HOB San Diego
2/25/10

Encore:
The Best Deceptions
Hands Down

So anyways....typical Dashboard show. Everyone sings, girls cry, guys tell Chris they love him. All in a days work.

Hockey at the Casbah 1/18/10

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I really should title this “Why Bands Should Want Their Song Played on Commercial Radio” because without radio playing their single “Too Fake”, there is no way that Hockey would have sold out the Casbah on a rainy Monday night. They previously played The Loft at UCSD so selling out the Casbah was a little surprising to me. No knock on the band at all, just an observation about the people who usually come to Casbah shows. This crowd was full of first timers and it showed. Which is why we didn’t make it past the first few songs. Again, not a knock on the band, because they sounded great. So in lieu of a show review, you will get an album review since I’m sure some people are curious as to whether or not they are a band you want to get to know…

Artist: Hockey
Album: Mind Chaos
Recommended if you like: early Rapture (the single really reminds me of “House of Jealous Lovers")
From the press kit:
“Like MGMT? How about CSS or the Klaxons? Well meet your new favorite band...they’ll be around for a while"---Spin.com
Standout Tracks: “Song Away","Wanna Be Black”
Worth a second listen?:
The band comparisons from the Spin quote give you a starting point for their sound, though they are definitely not as trippy dippy as MGMT. If you’re inclined to like the dancy side of alt rock, then, yes, you will like this. The album does not deviate too far from the formula of “Too Fake”. BTW, the single has been hanging on the alt rock charts since October (first mentioned here in my weekly radio chart post on 10/7), but it’s never broken the top 20. The new single “Song Away” impacts radio on 2/9, so I’ll be keeping an eye on the charts for it.
More info: myspace/official
Listen: “Too Fake” on Jimmy Fallon (wvx file - windows media)

AVOTT: The Gift

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Woke up to The Gift.

FM 94/9 2009 Holiday Hootenanny

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KBZT had a fantastic track record this year as far as their three big shows - Indie Jam (Black Keys, YYY, Metric), Anniversary Show (Black Joe Lewis, Cage The Elephant) and last night’s Holiday Hootenanny (affectionately called “The Hoot") at RIMAC. Even the rain didn’t keep the fans away from arriving early. I arrived relatively early - caught most of White Rabbits who sounded great but I was saving all my love for the next two bands.

Manchester Orchestra came out with the intensity I have come to expect from them. Their set was short and typical of what I have been seeing them play as openers. They started of with “Pride” and ripped through “I’ve Got Friends”, “Shake It Out”, “My Friend Marcus”, “Everything to Nothing” and “The River”. You expect to get “I’ve Got Friends” and their new single “Shake It Out” but I think I scared the people around me when I reverted to fangirl and freaked out at the opening notes of “Shake It Out”. A bit of a bummer to not get anything from their amazing debut album, but with 30 minutes I was happy with their set.

Phoenix was up next and we stayed on the floor for the madness. From the opener of “Lisztomania” to the set ending “1901”, the crowd was fully into what Phoenix was bringing. Thomas Mars, their lead singer (Sofia Coppola’s Baby Daddy or SCBD to me all night since his name was escaping me) really felt the love from the crowd and spent the majority of the night leaning way into the crowd or jumping off the stage to sing amongst the peeps. AWESOME. We were in the middle of some super enthusiastic fans who were singing and dancing along - I loved being surrounded by people who are as into a show as I am and my fellow fans on the floor did not disappoint.

The rest of the night seemed anti-climactic after Phoenix - we spent our time seated during the entire Vampire Weekend set. I dunno, I like Vampire Weekend but I don’t know why everyone is so crazy about them. Really. And Spoon...well, let’s just say I needed a drink at that point but we did stick around long enough to hear my favorite song from them “The Way We Get By”, a classic from Kill The Moonlight.

But yeah, it really was a great show all around. Cheers to FM 94/9 for a great lineup. (P.S. the Beer-nasium was cool but it needed to be bigger!)