Photos: The Bravery @ the Showbox

Posted on 11/11/2009 by Dagmar

New York City’s the Bravery blow my mind every time I see them. Their set at the Showbox on Monday night was absolutely glorious and highlighted so many of their great songs. What a pleasure to take pix at this show, which included material off their releases The Bravery (Unconditional, Swollen Summer, Public Service Announcement,
Tyrant, Fearless, An Honest Mistake) and The Sun and the Moon (Every Word Is a Knife in My Ear, The Ocean, Time Won’t Let Me Go, Believe) – as well as new material off their upcoming December 2009 release, Stir the Blood. The new CD sounds like it’s going to be fantastic and I am basing this on the songs Slow Poison, Hatefuck and the scarily groovy Red Hands and White Knuckles. Photos:

all photos by Dagmar

Photos: Devo @ the Moore

Posted on 11/09/2009 by Dagmar

Devo performed their album Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! in its entirety last night as night one of a two evening stay at the Moore in Seattle. I knew any show that starts with Uncontrollabe Urge would have to be good and yes it certainly was an excellent performance. Right after a brilliant rendition of Mongoloid the band ripped off their Devo radiation suits and went into the beloved Jocko Homo. How awesome to see this band again – you can catch them tonight as they do Freedom of Choice. We got a sneak preview of the show when they did Gates of Steel as an encore. My photos (more coming):

all photos by Dagmar

CD Review: Beak> by Beak>

Posted on 10/31/2009 by Dagmar

Beak>, a band from Bristol, England, released their self-titled debut CD just this month. The CD will be released in the States in November and it’s an awesome debut. The band is made up of Geoff Barrow (Portishead), Matt Williams (alias Team Brick), and Billy Fuller (Fuzz Against Funk). I decided I would listen to the CD without reading up at all on the background of the band. I didn’t want it to be tainted because the name Beak> intrigued me enough on its own.

I think this CD is quite the dazzler. I like the organ and weird pulses in Backwell. The chanting and bass in Pill are peculiarly affecting and the droning gloom of Dundry Hill really pulled me into the CD as an entire piece. And I feel like the CD is an entire piece – not just songs randomly put together by musicians who want to mess with the listener. There’s a haunted momentum to I Know and Iron Acton that I totally fell for and there’s more weird chanting in Battery Point with guitars frying along. Ham Green‘s pounding use of bass is exquisite. Ears Have Ears brings in more strangeness with unsettling tweeting sounds.

Perhaps describing something as odd does not appeal to you but I like music that tries something different. Every once in a while you want to be challenged pleasantly, right?

Beak> (Ipecac Records)

Photos: Noah and the Whale @ the Crocodile

Posted on 10/29/2009 by Dagmar

Noah and the Whale headlined at the Crocodile on Saturday night and for the second time this they year blew my mind. I saw them in April at Chop Suey and found their music and performance to be equally passionate. So I was not going to miss them when they returned here. From the despairing I Have Nothing and Stranger to the joyful Give a Little Love and Love of an Orchestra, I can’t imagine anyone listening to the vocals of Charlie Fink, the band’s music and lyrics, and not being moved. I took some photos at the show:

all photos by Dagmar

Photo Galleries: Future of the Left & . . . Trail of Dead @ Neumos

Posted on 10/20/2009 by Dagmar

I’ve got more of my photos of Future of the Left and . . . And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead ready! This was such a fantastic pairing of bands.