Busy, Not Lazy

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Holler.

Peter Bjorn & John @ The Vogue

A swinging combination of 60’s pop, surf guitar, and Swedish intonation, PB & J were much livelier than their gentle single, “Young Folks.” The show had tons of dancing, especially from Peter and Bjorn, along with great big yelps and shouting vocals. The energy the trio possessed seemed almost out of place from their uber-hip image, but if anything I was damn sure that PB & J were enjoying themselves and wanted the entire audience to as well. When he wasn’t leaping off of the monitors, Peter would grab the mic and run back and forth between each side of the stage before sprinting off into the crowd, the mic cable still attached like an airtube connecting a deep-sea diver with his ship.

The ironically titled new album, Writer’s Block, gave them plenty of upbeat material to work with throughout the night. They played it cool with songs like “Amsterdam” and “The Chills” but they always had a humorous sense of self-mockery that kept them human. Everything on stage with an empty space had “Peter Bjorn & John ____” labeling it; the backdrop said “Peter Bjorn & John Backdrop,” the bass drum said “Peter Bjorn & John Bass Drum;” and so on with the amps, monitors, and merch. They never called attention to this fact either, and it remained a subtle laugh throughout the show. Like, “if you weren’t sure which concert you’re at, please check the names on the 20 ft. banner behind the band.” Classic.


PB & J - The Chills

The Mountain Goats @ The Canopy Club

Finding a way to turn an off balanced home life into quirky and oddly humorous albums, John Darnielle and company played to a packed crowd of maybe 100. He was tender and unpolished with a very honest. His stage persona is one hell of a friendly guy. Some of the best stage banter ever: “This is a song about when you were 17 and you got really drunk, then decided it’d be a good idea to go over to your step dad’s house and tell him he’s ruining you and your mom’s life. But when you get there your mom answers the door and all the powerful things you thought of to say come out: ‘You asshole.’ And I’m playing it now because I wrote it about you, and I knew you’d be here.”

The songs The Mountain Goats play are typically about situations like this: slightly dark and dysfunctional, yet they have some twinkle to them that keeps each song from being wholly depressing. Darnielle puts a little twist on everything in this way, and he rocks harder than any guy holding an acoustic guitar normally would. The band has always had this set up over the years, starting out fiercely lo-fi and working up to their current, and charmingly modest, sound.

I haven’t heard their brand new album yet, but I’d be willing to be that it’s one hell of a work. Their live show certainly would suggest the same.


The Mountain Goats - Dance Music

Modest Mouse & Man Man @ The Egyptian Room

Man Man sounds like childlike, sea-faring schizophrenia and Issac Brock from Modest Mouse sounds like full on dementia. Brilliant at times and unintelligible at others; certain moments find him delicately drifting through starlight, but in the next song Brock’s yelps and barbaric yawps break under his over exertion. The majority of the show felt thick in this energy and only rarely broke from this track. To behave this way makes the members of both bands seem more like characters from a dark novel instead of real people hailing from Washington state and Philadelphia.

The performances of both bands at the Egyptian Room were solid and I was happy to have seen them. Man Man was more of a “You’ve got to see this” experience, exploding through song after song dressed in white t-shirts and pants with neon war-painted faces.

I’ve been a fan of Modest Mouse for years, though, and
wanted to see them recreate their songs live. The played a good mix of b-sides and new releases, although I’d have been happy if they only played songs from The Lonesome Crowded West and The Moon & Antarctica. The varied set list covered all the bases anyway, and the two bands set the stage ablaze with their antics and wild music.


Modest Mouse - Beauty samples

Modest Mouse - Crazy samples

Broken Social Scene @ The Vogue

With Kevin Drew at its helm, Broken Social Scene achieves a spontaneous type of joy found in whiskey-fueled outbursts and ramblings. We got to the show early enough to make it to the front of the Vogue, and when the band walked on stage Drew asked me to count off their set. The band played with an incredibly broad dynamic; the songs described all-nighters and quiet afternoons and ranged from crushingly soft to vibrantly loud like a musical stream of consciousness.

During a beer/bathroom break Kevin asked the crowd if they wanted to see what he spent the Indy show’s production budget on. Everyone cheered, so he went backstage for a minute and came back holding a pair of black, sequin-covered Adidas superstar sneakers. He put them on and remarked, “Ok, now I’m ready.” For some reason there was another wardrobe issue that night. The show started after the Colts/Patriots game ended on TV that night, and after people in the crowd threw Colts jerseys onstage a few were donned by band members. Drew put on a #18 Manning jersey which he wore/rocked the rest of the night before tossing it back to its original owner.

Plus, I got the set list signed by bassist Brendan Canning. Sweet.


Broken Social Scene - TBTF

Stars @ The Vic

Melodramatic harmonies and fresh flowers filled Chicago’s Vic Theatre when Montreal indie-pop veterans Stars took the stage. They played an excellent mix of songs from all four of their albums, including some from their new record: In Our Bedroom After the War. The new album doesn’t have as many call-and-response duets like Heart or Set Yourself On Fire, but the show wasn’t lacking in the beautiful chemistry between lead singers Amy Millan and Torq Cambell; the two moved across the stage playing the roles of hopeful romantics and bitter ex-lovers with passion coursing through each syllable. During “Take Me to the Riot,” a portrait of racing, nocturnal hipsters, Millan and Cambell hit a harmony that was so strong I literally felt shivers. They’re all absolutely incredible performers and seeing them for the third time was more than worth the drive to Chicago.

After the show we met Amy Millan, Torq Cambell, and Evan Cranley. We even got the set list and had the band sign it, which included advice scrawled by Ms. Millan: “Forgive” and “Love Hard.”

Girl Talk @ Talbott St.

The mash-up genre is a double-edged sword capable of being both inspiringly exciting and beyond awful. When beats, verses, hooks, bridges, and any second’s worth of audio from a bunch of stylistically different songs combine you can find undiscovered joy or compound your dislike for multiple musicians. Here’s the sample list for one song, "Friday Night:"

* 0:00 (21:04) The Notorious B.I.G. - "Hypnotize”
* 0:01 (21:05) Salt N Pepa - "Let's Talk About Sex"
* 0:04 (21:08) James Brown - "Funky Drummer"
* 0:04 (21:08) Public Enemy - "Countdown To Armageddon"
* 0:18 (21:22) J-Kwon - "Tipsy"
* 0:18 (21:22) Jason Forrest - "War Photographer"
* 0:37 (21:41) Billy Squier - "The Stroke"
* 0:37 (21:41) Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg - "Nuthin' But a "G" Thang”
* 0:55 (21:59) Frankie Cutlass - "Puerto Rico"
* 1:15 (22:19) Jay-Z, Puff Daddy - "I Know What Girls Like"
* 1:19 (22:23) Black Sheep - "The Choice Is Yours (Revisited)"
* 1:30 (22:34) N.O.R.E. - "Nothin'"
* 1:31 (22:35) Fatman Scoop - "Be Faithful
* 1:40 (22:44) Donnie Iris - "Ah Leah!"
* 1:45 (22:49) Chris Brown, Juelz Santana - "Run It!"
* 2:01 (23:05) The Waitresses - "I Know What Boys Like"
* 2:18 (23:22) Lady Sovereign - "Random"
* 2:26 (23:30) Nikka Costa - "Like a Feather"
* 2:45 (23:49) Mark Morrison - "Return of the Mack"
* 2:51 (23:55) TLC - "Ain't 2 Proud 2 Beg"
* 2:54 (23:58) Busta Rhymes - "Touch It”
* 3:02 (24:06) The Black Crowes - "Hard to Handle"

Pittsburgh’s Greg Gillis, a.k.a. Girl Talk, is nowhere close to the dull side of the sword. He mixes everything into a dance party juggernaut that transforms live shows into an experience. People don’t come to see Girl Talk perform, people come to participate in the nightly parties Gillis throws.

He started the show at Talbott St. by bounding on stage adorned in a baggy grey sweat suit, hood up, and Pittsburgh Pirates hat. Trumpets blared over the PA as Gillis unexpectedly sprinted across the stage hurling confetti from his sweatshirt pocket at the audience, tiny pieces of paper catching and reflecting the lights from the stage as if we had just shown up to our own surprise party.

“LET’S GET THIS PARTY STARTED!!!” he screamed into the mic while dropping his hand onto his laptop. When his finger hit that mouse pad hands were thrown into the air and people who couldn’t dance were compelled to without fear of embarrassment. The crowd spilled on stage and danced around Gillis as he shook his body and banged his head in time with his music. He’s so active during shows that he usually ends up in just a pair of gym shorts and tube socks by the end of the night, the rest of his attire piled in a sweaty mess beneath his table.

We talked with Greg afterwards as he toweled off and he told us about his creative process. It was interesting to hear him describe how he samples his music and the software he uses. All in all, a cool guy with incredible creativity and energy to match.


Girl Talk - Friday Night