Three Shows. LCD Soundsystem. The Ballroom Thieves. And matt pond PA, for one last time

LCD Soundsystem was in Boston, at the Agganis Arena (on Boston University's campus) last weekend. I was not swept up in them when they originally came out in the 2000s and then, James Murphy put the band to rest after one of the most hyped events/concerts at Madison Square Garden, which was also the subject of a documentary in the same vein as the Talking Heads live documentary. They put out one of the best records of the year, this year, and after listening to it several times, and knowing the show would absolutely sell out, I bought a ticket and held my expectations rather high for their live show. They did not disappoint. Their live show is absolutely incredible, with a mix of electronica and rock that plays very well. They played for a solid two hours, just them, no opening act, just lots of dance music and drinking in the audience before the band finally took the stage around 9.


  1. Us v Them
    Play Video
  2. Yr City's a Sucker
    Play Video
  3. I Can Change
    Play Video
  4. Call The Police
    Play Video
  5. Get Innocuous!
    Play Video
  6. You Wanted a Hit
    Play Video
  7. Tribulations
    Play Video
  8. Movement
    Play Video
  9. Someone Great
    Play Video
  10. I Used To
    Play Video
  11. Tonite
    Play Video
  12. Home
    Play Video
  13. I Want Your Love
    (Chic cover)
    1. Encore:
    2. Oh Baby
      Play Video
    3. Emotional Haircut
      Play Video
    4. Dance Yrself Clean
      Play Video
    5. All My Friends
  15. --------------------------------------------------------

One of my favorite new bands has quickly become The Ballroom Thieves almost solely based on their live shows. This three-piece band is not to be missed anytime they play in the area. I've even traveled to New Hampshire (not that much of a drive) and will be driving to Boston soon to see them. Guitar, drums, and cello. That's all it takes. But it's the male and female vocals trading duties every few songs that sounds absolutely amazing. Don't let the small stature of cellist and vocalist Callin Peters foul you, your voice is something else! Something powerful. And watching her fully immerse herself in the songs, with eyes closed sometimes or just an intense look on herself, lets you know the passion for these songs is there and is so real. 


A new band out of Nashville, a duo really, called the Harmaleighs opened the night and really blew me away, having not really heard anything from them. They are one of those acts that you really want to break out and be heard because they should be destined for great things. Give them a listen and hear for yourself. 


A band out of Boston, These Wild Plains were on in the middle and really brought the room to move and dance with their alt-country/Americana/rootsy sound. What an incredible band. They reminded me of another Boston band, Town Meeting. 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
I've been listening to Matt Pond PA for years, ever since I heard his cover of Oasis' "Champagne Supernova" on one of my favorite shows "The O.C." and thought his voice sounded great and conveyed sadness very well. I cannot really believe he never really broke out and became more of a musical "star" in the sense that we all witness others to become. Instead, he released a steady stream of really good music and stayed one of those indie artists that was thrown to the wolves by major labels until he became discontent enough to finally call this his "final tour" at least under the moniker of Matt Pond PA. Rest assure, he won't go anywhere, but it may be harder to find his music unless you continue to follow his career. His band's work just works so well and he's one of those artists that you wish hadn't flown under the radar so much. At this show, his final one in Boston, you could tell he was having fun. They sounded great and went out on a high note. 



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Two Great Films, and more to Pass the Time

Image
"We Need to Talk About Kevin" starring: Tilda Swinton, John C. Reilly, Ezra Miller, Jasper Newell, Rocky Duer, Ashley Gerasimovich, Siobhan Fallon Hogan, Alex Manette, James Chen written and directed by: Lynne Ramsay Remember when The Who sang "The Kids are Alright"? Yea, this film proves that is not the case as it attempts to define nature versus nurture versus just plain evil (and are you simply born that way). This is a modern American (almost strictly American, by the way) horror story. One all too real in the wake of Columbine and all subsequent mass killings (at schools, specifically) since that awful day. We always struggle to understand why things like that happen and how they got this way, what drives someone to murder. This is the story of a boy-turned-teenager through the eyes of his mother, and her struggle with raising him and then answering for his crime. Swinton, as Eva, is flat-out amazing. Since much of the film unfolds in flashback wit...
Read more

Pineapple Express + 1

This has probably been one of the most relaxing school vacations in awhile. It helps that the weather has changed and its actually decent now. Looking back, Maine had a very long, depressing, all-I-want-to-do-is-stay-inside-until-the-snow-disappear kind of winters. It was blistering cold. It snowed a significant amount. It was dark more than it was light. It was depressing. Seasonal Affected Disorder, perhaps. I mean, I went out as much as I wanted to, but the cold tended to keep me in. Christmas vacation- nothing much happened, except I got this brilliant idea for my blog and started the project of watching 365 films in one year. February break came next. Again, nothing much. It was still cold and I'm not a skier or a snowboarder. I did play in a pond hockey tournament. That was fun. But, now we've come to April and it's finally spring in Maine. This week's weather makes braving all those cold days and nights during the winter worth it. I think the winters that we ha...
Read more

Films 64 & 65 (Fish Tank)

First off, I have to say, I think the band Taking Back Sunday has been completely ruined for me. And I know what a lot of people are thinking...really, aren't you like 8-9 years behind everyone else? It's true the original bands album "Tell All Your Friends" was seminal in putting the genre now known as EMO on the map. It was approximately 30 minutes of pure, unadulterated "heart-on-my-sleeve" and "I'm pissed at how you treated me so I wrote song about it" songs. Adam Lazzara is well known for writing songs is a form of back-stabbing or talking behind someone's back who has slighted him. I used to really love them. I would crank their music to Eleven! I never thought of it as EMO music, I just thought they were writing songs that I could connect my experiences to. It was like they were writing relatable songs. They knew my heartache and pain. And they wrote it for me! I still remember seeing the video for "Cute Without the E" on M...
Read more