3/27/08 - Swirve, The Felons, Enormous Magic Verb

ran down to dada on thursday night to catch The Felons, after having to wait waaay too long to catch them a second time (see my first review here). and ok, it's official - The Felons are now my Favorite Local Band. I completely fell for this band last night. Fell hard. Like how i fell for radiohead. Like how i fell for rufus, and arcade fire. It's hard to explain - their music just resonates with me, takes me to a place where everything's ok, brings me peace. A rare thing, i can tell you. Dave's amazing, soaring vocals, the way the guitars and keys blend and complement each other, every song so well written, so well performed. 'twas a beautiful thing. i did not want their set to end, and i can't wait 'til i can catch them again. it was amazing.

it also amazes me that these guys don't have an EP out yet (they're killin me) - hell, they don't even have a music player on their myspace page to help tie me over 'til the next show. talking to dave afterwards, he told me they wanted to take things slowly, make sure they were ready before they put anything out there. i can understand not wanting to rush things and hell, they know way more about the business than i do, but damn, they are eons ahead of 90% of the local bands out there, and i can't help but think that if they just put something out, if it's even half as good as what i've heard live, word would spread like wildfire. but what the hell do i know, eh?

first up last night was enormous magic verb, and they was perty good. 4-man band - keys, bass, cello (not a typo), drums. some nice piano pop. lead vox maybe not the strongest, but serviceable. dude can certainly tickle the ivories. didn't really hear the whole set, as i was makin the rounds, beatin down the likes of dave, fred, josh, brian and bill with plenty of incoherent babbling. really enjoyed hangin with them. and many thanks to josh for turnin off the goddam 'cinema dada' projector during the felons' set (that thing drives me nuts when bands are playin).

last up was swirve, who i've seen before. really cool avant-garde jazz tunes. trumpet with filters, loopers, etc., plus drummer and vocalist. maybe a bit more experimental than the last time i saw them. not as many groove-filled tunes as last time, but still damn good. didn't hear one song from their CD - it was all new material. at least, that is, during the part of the set i heard - twas gettin late and i was about to fall asleep on my feet, so i took off about half-way thru their set.

all in all, another great night at dada.

see you out there...

catch The Felons and Swirve on thursday night at club dada

been waiting forever to catch the felons again, and now they're playing at club dada this thursday night on the same bill as swirve, another one of my favorites:

http://www.pegasusnews.com/events/2008/mar/27/89276/

here's my review of the felons, and here's my review of swirve. enormous magic verb opens - haven't heard them yet (they sound ben-folds-five-y).

should be a killer show. see you there, eh?

10/27/07 - Hendrick, Comrade, Swirve

met up with joe the boy-toy (not mine, you asses) at club dada. it's always nice to have a fellow music appreciator come out. didn't see amanda, must've gotten there too late.

first up was Swirve, a somewhat experimental instrumental/spoken-word trio from Dallas. Totally dug these guys. one dude on trumpet, a drummer, and a chick who yelled things and cackled into the mic every once in while. lots of filters, effects, loops, etc. Most songs had a totally cool groove - i defy you to keep your body still whilst listening to their stuff. definitely heard some laurie anderson influence in some of the songs, but talked to chris afterwards and he had never heard of her (!!!). geez, i figured every "avant-garde" arteest would know laurie. chris was kind enough to give me their cd - listening to it right now. really cool stuff. love it. he also told me they play the first wednesday night of the month at the absinthe lounge for their open-mic poetry night. hmmm, mebbe i'll expand my artistic horizons... anyhow, check out Swirve if you can. i will definitely be watching their page for new shows.

next up was Comrade, who i've seen before. 6-man band, i'm pretty sure - up to three keyboard players at once (!). some really nice pop, but i just kept waiting for them to start rockin out, and they never really did. most songs flowed along nicely, but when they'd get to the spot where you expect them to just start wailing away, they'd just keep on at the same level. don't get me wrong, they were some nice songs, but at a live show, you generally want some high-energy rockin at some point (well, at least i do).

last was Hendrick, who i've also seen before. also a 6-man, with 3 guitarists (nice!). the first time i saw them, their set was marred by way too many covers - a stevie wonder, a radiohead, and one sappy 80's-era love song. since then, apparently, they've written quite a bit, since i didn't notice one cover the whole set. thank gawd. first half of set was really great, high-energy guitar-led pop. great voice on lead - nice range, including falsetto (my thom yorke bias). have to say, second half wasn't quite as good. as soon as lead switched from guitar to keys, the momentum slowed quite a bit. still, some nice songs, and i think i remember that the last song or two picked it up again (when he switched back). overall, a pretty nice set, and i wouldn't hesitate to trek out to see them again.

then, we were unexpectedly treated to a special guest appearance by Sarah Jaffe, nicely complemented by the lead from comrade and a drummer. she played i think four or five songs, til the sound man said hey that's enough, we got a long day tomorrow (it was past two by then). loved her voice, and "two intangibles" gave me chills. wouldn't mind catching a full set sometime, especially when i'm not about to fall asleep on my feet.

pretty decent crowd there - i think hendrick has a pretty good following. went to cafe brazil afterwards to chill out and grab a bite. nice end to the night.