On a day full of jocularity, spontaneity, and just general insanity, The Raveonettes were an anomaly. Having never seen the Danish folks live, I was curious how their relaxed music would translate to the stage. Would they amp it up? Would they scream and shout? Would they take their clothes off?? All can be answered… Continue reading The Raveonettes @ Siren
Frightened Rabbit @ Siren
Allow me to preface this post before I delve into Frightened Rabbit‘s performance at Siren. They were, by far, the act I was most looking forward to, as I have been utterly obsessed with the The Midnight Organ Fight, and to a lesser extent, Sing The Greys. I also was well aware of the fact… Continue reading Frightened Rabbit @ Siren
The Fiery Furnaces keep it simple, solid on I’m Going Away
The Fiery Furnaces have made their career with bizarre, off-kilter, ADD alternative music. So one can only come into a new album with zero expectations. But as the metaphorical needle drops on the title track of their latest LP, I’m Going Away, a surprising thing is immediately noticeable– it sounds almost normal. But far from… Continue reading The Fiery Furnaces keep it simple, solid on I’m Going Away
Thee Oh Sees @ Siren
A lot of things don’t shock me. I grew up with Mortal Combat, our childhood cat brought all sorts of things to the doorstep and yes, I’ve seen “BME Pain Olympics.” But nothing (not even Monotonix’s ridiculous set) could prepare me for Thee Oh Sees. Front Man John Dwyer has a reputation for being, well,… Continue reading Thee Oh Sees @ Siren
The Blue Van @ Siren
I won’t spend time beating around the bush on this one, guys: all of us at KR agree that The Blue Van is going to be huge, and I mean huge like Lars Von Trier‘s ego is huge. (Suck on that obscure reference, hipsters! Haha!) Their music is beginning to make the rounds as we… Continue reading The Blue Van @ Siren
Cancer cancels Beastie Boys tour, delays album release
The Beastie Boys have canceled all scheduled tour dates and pushed back the release of their latest album as member Adam Yauch is being treated for a cancerous tumor in his salivary gland. Yikes! Yauch will undergo surgery next week, followed by radiation treatment. He said the cancer is localized to one area, which Yauch said was “convenient.” I think… Continue reading Cancer cancels Beastie Boys tour, delays album release
[MP3] Bad Veins – “Gold and Warm”
Bad Veins’ debut album (s/t) is due out tomorrow and their label, Dangerbird, made available a free mp3 in honor of this much anticipated release from the Cincinnati duo, who sound like a mix between The Walkmen and The Killers. At times there’s too much Killers in there for my liking, but I can still… Continue reading [MP3] Bad Veins – “Gold and Warm”
Spank Rock @ Siren
Spank Rock’s set at Siren wasn’t a concert. It was a dance party. A couple songs in, MC Spank Rock (Naeem Juwan) invited the crowd behind the barrier to come dance in the pit. Mind you, this was after he brought people on stage to dance. It seemed the group would stop at nothing to… Continue reading Spank Rock @ Siren
Monotonix @ Siren
Remember when boy bands were just, like, the biggest thing ever ohmygod? And the Backstreet Boys and *NSync would get up on stage, all facing away from the audience before the music began? And they’d dance around with flawless choreography while (allegedly) singing their songs? Well, Monotonix is kind of the same thing, if you… Continue reading Monotonix @ Siren
Built to Spill @ Siren
The very first thing that caught me about Built to Spill is how ridiculously beat up the band’s guitars are. But that’s expected; hell, the band’s been going for no less than 17 years now, and singer/guitarist Doug Martsch is sporting more than a bit of gray in his beard. Luckily, the quality of the… Continue reading Built to Spill @ Siren