Again, I'm catching up on my concert reviews, so here's a quick summary of June.

I've already posted before about seeing The Juan MacLean and The Field on Monday June 8 at Nectar Lounge; that review was written for the KEXP Blog and can still be read there. However, let me give a couple excerpts:

Last Monday night when I went to Nectar Lounge to see The Juan MacLean and The Field, I didn’t know that I’d be at the hottest show in town. These two groups played sizzling sets of electronica to a packed and enthusiastic crowd. DJ Nordic Soul warmed up the club with a solid mix of dance music.
[...]
The Field’s music is very cool stuff, and I could easily listen for a few hours; it seems tailor-made for airplane flights, and I’ll have to pick up the aptly-named album From Here We Go Sublime before my next trip.
[...]
While The Field kept the club simmering for an hour, The Juan MacLean brought it up to a full boil with their high-energy synth rock. ... They built up to a stunning conclusion with “Happy House”, extended to over 20 minutes and climaxing several times, and then cooled things down in the encore with the mellow and dreamy “Tonight”.

Also, I was right next to the stage for The Juan Maclean's set, so I was able to get some pretty good photos, including John MacLean in action rocking the theremin. See the whole set here in Flickr.

I went to two other shows that week: KJ Sawka at Nectar Lounge on Friday June 12, and Hotels at the High Dive on Saturday June 13. I had already decided I wasn't going to blog about those shows, so I didn't take any notes. However, I can tell you that Sawka's show was to promote the release of his DrumBanger app for the iPhone (read more about it in this post on Line Out, The Stranger's music blog), and that while I still enjoy his music, I found that I'm getting a little tired of hearing the work from his two recent albums and would like to see him pursue a new direction. Oh I forgot that opening for Sawka was first DJ NoiseMaker, who I can't recall anything about, but then DJ Crime, billed as "Las Vegas's #1 VJ"—he mixed videos, using both music videos and other footage, which was fun to watch as well as hear.

As for the other show, Hotels played third in a set including Anomie Belle, Born Anchors, and (ostensible) headliners Furniture Girls. I reviewed Anomie Belle for the KEXP Blog when she opened for Tricky back in March, and I don't really have anything to add to that: she's got talent and potential, but despite her use of live violin loops, her music currently is kind of bland soulful trip-hop. I can't remember anything about Born Anchors, which suggests I didn't find them that interesting, but I know I didn't dislike them and really I'd have to hear them again to give any kind of review. Hotels were awesome of course and I danced like crazy through their set; I've really just about run out of things to say about them until they release some more new music, which is why I had decided I wouldn't blog about this show, but here I am. Finally, my opinion also hasn't changed much on Furniture Girls: they're fun, the band is really solid, but they just don't quite win me over somehow. However, they did have a strong-voiced guest backup singer for most of the set, which made a real difference as the original Furniture Girls synth-player/backing vocalist doesn't have a voice strong enough to match the lead singer (that original member hasn't been replaced, just moved back to focus more on the synths).

The other two shows were good overall, but I do have to say The Juan MacLean and The Field were a phenomenal bill, definitely one of the best shows of the year.

Last week I went to Nectar Lounge to see The Juan MacLean and The Field, two electronic artists I didn't know much about but remembered liking what I'd heard by them on the radio. I came away loving both bands, and wrote a review of the show which is now posted here on the KEXP Blog. Unfortunately I was up in the balcony for all of The Field's set and took only one photo that wasn't worth using in the review (too dark, too far away), but I got some decent ones of The Juan MacLean. 

I did actually take notes while I was at the Sasquatch Music Festival, but for various reasons I haven't got around to writing up a review yet. Hopefully I'll get that done in the next couple days, and post it here. Likewise I also have the "John In The Morning At Night" KEXP benefit show to review. I also have to write a new installment of "Know Your Subgenres" for the KEXP Blog, and that also should be done in the next couple days.

Last Friday I went to Nectar Lounge to see KJ Sawka headlining an electronica show to mark the release of his new EP, Undefined Connectivity. Opening for Sawka were the DJ group Shift Crew and electronic musician novaTRON, and DJ Flave wrapped up the evening. Sonic MC acted as host for the evening and also performed freestyle rap during each set. I felt that Sonic MC's rapping generally didn't really enhance the music, but it did fit in well with the flow.

Shift Crew are a group of DJs associated with Shift Recordings; this evening's trio included Shift Recordings founder Lukki, CB, and Dirty. They took turns spinning records on a pair of turntables, using a laptop and some other gear to mix the music. Their music was primarily dubstep and trip-hop, somewhat danceable but I felt it was more for background ambience than dedicated listening. I liked their set, but felt it went on a little long and the other two acts could have been given a little more time.

novaTRON creates live breakbeat music using a custom set of synthesizers and audio gear—no laptop, turntable, keyboard, or conventional instruments. His set was more engaging and danceable than Shift Crew's dubstep, although it also would've served well as club background music. Unlike the last time I saw him, it never sounded oppressively heavy or claustrophobic, it was groovy and fun.

KJ Sawka also creates live breakbeat and drum n' bass electronica, but where novaTRON takes an all-electronics route, Sawka starts from the basic source of beats, live drumming. That said, Sawka is as much an electronic artist as a drummer, and he spent almost as much time drumming one-handed as two, activating samplers and other electronic gear. Although he's thus capable of playing a full set by himself, for this show Sawka was joined on most of the songs by his frequent collaborator Kent Halvorsen on keyboard (and trumpet in one song), and also had Christa Wells on hand to sing vocals. Sawka played a near-continuous set of music, with the only real breaks occurring when Wells came onstage to sing, but the transitions from song to song were always apparent. The set featured a video projection, but due to Nectar's layout with the screen off to the side of the stage, I doubt anyone watched; all the excitement was up on stage. As a performer, Sawka was a real showman, often rising from his stool to make dramatic gestures without dropping the beat, and his drum kit included a set of lights flashing in sync with the rhythms. Wells also had a strong stage presence, using both her powerful voice and stage moves to good effect. Sawka finished his set by bringing out Blake Lewis on guest vocals; I'm only vaguely aware of Lewis as "that Seattle guy from American Idol", so it was interesting to hear him perform and learn he's a good vocalist. Sawka continues to be one of my favorite musicians in Seattle, and I look forward to hearing more from him.

I have a few photos of each act, starting here in Flickr.

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The following evening, I went to see Supreme Beings of Leisure at Chop Suey. Also on the bill were DJ LA Kendall and electronic musician Carmen Rizzo; although Supreme Beings of Leisure were billed as the headlining act, they were sandwiched in between the other two artists. Kendall did not appear on stage, but played a good set mixing jazz and soul-influenced trip-hop and drum n' bass that set the right mood for Supreme Beings of Leisure. Rizzo used synthesizers, a laptop, and other electronic gear to make a techno mix ranging from ambient to drum n' bass; he sounded pretty good but I did not stay for the full set.

Supreme Beings of Leisure are the duo of Geri Soriano-Lightwood (vocals) and Ramin Sakurai (keyboard and electronics), with Sheldon Strickland (bass) and Jason Graham (drums). (They also have a guitarist, Geof Brandin, but he was not present.) They played a great set of groovy feel-good dance music mixing funk, jazz, and soul influences with trip-hop. I was surprised that nearly half their set came from their first album, particularly as I was under the impression that they were touring in support of a new album. However, it turns out their latest album (only their third) came out a year ago, and it was pretty clear that like myself, most of the audience was only familiar with the first album. So the band played up to their audience. Another surprise was that not only were they positioned as the middle band, they also did not get to do an encore. As their set list showed a planned three-song encore and they were getting (and returning) much appreciation from the audience, I believe this was not by their choice. Whoever did make the decision, it was a poor one, as the audience was clearly there to see Supreme Beings of Leisure and the fairly-full club mostly cleared out once it was clear the band was done. Although I did enjoy the show, the combination of the short set and the number of familiar old songs left me feeling that I could've passed on this one.

I took a few photos of Supreme Beings of Leisure, which can be seen starting here in Flickr.

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Coming up next week, I'll be at the Showbox at the Market on Friday Feb. 13 manning the KEXP info table for Lykke Li; if you're there, stop by and say hi! The following week on Friday Feb. 20, the Sunset Tavern has an awesome show with Point Juncture WA and Hotels, both of whom are celebrating album releases, and The Animals at Night opening. With such a great lineup, it's hard to imagine a better show happening any time soon; however, no doubt Annuals will at least match it when they headline a show at Chop Suey the week after on Wednesday Feb. 25. I've been so excited about these two shows, I haven't even looked ahead yet to March, but I'll let you know what I find when I do; one thing I do anticipate then is the grand re-opening of The Crocodile.

Last Sunday I went to Nectar Lounge for a concert billed as "Halou presents Stripmall Architecture". I know Halou pretty well but didn't know what this Stripmall Architecture business was about, though I was sure I was in for an interesting time. Also on the bill were The Fading Collection and a band new to me, Obelus.

Obelus played an interesting set of music blending soul and jazz stylings with experimental rock and electronica. The vocalist/guitarist/drummer trio was joined by an additional keyboardist for the first and last couple songs. The singer had a good voice, strong in the loud parts and slightly breathy in the quieter parts, adding to the jazzy/lounge/cabaret feel of some songs. Other songs sounded more experimental; one for example was comprised mostly of sampled bicycle sounds. They ended with the singer stepping offstage while the other three played a very groovy and fun an instrumental. I enjoyed their set and will be looking for them at other shows in the future.

The Fading Collection renewed my faith in them at this show. As I've noted in past reviews, although I love their albums I've found their live performances to be lacking something vital. However, this time they finally sounded fully on to me, giving a solid performance that extended their enthusiasm to the audience. I've also written about the goth/metal tinge some of their music carries, but this time I was struck by the rock-opera quality it has as well—not as bombastic as Jim Steinman and Meatloaf, but definitely heavy on the dramatics. That's due in part to the amazingly strong voice of lead singer Sarah McCulloch and her more-than-capable backup singer Tavia Wormstedt. The band played a few new songs from an upcoming EP and a pair of full-length albums to follow, and they sounded good. They also did a cool cover of "I Am the Walrus", as well as a mix of songs from their first two albums. Although I still felt that they fall a touch short of overwhelming at least for me, I did find this to be the tight and exciting set that I've been hoping for since I first saw them and now I feel enthusiastic again about their future shows.

I found out by talking to lead singer Rebecca Cosebloom after the show that Stripmall Architecture is the band name she and her husband, multi-instrumentalist Ryan Cosebloom, use when performing without Halou's drummer Count. For this show they appeared as a sextet, including Tim Hingston on guitar, Greg Kehret on bass, Patrick Harte on drums, and Erica Mulkey on cello and backing vocals. Although their site describes Stripmall Architecture as being focused on experimentation in a live setting, I did not find this performance much different than the last time I saw Halou—but that still meant it was a great show. They played a mix of old and new music; I had forgotten that Halou released a new album earlier this year, so I don't know how much of the new music came out of the Stripmall Architecture project. One song new to me featured Ryan playing syncopated manual typewriter, so I'd guess that was a Stripmall Architecture piece; another possible S.A. one had him playing glockenspiel. Being a violinist myself, I took particular note of Erica's cello playing and found it gorgeous, adding a lovely tone to the music. Rebecca also sounded wonderful, and as the focal point of the band was much fun to watch: dressed in a stylish '40s outfit, she hardly said more than "thank you" to the audience but her expressive face and huge smiles showed her delight in performing. Whether as Stripmall Architecture or as Halou, this is a band always worth seeing live, and I'm looking forward to further developments from both projects.

Obelus had dim moody lighting, so I only got a pair of so-so photos of them, but The Fading Collection used some bright lighting and Stripmall Architecture mostly kept the stage well-lit, so I got some really good photos for both those bands—The Fading Collection photos start here, and Stripmall Architecture photos start here.

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Next week is a busy week! My Brightest Diamond are at the Triple Door on Wednesday Nov. 19, and I will be there after all, as a volunteer manning the KEXP table. I'm looking forward to Yeasayer at Neumos on the next night (Thurs Nov. 20), and as I keep raving Annuals are opening for Minus the Bear at the Showbox at the Market on Saturday Nov. 22. I should also have a better idea next week about December shows, besides of course Hotels playing the Comet Tavern on Sunday December 7.

Last Saturday night I went to Nectar Lounge to see DJ Spooky (That Subliminal Kid). I know DJ Spooky from a couple original tracks I have on compilations as well as a few remixes, and I was very curious to hear what his live show would be like. Also on this all-electronica bill were eR DoN and M'Chateau, both of whom were solo artists as well. All three built their music from sampling others—M'Chateau and DJ Spooky as DJs relying primarily on turntables and records (or CDs), eR DoN using his own original sound recordings—but each had his own style.

M'Chateau opened with a mellow chillout groove, not too loud, not too fast, but still good for relaxing or dancing. My impression was that he layered and looped different tracks and samples to create continuous dance music, borrowing parts from different songs without ever playing the full original version of his sources. When I arrived, just after M'Chateau's set began, the club was resoundingly empty, and although people gradually trickled in as he played over the next 90 minutes, only a very few people danced and not many more stood to listen. This is often the fate of the opening act, particularly if it's a DJ, but it still seemed unfortunate that he never had much of an audience. However, after eR DoN's relatively short set, there was a brief pause as the club went to prerecorded rock music, and then M'Chateau came back onstage and started playing a second set. I thought he was just filling in for a few minutes while DJ Spooky set up, and I still don't know whether that was the intention or not, but he ended up playing another 75 minutes. This time he played to a packed house that was ready to move and shake, and correspondingly his music was a little more upbeat. I enjoyed both his sets very much and was happy he got to do a second one to a large and appreciative audience.

eR DoN differed more from the other two than they did from each other. Using only a laptop, sampler, and sequencer, eR DoN crafted his own original songs from an eclectic set of instrumental sounds. Whereas M'Chateau had a continuous groove for dancing, eR DoN played distinct songs with notable shifts in tempo or instrument sounds from one to the next. The songs didn't always have obvious structures, resulting in some abrupt ends and awkward pauses before the next started, and they were really not for dancing, despite the best efforts of a lone goth to prove otherwise. Also, it was a little weird to watch the performance, as there was no obvious correlation between the sight of eR DoN busily pressing buttons or twisting knobs and the music being produced. However, the songs were enjoyable to listen to, and reminded me of Tortoise or Brokeback although not being very similar. I did enjoy the set and it made for a good contrast to the other two DJs without being too different to fit in to the evening.

DJ Spooky did not start his set until 12:30 AM, which at first made me feel slightly disgruntled: starting so late, he'd get only about an hour or so at most to play. It wasn't until I checked the time well after the first hour was over and saw that, impossibly, it was 1:15 AM, that I remembered this was the night Daylight Saving Time ended and realized that we were in fact getting over two hours of DJ Spooky. Like M'Chateau, Spooky played a continuous set of music, but he seemed to focus more on playing and remixing singles, though I only recognized a few tunes in the mix. I was particularly excited when he dropped "Message in a Bottle" by the Police into the mix. However, he only played it through the first two verses/choruses before extended the bridge as an outro, leaving out the final hopeful verse, and it kind of broke my heart a little—but also inspired me to listen through my entire Police collection later that weekend, which I hadn't done in far too long. The first half of Spooky's set tended to be on the rock and hip-hop side, while in the second half he moved into soul, jazz, and reggae as he featured his work in progress, a tribute to Stax Records featuring footage and audio from the documentary film Wattstax. The whole set was very cool and kept me and a lot of the audience dancing throughout. I'm glad that I did not miss this opportunity to see DJ Spooky in action, and I hope to see him again.

I grabbed a few photos of DJ Spooky spinning his songs, you can see them here. 

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Coming up this Sunday Nov. 9, Halou presents Stripmall Architecture, a new experimental project by the group, at Nectar Lounge. I don't really know what that is but it should be interesting. In a couple weeks, My Brightest Diamond are at the Triple Door on Wednesday Nov. 19; I may skip that show as my budget's getting tight. However I will certainly be at two other shows that week: Yeasayer at Neumos on Thursday Nov. 20, and Minus the Bear with Annuals at the Showbox at the Market on Saturday Nov. 22. I'll have to give a good look through the calendars for December soon, as due to holiday travel I won't have much time to catch a show (whether here or back East), but let me mention again that Hotels are playing the Comet Tavern on Sunday December 7, and they deserve your love and could use your support.

Last Monday I went to Nectar Lounge to see Asobi Seksu. Because I was babysitting earlier in the evening, I only made it in time to see their headlining set and missed the opening bands; that was unfortunate as the first was Blue Light Curtain, who I'd enjoyed at the Freezepop show in August and wanted to see again.

Asobi Seksu are officially the duo of Yuki Chikudate on vocals and keyboards and James Hanna on guitars and backing vocals, "plus some friends who help us out" according to their MySpace page; their website lists the current friends as William Pavone on bass and Larry Gorman on drums. I fell in love with the band the last time I saw them, in November 2006, and was happy to see they were returning to Seattle. This time however the show had one simple problem: volume. I started out standing on the floor pretty close to the stage, but I immediately discovered that the guitar feedback howling out of the under-stage speakers completely overwhelmed everything else. I could only barely even tell that Chikudate was singing at all despite her wide-open mouth, and the bass and even drums weren't much more audible. I withstood the onslaught for the first three songs, including their single "New Years", which were played without pause. Finally I'd had enough and decided to try moving to the balcony. I discovered that simply moving to the side of the stage improved the sound levels notably but I headed on upstairs where, standing over the sound booth, the balance was indeed better but the set was still too loud; even with earplugs, I'd just have lost the vocals entirely without notably affecting the volume. I believe this is the first show I've been to at Nectar where the levels were such a problem—certainly it's the first time I've been forced upstairs to enjoy the show—and I'm not sure whether the club or the band are more to blame. Despite all that, once I went upstairs I found the music enjoyable again. They played a few new songs from their next album due out in February, including their just-released single "Me and Mary" which sounded pretty good. My favorite song by them, "Strawberries", also sounded good, which I'd worried about after "New Years" was all but washed out. They closed with "Red Sea", ending with Chikudate whaling on the drums over a guitar feedback loop while the others left the stage, until finally Chikudate left just an empty stage and a feedback loop loud enough that no one bothered to applaud until it ended. It was a good set and I'm glad I was able to catch it, but I hope next time the sound levels are a little more moderate.

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Coming up, a review of Saturday's show also at Nectar Lounge featuring DJ Spooky. Also coming up: Halou at Nectar Lounge, Sunday Nov 9; My Brightest Diamond at the Triple Door, Wednesday Nov 19; Yeasayer at Neumos, Thursday Nov 20; and Minus the Bear with Annuals at the Showbox (at the Market), Saturday Nov 22.

I am so far behind in my concert blogging that I'm just going to do a single summary post for the five shows I went to in September.

First, on September 3 I went to Nectar Lounge to see Hotels, a band I'd discovered when they played the KEXP Volunteer Appreciation Party in August. This quartet immediately became my new favorite local band. They have a strong New Wave/New Romantics sound that mixes in some dreampop too, evoking both early New Order and late Talk Talk. Their songs tended to feel longer than the album versions, but this was a good thing. I'm eagerly looking forward to seeing Hotels at more shows. Also on the set that night was Motorist, another local quartet that played moody indie rock. Although they didn't blow me away like Hotels did, they did sound pretty good - I noted in particular that the lead singer had a nice voice - and they may be a band to watch.

On Saturday the 6th I went to the Showbox SoDo to see TV on the Radio. This band plays idiosyncratic modern rock, on the side of prog/art rock but influenced by alternative bands of the '80s and '90s rather than classic progressive of the '70s. In a sense, TV on the Radio sounded as if the Talking Heads had anticipated the '90s. They mixed in funky bass and drums with guitar distortion somewhere between shoegaze and wall-of-sound; the songs were moody, often ominous, but sometimes more upbeat. There's a lot going on in their music, but unfortunately it was not served well by the poor acoustics and muddy sound mix at the venue. Still, I was glad I got to see them, at the least because it's made me pay more attention to them on KEXP and realize they're a great band that I should watch more closely.

On Saturday the 13th I went to Neumos to see Balkan Beat Box. Also on the bill was The Bad Things and DeLeon, and the common thread of all three bands was playing traditional folk and klezmer music from Eastern Europe and the Middle East in a modern context. The Bad Things were the most traditional, using only acoustic instruments, and they were joined on some songs by three brass players from Orkestar Zirconium. DeLeon brought electricity into the mix, starting out with a rock style heavy enough that I was afraid it'd be a set of metal folk, but they lightened up a bit and proved to be just as fun as The Bad Things. Finally, Balkan Beat Box lived up to their name, playing Balkan and Middle-Eastern folk music as hip-hop. Their set was mostly instrumental, though some songs had lyrics and they also did the hip-hop call-and-response frequently. The absolutely packed crowd was a bit too much for me, though I felt better when I finally found a bit of space off to the side and I ended up mostly enjoying the show, which ended with a big onstage dance party.

On Wednesday the 17th I was back at the Showbox SoDo, this time for the show I'd anticipated the most so far this year, Goldfrapp. Eschewing their glam-rock image from the last tour, this time Alison Goldfrapp dressed as a harlequin, Will Gregory and the backing musicians wore all-white, and the stage had a traveling-circus look to it. Musically, the set begain with a moody quiet song and stayed that way for much of the first half, presumably reflecting the sound of their latest album, Seventh Tree. However, older hits were mixed in too, and the set gradually built to a resounding finish. They brought it down again for two more slow songs in the encore before finishing, as I expected, with "Strict Machine". Being familiar with Goldfrapp's music, I was better able to judge the sound quality at the Showbox SoDo this time than with TV on the Radio, and the space is definitely not friendly to nuanced music: even in the middle of the room beside the soundbooth, the mix still tended to be muddy and was worse during loud busy songs. Despite that, it was still a good show, but the band felt pretty laid back and casual this time, and I believe their last show in 2006 had more energy and enthusiasm and was better overall. Hopefully when they come to town again, they can recapture that excitement.

Finally, on Friday September 26, I went back to Nectar Lounge for KJ Sawka. This was an evening of drum 'n bass and breakbeat electronica, starting with DJ NoiseMaker playing a full set as well as spinning in between the other acts. NoiseMaker lived up to his moniker, as I thought he kept the music too loud when playing between the other acts. His set was bass-heavy and relatively slow rhythmically, inspiring some lurching about on the dance floor. He was followed by EOTO, a duo on keys/synths/guitars/voice and acoustic/electronic drums and congas. EOTO picked up the pace, bringing a groovy beat that got everyone moving, and played a solid 90 minutes of excellent dance music. Only the relatively subtle changes in tempo and sound indicated the transitions from one song to the next. KJ Sawka finished the night with his slightly heavier breakbeat, joined by Kent Halverson on keyboards. Sawka and EOTO's sets were mirrors in an interesting way, as EOTO built complex melodic layers with the keys, synths, and guitars over the solid drumming base, while Sawka's set was naturally and mainly drum-driven, with the keys and other electronics providing color and accents. Perhaps it was the harder edge to the music, or just the lateness of the hour, but I felt more like just listening than dancing and there seemed to be less dancing in general. Also, weirdly, a fight broke out, I believe caused by someone flailing about too wildly near the stage, but the perpetrator was quickly thrown out. Besides that moment of alarm, it was a good show and I had a good time.

I didn't get many good photos at any of these shows, but what I've got are all up in my Sept 08 shows set. 

Last night I posted my latest concert review, of Beehive at Nectar Lounge. I've just updated it with a couple photos, as well as my usual brief list of upcoming shows I'm considering or planning to attend, so if you already saw the post earlier today you might want to check it again.

However, I'm not posting simply to call more attention to the review. Rather, I have to say my photos of Beehive came out really well this time - I think I took some of my best concert photos at this show yet. It definitely helped that I got right up next to the stage for several of them, and that Nectar has good stage lighting. The Beehive photos begin here in my "Jan 08 shows" set. I'm particularly proud of this one, which came out really sharp and clear:

In December, I planned to attend a Beehive show but missed out due to being ill. Fortunately, Beehive have been busily scheduling shows, so last Wednesday night I was able to catch them at Nectar Lounge for my first show this month. Also on the bill was Furniture Girls and SXY; however, SXY cancelled and their place was taken by a musician named Aaron Daniels.

I arrived late at Nectar and walked in about halfway through Aaron Daniels' second-to-last song. Daniels was onstage with a couple microphones and no instruments; he used one microphone to sample himself beatboxing for backing vocals, and sang into the other. He reminded me of Reggie Watts, singing in a mixed style of soul and hiphop. Although I heard only a song and a half, he sounded pretty good and I wish I'd been on time for his whole set.

Furniture Girls performed as a quintet: the original "Furniture Girls" duo on lead vocals and backing vocals/samples, and a backing band of guitar, bass, and drums. Their music mixed funk and rock styles to produce a groovy, dance-oriented pop sound. The lead singer's strong voice was not matched by her backing vocalist, and sometimes the latter's part was hard to make out. This problem was brought into relief when they invited a friend called Mia up onstage to sing an additional part; Mia's own strong voice made a striking counterpoint to the lead singer, and the song sounded much more impressive for it. Overall the band sounded pretty good and were enjoyable, but didn't leave me eager to hear more.

( Furniture Girls photo )

Beehive, the duo of Alethea Eichhorn (laptops, keyboards, and vocals) and David Miller (electric and slide guitars, and vocals), brought a little sunshine to the cold grey winter night with their infectious mix of rock and breakbeat electronica. Large yellow paper flowers bedecked the stage, setting the scene for Beehive's bouncy beats and rocking riffs. They played a slightly longer than usual set, getting in a full hour of music, and that allowed them to play around with extended improvised sections on a few songs. The audience hung back through most of the set, but by the end they were more than willing to oblige when David demanded that everyone move up front and dance. Beehive seemed slightly unprepared for the extra time, as they chose to repeat "Better Than Lies" for their finale, but it was clear they wanted a song to make people dance and it worked. Their set was solid overall and the crowd enjoyed it. As always, I recommend catching Beehive whenever you can; their love of music and delight in performing make every show worthwhile.

( Beehive photo )

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Beehive are playing two more shows this month: Friday the 25th at Studio Seven as part of the Supernova "Out of the Garage" band competition series, and Thursday the 31st at The Comet Tavern. I'm not sure if I'll make it to the former show, but I know I've already got other plans for the latter one: also on Thursday the 31st, Black Mountain and Yeasayer will be rocking Neumos, along with MGMT. Looking ahead to February, the upcoming show I'm most excited about is the CD release party for Mono In VCF at The Triple Door on Saturday the 9th. Also in February, Editors are headlining The Showbox on Monday the 4th, while DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist, with Kid Koala, are at The Showbox on Sunday the 10th. I don't know about these shows: I'd rather see Editors at a smaller venue (and wish I hadn't missed them last time they were in town and played Chop Suey); and although I expect the DJ Shadow show will be amazing, it's also expensive for me ($30 + fees) and it'll be completely packed (I'm a bit surprised it's not already sold out). I guess I'll see how I feel about it next week.

Last Friday, the 2nd, I went to Nectar Lounge for the third time in a week, this time to see Tunng playing an early, happy hour show. Although the show was billed in some listings as "Tunng and guests", I arrived at 6pm to discover a sign simply stating that Tunng would go onstage at 7. As it was an early show it didn't really need another act on the bill anyhow. I didn't really know what to expect for an audience, thinking a happy-hour show by a relatively unknown band might be sparsely attended, but in fact there was a good-sized and enthusiastic crowd, mostly filling the main floor.

Tunng are a sextet: Mike Lindsay (guitar/vocals), Sam Genders (guitar/vocals), Ashley Bates (guitar/vocals), Becky Jacobs (vocals/melodica/handbells/miscellaneous), Phil Winter (laptop - electronic beats and samples), and Martin Smith (miscellaneous bells and percussion/melodica/clarinet). Their music blended folk, electronica, and psychedelic rock into an eclectic, dreamy mix, at times reminiscent of Annuals, Ida, or Psapp, but always its own thing. Most of the songs featured choral singing by all four vocalists, although a couple had just Lindsay and Genders, and one featured Jacobs leading off the first verse on her own. Although the music was generally trippy or wistful, they rocked out more on the instrumental "Soup", which reminded me a bit of Mike Oldfield's "Tubular Bells". Occasionally the electronic beats and samples were overly loud in comparison to the rest of the band, but mostly the sound was well balanced. I really enjoyed their set, as did the rest of the audience, and I picked up their latest CD Good Arrows afterward.

This review is short enough that I won't hide the photo behind a cut. Incidentally with all of these photos I post, clicking them will take you to my Flickr photo stream where you will find more of the band photos.

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Tomorrow, I should be seeing Annuals at the Crocodile Cafe, unless by some chance it sells out. After that, I have no plans until December - and in fact I don't yet see much of anything for December in the club calendars, with the exception of Maktub playing New Year's Eve at the Showbox, a show that I expect will sell out shortly after tickets go on sale tomorrow. However, several of the club calendars aren't yet full and there's still time for interesting things to pop up.