New Music & 2010 Songs, Pt. 3

I’m gonna leave Nice Nice for Nick to write about since he has some special goodies to share but I will introduce them with this great quote that can be found by checking out Titus Andronicus’ website. I wish I could state just how good the former was but let me borrow a quote from their frontman, Patrick Stickles, on the band:

If I had to pick one moment of this tour where I really achieved transcendence, though, it would have to be a few nights ago in El Paso, where we found ourselves playing second on a four band bill, after our pals Let's Wrestle, but before this band called Nice Nice (not named after the club from the Lifter Puller mythology, I found out), who I had never heard of before. Long story short, THEY ARE FUCKING AMAZING.

Truly a remarkable duo, they’re precise, flawless and even their ‘mistakes’ sound like part of the music, this is what they look like:


Closing out the night was UK-based but from Australia band, Pivot. The trio has been known for having a strong love for Talking Heads so there was some urge that maybe they’d rip into a live show of their music but alas, no dice. Nonetheless, their music is layered with sounds of shimmering guitar on top of the band’s intensified drumming. While electronics play a small role, their sound is obviously influenced by the romanticism of the 80s but with a much larger current riding throughout. The crowd was smaller for these guys and that was truly unfortunate; they put on an impressively musical live show – just enough to remind you that shows like these shouldn’t be so far apart.

Another song from 2010 that is absolutely outstanding is Spoon’s “I Saw the Light.” It’s a tour de force that changes tempos, styles and even meters throughout it’s magnetic music. It’s on their new album, Transference, which is as usual, another solid album from Spoon. The video isn’t the best but it is the best I could find and check out that ending coda, it’s amazing. There’s no reason why it should be ignored and with a song as good as this nestled in the heart of the album, why would you want to ignore them anyways? – Bryan

New Music & 2010 Songs, Pt. 2

On that same night, Lets’s Wrestle was touring with Titus Andronicus and although the latter could have been the night’s own headlining act, they played second with their exceptional musical ability. Before the show, a few of the member sat around some of the couches at their merchandise table and humored me as I hovered over all of their music. They had both of their albums – including their latest triumph, The Monitor – available, as well as a few 7” and one special, tour-only 12”. Amy Klein would sit on one of the couches and cutely smile when someone approached her and asked about an album but even though I was there to hear everyone, lead singer Patrick Stickles showed up to deliver wonderful comedy interspersed between asking for a drink, speaking to fans or even, checking out Let’s Wrestle.

If you go to their site, you can read Stickles’ entire thoughts on the first phase of their tour and you can read about how much he loved Nice Nice (more on that later) but as for his band’s own show, let’s just say that they owned it. Musicianship is always a top priority for me and this band has multitudes of it. It was amazing hearing their studio songs come to life underneath the band’s rolling energy. And everything is done with such emotion and passion that even just as a member of the audience you feel the need to jump in. Highlight of the show: singing, “You will always be a loser” about forty times straight, as loud as possible, with the band. Below is the opening song to that aforementioned album, there’s a reason why they’re one of Rolling Stone’s “Top 10 Bands of 2010.”



And here is a taste of what Gorillaz conquered with their newest album, Plastic Beach. One of the best songs of 2010 is their song “Empire Ants” that features Little Dragon. Starting off tranquil but with a cloud of foreshadowing, Damon Albarn softly sings before leading into an explosion of synths. It manifests into a towering electronic display of tremendous strength with Yukimi Nagano’s fantastic voice riding on top of everything. - Bryan

Surreal Week

One of the things about El Paso that I can’t stand is the shoddy promoters who do a terrible job of promoting shows. Usually, they fall way behind and don’t get enough support or exposure to get a good crowd and often, they simply slack off. It’s the biggest confusion as to why a concert for a local band like The Royalty can get a packed Take II and then a show for Abe Vigoda and No Age gets like 40 people at an old Club 101 venue. The same attendees, these cool hipsters, should be at all the indie shows and yet, they show up in tiny margins. Personally and I hate to admit it but I’ve missed shows by bands Neon Indian and the first time Deerhunter came around because I didn’t even know about them.

So you wonder, “Then why don’t you promote shows?” Trust me, I think that if I had $10,000 in spare money to lure bands and connections with clubs and bars, I’d be doing that. Fortunately, every now and then, we get some decent shows to come by and a local promoter has put together Surreal Week. A spin off the South by Southwest ceremonies in Austin, they plan on having over 20 bands play at three different venues: The Black Market, Hideaway Lounge and The Percolator between March 14 – March 22.


Some of the bands I plan on seeing for sure are local band The DA (Nick mentioned them in a previous post) on Sunday, March 14; the St. Patty’s free show with Ty Segall which I have heard a lot about; and the March 21st show where Nice Nice, Pivot and Titus Andronicus will play. I think that, in my head, I might head out every night just to get some new music in my blood and to hear these great bands but that seems like a daunting task because I still work all week. But for those three shows, they will be for sure RSVPs.

If it’s anything like previous SXSW-inspired gigs then the stages will be set up to allow for bands to play simultaneously and that would be great. Titus Andronicus alone is a great band to check out because they are riding the tails of a successful sophomore album and are an awesome band – here is the review I wrote on DOA for their album and below is the ‘trailer’ for the new album, The Monitor. The flyers are there (click on them to see full size), check it out and support the music if you can go. – Bryan