One of the signs that you’ve made it as a live band is if the crowd has a custom chant for you as you take the stage or during the encore break. By that token, Chromeo has really made it, since the crowd at the Wiltern was already primed to let out a choral “CHRO-MEE-OH WHOAAAAAAAA OH” as soon as the lights dimmed. We came to the show to get our electro-disco inspired dance fix and we got what we came for, no more, no less.

There’s only so much a duo can do on stage musically and even backed up by three Rockette-like lady dancers/singers, Chromeo didn’t do much to distinguish their sound from their recordings. That’s not necessarily a knock on the band, as their recordings are very fun affairs, though it is noteworthy that the material from their latest album, Business Casual, sounded much more polished and alive. If your goal at the show was to get drunk, dance, and have a good time, you probably got your money’s worth. If you were looking for a dynamic stage presence or transcendant live music revelation, though, you’re going to to want to keep looking.

From time to time, I like to whip out the ‘ol iPhone 4 HD video camera and capture some highlights from the shows I go to. Sometimes they don’t even end up half-bad.

This is one of those times.

Here’s a live video bootleg of one of my favorite singles of 2010 so far, “Sun Hands,” by Local Natives. I was a bit surprised that the band sold out the ~1,500 person capacity Henry Fonda Theater in Hollywood two nights in a row, but they are “local natives” of Los Angeles, after all. More dynamic than the droning buzz of “Chillwave” indie rock, yet less conventional than your meat and potatoes Rock – you’ll find yourself head bobbing, air drumming, and possibly singing along to this track.

Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti is perhaps one of the more “buzzworthy” bands so far this year, garnering a “9.0″ review from Pitchfork and landing on many other music blogs’ “Best of 2010 so far” lists. At $15 for a ticket including fees we’re in the impulse zone where there’s not a substantial risk even if you’re not a diehard fan of the band.

I’m all about seeing live music, especially at affordable prices, so I gave it a shot. I had given Before Today a couple of listens and while it didn’t “wow” me as much as the “Indie Blogosphere,” it also didn’t repulse me either. “Round and Round” has some pretty infectious melodies contained within and I will admit to waking up some mornings with the song in my head.

Some bands are just not meant to do live shows.

Ariel Pink cavorted around stage like a lifelong wino in an outfit that can best be described as a cross between Mario’s red overalls and Borat’s one-piece swimsuit. His voice cracked more times than an 18-year old going through puberty. Their set sounded lifeless and amorphous. None of the Before Today’s eclectic lo-fi charm came across on stage.

I stayed through each successive song with hopes of finally hearing the performance that would redeem the band. After about 45 minutes or so, it became apparent that this was never going to happen. I cut my losses and headed up to Two Boots for some delicious pizza.

Hey, for a $15 investment it wasn’t any worse than walking out of another shitty summer movie.

Disclosure: I was about three scotches in by the time Ariel Pink took the stage, so I had the musical equivalent of “beer goggles” going for me. Despite this I could still tell that the band was putting on a forgettable show.

I snapped a video of “Round and Round” in which you can hear this for yourself below:

Well, due to the ineptitude of AT&T in providing adequate SMS or data service at Coachella this year, most of my tweets during the festival didn’t get out.  All in all, I enjoyed the music and the festival.  At least, when I could actually be in the venue.

Here’s a rough timeline of what would have been sent out (some of them actually did manage to squirm out):

Day 1

2:15PM – Left house at 12:30 and still stuck in immovable traffic. Had to pee on the side of a main road, public be damned.

3:30PM – Stuck in a immovable line to get wristbands for event entry. People are cutting in the front because there’s no security.

4:30PM – Officially pissed that I missed one of the bands I wanted to see the most, Yeasayer. Regretting coming to this thing.

4:45PM – Line is finally moving. Apparently the ticket scanning system went down for a couple hours. Heads better roll for this bullshit.

5:15PM – Feel a bit less cranky after eating some surprisingly good Thai BBQ. I can hear Tom Morello playing a song I don’t know.

6:00PM – She & Him is surprisingly entertaining. The songs are a lot more uptempo and fun than I was expecting. Delightful festival warmup.

6:05PM – Have to admit, zooey deschanel is lookin pretty adorable on stage http://twitpic.com/1g4wq9

7:45PM – Even a mediocre live band like Passion Pit can be great fun with the right crowd. Dancing/singing with the chorus of Little Secrets was a great moment.

8:15PM – I know everyone swears by Grizzly Bear, but I’m finding his set boring. It’s one of those “you have to know the material” situations. I didn’t.

8:25PM – Stopped by La Roux. She sounds okay, nothing extraordinary. Not going to wade through that crowd for “In For The Kill”.

8: 45PM – I only know the Echo and the Bunnymen hits. They’re not playing them, so I’m getting out of here.

9:15PM – The sound for LCD Soundsystem is amazing.

9:30PM – James Murphy is incredibly awkward on stage. He could have command of the crowd, but he’s rambling like a insecure nerd onstage.

10:15PM – LCD Soundsystem had a couple chances to be an epic set, but never quite got there. Going to walk by Vampire Weekend.

10:20PM – Heard Cousins being played and promptly turned around to get a beer.

10:30PM – Pretty ridiculous that the main stage is playing a recorded Vampire Weekend song while the actual band is on the other stage.

11:15PM – Jay-Z makes his entrance by rising from under the stage floor to the intro of “We Run This Town”. As the bass kicks in, he authoritatively commands the audience to bounce. We obey.

11:45PM – The soundsystem here is unreal. Hiphop bass has never sounded so clear. Best mainstream rap show I have seen so far.

12:25AM – Big Pimpin’ starts. The crowd starts to go nuts before Jigga stops it, telling us that we aren’t ready yet. He then continues on with another song. Fucking awesome.

12:35AM – No Dr. Dre or Alicia Keyes appearance, but we get Beyonce as the surprise guest.

12:45AM – Damn, I didn’t plan on staying for all of Jay-Z, but I couldn’t resist.

12:50AM – I have to make a decision to see the end of The Whitest Boy Alive or deadmau5 – I go with Whitest Boy, but really wanted to do both. Damn you, scheduling!

12:55AM – Erlend Oye looks like a dweebier young Bill Gates, if that’s even possible. Still, this set is really good. I gotta see them when they tour next.

3:30AM – Fuck traffic and crowds and lines and godawful parking infrastructure.

Day 2

3:15PM – Well that wasn’t as bad getting in this time. Took a back route and lot. Missed my boy Frank Turner, but a noon start time is untenable.

3:30PM – Day two starts with bluegrass from old crow medicine show. Haven’t seen a guy string his own guitar in awhile. http://twitpic.com/1gmxkt

4:45PM – Have a nice spot by the soundboard for Beach House.  The music is inoffensive, but not really grabbing me. Guess it’s a similar situation to Grizzly Bear.

5:40PM – Man does the girl from Gossip have pipes, this is an awesomely fun set. Crowd loves them.

6:20PM – Holy shit, the entire LCD Soundsystem band is on stage, along with more people I don’t recognize. It’s madness in here.

6:35PM – Stayed for the last couple songs of The Raveonettes set. I like them, but the end of their set was a far cry from the energy level of Gossip’s.

6:45PM – Well, The XX is good music for listening to while you’re eating dinner.

7:15PM – Seem to have found a great spot for Hot Chip with a raucous group of South Americans who sing and do chants. This is going to be awesome.

7:45PM – Steel drums are back, baby! I was wondering where they had gone, but I’m positive I’ve seen at least 3 bands use them so far.

8:20PM – Using Aterciopelados’ set to recover. They’re actually not bad rockers.  Too bad I don’t understand Spanish.

9:35PM – Some kid tries to move past me in a crowd. He says he’s trying to get away from his mom who’s in the crowd behind him for fear she’ll ground him from video games for 2 weeks. wat.

9:45PM – Spent the last 50 minutes in the dance tent with Kaskade and David Guetta. Sensory overload. Bass made my entire body shake. Wish I had drugs.

9:55PM – Major Lazer is fucking amazing!! There’s two Chinese dragons onstage with a black chick in a wedding gown. This is a real party.

10:15PM – Get news that Danny Devito ran shirtless across the stage during Faith No More. That sounds fun.

10:30PM – Muse is way less intense than that dance tent was. They still rock though.

11:20PM – Man, The Dead Weather really vacillate between awesome and boring. Love the blues stuff, hate the slow shit.

12:00AM – F. Dee and mac from it’s always sunny in Philadelphia bumped into my friend wearing a paddys pub shirt at the beer tent and I wasn’t there!

12:15AM – Eating pizza while on a bench with a view of Tiesto on the main stage. I think I’d need to plan my day around Tiesto to properly enjoy his set.

12:18AM – Is it just me or does Tiesto look like Christian Slater? Also, lasers.

12:20AM – Someone brought the wrong visuals for Tiesto, the screen just addressed “Austin”.

12:22AM – There we go, Coachella lets make some noise!

12:50AM – Having to decide between the end of 2ManyDJ’s or Devo, I go with Devo in the hopes of getting “Whip It”. Got old dudes stripping into tshirts and boxers instead.

4:00AM – Fuck traffic and crowds and lines and godawful parking infrastructure.

Day 3

2:45PM – Really surprised to have made it inside the venue in time to catch the end of Local Natives. They were pretty good.

3:45PM – No idea what to have expected for Mayer Hawthorne, but this is kinda cool. Fairly young white dude singing soul. People are dancing, including shirtless pothead in front of me with a gut and no pectorals.

4:10PM – My friend explains to me the lols of Mayer introducing his “break up song” with “Coachella I’m sorry to do this to you but…” Hilarious.

4:15PM – Walk by Deerhunter, didn’t look like a meat jackpot Deerhunter set so continued to De La Soul.

4:20PM – De La Soul is pretty boring.  Nothing else to do but sit on the grass and chill.  Too lazy to walk to Florence and the Machine for a couple minutes.

4:50PM – Surprised to hear Sunny Day Real Estate play Seven so early in their set. Not complaining, this song rules.

5:20PM – Decided to check out Yo La Tengo. Love the pop songs and synchronized light dancing, really dislike the masturbatory jam sessions. Cool how all 3 band members play everything.

6:15PM – Really dig the soundscape that Jonsi/Sigur Ros create. The songs seem a bit more uptempo than Sigur Ros. Plus he’s got a really cool festive outfit and headdress.

6:50PM – Made it into a nice spot by the soundboard for Miike Snow. The band comes out in masks and amidst smoke.

7:15PM – The album is good, but the live show is amazing. This stuff needs to be turned up LOUD!

7:30PM – Would definitely see Miike Snow again.

7:45PM – There’s a ridiculous amount of people for Phoenix, not going to bother getting close for this.

8:00PM – Just realized I only really like 1901 and If I Ever Feel Better from Phoenix anyway. Glad I got to hear those at the end.

8:15PM – Holy laser light show at Little Boots! She’s pretty fun too.

9:05PM – Caught the last few minutes of Orbital’s DJ set. Heard an amazing mix of Halcyon with Belinda Carlisle and Bon Jovi. Lamp shades baby!

9:30PM – As much as I love Radiohead, I’m pretty sick of The Eraser. Some of the songs just don’t translate well to large venues.

9:30PM – That being said, adding someone like Flea really makes the bass come alive for songs like Harrowdown Hill.

12:30AM – Forewent gorillaz to beat the coachella traffic. Surprisingly it worked! Already at the daily pint in Santa Monica playing shuffleboard.

Click through for a photo gallery. (Caveat: They’re iPhone camera pics.)

For your enjoyment (more videos after the break):

Harrowdown Hill


Black Swan

Nigel and Flea rocking out on Cymbal Rush

Maybe years of concert going in Los Angeles have made me a jaded cynic, but I have to admit some trepidation when I intially heard that Thom Yorke would be playing the ~700 person capacity Echoplex in the heart of LA’s hipster haven.  Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been to several Radiohead shows across the country.  I’ve met and spoken with Thom himself.  I know firsthand how great of a stage performer this awkward looking Englishman can be.  It’s just that… well, solo albums from celebrated frontmen usually end up being a disappointing affair.  I wasn’t a huge fan of The Eraser, the album came off to me a bit flat and soulless.  Plus, how in the world could this new band work out?  Nigel I can understand, but Flea??  Is he going to come out on stage in nothing but a tube sock, and start slappin’ da bass I Love You Man style?  I was worried the show would degenerate into an 80 minute masturbatory jam session with famous musicians.

Fortunately, Thom and the boys proved I was a complete douche for even entertaining those thoughts.

I’ve seen countless Indie bands du jour at the Echoplex.  90% of the time they are simply ok.  Fun, glad I went, but nothing to write home about.  It was quite jarring to see real performers with stage presence in such an intimate venue.  Thom and his new band proved that there’s a lot more to being great performers than being talked about on the blogosphere and selling out tickets to scenesters.

They came on roughly half past 9pm and launched into the title track from The Eraser.  Though I had a feeling most of the set would consist of Thom’s 2006 solo record, I wasn’t really thinking about it as the band played through the album in order.  Each of the band members contributed to creating a fuller, richer sound that transformed the songs into something almost brand new.

As always, Thom showcased his array of awkward looking dances.  My personal favorites were “the belly dancer” and “the sardine dance”. (just visualize what you think those mean and you probably nailed it)  He was in good spirits, talking with the crowd between almost every song and splitting his time between the piano and the front stage mic.  One move which I had not seen from him before was something I call “the rapper.”  While singing Harrowdown Hill, Thom channeled his inner hip-hop star and strutted along the front of the stage with the swagger of Jay-Z.

Being the first show played by the unnamed band, Thom saw fit to introduce the band:

After Thom, the first performer my eyes gravitated towards was Flea.  He looked subdued, clad in a simple gray tshirt and jeans, but brought the energy and funk when the songs called for it.  Songs that sounded like a looped bass machine on the record were transformed into energized, organic entities.

Mauro Refosco, the Brazilian percussionist, seemed to be born for playing in this band.  Though I couldn’t see exactly what he was playing, it sounded like he had the figurative kitchen sink filled with literal dining utensils of percussion instruments.  During some songs he pounded instruments like a spoonman, while in others he brought an almost tribal beat.  If Flea brought the funk vibe, Mauro brought the world music vibe.  One instrument I did manage to see, however, was a pretty mindblowing 6 snaredrum setup, which he played like the bongos.

Nigel and Joey were tucked away in the back of the stage for most of the show, making it hard for me to get a good look at what they were doing.  I can tell you that Joey rocked it on the drums, while Nigel provided one of the night’s highlights when he took his guitar to the front of the stage and rocked out with Flea.

After completing The Eraser, the band took an encore break.  Thom returned to the stage by himself and played a couple of new tunes solo.  Prior to starting, some dude shouted “Play some Skynyrd!”  Thom replied with, “It should be more like… I dunno play some Stone Temple Pilots or something like that.”  First of all, I’m surprised Thom knew who the Stone Temple Pilots are.  Second of all, a cover of Stone Temple Pilot’s Creep would have blown the roof of the building with the sheer force of irony.  Third of all, holy shit, maybe Thom was thinking the same thing!  Well played, Mr. Yorke, well played.

The full band returned on stage shortly and finished off the lengthy encore with some more new material.  While they didn’t grab me as very different from the songs played earlier, they still sounded great due to how well the band members complemented each other.  In fact, I was very surprised at how tight and practiced the band sounded as a whole.  Thom led off the show by saying “Welcome to the rehearsal!” but there was really no evidence that it was a rehearsal other than a couple of slip-ups here and there.  All in all, I’m quite excited to hear where this new band goes.  They’ve got the potential to be something more than a forgettable side project.

Setlist:

‘The Eraser’
‘Analyse’
‘The Clock’
‘Black Swan’
‘Skip Divided’
‘Atoms For Peace’
‘And It Rained All Night’
‘Harrowdown Hill’
‘Cymbal Rush’
‘Open The Floodgates’
‘Lotus Flower’
‘Skirting On The Surface’
‘Judge, Jury, Executioner’
‘Paperbag Writer’
‘The Hollow Earth’
‘Feeling Pulled Apart By Horses’

Video of ‘Atoms For Peace’:

“Hi, we’re an unsigned band from Los Angeles,” introduces The Airborne Toxic Event singer/guitarist, Mikel Jollett, to the frisky and diverse sold-out crowd at the Troub.

Two songs into the set, you would have been hard-pressed to believe that this Los Feliz quintet wasn’t signed by a Major or Major Indie (your Merges and Sub-Pops of the world), much less completely unsigned. Joined on stage by Noah Harmon (bass), Steven Chen (guitar/keyboard), Anna Bulbrook (viola), and Daren Taylor (drums), the soft-spoken Jollett crooned with his Morrissey-esque baritone and we soaked it in. The band members weren’t just going through the motions like so many other typical indie-xerox bands. They were playing with stage presence, with exuberance, with gracefulness.

This was not your ordinary hype-band.

I have to admit, I wasn’t an early rider on Airborne’s gravy train with biscuit wheels. I didn’t make it out to the Eastside to see them in years past, nor did I attend their now-legendary residency at Spaceland in January. This was mainly because I had only heard the new single, “Sometime Around Midnight,” less than a month ago. I instantly fell in love with it, though, and made it a personal crusade to attend the next local show which just so happened to be at the venerable West Hollywood venue.

Being relatively late to the party meant I had to deal with the fact that it was a show presented by KROQ. Fortunately, the crowd seemed affable enough to me. I didn’t record any egregious mouth-breathing moments from the peanut gallery at all. There was no pretentious stage banter/guitar tech shenanigans, no Jed The Fish introducing the band with his insufferable laugh. If it weren’t for the KROQ banners on the balcony, you would have thought it was a typical local band Monday night at the Troub…except with a crowd that was a mix of Silverlake hipsters, KROQ teens, tall supermodel-esque women, and short,bald super-guitarists (Tom Morello in the house!).

I didn’t know what to expect from the band after only hearing the single and their three-song EP. The show could have been either very subdued or very energetic. It turned out to be the latter. From the opening song, the band had the crowd dancing and bobbing along in no time.

And dance we did.

Maybe it was because we were smack dab in the middle of the venue surrounded by super-fans, but the eminently danceable sounds coming from the stage enticed, nay, cajoled, us to tastefully move our bodies. Not in a Sexyback badonkadonk grinding way, but in a more say… tasteful way. Kind of like a cross between the unabashed happy energy of a night with The Hold Steady mixed with the soulful contemplation of a night with Morrissey and a dash of Franz Ferdinand for chutzpah. It was basically the antithesis of entry #67 on the Stuff White People Like blog.

As the set progressed, we saw Mikel, Steven, and Anna play musical chairs with the keyboard on various songs, Arcade Fire style. We saw Noah take a page (ha) from Jimmy Page’s repertoire and use a (viola?) bow to play his electronic bass.

Midway through the show, the band played Sometime Around Midnight. By the time Mikel screamed out the climax of the song, I was having vivid flashbacks of Win Butler transcendently belting out Intervention.

I chatted briefly with Mikel after the show about their upcoming SXSW appearances and whether that would mean they would leave Austin with a shiny new label contract. He just shrugged his shoulders. Apparently he had been fielding calls from multitudes of interested labels recently and was eminently wary of them all. He has every right to be as the role of the record label is rapidly fading. However, they do still have their uses, especially for distribution. We’ll see if the band remains unsigned for long. Who knows, maybe they’ll get along just fine without a label. It wouldn’t surprise me in the least.

Appropriately enough, the show ended with an encore consisting of “Missy,” an infectiously poppy song about coming home to LA. The band even threw out these cute plastic tambourines to the crowd which complemented the song perfectly.

Remember how I said no gimmicky shenanigans earlier?

I lied.

But I’ll be damned if that stunt didn’t leave cheshire-sized grins with the 500 faces at the Troubadour that night.

(Thanks to my neighbor, Gina, for the photos)

Listen to The Airborne Toxic Event on myspace