Live Review: Ash Grunwald at Meow, Wellington

Ash Grunwald

Meow, Wellington

Saturday 28 December 2015

Blues rocker Ash Grunwald started the night off with a trifecta of songs about surfing. All three were ridiculously funny, especially “Dolphin Song” – based on a true story of a pod of dolphins rescuing him from a shark. The song ended with Grunwald making absurd squeaky dolphin noises into the microphone over the top of his guitar solo which lightened up the mood of the venue.

The first song had been relatively calm, reflecting the dinner table environment that Meow had put on. But a few songs in Grunwald couldn’t help but let loose with some roaring blues numbers. Out came the resonator guitar and the slide, and there was little holding back from then on.

It was a joy to watch him wailing and stomping and letting rip on the guitar. The tunes were infectious and before long most of the people in the bar were on their feet and moving. Grunwald’s didn’t take himself too seriously, cracking jokes and making silly impersonations in the middle of songs. He was clearly having fun on stage, and projected his humour onto his audience.

I expected a small setup from a man playing a solo show, but in reality it looked like he was piloting the Starship Enterprise. Grunwald was perched atop a red stool, with an impressively large array of effects pedal to his left, two microphones in front of him, and something called a foot drum at his feet. This foot drum was ingenious. It somehow housed cymbals, a snare, egg shakers, a tambourine and a bass drum – all playable through the use of pedals. It offered more dynamics than a standard stompbox and really enhanced the overall sound. The two different microphones also helped to mix up the sound, with one having plenty of reverb and effects going through it.

Grunwald played a range of songs from his repertoire, old and new. There was no prepared setlist, he just picked songs which suited the mood. He took requests from the audience, and also played a variety of covers drawing from blues legends such as Jimi Hendrix, Son House and Howling Wolf, as well as Van Morrison and Gnarls Barkley.

Two highlights included acapella covers of “Grinnin In Your Face” and “John the Revelator”. Grunwald ditched his guitar and bellowed the songs with his powerful voice, clapping to keep the beat. For the latter song he ventured into the audience and encouraged everyone to clap and wail along.

It was a fun time. Grunwald was at home on the stage, fueled by espresso martinis and improvising as he went. He announced his last song after having played for an hour and a half, only to have to extend his set at the request of his audience – not that he seemed to mind. Some audience members thought highly enough to each tip him $20 for his performance, despite his protests that they should at least take a CD in exchange for their money. And is there a better indicator of great show than people insistent on paying more than the price of admission to attend?

Joseph James

You can also read my interview with Ash Grunwald from a few weeks ago here.

LIVE REVIEW: THE MENZINGERS AND MEWITHOUTYOU AT NEUMOS, SEATTLE

The Menzingers (Scranton, PA, USA)
mewithoutYou (Philadelphia, PA, USA)
Pianos Become The Teeth (Baltimore, MD, USA)
Restorations (Philadelphia, PA, USA)

Neumos, Seattle, WA, USA
Saturday November 14th, 2015

It had been a very long time since my last live show experience. I’ve been to plenty of local shows over the past few years but I’m not even sure I can recall the last time I attended a live show where the sound check happened before the doors opened, people were actually at the venue on time, and the first band actually took the stage precisely at the time stated on the flier. I’m sure very few paid attention to these details. But for me, being reminded how professional bands operate at professionally run venues, like Neumos, was a breath of fresh air. Obviously, I need to get out more.

Typically, the reason you attend a show and subsequently write a live review is to highlight the headliner, or in this case, the headliners. And while The Menzingers and mewithoutYou put on a great show, I didn’t necessarily find anything too remarkable about their sets. Honestly, this was my first experience with The Menzingers so, to be fair, I can’t really say much about them as I know very little about them (shame on me, I know). As I like to say, “they were fine”, meaning they did their thing and people enjoyed it and I appreciated what they did. Enough said.

mewithoutYou on Audiotree Live

mewithoutYou has always been one of my favorite bands. They are fantastic at writing catchy music that is capable of hitting the heart strings of whatever emotion you’re in the mood to meddle with. Ever since [A->B] Life came out in 2002 I’ve been quite comfortable keeping their music in my arsenal. Frontman Aaron Weiss has a unique lyrical style that absolutely works for me. While others may struggle digesting his lyrics, I am continually impressed with anyone that can work “pumpernickel bread” into their writing.

Restorations opened the night and did a great job setting the vibe for the evening. I hadn’t really heard much from these guys prior to the show but they are definitely headed in the right direction. Their stage presence was enjoyable to watch and kept a newbie, like me, entranced for their full set. Like Restorations, mewithoutYou and The Menzingers held the attention of the venue for the entirety of their sets and I would definitely see them again.

This brings me to Pianos Become The Teeth. While I had every intention of writing this review on mewithoutYou, it was Pianos Become The Teeth that absolutely stole the show for me. And it was absolutely for reasons I did not expect.

Pianos Become The Teeth live @ The Underworld, London

Like most bands I come to discover, Pianos Become The Teeth have been around for a while. They formed in 2006 and have honed their sound over the past nine years moving from an aggressive, post-hardcore band to masters of gloomy, emotionally packed, post-rock. For those of you who have yet to indulge in their newest record, Keep You, I highly recommend you do so. If you need an enticing comparison, this album is very reminiscent of Oceana’s Clean Head from 2010.

While the other three bands put on visually stimulating performances, Pianos Become The Teeth struck me in a different way. I was lucky enough to get to the venue early enough to grab one of the few spots on the balcony that gave me a great view of both the band and the crowd. Pianos Become The Teeth were steady, energetic at times, but the way they moved the crowd was absolutely stunning. The movement I witnessed was not physical by any means. In fact, the crowd was absolutely motionless, aside from a bit of head-banging here and there. Being fairly in tune with my mushy side, the emotional grip that pushed and pulled throughout the crowd was mesmerizing.

I think I spent most of my time watching one specific kid in the crowd. By appearance alone, he was completely out of place. If I would have seen him walking on the street prior to the show there was no way I would have thought he and I were headed to the same destination. But this kid knew absolutely every word to absolutely every song Pianos Become The Teeth played.

Pianos Become The Teeth from the balcony @ Neumos

For those who are familiar with frontman Kyle Durfey’s lyrics, you know they are very sad and tend to center around the loss of his father in 2010. Like many lyricists, Durfey’s lyrics are dark and contemplative. But unlike some, Durfey is surrounded by an exceptional band that is able to add deep dimension to his words. The coupling of his lyrics with the desolate tones of his band’s music is nearly heartbreaking. To me, it’s the cohesion of these two elements that make my eyes well up with tears and send chills down my arms. I’m sure we all experience these phenomenons in our own way, but experiencing Pianos Become The Teeth live was the pinnacle of emotional overflow for me.

The kid three rows back, belting Durfey’s lyrics will forever be seared into my musical memories. It was a profoundly powerful moment for me. It left me wondering how this out of place kid related to Durfey’s lyrics. What was it that moved him by this band. Being witness to the connection between the writer and the listener added a totally new experience for me. Usually you only get to see the back of everyone’s head at a show, but my balcony vantage point let me see things in a new light. It was truly an honor for me to be in the same place at the same time with five guys in a band, the kid in the third row, a few friends, and a room full of strangers.

C.J. Blessum

Album Review: Killing Joke – Pylon

It was inevitable that I would become a Killing Joke fan. Funnily enough, one of my teachers at high school introduced me to them.

This teacher probably made one of the best impressions on me in my last year of school. He made of point of looking out for me and we often discussed our mutual love of music. He was from Birmingham – or “the town that GBH were from”, as he’d say. He loved telling me about the festivals and concerts he’d attended. Glastonbury was a perennial favourite. He’d attended Foo Fighters Wembley show that I had a DVD copy of. And most of his stories were about the early days of punk. I loaned him a few punk CD’s of bands I’d recently discovered – stuff like Rise Against and Anti-Flag – and he loaned me a few Killing Joke records in return.

I remember him showing them to me in class one morning. There was the original eponymous album, along with the 2003 album of the same name, with the bright colours and the creepy clown on the cover. He also had the second album, What’s This For?, and possibly Night Time. He gave me a cheeky grin and explained that this was the music he liked to play loudly when his wife wasn’t home.

I was transfixed when I gave the CD’s a listen. Listening to the music was like taking part in some kind of cult ritual. It was raw, heavy and unique. The way that frontman Jaz Coleman hissed, shrieked spat and shouted his lyrics was so unconventional. The primitive tribal rhythms of the drumming was so powerful. The guitars were heavy and dynamic.

I quickly sought out my own copies of albums that featured two of my favourite drummers – Pandemonium, featuring Tom Larkin from Shihad, and Killing Joke [2003] featuring Dave Grohl. I read more about the band. It turned out Jaz Coleman was New Zealand citizen. He owned York St studios, and his influence as producer was obvious in the first Shihad album, Churn (and more recently, FVEY). I bought each successive Killing Joke album that the band released, and attended the Wellington gig of their first ever NZ tour in 2013.

Pylon is studio album number 16, and third in a triptych along with Absolute Dissent (2010) and MMXII (2012). It follows the same formula that we’ve come to expect – crushingly heavy and abrasive post-punk with lighter new wave moments. There are the typical doom and gloom dystopian themes of paranoia, mistrust of the powers that be and protesting against surveillance. What are the odds that all four band members have prepped for the apocalypse, each owning bunkers filled with protective tinfoil suits and enough emergency supplies to last them a few decades? But in all seriousness, at least the lyrics contain some substance. Give me protest music full of conspiracy theories over mindless pop music any day.

Album opener “Autonomous Zone” signals a return to the familiar KJ sound. The bridge is especially good, with a drum solo leading into a driving middle eight. Listen out for the stunning bass guitar fills as well. “Dawn Of The Hive” is relentless, with a synths in the chorus sounding glossy yet dangerous. We have the same barrage of sound found in Absolute Dissent married with some of the poppy catchiness of Night Time.

What I like about Pylon is that despite the subject matters and heavy riffing, it isn’t too oppressing. There are more electronic sounds than I would have expected in light of their recent albums. “Euphoria” sounds, well, euphoric, along the lines of “In Cytheria” and “You’ll Never get To Me”. “New Cold War” features a Nine Inch Nails styled offbeat dance beat. “New Jerusalem” borders on jangly. The brighter new wave style brings balance to the music, and prevents it from becoming a boring sludgefest. This is not to say that the band has gone soft on us, but too much chugged riffing can start to grate.

In this current technological era Killing Joke could be seen as irrelevant cynics – old men angrily yelling at clouds. But then you consider their legacy, influencing and inspiring bands like Metallica, Ministry, Nine Inch Nails, Nirvana, Shihad and Tool and it becomes clear that their importance doesn’t correlate with mainstream recognition. And if anything, Killing Joke should be celebrated for being underground and different. They’re not quite punk, metal or industrial. They’re not conventional. And their insistence on forging their own sound is what makes them so special.

After 16 albums, you could have forgiven Killing Joke if they had started to sound a bit stale. But they don’t. MMXII wasn’t my favourite, but Pylon is able to stand up on its own merit. It’s dense, murky and aggressive, without being overly depressing. It’s a visceral roar that pummels your ear canals. It’s paranoid and dark, subversive and political. It’s the sort of music to blast when the wife is out.It’s exactly what you want to hear from Killing Joke.

Joseph James

EP Review: Kacy Hill – Bloo

It sounds like Kacy Hill is one of those lucky right-place-right-time people. She started out as a model (which could explain why she looks familiar, especially if you’ve ever seen American Apparel advertisements). This modelling work somehow led on into dancing, which landed her a role as a stage dancer on Kanye West’s Yeezus tour. Hill somehow managed to capture Ye’s attention, and after listening to her demo backstage, he decided to sign her to his label G.O.O.D Music.

If you’re not a Kanye fan, don’t let this put you off. This isn’t a hip hop release. Although it is definitely manufactured pop.

HIll has a great voice. The most similar name I can think of is Florence Welch (of Florence + the Machine).

First track “Foreign Fields” features crackles and static to give it a warm, vinyl-like feel. It’s a simple song that showcases Hill’s stunning voice, accompanied by crisp piano. There is a trip-hop vibe to it, with a handclap metranome transforming into an electro drum beat. The chorus feels messy with extra effects that make Hills sound distant and echo-y, but it helps to contrast against the slightly sterile verses.

EP highlight “Arm’s Length” takes us into Florence + Machine territory, with upliftingly cooed choruses and ethereal bridges. It’s a joyous anthem that marries delicacy with club music. “Shades of Blue” brings the mood down. The thunderous drums are cool, but I question why Hill chose such a gloomy song as the closing track. When a début EP like this only contains three songs, each song needs to be strong enough to all make a positive statement. Ending on a depressing note taints the overall experience.

The piano-led gospel-come-pop works well, although the overproduction and excessive effects don’t always serve to enhance the music. The songs work best when striped right back to the basics of just piano and vocals. As they say, less is more. Hill’s voice is gorgeous, and I’d far rather listen to her than half the tripe that plays on the radio these days. This short taster is a promising show of Hill’s potential. Let’s just hope that in the future she can let the songs do the talking, instead of hiding behind unnecessary overproduction.

Joseph James

Album Review: Silversun Pickups – Better Nature

Better Nature is Californian quartet Silversun Pickups’ fourth album, the follow-up to 2012’s superb Neck of the Woods.

They’ve always written brilliant dreamy shoegaze songs with a hint of danger, but never managed to receive much attention in New Zealand. New World supermarkets started to use ‘Lazy Eye’ in their advertisements a few years ago, but I still see Silversun Pickups as an underrated indie secret. Better Nature is more energetic than the previous albums, hinting that it may prove to be the break through album in New Zealand.

(Clockwise from L-R): Joe Lester (keyboards), Nikki Monninger (bass), Christopher Guanlao (drums), Brian Aubert (guitar, vocals). Credit: Rebekkah Drake

The titular opening track ‘Cradle (Better Nature)’ is more explosive than I had expected from the band based on their earlier output. I realised something different was up at the songs halfway point, when the choral chant of “Better! Nature!” launches into a raunchy guitar solo. The previously shy shoegaze sound has turned frantic and demands the listener’s attention, while still retaining the attractive fuzziness. Second song ‘Connection’ follows up just as strong.

It’s the same Silversun Pickups sounds that you know – crisp drums, throbbing bass, ethereal fuzzy guitar and atmospheric synths. But this time it’s a case of more. More variety, more attitude, more wild and unkempt. Frontman Brian Aubert even looks more wild. Watch the video of their last video clip (Cannibal) and compare his appearance to the ‘Nightlight’ video and you’ll see what I mean.

Better Nature features loads of interesting sounds and tones, lurking almost into industrial territory at times. For example, ‘Friendly Fires’ reminds me of soundtrack work that the album’s mixer Alan Moulder has done alongside Nine Inch Nail’s Trent Reznor in the past. It begins with threatening throbbing bass that evokes a tense thriller scene, before the introduction of chirpy keys reminiscent of Jay Z’s “New York State of Mind”. The cut out chorus sung a capella over hand claps adds to the eerie feel..

Lead single ‘Nightlight’ also has a lot of similar elements to Nine Inch Nail’s ‘Hand That Feeds’. It’s not as upbeat, but the distinctive drumming, moody bass, and victorious chorus make it a perfect synth pop anthem.

(WARNING the above video contains violence and nudity.)

It’s impressive that the band can keep their familiar signature sound and still write songs that sound different. You can tell that they’ve made an effort to prevent the songs all sounding the same. Many start strong and unique, before slowly reverting back to the usual fuzzy sound. And there are so many strange outros that don’t match their respective songs. Clinky slow xylophones, a child singing, and odd vocals all feature in outros that seem out of place, in attempt to mix things up.

‘Pins & Needles’ is my personal favourite, featuring a groovy swagger thanks to slide guitar before returning to the familiar infectious fuzzy sound. The guitar solo is a ripper too, with some delicious tones. ‘Tapedeck’ has lovely resonating marimba or vibraphone playing over a dancy syncopated beat and dripping with odd sounds that allude to industrial music. The expansive slow chorus sounds odd juxtaposed against the driven verses, but it works. Bassist Nikki Monninger takes over lead vocal duties in the echoed chorus of ‘Circadian Rhythm (Last Dance)’ and her voice is so good it’s a wonder that she didn’t feature more prominently throughout the album.

Better Nature is great – both recognisable and fresh. It’s more dangerous and wild than the previous albums, with the same brilliant aspects that made them so good. It’s not as dreamy anymore, but the dark new urgency makes for more exciting music.

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