Low / Jolie Holland / British Sea Power / KaitO The Wrens / The Tyde / Built Like Alaska February 26-28, 2004 Review by Jake Thomas Noise Pop 2004 Another year, another Noise Pop. Every year it seems like I always lament to my friends that there's less and less to see as each year passes, and yet I still end up at a ton of shows. Almost everything I saw this year was great, and below is my review of what I found to be the stand-out events. Low / Jolie Holland Great American Music Hall 2/26/04 These Noise Pop bills always have a million bands on them, and there's no way I can tolerate a four band line-up unless I like every single band (and even then I'm likely to get cranky and leave early, thus further cementing me into my reputation of being a whiny bastard for most of my life); so timing is critical. You want to get there in time to see what you want to see, but not have to put up with too much extraneous stuff. I got to this show about half-way through Jolie Holland's set. It was somewhat of a letdown, but I was somewhat expecting it so I wasn't surprised. The main issue was the crowd - Noise Pop events are known for drawing a large number of folks who wouldn't normally be out, and generally leads to some pretty raucous behavior and loud, abrasive attendees. Let it be said that the let down was not because of Jolie Holland - her magical voice tried and tried to rise above the din of the crowd, but it was fighting a losing battle. She was obviously upset by it all, but what can you do? She sounded amazing when you could hear her, but that wasn't nearly enough of the time. I would just like to say to everyone out there in "internet-land" that you should see Jolie in an environment more suited for her, like the Make Out Room or something similar in nature, where the crowd is there for her and her voice can really shine and not have to fight over the rude concert-goers. I think I've seen Low every year I've lived in San Francisco, and every year they make my list of top 10 favorite live shows that past year. So at this point, I'm obviously coming into any of their shows with some pretty heavy expectations of greatness. Luckily, they did not disappoint in the least. Sure, there were some loud talkers and abrasive dirty hippies who were trying their damnedest to ruin the show for me and a number of other folks there, but the music was so beautiful and mesmerizing that I just tuned it all out for the most part. They spent the majority of the show on new material, all of which was great, which leads me to happily believe that a new album might be out sometime soon (I'm sure I could research and find out if that's the case, but laziness has won this battle). This new material is some of their most dynamic to date, incorporating a newfound love for very dark lyrics they have seemed to develop with a much more "rocking" sound than you might otherwise be used to hearing out of them. My only real gripe is that Mimi didn't sing nearly enough, and they didn't play "Over the Ocean" or "The Plan", but what can you do? It was great anyways and I eagerly await their next visit back to our fair city. British Sea Power / KaitO Bottom of the Hill 2/27/04 This was the only night of Noise Pop this year where I really wanted to be in two places at once - All Night Radio was also playing just down the street at Thee Parkside, and by all accounts it was a great show. Instead, I got to bottom of the hill early for KaitO on the insistence of a friend of mine who said they were the band to see on this bill. It's a good thing I trust her opinion and actually made it there when I did, because KaitO were amazing. She described KaitO as "great, great post-punk girl-vocal dancey angular stuff and live the lead singer has a great, almost formidable, presence" and I couldn't agree more. When I was watching them something my brain said it sounded like what might happen if you tried to breed the Pixies with Bis (minus Bis' more annoying moments). My favorite part was the male guitarist, who pretty much yelped into the microphone the entire show, his version of back-up singing. The crowd was fairly tame, but in the right situation I could see any show by these guys and girls turning into a real dance party. By comparison, British Sea Power was nowhere near as good, but I still really enjoyed their set. They covered the stage in various sorts of tree limbs and palm fronds, and many of the members were wearing silly costumes or outfit accessories. I would have to say they sound about as close as you possibly can to Echo & the Bunnymen without actually ripping them off, with a little Clinic thrown in for good measure. The keyboard player really made their set complete, looking not unlike a cross between Ashton Kutcher with a shaved head and a young Woody Harrelson; additionally, he acted totally demented the whole time bounding about in a WWI helmet with his mouth gaping open like he was having a seizure. I had a hard time taking my eyes off of him really. Despite only knowing a couple of their songs, I left the show wanting to pick up British Sea Power's album...and also wishing that Clinic would come back to town, because they were so amazing last time. The Wrens - early show Bottom of the Hill 2/28/04 This was the one show I was most excited about at this year's Noise Pop. Not only is the new Wren's album "The Meadowlands" one of my favorite releases of the last few months, but pretty much everyone else agrees. I've never seen so many folks who otherwise have extremely varied tastes and generally hate everything new that comes out, all think one album is great. Obviously, there was a lot of hype for the Wrens to live up to but they handled it to perfection as far as I was concerned; the music was tight, they were really excited; and the performance was top notch. They played a large chunk of "The Meadowlands" and managed to wrangle a few "Secaucus" songs in there as well. The crowd was pumped and excited, not an easy feat to manage at 5 in the afternoon for a rock band. The band kept commenting on how crazy it was to be playing in San Francisco and actually having a crowd there to watch them, and it seemed due to genuine appreciation and happiness, not a line they feed every crowd they play to. Word on the street was that they played a Pixie's cover during their night show, which would have been great to hear, but I have no complaints on this show. Most likely one of my top 10 shows of the year, and it's only the end of February! The Tyde / Built Like Alaska CafÈ du Nord 2/28/04 I've gotten one of my good friends really hooked on that Tyde record, and it doesn't take much coaxing to get me out to see Built Like Alaska, so it was off to CafÈ du Nord for us. It was a late show, and it got started even later than expected as the early show for some other bands was running late (and since rock shows are never on time, I don't think anyone was particularly surprised). Fortunately, the staff at CafÈ du Nord were on top of their shit, and even though they let us in quite a bit later than expected, the show got started just a few minutes after the door opened. Built Like Alaska were first, which was the whole reason I was standing outside to begin with - I wanted to make sure I didn't miss any of their set, because I knew it would be a short one. After some initial technical difficulties with the keyboards not working, they got underway and sounded great as usual. They played almost entirely new stuff which all sounded great, but would have been nice to hear a couple of my favorite tracks from their last album. No matter, hopefully all of this new material means that a new album is in the works, and that makes me as happy as horny drug addict visiting the Netherlands. The Tyde were up next and the place really filled up...I had no idea they had so many fans, especially considering all else that was going on this evening. Beachwood Sparks fans maybe? Who knows, I wasn't about to ask them all, I was more interested in hearing the sun-drenched 70's harmonies of these long hairs, with lyrics about "loading up the woody" and "riding the nose" and about every other surfing catch phrase. For lack of a better description, it reminds me of the Beach Boys as filtered through the Lilys, and those are two bands that I love (and taste great together!). other than some really terrible asshole dancers that forced us to move a couple of time (note: not all people who dance are assholes, but those who obliviously and continuously infringe into your personal space are), they put on a fantastic show: concise, very tight, and made me smile. --- Check out our previous experiences with a few of these bands: Low November 13, 2002 @ Great American Music Hall April 18, 2001 @ Great American Music Hall Jolie Holland December 10, 2003 @ Café Du Nord August 17, 2003 @ Make-Out Room Built Like Alaska January 21, 2004 @ Café Du Nord March 3, 2003 @ Mainzer Theater, Merced September 8, 2002 @ Hemlock Tavern December 1st, 2001 @ Oakdale Brewing Company December 8, 2001 @ Café du Nord November 11, 2001 @ Bimbo's 365 July 2, 2001 @ Great American Music Hall June 15, 2001 @ the Dirty Duck in Modesto May 29, 2001 @ the Dirty Duck March 20, 2001 @ Café du Nord ©2004 playinginfog.com |