Linda is coming Live from London and Living it up! Here are capsule reviews of two of her most recent gigs, and yes, we do use the word "capsule" fairly loosely, but only to annoy the verbs, who are overly strict in our opinion and just have the most awful hairdos.Panda Bear/Kode9/Kurt Vile @ Heaven
If there was any gig this week which you had to attend if you considered yourself to contain even the slightest spark of indie hipster credibility, this was apparently it. And as I enjoy conforming to the opinion of others, I was of course at the forefront of this happening. And though it is a nice idea to go to Heaven to see a gig, there's always the question of whether you'll be able to return to Earth afterwards (or out of the fictional realm of the Talking Heads in any case. –ed). Luckily, the local bouncers eventually allowed us to leave premises, though with some reluctance and after being tempted by the toilet lady who points you to your toilet, guards your door for you if it won't lock properly and starts a polite conversation whilst providing you with both water and soap to wash your hands. Interesting at the very least.
Kurt Vile, a man as vile looking as his name implies, was first to take the stage this evening which was filled with lone wolf performers. Apart from his long hair that looked as if it hadn't seen shampoo for some time now, his performance wasn't very memorable. A man and a guitar just need something more than a lack of personal hygiëne to stand out from the vast crowd of singer-songwriters.
Instead of opting for a DJ to play some music mildly related to the main act of the evening, Heaven choose to put Kode9 on, a dubstep/grime DJ of sorts. If someone can point me in the direction in which he or his music is supposedly related to either Kurt Vile or Panda Bear, please, do enlighten me. He might be a perfectly apt performer, but dubstep surely is a genre that is not appreciated as much as it ought to be when it is played in between some lo-fi guitar music and an Animal Collective spin off?
With his fourth album well underway, Panda Bear thought it time to do some solo performances, just to get everyone that extra bit excited for his new album. Noah Lennox, the man behind this moniker, is of course better known for his partaking in last year's highly acclaimed (mostly by Pitchfork that is) Merriweather Post Pavilion, the so far most successful album of his band Animal Collective. As his former album, Person Pitch, was said to be the most important inspiration for said album, that might have something to do with the attention Noah has been getting lately. Let alone that Person Pitch was of course an excellent album on its own.
Live, Panda Bear is a true solo-project: Noah Lennox is the only person present on the stage, unless you count the people appearing on the screen set up behind the stage. Even more so than Animal Collective, Panda Bear is an electronically orientated musical act which necessitates its repetitiveness to be concealed through distracting the audience with the screening of short films seemingly filled with subliminal messages. Except for the part with the sharks, that was not subliminal or subtle in any way, nope. Helped by this film screening, the set turns more into a DJ set than into a real concert: the songs flow into each other in a way which causes one not to know where the first one ends and the second one begins. No room for applause then. Maybe it's just me, but I was expecting more 'songs' instead of live DJ-ing. Nevertheless, everything sounds very promising for the new record, especially as it does not sound like Animal Collective at all (which is definitely a good thing coming from me).
Grizzly Bear/Beach House @ The Roundhouse
Now there's good poster! Two of my favourite bands on the same evening! And at the Roundhouse, which I've been told has incredible acoustics. Much to look forward to I reckon. Beach House immediately prove the claim being made about the acoustics: with this being the third time I've seen them while in London, the sound has never been better. Victoria LeGrand's warm and endearing voice manages to fill the room with an atmosphere that makes one totally forget about the tropical temperatures causing some people to faint before the main act is even near the stage. Save one song, they only perform tracks of their latest album, Teen Dream. And though that may be one of my favourite albums of this year, and certainly their best yet, it would have also been nice to hear some more of their older work. If the local climate hadn't made it physically impossible, 'Norway' would have certainly caused me some goose bumps.
Grizzly Bear had something to live up to, as last time I saw them they were backed by an entire symphonic orchestra. And though it may be unfair to expect a similar performance this time, one just can't help reminiscing about that. To compensate for this loss, Grizzly Bear have upped their game by providing us with an incredible light show and by inviting Victoria LeGrand back on stage to make 'Two Weeks' an even more magical moment. I'm very much conflicted at the moment whether I prefer her over a strings section. All the songs you'd expect them to play were present in the one and a half hour set: an absolutely incredible version of 'Knife', personal favourite 'Ready, Able', 'Colorado' and the absolute highlight of the show: 'While You Wait for the Others'. The set also contained a splendid version of 'Deep Blue Sea', which was recorded for the Dark Was the Night compilation (and yes, I know it also appeared on the Friend EP, but that was not a proper recording (the song, not the EP, so hold your horses!). As an encore, we were treated to an acoustic version of 'All We Ask', and what more could one ask for? For me, perfection went by the name of Grizzly Bear this week.
If there was any gig this week which you had to attend if you considered yourself to contain even the slightest spark of indie hipster credibility, this was apparently it. And as I enjoy conforming to the opinion of others, I was of course at the forefront of this happening. And though it is a nice idea to go to Heaven to see a gig, there's always the question of whether you'll be able to return to Earth afterwards (or out of the fictional realm of the Talking Heads in any case. –ed). Luckily, the local bouncers eventually allowed us to leave premises, though with some reluctance and after being tempted by the toilet lady who points you to your toilet, guards your door for you if it won't lock properly and starts a polite conversation whilst providing you with both water and soap to wash your hands. Interesting at the very least.
Kurt Vile, a man as vile looking as his name implies, was first to take the stage this evening which was filled with lone wolf performers. Apart from his long hair that looked as if it hadn't seen shampoo for some time now, his performance wasn't very memorable. A man and a guitar just need something more than a lack of personal hygiëne to stand out from the vast crowd of singer-songwriters.
Instead of opting for a DJ to play some music mildly related to the main act of the evening, Heaven choose to put Kode9 on, a dubstep/grime DJ of sorts. If someone can point me in the direction in which he or his music is supposedly related to either Kurt Vile or Panda Bear, please, do enlighten me. He might be a perfectly apt performer, but dubstep surely is a genre that is not appreciated as much as it ought to be when it is played in between some lo-fi guitar music and an Animal Collective spin off?
With his fourth album well underway, Panda Bear thought it time to do some solo performances, just to get everyone that extra bit excited for his new album. Noah Lennox, the man behind this moniker, is of course better known for his partaking in last year's highly acclaimed (mostly by Pitchfork that is) Merriweather Post Pavilion, the so far most successful album of his band Animal Collective. As his former album, Person Pitch, was said to be the most important inspiration for said album, that might have something to do with the attention Noah has been getting lately. Let alone that Person Pitch was of course an excellent album on its own.
Live, Panda Bear is a true solo-project: Noah Lennox is the only person present on the stage, unless you count the people appearing on the screen set up behind the stage. Even more so than Animal Collective, Panda Bear is an electronically orientated musical act which necessitates its repetitiveness to be concealed through distracting the audience with the screening of short films seemingly filled with subliminal messages. Except for the part with the sharks, that was not subliminal or subtle in any way, nope. Helped by this film screening, the set turns more into a DJ set than into a real concert: the songs flow into each other in a way which causes one not to know where the first one ends and the second one begins. No room for applause then. Maybe it's just me, but I was expecting more 'songs' instead of live DJ-ing. Nevertheless, everything sounds very promising for the new record, especially as it does not sound like Animal Collective at all (which is definitely a good thing coming from me).
Grizzly Bear/Beach House @ The Roundhouse
Now there's good poster! Two of my favourite bands on the same evening! And at the Roundhouse, which I've been told has incredible acoustics. Much to look forward to I reckon. Beach House immediately prove the claim being made about the acoustics: with this being the third time I've seen them while in London, the sound has never been better. Victoria LeGrand's warm and endearing voice manages to fill the room with an atmosphere that makes one totally forget about the tropical temperatures causing some people to faint before the main act is even near the stage. Save one song, they only perform tracks of their latest album, Teen Dream. And though that may be one of my favourite albums of this year, and certainly their best yet, it would have also been nice to hear some more of their older work. If the local climate hadn't made it physically impossible, 'Norway' would have certainly caused me some goose bumps.
Grizzly Bear had something to live up to, as last time I saw them they were backed by an entire symphonic orchestra. And though it may be unfair to expect a similar performance this time, one just can't help reminiscing about that. To compensate for this loss, Grizzly Bear have upped their game by providing us with an incredible light show and by inviting Victoria LeGrand back on stage to make 'Two Weeks' an even more magical moment. I'm very much conflicted at the moment whether I prefer her over a strings section. All the songs you'd expect them to play were present in the one and a half hour set: an absolutely incredible version of 'Knife', personal favourite 'Ready, Able', 'Colorado' and the absolute highlight of the show: 'While You Wait for the Others'. The set also contained a splendid version of 'Deep Blue Sea', which was recorded for the Dark Was the Night compilation (and yes, I know it also appeared on the Friend EP, but that was not a proper recording (the song, not the EP, so hold your horses!). As an encore, we were treated to an acoustic version of 'All We Ask', and what more could one ask for? For me, perfection went by the name of Grizzly Bear this week.
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