Posts Tagged ‘Show Reviews’
Everise /
Petrograd in Transit /
El Ten Eleven -
Wednesday, June 25th, 2008
The Orpheum
Tampa, FL
To use an analogy, this was a show that I would have waited for the DVD rather than see it in the theater. Maybe it was the 10:00pm doors coupled with the 7:00am alarm before and after. Maybe it was the high hopes brought on by Unwed Sailor / Sybris two weeks prior. Whatever the culprit, I left The Orpheum feeling like I had just left my office: eager to get home.
Local underage drinkers Everise were probably the biggest reason why I felt this way. As a tactful person, I’ll simply say that Everise would have been much better suited playing at a prom night after-party. Sorry guys, but you were way out of your element and your league.
I really wanted to like Petrograd in Transit. Their 2007 debut EP Lifesize Balloon Animals (which can be downloaded legitimately at Wise Owl Records) was a competent installment to the anthemic post-rock catalogue. Petrograd in Transit have a rich, full sound spiked with 80’s new wave style electronics to keep things fresh. It’s great to know that Tampa/St. Petersburg can produce musicians skillful enough to take on this technical, composition intensive style of music and come out victorious. But live…I’m not quite as convinced, not yet anyway. For me, the set lacked sufficient volume and energy to put it over the top. The loud didn’t seem loud enough, and the hallmark crescendo of the post-rock sound didn’t quite reach the epic climax that was alluded to. I’ve read and heard many wonderful things about the live aspect of Petrograd in Transit, and I’m looking forward to our next encounter in early July at a much better venue, so it’s a mulligan for now.
Fortunately, El Ten Eleven shattered the mold of disappointment that shaped the evening. Watching Kristian Dunn and Tim Fogarty construct and layer songs brick by brick was truly riveting, and is something I would reccomend to anyone that appreciates music and composition. This was a rare opportunity to observe musicianship at a level that seldom sees the light of day, let alone the dark and cavernous void that is a Wednesday night show in Tampa. The set was filled with old favorites, new material (expect a new album anytime now) and a cover of Radiohead’s “Paranoid Android” that seemed a little out of place, but absolutely slayed.
El Ten Eleven were the special effects that made the previous hours of excruciating dialog and fruitless plot worth sitting through.
SAL Review of El Ten Eleven’s Every Direction Is North can be read here.
Red Room Cinema /
Unwed Sailor /
Sybris -
Friday, June 13th, 2008
The Orpheum
Tampa, FL
In true Friday the 13th form, something had to go wrong. Red Room Cinema was supposed to be the local support act, but, sadly, never made the stage. Chalk it up to some sort of miscommunication or scheduling conflict, which is a shame really. They put on a respectable live set, and their 2007 self-released s/t debut is a great listen. You snooze, you lose, I guess.
Several beers and an hour and a half later, it was time for Unwed Sailor.
With all due respect to headlining act Sybris, it was Unwed Sailor that I was there to see. Let me start by saying that Jonathan Ford is a total class act. He respectfully and sincerely thanked the dozen or so us that bothered to show up and then led the way in a truly inspired set despite the earlier snafu and despicable turnout. Playing for the 14th consecutive day on a month long tour that began on the other side of the country catches up with you eventually. It was clear that while nobody was at 100%, they gave all they had to give. The highlight was an absolutely amazing new rendition of the, dare I say, “classic” song Firecracker. To steal a shouted quote from Sybris drummer Eric Mahle, “That was like a whole pack of firecrackers.” Indeed it was. The version of this song, along with other re-worked Unwed Sailor songs will be present, I’m told, on the forthcoming 2009 release History. If Firecracker was any indication, it promises to be an album worth waiting for.
Now, with all due respect to Unwed Sailor, it was Sybris that stole the show. Admittedly not being especially fluent in their music, I brushed up on what I could prior to the show. Recorded Sybris is a little like an edgier, rockier version of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs spiced with a 90’s Sonic Youth vibe. Live Sybris is a different beast altogether. The soft is still soft, but the loud is way louder. Eric, Phil, Shawn, and Angela collectively craft a wall of sound that will both agitate your body into movement and lull you into submission. Musically, it would be tough to hammer down a favorite song – every one was tight – but Burnout Babies gets the vote simply because I got to clap along to it with Unwed Sailor. Angela Mullenhour’s voice, for those that haven’t had the pleasure of hearing it, is almost a song in and of it self and is what I can only describe as the perfect blend of salty and sweet. If Sybris ever make their way back down to Tampa, it’s safe to say that I’ll be there.
Music aside, this was one of the most personally enjoyable shows I’ve been to in a long time. The complete absence of a crowd, which I initially found somewhat embarrassing, definitely played out to my advantage in the end. I was able to talk with each member of both bands, which was a rare treat. Between songs, Angela asked if she could share my cigarette with me, to which I willingly obliged. How rockstar is that? The night was fittingly capped off with hugs, handshakes, and shots for all. As a parting gift, I received a brown paper bag packaged CD-R copy of Sybris’ new album Into The Trees that has been playing all afternoon.
Tampa, you truly missed out.
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