Thursday, April 09, 2009 |
|||||||||||
Column 216: Bloodcow in color; Live Review: The Hold Steady; Conor Oberst, Bonnie "Prince" Billy tonight…
|
|||||||||||
Try as I might, I could not get in touch with Bloodcow for comment, and in the end, it didn't matter as the ingenious pitch discussed below speaks for itself.
* * * A caveat before I begin: I've never been a fan of The Hold Steady. I bought Separation Sunday and Boys and Girls in America on the urging of others (We've got a lot of Hold Stead foamers in Omaha), listened to them a couple times and rarely (if ever) listened to them again. No question that Craig Finn is one clever, witty mofo. And who wouldn't like their faux-Thin Lizzy guitar crunch? I don't know, but for whatever reason, they've never done it for me. Their music is too repetitive, and Finn's monotone nasal delivery is charming but quickly becomes tiresome. I'd rather just read his lyrics. Still, here they were, coming to Omaha for what will be deemed as one of the biggest shows of the year (even though it took until yesterday for the show to finally sell out The Slowdown). The crowd was a sausage party -- guys outnumbered women 10 to 1. Most of them were in their late 20s early 30s -- the big brothers of the crowd that will be down at The Slowdown tonight for Conor. At around 10:15, The Hold Steady took the stage and tore right into a set with only a moment's pause in between songs -- very little stage banter other than Finn saying how much he liked the club. Out of the gate, the sound mix was muddy and dense -- maybe the worst sound I've heard at Slowdown on the big stage. It took about 15 minutes to make the necessary adjustments, and after that, it was all rock, with only a few slower ballads thrown in to break things up. (See action photo) It's not fair to criticize Finn's vocals. Sure, he's monotone and doesn't really sing at all, but some of my favorite bands' frontmen can't sing either -- Lou Reed, Randy Newman (who Finn most closely resembles vocally), Dylan and Gary Dean Davis, who Finn sort of resembles physically. Actually, that's not true at all. Sure, they both have the same hair and glasses, but Davis is a man mountain, a fighting farmer with the power to crush a stage with his mighty leaps. Finn looks like he's four feet tall and is more of a stage prancer than leaper. He looks like someone who works for public radio rather than a rock star. But a rock star he is. From my vantage point just off stage left, I could see that Finn had the crowd in the palm of his hand -- very commanding in a weird sort of way. Just about every guy who stood along the front of the stage sung along with every word he sang, pumping their fists in approval. The Hold Steady is a terrific, well-seasoned band, and it was a great show, even though the music inevitably bored me long before the encore. These guys love their so-called "Unified Scene," and it loves them back. I'm just not a member of that scene. * * * So there are three good shows going on tonight. The marquee event is Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band kicking off their tour down at The Slowdown. The lucky ones who got tickets will get to hear the new material off Oberst & Band's upcoming Outer South. Opening is local faves Mal Madrigal and Team Love recording artist Capgun Coup. This show sold out about a month ago. Watch for Twitter updates from Slowdown. A good alternative would be Bonnie "Prince" Billy at The Waiting Room with White Magic. As I said in this week's issue of The Reader: Bonnie "Prince" Billy is Will Oldham -- singer, songwriter, musician, actor, former member of The Palace Brothers, the list goes on and on. His music has been hung with the term "alt-country," though the songs on Beware, his latest release on Drag City Records, go well beyond that label. Sure, there are acoustic guitars and fiddles and plenty of twangy choruses, but Oldham's songs are more like explorations of his soul rather than a drive down a dusty country road. At the bleakest moments, the music holds a lost, dark quality, a shadowed loneliness, but with a touch of reassurance that a Palace Brother or Oldham or a Prince is waiting at the bottom of the well to lead you back into the light. $15, 9 p.m. And then there's the rock in the form mentioned in the above column: Bloodcow opening for Jucifer at The Saddle Creek Bar. Also on the bill are Motherpile and Officially Terminated. There's nothing on the Saddle Creek Bar website to indicate that this show strays from their usual $5 cover charge. And from what I hear about Jucifer, it will be LOUD. Starts at 9. --Got comments? Post 'em here.-- |
|||||||||||
posted by Tim McMahan - Lazy-i.com at 10:46 AM |
|||||||||||
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Blog Main