Thrice, Circa Survive, & Pelican @ Electric Factory, 5/9/08

As a venue, The Electric Factory has its ups and downs. The 21-and-over-only balcony is a blessing for the older set, though some shorter members of the younger set would dearly love access to its unrestricted views. The door-security measures (patting down and wanding?!) seem draconian but are representative of the club's policy of proactively preserving the peace. I observed door security being instructed to prevent anyone from cutting in line--not something most venues bother worrying about.

Depending on the artist performing, the Electric Factory frequently enforces a strict no-camera rule (see the wanding mentioned above). This is a bitter pill for photography enthusiasts and a screaming mess for anyone parked too far away to put their camera back in their car. Being told to simply throw out your batteries isn't much fun when you're rocking a $40+ lithium-ion battery.

The Electric Factory is at once surprisingly intimate for such a big club and also A Big Deal. Concerts at the venue are exciting and vibrant, resulting in better performances and more-involved audiences than some nearby venues.

On a chilly, wet Friday, fewer than 100 die-hard fans huddled in their hoodies a half hour before the doors opened, anxious to secure a coveted barrier or balcony view of the show. Drawings by local children graced the box office, welcoming hometown heroes Circa Survive back to Philadelphia as the second opening act:

Pelican's opening set found the venue mostly filled and eager to warm up. Their tight instrumental rock, while a good match for some of Thrice's excesses, was not the moshable, danceable, or singable music that the crowd was hoping for. Pelican delivered an excellent set that was wasted on the attentive, if not invested, crowd.

Hometown boys Circa Survive, however, were greeted with deafening fervor. Singer Anthony Green drove the crowd wild, frequently leaning way out over the edge of the stage, exhorting fans with expressive arms to sing along, sing louder, get moving. The audience responded with enthusiasm, singing and waving back at him throughout the show. At least a third of the audience was clearly there for Circa Survive; they could be seen mashed against the barrier, singing every lyric without fail, or moshing like crazy in the middle of the room. Green launched himself into their waiting arms halfway through the set and lost one of his shoes before he emerged from the sea of waving arms. He performed the rest of the night barefoot. (A shoe--presumably his--was helpfully tossed on stage during the next song.) The crowd surfing, not infrequent throughout Circa's set, was particularly fast and furious during their last song.

Thrice, pulling from their varied back catalog and their recent four-volume release, have been changing their set lists at each show on this tour. At each show they have been performing approximately:

• 2 songs from Fire
  
• 2 songs from Water
• 3-4 songs from Earth
• 2 songs from Air
• 3 songs from Vheissu
• 3 songs from Artist in the Ambulance
• 1-2 songs from Illusion of Safety

A number of old-school Thrice fans (particularly those planning to mosh) are disappointed by how little of Thrice's earliest, angriest sound is being performed on this tour. But though the band's sound has evolved, the old classics still sound fresh and lively in concert.

At this show, singer Dustin Kensrue and lead guitarist Teppei Teranishi (on acoustic guitar) started things off with the quiet, haunting "The Lion and the Wolf" off the newest record. The restrained choice doubtless left a large number of attendees scratching their heads. But after only one verse, the opening electronic distortion of "Fire Breather" put an end to the folksy opener and slammed the show into full, throbbing life.

Perhaps it was the venue and the riled-up crowd, or perhaps it was simply that Kensrue's voice was back in form (he had been nursing it not a week before in Richmond, Va.), which allowed Thrice to play some of their harder songs. Either way, Thrice played an electric set to an ecstatic audience. Harder songs like "The Messenger" and "Dead Bolt" whipped the mosh pit into a frenzy. The band also delivered stunning performances on the spooky "Digital Sea" and the epic prog-rock "Daedalus." Newer songs "Come All You Weary" and "Broken Lungs" sounded better in concert than they do on the albums, though the crowd lost some energy due to their lack of familiarity with the material.

All too soon, the set wrapped up with roaring stomper "Earth Will Shake." Two extra drums were brought side-stage so that Thrice crew members could beat out the violent ending alongside drummer Riley Breckenridge. The crowd went wild and shrieked the final lines over and over with Kensrue:

Wait 'til the day--
The earth will shake.
These weathered walls
Will fall away!

The Really Really Ridiculously Good-Looking Tour @ 930 Club, 3/4/08

The Really Really Ridiculously Good-Looking Tour sold out the 930 Club weeks before their Tuesday night show. The bill featured four relatively new acts enjoying a surge of popularity with the young crowd. Headliner Cobra Starship and first opening act The Cab share the same label—and many of the same young, female fans—as Fall Out Boy and Panic at the Disco. Middle openers We the Kings and Metro Station weren’t hurting for screaming fans either.

The crowd went wild for the very first act, pushing toward the stage once The Cab started. The sea of crushed bodies valiantly waved their hands, jumped up and down, and sang along on cue with the singer’s exhortations.

We the Kings kept the energy high as the singer repeatedly worked both ends of the stage and the lead guitarist leapt onto his monitor to cut loose at least twice per song. The only downside was the bassist, who hid behind his hair all night.

Metro Station brought a more dance-centric vibe, in keeping with the headlining act. The bassist doubled as front man (a la Fall Out Boy’s Pete Wentz), constantly shouting comments to “all the fine ladies” in the crowd. Rarely before have the girls of DC been so collectively flattered.

Before his band came on, Gabe Saporta riled up the crowd from the backstage balcony, waving, taking photographs, and doing the Soulja Boy dance. As the full band took the stage, most of the audience “threw their fangs up” in greeting. Cobra Starship’s set was an exhilarating dance party that got the crowd jumping up and down. Between songs, Gabe and his band kept their eager fans entertained with amusing banter and heartfelt thanks to their supporters for selling out the club.

Black Mountain with Bon Iver @ Rock & Roll Hotel, 2/19/08

As usual for the Rock & Roll Hotel, the doors opened late. Although the venue doors were scheduled to open at 8:00, with an 8:30 start time, both acts could faintly be heard sound checking behind the closed doors well past 8:30. During the 45 minute delay, most patrons were instructed to wait on the second floor, with an employee's assurance that they would be notified when doors were opened. By 8:45, well over 100 people were packed upstairs, patiently waiting for the call to rush down to the main room.

However, despite the employee's oft-repeated assurances, no call ever came. Seemingly without prompting, small groups of attendees began surreptitiously filing down the stairs a few at a time and failing to return. Sure enough, investigation revealed the main doors open and over 50 people already standing inside; business as usual at the Rock & Roll Hotel.

Opening act Bon Iver started shortly before 9:00 to a sizable group of dedicated fans. Audience members cheered the announcement that tonight was the (re)release date of their debut album, For Emma, Forever Ago. As they kicked off their tour with Black Mountain, Bon Iver seemed in good health, good spirits, and good voice, with each member providing their share of haunting vocals.

The three-man act delivered more than a faithful recreation of the album; live performance lent each song greater passion. Watching the band members interact, each pause and change in dynamics made sense.

Between sets, a good deal of time was spent sound checking each microphone for Black Mountain--yet another example of the last-minute haste of the set up. More than a few Bon Iver fans cleared out at this time, leaving room for Black Mountains' eager audience.

The ominous beginning of Black Mountain's "Stormy High," the first track on their new album, elicited cheers from the crowd. The strong guitar line and drumming delivered, and the vocals were on, but somehow the song failed to really take off. The band offered songs from both of their albums, yet nothing whipped the audience into a frenzy. The musicians made little--if any--eye contact with the audience, nor did they directly address their fans at any time.

Some enthusiastic hoots and applause and ushered them off the stage before the encore, but the overall energy level of the audience wasn't high. Their return to the stage left the crowd waiting patiently and chattering amongst themselves, not screaming in anticipation. The encore track was the much-called-for "Druganaut," a slow-burning, 10-minute-plus number that, like the rest of the performance, failed to really catch fire.

Dust Galaxy, Sitali, & Rob Garza DJ Set @ ESL, 12/6/07

Live performances at the Eighteenth Street Lounge are a bit confusing. In the past six months, the club overhauled the “gold room.” By painting the walls red, applying a strange gold foil to the trim, and installing a foot-high stage in the front of the room, what was formerly a spacious, overly furnished living room is now a dim, sparsely furnished bar.

Although the space is now used most Thursday nights for live acts, the room still has no stage lighting. A November performance by Federico Aubele and Natalia Clavier found the performers--lit only by one exceedingly dim overhead chandelier--pleading into the microphones for “anyone who works here” to give them more light so they could see their instruments. Needless to say, more light was not forthcoming.

Patrons frequently seem confused by the presence of instruments and/or performers on the low stage. Most club guests wander in and out of the room through the evening, while fewer than 50 will remain attentively close to the performers.

But some local acts are aware of the limitations of the space. Local jazz trio Sitali brought their own lighting. They mounted a single blue spotlight, focused on the singer, to the wall approximately 15 feet away from the stage, and placed two red lights on the floor behind them, pointing up at the back wall. These red lights, reflecting off the gold-foil columns, lent the red room a strange glow.

In addition to being surprisingly visible, Sitali were genuinely enjoyable. The performers clearly had a good time while 20-30 audience members smiled and moved their shoulders to the infectious music.

While the stage was cleared for main act Dust Galaxy, Rob Garza (of Thievery Corporation fame) played a special live DJ set for 45 minutes between acts. In honor of the club’s dark dance floor--located 50 feet away--the overhead light was turned off so approximately 15 young men could bob distractedly while they watched Rob’s technique and his glowing mixing board, transfixed. It was a solid set, for all that it was far too short.

When Dust Galaxy took the stage, there was no light display to announce their arrival. In fact, there were no lights whatsoever. Even the meager overhead chandelier that had so frustrated Federico and Natalia was left off so that the band could play in the light from the bar 40 feet across the room. Near the end of the show, someone found Sitali’s blue spotlight and switched it on, shedding some additional faint light on the performers.

The setting is far from ideal in terms of sound mixing—the bongos and keyboard were all but inaudible. The guitars and the bass sounded great together, creating an impressive wall of sound that Rob Garza’s raspy, tone-deaf vocals failed to rise above. As on the studio album, this is one of the strengths of the band; in Dust Galaxy, the singer’s vocals serve as rhythmic punctuation rather than melody.

For a band that was just finishing their first tour together (please note that all of the band members have previously toured with other bands), returning to their home town--to the venue mostly closely associated with front man Rob Garza--Dust Galaxy seemed shy and reticent. They looked serious for most of the performance and rarely addressed the audience.

Although their album had been out for over a month, few audience members seemed familiar with their psychedelic rock sound. The majority of attendees appeared to be either confused club-goers or ESL Music mailing list followers who had turned out for their first taste of Rob Garza’s side project. As a result, the crowd peaked at about 75 for the band’s first couple of songs, after which many wandered off, leaving a very fluid group of about 30 for the rest of the performance.

While a couple of attendees elicited rare smiles from band members by singing along loudly or shouting out tracks off the new album, in general Dust Galaxy’s set seemed strangely claustrophobic and stressed.

Curiously, when asked about the lack of light in the venue, a staff member explained that the lights had been kept low intentionally. Apparently, he speculated, “[The singer] doesn’t think he’s very pretty.” This is patently false--Rob Garza’s hair was looking absurdly thick and lustrous that night. Hair that healthy should always be well lit.

Palace of Wonders, 11/29/07--Asharah

Closing act Asharah brought the house down with her three-song set. Eschewing her signature break-core tunes, she focused more on smoothly graceful moves--before bowling the crowd over with her tick-filled drum solo.

Palace of Wonders, 11/29/07--Belladonna

Belladonna wielded her sharpened sword in creative ways as she prowled, stalked, and slunk across the stage.