W♥M

Flashback: Kaiser Chiefs at Enmore Theatre, Sydney (31 Mar 2009)

Setlist Spanish Metal Everyday I Love You Less and Less Everything Is Average Nowadays Na Na Na Na Naa Modern Way You Want History Ruby Never Miss a Beat Can't Say What I Mean Half the Truth Good Days Bad Days Love's Not a Competition (But I'm Winning) I Predict a Riot -- Encore -- Like It Too Much The Angry Mob Oh My God Read More Kaiser Chiefs It had been a long seven years since their last appearance in Minneapolis (the band skipped us in 2012), but Leeds, UK band Kaiser Chiefs re-stormed the city and stage for an animated, back-to-glory performance in First Avenue’s … Razorlight Razorlight were pretty much exactly what I expected they would be. Sold out show. No disappoinments. Good old Johnny Borrell... I developed a negative opinion of him around the same time I developed a negative opinion …

Sally went to see a triple billing of Kaiser Chiefs, Razorlight and Temper Trap… but unfortunately, for whatever reason, Temper Trap never showed up to the show. At $90 AUD, it sounds like a very expensive show.

>>>
After not actually planning to attend this show, thinking $90 was a bit steep for a band that will probably tour Australia a few more times before they vanish off the face of the planet, I went. But honestly... the Kaiser Chiefs with Razorlight and the Temper Trap... of course it was going to be worth it.

I had only seen Razorlight a few weeks previous (click here for review), so no surprises really. Pretty much exactly the same show. Except the drummer seemed to have morphed into a different person (with brilliant facial expressions). On that topic, interestingly enough, the internet has provided me with two interesting pieces of information:
    1. Andy Burrows, Razorlight drummer, has recently quit the band; and
    2. Andy Burrows, Razorlight drummer, has a knitting addiction.

Hmm.... i wonder if these two things are related (or true, for that matter).

Anyway, Johnny was maniacally bouncing around, not a lot of talking... or any engagement of the crowd for that matter. To tell you the truth, it was slightly boring. Specifically, I'm talking about the long, self-indulgent rendition of In The City, which went on for about 7 hours (give or take a couple of hours). It's possible though, that it was because I'd seen it all before.

Overall, despite my short attention span, Razorlight do put on an excellent and entertaining performance.

Kaiser Chiefs

The band i was actually there to see, however, were the Kaiser Chiefs. These guys never disappoint and were true to form. It's simply beautiful, the way in which young (I say young, but secretly hope he's older than me) Ricky Wilson engages the crowd; gets everyone riled up. I thought I was sure to cop a fondle this time (after missing out last time when he "crowd surfed from the stage to the back bar at the Metro theatre) after he was carried him on their shoulders as far as the barrier in the middle of the lower floor of the Enmore and proceeded to "crowd surf" back, but alas... no.

Brilliant show, completely unpretentious. Never Miss A Beat, The Angry Mob, Good Days Bad Days, Everyday I love You Less and Less, Ruby..... all sing-a-long-able tunes. Ricky getting slowly more trollied as the night went on, culminating in dragging one of the shirtless yobs up on to the stage, only to be hoisted onto his shoulders. Gold. The only unfortunate thing about it was the borderline view of the guys front bits (and the not so borederline view of his arse).... oh and that the drum stick that was aimed at his arse crack by drummer, Nick Hodgson, missed it's target.

I don't know about you, or anyone else, but to me, The Kaiser Chiefs transport me out of Australia, back to England, specifically the Northern half of England. Laid back... with a pint and a sausage butty (*shudder*).... or specifically a seedy student bar in Preston.... but we don't need to go there!

So next time, when you think.... "deary me, $90 for a band", if it's the Kaiser Chiefs... say "Yes, please!".

For more info and other treats, pop long to their website

Hang on! What happened to Temper Trap? Ripped off!

See you later.

Sally
[email protected]

Kaiser Chiefs at Enmore Theatre, Sydney (31 Mar 2009)

vu ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ facebook.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

The Baseball Project

Tour Dates 07/24 Madison, WI - Warner Park 07/24 Madison, WI - High Noon Saloon 07/25 St Louis, MO - Wood House Concert 07/26 Rock Island, IL - Rock Island Brewing 07/27 Minneapolis, MN - 400 Bar 07/28 Chicago, IL - Wick Park Fest Read More R.E.M. Like many of you from my generation, I wasn't hip to R.E.M. until they had their big hit crossover song, "Losing My Religion"….

I've previously written about the cancellation of the SoundTown Music & Camping Festival. Their loss is your gain! Get a chance to see some of these fine bands at smaller venues:

Friday, July 27
• Dr. Dog at First Avenue
• The Baseball Project at 400 Bar

Saturday, July 28
• The Temper Trap at First Avenue
• Best Coast+Those Darlins at Cedar Cultural Center
• White Denim at 400 Bar
• Black Box Revelation at Triple Rock Social Club

We've basically covered most of these the bands before - the only one I didn't know about is called The Baseball Project.

Apparently this is a sort of "supergroup". Members includes Peter Buck (REM), Scott McCaughey (singer of The Young Fresh Fellows* and The Minus 5**), Steve Wynn (Dream Syndicate), Linda Pitmon (Hazel Motes), and sometime Mike Mills (REM).

If you were wondering, yes, these guys are hardcore baseball fans.

* who got a mention in a They Might Be Giants' song.

** who got a mention in a Momus song… technically they commissioned Momus to write a song about them.

 

vu () ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ podcast.weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic ♥ +W♥M

Temper Trap at the Varsity Theater, Minneapolis (03/23/10)

Tour Dates 03/24/10 Metro Chicago, Illinois 03/26/10 Newport Music Hall Columbus, OH 03/27/10  House of Blues Cleveland, OH 03/30/10 The Mod Club Toronto, ON 03/31/10 Cabaret du Musee  Montreal, QB 04/02/10 Webster Hall New York 04/03/10 Theatre of Living Arts Phila PA 04/05/10 Music Hall  Brooklyn, NY 04/06/10 9:30 Club Washington DC 04/08/10 Cats Cradle Carrboro, NC 04/09/10 The Loft Northwest Atlanta, GA 04/10/10 The Orange Peel Asheville, NC 04/12/10 Pontiac Garage at HOB Dallas, TX 04/13/10 Emo’s Austin, TX 04/15/10 Clubhouse Tempe, AZ 04/17/10 Coachella Indio, CA 04/19/10 Belly Up Tavern Solana Beach., CA 04/27/10 O2 Academy Bournemouth 04/28/10 O2 Shepherds Bush Empire 04/29/10 O2 Shepherds Bush Empire 04/30/10 O2 Shepherds Bush Empire 05/02/10 University Cardiff 05/03/10 Rock City Nottingham 05/04/10 Birmingham O2 Academy 05/05/10 UEA Norwich 05/09/10 The Academy Manchester 05/10/10 Newcastle O2 Academy 05/11/10 Leeds O2 Academy Leeds 05/13/10 Glasgow O2 Academy 05/14/10 HMV Picture House Edinburgh 05/16/10 Liverpool O2 Academy 05/26/10 Trabendo Paris 05/27/10 Melkweg Max Amsterdam 05/28/10 Pinkpop Festival Landgraaf 05/31/10 Sasquatch! Festival Quincy, WA 06/10/10 Bonnaroo Fest Manchester, TN 06/15/10 Circolo degli Artisti Rome 06/16/10 Alcatraz Milan 06/18/10 Hurricane festival Scheessel 06/19/10 Southside Festival Neuhausen 06/20/10 Karlstorbahnhof Heidelberg 06/21/10 Live Music Hall Cologne 06/23/10 Club De Atelier Luxembourg 06/25/10 St.Gallen St Gallen 07/02/10 Wireless festival, Hyde Park 07/03/10 Wetchter Festival Werchter 07/04/10 Roskilde Festival Roskilde 07/09/10 Oxegen Festival Puncheston 07/10/10 T in the Park Festival Kinross 07/12/10 Somerset House London 07/15/10 Fest Internacional De Benicassim 07/22/10 Metro City - Perth  Australia 07/24/10 Festival Hall- Melbourne, Victoria 07/27/10 Hordern Pavilion - Sydney 08/01/10 Powerstation Auckland 08/21/10 V Festival Chelmsford 08/22/10 V Festival Staffordshire Discography [2006] The Temper Trap EP [2009] Conditions

Since I do a semi-show with Aussies Sally and Kristen, so I do try and keep an ear and eye out for Australian bands - you know, to keep up. The Temper Trap is probably one of those Australian bands that they probably hate based on how popular they are.  Seeing as they've been featured on the soundtrack to 500 Days of Summer, car advertisements, and had several nominations for ARIA awards, they seem worth checking out... I mean, they wouldn't be getting all this attention if they weren't any good right?

So, while doing research on the band, it seems that the band's tour bus broke down yesterday. The news broke on their twitter:

Just woke up to find out we are only 20 miles from where we started. Bus has broken down. Hope we make it to Milwaukee.
2:10 PM Mar 22nd via Twitterrific

They had to cancel their Milwaukee show, but fortunately they got it all together for the sold-out Varsity Theater show in Minneapolis, in part thanks to The Current radio station and vita.mn.

The Kissaway Trail at The Varsity Theater, Minneapolis (3/25/10)

The Kissaway Trail (official / myspace) opened up for the show, they seem really happy to be here tonight. Brody said that this Denmark band was the best band he's seen at SXSW.

They're young, I'll give you that. They also had a tambourine player, whom Sally reckons it's the "best job in the world". Since their album is not out yet in the US (the pending release date is April 20^th), I was not familiar with any of their songs. There was one song that stood out for me, "Philadelphia", which contains the lyrics "City of brothers in arms".

Temper Trap at The Varsity Theater, Minneapolis (3/25/10)

Even before The Temper Trap step on stage, they had a very good roadie, who prepared all the instruments and made sure they were all tuned and in order. I get the impression, based on his professionalism, that he's been the Temper Trap's roadie for a long time and that he may have been in a band in his youth (perhaps as a bassist).

Singer Dougie Mandagi sounds to me like he's doing that voice from another Australian band, Empire of the Sun, but in a weird Thom York-esque manner. He was dressed warmly, probably not used to this Minnesota weather, but by the middle of the set, off went his beanie and sweats.

Jonathon Aherne

Their music is basically alt-rock, lots of guitars and lyrics. They also have one of the best and energetic bass player, Jonathon Aherne, who is rarely seen without his hair in his face and all over the place.

As you can see from their set list, they ended their show with "Drum Song", which required a solo drum stand for Mandagi. While I can only assume that pouring the water in the drum's been done on Temper Trap's many gigs, so I figured that the whole thing is very well orchestrated - and such that their set list remains relatively unchanged from show to show (ending with the epic "Drum Song")

They did two songs for their encore, one of which was a new/more acoustic song called "Rabbit Hole".

They have been selling out all their shows (especially all their shows in London), so I felt very lucky to have catch them at such a nice, intimate setting.

 03/24/2010 02:33:44 ♥ vu () ♥ thetempertrap.net ♥ myspace.com ♥ twitter.com