W♥M (Archive)

Neon Indian at First Avenue, Minneapolis (20 October 2015)

Neon Indian Setlist Dear Skorpio Magazine Annie The Glitzy Hive Terminally Chill Street Level 61 Cygni Ave C'est La Vie (Say The Casualties!) Mind, Drips Slumlord Slumlord's Re-lease Baby's Eyes Deadbeat Summer -- Encore -- Polish Girl News from the Sun Tour Dates 10/21 - Madison, WI - Majestic Theatre 10/22 - Columbus, OH - A&R Music Bar 10/23 - Buffalo, NY - Tralf Music Hall 11/07 - Austin, TX - Fun Fun Fun Fest 11/08 - New Orleans, LA - Republic 11/10 - Atlanta, GA - Terminal West 11/11 - Saxapahaw, NC - Haw River Ballroom 11/14 - Pittsburgh, PA - Mr. Smalls Theatre 11/15 - Philadelphia, PA - Union Transfer Read More Neon Indian Neon Indian is the brain child of Alan Palomo. A young man from Mexico who has lived as a Texan for most of his life. He came into the scene with the album Psychic Chasms. It hit the blogsphere ...

On Tuesday, October 20th, Alan Palomo brought his “Night School” to First Avenue. A fitting venue considering the pomp and glitz he seems to exhibit with his new tunes, drawing comparisons to the rock stars of the 80’s. Especially a certain, local, purple icon. The Vega Intl. iteration of the Neon Indian band has 4 other members in it, I saw 3 synths on stage, a drum machine, a drummer, bassist (who is also Alan’s brother,) and a guitarist to round it all out. It definitely helps the polished synth pop sound fully fleshed out. I was very surprised not to see his iconic Theremin onstage though.

Alan Palomo photo: Steph Paxton

I became tuned into Alan’s music when I was in high school - I went on a cruise with a buddy and some relatives and remember listening to “Psychic Chasms” on repeat most of the journey. The album was even playing when I took a nap on the top deck and ended up with a sunburn. I guess that’s what happens when you are a deadbeat in the summer. To this day, if I listen to “Psychic Chasms” and close my eyes, I’m immediately transported to salty ocean breezes and the sound of the ocean being parted by the massive ship. When I read some of the background on the inspiration of his latest album VEGA INTL. Night School, “ I thought it was quite peculiar that this album had been conjured on a cruise ship itself!

Neon Indian photo: Steph Paxton

When I hear the songs from Night School I don’t conjure up a cruise ship, I hear the sounds of red light districts, the sounds of clubs at their climax of the night, and other evening noises. This album contains the playfulness of the first, it incorporates polished synth pop and grandeur from “Era Extraña”, and a grab bag of the sexiness and quirk from 80s pop stars, such as Prince, Michael Jackson and David Byrne. It’s as if Alan has continually been building upon “Psychic Chasms” and with “Night School” might have reached the point in music he’s been trying to since the beginning. It’s obvious he’s got a catchy and fun album on his hands. When I was riding my bike to the show and was blaring VEGA INTL. Night School tunes on my portable speaker, I saw many a bystander start to groove to the music.

Opener Explorer Tapes featured two members who joined in Neon Indian's touring band. I was pretty surprised to find it pretty packed for a Tuesday. The crowd was a sample survey of hip 20-40 somethings. I’ve found that it’s pretty hard to get a Minnesota crowd to dance unless you are straight up dance music, but Alan’s tunes seemed to conjure up something in the crowd. Shout out to the much older couple next to me who were dancing the whole night away.

He spent no time in firing up the audience with single “Annie” as his second song of the set, followed up by a tweaked version of “Terminally Chill” from his first album. Things started to really pick up once he started off into “61 Cygni Ave.” I’m very glad he decided to play “C’est La Vie (Say the Casualties!)” That song to me seems like something Stuart Murdoch of Belle and Sebastian would write, if he collaborated with David Byrne; it definitely has that Talking Heads feel at least. I think the crowd really liked that he dropped another “Psychic Chasms” tune, “Mind, Drips” in and the momentum was pretty solid from the Prince-like single, “Slumlord” to the closer, another “Chasms” tune, “Deadbeat Summer.” He finished off the night with an encore of “Polish Girl” and I think it was “News from the Sun” where he confessed he had a boner and told us he really loved us. I think that the boner is self-evident of that love, Alan.

After the show people stuck around and Alan was enthusiastic to meet his fans, and take all the photographs that were requested, and sign all the merchandise. We spoke to him in Spanish and found out he’s originally from Monterrey, Mexico. If the “Night School” is heading your way, I highly recommend you check it out. It seems like Alan’s new mission is to get you to groove. Embrace the funk.

Neon Indian at First Avenue, Minneapolis (20 October 2015) photo: Steph Paxton

oscar ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic ♥ itunes.apple.com

Tame Impala at First Avenue, Minneapolis (03/04/13)

Tour Dates 03/08/13 Columbus, OH Newport Music Hall 03/09/13 Toronto, ON Kool Haus 03/11/13 Montreal, QC Metropolis 03/12/13 Boston, MA House Of Blues 03/16/13 Mexico City, Mexico Foro Sol 04/14/13 Indio, CA Empire Polo Club 04/21/13 Indio, CA Empire Polo Club 05/26/13 Portland, OR McMenamins 05/27/13 Vancouver, BC Commodore 05/29/13 Oakland, CA Fox Theater 06/25/13 London Hammersmith Apollo 07/13/13 Madrid, Spain La Riviera Desire Be Desire Go Solitude Is Bliss Apocalypse Dreams It Is Not Meant to Be Endors Toi Music to Walk Home By Elephant Why Won't You Make Up Your Mind? Feels Like We Only Go Backwards Auto-Prog Be Above It Alter Ego Mind Mischief Half Full Glass of Wine -- Nothing That Has Happened So Far SET LIST Read More Tame Impala Tame Impala is touring the U.S. again in support of their album, Lonerism. Kevin and crew have definitely crafted a piece of art. Loud, incredibly groovy.…

Tame Impala showed up to First Avenue on one of their stops of their sold-out North American tour. If you recall, Jess said, “[. . .] I have a feeling they will forever receive a warm welcome from any American city they chose to hypnotize from here on out. “ Sure enough, these guys are well received by critics and fans alike. Playing all sold-out shows in the US in a matter of a couple of years. They are definitely very hyped, but they deserve it; Kevin Parker has a gift for groove. His lyrics are to the point of ambiguity at times but within the music’s context, they strike a chord deep within me and I can really relate. And that’s what really matters to me. Not how quirky or intelligent your lyrics are (Which is a plus if they are.), but how much they speak. Lyrics aside, the way he crafts a melody also resonates. It’s like he knows exactly what you’ll want to hear next.

I fell in love with Tame Impala's music when a friend of mine from Australia sent me a link to a youtube video with a few thousand hits. The song was ,“Solitude is bliss,” and I enjoyed it so much I bought Innerspeaker right away. And as soon as the opening of “It Is Not Meant to Be” hit my ears I was in another world . Now I do think he sounds like Lennon and that his music draws from his rock idols: Pink Floyd, The Beatles, Led Zepplin, and The Flaming Lips, etc. But I wouldn’t say he’s making revivalist psych. It has a modern twist; you can definitely tell that all of the songs have been tinkered with in the studio. In my humble opinion that’s the beauty of the songs. They sound magnificent on headphones and turned up to 11 on a system.

As for their live show, this time around they changed up their songs a bit. I enjoyed the change, making it sound fresh but at the same time, I wish I could just hear both albums played from start to finish. Kevin and the gang looked like they were in a trance as they pummeled their respective instruments. I enjoyed that a good mix of Innerspeaker and Lonerism were applied. They started with “Desire Be Desire Go” which I thought was a good intro to “Solitude is Bliss.” When they got to “It Is Not Meant to Be,” I lost myself completely. It reminded me of the first time I heard the record “Dopesmoker” by Sleep. Groovy, repetitive, but soothing. His set; dreamy and groovy sent me into a parallel universe where the whole freaking planet was rumbling with bass and reverb. The show really became alive when “Elephant” was played, and people were cheering loudly. I'm sure that bass line for “Elephant” was really be felt throughout the entire venue. The song itself was as loud and catchy live as I had hoped it would be. My favorite line of the song was “He pulled the mirrors off his Cadillac, ‘Cause he doesn’t like it looking like he looks back.” I just think the imagery of that song is humorous. The set thundered on, with other great singles such as “ Feels Like We Only Go Backwards,” “Alter Ego” and "Half Full Glass of Wine." The latter of which was an epic closer for their formal set. Although I will admit their encore had washed over me at that point. I believe it was “Nothing That Has Happened So Far.” Kevin put on a great show; he sounded like he was singing from atop of a mountain and his tunes truly captured the feeling and sound of dreamy space psych.

Tame Impala at First Avenue, Minneapolis (03/04/13) Photo by Steph Paxton

oscar ♥ tameimpala.com