This was the first of a double-header show up on Waterloo Rd. The Stray Birds were the primary draw on this night, though they got moved from the Beachland down to the Millard Fillmore Presidential Library, assumedly because the Sleigh Bells show at the Beachland needed the entire building. It was a little tight, and the sound could have been a little better - but I’d see a show there again.
Matthew Ryals is this excellent electronic musical, who also happens to be local! I’d been spending quite a bit of time with his album, and was thrilled too see he was opening a show at Mahalls! I’m already ready for his next show…
Another year, another Josh Groban show with Mom. :-) This year had the added benefit being at Blossom Music Center, and with Sarah McLachlan accompanying him. She sounded (and looked!) at the top of her game. Of course, that’s where Josh always seems to be situated as well. Nothing like seeing a concert performed by two of the nicest people on the planet - that is, next to my Mom of course. You can see us dodging the rain below.
I first caught wind of Baio from being a former member of Vampire Weekend. His new album is 80’s pop throwback perfection, and it’s a consistently good record! It was great seeing him perfom at the Grog Shop - and I particularly loved his merch setup (see below).
#nofrills.
My second show in Denver was seeing New Madrid at Lost Lake in Denver. Nestled in a fun, gritty little area of Denver, I felt like I was hanging out with the coolest people in the city.
I was able to take a trip to Denver this Summer, and of course I had to catch a couple shows. Seeing this Luke the Knife (Lotus) show was a true party - and Ophelia’s Electric Soapbox is such a great space as well!
I can’t believe that this is my first time seeing Bloc Party live, after all these years. It was a no frills setup, with only their energy to carry the show - and it worked. These guys have been around for quite some time, and it was nice to bring a friend who I hadn’t seen in a while either.
(Catching up!) Since we didn’t have our usual Robyn night out on Sunday night after the Pitchfork Music Festival, we tried out this official Pitchfork after party. Holly Herndon never ended up performing at the Festival because of technical glitches, so we weren’t sure what we were getting into. The show on this night was quite… interesting, and a little esoteric for my taste. Visually - excellent.
Lissie has an utterly charming video for Wild West, where she wrangled 4 boys to make the video - perfectly capturing what is the Wild Wild West for these boys. Gwen Stefani brings her unique classy style back to the world of pop, captured nicely here in Misery. MØ could almost thank Gwen for creating a plan for her, showing similar aesthetic in Final Song.
Bonus: This one is all about collaboration. Elliphant has collaborated with MØ, but I wasn’t expecting this one with Big Freedia!
Blondfire releases a washed out, kaleidoscopic video for Domino, matching the vibe of the song perfectly. Jon & Roy are back with another found footage video for Quatro. Speaking of found footage, The Hidden Cameras has a new song and video for The Day I Left Home.
BONUS: This is a NSFW video by Brendan Canning (co-founder of Broken Social Scene). Not because it’s sexy in any way - but there is a lot of nudity. A LOT.
