Thursday, June 21, 2007


- The Rosebuds - Austin, TX - The Parish -
 

I didn't bother with the packed crowd at Emo's last night for Ghostland Observatory and instead went with something a bit more intimate involving the Early Tapes, Land Of Talk and the Rosebuds at the Parish.  The show got started super early (before 9pm) and at its peak only had about 100-150 people in attendance.  I think the crowd should have been much bigger given the quality of the bands, but I guess you take what you can get.  Enjoy the review.

    
-  The Early Tapes -

I felt kind of sorry for the Early Tapes since when they went on there were less than 20 people at the venue, but they persevered for those who had actually shown up early and put on a quick set that featured a versatile indie rock sound.  Personally, I thought the hometown band did pretty well give the circumstances and I would recommend checking them out if you get the chance.
 

    
- Land Of Talk -

During the time that I have been listening to Land Of Talks' Applause Boo Hiss Cheer I always kind of felt that it had a sort of charming, recorded-live feel to it.  Because of that I was expecting the band to sound pretty good, but I have to say that they really surprised me with their moxy.  The entire performance, which was clearly full of songs from an impromptu list that developed as the set went on, was a bit sloppy and yet it seemed as if that was how it was suppose to be, especially since the quips from the band between and during each song were all kinds of random fun that didn't make any sense half the time.  Clearly, this trio is just out having a good time and doing their best to entertain.  I thought their way worked brilliantly so if you have the chance to see them don't pass it up.  I mean, there's a reason that the only notes I took read:  More Charming + More Fun + More Raw = Fun Times.

On a side note, I stole a few minutes with the guitarist, Chris, and he noted that the band will be playing in Central Park with Grizzly Bear and the Decemberists in July.  Apparently Colin Meloy is a very big fan of the band and invited them out to open.

Chris also mentioned that the band has recorded 11 songs for its next album, but it's far from complete and will not be arriving until 2008.  I thought the three new songs they played during their set were pretty good so I have high hopes for the next full length.

And one other thing that Chris told me was that the band has singed to One Little Indian Records (home of Bjork) in the UK and that the label will be re-releasing their album with three new songs sometime in October.

    
- The Rosebuds -

I had mostly gone to see Land Of Talk but this duo, who had a full band behind them, were a real force live.  They played about an hour before doing a three song encore and I was completely enthralled in every bit of their dance-worthy synth pop.  The only thing that I wished they would have done was slowing it down between each song.  They kind of relentlessly flew through their set list, and even though it was paced well, I would have liked to have heard some witty banter or seen some personality.  Who knows?  Maybe I was just spoiled by Land Of Talk's set.

As for Land Of Talk, they returned during the last song and did something that I have never seen done before.  As the Rosebuds went into an extended jam before they were going to leave, Elizabeth and Co. came on stage and took their instruments and continued playing.  So, in the end it was the Rosebuds' music blaring but it was Land Of Talk on stage, but it was the end of the show and the Rosebuds were done.  Weird, but neat.

- John Laird -

Unless otherwise expressly stated, all text in this blog and any related pages, including the blog's archives, is licensed by John Laird under a Creative Commons License.