By Carleton Atwater
I originally planned on attending two concerts last week, but before I knew it the number had grown to four. Since I was already going to some many, I decided to take the concept and run with it. I ended up going through a musical gauntlet of six shows in seven nights.
Monday, June 06
Stephen Malkmus and The Jicks @ The Paradise Rock Club
With the name Malkmus made for himself in the 90s as the leader of indie rock legends Pavement, I was expecting to see an older crowd at the Paradise that night. Although I saw a few receding hairlines in the audience it looked to be your typical college crowd. Everyone seemed to be excited beforehand but, sadly, I think most people left disappointed. The band just seemed to be going through the motions. Malkmus displayed little of the goofy charm he is known for as he played through a set of mostly new songs. I know musicians go on tour to promote their latest release but I’m always a little frustrated when someone refuses to play the songs that made them famous. I wasn’t expecting to hear any Pavement songs, but more than two from his self-tilted 1999 debut would have been nice.
Tuesday, June 07
Spoon @ The Paradise Rock Club
Spoon is a band that has been generating a lot of buzz lately. The group’s just-released fifth album, “Gimme Fiction,” has been receiving almost universal acclaim in the media. Although I think the new album isn’t quite as good as their previous efforts, I could not have been more excited for the concert. Spoon is known for their exuberant live shows so it was no surprise that they sold out. What was surprising though was the make-up of the audience. All types of people could be seen in The Paradise that night, including a much older crowd. A good portion of audience was pushing their 40s. If only my parents were that cool.
Wednesday, June 08
The Robot Ate Me @ The Specific Heats’ House
Wednesday was a change of pace. Instead going to another club show I ventured to a Mission Hill basement to check out Washington State’s Ryland Bouchard, who performs under the name The Robot Ate Me. The change of venue offered quite the paradigm shift and resulted in a completely different concert experience. What the performance lacked in sound fidelity was made up for in intimacy. This was especially true of an artist like Bouchard who makes audience participation an integral part of the show. The audience danced, clapped and sung along as Bouchard played his accordion, guitar and assortment of effects pedals. I even had a song sung about me.
Thursday, June 09
Casey Dienel and Sam Rosen @ Zeitgeist Gallery
The Zeitgeist Gallery offers the kind of show that is right in between a club and a basement. It’s intimate without being insular. It’s a public building, but the owners aren’t worrying about selling beer. Casey Dienel and Sam Rosen definitely made the best of it.
Rosen ran through a quick set of acoustic numbers before it was Dienel’s turn on the piano. This girl can sing, and it’s nice to see a young girl on the piano who doesn’t sound like a Tori Amos clone. Dienel influences would appear to be more jazz orientated.
Saturday, June 11
Architecture In Helsinki @ Great Scott
Saturday night at Great Scott was easily the hottest show of the week. Architecture In Helsinki (AIH) was great, but the Summer heat left everyone at Great Scott hot and sticky. The happy, summery pop this Australian band plays was fitting for the climate that night. The situation clearly affected the group but they did their best to keep spirits up. All eight members of the band delivered solid performances. I was particularly impressed with the sheer musicianship of the band. Everyone played at least two different instruments during the course of the night and most of them sang. AIH are just barely breaking in to America, but hopefully they will be around for awhile.
Sunday, June 12
Max
