noise++ with matty & derek

In the last few weeks I was able to see a whole whack of shows. Instead of blogging about them in a timely fashion I ended up putting it off until I had accumulated six shows to talk about. Before this list grows too big, I am getting down to business and writing up this new post.

The show that is furthest away in my concert time line was the Datarock / Ladytron show. Lucky for me it was one of the most memorable. I was at this show for Datarock. That being said, when they first came on I was a little worried. They weren’t as crazy and fun as I’d hoped and they were playing new stuff which was less good than their one album stuff.

Avid Datarock fans, don’t fret! This was just a minor hiccup. Soon they were dancing around the stage (and through the crowd) singing all their hits with the Datarock crowd. The people there were mostly Ladytron fans but there was a significant Datarock pit in the center that rocked the concert right. The show rocked. No questions asked. Conversation ended.

(Clip of “Datarock - Sex Me Up [0:49 min])

Ladytron

I went to the Datarock / Ladytron show with a friend who was all about Ladytron. I was there primarily for Datarock and didn’t really listen to much Ladytron before the show (although just listening to Destroy Everything You Touch got me excited for the show).

Anyways, the show was great. They put on a really epic show. The production was really cool. It was all dark with with lots of cool lights. Fitting for darkish, synthpop. Also, I didn’t even know before the show that the other girl did a bunch full songs too. She was good. It was an all around good show.

(Clip of “Ladytron - Destroy Everything You Touch [0:51 min])

Parenthetical Girls are really just not good… Derek and I got to the Parenthetical Girls / YSP!WSD! / Los Campesinos show a little late and they had already started. Not only was the club full of god awful music but the lead singer was pacing with his annoying, dramatic, flamboyant, “I’m barely gonna hold the mic” stance.

In this unpleasant situation, we did what what any right minded person would do. Head for the bar. What we found there was less than ideal. This all ages show was completely dry. Not only did we have to listen to Parenthetical Girls, we had to do it completely sober.

Summary: Parenthetical Girls suck. If you like them, you suck too.

[Error: Failed to load song due to excessive sucking. Please try again later.]

(Clip of “Parenthetical Girls - Safe As Houses [0:39 min])

You Say Party! We Say Die! is a local Vancouver band gone “indie-big”. I am often quick to claim that I knew them before they are big (which is a lie). Seriously though, they rock. I have seen them a couple times and I think this show was their best. Even Derek, a so-so fan of YSP!WSD!, agreed.

They really engaged the audience this time. The leader singer, as always, was really fun and did her little dance routines. She even spent an entire song dancing with fans in the crowd. The best part of this mix was the interaction with Los Campesinos. They made sporadic appearances on the other bands sets. Really good concert!

(Clip of “You Say Party! We Say Die! - Midnight Snack [0:53 min])

The Los Campesinos concert had a little bit of a slow start, a wicked middle (most the concert), an amazing climax, and was topped off with a let down ending encore. I wasn’t that familiar with them before the show, so it took some hits for me to really get into it. Although, after a few songs I was having a lot of fun. The banter in between songs was pretty funny. Maybe I am just a sucker for Welsh accents.

After playing a really good headline show, they setup a huge ending song with all of YSP!WSD! accomponying them at the end. It would have been a really great way to end the show. Sadly, this was not the case. I remembering looking over at Derek and saying “Man I hope their isn’t an oncore”.

Of course, there was. They came out and played a low-key song that left a bad taste in your mouth. I guess you can’t blame them to much, if they not come out a lot of the fans would have been pissed off. I just think its dumb. Lose the damn manditory oncoure rule! Do it Northern State style!

(Clip of “Los Campesinos - We Throw Parties You Throw Knives [0:34 min])

The Long Blondes

The last show I saw was The Long Blondes. This show was awesome. It was one of the shows that when you think back there was nothing memorable but you know you left feeling it was one of the best concerts you have seen.

On top of an awesome show, the lead singer was really hot. She is the opposite of the stereotypical photo to real life comparison. She looked pretty normal in most the pictures I saw of her. Live in her short shorts on the other hand… Man. Just hope she is showing off some leg when she comes to your town.

(Clip of “The Long Blondes - Century [0:44 min])