Vacation Day 1--Show 1
Last night was the first night of shows for my vacation. Mike and I saw three bands at Mojo's:
Foundry Field Recordings
Viva Voce
Magnolia Electric Co.
I don't even know where to start because it was such an awesome night. First of all, we were under a tornado warning throughout much of the night. That's adds a bit of mystique to the evening. We walked into Mojo's early and saw Foundry Field Recordings warming up. This spawned an idea in Mike's head. We should start a band that just sounds like a soundcheck. It would confuse the whole crowd. We discussed this idea throughout the night.
The Foundry Field Recordings set was nice, but we were distracted the whole time trying to figure out where we had heard them before. Toward the end of the show I thought back to the band that opened for Spoon last year at the Blue Note. They were called Billy Schuh and the Foundry. We determined they were the same. After a bit of Googling last night, it was confirmed.
Next up was Viva Voce. Things were looking really great when they took the stage for setup. A cute girl (like Wednesday Addams in college) with a duel-neck guitar and a crazy looking dude (like Elliott Smith as a lumberjack) behind a small drum kit and a bunch of keyboards. As soon as they started, we were hooked. They were so loud and insane that we couldn't help but be mesmerized. The dude was playing drums just like Animal from the Muppets and playing the kazoo....and he ROCKED that kazoo! Imagine that! I love a drummer that screams while he drums....that's cool. Plus he played drums with one hand and keyboards with the other. That's so cool. The girl, on the other hand, was just as cool. This tiny little girl playing fuzzy licks on a duel-neck is just so cool I can't describe it. Their sound: Imagine the White Stripes in reverse with psychedelic, spacy sound effects mixed in. As soon as they finished Mike and I just looked at each other with nothing to say. They were just incredible. We're hooked. This may be a bold statement, but a truthful one.....they were the best opening band I've seen since Neutral Milk Hotel opened for Superchunk.
We could've stopped there, but Magnolia Electric Co. was the headliner. Again, I'm blown away. Firstly, they might be the ugliest band on Earth. God those are some ugly dudes. Throughout the night, Jason Molina just wandered the club drinking a beer and just fitting in the crowd. Both Mike and I pissed with him in the bathroom on separate trips. Their show was fantastic. All the Neil Young references I've heard are very warranted. Molina's voice is so beautiful it's like he's massaging your spine while he sings. The show was short, but it was fantastic. All six guys had no room to move on the tiny stage, but they still blew the roof off the joint.
Man that was such a great night. Mike already ordered up the whole Viva Voce catalogue, and I'm about to do the same. They really stole the show. The best thing, that's only one of the two shows I'm seeing this weekend. Next up, Iron & Wine on Sunday.
Foundry Field Recordings
Viva Voce
Magnolia Electric Co.
I don't even know where to start because it was such an awesome night. First of all, we were under a tornado warning throughout much of the night. That's adds a bit of mystique to the evening. We walked into Mojo's early and saw Foundry Field Recordings warming up. This spawned an idea in Mike's head. We should start a band that just sounds like a soundcheck. It would confuse the whole crowd. We discussed this idea throughout the night.
The Foundry Field Recordings set was nice, but we were distracted the whole time trying to figure out where we had heard them before. Toward the end of the show I thought back to the band that opened for Spoon last year at the Blue Note. They were called Billy Schuh and the Foundry. We determined they were the same. After a bit of Googling last night, it was confirmed.
Next up was Viva Voce. Things were looking really great when they took the stage for setup. A cute girl (like Wednesday Addams in college) with a duel-neck guitar and a crazy looking dude (like Elliott Smith as a lumberjack) behind a small drum kit and a bunch of keyboards. As soon as they started, we were hooked. They were so loud and insane that we couldn't help but be mesmerized. The dude was playing drums just like Animal from the Muppets and playing the kazoo....and he ROCKED that kazoo! Imagine that! I love a drummer that screams while he drums....that's cool. Plus he played drums with one hand and keyboards with the other. That's so cool. The girl, on the other hand, was just as cool. This tiny little girl playing fuzzy licks on a duel-neck is just so cool I can't describe it. Their sound: Imagine the White Stripes in reverse with psychedelic, spacy sound effects mixed in. As soon as they finished Mike and I just looked at each other with nothing to say. They were just incredible. We're hooked. This may be a bold statement, but a truthful one.....they were the best opening band I've seen since Neutral Milk Hotel opened for Superchunk.
We could've stopped there, but Magnolia Electric Co. was the headliner. Again, I'm blown away. Firstly, they might be the ugliest band on Earth. God those are some ugly dudes. Throughout the night, Jason Molina just wandered the club drinking a beer and just fitting in the crowd. Both Mike and I pissed with him in the bathroom on separate trips. Their show was fantastic. All the Neil Young references I've heard are very warranted. Molina's voice is so beautiful it's like he's massaging your spine while he sings. The show was short, but it was fantastic. All six guys had no room to move on the tiny stage, but they still blew the roof off the joint.
Man that was such a great night. Mike already ordered up the whole Viva Voce catalogue, and I'm about to do the same. They really stole the show. The best thing, that's only one of the two shows I'm seeing this weekend. Next up, Iron & Wine on Sunday.
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