Concert recap: The Bravery w/Switches, Your Vegas, and Electric Touch.

I’ve been a fan of The Bravery since their self-titled album dropped in 2005, strangely drawn to their disco beats and synth sound. They definitely helped open the doors to my increasingly acquired taste of “electro-indie” rock. And let’s face it, it makes you want to dance. Or at least nod your head and tap your toes.

I saw The Bravery when they opened for Incubus a few months ago at the Smirnoff Center - in fact, they were the main reason I forked over the cash. Unfortunately, the huge venue ate them up and I was unable to really experience the high octane show I knew they were throwing. So, although my income is lacking nowadays, I decided to go ahead and splurge and experience The Bravery at the Granada Theater.

An ex-coworker, Matt, and I headed to the venue after dinner. We took a few accidental detours, so we actually missed the first band, Austin’s own Electric Touch. I checked their myspace before the show and really dug their song, “Breakdown.” I’ll have to catch them next they hit Dallas.

The next band was from the UK called Your Vegas. Unfortunately, the singer Coyle Girelli was down with the flu. However! The trooper went on with the show anyway! His voice was obvious shot when he spoke in between songs, but wasn’t too bad while singing. I think this held the band back a bit, but it was still a good set. In fact, I just purchased their three song EP, A Town and Two Cities for only 99 cents from iTunes. It’s almost a steal. Since I had only listened to their myspace tunes, I was caught off guard by their ballad, “The Way the War Was Won.” This actually blew me away so I am glad it is part of the EP I bought. (It made me forget how ridiculous their hair was, ha ha.)

The opening acts concluded with Switches, another band from the UK. Before the show, I actually jammed out to their myspace page for an hour. They totally delivered and I really loved the 3- and 4-part harmonies they pulled off. I could tell the crowd, although unfamiliar with their songs, enjoyed it as well as their bobbed up and down more excitedly. I ended up buying their three song EP, Drama Queen, at the show. It was $3 and Thom, their new bassist, signed it. We had a brief talk about Shiner Bock and “when in Rome.” Admittingly, I’m glad he signed it so I won’t forget the grin he had during the show and how much fun they were having. Their full-length album doesn’t drop ’til the end of March, but definitely check out their myspace and listen to “Lay Down the Law” and “Drama Queen.” I have never enjoyed opening acts as much as I did this night and hope to see Your Vegas and Switches do well in the future.

The theater was definitely crammed packed suddenly when The Bravery took stage. As soon as the first song dropped, I was instantly glad that I splurged to attend this show. Definitely worth seeing this band in a smaller venue. They played old favorites, like “Public Service Announcement” and “Swollen Summer” as well as new hits, “Believe” and “Time Won’t Let Me Go.” They announced they were “remixing” a few old songs which I think meant “speed it up and add a bit more rock.” I enjoyed the new versions for “Tyrant” and “The Ocean” though and look forward to the “new” album, “The Sun and Moon Complete.”

All in all, one of the most raw and energetic shows I’ve seen in a long time and definitely worth my $18!

The New Amsterdams + Mae.

Friday night was a fun crazy adventure. It started with me getting lost on the way to dinner (I know there are two Belt Line Rds, but took the wrong one anyway), getting lost to the show (I thought I could wing it and we both swore we were going the right way!), and getting lost getting back to Mandy’s car (again, winging it!) It all made for a lot of laughs and conversation which was very much welcome. There’s something about an old friend that is so incredibly comforting.

9/1 - Vedera, The New Amsterdams, and Mae at The Gypsy Tea Room.

I had gotten slightly nervous that all my driving around would cause us to miss The New Amsterdams, but we got there just in time to hear most of Verdera’s set. Never heard of ‘em but listened to a few of their songs beforehand. Rock band with a chick singer. I don’t know what it is, but I can’t get into many rock bands with chick singers. Oh the irony that I would love to front a band someday!

We stood in the 21+ “corral” during their set and witnessed a party foul which I’ll comment on later, don’t worry Mandy! As soon as Verdera ended, we made way for our spots up front for The New Amsterdams.

As soon as I heard Mae was coming to Dallas a month or so ago, I checked out The New Amsterdams. I’m sure I listened to them before since I love The Get Up Kids, but I listened to their newest album and loved it. It’s been playing in my car all month almost non-stop. They are so chill, I was wondering how it’d play out at a seemingly high-octane show.

It played out well. Despite my limited view, Matthew Pryor and co. delivered their laid-back songs having fun. I was told “Gretchen the bass player” twirled his upright a couple of times, but I just enjoyed watching tattooed up Matthew playing the acoustic. They did lack someone to do harmony which I would’ve enjoyed hearing. “Turn Out the Light” is by far my favorite song of theirs so far and they hit that as well as “The Spoils of the Spoiled” and a little track by their side band for children, The Terrible Twos.

I was so intent on listening to The New Amsterdams that I wasn’t prepare for how amazing Mae ended up being. I started listening to Mae right before The Everglow and totally fell in love with The Everglow. Destination: Beautiful was a good album, but when I first listened to Mae, I was blown away by the musicianship, the mix of sounds, and the lyrics - the words that everyone can sing and claim it’s a song about them. I wondered if they could pull off a good show and they didn’t disappoint. At all.

They played songs from D:B, a new one from the album they hope to release next year (whoo hoo!) and the favorites from The Everglow. I watched in amazement as the lead guitarist played these crazy beautiful licks with his eyes closed, totally in a world of his own. The fans cheered everytime there was a piano solo, the drummer brought new variations of beats, and Dave Elkins’s distinct voice soared through every song. My favorite moment came after I told Mandy during the encore break that if they didn’t play “Someone Else’s Arms,” I would be sorely disappointed. Of course, they came back on stage and played “We’re So Far Away” with a sense of humility (check out the lyrics) and, like the album, they went straight into “Someone Else’s Arms.” Great way to end the show.

These guys know music and I am definitely hitting them up when they tour for their new album next year.

Oh, and one last thing, I saw way more Asians at this show than I’ve seen at any other show, so I came to the plain, yet mysterious conclusion that “Asians love Mae.” That’s me!

Concert Weekend Recap, Part I - Franz Ferdinand + Death Cab

I got to catch two shows this past weekend. I’m on a small mission to see more concerts this year, so this was the big kickoff. Kind of late in the year, but whaddaya goin’ to do.

3/31 - Franz Ferdinand + Death Cab for Cutie at the Nokia Theater

I almost pansied out of going to this show but decided there would be no shame in going to a concert by myself. Music is music and I love it either way. Everything I saw said the show would start at 8:00pm so it was to my surprise when twenty minutes after eight, a band hopped on stage and it wasn’t the opener. Opener played a little after seven. I was not disappointed in missing them, mainly due to the fact that my spot in the pit was not a comfortable one. It’s great to be close to the stage but not when there’s a trio of tall high school girls that made it a point to not let smaller girls pass. But I digress.

I’ll be honest, I hadn’t checked out Franz’s newest album until an hour before the show and I don’t listen to their self-titled album regularly, but their show made me an instant fan. The lead singer oozed rockstar sex appeal and the band had genuine fun. Except the bassist, the only member I could see for the most part. He just seemed to do his job plainly, but I was strangely attracted to him. I think it was the mad beats. The crowd didn’t match the band’s energy which was a bummer. Highlight of the show was when they had three members drumming on the same set at the same time. Fancy schmancy! Favorite songs: “Walk Away,” “The Fallen,” and , of course, “Take Me Out.”

In college, the most I heard about Death Cab was through the college radio station. And you’d be surprised, I wasn’t as into KTXT-FM as much as you’d think. If I had been, maybe I would’ve caught on to Death Cab a lot earlier than mainstream did. It was strange to see a bunch of high school kids pumped up about them, but hey, it’s good music and high school kids are entitled to enjoy good music too. It was strange to go from Franz’s highly energetic rock to Death Cab’s chill tempo, but musically, I was impressed. I think I’m falling in love with Ben Gibbard’s musical abilities. Nerd.

Started out with Ben on piano and ended with Ben on piano. In between was, excuse the cheese, a “musical journey.” They played a lot of older songs I had never heard of before but, of all places, at the concert I started to really listen to their lyrics. You’d think as a writer, I’d listen to the lyrics first, but nope, just everything else. “The glove compartment is inaccurately named and everybody knows it.” Abstract thoughts arranged beautifully. Jealous.

No complaints minus the tall girls who had a horde of small girls behind them sadly tippy-toeing, trying to catch a glimpse of Ben. It wasn’t until a 4′8″ girl decided she wanted to see at least one song towards the end of the show that I used her body to drill through the others and I got to see the last two songs up close and personal. However, the highlight of Death Cab’s set came earlier when they set up a second drum set and Ben played in addition to the other drummer. I don’t know what it is about experimenting with drums, but I won’t complain. Favorite songs: “Different Names for the Same Thing,” “Title and Registration,” and “I Will Follow You Into the Dark.”

Bed time, will recap Saturday night tomorrow.