Last night, when I got home from work, MySpasm informed me that Kilby Court would be hosting Seattle’s Say Hi and local alt.country kids Atherton. Since our last Say Hi show, Dave has fallen deeply in love with the group, so we made an unscheduled trip down to Kilby.

I enjoyed it more than I did last time, knowing some of the songs helps. Also, where the last show featured a full band, this time it was just Eric Elbogen (who is essentially Say Hi) and drummer Westin Glass, with prerecorded bass & keys. The two had great chemistry on stage, discussing various things between songs (including how much more Eric tends to talk when they’re in Salt Lake), mocking Westin when he hurt his teeth trying to drum with a stick in his mouth, answering questions from the crowd (”My band are in this box. They’re…embodied. In this box. With the funny robot joke on it.”), and, of course, explaining that they don’t like leaving the stage and acting surprised when they’re called out for another song, preferring to simply say this and then play the last two songs. Last night we were lucky enough to get three more songs, including a solo (no pre-recorded accompaniment) “Let’s Talk About Spaceships” and “Yeah, I’m In Love with an Android.” The latter being a song that Eric doesn’t generally play, but makes a special case for Corey, who’s a regular at Say Hi’s Kilby shows. I”m really glad of it, too, as it’s my favourite Say Hi song.

In fact, it’s one of the songs I’ve included for your Mp3 enjoyment. The other Say Hi song, “As Smart As Geek Is Chic Right Now” is the closer on 2005’s Ferocious Mopes. It’s an odd little story to end an album, my favourite part is how disturbed Dave gets by it.

The other Mp3, “Various Kitchen Utensils” by Skybox, we heard on the way out. The beginning was so enchanting that I determined to share the song with alla ya’ll. Mission accomplished!

Say Hi on MySpazz |  Say Hi Official

Go on & buy an album

 Say Hi to Your Mom - Yeah, I'm In Love with an Android: Play in Popup | Download
 Say Hi To Your Mom - As Smart as Geek is Chic Right Now [1:04m]: Play in Popup | Download
 Skybox - Various Kitchen Utensils [2:47m]: Play in Popup | Download (179)

I went to my first concert at Kilby Court since it changed hands at the start of the year.  I’m happy to report that, though there are a few changes (the walls in the merch booth have been painted over), it’s still okay.  Got a new PA, but I dare say they’re still attempting to keep it real.  Regarding the show itself, I was actually kind of tired and didn’t give it all the attention that a proper music journalist should.  Luckily, I’m not a music journalist, I’m just a blogger, so I can tell you a few things and then redirect you to this interview conducted with the local participants in the evenings events.  You’ll find suggestions for local Utah music and some interesting things.
I promise you fine people that I will start sleeping better the night before shows so I can better remember things, maybe even get something written that very night.  What I can remember to tell you is that Emme Packer (pronounced “emmy”) is good people.  She writes songs that are mostly soft, but capable of rocking out.  They are not sappy girly coffee shop songs, but you can still enjoy them if you like that sort of thing.
I like to think of Atherton as being alt.country where alt. = shoegaze, but not fully committing to either camp.  They are good people with organ sounds that occasionally soar, and lift the spirit with them.
Johan the Angel were likely my favourite act of the evening, if for nothing else then for their instrumental array, which included desk bells and a vibraphone.  Also, a Rhodes piano, which Britt played, sounds just freaking like harmonics on a guitar.  Kind of an amazing tone.
Apologies to Sea Wolf, certain things and a super packed house prevented me from fully enjoying your set.  You, gentle readers, must simply remember that live cello is an excellent thing for a rock band to do, and the songs “Middle Distance Runner” and “Black Dirt” are both severely excellent.  They will get stuck in your head.  Well.
Pics are up on Flickr, though!

Sea Wolf | Johan the Angel | Atherton | Emme Packer

 Sea Wolf - Middle Distance Runner [2:27m]: Play in Popup | Download (336)

And now that I’ve gotten enough of the Dresden Dolls website for a few day, I’m going to tell you about the Say Hi concert I went to on Tuesday. Ned is a big fan of Say Hi, from back when they were Say Hi To Your Mom (that means he’s better than you). I’d never hear them before and expected another quirky pop band worshiping at the altar of Weezer. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing at all, but there are a lot of bands like that, and I already like a few of them, I just can’t sit down and decide Okay, Ultimate Fakebook is catchier than Motion City Soundtrack, but MCS has better lyrics, I’ll keep them. Ozma’s early stuff is excellent, but I can’t get into their new stuff, I’ll trade ‘em for Hot Hot Heat . But it’s a show at Kilby, and I’m not one to say no to that. I did have a good time, but I couldn’t really hear the vocals for Say Hi, and a lot of their charm relies on the lyrics and I missed out on that. They did a number of cool things, though, including Eric playing “Yeah, I’m in Love with an Android” by himself, about third song in because somebody wanted to hear it and had to leave. The also did away with the silly rock tradition of leaving the stage before coming back to play two more songs. As a reward for their honesty, we gave ‘em a “One more song!” chant anyway, while there were standing right there. And if you were curious, we asked Eric before the show why he changed it from Say Hi to Your Mom to simply Say Hi. “Because I got lazy.”
I do recommend giving Say Hi a listen. They have a good number of songs about vampires.

A quick mention of the opening acts:
The A-Sides, from Philadelphia, play pretty good shoegaze. The real benefit of seeing these guys is their drummer. He plays with a very personal style and a very fervent passion.

What really stood out about The Velvet Teen, from Santa Rosa, Cali, was the basswork. Being a three piece, the guitar is mostly atmospheric, though louder than one would associate with that word. The bass plays most of the least and has a sound similar to Muse (fuzzy and dominant). Their drummer throws down mad thunder, too, but differently from the A-Sides.

Say Hi // MySpace // Buy CD

 Say Hi (To Your Mom) - These Fangs: Play in Popup | Download (657)

Astute readers may have noticed a recent sharp decline in my commentary on opening bands at the last few shows I’ve been to. Normally I like to give them a reasonable amount of room in my review because, if they’re good, they deserve a bit more exposure. This past few weeks, however, going back to the Arcade Fire on Sept. 26, I’ve had a bad habit of showing up kind of late.
I would like to say that the two songs I caught from LCD Soundsystem at the Arcade Fire show were excellent. They play an interesting mix of indie rock and electronic dance music, and are not afraid to jam on either of those tips. Their last song was called “New York, I love you But You’re Bringing me Down” and I thought it was decidedly worth listening to you, so that’s the song I’ll be providing.
The Bravery opened up for the Smashing Pumpkins, and I likewise only heard the last couple of songs. I rather enjoy their hit single “Time Won’t Let me Go” because I can relate to it; I never had a Summer of ‘69, either. I assume this was played earlier in the set because I didn’t recognize any of the stuff I heard. And if I heard it again, I still don’t think I’d recognize it, whereas I could tell either LCD Soundsystem song I heard, and maybe spot some stuff I didn’t hear as being LCD SS. The Bravery sounded pretty much like…I dunno what the hip kids are calling the genre, but whatever you’d call the Killers. Also: Bands from New York and LA, you look as stupid in skin-tight denim as Stryper looked in spandex twenty years ago. Cut it out, seriously.
Really all I can tell you about the bands that opened for Saves the Day is that they were called Single File and Dr. Manhattan, and that Dr. Manhattan is a really cool name for a band. I missed these sets due to all the walking involved in getting to Kilby that night. Sorry guys, maybe next time.
So the winners of the winners of Best Opening Band during my Early Autumn Concert Blitz is LCD Soundsystem. Give ‘em a nice round o’ applause!

[Jen applauds here]

LCD Soundsystem // MySpazz // Buy their new album

 LCD Soundsystem - New York, I love you but you're bringing me down [5:36m]: Play in Popup | Download (1980)

I do this thing sometimes where I forget why a band is one of my favourites, and then I feel stupid for having ever doubted them. This happened at the Saves the Day show last night, and happened hard. I’d been in a super dodgey mood most of the day and considered not going (see here to find out why), but then I was reminded why I like Saves the Day: Chris Conley writes a damn good song.
Holy Hell that sounds like my Pumpkins review. How pretentious of me.
Anyhow, this show was everything it should have been. The Friendly Confines (generally Wrigley Field, from here out it will refer to Kilby Court) made for an intimate setting, even though a lot of StD fans are pretty tall, I guess? Couldn’t see well in the back. Only two band members are on this tour, Chris and Dave, and they don’t have mountains of equipment to hide behind. If you don’t appreciate audience sing-alongs, this is not the show for you. For me, in a way, it was like any other time listening to StD among friends: once you know what song it is, sing your lungs out.
Two songs from the forthcoming Under the Boards were played, “Radio” and “Stay.” The latter is found on a Vagrant sampler given out at this summer’s Warped Tour, the former is an excellent little song “about trying to make the one you love happy.” That’s something like what Chris said. I’m really looking forward to the new album, what I’ve heard is pretty choice.
It was really nice, since I’d been having a crappy day, to hear “Don’t Know Why”, which Chris claims as his blues. Singing that with everyone else at Kilby made me feel a lot better. Also, I got to talk to Chris after the show and he gave me a hug. I’m feeling better now, thanks.
I wish I were coherent, but I just don’t sleep enough for that to happen. Sorry, love.

 Saves the Day - Don't Know Why: Play in Popup | Download

I must say I was very impressed with Utah locals All About Rockets.  At a time when many local bands seems to be tributes to either Taking Back Sunday or, if they have keyboards, Panic! At the Disco, All About Rockets decided that they didn't need to bother with that.  Their sound comes from the bands that inspired them, like the Smashing Pumpkins and the Pixies.  Dave made a pretty accurate observation about frontman and bassist Joe Gibbs: "It looks like he really wanted to play guitar, but wanted to have the best band possible so he accepted playing bass."  It's pretty obvious from talking to Gibbs that his priority is simply good music, both listening to and making it.  The band makes great use of loud/soft dynamics and infuse bits of smooth jazz (that's not the right term, but it's what comes to mind) during some of the soft bits.  Also, they are the second band I've seen where the drummer plays keys while drumming one-handed (the keyboard was bought for $15 at a thrift store the day before, they were determined to work it into the set).  All About Rockets are heading off to Fresno to do a few shows, but will be back in Utah in August.  I suggest you check them out if you're in the area.

Apologies to Letters for Scarlett, I don't remember much from your set.  This mostly had to do with my habit of being late for shows at Kilby Court and missing most of it.  Sorry.

All About Rockets Official // MySpace // Grab Their CD

Rademacher Official // MySpace // Grab Their CD (New Album out this Fall)