Art Brut; Lauren; Cindy, BBQ, Happy Hour; Rudyard's and, randomly, El Ten Eleven
5/9
I hadn't ever bothered checking out Pitchfork darlings Art Brut last year, but I did so in advance of their show at the Proletariat and liked what I heard. Garage rock/punk music with clever, theatrical half-spoken vocals.
They pulled this off pretty well in concert, too, and their "regular guys" look went a long way towards supporting their "anybody can and should form a band" missino statement. Particularly good was their performance of the ode to ex-girlfriend "Emily Kane", wherein lead singer Eddie Argos sings about still being in love with his high school sweetheart. Performing it live, they removed the bridge, stopped the song, and the Argos inserted an epilogue. Having heard the song about her on BBC Radio One, Emily Kane apparently got back in touch. They caught up on things, and the realization dawned on Argos that he wasn't still in love with Emily Kane, just in love with the memory of being in love with her. It was a beautiful addition to an already great song, and exactly the sort of artistic context that a good live show can provide.
5/12
I hadn't hung out with BCM Lauren in quite some time. After what may or may not have been an incident in which she and Chris cut themselves off from me (more or less) because of suspicions about my interest in Lauren (which, by then, was no longer an issue), I had pretty much left it to her to call the shots. But the night that Char and I were hanging out at Han's, he asked if I had seen her lately, and mentioned that a little birdy had told him that I didn't call her enough and should perhaps do so. He wouldn't elaborate, but I took the hint and sent her an e-mail.
So I was hanging out on Friday night (actually, being super dorky and comparing all the sets of speakers I had at my disposal before sending my trade-ins in), when I got a text message from her, and after a little back and forth we decided to go out. We had a couple of rounds at LZ's, and then went for food at House of Pies, where we split some pie, some breakfast foods, and fulfilling Lauren's craving, some tater tots.
It was nice to have the chance to hang out with Lauren.
5/13
Martin from lab needed a ride to the airport, so after a mad dash to get ready, grab my comics, and pick him up, only to find him in no particular hurry, I deposited him at IAH and headed on to Susan and Jerry's, only to find that they had gone to Waco for Mother's Day.
Laundry done, I headed back to civilization and Cindy and I hit up Goode's for some BBQ dinner. There was a sparsely attended graduate school happy hour at Woodrow's that we hung out at for a while before leaving with some of Cindy's friends. Kim was there and swears Cindy gave her a possessive look.
5/14
Dan, Kristin, and John were hanging out at Rudyard's (nothing wrong with getting some $1 Lonestar tall boys on a Sunday night), and I opted to join them. While we were there, I happened to notice, not entirely consciously, the CD that was on in the background—and like it.
A short while later the announcement was made that the band whose CD was just playing would be playing a free (well, it wasn't supposed to be, but low attendance changes things) show upstairs, so we went up to check it out—and it's a good thing we did.
The tallboys didn't hurt, of course, but seeing El Ten Eleven play that night was blissful. The duo seemed to have a little more energy live than they do on record (an after-the-fact observation), and their pleasant guitar-based instrumentals had some nice early Built to Spill and Modest Mouse similarities (the band members liked it when I told them that after the show, particularly being compared to bands that weren't just instrumental), but the most exciting part was watching. Like when Final Fantasy opened for the Arcade Fire, El Ten very much relied on a seamless use of looped melodies and counter-melodies. Only instead of a single violin, one band member laid out a beat on the trap set, while another used a double-necked combination six string guitar/bass guitar (totally hot), building up layers of bass lines and guitar figures. It was incredible to see one person produce such intricate music through the judicious use of simple technology.
It was a wonderful surprise and a great way to end the weekend. I highly recommend seeing the band if you get the chance, and the CD (which I was almost guaranteed to buy since I liked them and saw the show for free) is a pleasant listen, too.
I hadn't ever bothered checking out Pitchfork darlings Art Brut last year, but I did so in advance of their show at the Proletariat and liked what I heard. Garage rock/punk music with clever, theatrical half-spoken vocals.
They pulled this off pretty well in concert, too, and their "regular guys" look went a long way towards supporting their "anybody can and should form a band" missino statement. Particularly good was their performance of the ode to ex-girlfriend "Emily Kane", wherein lead singer Eddie Argos sings about still being in love with his high school sweetheart. Performing it live, they removed the bridge, stopped the song, and the Argos inserted an epilogue. Having heard the song about her on BBC Radio One, Emily Kane apparently got back in touch. They caught up on things, and the realization dawned on Argos that he wasn't still in love with Emily Kane, just in love with the memory of being in love with her. It was a beautiful addition to an already great song, and exactly the sort of artistic context that a good live show can provide.
5/12
I hadn't hung out with BCM Lauren in quite some time. After what may or may not have been an incident in which she and Chris cut themselves off from me (more or less) because of suspicions about my interest in Lauren (which, by then, was no longer an issue), I had pretty much left it to her to call the shots. But the night that Char and I were hanging out at Han's, he asked if I had seen her lately, and mentioned that a little birdy had told him that I didn't call her enough and should perhaps do so. He wouldn't elaborate, but I took the hint and sent her an e-mail.
So I was hanging out on Friday night (actually, being super dorky and comparing all the sets of speakers I had at my disposal before sending my trade-ins in), when I got a text message from her, and after a little back and forth we decided to go out. We had a couple of rounds at LZ's, and then went for food at House of Pies, where we split some pie, some breakfast foods, and fulfilling Lauren's craving, some tater tots.
It was nice to have the chance to hang out with Lauren.
5/13
Martin from lab needed a ride to the airport, so after a mad dash to get ready, grab my comics, and pick him up, only to find him in no particular hurry, I deposited him at IAH and headed on to Susan and Jerry's, only to find that they had gone to Waco for Mother's Day.
Laundry done, I headed back to civilization and Cindy and I hit up Goode's for some BBQ dinner. There was a sparsely attended graduate school happy hour at Woodrow's that we hung out at for a while before leaving with some of Cindy's friends. Kim was there and swears Cindy gave her a possessive look.
5/14
Dan, Kristin, and John were hanging out at Rudyard's (nothing wrong with getting some $1 Lonestar tall boys on a Sunday night), and I opted to join them. While we were there, I happened to notice, not entirely consciously, the CD that was on in the background—and like it.
A short while later the announcement was made that the band whose CD was just playing would be playing a free (well, it wasn't supposed to be, but low attendance changes things) show upstairs, so we went up to check it out—and it's a good thing we did.
The tallboys didn't hurt, of course, but seeing El Ten Eleven play that night was blissful. The duo seemed to have a little more energy live than they do on record (an after-the-fact observation), and their pleasant guitar-based instrumentals had some nice early Built to Spill and Modest Mouse similarities (the band members liked it when I told them that after the show, particularly being compared to bands that weren't just instrumental), but the most exciting part was watching. Like when Final Fantasy opened for the Arcade Fire, El Ten very much relied on a seamless use of looped melodies and counter-melodies. Only instead of a single violin, one band member laid out a beat on the trap set, while another used a double-necked combination six string guitar/bass guitar (totally hot), building up layers of bass lines and guitar figures. It was incredible to see one person produce such intricate music through the judicious use of simple technology.
It was a wonderful surprise and a great way to end the weekend. I highly recommend seeing the band if you get the chance, and the CD (which I was almost guaranteed to buy since I liked them and saw the show for free) is a pleasant listen, too.
posted by L. Maxwell Ward at 2:02 PM
