Concert Ramblings: The first half of 2011

I've been slacking off on my concert entries mainly because it takes so much time and effort into recollecting all the moments and feelings and writing about it. So, I will summarize my concert experiences of the first half of this year.

Awesome.
The end.



Hah hah, okay, but seriously, this year has been epic so far. I look back and I can hardly believe it myself. I recall back to a comment I made on my last post in 2010, "2010 will be a hard year to top in overall experiences." Well, it has. 2010 cannot even compare to last month (April), not to mention the rest of the year. Here are the more notable bands I've seen.

February
Steve Aoki - Atlanta, GA

March
For A Minor Reflection
Chiaroscuro
Native
Caspian - Athens, GA
Youth Pictures Of Florence Henderson
Deadhorse
The Ascent Of Everest - Clarksville, TN
Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Athens, GA
Röyksopp - Atlanta, GA

April
KisHerceg
AANDO
Képzelt Város - Budapest, HU
Tapeunderground - Budapest, HU
Coma Stereo
God Is An Astronaut - Ljubljana, SI
marionette ID
God Is An Astronaut - Budapest, HU
Realistic Crew - Budapest, HU
Kokomo
Képzelt Város
Our Ceasing Voice - Budapest, HU
Kanagawa
No Age - Budapest, HU
Our Ceasing Voice - Vienna, AT
the Corny (rehearsal)
Spacesh!t (rehearsal) - Budapest, HU (rehearsal)

May
The Non
Kite Flying Robot - Norman Music Festival, Norman, OK
El Ten Eleven - Denton, TX
The Burning Hotels
This Will Destroy You
Astronautalis - Homegrown Music Festival, Dallas, TX
Errors
Mogwai - Dallas, TX
Moon
The Burning Hotels
The Non
The Pretty Black Chains - Oklahoma City, OK

Planned shows:
June
Labirinto - Chicago, IL
August
God Is An Astronaut - Boston, MA
October
Explosions In The Sky - Oklahoma City, OK


Because of certain circumstances, I decided to do a road trip before my trip to Europe. For the month of March I wanted to meet two friends I hadn't seen in a long time and also go to four concerts. Caspian and GY!BE were the major highlights of that excursion.

The best experiences of the year have been my April in Europe, though. Eight concerts and a rehearsal and numerous other music and travel related experiences have made April so mind-blowingly epic for me. Having the opportunity to see some of my favourite Hungarian bands play was hard to even grasp at first. When I first heard Képzelt Város on last.fm a couple years ago I expressed how much I would love to see them, but I knew they were a very small band and it may be a long, long time until they get the opportunity to tour the US. So while I was standing there in the Szabad az á as they played their music it took me a few seconds to really realize... "I'm watching Képzelt Város... IN BUDAPEST!!!" It was surreal. They finished with D2. I closed my eyes and felt the song just penetrate me. My eyes were flowing with tears, it was just so intense. After the show it had hit me, "this is why I am here... music," and the rest of the trip was filled with it. Then on the last night of my trip before my flight back home I was surprised with a sit-in on a new band rehearsing for their first concert, the Corny. It was the perfect way to end a trip that has been so centred around music.

Then upon arriving back home I realized the Norman Music Festival was going on. I missed the first day because I was too tired from all the flights. But I did get to catch The Non the next day, which I was pleased about. May wasn't nearly as massive as April was, but it definitely wasn't disappointing. Two festivals, an album release party, and two concerts made May a good month.

I never would have imagined I would be able to see so many relatively big artists this year, especially on the magnitude of GY!BE, EITS, Mogwai, AND GIAA... and of course Caspian, but this was my fourth time seeing them.

There are still 7 more months to go in this year... 7 more months to make the year go from unbelievably epic to impossibly epic.


-Bob

KisHerceg - A menekülés

I saw these guys open for Képzelt Város on April 1st. I have to say, I was thoroughly impressed. Sadly, though, I can't find any way to get a hold of their music. They don't even have a last.fm page.

I don't often make requests like this, but then again, I don't often post artists I can't find any purchase links of. If you like this, then please do support them on facebook and myspace and let them know they have more listeners outside of Hungary.

[Facebook] [Myspace]

Clint Mansell - Death Is The Road To Awe

One of the greatest soundtracks to one of the most amazing films. I cannot listen to this song without getting chills go down my spine, my skin developing goosebumps, my stomach wrenching, and my eyes watering. The intense visuals, the beautifully tragic (and uplifting) story of the film flood my thoughts. And this is just a small fraction of emotion I feel compared to actually watching this film. There aren't many films I've seen that are this much of an overload to the senses...

Mansell isn't really that obscure, but a friend had linked this on my facebook which made me start wanting to see The Fountain again.

[Last.fm] [Facebook] [Myspace] [Website]
(His soundtracks are available pretty much everywhere...)

//orangenoise - On The Run

Some Pakistani shoegaze featuring Talha Asim Wynne (guitarist/vocalist).

Read the interview with Talha Wynne and Daniel Panjwaneey on
http://thedumbingofamerica.net/2011/03/21/your-new-favorite-band-orangenoise/

//orangenoise
[Last.fm] [Bandcamp] [Facebook]
(Albums are freely available on Bandcamp.)

Talha Asim Wynne
[Last.fm] [ReverbNation] [SoundCloud] [YouTube] [Myspace] [Twitter]
(Albums are freely available on last.fm and ReverbNation.)

Crash Of Rhinos - Lifewood

Thanks to Gabi for this recommendation.

[Last.fm] [Bandcamp] [Facebook] [Myspace]
(Album available for free download or "name your price" on last.fm and bandcamp.)

Disparition - Moonlight

[Last.fm] [Soundcloud] [Facebook] [Myspace] [Website]
(Albums freely downloadable on the artist's website.)

Bo Becker - Transpiritus I

Here is something different from what I usually post. Just pure ambience with a little bit of drone.

[Last.fm] [Bandcamp] [Facebook] [Myspace] [Website]
(Albums available for purchase [2-3 USD] on Bandcamp.)

My Beloved - Lunatic Rising

[Last.fm] [Facebook] [Myspace] [Website]
(The website has various links to purchase their albums.)

Asbestoscape - Return

Ambient? Post-Rock? Trip-Hop? This artist has elements of all three but it's hard to say what category this would fit into. Some call them apocalyptic post-rock, I just call it awesome.

[Last.fm] [cdbaby] [Facebook] [Myspace] [Website]
(Album available for purchase on cdbaby.)

Kovlo - Charlotte

It is 00:11, everything emitting light is either covered or turned off. A pillow rests at the foot of the door, the room light are turned off, the computer power cable pulled (a little LED shines green), the windows are completely covered. With my sense of sight now completely blocked, I play this song again. Even with the quality of sound emitting from my default laptop speakers, I feel an overwhelming sense of emotion. The piano... the trumpet... a slow growing crescendo, an intense peak, then silence.

It is now 00:17... 00:18... the room becomes illuminated by my computer screen for a fleeting moment. Play once more. Pianos start. And then it's dark again.


There are three types of instruments I absolutely love, strings, brass, and piano. I can't explain why, but either of those instruments seem to really intensify songs... such as the piano and cello in Képzelt Város' Útmutató Újszülötteknek, the violins and trumpets in Years Of Rice And Salt's Among Your Earthiest Words The Angels Stray, the string section of the Cloud Collision Orchestra backing The Non as they play Horse Leper (2010 Norman Music Festival), and even the trumpet in Color TV from the Oklahoman synthpop band Kite Flying Robot. And of course, Kovlo's Charlotte.
Oh I love those instruments.

[Last.fm] [Bandcamp] [Facebook] [Myspace]
(Albums available for purchase on Bandcamp, there are select songs that are available for free.)

New Album Release: Years Of Rice And Salt - Nothing Of Cities

The six-piece instrumental rock band, Years Of Rice And Salt, has come out with their first full-length album, Nothing Of Cities last month (April).

Years Of Rice And Salt has always stood out to me. Their beautiful integration of violin, their mixing of music styles, and the intense emotion portrayed in some of their songs in their Service Bell EP instantly made me hooked. The new album is just more of that with the addition of trumpets. Nothing Of Cities is massive, emotional, beautiful...

Definitely one of my favourite releases of 2011. But don't let me overhype it for you... just listen...




Purchase the new album here (£5 ~8USD)

[Last.fm] [Facebook] [Myspace] [Website]

Deadhorse - Dreaming In The Face Of Disaster

[Last.fm] [Bandcamp] [Facebook] [Myspace]

The Mount Fuji Doomjazz Corporation - The Admirals Game

Two friends, one from Colorado and one from Hungary, that know nothing of each other posted The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble on facebook within a couple hours from each other. So, I thought I'd add in some of TKDE's alter ego, TMFDC... then decided to make an entry here. This blog needs more drone jazz.

[Last.fm] [Bandcamp] [Facebook] [Myspace] [Website]

Kanagawa - Pavilion Sisters

I decided to join my friend, Ágnes, in seeing No Age at the A38 on 4/18. I hadn't planned to go to that concert but I figure I might as well, plus I had always wanted to see a show on the A38. I hadn't heard any of the bands up until that night. But going to concerts where I haven't heard any of the musicians isn't new for me.

Well, the local band, Kanagawa opens up. They open with this song. I was thoroughly impressed. Their entire set was really, really good. In fact, I think they were the best performance that evening. I wasn't too keen on the band after them, and No Age was amazing, but Kanagawa stood out to me.

[Last.fm] [Facebook] [Myspace]
(Albums are not currently available because they have not been released yet. Follow them on Facebook.)

Képzelt Város - Útmutató Újszülötteknek

Képzelt Város - White Noise was my fourth post. I expressed that I hoped to fulfill my personal goal of experiencing them live. Now that I have seen them live, twice, I can say that they are definitely worth the 6000 mile (9650 km) trip. I can also say that the new songs are amazing. Rollei, Útmutató Újszülötteknek, Tejbe Fúlva... so good. I'm extremely excited about their new album.


Some of my most memorable moments of the Europe trip was also hanging out with them. They all crack me up.









Love those guys!!

[Last.fm] [Bandcamp] [Myspace] [Facebook] [Website]
(Download their albums for free on last.fm or their website.)

Time Columns - Summer

[Last.fm] [Bandcamp] [Facebook] [Myspace]
(Albums available for free on bandcamp.)

BlakFish - Ringo Starr - 2nd Best Drummer In The Beatles

This week will be Math Rock week!

[Last.fm] [Facebook] [Myspace]
(Albums available for purchase on iTunes.)

Bike For Three! - Always I Will Miss You. Always You.

[Last.fm] [Bandcamp] [Facebook] [Myspace]
(Album up for purchase on iTunes.)

Fretless guitars and bass

Today will be a little different. This is not in support of any particular band or artist but an instrument. The fretless guitar and bass.

I love fretless. It has a certain sound to it that frets just cannot compare to. So, I thought I'd share my favourite fretless videos. Some day I hope an instrumental band of only fretless instruments spawns. I would die happy.

Christophe G. - Insectes


Here are a couple more videos of him playing fretless.




And here is another person with a fretless bass.




Subscribe to them if you like them!


[cchhrriisstt]
[Pudsy]

We Plants Are Happy Plants - Apollo

[Last.fm] [Soundcloud] [Facebook] [Myspace]
(Albums are available for purchase on iTunes.)

The Carbonfools - Hideaway

I'm finally back. From now on I should be updating fairly frequently as I used to. I just had to take a bit of a break after returning. The trip was so intense. Everything we experience through life changes us. But there are some things that we experience that changes us quite drastically.

I met this woman in Budapest from a God Is An Astronaut/Marionette ID show at the Dürer-Kert in Budapest. Usually I like to look around me and see how different people take in the music. When I glanced over to her I stared for a minute, intrigued at the way she seemed to emanate her passion as she stood there, hands covering her face blocking all other senses, swaying slowly back and forth, and not just listening to the music but truly trying to experience it. In the later days we met up in a really cool pub in Budapest and spent the entire evening talking about music. During this time she introduced me to The Carbonfools, one of the bands she helps promotes. This was the song she turned me on to. I liked it a lot. But because of the intensity of everything happening at the moment, I don't think my reception to it wasn't nearly as strong as when I listened to it a second time. Back in the US on the way to the Norman Music Festival I popped in the new Carbon Soul cd she gave me to give to my friend. (I had to listen to it at least once! Hah hah.) Track six comes up, it's this song. I guess it just had more impact that time with the flood of memories and feelings of the trip, and in particular that evening I first heard it.

[Last.fm] [Bandcamp] [Facebook] [Myspace] [Website]
(A couple songs are available for purchase on Bandcamp, and their albums are available on iTunes.)