 |
 |
 |
 |
|
You are here...
April 2009 Archives |
April 20, 2009
I attended my first concert of 2009 at the Metro on 4/11. I was treated to 2 solid bands and one forgettable band in one of the better Saturday night shows that I have attended in recent memory.
The show was a co-headline tour featuring Mates of State and The Black Kids. I have been a huge Mates of State fan since I was able to check them out at Lollapalooza last year. They put on one of the best live shows as they are consistently playing to the crowd’s wishes and they are tight after a number of years playing together (not to mention that they are married, which always helps matters). I was quite impressed with their set as they mixed a bunch of new material off their latest 2008 release (Re-Arranger) with lots of older stuff. I am not as familiar with their older catalog but that doesn’t take away from the catchiness of their hooks and melodies. You add in the fact that they tour with a couple of multi-instrumentalists that round out their sound and you have yourself one of the better sounding acts around.
The highlights of their set for me were GOODS, GET BETTER, MY ONLY OFFER, and my personal favorite live, LIKE U CRAZY.
The hidden gem of the evening was the opening act for the headliners, Sunbears! This is a duo from Florida that reminded me a lot of The Flaming Lips with their crazy onstage antics and the way they tried to tie in a great visual experience with their music. Throughout the course of their short but inspired 30 minute set they managed to have multiple showers of confetti, some crazy psychedelic videos on their movie screen and one giant shaped alien head that corresponded with their song DREAM HAPPY DREAMS. Since the band only has one EP under their belts (DREAM HAPPY DREAMS) they had a very small catalog to choose from for their set but it was still great.
I went out and bought their EP the next day (for bargain price of $6.99). All 7 songs are just like I remembered them from the show, from the danceable A LOVELY TUESDAY IN JUNE to bass heavy I’M ALIVE! The band does not have the lyrical ability of The Flaming Lips. I would even go as far as to say that their lyrics are something to be desired but I’m willing to overlook their shortcoming right now. They are having fun making some catchy tunes and they thoroughly entertained me that Saturday.
