Russian Circles came to town with their familiar tour-mates, Young Widows. Those two bands toured the country last year along with Daughters for an epic tour that was really damn good. Russian Circles played a great set with their new bassist, Brian Cook, current member of These Arms are Snakes / ex-Botch. They were loud, they were clean, and they didn’t say a single word. That’s exactly why this band is so damn good.
Last week, these guys played two shows at the Doug Fir Lounge so that the under-21ers would get a glimpse of their tour in this lovely city that sorely lacks all-ages venues for bands like Russian Circles, Young Widows, or any band that I really want to see. Young Widows played a solid set, but didn’t seem to be too into it since there were only about 15 kids in the audience that didn’t show any sort of enthusiasm for this group that have released two VERY GOOD albums. Why? I mean, how many times are we going to get a chance to see Young Widows play for such a small group? I had that feeling that I was not in the kind of crowd I wanted to be with, a crowd that creates such awkward distance between the stage and the floor. Anyways, I waited patiently as Russian Circles began setting up. I lusted after Dave’s infamous and beautiful drum set along with the impressive pedal boards of Mike Sullivan and Brian Cook. Just looking at their setup really pumped me up for their performance, and a few minutes later they walked on the stage, started messing around with noise and kick-started the show with “Harper Lewis,” one of the best songs they have created. They played a handful of songs from all three albums, and this is always what you will get from these guys: a solid set list that makes you wish they would keep going. Songs like “Death Rides a Horse,” “Geneva,” and “Carpe” alone can turn almost anybody into a fan of these guys. Mike’s guitar manipulation and finger-tapping is an impressive set of skills that are comparable to Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore. Their live sound is almost identical to the record, but better since it’s so loud your ears will continue to pop five days later.
After the show, I got a chance to sit and chat with these guys for a few minutes and here are some things that were mentioned: (I lost the file that had the audio from this, so I’ll just try to give you guys a recap of the conversation)
melophobe: Mike, any news on that guitar of yours that got stolen earlier in the tour?
Mike: Last I’ve heard is that they tracked it down, and that I should be getting it back in a few weeks. It’s funny though, since I got a tattoo of the guitar wrapped around my leg with an “R.I.P.” on it, and now that I got my guitar back it doesn’t make any sense.
melophobe: It’ll make a good story though.
Mike: Yeah, it definitely will.
[During this, Dave was coughing frequently which was something that started during their show]
Brian: This guy won’t stop coughing.
melophobe: Yeah, I saw that, you guys got some vocals in your songs now.
Mike: Yeah we actually have it recorded for our shows, he’s got a headset and everything.
Dave: [laughed at the ribbing]
melophobe: Listening to your new album, it’s definitely more bass-driven. How did that come about?
Mike: We don’t like what Brian is bringing. [giggles] No, we love it. Brian wrote the majority of the album and, well, I shouldn’t be answering this question.
Brian: Yeah, well on Station, I think it’s just like, I didn’t want to like do overkill with it since, at that point it wasn’t sure if someone was going to step up into the band with Mike and Dave.”
Mike: Yeah, and Dave wrote most of the songs on Station, and Brian wrote most of this album so it was more bass and guitar work.
At this point the audio died and I cannot remember details about the rest of the conversation. We talked about their tour in Russia, future touring plans to Greece or Japan, Mike and Dave playing Botch covers and calling themselves “Crotch,” and Brian refusing to do the most ridiculous show of Botch, Snakes, and Circles in one night.
DOWNLOAD: Russian Circles - Geneva (MP3) or Follow us for more Russian Circles MP3s (Twitter)
Justin Townes Earle + Joe Pug - 2/14
Doug Fir Lounge
The Magnetic Fields - 2/21
Aladdin Theatre
The Magnetic Fields - 2/22
Aladdin Theatre
The Magnetic Fields - 2/23
Aladdin Theatre
The Magnetic Fields - 2/24
Aladdin Theatre
El Perro Del Mar - 2/28
Doug Fir Lounge
Basia Bulat - 3/8
Mississippi Studios
Avey Tare was in attendance, along with Angel from Dirty Projectors.
by David on Mon Feb 8, 2010 at 08.35 pm from the entry: Atlas Sound + Neon Indian - E&L Auditorium (New York, NY; Feb. 4, 2010)
Good catch, oh masked marvel.
by Ari Sommer on Mon Feb 8, 2010 at 02.42 pm from the entry: St Vincent + Wildbirds and Peacedrums - Doug Fir Lounge (Portland, OR; Feb. 6, 2010)
St. Sincent...ha.
by anonymous on Mon Feb 8, 2010 at 02.04 pm from the entry: St Vincent + Wildbirds and Peacedrums - Doug Fir Lounge (Portland, OR; Feb. 6, 2010)
Aan was amazing.
by jarrod on Mon Feb 8, 2010 at 01.02 pm from the entry: Blue Horns + Morning Teleportation + Aan - Doug Fir Lounge (Portland, OR Jan. 30, 2010)
I’d like to clarify that for this show they cut off the back half of Neumo’s floor with a curtain and had the upstairs bar closed. It made Neumo’s obviously seem much smaller than it is. Unfortunately, now having seen Neumo’s fully open at another show I can say that this show was very empty. Still White Denim and Brazos rocked.
by Chris on Mon Feb 8, 2010 at 01.57 am from the entry: White Denim + Brazos - Neumos (Seattle, WA; Jan. 24, 2010)
I agree, it’s very good. Way to deflate their balloon.
by colin on Mon Feb 8, 2010 at 01.03 am from the entry: Third Annual Portland Music Awards - Crystal Ballroom (Portland, OR; Jan. 28, 2010)
Love the photos. And that “Walkabout” song is the drugs.
by Beth Doreian on Sun Feb 7, 2010 at 01.14 pm from the entry: Atlas Sound + Neon Indian - E&L Auditorium (New York, NY; Feb. 4, 2010)
way to get good pics out of the doug fir! that’s a tall order.
If you like Russian Circles, you should check out Pelican’s new album. its incredible. I’ve been blastin it all day today. For anyone who’s not familiar, get yourself caught up http://www.myspace.com/pelican