A surprising number of people journeyed out in the twelve-degree weather to attend CJ’s birthday at Middle East Downstairs. I never figured out who CJ was, but he has an impressive list of friends including Hallelujah The Hills, Faces On Film, Tulsa, (melophobe favorite) Amelia Emmet of Mister Sister, and Jesse Gallagher (whose band included members of Drug Rug).
We were there primarily to check out Tulsa and Faces on Film, so without further ado, I present melophobe’s first ever review in haiku format.
My Tulsa Review
From December seventeenth
In haiku format
* * *
Middle East Downstairs
Put up some decorations
Christmas time is here
***
Tulsa opens with
Mellow shaker powered groove
“Dream, dream all day long”
***
Songs from Submerged next
Sound bigger than a trio
Until the breakdowns
***
Now taking requests
Singing “pa-rum-pum-pum-pum”
Little drummer boy
***
Last song of the set
Bass is holding down the groove
Guitar goes crazy
***
Hope a new record
Is in the works so we can
See what they do next.
***
Next up: Faces on Film.
Before hearing a single note from Faces on Film, the first thing that struck me was that they’re a well dressed band. Each member had a signature look, from frontman Mike Fiore’s “cool guy” leather jacket to the bass player’s “all business” suit to the preppy organ player’s sweater and tie to the drummer’s ironic holiday sweater. The guitar player had a Rivers Cuomo thing going on, and to top it all off, Amelia Emmet, singing backup, had a hipster-issue vintage red dress.
The first few songs were mellow, drenched in reverb, making the Middle East feel even more like a cave than it already is. The crowd was into it, though, and cozied up to the stage, giving the band their full attention.
Just when I was getting impatient with the low-key vibe, they picked up the pace and let the rhythm section groove. The drummer started with sleigh bells, and about halfway through, exploded with Keith–Moon style energy. The guitars went right along with him. Curiously, the vocals stayed pretty much the same as they were on the mellow tunes before, which gave the song a “Tomorrow Never Knows” feel.
The next few songs returned back to their original vibe, but to finish off the set, they gave the organ player a guitar and rocked out a cover tune with more raw energy and stage presence than I had seen all night.
Faces on Film does the chilled-out Arcade Fire/Fleet Foxes/Built to Spill thing really well, but I liked them best when they were out of their comfort zone, playing with a bit more excitement.
DOWNLOAD: Tulsa - Mass (MP3) or Follow us for more Tulsa MP3s (Twitter)
Oh I see. I was wondering if you were talking about the picture. Really glad you liked it. Have you checked her out yet?
by Colin on Sun Mar 14, 2010 at 02.29 pm from the entry: Interview - Kelli Schaefer (Portland, OR; Winter, 2010)
yes! The interview is great, and the photo shows off the glow
by Ian on Sun Mar 14, 2010 at 01.29 pm from the entry: Interview - Kelli Schaefer (Portland, OR; Winter, 2010)
Great post! Really digging the new record a lot. The Rainwater LP has some gorgeous moments - definitely recommend checking it out. There are 3 of the new songs up on the myspace page: myspace.com/citizencope
by MattKlomp on Sun Mar 14, 2010 at 03.16 am from the entry: Citizen Cope - Paradise Theater (Boston, MA; Feb. 27, 2010 )
haha is that a compliment?
by colin on Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 06.49 pm from the entry: Interview - Kelli Schaefer (Portland, OR; Winter, 2010)
love that melophobe has more “couples” reviewers, and more “Ian/Ion/Ian/Iain” than the average site…
by Ian on Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 06.48 pm from the entry: sevendust + drowning pool + digital summer + the flood - showbox market (seattle, WA; Mar 07, 2010
you’re positively glowing in this interview, Colin
by Ian on Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 06.46 pm from the entry: Interview - Kelli Schaefer (Portland, OR; Winter, 2010)
Hey Merseilles did a live web show at sonicbirds office gig on Friday that was pretty spectacular. Can anyone find a copy of that?
by Smallweed on Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 11.40 am from the entry: SXSW Send Off Show - Visqueen + Hey Marseilles - Neumos (Seattle, WA; Mar. 5, 2010)
