Katuwapitiya

Titus Andronicus, Sneaky Dee’s, April 9th 2010

Titus Andronicus at Sneaky Dees

One word: Epic.

More words: The show was really solid. Openers Sandman Viper Command were awesome and I’ll be doing a review of their album in the upcoming weeks. Hollerado was pretty good as well (though I expected a little more energy). Titus Andronicus rocked really hard and the only aspect of the show that wasn’t awesome was some of the banter from the lead singer. But based on his lyrics, I suppose that’s just because he’s such a brooding individual. Namely, he was mad that people moshing to mosh-worthy music were hitting his monitors (you really need a monitor splash zone) and that there weren’t enough ladies in the front. Again, with more shows, I’m sure he’ll get used to the scene that accompanies this sort of music. Hopefully. The alternative would be that they start making music that Gap and American Apparel would like…

Here’s a video of their song “Four Score and Seven”, the camera shakes when jumping lads strike me in the arm:

Florence + The Machine, Kool Haus, April 10th 2010

Florence + The Machine at Kool Haus

One word: Sweet.

More words: Florence has the best voice in indie music. With that said, there was one major problem with the show: the crowd sucked. It wasn’t just a bunch of pseudohipsters, it was people who were expecting a quiet stroll in the park at a concert. There was little movement during songs in the majority of the venue and people were mad when there was bumping into one another or when someone was too loud (yes, too loud at a CONCERT!). And if you were wondering, yes, I was accused of being too loud. The only time the crowd did move was when Florence asked people to start jumping for “Dog Days Are Over” (which was incredible, btw). Kool Haus, as a venue, always disappoints. With that said, Florence had a great deal of energy and could never let a crowd down with a voice like that.

Here’s a video of “Kiss With a Fist”. The only movement in the video was me as the rest of the crowd around me might as well have been balancing bowls on their heads.

More concert reviews to come next week!

Dizzee Rascal hasn’t really been relevant to me since his amazing debut. His last few releases have not spoken to me at all and his flow has been annoying at times (I still remember an awkward Rogers Picnic performance two years ago). Florence + The Machine on the other hand blew me away with their debut release Lungs and I’m excited to see them in concert soon!

I would never think of combining Florence Welch and Dizzee but the Brits did. And it’s awesome. Dizzee moves up a notch in my book. All Grammy performances pale in comparison to this:

Sometimes people think that I’m just into one type of music: “indie”. I suppose that’s true, I do love independent music. However, it’s definitely much more than one genre. Lately, I’ve been getting more into these indie rock playlist torrents produced by Blalock which have hundreds of songs every month that I sift through for bands that I might like (there are other similar torrents as well). There are a lot of songs that I just don’t vibe with, but after a few listens I find about 10 that have some potential. I found out about The Joy Formidable and Florence and the Machine through lists like these. I figured that I should start sharing the finds that I make while I make them. So here are three off of a playlist from December (it takes a while to sift). You might notice that they all sound pretty different from each other, so take that as proof of my versatility, lol:

The Snake The Cross The Crown- Coming Down The Hill

The Snake The Cross The Crown

I love the Southern vibe of this song. The vocals are perfectly suited to the piano and guitars that set the backdrop. The harmonica really seals the deal on this one. Hate the band name though.

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His Clancyness- Ottawa Backfired Soon (early)

His Clancyness

I can’t really think of any good bands from Ottawa off the top of my head, so let me introduce you to His Clancyness! It’s a great song because his music sounds like it was made by The Shins. His dreamy vocals seem perfectly suited for the soundtrack of Garden State 2. Hate the band name though.

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The Smiles and Frowns- The Echoes of Time

The Smiles and Frowns

I wanted to hate this song as soon as I read the band name and heard the vocals start. But somehow, in 3 minutes, this song won me over. This little song has an endearing quality that I can’t explain, whimsical if anything. I think it’s a gem. Hate the band name though.

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I dare you to listen to those three songs and tell me that all the stuff I listen to sounds the same! Bands that I do like seem to share one quality though: terrible band names…