EXPLOSIONS IN THE SKY @ The Grey Eagle - 3/14/07

This show happened over two months ago, but I feel like it's worth writing about because it was literally the BEST live music I have ever seen. It was one of those great nights with your college buddies, seeing post-rock that stems from other worlds, with amazing lights and energy.

We got to the Grey Eagle right before Eluvium took the stage. The Grey Eagle is a fantastic venue, only five minutes from UNC-Asheville's campus. It's located in a "warehouse district," which is a most isolated and dark place to be at night, a perfect landmark for Explosions in the Sky, who had never come to Asheville before. Boy, did they ROCK the world.

Eluvium was pretty satisfying. Very calm, pretty, sometimes intense ambience stemming from one guy's keyboard/synths/guitar. A sweet video screen made the waves of white noise almost cinematic. The Paper Chase played second, a high energy set of freakout post-punk. Kind of like an overblown punk act with too much going on musically. Frantic and shrill, the Paper Chase had most people frowning. But, it was a good atmosphere, and the band seemed to be in good spirits like the rest of the Eagle.

Explosions played a truly mind-blowing set. Opened with "First Breat After Coma" which wove seamlessly into "Welcome, Ghosts." I wasn't expecting that loud of a show, and "First Breath" wasn't that loud until the end, but "Welcome, Ghosts" was mind-alteringly loud as fuck. Every high note hit with ear-splitting impact. I thought my face was melting off!! All in all a very nice display of intricate, well-executed post-rock. Setlist:

1. First Breath After Coma
2. Welcome, Ghosts
3. The Only Moment We Were Alone
4. Greet Death
5. What Do You Go Home To?
6. Yasmin the Light
7. Catastrophe and the Cure
8. Memorial

5/12/07 - MONO w/ Worlds End Girlfriend and Grails @ Local 506

I must admit that LOUD post-rock shows are among the finest of life's pleasures. I have seen Mogwai and Explosions in the Sky, plus a bunch of other LOUD experimental bands, namely Dinosaur Jr., who nearly made my head explode. But, none of these extremely "peel-your-face-off-LOUD" groups could prepare me for the force of Mono in one of Chapel Hill's smallest music venues. Last Saturday with Mono, Worlds End Girlfriend, and Grails would prove to be one of the finest three-band lineups I have ever seen.

Let me start by saying that if you don't own any Mono records, and you like other post-rock bands, you need to get your ass to the nearest record store. Mono takes the term "epic build-up" to a whole new extreme. They drone along for a while, keeping tight musical form, until they either add more and more effects, or take them away and then punish your ears all at once. And, the brutality of noise they create live is so intense, you'll swear the earth is quaking. They definitely recall early Mogwai classics like "Mogwai Fear Satan," only with better production and MORE noise.

Grails started the trilogy of noise with a rockin' set of instrumental psychedelic rubble. They used up to three guitars, a 12-string acoustic, and Lightning Bolt-esque drumming to create one of the most delightfully primitive storms of rock action I have seen in recent memory. All songs droned together seamlessly, as the guitarists kept dark drones running with their pedals in between songs. The set reminded me of Comets on Fire, Oneida, and Liars, with a more colossal air of noise during the loud parts.

Worlds End Girlfriend was an odd transition act. It was one long-haired Japanese dude with his laptop, a mixer, a Fender Strat, and a bunch of delay/distortion/reverb/loop pedals. It was FUCKING AWESOME. A pleasant surprise to say the least! It was like living in a bizarre dreamworld. The coolest shit ran through my head as I closed my eyes and peered into his world of drones, squealing drum machine beats, and LOUD processed guitar noise. 40 minutes of amazing mental isolation.

Mono, of course, ultimately stole the stage. They played six songs, all of them over 10 minutes, each one making my ears feel like they were being lifted off of my head, into an air of flames. One song, "Lost Snow," had the band going back and forth from loud to quiet twice, only to end in a nasty 15 minutes of pure noise. Those like me without earplugs paid dearly! My ears are still ringing like hell 2 days later! One might think that their post-rock-defining formula might get old, but each quiet part is so beautifully executed, and the loudness is so trans formative that it never gets old for me. Imagine if Godspeed You Black Emperor! removed all their samples and replaced them with long intros to beautifully cascading noise. That's what Mono is all about, and their live set certainly did their intense albums more than justice.

THE CLIENTELE: God Save the Clientele

Rating: 7.5/10

The first time I heard the Clientele, I was suspended in shimmering atmospheres: completely taken by the band's unusually dense alchemy of intense reverb and tremelos. The album I bought first was The Violet Hour, followed closely by Strange Geometry in 2005. All of their music to that point recalled similar themes of isolation and lost love, though certainly didn't lack lyrical brilliance and amazing guitar work. While my sentimental value for old Clientele is strong, I was prepared for a big change in their sound when I ventured to buy the new record, God Save the Clientele, last Tuesday.

The change isn't as dramatic as Clientele purists might fear. There's definitely more of a traditional feel to these songs, with a strong leaning on influences such as the Byrds and the Monkees. But, unlike classic Clientele, there is a jarring lack of consistency in these songs. The first half of the record is rock solid, but most of the last half is mediocre at best, with "Book Casanova" as a rare highlight. There is plenty of good material, especially "Here Comes the Phantom" and "I Hope I Know You." "Isn't Life Strange" is almost too somber, but its violins are beautiful, much like Strange Geometry's brilliant "I Can't Seem to Make You Mine."

While the production of God Save the Clientele is a bit over-done, it is definitely the work of a four-piece group rather than a three-piece. There are more strings, pianos, and horns than usual, which allows for more layers, but less mystery. The subtle production tricks of Suburban Light and The Violet Hour are infinitely more interesting. But, the dream-like effects still shimmer like looming lampshades on a dark London street corner. In the end, this record will stand as a welcome addition to the Clientele's nearly perfect catalog. But, I think I'll keep primarily listening to their old stuff, after I digest this one a little more.

The Clientele: Live at the Cat's Cradle 5/10/07

The Clientele headlined the Cat's Cradle for the first time last night, although they headlined at the Local 506 the previous two years. Alasdair MacLean and company were at the top of their game, playing to a humble, yet solid crowd of nearby indie rockers, Chapel Hill/Durham DJs, and Merge Records employees. I arrived after the first band, and the Ladybug Transistor were soundchecking. I felt fine being alone in the sparse crowd - seeing the Clientele isn't exactly supposed to feel like a party. The Ladybug Transistor, also on Merge, played a nice set of twangy southern pop, but didn't show much musical variety. At least they were in good spirits and in the welcome hands of the Merge crowd.

I went outside to the patio with a glass of water and saw Alasdair talking to some friends. As I sat and watched the Clientele frontman interact with the locals, I became lost in the night and fully prepared for the Clientele. They played a decently varied set, drawing heavily from their new album, God Save the Clientele. The set also featured "Since K Got Over Me" and "My Own Face Inside the Trees" from my favorite record of theirs, Strange Geometry. But, the highlight of the set was "Lamplight" from 2003's The Violet Hour. Alasdair went crazy on the Telecaster, making a sprawling five minutes of pretty loud raucous joined by beautiful trumpet playing from the Ladybug Transistor's singer, who joined the stage only for "Lamplight." It was probably the band's best set of the four I've seen in Chapel Hill.