(7/8/10) Ola Podrida at Mohawk

One of my favorite "getting late and close to bed time" listens is the Belly Of The Lion album by Ola Podrida. I was at their first live show last year at Mohawk with Balmorhea. It was quite the experience and also some of the most beautiful music I have ever heard. Frontman Dave Wingo is a talented dude, playing both guitar and banjo to go along with that soothing singing voice. If you have not heard Ola Podrida (Spanish for "bad or rotten" wave) then you should definitely give it an honest listen. Check out the video for Ola Podrida's single, "This Old World":


This Old World - OLA PODRIDA from Zellner Bros. on Vimeo.

Here is the link to the review I wrote last year for Double Stereo:

Ola Podrida at Mohawk

Tickets for this Thursday's show will be sold at the door. Tickets are only $7 dollars for 21+, $9 for minors as it is listed as an all ages show. Dana Falconberry and Bosque Brown are also on the bill. Arrive by 10:00pm to see the whole show. Don't be that guy (or woman) that only shows up for headliners.

Concert Review: Ola Podria at Mohawk

Dave Wingo of Ola Podrida (photo by Mary Rehak)

Friday night I found myself once again at Mohawk, one of my favorite Red River hangouts here in Austin. Headlining was Austin’s own Balmorhea, whom I heard on the local tastemaker radio station earlier in the day. As brilliant and symphonic as Balmorhea may be, the attraction for me was their label mate, Ola Podrida. I was actually looking forward to seeing both bands, as this bill sounded like something worth seeing live underneath the night sky at Mohawk’s outdoor stage.

Unfortunately due to the cold weather (cold for Austin anyway) and the chance of rain, Friday’s show had to be moved into the smaller indoor stage. The indoor stage isn’t the outdoor stage by any means, but at least it’s intimate and everyone was warm. It just tends to be too crowded indoors for a show that draws a crowd the size of Friday’s.

As I walked inside, Martin Crane of the Austin based indie band Brazos, was performing some solo stuff he’d written. It was just Crane and his electric guitar. I caught the last couple of songs from Crane and it was literally over in a flash. Shortly thereafter, Ola Podrida took the stage for the first time in Austin this year. Ola Podrida, which translates in Spanish as “rotten wave”, is fronted by Dave Wingo. Wingo is an Austin based singer-songwriter who has spent the last year receiving great critical acclaim for Ola Podrida’s latest album, Belly of The Lion.

As Ola Podrida got started, Wingo introduced new band mates Colin Swietek (guitar) and David McComb (bass). Wingo also introduced his drummer, who he told everyone was with him since the beginning, Matthew Frank. After a couple of sips of the Lone Star to his side, Wingo and company started playing songs from Belly of The Lion.

From the get go, the band had to deal with sound issues. Their faces showed them trying to play through it, but it was clear that it was bugging them. It wasn’t anything terrible, just an annoying little buzz coming through the speakers for all to hear in between songs. Once Ola Podrida started playing a song, the buzz was hardly noticeable. I only heard it because I was front and center to the stage.

As much as I like Ola Podrida's albums, it didn’t start translating live until they picked up the indie shoegaze. The first couple of songs were acoustic guitar driven and when the buzzing sound was at its worst. Come the third song, the electric guitar and the drums woke up with “Roomful of Sparrows”. Watching Colin Sweitek strum away at light speed and hearing Wingo turn up his internal vocal volume woke us all up.

Right after, Wingo put his guitar down and picked up the banjo to start playing “Donkey”. On “Donkey” Wingo had to start that over a couple of times as he pulled the cord out of his banjo only to create more of that darn buzzing noise. Having made a full recovery from the small hiccup, they went on to play “Donkey” and nailed it. That was a nice gift for me as it is my favorite slow song on Belly of The Lion.

The other highlight of the set for me was “This Old World”, also off Belly of The Lion. Wingo had his banjo again and the buzz almost wasn’t there. I think because their music is so good, there wasn’t anything that could have kept me from enjoying Ola Podrida’s set. There was just something about being there for their first live show that added something special to the evening.

(Review written for and published on Double Stereo.com. All live photos by Mark Rehak).

Concert Review: Smile Smile at Emo's

Smile Smile live at Emo's (photo by Sarah Vasquez)

Thursday night at Emo’s, in the midst of all the Red River history performing that night, was a quiet young indie duo no one seemed to recognize. Dallas, Texas’s Smile Smile was the indie pop break between a line-up of power pop heavy hitters like Cruiserweight, The Riddlin’ Kids and their touring mates, Bowling for Soup. It was all an interesting experience to say the least.

As I arrived at Emo’s local pop punk and Red River icons, Cruiserweight, were finishing up their set. I know Stella Maxwell’s voice anywhere, as I have seen them so many times over the years here in Austin. They did a great job of pumping up the crowd only for Smile Smile to bring them down shortly thereafter.

As Smile Smile took the stage, I wasn’t surprised to see the teeny pop punk kids give them funny looks, as if they were thinking “Where’s the rest of the band?” or “Are these the kids from Juno?”. What they didn’t know, besides who they actually were, is that the two have an interesting history which would come out in the music they were about to play.

Smile Smile lead singer/guitarist Ryan Hamilton and pianist Jencey Hirunrusme were in a relationship when they started the band. They recorded their first album, Blue Roses, when they were still together. Their relationship eventually lead to an engagement and then to a break up. Despite the break up, the two carried on with Smile Smile and have a new album coming in February of next year. The duo’s music they performed Thursday night reflected all that.

They opened their set with the upbeat “Anymore”, perhaps as an inside joke amongst each other. Hamilton’s indie rock angst mixed with Hirunrusme’s sad sweetness make for an interesting dynamic on stage. Can you imagine writing songs about an ex, singing them to her and then performing with them in front of hundreds of strangers? I can’t. You’d understand if you knew my exes. My break up songs would be totally post-rock or punk.

All of their songs pretty much had that ended relationship sort of theme. After Anymore, they went into “Beg You to Stay” and “Sad Song” towards the end of their set. Both tracks belong in a heart wrenching break up scene on a CW show or a Focus Film. That Ryan Hamilton is a sad dude, or was when he was writing.

His hurt and sadness still shows a little here and there on stage, as Hirunrusme had to have the audience tell Hamilton to stop yelling at her. The young girls standing in the front gladly abliged. She may have been playing around, but underneath it all was a plea to stop the hurt. It was in her eyes even though she tried to hide it with a smile and her hair. Being so close to the stage, it was plain as day to me. Hamilton even snapped back just a little, just enough to not sound like an angry jerk. He said something to her about going too fast or her impatience as she hit her iPod, which was attached to her keyboard, too early.

Smile Smile live at Emo's (photo by Sarah Vasquez)

Other than that, they nailed their set without being booed or having people walk away. Sure some were talking and texting during their slower stuff, but the pop punk crowd was won over with Smile Smile’s indie version of the classic Blink 182 cover, “Dammit”. It was the most memorable moment for me other than their little lovers quarrel. The only thing I was left wondering is whether or not the duo will sustain long enough to support their album, “Truth On Tape”, which is being released on February 16, 2010. I hope they do. Even though I wasn’t too crazy about them personally, I can see a lot of people really liking their music as a way to help cope with the rough relationship patches in their life.

To better understand this dynamic and check out a couple of live clips, watch this video:



Smile Smile set list from their Emo's Austin show on December 3, 2009:

Anymore

Beg You to Stay

Tempo Bledsoe

Dammit

Cancer

The Attic

Sleepwalking

Sad Song

Truth on Tape

For more on Smile Smile, visit the following links:

Smile Smile on MySpace

Smile Smile official website

(Review written for and published on www.doublestereo.com)

My Fanfarlo Wednesday in Austin

Fanfarlo

www.myspace.com/fanfarlo

When I woke up Wednesday morning, I had no idea I'd get to see Fanfarlo, one of the UK's greatest indie bands, right here in Austin. To be honest, I had no idea they were in town. It was really weird how it all happened. It was almost movie-esque when you think about it. 

I heard them perform a live set on KUT Wednesday afternoon and learned that they were playing The Independent that night. I really hadn't planned on going out, but was so impressed by what I heard that I was starting to mull it over. I was thinking about it so much that I "tweeted" it when I sat back down at my desk to do some work. As it turns out, a friend of mine saw my tweet and offered me her tickets. How could I say no?

I hadn't been to The Independent yet, so if for no other reason, I wanted to check out the venue. As I arrived Wednesday night, the New York based Free Lance Whales were playing. They were alright. Not bad, not great. They were a good opener and I'd be inclined to check them out again some time. I'm sure they'll be back around again soon.

Shortly there after Free Lance Whales finished, Fanfarlo took the stage. Lead singer Simon Balthazar and Cathy Lucas (who plays every instrument except drums it seems) got things going with "Drowning Men" off their current album, Reservoir. The rest of the band joined them for "I'm a Pilot" and stayed on throughout their set. I loved watching them switch instruments and put together this great variety of sounds. Their music is brilliant and their live show is worth seeing.  If you've never heard Fanfarlo, check out this video for their single "The Walls are Coming Down":



Here is their set list from Wednesday night's show at The Independent:

Drowning Men

I'm a Pilot

Finish Line

Harold T. Wilkins

Atlas

The Walls Are Coming Down

Fire Escape

Wings

Comets

Luna

Ghosts

Concert Review: Cursive live at Mohawk

Cursive live from Mohawk (photo by Mary Rehak)

I remember getting Rolling Stone Magazine in the early part of the decade, which is where I first heard of the Omaha, Nebraska indie band, Cursive. I remember that same day I found a used copy of The Ugly Organ at the now defunct neighborhood CD Warehouse. With used copies, they used to let you listen to it in one of their store stereos with headphones on before you bought it. I know I’m dating myself here, but I miss that experience. The instant after “Some Red Handed Slight of Hand” came on through my headphones, my music collection had a new permanent addition. Saturday night at Mohawk, Cursive finally took to the stage in front of me after all these years of waiting. I remember that feeling I got years ago when I first heard The Ugly Organ in CD Warehouse. That’s the feeling I got from Cursive Saturday night at Mohawk.

As I arrived at Mohawk I caught the set of Cursive’s current touring mate and fellow Omaha brethren, Capgun coup. I thought it was an interesting paring to say the least. I think the hundreds of Cursive fans at Mohawk felt differently. While Austin indie crowds always clap politely, very few people in attendance were feeling these guys. It was evident from the band member’s faces that it was the vibe they got as well.

I think they really lost the crowd when they introduced their song, “Wish I was a fag”. The word “fag” regardless of meaning or connotation is not something that will go over with the open minded, liberal hipster audiences in Austin, Texas. If you listen to the song, it’s not meant to be used with a homophobic connotation, but it was just not a good idea to perform it when that audience was on the fence about you to begin with. I didn’t think they were all that terrible. I enjoyed their last song, not because it was their last song but because it was entertaining. It was called “Bad Bands”. The lead singer even introduced the song by saying “this is about bands like us” and got a laugh out of the audience. It was very basement party rock and the only song I’d actually download from them.

After what felt like a short set from Capgun Coup, the band we all came to see was setting up. It was a trip because it was only 10:50pm and the headliner was almost ready to go on. Gone are the days of late outdoor shows on Red River. I keep forgetting about that stupid noise ordinance, or I keep trying to anyway. Still, with perfect weather on a Saturday, Cursive going on earlier than I expected was just fine with me.

After they started off the set with “The Martyr”, a rush really took over me as started to perform “I Couldn’t Love You”, my favorite song off their current album Mama I’m Swollen. Lead singer Tim Kasher almost sounded like the CD itself, except he brought the high notes a little higher and threw in some more angst. The trumpet/organ player was great in that his trumpet playing didn’t overpower Kasher’s vocals. Again, it was all very close to CD like quality.

Shortly after, Cursive broke into The Ugly Organ album with “Gentleman Caller” and later “Butcher The Song” much to the diehard crowd’s appreciation. My favorite song from The Ugly Organ didn’t come until toward the set’s end with the ever-so angsty “Sierra”. It was nice to be around other people who scream “Sierra” out loud. I thought I was the only person who did that while alone in my room at two in the morning.

The most enjoyable part of the set for me was everything from Mama I’m Swollen, Cursive’s latest album. I think it because that is the Cursive album that reminded me how much I enjoy their music, because it had been since The Ugly Organ that I really liked something from them. Also, it is the album I have been listening to all year since I reviewed it. Being that it was all fresh in my head, I was more than ready to hear those songs live. I thought they were going to end the night with “From The Hips” as it would have been my choice for a closer. Instead they went with “Big Bang” from their Domestica album. Hearing how good “Big Bang” sounded live actually got me thinking about revisiting that album. What more can be said really? What an experience.

Cursive live from Mohawk (photo by Mary Rehak)

After their set lead singer Tim Kasher made sure everyone in attendance knew that their friends and Saddle Creek Records label mates, The Old Canes, were playing at Emo’s. Being that it was only around midnight, off we all went.

Cursive's set list from Saturday's concert:
The Martyr
I Couldn't Love You
Gentleman Caller
Dorothy at 40
Mama I'm Swollen
Butcher The Song
A Red So Deep
Retreat!
The Recluse
Mama I'm Satan
Mothership Mothership Do You Read Me
Sierra
What Have I Done
Art is Hard
The Casualty
From The Hips
Big Bang

(Review written for and published on www.doublestereo.com)

Concert Review: J Tillman at Mohawk

 

photo by Mary Rehak

Friday night was yet another perfect night in Austin, Texas. The weather was cool, but not cold. With almost a full moon to light up the night sky and a few visible stars, the setting for a J. Tillman concert outdoors couldn’t have been any better if it were scripted in a Hollywood indie film. The drummer from Fleet Foxes was at the mic singing while playing guitar in front of a bunch of bearded hipsters wearing flannels and indie couples sitting down on the cold pavement floor of Mohawk.

In all my years of coming to see shows at Mohawk, I have never seen a show where most of the audience was sitting down in front of the outdoor stage. It was a nice change and appropriate for the type of live show Tillman and his backing band perform.  It isn’t like anyone is going to be starting a pit or crowd surfing at this show. My only qualm with sitting on the pavement to watch the show was getting stuck in front of the only drunk idiot trio of wannabe hipsters who couldn’t shut up there for a while. Still, not even they could have ruined a great performance by Tillman.

photo by Mary Rehak

That being said, even I was taken by surprise at how much I enjoyed Tillman’s set. He played a good mix of his singer song-writer, coffee house folk I came to expect along with some pretty angsty sounding, ambient indie rock. You should have seen Tillman’s wild Rick Rubin-esque beard blowing in the wind and waving around as he aggressively strummed his electric guitar. Simply put, Tillman and company put a lot of the young post rockers I’ve seen to shame. Again, I thought he was all coffee shop and had no idea he rocked like that.

The other surprise of the night was how funny Tillman could be. It wasn’t like stand up funny, but more like nerdy music guy funny. He shared his story about his Waterloo Records music purchase with the crowd, as he played an in store earlier in the day there. Apparently, Waterloo’s owner gives performers a discount on purchases while there at Waterloo. According to Tillman, the owner wanted to see what he had purchased with his discount. Tillman assumed it was probably in hopes of seeing what great album or obscure vinyl he may have picked out, but Tillman only had a Battlestar Galactica DVD in hand. He stopped the story there, but that’s all that needed to be said really.

Tillman also made reference to Robbie Williams of all people, when thanking the audience for cheering a minute before a song was over. He wasn’t being snarky, but rather trying to communicate how awesome he felt to have people cheering while he was playing music and singing the way people do when they see someone like Robbie Williams. It just took us all by surprise to hear the name “Robbie Williams” come out of this awesomely bearded rock star’s mouth. Did I mention his beard was awesome?

photo by Mary Rehak

Overall, the best part of the show was the music. Having performed songs mostly from his latest album, Year in the Kingdom, Tillman reminded me how much more I like his music in comparison to Fleet Foxes. If I wasn’t so close to the stage to clearly see and hear Tillman, I would have sworn I was listening to the CD itself. He was that spot on vocally Friday night, only with a much fuller sound given he had his whole band backing him. Too bad no one was recording this for a live video. This would have been the show to do it. The sound…the setting…everything was perfect.

Set List from Friday Night's concert:

All You See
When I Light Your Darkened Door
No Occasion
Firstborn
Vacilando Territory
Vessels
Howling Light
Crosswinds
Though I Have Wronged You
Barter Blues
Master's House
There Is No Good In Me
New Imperial Grand Blues

(Review written and published on www.DoubleStereo.com)