An old favorite returns with a familiar, nostalgic feel

Originally published in the October 19, 2011 issue of the Coast Report.
Written by Chris Rashidian, Staff Writer

Blink-182's latest album, “Neighborhoods,” disappoints with an inconsistent mix of pop-punk and adult alternative genres peppered with a little Vans Warped Tour nostalgia.


“What’s my age again?” was the question asked in 1999 by the world-renowned group that now appears middle-aged and confused.

Yes, we remember their wild and crazy energy combined with plenty of poop jokes and juvenile love, but we eventually grow up. It is alright to change your music style. In essence, it is what makes an artist grow.

As their first album released in over eight years, “Neighborhoods” was treading on new territory while still trying to keep it’s youthful appeal. Yes, I do remember listening to them back in elementary and middle school, but music styles change, and change can be a bad thing.

I felt almost as disappointed with this album as I did when Radiohead released “In Rainbows” after their hiatus from “Hail to the Thief.”

Tom DeLonge, guitarist and vocalist for Blink-182, left the band to pursue his own dream with a group called Angels and Airwaves in 2005 just as Blink guitarist Mark Hoppus and drummer Travis Barker formed their group, +44. But in 2009, at the 51st Grammy Awards, they all appeared on stage together for the first time in five years and said that they are back, picking up where they left off.

After listening to “Neighborhoods” many times in its entirety, it did sound like they picked up where they left off. Sure, it may grow on me like “In Rainbows” eventually did, but in the eight years they spent in hiatus I expanded my musical tastes and moved on.

Nostalgia is a very tricky element that artists can employ because it has the ability to be a double-edged sword. The way that Blink-182 utilized that aspect for their album repelled me away from recommending it to friends.

In all, their new album is not going to reach the popularity that their previous ones did, but if they have the courage experiment with different styles, hopefully their next album won't disappoint.

Paramore's at the top of its game

On May 3rd, Paramore performed a solid set at a sold-out show in Columbus, Ohio. Orange Coast College alumnus and former managing editor of The Coast Report, Tony Lee, was there to catch all the action and has graciously written a review for TMP. Check it out below!

“Best show of the tour, so far,” said Paramore’s Hayley Williams after playing the third song of its 17-song set-list at the LC Amphitheater in Columbus, Ohio.

She was wrong. It might have been the best show of Paramore’s career.

Paramore, led by the 5-foot-2-inch, fire-truck-red-haired vocalist, displayed they have what it takes to be the next rock ‘n’ roll superstars.

With Relient K and fun as opening acts, the band had the sold-out crowd on May 3 rocking out to its punk-pop-rock ’n’ roll fusion and showed why they are one of the top-10 bands to see in 2010.

Williams ended the 75-minute show with the same insanely energetic demeanor she had at the beginning. Guitarists Josh Farro and Taylor York, drummer Zac Farro and bassist Jeremy Davis echoed Williams’ contagious energy that had the majority-tween crowd jumping around like popcorn kernels being popped from start to finish.

Williams even took a fan’s camera during the band's last song “Misery Business”, filmed herself, her band mates, and the crowd and captured the unforgettable atmosphere (click here to see the YouTube clip).

Williams engaged with fans throughout the entire concert by encouraging them to sing along, especially during "Whoa", and sharing gifts that she received from fans.

She had a problem with her in-ear monitor during “Decode” that deprived the audience of 10 seconds of singing, but the entire crowd filled the outdoor venue by belting the lyrics word for word.

At one point, Williams announced she would be doing a “low-budget costume change” and put on a black New Found Glory hoodie because she was “freezing” on this windy day.

The hoodie, most likely an ode to New Found Glory guitarist / boyfriend Chad Gilbert, actually became an endearing accessory as she sang “The Only Exception” - Paramore’s latest single and love song.

The show consisted of basic concert lighting, three different backdrops, and gimmick-free continual flow of songs.

Last summer, Paramore was the opening act to No Doubt. This year, they are proving it's not a stretch to say Paramore may reach No Doubt’s superstardom in the near future.

Paramore’s spring concert opened on April 27 in Nashville and ends in July 2 in Werchter, Belgium at the Rock Werchter Festival. Its last U.S. spring showing will be on May 16 in Las Vegas, Nev. at The Joint.

They will headline the Honda Civic Tour starting July 23 in Raleigh, N.C. at the Raleigh Boutique Amphitheater and ending Sept. 19 in Orange County, Calif. at, fittingly, the Honda Center.

- By Tony Lee (twitter.com/sHecKii)

"Careful" clip provided by Tony Lee

"Misery Business" clip provided by YouTube user angie0491

Set-list

1. Looking Up
2. That's What You Get
3. Playing God
4. Pressure
5. For A Pessimist, I'm Pretty Optimistic
6. Brighter
7. Turn It Off
8. The Only Exception
9. Whoa
10. crushcrushcrush
11. Let The Flames Begin
12. Ignorance
13. Where the Lines Overlap
14. Careful
15. Brick By Boring Brick

Encore

1. Decode
2. Misery Business

Check out more on Paramore - including tour dates - at their websites:

http://www.myspace.com/paramore
http://www.paramore.net

Vampire Weekend Impress at The Fox Theater in Pomona

All Photos by Flavia McBride 

 

Two days before thousands of people swarmed to Indio, CA for the Coachella Music and Arts Festival, a seemingly endless line of ticket holders weaved their way around the circumference of The Fox Theater in Pomona to see Vampire Weekend perform a sold-out show. 

The five piece band from New York recently released their sophomore album Contra to rave reviews. The album even hit number one on the Billboard 200, and it was clear that fans at The Fox Theater had Contra in constant iPod rotation since its release. 

Vampire Weekend opened with "White Sky" and the room instantly erupted with energy that would hold throughout the entire performance. The audience danced, sang, and cheered along to favorites like "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa", "One (Blake's Got A New Face)" and "A Punk".

The mood quickly became relaxed for a calm and stripped down performance of "Taxi Cab", but picked right back up for "Run" during which the eyes of the woman pictured on the giant backdrop (and Contra album cover) lit up like lasers. 

 

Frontman Ezra Koenig interacted frequently with the audience, making endearing quips between songs. At one point, when asking the crowd to sing along, he said "It's gotta be funky. Not Baja Fresh, more Del Taco, know what I mean?"

Bassist Chris Baio demonstrated some admirable dance moves, and the entire band seemed genuinely excited to play together. 

Vampire Weekend closed with "Oxford Comma" before returning to play three encore songs. Koenig thanked the audience and boldly declared to all those not attending Coachella that the festival "might not get any better" than this performance. 

In a way, he was right.  Not only were Koenig's vocals spot on the entire night, but the band as a whole was able to perform in a polished yet natural way. There were no instances where I felt like I could sense the band thinking, rather they seemed to be able to let go and have fun without worrying about the result. 

The attitude definitely transferred to the audience; it seemed like the crowd could not have been any more excited to spend an evening rocking out with Vampire Weekend, and neither could I.

-Eszter Zimanyi

Check out more photos from Vampire Weekend's set at The Fox Theater on our flickr account: http://www.flickr.com/photos/themusicpirate 

See videos of Vampire Weekend's ENTIRE set at The Fox Theater on Eszter's YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/eszterzimanyi

Keep up with Vampire Weekend at their websites:
http://www.myspace.com/vampireweekend
http://www.vampireweekend.com

Vampire Weekend at The Fox Theater in Pomona

Last night Vampire Weekend played a show at The Fox Theater in Pomona, CA and by all accounts it was amazing. TMP sent Eszter Zimanyi to cover the event along with photographer Flavia McBride, and next week we'll have a proper review posted along with some great photos. For now though, here is one of the 19 videos Eszter took along with the set list from last night's show: 





Set list: 

1. White Sky
2. Holiday
3. Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa
4. I Stand Corrected
5. M79
6. Bryn
7. California English
8. Cousins
9. Taxi Cab
10. Run
11. A Punk
12. One (Blake's Got A New Face)
13. Diplomat's Son
14. Giving Up The Gun
15. Campus
16. Oxford Comma


Encore:


1. Horchata
2. Mansard Roof
3. Walcott

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club 3/17 at HOB Anaheim Review

In one of their hit songs, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club answers their own question. They ask, “Whatever happened to my rock and roll?”

This is a valid question when discussing today’s underground music. We are surrounded by electronic beats and soft folksy tunes today but when searching for raw rock and roll, listeners are forced to look to the past.

At BRMC’s Tuesday performance at the House of Blues Anaheim, they answered their question with their loud guitar and heavy drums and said, “Rock and Roll is right here.”

This was apparent in the audience. While waiting for the band to start, I was surrounded by mostly men aged 50+. Some were singing along to the Iggy Pop playing in the background, probably reminiscing about when they saw The Stooges when they were my age. Of course BRMC would have an older audience; they have the same no-nonsense raw rock that The Stooges and their contemporaries have.

The band walked out on stage without saying a word, and jumped right into their music. The first thing I noticed was their new drummer, Leah Shapiro. Her heavy drums stood out in the third song of the evening, “Stop” and “Berlin.”

The first half of their set was filled with waves of fast songs to slow songs, then slowed down signifigantly mid-set. This brought the best part of the evening.



Robert sat at the piano under the spotlight and played a most beautiful rendition of the Edgar Allen Poe poem, “Annabelle Lee”. It was haunting, it was gorgeous, just like Poe wrote it. A faithful tribute.

The mood was stopped abruptly by the sharp harmonica intro of “Ain’t No Easy Way”, and continued to step up the pace with “Spread Your Love.”

Peter Hayes brought you back down again with his great acoustic solo of “Sympathetic Noose.”

The title track off their new album “Beat the Devil’s Tattoo” was another stand out song.

They played three encore songs, and ended with “Open Invitation”, one of their slower, sad songs. They let us down gently, and walked away just as silent as they entered,

I heard an audience member asked as I was walked away, “Why would they end with that song?”

You can’t expect anything else from a band of rebels.

-Taylor Hamby

The Twilight Saga: New Moon Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Review

The next installment of the “Twilight” movie series will premiere Friday and tickets are already selling out. 

For The Twilight Saga: New Moon Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, the artist selection strayed from the more mainstream bands featured on the first Twilight soundtrack and compiled a mix of indie-rock heavyweights that do not disappoint.

Perhaps the most interesting element of the soundtrack is not the artists featured on it, but that almost every song on the soundtrack is an original piece made specifically for the Twilight movie.

Death Cab for Cutie’s radio friendly original “Meet Me on the Equinox” opens the album.

The song is classic Death Cab, but its lyrics seem painfully forced. It’s as if the band wrote the song with the objective of including as many clear Twilight references as possible.

Lyrics such as “Let our bodies intertwine / But always understand that everything ends” seem like they could have been taken straight out of Meyer’s book.

Lykke Li’s “Possibility” is a gorgeous piano ballad that will surprise those only familiar with her singles and Grizzly Bear’s “Slow Life,” which features singer Victoria Legrand of Beach House, is a fantastic swirl of harmonies and symphonic bliss.

Thom Yorke’s “Hearing Damage” is the standout piece on the soundtrack. It’s a jittery electronic ballad of sorts similar in style to the tracks on Radiohead’s last full-length album “In Rainbows.”

Yorke also wrote “Hearing Damage” specifically for the Twilight soundtrack, but unlike Death Cab for Cutie’s original piece, “Hearing Damage” could easily fit onto one of Yorke’s or Radiohead’s own albums.

Its chorus of “You can do no wrong in my eyes” is perfectly applicable to the relationship between Twilight’s protagonist Bella and her vampire lover Edward, but is still ambiguous enough to avoid seeing flashes of the movie upon every listen.

The majority of the soundtrack features dreamy and atmospheric songs with hushed overtones and lots of acoustics, but there are a few upbeat tracks.

“Monsters” by Hurricane Bells is sure to get stuck in your head, in a good way, and Band of Skulls’ “Friends” is another toe-tapper.

Though none of the songs on the New Moon soundtrack are representative of their respective artists’ best work, the soundtrack is a great introduction to indie music for all those Twi-hards who haven’t yet experienced it, and definitely worth the buy.

A review of "The BQE"

Sufjan Stevens has outdone himself once again with his latest release. Though the inception of The BQE may have been a simple project commissioned by the Brooklyn Academy of Music, it has snowballed into something more. This is a masterpiece that surpasses all notions and boundaries of what one would expect from a current artist. Perhaps that’s the magic of Sufjan Stevens; we know his sound, but with each release he does something new. One can never know what to fully expect from this man.


As I sit hear listening to the album, I can’t help but envision Sufjan on stage surrounded by a symphony in a beautiful concert hall. The explosions of sound, the arrangement of each instrument—it is all too brilliant. Some pieces are dark and brooding (Interlude I: Dream Sequence in Subi Circumnavigation), while others are lighthearted and playful- calling to mind paintings from the Rococo era (“Movement III: Linear Tableau with Intersecting Surprise”). However, Stevens does not end the musical journey in the 1700s. There is a sense of modernity when electronic elements are showcased in the appropriately titled “Movement IV: Traffic Shock”, with all the samples and sounds creating a mental image of frenzy and confusion, truly mirroring “the BQE’s inexplicable twists and turns,” as Stevens goes on to explain in the accompanying comic book. (Yes, a comic book!)


The ending track, “Prelude: Critical Mass” is a delicate and moving piece. There is a sense of serenity; a stillness and sadness that stirs the soul. It is the most perfect and calm way to end a tumultuous journey through the BQE (and when I say tumultuous, do not think of the negative dictionary definition, for the tumult presented on this album is nothing but the best kind of uproar and loudness. The sounds shift from heavy to light, from calm to bellicose, and that is what I am trying to capture). The BQE is a road that begs to be traveled down again and again.


This album is easily one of the best that I have had the pleasure of listening to in 2009.


You can purchase the album in various forms through Asthmatic Kitty Records.

Posted by Gabrielle Costa

Gogol Bordello 10/18 Show Review

Gogol Bordello came to The Grove in Anaheim on Oct. 18 and our writer Taylor Hamby was there to experience the awesome gypsy punk ruckus caused by frontman Eugene Hutz and his crew of ragtag Eastern Europeans.

Read Taylor's review of Gogol Bordello live at The Grove in Anaheim after the jump.

Acoustache, Volume One Out Now!

Huntington Beach's poster boys have graced us, yet again, with a new collection of their pop infused roots rock. Moostache's recent release, Acoustache, Volume One, strays slightly from the distorted string section listeners are used to, hence the title. This six song, no wires attached EP is no let down. The release still seaps with the gritty yet delicate harmonies that have accentuated the style of the Stache in the past and even incorporates new elements such as the southern pluckin' banjo in tracks like "Hold On" and "Basics."

Acoustchache, Volume One is available to download on the band's website, but here's the twist. They've given potential listeners three options to download the EP: Pay $5, "Steal It" or name your own price. Whichever you choose, you won't be disappointed.

Download the EP here: http://moostachemusic.com/acoustache

Also check out the band's other sites:

http://moostachemusic.com/

http://myspace.com/moostachetheband

http://facebook.com/moostache

http://twitter.com/moostachemusic

Fever Ray Mesmerizes in Pomona

Fever Ray wowed the crowd at The Glasshouse in Pomona last week. Our writer Eszter was there to experience the majesty. Read her review after the jump.

Amazing Baby Rock Los Angeles

Amazing Baby have been touring non-stop for more than 6 months now. They have traveled across the globe in promotion of their debut full length album, Rewild, and after a few weeks off this October, they'll be heading back on the road again. So, when I interviewed Amazing Baby frontman Will Roan two weeks prior to the band's September 23rd Los Angeles tour date and heard him divulge how overwhelming endless traveling can be, I began to wonder if my show date would bring me five exhausted musicians and a lackluster at best performance. Boy was I wrong. 

Video by Eszter Zimanyi

To read more of Eszter's review of the performance, click the link below!

Dead Man's Bones debut out Oct. 3

After a long wait, Ryan Gosling's indie-horror band Dead Man's Bones is finally coming out with their debut album. The album comes out Tuesday, Oct. 6. They are currently streaming the album in it's entirety on their MySpace page.

"In The Room Where You Sleep" was redone, a bit to my disappointment. The live version (video below) had a rawer, haunting feel to it. The album version adds some organ to the song, which is actually pretty cool. Think of something you would hear at the Haunted Mansion in Disneyland. The thing is, the live version has grown on me for so long. Oh well, at least I have an mp3 of the live version too.

Another Dead Man's Bones song that has been circulating the blogosphere and YouTube didn't make the cut either. You can listen to it here though.

Dead Man's Bones - Name In Stone

Dead Man's Bones will be embarking on a tour in support for their debut album, with a few California dates thrown in. Next week on Oct. 9, they will be performing in Los Angeles for a benefit show. I will try to make it out for a show review!

Oct 9 2009

8:00P

SCM Benefit Show @ Bob Baker Marionette Theater Los Angeles, California

Oct 14 2009

8:00P

Middle East Cambridge, Massachusetts

Oct 15 2009

8:00P

Le Poisson Rouge New York, New York

Oct 16 2009

8:00P

First Unitarian Church Sanctuary Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Oct 17 2009

8:00P

Sixth & I Historic Synagogue Washington DC, Washington DC

Oct 19 2009

8:00P

Le National Montreal, Quebec

Oct 20 2009

8:00P

The Music Gallery Toronto, Ontario

Oct 21 2009

7:00P

Schubas Tavern (Early Show) Chicago, Illinois

Oct 21 2009

10:00P

Schubas Tavern (Late Show) Chicago, Illinois

Oct 23 2009

8:00P

The Triple Door Seattle, Washington

Oct 24 2009

8:00P

Venue Vancouver, British Columbia

Oct 25 2009

8:00P

Mississippi Studios Portland, Oregon

Oct 27 2009

8:00P

Swedish American Hall San Francisco, California

Oct 30 2009

8:00P

The Regent Los Angeles, California

Posted by Lucas Vocos

Locals Showcase: Moostache

The Huntington Beach based, sibling quartet, Moostache, may be notably recognized for their quirky, avant-garde name, but don’t be fooled. The Orange County native’s most recent release, The Body Disagrees, portrays a keen sense of maturity that provides a better look into who these indie rockers truly are.

More of Mike's interview with Moostache after the jump.

Artist to Watch: Wolf In A Spacesuit

 Photo courtesy of Wolf In A Spacesuit

Wolf In A Spacesuit has made an interesting decision in refusing to disclose their identities. Hiding behind a veil of canine anonymity, Wolf In A Spacesuit first garnered attention through the support of psych-pop darlings MGMT, who placed the group in their coveted top friends list. The band's anonymity is both intriguing and infuriating, but above all else, it forces listeners to make judgements purely on the sounds they hear, and not on the physical appearance of the artists creating them.

Brand New - Daisy

In the ever-changing realm of music, it has become nearly impossible for bands to consistently keep up with the times. Brand New, despite the constant transitioning of today’s music from one hype to the next, has managed to produce a few of the most influential albums of it’s time without restricting themselves to one genre.

To read more of Mike's review of Brand New - Daisy, click the link below!

Coachella Wrap-Up

Coachella came and went. To read Lucas and Chase's review of Coachella, click the link below