Happy Tartan Day everyone! Hope everyone got their haggis on, drank IrnBru with vodka and watched Braveheart and Trainspotting.
Bowery Ballroom was all decked out for the occasion with blue and white balloons and Scottish flags. Nothing says "Rock On!" like helium balloons. As we discovered tonight, the event was to promote Scottish tourism. I just had a great time tonight -- awesome music and got to see some friends I haven't seen in a while and hear tunes spun from my old bud Rob from Albert Belle & Sebastian Bach. He played my favorite Super Furry Animals song.
So Sons and Daughters headlined Bowery for the first time. I last saw them last in September 2005 at Mercury. Since then, they took a wee break to regroup and record new material. Most importantly, they have a show on ABC that airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. EST. No release date on the new album but they road tested some new tunes tonight.
Setlist:
- Dance Me In
- Hunt
- Nest
- Gift
- Red Receiver
- Taste the Last Girl
- War on Love
- Rebel
- Choked
- Gilt Complex
- Johnny Cash
- Encore: Rama Lama
- Girl Group
The new material like Nest and Gift are still in the Sons and Daughters vein -- dark, menacing alt-country, boot stomping twang with punk vocals. They might be a little but more overtly rockabilly sounding. The last song of the night, "Girl Group" is a straight-up pure pop song. It's peaking my interested. I adored their debut EP, but Repulsion Box had some good singles, but as a whole it was passable, not "Oh Wow!" I just want to see them go nuts on this new record.
Their live show is an active experience. You can stomp your foot on the floor, scream the lyrics to Johnny Cash and just give them the evil stare back at them. Adele Bethel is the lead singer and she just paces back and forth and hovers over the crowd with a "watch your step, wanker" look. Who's going to pick a fight with a lady in a pink dress or a guy wearing shimmery silver shirt?
If I'm not mistaken, the 1990s made their U.S. debut tonight, but please correct me if I'm wrong. I knew of the song "You're Suppose To Be My Friend" last year and gradually took a liking to it. After seeing it live tonight, I'm a fan. These guys from Glasgow are some damn goofy people and fun to watch, you just want to be have a drink and shoot the shit with them. Their music is straight forward 60s garage rock with some post-punk guitar licks. Their debut album, called Cookie, will be out in the U.K. on May 28. The boys joked that they don't have an offer for a U.S. deal and they're not holding their breath. They introduced "Friend" by saying, "This is latest single, it will be released last year." Nice way of putting it.
Setlist:
- You Made Me Like It
- Cult Status
- Risque Pictures
- Arcade Precinct
- Thinking of Not Going
- See You At The Lights
- You're Suppose To Be My Friend
- Situation
Just look at John McKeown's teeth. That's a real Scotsman for you. The three of them were just damn fun between songs. Just their demeanor and their "awwww-shucks" attitude. Someone yelled out, "Show us your tits," which led John to take his shirt off. As you know already, he was the lead singer of The Yummy Fur. He had a good time taking shots at Scotland. They all remind me of Scottish versions of Shaggy for Scooby-Doo. Zoinks!
The music is pretty straightforward, but combine that with their funny attitude on stage, expert playing and interesting, clever lyrics, and they made me a fan.
Nicole Atkins & The Sea opened tonight, and none of them are Scottish, but they have Scottish hearts, and that's what counts
I hadn't seen Nic and the crew in a while, so it was good to catch-up. Her debut album comes out July 24th. She recorded it in Malmo, Sweden in October with producer Tore Johansson, who produced Franz Ferdinand's debut, The Cardigans and that little song that became the reason YouTube was invented, "Here It Goes Again" by OK Go. As part of Team Atkins, I'm obliged to point out that she'll be playing Philly, Boston, D.C., New York and New Jersey multiple times this month.
HAAAAAAAAAHAHA!
you know what I'm laughing at. I expect a beating. Both for you and for me.
Posted by: Adrienne | April 05, 2007 at 09:43 AM
Sons and Daughters singer is Adele Bethel. Ailidh is the bassist.
Posted by: Jim Bob | April 05, 2007 at 03:50 PM
Jim Bob, I knew that, I think Ailidh but some gypsy spell on me
Posted by: MusicSnobbery | April 05, 2007 at 05:10 PM
Hi sorry to intrude on your forum but i thought you guys might like to see some videos about Adele.t5m
was lucky enough to be at the Mobo’s and caught up with some of the top talent backstage and on the red
carpet. Come to www.t5m.com/mobo-awards to watch the exclusive footage.
today
Posted by: t5m | October 20, 2008 at 04:16 PM