Perfume Genius w/ Jenny Hval 3/23/15 Spaceland

Opener Hval hails from Oslo. Scandic freaktronica  from Hval on voice and video and an accomplice on keys and synths. An odd mirror/ video screen  showed images of Hval and some mildly erotic footage of people's mouths and chains. Hval had long red hair and a track suit to "make her feel more American". She gave off a woozy Charlotte Gainsbourg aura. Her voice was beautiful at times and screechy at others. She even chirped her way through a Simon and Garfunkel song. Her final song, in true performance art fashion, had her remove her red hair (wig) and faux strangle herself.
  Perfume Genius from San Francisco is set to appear at many international festivals this summer. A quartet of synths, drums, guitar/bass/electronics with PG on vocals and keys. An extremely "out" artist, PG's songs speak to the trials of being openly gay in 2015. The music seemed to have two gears: soft piano ballads, and full on clubby ragers. Excellent voice and good stage presence bode well for PG's success. I had to laugh when he lispily launched in to the encore without leaving the stage because he "was not wearing pants".

California X 2/25/15 Bar

Crowded house to hear California X whose recent recording is catching a buzz. Always interesting for me to try to pick which peck of pizza munching freak show denizens grab instruments and play. The CalX quartet was not readily apparent. The music was decidedly indie-metal with two indie guitarists and a metal bass and drums rhythm section. Loud and sludgy, CalX had a good handle on the music but lacked a decent vocal delivery.

Funky Dawgs Brass Band 2/1815 Bar

  What better continuation of Mardi Gras than a healthy dose of FDB. The back room at Bar was rocking with two trombones, two trumpets, two saxes, a drummer, and a tuba player. FDB is a spin off from the Uconn marching band (they even channel Jonathan the mascot in their logo). Like the JB horns on spring break, FDB honked through numbers like "soul power", and " shake your booty".  All I'm sayin is the Dawgs is awn.

Steve Earle 2/7/15 MassMoca North Adams MA

The hardcore troubadour travels to the large scale contemporary art Mecca that is MassMoca. Nestled in the Berkshires, MassMoca just received some funding that will make it the largest contemporary art museum in the world. We were able to spend the afternoon in the museum. Exhibits of drizzled India ink, plastics, and an awesome ceiling film depicting passenger pigeon (now extinct) flock movements were the highlights.

  Earle played a solo set. The first few tunes were blues numbers from the soon to be released Terraplane. On to some valentines-oriented love songs. Earle just turned 60, and had some hard years early in his career. A protege of Townes Van Zandt, Earle chose heroin instead of alcohol (the addiction that killed the mentor). Perhaps 20 yrs sober, Earle has two distinct periods: the early "outlaw country" period that owes success to hits like Copperhead Road, and the liberal-thinking songwriter who penned hits like Can't Remember if We Said Goodbye, and Jerusalem. Joking that he was a socialist, not Obama, Earle told an Affordable Care Act success story about the artist that has decorated his past 10  or so albums. "Before the ACA, this guy would have lost everything." Closed the show with "Christmas in Washington."

Lotus 1/29/15 Toads

Must be the start of winter. Hundreds of hippies descend on Toads Place for Groove-hogs day hosted by Philly groove-merchants Lotus. I find it hard to believe that this troupe has existed for this long sans any vocalist. The awesome Talking Heads deconstruction at the 2014 Vibes made use of a cast of extras that fleshed out the normally instrumental sound. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the sound, but I do think Lotus is one snarky vocalist away from LCD Soundsystem popularity. No matter, Lotus' extendo-jams with Moby-on-Molly samples puffed life into the grinding ragers. Two full sets with Cross-eyed and Painless anchoring set two made for a full evening.

Tijuana Panthers w/ The Garden 1/7/15 Bar

Entered Bar to catch full ( I think) set from androgynous punk duo The Garden. Both ears with dangly earrings, ill fitting 70s sometimes female clothing was the backdrop for a bucket full of angst. Jagged song structure started and stopped abruptly. Songs were interspersed with bizarre, slammy poetry like " I'm gonna burn a pig on your front lawn and see how YOU like it", or " I have a rainbow pasted to my face". Things got weird when some old guy (yes, my age), approached the singer to ask him to play something more "lyrical". The singer looked and sneered at the guy and pushed the microphone at him saying " you do it, you sing it". Seemed like the altercation ended until the singer's snarling lead guitar started in on a song with the lyrics " we don't need him.....and we don't want him" all the while glaring at the hapless oldster. The frenetic pace from the drummer with soap opera hair, whipped the crowd. The song turned to pagan chant, with the pretty drummer hopping from behind the kit to circle the old man and try to crawl through his legs. The old guy escaped to come back a few minutes later with a cadre of bouncers. The set ended and the Tijuana Panthers packed up their gear, evening over.

!!! with Darren Keane 1/6/15 Spaceland

Unfortunately only caught the last tune from opener Keane. Quite a sight, Keane is an imposing figure. Like a shirtless Hagarid, or Hurley (from TV's Lost), Keane coaxed dance music from some small keyboards.

   !!! (Pronounced chk-chk-chk)  has been reviewed in this blog several years ago.  Dancetronica quintet from California has matured since the last posting. Drums, guitar, bass, keys/electronics, with Jagger-esque vocalist and front man. Much of the show was a preview of songs from a soon to be recorded new effort. Front man was using his internal "applause-ometer" to help prioritize the song list. Front man frequently hopped off stage to dance (gyrate) with the crowd. Songs and lyrics focus below the belt, often with phrases like "oh yeah", "push it", and "c'mon" entering the mix which are perfect for the sashaying, vogueing singer. Trolling their back catalog is hysterical, with songs like "bend over Beethoven" giving me a chuckle.