SoAngelicate

SOANGELICATE’S ROCK REPORT: DR DOG W/FLOATING ACTION @ THE STATE THEATER, ST PETE, FL

Apr 262011

I am nothing, if not a rabid Dr Dog fan. Ever since seeing them at Lollapalooza a few years back I have made a point of seeing them every time they come around, so I was crushed when the Tampa Bay Area wasn’t part of the tour announcement following the release of their last album, Shame, Shame. In fact, I summed up my review of that album with the following, “This one goes on my personal essential listening list, and if these guys come anywhere near you, don’t walk, run to the show…and tell them to get their asses back to Tampa.” That said, you can only imagine my glee when I got the announcement that they were doing a second leg of the tour and they would be playing The State Theater on Record Store Day.

Opening for Dr Dog was a band out of Asheville, NC called Floating Action. I had never heard them before, but I liked them pretty much instantly. The first thing their sound evoked for me of was Band of Horses and maybe a little Fleet Foxes, mainly because of their harmonies and twanginess. Looked into the band post-show, it turns out that their last album, Desert Etiquette, was actually produced by Band of Horses’ bassist, Bill Reynolds. I will definitely be picking this up. Seeming not to notice that they weren’t in the mountains any more, lead singer Seth Kauffman was wearing both a stocking cap and a blazer in the 80+ degree heat. I was already pretty darn warm in my t-shirt and shorts, but by the fourth song I, along with much of the the almost capacity crowd, was dancing and clapping (and sweating) along. Highest praise of all may be that members of Dr Dog kept coming out from beside the stage to watch the performance.

As I settled closer to the stage in preparation for the main act, a friend of mine asked about what she was going to see when Dr Dog took to the stage, if it was going to just be a couple guys. If you’ve seen this band before, you know why I couldn’t help but smile at this. Dr Dog has 5 members, 6 on this tour, and they filled the whole stage even before they start dancing. You can tell these guys genuinely love what they do. They transform a simple concert into an all out experience, playing every single song as if it was the last song of the final encore. This also happened to be the last show of the tour, but you’d think it was the first with all the energy they still somehow had. Even the more low key songs are played to the fullest, like when Frank McElroy’s rhythm guitar set the mood for an achingly slow and heavy rendition of “Someday” and when they put on a sweat-drenched rendition of “The Beach” that fucking killed me. I am, in fact, dead now.

I had the chance to chat with the newest band member, drummer Teach (Eric Slick), after the show and he made my night even greater when he said they’re already ready to work on their next album, which is apparently going to be produced by Dangermouse (Gnarls Barkley, Gorillaz). I can’t wait to hear what a more edgy Dr Dog sounds like and, even more exciting, I can’t wait for the next tour.

Check out more pix from the show by the Drunk Camera Guy

SOANGELICATE’S ROCK REPORT: RA RA RIOT @ THE CROWBAR, YBOR

Mar 242011


Ra Ra Riot has been on my radar since their eponymous 2007 EP but I honestly never expected them to come to Tampa. When the show was announced, I was surprised that not only were they coming to my town, but the show would be in the cozy confines of the Crowbar. Would Tampa show up for this must see show on a weeknight? In the rain? Yes and yes, even the double whammy of a wet weeknight didn’t stop the show from selling out and the place from being filled wall to wall.

The full six member band was quite an impressive sight on the intimate stage, especially because two of them were playing stringed instruments, a cello and a violin. Some bands have a violinist step in for one or two songs, but not RRR. These are full time band members playing their instruments on nearly every song, and cellist Alexandra Lawn even had her debut as a lead vocalist on the last release, The Orchard. In fact, “You And I Know” may have been my favorite song in an overall brilliant performance from the band, and I’d be surprised and disappointed if I didn’t get to hear more from her on future releases. They played every single song I wanted to hear from their back catalog, mixed in with a lot of the newer stuff. I have to admit that I hadn’t given the last album a lot of playing time, but I’m definitely planning to give The Orchard more attention now.

Opening the show was local band The Sleepy Vikings, self-described “loud country shoegaze”, followed by The Luyas, a Canadian band that brought out such artillery as the French horn and hand bells. It was a bit too quirky for me, but I may download a song or two to check them out.

Check out some more shots from the show here

SOANGELICATE’S ROCK REPORT: JUKEBOX THE GHOST @ THE CROWBAR, YBOR CITY

Dec 132010

Philly’s Jukebox the Ghost stopped by Crowbar in Ybor City last Saturday night for their second visit this year, this time to promote their second album, Everything Under the Sun. I’ve been a huge fan ever since seeing them open for Ben Folds, and even though they were just here in June, the band delivered a completely different show.

They played a lot of new material and plenty of crowd favorites, but they also threw in some ridiculously cool covers. After marveling at how the weather is so much warmer here than it is back home, they helped us get into the holiday spirit with a cover of “What’s This?” from The Nightmare Before Christmas. And, as has become a tradition, they wrapped up the show by inviting all the members of the two openers, Meligrove Band and Dynamite Walls, up to the stage for a tambourine-filled cover of The Cure’s “Head on the Door”.

Check out the rest of the pictures here.

SOANGELICATE’S ROCK REPORT: YEASAYER @ THE STATE THEATER

Oct 142010


The Yeasayer show was the first of many for me in the month of Rocktober, and the first show I’d been to at the State Theater since I saw the Breeders open for Green Day, which was a long ass time ago. As anyone who read my Yeasayer post a couple weeks ago knows, I’ve been pretty damned excited about this show for a long time and it was finally here, their first ever show in Florida.

The first band up was Washed Out, which is technically not so much a band as it is a guy named Ernest Greene accompanied by touring musicians. I’m not really big on chillwave, but it was enjoyable, if not a bit sleepy. I basically drank my way through the first act, watching from the balcony as the crowd below gently swayed. After Washed Out finished their set, we were treated to some tunes by a duo of local DJ’s, The Soft Rock Renegades, and then it was time for the main act.

When Yeasayer took to the stage, the mostly laid back crowd was so excited they stepped up their swaying from level 3 to level 5. They started out slow, but three songs into their set they played “Rome”, one of my favorite tracks from the newest release, Odd Blood, and everyone seemed to come out of their trances. Chris Keating sang it like he meant it, almost yelling into the microphone, as if he was really trying to convince us of what he was saying, and we crowd chanted along with him. Anand Wilder had his own standout performance with an achingly slow and perfectly sung rendition of “Grizelda”, a song about Colombian drug lord Grizelda Blanco. Also, I had mentioned in my review of Odd Blood that I thought “Mondegreen” would be amazing, and it really, really was.

For the encore, the band played two songs. First was a version of “The Children” that was even creepier than the album version, which is saying something. The last song was “2080”, from their first release, All Hour Cymbals, and the whole place went nutso for it. Not only was it a brilliant show, but I was very impressed with the State Theater and I don’t know why it took me so long to come back. The staff was friendly and accommodating and the drinks were cold and strong. I definitely see myself coming back for another show. You can check out some pictures from the show here and read my review of Odd Blood here.

SOANGELICATE’S INDIE INTERRUPTION: YEASAYER- ODD BLOOD

Oct 012010


I first heard of Yeasayer after they caused a commotion at SXSW 2007, so I jumped at the chance to see them at Lollapalooza in 2008, where they totally killed it. Now, after three long years, they’ve finally released their second album, and it was definitely worth the wait. Yeasayer is a Brooklyn-based band that is comprised of three main members, Chris Keating on lead vocals and keyboards, Anand Wilder on guitars, keyboards and backing vocals, and Ira Wolf Tuton on bass guitar and backing vocals, along with a multitude of guest musicians, not to mention an orchestra of samples and sound effects.

Odd Blood starts out kind of dark and moody with “The Children”, but overall this is a very upbeat album, even when discussing relationship troubles or sociopathic Medellin drug lords. It’s not quite as moody as their first album, All Hour Cymbals, having a much more pop feel to it, but still staying true to their experimental sound. While I love pretty much every song on the album (though I’m admittedly a tad burned out on the first single from the album, “Ambling Alp”), there are definitely some standouts. “Love Me Girl” is a perfect mix of chill and anthemic, plus the happy hardcore-esque keyboards make me grin from ear to ear. One of the slower songs, “I Remember” is beautiful and romantic, referred to by the band as a “four-and-a-half-minute-long mixtape love ballad”. I can’t describe it any better. My favorite song, though, is probably “Mondegreen”, with its irresistibly contagious rhythm. I can’t keep myself from tapping along on the steering wheel every time it comes on, and I think this would be amazing live.

This is an album that I think should have more broad appeal than their first. Even though it takes plenty of risks, it still remains accessible, plus it’s really fun to sing along to, which is a big plus for me. It just so happens that Yeasayer are playing at the State Theater in St Pete on Monday Oct 4 with Washed Out and local DJ’s The Soft Rock Renegades. They managed to put on a hell of a show in the middle of a Chicago heat wave in 2008, so I can’t begin to imagine how amazing they’re going to be in some AC with 3 more years of shows under their belts. Tickets are only $15 in advance, so check out the songs below and hope to see some of you there.

Yeasayer- Love Me Girl
Yeasayer- Mondegreen
Yeasayer- Rome

Buy tickets here

Yeasayer’s Official Website, Yeasayer on MySpace

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