Blog.WBRU

Update 3:31 PM: Computer problems persist (technology doesn’t like me), but check out the trailer after the jump.
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Hey, just a quick note for anyone who wants something fun to do tonight. A short film called Sex and Justice is premiering tonight in Providence at 8 PM. I got a chance to see the film in advance, it’s good stuff–murder, intrigue, betrayal, all that fun stuff. I talked to some of the creative minds behind the film yesterday, we’ll be posting a podcast of that interview once we work out some technical snafus. But if you want to talk to them for yourself, there will be a Q&A with the stars of Sex and justice after the movie.

The quick-and-dirty facts:
Sex and Justice (official website: link), tonight in Providence at the Columbus Theater, 270 Broadway (map); doors open at 7, film starts at 8 PM; click here for ticketing info.

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In case you were listening to Vampire Weekend, Smashing Pumpkins or even the “Goo Fighters” all weekend (no pun intended), you missed some very important indie rock news! Here’s a little recap.

1. Led Zeppelin will tour the world (but without Robert Plant…) after the release of their new album (see Lola’s article below). Rumor’s out that Aerosmith’s own Steven Tyler might take over the job!

2. The Jackson 5 will also reunite, and also without their lead singer Michael Jackson, who apparently is working on his own album and couldn’t take the time off with his family…

3. Remember that tower in Dublin that Bono and his U2 mates were going to build? Well the economic crisis unfortunately wiped those plans away, but I’m sure the band will be fine in one of their numerous other houses around the capital. (Apparently, they also each have a plan to be redesigned by a famous architect… Maybe Bono isn’t such of a Third-World partisan after all…)

4. Radiohead’s new video Reckoner, the fourth single from In Rainbows, hit the web’s waves in a delicious dreamy after-party style, full of all those details fans will love (violins, harmonics and Thom Yorke’s high-pitched notes).

5. Unlike the Killers playing a surprise gig in London, the Mighty Mighty Bosstones will showcase for New Year’s Eve at Lupo’s!!!

See y’all then!!

If you didn’t make it down to The Living Room last Thursday (Oct. 9th), you really missed out. The building was overflowing with people incredibly excited to see the hometown noise-rock heroes Lightning Bolt. If you were there, you can imagine how hard it was to get a couple of these shots - it only took a few seconds to me to fear for my life taking photos at the front of the crowd. Read the rest » »

Finally! Photos from the WBRU Concert Series! Above are photos of Ben Folds and Missy Higgins at the Bank of America City Center on September 25th. Read the rest » »

I stopped by the Bank of America City Center a couple of Saturday’s ago to catch live, daytime performances by Llove and The Jesse Minute. I was surprised by the breadth of the event - a sort of “Back to School Kickoff” event called College Fest with a multitude of free things to grab and a ton of grungy skateboarders attempting to ollie their way across the skate center - and, unfortunately for us music fans, the excitement of the surrounding area distracted the potential viewers of some talented local music. Llove took the stage first, and played a solid set considering the circumstances - they even managed to win over some of the skaters, who picked up their boards and watched for the duration of the performance. Of course, it wouldn’t be an Llove show without a technical difficulty, and midway through their final song they hit a snag and all of their sound dropped out. Some music played over the PA to fill the few minutes they spent trying to fix their equipment, and they were off again, powering through the rest of the song. The Jesse Minute came on stage shortly thereafter, and exploded out of the gates with energy and quality stage presence. Although not many of the skaters would be won over this time, other people came around to listen to a fun and exciting set.

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Last weekend, I managed to pull myself away from the comfort of air conditioning in the sweltering humidity to check out The Low Anthem’s CD release party at Firehouse 13. I regretted my decision at first - it was impossibly warm in the building - but the soothing tones of Annie Lynch and the Beekeepers won me over quickly. The cello added a particularly nice sound to the mix that blended perfectly with their calm-yet-powerful folk style, and the dual female vocals were beautiful. One major highlight of the set was a song where the guitarist/banjo player sung so well in falsetto that I honestly - no offense to him - mistook them for female vocals at first, with a subtle roughness that made the song amazing. The other highlight was a surprisingly well done cover of Radiohead’s “I Will (No Man’s Land)” that I would never have expected them to be able to pull off.

I managed to grab a seat before The Low Anthem took the stage - a relatively insignificant feet, as sound problems delayed the show for nearly 15 minutes - which, for some reason, made the heat more bearable. This was important, as I sadly wasn’t as awed by Low Anthem as I was by Annie Lynch. The close, homey feeling that made past performances I’d seen so great seemed lost in a crowd of people, in the moist heat, and in endless sound difficulties. The wide variety of instruments used prevented the band from carrying much energy from one song to the next - they had to rearrange themselves every time - and some songs I had really high hopes for (”The Horizon is a Beltway” comes to mind) fell profoundly flat.

However, I don’t mean to give off the impression that this was a terrible performance - far from it. Rather, after such a beautiful and heartwarming album - Oh My God, Charlie Darwin - I had very high hopes for the show. And they did deliver, especially later on in the show. “Ticket Taker” came through wonderfully, as did “To the Ghosts Who Write History Books,” and the Johnny Cash cover of “Bird on a Wire” was absolutely phenomenal. There was certainly a messiness in their performance, but it was a sort of endearing messiness - a messiness that seemed to connect you with the band and bring the music alive. Unfortunately, at times that messiness went too far, but overall the show left me satisfied. I just hope I can see them in a more relaxed, less crowded, and, especially, cooler setting sometime soon.

Finally, my favorite quote from the night, as recited by lead vocalist Ben Miller and originally written by the band’s former roommate:

“So long fellas
Eat a peach
There’s rotting meat in the microwave.”

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It was a long night at Lupo’s this past Friday, but for those of us that stuck around until the end, it was well worth every minute. Penrose headlined the show, accompanied by 2008 Rock Hunt semifinalists The Coming Weak, as well as Fordoes Me Quite, Acadia, & Aston. When I arrived at the show it was already more crowded than any local show I’ve seen, and more people streamed in the front door every few minutes. However, the large audience did not ruin the intimacy of the show - everyone seemed to know half of the people there, and were more than excited to meet the rest. Even the bands were incredibly social, hanging out at the back of the venue with fans and friends alike, contributing to the incredibly local feel.

Aston was the first band to take the stage, and they did so with profound energy. The put on a solid, fun set that got us all interested to hear more. Although the experience may not have been there - vocals we sometimes a little messy and the band didn’t quite know how to work the crowd - each member seemed to truly put his heart into the performance, and it certainly will be a good experience for their next big performance.

Acadia was up next. They also had a few mistakes, and at times the screaming turned from exciting and charismatic to redundant and tiresome, but they made up for all of it with the highest energy of the night. Members moved rapidly and fluidly across the stage and through their music, getting us thoroughly pumped up for their performance and for the rest of the night. Read the rest » »

Penrose and The Coming Weak both stopped by WBRU this week - Penrose during Home BRU’d Wednesday night, and The Coming Weak this afternoon. Both were very pumped for their show at Lupo’s tonight. The podcasts of the interviews will be online in not too long, and a review of the show will be up soon after the show. Read the rest » »