But we can Dance, Dance, Dance

Date: October 28th, 2008
Where: Richard's on Richards
Who: Friendly Fires & Lykke Li
Why: Because we like good music and good dancing

The opening band for Lykke Li was a band from the UK called Friendly Fires. Their set was full of energy (I think they said something about being on the road for 2 hours so that explains why they went nuts on stage). The singer was literally everywhere; busting moves all over the place. At one point, he got down in the audience and performed down there. Everyone backed away and gave him a nice little circle to perform in.
All in all, Friendly Fires was a pleasant surprise. They got the audience pumped up and ready for Lykke Li.
Lykke Li's band started off the show with the intro to "Melodies & Desires". Lykke Li built up her entrance by coming out when they were transitioning from "Melodies & Desires" to "Dance, Dance, Dance."
"Dance, Dance, Dance" was exciting because they made it really intense live (most of the other songs were intensified as well). Besides some minor sound quality issues, I was very impressed by the overall live performance of the show. Every song they performed from her album, Youth Novels, was performed with more energy and a heavier beat; they all had a different live twist to them. She also added a kazoo to some of her songs (this kazoo was hanging around her neck in the bundle of necklaces she had on; very stylish).

She was also all over the stage dancing away, busting many moves. She did a cover of Vampire Weekend - "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" which was interesting. She also covered A Tribe Called Quest - "Can I Kick it?" which seems to be a solid cover she regularly performs now. "Can I Kick it?" was played in her encore and it was a great way to leave the stage. To be honest, her show has been the best show I've seen in a while. I still find it hard to believe that she had a hard time starting off her career at first.













Peep at the show: A short video of "Window Blues"

Rock Show at the Rio Theatre

Bend Sinister is a band from Vancouver that deserves your appreciation. Their music is like modernized glam/old school rock. They released their newest album, Stories of Brothers, Tales of Lovers, on October 21st. The official CD Release party occurred at the Rio Theatre in Vancouver (an interesting venue for a rock concert) on October 25th.

The show started with The Old Familiar which appeared to be Jon Bunyan's band (the former guitarist for Bend Sinister). It was pretty much Jon Bunyan performing with another guy who occasionally played a stand-up bass. It was pretty good but like he warned us before almost every song he played, it was very "mellow" (especially compared to the following bands).

Then, The Green Hour Band hit the stage. Accompanied by psychedelic visuals of oil on an overhead projector, they rocked out like a blatant version of old BRMC and Oasis mixed together. When they were playing, I felt like I was in a movie. At the front of the stage, a group of people smoking weed, cigarettes and drinking beer; were dancing around. And with the stereotypical hippies in the front, the crazy visuals and rockin' music, I felt like I was in a different decade.

Bend Sinister started their show off with the same song that starts off their album, "The News". They played Stories of Brothers, Tales of Lovers from start to finish along with entertaining visuals from old movies throughout the whole show (minus the encore). At first, I was surprised at how well everything was put together; the visuals matched up perfectly with the music but then, I remembered that I shouldn't have been surprised considering Dan Moxon (vocalist/keyboardist) is a film major from SFU and enjoys film scores.

Along with the visuals, the band was rocking out hardcore on the theatre stage. At one point, Dan Moxon lost his headband due to head banging and hammering on one of the three keyboards/organs he was playing on. Jon Bunyan played with the band in a couple of songs; he mainly performed with them in the song he wrote, "Because Because." They also had two women dressed in similar attire singing back-up vocals and a set of string instrumentals in the back.

I felt a little lost at times; only because I was at a rock concert in a movie theatre. I wasn't really sure how to act. I wanted to rock out but I felt like I had to conform to the comfort of my theatre seat. Some audience members went to the front of the stage but they were mainly taking photos or just getting a closer look. Even though I felt restricted, I think this added another element to the concert (I also think it was something the band was going for). Audience members were coerced to rock out to the music in their heads with the visuals standing by. I kind of liked how this messed with my head at one point. When "Dr. Lee" was playing, I was completely absorbed in the visuals and actually forgot I was at a concert. About halfway through the song, extra lights came on and I snapped out of it. I came back to the concert amazed.

Overall, the concert was very good, unique and entertaining. Besides the occasional sinking mic, the concert flowed smoothly and was performed very well. I was especially impressed with the visuals and the intense onstage performance.

I suggest you definitely check out Bend Sinister's MYSPACE and when they play Vancouver again, check out their show.

First Half
Intermission
Second Half
Encore

Monster Hospital

Halloween's coming up fast

You have to admit, this is an amazing remix. I'm a pretty big Metric fan but I think out of all of their songs, "Monster Hospital" was my least favourite. Then, MSTRKRFT remixed it and my mind changed quickly.

Back in the day, the DJ group, Sex Attack!, used to play at the Modern in Vancouver on Thursday nights. They would play this remix; and with the lit-up dance floor, cheap PBR's, warped mirrors and good company, it was probably one of the best dancing moments of my life.

Last night, my friend got Sex Attack! to play this remix once more and nostalgic feelings consumed me (for the hundredth time this month).

I need to lay off the nostalgia...

Metric - Monster Hospital (MSTRKRFT Remix)

Boys Noize knows how to remix

Boys Noize is comprised of one and only one person, Alex Ridha. Coming out of Germany while developing his own record label (Boysnoize Records), this guy was apparently ready for success at a young age (Wikipedia claims that he started producing music when he was 16).

I first encountered Boys Noize last spring. I downloaded a remix he did of Feist's "My Moon My Man" and fell in love with it. The remix extends the song into a blissful dance promenade. I used to listen to this song a lot while walking to and from work.

Feist - My Moon My Man (Boys Noize Remix)

Then, I encountered Boys Noize's remix of Sébastien Tellier (which I have already blogged about). "L'amour et la Violence" was already an amazing song but Boys Noize gave it a steady beat while maintaining the song's overall ambiance.

Sébastian Tellier - L'amour et la Violence (Boys Noize Remix)

And today, I found a Boys Noize remix of Justice's "Phantom Part II". Justice is definitely a band that doesn't "need" their stuff remixed but when other artists like Boys Noize pull it off well, these remixes are pleasing to the body and ears.

Justice - Phantom Pt. II (Boys Noize Remix)

Ratatat

If you like electronic rock, you need to check out this band (if you haven't already checked them out). I'm listening to their Classics album and lovin' it.
They can also do awesome remixes; they did an amazing remix of The Knife's "We Share Our Mother's Health" and to be honest, I like it a LOT more than the original.

Ratatat - Wildcat

This song actually has a background outcry of a wildcat throughout it and in my opinion, it's pretty intense.

Under the Rotunda Interview

Since I've been loving you

I just remembered this song today and how amazing it is. I think it's safe to say that it's my all time favourite Led Zeppelin song.


The stimulating guitars of Jimmy Page, the raspy voice of Robert Plant, the banging drums of John Bonham and wistful keyboards of John Paul Jones (poor John Paul Jones, he's so neglected). So powerful, so climactic.

Led Zeppelin - Since I've been loving you

I also used to watch this movie all the time when I was 15.

Emergency! Another excellent Reckoner remix!

Reckoner (Diplo Wreck remix)

After I discovered Diplo's blog entry on his record label's website, Mad Decent, I became very interested in the policies this label believes in when promoting or selling music via the internet. Many bands and labels seem to dispute the notion of free downloads from music blogs. But Diplo posted his own remix on his record label's blog feed. Obviously his label believes in sharing a little bit of music for free, unlike some other labels that will remain unmentioned.

The link below will direct you to Diplo's blog post where the mp3 is located. You can explore the record label's website if you wish.
Enjoy.
Diplo/Mad Decent Blog