My girlfriend's best friend's boyfriend (wow that's a mouthful) is in an excellent band out in California called The New Division. I was able to hang out with them a little bit while I was out there visiting her, and they are putting out some genuinely quality stuff, heavily influenced by New Order and Joy Division. They are doing so well, in fact, that high and mighty Pitchfork has graced their latest single, "Starfield", with their stamp of approval - giving you a free download in the process, just a few days after my own Fox and the Hound Show did so with some East Coast airplay.
B-sides this past month was quite the mixed bag. Clare and the Reasons led off on October 6th with soothing chamber pop. To be honest, it provided a pleasant background to socializing more than anything else, mostly due to a lack of rhythm. I would highly recommend them as homework listening. I almost they would return, rather than some of the more interactive acts that have been performing when I need to get work done. Next up was local outfit Captain of Compliments, who apparently had broken up for months and chose this as their first show back. They evidently didn't think they needed much practice, and it showed. Their supposedly genre-defying sound just sounded like a disorganized collection of songs that didn't know what they were trying to be, an impression only increased by their spastic stage presence. I think it was the 5th b-sides I've walked out of in 3 years on campus. If the first two shows of October weren't my cup of tea, the final one made up for it in spades. Not one but two up-and-coming hardcore acts graced the stage in Larsen Student Union on the 27th. New Jersey openers Where the Ocean Meets the Sky were the more impressive act from my perspective, with virtually flawless vocals, even while soloing and singing clean vocal simultaneously, showing the benefits of maturity. An Early Ending was definitely the crowd favorite, however, with a much bigger group getting on their feet and moving around a little (to the extent that pacifists mosh) when they hit the stage. A more youthful group, they are supposedly poised to be the next Texas in July (who are supposed to be the next August Burns Red), and evidently the local kids agree. I spent some time talking to both bands afterward, and they all seemed like genuinely nice guys.They were much less dissatisfied than I with the stillness of the crowd, swapping horror stories about various venues out on tour. And for the record, the frontman of WTOMTS is not Zach Galifianakis.
I met Tim Kolstrom in Paris on my way back from Venice to England. We spent the day wandering the city and talking about dance music. Little did I know that his time in England would lead to the production of some filthy dubstep.
Judging by the lack of feedback on the last show post, it isn't worth the effort to get back into that until I get some content back up to promote readership. In the interest of catching up on lost time, I will lump some posts together.
On September 8, atmospheric piano rockers Deas Vail provided one of the rare shows that completely fills the cavernous space of Larsen Student Union with sound. Their music can almost be described as an indie/emo stadium rock, and had many Messiah students rocking out in their best shoegaze poses, singing along with every lyric to well-beloved songs. Tiny frontman Wes Blaylock captivated the audience with his vocal ability and onstage theatrics, bringing a more popular focus to otherwise technical and spacious arrangements.
September 15 brought La Alianza Latina's Mexican Independence Day celebration, featuring dance lessons beforehand that did not fail to pay off when Jose Conde took the stage with his Afro-Latin jazz-funk combo. Propulsive beats and sexy guitar fills kept the dancefloor packed despite a late start and even later ending. Stuck in traffic on the way from NYC, Conde arrived late but insisted on playing a full set, concluding by bringing his dog out on stage for a song written about him, a Messiah College first to my knowledge. The last b-sides of the month featured Greta Salpeter of The Hush Sound's new band, Gold Motel. Though often described as Californians (even by b-sides maestro Ryan Faus), the band actually hails from Chicago, and simply wrote much of their album Summer House in Southern California. That summery SoCal sound makes for a pleasant evening, and the band's sunny dispositions made for great conversation afterward as well.
