the Band: Colin Steel, Metric, the Walkmen
the Date: Thursday September 23, 2004
the Venue: 9:30 Club (DC)
Totally missed Colin Steel. Oops.
Metric was next. They were great. Metric consists of Emily Haines (vocals), James Shaw (guitar), Josh Winstead (bass), and Joules Scott-Key (drums). Emily also sings in the band Broken Social Scene. I like them too. I totally developed a crush on Emily Haines!
The Walkmen were the headliners. The band, made up of Hamilton Leithauser (vocals/guitar),Walter Martin (organ/bass), Paul Maroon (guitar), Matt Barrick (drums), and Peter Bauer (orga/ bass), are DC boys who’ve been making music together since childhood.
Even though I just saw them last August and then again this past February, I was really looking forward to seeing these guys and this show did not disappoint. They played some tunes from their first album including Blizzard of ‘96, Wake Up, and We’ve Been Had (from the Saturn commercial - still love the song though) and they played songs from the new album too like What’s In It for Me?, The Rat, and Thinking of a Dream I Had which pulsated throughout the venue and vibrated through the hearts of everyone within earshot of the band. Hamilton and the boys slowed things down a bit with Hang on Siobhan before ending the night with the amazing Little House of Savages, once again causing extreme sonic absorption. It was an amazing, amazing show!
Cause you can run and have your fun
But don’t come around when she get’s home …
the Band: Willy Mason, Centro-Matic, My Morning Jacket
the Date: Thursday September16, 2004
the Venue: Engine Room (Houston)
It was just before the weekend of the Austin City Limits Music Festival. Luck for us, a few of the bands playing ACL came down to Houston for a quick show.
Willy Mason opened. He was chill.
Centro-Matic was next. I had never heard of this band before, but once they started playing, I became an instant fan. Centro-Matic is out of Denton, Texas and consists of Will Johnson (vocals/guitar), Matt Pence (drums), Scott Danborn (piano/violin), and Mark Hedman (bass). They put on an awesome show. Will Johnson had this rich, smoky toned voice that was just amazing. This was alt-country at its finest. My favorite tune of theirs was Love You Just the Same. I picked up a short stack of their CDs at the merch table.
My Morning Jacket was the headliner. The band, made up of Jim James (vocals/guitar), Tom Blankenship (bass), Patrick Hallahan (drums), Carl Broemel (guitar), and Bo Koster (keyboard), is out of Louisville, Kentucky. I had heard of My Morning Jacket and even had one of their CDs, Acoustic Citsuoca
. Even then, I wasn’t prepared for what I was about to experience. I was absolutely blown away. I really enjoyed seeing hairball, Jim James, wearing a blazer (a.k.a. his morning jacket) and just rocking the hell out of the Engine Room.
There were a few songs, Golden, Death Is the Easy Way, and Bermuda Highway, where the lead singer from Centro-Matic, Will Johnson (with a can of beer in his hand and a trucker cap on his head), came out to join Jim James. The duo’s fuzzed-out harmonies were truly something to see. This was the perfect combination and my favorite moments of the night. What an incredible night of Southern Rock n’ Roll!
Full setlist (not from this show, but from a show around this time … sorry, best I could do): How Could I Know (Oxen) / Just One Thing / It Beats 4 U / Lowdown / The Way That He Sings / Golden (w/Will Johnson) / Death Is the Easy Way (w/Will Johnson) / Bermuda Highway (w/Will Johnson) / How Do You Know / One Big Holiday / Strangulation / Dancefloors / Mahgeetah / ENCORE / Cobra / Steam Engine / Run Thru
Oh, don’t carve me out, don’t let your silly dreams
Fall in between the crack of the bed and the wall …
the Band: the Futureheads, the Delays, Franz Ferdinand
the Date: Wednesday September 15, 2004
the Venue: Verizon Wireless Theater (Houston)
If it’s not Scottish it’s CRAP!
The Futureheads opened. They’re an English indie-band, consisting of Ross Millard (vocals/guitar), Barry Hyde (vocals/guitar), David Craig (bass), and Dave Hyde (drums). They were great - very tight, fun songs. I really liked their tune Decent Days & Nights.
Then, the Delays played. They’re another English band, consisting of brothers Greg (vocals/ guitar) and Aaron Gilbert (keyboard/vocals), Colin Fox (bass/vocals) and Rowly (drums). Greg’s falsetto vocals, were kind of cool, but unfortunately their show did not have the same energy as the other two bands. Still … I picked up a couple CDs when I grabbed another beer during their set.
Franz Ferdinand was the main attraction. This Scottish band, made up of Alex Kapranos (vocals/guitar), Bob Hardy (bass), Nick McCarthy (guitar/vocals), and Paul Thomson (drums/vocals), put on an amazing show! Franz Ferdinand knew exactly how to wake up the crowd again. Dressed in super-tight shirts and pants, the slender quartet kicked it off with the fiery Cheating On You, which they followed with essentially the entirety of their self-titled album.
Franz Ferdinand were so fantastic live. I danced the entire concert - about an hour. My favorite tunes of the evening were Cheating on You, 40’, Take Me Out, Jacqueline, Come on Home, and This Fire. All in all, it was a great night of music from across the pond.
Full setlist: Cheating on You / 40’ / Tell Her Tonight / Auf Achse / Take Me Out / Jacqueline / This Boy / Come on Home / Van Tango / The Dark of the Matinée / Your Diary / Michael / Darts of Pleasure / ENCORE / Shopping for Blood / Love and Destroy / This Fire
So if you’re lonely, you know I’m here waiting for you …
