Helio Sequence, Secret Machines & Kings of Leon (08.11.05)

the Band: Helio Sequence, Secret Machines, Kings of Leon
the Date: Thursday August 11, 2005
the Venue: 9:30 Club (DC)

(Photo credit to Joel Didriksen and his Flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/people/kingpinphoto/)

Helio Sequence opened. Two guys, drums and guitar/harmonica playing to backing tracks. They were pretty good.

Then Secret Machines came on. Made up of brothers, Brandon and Benjamin Curtis, and Josh Garza, they never fail to put on a dazzling live set. They played almost 75-minutes, nailing their hits from last year’s release, Now Here Is Nowhere, as well as an absolutely breathtaking cover of Bob Dylan’s Girl from North Country. They were simply awesome!

(Photo credit to Brian Vetter and his Flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/people/oldking/)

Kings of Leon were last to come on. This was my first time seeing this band. These Tennessee boys, consisting of brothers Anthony Caleb Followill (vocals/guitar), Ivan Nathan Followill (drums) and Michael Jared Followill (bass), with their cousin Cameron Matthew Followill (guitar), completely rawked! I think they played nearly every song they’ve got from their two albums, Youth and Young Manhood and Aha Shake Heartbreak released earlier this year. They put on an amazing show! I really liked all their tunes, but the standouts for me were Molly’s Chambers, Milk, California Waiting, Spiral Staircase, Holy Roller Novocaine and Slow Night, So Long (with which they closed the evening).

Full setlist for Secret Machines: Now Here is Nowhere / Sad and Lonely / Pharaoh’s Daughter / Daddy’s in the Doldrums / Lightning Blue Eyes / Harmonia / De Luxe (Immer Wieder) / I Hate Pretending / Girl From North Country (Bob Dylan cover) / Chains / The Road Leads to Where It’s Led / First Wave Intact

Full setlist for Kings of Leon: Molly’s Chambers / Taper Jean Girl / Pistol of Fire / Wasted Time / Razz / Bucket / Soft / Milk / Rememo / 4 Kicks / Velvet Snow / King of the Rodeo / Where Nobody Knows / California Waiting / Spiral Staircase / Happy Alone / Trani / Holy Roller Novocaine / Head to Toe / Slow Night, So Long

She saw my comb over her hourglass body ...

On!Air!Library!, Secret Machines, Interpol (11.09.04)

the Band: On!Air!Library!, Secret Machines, Interpol
the Date: Tuesday November 9, 2004
the Venue: 9:30 Club (DC)

(Photo credit to the On!Air!Library! website)

A trio of NYC bands rocked the 9:30 club. For a few short hours, I knew what it was like to be a real New Yorker … okay, not really, but I did witness some of the best new music coming out of the Big Apple. It was awesome!

On!Air!Library! was the first band to play. This NYC band consists of twin sisters, Claudia and Alley Deheza, and Phillip Wann. They put out some hazy, hallucinating, and haunting tunes anchored only by the edgy harmonies from the Deheza sisters. It was shoegazing at its finest. I really liked them and picked up their self-titled album at the merch table. It was a great start to the night.

(Photo credit to Aaron Smith and his Flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/people/bruthavoodoo/)

Secret Machines were next. This NYC band (actually, I think they’re from Texas, but broke out in NYC), made up of brothers, Ben (guitar) and Brandon Curtis (vocals/bass/keyboard), and Josh Garza (drums), played a fantastic live set. Josh absolutely obliterated his drum kit with his Slash-like hair bobbing away and Brandon passionately handled keyboard and vocal duties. But, it was Ben who was really on fire this night -- he just tore it up.

The Secret Machines didn’t feel at all like an opening act for Interpol. They seemed more like contemporaries who happened to play on the same night .. in the same club (they even had near identical set lengths!). My favorites of the night were, First Wave Intact (awesome tune to start their set!), Sad and Lonely, It’s a Bad Wind that Don’t Blow Somebody Some Good (from their September 000 EP), Still See You, The Road Leads Where It’s Lead, and Now Here Is Nowhere.

(Photo credit to David Chou and his Flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/people/58205890@N00/)

This was my first time seeing Interpol and I was pretty amped up. Interpol was phenomenal! This NYC band, consisting of Paul Banks (vocals/guitar), Daniel Kessler (guitar/vocals), Carlos Dengler (bass/keyboards), and Sam Fogarino (drums), put on a fantastic show … in uber-fashionable Italian suits too! The renditions of each song was perfect -- taut rhythms and an intense performance. I mean, these guys sound just as perfect live as they do on their studio-produced albums.

On a side note, Daniel Kessler spent some time growing up in the DC are and graduated from Bethesda Chevy Chase High School. Cool!

Their set was a great mix of tunes from their original album, Turn on the Bright Lights, and their recent release, Antics. My favorites included Hands Away, Evil, and Not Even Jail. But the highlight of the concert, however, was PDA, which the band executed with seemingly effortless gusto.  It was just an amazing night of tunes from the city that never sleeps ... Hey, New York, thanks for the little tast of insomnia!

Full setlist: Next Exit / Evil / Say Hello to the Angels / Public Pervert / Length of Love / Not Even Jail / Hands Away / NYC / Slow Hands / Narc / PDA / ENCORE / Leif Erikson / Obstacle 1


Rosemary, Heaven restores you in life …