Also, there was a lot of sweat.
My Wednesday started last week with my professor cancelling my 6-9pm class so that he could watch the Cubs game. I was pretty pumped because having a three hour class on Wednesday nights is beyond brutal, but on top of that, I received a text from my friend Haley begging me to go with her to see Wild Nothing perform that night. While I had never heard of the band before, my love for discovering new music inclined me to say yes, and I am so glad that I did.
Last Tuesday night, droves of Saint Motel fans packed into the dim, cozy space of Cannery Ballroom, anticipating the eclectic show that was to come. Among those fans were fellow Vanderbilt students, high schoolers, and even a few parent-aged folks. Despite Saint Motel’s indie-pop label, this diverse crowd is a testament to the wide-ranging appeal of their high-energy sound and quirky stage performance.
Vanderbilt’s annual fall concert has traditionally been headlined by at least one hip-hop act. Last year’s lineup of The Band Perry and Third Eye Blind broke this trend, leading to a confused and disinterested student body. Music Board this year had the task of bringing the crowd back to Memorial Gym. Given the full floor and general campus excitement, it seems like Big Sean and A$AP Ferg accomplished just that.
Pilgrimage is a Franklin music festival that seems to be themed around largely AC/DC rip off bands. That said, for a music festival in its second year, they attracted some big names: Violent Femmes, Cake, and Beck, to name a few.
Everyone’s new favorite band, Whitney, has captured the hearts of many an ironic-flower-crown American millennial with just half an hour (exactly half an hour) of recorded music. At Exit/In Monday night, they recaptured those same hearts during the first show of their fall tour.
Photo credit: Jeff Lombardo
Last night I had the honor of being graced by the presence of Queen Bey herself. Hitting Nashville as part of her Formation World Tour, the show was nothing short of spectacular; there were fireworks, pools of water, and instantaneous costume changes throughout the course of the performance.
Last Friday, I got the opportunity to see my favorite band, St. Lucia, perform for the third time. When I say favorite band, I mean more along the lines of obsession, so this concert was something that I had been waiting for since the last time that I saw them in November 2014. I saw them open for Foster the People in 2013, and something about their tropical, 80’s-like vibes just got to me, and I fell in love with their colorful, vibrant music.
Coming off of the Yeezus tour, it was hard to imagine where Kanye West would take his live performance vision. How do you top a giant mountain, pyrotechnics, models, and even a visit from Jesus? Simple: make the stage fly.
Riding fresh off the success of his Blank Face LP, published just two months ago, Top Dawg Entertainment heavy hitter Schoolboy Q played to an absolutely packed Marathon Music Works last night, with Pro Era poster boy Joey Badass opening. Bucket hats abound.
I was justifiably skeptical in my approach Marathon Music Works for Miike Snow’s return to Nashville after their three year hiatus to pursue personal projects. My sentiment was further warped upon waiting in line to receive my ticket and photo pass, when I was eavesdropping on a woman behind me that was ‘desperately in need of a sitter.’ It was in that instant that I was struck with the realization that I was utterly companionless, afloat in a sea of financial-independence. The late-twenty to late-thirty-year old crowd filled up all the space around me and I buckled in to receive whatever was coming my way.
Last summer, a friend and I somewhat spontaneously decided to go to Shaky Knees music festival in Atlanta, partially to avoid the mess of Vanderbilt graduation and partially because of the killer 2015 lineup. We each had our own personal ideas of bands we wanted to see, but as with any music festival (especially a smaller one like Shaky Knees, where there were only at most two bands playing at the same time), we often had a bit of unscheduled time to casually listen to bands that we weren’t familiar with or didn’t know at all. One such band was Dr. Dog.
Last Tuesday marked Yo La Tengo’s triumphant return to Nashville at Exit/In with a concert that was likely one of the biggest genre-rollercoasters of a set I’ve ever seen. Through the band’s decades of genre-bending with their largely varied discography, I couldn’t expect the show to be any different, and it didn’t disappoint.
Omar Moctar, aka Bombino and his band are men of action. No introduction. No witty banter. The band just played, brilliantly.
On Sunday March 13th, Ra Ra Riot graced Nashville with an lively performance at Exit/In. The crowd cheered the band into a two song encore, causing the show to end well after midnight. I can honestly say it was the most fun I’ve had on a Sunday night in quite a while. Opening for the band was PWR BTTM, a queer punk duo (their words, not mine) and Sun Club, a psychedelic indie band which describes themselves as “a group of buddies playing happy music.” Both were great, but I particularly enjoyed PWR BTTM (I suggest you look up their single “I Wanna Boi.”)
Kurt Vile tickets were in such high demand that the show moved from Exit/In to Marathon; they eventually sold out there as well. Everyone, it seemed, was clamoring to see the man behind the deep, droning voice whose b’lieve i’m goin down… rounded out the latest addition to his successful solo career.
Whether it be the unnaturally warm February weather or the surprisingly (or should I say unsurprisingly) sold out show for a relatively new and developing band, everyone in the jam-packed Mercy Lounge sensed that something big was happening. Chatter was made up of conversation on who is who in the Nashville music scene and the next show people would be attending. Not lost in the conversations was an overwhelming sense of confidence that Kaleo was about to blow up, summed up by a Kentucky native to the right of me who said it was worth the drive and she didn’t think she would see the quartet in such a small, intimate venue ever again. With such a buzz preceding them, the band definitely delivered. Starting with “No Good,” a song picked up for the new HBO original series, Vinyl, the crowd was immediately moving to the blues/rock riffs and grungy vocals.
Sun Seeker, whose newest single, “Georgia Dust,” has become a Third Man Records favorite, played some of their undeniably catchy and easily lovable tunes at Grimey’s last Saturday.
I’ll the first to admit that I’m a bit of a fanboy of Tool, and I was definitely a pretty big Primus fan back in the day (I mean, with a bass style like Les Claypool’s, how could I not?), so when I read that the two bands were going to be playing Bridgestone Arena, I did the logical thing and set a reminder on my phone for when to stop paying attention in stats class to buy tickets as they went on sale. I was a little excited.
Jukebox the Ghost managed to plan a perfectly timed show, performing for Nashville on Thursday night and celebrating the rain, as opposed to the snow, that lingered the day before and after. The band brought along Greg Holden to open the show, bracing the stage similarly to how Passenger did a few years ago, with just his songs and guitar to carry the mood. Although many voices were heard singing along to the Brit’s 2015 single, “Boys in the Street,” those just hearing him for the first time seemed pleasantly surprised based on the chatter in between sets. His stage presence paralleled his music, honest and heartfelt.
Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!
Before we all stuff ourselves in the spirit of celebration, here’s a belated concert review/interview.
Hibou & Metric – 11/18 – Marathon Music Works
When’s the last time you went to a concert and the music started ON TIME? That’s what happened last week when Hibou opened for Metric at Marathon Music Works. I wandered in around 8:02 thinking I was early but the band had already begun. I don’t know about you all, but waiting for a concert to begin is my personal hell. Thank you, Hibou, for your punctuality; I promise the audience appreciates it. Hibou played a solid set of songs from their debut album (also called Hibou). I definitely recommend “Above Us” and “Shutter Song”. The group certainly has a lot of energy. Michel, in particular, likes to spin around in circles with his guitar. Above all, they seemed to really enjoy themselves, which I think is the most important thing. After their set, I walked over to the singer and arranged an impromptu interview with the band.