November 12, 2010

Well now it's been a while hasn't it.

In the past two months, I've been to five phenomenal concerts:

Atmosphere
The Black Keys
G. Love & Jack Johnson
Gold Motel
David Dondero & The Moaners

Above all, I would say see The Black Keys at any chance you possibly get. Their show was packed with energy, energy that is somewhat lacking on the records. If you enjoy any of the albums they have released, seeing their live show is essential. It will put their studio recordings to shame.

Atmosphere was great as well. I haven't been to a lot of hip hop shows, and the crowd was different than what I'm used to. But regardless, Atmosphere spits just as hard live as he doe on any album. He adds dimension to many of his songs by telling little stories about them.

G. Love opened for Jack Johnson at the Greek Theater in Berkeley, and, as per usual, grooved out a nice little dance set to get the crowd going. He's one of the quirkiest, most enthusiastic performers I've seen in a good while. Jack Johnson of course was fantastic. I mean, there's not much more I can say about him. He's very honest in his performance and tells very personal stories about his wife and father and is probably one of the sweetest men alive.

A couple weeks ago, I saw Gold Motel at a small venue here in Santa Cruz called the Crepe Place. Their music is so upbeat and happy that it's impossible to stand still for even a second during the set. Whether it had to do with the small bar atmosphere or it was just a representation of the band's personality, they began to take requests as they moved through the set.

Last night I saw The Moaners and David Dondero. The Moaners are a two-woman band (guitar and drums, with the occasional musical saw appearance) from North Carolina. The show was very much like their music: somewhat slow and drawling yet intriguing. There are moments of heavy energy in some of the break downs due to the open tuning on the guitar, the use of a slide, a loop pedal, and some aggressive drumming. David Dondero on the other hand, walked shyly up to the microphone with his beautiful Gibson acoustic and gave a very humble performance. I saw him several years ago when he opened for Against Me! and he is still just as shy and humble and grateful as he was then. Some of his songs are funny and frivolous, others are deep and political, and some are heart-wrenching.

In other news, I have discovered the glorious Seattle MC that is Macklemore




Also, there is a young photographer at Puget Sound who shoots lots of the Washington hip-hop scene. His stuff is pretty cool and he has quite a nice little collection of cameras

Greg Niss

--Gayle