A quick retrospective to get this blog thing going.

I have only been out to shows a few times so far this year. The winter is not the best time for bands coming on tour, or for feeling motivated to go out to see them. I’ve missed some shows I really wanted to see, but nonetheless I’ll try to keep track of my experiences for posterity’s sake.

In January I went to see Camera Obscura, who were decent, actually better than I expected. Still, I kept wanting to hear Belle & Sebastian songs. Here is a clip of their pseudo-hit, “Lloyd, I’m Ready to Be Heartbroken,” from that chilly night at the 9:30 Club:

Nothing much after that for a while (that I can really remember). Some weeks back I went and saw Red Sparowes at the Rock and Roll Hotel, which was fun. The opener, William Elliott Whitmore, was entertaining with his old-timey, foot-stompin’, whiskey-banjo-guitar set. The Sparowes were crushingly good at times, though I got a little bored at other times. That’s how it goes with the whole post-metal subgenre.

I was inspired afterwards to dig up some free tracks by Whitmore, but not really to keep listening on and on to the Red Sparowes, as awesome as their concept behind their new album (Every Red Heart Shines Toward the Red Sun) is.

I couldn’t find any video or photos from the show, but here are some nice photos from the Chicago stop on the tour.

So then after that I was sick and missed some shows — even to see Jesu, a show I had tickets for — but a week and a half ago I went back the the RnR Hotel to see the Raveonettes doing an electric duo show, and it was totally rad, albeit tiring because the band was stuck on the highway due to the ridiculously yucky weather, so it didn’t start until rather late (like 12:30).

The Raveonettes are ridiculously hip and darkly sexy, and their music is sort of a western twang/surf rock variation on Jesus and Mary Chain fuzz rock. Totally cool. There are both pics and videos out there from this show, including some good flickr photos by furcafe:

I found lots of good clips on youtube from this show, including one of the highlights of the set, a sleek cover of Sonic Youth’s “100%”:

And here is “Heartbreak Stroll”:

And for good measure, “Attack of the Ghost Riders”:

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That’s it for the moment… I managed to miss Mary Timony and Battles last week due to simple forgetfulness and also basketball-related reasons. Tomorrow night is Hella but I will be out of town. So my next show will be Ted Leo on Thursday night, and then after that I will have to set up a way to keep updating regularly. Wish me luck.