Friday, June 28, 2013

Yeasayer @ Firebird (6/27/2013)



Opener
  • Reptar.  I missed them because I had a soccer double-header.
Setlist
  • Most of their songs came from the last two albums, which I own, but they also threw in a couple from their first album and even one from a benefit CD.  And there might even have been a brand new one in there somewhere.  I generally enjoyed the songs that I wasn't familiar with.
Observations
  • The show was sold out, and with good reason.  They're definitely too big for the Firebird, but I'm not sure how much of The Pageant they would fill up.  They also had a pretty decent stage-level lighting rig, given the venue.
  • An air conditioning upgrade for Firebird would be greatly appreciated, especially for sold-out shows.
  • I probably would have enjoyed this show a bit more if my legs weren't super tired from playing two soccer games earlier in the evening.  Standing for extended periods is already hard on my legs and back to begin with.
  • They had alternate intros/beginnings for a couple of their songs.  I can't recall which ones at the moment, but I think "Henrietta" might have been one.  They threw me for a loop initially, but they weren't too bad.
  • I'm digging the dual lead singer thing that they have going on.  Plus the bassist is pretty good at harmonies too - so they were all singing pretty much the whole show, except for the drummer.
Rating: 4.5/5

Saturday, June 15, 2013

Foals @ The Depot (6/3/2013)



Openers
  • Judy and I missed all of Blondefire but caught most of Surfer Blood's set.  I can't say that I enjoyed it very much, but I didn't want to kill myself either.  I did recognize "Swim" (or whatever it's called) when they played it.
Setlist
  • They mixed in a good deal of stuff from all three of their albums, though back-loaded, as expected.  Surprisingly, they played a couple of the mellower cuts from "Holy Fire".  But I still haven't seen them play any of the last 3 - my favorites - from "Total Life Forever".
High/low-lights
  • "Olympic Airways" was pretty great, as expected.  I was pleasantly surprised that they played "Milk and Black Spiders", and that they didn't ruin it for me...well, I could have done without the extended ending, but the rest of it was spot-on, with a couple of nice twists thrown in there. 
  • Oh, and Yannis crowd-surfed while playing guitar a couple of times (which I found a bit dangerous, as the crowd was not all that packed). 
  • I should also give props to the venue.  It has an elevated stage in front of an open center area with tables and seats around the perimeter, and more seating at the edges past the structural columns.  The slightly elevated bar area is in the back, where people enter, and there is also a balcony level.  It's kind of like Plush in St. Louis, but nicer.  All in all, it's a pretty nice setup for small-ish shows.
Rating: 4.4/5