Sleepy Eyes of Death ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

Attempting to talk about Sleepy Eyes of Death is akin to “dancing about architecture,” a fruitless effort of useless comparisons and not-good-enough adjectives. Trying to box them into “post-rock” is lazy and incomplete. Technology can accomplish more now than ever before and the guitar is no longer the end all be all. In 2010 a synth isn’t just a hopped up piano, it’s a digital controller with tons of flexibility, something that most people barely realize.

Go up front, inhale a full breath of the smoke machine, stand right in front of the thundering bass drum, and watch guitarist Cassidy shred among the blinking lights in what appears to be a furious stop-motion. Then, I think, you might start to get an idea of what Sleepy Eyes of Death are all about.

Talkdemonic ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

Feral Children ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

Sleepy Eyes of Death ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

Sleepy Eyes of Death ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

Sleepy Eyes of Death ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

Flickr: Sleepy Eyes of Death Record Release Show at Neumos

Fang Island Press Photo

Fang Island is a quintet from Brooklyn…

Do I really need to say anything more? Should I just end the preview here? I say this because everyone loves a band from Brooklyn, regardless of whether they’re any good or not. New York. The Big Apple. The City That Never Sleeps. Would it be a mistake to call it the epicenter of culture? Undoubtedly New York City is the highest point of human achievement. You want to move there because you think you can dance pretty well. Your mom and dad paid your way through art school and now you’re ready to enter the starving artist phase of your life. Your lovers always said you had an outrageous sense of fashion and you’ve been building up courage to do something spontaneous. “If I move to the BIG(ger) city, something BIG will  happen….right?” Somehow lose your metropolitan hopes and dreams amidst the skinny jean dry hump fest orgy that surrounds indie rock bands in the blogosphere.  I dare you. Better yet, I double dog dare you gentle reader.  And before you could say yes, it already happened.

Fang Island want to tell you that they sound like “everyone high-fiving everyone.” And in response to that I ask if they’ve ever been sober enough to listen to their own band before? I’ve never had a high-five that sounded this strange. This band is a “Garth” (yes, Garth from “Wayne’s World”) band. If Garth cloned himself five times, he’d write songs like this. If you look like Garth, chances are you’ll like this band. If you are a thirtysomething white guy from suburban Chicago that has a music show on public access, you’ll automatically like this band. It’s hard to explain but I’ll try.

The Brooklyn quintet borrows the “Yeah, we’re totally dudes rocking” melodies and attitude from Andrew W.K. This is going to sound crazy, but if you played select parts of certain Fang Island songs on an acoustic guitar and in a slower fashion they’d sound like Paul Simon. On top of this bizarre amalgam throw in the weird “We’re going to group chant now” vocals that all the kids are slurping up these days and you have a 23% understanding of Fang Island.  These guys also like Mega Man a lot because it sometimes sounds like they ripped off the soundtrack to our famed video game super hero. I’d tell you what Mega Man level Fang Island’s riffage brings to mind, but do you have any idea how many Mega Man games there are these days? That would take months of painstaking yet somewhat enjoyable research. The weather is changing for the better as of late. I don’t plan to be stuck inside all day.

Fang Island’s self-titled album has some rather interesting moments. “Dreamer of Dreams” sounds like the Fucking Champs, if the Fucking Champs wrote songs for ridiculously upbeat morning people. “Careful Crossers” is the sonic equivalent of a silly string fight between middle school dance team members.  You think I’m kidding but you’d hard pressed to find rock music that is this undeniably upbeat. Especially considering the sparseness of the vocals and when those are in the forefront, it’s sunshine all over the place. The Care Bears would have Fang Island in their iPod. “Life Coach” is great song title and it’s one of stronger songs on the album. The best song on the album is “Davey Crockett.” The track captures Fang Island at its most triumphant and exuberant without seeming too preposterous. Besides, how many songs are dedicated to this American folk hero?

Why am I telling you all this? It isn’t for my health; Fang Island will be at Neumos on Thursday April 29th with Caspian and Red Sparrowes. Admittedly, I’m much more into the epic heaviness of Caspian and I’ve been a fan of instrumental, atmospheric storytelling of Red Sparowes since their debut album in 2005. Fang Island is a bit much to listen to in the confines of your bedroom, but I’d bet your last dollar that they will be extremely entertaining live. Especially if they’re constantly high-fiving each other while churning out all those dual harmonized guitar lines like their press kit promises. We’re only a few months into 2010 and this show is my pick for the “Concert Most Likely to Make Patrons Space Out and Use Instrumental Music as a Background Soundtrack To Bringing A Stranger Home From the Bar” award. I’ll see you there.

Beach House ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

If every show sells out the way last night’s Seattle show at Neumos did for Beach House, local powerhouse Sub Pop can be said to have undoubtedly made the right investment. The band’s Sub Pop debut Teen Dream arrived in January accompanied by a blogorama of coverage, first after the initial leaking of the record in late 2009, and then during the week of the official release with sustained coverage of the videos commissioned by the band for each of their songs. That they had these atypical music video’s made by unconventional filmmakers set a different tone, and a different standard even, for what might come in the future. Not just that we should expect music video’s at all, but that they might be more than an ego trip for person making the music and instead an opportunity for someone else to inject some creativity and build another dimension to the songs.

The band have been touring hard on Teen Dream in the months since, including riding opening slots for Grizzly Bear in Europe, so I doubt they much knew or cared what day it was. I could tell they were having ‘a case of the Mondays’ though. The monitors weren’t right, which caused them to abruptly end their single “Norway,” well before it was finished.  After a few more songs of missed timing and glares at the sound guy, they decided it was futile to make the sound any more right and did their best. Vocalist Victoria Legend powered through and for the most part rescued the songs but the band just never seemed to find their pocket. The curiously drunk Monday-night crowd was oblivious.

Bachelorette ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

Beach House ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

Beach House ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

Because I’m a Northwest kid, most of Death Cab’s early efforts were notable records in my life. And Give Up via the Postal Service with Jenny Lewis associations is on another level even. Thus Chris Walla and Ben Gibbard and friends have been a significant presence in Northwest rock for nearly a decade now, and no doubt a significant influence on my perception of where the music is headed and what I like. At this point in my mind they’ve made their mark on the “Northwest Sound” just as much as bands like Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Sleater-Kinney and Murder City Devils all have. Thanks to Owl City and a #1 spot on the iTunes and Billboard charts for whatever period, we’re all now painfully aware of the fact the Gibbard has been in the game for nearly 15 years and has spawned imitators, just as the other aforementioned bands have as well. This is all to say that it’s always nice to see when a band is building on what came before them and is remaking a sound for themselves, instead of simply repeating it back verbatim and unadorned. Colonies are the that band I’m speaking of in the context of Northwest modern rock, and their new record Thirty Thousand. In it they’ve harnessed their own perspective onto the roaming herd of the last decade of Northwest influences.

Instead of being imitators, they’ve largely taken their favorite elements of Death Cab or Built to Spill or New Pornographers, and re-purposed them to support a modern melodical pop point of view, featuring with vocal harmonies not unlike those of the the Local Natives. Guitar-wise in certain intro’s and breakdowns it sound’s like they love Built to Spill as much as I do, while In a number of songs they’ve replicated Gibbard’s loping style of arpeggiating his electric. They even recreate some of the same tonal qualities that Death Cab achieves, which is an element I also absolutely like. Despite references aplenty the one thing that remains constant throughout is vocals that remain consistently pop and adventurous with the melody.

I happen to think these guys are ably carrying the torch of Northwest rock into the next decade, and this is something I don’t say lightly. Stream Thirty Thousand right here, and see if you don’t agree:

If you like what you hear you can catch Colonies at Neumos March 25th with Conservative Dad, Lemolo, and the Mopes. I’m definitely going to be there.

Goodie Mob Promotional Photo

First off let me congratulate you Seattle! I’d like to thank all those who went out to Neumo’s  last Wednesday night to give Goodie Mob the sold out audience that they deserved. I didn’t buy my ticket until 2pm the afternoon of the show and informed a friend of mine that there were still tickets left. I didn’t think it would sellout by the time I made it to Capitol Hill, but I was wrong. We get out front of Neumo’s around 10pm (I’m a genius and left my house without my ticket initially) and saw a queue the size of one those monsters from the movie Tremors.

My gut said “Good grief!” but my fiesta said “High-five!”

The time had come to formulate a plan, how do I get my friend into this sold out show? Let us order some drinks at the Moe Bar and flex some of our novice networking muscle, let us see what we can’t do. Bummer. The conundrum left us with nothing to enjoy but the sights and sounds of other bar patrons instead Helladope’s set. I didn’t mind too much, observing a crowd that came to watch a lineup of MC’s can be as entertaining as How I Met Your Mother.

To point out the obvious, you can’t have a hip-hop show without an audience. In the instance that it does happen, it’s like witnessing a fatal car accident. On the other hand, Rock n’ roll can survive in a cave, without food, water and someone to love. The energy of the band and music can exist on its own without any kind of fanfare or adoration. Compare the unsaid importance of a crowd at a hip-hop show in relation to that of an audience that goes to a venue to get down to some rock n’ roll and your talking about two drastically different worlds. It’s that connection between audience and performer that draws a wider variety of people to hip-hop shows than that of the rock persuasion. Currently, hip-hop is saying something that rock n roll is not. Even if an overwhelming majority of  contemporary mainstream hip-hop isn’t saying anything of significance.

Just before Goodie Mob took the stage, my friend somehow managed to gain entry into venue. This is a perfect example of never giving up on your dreams kids. If you wait around long enough, you too might have the opportunity to attend a sold out show at Neuno’s when you don’t have a ticket. I can’t tell you how he did it, let’s just say Calgon (ancient Chinese secret).

Goodie Mob took the stage with all four members dressed in black from head-to-toe. You had to wonder if there was some symbolism to their fashion sense. Was this reunion tour really a funeral march of redemption for southern hip-hop? Goodie Mob was one of the pioneers at the forefront of the southern hip-hop movement. A genre that has since been hijacked by syrup sippin’ empty vessels called “artists”, backed by one-hit wonder krunk inducing club beats. We’re talking about hand-me-down imitators of DJ Screw and Shawty Redd, rappers with less staying power than Lord Tariq and Peter Gunz. This is not what the people want and the Mob knows this.

With every song serving as a “Remember me?” bludgeoning overture, they made home fries out of would-be small potatoes MC’s. All your unwritten bars became a desolate grey wasteland of never-had, courtesy of  the Goodie Mob’s blunt ashes. They tore through a set old favorites that occasionally featured an unexpected sample or two. “Get Rich to This” had a sample of the Eurhythmic’s “Sweet Dreams” that was seamlessly included into the song. “Cell Therapy” had the guitar intro from “Stairway to Heaven”. I’m sure the first thing that came to Jimmy Page’s mind when he wrote that riff was Big Gipp jumping around Neumo’s stage in a bulletproof vest.  I didn’t think it was possible but “Goodie Bag” sounded more threatening and confrontational than it does on record. “Dirty South” highlighted the around my way storytelling that made rappers from the south so unique at a time when hip-hop was getting most of its attention in New York and Los Angeles.  The crowd erupted when “Black Ice” started up, the only thing missing was the guest appearance from Outkast.

The Mob did a couple of songs from side projects that featured at least one   member of the group. Cee-Lo performed the Gnarls Barkley (his project with DJ Danger Mouse) hit single “Crazy”. He also performed the song “Closet Freak” from his solo album Cee-Lo Green and His Perfect Imperfections. Initially it was hard for me to embrace some of the projects that Cee-Lo was a part of. I would’ve rather heard new Goodie Mob tracks instead. However, his vocals are unyielding and so impressive in person; you have to appreciate the fact he ever decided to do rap in the first place. Goodie Mob also performed Outkast’s “Liberation” off of Aquemini. I was hoping by the time they got to the part of the song where Erykah Badu absolutely kills it, that Mrs. Badu would repel down from the rafters and blow everyone’s minds. “You can catch me in my too short drop/Mouth got colors like a fruit loop box…” Smile for me daddy. I completely forgot Big Gipp was on Nelly’s hit single “Grillz”, until I heard those eerie holiday chimes accompanied by the sinister artificial string section over the P.A. speakers.

Besides showcasing songs from other projects, the Goodie Mob had a tongue and cheek “rock n’ roll break” during their set. Snippets of the following songs were all blared over the loudspeaker at one point, Danzig’s “Mother,” Marilyn Manson’s “Beautiful People” and Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” I thought it was pretty hilarious. I guess they figured, “Hey, Seattle, flannel, grunge is still kind of around right?” Looking back on the break now, it was more a strategic move than anything else. One of the biggest problems with hip-hop acts is that they sometimes run out of gas by the end of the set. This was not the case with the Goodie Mob.

Like the prizefighters you knew they were, the Goodie Mob answered the bell until the final notes of “They Don’t Dance No Mo’”.  In my faux old age, I’ve become skeptical of reunion tours because they often leave me heartbroken and disappointed. Goodie Mob’s performance will cause me to second guess my instincts the next time another one of my favorite acts reunites and comes rolling into town. And as they continue from one city to the next, I hope that the true spirit of southern hip-hop will rise again and lay waste to the ring tone rap that it unintentionally gave rise to.

“Now what they know about the banana and mayonnaise/Two slices of toasted bread on a napkin?/Straight up nuts with this country drawl/It ain’t no reason looking for it, ain’t no fucking flaw/I didn’t go to bed without my lucky bear claw/ See I’m a red stud looking to bloom like a mushroom in a jug/ Under hot lights, crystallize so nice/ When I think twice, I love long summer nights/Four records deep and I still get stage fright/From small towns to the big city night life….”
- Goodie Mob “Fly Away”

Now I’ve heard a lot of hip hop in my lifetime (I’m black, it’s a prerequisite for my existence), but the beginning to Goodie Mob’s Fly Away might be my favorite opening verse in a hip hop song. It’s not rapid-fire or particularly tricky, it wasn’t born out of some legendary stoop cipher or corner store L break. Although the rhyme scheme is fairly pedestrian, the delivery and feelings behind the words hit you so hard that the melody never leaves your head. I use to recite these lyrics all the time; in the shower, on the way to the basketball court, coming home from class, going to class, on the way to a show, right before I grab some drinks with some friends etc. Those words never got old or feel like they lacked conviction of any sort. Praise the gods that grab the mic that Goodie Mob is back. If you’re not familiar, then I don’t know what to tell you. Where have you been? Ever since that first Outkast album, they should’ve been on your radar. Don’t tell me that you were 11 years old when that album was released, that’s no excuse. Convert your ipod to a time machine; let this handsome brother take you back…to 1995! That’s right! That’s when Goodie Mob’s major label debut Soul Food was released. Did you know that the title track off that album was discussed on NPR?!?! Now that I’ve got your attention, you hipster intellectual you, go here and listen to Bun B (of UGK fame or if you’re unfamiliar with that influential group, Jay-Z’s “Big Pimpin”) talk about the importance of Goodie Mob.

While Soul Food is a great album, better than almost anything that is coming out in the music industry today, Still Standing is better in my opinion. I express bias due to “Fly Away” being one of the tracks on there, but overall I just feel it’s a stronger album.

You don’t have much time. Goodie Mob will be appearing at Neumo’s tomorrow Wednesday February 24th with Helladope. You need to listen to Soul Food, Still Standing and grab Dungeon Family’s (Goodie Mob and Outkast) Even in the Darkness. All of these albums are certified classics! Three albums in 36 hours? Gentle reader, I know you can do it.

For a taste of what is about to come. Goodie Mob performing “Fly Away” at the Tabernacle in Atlanta last week. They’re like a mix of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and Parliament. It’s a beautiful thing:

Snag advanced tickets for Wednesday night’s show from TicketsWest for $20 a piece.

Post Harbor ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

Last night’s four band bill at Neumos was a glimpse into how the Northwest rock scene is being remade circa 2010. Celebrating the release of Post Harbor’s new album They Can’t Hurt You if You Don’t Believe in Them (out on Burning Building Recordings February 23rd) was of course Post Harbor themselves in the headlining spot, and in support were label-mates Daniel G. Harmann & the Trouble Starts and the Oregon Donor, and The Soft Hills, a stacked local “indie+post rock” bill if there ever was one. Conclusion: More bands need to incorporate bow’s into their guitar playing.

And the Oregon Donor! I’ll admit that their record from last year didn’t catch my attention, but last night they did just that. I tweeted:

The oregon donor is rad. Like muse remaking ‘the bends.’ I love ‘the bends.’

Hard to go wrong with that review I’d say.

The Oregon Donor ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

The Oregon Donor ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

The Soft Hills ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

Daniel G. Harmann & The Trouble Starts ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

Post Harbor ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

Post Harbor ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

Flickr: Post Harbor, Daniel G. Harmann & The Trouble Starts, The Soft Hills, and The Oregon Donor at Neumos

Feral Children ::: photo by Josh Lovseth

Lately I’ve tried my best to avoid listening to any musical acts that I’ve never heard of prior to watching them upon some random stage about town. I accidentally broke this rule when I heard Feral Children on KEXP a couple of weeks ago on my way to buy some jeans. I don’t really remember what the song sounded like, I only caught the last 10 seconds or so. Until the Feral Children’s Brand New Blood album release party at Neumos last Wednesday, I equated their music with the feeling of buying a new pair of jeans because that’s all I could associate them with. Jackpot. They’ve already won me over. Oddly enough, watching their set was kind of like wearing those brand new pair of jeans and enjoying the experience but every so often thinking about another pair of jeans you once wore and wishing you had them on instead. Please, I’ll explain what I mean in a bit. But first, let me tell you about Jabon and John Atkins.

We’re not into the month of February yet but I may have seen the most interesting set that I’ll see all year courtesy of Jabon. Children, gather around, let me tell you what I saw and I promise, I tell no lies. I entered Neumo’s to find what looked like a heavy plume of rising smoke coming from some incense. Upon closer examination, I found it was a smoke machine. A shitload of lit incense would have been more fitting perhaps. Obscured by the smoke was a tall, thin robed figure that was whack-a-moling up and down to the droning music he created. He would leap off the stage and kind of puppet around on the floor amongst the spectators before returning back to the stage. On his face was a luchador mask. I couldn’t help but think of Jabon as some religious zealot who wrestled in an amateur wrestling league in Pigfuck, Iowa. It was pretty awesome. Things got even more amazing when Jabon’s set entered a segment called “Stomach Noises of the Stars.” Some moons ago Jabon used to be an engineer for books-on-tape recordings. He had all this edited footage of people like Kirk Douglas and Arte Johnson coughing, making weird guttural noises, butchering words and successfully reading sentences. Jabon presented this footage in a way that it is unbelievably weird and funny. Some of the puzzled souls who left during all of this were called out by Jabon in a pretty amusing manner. Honestly, there were moments I wanted to dip out as well but I thought, “When is the next time I’m going to witness something as bizarre and hilarious as this?” Official stamp of approval.

John Atkins, you are a singer/songwriter. You are given the unenviable task of following a dude in a mask who did “Stomach Noises of the Stars” and playing before a band that has two drummers, how will you respond? Not so well. Songs about girls, structurally predictable and uninteresting. It’s hard for me to get excited about bedroom guitar players, there numbers are infinite. Long after human beings have died and gone away, there will be roaches and bedroom guitar players. Mr. Atkins had his moments, but those were far and few in-between. He didn’t seem too excited to be there or maybe I’m projecting? I was kind of bored and kept on glaring at the lights above the stage like a moth. And then suddenly, what’s this? A song that I’m genuinely enjoying. Dare I say it’s memorable? I wish all his songs were like…what’s the smell..? Fuck. Someone is wearing “Sex Panther” or just let a dead body like fart somewhere in close proximity. All the good things in my life get marred. The worst part was I was lone guy near a half dozen girls, you know who took the blame for that one.

“You should stick around for Feral Children,” I heard some girl tell a complete stranger. “They’re really good, they have two drummers!” Silly rabbit, tricks are for kids. If only it were that easy to be a good band. I’ve got a joke for you. What do you call a band with two drummers that suck? A band with liabilities. That’s liabilities, plural. That’s not to say Feral Children is a band with two drummers that suck, I’m just saying that girl had no idea what the fuck she was talking about. These Feral Children, in from the wilderness and frontier of Maple Valley, I applaud their supposed weirdness, inhale their scene cynicism, and am tickled at their disdain for imaginary big cities. Watch that marketing boys, you’ll get Hall & Oates’d. Maneater. Big city snobs might make you freshmen dorm room almost famous one day. Luckily for you, Seattle isn’t a big city. Feral Children’s set was good and energetic. The kids were into it. I was pretty into some of the jams as well. “Kid Origami” and “Universe Design” are my two favorite tracks off of Brand New Blood and they were solid live. “Enchanted Parkway”, a song that I don’t particularly like on the album was surprisingly awesome at Neumo’s. But remember when I was babbling about jeans earlier? How sometimes we can’t enjoy the moment of now because we’re too busy longing for the past? That kind of describes me during Feral Children. There were occasions during their set where I was thinking about Black Eyes, a now defunct DC-based band that were amazing noisemakers who wrote catchy pop songs when they wanted to. Seeing Feral Children’s two drummers and hearing the high vocals of Jeff Keenan made my heart long to see Black Eyes once again. Sigh. Chances are I enjoy my new pair of jeans more than the existence of Feral Children. But hey, I bought a damn good pair of blue jeans.

Brand New Blood is available via Amazon, or if you live in the Seattle area, your local record store.

Feral Children ::: photo by Josh Lovseth

Flickr: Feral Children CD Release at Neumos, January 27th, 2010

Feral Children at SXSW 2008 ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

Seattle band Feral Children have been pounding out spooky visions on local stages for a few years now, developing a percussion-heavy repertoire of dark indie rock that I’ve declared on more than on occasion is destined Pitchfork-dom sooner or later. The band’s 2010 effort Brand New Blood via Sarathan Records only strengthens that suspicion and showcases a group that’s had some time to really grow up to their own expectations. One could certainly point to elements of Arcade Fire in their sound, what with the “Oooh, Oooh” harmonies and all, but I also strong find a strong association in Brand New Blood with an emerging local trend in pop for end-to-end song development care of bands like the Ironclads, M Bison, Navigator vs. Navigator, Skeletons with Flesh on Them, Alligators, Curtains for You and many others. Boring and predictable songs get old fast and this group of songs is hardly predictable or boring.

Feral Children are having a Brand New Blood Release party at Neumos this Wednesday January 27th. They’ll be headlining, and in support are John Atkins, and Jabon. Tickets are $8 adv (+ fees) via TicketsWest.

Update: Snag a free MP3 of “On A Frozen Beach” courtesy of Sarathan Records.

MAD RAD ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

I came into Thursday night’s free MAD RAD show at Neumos interested to see for myself whether MAD RAD’s allure had run it’s course, or if they might be able to sustain their present run as one of Seattle’s most notable/notorious live groups. Surprisingly, in the course of dropping three new songs as well as a ‘cover’ of Fresh Espresso’s  “Lazerbeams,” the actually did come out the other side feeling like something more than simply an unrefined brat-rap party group, or a passing fad.

Other than it being a free show, this show in particular was significant for MAD RAD on a couple of levels. As part of gaining their bad boy reputation MAD RAD had an encounter with Neumos security that caused them to banned from a number of area stages. In the intervening year since the incident, MAD RAD has continued to play where ever they were welcome and after a much talked about 2009 that included a Sasquatch set, a Block Party after-show at Chop Suey, and the GO MACHINE, they’ve consistently demonstrated a powerful enough draw that they couldn’t be willfully ignored any longer by venues on their home turf. Word has it the room this night reached capacity by 9.30. A few minutes of ear-pummeling bass and drums from PDX’s Breakfast Mountain prompted myself and Travis of Ear Candy to head to a just-as-crowded Moe Bar to meet a new writer of his and escape until the opener was done.

Macklemore’s fun loving ease and philosophical lyricism proved to be an ideal compliment and a much needed balance for what was to come: MAD RAD’s shameless pursuit of bacchanalia. In addition the live band he’s been using lately which included his recent cohort Ryan Lewis, Chris from FENCES spent most of the night on stage playing guitar and lending vocals. Of course a guest appearance by XP was in the cards, and even Champagne Champagne and Buffalo Madonna found themselves on stage for a rousing rendition of “Kings.” Everyone went appropriately ape-shit for the Unplanned Mixtape’s ode to Seattle “The Town,” while “Otherside” had an emphatic edge to the performance that I hadn’t detected before in the recorded or other performances. By the end third song, he had the crowd in his palm, echoing his “KA-KAWWWW” calls during breaks. By the opening bars of the final song “Irish Celebration,” as he paraded massive Irish Flag around, people were chanting the ‘Hey, Hey’ chorus part with no prompting.

MAD RAD have a rep for leaving damage in their wake and I was expecting a bit of it. Thought some might argue that it’s the mark of any good party, it’s largely been used as negative mark on the general rep of the group. If the gentlemen of MAD RAD were themselves in the course of a “dry” January, the very enthusiastic fans in attendance were in no way so constrained. I witnessed a number of fights nearly break out (there were a lot of cute girls), as well as felt the brunt of general sloppy-drunkenness in a way most 21+ shows don’t usually descend to (or ascend to, depending on your point of view). The irony of MAD RAD promoting such a lifestyle while they themselves were abstaining did dawn on me, and I smiled internally, though if anything they looked and felt like much more focused performers sans the substance. Buffalo Madonna was still Buffalo Madonna. And DJ Darwin was still his normal hyperactive wacky self.

Standing up front at first it felt as if I was the poser who didn’t know all the words to all the songs like the rest of the people around me. And then the irony of 70 percent of those people being girls giddily singing along to lines like “Crack that Blunt, Make it Pop, Pop that Pussy, Make it Pop” and “Pay Me, Bitches I have Come Here for My Money” began to sink in. Achieving the cognitive dissonance of accepting some of these songs as not being patently disrespectful to women mostly escapes me, even given MAD RAD would probably claim that many of the songs are dedicated to, interacting with, and loving womanhood. The three new songs fit easily into the synth-and-vocoder augmented aesthetic P Smoov is exploring with not only MAD RAD but also Fresh Espresso. One song called “Tiffany” had P Smoov lamenting how his girlfriend doesn’t like any of his friends and how they collectively are “fuel and fire.” That’s a line I don’t need to apply too much imagination to find it’s origin. Another memorable song reflective of P Smoov’s progressing production style is a song they contributed to the GIVE benefit comp titled “Strange Love in a Strange World.” While singing his opening verses, a squirming Buffalo Madonna, in what I can only infer were “seductive” motions, descended a ladder, before writhing on the floor for the remainder of the song repeating the chorus “All My Lovers, are Strange-ers!” Now this is what I was expecting. What was unexpected was the ‘cover’ of “Lazerbeams,” where they invited Fresh Espresso’s Rik Rude up on stage. Maybe I should’ve expected it, but it ended up being my favorite moment of the night.

While I don’t know if I’d use the adjective ‘triumphant’ to describe MAD RAD’s return to Neumos, I think the night can only be considered a success for MAD RAD. Given the expectation of general disorder up front I’d say Neumos or any venue hosting the band has their work cut out for them, but security handled themselves well, and MAD RAD were light on shenanigans this night to incite the crowd further. Chaos and antics aside, MAD RAD are an in demand act who by all indications have the momentum behind them to remain so for the foreseeable future. And the intent. As the name of their promotional collective/website bluntly states, they are genuinely ‘Out for Stardom.’ At least on Capitol Hill, they are undeniably already famous.

Macklemore with Ryan Lewis ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

Macklemore with FENCES ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

Macklemore’s “Irish Celebration” ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

MAD RAD ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

MAD RAD ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

MAD RAD w/ Rik Rude - Lazerbeams! ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

MAD RAD - Buffalo Madonna just can’t help himself ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

Flickr: MAD RAD, Macklemore at Neumos, January 21st 2010