Flashback to 2005 yo! As we entered the Fillmore that night, we were greeted by venue employees who provided us with complimentary thick-rimmed glasses, oversized beanies, and flannels. Talk about immersion! Starting off the night were Secret Machines. First time seeing them live, and I gotta say this band really seems to love Roxy Music. and Gary Numan. And the Human League too! Entering the stage through a dense wall of fog-machine smoke and wild spotlights that illuminated the theater, they exploded with their signature style of spacey prog-rock, laden with larger-than-life choruses. The band has always stood out in the post-punk revival scene of the early aughts mostly due to the influences tending to gravitate more towards straightforward kraut-rock and noise rock. At least they sound like something(Strokes fans beware…)! Those noisy instrumental climaxes were my favorite part of their set, with some really cool, seriously entrancing interplay between the drums and guitars arising through their dedication to repetition. The vocals were also pretty fun! They cut through in the live performance even more than they do in recorded material, and a really prog-inspired theatricality shone in all the tracks they played. Overall a really good way to open the concert! Onto the headliners… I think I’d be ignoring the elephant in the room in denying that Metric were partial progenitors of the “indie-industrial complex” that we’re still somehow collectively stuck in as a society. Their critics tend to decry their music as uncomplicated, brash, and pedestrian, with lyrics reliant on simple refrains and clichéd platitudes likely engineered in a laboratory somewhere in an underground Canadian compound with the intent to foster stadium singalongs. Well, I’m not gonna deny that most of that’s all probably the case. However, and though this may be my own nostalgia and pre-adolescent adoration of the band talking, is that such a bad thing?? Yeah, sure, Metric are probably the AC/DC of “Brooklyn Vegan”-reading, microgreen-sandwich-eating, Portlandia millennials. But dammit if they aren’t really good at it!  They fully played into this image of the stadium indie band. From Emily Haines jumping around stage, guiding the audience with her arm waves, to guitarist James Shaw swinging his guitar neck around at the audience during those all-too-80’s guitar solos(more than one!). They opened with the first track from their newest record, the sprawling 10-minute cultural critique “Doomscroller”. In our dystopian post-COVID landscape, every band is allowed one concept album to talk about how “the internet sucks and stuff”. Bonus points if they make reference some hot-topic buzzword like, y’know. They followed that up by switching back and forth between older hits and newer material. The difference was mostly apparent in instrumentation, with a lot of their music from recent years opting to forego traditional rock instrumentation in favor of synths and other such programmed electronics. The new stuff was unfortunately far less memorable than the old, and that might partially be due to that classic material being such a formative part of my pre-adolescent years(I’d be

Walking into the Little Caesars Arena and looking at the crowd that had come to see the Gorillaz, you can truly understand how diverse their discography is. From 14 year olds to 50 year olds, dressed in all fashions from scene from Lolita to cosplays of the band members–fictional characters developed by vocalist Damon Albarn.  The opening act was Atlanta hip-hop duo EARTHGANG, who took the stage with a full band and a set of bar chimes that the duo would aggressively use more times than I could count. Their music was whimsical and seemed authentic. They had the crowd super energetic, as they blasted through their songs full of affirmations. Stand out songs were Proud of U, Bank, and This Side. After a smoke-machine-filled gap between EARTHGANG and Gorillaz, Damon Albarn entered the stage to much fanfare. I found the demeanors of the band incredibly rehearsed and dramatic, and felt that they were focused on looking like they were having fun more than interacting with each other. Their two hour setlist was bolstered by three percussionists and a four-piece choir, which both added to the cinematic nature of the music.  As the set continued, Damon and his band became more comfortable on stage, and the rest of the show seemed much more authentic and enjoyable to watch. It was always a highlight when Damon played the piano, as he seemed to melt into its keys and really connect with the music himself.  The two hour set spanned most of their discography, but their 4 song encore was definitely the high point. Playing the songs most of the audience had been waiting for the whole set (Feel Good Inc. and Clint Eastwood), they brought out Bootie Brown and De La Soul. The featured artists were able to hype up and engage the crowd in a way that outshined the Gorillaz, but their performance added immensely to the songs as well. As Clint Eastwood, the last song, closed Sweetie Irie hopped out on stage and played the reggae-dance remix of the song that was popular in British dance clubs. The concert in all was a respectable show that tied together all aspects of the expansive band, but I hope in future concerts the members are able to truly perform earnestly, instead of the robotic style they had. Truly the most memorable parts of the concert were EARTHGANG and the countless guests brought on stage by Albarn.

Seven years ago, I bought tickets to Alvvays’ Adult Diversion tour only to have my dreams crushed by the fine print– the show was 18+, and I was thirteen years old. Another two years passed and the band released their sophomore album Antisocialites, the tour for which my  fifteen year old self was also unable to attend. When I turned 18, I prayed and prayed for the release of a third album so I could finally see my favorite band play live. Yes, my favorite band. While this might seem like a hyperbolic statement to make for someone who is fond of so many artists, I can say with certainty that Alvvays’ discography and sound is my favorite, and has been for many years. Unfortunately, my dreams were somewhat shattered when the pandemic hit. Even as transmission plateaued and governments eased social distancing measures, the Canadian border remained closed. The Toronto-based band had no way of touring the states, or even recording music since their rhythm section is American. Everything changed when they announced the release of their third studio album, Blue Rev, and the accompanying tour. I bought tickets to their Chicago show with astonishing zeal, determination, and stealth– I would not let clumsy button-pushing or a slow internet connection stand in the way of me and my jangle pop dream.  The wait was certainly worth it. The crowd at the Riviera Theater buzzed with anticipation as fans gathered for the first time in half a decade to celebrate the band’s reemergence. Indeed, Chicago was just the first stop on their Fall tour, which became evident throughout the show as the band somewhat struggled with sound engineering issues and audio distortion. These issues could also be attributed to the venue’s antiquity– although its 1920s ornamental woodwork was an aesthetic marvel, the overall acoustics of the theater were not as crisp as I would have liked. Additionally, I was standing on the far-right side of the theater, as far as possible away from the lead guitarist. With the way the sound was designed, this meant I heard very little of him, which was a minor let-down given that I couldn’t hear one of the best moments in Blue Rev– the guitar solo at the end of “Pomeranian Spinster.” Besides these minor auditory problems, Alvvays sounded phenomenal and highly rehearsed– a near duplicate of their studio recordings.  The set list did not disappoint– fan favorites like “Archie, Marry Me” and “Dreams Tonite” were peppered throughout the show in place of newer, less popular songs from Blue Rev. While I was delighted to hear these older tracks, I wished they had played some of my personal favorites from Blue Rev, namely “Lottery Noises.” The transitions between old and new were seamless, though, highlighting the band’s knack for producing a consistent yet fresh sound across records. Each rendition shared a lush soundscape composed of playful keys, dreamy, layered guitar, understated but impactful drums, and bright vocals sung by Molly Rankin. Tone-setting visuals were

Every couple of years, my wife and I travel overseas for a few club shows overseas and schedule a vacation around the concerts.  We like to travel to see bands one doesn’t get to see often in the States.  This year, we’d been hoping to see Voyager after their near Eurovision qualifying performance in Australia, and VOLA, the Danish/Swedish heavy prog newcomers. Both shows were at the medium sized venues in their respective clubs, the gigs were played in the 750 person room in 013, and the 650 person ‘Oz’ room in Melkweg, and the venues were packed wall to wall with people.  Both nights we got great vantage points on the balcony rail, and the sound up on the balcony was amazing in both venues.  The opener for the tour was the Reno, Nevada based Four Stroke Baron.  Nominally a duo as per their bandcamp, they toured Europe as a trio, with the guitarist doubling as the singer.  If one had to pigeonhole Four Stroke Baron into a specific genre, it’s pretty firmly in the progressive metal camp, with synth-pop, nu-metal, and 80’s new wave influences.  The band, not having a lot of the stage to work with, was very static, but the bassist had tons of energy. The vocalist was very unique, using a modified talk-box to sing through and processing the vocals further beyond that.  In so many ways, they are the classic opener, a promising new act with some really interesting ideas, but they need a few more albums and performances under their belt before they blossom into something potentially outstanding.   After a 25 minute set, Four Stroke Baron made way for Voyager, self described progressive dance metal from Perth, Australia.   Danny Estrin, the vocalist (and also an immigration lawyer in his day job), can be a vocal clone for Dave Gahan from Depeche Mode more often than not.  Their new-wave synth laden metal, overlaid with chunky guitar riffs from their two guitarists, can be infectious and prog influences aside, immensely catchy.  Their set, a short 45 minutes over 8 songs, covered their new singles (‘Submarine’, and ‘Dreamer’, the single from the Australian Eurovision qualifiers), and no more than two tracks from each of the last four albums. As a long time fan, I was overjoyed to get to see some older tracks sprinkled in the end, including the Meaning of I and Ascension, to go along with ‘Colours’ and ’Brightstar’ off of their last crowdfunded full-length, Colours in the Sun. What stage Voyager was able to use as an opener was framed by a number of LED light poles roughly the size of industrial fluorescent lights that changed colors and synced via computer appropriate to the song being played (rainbow for ‘Colours’, sea green for ‘Submarine’).  Having not seen Voyager since their last set in the US in 2018, I thought they were in amazing form, easily two of the best shows I’ve seen from them.  Finally, on came VOLA, the headliners. They play a distinctive

The bulk of the Dekmantel festival took place in the Amsterdamse Bos forest over 3 days (Friday/Saturday/Sunday). With 8 simultaneous stages, some of which are a bit of a hike from each other, and some of the spaces filling up pretty quickly, one has to coordinate and prioritize which sets are worth venturing out and staying for. On all three days, I ended up getting to the forest a bit later than I wanted since I was spending time in the city hanging out with a friend during the early afternoon. Friday I arrived just in time to catch the last 12 minutes of Scorn’s set, which was one of the sets I was looking forward to the most. At least it was worth it, as Mick Harris pummeled the hangar-like UFO II stage with bass, and I was able to get as close up front as possible. Next I caught a bit of DJ Haram, who promised club bangers as long as it was ok if she threw in some weirdness, which meant Bad Brains-style hardcore and trap coexisted with Jersey club. Over at the main stage, Josey Rebelle was playing an uplifting, eclectic housey set, and Anz elevated the vibe further, playing a marvelous set which likely included a lot of her own productions, which are as likely to evoke freestyle/electro as ravey drum’n’bass. After catching some of Joy Orbison’s main stage set, I discovered the amazing Greenhouse stage, a roomy, open-air hut with lots of plants. I caught some of Ugandan/British ensemble Nihiloxica‘s set, an exhilarating mix of high-speed drumming and blown-out electronic feedback. I always appreciate it when electronic festivals showcase a few bands, particularly when they have amazing drummers, and this was an especially welcome change of pace. After that was Legowelt, a Dutch electro master and analog synth fiend who I’d been wanting to see for ages. Following that, I caught some of Aquarian and the Hessle Audio 15th anniversary showcase, but honestly I was really tired by that point and everything was blurring together, plus it was cold and I didn’t bring a jacket that day. I ended up buying a long-sleeve polo shirt at the merch table before I biked back to my hotel. I showed up too late on Saturday for Dopplereffekt’s set, but I did catch some of Anthony Rother, who mostly played Kraftwerk tunes for the portion that I saw. Then electroclash heroes Kittin & the Hacker played, and though I still wasn’t quite close enough to see them, it sounded fine. After that I head over to the main stage to catch Jayda G, who played a very summery set of disco and house favorites, including her own excellent recent singles. Over at the Greenhouse, I caught some of Brazilian jazz-funk legends Azymuth, who were a last-minute addition to the lineup, and I immediately wished I’d gotten there earlier. Could not believe how tight they were, the synth player in particular is a wizard. Fortunately their set went on 15 minutes