Wavves, the surf-rock punks from So-Cal, came through Madison Monday to play a show at the Majestic. When I spoke with guitarist Alex Gates last week, he told me the only shows they’ve been doing since their last tour were one-offs in college towns. So, naturally, they felt right at home.
Foxygen are a band so painted by their influences that, for better or worse, it’s impossible to talk about them without comparisons. The artists they try to emulate are engrained in every bar of every song. Flipping between the elegant monotone of Lou Reed and the howling of Mick Jagger, the California duo own their nostalgia, but their record collection may have failed them on their new release, …And Star Power.
Lately, it’s been tough to stay a loyal Weezer fan. I had the luxury of hitting my music fandom stride around the same time people started realizing The Blue Album would be a classic. Unfortunately, this coincided with the band’s descent into failed experimentation and messy collaborations. Weezer walked into the pitfall of confirming their own stereotypes by emphasizing their quirkiness and penning meaningless lyrics on their most recent releases.
Immediate gratification. Not only can you read the results of a fight after the final round, but you can physically feel the consequences of your actions, good and bad. If you duck left when you should have moved right, you’ll see lights. On the other hand, if you time it just right and fire fast enough, you’ll feel your opponent’s face connecting with your gloved fist.
Most people have little or no exposure to spoken word. Maybe a YouTube video posted to a friend’s Facebook wall or a clip from HBO’s “Def Poetry.” MTV doesn’t carve out a ton of time for it and you’re not going to hear it on mainstream radio. Spoken word is rap music without the frills, and people love their frills. But take out the cars and chains, cut the beats and fame, and spoken word is what you’re left with. Rhythmic poetry. A landscape of words crafted to flow smoothly so that background music isn’t necessary or even wanted. The University of Wisconsin-Madison instituted a program in fall of 2007 to foster this art form and give interested students an opportunity to get involved.
Admit it—you’ve always wondered if it would be possible to live in a storage space. Set up a single mattress with a distastefully modern Ikea nightstand in the dimly lit box. Maybe a personal shag carpet rug, because if you’re living in a storage unit, you’re most likely a leftover ’70s hippie. Well, Brave Baby, the indie five-piece from Charleston, S.C. hasn’t been living in one, but they’ve been practicing in one since their inception in January, 2012. The band will be in Madison for Communion’s February show and I got to speak with them about their eclectic debut album, their lives growing up in different southern towns and their unique practice spot.
One month is up, and Communion is back for its second installment in Madison. With it comes Tennis, the nostalgic, pop-rock duo from Colorado. Although their home is in the mountains, the married couple’s first album was conceived on a trip that helped give the band national attention: an eight-month sailing trip down the eastern seaboard. I spoke with lead singer Alaina Moore about the trip, as well as their newest release, Small Sound.
Now that the first annual YouTube Music Awards are over, Spike Jonze’s—director of the ceremony—comments now seem like more of a warning than a statement of creative ambition. Jones told The New York Times he hoped the live event would become a “fun mess,” not something you expect to hear from someone putting together an internationally-streamed award show.
As if we needed another reason to love the Madison music scene, Ben Lovett (Mumford & Sons), Kevin Jones (Bear’s Den) and producer Ian Grimble are bringing their brainchild, Communion, to Madison’s The Frequency for a monthly stop. Communion was formed in London in 2006 as a way for new bands to get out of the garage and onto a stage.
Local H, the two-piece band from Zion, Illinois, has been playing since before I was born. I actually asked a friend’s father, who introduced me to Local H, for some ideas for this interview. Originally three members, the bassist dropped out before the first album was recorded in 1995, and their current drummer, Brian St. Clair, is leaving the band in October. The Daily Cardinal spoke with lead singer and guitarist, Scott Lucas, about getting mugged in Moscow, Brian’s departure, and the music scene growing up in a dead-end, Midwest town.
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Solutions by The State News
