Minus the Bear concert Review

Hey!

Sorry for not posting last night, but I absolutely knew I could not pass up the Minus the Bear concert. Even though I’ve been feeling a bit under the weather recently, I went and I am so glad I did. I found them a few years ago when I was listening to our public radio station which mostly plays classical music during the day and alternative/indie music at night that sounds closer to wailing than music. Somehow, a gem like Minus the Bear’s “My Time” made it on there and then I ended up finding the song for free on a Dangerbird Records (their old record label) sampler a few days later. Ever since, I’ve been hooked on their music.

Minus the Bear’s sound is kind of like Mutemath and Fall Out Boy and Arcade Fire all mixed up together, yet with an unexpected twist. It’s polished, dissonant, intricate, harmonious, pure and raw all at the same time. And bottom line: it’s fantastic.

They came on right at 10:00 (I arrived at 9:58…perfect timing on my part) and opened right up with Steel and Blood, an explosion of guitar riffs and hard percussion. Seamlessly, they transitioned into an oldie “The Fix,” which got the dedicated fans in the crowd going crazy. Jake’s voice soared over the instrumentation nicely and the chorus was completely perfect: hard and rough yet not too over-the-top. Genius. They went into “Diamond Lightning,” mellowing it out a bit, but cranking it back up with “Toska” and “Secret Country.” Then, they went into the crowd favorite: “My Time,” where every single person was moving, most cradling their drinks,  (except for underage me…I think I was the only one under 18 in that whole place, even though it was an all-ages show), rocking back and forth and some guy was even fist-bumping (who fist-bumps in Iowa? Well, props to him, I guess).  The band seemed to feed off the energy, going hard and furious on this song. They cooled it down a bit with “Absinthe Party At the Fly Honey Warehouse” and “Knights,” though neither song dragged. By this time, I was beginning to feel pretty tired so I hung around for “Let’s Play Guitar in a Five Guitar Band,” “Throwin’ Shapes,” and “I’m Not Totally Down with Rob’s Alien,” and heard the full-bodied glory of “Double Vision Quest” as I walked to my car.

Overall, the concert was amazing. All of the guys are incredible musicians who give it their all, no matter if they’re playing the newer stuff from “Infinity Overhead” and "OMNI" or their earlier songs off of “Highly Refined Pirates," "Planet Ice" or "Menos El Oso." They put on an incredible show and based on the crowd, I’d say all who came had a great time. Including the couple who danced to nearly every song, an impressing feat considering Minus the Bear’s music isn’t exactly perfect“ dancing” music.  haha it was fun to see the crowd so involved.

If Minus the Bear is coming to your town, I would highly suggest you go! If not, at least check out their music which is available on iTunes, Amazon, and Spotify.

Next week, I’ll do another “What is Bella Listening To” installment, which may or may not feature a ton of Minus the Bear songs.

Until then,

Bella

Beecher's Fault

Hey,
Happy Friday! Granted, for most students like me, Friday is just another day of the week, but if you're working good for you. You survived another week. For me, I'm just happy I survived the heat; it's supposed to be 100 degrees this weekend. But I'm keeping cool, exercising indoors and listening to good music. :)

So, speaking of good music...

I love social media. It goes without saying that social media connects us, brings us together, and introduces us to new people/ new things we might never have found otherwise. I was slow to join twitter. I thought, honestly, I have an e-mail account, Facebook, and a blog. What else do I need? It turns out, I was missing out. In the past, bands tried to reach new ears by way of MySpace and now, they use Twitter. One day when I logged on my account, with my unbearably long e-mail address (thesoundtrackofmylife2012@gmail.com)  I saw I had a new follower. Usually, it’s just like one of my sister’s friends, but it turned out to be a new band I had never heard of (hence the word “new”) called Beecher’s Fault. Curious, I clicked on the link to their Facebook page and listened to their song “Misbehavior.” I am so glad I did.

          These guys are incredible. The band is comprised of three guys from Astoria, New York : vocalist/guitarist Ben Taylor, vocalist/keyboardist Ken Lamken and drummer Eric Levine. Their music boasts many features such as a beautiful indie vibe, some aspects of modern alternative sounds, and an unmistakable sound. When they come on my Spotify playlist I know automatically who it is. They are very distinctive and I like that. I find even in alternative circles that bands tend to get lazy and bang out a boring melody and some mediocre lyrics. Maybe it’s just me, but I like bands that put effort into their sound. With Beecher’s Fault, you never have to doubt that they worked at their music. All of their tender loving care really paid off.

                My favorite songs are Leftover People and Conductor. Leftover People is cool because the piano intro leads into the song perfectly, the drum line fits perfectly, and the overall beautiful simplicity with a touch of chaos. Simplicity and chaos, though they might be antonyms, work well with each other. And Conductor stands out because of the emotional lyrics, simple instrumentation, and the vocals give me goose bumps.

They also have really cool music videos. I especially enjoyed the music video for Liars, which uses shoes to tell a story. Very creative. I loved it. J

So, in the end, I really enjoy their music. I like the polished yet slightly gritty sound. They embody alternative music and I hope nothing but success comes their way.

If you want to connect with these guys, their music is available on iTunes, Spotify, and their website. You can find them on Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, and their official website.

Here are the links:
Twitter: http://twitter.com/beechers_fault

Website: http://beechersfault.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BeechersFault

MySpace:  http://www.myspace.com/beechersfault

YouTube:  http://www.youtube.com/beechersfault

If you are in an undiscovered band or if you are a fan on an undiscovered band and would like a review on my blog, please leave a comment, e-mail me, or tweet me at twitter.com/tsoml2012

Until next week,

Bella

Makeup Post/ Five Songs Rocking My Spotify Playlists

Hey,
I just wanted to do a quick post to let you all know what I'm listening to...


Because I'm crunched for time, here's my proposition: tonight I will talk about 5 songs on my playlist and then on Friday, I will do a proper review: Gotye's newest album, track-by-track.

Now, my five fav songs:

In no particular order:
1. Nothing in My Way by Keane
This is an older song, from their 2006 album Under The Iron Sea, but I just discovered it today. I had on my Gotye Pandora station and this came on; I was frozen in place. Some songs just strike me, and this one was no exception. I love the powerful piano hammering, the organ, the drum patterns, and Tom's beautiful tenor. I love the minor key tonality and the beautiful harmony. Not going to lie, I'm a sucker for almost any song in the minor key. Especially songs in the minor key + a powerful vocalist= heaven for my ears.

2. Diet Mountain Dew by Lana Del Rey
yeah, yeah, she's controversial, talentless, stiff, just a pretty face, rich, spoiled, stupid, dumb; I get it. I don't know why, but I'm drawn to her voice. I like the 50's swagger and her husky sound. It's different. Seriously, Katy Perry doesn't sound like this; I kinda think she sounds like a robot who inhaled a bunch of helium. Anyways, Diet Mountain Dew has nothing to do with the song, really, I don't have any idea what she's talking about, but she does have some good one-two-punches. It's good songwriting.

3. Killer by The Ready Set
Ah, Jordan Witzigreuter (I know that's wrong, but I'm running with it) I love him. He's the dude behind TRS,  just him and a manager/producer, obviously, but you catch my drift. I love his editing techniques. Yes, I think he uses autotune, editing, reverb, and audio effects. Seeing as he actually has real talent, isn't swollen with arrogance, and doesn't do stupid choreographed dance moves, and writes his own music, I respect him. Oh, unlike OneDirection, he plays instruments! Yes, it's crazy right? Now, I realize I'm contradicting myself and setting a double standard by saying it's okay for him to use autotune but not the Biebs. Yeah, but Jordan's not some puffed up, cookie-cutter musician. He has talent, sounds just as good live as in a studio, and he's creative. If the Biebs wrote his own crappy music, I might respect him a little bit more, but probably not. Jordan's just a cool guy and he can sing without his effects; he uses it to give him some edge, and to set him apart from other musicians.

4. Thanks For Your Time by Gotye
I love him. I love, love,love,love,lovelovelovelovelovelovelovelovelovelovelove him. He's amazing, and I'll explain it in more detail on Friday night. I chose this song from his second album "Like Drawing Blood," because it cracks me up. Not in like, OMG, I'm doubling in laughter, I need to dry my tears, but it's in more like a funny ha-ha sort of way. But because the entire song is about dealing with customer service on the phone. We all know how freaking complicated that is. So, I love the track in the background, the steady beat, the "ah-ah-oh's" repeating through the back. The clips from different customer service places are a nice touch. It's smart. His building frustration which is demonstrated with the vocals growing louder and the irritated lyrics. I like how he's trying to show it from their stupid side like, "that's understandable/isn't that understandable." Those companies tend to either have ridiculous robots or messages that talk down to you like you're 8 years old.

5. Payphone by maroon5
 I knew this song before it was big. I called it. I've been listening to this song since the day after it came out.  This song is "meh," with simple lyrics, boring chord changes, an easy drum pattern, and too many vocal fillers on Adam's voice. I used to really like Maroon 5, but their new stuff just feels really mass-produced. And all those Pop listeners are freaking out because I'm being mean, and I approve of Jordan's effects, but not Maroon5's. I just know Jordan uses those in all of his songs like they are another instrument. Maroon 5 and Bieber rely on them. I really just posted this song because I wanted to prove that I predict the hits. I've heard most songs before they get big. ask me what I'm checking out and in a few months, it'll be huge. Take "Somebody I Used to Know," I was listening to that like back in January. Same thing with "We Are Young." :)


Until next week,
Bella