Music

I saw a great concert last night at The Meadow Brook Music Festival. I missed the opening act (The Fruit Bats) so I cannot speak to how well their set went, but saw all of Ray LaMontagne and Guster.

This was my first time hearing anything by Ray LaMontagne, which was cool. It was nice to hear an artist's work for the first time live for a change. Going in I knew very little about him. The best lead I had suggested a comparison to Van Morrison. I would not agree with the comparison, but his gritty voice did remind me some of the new Gomez album. I am still not convinced that my comparison is any more accurate than Van Morrison, but it was the best I could come up with when I wondered whose voice I thought sounded so familiar to Ray LaMontagne's.

Some of the songs he played were very good. I think I will check out his album Trouble for at least a second listen. I think my favorite was Forever My Friend (lyrics).

The Guster set was great. They are so much fun live. I have not seen them on in 4-5 years, so I was a bit worried that with this new record deal (and this fourth band member?!?) that things would be different, and not for the better. I am not a huge fan of their latest album Ganging Up On The Sun, but went to the show with an open mind. I was overwhelmingly pleasantly surprised. Not only did the songs from the new album sound better live, but Guster played many of their older songs. Too many bands today will tour solely to promote their latest album and play only the new songs during the primary set and then play one or two old favorites during the encore set. Guster rocked the (unfortunately relatively unpacked) house with hits new and old from the moment they came out on stage. Ryan's distinct voice really is made for the stage. He projects so well for sounding like somewhat of a dork (sorry...).

Guster seems to just have fun on stage. When the band appears to be having such a great time performing, the show is that much better. They're funny, though not too much so. Some bands get up and try a little too hard, but Guster knew its boundaries. They spent about an hour and a half on stage. That included their main set and essentially two encores. They bring a ton of energy on stage and leave you completely entertained (and not just from Brian's bongo drumming).

Check out the remaining tour dates for a show near you.

Pictures from the show are available here. I do apologize in advance for the Guster pics. I only took a few because they were turning out so poorly. The stage was backlit which was not good lighting for me from where we sat. (At least not for what little I know how to use my camera for.) (Luckily?) it was still light out when Ray LaMontagne was on stage.

I had the pleasure of attending the O.A.R. concert at the Meadow Brook Music Festival over the weekend. O.A.R. was appearing with special guest Jack's Mannequin. Due to extenuating circumstances we, unfortunately, were late to the show and missed that act and a song or two of O.A.R.'s set.

Unless they started with a few amazing songs that we missed, I am underwhelmed overall by the playlist for the night. Sure they played Crazy Game of Poker, which was the highlight of the evening, but they reached into their bag of tricks and pulled out some lesser songs to play. That and a ONE-SONG ENCORE were my main gripes with the concert. They played Love and Memories for the lone encore song, which would be expected..., along with two other songs. Are the days of the three-song encore long gone? Has it been that long since my last concert?

O.A.R. is not a show you got to if you want to be wildly entertained by outrageous acts by audience members or constant quirky interaction amongst band members, but they do have a full host of great songs. I just wish they had played more of the better songs.

As is the cookie-cutter venue design, Meadow Brook is set up in pavilion with lawn seats. We had pavilion seats, which was nice since we had to show up late. It rained pretty steadily through most of the show which was great for the people on the lawn and in the last 10 (or so) rows in the pavilion (which included us). I am not being sarcastic with that. It actually added a common bond among concert-goers apart from an appreciation for the band. Now we all like O.A.R. and we are soaking wet, let's enjoy the show! Ok, so I am not explaining it very well, but it was fun.

The show was a lot of fun. I am very glad we were able to go. If you are interested in the pictures I took at the show, go HERE.

The rap world has turned into too much of a business. With the record label pyramid scheme where each artist signs his buddies from the hood for one hit song that allows them to make $7 while there is windfall profit across the top, the emphasis is not on the hit record anymore, it's all on the hit single. What will sell for 15 minutes and then we'll move on to the next hood rat who has one good hook in him. That and as much as Atlanta stormed onto the scene it has bastardized the face of the game to the point where loud redundant beats play over a repetitive hook and there is no more flow. What is catchy sells. Not who has talent.

In that regard: Watch out for reggaeton. It is the next hip-hop phenomanon.

I did not follow Gomez much through their first few albums. I was very familiar with them because my brother is a big fan, but I never spent much time listening to them. From what I am able to gather, How We Operate is slower than the four albums previously released by the quintet from the UK. Ben Ottewell, Ian Ball, and Tom Gray all try their hand at lead vocals. The tag-team approach works well in some instances, but poorly in others. There are a few great songs on it, but the album as a whole is decent but not great. To me it is an album that if on, I'll listen to it, but I will not necessarily suggest it get played (in its entirety anyway). This album is an example of why iTunes is so practical. Gone are the days when we would buy this album just to have the few good songs. Now we can just buy them individually and spare ourselves the rest.

01. Notice This is a solid first track. Lead singer Ben Ottewell softens his (signature) gritty voice well for this slower song. There is some twangy guitar in the background that may be a bit much for this song, but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and say good song.

02. See The World This is probably my favorite song right now. I cannot seem to get enough of it. This is just a great "feel good" track that can lift you out of most, if not any, slumps - if only for 4 minutes... Favorite song right now, but maybe only my second favorite track on the album. Go figure.

03. How We Operate This album's title track may have been better placed at the beginning or end of the CD. I think the change in mood from track two to three and then to number four is too up and down. The song is ok; nothing remarkable, good or bad.

04. Hamoa Beach This is a good song. It seems to grow on me more each time I hear it. I really enjoy the lyrics in this song, maybe the most (start to finish) of all the songs on this album.

05. Girlshapedlovedrug This is my pick for best song on the album. I like the slow feel of the album brought to a boil a little with this song. The tempo is picked up a bit from the other tracks and it works well. This is a good foot-tapper.

06. Chasing Ghosts With Alcohol My suggestion would have been to release the album with only eleven tracks and leave this one off. The song starts poorly and seems to only get worse. Remember the tempo I talked about on the last track? Gone. Zero. When is something going to happen in this song?! Careful what you wish for...because you get an earful of screechy guitar feedback to wake you up from the gentle slumber the first two minutes of the song forced you into.

07. Tear Your Love Apart This is another song that is growing on me. I cannot put my finger on it yet, but it sounds a little too much like something hidden in the back of my mind. Until I can pinpoint it, the song gets thumbs up. Hard to imagine they picked up the pace since the last song...

08. Charley Patton Songs This song is decent. I think the lead sounds a little too much like Ben Gibbard, of Death Cab for Cutie and Postal Service, for my taste. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the work he does on both projects, but I don't want to have to listen to Gomez to enjoy his sound.

09. Woman! Man! This is another track that showcases the lead vocals well. The song does so well until the chorus. "Shalalala woman. Shalalala man." Does nothing for me. Some reviews I have read celebrate this as the band's ability to not take themselves seriously. Unfortunately I don't take them seriously either for the same simple hook.

10. All Too Much This song is decent. I like the pace and the vocals, but the guitar is a little too dominant at times. Turn it down a little bit and let me focus on vocals and I think we've got a good song.

11. Cry On Demand This is a sleeper track hidden near the end of the album. I hate to sound like a broken record, but the guitar gets to be too much again, but the two- or three-part harmony employed sounds great; I would absolutely recommend they write more sings in this style.

12. Don't Make Me Laugh Death Cab meets a down-on-the-range (country) guitar sound. Weird that I have now eluded to Death Cab twice. Anyway, with an album that has its ups and downs with tempo, I had hoped they would end on a high note... I'll just have to get used to disappointment.

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