Lorde- BMO Harris Pavilion on the Summerfest Grounds, 9/26/14

Lorde Rules over BMO Harris Pavilion:  by guest blogger  Caroline (Grade 6)
Rising international pop superstar Lorde made her Milwaukee debut this past Friday, September 26th at the BMO Harris Pavilion on the Summerfest Grounds.  The opening act was Majical Cloudz and they were not so great.  Lorde could have had a bigger name opening for her. The group consisted of 2 men from Canada - one wearing a white t-shirt who paced back and forth across the stage shouting lyrics into a microphone and the second played a keyboard in the background. They were very loud and played an alternative music style that I would not recommend to rush to download.  I didn't hear them give their names but at one point he said they were from Canada. Not Canada's best export. After the opening act the crowd waited 35 minutes for the main act to come on.

Lorde finally came on at 8:35 and had the crowd standing on their feet clapping and cheering. When all the crowd was finally standing she began doing her first song and some type of interpretive dance involving jerky movements and flipping her hair without ever introducing her drummer and keyboardist. There also appeared to be no background singers on stage, but there was background singers in the songs that she played so it could have just been prerecorded. In between the first half of the songs she didn't really say much except "I love Milwaukee" and reminding the crowd that we were right by Lake Michigan which we could see it from our seats. The last few songs were much better and her Zumba-like dancing calmed down. Some of the later songs included "Royals," "Team," and a cover of "Heavenly Father," by Wisconsin's own Bon Iver.   She also later talked about how all of her songs catalog her life as a teenager. Even though her songs were better in the second half of her set, the over use of strobe lighting distracted a bit from her strong vocals.  

Overall, her concert was amazing because after all she is only 17. I would definitely recommend this show.

photo by Caroline 

photo by Caroline

The War on Drugs- Pabst Theater, 9/20/14

The War on Drugs have certainly emerged as the rising stars of the Americana rock 'n roll scene in 2014, although I am not sure if you can really fit the band into this, or any genre.  Their music is, at best, a marriage of My Morning Jacket, Wilco, and Bob Dylan, which places it perfectly in this writer's sonic wheelhouse.

Their latest release Lost in a Dream, has garnered them significant critical acclaim from music pundits world wide, and is poised to be on many critics' "albums of the year lists".  As I wrote about when the album dropped in early spring, this is one of those truly exceptional releases that "sticks to the bones" in terms of its songwriting and musical craft.  Personally speaking, Lost in a Dream is probably my favorite record of the past several years.

photo by Stephen Bloch

After seeing The War on Drugs in Chicago in March, my biggest question going into their show at the Pabst Theater this past Sunday was how the band would adopt to their huge surge in critical success.  Lost in a Dream's acclaim has taken them from halls that hold a couple hundred fans to venues that fit a thousand or more.  It has also taken them to Europe and soon to Australia where several of their tour dates are already sold out.

While similar in terms of capacity, playing Chicago's Metro (a two storied bar/music hall) to playing Milwaukee's majestic Pabst Theater (a three storied historic theater) is a big jump.  Compared to seeing the band earlier on  tour in the spring, The War on Drugs seemed more confident and honed in on their songs and jams this past Sunday night.  While focused on Lost in a Dream as their primary material, the band took some risks in the set with deeper cuts, off of their earlier releases, 2011's Slave Ambient, 2008's Wagonwheel Blues.  Overall, The War on Drugs seemed not like a band on the rise, but rather a band who has arrived.  Lead singer/guitarist Adam Granduciel and company took a page out of Bob Dylan's stage presence book-- playing often with closed eyes and flowing songs into one another with no crowd banter in between.

Granduciel started with an eerie intro flowing into a spot-on rendition of "In Reverse," which gave me goosebumps as the song built from a soft number to a full on rocker at the end.  "Under the Pressure" was delivered with flawless precision,  Other set highlights included Granduciel paying respects to his obvious influence, Bob Dylan, by performing "Born in Time" off of Dylan's 1990 Under the Red Sky album.  This song was made more popular by Eric Clapton who covered it on his 1998 Pilgrim record.   A surprise inclusion to the set was "Arms Like Boulders," the first track off of The War on Drugs' debut release, Wagonwheel Blues, which was delivered with tremendous energy and featured Granduciel playing harmonica.  The set closer, "Eyes to the Wind," a stand-out track off of Lost in a Dream, sealed the deal on a set of great songs that function well both independently and in conjunction with one another.  This sense of flow in the set was a noticeable improvement from the spring and something that I see the band continually improving on as they continue to rise up the rock ladder.

The War on Drugs performing Bob Dylan's "Born in Time"

While Granduciel rarely spoke during his set, he made a point of engaging in some audience feedback during the encore, and asked for requests.  In a simple twist of fate (pardon the Dylan reference and pun) my request of "Brothers" from 2011's Slave Ambient release was played as the final song.

The War on Drugs have certainly worked hard this year to establish themselves as a top tier live act. as well as a band who has put their own innovative and experimental twist on Americana music.

Opening for The War on Drugs was Califone, a perfectly paired act from Chicago, who specialize in more jammy and experimental rock.  Lead by Tim Rutili, Califone delivered a fantastic opening set with numbers which drew from their most recent release, 2013's Stiches, and also explored back-catalog tracks, including 2009's "Funeral Singers."  Califone is a band off the radar who truly delivers a powerful performance live, and who I would eagerly see in a headlining engagement in Milwaukee.

Spoon- Riverside Theater, 9/17/14

Photo by Stephen Bloch

Timothy Showalter, lead singer and songwriter for Strand of Oaks, sums up Spoon the best when he described the Austin, Texas quintet: "Spoon is the most consistent band of the last 15 years. And by consistent, I mean perfect. I jumped on the train with Kill the Moonlight. With each new record, my world was expanded. How can a band maintain this level of focus for so long? How can songwriting with such a strong, instantly recognizable identity never get boring? I have no idea, but Spoon does it."   

Spoon is a rock 'n roll band, pure and simple.  Lead by frontman Britt Daniel, they pump out quality, catchy four minute, three chord tunes, and it works like a charm.  Their latest release, "They Want My Soul" was the focal point of much of their performance at the Riverside Theater, although in true fashion, Spoon seamlessly showcased their diverse and broad catalog in a robust set that stretched over 20 songs.   Newer tracks like, "Rent that I Pay," and "Knock Knock Knock" fit like a glove alongside Spoon "hits" like "My Mathematical Mind" from 2005's Gimme Fiction (requested by a fan with a sign) and "You Got Yr Cherry Bomb" from 2007's Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga.  "The Beast and the Dragon Adorned," a signature Spoon tune that kicked off Gimme Fiction was a stand-out highlight of the set, played to perfection,  The band's classic set closer of late, "Got Nuffin" from Transference ended the band's set on a rocking note.

One thing I noticed particularly in this performance is the driving bass lines that glue together the catchy melodies we've learned to love from Spoon.  The rhythm section of Spoon comprised of founding member Jim Eno on drums and Rob Pope on bass are stellar musicians whose precision punctuates the wailing guitar riffs from Brit Daniel.

Dressed in sharp black suits, the boys from Austin have taken their stage show up a notch since I last saw them on New Year's Eve 2009-2010.  Large blank screens were placed throughout the stage, projecting the band's silhouettes while playing.   This coupled with a top grade light show added to the visual engagement of the performance.   Speaking of the New Year's Eve show, Spoon recalled that experience by playing a cover of "No Time," by Jay Reatard who opened for the New Year's show and passed away a few day later.   It was a kind and fitting tribute to a friend of the band.

For more photos of the show, check out my friend Stephen Bloch's gallery featured in Relix Magazine.