The French Kicks - 9/16/06 - Triple Rock

Whoops, this show was last week. Guess I should give it a mention in my little blog here. What is not to like about the French Kicks and their dancey new wave hooks. They are a band anybody can enjoy. The attendance was fairly modest, so there was plenty of room for everyone to have their own dancing space. Their set consisted almost entirely of songs from their last two releases. Some of the favorites of the evening were "One More Time," "Following Waves," and "Only So Long" from Trial of the Century. Selections from the new release included "So Far We Are," "Knee High," and "No Mean Time." The French Kicks don't pretend to be anything flashy, but their music does have a sort of swagger about it, and this evening, so did by feet and my hips and my shoulders. I'll dance to the French Kicks over the music playing at dance clubs any night of the week.

Built to Spill - 9/12/06 - First Ave

This show was a long time coming. Originally scheduled for April 12, BTS's entire tour had to be rescheduled because guitar afficianado and main man Doug Martsch got a scratched cornea while playing some mad b-ball. But the long wait was finally over and Built to Spill seemed eager to take the stage in front of the aging indie jam hipsters. Doug announced before commencing with the opening song that this was the first show on the tour.



This didn't prove to be a hinderance, but more of a blessing as the band roared through quite an ecclectic set of old, new, and even newer unheard tunes. High point of the evening was definitely "Goin' Against Your Mind" from their most recent release. The blitzkreig of guitars during the nine minute jam sent the crowd (as well as myself and Kal) into a frenzy. Surprisingly this was only one of two songs, the other being "Conventional Wisdom" that the band would foray into throughout the evening. But with a catalog as unstoppable as theirs, it was not much of a disappointment. The band was much tighter than they were from their last visit to the Ave. Other favorites played during the night were "The Plan" from one of my all time favorite albums "Keep it Like a Secret," "Untrustable Pt. 2," and the encore "Broken Chairs" (sans whistle solo unfortunately).



As previously stated, new songs (newer than than You in Reverse) were a main part of the set as well, including heavily Raggae influenced number. Another notable part of the evening was a video of Doug Martsch cohort Calvin Johnson giving a speach concerning the horrible reasons why our overly ambitious conservative leaders went into war with Iraq, while BTS played quite the rocking instrumental jam during the non speaking parts of the video. Overall, it was an excellent show from a seasoned band of the indie rock scene. One certainly not confused as to the niche they have been placed in. Bravo Doug and co.