Sep 19th, 2009
Synesthesia
s Canadian debut was this Thursday as the travelling circus that was the Perez Hilton tour made it’s stop at the Opera House. The show opened with the soulful megababe as a quick replacement for the sudden disappearance of Norwegian fury- . I was moderately disappointed by Ida’s absense- I’d never seen her before, but I fell in love with her after ‘Oh My God’ and equally raging songs like ‘We’re All Going To Hell’. Interesting sidenote for Ross (since I know you’re reading this) Ida apparently has synethesia, where she can envision colours when she hears music. Unreal!
Anjoulie was followed by who seemed to have the longest..set..ever. It was a constant stream of noise- I was, however, mesmerized by the drums. A Jeffrey-Staresque being galloped on stage soon after with sheer gold fabrics carelessly covering parts that always and absolutely should be covered. With raccoon-like eyes and sufficient ‘shut the fuck ups’ to the crowd, the set quickly turned into a bad trip from the Rocky Horror Picture Show. In between songs about diamonds being shoved in places, the frontman stole cameras and took photos down his own pants (what develops, I’m not sure). Although I understand this is the appeal of a glam-rock band, the excessiveness- the shock value, I try to remove myself from those situations while they’re happening. So for the rest of the set, we left. The fact that kind of music exists makes me inexplicably sad for the current state of music.
Finally, a meak Pip Brown- better known as Ladyhawke graced the stage. There is a class about her, with the ability to pull off and master 80′s-synth and rock without cheesing it up, and a disarming politeness about her, and dirty golden bangs, the young Newzealander was badass without the attitude. That kind of girl is what is called a ‘unicorn’ ie- does not exist. Being the frontwoman of a band is a heavy task, especially for babely blondes, but she shared the stage perfectly with her very equally gorgeous bandmates. She’s got that Deborah Harry kind of stage presence, without much movement aside from the firm grip on her guitar and a shy smile. The night ended with ‘My Delirium’ followed shortly after by a swift escape before the half goth/hipster crowd ate me and Monika. To recap: Ladyhawke rules. Perez Hilton and his glam-rock descendents are likely not human.
Ladyhawke- Back of the Van
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Ladyhawke- Paris is Burning (Alex Metric Remix)
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Clockwise: Conor Oberst, Jim James, Mike Mogis and M. Ward. self titled LP is out Sept. 22nd, and with said monsters behind the project, with enough hype to set the bar just out of reach and an early glimpse of what to expect with their single, ‘Say Please’ I was anticipating nothing short of a masterpiece. From my first listens, it’s a soulful rootsy-country kind of folk. There’s that mystical, fable-like quality brought about by Oberst, and some really beautiful harmonies.
As Moneen came on, the energy in the room manifest fully and entirely in the front- where bodies were thrown in every direction and gravity no longer operated in it’s normal manner. Limbs flew and faces reddened with nostalgia. Everyone in that room was suddenly, and very obviously seventeen- dressed in bodies of the twenty-something who long forgot how to dance to anything. I always love shows like that. Frontman- Kenny Bridges said he’d waited for that very moment- the revival of those songs, and what they meant to the ears that heard them at a time in their life.
There’s something in the water in Brooklyn, NY. Perhaps that wouldn’t be such a stretch of a claim- there very well may be something in the water. Whatever the boys from are drinking, it comes out audibly- the dreamy acapellas, trumpets, and echoes of guitars and horns. There is something endearing about the fact that their appearance would suggest something entirely different. They, like most musicians look a little too-cool for school, with loose cigarettes hanging from their mouths- trumpets would seem like the last instrument they’d pick up. But their music is explosive, in that lovely way- when they say, ‘it gets your body movin’ it doesn’t seem contrived, it seems like the right thing to say. 
Ahahahahahahahahahaha.
