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On Saturday May 2, I went to Neumos to see Mono in VCF and the Fading Collection. They were opening for Spectrum, a project of Pete "Sonic Boom" Kember, formerly with Spaceman 3. Only the front half of the main room was open for the show, which seemed odd for a Saturday night, and led to some sound problems at least for Spectrum; as Kember noted, the room was twice as big during sound check.
The Fading Collection mentioned that they are (still) working on a new record, planning to release a five-song EP in a few months and a full-length album next year. They played a few of the new songs at this show, which sounded solid, though for some reason I'm a little concerned the new music will end up being too like their previous work. One possible direction they could pursue, given their extensive use of sampled rhythm tracks in addition to the drummer, would be adding a turntablist to the live lineup—or another live percussionist. I do like their use of two singers rather than just doubling the lead vocals through samples, and I think that's a real strength of the band. Unfortunately, technical difficulties with a new keyboard led to their set being cut short, but I did enjoy what they played and felt that as a live act they're finally connecting with me.
Mono in VCF had the full seven-piece lineup for this show, which I think is always best for conveying the full sweep of their cinematic style. There was a bit of a rough edge to their sound, some of which is to be expected at any live performance, but it demonstrated again that they are better suited for a well-designed concert hall or theater rather than rock clubs. However, they still sounded gorgeous as always. They played a few songs I didn't recognize, including two that they specifically identified as new tracks. One of the new ones, "Wind", debuted for the first time at this show, and it sounded appropriately breezy and pretty. Of the other two I didn't recognize, one was called "Lost to the Galaxy" and had a country/western feel to it—if their music usually feels like '60s Euro cinema, this was a spaghetti Western tune. I enjoyed the whole set and look forward to a new release from them, which according to their site is planned for later this year.
Spectrum was billed "with live band," as though it's usually Kember appearing on his own, so I expected a heavy electronic element to the show. While Kember did use a synth and set up some looping parts, he mainly played guitar and sang; his backing band rounded out the music with guitar, bass, and drums. Although Spectrum opened with a keyboard-heavy upbeat instrumental called "Mary", a tribute to Mary Hansen of Stereolab, most of the music was slow moody guitar-driven rock. In fact, I found the music too slow and moody: the songs had almost no variation, each having a similar constant beat, key, and deadpan, slightly off-key vocals. For a band called Spectrum, the show was very monochromatic, apparently exploring an aesthetic of extreme ennui. After four mostly-plodding songs, I was bored enough that I seriously considered walking out, which is very rare for me. Finally however, they picked up the beat a little for two more songs, even using a melodic line that accelerated to the end of the first one, and added some intensity and noise. At this point I was tempted to dub their style "shoegoth", and though the slight sharpening of focus had improved things, I didn't bother to stay to see whether they did an encore.
I still have a review to write for Hotels and Eric Blood at Chop Suey last week; I'm hoping to get that done either tonight or tomorrow. Later tonight I'm actually going to see Hotels yet again, at the Comet Tavern, but haven't decided if I'll write a review for this one. The big news is that this weekend I should be at the Sasquatch Music Festival, posting updates to Facebook for KEXP and later writing some reviews. If you see me there, say hello!
The Fading Collection mentioned that they are (still) working on a new record, planning to release a five-song EP in a few months and a full-length album next year. They played a few of the new songs at this show, which sounded solid, though for some reason I'm a little concerned the new music will end up being too like their previous work. One possible direction they could pursue, given their extensive use of sampled rhythm tracks in addition to the drummer, would be adding a turntablist to the live lineup—or another live percussionist. I do like their use of two singers rather than just doubling the lead vocals through samples, and I think that's a real strength of the band. Unfortunately, technical difficulties with a new keyboard led to their set being cut short, but I did enjoy what they played and felt that as a live act they're finally connecting with me.
Mono in VCF had the full seven-piece lineup for this show, which I think is always best for conveying the full sweep of their cinematic style. There was a bit of a rough edge to their sound, some of which is to be expected at any live performance, but it demonstrated again that they are better suited for a well-designed concert hall or theater rather than rock clubs. However, they still sounded gorgeous as always. They played a few songs I didn't recognize, including two that they specifically identified as new tracks. One of the new ones, "Wind", debuted for the first time at this show, and it sounded appropriately breezy and pretty. Of the other two I didn't recognize, one was called "Lost to the Galaxy" and had a country/western feel to it—if their music usually feels like '60s Euro cinema, this was a spaghetti Western tune. I enjoyed the whole set and look forward to a new release from them, which according to their site is planned for later this year.
Spectrum was billed "with live band," as though it's usually Kember appearing on his own, so I expected a heavy electronic element to the show. While Kember did use a synth and set up some looping parts, he mainly played guitar and sang; his backing band rounded out the music with guitar, bass, and drums. Although Spectrum opened with a keyboard-heavy upbeat instrumental called "Mary", a tribute to Mary Hansen of Stereolab, most of the music was slow moody guitar-driven rock. In fact, I found the music too slow and moody: the songs had almost no variation, each having a similar constant beat, key, and deadpan, slightly off-key vocals. For a band called Spectrum, the show was very monochromatic, apparently exploring an aesthetic of extreme ennui. After four mostly-plodding songs, I was bored enough that I seriously considered walking out, which is very rare for me. Finally however, they picked up the beat a little for two more songs, even using a melodic line that accelerated to the end of the first one, and added some intensity and noise. At this point I was tempted to dub their style "shoegoth", and though the slight sharpening of focus had improved things, I didn't bother to stay to see whether they did an encore.
I still have a review to write for Hotels and Eric Blood at Chop Suey last week; I'm hoping to get that done either tonight or tomorrow. Later tonight I'm actually going to see Hotels yet again, at the Comet Tavern, but haven't decided if I'll write a review for this one. The big news is that this weekend I should be at the Sasquatch Music Festival, posting updates to Facebook for KEXP and later writing some reviews. If you see me there, say hello!
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