The first time I heard of Martin Sexton, it was in college circa 1998. A member of my vocal group had arranged an acappella cover of his song “Love Keep Us Together.” It was a beautiful arrangement, and I loved singing the background tenor 2 part every time our music director called it. Continue reading
Brothers McCann, a folk-rock trio from Boston, MA, opened for Martin Sexton at the El Rey Theatre on 3/13/15 and we snapped some pics of their performance. Continue reading
THOUGHTS (Excerpted from M. Sloves’ terrifically written concert review that you can read by CLICKING HERE!):
“[Pete is] clearly a charming guy and extremely talented. I think he falls into that category of “musician’s musician” – the guy that pro jocks want around when they’re at a recording studio or a house party because he can jump in on any song without a lot of ego stroking or maintenance costs. Continue reading
To Check Out Other Bands We Caught At Culture Collide CLICK HERE
THE ACT: Takeoffs & Landings | Facebook | Twitter
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THOUGHTS [Written by Kate M.]:
Good band, they got it done. On lead vocals is Naama, her voice has a unique sound, one you don’t hear often these days in the music age of Electronic and Dance Pop. Truth, I love this girl’s voice – it’s a slightly raspy, feminine Rock voice that meets some good Indie and unique enchanting sounds. Naama’s is not a true muscular voice, but it has a cool texture, a little bit of Pop meets Rock with a unique ingénue sound. I liked it, kind of wanted to see Joan Jett after hearing this band, too. Naama also has showmanship, an intriguing attraction to her movement with her sound. Take Offs and Landings is from Lima, Peru and the other members of the band are Dennis, Christian, Chris, Sergio. Take Offs and Landings was formed recently, in 2013, and is already playing festivals like Culture Collide. Their music is a blend of sinister girl rock and tones that make it seem like they know something you don’t and you are intrigued enough to follow wherever they are leading, which I I think is one reason the lead vocal’s voice struck me, it all went together – their enchanting sound and lead vocals that compliments the magic. Their first album is due to drop at the end of the year.
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To Check Out Other Bands We Caught At Culture Collide CLICK HERE
To Check Out Other Bands We Caught At Culture Collide CLICK HERE
THE ACT: Torches | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
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THOUGHTS [Written by Kate M.]:
Pop, Indie Rock, EDM, Punk – one reason I liked this festival is that every band had unique musical stylings and combinations of sounds, and the US band Torches was no exception. Torches is an Indie, Rock, Electronic blend and the second band of the night with a traditional string instrument, a violin. This band had an Empire of the Sun vibe and sounded like Phoenix, if Phoenix went Indie Rock. If you’re a Friendly Fires fan, you will like this band, but they can’t capture a stage like a Friendly Fires or a Phoenix. Their performance was bland, but it was a church stage and the Festival itself was not well trafficked. Azad Cheikosman, Eric Fabbro and Adrian Acosta make up this Los Angeles-based band and I would have liked to have seen their EP Release show at The Bootleg Theater to get better sense of what they can do, but I listened to their tracks again at home and Torches is tight! I can see some mainstream pop, alternative and electronic sounds with defined rhythmic drums. I thought they sounded like Arcade Fire, Cut Copy, The Mighty Lemon Drops and similar artists, which makes sense because according to their bio they have worked with David Newton (The Mighty Lemon Drops) and Jeff Lipton (Arcade Fire). If you like any of the artists mentioned, or another band I love, The 1975, I would definitely check out Torche. Torches dropped their EP, Endlessly Repeating, on June 19, 2014.
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To Check Out Other Bands We Caught At Culture Collide CLICK HERE
To Check Out Other Bands We Caught At Culture Collide CLICK HERE
THE ACT: Solander | Facebook | Twitter
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THOUGHTS: [Written by Kate M.]
Described as a Pop, Indie, Folk band, Solander is the quintessential example of this, and The United Methodist Church was an apropos venue to hear this poetic and artistic band from Sweden. The duo, Fredrik Karlsson and Anja Linna, are supported by Albin Johansson and Adam Hjertström and, together on stage, they produced music that was a blend of story-telling, artistry and dramatic sounds. The prominent cello melodies from Linna resonated in the church and I thought, “I think this is what Arcade Fire and Lykke Li (who I love!) would sound like if they went completely Folk, or, what Bon Iver would sound like if he went completely Electronic Pop.” Solander’s music was poetry, musical artistry and story-telling set to prominent cello riffs and illuminated by chanting beats of smooth drums and synthesizer melodies. Folk is not my personal music listening choice, but I closed my eyes once or twice and the music took me through heavy movement in my mind and gripping emotional journies. Being an LA native . . . their sound was like the music you would hear in the background of a poignant movie scene . . . if you ever wanted to feel like you were in a movie, this band’s smooth, but dramatic sound and storytelling harmonies takes you there. Their sound is consistent, each song similar, the same rhythm, beats and sounds, but differentiated by their arrangement and inspiration. It seemed to me to me they did this to represent different emotions (this is the movie scene reference). Karlsson, lead vocals, referenced a Swedish poet as inspiration for his song and personal experiences that brought them to this performance. Solander has and has had numerous tour dates, including SWSX this past year, so look online for dates near you. Their third album, Monochromatic Memories, was released February 4, 2014.
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To Check Out Other Bands We Caught At Culture Collide CLICK HERE
To Check Out Other Bands We Caught At Culture Collide CLICK HERE
THE ACT: Fractures | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
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THOUGHTS: [Excerpted from M. Sloves full-day review that you can read HERE.]
“[…] The singer managed to hold some notes in the upper register that were compelling and reinforced the emotional tone of the composition – a pensive, meditative, self-reflective vibe. […] The band is a group of pretty young looking dudes from Melbourne and they sound a helluva lot better than they look. When I talk about ‘looks’, I don’t mean their physical appearance. I’m talking more about their stage presence. They’re like high school AP music kids: super-preoccupied with hitting each note right, everyone staring at either their instruments, their fingers, or the floor. […] [T]hey really do start to draw you in as they layer slow building guitar riffs over a building keyboard over building drums until it’s a damn powerful wall of music filling the space inside that little church […].
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To Check Out Other Bands We Caught At Culture Collide CLICK HERE
To Check Out Other Acts that I Caught At Way Over Yonder, CLICK HERE!
THE ACT: Nathaniel Rateliff | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
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THOUGHTS: If Little Hurricane was my surprise set on Friday, Nathaniel Rateliff was my surprise set on Saturday. Nathaniel is a burly gentleman with a scraggly beard, but his music, for the most part, was blissfully soft and emotional. Playing a set with just his voice and acoustic guitar, for moments, I got lost in his music, and I stopped taking pictures and/or recorded Instagram clips. His music reminded me of Iron and Wine, and it truly seemed to be coming from an intensely emotional place. As I was watching his performance from the eye of my zoom lens, I could see him envelop himself in his music, his eyes seemingly welling up with emotions. It was a personal, powerful set and I could only watch his performance with respect as he lay his soul out for the world (at least at Way Over yonder) to see.
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To Check Out Other Acts that I Caught At Way Over Yonder, CLICK HERE!
To Check Out Other Acts that I Caught At Way Over Yonder, CLICK HERE!
THE ACT: Linda Perhacs | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
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THOUGHTS: I had never heard of Linda Perhacs before Way Over Yonder, but when I googled her name, I found a Wikipedia entry that revealed to me that she had recorded her first album in 1970 titled “Parallelograms”. Further research revealed that this psychdelic folk album, though not commercially successful when it was initially released, was having its own modern day renaissance. Highly rated by many critics and online resources, the album has been reissued on several occasions over the years. It took over 40 years, but Ms. Perhacs finally recorded and released her sophomore album, “The Soul of All Natural Things” earlier this year.
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To Check Out Other Acts that I Caught At Way Over Yonder, CLICK HERE!
To Check Out Other Acts that I Caught At Way Over Yonder, CLICK HERE!
THE ACT: Chris Robinson Brotherhood | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
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THOUGHTS: Chris Robinson, the Black Crowes frontman, has been recording and releasing music “solo” since 1993 and has at least 10 albums since 1993. Founded in 2011, Chris started the Chris Robinson. Though I don’t have all of the band’s albums, I do have “The Magic Door” (released in 2012) and that album is a solid album that jams with the best of them. The Chris Robinson Brotherhood didn’t let me down. It was a great, mellow vibe that I can only imagine audience would have experienced at a Grateful Dead show back in the day.
SETLIST (Unverified):
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To Check Out Other Acts that I Caught At Way Over Yonder, CLICK HERE!
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