Nails and Black Breath at Vacation Vinyl, 8/9/10

Nails

Vibrant and alive,

Their furious exub'rance

Lit a fire in me.

Black Breath

So proficient in

Their craft that it brought to mind

A victory lap!

I'd like to talk a moment about my evening watching Nails. I laud them not to discount Black Breath (who were phenomenal and consummately professional), but to put a fine point on just how moved I was by their set. It is exciting to see them manifest just how much of a shit they give through their vivacious, precise performance. Youth oozed from them, not in a self-centered, narcissistic manner, but rather in the form of unbridled passion. They were LOUD, they were ANGRY, they were CERTAIN, they were OPTIMISTIC, and they were quite good at playing their instruments. I was reminded what it felt like to fight back a little, "against the grain" even, and I really hope they keep spreading this gospel.

Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti with Puro Instinct (formerly Pearl Harbor) and Teen Inc. at the Detroit Bar, 8/7/10

Teen Inc.

Most ambitious and
Quite complicated, Princely
And Steely Dannish!

Puro Instinct (formerly Pearl Harbor)

Sun-kissed and jangly,
Like a postcard from Athens*
Were it a surf town.

Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti

Haunted Graffiti
Constructs a stable soapbox
For Pink's wobbly howls.

*That's Athens, Ga, home of Michael Stipe. Not that Greek place.

Sun Araw, Metal Rouge and Peaking Lights at the Echo Curio 8/2/10

Sun Araw

Although they wanted
the psycho Euro house vibe,
I was feeling jazz.

Metal Rouge

Patiently crafted
Hellscapes of intertwined tools
And voices, throbbing.

Peaking Lights

With grimy twinkle,
Velvet island underground
Cooled the summer night.

Joanna Newsom with Robin Pecknold at the Orpheum Theater, 7/31/10

Robin Pecknold

A kitsch-free master

Of a genre, passionate

Although humorless

Joanna Newsom

My generation's

Best poet is also our

Finest musician.

Set List:

1. '81

2. Have One On Me

3. Easy

4. You And Me, Bess

5. Cosmia

6. Autumn

7. In California

8. Soft As Chalk

9. Good Intentions Paving Company

10. Peach, Plum, Pear

(encore break)

11. Baby Birch

Run DMT, Tonstartssbandht, and Speculator at a House on Elwood, 7/29/10

Speculator

Like being under
A well-traveled sea, taking
In its sage advice

Tonstartssbandht

Personality
Radiates off them in a
Sincere, tactile way.

Run DMT

As sanguine as drops
Of blood in water, slowly
Arabesquing, free.

Personable, Sam Hamilton, and Emily Lacy at a Highland Park House Party, 7/24/10

Sam Hamilton

An aural color
Pallet that seeps through one's skin
Rather than eyes, ears.

Emily Lacy

Non-manufactured
Feminine essence brought all
Us ladies to tears

Personable (M. Geddes Gengras)

Unabashedly
Mathematical in its
Life celebration

Black Flamingo with Chappo at DIY Space, 7/23/10

Black Flamingo

Please don't let your tech
Trouble get your spirits down -
Y'all have some SWEET jams!

Chappo

Involuntary
Dancing on my part makes me
Think there's potential

Rosetta at Vacation Vinyl, 7/23/10

Were music akin
To various wounds, they'd be
A laceration.

Sun Araw with M. Geddes Gengras at Synchronicity Space, 7/3/10

Sun Araw

With playful swagger,
Their new rhythms and textures
Ignited the set.

M. Geddes Gengras

Enraptured sampling
Constructed mesmerism...
Warlock-esque spell cast.

DEVO at the Hollywood Park Racetrack, 7/1/10

Tight and exuberant,
Consummate professionals
Ain't through being cool!