Of Montreal

Last night was the Majestic's Nightmare on King Street with the one and only Of Montreal. They always put on a hell of a show. I went with two awesome chicks, Heller and Nina, and everyone was dressed up in crazy costumes! When I saw them at Union South, they had tons of extravagant costumes and dancing people, so I knew that seeing them on Halloween would be especially cool. I lost count after 8 or 9 'costume' changes, but they would keep on bringing people out with white sheets or circles or weird objects and then would project light patterns and designs on them to create a really really cool stage picture.

tadaa

 We started about half way back in the middle of the main floor, but you know me, Heller and I ended up front row center by the end of it. I even got a set list!!!

The show was fantastic. They played tons of my favorites- Gronlandic Edit, Oslo in the Summertime, Croquet Croquette, etc. etc. Now I just want to listen to their new album, Lousy with Sylvianbriar.

Les Claypool's Duo de Twang

Holy molee, that was a rockin' concert! Les Claypool is one of my all-time bass IDOLS. His thumb moves faster than some drummers' arms, I swear.

You can't tell because I have a shitty camera, but that's the Les Claypool sign <3

Duo de Twang, LP coming to a 7/11 or Truck Stop near you!

Mmmmm, feel that encore

Oh Land

Oh Land @ The Majestic

Why?

When I was a freshman, I interviewed Yoni Wolf for Emmie magazine. Last year, he signed the Why? screen print I bought at the Union South show. Tonight I got to see this awesome band for the third time and it was my favorite set list so far! I wish their set was three times as long. I could jam out to their rap/funk/indie for hours. I just love bands with two sets of drums so much.

The opener, The Cloaked Ox 

Yoni!!! 

 I (obviously) have a thing for the front row of shows, but tonight was something else. I could practically chit chat with the drummer!

Meat Puppets

During my ticket buying spree for fall concerts, I went on a whim and bought one for The Meat Puppets. I've never heard their music before, but my parents like them and I heard they could be punk-y (friends of The Minutemen, no less) so that's how I found myself at The Frequency on a Monday night. I'm proud of the shittiness of these particular photos. The Frequency is a long, black rectangle and it was pretty packed for the show. These are the only two times I took my phone out during the whole set, so you gotta take what you can get! 

Enemy Planes

The opener was Enemy Planes and I caught the second half of their set. They ruled. As the opener left, their lead singer told us in the audience who have never seen Meat Puppets before that we were in for a treat. We sure were. These guys have been rocking their atmospheric, country, punk rock blend for 30 years. Enemy Plane's set made me want to check out their studio work. Meat Puppets' set made me want to check out their discography.

Meat Puppets @ The Frequency

Czarbles

These three guys were the second opener for Youngblood and holy cow they blew me away. Imagine a middle-aged dad version of Battles, but more prog-y and with totally syncopated, fast, crazy riffs. I have no idea what time signature they were using half the time but I was feeling the punk rock! I loved them. 

Czarbles, a local Madison band, at the Majestic

Jazz at Five

Madison has free Wednesday afternoon jazz concerts by the capitol for a couple of weeks. I checked out one of the shows for an hour back in August while I was technically homeless during moving week.

Youngblood Brass Band

Concert Season is BACK! After a slow summer, I was super excited when all the Madison venues started releasing their fall tour schedules. I've already bought tickets for 8 shows, with hopefully more on the horizon!!

I kicked things off with Youngblood Brass Band at the Majestic and it was essentially a perfect concert.  To give some perspective on these pictures, YBB has two trombone players, two saxophonists, two trumpeters, a tuba player, and three drummers, all of whom switch sets and one of whom raps. Last night was their record release party for Pax Volumi since a couple of the guys are from Madison. I was front row, got the set list, and they sounded so freaking fantastic.

A third of Youngblood

Some more horns

The singer took this pic of the audience during the show. I'm just to the right of the picture, but I thought it looked cool still! 

Mighty Wheelhouse

A 9 a.m. terrace concert! 

I congratulate Mighty Wheelhouse, my new favorite local Madison jam band, for being the first repeat on Rayna's Shitty Concert Pics!

McSpillin

My friend's band, McSpillan, performs in Toledo at an Irish pub every month. They're great!

American Battle

The High Noon Saloon hosted one of the first rounds of American Battle, a national battle of the bands type competition that's being filmed for a reality tv show called American Talent Scouts or something. We saw a lot of really great local music!

Mighty Wheelhouse! My favorite of the night (and Olivia's friend on lead guitar!). They play Americana rock and have an upright bass + violinist. They're based in Madison, so check them out if you can!

Sexy Esther, my other favorite.

Picture Perfect, a pop punk by band out of Eau Claire. 

The Books Theory

I'm going to try something a little new with this post. I figure since this is my concert blog, I can make it a broader music blog, and thus it's an appropriate (see: only) place I figured I could put this out there.

According to this post on The Book's awesome blog, their track Free Translator is, at its base, a 'very well known folk song.' They haven't said what it was and of course it's been dismantled and poeticized in the process of making it into a song, but I have a theory that it was originally Oh My Darling, Clementine. I tried running the lyrics through freetranslator.com, the site the band claims to use, and used the languages they mentioned, but the website didn't offer swedish from german or something specific like that. I used Google Translate but the technology has gotten so good now a days that the end product was pretty accurate to the original sooo this remains purely speculative.

Free Translator's chorus is a repeated And I see, which I think could somehow be the folk tale's repeated Oh my darling. I've posted the rest of the song's lyrics below, with some connections to Oh My Darling, Clementine in orange. You can read all the words here. Could the Books have used Oh My Darling, Clementine? I'll never know, but it feels like it (to me).

And I see

The hold-out boy and the weather girl, The miner is an excavator
know the wind moves in a patient way
Like a two-decade day "Dwelt a miner forty niner"

The man in the mouth of a drain
Laughing and chewing erasers "Thou art lost and gone forever"
Like a black dog in the snow

Write in relief and sleep again
and you cant believe your eyes
and you cant find your pen
and the man in the hole
is your new friend's friend

Symmetrical foot in your mouth
and your high speed legs
Your knee-jerks a mark of distinction
It's an elevator put-on

Count your dollar, only one
and count it again
one one one
You can't count it when your dead, no
You keep a pure nose
Write in relief and sleep again
and you get in the hole,
with your new friend's friend
and he cant believe his eyes
and he can't find his pen

And the meteorological man
With a whirl-wind girl
And a mote in the sun
And a squid in a bag
And a raccoon hat
And a talking plant
And a careful goat
In a sewer system shaft 

The Earthlings

Caught my friend's band, The Dakotas, at the High Noon again last night, but totally blanked on snagging a picture! Here's the band after them, The Earthlings, instead. 

Yid Vicious

Yid Vicious @ Union South

Cadilac Pete and the Heat

Cadilac Pete & Milwaukee Mike @ Summerfest

Reverend Raven and the Chain Smoking Alter Boys

Rev Raven @ Summerfest

The Burning of Rome

The Burning of Rome @ Summerfest

Yeah Yeah Yeahs

YYYs at Summerfest

Scroobius PIp

Jazz Tube Bonn

Here's a jazz trio playing in an underground subway exit in Bonn

Hanf im Glück

Don't let me get in my Zone

This is how the music happens.

I have a shitty phone. My mom has a shittier phone. Compound the shittiness of our camera qualities and the anxiety of my mom and you get a reply like "IS THIS THING REAL??"

It's the Hulk.

This is the second time this year I've fooled my mom with temporary tattoos ;3 Should I send her this one next?

It's Spiderman.

Hare Krishnas

boiz

grrlz

Free music

Mouse on Mars

Mouse on Mars @ Open Source Fest

Beirut

Beirut @ Open Source Fest

Kanye West

Watch the Throne @ Lanxess Arena

Patti Smith

Patti Smith @ Kunstrasen Bonn

This is what I'm working with

"Honey, I love your picture blog! I think your photos are really great. They're so much higher quality than my phone!" ~My mom just now.

The Negro Problem

The Negro Problem @ Mitchell Theatre

Camper Van Beethoven

Camper van @ The Majestic

Cracker

Cracker @ The Majestic 

The Flaming Lips

Flaming Lips @ Warner Park 

The Hard Lessons

THL in Detroit

Bicycle Piano Music

Bicycle Piano Music @ Sundance

The Bad Plus

The Bad Pluss @ The Sett