The Raveonettes, The Black Angels @ Phoenix Concert Theatre (October 22, 2009)

Update [Oct 31/09, 5:50 pm]: Review now below. Happy Halloween!

Halloween has always been a holiday which draws me to music that isn't necessarily Halloween-themed but is of a particular mood that makes it a good soundtrack. The double-bill of Austin's The Black Angels and Danish band The Raveonettes who played the Phoenix Concert Theatre about a week ago would have made one of helluva of Halloween show in my opinion.

Openers, Austin 5-piece The Black Angels performed a setlist that sounded like a murky stew of psychedelia, drone-rock and The Velvet Underground. Backed with a rhythmic drum stomp, woozy surf guitar tones, and casually-cast vocals, the band played on stage bled mostly in red light, fitting illumination given the sonic aesthetics.

Danish rockers The Raveonettes, on the heels of their newest album "In & Out of Control", came on stage with a good amount of fanfare from the audience but delved almost immediately into their set. Frontman Sune Rose Wagner decked out in a black-and-white striped shirt and slim trousers and bassist Sharin Foo wearing a 60's influenced black mini dress traded off lead vocals as well as singing together through a balanced setlist that as expected focused on the new album as well as their previous effort 2007's "Lust Lust Lust". The setlist also included a few songs from each of their earlier releases, "Whip It On", "Chain Gang Of Love" and "Pretty In Black". With reverb-drenched pop songs mingling with more sinister-sounding garage rock tracks, the band plodded through the set with nary a word. Close your eyes and you'd get drawn in to the ambiance of it all, but otherwise they aren't the most visually enticing band to watch on stage, Sharin Foo notwithstanding. However, there were moments of visual stimulation, especially later in on the set as the strobe lights kicked in and the band dove into episode of guitar dissonance. Fittingly, the band ended the night on the uptempo pop magnificence of "The Great Love Sound", a shining light relative to the overall darker-toned setlist.

As a soundtrack to Halloween, The Black Angels and The Raveonettes were particularly fitting. Some bands are just not meant to play during the day, so as Halloween night is upon us, put on a Raveonettes or Black Angels tune and enjoy.

Photos: The Raveonettes, The Black Angels @ Phoenix Concert Theatre in Toronto (October 22, 2009)
Myspace: The Black Angels
Myspace: The Raveonettes

Dive Deep

I had no idea that Morcheeba were releasing a new album until I read the news over at Speed of Dark, but apparently the band's new album "Dive Deep" was released in the UK today. I haven't heard it yet...actually I'd lost interest in them for a while, mostly because I don't think they'd come to Toronto for a full band tour since maybe circa "Big Calm"(I think a few of them came over for a mini acoustic set a few years ago but that's it). According to their MySpace, they'll be in Toronto for a show at The Opera House on March 30. Songs from the new album are streaming at their MySpace.

Cat Power was in the BBC 6 Music Studio's for a live performance on the George Lamb show. Listen here and also check out some photos from the session. Cat Power and Dirty Delta Blues are at Kool Haus on February 9.

The Raveonettes performed an acoustic session for LiveDaily recently - they performed stripped-down versions of "Dead Sound", "Aly Walk With Me", and "Lust", three new tunes off their latest record, "Lust Lust Lust". They come to The Opera House in Toronto on March 21. [via Skatterbrain]

Via Pitchfork comes confirmation of an upcoming New Pornographers/Okervill River tour. Both bands will be at the Phoenix Concert Theatre on April 9. Also confirmed lately, sometime-New Pornographer(although not for the upcoming April 9 show at the Phoenix), Dan Bejar aka Destroyer has his own show booked for Lee's Palace on April 19[via Chromewaves].

Eels return to Toronto for a show at The Mod Club on April 4 to promote its latest discs(yes, plural), hits and rarities collections ("Meet the Eels" and "Useless Trinkets", respectively). Via Pitchfork.

NME reports that Billy Bragg and The Blokes newest album 'Mr Love And Justice', is slated to be released in the US on April 22. The UK release date is March 3. NME has the tracklisting.

Just a reminder, that blog-faves Vampire Weekend make what I believe is their network television debut tomorrow night on Late Show With David Letterman. Their debut self-titled full-length was just released in North America recently.

Who'd have thought that perky television chef/cutie Rachael Ray was an indie rock fan. She invited Battles and Holy Fuck to perform at her SXSW party. I bet she makes some mean barbeque.

Here Comes Mary, All Dressed In Black

concert: The Raveonettes, Nicole Atkins and The Sea @ Lee's Palace (Toronto, Ontario), October 14, 2007





Chromewaves and Eye Weekly review The Raveonettes/Nicole Atkins and The Sea show at Lee's Palace which took place this past Sunday night. Take this as a placeholder for now - hopefully I'll add my own thoughts to this post later.

For the moment, check out my photos from the show are over at my Flickr.

MySpace: The Raveonettes
MySpace: Nicole Atkins