Around since the mid-90’s, Deerhoof has accumulated a double digit album release total and endless miles on their touring vehicles. Yet during all that time, the band had never played a show in St. Louis. That’s no longer the case thanks to the Luminary Arts.
Researching Joan of Arc in anticipation for their show at The Firebird was somewhat akin to a genealogy exercise, beginning with Cap’n Jazz, the Midwest emo band that split up in the late 90’s, leading to the handful of its offshoot bands after its demise. I was familiar with a few of them (The Promise Ring, Owen, American Football), not even knowing their ties back to Cap’n Jazz until now, but Joan of Arc was one offshoot that I was unfamiliar with. If you’re brave, you can try and read the band’s history. Or you can have these cliff notes: Joan of Arc’s core remains Tim Kinsella, but around him was built an ever-rotating cast that somehow managed to create twelve studio albums to date.
The last few tours of the psychedelic pop troupe, Of Montreal, have seemed to synch up to interesting historical points in my life. My pair of tickets to their 2007 tour were given away as my wedding date ended up falling on that same weekend. A year later, the band returned and I took my wife to her first “big” concert. As well, it was the first time I ever had the chance to shoot a concert (short story – I had no idea what I was doing and it didn’t go well). Flash forward to the present and with their return to The Pageant to tour for their newest release, False Priest, I definitely wanted make sure I was there and able to shoot the show properly.
I really regretted missing out on Japandroids the last time they came through town (Billiken Club, w/Surfer Blood!), so their opening set for The Walkmen at Off Broadway was a priority for me on the concert calendar. Having checked out video/reviews/pictures of earlier shows, I thought I was prepared for the Japandroids experience, but that changed a little when I walked into the venue and saw the wall of amps dominating the backside of the stage. A nice heads up for the rock assault that would soon take place at the hands of the Vancouver duo.
More pictures and notes after the break:
I get the impression that many local music fans have a soft spot in their hearts for the Springfield, MO indie pop group, Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin. So, it only seemed natural that the band would choose to kick off their massive tour (multiple months, multiple countries, multiple alternate universes) right here in St. Louis at The Firebird to promote their latest album Let It Sway (Polyvinyl). I’ll admit that even though Let It Sway has been getting some hype on the blogosphere and features probably the coolest cover I’ve seen this year, I went into the evening being a novice of the band and their new material.
The new album title seems to really capture the tone of their live show (presuming you’re like me and you imagine a scene of reeds swaying in the wind). Even at their loudest, SSLYBY always seem to retain a sense of calm, less concerned about winning the crowd over with forced charisma or rock star poses and more focused on just playing good music. It’s that simple sincerity that won me over.
More notes and pictures after the jump.
