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Tulsa | Palamor | The Oranges Band @ Union Hall

Not sure why the Massachusetts band is named Tulsa or why it was only 1 person, but the solo performance to the 8 people in the crowd was pretty good. The songwriting and range of melodies Carter Tanton spewed out will make me want to see him again.

3 ladies (plus a lonely guy) from Brooklyn making catchy songs sounds like a sure hit right? Nope, in all the times I’ve seen Palomar play I’ve yet to be impressed.

The Oranges Band played their punky rock way too loud on the Union Hall sound system. They were on stage having a good time but what came out of the speakers was distorted and too much of feedback. Luckily their loud riffs kept me awake.

http://www.parkthevan.com/tulsa/
http://www.palomartheband.com/
http://www.theorangesband.com/

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Cloud Cult @ Union Hall

Minneapolis-based Cloud Cult released their sixth album entitled “Feel Good Ghosts (Tea-partying Through Tornadoes)” and brought the whole collective to the cramped Union Hall stage. The set was very solid with old and new songs and I was captivated by their surreal narratives. I actually love the new album despite the negative reviews. The songs were great live and the encore “Love You All” was strange and beautiful. Craig’s wife joined them on stage with a painting that she created during the set which was later sold at the show.

Pictures from the show.

http://www.cloudcult.com/

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Tenori-On @ Southpaw

Yamaha debut of the Tenori-On happened in Brooklyn with various performers playing it with their distinct styles. The impressive electronic instrument was created by multi-media artist Toshio Iwai and features 256 LED buttons and 10 function buttons. It has studio-quality sounds from real and electronic instruments along with various effects. It’s also a very mezmerizing visual display from both sides and it’s an integral part of the process of making music. Although an impressive engineering feat and a cool idea, it fails on many levels. Creating complex songs is very difficult as the sequencer is “hidden’ behind the 16 levels that are not viewable at all times. The visual component is awesome but only viewable if played standing up and holding the machine to eye level or aiming a camera at it. Cumbersome. And it costs about $1200 which is just crazy. I find this more of a cool gadget rather than a viable instrument. I applaud Yamaha for putting the time and money behind the unique project but I feel it’s going to be a failure. I still love all my existing Yamaha gear though. 🙂

Pictures and videos of the Tenori-On in action

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The Giraffes @ Mercury Lounge

Stop, drop and roll will not work in hell. Came home with ears ringing and clothes splattered with whiskey and beer. The Giraffes brought their devil music to a very rabid crowd at Mercury Lounge. The show was full of alcohol-fueled energy and wished all shows sounded like this. Aaron Lazar taunted the crowd throughout the night but the band won the battle with their intense sound.
Pictures and video from the show.

http://www.thegiraffes.com/

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Great Lakes | Elf Power @ Union Hall

Don’t know why the Great Lakes are still around. Please stop.

Part of the Elephant Six collective, Elf Power took over the basement at Union Hall. This time it wasn’t crowded with underage fans as they played through their 15 year discography and their new album “In a Cave.” It was also nice to see Laura Carter (Orange Twin CEO) there. A nice southern psychedelic showdown.

Links:
http://www.elfpower.com
“Back to the Web” (live)