In a wonderful change to the usual, a few acts have come through town that I've been very interested in seeing. The first was Mastodon. The second was Wolves in the Throne Room. The most recent was Camera Obscura at the Cedar Cultural Center.

I got into Camera Obscura after their previous album, "Let's Get Out of This Country", came out. I don't recall if I was into them the last time they came through the Twin Cities. So when I saw that they were coming to the Cedar Cultural Center, I knew I had to see them.

I arrived to find that the show had sold out. So, I was glad I took the extra effort to pick up a ticket earlier in the week. I found my way up to the front so I could meet up with a friend, Kathie. I have to say, that it's been a long time since I took the effort to get up to the front near the stage at a show. In my advancing years, I've taken to preferring a seat or standing in a location that afforded a better view of the stage that didn't require the possibility of being trampled. But, unlike a metal show, I didn't really have to worry about a mosh pit. So, I was safe. We were off to the right side of the stage where Gavin (Bass) and Kenny (Guitar) were situated. One nice thing about being right up at the stage (and a low-rise stage at that) was that I got a perfect view of the set list for the evening:

1. My Maudlin Career


2. Swans


3. The Sweetest Thing


4. Tears for Affairs


5. Teenager


6. Let's Get Out of the Country


7. Eighties Fan


8. James


9. Away With Murder


10. Honey in the Sun


11. French Navy


12. Books Written for Girls


13. If Looks Could Kill


14. Lloyd I'm Ready to be Heartbroken (encore)


15. Razzle Dazzle Rose (encore)

The two encore pieces weren't on the set list. But, it's hard to miss "Lloyd I'm Ready to be Heartbroken" since it was the big hit off their previous album. "Razzle Dazzle Rose" closed out the same album.

I also took one picture from the show. So, you get a relatively blurry look at Tracyanne...



The band sounded great. Though, based on some of the gestures various band members were making, I think some specific instrument levels either in the house sound or in the monitors wasn't quite loud enough. I didn't notice it. Tracyanne dropped a verse during one song, though I can't recall which one now. She apologized and said some were giving her the "evil eye". Oh well, live show, things happen. Big whoop. Move on.

In any case, if you like these guys and they're headed your way, SEE THEM. I hope I'll get future chances to see them play again.

One last story... While I was waiting for the opening act to finish, I was standing toward the back corner of the room near one of the doors to the "green room". At some point, this woman came out to watch. I looked back and wondered which band member she was. I thought it looked like Tracyanne but wasn't 100% sure. Of course, it turned out to be her. Had I realized it at that time, I probably would have done my best to not devolve to "gushing fanboy" mode. If I were really on my toes, I probably would have asked politely if they could play "Knee Deep at the NPL" for me. That is probably my favorite song by this band. It's off the "Underachievers Please Try Harder" album.

Well, just so you know, I at least think about making LJ updates on a regular basis. The execution, on the other hand, leaves a crap-load to be desired. But, hey! I'm here to make an update!

So, what's new? Hmm... I'm nearly done reading "World War Z". It's been a very enjoyable read thus far. But, it's good that I'm about done with it, I need to get back to reading my back issues of the New Yorker. And, lucky me, issue 59 of Giant Robot magazine arrived in the mail today. I've said it (elsewhere) before and I'll say it again, it's been great ever since they went to bimonthly issues! This issue appears to be another great one. Great cover artist as usual, that's for sure.

Last Wednesday night, I went to see Mastodon perform at the Fine Line Music Cafe in Minneapolis. Opening bands were Intronaut and Kylesa.

I hadn't heard Intronaut before, but I enjoyed them well enough. They played a rather short set, 30 minutes or so. To my untrained metal ears, they kind of reminded me of Pelican in some ways. That comparison may be way off. If you have suggestions on who they sound closer to, I'm interested in knowing.

Kylesa were relatively new to me, too. But, I did pick up their latest album, "Static Tensions", based on a promising review by Pitchfork. It also just happened that their album popped up on eMusic so I was happy to take a flier on it. I was not disappointed. And with that, you get to see one of the few pictures I took from the concert...



Kylesa played for about 40 or 45 minutes, I think. They sounded great. Unfortunately, because of the height of the stage (well, lack thereof) and where I was standing (towards the back on the main floor), I didn't get any looks at the two drummers. Yes, they have two drummers. Works great, sounds great. Couldn't see much of the lead singer/guitarist, Laura, or her two cohorts on either side. Which annoyed me because a big part of the enjoyment I get from going to shows is watching the musicians actually playing their instruments.

Then Mastodon came on. I would guess shortly after 9pm. As you can see in the picture from Kylesa's set, there was a screen behind the band. Mastodon, on this current "mini tour", are playing their new album, "Crack the Skye", in its entirety live with some video stuff playing behind them to complement the new material. It was all very cool to see together. They sounded great live. One minor change was the addition of a keyboard player to add some of the texture live that was on the album. The band played through the new album. Afterward, they took a couple minutes break on stage and then proceeded to play even more stuff from their prior albums. For this portion of the show, the video screen showed an image related to the album artwork related to the song they were playing. For example, during one of the songs off "Leviathan", they showed this...



Basically an image related to the album artwork, except the sky was in motion. Either moving stars or other stuff floating across the sky. Similar for material off "Blood Mountain" and "Remission".

In the end, I think Mastodon ended up playing nearly two hours all told. Set list for the evening (courtesy of setlist.fm):

Oblivion
Divinations
Quintessence
The Czar
Ghost Of Karelia
Crack The Skye
The Last Baron

Bladecatcher
Colony Of Birchmen
The Wolf Is Loose
Crystal Skull
Capillarian Crest
Megalodon
Seabeast
Iron Tusk
March Of The Fire Ants
Hearts Alive

I really wanted to hear "Circle of the Cysquatch". Well, maybe the next time around. All in all, it was a great show. I was glad I went even though Ticket Master gouged me for about $10 in fees (grrr!). I didn't really mind going by myself either. And, I was home before midnight! Perfect for a geezer like me.

This was my second time seeing them. But, it sounded a million times better because of the custom earplugs I bought over Xmas-time. More about those in another post. In any case, I only have a few complaints about the show. First, I wish I had stood upstairs instead of on the main floor, I probably would have had a better view of the bands. Second, I wish this show had been at First Avenue (no slight intended toward the Fine Line). But, First Ave probably could have put up a bigger screen to make the video part of this show more immersive. Secondly, there would have been more places to stand with better views of the stage.

Next up will be seeing Wolves in the Throne Room with Zebulon Pike and Krallice at the Triple Rock Social Club in a week and a half. I can't wait to see Wolves. Their latest album, "Black Cascade", is just more of their awesome stuff. I'm really looking forward to seeing Krallice too. Krallice's self-titled album is highly recommended.

To round out the month of concerts, I need to remember to pick up a ticket for the upcoming Camera Obscura concert. Their new album, "My Maudlin Career", just builds on the great stuff they put out with "Let's Get Out of This Country".