Friday, April 29. 2011
 | by Jeff Barringer - Staff Writer & Photographer
"Lovely to see you again my friend..."
I have a long history with the Moody Blues and so does my music collection. Starting with their "Caught Live +5" release in the 70s, a staple of mail order music clubs, I backtracked and ended up with most of their catalog from the 60's and early 70s. My first live experience with The Moody Blues was in 1981 at the Frank Erwin Center and I saw them there again in 1994. Compared to those shows, seeing them in 2011 at the intimate ACL Live at The Moody Theater was like welcoming friends in for coffee.
Of course they played all their old classics, and yes that included "Knights In White Satin", probably the second or third most requested song in 70's AOR radio, and a late night staple for many. There have been roster changes with a band of this vintage, most notably flutist Ray Thomas who retired in 2002, but frontman Justin Hayward along with Graeme Edge on percussion and John Lodge on guitar remain. Though they had a number of backing musicians doing yeoman work to fill in the rest, they stayed true to the mark. It's stunning to see how well the 65 year old Hayward has aged, its almost as if time stood still.
The Moody Blues will be touring North America through the middle of July. For a complete tour schedule check out the Moody Blues web site. Click here for the rest of the Moody Blues pictures. |  |
Saturday, April 23. 2011
by Jeff Barringer - Staff Writer & Photographer
With the thick smoke and dim lighting setting the mood you could easily mistake Interpol as a band from Birmingham as their music makes Joy Division sound like a beach party. For 14 years this New York based post-punk revivalist band has been making heavy, fuzzy music that draws a respectable audience and on Thursday they brought their dark musical clouds to the Austin Music Hall. Paul Banks, head shorn of the long locks of previous years, provided the appropriate brooding frontman mystique as clouds of machine generated fog swirled around and enveloped him at the rest of the band. It was a good set, though not particularly uplifting, and fans of the band got their moneys worth. Opening for Interpol was School of Seven Bells, a band from New York formed from musicians, including Benjamin Curtis of Secret Machines, that met opening for Interpol on a previous tour.
Interpol has got a few more tour dates left before they jump the pond for a European tour at the end of May. They'll be touring the states again in July. For upcoming tour dates check out Interpol's web site at http://www.interpolnyc.com
Click here for the rest of the Interpol pictures. |  |  |  |
Wednesday, April 20. 2011
by Jeff Barringer - Staff Writer & Photographer
For some gigs photographers ought to get combat pay. It's kind of tough to think about what your going to write when your dodging the boots coming over the barrier at a Rise Against concert, but at least this time we made it though our three songs before we had to bail on the pit. The last time I covered them we didn't even make it through the first song before getting ejected by a thoroughly flustered security team. Rise Against concerts are just like that, and you gotta just count your teeth, wipe away the blood, damn the bruises, man up and get back in the pit.
Formed in 1999 this Chicago based punk band fronted by Tim McIlrath always packs em in at Stubb's and Tuesdays sold out set was no exception. Although lots of people had come for the opener Bad Religion, few people left after their set leaving the venue full and the crowd jammed together, hot, and ready.
And they got what they came for. And more.
A full electric set, 2 acoustic songs and a 6 song double encore. More than enough except for the most hard core Rise Against fan.
Click here for the rest of the Rise Against pics.
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Saturday, April 16. 2011
by Jeff Barringer - Staff Writer & Photographer
To experience a set by Gogol Bordello must be a lot like getting like getting swept out to sea by the gypsy pirate version of the Black Eyed Peas. A whirling dervish of sight sound and movement that never stops for two straight hours, engulfs the audience, assimilates them, and turns them into an extension of the living, breathing mass of energy radiating from the stage.
Formed in New York in 1999, the bands sound is a melange of flavors that includes the gypsy spices of eastern Europe, the peppery kick of Brazil, combined with an east coast punk, west coast hip hop base that invites dancing and audience participation. With a road show as engaging and entertaining as Parliament/Funkadelic it's hard not to walk away a fan of the band. This is my second time covering them, both at Stubb's, and I'm look forward to their next Austin stop already. Lucky for us, Gogol Bordello's Austin stop was just a warm up for their gig at Coachella on Saturday, so it was great to see them without having to join the multitudes in the desert.
Unfortunately fans of Gogol won't be able to see the remainder of their current tour. The band has had to cancel it's last 4 dates, all on the east coast, due to a death in the family of one of the band members. For more information please check out the Gogol Bordello web site for more details.
Click here for the rest of the Gogol Bordello pics.
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Tuesday, April 12. 2011
 | by Jeff Barringer - Staff Writer & Photographer
It was billed as a night with Coheed and Cambria and that's exactly what fans got when the band played 2 sets at their sold out show at Stubb's last night.
The first set, a 45 minute acoustic performance, had fans singing along with co-founder and frontman Claudio Sanchez for the first song. Then the rest of the band took the stage and the crowd of die-hards sang along with the rest of the set as well.
If any fans were singing during the second set it would have been tough to hear as the band plugged in, turned up the amps to 11 and wailed away, playing their second release "The Second Stage Turbine Blade" cover to cover.
Coheed and Cambria are currently on a wide sweeping tour of the U.S. with dates on the east coast, through the midwest and ending up in Los Angeles on May 11th.
Celebrating their 10 year anniversary with this tour, this show really is special and a must see for anyone with more than a passing interest in the band. For tour details and tickets check out the Coheed and Cambria web site.
Click here for the rest of the Coheed and Cambria pics.
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Saturday, April 9. 2011
 | by Jeff Barringer - Staff Writer & Photographer
It's kind of hard to believe that this will be Guster's 20th year as a band, but the group started by friends who met during freshman orientation at Tuft's University in 1991 has the road miles to prove it and their well polished show at Stubb's BarBQ on Thursday is certainly a measure of their years of tour experience.
With frontmen Adam Gardner and Ryan Miller swapping vocal duties and Brian "Thundergod" Rosenworcel keeping pace on percussion the band wheeled through a succession their of songs, old and new. Relative newcomer to the band, guitarist Luke Reynolds who joined last year, had no trouble keeping up with his band mates, nor filling the shoes of former guitarist Joe Pisapia, who left the band in 2010.
This set was better than the Guster set I saw at ACL Fest in 2006, but festival sets in the broad daylight in front of a hot dusty seething mass of humanity are rarely as warm and intimate as a show nestled into Stubb's amphitheater.
Guster's current tour is swinging back to the East coast and ends May 7th. They will be touring again starting at the beginning of August, along with Jack's Mannequin. For tickets, tour dates, and more info on the band check out the Guster website.
Click here for the rest of the Guster pics.
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Monday, April 4. 2011
by Jeff Barringer - Staff Writer & Photographer
The Scissor Sisters really sold out... Stubb's, that is.
If you haven't heard of them, that probably means you're not a dance music fan and/or you don't live in Europe, where they've broken into the mainstream and collaborated with artists like Elton John and Kylie Minogue.
Whether due to support from Austin's sizable (and reliably dance music-friendly) LGBT community or buzz from the Sisters' 2010 SXSW appearance, they had their sold-out audience in a frenetic dance frenzy from the start when they appeared at Stubb's last night. With a pounding bassline provided by Babydaddy and backing by drummer Randy Real, the band reeled through a succession of their songs while the audience squealed.
Expect the Scissor Sisters' U.S. profile to get a considerable boost in the coming months; they've spent the last few months as the opener on Lady Gaga's tour.
If you missed them in Austin, there are a few 2011 dates left here in the States; check out http://www.scissorsisters.com/tour for details.
Click here for the rest of the Scissor Sisters pics.
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Saturday, April 2. 2011
by Jeff Barringer - Staff Writer & Photographer
Despite being saddled with the unwanted and toxic rock and roll label of being a "christian" band by the music press, Cold War Kids proved they could draw a strong crowd even in Austin by headlining a sold out show at Stubb's BarbQ on Friday.
The Long Beach, California band fronted by Nathan Willett are no Austin rookies though, having brought Cold War Kids through town for SXSW often enough to establish a core following among local music fans. In fact they were just here for SXSW 2011 playing the Filter party, on a much smaller stage which probably made for an interesting experiment in crowd control.
Playing a long, strong set the band covered songs from across their library, including their latest album, with guitarist Jonnie Russell, Willet, and bassist Matt Maust working together onstage like a well oiled machine.
Touring in suppoort of their January release "Mine Is Yours", the third album from the band, they only have a few more U.S. dates before launching a European tour, returning the the states in time for Bonaroo.
This show was part of a T-Moblile media effort called "Live Rising" where the whole show was streamed live on the web.
Click here for the rest of the Cold War Kids pics.
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