Rawkblog turned 8 yesterday. Here’s the best thing I’ve ever done on it, my top 100 albums of the 2000s.
On Rawkblog, a few bands to watch in 2013, including LA Font (pictured), Haim, The Staves, Mount Moriah and more, plus a Spotify playlist.
Live: Grizzly Bear at the Greek Theatre, 10.10.12
It was a great relief that there were no numbers involved in their Wednesday night performance, only the intricate mathematics of the group’s powerful musicianship. Their 90+ minute set drew from each of the last three albums, including this year’s excellent Shields, though Yellow House — the album capturing them at their most ghostly and gauzy — received the most love. Opening duet “Speak in Rounds” allowed co-frontmen Ed Droste and Dan Rossen the chance to present themselves as compelling equals; the wonder of Grizzly Bear lies in the way each member’s strengths pushes the whole to dizzying heights. Both Droste and Rossen sing with a sense of deep feeling, Rossen with a craggy sobriety and Droste, the more dynamic vocalist, allowing his throat to burn with melodrama; they never sound richer than when they’re joined by their band mates in full-on choir mode, their harmonies flying out above the trees.
My photos from Brokechella are up on Rawkblog. They came out nice, I think.
Rawkblog and TwentyFourBit’s second annual day party happened at last yesterday and it was a huge success. (And after months of planning, a big relief.) More hi-res photos on Rawkblog.
I did the entire redesign myself. Took me all week. Might make a few more tweaks, but it’s close enough. What do you think?
Sneak preview.
If you’ve been following my recent Ryan coverage, it goes without saying that the performance was excellent, a demonstration of how a singular voice and a few thoughtfully strummed chords can bring a room to a hush. To see this happen in the cathedral-sized spread of Disney Hall was a considerable coup for Adams, who seems to have finally turned the corner on a career dogged by confused critics and a fickle fanbase. He was comfortable enough to baffle Friday’s audience with an opening set from Val Kilmer, whose identity remained a mystery behind a Mark Twain costume until an announcer gave it away once he’d left the stage.
More on Rawkblog.
