Event Reviews: March 2008

For the first portion, Joana Carneiro conducted the Los Angeles Philharmonic though three classical pieces that prefaced and weirdly mirrored Grizzly Bear’s subsequent sweeping and hauntingly beautiful performance.

Referencing Shakespeare, Parker joked: “I always thought the question was to be or not to be... funky!” For Parker, there’s no doubt that the answer was, is, and will always be positive: he’s made a career out of being just about the funkiest cat around.

If many bands play a set of songs that only occasionally jam out, Perpetual Groove flips the formula with a focus on jams that only occasionally morph into songs. The effect is one of musical catharsis.

You never know who’ll show up to play a BSS gig. The six-member group who greeted tonight’s crowd was a bit of a surprise. This was, like, "old-school Broken Social Scene," explained Kevin Drew. (And oh, did I mention that Feist made an appearance as well?)

You can be as snarky as you want about some of the things you see -- I mean, I hadn't seen a bustier at a rock show since Madonna's heyday -- but you have to envy a crowd's willingness to fully give themselves over to a show.

Okkervil River has become part of the growing body of hyper-referential, linked-in art that represents the fractured yet joyous way we accumulate knowledge on and off the information superhighway.

The heirs to San Francisco’s jamrock crown, Tea Leaf Green, honor the past by using their influences as a launch pad to boldly explore new sonic territory.

There has been something of a demographic shift in Interpol’s audience since they last visited Sydney. Whereas 2005 saw the prevalence of post-Goth black lace and even blacker eyeliner, 2008 witnessed the long-awaited reappearance of -- dare I say it? -- grunge.

An audience member shouts: “We love your pain.” Others concur with hoots and hollers. And herein lies the question that haunts the cult of Daniel Johnston: Why are we here -- for the songs or for the story?