Monsters, Men, and Vampires...Oh My!!

Isn't Red Rocks beautiful?

Ok, since I just started this blog about four days ago, I obviously do not have anything new concerts to report on since my Postal Service posting; therefore, I am going to back track a little bit and bring you some insight on the other concerts I've seen in the past three weeks (and may be even before that...we'll see).

Working those smolders...clearly

Two weeks ago, on May 20th, 2013, Vampire Weekend and Of Monsters and Men played a one time only joint show together at the illustrious Red Rocks Amphitheater. This show was particularly special as Of Monsters and Men and Vampire Weekend are not actually on tour with each other at this time. This was a one night only, special treat for indie rock fans of the Denver area. But before we get into that, here's some background on the groups:

Ezra Koenig of Vampire Weekend

I am going to start with Vampire Weekend for no other reason other than the first track that played when I flipped on my "Of Monsters and Vampires" playlist on my iPod was "Bryn" by Vampire Weekend....so, sorry Of Monsters and Men, you'll have to wait your turn. Anyways, Vampire Weekend was formed in 2006 and is originally from New York. The band consists of four musicians: front man, Ezra Koenig (let's all just take a moment to appreciate this man's good looks, ok?) - vocals, guitar; keyboardist/guitarist/secondary vocalist, Rostam Batmanglij; rhythm-master (a.k.a drummer)  Chris Tomson ; and bassist and secondary vocalist Chris Baio. The band's discography includes the following albums (click the links in captions to listen): 
     

Self Named Album Vampire Weekend (2008)

                       

Contra  (2010)

Modern Vampires of the City  (2013)

Vampire Weekend

The band came together while attending Columbia University when Koenig and Thomson began experimenting with rap in punk rock and African influences. This later led to Koenig's interests in "world sounds" and their incorporation with music as is evidenced in Vampire Weekend's eclectic sound. The band's name comes from a short film project Koenig worked on briefly in his early years at Columbia. For those veteran fans of Vampire Weekend, you may find it interesting to know that their classic songs "Walcott" and "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" are allusions to Koenig's work in producing his own version of a 1980s vampire film in which the plot involves "a man named Walcott travels to Cape Cod to warn the mayor that vampires are attacking the United States." Though this project was abandoned after only two days of work, obviously he produced some pretty fantastic stuff out of it.

To read more about the band's history and rise to fame, check out their Wikipedia page here. Fun fact for you, though, Vampire Weekend has permitted their tracks to be used with popular video games such as Just Dance 2, Guitar Hero 5, and Lego Rock Band. Their music has also been used in a few movies and TV shows and over the years, their tracks have ranked exceptionally high in the U.S. and U.K. charts such as Rolling Stones and Billboard.

Now on to Of Monsters and Men! A relatively new group (formed in 2010) in the alternative folk scene, but quite the hit already! The band hails from the country of Iceland and is made of 6 members: lead singer/guitarist Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir, co-singer/guitarist Ragnar "Raggi" Þórhallsson, guitarist Brynjar Leifsson, drummer Arnar Rósenkranz Hilmarsson, keyboard player Árni Guðjónsson and bassist Kristján Páll Kristjánsson. Don't ask me how to say those names.... their names may be foreign, but their music is in English, so don't worry! 

Aside from smaller local accomplishments in Ireland and 4 track EP titled Into the Woods released in 2011, the band's debut album was an instant hit! (Again, click caption to listen)

My Head is an Animal  (2011)

Now, if you have not yet heard OMAM's hit single, "Little Talks" off of this album, you must be living under a rock. Seriously. This track is definitely the band's claim to fame, reaching the top 10 in most European charts, No. 1 in Ireland and Iceland, and No. 1 in the US Alternative charts. The album on the whole reached top numbers as well in many other notable music charts around the globe in countries such as Australia  Iceland, Ireland, US, UK, other European countries, and Canada. In 2013, OMAM even had the honor of receiving the European Border Breakers Awards.

As you can tell by both band's credentials, this co-headlined show was quite the experience and very exciting for them both to come Red Rocks on the same evening! And of course, when you have two awesome bands come together, you must have a fantastic opener! Now, I won't ramble on about the opener too much as long as you promise to go check them out! The opening band was an awesome soft-sounding indie group from Australia called The High Highs (Facebook page here).

Of Monsters and Men at Red Rocks

Following the High Highs was Of Monsters and Men. Now, this was actually my second time seeing OMAM live and it was a close call to determine which show was better. But hey, the band brings it every time, so it was probably too close to call! The band had an awesome set, playing hits from their album My Head is an Animal as well as a remixed version of "Little Talks" that was... let's just say....richly dark and beautiful, yet slightly terrifying. Hilmarsdóttir has a voice that can just transform and bring so much emotion out of her audience. Well done. And because I am a total band geek at heart, I must give a shout out to Árni Guðjónsson because she is not only their critically important keyboardist, but also the musician behind that gorgeous trumpet sound in many of their songs. Her tone is impeccable and just makes me melt every time I hear it live. Unfortunately, the group came on stage with a wacky sound check which created a very fuzzy droning noise underneath their sound, but luckily they fixed it about half way through. OMAM is definitely a band I recommend spending the money to go see live, they are well worth it.

By this time in the evening, the sky was dark and when it is dark....it is time for the Vampires to come out! I am oh so impressed by Ezra Koenig's ability to sing in such a high register without sounding thin or falsetto-y; totally makes their music unique and engaging and stand out from other indie alternative bands with male lead singers. My only disappointment with Vampire Weekend was to discover that the group does not use actual string instruments such as violins that you hear in many of their recordings. It was not as if those parts were missing, but they were instead covered by a synthesizer or something. Like I said, I'm a band geek and really appreciate incorporation of symphonic instruments into electronically based music. But oh well! The band has a fantastic stage presence and I must hand it to Vampire Weekend's bassist, Chris Baio because he is just so fun to watch! He struts around his area of the stage with flair and pop (almost like a dance) in his Vans shoes and totally looks like he's just having a blast up there! Shout out to him. 

Vampire Weekend played a good medley of songs from all three of their albums and it was cool to get to hear a few tracks off of Modern Vampires of the City since that album was released just 6 days earlier on May 14th! I have to say though, that my favorite part of the night was probably their closing song, "Walcott." It is tradition for the band to end a show with "Walcott" as it is about leaving Cape Cod (just like we were leaving them...or them us...). It was literally the most fun I have ever had at a Red Rocks show. If you thought that every concert is almost like a dance party, well this one (and this song in particular) was the dance party of all dance parties! Everyone in that amphitheater was literally jumping up and down and singing along. I never wanted that moment to end. 

This show was so great, I do not hesitate to declare it my favorite Red Rocks show to date. Next time Vampire Weekend comes to town, I am so there. 

Until next time!

Going Postal with The Postal Service

Ah Red Rocks Amphitheater..... the second highest recommended thing to go see in the great state of Colorado by the Denver Post. Truly a miraculous setting. The massive rocks on either side of you perfectly balancing the acoustics of the outdoor amphitheater all while providing a cozy setting outside of Morrison, Colorado with a gorgeous view of the south Denver skyline. If you have never been to Red Rocks, you must go!! As I like to describe it: It's pretty much Colorado's version of Disney World... just with more pot.... But of course there are family friendly events and concerts, so don't worry too much about that.

Lewis (left) and Gibbard (right); (Not my photo)

Anyways, this summer is packed with awesome concerts coming to the Front Range. Last week, on May 30th, Ra Ra Riot played with The Postal Service at Red Rocks on a celebration tour for the ten year anniversary of their one and only album, Give Up. The Postal Service released Give Up in 2003 with vocalist Ben Gibbard (of Death Cab for Cutie) and producer Jimmy Tamborello (of Dntel and Headset) with Jenny Lewis (of Rilo Kiley) on background vocals/keyboards & samplers live. The band was entitled "The Postal Service" due to the way Gibbard and Tamborello collaborated on music which was by sending copies of the music via the United States Postal Service. The album was a great hit and developed almost a "cult" following which has sustained their name over the past ten years even without the release of a second album. Due to the fact that the members of the band were involved in other music groups, the prospect of creating a follow up to Give Up became more and more difficult until it was "officially announced" that there would be no second album.

Despite the band's minimal discography, the group re-united to celebrate the ten year anniversary of the album and embark on a world tour as well as release a new edition of Give Up complete with new rarities and two new bonus tracks that released on April 9th, 2013. Stops on this tour will include Red Rocks Amphitheater, Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in April 2013, the Primavera Sound Festival 2013 in Barcelona Sasquatch! Music Festival in Washington in May and Free Press Summer Fest in Houston in June.

Now, enough about background  let's get to the actual concert! As always, the theatrics of Red Rocks didn't disappoint. The Postal Service came with a flashy LED backdrop that gave off a very neon appearance and feel. My roommate and myself were fortunate enough to be close to the stage and had a great view (but let's be real... there are no bad seats at the Rocks). Ra Ra Riot opened the show and totally killed it. Opening bands are always a hidden treasure and I always feel bad for them because their greatness sometimes goes unnoticed due to the fact that they are the "openers." I've seen some pretty awesome openers like Feist and the High Highs and Ra Ra Riot now is up on that list too; check them out.

The Postal Service rolled out at about 8 o'clock right when the sun was about to go down and they played a two hour set. The played tracks from Give Up (obviously) and a couple songs I was not familiar with... perhaps the new rarities on the deluxe release? They had a very simple set up with four people. Gibbard was the clear front male vocalist and danced around with the electric guitar, drum set (when they weren't using the usual drum machine), and miscellaneous instruments. Lewis was the front female voice with a keyboard, miscellaneous auxiliary percussion and the occasional guitar... she even played the electric guitar with her mouth at one point!! I wasn't sure if I should have been impressed or disturbed quite honestly. Tamborello was vocals at times, but mainly he was the running the computers to give the band that characteristic pop-electronica sound. He also played this strange instrument that had keys like a wind instrument but had a tube that he blew air through to make noise. I have no idea what it was, but if you know, leave me a comment telling me what it is!  Then lastly, there was a fourth woman whose name escapes me but she was the synth master and vibraphone percussionist with the occasional vocal assist. Gibbard and Lewis are quite the theatric couple when they get together, however! If you are familiar with the Postal Service, you'll recall that many of the lyrics are exchanges between a girl and a guy character, some flirtatious, some heartbreaking, and others hoping for what could've been sort of things. Since the PS's music is electronically based, it freed up the two to dance around and interact with each other more than most vocalists get the chance to do. The two were very sassy with each other and very flirtatious, too (though no actual relationship is established to my knowledge).

The only thing I must critique about their performance was the evolution of their sound that has come from ten years of age. It was very minor and I think that maybe only seasoned Postal Service fans would have noticed the small alterations in the music, but that's just me being picky. However, I did notice that Lewis's voice is drastically different. I do not know if they did some studio work on it when the recorded back in 2003 or if she just sings differently now, but the live performance was definitely more nasally (sorry) and I felt that her performance was too flirtatious and almost seductive for the style and heart of the music. Perhaps my interpretation of the music as a fan is just too innocent, but that's just what I liked about it. Additionally, (again this is a super minor, picky thing) the LED lights were a little much at parts. This may have been because we were very close to the stage, but when the band played "Natural Anthem," they flashed the lights very rapidly and randomly during the extended intro to that song and I swore that someone was going to have a seizure. But hey, can't complain too much, because like I said, the lighting effects and theatrics are some of my favorite parts about Red Rocks.

Overall, solid concert. It was super sick to be able to be a part of this ten year anniversary tour for the Postal Service - a staple of the indie electronic music culture.