Sunday, September 09, 2007

Too many sad words make a sad, sad song

Yesterday I headed over to the annual Hideout Block Party, which is an outdoor concert event held in the parking lot of an industrial park not too far from my place. I rode my bike there and met up with my dad and his wife. The setting of an industrial park seems like an unlikely space for a cool indie pop concert, but it was quite entertaining.


As you can see from the poster, many bands played, and though I would have enjoyed seeing Bloc Party, I only went on Saturday evening. I saw most of Art Brut, whom I am not really into, but they did put on an interesting and entertaining show.

Next came The Frames (whose lead singer, Glen, is the star/songwriter of the previously gushed about film Once), and this was a very good set. I have only recently started listening to them, though they have been around a while, but I liked most of their songs. Glen engaged in some clever banter as well. Overall, I was impressed.

The last act I wanted to see was Andrew Bird, who topped off the night. I really love his music, and it was interesting watching him switch around between instruments. However, the crowd was kind of chatty and not really paying attention too much, at least where I was standing, so that kind of detracted from the show. I think that the whole parking lot/festival venue did not really suit Andrew Bird's music, and I would love to see him in a more intimate setting where his intricate stylings could be more appreciated. But he did start of with my favorite of his songs, "The Fiery Crash," so that was a bonus.


In completely different news, I love the fact that "Dick in a Box" won an Emmy.

5 Comments:

At 11:26 PM, Blogger Jason posited...

Can you explain the Emmy system to us Emmy laypeople? I don't understand how the award has already been given before the ceremony. This would seem to defeat the purpose of having the presentation at all, or at least any sense of suspense that would go with it.

On the other hand, that short does definitely deserve it.

 
At 12:08 AM, Blogger sherlock posited...

I went to a Panic! at the Disco concert just to see Bloc Party play an opening set. Alas, the drummer's lung collapsed at a previous show and they were replaced by Plain White T's.
Does Andrew Bird live-loop his show?

 
At 11:03 AM, Blogger CoachDub posited...

Jason, they handed out the "Creative Arts" Emmys, which are the awards for behind-the-scenes stuff, such as best hair & makeup, best sound editing, best casting, best lighting direction, etc.
"Dick in a Box" won for best original composition for a t.v. show, so it was for the songwriting, not for the performance.
These are the Emmys that are not broadcast.

 
At 11:04 AM, Blogger CoachDub posited...

Cameron,
Yeah, Andrew Bird does a lot of live looping, which makes for a very cool and layered sound, but again, it was kind of lost in the big outdoor space.

 
At 11:53 AM, Blogger sherlock posited...

Sweet. I'll be seeing him when he comes the the Union Theater at UW next Thursday, and it's a surprisingly small venue.

 

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