all photos: William Kamovitch
This year I have seen 46 concerts. I have seen the same band 6 different times and other various ones 2 or more times. Needless to say, it takes a lot for me to be wowed. Friday night at the Velvet Lounge, Savoir Adore wowed me in more ways than one.
The night started off with DC band Bellflur who are making serious headway in the blogosphere. They had a very good sound, which was reminiscent of Radiohead without Thom Yorke. The music was good, but the vocals lacked in places where they should have shined. Relying heavily on computer sounds and beats, the band also threw in voice clips from movies and broke up the songs with white noise and guitar effects. The one highlight of their set was their violinist who complimented the piano and guitar lines well. The songs never really climaxed to anything but rather kept a consistent groove for their 50 minute set.
Over the summer I ran Band Camp at the BYT pool parties and our sound guy said something to me that always stuck when watching bands. No matter what the conditions, the instruments, the atmosphere, if a band gets up on stage and is set up and ready to play within 10 minutes, they know what they are doing. Savoir Adore was that band. Within the time it took me to go downstairs and get a drink the band was already on stage doing a quick soundcheck and soon after jumped into their first song. The main 3 members Deidre Muro, Paul Hammer, and David Perlick-Molinari all attended NYU and post-graduation moved to Brooklyn. Producers by day, they understand the music and how things should sound. There was not an errant note or chord, everything that was sung was done in perfect balance and harmony. Highlights from the show included tracks from their new album In the Wooded Forest, "We Talk Like Machines" and "Bodies." After the show I had the chance to catch up with the band and chat with them about their album, their work with MGMT (for which David was the producer), and their life in Brooklyn (where I will soon be moving). They were so humble and great to talk to. We had about a half an hour conversation which is more talk than I was expecting. Savoir Adore is a class act and a great bunch of musicians and this show ranks in the top 5 concerts I've attended this year, I will definitely be seeing them again. They will be back at the Velvet Lounge on March 25th with local favorites Deleted Scenes, I highly suggest you attend.
I stuck around for about 10 minutes of the Ra Ra Rasputin set as it was getting late, their infectious grooves and synthesq pop always provides for a good time. I love the Joy Division vocal style and the real combination of the 70's, 80's, and early 90's sound they achieve. I'd have a longer write up on them, but by this point if you haven't seen them you should, and if you have then you know what's up. If not just ask BYT contributor Patrick Kigongo, he knows what's up too.
Previously in Live DC:
- 5/22: LiveDC: Spirit Animal @ Red Palace
- 5/22: LiveDC: Astra Via @ Black Cat
- 5/22: LiveDC: Father John Misty @ Rock & Roll Hotel
- 5/22: LiveDC: Drive-By Truckers and Lucinda Williams @ Merriweather
- 5/22: Photos: Summer Camp takes the "Ladies of Town" Drag Show
- 5/22: LiveDC: Penguin Prison & Class Actress @ RNR Hotel
- 5/21: LiveDC: James Morrison @ 930 Club
- 5/21: Photos: Que Sera L'Anniversaire @ Napoleon
- 5/21: LiveDC: La Sera/ Beach Week @ Red Palace
- 5/21: LiveDC: The Black Keys & Arctic Monkeys @ Merriweather Post Pavilion
God loves a cheerful giver.
I trust Salvatore's instincts but I have to admit I am surprised. Not long ago I saw Savoir Adore sandwiched in-between Deleted Scenes and True Womanhood and while competent, they stuck out like a sore thumb in the talent department. Really bland stuff, especially when surrounded by amazing live acts like DS and TW. I can't imagine it being any different following Bellflur and Ra Ra who are both pretty stellar.
I gotta agree with Mr. Foster on this one. I wasn't even sure you were talking about the same band until I saw the photos... I felt a steady boredom at the backstage show. sorry kids.... It's hard to beat Deleted Scenes in the energy dept. though
Well to their credit, they started out as solely a studio project and then did a mini tour right after which is when they came to DC for the backstage show. At that point this new album wasn't out yet and they hadn't really had a lot of touring experience. Honestly, Bellflur was the boring band of the evening. They seemed tense and nervous and slightly out of synch and that sentiment was echoed throughout many of the people in the crowd as well. I can see how Savoir may be boring if not on the top of their game, but they were this night and I, and as many people as I can find, will be attending the show again in March. Give them another shot.
dude has seen 46 concerts in 26 days? that's impressive (or bullshit).
I thought they were pretty amazing; I've seen them twice, and the second time was way better. Their record has some killer songs ("Early Bird" rules) and for a while I wondered if they could pull it off live - this time they did
Bellflur Makes Computer Sounds.
"This year I have seen 46 concerts. I have seen the same band 6 different times and other various ones 2 or more times. Needless to say, it takes a lot for me to be wowed."
In the history of rock music criticism, this may be the douchiest opening line ever. That is saying a lot when you are being compared to the likes of Chuck Klosterman.
Please get real writers.
"they had a very good sound...the music was good."
Riveting, poetic, inspiring.
This is pretty poorly written. Regardless, Bellflur was awesome. At least they don't sound like everyone else. And they're incredibly solid and skilled.
the guy who wrote this obviously knows nothing about music or writing a good music review.
stop messing with sal you guys he ran band camp
jkbbq <3 sal
The only thing tense and nervous about this review is the writer. In my third grade class, we were taught to replace "good" with something a little more, ahem, academic. Additionally, you were commissioned to write a review and you didn't even stick around for the headliner because "it was getting late." How rock n' roll! In the future, I would like bands to be critiqued for their sound and not for how long it takes them to set up.
"...but the vocals lacked in places where they should have shined."
Maybe if you stayed around for more than ten minutes of Blah Blah Rasputin you would've have realized how atrocious (bad) their vocals are and how Belflur is going for a more ethereal (good), ambient (good) and basically audibly pleasing (good) sound, that is to say shining in places where the singer actually singing
"Infectious grooves"??? Seriously? I just fired you... I'm sorry but this just isn't working out. I just broke up with you too....
not for nothing to his credit.. its kinda hard to really pay attention to the music while your camera and mind are focused on boobs..
I used to play drums in bellflur and they are the type of guys who have to be seen in the right atmosphere, with the right mixture of collective controlled light-projections to make their sounds more 3-d but most of the time when I played with them we were misunderstood and helped off the stage really quickly due to so much analog gear. Give this band 5 years and maybe eat some mushrooms the next time you see them, they are truly gentle men.