Dog In A Sweater Dot Com

Thee Oh Sees Kings
11/16/2014
I've never been a super fan of Thee Oh Sees, and haven't even seen them live since I lived in the Bay Area from where the band once hailed, but for some reason I got all excited for this show.  Sometimes you just need a little raucous garage punk in your life, ya know?  I got to Kings just as Thee Oh Sees were setting up, creating these matching towers of amps combined with PA speakers and pedals and god knows what else - they were at least eight feet tall and looked super sketchy.  Dwyer was apparently touring with an all new band, though I couldn't tell you why - I know he somewhat recently moved to LA, so maybe these were just a couple of local SoCal dudes who learned a few of the band's songs and were game to drive around the country.  They certainly performed at an adequate enough level for my tastes, though I did hear a couple of people commenting on how the group was "different," with no indication if that was …

Sloan Cat's Cradle Back Room
11/15/2014
The last time I saw Sloan was probably in the neighborhood of 1997 - I took a girl I had a crush on to see Superdrag in Winston-Salem, and Sloan was the opener.  I never got anywhere with the girl, but the show was rad and I still think of it often.  I'm not sure why it took so long to make it to another Sloan show again, god knows I've listened to plenty of their recordings in that span of time - but the nice intimate setting of the Cat's Cradle Back Room seemed like a gig not to pass up.  Of course this was also helped by Guided by Voices cancelling their show that was scheduled this same night in the main room of the Cradle - I already had a ticket to that, but this made for a pretty great back-up plan. 

There was no opener and Sloan played two sets.  In the first, they mimicked their most recent album "Commonwealth" and each of the four main band members (there was an extra fifth member for the live sh…

Ex Hex with Speedy Ortiz The Pinhook
11/7/2014
This was the sixth anniversary party for the Pinhook, and the room was packed.  I got in the door just before Speedy Ortiz started their set, and weaseled my way to the front as I usually do.  The first time I saw these guys and gal was at this same venue, it was a damn enjoyable show and this time was no different.  Singer Sadie Dupuis wasn't just killing it on guitar this time, she was wearing this crazy brightly-colored dress with a dog print all over it that had me mesmerized for the entire set.  That combined with the new guitarist's epic afro made the group visually interesting even if you didn't like their music.  Luckily, their off-kilter indie pop that is clearly inspired by classic icons like Polvo and Sonic Youth sounds good to these ears, so sign me up for the total package - they're a keeper. 
While I had actually only heard a song or two by Ex Hex, I had absolutely no doubt coming into this show th…

This Will Destroy You with Future Death Cat's Cradle Back Room
11/3/2014
A cold Monday night seems like a great time to enjoy a little post-rock.  I've only ever heard a few songs from This Will Destroy You, but a friend had a couple of guest list spots so why the hell not see some live music?  A four piece from Texas, it would be pretty easy to confuse them with Explosions in the Sky as they sound more or less exactly the same, at least to these untrained ears.  Not that I mind - good music is good music, and it's not like I'm ever going to get to see Explosions in a club the size of the Cat's Cradle Back Room ever again.  They were great live in the sense that the sound was incredible, but their "performance" wasn't anything to write home about.  I'd love to see one of these bands in a seated venue and paired with some sort of elaborate light show or visual display - I think it would go over like a honey pot on a bear's head. 

The…