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Saturday, July 24, 2010

Show Review / Block Party Day 2: Some Quick Thoughts on Cold Lake, Beach Fossils, Obits & Air 2 a Bird

Posted by Dave Segal on Sat, Jul 24, 2010 at 6:38 PM

Arrived on the grounds in time to catch Seattle quartet Cold Lake's last song on the Vera Stage, which was a surge & destroy metallic KO topped with Die Kreuzen-ed vocal-cord shred. Vocalist Corey Brewer crowd-surfed for a while as he was serenaded in piercing feedback. I need to see more of these guys.

At Neumos, Brooklyn's Beach Fossils offered a lot of pleasant jangly-guitar rock with a standup drummer à la Bobby Gillespie ca. his Jesus & Mary Chain days. They exude a summery, Slumberlandish vibe, but it's not quite amazing enough to induce swooning, which is this music's raison d'être. Oddly, a couple of upliftingly morose songs reminded of New Order's "Age of Consent" off Power, Corruption & Lies. That's not a bad thing at all to be reminded of.

It is damn hard to say anything interesting about Obits. Obits rock. Obits rock in a straightforward, lean, linear fashion. They rock solidly and competently. Their rock is a masculine chug, all meatloaf and mashed potatoes. Rock. ROCK. (I'm sorry. Obits are good, but I can't find a way to express it in exceptional terms.)

Air 2 a Bird's R&B/gospel/funk/rap is positivity incarnate. Gabriel Teodors raps, Amos Miller sings and plays piano, Ivan plays drums/percussion, and Canary Sings (three female vocalists) sing with beaucoup soul. Rise in peace with them. It's impossible to do anything else under the influence of Air 2 a Bird.