HEARTLESS BASTARDS @ THE NORTH STAR BAR

after a spur of the moment judgement call at a fork in the road, my friend dave and i found ourselves sitting in construction traffic on I-76. we sputtered along at an average of 7 mph as our concern over time gradually grew. we'd given ourselves an hour and fifteen minutes to make it to the north star bar to see the headlining act that night, the blues rock trio, the Heartless Bastards. we made it, in the end, after making an hour long journey out of what would normally take about 15 minutes.

both dave and i had seen them once before. they played a free show at the World Cafe Live last fall. i had heard a few songs off their debut album (Stairs & Elevators) prior to that night. i liked what i was familiar with, but had difficulty tracking down the album (or their newest, All This Time) in any of the stores within close proximity, so i was eager to hear more of their material. the show turned out to be better than i'd hoped. the sound at World Cafe Live is always fantastic, especially when its a good sound to begin with. we became quick fans as we sat at a table near the back. i picked up both CD's afterward.

the North Star Bar is a smaller, more intimate venue. the acoustics aren't as good (though not bad either), but the crowds are smaller so you're rarely more that 15 feet from the band. they have a balcony upstairs which literally hangs over the front of the stage. that would be the place to be if not for the location of the speakers. they're on the ground floor so the music has to bounce off of every wall in the place to make it to your ears. still, i've always liked the scene, and they tend to get some great smaller bands to stop by on their tours. the Devotchka show i saw there last year was phenomenal. i still talk about it from time to time.

around midnight, Erika Wennerstrom, the lead singer and guitarist, zig zagged past me and through the onlookers toward the stage. i hadn't realized how small she was before. she couldn't stand more than a few inches over 5 feet. she spoke to a few people in a quiet, almost shy voice. then, after tuning their instruments, the three piece took the stage.

to see such a punk, blues rock voice come out of little Erika is worth the price of the ticket alone. the Heartless Bastards are, without a doubt, her band. her crunchy blues riffs and emotion soaked wails are the showcase. she's all about the music and it shows. its refreshing to hear a singer put all of herself into it. it was a transformation the second the first word escaped into the microphone, from the small woman you might not notice to sexy rockstar. i read a review that compared her vocals to robert plant "without all the girly frills". that's fairly accurate. maybe add a hint of feist and a dash of fiona apple, too, and it spot on. loud, raw angst and feeling in every note. she mostly bounced in place and stuck to her guitars, with the exception of a couple piano songs. one of my favorite songs, Into The Open, starts with her switching back and forth from the keyboard and the guitar. still, its the voice that holds your attention.

the rest of the band is of little note. neither the bass line nor drumming are much different from anything you've likely heard already. not to say that they weren't capable. its more as if they're accompaniment, which is more of a testament to what Wennerstrom brings to the table than an insult to the band as a whole. the drummer did seem a bit off at times, though. his beat keeping was a little slow, forcing Erika to draw out her "whoooaa, ohs" and her "yeeeaaah, ahhhs".

they're definitely worth your time if you aren't aware of them already. they were signed by Fat Possum records after sending their demo to the Black Keys. they have the potential to grow into something big, but, as of yet, they're still floating under the radar. try to see them live while they're still playing bars and small clubs.

THE HEARTLESS BASTARDS WEBSITE
(you can stream their newest album, All This Time, in its entirety)

or pick up either or both of their albums
(images link to amazon.com)

MENOMENA @ JOHNNY BRENDA'S

anyone who knows me, follows my adventures in blogging or has had any conversation about music with me in the past few months knows how much i've gotten into Menomena recently. i only first heard them about 6 months ago, at the suggestion of my friend Rob. at that point, they'd only put out one album proper, but it was enough for me to eagerly await their second, Friend & Foe, which was released this past january. i posted a review of said album here.

Rob and i snagged tickets for their friday performance at Johnny Brenda's in Fishtown - Philadelphia's new bohemia. fortunately, my boy acted early enough as the show sold out at least a week prior. we got there circa an hour early and ordered a few beers. i'm a fan a Johnny Brenda's. the crowds are always mellow as hipsters always say excuse me when they bump into you. additionally, they seem to repeatedly secure the performances of many quality indie bands who come through town as well as some of Philadelphia's finest local talent. the venue is quite intimate. if you can see the stage, even from the balcony, you can't be more than 20 feet from it.

the opening band was Montreal's Land Of Talk (Field Music was also scheduled but apparently dropped out of the tour). i've only heard of them from a few places, but always in a favorable light. i wasn't disappointed. they were a three piece, drum set front and center with the bassist on one flank and the female lead singer/guitarist on the other. she sang in a sweet tone (though a little mumbled), even when she got more aggressive. accompanying and complimenting were some heavier and nicely executed beats and a series of driving bass lines. she had a nice voice, balancing between PJ Harvey angst and Chan Marshall sweetness. good energy with some rawness on the guitar. it was fun. i would've picked up their EP, Applause Cheer Boo Hiss, if i'd had more cash on me. they said they're in the mixing process of their first album so maybe i'll get a hold of that when the time comes around.

in the 20 or 30 minutes that followed their departure, we weaseled our way closer to the stage. we managed to get about 2 people deep from the front and staked our claim. from there on out, we took turns with runs for drinks.

after setting the stage, Menomena erupted through the room with "The Pelican". with all the mania of Animal, drummer Danny Seim pounded his drum kit mercilessly with his giant arms (after the show, i realized he literally towered over me and my 6'3" frame). he truly was relentless. even more impressive was that i had assumed that some of the complex drumming was produced electronically. Seim proved me so very wrong. its hard not to swagger a little with drumming that intense. apparently, impossible for me. for the most part, other than vocal harmonizing and a couple songs as lead vocalist, his role was that of the drummer and i've seen few fill the shoes better. Justin Harris and Brent Knopf, on the other hand, wore many hats. they all took turns singing. Knopf spent his time behind a keyboard, a laptop, a glockenspiel and a pair of microphones, all while strapped to a guitar. Harris began almost every jam with a different instrument in ready, be it bass, guitar, alto saxophone or tenor sax. in nearly every song, Harris and Knopf switched between what they had available to them. honestly, i didn't think a trio could pull off the density of the tunes found on their albums live, at least not without the aid of any recorded loops or studio trickery. once again, i was proved so very wrong. i've seen few bands that were as unified in their collaboration. while one dropped his guitar for a saxophone, the other would take over without pause of lull. during "Weird", Harris alternated between the mic and the sax while stomping a deep bass mantra on some sort of keyboard at his feet, Knopf repeatedly jumped back and forth between the keyboard and fretboard while belting out harmony, before concluding it all with the xylophone twinkling on the glockenspiel. and all the while, Seim, in perfect head bobbing form, murdered the drum kit. it truly was astounding. they ended their set with "Rotten Hell". the studio version showcases the assistance of a choir. as no choir was in tow friday night, they brought the singer and bassist from Land Of Talk back on stage. they shared the amplified bell of the alto sax. after the melodic chaos of the crescendo, they stepped off stage and through the back door .

a couple minutes later, Menomena returned and performed a single encore (something i've never seen any band do at Johnny Brenda's). they chose "Monkey's Back", Knopf's loudest and most emotionally fervent vocal contribution to their first album, I Am The Fun Blame Monster. the song starts off distant and haunting, only to built into a wall of sound capable of crushing any man, even one the size of Danny Seim.

RUSTED ROOT

rusted root was one of those bands i kept almost seeing during my high school days. where i grew up, tours didn't often come very close to where i laid my head at night, so concerts became events. we'd drive a few hours without much hesitation if we could acquire tickets to see one of our favorite bands. rusted root definitely fit into the category, yet on two occasions when my friends and i were planning out the trek, for one reason or another, i had to withdraw my participation.

at long last, 10 years and 4 albums later, i finally made it to a show. the venue was small. fairly intimate. we stood maybe 30 feet from the stage. they opened with a few songs from When I Woke, including my favorite song, "Back To The Earth". in fact, they played the majority of the tracks off that album. about halfway through the performance, they pulled the plugs and played about a half dozen songs sans electricity. it was definitely groovy but since most of the songs are essentially acoustic anyway, it wasn't much of a departure from the versions i was accustomed to. after jacking back into their amps, they debuted a few new songs they've been working on, then began warning of the impending "Ecstasy". i think they knew the crowd would riot without it. they left only to return quickly with two encores, the first of which was only Mike Glabicki and a guitar, playing a song from his yet unreleased solo album. in the end, they all gathered into a chorus line, front and center, and thanked the crowd with a series of stage bows. they tossed their respective picks and drum sticks into the crowd and hopped off to the merchandise table.

even though they haven't put forth an album of new material in 5 years, the group still exceeds the energy only hinted at on any one of their albums. they played hard for a few hours, extending almost every song to at least double-length with jamming drum freak outs and improvised acoustic guitar strumming. they even went off into Stevie Wonder's "Superstition" and Dylan's "All Along The Watch Tower" as bridges for gaps between songs. Glabicki undoubtedly knows his way around the fret board and his vocals are tremendously complimented by the soulful wails of Liz Berlin. they have two percussionists (at least) on nearly every song. added to that is the random cabassas, bongos, flutes, whistles, tambourines, and shakers used to keep rhythm by the ladies on either side of the stage. dancing was irresistible. there was nary a body in the house not at least swaying to the beat. its just fervent music that hits you in the guts. especially during "Drum Trip/Ecstasy". the masses exploded within the first few notes of their most popular songs. though i didn't see any bras or panties flying towards the stage, the swooning gestures of the girls in close proximity to me kept no secrets hidden of their fondness for the band.

climactically, i can scratch that off my list of regrets.