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Sweet Loretta (Brooklyn Bowl, Philadelphia, PA, October 8, 2024) [KISHI BASHI]

Posted in Brooklyn Bowl, Kishi Bashi, Philadelphia, PA, Sweet Loretta, Tall Tall Trees, The Beatles on October 8, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 8, 2024] Sweet Loretta

Sweet Loretta is from England.  They’ve been around for a while but only recently released their first EP/album.  When I looked them up, the first song I heard featured Kishi Bashi.  How odd, I thought.  I liked the song–it reminds me of Kishi Bashi’s more dancey stuff.

We arrived a little later than I thought we would, so we were in the bathroom when the first song started.  Midway through the song we heard the beginning of the Star Wars theme song.  I’m not sure why, although a few songs later, guitarist/singer Fraser Blanchflower said it was singer/guitarist Quinn Humphreys’s birthday and the Star Wars bit was for him.  Very curious what happened there.

Fraser and Quinn were very funny frontmen.  I enjoyed their banter quite a lot.  Bassist James Stickland was quiet for the whole show and drummer James Clark was from time to time a maniac behind the kit, which was fun.  Quinn said that Kishi Bashi stipulated that they needed to have an album or EP out as a stipulation of touring with him.  Not sure if that’s true, but they played the entire EP (except the opening soundscape).

Musically, they were very retro in style and sound.  I felt like their songs could have been on a John Hughes movie soundtrack.   They have great harmonies with all three guys up front singing together at times in a wall of sound. (more…)

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Kishi Bashi (Brooklyn Bowl, Philadelphia, PA, October 8, 2024)

Posted in Brooklyn Bowl, Kishi Bashi, Philadelphia, PA, Sweet Loretta, Tall Tall Trees on January 9, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 8, 2024] Kishi Bashi

This was our SIXTH (!) time seeing Kishi Bashi and it was so different from the last time!

The previous show was an anniversary show of his debut album.  This one was supporting his new album.

The previous show was at the tiny Foundry and this one was at the (relatively) huge Brooklyn Bowl.  And, K. came out with a fantastic outfit (stunning jacket and pants) and a kick ass keytar!

Tall Tall Trees was on banjo and keys, but his backing band was the guys from Sweet Loretta!  And they suited him perfectly.

K. busted out a violin of course, and stayed with some of the newer dancier songs for a while.

There was a couple in front of us who were pretty grossly all over each other (their elaborate dance routines took up way too much space).  But they were also huge fans and knew all the songs, so I couldn’t be too annoyed.

Although the first songs were new, he didn’t leave out the old stuff, jumping right into It All Began with a Burst (and he still builds the songs with a looping pedal).

I loved the way he mixed up the albums he played from, with a dancey and lovely Can’t Let Go Juno, followed by a beautiful (fantastic harmonies from Sweet Loretta) Marigolds.

After playing Colorful State from the new album, he did a fun beat boxing improv which he said he hoped someone recorded and might send it to him so he could develop it later (I did, but he didn’t acknowledge it).

The rest of the band stayed away as he did a fantastic solo rendition of I am the Antichrist to You.  K. has always had a great voice but it has gotten even better over the years.  Then he busted out an acoustic guitar for the lovely, gentle Summer of ’42.

The band returned for the appropriately large Violin Tsunami and then played the Talking Heads cover.

And  then things got crazy.  The band returned dressed in costumes including one of the crew dressed in golden wings like Icarus for Escape from Knossos/Icarus with some seriously heavy rocking from the Sweet Loretta guys (some killer guitar soloing) and some wicked use of the keytar.  The chaos settled into a big dancealong of Hahaha Pt. 2 a very unexpected (but welcomed) song choice!

Lilliputian Chop continued the dancey/funky vein and then we were joined by Mr Steak (how much I love how silly Kishi Bashi shows can get).  Mr. Steak danced to his song and we all danced along.

Kishi Bashi has not gotten to the point where he’s not going to play some of my favorite songs because he has so many songs.  But he didn’t leave out the fantastic Philosophize in It! Chemicalize with It! (complete with beatboxing and looping).

The set ended with a fun clapalong of Honeybody.  And yes everybody was in the best mood after that.

For the encore, K and  the band all moved to the center of the floor (we hung back away from the throngs.  They gathered round and stood on a chair and sang the sweetest Penny Rabbit and Summer Bear.  It was like a campfire in the dimly lit room.   It was followed by a more soaring Manchester.

Then they ended with a fun cover of Rod Stewart’s Ooh La La with the chorus I wish that I knew what I know nowwhen I was younger.  They continued to sing the song from the middle of the floor to backstage.

What a fun-filled night.  I’m only surprised more people don’t know about him.  We look forward to show number 7!

 

2024 Brooklyn Bowl 2022 The Foundry 2019 Union Transfer
Violin Akai € Intro / Pathos, Pathos ∇ Marigolds Ø
Chiba Funk € Manchester ∇ F Delano Ø
Late Night Comic € Bright Whites ∇ Hey Big Star $
It All Began With a Burst ∇ It All Began With a Burst ∇ Say Yeah $
Can’t Let Go, Juno $ Wonder Woman, Wonder Me ∇ Carry on Phenomenon ∠
Marigolds Ø Atticus, in the Desert ∇ Honeybody $
Colorful State € I Am the Antichrist to You ∇ Honeybody Remix $
solo improv Beat the Bright Out of Me ∇ Can’t Let Go, Juno $
I Am the Antichrist to You (solo) ∇ This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody) (Talking Heads cover) Theme From Jerome (Forgotten Words) Ø
Summer of ’42 (solo) Ø Q&A ∠ I Am the Antichrist to You (solo) ∇
Violin Tsunami Ø Penny Rabbit and Summer Bear Ø This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody) (Talking Heads cover) (solo)
This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody) (Talking Heads cover) (solo) Marigolds Ø Violin/Banjo improv
Escape from Knossos € I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That) (Meat Loaf cover) Bright Whites ∇
Icarus IV € The Ballad of Mr. Steak ∠ Q&A ∠
Hahaha Pt. 2 ∠ Honeybody (began with studio arrangement which bled into performing in the style of the Mattsoro remix) $ Penny Rabbit and Summer Bear Ø
Lilliputian Chop € encore Angeline Ø
The Ballad of Mr. Steak ∠ Violin Tsunami Ø Violin Tsunami Ø
Philosophize in It! Chemicalize with It! ∠ Philosophize in It! Chemicalize with It! ∠ Ode to My Next Life $
Honeybody $ Philosophize in It! Chemicalize with It! ∠
encore Atticus, in the Desert ∇
Penny Rabbit and Summer Bear (acoustic, in crowd) Ø (I’ve Had) The Time of My Life (Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes cover)
Manchester (acoustic, in crowd) ∇ The Ballad of Mr. Steak ∠
Ooh La La (Rod Stewart cover) (acoustic, in crowd) It All Began With a Burst ∇
encore
Annie, Heart Thief of the Sea (acoustic, in crowd) Ø
Manchester (acoustic, in crowd) ∇
Summer of ’42 (acoustic, in crowd) Ø

 

 

 

2016 Union Transfer 2015 TLA (opening for Guster) 2014 New Brunswick (opening for Rod y Gab)
Stranger Things Theme [recordong] violin improv violin improv
Statues in a Gallery $ Atticus, in the Desert ∇     It All Began With a Burst ∇
Hey Big Star $ Bright Whites ∇ Bittersweet Genesis for Him AND Her ∠
m’lover $ Bittersweet Genesis for Him AND Her ∠ Atticus, in the Desert ∇ 
Atticus, in the Desert (featuring extended banjo percussion solo) ∇     The Ballad of Mr. Steak ∠ Bright Whites ∇
Bright Whites (with improv interlude featuring flute solo) ∇ Q&A ∠ Philosophize in It! Chemicalize with It! ∠
Carry on Phenomenon ∠ Philosophize in It! Chemicalize with It! ∠ Manchester ∇
Who’d You Kill $ Manchester ∇
Can’t Let Go, Juno $
Say Yeah $
Ode to My Next Life $
I Am the Antichrist to You ∇ (solo)
The Ballad of Mr. Steak (featuring Mr. Steak) ∠
Philosophize in It! Chemicalize with It! ∠
It All Began With a Burst (with “Don’t vote for Trump” vocal loop) ∇
encore
Honeybody $
Q&A ∠
Manchester ∇
€ Kantos (2024)
Ø Omoiyari (2019)
$ Sonderlust (2016)
∠ Lighght (2014)
∇ 151a (2012)

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Kishi Bashi / Tall Tall Trees (White Eagle Hall, Jersey City, NJ, April 16, 2020) [POSTPONED]

Posted in Coronavirus, Jersey City, NJ, Kishi Bashi, Postponed, Quarantine, Tall Tall Trees, White Eagle Hall on April 16, 2020| Leave a Comment »

[POSTPONED: April 16, 2020] Kishi Bashi / Tall Tall Trees

indexWe saw Kishi Bashi back in November and it was one of the best concerts I have ever been too.  The spectacle was amazing. We were in exactly the right place to help him crowd surf and he played the encore in the middle of the audience.  It was also his birthday.

When I saw that he was playing again and at White Eagle Hall, I wasn’t sure if seeing him again so soon after the other show would somehow diminish the previous show.  But it was worth the risk.

Now with the delay, even more time will have past which makes the show even more appealing.

Tall Tall Trees is the banjo player is Kishi Bashi’s band.  He’s a fantastic player, using his banjo as a percussive as well as a stringed instrument.  I like his albums (although not quite as much as I want to).  I imagined he’d be terrific live.

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Kishi Bashi (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, November 4, 2019)

Posted in Cicada Rhythm, Guster, Ian Anderson, Kishi Bashi, Philadelphia, PA, Pip the Pansy, Talking Heads, Tall Tall Trees, Union Transfer on November 4, 2019| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: November 4, 2019] Kishi Bashi

This is now the fourth time we’ve seen Kishi Bashi.  The first time was magical–he was solo doing his amazing looping and violin playing.  The second time he opened for Guster and even played with them, which was thrilling.  The third time was at Union Transfer with a small band.  The sound was bigger and really fun.  And K crowd surfed.

This was the fourth time and his band was even bigger.  He had stage decor (what looked like grass and a giant crane in the background).  And his latest album is full of all kinds of instrumentation beyond the violin.  K. played guitar and keys as well as violin.

It also happened to be K’s birthday!  He had posted a few days earlier that it was his birthday at our show.  I contemplated bringing him something, but that seemed silly.

The band came out on stage with frequent collaborator Mike Savino (known as Tall Tall Trees) on bass, Ryan Oslance on drums, Dave Kirslis from Cicada Rhythm on guitar and the most wonderfully dressed musician on flute.  It took me a few songs before I learned that Pip the Pansy was the stunning flautist who kept her flute in a quiver on her back.  She was so much fun to watch and made incredible music.

Then K. came out.  K. always looks nice in a jacket with a bow tie.

He then proceeded to play “Marigolds” from the new album.  I listened to the new album a lot and really like it.  But somehow, I didn’t recognize this song until almost half way through it.  I don’t know if its because the band made it sound so much bigger or that I was so overwhelmed by everything happening, but I actually thought it was a new song until the chorus came back around.  (more…)

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Kishi Bashi (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, October 4, 2016)

Posted in Guster, Kishi Bashi, Philadelphia, PA, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Tall Tall Trees, Union Transfer on October 5, 2016| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 4, 2016] Kishi Bashi

2016-10-04-22-03-10This is our third time seeing Kishi Bashi, and our second time seeing him with our friends Liz and Eleanor.  We all saw him together the first time when he opened for Rodrigo y Gabriela.  And they were hooked just like we were.  They have since seen him with his string quartet, which we didn’t.  I’ve liked him so much solo that I didn’t know if I wanted to see others playing with him.  Well, Tuesday’s show was a full band and it was phenomenal.

He is an amazing solo performer with his loops and improv and his fantastic stage presence.  But when he has other people to play off of, he completely soars.  And, since he was the headliner, he added a great light show (and confetti!).  And it also mean that even though we had heard these songs live before, in this setting they were completely reworked and different.

Kishi Bashi’s newest album is the disco-infused Sonderlust in which he more or less switches from his signature violin to keyboards.  But the music, while quite different from his earlier records is still very Kishi Bashi–that voice and those melodies are unmistakable. (more…)

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