Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Review: Fitz and the Tantrums w/ Henry and the Nightcrawlers @ Venue

A decent opener to an outright fantastic evening at Venue on monday night; Henry and the Nightcrawlers, a native Vancouver band, came out slow, but gradually pumped out catchier beats as the night progressed. Formerly one of the original band members for Lotus Child (now The Zolas), Tom Dobrzanski killed with the keyboard and definitely stood out from the rest of the band. On guitar and lead vocals was Henry Alcock-White. On one hand he could pitch out some unique guitar solos, which unfortunately did not mesh at all with his vocals. Maybe they don’t perform as well on a live stage, but one thing is for sure that they lacked a lot of chemistry and the energy needed to pump up the crowd. I think I spent more time watching them dance awkwardly than I spent rocking out to their music.





With a strange inspiration coming from the rocky islands of Ireland, they did however manage to release a couple good songs, with one in particular:

Henry and the Nightcrawlers - Back Upon The Rocky Island

The crowd was a little quiet after the opener, but Fitz and the Tantrums

quickly sparked up the crowd right from the start. If you liked this band before the concert, you would have fallen in love with the brilliant soul-filled acts of lead singer Michael Fitzpatrick and the sexy Noelle Scaggs. Singing most of their songs from their album, Picking Up The Pieces (2010), The classly dressed Fitz, in his salmon pink suit, managed to electrify the crowd with every move he made, probably making him the best stage performer I've ever seen. Hardly a back-up singer, Scaggs voice filled the room the room with her voice and very effortlessly got the entire crowd dancing. Together, this duo was not lacking in any chemistry whatsoever, at one point getting so close that they looked like they were lost in each others eyes.

Backing the performance up, James King blew the house out playing two saxophones at once at one point, later playing a flute as well. Hardly a selfish group of people, drummer, John Wicks and keyboardist, Jeremy Ruzumna both had beautiful solos, with Fitzpatrick hilariously attempting to steal the spotlight. Together with Ethan Philips on bass guitar, these six members managed to fill up Venue with what sounded like at least a ten piece band. Finishing their main set list with an outstanding drum solo, Fitz and the Tantrums managed to outdo even that performance with their encore of a cover of Sweet Dreams and their hit song, Money Grabber. Overall, an amazing show for their first time in Vancouver, which has unfortunately left me with very high expectations of future concerts I attend.

If you havent heard of any of their songs, check these out!


Fitz and the Tantrums - Dont Gotta Work It Out


Fitz and the Tantrums - Rich Girls


Fitz and the Tantrums - L.O.V.


On a side note: Another concert review coming on saturday after Guilty About Girl's performance at Venue this friday. If you're going, let me know!
Also, thanks for reading my first concert review. Leave some feedback on stuff i should do to make it better. I'm also hoping to find a few people to send in some concert reviews to add to this blog so if you're interested in writing, leave me a message.

Saturday, May 28, 2011

Acrylic



Acrylic, headed by Jason Klauber and Molly Shea, has been around now for a couple years, with their debut album, Lives and Treasures, released just this past January. Fromt his album, Acrylic has taken on a blend of 70's pop fused with some chilled out modern day harmonies which ends up sounding a little like 'in the car - makeout music'. Anyhow, give them a listen and see what you think.


Acrylics - Counting Sheep


Acrylic - Molly's Vertigo


Acrylic - Nightwatch

Friday, May 27, 2011

Janelle Monae



The next up and coming star to hit the airwaves. She's got the flair of Will Smith in his Fresh Prince days and the hair and style of Willow. She must be some unknown daughter of Will Smith as the similarities are uncanny. Born in Kansas City and raised with a unique sense of style and taste, she's definitely not in Kansas anymore with her recent success. Here's a couple of her biggest hits from her recent album, Archandroid


Janelle Monae (Ft. BOB & Lupe Fiasco) - Tightrope


Janelle Monae - Cold War

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Hey Ocean

Thought that I should share a new Hey Ocean song, titled Big Blue Wave

Hey Ocean! - Giants of the Forest - Episode Eight from Amazing Factory Productions Inc. on Vimeo.



LOVE this new song and I cant wait for the new album to be released

Edit (5/27) : Released a copy of this song for download,here. Definitely not studio quality, but if you love them enough, it won't matter =)

Summer Heart



Just to throw in an extra song today for the downtime, here's my favourite song of the week.


Summer Heart - Please Stay

Mash Ups


Sorry it's been a while but I'm back with a few gems. You have all probably heard some mashups before, whether it's the ones you hear on Glee like Halo & Walking on Sunshine, or the end of the year DJ Earworm mashups of all the hit songs. Honestly not my favourites considering the potential a mashup can have, but you get the idea. Starting with the most recent song to hit the airwave,


Adele VS Xavier Naidoo - Ich In The Deep


John Legend VS Lady Gaga - Used To Love You


Beyonce VS Paramore - Brick Halo


Eminem Vs Justin Timberlake - Superman (What Goes Around)

And my favourite so far,


The Beatles & Jackson 5 VS Green Day - Hey Jude, Ill Be There

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Heartbreaker



Slow day today, but I just wanted to post up a few songs that I really enjoy listening to no matter when.


MSTRKRFT - Heartbreaker (Ft. John Legend)


Fenech-Soler - Stop and Stare

Friday, May 20, 2011

Xavier Naidoo




Just to put in a different spin, Xavier Naidoo heads today's blog. Winning the 'Best German artist' award several times, this guy has the soul you dont see in many artists nowadays. Though from different eras and styles, Xavier kind of adds a Lenny Kravitz sort of feel to his music. Having started his act back in 93' he has made a name for himself as well as other bands he has played for. Having started with Söhne Mannheims (Sons of Mannheim), he went on from that band to play solo. From there he has gone back and forth between Söhne Mannheims, Brothers Keepers and recording solo albums.

Here are, in my opinion, his bests. Enjoy.


Xavier Naidoo - Ich Kenne Nichts (I Know Nothing)


Xavier Naidoo - Was Wir Alleine Nicht Schaffen (What We Cant Make On Our Own)


Xavier Naidoo - Alles Kanne Besser Werden (The Very Best Of)

I know theres a few Germans out there so dont mock my translations if theyre wrong

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Sunshine




To follow up on Danish bands, today I have Ginger Ninja thanks to a friend of mine. To follow up on this so far wonderful summer, here's a feel good track for you guys.


Ginger Ninja - Sunshine

Have a dropbox? Want to share any songs? Start a sharing folder with me at i.an@hotmail.com and I'll be happy to listen to anything you send my way.
If you dont have one then click here for a free account!

Balloon Magic




Today I will be introducing Balloon Magic, a Danish band that has been recently signed by Shelflife records, the producers of bands like Thieves Like Us and The Radio Dept. This four piece band plays their hearts out with their hypnotizing sound and interesting vocals which to me, could be compared to that of Beirut. Denmark definitely has a lot of hidden gems that I have only just begun to find. For a recently signed band, they definitely have plenty of potential for even greater music and I'm looking to hear more from them.


Balloon Magic - Fell


Balloon Magic - I'd Like to Build a House


Balloon Magic - Waking Up

And just to throw it in:


Beirut - Elephant Gun

Monday, May 16, 2011

Hey Lolita Hey



This is probably the last thing I'd expect from a New Yorker, but Lizzy Grant aka Lana Del Ray brings out a beautiful blend of surf and a touch of hip hop and glam. This will definitely be the most glamorous artist I'll put up here for a while, but in the meantime, enjoy these gems which currently make me want to jump on a plane to California.


Lana Del Ray - Hey Lolita Hey


Lana Del Ray - Kinda Outa Luck


Lana Del Ray - Diet Mountain Dew


Lana Del Ray - You Can Be The Boss

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Stop Hey




For my sunday feature: Stop Hey by Sunday Girl.
Enjoy!


Sunday Girl - Stop Hey


Sunday Girl VS Rusko - Stop Hey

Saturday, May 14, 2011

Kisses



For todays band I introduce Kisses, a duo from LA, California. On vocals, Jesse Kivel is joined by girlfriend and keyboardist, Zinzi Edmunson (I cant get over how awesome her name is), to bring out a unique blend of electronic rock with a flair of disco. With their first single, Kisses has easily gone on to prove themselves comparable to the likes of Pet Shop Boys or Two Door Cinema Club, and if you havent heard of those two bands then it is HIGHLY recommended that you go check them out.


Kisses - Kisses


Kisses - People Can Do The Most Amazing Things


Kisses - Bermuda

Friday, May 13, 2011

Bows and Arrows

A tribute to the Canucks, past and present, on their 2011 Stanley Cup run. This is our year. At the same time, I present Immoor, a one man Indie Electronic band from California


Immoor - Bows and Arrows

For those that dont understand, Alex Burrow's bow and arrow tribute to the late Luc Bourdon:



For more of Immoor, you can visit his Myspace page at: http://www.myspace.com/immoor, and Ill leave you with two more of his songs


Immoor - Young Intentions (Ft. GDEB)


Immoor - California Falling Into The Sea

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

The Comeback

B-Cubed is up and running again. Hopefully without the copyright issues this time.
What better way to start off this comeback with the Shout Out Louds:


Shout Out Louds - The Comeback (Big Slippa Mix by Ratatat)

Be it a remix, a cover of a classic band or a new song, or even a complete lyrical rehash, comebacks are big. Moving on from remixes we have a cover of a classic Smiths song, Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want and a cover of the well known, Pursuit of Happiness by Kid-Cudi.


She & Him - Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want


Lissie - Pursuit of Happiness

To sum up this comeback, I'll leave you this cover by Swedish artist, jj.


jj - Ecstasy