(photo courtesy of Ryan Muir)
While I was slogging through my pics from ACL, Brendan was out having fun seeing Stereolab at Irving Plaza. (I saw them there myself on my birthday five years ago.) Here's his recap:
For the past two decades, Stereolab founders Laetitia Sadier and Tim Gane have become known for meshing one musical genre into another, and Saturday night's show was a perfect example of just that. The band, which is on tour to promote their latest album Chemical Chords, blended new tracks with more obscure tunes, such as Emperor Tomato Ketchup's "Percolator". The song's upbeat, loungy groove got the crowd's dancing feet moving. From there, it was one style of music to the next: from jazzy tunes ("Silver Sand") to baroque pop ("Ecstatic Static") to driving Krautrock ("Lo Boob Oscillator," a personal highlight.) It was like putting money in the world's coolest jukebox and hitting "Random" for 90 minutes straight.
The band was musically tight and full of energy and passion, which says a lot for a band almost twenty years in the game. With each new record, Stereolab manages to take one style of music and turn it upside down into something fresh and exciting. Luckily, for myself and the sold out crowd at Irving Plaza, we were able to see them recreate that sonic alchemy live.
Stereolab had up-and-coming D.C. rockers Le Loup
open. This six-piece has been making a name for themselves over the past year with their Hardly Art debut The Throne of the Third Heaven of the Nations' Millennium General Assembly, and touring with likes of Andrew Bird, Yeasayer, and Margot and the Nuclear So and So's. The group combination of multi-part harmonies, poly-rhythmic drum breakdowns, soaring guitars, and pop hooks made the NYC crowd (usually jaded to opening acts) take notice. They also debuted a number of new tracks which show the band moving in new musical territories. Watch out: these boys might just have the goods to enjoy the same success and longevity as their tour mates.