vaporandlies
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This review is long overdue. It has been two long weeks since I saw Tegan and Sara at the Malibu Performing Arts Center. The Malibu Perf. is surprisingly cheesy, but the beauty of the place is that it is really quite small. I was in the first row, a little off to the side, and I didn’t miss my glasses much—a refreshing change from seeing Bob Dylan.
There was no opening act, so Tegan and Sara just walked modestly onto the stage. Right from the start, T&S delivered a solid musical performance that was exactly what I expected. I was not disappointed with T&S’s performance of their music, and, had I walked away from the concert with this only, I would have been quite delighted. However, the really exceptional aspect of the evening was Tegan and Sara—not their music but their personalities. I loved Tegan and Sara almost immediately.
Tegan and Sara could not have more strikingly different personalities, and they foil off each other quite effectively. Tegan is outgoing, aggressive, and confident, while Sara is coyly shy with a palpable insecurity that is endearing. Between songs, T&S gave the audience a chance to get to know them.
Tegan seemed to thrive off interaction with the audience. One guy kept telling her, “You’re sexy Tegan” and “I love the jumpsuit.” To which she responded by strutting in her jumpsuit and explaining the three stages of being catcalled. Meanwhile, Sara would venture to tell stories in a blundering fashion that’s quite charming. At one point, Sara said, “I love children…but not in a weird way…” When introducing her song “I Was Married,” she explained how it was a very tender and intimate song about someone who was very special. She followed this up immediately with, “but I wasn’t drunk.” When she blundered into these faux pas her awkward embarrassment made her seem personable and approachable.
When I left the woman sitting beside me said to me, “Well! That’s the first time I’ve ever seen a stand-up comedy concert.”
I've been shamelessly peddling Brett Dennen since I first heard him several months ago. In the interim, I have found many good bands including Wilco, PowderFinger, Wonderful Smith, and the Winterpills who have all proven to be undervalued. However, none of these have the value and obscurity of The Cobalt Season. Their myspace page has just over 8k hits. I met them when they played to group of 25 or 30 in Santa Monica. Held in the back yard of someone's house, it was complete with a fire ring and food.
I met Ryan Sharp (lead singer for the Cobalt Season) before the set and chatted with Holly Sharp (backup vocals) after the set while we both warmed our hands over the fire. The Sharps have an honesty and depth rarely seen. These are people who are familiar with pain, people who struggle with the difficulties of life. The genuine passion of the artists bleeds through to every aspect of their music, making it at times haunting and heartbreaking. A deep longing pervades the pathos of “In Search of a Unified Theory.”
The title of the album comes from Einstein's (unsuccessful) quest for a unified theory in physics. The Sharps believe that there must be a unified theory for life, and their music seeks for this theory with the same faith and passion once held by Einstein.
Listen to “Like Jesus” on their myspace page, and if you like it, look for their newest album on cdbaby. The Cobalt Season is an indie group, so cdbaby is one of the few places you can find their music. You can preview the entire album on cdbaby.
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I arrived at the Troubadour a half hour early and planted myself in front of the stage. For the first hour or more, I endured the mediocrity of the Virgins, an O.C. Group who looked like the victors in a Napoleon Dynamite look-alike competition. At 10 PM, after The Virgins relinquished the stage, the lights went out in an attempt to build suspense. Then, suddenly, an array of stage lights flooded the room, and the sundry members of Jet came running and jumping on stage. They gestured to the crowd, urging them on, while strutting across the stage with palpable arrogance. When Nic Cester (lead vocals, guitar rhythm and lead) grabbed his guitar, the first order of business was to jump up on the monitors and hold it out above the outstretched arms of the wild fans.
Nic Cester's antics didn't stop with his opening act. Many times throughout the set, he jumped up the on bass drum and once succeeded in knocking it over. The entire band drank large quantities of beer, and as Nic whirled, jumped, and climbed his way through song after song, I became increasingly sure something would be smashed or snapped. Drum kits, microphones and guitars were all pushed, bumped, and swung in a flurry of over-exuberance. At one point, Nic Cester, after drinking through several songs, climbed the railing on the balcony of the V.I.P. Lounge. Balanced on a few thin metal bars, he continued playing the lead in a musical interlude. Guitarists Nic Cester and Cameron Muncey swung their guitars through the air as though they were chopping wood, and Chris Cester (drums and vocals) actually threw his drum sticks into the crowd with stereotypical rock star flair. In short, the members of Jet are everything we've come to expect in rock stars: arrogant, flashy, and more fun than a barrel of monkeys.
Nic’s vocal cords must be made of rawhide. He can scream and yell all night. “Shine On,” Jet’s newest album, ranges from “Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is” with its mix of falsetto and screaming to the melodic and gentle title track. Nic’s strength is his ability to preform such a wide range of music, but Nic is not the only competent vocalist in the group. The band sets itself apart with Cameron Muncey and Nic and Chris Cester, all skilled vocalists who back up their lyrical talent with solid instrumentation. Jet's combination of vocal talent and its raw entertainment muscle makes it well worth the $20 a head.
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That tune is laced with sugar, in a good way.