Concerts I attended this weekend
This past weekend I went to two concerts. The first was Austra, a Canadian electronica band. They played at the Triple Rock Social Club on Friday night. The second concert was Aesthetic Perfection with Solar Fake and Nyxx at Club Underground.
Opening up for Austra was The Range, a one man electronica act featuring James Hinton. His music consisted of original music with samples of youtube clips that had less than 100 views. James was basically showcasing artists on the internet whose music has gotten lost in the vast world of the interwebs. The audience seemed to enjoy The Range's music but this concertgoer was relieved to be sitting down for his set. You can get an idea about The range's music at his website http://www.therange.us/.
I will be honest, I was torn to between going to the Muna and Austra shows on Friday night. I ended up decided on Austra after listening to her album Future Politics a few times and decided on that show. I know this sounds stupid but I really didn't want to take the lengthy commute back to Minneapolis from Saint Paul.
I have read online how people were crowing about how amazing Austra is live. I did not feel that way. Austra was good but I was not blown out of the water. They sounded fine live but I guess it takes a lot more to impress me. For me there was no chemistry. Would I go see Austra live again? Most likely not. It also didn't help that I had a cold so half the night I was sneezing or blowing my nose. I was not a happy camper but I got out of my condo for the night and did something fun.
Now last night was another story which was a far cry from Friday night's concert. Unlike Friday night's concert, I felt more at home among the audience which consisted of the small, tight-knit goth scene in the Twin Cities and a few other people outside the scene. After a late start, the show got started with Nyxx who has been featured in Aesthetic Perfection's video for "LAX". She has a gnarly EP out called Nightmare which people really should check out. It is super good. Nyxx's set was short but sweet. For someone who had been sick earlier in the week, Nyxx sounded great and did not sound like she had been sick that week.
I had the immense pleasure of chatting with Nyxx after the show. I must say she ranks right up there with Jennifer Parkin of Ayria and Kristy Venrick of The Azoic as the nicest and sweetest musician I have ever met in person after a concert. That I do NOT say very often. I ended up missing my bus by a few minutes because we kept chatting away but I have no regrets. The weather was nice enough that I could just walk home (a 25 minute walk from NE Minneapolis to downtown Minneapolis. I just regret not using the restroom before leaving the venue.
Up next was Solar Fake, an EBM act from Germany who really does not make it to the US so for this tour there was no doubt that I had to be there (not to mention take the following day off). I was not disappointed. Solar Fake put on a terrific set.
What else can I really say about Aesthetic Perfection? I have seen them five times within a decade. I have yet to see a disappointing performance from Daniel Graves.
The energy of Aesthetic Perfection could have easily fed the entire Twin Cities. People completely ate up Aesthetic Perfection's set. Having seen AP on like in larger venues such as Ground Zero and The Cabooze, it was really odd seeing them on such a tiny stage at Club Underground but the band managed. It was hot as hell near the stage. I sweated most of my stamp that was on my right hand nevertheless fun was had last night. In between sets, there were a couple of videos by Abbey Death and Kite who will be at Amsterdam Bar and Hall on 3/12 so it was obvious that show would be promoted last night and expose the audience members to their members. From what I have heard, Kite and Abbey Death sounds really great. Fortunately last night, I was smart to bring extra batteries and got in a few videos to upload on YouTube. So that was my weekend :).
Opening up for Austra was The Range, a one man electronica act featuring James Hinton. His music consisted of original music with samples of youtube clips that had less than 100 views. James was basically showcasing artists on the internet whose music has gotten lost in the vast world of the interwebs. The audience seemed to enjoy The Range's music but this concertgoer was relieved to be sitting down for his set. You can get an idea about The range's music at his website http://www.therange.us/.
I will be honest, I was torn to between going to the Muna and Austra shows on Friday night. I ended up decided on Austra after listening to her album Future Politics a few times and decided on that show. I know this sounds stupid but I really didn't want to take the lengthy commute back to Minneapolis from Saint Paul.
I have read online how people were crowing about how amazing Austra is live. I did not feel that way. Austra was good but I was not blown out of the water. They sounded fine live but I guess it takes a lot more to impress me. For me there was no chemistry. Would I go see Austra live again? Most likely not. It also didn't help that I had a cold so half the night I was sneezing or blowing my nose. I was not a happy camper but I got out of my condo for the night and did something fun.
Now last night was another story which was a far cry from Friday night's concert. Unlike Friday night's concert, I felt more at home among the audience which consisted of the small, tight-knit goth scene in the Twin Cities and a few other people outside the scene. After a late start, the show got started with Nyxx who has been featured in Aesthetic Perfection's video for "LAX". She has a gnarly EP out called Nightmare which people really should check out. It is super good. Nyxx's set was short but sweet. For someone who had been sick earlier in the week, Nyxx sounded great and did not sound like she had been sick that week.
I had the immense pleasure of chatting with Nyxx after the show. I must say she ranks right up there with Jennifer Parkin of Ayria and Kristy Venrick of The Azoic as the nicest and sweetest musician I have ever met in person after a concert. That I do NOT say very often. I ended up missing my bus by a few minutes because we kept chatting away but I have no regrets. The weather was nice enough that I could just walk home (a 25 minute walk from NE Minneapolis to downtown Minneapolis. I just regret not using the restroom before leaving the venue.
Up next was Solar Fake, an EBM act from Germany who really does not make it to the US so for this tour there was no doubt that I had to be there (not to mention take the following day off). I was not disappointed. Solar Fake put on a terrific set.
What else can I really say about Aesthetic Perfection? I have seen them five times within a decade. I have yet to see a disappointing performance from Daniel Graves.
The energy of Aesthetic Perfection could have easily fed the entire Twin Cities. People completely ate up Aesthetic Perfection's set. Having seen AP on like in larger venues such as Ground Zero and The Cabooze, it was really odd seeing them on such a tiny stage at Club Underground but the band managed. It was hot as hell near the stage. I sweated most of my stamp that was on my right hand nevertheless fun was had last night. In between sets, there were a couple of videos by Abbey Death and Kite who will be at Amsterdam Bar and Hall on 3/12 so it was obvious that show would be promoted last night and expose the audience members to their members. From what I have heard, Kite and Abbey Death sounds really great. Fortunately last night, I was smart to bring extra batteries and got in a few videos to upload on YouTube. So that was my weekend :).
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