Rule 32: Enjoy the little things in life.

Went to a Maps & Atlases show last night at Blackbird Cafe in downtown Valparaiso. Apparently it was a surprise show. I had found out about it only the day prior. Still, there were about thirty-forty people, pretty good turnout for short notice and a coffeehouse. I have to say, I really really enjoyed myself. The band was great, atmosphere was fun and receptive, and with good friends around, it was one of best nights I’ve had recently.

I had listened to Maps & Atlases a bit before, not enough to recognize song names, but enough to appreciate and enjoy their sound.  They’re kind of like Vampire Weekend meets Kings of Leon with a touch of the Decemberists thrown in. Now that that’s sufficiently vague, just let it be known Maps & Atlases have a fun-to-listen-to sound that’s very melodic and percussive. Very fine indie rock.

I arrived at Blackbird Cafe (formerly Anneliesje’s) shortly before 7, when the show was supposed to start. I must have been mistaken, 7 was when they started setting up, didn’t actually start playing until about 8:20. No big deal, really though. Gave me time to hang out and catch up with some friends. M&A played for almost and hour an a half, and then we spent a half hour after that hanging out until management kicked us out. A fun night.

I love coffeehouses, I really do. Which makes it amusing that I don’t actually drink coffee. But I love the atmosphere. There’s just something about the relaxed, laid back atmospheres of coffeehouses that I love. Also, coffeehouses generally have open stages and other live music, which I love. There’s really nothing like a good live show to get the blood flowing. It’s just two of those things that go together well; coffeehouses and indie music, peanut butter and jelly, dog hair and my car. Just not gonna find one without the other.

The band was there promoting their new album, Perch Patchwork, which I purchased as my entry fee to the show. Now, if you work for a radio station and heard the album weeks ago, no big deal, but I had yet to hear their new album and was thusly pretty excited. Listened to it on the ride back and was not disappointed. A very good album. A little short, clocking in at just under forty minutes, but it’s quality stuff. A recommended pick up.

As much as I loved the album, they were even better live. They had an intensity that was just a blast to watch and listen to. Really good stuff. You could tell the band was enjoying themselves. They had a lot of good riffs that just came off really well, and the percussion was great. Just a really good show. Do plan on seeing them again.

All in all, just a fun night. Great times, great friends, and a great band. What more could one ask for from a Friday night?

PS: Thanks to Katie for the pictures. Her phototaking skills are much better than what I could muster up.

So let me break it down for you, I recently had the opportunity to see Owl City in concert.  That’s the good.  The bad: it was at my alma mater, the good old Valparaiso University.  Now I wouldn’t say I hate going back to VU, rather the contrary, I go back fairly often to see my sister and a few friends still there.  But I would say I hate being in enclosed spaces with hordes of VU students.  Partially my crowd-strophobia (is that a word?), partially ‘didn’t I finish four years of this recently?’, and partially ‘I hate VU administration’.  But hey, it was Owl City.

Might I say that it seemed like the town of Valparaiso had gone crazy that night?  There were people lined up before 6PM for a 7:30 show.  Note: They weren’t trying to get tickets, all had been sold out well in advance.  Also, it seemed like half the town was drunk, (drivers included).   Valparaiso drivers aren’t shining examples of driver paragons, but this was nuts.  People stopping in the middle of roads for no reason, parallel parking attempted doomed to fail from the start, etc.  Also, plenty of crazy people at BW3’s, but that’s normal.

Owl City

Stopped at BW3’s for food, skipped most of the opening band then headed to the show.  Having elected NOT to wait in line for hours, I walked right in.  Opener played a few songs. Nothing fantastic, but ok.  Sounded like a poor man’s Yellowcard. And then I waited. And waited.  The opener finished around 9 PM, pretty sure it wasn’t until about 9:45 that Owl City came on.

An impressively large group for a band that started out as one guy in his basement, Owl City was quite fun to listen to, and they put on a good show.  Adam Young did a good job, despite being sick.  And yes, his vocals weren’t spot-on because of it, but I don’t blame him for it, not his fault nor his control.  Props to Adam Young and Owl City for doing their best and performing well.  They pretty much ran straight through Ocean Eyes, something I had no problem with. Great album with plenty of good songs.

Wasn’t a perfect show though. To be honest, pretty far from it.  And I mostly blame VU.  Honestly, who holds a concert on a Thursday night, people either have class or work the next morning.  But my biggest gripe of all is the acoustics.  The concert was held in the Union Ballroom, as it was put on by Union Board.  The Ballroom is a big long box with terrible acoustics.  It felt akin to wearing a foam hat.  Everything felt really muffled.  Had I not known the songs, I wouldn’t have understood what he was singing.  Union Board, leave concerts to The Source, they know how to do concerts, and quite awesomely I must say.

To wrap up, it was a pretty good show, not great, but that’s mostly due to the venue and Adam’s illness, no fault lies with the band. I look foward to seeing Owl City again in a real venue.

PS: Thanks to Kylee for the pictures.

So last night I attended a show at Front Porch Music.  Our entertainers for the night was a local jazz/fusion band called Freek Johnson.  Comprised of Waz Fox (a former piano instructor of mine) on key, Buddy Pearson (a fellow FPM teacher) on bass, Marco Villarreal on guitar and Bill Romer on drums.  Despite having known half the band for several years, this was the first time I’d heard the band.  And I was blown away.

What I think impressed me the most was how in tune with each other they all were.  For example, towards then end of the show, there was a song with a particular phrase that Marco would play, then Buddy would play the same phrase on his bass, then Waz would play, and then Bill would do it on the drums.  Around and around it went.  Most excellently.

The other thing was that it was just fun to listen to.  They had a great sound that was fun to listen to, and as with all good jazz, the music simply flowed extremely well.  It was hard not to get lost in it an find yourself tapping your foot, or keeping time with your hand.

One thought I kept having was that these guys should be way more popular and famous than they are.  Northwest Indiana (NWI) and the greater Chicago area is too small for Freek Johnson.  I’ve heard quite a few popular songs on the radio that were half as good as any Freek song.  Makes me wonder about some people taste.

All in all, a wholly fantastic show.  Me and a friend hung around a bit after the show, talking with the band.  A splendid night was had for all.  Remember: SUPPORT LOCAL MUSIC!!!

–theindiegeek