WHAT A TEMPER!: Of Monsters And Men

Saturday, May 25, 2013

RED ROCKS PART 1 - OF MONSTERS AND MEN

Monday night at Red rocks Amphitheater in Morrison, CO, drawn to tonight's performance by the appearance of Vampire Weekend, supported by Of Monsters and Men. Arrived early to get in the line in and effort to get close up general admission seating. Light sprinkles early on threatened to turn into a downpour, not unlike what we had to drive through to get to Morrison, but that did not materialize. Found seats near the sound booth, close to the stage but too low to have views of the Denver skyline and distant plains. I enjoyed the views of the hogbacks and foothills to the south while having a cigar waiting for the music to begin.

Reverb wrote:

"Of Monsters and Men, who were mates on the bill with Vampire Weekend for Monday night only, did their best to pump life into mostly formulaic folk-pop. The band is pleasant enough, though most of the time can dip into realms that are far too cutesy, such as on “Love Love Love.” Most of the band’s set dropped into monotony, somehow a cover of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ “Skeletons” even managed to feel formulaic. Rightfully so, the band got its biggest rise from the hit “Little Talks,” — a cheer positive enough to warrant playing the song twice."

Read it here:
http://www.heyreverb.com/blog/2013/05/21/vampire-weekend-at-red-rocks-amphitheatre-5-20-13-photos-review/69180/

Westword wrote:

Earlier in the evening, a confident and sterling opening set by Of Monsters and Men was a perfect complement to the dynamism of Vampire Weekend's performance. The sextet from Iceland offered the crowd all the requisite elements of a large-scale stadium show with set dressing that included an elaborate light show and a trio of lighted canvas globes.

Indeed, the instrumentation was what made Of Monsters and Men's set pop. Between the two pianos, two acoustic guitars, lead electric guitar, trumpet, accordions, drum kit and the solo tom drum at the center of the stage that band members took turns smacking with mallets, even the tamest C-D-G chord combinations sounded like symphonies

Read it all here:
http://blogs.westword.com/backbeat/2013/05/review_vampire_weekend_red_rocks_may-20-2013.php?page=2

Download the show here: http://www.filefactory.com/file/529k2oyotbix/n/Monsters_Red_Rocks_Colorado_May_20_2013.rar

Sunday, April 21, 2013

COACHELLA 2013

After seeing the line-up scheduled for the Coachella music festival, that included many bands I wanted to see live, I had my heart set on going. But...other commitments intervened preventing me from attending the festival. Yeah, I could have managed going but the time and cost would have created problems elsewhere. As a consolation prize, I instead committed to going to Lollapalloza in Grant Park on the water front in downtown Chicago this coming August, tickets already in hand. Many of the same bands will be playing at that venue. But Coachella was still tugging on my heart.

So it was with great joy that I learned they'd be live streaming many of the main acts all three days during the first weekend. With a 23" HD computer screen and a new set of Bose desktop speakers, I was set for the three days of shows. I recorded the audio on the ones I had an interest in, which I share with you in this post. Unfortunately, the higher image definition settings meant streaming/buffering problems, so for a clean recording I was stuck to the lower image setting. But it was still great, knowing I was watching as it was happening live 1000 miles away. Seeing the palm tree swaying in the wind and the dusty haze obscure the surrounding mountains as the sun sank in the west brought back memories of when I was there in April 2010. I intend to make it back one of these years.

The links are provided below. Due to time limitations, the audio audio recordings are just one big file. If any of you want the flac files (again, MP3 at 320 kbps chosen to save on uploading time), please notify and I will post.

More recorded shows later. Find select performances here:
https://www.youtube.com/user/coachella?feature=watch

METRIC
Metric is a Canadian indie rock band founded in 1998 in Toronto. They were also at various times been based in Montreal, London, New York City and for a short time Los Angeles. The band consists of Emily Haines (vocals, synthesizers, guitar, tambourine, harmonica), James Shaw (guitar, synthesizers, theremin, backing vocals), Joshua Winstead (bass, synthesizers, backing vocals) and Joules Scott-Key (drums).

Download it here:
http://www.filefactory.com/file/6bonk0dghlrn/n/Metric_-_2013_-_Coachella_Indio_CA_April_12_2013_mp3

BEACH HOUSE
Beach House is a dream pop duo from Baltimore, Maryland, formed in 2004. The band consists of French-born Victoria Legrand and Baltimore native Alex Scally. Their self-titled debut album was released in 2006 to critical acclaim and has been followed by Devotion in 2008, Teen Dream in 2010, and Bloom in 2012.

Download it here:
http://www.filefactory.com/file/2ntulnrfqda7/BH_Coachella,_Indio_CA_April_12,_2013_.rar

OF MONSTERS AND MEN
Of Monsters and Men is a six-piece, English-language, indie folk/pop band from Iceland, formed in 2010. The members are lead singer/guitarist Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir, co-singer/guitarist Ragnar "Raggi" Þórhallsson, guitarist Brynjar Leifsson, drummer Arnar Rósenkranz Hilmarsson, keyboard player Árni Guðjónsson and bassist Kristján Páll Kristjánsson. The band won the Músíktilraunir in 2010, an annual battle of the bands competition in Iceland. In 2011, Of Monsters and Men released an EP entitled Into the Woods. The band's debut album My Head Is an Animal (2011), peaked at No. 6 on the US Billboard 200 album chart, No. 3 in the UK and also reached other European charts. Its lead single "Little Talks" was an international success, reaching the Top 20 in over five countries and No. 1 on US Alternative Songs. Of Monsters and Men is a winner of the 2013 European Border Breakers Awards. The European Border Breakers Awards honour the best new music acts in Europe. The award ceremony takes place at the Eurosonic Noorderslag music festival in Groningen (NL).

Download it here:
http://www.filefactory.com/file/4jjn6lz6jbkn/n/OMM_Coachella_Indio_CA_April_12_2013_mp3

BLUR
Blur are an English alternative rock band. Formed in London in 1988 as Seymour, the group consists of singer/keyboardist Damon Albarn, guitarist/singer Graham Coxon, bassist Alex James and drummer Dave Rowntree. Blur's debut album Leisure (1991) incorporated the sounds of Madchester and shoegazing. Following a stylistic change influenced by English guitar pop groups such as The Kinks, The Beatles and XTC, Blur released Modern Life Is Rubbish (1993), Parklife (1994) and The Great Escape (1995). As a result, the band helped to popularise the Britpop genre and achieved mass popularity in the UK, aided by a chart battle with rival band Oasis in 1995 dubbed "The Battle of Britpop".

Download it here:
http://www.filefactory.com/file/786bq66p2t7x/n/B_Coachella_Indio_CA_April_12_2013.rar

THE AIRBORNE TOXIC EVENT
The Airborne Toxic Event is an American indie rock band from Los Feliz, Los Angeles, California. It consists of Mikel Jollett (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Steven Chen (guitar, keyboards), Noah Harmon (electric bass, upright bass, backing vocals), Daren Taylor (drums) and Anna Bulbrook (viola, keyboards, tambourine, backing vocals). The band released its debut self-titled album in 2008 and released its follow-up album, All at Once, on April 26, 2011. Named after a section of the book White Noise, by Don DeLillo, the group is known for its blend of rock music and orchestral arrangements, having performed frequently with the Calder Quartet, a string quartet based in Los Angeles.

Download it here:
http://www.filefactory.com/file/9kdtvfayn7z/n/TATE_Coachella_Indio_CA_April_14_2013_mp3