Results tagged “wyeoak”

Wye Oak, Blitzen Trapper and The Walkmen performing at an official aftershow of the Austin City Limits Music Festival 2009 at Emo's, Austin Texas, October 1, 2009. Photos courtesy Steve Hopson.

Somehow, nestled among the antlers and fur and teeth of indie rock, like Max in his wolf suit, the new feels primal, and the young feel wise. But enough speculation…one thing is for sure, tonight’s lineup is a wild romp. The woozy, warm impressionist tones of Wye Oak will give way to the raucous processional through craggy terrain that is Blitzen Trapper. This is a band that could have sprung fully formed from the pages of a German Romantic novella- their sensibility is textbook witching hour. And like Halloween, it’s a hell of a lot of fun. Check out "Woof & Warp of the Quiet Giant's Hem" off their 2007 bohemian primer “Wild Mountain Nation,” for example.

It's about that time of day when the potbellied devil arrives on one's shoulder amidst a puff of smoke and, tapping the end of his trident on your earlobe, whispers, "I don't care if it's a weeknight. Let's catch a show and show up at work tomorrow smelling like PBR." If you're like us, the angelic foil arrives on the adjacent shoulder, putting out a Triple 5 on her sandal, chiming in her two cents, "sure why the fuck not?"

Shearwater sure has built themselves a little sea swell of fanhood and critical approval these past few months, and it's no surprise. Since frontman Jonathan Meiburg—the man with the super-big voice—made the executive decision that his days in established local faves Okkervil River had to end, the added focus on Shearwater has allowed the band to release a widely-praised LP, Rooks, not to mention tour the country like bandits. By making music that is not even remotely afraid of the dramatic, Meiburg, along with Kimberly Burke and the Austin ever-present personality Thor Harris, has drawn fawning comparisons to eighties pillars of profundity Talk Talk, and have made sure that they are a band to be reckoned with, not only on album but with their big-sound live shows.

Curiously, there aren't ten bands playing before Baltimore's indie-darling duo Wye Oak takes the stage this evening. Maybe Emo's is paring down their marathon line-ups. Probably not. There's one, actually, and it's The Cocker Spaniels (a.k.a. Sean Padilla) whose brand of "New Power Emo" will put a smile inside your mouth and a sparkle in your step for days to come. Wye Oak will too, for that matter.