Video not from last night…

As I mentioned earlier, I’m down in San Francisco at the Noise Pop music festival. There’s a ton of stuff going on, but I wanted to give you the rundown of what I managed to catch last night.

1) Throw Me the Statue - I was really excited to see these guys, especailly since they won’t be playing Portland any time soon. However, while the Great American Music Hall is a pretty venue, it wasn’t the right setting for the band. The space was too big and their sound echoed quite a bit, and it really didn’t do their electro-pop any favors, which is too bad because their new record, Moonbeams, is incredible. Might I suggest the Doug Fir, guys? You would kill there.

2) Bodies of Water - Without a doubt, these guys were the best of the night. The above video is of them performing live, just so you can try and get a taste of what they’re like in person. Stripped down to a four-piece of bass, drums, guitar and keys, all four members sang and often all harmonized together. Occasionally they didn’t hit the notes, or had to stretch outside of their range, but it didnt’ matter at all because they just passionately went for it. You’re going to be hearing a ton more about these guys post-SXSW and once their new record comes out, for sure.

3) Or, the Whale - Totally great Americana band from San Francisco. With seven people on stage they fell somewhere between Ryan Adams and Drive-By Truckers, and with a bit more experience under their belts, they’ll definitely be blowing the hell up.

4) The Dodos - By far the show I was most excited about, and by far the biggest let down. Not to say that the band was bad: they just weren’t great. On record, it’s their percussion that gets me every time, yet live it was totally subdued, not mind-melting like I was expecting. Plus, it probably didn’t help that both guys in the band (plus a mysterious third member) spent most of their time sitting down, and it seems like San Francisco has an exceptionally large number of tall people that all managed to be at this show, and all managed to block my line of sight. Boo for tall people!