The Ruckus | Your mother wouldn't like it.

In Pictures: Langhorne Slim

2010-03-10T09:00:00-08:00

Hi-Dive | Denver, Colorado | 10 February 2010 | Flickr Set

Langhorne Slim is one of those live acts that I will drop everything to see. His shows are fucking electric. The energy is amazing. Langhorne Slim gives 110%, the crowd is full of people screaming, dancing, and shouting along. I love listening to his studio work, but I feel like you're missing half the presentation if you're not attending the gig.

The band opened with "Cinderella", perfect for audience interaction. As the evening passed on, things got more intense. Slim took to the crowd and pulled a girl up on stage to dance. Old favorites like "Rebel Side of Heaven" and "Collette" were played as well as new favorites "I Love You, But Goodbye" and "Land of Dreams". The whirlwind of a night ended in a demanded version of "We Love the Animals" and Denver was left to decompress from an impossible energy level that only a Langhorne Slim gig can leave you with.

Watch This: Frank Turner - Isabel

2010-03-09T14:07:41-08:00

Unless you're new, you already know that Frank Turner is a huge favorite here. We love his music and his videos have typically been a big hit as well. The new video for Poetry of the Deed's anthemic "Isabel" is no different, though we've seen a few people panning it in the comments on YouTube (which admittedly, you should never read because they are typically very wrong bordering on moronic). To this we say au contraire, YouTube commenting folk; this video is like all of Frank's songs - gorgeous, intensely personal, and quite introspective. It fits the song perfectly.

Big Tune: Kitten - Don't Kill The Light

2010-03-09T13:42:58-08:00

I gave this track a listen before finding out any information on the band. Upon falling in love with “Don't Kill the Light”, I did some reading and found out that the appropriately named Kitten is fronted by the fifteen year old Chloe Chaidez. Despite Ms. Chaidez’s age, she is putting out vocals and lyrics of someone with years of experience. Perhaps the raw teenage emotion that we all still feel from time to time is what draws me in. Either way, I can’t wait to hear more from these talented teens.

Additional notes from Tiffiny: Tegan & Sara fans should give this one a listen.

Bonus note from Mel: Paramore's Hayley Williams was kicking a lot of ass at this age too, which sort of bodes well for Chaidez's future. "Don't Kill The Light" is a fucking awesome song.

Kitten - Don't Kill The Light

Live: Frank Turner (a 4 day, 4 show roadtrip review)

2010-03-08T09:50:01-08:00

Tiffiny: I had been planning a trip to Florida to visit friends, family, and warmer weather. When Frank Turner announced three tour dates in February in the Tampa/Orlando area, my vacation dates were set. I arrived in Tampa, Florida late the night before the first gig.

Mel: Only it wasn't that warm. Florida was a balmy 45 degrees during most of Tiffiny's holiday, but no one really wants to play central Florida in the summer. Miami gets a lot of that, but Tampa is no South Beach. I think I'm the only person in Florida who likes our summers.

So anyway, what started out as a plan to see Frank play once in Tampa and twice in Orlando while he supported punk legends Flogging Molly, turned into a four day, four show roadtrip when he added a surprise headlining show at a divey university bar in Gainesville. What follows is the true story of two girls who like Frank Turner a lot and think you should, too.

Mel: I've lost count of how many shows I've been to at The Ritz since high school. It's a great venue and I've seen a lot of great bands there. When we got inside, The Architects were playing, but the sound was so fucked that I couldn't tell you what they sounded like because it was way too loud. Frank was amazing, though. By the time he took the stage with his band (Ben on guitar, Tarrant on bass, Matt Nasir on keys and Nigel Powell on drums), sound issues were sorted and everything sounded great. Frank and his band played an incredible, high energy set that got the crowd pumped, even with a couple of guitar changes thanks to breaking strings and other technical issues.

Tiffiny: These gigs were my first time seeing Frank play with a full band (hey, I’ve gone to every Frank Turner show in my state and those have both been solo acoustic). Frank solo is something to see and definitely something I fell in love with, but the man really hits his stride with a talented backing band. The way he moves across the stage is fucking fantastic. The energy is explosive. The passion and smiles are contagious. “Reasons Not to Be an Idiot” and “Poetry of the Deed” are unbelievable with the full band striking in. I get the impression that this was the way they were meant to be played. I was happy to hear murmurs in the crowd of “this guy is really good” and to be tapped on the shoulder and asked “what was his name again?”

(Melanie photographed Frank and his band that night. You can see all of her photos from Turner's set here.)

Tiffiny: I’m not sure when Gainesville was added to the agenda, but it was an easy choice to make. Seeing Frank Turner headline isn’t very common in my part of the world (yet). Having already traveled 1900 miles to be there, another 150 was nothing. It turned out to be absolutely worth it. I had the time of my life in that smoky little club in Gainesville. In addition to two brilliant opening acts, there were guest appearances by Jon Gaunt and Austin Lucas, which was amazing.

Mel: I love Gainesville because it's such a fantastic little college town. They have a pretty robust punk scene, and some great local talent. We arrived at 1982 in the middle of Coffee Project's set, paid the $6 cover, and headed back to talk to Frank, who was hanging out at the merch table. I ended up really liking both Coffee Project and the second supporting band, Greenland is Melting, a punk/folk/bluegrass hybrid. Fellow Ruckus blogger and Gainesville resident Amy tells us that 1982 used to be a Lil Champ convenience store and I can see it; it has a certain divey charm that I really like in a bar, with walls painted black, LPs stapled to the ceiling, and thick with smoke and people.

Tiffiny: I was nothing short of floored by the Frank Turner set. There were some technical difficulties in the microphone department, but this led to my favorite track of Frank’s making it on the list, “Jet Lag”. I seriously doubted I would ever be lucky enough to hear this one at a live show and there it was. The atmosphere was great; plenty of people shouting along with the lyrics and dancing in the packed bar. I love the electricity of a show like this.

Mel: Frank's set was phenomenal. I felt incredibly lucky to be at a headlining show, hanging out at the front with Shaun from Greenland is Melting, and Jake from Coffee Project (both are huge fans of Frank), shouting the lyrics to every song along with the rest of the crowd. We didn't take our cameras to this show. It was the first time in months that either of us had been to a show that we weren't working, and it was the perfect show. Amazing - easily the best gig out of the four.

Mel: I love going to shows at the House of Blues in Orlando. Sure, it's in Downtown Disney, and yeah it's a chain venue, but there isn't a bad seat in the house and the sound and lighting are always awesome. Also, there are bars situated both at the back and the left sides of the venue, and another bar upstairs, which makes it really easy for me to get my booze on. I've been going to shows since I was fourteen years old and these are the things that I've come to appreciate in my old age. Also, they have food, which is good if you're hungry.

Tiffiny: I was a little wary of seeing a show at the House of Blues. The concept of a chain venue as well as it being in Disney was a bit off-putting to me. However, I was pleasantly surprised. I enjoyed the layout and the lighting was superb, which if you’ve ever photographed a show, you’ll appreciate that as much as I did.

Mel: The Architects actually sounded fantastic this time around, which proves my theory that the sound was fucked at The Ritz on Saturday. Frank and the guys played another incredible, high energy set to a really excited crowd full of Flogging Molly fans on both nights (there were also a lot more people this time around - especially on the second night - who seemed familiar with Frank, proving that the House of Blues crowd is cooler than you think). Judging by the lineup of people waiting to talk to him after his set, it was completely clear to me that Frank has gained a lot of new fans.

(Tiffiny photographed Frank on the 16th. You can see all of her photos from his set here)

Final Thoughts:

Mel: I am tired just reading over my notes from these shows, but I wish that I could go back and live them over again. There is a reason why Frank Turner is a Ruckus favorite; his music is groundbreaking - and just so fucking good. He is one of my top five favorites to see live, and I can't wait to see what it's like to watch him play in London (where I'm spending a month this spring). The highlight of this roadtrip for me was hearing him sing "Photosynthesis", "I Knew Prufrock Before He Got Famous," and "Jet Lag" at his headlining gig in Gainesville.

Tiffiny: It occurs to me that Frank Turner's lyrics are so deeply personal that I can't imagine anyone ever covering them with meaning, yet there I was surrounded by people that were obviously moved and find them easy to relate to in hundreds of different ways. This is just a glance into the magic of Mr. Turner. I especially enjoyed hearing “Love Ire & Song”, “Isabel”, and “Once We Were Anarchists” on this tour.

Frank's video for his single "Isabel" debuts on Paste today, so look for more on that later today from us. You'll also want to check out what Social Distortion's Mike Ness said about Frank (video, about 9 minutes in but the entire interview is worth a listen).

The Interview: Among The Oak & Ash

2010-03-04T15:22:10-08:00

A couple of nights ago, fellow blogger Liz and I went along to The Lexington in North London to see some live music. Being that we’re all about the spontaneous at The Ruckus, I ended up doing an impromptu interview on a fire exit with American band Among The Oak & Ash.

Headed by Josh Joplin and Garrison Starr, the band grabbed our attention as soon as we saw them playing. They mixed a beautiful amount of raw upbeat folk with a touch of blues and rock n' roll. There was a certain Johnny Cash-and-June Carter-type connection between the duo as they performed their upbeat harmonies, often watching each other intently while singing. Aided by Josh’s enthusiastic and extremely well-played acoustic guitar solos, Garrison’s strong Mississippi drawl made me feel like I was in a small bar in the Deep South of the United States. Of course, as we exited onto a freezing cold fire escape to have a chat, I was quickly transported back to the ever-rainy London cityscape.

So tell me the history of Among The Oak & Ash.
Josh: Well, Garrison and I were playing together and I had this idea to do this thing for a long time.
Garrison: He then asked me to be a part of it.
Josh: She said yes, after coming down to Nashville and playing some songs together and we thought it was a good idea. We’re now both based in New York City.

Can you tell me some of your musical influences?
Josh: We have various influences. Garrison and I come from different backgrounds; my influences are probably some folk singers like Phil Ochs and, of course, Bob Dylan and Woody Guthrie. I also love The Clash, Elvis Costello and a lot of the Manchester bands.
Garrison: For me, I kind of grew up listening to The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, The Indigo Girls and Tom Petty.

So why are you here in London?
Josh: We were asked to come here to play, for one, and we love being here. It is Garrison’s first time to London.

Did you do all the touristy stuff?
Garrison: We did some touristy stuff today. We walked around and I saw Westminster Abbey and The National Gallery.
Josh: There’s nothing really like London in the States.

I went to Washington, D.C. last year and I loved it. It was a little similar. It’s possibly my favourite city in the U.S.
Josh: D.C. is a good town - musically, too. They have a good scene there.

(Here we get a little sidetracked talking about East End cabbies, Ronald Reagan, Prince Harry’s lineage and Royalists.)

What's New York like for you guys, musically?
Garrison: It’s got a really good music scene there right now; there are a lot of good, talented singer song writers in New York.

A lot of the London Folk or Indie acts have been swapping over to New York and vice-versa.
Josh: We’re big Mumford & Sons fans. We have a CD of theirs.

We love Mumford too. I really like our organic Folk scene in London and you know it’s taking off in smaller venues like this and we get to spread the word through our blog and share our passion with our readers.
Josh: That's amazing! Not to interview you but would you like to have more over here as well as over in the States?
Lizzie: Well we’re fairly busy at the moment! We have gigs Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. We love what we do, though.
Liz: Well Friday is Lady GaGa so that’s not really working.
Lizzie: Yeah, I’m not going to GaGa.
Josh: You gotta go to GaGa, she’s awesome!

If you could play any venue, where would it be?
Josh: Here in London, it would be the Royal Albert Hall. Back in New York, Carnegie Hall.
Garrison: I would say, just a nice 3,000 seat theatre. Any theatre, anywhere that people are listening and are totally into the music.

If you could do any cover of any song what would it be?
Josh: Arthur Russell, "I Couldn’t Say It To Your Face".
Garrison: A Cut Copy song, "In Ghost Colours".

For more on this talented and very lovely duo, see their website or catch Among the Oak & Ash on iTunes.

Photo credit: Henry Leutwyler

In Pictures: Nicole Simone

2010-02-28T20:35:36-08:00

Bootleg Theatre | Los Angeles, California | 24 February 2010 | Flickr Set

At first listen, you might think the jazz-infused music and gorgeous voice of Nicole Simone stepped out of a time machine, hearkening back to an earlier era of sexy voices in dimly-lit night clubs. Then you realize she's better than a mere retro act. Last Wednesday, she and her band showed this to an appreciative crowd at the Bootleg Theatre in Los Angeles.

Nicole and her band played several songs from her forthcoming EP as well as newer material, one song even making its live debut, that blended a more rock feel with her jazz style. Her voice was perfect and her band spot on as they wound through their set.

Her video for "Melt" was featured here recently and more tracks can be heard on her MySpace. Nicole Simone's EP is due out March 9th.

In Pictures: The Damn Sons

2010-02-27T16:07:25-08:00

Bootleg Theatre | Los Angeles, California | 22 February 2010 | Flickr Set

Seeing The Damn Sons was no bad way to start the week. The band's recent set at the Bootleg Theatre rocked, giving the audience several songs from their EP as well as a couple great ones yet to be released.

Definitely a band to keep an eye on if you dig their garage/southern rock feel, the group's EP can be had for less than five bucks on iTunes and there's an album in the works.