Music+Reviews

=Sleeping With Giants= by: Olivia J

A small band, perhaps never heard of before, a short blonde guy with large teeth and a high pitched voice, a group of dark emo boys, and the tall, lanky William Beckett seems to be the best combination to produce one of the most fabulous concerts you will ever see. The //Sleeping with Giants// tour, held at the House of Blues, October 4, 2007, was beyond having anything to do with sleeping. Upbeat songs, lovely piano melodies, and interesting dance moves really liven up a crowd and cause them to do anything but settle down. Sherwood was overall bland and had boring music but there was one exception to their performance. The keyboardist dressed in tight jeans and a v-neck t-shirt, glasses resting upon his nose with a mop of curly hair covering his head. He bounced everywhere as he twisted and turned to the music, sometimes seeming to be collapsing from the lovely melodies of the music he was creating. But he couldn’t make up for lack of movement in the crowd; overall the band was just boring. The Rocket Summer’s set sparkled. The upbeat dance ballads would have the audience jumping around with happiness. Little Bryce, the lead singer, does not seem like he could produce such a big sound, but random bursts of confetti at the most intense moments of his songs made his voice strong and powerful making him seem larger than life, even if he is shorter than the average man. Singing songs from his albums //Hello Good Friend// and his recent album titled //Do You Feel,// recently released, his squeaky voice pierced the air and left the crowd cheerful and excited. Although halfway through the concert, the show had only just begun; there was much more excitement in store for the audience. Being a band I and many others enjoy, it is sad to say that Armor for Sleep was a bit boring. Lack of movement on the stage doesn’t engage the audience but interesting guitar riffs made up for lack of movement of the band. Their famous songs like //Car Underwater// and //Remember to Feel Real// were no disappointment. However, meeting them and realizing that they weren’t the nicest people took away from their good performance. Excitement buzzed through the crowd when it was time for the headlining band to take the stage; the crowd roared with excitement and could not be settled down even if the effort was made as Mike Carden, Michael Guy Chislet, The Butcher, and Adam T. Siska (Sisky) took the stage. They held their guitars and the Butcher beat on his drums, getting the crowd pumped while waiting for the empty space where the 6’3 lead singer would take his place. The wait seemed forever. He was the one everyone wanted to see, the voice everyone longed to hear, and without warning, there he was, William Beckett. Arms reached out for him and others leaned over balconies. In awe, no one could tear their eyes away from the band. They were in for a treat. Starting with //Same Blood// from their second album //Santi// the concert had truly begun. William Beckett’s voice was the sweetest thing one would ever hear that night and the best dancer anyone would ever see as he jumped around the stage, resembling Elvis. I didn’t really notice the rest of the band. I barely laid my eyes on them. They seemed to barely move. William Beckett stole the show; his presence was so interesting and breathtaking. It was a performance I never wanted to end. Playing all of their album //Almost Here// and more than half of //Santi// was a big treat and surprise—a big change from the first time they played in New Orleans and had fewer songs to perform. It brought tears to my eyes and left me lightheaded once officially over. If ever around this is a concert to definitely attend. Even if you do not get the opportunity to see this wonderful performance you should definitely give these bands a listen, for listening to their music through headphones can be just as exciting as seeing them live. = = = = =The Voodoo review= By Amy P You don’t know the meaning of the word “mosh pit” until you’ve been to a Rage Against the Machine Concert. On the first night of Voodoo Fest, they stole the spotlight as their screaming vocals stretched out to hundreds of “die hard fans” who had waited for this moment for years. It was the first time in seven years that this controversial heavy metal band had played together, and you can imagine that it was more than crazy. As bodies flew back and forth, people fell to the ground resulting in all sorts of injuries. It was quite the concert if you can imagine, and definitely an experience that you have to be a part of at least once in your life. This year, people came from all over to see bands ranging from Fall Out Boy, to Rage Against the Machine to Ben Harper, all completely different in order to form a variation that would allow everyone to find something that they could enjoy. Bands and their fans prepared for three full days of festivities and excitement, hoping that it would turn out to be a success. As people crowded into City Park, they got together with their friends, ate delicious food, and listened to some of their favorite bands. The New Orleans weather held up for the first time in a while, brining three days of non-stop music and fun to the annual Voodoo Fest. For many years, Voodoo had struggled to make enough money to profit from their earnings, but times began to change as it became a festival that all people could enjoy. Unlike previous years where they had only hired heavy metal bands, they recently decided that by bringing “hip” bands that people actually wanted to hear, they could create a new vibe that would make people want to go. Voodoo formed a similar environment to that of Jazz Fest, but seemed to attract somewhat younger crowds. While New Orleanians had Jazz Fest in the spring, they now had Voodoo to enjoy in the fall. All in all the performances were a huge success. Not only was the music good, but fans of Fall Out Boy also got a bit of shock as lead guitarist, Pete Wentz, broke his foot after jumping off a ten foot speaker. That didn’t keep him from performing and fans were more than impressed with his ability to dance on a hurt foot. “I think that Fall Out Boy had a really good performance and it was White T’s (“Hey There Delilah”), made sure to keep their audiences engaged and entertained. This year, people seemed to be more than impressed with their experiences at Voodoo Fest. Besides the long lines at the bathrooms and the unreasonably expensive food, Voodoo brought great performances to the city that all music lovers were able to enjoy. Hopefully Voodoo will continue to attract music lovers from all over and maybe, one day, become as successful and known as Jazz Fest. really cool” says Junior Laura G. Laura attended all three days of Voodoo, and said that it had been a great success and was definitely worth the money. Saturday’s main performances consisted of Motion City Soundtrack, Ben Harper, and Smashing Pumpkins. All three concerts brought in large crowds that gathered to see these bands live. They had great live performances and as they packed up on Saturday night, DJ Tiesto took the stage. With his techno music and bright lights, the night was soon turned into one big dance party that was almost impossible to resist and definitely impossible to stand still at. Sunday consisted of some of the biggest names, such as Fall Out Boy, Plain White T’s, and Red Jumpsuit Apparatus. While Red Jumpsuit Apparatus failed to be as amusing as the other performers, Fall Out Boy, singers of songs such as “Sugar We’re Going Down” and “Thnks Fr Th Mmrs”, and Plain =Mute Math Letdown at Voodoo Fest= By Megan K

In the past year the local band, Mute Math has grown to be recognized nation wide. They gained much popularity through their song and their video for “Typical” and slowly but surely built up a large hype around their live shows. They are great, but any attendee at the 2007 Voodoo Music Festival who had the opportunity to see Mute Math was probably upset and bored with their performance. When compared to their set last year, this one was extremely boring and a huge letdown. Last year their set was different, something that stood out, but this year it just seemed to blend in with everything else going on. There wasn’t a lot of movement on stage or anything different or exciting going on. Previous Mute Math performances include their singer moving, rolling around and jumping all over the stage; their drummer duck-taping headphones to his head, falling off the drum riser and breaking part of his drum set; their bassist goes all around the stage with and without his bass and playing some drums; their guitarist, being a major component to their live shows, bringing energy and a lot more sound to the performances. This year they seemed like an amateur band playing one of their very first shows. Their singer moved a bit from the microphone, center stage, to the piano, a few feet behind the microphone. There was no jumping, rolling around or breaking things this year. They seemed uncomfortable, tired and like they didn’t even want to be there. Mute Math just seemed to have been put right on the stage and told to perform, unprepared. One upside was that they played many good songs and they sounded great but overall it was just boring. Mute Math is one of my favorite live bands and I found myself walking away from their performance about halfway through the set. A performance as big as Voodoo Fest would motivate most bands to try harder and try to make more of an impression on the diverse crowd. Hopefully their future performances in their hometown will be much more impressive and exciting. Here is Mute Math reenacting their music video for the song "Typical" on Jimmy Kimmel Live: media type="youtube" key="Q9UdaU8_QrM&rel=0&color1=0xd6d6d6&color2=0xf0f0f0&border=0" height="355" width="425"

=Powerspace= by Megan K. When people go to shows they should look for the energy coming from the stage. Occasionally there is a show that is just so boring it makes you want to fall asleep. When the Yo! tour rolled through New Orleans the concertgoers became part of the biggest dance party that room has ever seen. Since there weren’t that many people there, the bands had to make the best of it, and they did. Farewell, a pop-punk/powerpop band form North Carolina, opened up the night with a explosive set with songs off of their recently released album Isn’t This Supposed To Be Fun!?. Everyone seemed to have a really good stage presence and moved around with the exception of their singer who remained in one general area. The sound was a little off making it difficult for the crowd to hear his voice Next up was The Secret Handshake, a indie/electronica band from Texas. The actual band consists of one person, but his live band consists of 2, the singer and a drummer. It seemed that the crowd was most excited to see this band. Because the genre of this band was electronica, everyone in the venue was dancing. When he sang a new song off of his brand new album, One Full Year, which no one had heard before he managed to get the crowd right into it. When he wasn’t sitting at his keyboard he was up at the front of the stage singing straight to the crowd. Headlining was Powerspace, a powerpop/dance band from Chicago. By the time they had come on at least 5 or 6 people had left. There are only 4 people in this band so there was more room on the stage for them to move. Their singer, Alec, used this space to his advantage by dancing all around the stage, sometimes with moves that were too risqué. Halfway into their set he came down into the crowd and danced for a little while during an extremely long guitar solo. Their set was fun to watch however it seemed short, and the show ended early. After the show everyone came out and all the fans got a chance to meet the bands, which is always fun. Overall the show was energetic and the people (the rest of the crowd and the bands) were fun to meet and hang around with. If any of these bands roll through town again anytime soon, I would suggest checking them out.

=Benjy Davis= By Amy P. Over the past few years, high school and college students all over Louisiana and scattered locations along the Gulf Coast have become attached to Baton Rouge’s very own //Benjy Davis Project.// Their exceptional sounds and creative lyrics make them a big attraction towards the younger crowds in these areas. Benjy Davis’ local music style and originality form great live performances and CD’s that almost anyone can enjoy. Benjy Davis’ career started several years ago when a group of twenty year old guys formed a band that they hoped would someday become nationally recognized. When Benjy Davis started this band in 2001, it was no more than six guys playing for the love of music. Through the years their music has carried them across the United States, and no one ever imagined how famous they would become. I’m sure most of you who have been a fan for several years remember first hearing about them. Everyone in the city had become “obsessed” with this new band from Baton Rouge and although no one had ever heard of them, everyone agreed that their music was amazing. Everyone loved the fact that people from other places had no idea who they were and that they were local to our home of Louisiana. Considering the fact that they were all so young, kids our age were inspired by them. Music had always been a huge part of our home town, but this was one of the first bands that still portrayed our local music yet was able to attract a vast variety of both young adults and adults. Performing at Jazz Fest for the first time in 2003 created a lot of recognition for the band. It seemed like everyone was talking about them after that performance and no longer were those of us in Louisiana the only ones to have heard about them. Their recognition began to spread all over the U.S., and the fame that they had longed for had finally come. Their most recent CD, __Dust,__ was released on September 18th. It combines a great collaboration of new sounds mixed with the “southern style” that they are known for. This CD is definitely different from all the others, but you can still expect great things from it. In my opinion, they have not had one bad CD, but for some reason this one just seems to top them all. It’s filled with great songs that have both amazing lyrics and is of course fun to listen to. If you love driving around listening to the previous Benjy Davis CD’s, this is for you. Its upbeat tempo and fun lyrics make it better than ever to listen to Benjy while you’re out and about.