Megafaun’s self-titled release is one of the year’s finest and also showcases the band better than ever before. That’s saying a lot considering how much we’ve appreciated their back catalog. The band returned to the High Noon Saloon in Madison last night. Ed Oliver was on hand to capture the night.

MP3: Megafaun – “State/Meant”
MP3: Megafaun – “These Words”
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Buy: Megafaun

By Tyler Fassnacht

Zola Jesus, the brainchild of Nika Roza Danilova, has become an increasingly familiar name. In the last two years Danilova has gone from being a UW Madison student releasing lo-fi goth gems on the side to making headlines at nationally recognized publications like Pitchfork and NME with her haunting, yet melodic anthems. Riding on her burgeoning popularity, Danilova basically played a hometown show (She was raised up north in Merrill, WI) here in Madison at the High Noon Saloon as part of her current national tour. Even though the venue didn’t really fill up until Zola Jesus hit the stage, it was still endearing, like a parent at a child’s really awesome indie piano recital, seeing the band come back as a professional touring group. Just like how Garbage isn’t really considered a Madison band anymore, Zola Jesus has definitely shed any tag reminiscent of “local.”

Coming to the show a bit late, I was only able to catch the last two songs from second opener, Wet Hair. Just from the small sample I witnessed, I was actually fairly disappointed I missed them. With thick organs, a really tight drummer and a vocalist who sang in a deep groan and howl similar to Brad Hargett of Crystal Stilts, they played modern Doors-esque music, that definitely perked my interest.

Up next was Naked on the Vague, which thankfully sounded better than their name. With emphasis on locking into dark, droning, psychedelic grooves the band set a mood that was pretty different from the other music on the bill. The female singer sang in a low pitch that buzzed around notes rather than hitting them exactly. I think Naked on the Vague would do well playing with bands like the Black Angels, but with a group like Zola Jesus, where it is so based off of melodies, hooks and the charisma and persona of one person (i.e. Nika Roza Danilova), it seemed a bit distant and at times uninteresting in comparison. But then again, it is extremely hard to stand out when put up against the power house that is Danilova.

Taking the stage draped in a blood red cloak, Danilova (who can’t be taller than five feet), had the presence of a giant. Without saying much, her and the rest of Zola Jesus, dressed all in black, jumped right into “Trust Me” off of last year’s excellent Stridulum EP and then, giving the crowd barely enough time to applaud, played the powerful, yet catchy, “I Can’t Stand.” This set the theme for the rest of the performance. After she was onstage, the soft-spoken, seemingly shy Danilova turned into a commanding force that is there to do one thing: perform.

Playing mostly cuts off of her Stridulum and Valusia EPs, Danilova paced back and forth on stage, prowling about like an animal stalking prey. Besides the beautiful and chilling songs, half of the enjoyment is simply watching her wail and thrash about, giving all her tracks stronger emotion than I think is possible to record on an album. Besides during one point when she jumped into the crowd and ran to the back of the venue, up the stairs and onto the balcony, Danilova rarely acknowledged or even addressed (besides the occasional “thank you”) the people in the audience, which put all the weight on her songs, but everything they played was strong enough to do so with three keyboards creating dense and lush sounds, a monster behind a live drum kit and most importantly Danilova’s incredible, classically trained voice. By the end of the night the only disappointing thing was that Zola Jesus only played for about 40 minutes. Even though the venue wasn’t too packed, it still was a step up from last year’s crowded EP release show at the Project Lodge. I wouldn’t be surprised to see her name on bigger and bigger marquees in the years to come if she continues down her current path; I just hope she doesn’t forget us here in Madison.

Watch: Zola Jesus Soundcheck Session in Madison

Buy: Zola Jesus – Stridulum

Photos: Ed Oliver

Last night The Rural Alberta Advantage returned to the High Noon Saloon in Madison with James Vincent McMorrow and In Tall Buildings supporting the show. Ed Oliver was on hand to take photos.

Discuss: What did you think of the show? Leave a comment with your thoughts/reviews/favorites from last night’s show.

Buy: The Rural Alberta Advantage | James Vincent McMorrow | In Tall Buildings
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MP3: The Rural Alberta Advantage – “North Star”
MP3: James Vincent McMorrow – “If I Had A Boat”
MP3: In Tall Buildings – “The Way To A Monster’s Lair”

Destroyer returns in 2011 with a brand new album, Kaputt (Merge, January 25th), and a supporting tour to follow! Destroyer stops at the High Noon Saloon in Madison on Monday, April 11th with The War On Drugs supporting. Tickets go on sale Friday, January 7th and are $12 in advance and $14 the day of show.

Chicago: Destroyer and The War On Drugs hit Lincoln Hall on Tuesday, March 29th.

MP3: Destroyer – “Chinatown”
MP3: The War On Drugs – “The History Of Plastic”
MP3: The War On Drugs – “Comin’ Through”
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Buy: Destroyer – Kaputt | The War On Drugs – Future Weather

+Bookmark our upcoming shows page for all your concert announcements+

By Jeff Kollath

As a child of the 1980s, I was heavily influenced by mall culture, from school shopping and playing video games to visiting Santa and searching Topps rak-paks for Jose Canseco and Barry Bonds rookie cards at Thrift Drug or Kay-Bee Toys. In Madison, mall culture is still alive and well, with both malls still standing and relatively stocked with shoppers despite the economy. In other Midwestern cities, though, malls have downsized, closed, or outright demolished. These one-time paeans to commerce and consumerism sprung up in corn fields throughout the 1960s and 70s, as the car culture pushed stores and shoppers to the outskirts of town and the suburbs. By the 1990s and early 2000s, however, dozens closed as their infrastructure and store lineup became dated. This is the environment in which Michigan’s Frontier Ruckus grew up, in the once-thriving Detroit suburbs where fully-employed, well-paid workers from the Big 3 lived, played, and shopped, and whose civic decay inspires a riveting, exciting, and true-to-life brand of folk-rock. What John Cougar Mellencamp was to the rural blight and poverty of the 1980s and Eminem was to Detroit’s urban decay in the 1990s, Frontier Ruckus could be for the suburban decay in the 2000s and beyond. Bright, vivid, and well-written songs about a brand of nostalgia so recent that it usually gets shuffled to the bottom of the deck underneath the idyllic 1950s and the inspiring 1960s, but still holds meaning for those who grew up in its midst.

Wednesday night at the High Noon Saloon, Frontier Ruckus told many stories of this era, focusing on simple pleasures (like the local chain drug store) and abstaining from the anger that is omnipresent in other songs of prosperity’s demise. The sparse stage set-up was a key component to the wonderful sound this band has. David Jones’ banjo and lead singer Matt Milla’s voice/guitar taking up much of the space, but lying in the gaps is the trumpet and singing-saw of Zachary Nichols, adding a dimension reminiscent of Calexico, where the acoustic instruments take center stage but the horns take the sound to the next level. Having seen Horse Feathers at the Memorial Union on Saturday night, Frontier Ruckus was the second band in a week to incorporate the high-and-lonesome hacksaw, treating it much like a pedal or lap steel guitar, providing just enough fill to make an already emotional song even more evocative. The band’s songs serve as a guidebook for their Michigan home, pointing out the seemingly benign sights along I-75 and I-96 (a whole about a dentist’s billboard on I-96, actually) but all having special meaning to the band. The eight-minute “Pontiac, the Nightbrink” is where the band’s true message and talents shine, with not a note or a lyric wasted. At the end of the evening, as the crowd was thinning out, the band cast aside amplification, creating a living room-like warmth in the High Noon, and a connection between this rising Michigan band and their Wisconsin audience whose backgrounds and memories are not that different.

Frontier Ruckus plays the Cactus Club in Milwaukee on Friday night with David Wax Museum and Juniper Tar. Tickets are $10 and on sale now.

Previously: Sad Songs & Waltzes :: Frontier Ruckus
Previously: Frontier Ruckus – House of Blues, Chicago
Previously: Review: Frontier Ruckus :: Deadmalls and Nightfalls

Buy: Buy: Frontier Ruckus – Deadmalls And Nightfalls
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MP3: Frontier Ruckus – “The Upper Room”

Esti, our newest contributor from Austin, delivers a gorgeous video collage of Phatogram’s recent stop at the Mohawk set to “Mouthful of Diamonds” (official video here). If you haven’t taken a spin through their Barsuk Records release, Eyelid Movies, we would strongly encourage you to do so.

The band is currently on tour with Josiah Wolf (Why?), including stops scheduled at the High Noon Saloon in Madison (10/23) and Lincoln Hall in Chicago (10/24) this weekend. Head’s up to those in Madison, Strictly Discs will be holding an in-store performance for 50 people at 3PM.

MP3: Phantogram – “When I’m Small”
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Buy: Phantogram – Eyelid Movies