One of the best concerts I saw last year was School of Seven Bells at the High Noon Saloon. I walked in with no expectation and walked out blow away by the School of Seven Bells live show.

The group is on tour in September and October in support of their fantastic new record, Disconnect From Desire, including stops in Chicago (9/17, Lincoln Hall) and Madison (9/18, Majestic Theatre) next month.

Giveaway: We have a pair of tickets to see School of Seven Bells at the Majestic in Madison and a copy of their new record, Disconnect From Desire to giveaway to the Muzzle of Bees faithful. Drop a comment telling us your favorite song of the moment (past or present) and if you’d prefer the concert tickets or the CD. We’ll select two winners at random on Friday. Be sure to leave a valid e-mail address in your comment so we may contact you should you win.

MP3: School Of Seven Bells – “Windstorm”
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Buy: School Of Seven Bells – Disconnect From Desire

Words: Tyler Fassnacht | Photos: Ed Oliver

The last time I had seen Yeasayer was on the Terrace last summer, long before Odd Blood, so I was excited to see what a new album would bring to their live show. I must also say that I had no idea Madison loved Yeasayer so much. It was a sold out show at the Majestic, which is not an super easy task.

Opening the show was Sleigh Bells. Now through various blogs and news sites I have read a lot of hype on this band, especially for their live shows, so my expectations for this dance/noise/industrial duo were quite high. I think the lead singer for Yeasayer put it best when later in the show he thanked Sleigh Bells for touring with them stating “they’re one tough act to follow.” With beats that shook to the bone and gritty distorted guitars, the music definitely comes off unique, but their real secret weapon is singer Alexis Krauss. Prowling the stage, Krauss was aggressive, seductive, and most of the time plain crazy, climbing on to amps and letting out screams like ambulance sirens. The music was simple, the lyrics were mostly just repeated phrases, but it was hard not to get into. Krauss’ charisma went a long way, with the audience practically eating out of her hand, as everyone clambered over each other to touch her when she leaned into the crowd. For their last song, the extremely catchy “Crown on the Ground,” she prefaced it with a request, no, a command, “everyone go fucking nuts for this song!” and the Majestic immediately obliged.

By the time Yeasayer came on it was hard to move comfortably, and from the first notes of opening song “The Children” the crowd went crazy. Throughout the show the audience kept a similar mantra of being a little overexcited about small things (I mean, I GUESS that one vocal harmony during that one song was pretty spot on). Playing in front of a backdrop of four oval screens, shifting through stimulating shades of color, Yeasayer went through approximately an hour of material, leaning heavily of course on Odd Blood. For me, that would be my only complaint, as I was not a huge fan of the new album. Even live, some of the songs came off as boring and even cheesy (I’m looking at you “Rome”). Also, coming off from the high that was Sleigh Bells, it was hard to promptly get in to Yeasayer, as they started their set a bit slow, eventually getting to the more up-tempo world beats that everyone loves to dance to. The band members seemed to take a few songs to get in to it as well. No one smiled for at least four songs, which was strange because I never saw them as a band who took themselves really seriously. Eventually, like their songs, the band got in the swing of things and lightened up. It may have just been that the band was really tired, especially the lead singer, or in his case completely stoned, though that is just speculation from his general movements. By the end of the show, the band had a few elements which saved the show from being just “good”: a kick-ass rhythm section, a back catalogue of awesome songs from their first album and of course the addictive “Ambling Alp,” which they ended their standard set with, before the encore. As a whole it was all a very enjoyable evening filled with sweaty guys and lots of dancing, with the music just barely justifying the hype.

Buy: Yeasayer – Odd Blood
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MP3: Yeasayer – “O.N.E.”
MP3: Yeasayer – “Ambling Alp”

By Jeff Kollath

After walking into the Majestic Theater on Saturday night, I felt like asking the bartender if I was in the right place – there were a grand total of 8 of us in the room until about 10 minutes before the posted show time. With the Final Four, the Easter holiday, and Spring Break in full swing, downtown itself was pretty dead, so it wasn’t too much of a surprise that only 40 of us were in attendance for the final show of the Dear Companion tour. Spreading the word about mountaintop removal (MTR) coal mining, Daniel Martin Moore and Ben Sollee, native Kentuckians both, crafted a beautifully written and produced (thank you Yim Yames) album that is sure to be on a number of ‘Best Of’ lists at the end of the year. Touching on folk, bluegrass, jazz, and blues, this music is pure Americana, refining the known and existing and creating something new and unique. What stands out on the record does moreso live - Moore and Sollee’s harmonies, Sollee’s virtuoso cello-playing, the intimacy and passion the songs and their message – but so much more comes to light when you are able to see the process and the interplay between musicians.

The Majestic turned into Madison’s largest living room on Saturday night, as the very small, but lively and appreciative, crowd chatted with the band, asked questions about the songs, and loudly stomped their feet when encore time came around. A rousing version of “Something, Somewhere, Somehow” kicked things off, followed shortly thereafter by Ben Sollee’s ode to his son, “Only A Song,” a hopeful song about sharing the beauty of the land before we lose it all. After Moore’s “The Old Measure,” drummer Dan Dorff left his kit and walked to center stage to lend some percussive foot stomping to the mix, bringing a resounding cheer from the crowd. Later, Moore literally stepped to the fore, unplugging his guitar and leaving the mic behind as he sat on the edge of the stage and serenaded the crowd with a heartfelt version of “Flyrock Blues.” While everyone has something to worry about wherever they may live, no one should have to worry about giant pieces of mountaintop crashing down into their homes from a gigantic TNT explosion.

Sollee, using a borrowed cello picked up Saturday afternoon from a local musician (he broke two cellos on the tour), tore loose with a lengthy solo intro to “It’s Not Impossible,” playing with both the bow and his fingers. Fiddle player Cheyenne Marie Mize and Sollee’s harmonies soared through the room, riding on the crest of the beautiful sounds coming from their instruments. Mize sang, er, destroyed two songs, Nina Simone’s “In the Dark” and “Among the Gold, ” which she recorded with Bonnie “Prince” Billy. Her voice is one that we will be hearing a lot from in the future. The set closed out with the title track, which, for my money, is the song of the year so far, and “Jubilee,” a foot stomping, accapella, hambone-rich, whistle-fest reminiscent of the rural music and culture of the people who are most affected by this type of mining. After a brief standing ovation, the band came back for two more, and left the stage through the crowd, shaking hands and accepting compliments for a fine, fine show. For a record that can be so quiet and understated, the live show brought a sense of urgency and anger to so many of these songs. Like the rocky hills and deep hollers of Eastern Kentucky, there is a ragged beauty to this music when performed live, the veil of production lifted, which makes the sound all the more engaging and true.

Set List: Something, Somewhere, Somehow / My Wealth Comes to Me / Needn’t Say A Thing / Only A Song / The Old Measure / Bury Me With My Car / In the Dark / That’ll Be the Plan / Try / Flyock Blues / It’s Not Impossible / Sweet Marie / Dear Companion / Jubilee / Among the Gold / ?

Previously: If I Wounded You, I’m Sorry. It Happens All The Time.
Daytrotter: Ben Sollee & Daniel Martin Moore (3/4/10)

MP3: Ben Sollee & Daniel Martin Moore – “Something, Somewhere, Sometime”
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Buy: Ben Sollee & Daniel Martin – “Dear Companion”

By Jeff Kollath

Debuting in 1997, Gomez came along in the post-Radiohead, post-Oasis ‘British Invasion’ of pop-rock bands that dominated AOR stations for nearly a decade. While Coldplay rose to the top and still continues to dominate, bands like Doves, Beta Band, and Gomez filled roles that the Hollies, Animals, and Small Faces had previously filled – very big domestically, some success in the US, but overall, paling in comparison to the juggernaut on top. With nearly 15 years of recording and touring behind them, Gomez has found a comfortable niche here in the States, selling out smaller venues, and continuing to be a regular presence with poppier songs like “See the World” and “Airstream Driver” receiving airplay on the Triple Ms of the world, and receiving occasional commercial play as well.

Friday night at the Majestic, Gomez played to a sold out crowd split evenly between outright enthusiasm and subdued interest. The opener, “How We Operate,” was very fitting for a band that really knows who it is, but it didin’t deliver the pop that an opener should. With “Machismo,” an EP rarity that hadn’t been played live in ten years, the show turned the corner. Shaking off the early tour rust (Madison was show #2), Gomez launched into solid versions of “Tijuana Lady” and “Bring Your Loving Back Here,” and ”Ruff Stuff,” while recent hits like “See the World,” “Girlshapedlovedrug,” and the set closer “Airstream Driver,” drew a few shrieks and head bobs of recognition. Right in the middle of the setlist, “Sweet Virginia” from 2004′s “Split the Difference,” stretched into an eight minute, feedback drenched jam, a stark contrast to the song’s beautiful chorus, while deep tracks like “Liquid Skin” and “Step Inside” pleased as unlikely setlist surprises.

The things that drew me to this band over a decade ago – the excellent three-part harmonies of Ian Ball, Tom Gray, and Ben Ottewell, the multi-instrument skills of each band member, and the use of sampling and distortion to augment an already thick sound – are still there. The complexity and energy of their sound still sets them apart from their contemporaries, as does their obvious homage to R&B, as so many of their songs begin and end with a dirty blues shuffle, with layer upon layer of sonic fury heaped on top. While Friday’s night show was certainly not the best I’ve seen Gomez do, it was a reminder of what made them so unique when they first hit, and why their fans have remained loyal for so long.

By Tyler Fassnacht

Now I don’t have the most experience with electronica/DJ concerts, so Daedelus’ show at the Majestic was somewhat of a new experience. I had gotten his album “Denies the Day’s Demise” and I was a huge fan, so him along with Nosaj Thing sounded like a pretty great show.

The show got off to a little bit of a rocky start. I was under the impression it was going to start at nine, however the first band, Jogger, came out a little after ten. Whether this was some sort of error on my part in misreading the time, or they just started really damn late, I am still not sure. Since it was a Monday night, I was not looking forward to a late night, but I ended up getting one anyway.

Jogger was made up of two guys, one played guitar, the other DJed and they both sang. The music turned out to be atmospheric, noisy electronica music, which sounded like I might have enjoyed it a little more coming through my headphones at home.

Up next was Nosaj Thing, who I actually was familiar with. He played a non-stop flow of music, transitioning everything into each other so as not to have a moment of silence where people couldn’t dance. His glitchy beats and cool samples were really good for the first thirty minutes, but he went on for about an hour. Towards the end he started remixing hip-hop songs, which I thought his set could have done without.

By the time Daedelus came out, it was midnight. Fancily dressed, and acting very cordial, he came off sounding polite, which was something that few people did at the venue, as the majority of people drunkenly danced into everyone else’s space. Daedelus opened with a remix of Pure Imagination from Willy Wonka, which transitioned into a mix of Only You by Portishead. After that though, I lost recognition of what he was doing. I was a big fan of a lot of Daedelus’ songs on his records, but I think I forgot that his main duty was DJ, so he mostly just played repetitive, bass-heavy electronica so that everyone could dance. He was quite good at what he was doing, but around twelve thirty I was just too tired to stay.

All the musicians at the show performed well and I liked a lot of the music that was played, but I think the combination of it being a Monday night, it starting so late, the crowd being wasted and generally pretty weird (I am talking a lot of uncomfortable touching) and me not really being in the biggest dancing mood, made the show a little bit of a let down. Personally, I think raves should be kept to the weekends.

Buy: Daedelus

Yeasayer have a new album, Odd Blood, coming next year (2/19) on Secretly Canadian. If you’re curious what to expect you check out a Premature Evaluation of the record.

Yeasayer return to Madison on Wednesday, April 28th for a gig at the Majestic Theatre.

Tickets: $13 Advance / $15 Day of Show
On Sale: – Friday, December 18th

MP3: Yeasayer – “Ambling Alp”
Video: Yeasayer – “Ambling Alp”