Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Tape Deck Mountain, Braids + Asobi Seksu @ Casbah- 03.12.11

A bit of mid-fi post rock mixed with a hefty dose of indie rock/ shoegaze tunes was the word last Friday as local boys Tape Deck Mountain opened up for Braids (via Montreal) and NYC's own Asobi Seksu at the Casbah. More after the jump...





After touring the local scene for the past couple years, Tape Deck Mountain has been steadily building up buzz following the release of their debut full-length album Ghosts. Friday night kicked off as TDM worked their way through several tracks from both that album (including the exceptional 'In The Dirt') and their debut EP Secret Serf, as well as a very interesting cover of Danzig's 'Mother'. The special brand of rock that they bring to the stage mixes infrequent guitar melodies and solid bass lines with serious reverb and a constant tweaking of the double-stacked pedals at lead man Travis Trevisan's feet. All in all it was a very solid live representation of their studio work, but it is a sound that could benefit from focusing their efforts in one direction or another.

Tape Deck Mountain:





Braids followed up by taking the evening in a different direction with their special brand of experimental rock.. The lights were turned way (way) down low as the Canadian quintet took the stage for what ended up as the set of the night. I had picked up their debut album Native Speaker some time ago and was instantly hooked. Lead singer Raphaelle Standell-Preston has a voice that falls somewhere in between Bjork and Bat For Lashes that absolutely took over the Casbah. If nearly duplicating the sound produced in a studio during a live performance is the mark of a gifted group, these folks have talent in spades. Backing vox, keyboard and steady drum and bass lines blended perfectly with Standell-Preston's guitar and dynamic vocals over the course of the 45+ minute set as they played most of the tracks from their album. Expect to see these guys headlining shows in the very near future.

Braids:





Asobi Seksu took the stage on a somber note, as lead singer Yuki Chikudate led off with words concerning how she had been unable to contact any of her family in Japan since the earthquake hit the day before (she has since updated the band's Facebook page notifying everyone that she has been in touch with her family and all are well). The crowd had clearly shown up with some extra love for her and her bandmates as their hour long show was punctuated with the occasional 'I love you Yuki!'. The supporting bass and kit work was channeled by Yuki's amazing voice and keyboard skills, as well as guitarist/ vocalist James Hanna's impressive melodies into a pleasing blend of shoegaze-y dream pop that kept those in attendance's attention through the end of the evening.

Asobi Seksu:





For more from the evening click here and the rest of my concert photography click here.

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All images copyright © Nate Vandermeulen, All Rights Reserved.
Please ask for permission before downloading or linking to them.

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