ADEMLP - November 2011

I didn't feel strongly about most of the songs that Ann Delisi played at this month's listening party. Some of the better ones were Gary Clark Jr, who reminded me of the Black Keys, and Kate Monahan, a local singer-songwriter who reminded me a bit of Natalie Merchant. Sheila Chandra also had a really neat sound. It reminded me of Arabic music with a rock lean.

We got a lot of music news updates, though. It turns out that The Cranberries are back together. Their new stuff sounds...not as good as their old stuff, but they're still very recognizable. One of main comments was, "If they're going to come back, they should come back with a splash," which they very much didn't.

The Black Keys have a new album, which is less recognizable. She said we should have known who that was immediately, but I had no clue. It was a lot less artsy than most of The Black Keys I've heard. In fact, I thought Gary Clark Jr's song sounded a lot more like the Black Keys than their own did.

Supposedly, when The Rolling Stones went back to the studio to record new songs (or rather, finish songs they started) for bonus tracks on their recent re-releases, Mick Jagger sounded exactly like he did when they recorded the first parts back in 1972.

Scarlett Johansson teamed up with Dean Martin for a Christmas album that sounds pretty generic. Lou Reed and Metallica teamed up for an album, which basically defines "hard rock." That's not to say it's good; it's got nothing special. It's just exactly what I would call "hard rock."

The Ragbirds made up for what the song samples lacked. The Ann Arbor band's set was amazing. Erin Zindle, their lead singer, has a great voice, and her guitarist, T.J. Zindle, provided backup vocals that complemented hers very well. The band has a very eclectic set of instruments. Erin plays the banjo and the violin and the mandolin. They've also got a few hand drums, among other percussion instruments, and an electric guitar. And all of the talented musicians in the band make their instruments all fit together well!

They also have a very varied sound. The first song they played was almost Turkish, the second was pretty much folk rock, and then they followed that up with a song that reminded me of Murder by Death. I can't really give them a genre, but if I had to, I'd call them world, folk, rock fusion.

The Ragbirds playing at the Listening Party

Not only are the Ragbirds good at playing music, they're good at performing. They had the perfect amount of energy for the stage they were on, but I think even if they were in a bigger venue, they'd have been able to fill it. Erin was also really funny and kept everyone interested.

The end of the set was pretty cool, and a little unexpected. A lot of the crowd ended up getting up and dancing around. After they finished their set, they walked off, and got called out for an encore. I couldn't tell if the Ragbirds expected it or not because they seemed to have a song pretty ready for it, but I definitely didn't expect an encore at a listening party.

The Ragbirds were so great that everyone got up to dance!

Speaking of the Ragbirds, they're doing a holiday show at The Ark in Ann Arbor on Saturday, December 10. I expect it to be similar to the Ten out of Tenn tour. It should be a lot of fun!

List of bands that Ann Delisi played last night:

• Jason Spooner
• Ben Sharkey
• Oberhofer
• The Cranberries
• Caveman
• My Brightest Diamond
• The Black Keys
• Yuck
• Gary Clark Jr
• The Rolling Stones
• The Belle Brigade
• OttO Vector
• The Happenings
• Dean Martin with Scarlett Johansson
• Lou Reed with Metallica
• Kate Monaghan
• Canyons (myspace)
• Sheila Chandra

Photos courtesy of Robby Amin

Lupe Fiasco at EMU

The openers were pretty funny and a little ridiculous. We walked in at the tail end of this guy's setlist. I think the first couple lines I heard were something like, "I think I need a Xanax, and you should go and grab a Tampax." At the end of his set he said "Peace, EMU," and as he was walking off added, seemingly as an afterthought, "My name's Josh." My assessment? His songs seem to be about nothing and his live show wasn't very engaging.

The next act was Chip tha Ripper, who was introduced by an emcee that really just walked around stage while music was playing. It kinda felt like he was stalling because Chip wasn't ready or something. When he finally came on, Chip made a big deal about not being signed. He also had kind of ridiculous lyrics (something like "Watch your head as you're getting in spaceship," which I guess was about hitting your head as you get into a car in his words). Nothing in particular stood out about his live show, except handing out tons of t-shirts; I probably wouldn't go see him again.

Lupe Fiasco made up for the shortcomings of his openers. The lights were a great addition, including the large, lighted "A." I wish the pictures had come out, but unfortunately, they were all blurry. His entire set was full of energy...even the violinist. I didn't even realize that he wasn't feeling well until he told us. In fact, for a couple songs before his closer, he actually was sitting or lying down on the raised stage. It worked out, though, because those songs were on the slow side, anyway. Right before his closer, he went around and introduced his live band to music, and it kind of felt like we were in a jazz bar. It was pretty cool. And it was a great lead in to "Daydreamin'," but right before the first verse, the band stopped. And he decided to close out with "The Show Goes On," instead. I kind of wish he had played "Daydreamin'," but he made "The Show Goes On" fun, so I didn't mind.

Some of his songs were great to hear live. For instance, I think I liked "Hip-Hop Saved My Life" better live than on disc. But there were other songs that I preferred on disc. "Kick, Push" particularly sounded off. I want to blame the sound levels because I feel like at times, the instruments overpowered the vocals. It was cool to see him acting out the kicking, pushing, and coasting, though.

One other thing that I noticed about rap shows in general is that the live band doesn't get as much focus as at a rock show. It makes sense because they're really just there as support, they don't play a huge part in the writing of the music, and I would assume they change often between tours, if not within tours.

Overall, I quite enjoyed my first rap concert.