Music Under Fire

Wednesday night at the charismatic, pleasing atmosphere of Johnny Brenda's, we were able to catch one of our favorite bands of the year, The Helio Sequence. Opening up were the post-rock band Ravens and Vultures followed by Pattern Is Movement who celebrated their CD release All Together.

Ravens and Vultures


Ravens and Vultures were a pleasing opener, more than I expected knowing nothing about the band. Composed of twins Chetanah and Darshana Borah, Andrew Ryan and Michael Johnson, the group shamlessly noted JB's is the only place they play. If you go to their website, you'll notice they're not lying. Every one of their shows is played here.

As far as post rock goes, we are avid fans of the extended rock and blissful clammerings that accompanied Ravens and Vultures' four-piece ensemble.

Getting to chat briefly with Andrew Ryan after the show surely helped bring the thinking behind the music cleanly together. Their spirited effort should be a great asset to any group playing around them.

Pattern Is Movement


As far as math rock goes, the main reasoning behind it all is to be as experimental as possible, throwing curveballs and leaving an offbeat progression to each song. Pattern Is Movement did just that - their song flow was unexpected and twisted and turned at each song change.

Their classical music background was apparent in the singing of vocalist/keyboardist (and founding father of PIM) Andrew Thiboldeaux. As Thiboldeaux held notes and filled the venue with his voice, keys were punctured with his fingers as all rhythm was kept. PIM's sound is not like anything you would hear - unique would be the go-to word here. Their sound is a classical singing style, one of the greatest sounding keyboards you've ever heard, and most notable from their performance, the drumming of Chris Ward. To close out their set, a nice rendition of Radiohead's "Everything In It's Right Place" was covered and done aptly so.

Although I'm new to the Math Rock scene, I don't completely understand the appeal of off-beat songs which may abruptly stop and go. I realize the creativity and thought that must be over-exherted throughout the performance, making Math Rock a much harder style to play, but for a Helio Sequence Fan, this was not up my alley. However, if Math Rock is you cup of tea, we suggest getting a better look at their album review of All Together on Pitchfork, which scored a terrific score of 7.9 against their unrelentless nitpicking.

The Helio Sequence


One must be quite skeptical as they silently applaud their own musical tastes throughout the year, especially when it comes down to seeing their most highly-favored band to hit their ears live. This was the case for the unmistakable Subpop duo, The Helio Sequence, who had such an impact, I needed to go back and listen to Love and Distance, a second place album to their already highly praised Keep Your Eyes Ahead.

What intrigued me to see their performance, aside from the appeal of KYEA, was the complexities of their music and how they could possibly duplicate all of that electronica-tinged indie rock with only two: lead vocalist/guitar, Brandon Summers and avid drummer and keyboardist Benjamin Weikel.



Their performance was crisp and duplicated at ease. Summers' vocals were everything I expected and Wiekel's drums never slowed. Perhaps this was the key performance aspect: Summer's ability to deliver solo when needed, particularly when he played "Shed Your Love", the slowest song, but one of my favoritess on KYEA. There's reason to believe Wiekel needed a break in performance - his drumming was exhillarating to watch. Both paired up to fill in the cracks of drums, guitar and vocals to accompany their electro backbeats and synths played on a computer behind them.

They played every favorite song in their library, including all of my favorites from their new album (particularly "Hallelujah" and "Lately" as well as two more of my favorites "Everyone Knows Everyone" and "Let It Fall Apart" from their Love and Distance album (2004). And I can't help but mention how Summers' harmonica experience shined when he played "Harmonica Song".

Overall, a fantastic performance, one of my most memorable ones I can name to date all due in part to two things - Johnny Brenda's set-up that allowed for a more personal venue experience and The Helio Sequence, whose Keep Your Eyes Ahead was even more thrilling live as it was on their album.

MP3: The Helio Sequence - Everyone Knows Everyone (buy)
MP3: The Helio Sequence - Keep Your Eyes Ahead (buy)



Video: The Helio Sequence - Tomorrow Never Knows