Company of Thieves steal the show in Atlanta

Live review: Company of Thieves / Ben Deignan / Sleeper Agent at Smith's Olde Bar in Atlanta, June 18, 2011

Chicago's Company of Thieves know how to entertain. On the road with their
sophomore release Running from a Gamble, this outfit also knows how to rock. Leader and happiest-person-on-the-stage Genevieve Schatz puts the E in energy by immediately and excitedly conversing with the crowd. "It's been way too long since we were here last!" she yelled. The fans agreed. With a voice reminiscent of Bjork, Nina Diaz (Girl in a Coma), and a pinch of Edie Brickell, it succeeds as a powerful instrument.

Finally reaching the stage at around 11:40, the band roared through a loud and tight set, pausing frequently to check on the audience and discuss old times ("Who was at Vinyl the last time we were here?" was answered with several claps and yelps). Playing selections from Gamble as well as their 2009 debut Ordinary Riches (both on Wind-Up Records), crowd faves were clearly "Oscar Wilde," "Pressure," and the new and awesome "Death Of Communication."

Throughout many comings and goings of band members, Schatz is currently joined by bandmates Marc Walloch (guitar), Chris Faller (drums), Marcin Sulewski (bass), and Eitan Bernstein (keys). The five seem to get along famously and that comes out in their music, which is free and soaring. Company of Thieves are gaining attention with this release and have on their resume opening slots for OK Go and The Hold Steady, as well as appearances at Lollapalooza, Live From Daryl's House, and Last Call With Carson Daly.

Catch the band on the road through the end of August: tour dates.

Kicking off the evening was the Kentucky band Sleeper Agent. These youngsters woke up the crowd and primed them for a high energy show. This six-piece from Bowling Green just came off a performance at SXSW and an opening slot with Cage the Elephant and are showing their younger fans what punk was all about. The show was raw and intense and the kids had a blast. They will soon be the headliners.

The on-deck slot was reserved for Atlantan Ben Deignan, whose passion for his music was flowing over. The charismatic singer was on from start to finish and fans were dancing right along with him. With a powerfully melodic voice, he's an amalgam of Justin Timberlake, Rob Thomas, and Adam Levine. Furthermore, he displayed the moves and mannerisms of Prince and James Brown while going all Stevie Wonder vocally once in a while. Not bad for a white boy. Still waiting for that big record label break, Deignan has released a CD and a brand new DVD, Keep On Keeping On, which will surely promote his great talent.

Deignan covered Kanye West's "Stronger" and did not disappoint. Not to be shortchanged, his band is a force to be reckoned with. Nothing short of a powerhouse, these guys could give the Roots and run for their money.

The Rosebuds share custody of Atlanta fans

Live review: The Rosebuds and Other Lives at The EARL in Atlanta, June 16, 2011

Imagine working with your spouse 24/7/365. Never a break. But the product you make is in demand and made of high quality materials. This has been the situation for the Rosebuds' Kelly Crisp and Ivan Howard for about the past ten years. The North Carolina duo is on the road in support of their new release, Loud Planes Fly Low (Merge). Sadly, not all business ventures work out. The married Crisp and Howard called their union quits recently, but the Rosebuds continue churning out that great product. You can hear the heartache in "Worthwile" and "Come Visit Me," but there is also joyous abandon, as in the upbeat "Woods."

Not strangers to Atlanta, Crisp and Howard performed like locals playing a gig at a friend's house. Constantly chatting with fans, high-fiving, talking about old times, the band had a great time (and so did we). Throughout the evening, Crisp's birthday was discussed frequently (it was to hit at midnight), and as they wrapped a fine show, a small birthday cake with candles was brought to her on stage and "Happy Birthday" was sung with vigor by her fans.

The set included several exquisite selections off the new Loud Planes, sprinkled with old faves such as "Drunkards Worst Nightmare," and "Nice Fox" (with the crowd helping out, "And it don't mean nothin' at all"). The EARL was packed with happy fans who sang, danced, and reminisced with the group. Crisp and Howard both possess fine vocal talents, but it was the harmonizing that came off the strongest. They traveled effortlessly between folk and rock, hitting everything in between.

After all four consumed the birthday cake, Kelly Crisp announced, "Well, that's it. I guess we'll just hang out now." And she waded into the crowd of friends.

Opening band Other Lives gave the fans a two-for-one show with a fantastic set of something that sounded like a mix between My Morning Jacket and Radiohead, if you can imagine that. With the recent release of Tamer Animals (TBD), the folk/rock outfit from Stillwater, Oklahoma is making a name for itself with sweeping, fantastic songs that you wish would never end. Singer/guitarist Jesse Tabish possesses a strong voice which perfectly complements the band's orchestral sound (and vice-versa).

Originally an instrumental-only band known as Kunek, Tabish made the smart decision to beging singing and never looked back. The multi- multi-intrumentalists in the band worked double-time playing guitar, bass, drums, xylophone, trumpet, vibraphone, keyboards, a laptop, cello, a pair of deer antlers crafted into tamborines, and more. Fascinating just to watch, Other Lives provided a lush sound that easily trumped the visuals.

Find the Rosebuds (on tour this summer with Bon Iver) and Other Lives in a town near you and hear their sounds by clicking here: Rosebuds tour / Other Lives tour.

Mogwai redefine loud in Atlanta

This five-piece band from Glasgow, Scotland must be huge fans of Spinal Tap because they had it turned up to 11 all night. Mogwai is known for the quiet-loud-quiet pattern in many of their songs. But for Atlanta fans, it would be quiet-sonic boom-quiet, which only served their music better. On the road in support of their awesomely titled seventh studio album, Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will (Sub Pop), the band is enjoying critical success and growing their fan base in every town. Last year's Vincent Moon-directed Burning was Mogwai's first concert film (accompanied by the Special Moves soundtrack) and brought the band to a new level of fame, showing them doing their thing live.

To clear things up, Mogwai means "evil spirit" in Chinese and was also the name of the creatures in the film Gremlins. It has been said that the band had always planned on choosing a better name, but never got around to it. Mogwai is one of the tightest instrumental rock outfits playing today (they've also been called post-rock). Mogwai's style was influenced by such bands as MC5, My Bloody Valentine, Sonic Youth, and Fugazi. Founder Stuart Braithwaite led the band through a stunning set at the Center Stage in Atlanta. Several tracks were heard from the new Hardcore, but they did mix in many from previously releases.



The fabulous "Mexican Grand Prix" exhibits a rare set of vocals for Mogwai on their usual all-instrumental landscape of sound. Although the listener may not be able to decipher what leader Stuart Braithwaite is actually saying, it's effective nonetheless. Other Mogwai selections you should know by heart were "You're Lionel Richie," "Take Me Somewhere Nice," and "Rock Action." Incidentally, Rock Action became the moniker for Mogwai's own record label featuring several diverse acts including Scotland's own Errors.

Errors are currently touring with Mogwai and opened the show on this night in Atlanta. A promising group known as "post-electro," they were the perfect fit for a Mogwai show. Errors have two fine LPs under their belt: 2008's Its Not Something But It Is Like Whatever and last year's Come Down With Me.

Catch both bands on tour now: www.mogwai.co.uk