the ian fays and rooftop vigil (aka geographer) @ great american, 2/21
Last night I saw the Ian Fays, and the Rooftop Vigil play a show at the Great American. Maldroid (myspace) was headlining, but I decided not to stick around after hearing some of their stuff on myspace.
Geographer/ the Rooftop Vigil were on when I got there a few minutes after the “show time”. (Since when do Great American shows start on time?) The set up is, left to right, Kacey on keyboards and vocals (and guitar for one song), Mike on keyboards/ guitar and vocals, Nathan on cello and Brian on drums.
They have an indie pop sound that’s a little bit off the standard sound: varied keyboard sounds, cello holding down the low end and a lead vocals (for most of the songs) that had a really nice Jim James quality to it. (A “floating” or “soaring” quality, I’d call it, conscious of the fact that that description sounds strange.)
Their songs worked really well, especially live, and it was an enjoyable set overall. Good songs, decent banter (though there could be more) and good musicianship. The set ended with me feeling like I’d be hearing more from this band.
The Ian Fays went on, complete with matching plaid outfits, at least for the girls, after a short break.
They played a solid set of their indie pop, complete with guitars, bass, keyboards, interesting percussion (glockenspiel, finger cymbals), and drum set. It was a fairly consistent but enjoyable set. In addition to their coordinated outfits, they had coordinated hand movements and things that gave the set some extra interest.
Between Geographer and the Ian Fays, I was thrilled by this show. Two really solid sets, a small and intimate show and a great venue. I left very excited about the state of music.
More photos after the jump. You can also view the whole photo album.
February 27th, 2008 at 1:49 am
Thanks for the Geographer writeup, Adrian! Hope to see you again soon.
February 27th, 2008 at 1:19 pm
With all due respect how can you review a show when you bounce before the headliner played? You missed out on a great Maldroid set. I am sure anyone there would agree! Recorded Maldroid is a whole different thing from Live Maldroid. Stripped down, raw, in your face.
February 27th, 2008 at 1:34 pm
I review shows that I see. I went in knowing I wouldn’t be staying for Maldroid–this was an Ian Fays/ Geographer show for me, but maybe I need to give live Maldroid another chance.
April 11th, 2008 at 9:44 am
[…] There was a small, but growing, crowd when Geographer when on. They’d turned into a three-piece (from a four-piece) since I last saw them a couple months ago. Front man Mike Deni now handles all the vocals, plays keys and guitar. Nate covers the cello and Brian’s on drums. Some of their keyboards are now sequenced and either Nate or Brian starts those, depending on the song. […]
April 18th, 2008 at 8:24 pm
[…] This show was a CD release for the Ian Fays’ Dylan’s Lost Days. I got the the preview EP to this album a couple months ago and I’ve been liking those tunes. Their live show was full of nice versions of tunes from that EP and enjoyable tunes I wasn’t as familiar. It was tight and lot of fun. I’d recommend checking out their live show sometime. […]
May 29th, 2008 at 12:58 pm
[…] first saw Geographer a few months ago when they were called something else at the Great American and heard something pretty exciting in their sound. I also caught them a […]
June 9th, 2008 at 3:01 am
[…] first saw Geographer a few months ago when they were called something else at the Great American and heard something pretty exciting in their sound. I also caught them a […]
July 12th, 2008 at 5:27 pm
[…] received a nice review from Adrian at blog.ipickmynose.com about our show at the Great American in February. Thanks for […]
August 19th, 2008 at 8:12 am
[…] set up was back to a four-piece, though a different four-piece than when I first saw them in February. They had the same trio we’ve all grown to love–Mike on keys and guitar, […]