WRCT receives music from several amazing record labels. One record labels that I have grown to love is Secretly Canadian, a label based in Bloomington, Ind., and consistently releases music that is original while remaining highly accessible. While planning for SXSW, I made it my mission to catch some performances from bands signed to Secretly Canadian. On Monday, March 12, I was able to see both Gardens & Villa and Exitmusic, two unique bands signed to Secretly Canadian, perform at the French Legation Museum as part of Warby Parker’s Citizen Circus.
The vibe at the French Legation Museum was great for a mid-day show. The bands played on an elevated, makeshift stage at the bottom of the hill with concert-goers, ranging in age from infantile to middle-aged, lounging on the upper part of the hill. There was an emphasis on family friendliness that was understandably lacking at other events.
I arrived right at the beginning of Gardens & Villa’s set and was more than happy to just lay in the grass and listen to their synth-pop filled set. They had a tight groove going between their percussion section and synths, but lead singer Christopher Lynch carried the show with his deeply affected singing and flute playing.
Here’s the music video for “Black Hills” by Gardens & Villa:
Exitmusic played a slightly darker set, but the chilled out vibe remained as a prominent characteristic of the day. Aleksa Palladino’s vocals were the cornerstone of Exitmusic’s performance. I’ve listened to Exitmusic in passing, but it was only live that I realized the strength of Palladino’s vocals, especially during mic checks, when she gave a short a capella performance.
Last Chance to Reason is a metal band originally from Augusta, Maine. They’ll be playing here in Austin on Friday, March 16 at 8 p.m. at Valhalla (710 Red River St.). WRCT DJ Dan Curhan had the chance to talk to AJ Harvey and Michael Lessard of Last Chance to Reason a few weeks ago about recording their newest album Level 2.
Level 2just came out. It’s sort of tied in with the concept of a video game kind of thing. Where did that whole inspiration come from? Was it just like, “dude, I fucking love video games, let’s write a record about it?”
AJ Harvey: We all like playing those types of games, like, Super Nintendo style. Michael Lessard: That and the soundtracks for a lot of the games, like super Metroid and stuff like that, all the music is progressive in itself too. We all just kind of felt like video games and metal go hand-in-hand. Two kick-ass things, you know?
Who wrote most of the lyrics?
ML: Actually, Evan did. I joined the band kind of late in the game, and Evan had a notebook full of lyrics, and pretty much went “here you go” and we went through everything, found stuff we thought could work, and revised them all. And eventually we got what we have on the record. The lyrics go through the story of the game, or the concept of the record. If you read them you can sort of see the story of the game.
You had a video game that people were playing at the merch booth. Who wrote that?
ML: Evan designed it, and he did all the concept art and a bit of the artwork that’s in the first level, actually. He worked with a programmer and pixel artist on it. Pretty much they worked back and forth over the course of two years to put it all together while we were working on the album and dealing with record labels and management, and things of that nature.
How long did the whole level 2 process take?
ML: It’s still kind of going on, so a long time. Three and a half, four years… so it’s been a while for sure. AJ:Lvl. 1 came out in August 2007, andLevel 2came out in 2011. ML: Yeah, there was a big gap between albums, and even the second level of the game is in production right now. And there’s still stuff on the album still being worked on, so…
Is it going to carry through? Are there going to be levels 3, 4, and 5?
ML: It hasn’t really been decided on. I feel like the story line will continue, but I’m not sure about everything else. Possibly? Probably? Maybe? I don’t know. Anybody else can chime in if they like, but as far as I know, nothing’s been decided on. AJ: I like the idea of doing a level 3, but we haven’t really all talked it over yet.
Yesterday, March 15, was the last day of Warby Parker’s 3-day Citizen Circus, a showcase that featured tons of awesome bands like La Sera, Quilt, Yellow Ostrich, Big Deal, and Hospitality. I saw some great acts there and also had the chance to see one of my favorite performers, Dee Dee from the Dum Dum Girls.
I love the Dum Dum Girls. They make consistently good music and always look really fucking cool. I play them all the time on my radio show and have been looking forward to Dee Dee’s solo performance since I heard about it however many weeks ago. And her show totally lived up to my expectations.
It was just Dee Dee and her guitar — a super stripped down performance of Dum Dum Girls songs. Dee Dee said that she felt naked without her band, but I really enjoyed hearing her play her songs the way that she originally wrote them. I’m pretty sure this was the Dum Dum Girls’ equivalent of an acoustic set. Dee Dee’s voice was just as strong live as recorded, and her performance showed her true talent in song writing.
Here are a couple of photos from Dee Dee’s show on Wednesday.
