By: David de Young
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| Vicious Lee of MC/VL - Photo by Stacy Schwartz |
Arriving to the Entry just shy of 10PM, we missed opening band Dragons Power Up, but we were in time for “the homeboys we came to see”, Mighty Clyde and Vicious Lee, better known as MC/VL. Though I hated these guys when I first heard them on the radio a couple years ago, thinking they were an amateurish and kitschy novelty act, my esteem for them did a 180 after seeing them live. Nowadays, after thorough enjoyment of several of their live shows, there’s no question in my mind why they continue to take the city by storm. Beastie Boys comparisons aside— MC said to me Thursday, “about the only thing we have in common with the Beastie Boys is that we’re white and we rap” — MC/VL’s appeal lies in their ability to keep your full attention while even scaring you a bit. I get the impression some live show-goers are a little intimated by them based on the fact that as their set started Thursday photographer Stacy Schwartz and I were the only two people willing to stand right by the stage (though, to be fair, photographers tend to get into this habit and stick to it even when not shooting). The crowd moved up a tad when asked by the band a few songs in, but even then we still constituted what might have been called the front row. When the band left the stage for antics on the club floor we ended up in the no man’s land between the band and the stage playing jump rope over their mic chords which had become as tangled as spaghetti as they moved back and forth trading rhymes behind us. Far from being awkward, it was a lot of fun and helped make this a truly memorable concert experience for me.
Professor BX was also with the band Thursday on effects and turntables. In one song, the two MC’s called for call and response audience participation, them saying “Professor BX,” and us replying with “on the 1s and 2s.” One set highlight was “Amazing Grace” with its Spoon sample of “I Turn My Camera On” (check out a facsimile thereof on MC/VL’s MySpace). “Rock The Party Right” steals from Joan Jett’s rendition of “Crimson & Clover.” And yet another featured song in the set was “Monkeyshines.” Don’t make the mistake I did and judge this band without seeing them live. That is where they truly shine. They’re one of the most fun acts playing Twin Cities' stages right now.
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| Rebecca Leigh of Maps of Norway |
Maps of Norway was up next, and though I’ve only seen them four or five times over the past few years, I think it’s safe to say they keep on getting better, and this was surely one of the best shows I’ve seen them do. The first two songs, “Strict Ritual” and “Cage the Lions” comprised a mesmerizing mini two song set of their own, and if they’d just stopped at that point I would have been fully satisfied and impressed. Vocalist Rebecca Leigh doesn’t even sing for the 5 minutes of the set;” she just stood rocking back and forth slowly as bassist Matt Helgeson played a little bit on woodblock during “Strict Ritual” with its mesmerizing guitar line played by Eric Hanson. The band held the song together at the end even when Jeff Ball’s drum part drops out completely – impressively tight with no click track. The band’s second song, “Cage The Lions” reminded me a bit of “Dance with Me” by Lords of the New Church. Vocalist Leigh hopped from stage during the band’s final song “Polo Grounds” and listened to its instrumental conclusion like the rest of us as an audience member.
(You can hear a set pretty similar to what we heard Thursday over here: http://warningoftheships.blogspot.com/2007/10/maps-of-norway-at-big-vs-62307.html)
Despite this great batch of openers, this show was about Gospel Gossip, the band from Northfield Minnesota who were tonight releasing their debut album Sing Into My Mouth on fabulous local indie label Guilt Ridden Pop. I was ultimately so enthralled by the performance that I took no notes and even forgot to get a set list, so forgive me if this portion of the review is less detailed than the other two. But I believe the set evolved much in the order of the album, with one of my favorites, “Revolutions in Physics” coming early on, reminding me of early The Church (“Unguarded Moment”). It would be one of many songs played in the set that took me back to, oh let’s say about 1983 as a sort of touch point.
Gospel Gossip caught my attention initially when they’d played one of our HowWasTheShow staffer Jen Paulson’s birthday party earlier this fall – if I recall correctly, they were the opening act. Now headlining shows in their own right, Gospel Gossip is a come out of seemingly nowhere success story of 2007. I will not be surprised to see this band and their debut album turning up on many critic’s year end “best of” lists.
Star Trib music critic Chris Riemenschneider hit something on the head when he wrote that Gospel Gossip was the kind of music many of us were listening to in our bedrooms 15-20 years ago in high school. For me it was more like 25 years ago. And it wasn’t high school, it was college. But I know exactly what he meant. When filling out online “about me” forms, I’ve always claimed my favorite song is “Age of Consent” by New Order, and Gospel Gossip’s album gives me the same sort of feeling I got from listening to that song on auto-repeat in my bedroom in 1983. But Gospel Gossip lays it on for nearly 45 straight minutes. Call it shoegaze if you will, but some of these songs are still catchy, bouncy pop songs at times that you will take notice of right away. Sarah Nienaber’s guitar sings at times like a troupe of bagpipers coming in over the hills (“Wire.”) Songs like “Lucky Lemmings” with its frantic frenetic string-break baiting finale are a force of nature when experienced live. And Gospel Gossip is one of the most engaging new bands I’ve seen in some time.
Sarah Nienabor of Gospel Gossip
Location Info:
7th Street Entry
Artist Info: Gospel Gossip, MC/VL, Maps of Norway
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