Yaeka and I made it out to the What Made Milwaukee Famous, Matt and Kim, and French Kicks concert at Neumo’s here in Seattle, WA tonight thanks in large part to Barsuk Records. The concert was great with three great bands and if you have a chance to see any of these bands live I would seriously recommend it – especially Matt and Kim – they were freaking amazing.

We managed to get some almost decent images and you can see what we got in each of the individual posts we have for each band: What Made Milwaukee Famous, Matt and Kim, and French Kicks.

French Kicks were the headliners and the crowd certainly filled in once they got on stage. It made it a bit difficult to get good photos, but here’s what I managed to get. They opened with the big guns and the audience ate it up. Click on the images for larger versions.

I knew that Matt and Kim were going to be fun to see live, but I had no idea they were going to be this much fun. Of the bands performing at Neumo’s tonight (French Kicks and What Made Milwaukee Famous being the others), I’d have to say Matt and Kim really stold the show. They projected an incredible amount of fun energy that just couldn’t be denied. I definitely recommend checking them out live if you get a chance. Click on the images to view the full size versions.

The following photos were taken at Neumo’s in Seattle, WA during What Made Milwaukee Famous’ performance opening for Matt and Kim and French Kicks. Click on the image to view a larger version. I apologize that the quality on these isn’t the best, but I wanted to get these up quickly rather than hold off forever while trying to find time to touch them up.

What Made Milwaukee Famous put on an excellent performance with a ton of energy and the crowd definitely appreciated it. I don’t think I saw the bass player stop moving once. That made it a bit difficult to get a good shot of him, but if you’re feeling it you’re feeling and he definitely was. They mentioned several times how much they liked Seattle and that they plan to be spending a bit more time up here.

continued from Niño Rojo review

Banhart took the stage at the Bowery Ballroom alone, as one might expect, and opened solo with “Little Yellow Spider.” Gesticulating with his right hand as if conducting a parade of the happy-grotesque animals catalogued in the song, the tweaks and vocal flourishes Banhart indulges made the performance of the song significantly different than the album cut.

Nothing, however, had prepared me for the hour of absolute sonorous joy that ensued. Five “friends” — electric bass and guitar players, a drummer, and an acoustic guitar player (a comrade from Banhart’s side project Vetiver) — joined him for the remainder of the show, filling out the bounce and swagger of the guitar-and-singer formula. As a result, the raucous fugue-like shuffle ending to “This Beard is for Siobhan” became an even rowdier stomp-a-long exhortation to “have a real good time, a good time, a real good time.” The additional instrumentation was wisely used not to extend the length of the songs with boring jam sessions, but instead merely added to the breadth of each song’s already finely crafted structure, and occasionally adding a decorative lick.

The set list was noticeably lacking in material from Oh Me Oh My, including only the brief instrumental “Tick Eats the Olive” and a minor-key transposition of the usually warmer tune “Michigan State” (a song boasting some of his best lyrical wordplay). Most songs were from Niño Rojo, but highlights were “Will is My Friend,” “A Sight to Behold” and a surprising but glorious cover of an old reggae tune.

Onstage, the bandmembers often embraced one another, rubbed heads, and otherwise expressed their affection. The bass player wore a crown of bright flowers. Looking around the crowd, this was definitely NOT Woodstock (I think popular culture is too self-conscious for that now), but the love onstage had an effect on the audience and the on the music, too. I was smiling the entire show; it was beyond pleasant. They had a real good time. We had a real good time. We all had a real good time.