M83 At The Middle East Downstairs

M83 in Vancouver shot by heeeraldo.

Last night was awesome. It started off kinda stressful, though. I had to rush out of work and my car stalled twice in a row while driving through downtown Salem. The first thing that went through my head was "I wonder how much trouble you get in for leaving your car in the middle of the road." Because obviously I was going to get a cab to Boston if my car wasn't going to work, but after starting it up a third time, it was smooth sailing from then on out.

I got to The Middle East just as Berg Sans Nipple was packing up their stuff and holy shit was it hot in there. I was still wearing my work clothes (jeans, t-shirt, button down, and winter shoes) so I immediately started sweating. Gross, I know. But as I'm walking towards to stage, I notice my favorite spot on the left rise-up was open. I walk up and there's only a couple standing in front of me (both of whom were short), so I ended up about 10 feet from the stage with a clear view of everyone. Except for the ridiculous 85+ degree temperature, I couldn't be happier.

The stage set up was kinda weird. The drummer had this huge barrier made of 5 (approx) 6x3 plexi-glass panels. I don't know if it was so he could block out the other sounds or if it was meant to block out his drums. Or maybe it was just for looks, trying to match Anthony's glowing blue box of knobs also made of plexi-glass. I'm going with blocking out the drums because they were definitely too loud. They kind of dominated everything else.

So that brings me to my initial (but not long lasting) gripe about the show. The music was quite different live than recorded. It was much more raw and less processed. The vocals had almost no effects and the guitars sounded very guitary. The drums were really loud and the electronics and synths weren't always noticeable. At first, I was really surprised because I couldn't even recognize which song was being played until the chorus came in. I'm not sure if this is how M83 plays live or if it's a Middle East thing, because I remember similar problems when I saw Asobi Seksu play there.

But, this was not a bad thing. A little disconcerting at first, yes, but easily overlooked and it made the show that much better. I don't know about you, but this is why I go to shows. I'm not always looking for the band to re-create exactly the sound of the record. I like the little subtleties, improvisations, and variations that come along with watching a band perform. It's part of the charm.

That being said, M83 kicked so much ass. I wasn't sure how it would go live, if it would just be Anthony Gonzalez with a guitar, some synths and a laptop, or if he would have more people helping him. But when I saw the drum kit, I knew it would at least be him and a live drummer. It ended up being 4 people total, with another guitarist and a girl doing synths/vocals/maybe some electronics.

It's all kind of a blur but I remember them playing a lot of stuff from Saturdays = Youth like "Kim & Jessie," "Skin Of The Night," "Graveyard Girl," "We Own The Sky," and "Highway Of Endless Dreams." They also definitely played "Don't Save Us From The Flames," "Run Into Flowers," and a different version of "Moonchild." I know they played more but I can't quite remember. The encore might have been "A Guitar And A Heart." Not sure.

The crowd was crazy for M83. Everyone loved them and they loved us back. I love it when a band is really appreciative of an appreciative audience. It lets you know they care and aren't too pretentious. I'm pretty sure everyone in the club that night had an amazing time. And after all is said and done, I now have a little crush on Anthony.

Can't Stop

So somehow, even though I knew June 1st was a Sunday (because it was my mom's birthday) and that M83 was playing on June 2nd, I had it in my head that M83 was playing Boston on a Tuesday. This is not the case. M83 is playing tonight and that means I'm wicked excited. I'm in full on Can't Stop mode, listening to as much M83 as possible before the show tonight. I've already listened to 4 of his 5 full lengths.

Sadly, even though I asked for the day off of work, I'm still working. This means I'll miss the two opening acts, Matters & Dunaway and Berg Sans Nipple. I'm OK with that because I've seen both of them before when they each opened for The Album Leaf on separate occasions and I'm in no hurry to see either of them again.

What is not OK is that I'll probably be standing in the back of the room, staring at everyone's heads because the show sold out and I will be getting there just before M83 goes on. Super shitty. That means no pictures. I shouldn't complain too much, though. I mostly have my eyes closed at shows no matter how close I am. And I'm going to see M83. So there's that.

I'm sure I'll post something about the show tomorrow or Wednesday. So check back and I'll let you know what it was like (prediction: awesome). Until then, here's the video for "Don't Save Us From The Flames," although the beginning of it could just as easily be for Teen Angst.

UPDATE: The dudes from Matters & Dunaway have brought to my attention the fact that they never opened for The Album Leaf. How embarrassing. My sincerest apologies guys. Together, we put out brains together to help me remember who it was that I saw them open for. It was when they played TT's with Drop The Lime and Kid 606. Not The Album Leaf. Not Mono (my second guess). But with the Tigerbeat founder himself. Whoops.

Update

I've been working a lot lately and will be working quite a bit this next week so I apologize for the less than usual posting.

I saw The Forbidden Kingdom Thursday night and I thought it was pretty rank. It's too kid-like for adults to enjoy and it's too adult-like for the kids to understand. And even though Woo-ping Yuen (The Matrix series, Kill Bill, Crouching Tiger, Fearless, etc, etc) did the martial arts choreography, I was still unimpressed with the fight scenes. That's all I have to say about it so try not to get too excited about a full review. It ain't happenin'.

I also watched School Of Rock again because Elise had never seen it. With such great cast and crew, I'm still really disappointed that it's not as funny as it should be.

In the past 6 days, I have listened to M83's Saturdays=Youth like a bajillion times. I think I listened to Pet Sounds once and I'm listening to Beaches & Canyons by Black Dice right now. But other than that? Seriously, it's been playing non-stop. But I had to create a playlist that consisted of the entire album, minus that one awful song I mentioned in my review. It's a tragedy. I also usually just skip the last track and go back to beginning. Maybe my playlist needs another trimming.

I feel like my blog has somewhat of an identity crisis. I'm wondering if I should cut back on the video game and news aspects and stick to mostly reviews of music and movies. That might help narrow it down. I was also thinking of taking it in another direction and making a video blog (not a vlog). Maybe something where I compile various videos found on the interwebs. Everything from music videos to trailers to shorts to whatever. Pitchfork.tv has really shown me that I love to watch pretty much any video online, even if it's about bands I don't care about. But I still like writing reviews, even if I'm not very good at them, so maybe I would incorporate that. A compilation of videos and reviews. Is that even more of an identity problem? Maybe. If anyone has any input, I'd be more than happy to hear it.

M83 - Saturdays=Youth

I unabashedly love M83. No questions asked, I'll listen to whatever he puts out and will almost certainly love it. I was really excited when I heard his new album Saturdays=Youth was going to be very '80s oriented. Most of his stuff already has some under- and even over-tones of the 1980s, but to know that he would be creating an album that specifically had that in mind was good news to me. And while M83's last record, Digital Shades Vol. 1, was strictly ambient music and something he'll return to for at least one more album, it's not where M83 is headed permanently (for now, anyways). Saturdays=Youth marks a significant change in his work and it seems to be something that will follow M83 in albums to come.

So in case you couldn't tell from even the album cover alone, this record sounds like it's from the '80s and it has themes of being young, carefree, and everything you remember about growing up. From the first song, You, Appearing, you can tell right away this is a different than the rest. Gone are the sonic synth soundscapes. Saturdays is filled with songs that follow traditional song-like structures. Verse, bridge, chorus, repeat. That's not to say the tracks found on Before The Dawn Heals Us or Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts aren't songs. Of course they are songsand they work great as stand alone pieces but the ones found on Saturdays sound like some of your favorite '80s pop songs. They have a distinctly different feel to them.

Graveyard Girl is a prime example. There's lyrics like "She collects crowns made of black roses but her heart is made of bubble gum" and "She worships Satan like a father but dreams of a sister like Molly Ringwald." (I guess the video makes sense now.) Not only does it describe this girl, it even sounds like it was written by her. Some 15 year old girl writing poems about her tragic day to day life. Only M83 could pull it off. He is ideal for making this record. Everything he does is dramatic, epic, and at times, cheesy (in a good way), just like a teenager. I'm sure he knew this album would eventually happen. Before The Dawn Heals Us even has a track called Teen Angst. Anybody who was surprised by the sound of this new album hasn't been paying attention.

Though no matter how much a departure this is from previous M83 records, this is still undeniably M83. Even if you've never heard Saturdays before, you could tell from a mile away who it is. Which is a good thing. That's one of the reasons I love M83, for his distinction. But before I get too carried away (I know, too late, right?), I need to say that Saturdays=Youth has what is hands-down the worst M83 song to date. It's called Up! and it's found right smack in the middle of the album. I must've listened to that song 8 or 9 times before I said to myself, "No more! Get over yourself and just skip the god damn song." I very rarely skip songs on albums. It never happens that I dislike a song so much to do so. I'll just let it play through. But I'm not sure what anyone was thinking when they decided to keep Up! the final album. It definitely should have been edited out.

The only other problem I find with Saturdays is the final 11 minute track called Midnight Souls Still Remain. It's a very pretty, albeit unremarkable, soothing synth drone. It seems unnecessary, almost like an add-on so fans couldn't get too angry at his new style. It might have fit on Before The Dawn (and maybe not even then), but not on Saturdays. Those, however, are the only two things that I find fault with on this record. It's great in every other way and if you have an affinity for the '80s and it's unquestionably good music, pick this up. And if you're a fan of M83, you should already have it.

And of course I feel the need to let everyone know about M83's current tour. He'll be visiting Canada and the USA, with a stop here in Boston at the Middle East on June 2.

M83's Graveyard Girl Video

Here it is. The video for Graveyard Girl off the the new album Saturdays = Youth due out so so so soon on the 15th. Can't wait. I'm a bit M83 crazy.

It looks like a more artsy version of a John Hughes movie, where Molly Ringwald switches roles with Ally Sheedy in The Breakfast Club and plays Allison instead of Claire. From what I've heard, Saturdays = Youth is less epic and more dreamy than previous stuff. Which, of course, is totally ok.



There's a higher res version of the video on Pitchfork TV, if you're interested.

Don't forget M83 is currently on tour and he'll be performing at the Middle East Downstairs on June 2. That's like, less than 2 months away. Hurray!

Fully Flared

Fully Flared looks like a skate video. Or something. From skate shoemakers Lakai. In case you didn't see this on Pitchfork, this video is the opening credits to Fully Flared, with slo-mo skaters set to M83's Lower Your Eyelids To Die With The Sun. I'm really not into skate videos but hey, if they have bitchin soundtracks I just might change my mind.



M83 starts touring North America on May 20 and comes to Boston on June 2 at the Middle East Downstairs.