Grizzly Bear, this visit is long overdue but finally!

My encounter with Grizzly Bear was nothing like their beastly namesake. Brooklyn’s infamous quartet was pitch-perfect, song after song, after song. It felt almost too good to be true but the thought of their demanding touring schedule registered that Becks Festival Bar was just another stop – they must be so used to this that I can’t imagine Grizzly Bear ever missing a beat.

Pardon the cynicism. Last night’s performance was great and I can understand how impressive they are live but every time I turned around, someone in the distance was yawning and since it’s contagious, you can guess who it hit next.

I can however tell you that their hit track from Yellow House, “Knife” left me breathless and “Fine For Now” was blew me away like I never imagined. Grizzly Bear flew through their predominantly Veckatimest-filled set but the song the crowd seemed to savour most was “Two Weeks” (miss you, Victoria Legrand). Four angelic voices so delicately weaved into the one whispy and fragile melodic layer. Unmistakeably soft and luscious that it felt like your favourite pillow … but maybe this is just the exhaustion talking. Towards the close of their set, “Foreground” became this ethereal veil and was simply sublime. To say, I wasn’t convinced or impressed is a lie – there is definitely something quite special about a Grizzly Bear show.

More photos here.

Hailing all the way from Portland (and with a slideshow to prove it) YACHT is a band, a belief system, and a business run by two extraordinary people: musician-and-designer Jona Bechtolt and science-writer Claire L. Evans. They are the force behind See Mystery Lights and the new trinity.

Dressed as polar opposites, the duo finds themselves at ease with the crowd, the stage peripheries and most significantly with each other as they open with “I’m In Love with a Ripper”. The dynamic between Evans and Bechtolt is stunning and electric as they constantly feeding off each other’s energy. Between songs they establish Q&A sessions, discuss a few slides, etc., basically putting lecturers everywhere to shame – we got to know YACHT in real-time and only they would raise the probability of being in the same room with the same people at the one time. Yeah, shit got real deep.

See Mystery Lights is a direct translation of their evolving paradigms; predominantly during the tracks “The Afterlife” and “We Have All We’ve Ever Wanted”. They portray a great sense of spatial awareness perhaps due to their mutli-faceted performance even once transcending into the fourth dimension – YACHT are literally visionary. Capping off their set with “Psychic City (Voodoo City)” was magic with everyone singing and dancing along. Even with a one-song encore of “See a Penny (Pick it Up)”, it couldn’t have been a better way to end a night, let alone a Tuesday night.

Complete photo set is over here.

It was always going to be better seeing a band circled by the audience. It’s a powerful set-up I wish more bands considered. I mean without doing so last night, I think Thee Oh Sees’ performance may have fallen short but it didn’t simply because we felt like part of their set.

It was intimate and felt like a d.i.y show all the way through, which was really comforting. Thee Oh Sees played a short but was nonetheless an intense set with songs from their recent release, Help, as well as a tracks from their earlier EPs including Carol Ann. It was a slice of San Francisco that I wished lasted a little longer. They have a few more shows to go, so if there coming to a town near you definitely try and catch them.

Almost two years ago, I caught an emerging Sydney band at a little party for a Swedish fashion house held where else but at the newly opened Oxford Art Factory. This band is called Songs and they fittingly returned to OAF for the launch of their self-titled release last Thursday night.

Songs have no doubt been one of the busiest bands around with a touring schedule that constantly saw them fill in as support slots. Seeing them headlining was a relief to the many who have caught this band time and time again. I can tell you that they owned it that night. In fact, I can tell you they own each and every set they have played. Yet, something just felt right with the quartet. They were tight and sounded incredibly strong. I guess on the back of their release they sounded polished – resolved and clear. Having evolved before our very eyes, Songs have managed to be the quintessential Sydney band.

A few more photos here.

There is a first for everything. Last night was the first time a show felt under whelming. With the Oxford Art Factory not even half full by the time El Perro Del Mar came on stage, I can only imagine it would’ve only felt confronting to the Swede who is visiting for the first time to support Sarah Blasko.

El Perro Del Mar’s songs aren’t even that confronting. If anything they are simple, light-hearted and joyous. They are short pop pieces for everyone to enjoy. It’s really that accessible. Even more so are the songs from her latest release Love is Not Pop. Accompanied by a guitarist and a backing track, the songs from Love is Not Pop, including “Change of Heart”, “Heavenly Arms” and “Gotta Get Smart”, were uplifting and not as two-dimensional as it may appear. Revisiting her first self-titled debut with “I Coming Down The Hill”, El Perro adorns herself with her 12-string guitar and it becomes evident this is where she finds herself at ease. The occasional song from her second album From the Valley to the Stars was played yet the highlight was her cover of “(At Your Best) You Are Love”, which closed her set. El Perro’s luscious adaptation of the R&B classic made me die a little inside.

Her vocals are faultless and pitch-perfect every single time and it’s one voice I’d be happy drifting along to. To be honest she is a delight to watch. If only Sydney wasn’t so disappointing.

A few more photos are here.

I admit I was a little very excited on Friday. Only 5 months ago, I was on the other side of the world watching Vivian Girls in the probably the smallest bar in SoCal (or Southern California to those of us here) and between the time lapse, the Vivian Girls are still very much enjoying the ride. From the start of this year they’ve manage to grace almost every single blog, magazine and place now reaching the far corners of the world with their first tour to Australia.

Despite a hazy memory this morning, I recall their set comprising a good balance of songs from their debut and their upcoming release, Everything Goes Wrong, as if they read my tweet just before I left for the gig that night.

I could say every song was filled with luscious harmonies and jangly, skuzz pop riffs and indeed that was the case but none more so during “Such a Joke” and “Where Do You Run To” where it featured prominently. Even during “Can’t Get Over You” – a new track from Everything Goes Wrong – they were polished leaving no room for error. “Before I Start to Cry” provided a melancholy moment, which was surprisingly unexpected but it was great to see another shade to the classic Vivian Girls sound. On occasion you might find Kickball Katy amongst the crowd while Cassie Ramone and Ali Koehler remain at their stations.

The encore included “I Believe in Nothing” and was a personal highlight maybe because I’ve been itching to hear it live since their Orphange 7”. Closing with “Damaged”, I can’t imagine anyone walking out of Spectrum that night unimpressed. The Vivian Girls today are an exciting group of really great, if not best, friends. It is a positive dynamic I wish I could be a witness to all the time.

Also, props to Hawnay Troof, the one man party machine for bringing the energy to entertain us all before Vivian Girls. He struck a chord real deep within all of us.

For some more photos, visit the gallery.

I’m sure you’ll hear more from me about the Vivian Girls, in fact maybe I should just end here and declare this week as Vivian Girls week?