Monday, October 8, 2012

The Raveonettes live @ Webster Hall, October 5, 2012

Autumn in New York.  No better time of the year than for The Raveonettes to return and treat their fans to yet-another amazing live show.


Since they began doing live shows here in this fair city over a decade ago - I have yet to miss one.


With their latest album "Observator" now out, it's making a strong statement regarding Sune Rose Wagner's ability to create one pop masterpiece after another.


The live show has always been a thing of wonder, with amazing lights to accompany such brilliantly executed songs.



Sharin Foo appears to have a new found energy for the band dynamic, showing off her skill as the perfect compliment to Mr. Wagner and his songs.  Alternating most effectively between bass, electric and acoustic guitar, it is still this rich voice that stands out as her primary instrument.


Joined by a familiar face on drums, the three piece delivered a crisply paced set that blended brand new songs with classics from their earlier album.

Listen to "Young and Cold" from their latest:




A light show can be a powerful thing.  Properly sequenced with the music being played, it creates a sensory experience that is both visual and can be physically felt as well.


The deeper blue hues serve to "cool" things down during quieter passages.


The Raveonettes work very well as a three-piece.  Seeing them in their earlier days with four (then five) members, they always seamlessly employed some backing tracks.  There is an art to blending these sound elements in a live show, and this band does it better than anyone out there.

 
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Listen to a clip of another new track from Observator
"Sinking With The Sun"
 
 



The big show ender (before encore) is "Aly, Walk With Me"


It's the perfect balance of slithery, seductive groove,


and full on Psych Rock freak out


The sheer force of this moment in time is as powerful and transformative as it gets.


The main set.  Some encores were played too (like the aforementioned "Sinking With The Sun")


A real pleasure on this night was getting to hang out with Loan TheNYCStreetDancer!  The inspiration for the story Sune tells in his song "She Owns The Streets" - there would be more adventures to write about before the night was over.


Having access to this is always helpful when you want to chat with the band and crew, post-show.


Which led to the great chat I had with highly regarded recording engineer Alonzo VargasWorking with noted producer Richard Gotteher, Alonzo has engineered and/or mixed all The Dum Dum Girls records; The Raveonettes Observator, Into the Night and Raven in the Grave; and Eternal Summers Correct Behavior - all amazing sounding records.


Some of the new merch available.  I chuckled at seeing the baby onesie.


Opening the show was the French Dreampop group Melody's Echo Chamber



Their sound evoked those 60's French adventure movies like "The Sweet Ride" (look it up - it's stylish and hilarious).


With a touch of Cocteau Twins for good measure as well.



Their set got progressively better as it went along, up to and including this psych jam end out.


Definitely worth investigating further.


Every great Raveonettes show deserves an afterparty - and this night would certainly be no exception.

Heading out of the venue and into street, I spotted the crews packing up gear.


I am almost as much fascinated with the inner workings of what makes a band "go" as the actual artists and their music itself.   The gentleman in the foreground is Danish record producer Jon Schumann (who also does work under the singular name Joshua).  For this tour The Raveonettes have hired him to be the "front-of-the-house-soundman."  So, he is in charge of the sound the band is producing from the stage.  An important postition, without a doubt. I had an interesting chat with Jon at the afterparty.  My thoughts and his vary somewhat on the overall volume of one aspect of the thunderous bass notes that accompanied a number of the Raveonettes songs at this show.  He informed me that none other than Depeche Mode's Martin Gore (who was at the show) told him the sound was perfect - so far be it from me to question individuals who's expertise far outweighs mine.


Out front B Bar I ran into my new friend Loan TheNYCDancer again.  I was treated to a live performance of what she does (and does so well) - dancing in the streets!





I was most amused at how she alternately entertains and possibly befuddles the NYC Cabs



"I can't wait to - get to know her - I want to be one who helps keep it alive"


Afterparty fun.  It's like SubZeroFun - only better.

17 comments:

  1. that looks like it was a totally amazing show! i really love those ghostly imaged 'aly' photos. the Raveonettes are one of those bands that just keep making one great album after another.

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  2. I was totally delighted at how those "Aly, Walk With Me" photos came out. When you are shooting pictures in that kind of environment - you just point and fire away. You're never really sure how they will turn out. These results couldn't have been better!

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  3. Great review Dave!

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  4. another great review!

    those pics looks mysterious I would say... seems like it was a super show!!!

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  5. The images visually capture some of what goes on - but the music is what really matters. And these songs are great. They did a set the was just the right balance of old and new.

    And how cool is hanging with TheNYCStreetDancer? She only inspired The Raveonettes latest great song!

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  6. Amazing article Dave...great photos and videos. You are the true fan having never missed a NYC show .I'm impressed. Pretty cool you had the whole experience...show, backstage, after party, and the NYCDancer! Nice! Thanks for sharing with us all and making us jealous. :-)

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  7. Cool beans, Davey. I see that you have "Observator" tipped as one of your must get albums on your MXP - Music Xchange Program. You can't go wrong there, my friend.

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  8. Your photos are great. I had trouble getting good shots becsue it was often pretty dark. I assume you probably have a better camera. I like your comments about Sharin. I think too often she doesn't get enough credit. Sharin was ill with a cold but I didn't even realize it until when I talked to her later. She really has a beautiful voice and is a talented multi-instrumentalist. I bought the LP & tote bag and had them signed after the show. The tote bag will soon become framed wall art. BTW the set list was exactly the same in Boston and the encore was Sinking With The Sun & Cops On Our Tail. It was an excellent show as always and Sharin, Sune & their touring drummer were friendly as always. Truly among the very best bands around today. Thanks for another great review! - Charlie Patterson

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  9. Thanks for the recap on their Boston appearance, Charlie. Yes, that's right "Cops On Our Tail" was one of the three encores in New York as well.

    I was right up against the front of the stage, so my photos came out great. I wish I could say the same about some of the videos I shot. (A bit too distorted). Great overall experience, though!

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  10. looks like it was a great gig.

    i really love their new sound. also i see quiet some previous tunes was included in playlist. :)

    and some day you may even do whole blog about dancer in the streets. :)

    cool stuff. glad to hear from some proper source about this great band. :)

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  11. I liked the balance of old tunes with the new in their set, Mr. Smork. When a band has a 10 year history like this - I'm sure a lot of thought goes into which of the earlier songs to include.

    And yes - TheNYCStreetDancer deserves a whole blog of her own!

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  12. Awesome as always, great photos on this one Dave!!! When this band kicks into Aly, such a fantastic song, have been enjoying what I've heard from Observator so far.

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  13. The album is really top notch, drid. And yeah - for sheer sonic force - the "Aly" segment of the show can't be beat by anyone.

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  14. Looks like you had a great time (as always!) and got great access to it all as well, nice job! And I know how it is shooting photos in a "darkish" environment...I've decided at some recent shows to try shooting photos/videos in B&W with pretty satisfactory results...you might wanna give it a shot.

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  15. great show by the sounds as per usual i think- glad you recorded young and cold and got to hang out with the inspiration for she owns the streets!! hopefully i will see them in london later this year

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  16. I was actually pleased with how all the photos came out, NYCDreamin. I'm not sure how going b&w might help with lighting too low for videos (it would be the same), though. Yeah, the access was essential for this point of view!

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  17. Great job Dave, the pictures are really cool, i see it was a wonderful show! :)

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