Saw Tapes ‘n Tapes for the umpteenth time last night at the Abbey Pub. Another solid outing from the band, drawing mostly from their album ‘The Loon’, but also busting out some new stuff that I had yet to hear. Of the new stuff I’d say some of it I really liked and some of it I thought sounded a bit rough and heavy – similar to the stuff on their very first EP which I wasn’t all that impressed with (with the exception of “Icebergs” which they played at the show).

One of the best parts of the show were the two opening bands ‘Harlem Shakes’ and ‘Ladyhawk’ – both of which were solid performers. I hadn’t heard of ‘Harlem Shakes’ but was really impressed with the stuff. I spoke with one of the members afterwards and he said that it was their 3rd show of the day – having played the ‘Daytrotter Session’ radio program in Iowa Illinois earlier in the day and then the earlier show at the Abbey. I don’t know a whole lot about the ‘Daytrotter Session’ program except that the invitation is a fairly big deal considering the list of people that have been on including: Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, The Annuals, French Kicks, Elvis Perkins, Grizzly Bear, and many more.

I picked up Harlem Shakes EP ‘Burning Birthdays’ – haven’t had much time to listen to it but from what I’ve heard I dig it. I’m hoping Tapes ‘n Tapes get a new album out soon, it’s been at least 2 years since ‘The Loon’ first surfaced and with a running time of just over 40 minutes they could use some new songs.

Ladyhawk

Tapes ‘n Tapes

Tapes ‘n Tapes

Tapes ‘n Tapes

First off, god bless Jason Molina. He’s a gracious guy, a powerful lyricist, and a terrific vocalist. Unfortunately, none of these admirable qualities enable one to play a laudable guitar solo – and that’s exactly what Molina attempted to do for the opening song of the Magnolia Electric show Friday night. The aforementioned song – ‘Talk to Me Devil, Again’ – was from their new album Fading Trails and aside from Molina attempting to handle lead duties himself, the song was a lively and rocking version of the original.

For the rest of the evening Jason Groth resumed lead guitar duties and the band proceeded to plow through an array of material ranging all the way back to the Songs: Ohia catalogue. I have to admit that I saw Magnolia Electric Co. just this March (at the Abbey no less) and the material they covered Friday – aside from a few numbers off the new album – was pretty much the same. I’m always excited to see them play ‘Hammer Down’ and ‘The Dark Don’t Hide It’ but I would’ve also enjoyed a few acoustic numbers to perhaps offset the electric stuff and allow Molina’s voice to rise above the music (such as you hear on the albums). Oh well, most people would argue that a Magnolia Electric show is about rock n’ roll and bless ‘em all the more for it.