Kaleo at Southside Ballroom
I typically go for electronic music and stuff that's very dance-oriented. But lately I've been into another genre of music that I call "Not Country". Really what it is is a really bluesy stomping rock. I originally discovered it through my Sherlock fandom. I was watching a fan video on You Tube and the song was just so amazing that I looked up the artist - Barns Courtney, and I based a Pandora station off of that one song. That station led me to discover all kinds of artists that I was previously unaware of. Kaleo is one, and ZZ Ward - who opened the show, was another.
I had seen ZZ Ward not too long ago play her own show On June 21 at The Kessler Theater - my first time at this venue, and it was really good! I enjoy her style and energy and she puts so much into her performance. She also seems like a really chill, laid back chick. Someone I would like to just hang out and shoot the breeze with. She really likes to whoop up the crowd and I thought she was an excellent opening act for Kaleo especially since I discovered them both in the same way.
Southside is a much bigger venue but I think she did well with the size. I hate hate hate this venue. They need to raise the state about 4-5 feet. If they would just do that, it would be so much better. It's just too large for the stage to be that low and I will complain about this incessantly until they fix it. Some other people complain about the acoustics, but that hasn't really bothered me too much.
Here's ZZ Ward's pics (Kaleo review is below) Click on a photo for a slide show.
I had only heard a few songs from Kaleo before I saw the show...the few that I had heard on my Pandora station and I also heard it once on KXT. That's where my friends had heard him first and who I went with to the show.
I didn't know they were from Iceland. I didn't know what the singer looked like. I didn't know that Kaleo was not his name. For some reason I pictured an African-American man instead of a petite, *pretty* man (the kind of guy I swoon for). In Emily's words, "He's beautiful!". Agreed! How on Earth a band from Iceland produces music like this I have no idea. They do live in Austin now, but I think their music has always been this way.
This is my favorite song:
He had this funny squiggly image as a backdrop and on some pieces of stage equipment. It wasn't until I learned they were from Iceland that I figured out that it was actually a map of Iceland. Pretty cool! Also, the lights set up was very cool and really different and unique.
He played this guitar that I have also seen Martin Gore play during Songs of Faith and Devotion that has this round metal insert in it. I did a Google search and learned it's a called a Resonator Guitar. Very cool! He also used a Gretsch. Evidently I like the sound of these. Many of the bands I like use them.One interesting thing I noticed about this band is that his "helpers", or roadies or sound guys or whatever the people are called who set up the stage and help the singers with their guitars and mics were like, really running around to rush to get him his guitar, or fix this or that. Even before the show started I noticed one of them literally measure the height of the mic with a measuring tape. I hope that it's because he just wants to do a really good job and not because JJ Julius Son is a diva.
The show was pretty short...only an hour and a half including encore which was only 2 songs. Okay so they only have 2 albums and 1 EP. That warrants a 1.5 hour show.
And here are my photos!
We had a great time!
