Beck plays every style of music imaginable during night two at Ryman

The first night of Beck's two night stand at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium was championed by the subdued, acoustic guitar based folk of his standout 2002 album Sea Change and his most recent work, Morning Phase, released in February. For night two, he had something altogether different in mind.

The bright flashing lights and buzzsaw guitar riffs of set opener "Devil's Haircut" loudly blared to any of last night's holdovers that they weren't in Kansas anymore. Beck's indelible swagger and sing along delivery instantly made a deep impact upon everyone in the room, as he sidled up beside bandmembers and cut a rug all over the stage.

Beck got the ball rolling right off the bat and didn't let up, pummeling the room with crowd pleasing cuts early and often. He broke out the delectable deep cut "The New Pollution" from his defining 1996 album Odelay, tantalizingly merged "I Think I'm In Love" into Donna Summer's disco banger "I Feel Love," and also spun out the smooth, seductive alt/hip hop of "Black Tambourine." It was more than enough to keep all of our tambourines shaking.

He did pepper in a mellower mood periodically throughout the set. The mournful, contemplative mood of "Lost Cause" proved to be the sole Sea Change cut of the evening, while eerie electronics and deep cello swirled through the rafters during "Wave." Beck explained that he had begun work on Morning Phase in Nashville with the idea that he wanted to make a country based record before ultimately finishing up elsewhere. But he played a string of songs that developed from those Nashville sessions, including "Heart is a Drum," "Say Goodbye," and "Waking Light," all of which provided vast aesthetic differences from his early set material but were every bit as sing alongable.

It wasn't just Beck lighting it up; even his band brought raw intensity.

Yet in a testament to the eclecticism of Beck, it wasn't long before the swelling emotional ocean of "Waking Light" gave way to the Gameboy bleeps and bloops that heralded "Girl," one of the singer's most prominent chart smashes after from "Loser." And speaking of "Loser," he got it out of the way early but holy balls did it turn the building upside down. He complemented it with other fun, quirky hip hop cuts "Que Onda Guero" and "Hell Yes."

After closing the main set with the caffeine high of hard rocker E-Pro, Beck's bandmates began mock bumping into each other and eventually collapsed into a gigantic heap on the floor, prompting Beck to roll out yellow police crime scene tape across the front of the stage. Then he put all his chips down for the encore.

After exploring the underbelly of freak funk with the darkly futuristic "Get Real Paid," he broke out two other cuts from Midnite Vultures for his encore. The dramatic bang of "Sexx Laws" led into the inevitable and indomitable strains "Debra," a falsetto soul love song to a girl working at a department store. He illustrated some of the song's scenes in spoken word, sweet talking Debra and then inviting her to take a ride in his Hyundai.

Beck tries to hide all evidence of his crimes.

He could have called it a night right there, but Beck would not be vanquished without a fight. After briefly vanishing, he returned and broke into "Where It's At," before transitioning into the old gospel country stomper "One Foot in the Grave," complete with Beck going nuts on harmonica. He then segued that into a rendition of The Rolling Stone's "Miss You" before finishing it out with the final chorus of "Where It's At."

Those bigger on Beck's mellow side no doubt would have enjoyed the first night more, but speaking as someone who doesn't consider Morning Phase to be the man's best work, the setlist couldn't have been better. Save for the off kilter mellowness of Mutations, virtually every conceivable side of Beck was on display. And personally speaking, three Midnite Vultures cuts was nothing short of astounding. Apologies to those who consider his many deviations mere distractions, but this set represents the Beck you have got to see.

Post punkers Swans bulldoze the building and bury you under rubble

They rose from the grime and grit of the early 80s New York art scene, but now Swans have finally arrived and they're here to kick your ass.  Frontman Michael Gira has led his noise/no wave project on a hell of a resurgence lately. They shocked the world with their 2012 album The Seer, a confrontational album that at times baffles the senses and creates a sense of pure dread, but at no time permits you to look away. Their current tour showcases material from their latest effort, To Be Kind, a two hour opus which follows The Seer's lead but manages to shock and amaze in entirely new ways.

Michael Gira serves as the demented conductor for Swans.

On stage, their sound is based almost purely upon repetition and hypnotism. Gira, along with guitarist Norman Westburg, channels a pummeling, punishing attack which frequently consists o strumming the same chord again, repeatedly, over and over again in an effort to pound you into submission.

The set opened strongly with non album track "Frankie M."  Some of their cuts tend to get pretty murky, but "Frankie M" thankfully contains enough structure and melody to qualify as a quality dark art rock song.  That led into "A Little God in My Hands," the lead single from To Be Kind,  which is the closest they have to a legitimate 6-7 pop/rock single. Unfortunately, the flow was broken up during the early part of their set due to problems they kept having with their amp which forced them to stop after the first song and then again after the second.

The set got more esoteric as it went on, but Gira was a great frontman.  During one part, he would jump into the air and swing the neck of his guitar toward the ground, then he would walk to the other side of the stage, then turn around and leap into the air again as he was walking back toward the other side of the stage. He did this four or five times, then just started leaping repeatedly in one place several times while playing that one riff.

Michale Gira and Norman Westburg conjure up an eerie drone.

The greatest moment was the pummeling two note riff that opens "Bring the Sun." There are few riffs that distill the band's essence better than that, and it signified a genuine catharsis.  "Black Hole Man" was a great way to close the set, as he proclaimed himself a black hole man in a voice that sounded like a demented circus ringmaster.

There is also a strong art house vibe to their live show. After the second song, Gira started doing some weird dancing, shaking his wrists all around. It looked like his take on Native American spirit dancing. From time to time he would just spit some gobbledygook into the microphone. At one point he even briefly licked the mic, rolling his tongue all around it. 

This band was loud. They were dangerously loud. I took out my ear plugs a few times throughout the show just to get a feel for their volume. I can't imagine having seen them without ear plugs.

It was a good show and I liked it, but not among the best I've seen. There's a little too much repetition, and monotony can set in after awhile.

Xiu Xiu opened and it was the worst fucking thing I have ever witnessed. It was nothing but 30 minutes of piercing speaker feedback with occasional racecar sounds and rolling thunderclaps thrown in. Their website described it as Merzbow influenced death drone. It was such an abysmal experience.

Tune Yards release new single "Water Fountain"

The new Tune Yards single, "Water Fountain," just hit the interwebs, and it's every bit as wild, eclectic, and awesome as we all hoped it would be. The lead single from Merill Garbus's indie/world music based band pursues many silly (in a good way) themes lyrically and sonically, but wins because it just sounds like a good old time from start to finish. She speaks of bear killing, blood soaked dollars, and massive chicken dinners, while decking in all out in delicious tribal rhythms.

And if you needed any more good news, Garbus also revealed a series of tour dates the same day that have her making a trip to Nashville's Bridgestone Arena to open for all the rage indie rockers Arcade Fire on May 1. This promises to be one of the best twinbills Nashville will see all year, so if you needed any more motivation to make the trip, do it!

Deafheaven's foggy black metal frenzy casts a spell over Nashville

By the time Deafheaven arrived for their gig at The End, the venue was already packed to the rafters in anticipation of the San Francisco metal band's inaugural Nashville performance. The guys have been riding a major wave of hype since last June's release of their sophomore album Sunbather, which forges together an inventive blend of black metal, post rock, and progressive metal.  Their set was a very draining, exhausting, and intense experience, but was also very fulfilling.

Vocalist George Clarke is very interactive with his audiences. Clad in a black button up shirt, black pants and black gloves, he could be seen forcefully gesturing as though he was conducting some kind of bizarre orchestra. He clasped hands with those in the audience, leaned directly into audience member's faces while screaming into his microphone, and even crowd surfed for a brief moment. With two of his fingers pressed into his temple while he let loose a shriek, it looked like he was going crazy at some points. The only disappointment was that his microphone volume was turned so low his vocals were virtually inaudible.

Deafheaven vocalist George Clarke pours out every drop of intensity, and his fans do the same.

It was undeniable the amount of energy this band unleashed upon the crowd. When "Dream House" kicked in, an overwhelming wave of adrenaline was unleashed. Everyone pushed up front until we were all packed in close together like sardines. Girls were hopping up on stage periodically and stage diving into the crowd. As for the band themselves, they rumbled away with precision and tenacity. It sounded slightly muddier than on record, but they still generated large wall of sound. They weren't that loud at first, but the cranked that up later as they went along.

The drums were obviously very technical, but what stood out about Daniel Tracy's playing is how hypnotic it was. There weren't a ton of crazy fills; there was a little more time keeping than usual from drummers in this genre, but had a very mesmerizing rhythm keeping the pace for the rest of the band's insanity.

The setlist featured the four main cuts from Sumbather with a much needed breather in between each song. By the third song, "Vertigo," the crowd was exhausted and took a little break but kicked it back up into high gear for the last two songs. Quite a bit of it sounded different from the record but the great moments were all there. The frenzied lead in to "Dream House," the deep, grooving riffs during the denouement of "Sunbather" that serve as the perfect come down, the hazy, and dreamy guitar strains that open "Vertigo" -- it was all there, and it was glorious.

Deafheaven cast a spell over the crowd. Seeing them was not at all like what I expected it would be, and I'm not entirely sure if it was quite like any other band I've seen. Being still young and upcoming, they've not quite attained unmissable status, but this young band has something special going for themselves and you'd be ill advised to overlook it.

Laura Marling's dazzling guitar work and personality delights Nashville

British folk singer Laura Marling is only 23, but already has four albums to her name and is threatening to shake up the modern folk scene. She was kind enough to treat Nashville to a taste of her talents at a Nov. 11 show at Marathon Music Works. It was eminently obvious that she was well practiced on guitar, showing off dizzying picking patterns that gave her sound a unique timbre. She would stop fairly frequently to tune and retune the guitars. This would cut into the flow of the show somewhat, but she had a knack for covering it up with wonderful self deprecating humor. She commented on how each guitar has its own personality, and said the guitars she was working with had the personality of toddlers.

Her latest album, Once I Was an Eagle, opens with a stunning five song suite that all runs together, and she opened her show with this same five song run. It ended in jaw dropping fashion with "Master Hunter," an assertive and defiant tune that is unquestionably one of the best of the year. In contrast, "Alas I Cannot Swim" was delivered with a sense of cute, childlike wonder but also speaks to very adult themes that many can relate to.

Near the set's close, she preformed a cover of Townes Van Zandt's "For the Sake of the Song," which was humorously cut off by the blowing of train whistle coming down the track outside. Startled, Marling stopped right where she was and then stitched in a quick impromptu ending once she resumed. It was a cute moment which communicated that she's not some superstar or diva; at the end of the day she's probably not all that different from you or I other than the fact that she's crazy talented. It made her feel warm, and even more relatable. 

Laura Marling hand crafts every moment to make sure everything  is just right.

Sleigh Bells live act rattle concert venues down to their foundations

Let's admit something. Sleigh Bells' latest album, Bitter Rivals, is easily their least successful to date. In comparison with their first two records, the reviews were worse, the buzz was negligible, and it seemed most listeners have already forgotten about it.  Seeing that Sleigh Bells stock is at a low ebb, it naturally cast a shadow of doubt as to just what could be expected from their latest tour. It was a fair question going in, but if there are any doubters left after their demolition of Nashville's Marathon Music Works Friday night, be ashamed of yourselves. The studio albums (outside of Treats) may bear their fair share of dank tracks, but the Brooklyn noise/hardcore/pop duo have been regarded as a killer live act since their inception, and nothing about that appears to be changing anytime soon.

Alexis Krauss's infectious intensity spread through the crowd like a disease.

Intensity and badassery are two buzzwords that get thrown around a bit when discussing Sleigh Bells live shows, but let's expound on that. Guitarist Derek Miller spent time in a hardcore band, and being that he's the chief influence on the band's sound you can expect a hammering assault of guitar riffery along with an level of energy comparable to, if not on par with, a hardcore show. The other half of the equation, singer Alexis Krauss, has pedigree as the frontwoman of a girlpop group, and as such she knows how to play to a crowd.

Guitarist Derek Miller lays a smackdown.

She kicks, yells, jumps, screams, drops to her knees, lifts the mic stand, and does generally whatever to get the crowd into a frothing frenzy. She even hit the stage in style, donning a dazzling tiger print robe for the first couple of songs. On initial blush, Joan Jett and Brody Dalle of The Distillers seem apt comparisons in terms of their charm and magnetism, but whereas they championed rough, motor oil style vocal deliveries, Krauss has a voice that is much smoother and cleaner.

The setlist showed off the best material from Bitter Rivals, but also made sure to show proper respect for Treats, their 2010 debut and still their most successful album to date."Riot Rhythm" and "Infinity Guitars" were ultimate headbanging moshing anthems covered by plenty of fuzz, while the heavy, plodding rhythms of "Born to Lose" represented a somewhat slower paced approach for the band -- at least by their standards. The new material continues in the same hard hitting vein they've always been known for.

"Sing Like a Wire," "Minnie," and "Bitter Rivals" felt perfectly natural being played alongside their older material. The biggest deviation took place on "Young Legends," which comes across as their take on a Disney pop song, and is covered in Krauss's distinctive fingerprints. She ended the night by diving over the railing and crowd surfing during the final song, "A/B Machines." Sleigh Bells hit like a bottle rocket, and never let up for the duration of their set. They played just long enough to cover the essential tunes in their catalog, yet short enough to leave the crowd screaming for more.
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