Heartbreaking Bravery

To start: this won’t be today’s last post. This will be this week’s Watch This, though, as next Sunday’s going to be devoted to work for an upcoming feature. Additionally, last week brought forth an embarrassment of riches and one Watch This just wasn’t enough to cover everything. All of that is to say that this will be another non-conventional installment that will offer a small break from the regularly scheduled every-Sunday appearance of this series. In the 49th installment, the performances take place in everything from small shops to late night talk shows and festival aftershows. Every performance is committed and provides some insight into the level of dedication these bands put into their live set. It’s all worth taking a few beats to take in- so, as always- sit back, focus in, turn the volume up, take a deep breath, and Watch This.

1. Ty Segall – Manipulator (KCRW)

It’s strange to see the Ty Segall Band playing in an environment this contained- and it’s evident the band’s doing their best not to jump out of their skin while they tear through the title track off this year’s excellent Manipulator. Even if the band can’t exercise their usual being-shocked-to-death style movements as freely as they’d be able to without the restraints of their headphones, this is still one hell of a performance- and a great reminder to see them as many times as possible.

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2. Mountain Bike – Good for Nothing (Bruxelles Ma Belle)

As what will likely be an introduction to Mountain Bike for many, it’d be impossible to ask for something more artfully executed than their recent session for Bruxelles Ma Belle. Shot in a small store, the band delivers a performance of the excellent “Good for Nothing” with an infectious amount of verve. Gorgeously lensed and perfectly executed, it’s enough to suggest that Mountain Bike are just getting started.

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3. Posse – Shut Up (Pitchfork)

Any time a band shares the stage with METZ (whose performance at this show was featured in yesterday’s Watch This), it’s going to be difficult for that band to hold their own. That Posse manages to do so while playing a much more downtrodden, folk-influenced variant of post-punk is a feat that can’t be overlooked. “Shut Up” is an arresting performance of hypnotic proportions and, by being just that, easily secured Posse an entry in this volume.

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4. The So So Glos – Diss Town (Last Call With Carson Daly)

How the hell does Blowout keep sounding better? The So So Glos‘ breakthrough effort from last year was full of a joyous strain of music that perfectly married basement punk with basement pop and having neither influence outshadow the other. Live, the band manages to up the already considerable levels of energy, turning their shows into mass singalongs that border the cathartic (which is why this band has been showing up in this series since the very first installment). Everyone’s in on it together, the band, the audience, and the people the band brings in- like the trumpet player and the person in the wings who looks like he’s having the time of his life less than a minute into this no-brakes performance of “Diss Town”. Don’t be the only one left out of the party- everyone’s always invited.

[Due to some temporary embed issues this video can only be seen here.]

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5. Mount Eerie – Emptiness (Pinball Sessions)

P.W. Elverum has been making breathtaking music for several years now, under a variety of different guises. Mount Eerie has always been the one that’s stood out, thanks in part to Elverum’s fearlessness in regards to form and expectations. From relentlessly heavy sections that threaten to take post-rock into the realms of doned-out doom to the blissfully melancholic, it’s anything but predictable. Seeing Elverum strip away all of the ambient soundscapes to deliver a solo piano performance is an arresting experience for a myriad of reasons, each pointing to one simple fact: this is an artistic voice that still warrants our full attention.