Blonde Redhead, Annuals (Bimbo's, 23 April 2007)

The Annuals. Another one of those blog bands that Brooklyn Vegan hypes up. When I listened to their album, I thought, "Oh well." It wasn't anything spectacular, but it was entertaining. Live though, these guys are something else. So full of energy, both in their songs and in their actions. A band that have percussion instruments for every member should be an indicator of how eclectic and just crazy this band is prone to get. They are a large band, and the sound definitely echoed that. "Father" was the definite highlight, along with "The Bull and the Goat."

If the Annuals are the rookies of indie rock, then Blonde Redhead are the all-star veterans. I've said this ad nauseum, but I first saw this band in 1998 when I was in college at UC San Diego. I absolutely hated them. So much so that I'd rather listed to a Marion cassette then have to endure their live show at the Che Cafe. But when they released Misery is a Butterfly in 2004, they went away from the experimental yelping and actually played tunes. Kazu actually sang rather than shouted and there was more structure in their music.

I forgot what they started off with, but I think they did "23" as the second song. The sound was just amazing, and Kazu sang perfectly. The twins can really emit so much sound just out of two instruments. When they did "Equus," it seemed like there were three guitarists and a keyboardists playing, but they were nowhere to be seen. Other songs from 23 were just amazing, like "Dr. Strangeluv" and "Spring and By Summer Fall". Yes, there were backing tracks on "Equus," but that didn't bother me a bit because Kazu's voice was just mesmerizing.

Kazu wasn't as crazy as she was in the earlier days, but she was just as captivating with that fiery red hair of hers.

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