bobbysketch

The Mars Volta rocked out for 90 minutes at Roseland ballroom in NYC this evening. Playing an array of tracks from all five of their albums, they had the crowd energized. Cedric Bixler-Zavala was at his best; dancing, singing and flat out performing for, and conversing with the crowd.

With a limited number of band members (only 6 on stage tonight), TMV moved away slightly from their jam-band tendencies to play a fantastic set, albeit a relatively short one.

All in all, it was a wonderful evening with the kids from El Paso.

The Cribs’ fourth album, Ignore the Ignorant may not be as catchy as their previous work, but it’s beginning to grow on me. Sometimes, when you fall in love with an album, you can fall right out of it; but if you grow into loving it, it lasts a long time. Yes, I’m still talking about music.

With the addition of Johnny Marr, the band seems to have matured quite a bit. At times, Guitarist/Singer Ryan Jarman sounds like he’s impersonating Kurt Cobain with his screeching vocals (see “Cheat on Me” or “Nothing”). Other times, you feel like you’re listening to a British version of a song from Green Day’s American Idiot. After you’re done listening to the entire thing, you realize that this doesn’t sound like New Fellas or even Men’s Needs, Women’s Needs, Whatever
at all – it sounds grown up. Listen to “Cheat on Me” and a sample of “Nothing” after the jump. (continue reading…)

The Mars Volta wanted to limit themselves on Octahedron to inspire creativity. They did this by scaling back on the number of instruments (sounds like recession music) that played together on the album. The result is a beautiful album in Octahedron. This may be the best Mars Volta album since De-Loused in the Comatorium. For the first time in a long time, Omar Rodriguez-Lopez’s guitar play takes a back seat to Cedric Bixler-Zavala’s powerful voice, and Cedric shines.

Check Out: “Copernicus,” ” With Twilight as my Guide & “Since We’ve Been Wrong”

This David Archuleta kid looks like he’s 12 but sounds like he’s 30.

The best song they played all night. Classic.