The Album Leaf @ Casbah Feb 22, 2008

Last night I got to see The Album Leaf for the third time. Just like The Black Heart Procession, I found out about The Album Leaf by the now cancelled show Fox Rox. I really can’t find a way to describe The Album Leaf’s music. It is a mix of electronic, ambient, easy listening. I think of it as a gentler Aphex Twin. You would have to listen to some of Aphex Twin’s more mellow tunes to understand. The album Leaf is Jimmy LaValle (who was also part of The Black Heart Procession). I like the fact that just like Andy Dragazis (Blue States), LaValle knows how to play pretty much all the instruments for the songs (I wonder how Jimmy and Andy would pair up if they were to collaborate). While violin duties fall on Matthew Resovich, who is also part of The Black Heart Procession.

The night started bad. I was suppose to go with someone, but plans fell apart. Upon my arrival I saw that the show had Sold Out. The front man said I had an extra ticket (I was doing a Will Call). To which he pointed out that some people were trying to get in. I ended up giving the extra ticket to a couple. The boyfriend had bought a ticket, but his girlfriend did not have one. I sold it at face value, and I was glad that I was able to make someone happy out of my misery. So yeah, it felt pretty good putting a smile on someone else.

Upon my arrival Manuok was playing. Now I know I have not completed it yet, but I wrote about them on my review of The Black Heart Procession concert in January. They were pretty good. However, I still cannot get into them. Next was a band by the name of Kill Me Tomorrow. They were pretty good. You can hear some influences from The Creatures in their music.

Then The Album Leaf took the stage. It seems to be a tradition for Jimmy LaValle to have mic problems. It happened the first time I saw them play at the Casbah, and also at the Museum of Contemporary Arts Downtown San Diego in 2006. Jimmy, check the mics before you start the show! Or maybe the mics don’t like you. Other than that, the show was great! Great visual playing in the background, and the band was in top form. I taped 4 full songs. I think they could have done an encore, but the crowd started leaving after the last song played, what the heck people. I gave the set list I grabbed to a girl that was standing next to me during the concert. She was really getting into the songs. So I did two nice things that night. However I was able to get another set list when Matthew Resovich came back on stage to pack his violin.

This was my first night using my 4GB SD card, and was hesitant to continue taping the show thinking I would run out of memory. When I got home I discovered that I had only used 1.77GB of memory. For the next concert, I’ll tape a whole lot more!

Enjoy the pics and the videos of Kill Me Tomorrow and The Album Leaf!

PICS

The Album Leaf

Kill Me Tomorrow

Here are some videos, too bad they like to play in the dark

Kill Me Tomorrow





Into The Sea (Clip)



Writings On The Wall



Red Eye



On Your Way



Wherever I Go