Did you hear the one about the English folk-pop group and the hip-hop artist that met in a bar?

No punchline here.  Just a great night of music at Spaceland Monday night.

Ringin’ Everyone Else’s Bell: Kenan Bell with a few friends at Spaceland. (photo by the author)

Coming off their blustery appearance at Saturday’s LA WEEKLY Detour Festival, BBC and NME darlings Noah And The Whale were greeted by an overflowing, industry-studded crowd when they took the stage early in the night.  Though their set was plagued by a variety of audio and technical difficulties, they represented themselves well, converting those who might have cried “hype!” before their performance.  While Noah’s release Peaceful, The World Lays Me Down is pleasant enough in a near-twee, Belle and Sebastian-meets-Vampire Weekend sort of way, their live mission equates to a far more involved, cinematic experience.  As was the trend this week at other concerts, the unsated audience called for an encore at the conclusion of Noah’s set.  For their efforts, they were rewarded with a not-essential but certainly fun and in-the-moment cover of The Smiths’ “Girlfriend In A Coma.”

Providing a bit of an aural sorbet after Noah And The Whale, L.A.-based act Pigeon John treated the waning crowd to lighthearted trek through some of their latest material, introducing hip-hop to the evening and paving the way for Spaceland’s October resident, Kenan Bell.  Lyrically astute yet comedic, Pigeon John’s set highlight was a number about women who make connections with men just to get access to their famous friends – a representative indictment of life in Hollywood if ever there was one.

Closing out the night, emerging local hip-hop luminary Kenan Bell presented a tight and energetic set, his live band rendering an infectious platform for his effortless rapping.  Though at times sounds in voice Bell can sound a bit like Eminem, his subject matter is decidedly his own and he excels at making certain both his flow and music are laden with hooks.  Providing further proof of The Morrissey Unifying Theory Of All Things, Bell followed up on Noah And The Whale’s own Smiths nod with a performance of his song “Save Your Life,” which contains samples from “The Night Has Opened My Eyes.”  Bringing out Noah’s horn player as well as inviting half the audience on stage for his final number (including a member of local act The Deadly Syndrome), Bell made certain his inaugural residency show went out with a bang.  Bell’s Spaceland residency continues every Monday this October.  Admission is free.

They cover such an exhaustive range of topics and bands from how indies should design their merch to why My Bloody Valentine still sounds more modern than ever, the hottest new indie bands you’ve never read or heard about anywhere (yet), mr. Gnome, Margot & the Nuclear So and So’s, Dandy Warhols, the downtown LA Weekly Detour festival featuring Mars Volta, the new Kings of Leon album and what it will take for MGMT to be truly ready for the big time.  There’s too much to list – you’ll just have to hear this one hour action packed special for yourself.

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Indianapolis octet Margot & The Nuclear So And So’s will make history tomorrow when Epic Records issues not one, but two albums of new material from the band.  What makes the situation noteworthy is that the first, Animal!, is the album the band wanted to put out, which Epic rejected.  The second, Not Animal, contains the songs Epic wanted to release instead.  Whether or not this compromise will be helpful or harmful to the band remains to be seen, but one thing’s for certain: more industry eyes than just those at Epic will be paying attention to the results.

Are you there God? It's us, Margot.

As part of our show preview, we were hoping to ask the band about this unusual strategy, and also if there was any significance to their playing Los Angeles on the day of their dual release, as opposed to Indianapolis or their apparently adopted hometown of Chicago.  Though Margot was game to chat when we contacted them directly, their fancy, major-label publicist had not returned our inquires to schedule said interview as of press time.

In any event, both albums streamed for a day on the band’s MySpace page last week, and though some songs grace both records, the content of Animal! appears to lean more toward a post-modern Fleetwood Mac, whereas Not Animal sounds more like a direct descendent of Margot’s (non-Epic Records) debut, The Dust Of Retreat.  However, in neither case did the songs particularly represent the noisy, electric guitar-driven fare band leader Richard Edwards had alluded to in previous interviews (though we’ve learned to digest Edwards’ statements with our salt shaker at the ready).

Margot, a perpetual touring machine, puts on a live show that wavers between the heartbreaking and boisterous, combining a standard rock ensemble with strings, horns, keyboards, percussion and other atmospheric elements, all firmly anchored by Edwards’ rock-solid songwriting.  As they’ve played better rooms to bigger, more enthusiastic crowds each time they’ve come through town, we suggest catching them now, which will no doubt qualify some day as “back when.”

Editor’s note: Truffle Jones concludes his Week Of Shows feature tonight, and looks forward to attending his eleventh consecutive show tomorrow night without having to write a review.

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