speed of dark

Wednesday night, alt-gramma and I ventured out to see Stars of Track and Field opening for Joseph Arthur at the Roxy. I'm reviewing the SOTAF show; you'll get the lowdown on the Joseph Arthur set tomorrow from alt-gramma. Stars of Track and Field are a three-piece from Portland, Oregon, and take their name from one of my favorite Belle and Sebastian songs. Their third album, Centuries Before Love and War was released in January, featuring the fantastic "Movies of Antarctica" and alt-gramma's favorite "Say Hello". The band lists influences such as early Pink Floyd, Aphex Twin, and My Bloody Valentine, and are often compared favorably to Radiohead, Coldplay, and Echo and the Bunnymen. Lead singer/guitarist/keyboardist Kevin Calaba has a lovely voice, and I really enjoyed watching guitarist Jason Bell writhing around while making his guitar wail, and seeing drummer Daniel Orvik play the hell out of those drums.

At any show in L.A., most people arrive five minutes before the headlining act hits the stage, so I wasn't surprised that the place was nearly empty at 9:00 pm, when SOTAF were supposed to go on. So maybe that's why the band didn't start to play until about 9:45 pm. Most of the audience had come to see Joseph Arthur and didn't appear familiar with SOTAF, so I felt kind of lonely grooving by myself right in the front. When they did play, it was excellent - but too short. I felt like the band was rushed and they left me wanting to hear more. I think that musically, their sound was fantastic.


stars of track and field: movies of antarctica
stars of track and field: centuries
stars of track and field: with you

official website | myspace | buy the albums | find more on hype machine

* - w/ Joseph Arthur
** - w/ Shiny Toy Guns

May 11 House of Blues * - Dallas, TX
May 12 The Parish * - Austin, TX
May 13 Engine Room * - Houston, TX
May 14 One Eyed Jack's * - New Orleans, LA
May 16 Zydeco * - Birmingham, AL
May 17 Smithe's Olde Bar * - Atlanta, GA
May 18 40 Watt Club * - Athens, GA
May 21 9:30 Club * - Washington DC
May 23 Bowery Ballroom * - NY
May 25 The Mod Club Theatre * - Toronto
May 27 Gorge Amphitheatre Quincy, WA
May 29 Culture Room ** - Ft. Lauderdale, FL
May 30 Jack Rabbits ** - Jacksonville, FL
May 31 American Legion Hall ** - Pensacola, FL
Jun 1 Beta Bar ** - Tallahassee, FL
Jun 3 House of Blues ** - Lake Buena Vista, FL
Jun 4 House of Blues ** - Myrtle Beach, SC
Jun 17 Magic Stick ** - Detroit, MI
Jun 21 The Mod Club Theatre ** - Toronto
Jun 22 Sonar Lounge ** - Baltimore, MA
Jun 23 Webster Theatre ** - Hartford, CT
Jun 25 Highline Ballroom ** - NY
Jun 26 Diesel ** - Pittsburgh, PA
Jun 27 The Intersection ** - Grand Rapids, MI

One last thing - Joseph Arthur hands-down rocked. I really enjoyed his show, except for one thing. I could deal with the drunk guy jumping around, bumping into me, and shouting unintelligible things at the band - it was obvious he was having a great time. I could even forgive the band for starting so late - they played an awesome show, jam packed with songs and excellent performances. But the videographer that was so fucking rude I could not forgive. There were four videographers there, and all but one staked his place in front of the stage prior to the show. The one nearest to us waited until after the show started, then pushed me out of the way where I had been standing for over three hours (no kidding) to see the band play. He was rude, stepped on my feet, and pushed me, and when I finally said something, we got into...a verbal altercation. No need to be an asshat, dude...I respect that you're doing something for the band but there's no need to fuck up my experience. I didn't see the other videographers behaving that way, and I moved right out of the way for the very nice photographers. Okay, rant over.

Check this video out for SOTAF performing at SXSW - virtually identical to the show we saw Wednesday, except I think they rocked harder at the Roxy (click on the "playlist" button to choose different tracks):