It took me a few listens to really appreciate The Monitor by Titus Andronicus.  Loosely, and I think needlessly, constructed as a concept album around Civil War themes, The Monitor stands completely on its own as a New Jersey RAWK triump without the need for conceit.  Riffs barrel at breakneck speed in double- and then triple-time to slurred and half-shouted vocals that frequently evoke early Replacements or The Pogues from Europe’s New Jersey, Ireland.

Tuesday night they played at Kilby Court, which seemed an acoustic impossibility. 

It is, what, 800 feet square?  Tin siding is buffered by the barest of carpet to absorb sound.  The only other reason I can judge that it works is the decades-old exposed joices above.  But as I watched lead singer Patrick Stickle setup, I knew the venue would be pretty well maxed-out sonically.

Titus Andronicus wasted no time, opening with double-barrels in “A More Perfect Union” and “Richard II.”  The band rolled though most of the rest of The Monitor along with several tunes from debut The Airing of Grievances.  Occasionally Titus simply overwhelmed the space.  The guitars, pedals, and shrieking vocals would at times reverberate inside the tiny venue and swallow the song.

Too, Stickles made the unfortunate call to engage a babling and clearly delusional teenage girl who yelled over his stage banter and created repeated cringe-worthy moments.  That aside, Stickle’s conversation with the audience between songs was generally awkward and several times took me out of the moment.

Titus Andronicus was at its best rocking like they didn’t care.  The musical and emotional climax of the night was “No Future Part Three” as the band sang-shouted, “You will always be a loser/You will always be a loser and that’s OK.”

The night’s performance opened with Philadelphia’s Free Energy.  Performing with youthful brio and all the rock moves, Free Energy specialized in galactic-sized hooks for your ultimate party pleasure.  Stickles joined the band for a romping version of “Bang Pop” to close their opening set.  It was power pop joy. 

And there was much fist-pumping.

Today is the  insufferably self-amused Talk Like a Pirate Day.  What better way to avoid criminally not funny imitations of Johnny Depp than by downloading a free EP by Pete and the Pirates.

 
One of my favorite labels, UK’s Stolen Recordings is offering a free EP of Pete and the Pirates demos called Precious Tones.  The short-player is full of angular, super-catchy audience sing-a-longs like “Selina.”  The band also steps down to smoother compositions like “My Sun Hat” that resemble PATP side project Tap Tap.
 

It’s been more than two years since Little Death, one of 2008’s best records.  Until the band finishes its new CD, treat yourself to Pete and the Pirates’ free download for the cost of your e-mail address.  We can also hope they tour more broadly, having only stopped ashore for brief appearances in New York and Austin.

The highlight of August was our 3 week trip to Bali, an Indonesian paradise off the coast of Australia.  A sly observer snapped this moment when Alexandra and I were perched over a lovely sunset at dusk.  Ah, it was a winsome time those precious days on the other side of the planet. 

Actually none of that is true I spent August like most of you, grinding away at work.  The photograph is obviously photoshopped.  Seriously, who does that?  Characters in Avatar, that’s who. 

While I haven’t posted for several weeks, I did keep up on new music and I hope that you did, too.  And Labor Day was a good reminder to update you on what will undoubtedly be the finest collection of live shows in Salt Lake since I moved here.  The highlights which I personally suggest you begin saving for now:

Sept 25 School of Seven Bells.  Really liked Disconnect from Desire in a way that I didn’t SoSB debut.
Sept 28 Erik  Blood.  Swooning, shoegazing, homoerotic songs from Seattle.  Never thought I would string those 3 descriptors together in one sentence.
Oct 8 Surfer Blood and The Drums.  Don’t let the blog buzz scare you.  Both bands are worth your hard-earned rock dollar playing alone, certainly together.
Oct 18 Phantogram.  One of this year’s many great dance records is Phantogram’s Eyelid Movies.
Oct 19 LCD Soundsytem and Hot Chip.  Strictly commercially speaking, this is the hottest tour in the country.  And for good reason…don’t miss it.
Oct 22 Sleigh Bells.  Friend of mine saw Sleigh Bells in Jacksonville and was sold on their song “Infinity Guitars.”
Nov 2 Best Coast.  Singer Bethany Cosentino croons Best Coast’s surf-garage pop somewhere between Patsy Cline and Kim Deal.
Nov 6 P.O.S.  I’ve missed I bet five P.O.S. appearances in Salt lake the last two years, so I won’t miss November’s punk rap performance.

See the complete list in the right column of the home page, which is finally updated after recovering from the jetlag from Bali.

UPDATE:  The LCD Soundsystem show at The Complex, a venue I am still not sure actually exists, has been cancelled.  Sucks for everyone else but good for me because I was going to miss the show of the year because of a trip to DC.  Also the September 23 Phoenix show has been moved to In the Venue from the equally mysterious Rail Center.

UPDATE TO THE UPDATE:  Crushing defeat.  Kilby’s Sept 28 booking is apparently not with Erik Blood of Seattle but Eric Blood of Orem.  A nice guy, I’m sure, but Orem’s EB quotes as his influences Phish, Dave Matthews, and Jack Johnson.  And that’s enough said about that.