Hey, blogspot readers, give me Thor! It's a very special music showcase at Lakeview's popular spot for local music - Elbo Room. Tonight at this weekly (FREE) event, the lineup featured a wide variety of acts rockin' the stage presented by host Matthew Alfano (of Mason's Case) as well as lighting fx. Headlining the conclusion of this show was local rockers, Ideamen, before venturing out on their tour towards Las Vegas in support of their upcoming (untitled) album.
Now, SouthSide didn't know what she was getting into when deciding to review this band that features an eclectic mesh of pop/experimental sound and the strange bit of wackiness, blogspot readers. Taking one look this group crowding the stage, this reviewer thought "what a weird bunch of players" but she meant it in a good way thus learning not to take them so seriously. The band's arrangement of dress appearance for the stage instantly told her this wasn't going to be an ordinary rock show with Ideamen. To give you, the reader of this review, an idea what SouthSide means - try to picture the front man as the following: bald, prancing around the stage like a lost flower power, hippie sha-man while the rest of the band appears as if they finished stepping off the 80s rock magazine. And truth be told, this reviewer like their unique but strange appearance ...didn't have everyone uniformed to the same look. She gathered each musician likes to be expressive in their own way.
Next - the music. Though, Ideamen performs under a piano-driven, experimental sound, the entire Elbo Room performance featured an intense experience of energetic momentum and flucuating rock genres that kept the basement lounge crowd quite hyped up for this local band. This band didn't waste one precious moment on pleasentries or unnecessary goofiness. Nope. It was a hot party atmosphere from start to finish amidst groovlicious funk and electric piano wizardry that didn't include any time to slow down to rest. They got down to the business of rockin' out their audience. And despite the very humid conditions, blogspot readers, Ideamen rocked the stage with lively combinations of pop/rock and (sometimes) a couple of 80s-sounding tones as heard in the opening song, Red in the Sky featuring a few bars of Lionel Richie's Hello. One word of caution - don't spend time nitpicking or deciphering this local band's core rock sound because it will only confuse you (and your ears) even more since they were performing new songs off the upcoming (untitled) album. What SouthSide also liked about Ideamen was the simplistic song themes that didn't over complicate or dazzle the mind. For instance, one particular song was about a party. That was it. She enjoyed the song's eclectic mesh of 80s pop/guitar rock/ disco (perhaps) amidst Matthew's lighting fx thus creating a club/dance atmosphere for the crowd. After that party, the band rocked everyone to their groovy side before wowing the ears with intense guitar rock.
SouthSide highly suggests listening Brain Child to which she found to be a unique operatic ballad almost like Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody having the haunting intro, dramatic chord changes, wild twitterpating riffs, and piano-driven rhythms before ending with a huge climatic finish (sans the gong) and a vocal aria. It's hard to describe the instensity of the music that surrounded this particular song, blogspot readers, unless you were there at Elbo Room. After that song, try Two Complaints in which Ideamen upped the tempo yet retaining the intense rhythms within a calming melody while woven inside tone of frustration and angst heard off the lyrics. To SouthSide, this particular song had all of the makings of being a Broadway musical production theme song (like Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber's Heaven On Their Minds) from the how this band rocked the stage. After witnessing two completely different versions of rock operas by Ideamen, they closed out this performance with another production number but this time about the futuristic look of our society. This song, Off Is A Crime, was laced with lyrics mentioning how our food is chemically manufactured in China to Big Brother is watching us at all times ...very anti-political and more with its theme within a space-tripped out ending which left the audience wanting an encore.
Check out this traveling band as they head west to rock out a venue near you, blogspot readers. For more information, visit http://www.iloveideamen.com/.
Until next time, support your local scene,
SouthSide
Now, SouthSide didn't know what she was getting into when deciding to review this band that features an eclectic mesh of pop/experimental sound and the strange bit of wackiness, blogspot readers. Taking one look this group crowding the stage, this reviewer thought "what a weird bunch of players" but she meant it in a good way thus learning not to take them so seriously. The band's arrangement of dress appearance for the stage instantly told her this wasn't going to be an ordinary rock show with Ideamen. To give you, the reader of this review, an idea what SouthSide means - try to picture the front man as the following: bald, prancing around the stage like a lost flower power, hippie sha-man while the rest of the band appears as if they finished stepping off the 80s rock magazine. And truth be told, this reviewer like their unique but strange appearance ...didn't have everyone uniformed to the same look. She gathered each musician likes to be expressive in their own way.
Next - the music. Though, Ideamen performs under a piano-driven, experimental sound, the entire Elbo Room performance featured an intense experience of energetic momentum and flucuating rock genres that kept the basement lounge crowd quite hyped up for this local band. This band didn't waste one precious moment on pleasentries or unnecessary goofiness. Nope. It was a hot party atmosphere from start to finish amidst groovlicious funk and electric piano wizardry that didn't include any time to slow down to rest. They got down to the business of rockin' out their audience. And despite the very humid conditions, blogspot readers, Ideamen rocked the stage with lively combinations of pop/rock and (sometimes) a couple of 80s-sounding tones as heard in the opening song, Red in the Sky featuring a few bars of Lionel Richie's Hello. One word of caution - don't spend time nitpicking or deciphering this local band's core rock sound because it will only confuse you (and your ears) even more since they were performing new songs off the upcoming (untitled) album. What SouthSide also liked about Ideamen was the simplistic song themes that didn't over complicate or dazzle the mind. For instance, one particular song was about a party. That was it. She enjoyed the song's eclectic mesh of 80s pop/guitar rock/ disco (perhaps) amidst Matthew's lighting fx thus creating a club/dance atmosphere for the crowd. After that party, the band rocked everyone to their groovy side before wowing the ears with intense guitar rock.
SouthSide highly suggests listening Brain Child to which she found to be a unique operatic ballad almost like Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody having the haunting intro, dramatic chord changes, wild twitterpating riffs, and piano-driven rhythms before ending with a huge climatic finish (sans the gong) and a vocal aria. It's hard to describe the instensity of the music that surrounded this particular song, blogspot readers, unless you were there at Elbo Room. After that song, try Two Complaints in which Ideamen upped the tempo yet retaining the intense rhythms within a calming melody while woven inside tone of frustration and angst heard off the lyrics. To SouthSide, this particular song had all of the makings of being a Broadway musical production theme song (like Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber's Heaven On Their Minds) from the how this band rocked the stage. After witnessing two completely different versions of rock operas by Ideamen, they closed out this performance with another production number but this time about the futuristic look of our society. This song, Off Is A Crime, was laced with lyrics mentioning how our food is chemically manufactured in China to Big Brother is watching us at all times ...very anti-political and more with its theme within a space-tripped out ending which left the audience wanting an encore.
Check out this traveling band as they head west to rock out a venue near you, blogspot readers. For more information, visit http://www.iloveideamen.com/.
Until next time, support your local scene,
SouthSide
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