Subject: Ian Hrabe

• Concert Review: Starlight Mints and Evangelicals at the Record Bar

  REVIEW BY IAN HRABE While the Flaming Lips may have cornered the market on progressive Oklahoman music, on Thursday night, Norman, Oklahoma's Evangelicals and the Starlight Mints set out to prove that there is more going on in that pan-handled state to the south. Ian HrabeEvangelicals evangelize I entered the Record Bar with a battle of the bands mindset, equally excited to see both bands, but more excited to see whose show it would be. Would the Starlight Mints hold their ground and prove t

  June 5, 2009

• Concert Review: Dillinger Four and Japanther, 6/10/09, at the Granada

  REVIEW BY IAN HRABE Dear touring punk rock bands. If you decide to come through Lawrence, please do not play at the Granada. Despite what you may have heard about the place getting a new sound system, based on last night's show, your mix will sound muddled and your vocals will be practically inaudible. Though quieter acts can manage, any band looking to rock the fuck out should look elsewhere because, goddamn, this show was ruined because I've never been to a loud show at the Granada that sound

  June 11, 2009

• Concert Review: Mika Miko, the Strange Boys

  BY IAN HRABE Upon entering the Jackpot to the tune of KC psych-garage punkers Wrong Crowd laying into Jefferson Airplane's "White Rabbit," I had a feeling that maybe, just maybe, this show was going to be fucking awesome. Though their cover was pitch perfect, sadly, the rest of their songs were a pretty forgettable blend of noisy guitars and screaming female vocals. Ian HrabeBoo and Boo TooAfter Wrong Crowd, Boo and Boo Too played a set comprised exclusively of new stuff they've been road-tes

  June 26, 2009

• Concert Review: Abe Vigoda at the Jackpot

  BY IAN HRABE ​Right before Abe Vigoda played I was asked to submit a question to the band on behalf of The Pitch. Everyone was getting asked, so I submitted the one I always wanted to know: Why the fuck would you name your band Abe Vigoda? Not to say that Abe Vigoda the man isn't awesome (if only by his prowess for staying alive despite looking like he's had one foot in the grave since Good Burger), but it's a pretty shitty band name. I wondered if the band would address these questions

  July 27, 2009

• Concert Review: The Breeders at the Bottleneck

  REVIEW AND PORTRAITS BY IAN HRABE Ian Hrabe​ I know at least three people in Lawrence who think Kim Deal is the most perfect woman on planet earth. This is completely understandable, and I may or may not be one of these people. She's been an integral part of two of the best alt-rock bands of the mid-'90s (Pixies being the other) and can write a pop song like nobody's business, which is even more endearing given that all of this started when she answered an add for Pixies reading "female

  August 11, 2009

• Concert Review: The Donkeys at the Replay

  REVIEW AND IMAGES BY IAN HRABE The Donkeys are so good it makes me sick. I mean, not really sick, but sick that a band can be so fucking good every time I see them. Sunday night at the Replay was the fourth time I've seen San Diego's the Donkeys and, like every other show I've ever seen them play, it was excellent. Ian Hrabe​ I first saw the band two summers ago opening for Casiotone for the Painfully Alone, where the Donkeys earned the title (in my head) of Best Opening Band of All Ti

  August 11, 2009

• Concert Review: Los Campesinos!

  BY IAN HRABEUpon entering the Record Bar last night and discovering that Smith Westerns had been added to the already airtight Los Campesinos!/Girls bill, not knowing how to articulately express my enthusiasm, I just started saying "oh fuck yes" over and over again. I knew the show was already going to be excellent, but with the Smith Westerns on the bill, it went from being the show of the summer to quite possibly the show of the year. This constituted a perfect storm: three bands with var

  August 13, 2009

• Concert Review: Peter, Bjorn and John at the Granada

  BY IAN HRABE It's funny what a hit can do. Two years ago, I literally could not walk down Mass Street without hearing Peter, Bjorn and John's whistle-wielding surprise hit "Young Folks" blasting out of some boutique or pizza place. Suddenly, the song was everywhere. From clothing commercials, to sports video games, to Grey's Anatomy, to a sample in a Kanye West track. Rather than recreate the success of "Young Folks," with this year's Living Thing, the trio abandoned the anthemic sing-a-long po

  August 31, 2009

• What to Do This Weekend

  Even though Friday Freebies this week was a great big bust, that doesn't mean there's not a bunch of cool events at which to make an appearance. Here are a couple shows we've neglected to clue you in to, and which deserve your consideration for a night out. First up is Popfreeradio's Third Birthday Party. It takes over the Riot Room tomorrow night, October 17, starting at 6pm. The show is STACKED. I'd list all the bands, but the folks over at Popfreeradio (providing you with music that doesn't

  October 16, 2009

• Concert Review: Mirah at the Jackpot

  REVIEW BY IAN HRABE Olympia, Washington's Mirah is my favorite female vocalist, and I am constantly surprised that she has somehow managed to stay out of the mainstream. Especially when so many artists wearing an "indie" tag are being commodified. illustration by Ian Hrabe​ Yet I still find it strange that she can barely draw 50 people to the Jackpot Music Hall on a Saturday night. Perhaps it was for the best. Each and everybody in attendance was loyal and respectful, making made for one

  October 19, 2009

• Concert Review: Karl Blau, Lake, BBDDM at the Jackpot

  REVIEW BY IAN HRABE I turn around to find Karl Blau sitting at the bar folding oragami. He looks absolutely insane. His hair is teased up into some kind of mullet mohawk with two pigtails coming out of the back. He's also extremely tall and wearing a Marty McFly vest, which makes the effect extra weird. Ian Hrabe​ He also seems like the nicest guy ever, and though there was hardly anyone at the Jackpot, that didn't stop him from putting on anything less than an excellent performance. Ba

  October 20, 2009

• Concert Review: David Bazan's Beard Rock

  REVIEW BY IAN HRABE I distinctly remember seeing Pedro the Lion CDs at the Christian bookstore in Olathe when I was a kid. My grandma used to take us there. I thought it was a cool band name, though I had no interest in music at the time. illustration by Ian Hrabe​Ten or so years later, finding David Bazan's latest release, Curse Your Branches, at a Christian bookstore might constitute blasphemy. Though his music and style have remained quite similar, lyrically Bazan has gone from foldi

  November 2, 2009

• Concert Review: Dirty Projectors at the Granada (video-enhanced)

  BY IAN HRABE Right before Dirty Projectors went on, I overheard someone on the balcony talking about the Talking Heads concert film Stop Making Sense. Talking Heads come up a lot when people talk about Dirty Projectors, enough that now they are being heralded as the heir apparent to art pop. And with good reason, too. Ian Hrabe​ Like Heads frontman David Byrne, Dave Longstreth works with complex song structures and experimental-leaning arrangements to craft what are essentially artsy po

  November 10, 2009

• Concert Review: Why? at the Jackpot

  BY IAN HRABE A year ago, on a whim, I saw Why? play the Jackpot. I never see bands on a whim. In those days, I had to have some sort of investment to fork over ten bucks to see a band, but having nothing else to do, I ended up watching Yoni Wolf put on one of the best shows I'd ever seen. Ian Hrabe​ It wasn't necessarily the thrill of discovering a new band to obsess over, but it was how the one-man bandleader sold it. Wolf spent most of the set behind a small drum kit in front of the st

  November 11, 2009