Fresno Famous

As mentioned in a previous post, this week has been massive in terms of live music, and last night's show was a great example of the breadth of touring acts coming through. Here was a band that toured with Red Hot Chilli Peppers (one wonders how that went), and gotten some love from both NPR and Pitchfork (both strong arbiters of hipness). Having them play Fresno (and get a decent turnout at that) is a treat. 

The Sunburns: I miss Bad Andy. Not the persona, if there was one, but the musician. My love of his previous band, Pinkeye, (and to some extent American Sloth) is tied up with a bunch of nostaligia, so hearing new stuff from essentially a new band (they've played a handful of shows over the past few years) is nice. The band (particularly Phillip Bergstrom, who trades off guitar licks and vocal leads) builds on what Andy does well, which is write intricately layered pop songs with beautiful vocal melodies. But they do it with a sort of raw looseness, like the whole thing could fall apart at any moment. Probably a bit of the Pixies in them. Or Pavement. It keeps the whole thing from being trite. 

On a not-at-all side note: "Time: The Trombone of the Heart " has been stuck in my head all day.

Fool's Gold: The easy comparison would be Vampire Weekend (or one of those Afropop-inspired indie bands) though I was more reminded of Paul Simon. Also: Rusted Root. This is outdoor festival music, the kind that brings up pictures of easy-swaying on a grass field in a park somewhere on a warm summer's afternoon. Suprisingly enough, it also works at 11:30 on a Wednesday night in a bar in Fresno.