This is Bell I believe. They played just before Asobi Seksu. They reminded me somewhat of These Are Powers, and High Blue Star. I get this feeling that there will be more from her that I will really like. There was a CD they had out but I did not get it. I was just too damn poor and so that kind of made me more critical, more willing to wait and see if I will miss her. If Bell came back to Chicago with a new CD to promote I would certainly go. I suppose I put these pictures up as a reminder. For this performance I was poor and so I was more willing to find something I did not like. 
So last week I saw Asobi Seksu again. It does not feel like it was that long ago when I saw them the first time. It was last year but it just feels like a few months ago. Actually it really was a whole other world away the last time they came. Bush was still president, Cheney was still Darth Vader, the economy was barely starting to tank, I think even all the banks that went under were still functioning. And it was a Wednesday, my normal day off from work. The day before I saw Yelle. Yes it was a different Chicago, still on the cusp of the major economic recession of our time. Partying like it's 1999. Two thousand zero, zero, nine, party's over. So when this band comes to town it's like a reminder of how good you had it. I forgot, this was about Asobi Seksu, right?
This is this band's second time I see them right, and it's actually a matter of months. One would think that they are promoting the same CD as before, but no. Asobi came to promote "Hush", their newest. The last time it was with "Citrus" I believe. It's a different experience to just dance to them playing right in front of you, rather than waiting always for the right shot with your camera. Or keeping it steady as you take down a whole song as a concert video. It feels much more immediate. So, some of the songs I took down last time, I just indulged my eyes, and ears for the moment. When you're seeing them perform through the camera's view screen you have to kind of displace your sheer enjoyment of it....yeah, I repeat that line of thought a lot.
Well, I've been listening to "Citrus" regularly since last fall when AS came to the Empty Bottle. There are the songs that sink in straight away and then there are the songs that took some time. In the mean time, I can ignore the magazine articles in let's say VENUS ZINE. Actually I'm not certain of where I saw reviews on AS, but I have noticed them, and it's nice to be able to ignore them 'cause, well I already have seen them live. I nearly blew my ear drums out they were so loud. This second time I worked my way up the semi porous crowd until I reached the stage. I noticed nearly everyone around me with something to protect the ears. I stuffed some tissue paper in my ears just before they started. If I were to recommend this band to someone, I'd start them off on "Citrus". If you read the reviews or articles and wanna see them live, put cotton or tissue paper in your ears or you will come out more deaf than Rush Limbaugh. "Hush" and their self-titled CD that came out in 2004 I'm still working on. I guess I'm saying that there is a marked difference between "Citrus" and these other two. There is another album out there...I could not buy it last Thursday when I saw them so I can't comment on it. It was painful not to buy it. I know I can just snort it from iTunes, but I still value the physical product. "Familiar Light", "Gliss" on "Hush" are classic AS that does not sound formulaic, and yet they have the same furniture lying around. It amazes me how instantly recognizable they all are as Asobi Seksu, and yet each song stands out with their own little quirks. "Me and Mary" even has a little Joy Division moment.
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