LIVE REVIEW: Charilift, El Ten Eleven and Magic Bullets at Bottom of the Hill 9/17/2009
Usually we’re caught up writing about the headliners and how they live up to the hype. We’re not so sure that this show went that direction.
Kicking off the stage on Thursday night, low-key instrumentalists, El Ten Eleven absolutely blew away the crowd with their very unique stage presence. Wielding a double neck guitar with a fretless bass (a la Robert Plant, although tweaked to El Ten Eleven standards), the duo harmoniously looped extremely difficult drumbeats while playing the guitar and bass at the same time. Even though the sound system was a little overcompensated at Bottom of the Hill, these guys pulled out some of the best sliding bass rhythms and loop sequences that we’ve ever seen. They were so good in fact, that the crowd begged them to play an encore. When was the last time you saw an opener play an encore? Exactly. Most comparable to big-timers, Ratatat, but without the big hype, mainstream recognition, El Ten Eleven is greatly under-appreciated and we expect them to pull out of the underground circuit into some big time success in the near future.
Next, up were local sweethearts, Magic Bullets. Their stage presence is incredible and up beat, and the tunes something akin to old-school British pop. We loved the erratic dancing and catchy rhythms. We’d definitely be willing to check them out again.
After the build-up, iTunes superstars, Chairlift, took to the stage at Bottom of the Hill last night with a very specific goal in mind. Blend their new brand of raw artsy noise-rock with a teensy bit of their old indie pop that we all know and love so much. With a completely unexpected sound and very straightforward show, we’re still pondering if the message came fully through, but Chairlift does provide some talented musicianship in addition to their occasionally catchy tunes. Their new edgy material will definitely take some getting used to, but we are looking forward to witnessing the next direction that they take this in.