Manchester Orchestra and friends provided Los Angelian fans with some good tunes at the Troubadour.  In support of their latest album, “Mean Everything to Nothing,” the Georgian band decided to give Los Angeles two dates instead of one.  On March 9th and 10th, fans crowded into the Troubadour for the sold-out shows for a few hours of good music.  The headliners brought along three opening bands – O’Brother, Biffy Clyro, and The Features – that ranged along the rock-music spectrum.  Despite technical difficulties that plagued all of the bands for the night, it was a good show.  Read more of the review and see some photos after the jump.

O’Brother

The opening band, O’Brother was a great band to warm up the crowd.  Albeit, not much of the crowd was there yet, but these guys came out and played a good set.  Their sound is very much like Manchester Orchestra, in some aspects, but more hardcore.  If I had to describe them in terms of other bands, I’d say they sound like a cross of Manchester Orchestra and Thrice.  Their songs are sometimes melodic and ambient like the sound of the headliners, but other parts of their songs are loud and have more of a hardcore vibe.  The lead singers vocals are haunting and sometimes harsh, working in favor of this overall sound.  I’d say that it is a nice balance of both worlds.  Because their sound is so ambient, I think the crowd warmed up to them quite well.  However, their harder breakdowns may have shocked some who were not expecting it.  Overall, I enjoyed their set.  Definitely a band to keep a good look out for.  Check out their music at their myspace here and some shots I took during their set at the end of the review.

Biffy Clyro

I had heard of Biffy Clyro prior to the show, either in passing or on some music website, but I had never actually heard the band.  I was in for a treat.  The trio took the stage, shirtless, and pumped up the crowd with their alt-rock (with a splash of punk, I’d say) tunes.  And they’re Scottish!  My friend and I were intrigued with their accents once we heard them speaking and played a brief game of guess the accent before the lead man told the crowd.  I’d say it wasn’t a surprise to a few people,  since there were quite a few fans in the crowd singing along to the songs with the band.  Overall, their sound has a very feel-good vibe.  Check out their music here and their new album Only Revolutions, out now.

The Features

This band surprised me the most.  Since they were the last opening band, I was expecting a band that is very ambient and calming, like Manchester Orchestra.  The Features came out and blew that out of the water.  Their songs are very energetic and fun.  They proved that looks can be quite deceiving; the lead singer was dressed like a modern Mr. Rogers so I expected a shy, calm voice.  That was not the case.  He was energetic and his vocals were even frantic at times.  He had no problem giving it his all and screaming into the microphone from a distance for a song.  It was great!  The keyboards in the band gave the whole sound a type of fun, but circus-vibe.  And that’s a good thing.  I definitely think you should check this band out.  Listen to their music here.

Manchester Orchestra

Finally, after about twenty minutes of technical difficulties, Manchester Orchestra took the stage.  By this time, the Troubadour had filled up to it’s sold-out capacity and the fans were ready.  The group immediately launched into their first song and proceeded to play their set, taking very few breaks to talk to the crowd.  In fact, the only time they engaged with the crowd was when the Andy Hull, lead singer and rhythm guitarist, had to tune his guitar.  Even he admitted that they’re not the most charismatic band.  And that went over perfectly well with the crowd, who, for the most part, were quiet and just went with the flow of things.  I must say, it was one of the least-crazy shows I’ve been to.  But it was great.  The band played a good setlist of about 20 songs that were a mix off of both of their albums.  A few memorable ones were “Golden Ticket”, “Where Have You Been?”, “Wolves at Night”, “I Can Barely Breathe”, “Everything to Nothing”, “Shake It Out”, “The Only One”, and “My Friend Marcus.”  The fact that they didn’t engage with the audience wasn’t even a problem, because they played impeccably.  Andy’s vocals were just as haunting and in-your-face as they are on the albums.  They even had two drum sets on the stage, since some of their songs require them.  Overall, it was really great.  Great band, great musicians, and a great time spent at the Troubadour.

For those of you who haven’t heard of Manchester Orchestra, check out their myspace here.  Their two albums “I’m Like A Virgin Losing A Child” and, their latest, “Mean Everything to Nothing” are well worth the listen.

O’Brother Photos:

-Aria

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