Remixing

I’m in the midst of remixing my blog’s look. I was getting sick of the old photo I had had for over a year now (it is above). I still really like this photo, maybe just because of the history that’s behind it. I took it in a club in Vancouver called the Modern. At the time, they used to have this really good electro event called OMG WTF. It was cancelled, and my friend and I were devastated. We found other events, but they were cancelled as well. We’re OK though. Don’t worry.

So I’ve settled on a banner at the moment but I’m thinking about doing something else. I’m still not really loving this one. Feel free to give input.

To go along with my new blog look, here is a remix of Friendly Fires‘ “On Board” by Joakim. This DJ can do some amazing remixes. But I don’t think my remixing of my blog is as good as Joakim’s remix. One day…

Friendly Fires – On Board (Joakim remix)

Friendly Fires: Givin’ it a little bit more

When I found out The Xx and Friendly Fires were playing together, I was slightly surprised. Only because the two bands give off different vibes and energy. The Xx are very good but very slow. While Friendly Fires are really upbeat, they don’t really have any slow songs.

It was almost like I went to two completely different concerts tonight. I relaxed during The Xx and thirty minutes later, I went crazy with Friendly Fires.

The Xx
I enjoyed most of the songs The Xx played. “Shelter”, “Crystalised”, “Heart Skipped a Beat”, and “Night Time” were all performed excellently. The quality of their songs was very good. But to be honest, I don’t have much else to say. I don’t really remember much of their part of the concert except for that it sounded good. There was nothing bad about it but nothing too special about it either.

It did seem like a lot of people came just to see The Xx though. I think they should’ve headlined their own show at a smaller venue. They could’ve easily filled the Biltmore.

Friendly Fires
The original three-piece band, Friendly Fires, was definitely more memorable, mainly because of their energy, and maybe because I like their music a little more (no offense to The Xx). The Xx was very good but the energy was mediocre compared to Friendly Fires.

As soon as they started out, I was happy. The lead singer, Ed Macfarlane, dances so hard; it’s so awesome. He’s so energetic that it’s contagious. And it isn’t only him either, the rest of the band members have loads of energy as well, especially the guitarist, Edd Gibson. As for the drummer, Jack Savidge, he bangs it all out on the drums.

My one complaint about the Friendly Fires part of the show is: the vocal acoustics were very quiet. At first, you could barely hear Macfarlane. Then, someone slightly turned the volume knob so you could hear the vocals but they still weren’t as loud as I would’ve liked them to be.

Besides the vocal acoustics issue, I really enjoyed this concert. I liked the cool ending they added to “Photobooth”. They had trumpet and saxophone players performing in the background. This is gonna sound intense but it was euphoric.

Macfarlane introduced “White Diamonds” by saying it was inspired by German techno. When he said that, I really wondered which song it could be and I guess it makes sense that out of all their songs, this would be the one that falls into that category. But apparently, a couple of their other songs are influenced by German techno as well. Who would’ve known?

I was really glad they played their new song, “Kiss of Life”, as well. This song is really fun to dance to. It just makes me want to stomp around.

At first, I was kind of disappointed that “Ex Lover” was the encore song. That’s because it’s not my most favourite song on their album, Friendly Fires. But the band performed it so well that I’ve changed my mind. Gibson ran through the audience near the end of this song, and right by me. I’m not gonna lie, I thought about reaching out to grab him but I resisted.

The band has jumped into the audience the last two times I saw them as well so I definitely expected at least one of them to go into the audience. The first time I saw them at Richards’ on Richards, Gibson and Macfarlane went into the audience and performed but that was back when they weren’t as popular (they were opening for Lykke Li at the time).

Out of all the songs performed, “On Board” was probably my favourite. They really got the audience pumped on this one. At the end of this song, I just went nuts. I posted the video to this song at the end of this entry, which you should definitely check out.

I was exhausted by the end of the concert from dancing and singing so hard. Thank you, Friendly Fires. I needed that.

Friendly Fires – On Board

Energetic Friendly Fires

Until White Lies came onto the stage before Friendly Fires, I was pretty confused about who was the headlining band of this concert. I thought the band, White Lies, was headlining and apparently so did the first opening band, The Soft Pack, who introduced White Lies as Friendly Fires. But after looking at other reviews of this tour, it seems the bands switched it up when it came to who was the headlining band. In Toronto, White Lies headlined and the reviewer of CHARTattack claimed that Friendly Fires should’ve instead. I’m glad Friendly Fires headlined in Vancouver. The only crappy thing about them headlining was that we had to wait until 11:20pm or so to see them (after being there since 8:30pm). But as soon as Friendly Fires got on the stage, their contagious energy spread throughout the crowd and almost everyone was dancing; that was one thing I was really stoked on. I was totally expecting to be one of the few people dancing, but I was wrong. I was surrounded by sweaty, dancing people throughout the entire show.

I saw Friendly Fires open for Lykke Li last October and I was very impressed with Ed Macfarlane’s (lead singer) dancing and energy. So I was pretty excited to see what they would do for their show in Vancouver. They definitely lived up to their previous performance with Lykke Li; I would say they even surpassed it. Ed Macfarlane got down to perform and dance in the crowd twice. And the guitarist, Edd Gibson, ran through all of Richard’s during the encore of “All I Need.” Pretty awesome.

In my opinion, the songs that were best performed were “On Board”, “Lovesick” and “Skeleton Boy” (the video for “Skeleton Boy” is pretty sweet, check it out below). I’ve woken up with these songs in my head since Thursday morning (only two days but still pretty significant in my mind). I think this band does need a little more recognition then they already receive. When people asked me who I was seeing and I told them, Friendly Fires, almost no one had heard of them. So hopefully this post will encourage you to check out their video for “Skeleton Boy” and Myspace. If they come back to Vancouver, I highly suggest attending their concert. It is guaranteed to be full of energy, spontaneity and dancing.

Friendly Fires – Skeleton Boy

Give Me Your Hand

According to a recent interview with Pitchfork media, the Swedish duo, Air France, don’t like to do many remixes. They claim that when they’re going to do one, they’re going to make it their own. And yes, their remix of Friendly Fires‘ “Skeleton Boy” proves this statement.

This remix mainly focuses on the lyrics, “Give me your hand,” and adds more elating beats and instruments to the song. Every time I’ve listened to it, a smile has creeped onto my face.

Friendly Fires – Skeleton Boy (Air France Remix)

For white diamonds in the snow

“Don’t hold your breath too long/ For white diamonds in the snow”
The skies are trying to white Vancouver out and I can’t stop listening to this song at the moment.

Friendly Fires is a three-piece band with a hyper vocalist. But I don’t blame him for being so hyper; especially when he performs songs like “White Diamonds”.
Right now, I’m really digging the lyrics of this song. They tell an open-ended love story that the listener can imagine to their liking. And of course, the beat keeps the body moving.

Check.it.out.

Friendly Fires – White Diamonds

One day, we’re gonna live in Paris

After seeing the Friendly Fires perform with Lykke Li, I can’t stop listening to “Paris”; the Aeroplane remix and the original.

I had heard the remix before I went to the concert but I had never heard the original. Until after the concert, I didn’t appreciate the song/remix the way I should’ve.

Both the original and the remix have a surreal aura to them which goes along with the dream-like lyrics of the song. And I can totally picture someone wandering the streets of Paris with amazement in their eyes and this song (or remix) playing in the background.

Friendly Fires – Paris (Aeroplane remix feat. Au Revoir Simone)

Friendly Fires – Paris
The video’s pretty trippy as well.

Friendly Fires Myspace

But we can Dance, Dance, Dance

Date: October 28th, 2008
Where: Richard’s on Richards
Who: Friendly Fires & Lykke Li
Why: Because we like good music and good dancing

The opening band for Lykke Li was a band from the UK called Friendly Fires. Their set was full of energy (I think they said something about being on the road for 2 hours so that explains why they went nuts on stage). The singer was literally everywhere; busting moves all over the place. At one point, he got down in the audience and performed down there. Everyone backed away and gave him a nice little circle to perform in.
All in all, Friendly Fires was a pleasant surprise. They got the audience pumped up and ready for Lykke Li.
Lykke Li’s band started off the show with the intro to “Melodies & Desires”. Lykke Li built up her entrance by coming out when they were transitioning from “Melodies & Desires” to “Dance, Dance, Dance.”
“Dance, Dance, Dance” was exciting because they made it really intense live (most of the other songs were intensified as well). Besides some minor sound quality issues, I was very impressed by the overall live performance of the show. Every song they performed from her album, Youth Novels, was performed with more energy and a heavier beat; they all had a different live twist to them. She also added a kazoo to some of her songs (this kazoo was hanging around her neck in the bundle of necklaces she had on; very stylish).

She was also all over the stage dancing away, busting many moves. She did a cover of Vampire Weekend – “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa” which was interesting. She also covered A Tribe Called Quest – “Can I Kick it?” which seems to be a solid cover she regularly performs now. “Can I Kick it?” was played in her encore and it was a great way to leave the stage. To be honest, her show has been the best show I’ve seen in a while. I still find it hard to believe that she had a hard time starting off her career at first.

Peep at the show: A short video of “Window Blues”