Dammit, Mom, you weren’t supposed to let me quit. Sure, I was freakishly taller than the other girls in my elementary dance class—so tall that you had to hand-sew my costume for Hansel and Gretel that one year. I know I begged you to let me out of that daily torture of uncomfortable shoes and impossibly high expectations, but moms are supposed to be tougher than that. Persevere. And if you had forced your little girl to continue dancing down her little path to stardom, I could be Jamie Williams.
See, Jamie—the gorgeous tap-dancing star that indie rock band Tilly and the Wall revolves around—is now my idol. No, I’m not too old for idols. My current career path sucks, to put it nicely, and it’s time to go back to my childhood dream and pursue fame and fortune as… a tap dancer.
Having seen Tilly and the Wall open for Pedro the Lion in Chico a few years back, I knew the fabulousness that I could expect from their Noise Pop performance at the cozy Rickshaw Stop. Needless to say, I wasn’t disappointed. And I can say the same thing about the majority of the rest of the show.
My entourage of Tilly fans and I showed up halfway through opening band Little Teeth’s set, which started promptly at a very early 6 p.m. (Rocking out when it’s light out? So wrong…). The venue was mostly empty still and we grabbed spots dangerously close to the stage, where the three-piece (Ammo Eisu, Andy Tisdall and Dannie Murrie) played eclectic and experimental music on an assortment of instruments, including my personal favorite, the accordion. Over the Oompa Loompa beats, Andy and Dannie shared vocals that were dissonant at best and painful at worst, but obviously intentionally so. The duo sang out of key and with a Courtney Love-like brashness that oddly suited circus-y folk pop tracks like “Japanese Candy” and “Between My Ears.” Their style may be a bit gimmicky, but it’s working.
Now, let’s take a minute to appreciate the fine folks at Noise Pop who opened my eyes to the greatness that is Tally Hall. Thanks guys! Seriously, my friends and I haven’t stopped talking about those five guys in color-coded ties since the show, and that’s saying something. The Ann Arbor band’s set opened with a screening of the their new music video for “Good Day,” a damn catchy song that’s being released on their first major-label release “Marvin’s Marvelous Mechanical Museum” on April 1 (the album was previously released but has been remixed and remastered since their move to Atlantic Records). After the video, Rob Cantor (yellow tie), Joe Hawley (red tie), Zubin Sedghi (blue tie), Andrew Horowitz (green tie) and Ross Federman (grey tie) came on stage—rocking the dork look better than anyone’s done since old (good) Weezer—and played through other tracks from the album like “The Bidding,” “Banana Man” and “Welcome to Tally Hall.” The songs’ lyrics are quirky and light, about girls and mini malls mostly, but are delivered in everything from perfect five-part harmonies (someone did their music theory homework) to white boy rap. Astonishing musicality, but also fun and infectious. Plus, they did a cover of Fatboy Slim’s “Praise You” that was nearly better than the original.
So how do you top that? Unfortunately, if you’re Capgun Coup, you don’t. I’ve heard great things about this Omaha indie quartet—honestly, anyone who lists both The Velvet Underground and Joni Mitchell as their influences on MySpace has to be good, right? The problem was that a couple of the guys continued to do sound checking after the first and second songs, asking for a little more this and a little more that, and the result was deafening, literally. By the third song, my group and I had surrendered our nearly front row standing spots near all the other bands (as my boyfriend said, “I had to give up my place next to the Tilly and the Wall girls!” with a sense of urgency I found a bit disheartening) because the noise was so loud our ears not only rang, but hurt like hell. Ok, so you’ve reminded me to invest in proper earplugs. But there was a major exodus away from the speakers, and I was unfortunately part of the group who opted to wait out the set outside rather than subject our poor little eardrums to slaughter. I’ve been to a lot of rock shows, including some hardcore punk rock, and I’ve never had to leave for decibel levels… so that’s a first.
We were lucky, though, and as rainbow balloons bounced overhead between sets, the noise level came down and we were able to weasel forward a bit to catch Tilly and the Wall. (Sidenote: It is imperative that you get to a Tilly and the Wall show early. You must be in the front row, or you can’t fully appreciate all the tap dancing deliciousness and adorable Omaha wholesomeness.) The band—Jamie and her tap shoes, Neely Jenkins and Kianna Alarid on vocals, guitarist Derek Pressnall, Nick White playing keyboards and a drummer I haven’t seen before—is all smiles and sunshine and happy ‘60s folk pop summer songs in adorable rainbow-colored vintage attire. What’s not to love? I’m a big fan of their first album “Wild Like Children,” so was happy that they played “Fell Down the Stairs” and “Nights of the Living Dead.” It was interesting to hear their new single “Beat Control” because it’s a little more synth-pop new wave than I’m used to, but executed brilliantly. And while the whole band is just too cute for words, Jamie’s still the star—whirling and twirling and tapping like she’s fully aware she has the coolest job ever.
Man oh man, I’m going to buy tap shoes right now. Do you think they come in pink?
Listen to Tilly and the Wall:
Download – Tilly and the Wall – "The Freest Man" – [mp3]
Download – Tilly and the Wall – "The Freest Man (CSS Remix)" – [mp3]
Hear more on Daytrotter
Listen to Capgun Coup:
Download – Capgun Coup – "Huck Fin" – [mp3]
For more information:
Tilly and the Wall: www.tillyandthewall.com
Capgun Coup: myspace.com/capguncoup
Tally Hall: www.tallyhall.com
Little Teeth: myspace.com/littleteethmusic
