Devon’s prog-rockers Muse have never been a band known as mellow, shy, or minimalist. It’s only fitting that their most recent release entitled H.A.A.R.P., a CD/DVD package of the band’s performance at Wembley Stadium in 2007, keeps that trend alive. With the enormous crowd of 150,000 fans screaming in anticipation, the band marches down the runway to the tune of majestic classical violins. Frontman Matthew Bellamy picks up his guitar from a small robot that drives up to meet him on stage, and immediately hurls into “Knights of Cydonia,” the bombastic, trumpet-filled single from their last album, 2006’s Black Holes & Revelations. And as Bellamy pounds out the sludgy intro riff in front of the massive cheering crowd, the camera shows a whiff of a small childlike smirk, as if to say, “Hey, what I’m doing is pretty darn cool.” Read More

WBRU kicked off its 2008 Summer Concert Series with headline act Death Cab For Cutie on May 9th. The concert was scheduled to be held at the Providence Piers, but due to inclement weather, it had to be moved to Brown University’s Meehan Auditorium.

Before Death Cab took the stage, Amanda Palmer, the better half of the Dresden Dolls, warmed up the crowd with her percussive piano and signature vocals. The highlight of the performance, however, consisted of Amanda busting out a Ukulele and playing an excellent acoustic version of Radiohead’s “Creep.”

After a quick set change, Ben Gibbard and his traveling troupe appeared on stage amidst rollicking cheers and began with a quiet but pulsating version of “Bixby Canyon Bridge,” followed by an unflagging performance of “New Year.” A uniform melancholy prevailed throughout the show, but the songs from the upcoming album Narrow Stairs lent a distinctly different flavor. Often starting with long instrumental introductions, the new songs had an unfamiliar sense of gravity. This new dark sound found its best expression in the band’s single release “I Will Possess Your Heart.” However, much of the creepiness of the new CD was overshadowed during the concert by Ben Gibbard’s energetic air and Chris Walla’s soaring solos.

The band played an eclectic set that included songs from every album they’ve released, but the pieces that pleased the crowd the most were all nearly off of Death Cab’s major label debut Plans. “Soul Meets Body” got the most cheers while the first notes of “I Will Follow You Into The Dark” induced many to pull out their cameras to record this memorable moment, making the crowd light up in a sea of camera displays. The inviting but all too satisfied crowd then went on to request an encore and got it: The band played 6 additional songs and finished their impressive set with “Transatlanticism.” Read More

The Rustic Overtones came into the studio a few weeks ago and sang their song “Letter to the President” off their most recent album, Light at the End. After their performance, they talked to Lyra about their thoughts, intentions, and influences in writing the song. The song is a fictional story centred around a lonely soldier, with no intended political stance. The band also discussed war, their development and changes since their previous album, staying together forever, and possible acronyms for their band name.

Click on the link below to hear their live performance and the discussion that followed!

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Tommy Gardner, Eddy Maher, and Paul Giammarco of Rock Hunt Finalists Someday Providence dropped by the studio before the Rock Hunt finals two weeks ago and talked to Lyra. They discussed the abbreviation, SP, of their band name and being played on (and being on) MTV shows. They also talked about their MySpace page, on which they had been posting some rather interesting video diaries of themselves in their studio. The band even tried to do some shout-outs to local Rhode Island bands and then joked about being paid to do it. Their new 7-song album comes out May 24th.

Check out the full interview below!

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The Bravery plays a show not to be missed. If you are one of those lazy “chumps” who didn’t get down to Lupo’s Thursday night, you should have and (you can quote me on this) that is exactly what you are. I don’t care if you had work Friday morning, and apparently neither did the crowd that packed Lupo’s.

I made sure to get there early to see local groups Penrose and Senior Discount. Going indoors at six sucks. Hugely. I know. But that’s the price we pay during the spring/summer, and it’s definitely worth it for the music. Moving into the summer, and in the interest of still seeing the best shows around, we would do best to keep that in mind.

I had Penrose in the studio last week for an interview on HomeBRU’d, so having gotten to know the guys, I was glad to see that they didn’t disappoint in concert. “Slight of Hand”, the almost-overwhelming opener for their recently released album Azimuth, went off without a hitch, but it was “Angels and Monikers” that I found most impressive. If you get to one of Penrose’s shows (and you should), instead of being that arse in the audience that keeps shouting “Freebiiiird!” (and gets punched in the face by the lead guitarist), I suggest you request “Angels and Monikers”. Like Penrose, the song performed live has teeth. Read More

This past week, Penrose dropped by the station to select the songs for Home Bru’d, answer caller’s questions, and joke around with DJ Shepherd. They discussed their song choices, their concert last night, where they opened for The Bravery at Lupo’s, their marketing strategies, and the making of their song “Slight of Hand.” They were also, in the words of DJ Shepherd, “out of control.” Penrose claimed to be one of the world’s tallest bands, talked about playing Guitar Hero songs at a recent concert, held a moment of silence for Elisha Cuthbert, and challenged DJ Shepherd to a fight.

Click on the link to listen to this highly entertaining interview!

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Last week, Rock Hunt 2008 winners It Was the Best of Times stopped by the studio and took over the airwaves for Home BRU’d. DJ Shepherd interviewed them about how they felt about winning the Rock Hunt, how the band wrote their three singles, and what they thought of the other Rock Hunt bands. They shared the love and played songs by Rock Hunt semifinalists The Coming Weak and finalists Someday Providence, and played songs off of their new EP “Hot Blood,” which is due out in the next month or two. They also very articulately responded to questions about how people might associate them with Paramore. Aside from superficial similarities - having a female singer and fitting into the broad genre of alt-rock - they explained that their music was very different, in writing style, dynamics, and complexity. Check out the interview below, and listen to a few of their songs at myspace.com/itwasthebestoftimes. Click here to see more pictures!

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WBRU’s Rock Hunt at The Living Room on Friday night was quite an experience. DJ Shepherd and I started the night with a long and ill-advised walk all the way from the station in East Providence to The Living Room. Having never traveled there on foot before, we became a bit confused as to which direction was which, and found ourselves off-track on numerous occasions, often discovering that we were amid abandon buildings where the sketchy factor was exponential.

After this adventure of sorts, we found ourselves at the Living Room right in time to greet the bands and watch Awesome Brothers take the stage. They had already set up a screen onstage, and as we wondered what it was for, a video began depicting band members Luke and Ashleigh dressed in lab coats and goggles. Ashleigh talked incessantly, and Luke “vomited” spaghetti into her ear. The video was an appropriate precursor to what would prove to be a strange, yet strangely appealing, set that was very reminiscent of an Of Montreal concert. Videos flew by on the screen in time to the beat, all with a quirky-retro emphasis. Luke and Ashleigh put on an increasingly entertaining performance, complete with skilled used of a synthesizer, drum machine and keyboard. Their singing fit the music perfectly and sounded great, and Luke’s guitar complemented the sound well. The result was a show that was fun to watch and music that was more than appropriate for dancing. Read More

It was an exciting night at the Living Room last night! Three amazing local bands faced off in front of a large crowd for their chance to be the winner of WBRU’s Rock Hunt 2008. Awesome Brothers opened the night with a quirky-but-altogether-awesome performance involving crazy synth sounds, driving dance beats and music, and a series of strange but incredibly entertaining videos playing on a screen behind them as they performed. It Was the Best of Times came on second and blew us away with an incredible performance. They produced a complex, talented sound that was a perfect combination of standard, fun rock music and innovative new sound. Someday Providence finished off the night with an energetic performance that got the crowd excited and kept us all dancing. With a pop-rock style and skilled musicians, they put on a really fun set.

However, in the closing words of DJ Shepherd, “there can only be one winner on Rock Hunt 2008.” And the winner was It Was the Best of Times! Look forward to hearing more from all of these bands in the future, and listen to Home BRU’d at midnight on Tuesday night/Wednesday morning when DJ Shepherd will be interviewing It Was the Best of Times!

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Rock Hunt finalists the Awesome Brothers - Luke B. and Ashleigh C. - dropped by the studio this week. They talked to Lyra about their complicated stage set-up and the fact that they do not have a drummer. They discussed the origins of their band name and their album name, 300%. The Awesome Brothers also told Lyra about a rather interesting routine that they used to do at their shows, involving fur suits, stripping and outfits with self-portraits. The Awesome Brothers played at the WBRU Rock Hunt finals on Friday.

Check out WBRU’s podcast for the full exclusive interview!

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Vampire Weekend drummer Chris Tomson took over the station last week during Lyra’s show. Listen to the podcast to hear his explanations of all his song selections and his discussion with Lyra on a variety of topics. He talks about his working for college radio while he was in school and the musical interests and influences of the band. Chris Tomson shares everything from his memories of grade school to his experience touring in both England and the US to his excitement over their self-titled first album coming out. He even discusses tape decks, record players, eighth grade, and Seattle.

Check out the podcast for the takeover and interview!

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Eric Avery, the co-founder and formerly the bassist of Jane’s Addiction, came in and took over the station. He talks about his new album Help Wanted, the cover art, the songs, and politics. Avery discusses the changes in his work since Jane’s Addiction, other people’s comparisons of him to Joy Division, his decision to release his album under his own name, and his experience working his album. He spoke about his surprise over Jane’s Addiction’s success and the possibility of touring to support his new album. Eric Avery’s new solo album, Help Wanted, was released on April 8th.

Check out WBRU’s podcast to hear Eric Avery’s takeover in its entirety!

Click here to listen