Tag Archives: Hey Rosetta!

February 3, 2015 · 1:05 PM

London Grammar with Until The Ribbon Breaks

Saturday, January 24, 2015

State Theatre, Portland, Maine

Please pardon the delay. I have been snowed in for far too many days now. Seriously—FOUR of the last FIVE weekdays until today were snow days. My will to do anything productive has been zapped for a week now. I’ve shoveled, had tea and watched The Wire. Rinse and repeat. I was SO ready to leave the house this morning even though the roads were horrendous. I’d missed my students. I also don’t want to shovel again. Ever.

I was so excited when I saw that Britain’s London Grammar was coming to Portland. I’d seen them on KEXP and was BLOWN AWAY. Their show had been pushed from July to maybe October and then moved to the State Theatre in January. A lot of us had great expectations and had waited more than half a year to see them live. They were well worth the wait.

I’m glad Colin and I made it early to the State after an amazing Hey Rosetta! show at One Longfellow Square and got a good spot for show opener Until The Ribbon Breaks. I’d come across them on NPR a couple of weeks before the show with a first listen of their new album, A Lesson Unlearnt. It’s lyrically heavy and more electronic than I tend towards, but it’s an interesting and layered piece. Seeing UTRB was similarly theatrical and intense. Pete Lawrie-Winfield is a strong front man and the videos played in the background throughout their set made it a complete, dramatic experience. Pete experienced a myriad of tech issues on stage that keyboardist/bassist/vocalist James Gordon fixed for him a number of times. It added a bit of levity to their set.

Until The Ribbon Breaks

Pete Lawrie-Winfield

James Gordon

Elliot Wall

Sophie and Kate arrived and found us in time for UK electronic pop trio London Grammar’s set. They were both strangers to London Grammar’s music, so I loved seeing their faces light up as they processed just what a treat they were in for. Sophie’s eyes widened as she mouthed “HOLY CRAP!” to me early on in the first song. That’s the London Grammar effect. Hannah Reid can’t be 25 years old yet, but her voice is ethereal and captivating. Hannah, Dan Rothman (guitar), and Dominic Major (keyboard/percussion) met early on while students at University of Nottingham and released their first EP in February of 2013. Their first full-length album, If You Wait, dropped in September of 2013. I was especially happy to hear “Hey Now” and “Strong” live. Everyone in London Grammar seemed humble and approachable. They interacted comfortably with the crowd and genuinely thanked us for our support. Hannah even pointed out a fan in the front row who’d attended all of their American tour dates and said how much it meant to the band to have such devoted fans. To say I was blown away by London Grammar live is such an understatement. I’ve struggled to find the words to talk about how amazing they are. Please check them out. I’m listening to them on repeat these days. See photos below!

xo,

bree

London Grammar

Dan Rothman

Hannah Reid

Dominic Major

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Tagged as A Lesson Unlearnt, Dan Rothman, Dominic Major, Hannah Reid, Hey Now, Hey Rosetta!, If You Wait, KEXP, London Grammar, Pete Lawrie-Winfield, Portland Maine, State Theatre, Strong, Until The Ribbon Breaks

January 28, 2015 · 8:32 PM

Hey Rosetta!

Saturday, January 24, 2015

One Longfellow Square, Portland, Maine

I was very excited for this night of back-to-back shows! I was sad when I first saw that Newfoundland’s elusive Hey Rosetta! was coming back to Portland on the 24^th, because I already had plans to see UK’s London Grammar that night. Imagine my delight when I found out that Hey Rosetta! was playing early because One Longfellow Square was hosting a second show there later that night. I could go to both! Serendipity!

I’d seen Hey Rosetta! just a few months earlier for the first time ever opening for Stars at Port City Music Hall. I’ve been a fan for years, and they sounded as good live as I’d hoped. I drove to Portland in a bit of a snowstorm and snagged what I thought was a miraculous parking spot between the two venues and hurried to get a good seat at One Longfellow. I learned when I got to OLS that my great parking spot was probably available because a parking ban was going into effect in a few hours and I’d have to move before the London Grammar show. My concert friend Colin surprised me by coming to the show based on my recommendation on a rare Saturday night off for him. He told me later that it was the best money he’d spent so far in 2015.

Hey Rosetta! took the stage filled to the brim with people,equipment, instruments, and cords. They are seven mostly multi-instrumentalists, and only six of them fit on the actual stage amongst all three keyboards, six guitars, two bass guitars, a cello, French horn, trumpet, fiddle, a drum kit, glockenspiel, and all variety of other percussive tools. They opened with “Soft Offering (For The Oft Suffering)” and completely won over the audience in short time with their powerful, layered sound. It’s also the opening track off their newest album, Second Sight, which just released in the US this week and you can stream here. Hey Rosetta’s last album, Seeds, came out in 2011, so this album is much anticipated.

Hey Rosetta!

Tim Baker’s lead vocals are strong and clear. He can really sing, and he knows just where to project and with how much power to make the point. I could listen to him for hours and not tire of it. If there’s any one thing I wish Hey Rosetta! would do differently, it would be to interact more with the audience. Tim chatted a tiny bit to thank us for coming to the show, but I’d love to hear more about the band and about their songs sometime directly from them (Google searching is only so satisfying).

Since they really did have to get off stage with time to clear off their insane amount of gear so another band could set up for a show, Hey Rosetta! didn’t have time to dally. They invited us to get up and dance together to “Red Heart,” and it was then that I noticed how many great folks were in the crowd. People were really friendly, so I suspect a lot of them were Canadian. They really didn’t have time to leave the stage and wait for us to clap and come back for an encore, so Tim just introduced their last song “Bandages” as being about the long Newfoundland winter and being ready for spring. After Juno and the amount of snow shoveling I’ve done the last two days, I’m ready for spring now, too! Come back anytime, Hey Rosetta! You guys are such a pleasure to see live!

xo,

bree

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January 23, 2015 · 8:22 AM

Join me for back-to-back shows Saturday night!

I’m PUMPED for tomorrow night! I’m going to two shows I know are going to be amazing in the same night! Friends will be at both shows, too. Are you coming to either? Both?

I’m catching Newfoundland and Labrador’s Hey Rosetta! at One Longfellow Square in Portland at 6:30. Doors are at 6. I just saw them for the first time in November opening for Stars. They are as good live as I’d hoped they’d be. Check out their Audiotree session by clicking below:

Hey Rosetta! on Audiotree

I am kind of beside myself that I get to see Britain’s London Grammar for the first time Saturday night at 9 at The State Theatre. Doors are at 8. I’ve been obsessed with them since their KEXP session (click below) at the end of 2013. I’m so looking forward to seeing them in person. Until The Ribbon Breaks opens the show. If you can’t join me, I’ll let you know how the shows were sometime next week!

London Grammar on KEXP

xo,

bree

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November 14, 2014 · 12:47 PM

Hey Rosetta! and Stars

Friday, November 8, 2014

Port City Music Hall, Portland, Maine

I stumbled upon Canada’s Hey Rosetta! many years ago online and love their layered, full sound and lead singer’s Tim Baker’s smooth voice. I’d been keeping an eye on their tour schedule for what felt like forever, and was SO excited to see they were finally coming to Maine to open for Montreal’s Stars. This was the first night of their tour together. I got to Port City Music Hall early to make sure I had a good spot up front, and I met Jen there, who’d driven down from New Brunswick just for the show. It was great to watch the show with another fan, and there were plenty of Hey Rosetta! fans and friendly Canadians in the crowd. My friends Bartlett and Ellie showed up right before the show, too. I’d suggested to Bartlett that he catch Hey Rosetta’s set at Bonnaroo when they were both there in 2012 and he did and was hooked. Hey Rosetta! sounded great live. They are a seven-piece indie band and create a rich sound with the usual four-piece instruments, but also with the addition of a string section, horns, and tight harmonies. I was probably most excited to hear “Yer Spring” and “Young Glass,” both from their 2011 album, Seeds. Tim didn’t say a whole lot to the crowd (which I would have liked), but did tell us that he’d just recovered from being really sick, so I’ll give him a pass. Hey Rosetta! played eight beautiful songs and left the stage—many of us wanting more. I hope they’ll come back and headline a show sometime so we can dig in a bit more. You can stream their newest album, Second Sight, here. I hope you’ll give them a listen.

Tim Baker is the frontman of Hey Rosetta!(I didn’t hear back in time from their publicist, so these aren’t taken with my fancy camera).

I ended up literally front and center touching the stage (my favorite) for Stars, and they were awesome from the first second they took the stage. I’d been streaming their October release, No One is Lost, a lot in the weeks before the show, and really enjoyed their pop sound. Torquil Campbell took us all in immediately as he effortlessly engaged the crowd. He sang above me (and I had to duck out of his way) as he leaned into the eager, bopping crowd. Amy Millan also shone brightly on stage, with her sharp dance moves and comfortable banter. They have the kind of stage presence you earn after more than a decade together, and it shows that they care about the caliber of show they put on and don’t take it for granted. Check out the video for their newest single “From The Night” to get a taste of their style. Even though I was impressed, I hadn’t packed my earplugs, and Stars was L-O-U-D. Bartlett texted me to say they’d left because the sound was so overwhelming, and even though I decided to ditch my front row spot for a place in the very back of the room, I still felt overtaken by the sound in a way that pushed me out the doors early, too. I’ll definitely pack some earplugs and stay the whole show next time (and maybe the guys in the sound booth can turn it down a bit, too?).