Aparna Nancherla Headlined an Awesome Hunger is No Joke

Last Friday I went to my second Hunger is No Joke show at The Pageant in Saint Louis. This year's headliner was the very funny Aparna Nancherla. The Hunger is No Joke shows that I have been to are always good, and they represent a great cause. The majority of the proceeds go to food shelters in and around Saint Louis, and we the audience get to see some top notch comedy. The first time I went, 2 years ago, I saw John Mulaney, and he subsequently blew up. Hopefully the same happens for Nancherla. But, before I get to her, there were some openers.

The host of the night was a local radio DJ, Tim Convy. He does a morning show on Y98 FM, and I have to say, he was a perfect host for the night. He had some solid bits like, how people that work in radio all use a radio voice, including janitors. He talked about being a keyboard player in a band, and how they never really led to many hookups. He told some solid, frequently funny stuff. I found myself chuckling at most of his material.

Convy introduced the first opener, a comedian by the name of Angela Smith, and I found her enjoyable as well. She is a local comedian, and her bits about growing up in Jefferson County here in Missouri, were very funny and very real. She also talked about her love life, but in a different way. She mentioned the dating app world and went into some good material on that whole front. The story she told about a guy "complimenting" her by telling her she was built like a "brick shit house", had me cracking up. The fact that she talked about her mom, who was in attendance, and gave out her real phone number, so guys could send her nudes, was great. She seemed to be having fun on stage, and it really rubbed off on the audience.

The third, and final opener, was my favorite. His name is Kenny Kinds, and he has a way of delivering jokes that I love. He comes off very serious on stage, and when he hits the punchline, his face barely moves. He reminds me a lot of Hannibal Burress, and that is a huge compliment. He told so many great jokes. I loved when he talked about trying to offend white people, and he said the best thing he has come across so far is telling them he doesn't know who Wilco is. That was great. His story about going to a bar to a show to see a band he liked and not remembering the name of the beer he had, but what was on the bottle instead, was riotous. To hear him say that he screamed the words, "WHITE DEVIL" during a silent moment of the show was awesome. I also liked him talking about realizing that he was older when he went to take a picture with his phone, and the screen was turned around. He mimed what old people look like when they have trouble reading something. It was great. I also enjoyed his bit about sleeping with older women because they know what they want. He capped this off by saying that he once saw the biggest sex toy he had every seen. He compared it to the Goodyear Blimp, and quoting Ice Cube's song, "It Was a Good Day". Kenny Kinds is awesome. Seriously people, if you don't know him, or haven't heard him yet, he is well worth your time.

After this, we got our headliner, Aparna Nancherla. I have been waiting awhile to see her live. I love her dry sense of humor. I love the way she tells a joke. I like her voice. I have liked her on any TV show I have seen her on. This show was a big deal to me, and she did not disappoint. She is such a funny, well rounded comedian. She was perfectly able to jump from joke to joke. She has a great way of connecting with the crowd. She tells personal stories. And, she does it all like the seasoned pro she is. Some of the highlights for me where when she talked about being catcalled in New York. The whole "skinny bones" story about one catcaller was hilarious. The other story she told about the guy questioning the time of day while trying to catcall was just as good. She talked about her struggles with anxiety, and the meds that go along with it. Being a person that lives with anxiety, and takes meds for it, the whole bit about dropping pills on the ground was masterful and so relatable. When she went into the audience to talk about dating, and dating sites, it was perfect. Everything she said was a homerun. But, the best joke of the night was about the worst date she had ever went on. I don't want to spoil it because it was her closer, but it was cringe worthy and relatable and so god damn funny. She really crushed. I was so happy that I finally got to see her do her thing live. She is the real deal, and now that she is a headliner, hopefully more people will begin to respect what a great comedian she is.

Aparna Nancherla, along with the rest of Hunger is No Joke, crushed it Friday night in Saint Louis, and I was glad I was there to see it.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is well aware that Wilco is one America's Greatest Band. 

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A Bad Crowd takes Away from an Awesome Gary Clark Jr.

Thank god the guitar was sober

Instead of watching the stupid Oscars last night (ed note: we will talk about how stupid they were in writing tomorrow and in talking on Wednesday), I went to a concert here in Saint Louis. I feel like I made the right decision.

I saw Gary Clark Jr at The Pageant last night and it was good and it was bad. I'll start with the bad. When you are watching a musician as talented and skilled as Gary Clark Jr, you go to watch that musician. Well, at least where my father and I were standing, that was not the case. First of all, how many drinks do people need at one two hour concert (ed note: fifteen?)? I saw the same people walk to the bar multiple times to get multiple drinks in two hours. That is a total waste of money, in my opinion, I'm not a drinker, and that mars your concert going experience. For example, three guys tried to fight each other not once, but twice because they had way too many mixed drinks and PBR. I was embarrassed for them, but they didn't seem to be embarrassed at all. Some douchebag in a white suit coat tried to start a fight twice and had the fights started, he would have gotten his ass kicked. The fact that the crew working and the police let him back in is appalling. One strike at a live concert and you should be out. That was, unfortunately, not the case last night. Two of these same guys that were trying to fight also decided that a loud, live concert was a good time for them to catch up. I mean, what the hell! It was super loud, Gary Clark Jr uses a lot of distortion, so, how could these guys converse you may ask. Well, they shouted at each other for the first 80 minutes of the show. Thankfully, there was a gentleman standing in front of my father and I that asked them to shut up because he couldn't hear. Thank you sir and screw you assholes that thought a loud rock show was the right time to chit chat. What a couple of assholes. The third and final thing that made it bad was the fact that the show seemed to be oversold. The venue was sold out, but I feel like they really stretched the limit of people allowed in one area for an extended period of time. Nothing can take you out of the groove of a song you love than multiple people bumping into you because they are drunk and they need to get to the bar to get another drink. I had to move seemingly every 2 to 3 minutes so someone could get to the bar. It was maddening. Crowds can make a show great, but they can also make it very annoying and take your attention away from the stage. What's happening on stage is the only thing that should matter at a live show, not drunken assholes, talking too loud and looking for a fight. I hope for the other people on the other side of the venue that they didn't have to deal with this nonsense last night. This could have been a great show, but the crowd around my father and I made it annoying and frustrating.

Let's get to the good part now. Gary Clark Jr is an awesome guitar player and a really good performer. He shreds guitar. When he was soloing last night, I mean my god was it incredible. He has such a knack and a skill that borders on expertise when playing complicated solos. He makes these incredibly hard solos sound easy. He has such control of his guitar and it was amazing to see him live. He opened the show with his most famous song "Bright Lights" and crushed it. The slow burn of the intro into the verse and chorus was just tremendous and then he soloed. It was awesome. It sounded like the album, but with a few added notes and some slight change to what was recorded, he made it sound ten times better. A great start to the show. He then proceeded to play mostly stuff off his first album and that made me happy. Don't get me wrong, I really like his newer album "The Story of Sonny Boy Slim", but I love every song on "Blak and Blu" and on his much loved 4 song EP. He played "Travis County" in the middle. "Travis County" is like country mixed with blues mixed with rock and roll and it is totally awesome live. You could tell he has so much fun playing this song at shows. He ripped through it, adding great solos and singing the song to perfection. I was thrilled when I heard it. He also played "Numb" a little later and that was absolutely amazing. That slow open to the song was awesome live. It is a very slow burn, then he hits a very distorted chord and that's when you know you are in for a great song. "Numb" is my favorite song by him and he destroyed it, in a good way, at this show. It was everything I hoped for and then some. He played a very elongated solo in the middle, trading riffs with his rhythm guitarist, who is also absolutely incredible, and it was a sight to see and a treat for your ears. "Numb" is phenomenal live. He even did a great cover of "If Trouble Was Money". He slowed it down a bit, but he still paid tribute to the legends that have done this song before him. Gary Clark Jr has that old timey blues sound to his voice and he uses it so very well. I loved his version of this old blues classic. Even his slower love songs that I'm not a huge fan of were wonderful live. He brought an added energy to the songs and added some solos that made them that much better. Basically, when I could hear and see him, everything he did was amazing. He has such a great stage presence and commands the attention of the audience that is there to see him, not to fight or get black out drunk.

Gary Clark Jr is great live and I highly recommend going to see him when he comes to your town. Hopefully you get a better crowd experience than my father and I did because Gary Clark Jr is incredible. He is going to be a world wide star if he continues on this path and the next time he comes to Saint Louis, hopefully it will be at a venue where they require silence and don't allow stupidity. This show would have gotten a 10 out of 10 for me if it wasn't for the dumbass people around me last night. Because of these few morons, I'd give it a 7 out of 10, but that is not a slight to Gary Clark Jr, he is amazing. Clean your act up Pageant because I'm coming to see Leon Bridges there in June and I better not have to deal with this nonsense again.

Screw the crowd around me, but Gary Clark Jr, you were awesome. Thank you for being so good that we were able to get through this show even though we had complete idiots surrounding us all night.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man podcast. This was not the first time he had to deal with a drunken idiot at a concert, go hear the tale on a classic edition of the X Millennial Man podcast. You can console Ty by following him on twitter @tykulik.

Ty saw Ratatat live, and you should too

Delivering the best in electronica

Last night I saw Ratatat at the Pageant in St. Louis and it was a really excellent show.

I bought the tickets last month while on vacation in the UP of Michigan and the excitement had continued to build for the entire month of August all the way to last night. I usually don't get too excited for concerts like I used to. When I was a teenager and in my early twenties, I'd buy tickets in advance and constantly think about the upcoming show. I would be on razors edge by the time the show came around. It was not a great way to go to shows because I felt like I was too amped up when the concert finally happened and, while the shows were usually great, I didn't enjoy the experience as much as I should have. As I've gotten older, I don't get overly excited until I'm at the show. Last night, I found a happy medium between my two selves. I was very excited, but I've learned to temper expectations until after the show when I can really critique it. What had me more excited than normal was the fact that I'd never seen Ratatat before. Most shows I go to now, it's bands that I know will be good, or great. I don't have the time to go check someone out live that I only know a few songs, or have never heard of. I'm getting to old to discover new music live. I prefer to listen to someone on record many times before I commit to seeing them live. Ratatat brought out old feelings in me. I was excited to see a band for the first time. Full disclosure, I've listened to their records a TON and I knew exactly what I was getting into, thus making the decision to go easy. I brought my brother Seth along. He's the one who introduced me to the band and he's closest in age to me, being only four years older than me. What made the anticipation greater for me, Seth goes to a lot of live music, he's seen somewhere in the thousands of live shows, but he'd only seen Ratatat once, seven years ago. He was, for all intents and purposes, as new to them as I was.

Let's get to the show. The opener was one guy that called himself Hot Sugar. We arrived late to the show because, unless it's a double bill, I don't care for openers. They're usually boring and are only on the tour because they're on the same label as the headliner. We walked in during his first song, listened for about 2 minutes and went outside. We re-entered the venue when he was playing his last song, heard about another two minutes and he was off the stage. So, four total minutes of Hot Sugar and that was all I needed to hear to know I didn't care for his music. It was ambient DJ music, I bet if I stayed for his whole 40 minute set, I could've taken a cat nap. But, openers don't really matter, let's get to Ratatat. Their set started with a big projection screen that had Ratatat written in big block letters. The music playing sounded like something out of Star Wars and the block letters were shooting off fireworks. The band finally emerged and for an hour and a half, they crushed. Their set ran the gammit of their albums. They played songs off of all their albums. They opened with "Pricks of Brightness" off their new album "Magnifique". It was an awesome way to start the show. The lead guitarist shredded and his band member played a really heavy, chest thumping bass line. The set only got better from there. Other tracks off "Magnifique" included an excellent version of their six and a half minute epic "Nightclub Amnesia". They played the slower, what I call their "Mario Bros" water level song, "Magnifique". They played their single "Cream on Chrome" and my favorite song off the new album, "Abrasive". It was great to hear these songs since they're so fresh in my head. But, as I said earlier, they played songs off all their albums. Other standouts were, "Wildcat", "Shempi" and "Loud Pipes". "Loud Pipes" was pretty great. They played a bit of guitar, but both members of the band ditched their guitars for a couple minutes and banged away on the drum that each had set up in front of them. The same can be said for "Shempi". Both songs have guitar in them, but they focus more on the drums and it was a nice change of pace from the majority of the show. "Wildcat" is a classic Ratatat song. When you hear the cat's growl, you know it's on. That song is incredible live. What I was happily surprised by, they played "Seventeen Years". It was their first of two encore songs. This was the song that introduced me to Ratatat. I didn't know that "electronica" music could be guitar driven, but "Seventeen Years" proved me wrong. It was AWESOME live. I was so, so happy to hear this song last night. It's my favorite Ratatat song and it's always nice when a band you like plays your favorite song at a live show.

The songs were great, but the show going on behind them was just as cool. They had a big projector behind them and two flat screens on the side of the stage. Random images were shown on these devices throughout the show. We saw lions, birds, old sculptures and an eight armed running baby. The lead guitarist would stand in front of the projector screen when it was white and we got to see his shadow throwing down on guitar. It was pretty great. The light show was awesome too. They had a ton of reflective lights and pulsing white and orange lights throughout their set. The light show we got during "Nightclub Amnesia" was exceptional. I felt like I was in a disco in the 70's, but in a good way. The two guys in the band also provided me enjoyment. They each stood, at various moments, with their legs spread about a foot apart and proceeded to play their instruments phenomenally. My only gripe with the concert had to do with the venue. I love the Pageant, but the balcony was closed and the 21 and over area was packed. When we were in that area, I felt like a sardine in a can. It was very uncomfortable. Thankfully, Seth suggested we move to the under 21 section, since neither of us were drinking, and it was our best decision of the night. No gripes with Ratatat, just with the choices the venue made.

This was an excellent show and I'm extremely happy I got to see Ratatat live. They were on my concert bucket list and I can now cross them off. I will see them any other time they come to St. Louis. They were that great. So, if Ratatat comes anywhere close to you and you're a fan, see them.

It's well worth your money.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the co-host of the X Millennial Man podcast. If you come to St. Louis to play a show, Ty will be there in the under 21 section to do a review. Follow him on twitter @tykulik.