Tortoise Tickets

First rate musicianship, great crowd, two encores. Would see again.

Wow. That's all I've got to say. Seriously, though, it was a great show. I had a good view of the stage, just slightly stage left, close to the soundboard. Upon first arriving, the Tralf seemed rather empty, at least compared to the Explosions in the Sky show. There was no line at the door and it was easy to find a good seat. The crowd did trickle in, though, and by show time, the room was sufficiently filled. Lazlo Hollyfeld, the local boys, brought some appreciation from the audience. I've no idea how many songs they played, since many of them just blended together, but they played for 45-60 minutes. Most of the music was fairly grooving, upbeat stuff, although I was kind of surprised to see them all stick to one instrument each. I thought they were more variable. I liked their performance well enough, though it wasn't really stunning. Before their last song, the bassist, who seemed to be the band's spokesman, explained that they had been together for nine years and, whenever anyone asked them about the lack of a vocalist, they put on a Tortoise record, then said what an honor it was to share the stage with them. I expected a longer wait between the two bands, but within fifteen minutes, Tortoise came out to tune their instruments and then were back on stage to start playing in about ten more. The one-two opening of "Slim" and "Coffin" was perhaps a bit predictable, but great nonetheless, especially for getting the crowd going. With the transition from "Unknown" into "Dot/Eyes," it seemed clear that a majority of the crowd knew the band's back catalog and sent up a cheer nearly every time they recognized a song. "Minors" was a bit down tempo, fit well with the rest of band's songs and led nicely into "Eros" which really whipped the audience into a dancing frenzy (at least in as much as people will dance to Tortoise). "The Lithium Stiffs" flowed into "Crest," as was to be expected, riding momentum off the previous song. "Seneca," like "Eros," received a great response, showing that the Standards material was well-liked. Most of the crowd seemed to really get into clapping along with the band at the song's end, which I think went a long way towards them loosening up as the set progressed. "Gigantes" was my favorite of the new tunes brought out. It was very pretty and uplifting with some great distorted marimba lines and the sky blue projection fit in extremely well with the mood. Just before they played, John Herndon announced that they were trying out some of the new material, so it may be a bit sloppy, but that certainly didn't appear to be the case. The band then launched into "Swung From the Gutters," getting maybe one bar in before everything dropped away except the drums. Then Dan Bitney engaged in a bit of awkward, cheesy freestyling, calling out his bandmates' names and duties. Then "Swung From the Gutters" began in earnest, once again earning the band a hefty amount of applause both at the beginning and end of the song. "Charteroak Foundation" followed, rounding out the main set nicely, but not going over quite as well as the more recognized material. After a short encore break, the band came back on stage and Herndon announced that they were going to play "at least one more song." Turned out to be four, but I don't think anyone complained. The encore started with "Yinxianghechengqi" which, with its two bassists creating an awesome low end, shook the venue and revved everyone up for even more. "In Sarah, Mencken, Christ and Beethoven..." again wowed the audience, only to further be impressed by a stunning performance of "Monica." It seemed like the show would end on this rather high note, but once again, Herndon grabbed the mic and made as though to introduce the next song before trailing off and letting it speak for itself. Closing with "Salt the Skies" solidified the performance as one made of awesome and the entire crowd seemed to agree, launching into a raucous ovation when the first notes sounded. Overall, an amazing show, that, in my opinion blew last year's Explosions in the Sky concert out of the water. The only things that would have made it even better were if the band managed to slip "I Set My Face to the Hillside" in to the list and if there wasn't an annoyingly-voiced girl shouting through two or three songs on my right side part way through. Oh, and kind of surprised there wasn't a merch table. It would have been cool to snag a shirt and I was hoping the new album might be available. Oh, well.

Finally saw them after years of listening. They're still tortoise, and still the most unique & solid band around...

A band with endless talent and two drummers, Tortoise played an unforgettable show last night at the Troubadour in West Hollywood. With a backdrop of home-made movies and ambient objects, along with a setlist from all over their musical spectrum, Tortoise gave the crowd what they wanted to hear, and with precision. They played older songs like TNT and Dot/Eyes, and played newer songs like High Class Slim Came Floating In from their new album. Could not be anymore more rewarding.

Tortoise played a superb and sublime rock show last night at the Troubadour. I've seen them perform many times over the last ten years but this was the most intimate (500 max. capacity), loudest and most intense show yet. The crowd was very enthusiastic and Tortoise was clearly responsive to that. They played five tracks from the new record (opening with "In Walked Slim...") and a variety of tunes from the last 14 years. McEntire was in top form hamming it up big time with his crazed facial expressions. This of course added to the immense pleasure of the show. Can't wait to see them again.

I went to the show simply to take my younger brother and thought it would be another show that i would just be standing there, bored. However, after the first ten minutes, they had me moving and into the music. I was amazed at how talented they are and how welln put together the show was. I would definetly go see them again!