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INDIE EAR MADNESS: First Round
Indie Ear Madness First Round, South Region March 21, 2008 1 R.E.M. vs. 16 Crystal Castles Wow, R.E.M. playing like late 80's/early 90's R.E.M.! Crystal Castles had no chance. 8 MGMT vs. 9 Saul Williams Saul Williams' rhyme delivery was perfect from the floor tonight. When Williams is on, he's very hard to beat. 5 PJ Harvey vs. 12 Xiu Xiu Many times during this match-up it seemed like Xiu Xiu was just happy to be in the presence of PJ Harvey. No upsets here, Harvey glides through to round two....
Indie Ear Madness
First Round, South Region
March 21, 2008
1 R.E.M. vs. 16 Crystal Castles
Wow, R.E.M. playing like late 80′s/early 90′s R.E.M.! Crystal Castles had no chance.
8 MGMT vs. 9 Saul Williams
Saul Williams’ rhyme delivery was perfect from the floor tonight. When Williams is on, he’s very hard to beat.
5 PJ Harvey vs. 12 Xiu Xiu
Many times during this match-up it seemed like Xiu Xiu was just happy to be in the presence of PJ Harvey. No upsets here, Harvey glides through to round two.
4 Justice vs. 13 Eels
E from Eels carried the load, but couldn’t compete with the massive dance hits Justice is churning out these days.
6 Kate Nash vs. 11 French Kicks
Close one. Kate Nash wins in a thriller–no bricks for her tonight.
3 Spoon vs. 14 Cool Kids
A lot of people thought Cool Kids were going to pull off the upset, but Britt Daniel played inspired, looking like Christian Laettner in his prime.
7 The Black Keys vs. 10 Tegan & Sara
The Black Keys’ drummer, Patrick Carney brought three floor toms to this contest. Tegan & Sara didn’t stand a chance–if they decided to start ex-Weezer member Matt Sharp on Moog, they might have.
(left: The Black Keys towel off in the locker room following their win over Tegan & Sara)
2 Mars Volta vs. 15 Jay Reatard
Are you kidding me?! The First Round shocker! Little-known garage-punk-rocker Jay Reatard takes out the #2 seed Mars Volta–who were probably one of the most technically skilled bands in the whole tournament. Mars Volta looked and sounded strong on their more pop-structured songs, but Jay Reatard gained momentum (and the attention of the audience) when Mars Volta began one of their many, and at times unnecessary, 15-minute free-from jazz jam-outs.
