Mipso:
I had it on good authority from a North Carolina friend to check out Chapel Hill, NC-based Americana quintet Mipso. Clad in matching salmon shorts and lime green polos, the group exhibited an obvious chemistry fashioned from years and years of playing together. Their three singers alternated lead duties, but what was even more striking than each member’s individual talents was the sum of their parts. An offhand Beach Boys joke was made at the beginning of their set in reference to the matching get-ups, but it came full circle when they all sang in unified harmony, taking these already heartfelt tunes to another level. Thanks, friend.
Pedro the Lion:
Seattle songwriter David Bazan had ostensibly laid his Pedro the Lion moniker to rest, opting instead to write and release music under his given name over much of the past decade-plus. The band found new life last year, however, when Bazan announced he’d signed to Polyvinyl and had a new album on the way—the aptly titled Phoenix, released in January. Playing as a trio again, but this time with Bazan on bass, the group powered through a set that included a good chunk of material from Phoenix, with a peppering of earlier Pedro and DB solo material (no Control, David?). It was a solid set with a re-worked version of “Teardrops,” one of Bazan’s more recent solo electronic numbers, serving as standout.