French music-prodigy Yann Tiersen performed Sunday April 29th at the Royale Theater. It was an eccentric, colorful and emotional show, performed by musicians of outstanding caliber. Yann Tiersen is known for his brilliant musical scores for movies like Goodbye Lenin & Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain. The set consisted of a rock-band style group made up of Yann Tiersen and his 5 other bandmates. Each performer traded a repertoire of musical instruments including a saxophone, synths, drum set, bass, electric guitar, ukelele, mandolin, melodica and violin. The played a fusion of different styles, mostly material from the two albums Dust Lane and Skyline. These two albums have a tone of nostalgia and glorious themes, but are definitely something you don’t normally hear on the radio. Yann Tiersen’s classical training was always evident, but his live set can be described as an almost theatrical indie-rock, with a lot of harmonies, synths and strange effects. Some of the best performances included: “Another Shore”, “Monuments”, “Dust Lane”, “Palestine” and his incredible violin solo from “Sur le Fil”. The violin solo was quite a sight. Yann Tiersen blew the crowd away by playing guitar, keyboards, synthesizer, melodica and singing, all to perfection and style. In spite of Yann Tiersen’s incredible ability, his company of musicians was not shadowed due to their incredible musicianship. Even though the audience did not respond to the show that well, Yann Tiersen still delivered an incredible performance as well as an incredible visual show, with specific visual messages for each song.

Christmas certainly did come early last Tuesday April 24th, when the Wombats rocked the Middle East Downstairs in Cambridge. The Brit indie rockers also played with NC-based Flagship, and NJ-based The Static Jacks, both of which were excellent show openers. All of this, combined with an excellent venue and a lively crowd, creating a truly unforgettable night. At 9 PM. Flagship took the stage to start off the night. They were a five-piece group that played about five or six of their songs for the crowd. To me, they sounded like a fusion of the Cure and maybe Kings of Leon: having a ‘Southern alternative’ backbone, but definitely also incorporating a more ambient sound. Their singer’s style reminded me a bit of Bono as well. I managed to speak with their drummer, Michael Finster, after they played. He told me that the band was from Charlotte, NC, and had only been together about nine months, but all of the members have been involved in other projects over the past six or seven years. He cited U2, Sigur Rós, and Arcade Fire among their greatest influences. Anyway, the effect of these bands was definitely felt, for they gave the sold-out audience a great performance. Next up was the Static Jacks. Led by frontman Ian Devaney, the indie punk rockers, also a five-piece band, went through eight or nine songs, primarily from their upcoming album. As for their style, they reminded me somewhat of the British band The Vaccines, but mostly I thought they sounded like another great indie band: Tokyo Police Club.  These guys really knew how to energize a crowd. Ian, especially, was a delight to watch, as he sang powerfully and skillfully throughout the songs. Between songs, he talked to the crowd, and was actually pretty funny. His great
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