View From The Frontlines: White Denim/Sam Cohen kick out the jams at Neumos
I've been pretty het up about the White Denim/Sam Cohen package tour since it was announced months ago. As far as complimentary match-ups, getting these two together for a tour is a mind-bogglingly great pairing of chops and songwriting skills. Sam Cohen (formerly of Apollo Sunshine and Yellowbirds, and also a guest of TRB podcast) released one of my favorite records of 2015 (Cool It), and handles mellow psychedelia and explosive sunshine-y pop territory with equal aplomb, gracefully warming up the mellow Monday crowd into a raucous (for Seattle) throng by the end of his spacious set.
White Denim careen through all the highlights of the 60's/70's era American jukebox in a beautifully haphazard way, slamming southern-fried boogie rock segues into epic progressive passages, back into arena-ready riffs and then bookending it all with some soul-inspired rave ups. It's a sweaty but pristine mash-up full of so many curveballs that make for a simultaneously thrilling and exhausting 90 minute set. Frankly, it's a demanding experience If you're a fan of technically astounding (but non-wanky) guitar playing, this double bill is as good as you're going to get this year. If you manage to keep that air guitar in its case for the duration of the show...well, you've got more self control than me and most of the folks around me last night.
Above is White Denim's encore ("Peg", a Steely Dan cover) as well as a snippet below of the two pairing up for WD's "Ha Ha Ha Ha (Yeah)" with Sam Cohen and WD guitarist Jonathan Horne trading licks back and forth.
The band is on the road all over the west coast, east coast and midwest through the month of April. Dates are as follows:
3/30 – San Francisco, CA – The Independent http://bit.ly/1RlgnE54/1
4/1 – Los Angeles, CA – Teragram Ballroom http://bit.ly/1OSTpxr
4/2 – Solana Beach, CA – Belly Up Tavern http://bit.ly/1RlgvDx
4/4 – Phoenix, AZ – The Crescent Ballroom http://bit.ly/1RlguQb
4/17 – Nashville, TN – Exit/In http://bit.ly/1RlgBLs
4/19 – Charlottesville, VA – The Southern http://bit.ly/1RlgM9x
4/20 – Washington, DC – The Black Cat http://ticketf.ly/1RlgRdq
4/21 – Philadelphia, PA – Union Transfer http://bit.ly/1RlgQGk
4/22 – Cambridge, MA – The Sinclair http://bit.ly/1OSTeSG
4/23 – South Burlington, VT – Higher Ground Ballroom http://bit.ly/1Rlh14D
4/25 – New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom http://bit.ly/1OSSMUB
4/28 – Columbus, OH – Skully’s Music Diner http://bit.ly/1Rlh6Fo
4/29 – Indianapolis, IN – The Hi-Fi http://bit.ly/1Rlhaot
4/30 – Chicago, IL – Thalia Hall http://bit.ly/1Rlhdkb
5/1 – St. Paul, MN – Turf Club http://bit.ly/1Rlhfsr
5/3 – St. Louis, MO – Off Broadway http://bit.ly/1Rlhl3b
5/4 – Lawrence, KS – The Bottleneck http://bit.ly/1OST0uS