(Un)Covered Round-Up: March-May 2016

I may have mentioned that I write a column for idobi about song covers. Here are the ones that have been posted since March!

• “Chocolate” (The 1975 vs Knuckle Puck)
• “Stressed Out” (twenty one pilots vs Our Last Night)
• “Roar” (Katy Perry vs Symmetry)
• “Beverly Hills” (Weezer vs Twin Atlantic)
• “Wake Me Up” (Avicii vs You Me At Six)
• “I Wan’na Be Like You” (King Louie/Louis Prima vs Fall Out Boy)
• “Riptide” (Vance Joy vs The Griswolds)
• “On My Mind” (Ellie Goulding vs Don Broco)

AND, even though I wrote a review of V.E. Schwab’s A Gathering of Shadows here, I also wrote a review for idobi, which you can check out here!

 

Beware the Dog

For the first time in what felt like forever, I went to a concert last Monday! I haven’t been to a show since February and when it’s been a long time, I tend to feel jittery and a little stressed out. Luckily, The Griswolds were just what I needed to ease myself back into the concert-going mood.

We saw The Griswolds last November when they opened for Andrew McMahon, and they were so much fun, we had to get tickets as soon as we saw them announce a headlining show. They’re from Australia, and they have an addictive indie rock sound that will have you dancing in your seat (or at least bopping your head).

Opening band Panama Wedding fit in perfectly with this tour. They’re also indie rock with a hint of electronic, and they’re a lot of fun. They played a great cover of The Killers’ “When You Were Young” that was just as good as the original.

The Griswolds came out next, and their live set was just as dynamic as I remembered. They didn’t talk too much in between songs, and, since they mostly played the high-energy tracks from their debut, 2014’s Be Impressive, there wasn’t any down time.

One of the great things about The Griswolds is how simple and easy to learn the choruses are. I don’t always remember the lyrics to their songs (plus they’re Australian so sometimes I completely mishear what they’re singing/saying), but for the most part, it’s easy to catch onto the chorus so you can shout along with them.

They also played a couple of new songs – I can’t remember what the first one was, but the second is called “Role Models”, and it’s pretty groovy. They’re working on their second album now, and I expect it to be just as catchy as the first.

Side note: I have to confess that we didn’t stay for Magic Man, the co-headlining act. This was partially because we had bought tickets specifically for The Griswolds (we had expected them to close the show), but also because we’ve seen Magic Man twice before (both times as opening bands in 2014), and couldn’t remember anything about them. Which seems to indicate they didn’t leave that much of an impression on me.