Royal Teeth and CHAPPO w/ Parade of Lights – Triple Rock, Minneapolis (26 Feb 2014) concert review

Two bands with Louisiana connections, Royal Teeth and CHAPPO, rounded out a high-energy lineup at the Triple Rock Social Club, warming the crowd inside as yet another sub-zero winter’s night lay outside.

Parade of Lights

Los Angeles/Las Vegas alt-electro band Parade of Lights got the evening started with a buoyant set of fresh songs, culled from their two EPs the latest called Golden, was just released on Astralwerks. The songs from the quartet (Ryan Daly, Anthony Improgo, Michelle Ashley, Randy Schulte) are nicely polished, incredibly catchy, and very radio-friendly, buoyed by solid electronic and traditional percussion.

The EP’s title track was appropriately just featured in NBC’s Winter Olympics campaign, and despite their somewhat forgettable name, expect bigger things from this band as they work toward their first full-length album.

Alex Chappo

The evening then took a spaceship detour for a trippy performance from Brooklyn psych-rock band, CHAPPO (vocalist/multi-instrumentalists Alex Chappo and Chris Olson, drummer Zac Colwell, guitarist Dave Feddock) debuting songs from their upcoming second album, Future Former Self, which follows their debut, Moonwater (Major Domo Records).

Though now based in Brooklyn, the band is originally from Baton Rouge, LA, which reflects in an underlying southern charm in the roots of their music. Their first single, ‘Come Home’ was an attention-getter, having been featured as a soundtrack for an Apple commercial, and the evening got started in high-tempo, with singer Alex Chappo crooning similar to The Darkness’ Justin Hawkins falsetto with a rock growl.

Alex in confetti sticks

The new album is said to chronicle a man’s journey through space to a black hole and while he reflects, and their second song of set, “about drifting away into paranoia” played into that theme. Influenced by The Doors, early Pink Floyd, and The Flaming Lips, the band promotes a full a/v palette to take in—a LED-lit reflective moon that changes patterns, psychedelic swirling background projections, and confetti sticks that the band and audience were flinging into the air.

CHAPPO

Another new song, about “drifting into the underbelly of the earth” and “discovering an underwater séance” became a musical journey of changing chords and trippy effects with the set ending with first album closer, ‘M.O.O.N. Water’. The band has the weirdness elements of a MGMT or Grandaddy, but musically is more rooted in traditional melodies which are enhanced by space-born keys and anchored percussion.

Lafayette, Louisiana’s Royal Teeth closed out the evening with their bubbling and buoyant positive pop sound that begs for greater radio attention. Their full-length debut, Glow (Dangerbird Records) has been out a while, so the band has been working in some newer songs into their set as well. Opening with ‘Hold Me’ about a moment right before the end of the world, any somberness in the lyrics is completely counter-balanced with the pure joy of their sound, with its jangling guitars, boy/girl vocals, and a throbbing collective drum sound.

Royal Teeth

Vocalists Gary Larsen and Nora Patterson trade off together perfectly, like a younger, more upbeat version of Canadian band Stars, while the rest of the band (Stevie Billeaud- guitar, Joshua Wells-bass, Andrew Poe-keys, Josh Hefner-drums) ably hold everything down musically. Their smoldering mid-tempo cover of Swedish electronic duo The Knife’s ‘Heart Beats’ adds extra percussion and makes the song their own, while ‘Mais La’ (French for “I can’t believe it”) pays tribute to their Louisiana roots with an effective audience call-and-response chorus.

Surprised that as many people came out in the extreme cold as did, the band their 45 min. set ended nicely with ‘Wild’, with its catchy, wailing vocal and singer Larsen taking the drum from the stage onto the venue floor for a booming finish.

Enduring the end of a long and brutally cold winter, it was a refreshing release to come and see three positive and energetic bands bring some warmth to the night.