A NEW DIRECTION FOR SNOWDEN?: DARK POP GOES DEEPER LIVE AT MERCURY LOUNGE
Snowden came to New York’s Mercury Lounge on Friday (1/21/11). The last time we saw Snowden was in 2008 at the Forecastle festival, when I expressed my overwhelming love for the band (LINK). Since that time, a lot has changed for the band. The enigmatic Corrine as well as David have parted ways, leaving Jordan and Chandler to be joined by two new members. The change appears to have been very recent, as Jordan told the crowd that the new members had only one day to rehearse all of the songs. The tour is promoting the recent release of “Slow Soft Syrup”, the new free EP from Snowden, that operates as a bit of a teaser for the forthcoming full length release…their first since 2007’s “Fuel of the Celebration”. When you’re a band that hits the road as hard as Snowden has for the last several years, I would imagine it’s hard to find the time to write.
I’m glad they found the time. Syrup appears to be a good indicator of the new direction of the band as the album seemed to align with the slightly varied style of the live performance. The songs have a definite, deepened complexity, and it results is a less hookcentric, anthematic sound. In one portion of my review from 2008, I wrote “Virtually every song is an dance anthem….and when Black Eyes starts out….in my eyes, it’s impossible to not start moving.” The scene slower and darker now, although new songs like “Lemon Peel” still show that the guys know how to make the crowd dance from time to time.
So transitions like this can go either way for a band, but for a band that has spent playing club bangers like “Black Eyes”, they’ve made the transition amazingly well, and Syrup’s “No One in Control” is perhaps the perfect example. Jordan Jeffares’s songwriting skills really get put to the test, yet he passes effortlessly.
-Cory Greenwell
Grab a track from the new album below:
MP3 download: Snowden – “Don’t Really Know Me”
And check out more photos from the show:
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YELLOW OSTRICH: LIVE AT MERCURY LOUNGE
Of the pilgrims who come to New York to make music, few of them make a lasting impression on the indie scene. I went into Tuesday evening’s show at Mercury Lounge wondering if Alex Schaaf’s band Yellow Ostrich would emerge as noteworthy or not. I had heard a live studio recording that sounded good enough to catch my attention, but performance on the radio is completely different than on stage. Despite some jarring technical difficulties, Yellow Ostrich completely impressed me during their first song. Schaaf and his drummer, Michael Tapper, put on an energetic and technically striking show.
They opened with my favorite song, WHALE, off of their new LP “The Mistress”. Unfortunately during the song there was a computer issue and we had a thirty-second intermission just as the song was building to it’s fullest sound. As soon as the issue was resolved they jumped back into the song on full blast. Their song structure for “The Mistress” is based largely on loops built by Schaaf, backed by Tapper on drums, with Schaaf also multi-tasking on guitar and bass pedal. Part of what made the show so impressive is that it sounded like a full 4 person band, with a collective good ear for harmonies and tight beats. When Schaaf builds the vocal backing his voice is sweet and smooth, but when he sings lyrics, his voice has a nasal quality to it, which I think gives the illusion of multiple people singing. They played primarily songs off “The Mistress” with one new song called “Daughter” and one old song off of the “Fade” EP called Fog. It was a short set with lots of charming banter in between songs from Schaaf who was clearly shocked by the size of the audience and slightly nervous.
I left looking forward to the inevitable new releases that I am sure Yellow Ostrich will be recording in the future. Check out their www.YellowOstrich.BandCamp.com to download all eight of their records for free.
-rachel covert
JONSI: LIVE AT THE HAMMERSTEIN BALLROOM
Jónsi (Jon Birgisson) front man of Iceland’s Sigur Rós, played the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York last night (11/10/10), marking an end to the bands North American Tour and treating the audience to a sensory maelstrom. The show set opened with a striped down acoustic “Stars in Still Water”, brandishing Jon’s trademark falsetto croon which permeated every hidden crack and cranny in the room, swooping and soaring through a forest of nature inspired animation projected behind the stage. The musical elements of the show, notably piano, harmonium and Jon’s signature sustained “ooooo” were only heightened by dramatic lighting and graphics that provided just the right stimuli to push the performance into a mesmerizing sensory realm, unearthing a wonderland of magical Icelandic forests, fire, animals, and spirits of the night. The only thing missing… elves.
The set ended on “Around Us”, with Jon alone on his knees fiddling with vocal effects pedals, returning for a ceremonial encore of “Sticks and Stones”, showboating an enormous feathered headdress, spinning around on stage like a mystical shaman. The final song, “Grow Til Tall” was easily the most moving track from the night; Jonsi’s fragile tenor escalating the dizzying volume of sonic layers and then gliding back down, only to completely take off into a beautiful moody falsetto flight of “You’ll… know,You’ll… know,You’ll… know,You’ll… know!…” Only then, resonating into an intense percussive firework explosion, as bright lights flashed like lightning against a raging snow storm and blowing branches.
You can check out some videos from the show that have made their way onto youtube and a performance from Jonsi which aired last night on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon below:
CUT COPY, GLASSER, MEMORY TAPES, RESTLESS PEOPLE, PUNCHES AT POOL PARTY
Our friends at Em Gee Photos snapped some really great shots at the Cut Copy Jelly Pool Party this past Sunday, August 8 on the Williamsburg waterfront. The Aussie synth pop band opened with “Lights & Music” and played an hour long set that included some older favorites and 2 new songs off their untitled upcoming album, one of which “Where I’m Going” you can check out in the Discosalt Audio Player. The band tore it up, infusing as much energy into their performance as the crowd, which was only “slightly” trumped by that girl bouncing up and down in the window behind the stage. If you were there, you know what I’m talking about. Check out some more pics below:
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THE LEMONHEADS: LIVE AT THE KNITTING FACTORY
Evan Dando and the Lemonheads played the Knitting Factory in Brooklyn last night (July 30) with Josh Lattanzi and The Candles. Both bands, whose front men oddly resemble one another, put on two great sets but what is most amazing, besides Dandos voice, is that he looks the same age as I remember him when I was in Junior High. Hard to believe he is 43.
Seeing Dando perform live is both nostalgic and strangely relevant at the same time. He sings with a humility, a reckless weary voice, and a bit of either nervous stage energy or ADD (cutting some songs short as if he made his point, next song, awkwardly introducing the next). And while he still can’t seem to shake off his slacker image, his stage presence never parodies his early 90’s fame as one of pops biggest screw-ups . Whether he is playing punk, rock, pop, country or metal, his lyrics still seem poiniant to where he is in life and credible. Dando performed a mix of old lemonheads power pop favorites, some inspired covers from his most recent album, Varshons and some intimate acoustic songs, ending on a stripped down solo version of the Lemonhead classic “Alison’s starting to Happen”.
Since their breakthrough in ’86 with, what is now one one of the most sought-after punk relics of the 80’s, the indie EP Laughing All the Way to the Cleaners, The Lemonheads have certainly had one strange trip. After a slew of college radio friendly LP’s like Hate Your Friends (1987), Creator (1988) and one of my favorites, Lick (1989), the band enjoyed some mainstream success where Dando was one of Peoples “50 Most Beautiful people”, and appeared in a cameo at the end of Reality Bites. Then he admitted to smoking crack cocaine. The tipping point. There was more crack cocaine, a public arrest for possession of drugs at Sydney airport while high on heroin and LSD handing out flowers to strangers and feeding money through the grates in the pavement, depression, a nervous breakdown, rehab and people just stopped taking the band seriously. The Lemonheads and Dando disappeared from the spotlight for about 10 years, but he cleaned up and returned in 2006, most recently releasing the cover album, Varsons, which “sounds like a mix tape slipped to you by a music-obsessed friend anxious to turn you on to something new.” Varshons is “filled with obscure nuggets… [which] cut a wide swath, jumping from early British psychedelic to Dutch electronica and like all good mix tapes, you never know what is coming next.” Kind of like Evan Dando’s career.
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Check out Dando’s cover of Townes Van Zandt’s “Waiting around to Die”, and a Smudge song.
SHREDDING GUITAR AND RIPPING ASS: MONOTONIX KICKS OFF SIREN FESTIVAL
Monotonix, the bare bones (and ass) garage-rockers out of Tel Aviv, Israel played a rowdy set at the Siren Music Festival kickoff party on Friday night, once again saying yes! to crack. In case you missed it, our friends at Backseatsandbar were there to document the spectacle. With a drum set rigged up right in the middle of the crowd, wielding mic in ass, animal like front man and international butt beat maker extraordinaire Ami Shalev tore into his set and a sea of sweat soaked bodies, shredding guitar and ripping farts. Check out the video below, completely shot and edited with an iPhone 4. Is that a garbage can on the drummers head? You bet.
Oh no, wait, sorry, wrong vid. The real one is below:
PATRICK WATSON AND THE WOODEN ARMS: LIVE AT THE BELL HOUSE
(All Photos: Jeremy Bold)
It was one of those beautiful spring evenings, where being indoors feels like a travesty. The only thing keeping me from the fading sunlight was the promise of an incredible live show. Patrick Watson and the Wooden Arms delivered. The audience literally couldn’t get enough of Watson and his circus act of musicians.
Watson is idiosyncratic to say the least. He seems to be receiving an outside energy at all times, struggling to contain it within his body and release it through his music. He rocks, sways and bobs his head, conducting the onstage musicians even when he is playing solo. His performance is visual as much as it is musical. Strobes and lighting from the floor of the stage emphasize the highs and lows of Watson’s style. It felt like a depression era circus with a fun house and beautiful ladies riding plumed horses.
They opened in total darkness with “Fireweed”, the strings and guitar solo drifting over the hushed audience. As the sound increased, so did the lighting, a sort of visual foreplay to the impending swell of the music. Watson’s songwriting features a lot of slow build ups to cacophonous sounds, which cut back to delicate vocals. As a live audience member, watching these swells was a joy. Everyone on stage is building, adding layers and adjusting to each others sounds. It reminds me of the ocean, with calms between sets of waves.
He followed with “Beijing” which always feels like an opera, telling a story. In this case, the story was taking place under the graceful chandeliers of the Bell House. The sound was wonderfully complicated as it floated up to the wooden rafters. During “Traveling Salesman” Watson crooned into a megaphone as though he were a trumpeter, using a mute to create the “wah waaah waaaaaahhh” sound which we use in colloquial speech. For “Crickets” he made the entire audience hush because he swore he was hearing crickets. When we all stopped to silently listen, sure enough there were crickets (which turned out to be ventilation fans). It was an amusing lead into “Crickets” during which he sometimes chose not to use the mic, instead cupping his hands to his mouth. He also played a new song called “Sit Down Beside Me” which featured guitarist Simon Angell playing with a spoon.
When they played the last song, the audience was going wild, Watson came out and announced that they had a little something special and would be right back. He reemerged wearing a contraption sprouting stems topped with megaphones and bright LED lights like a crazy sea creature on his back. He and the band came to the middle of the audience and we all sang “Man Under The Sea”. The drummer played the saw with a violin bow, and the guitarist stood on a folding chair. It felt like a summer camp sing-a-long on the last night before we all returned to our suburban homes, The Bell House’s rafters and buffalo art emulating summer cabins in Maine and Vermont.
This did not quell the audience’s desires to hear more, so the whole band returned to the stage and played a little improv piece from an audience suggestion entitled “Where are my Pyjamas?”. It had a Radiohead-y sounding guitar line, and was truly a unique experience. Although Watson gets most of the attention, his band, Simon Angell, Robbie Kuster and Mishka Stein were wonderful. Watson introduced them and the strings many times throughout the night, in a self humbling and appreciative way. They were wonderful and deserve their own props for working with Watson to create his Time Burton-esque dreamland.
Doveman opened with delicate gentle indie-folk-jazz. I’m not quite sure how to categorize his music, but it was soft and fleeting, with lots of improv. I felt like I should have been in a speakeasy wearing a gown and holding a cigarette. It was completely lovely and set the tone for the Wooden Arms perfectly. Doveman front man Thomas Bartlett is a well known musician in his own right, playing with The National, Norah Jones and David Byrne.
Watson’s Wooden Arms and Close to Paradise are available here. Doveman’s The Conformist is available here.
xx The Elephant
SHARON VAN ETTEN: LIVE AT UNION HALL
(photo credit: Ian Yamey)
If you haven’t heard of Sharon Van Etten or seen her completely destroy a live performance, she might fall under that category of something “you never knew you always wanted.” But maybe you were one of the lucky ones to attend her show at Union Hall on Friday night like I was.
“It means a lot that you guys wanted to share this night with me, “ Van Etten said shyly to her rapt audience – who definitely did not wander in by accident. She’s solid proof that sometimes looks are so deceiving — a slip of a girl with killer pipes, leaving you to shake your head and wonder how such a big voice can come out of something so small. It’s the reason watching her play live is oh-so-rewarding, the chance to truly see what an anomaly she is. Everything about her suggests a near-painful shyness, from how she looks blankly at the ceiling while she rocks out on her guitar to the way she prefaces many songs with a soft and sheepish, “I hope I don’t fuck it up.” And then she punches you in the face with the largest voice imaginable and crazy range – not to mention a soprano that would make angels weep. She certainly didn’t fuck it up, not even once. Her lyrics are bold, original and absolutely unapologetic. Standing alone in a sea of folk singers crooning the same old songs, she’s got a new take on love – and her voice demands that you listen up.
Van Etten’s debut album Because I Was in Love came out in 2009 (laden with great lyrics like “I was whispering in my sleep/ all my secrets that I keep/ I told to you /I do I do I do”) and she’s contributed vocals for bands like The Antlers, among others. On Friday night, she debuted more than a few new pieces and let the crowd in on her secret, “I still get nervous when I play new songs. That never goes away.” She busted out a new one called “Heart in the Ground” (“It’s supposed to be an optimistic song!”, Van Etten was quick to note.) and flipped through a notebook at her feet to play a song she said only her agent had heard before that night.
Small as she may be, Van Etten owned the stage with her neat bob haircut tucked behind both ears, her powerful voice climbing and falling, and her liberal use of the word fuck. She cradled a fire-red guitar, sipping & gargling something stout between songs as “a vocal warm up.” It wouldn’t surprise me to learn that everyone in the crowd had a mad crush on her. In fact, about halfway though her set, some people in the audience got surly, shushing a few obnoxious talkers at the back. Nobody was messing around, they felt honored to hear Van Etten sing, and so did I. Turns out we all like getting punched in the face by good music.
-Lauren Elkins
Check out some more images from the show courtesy of Lauren below:
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KATE NASH: LIVE AT MUSIC HALL OF WILLIAMSBURG
Kate Nash performed two sold out nights in New York this week, the first at the Bowery Ballroom on Thursday (4/29) and again at the Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn on Saturday(5/1). I have to start this review out with letting everyone know just why Kate Nash has that special place in my heart. In April 2008 (just over two years ago) I flew to New York to catch Kate Nash at Webster Hall where I ended up meeting Lily, the girl who has since become my girlfriend. Since that time Kate, the cute little brit she is, who made her way through the MySpace ranks to put out one of the best albums of 2007 has all grown up…from school girl nerd chic to rocker chick.
Clad in black leather, resting on crutches and donning a new doo, Kate led the 2010 crowd through most all of her latest album “My Best Friend is You.” Her performance was amazingly energetic and boucny considered the bum foot and the crutches (and some jerk stole one of her crutches after her Bowery show last Thursday). While Kate had written at least a few of these songs long enough ago to have treated us to four songs in 2008 that eventually made it on to the new album, four to be exact, and a few songs that were written back then but have yet to find a home on an album (“Model Behaviour”), it was pretty much exclusively the new album with Foundations and Mouthwash the only exceptions (and those non-album tracks) which was admittedly a bit heart-wrenching as anyone who has heard me blab on about Kate Nash knows I became a huge fan via MySpace (quite by accident) ages before “Made of Bricks” came out. Knowing that she is moving away from the songs like “Nicest Thing” and “Birds” is sad to see and makes me feel like the old man seeing my daughter grow up into a woman. That said, I don’t find “My Best Friend is You” to be the departure that people seem to think it is. Yes it is more riot grrl at times, but I suppose having seen Kate at Webster Hall prepared me for that. Hearing songs like “I Hate Seagulls”, “Do Wa Do” and “Share the Guilt” makes it absolutely clear that Kate is in large part the same girl who takes her everyday life and makes cute folkish pop songs out of it. Nevertheless the rawer, grittier songs like “Higher Plane,” “Mansion Song” and “Model Behaviour” dominated the evening.
Overall though the concert was a lot of fun and a great anniversary of sorts for us. Older, different somewhat, but still together, and still having a lot of fun together.
Plenty more photos and the setlist
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(setlist via Flickr)
Supercute!
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CASIOTONE FOR THE PAINFULLY ALONE: LIVE AT MERCURY LOUNGE
Casiotone for the Painfully Alone came to the Mercury Lounge on 4/27 for an incredibly great set. We have been responsible for putting on two shows for Owen, first on Halloween 2008 with No Kids and Pomegranates in the now defunt Pour Haus and again last year with You’re My Density at Skull Alley. On both occasions, Owen sat behind the keyboard and told us his stories, however in New York with opening band Magical Beautiful as his subsequent backing band, Casiotone for the Painfully Alone performed the best set we’ve yet seen from them. Primarily because this time it was a “them” rather than just Owen, and while Owen is all that’s needed to get the essence of the songs, hearing the little something extra the backing band provides made all the difference.
The set started with one of my favorites, Nashville Parthenon. They also informed us that the new Sun Kill Moon EP titled “I’ll Be There” (which makes me think of the show Friends) will have a cover of “Natural Light” which they also played. One thing you have to love about a band named Casiotone for the Painfully Alone is their way with titles, and among my favorite songs is no exceptions, namely “Traveling Salesman’s Young Wife Home Alone On Christmas In Montpelier, VT” and my girlfriend particularly liked the title “Tom Justice, the Choir Boy Robber, Apprehended at Ace Hardware in Libertyville, IL” which Owen informed us to be a true story. As Owen finished the song Killers it occurred to him and us that someone had been playing their iPod on its loudspeaker in the crowd to combat Owen’s set. What makes this occurrence particularly interesting is that I had a discussion with Owen and Nick from No Kids at the first show on Halloween 2008 about rude crowds and their complaints that “We Can Hear You.” After being called out, the immature kids snickered a few times like 4th grade schoolboys then let it go. I was afraid that Owen was going to be turned off to the crowd by that point, but it was clear that during the course of “You Were Alone” that the set somehow turned in a very positive way and the energy of the crowd really picked up as did Owen’s own. While you’re not going to find crazed or hectic dancing at a CTFPA show, the bouncing increased as did the sing-alongs and the entire atmosphere seemed to have lighted somehow just in time for two more of my favorites, “White Christmas” and “Bobby Malone.” Unfortunately, it seemed the amp couldn’t keep up and Owen blew out his speakers. After playing a few more songs, Owen closed the set with “White Jetta“, warning the crowd that to stay the same is to never change.
I have always greatly enjoyed seeing Owen perform in the past, but seeing him as a full band was an entirely new experience and one I hope to catch again and again.
More Photos:
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Magical Beautiful
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HARLEM, THE GIRLS AT DAWN: LIVE AT MERCURY LOUNGE
(photos courtesy: impose magazine)
(Photo courtesy: mercurialn)
Much hyped Texas trio Harlem graced New York with a quicky on Thursday (4/22). I can think of lots of adjectives to describe their show: silly, giddy, playful, unpretentious…the list goes on and on. They certainly don’t take themselves too seriously lending to a signature stage presence.
<3 The Elephant
REAL ESTATE, FAMILY PORTRAIT: LIVE AT MONSTER ISLAND BASEMENT
Last time I saw real Estate they were opening for Woods at Market Hotel. I liked them well enough then to catch them at another Todd P show this weekend, featuring a total of 4 bands, although we only saw 3 of them.
Liam the Younger was on stage when we got there, and they were going at it. They weren’t bad, but they did need some help in the vocals department. Both of the singers were a little bit weak. Neither projected enough and there wasn’t any balance, you could barely hear the poor kids. I am going to chalk it up to a little bit of inexperience and a little bit of nerves.
Family Portrait was up next, and in my opinion, they stole the show. Their music has a lot of variety and a lot of energy. Styles swing from 60’s surfer songs to Nirvana inspired rock songs. Despite the range of influences, it was still a consistent sound, and enjoyable the whole way through. I look forward to hearing more from these boys (guys? we were guessing at their ages, and the results were inconclusive). Whatever they are doing, I hope playing Todd P basement shows is the springboard for a real record. Stay tuned, I’ll be following up on them.
Real Estate headlined the show. Here’s the thing about them: they are extremely consistent in their sound. They all sort of blend together a little bit. They put on a good show technically, despite a crowd of adoring fans, people weren’t getting into it. On another note, they had some er…supporters there who were sort of shouting in between songs and it was rather unprofessional. I don’t want to be that uptight person at a show…but I feel like these guys are probably going to do very well for themselves in the next couple of years and the time to establish themselves as professionals is now. As far as their musical performance was concerned they played like top notch gentleman, I think they just need to get their friends under control a little bit.
A few words about Monster Island Basement: I miss Market Hotel. It had such character (i think that character was old nicotine) and it was a good shape so that you were never in a bad sopt. MIB has lots of suppor beams, and a weird corner stage that makes it easy to be in a blind zone or stuck right next to a speaker. I’ll take it over nothing for sure, but I amholding out hope that Todd P can get proper licensing in place for MH so that it will come back to life. Without the nicotine.
<3 The Elephant
THE MORNING BENDERS, HOLIDAY SHORES: LIVE AT MUSIC HALL OF WILLIAMSBURG
Saturday (4/24) night’s line-up at Music Hall of Williamsburg was a sunny pop-rock theme adventure. Featured headliners The Morning Benders are from lovely San Francisco and their music certainly reflects it. As much of today’s west coast rock, they are breezy and infectious–ladies seem to be most susceptible to the beguiling charms of lead singer Chris Chu’s charms. Big Echo has received tons of critical acclaim (a great 8.2 from LTH) throughout the blogosphere since day 1, so it was no surprise that they were able to completely sell out 2 shows here in New York. Their particular brand of 50’s surf inspired indie pop is nice because it blends contemporary indie rock with obvious throwbacks and lots of charisma.
<3 The Elephant
(Photos courtesy: Jeremy Bold)
LIARS: LIVE AT BOWERY BALLROOM
Upon initial listen, Liars sound rather hardcore and angry, and you know me, I shy away from hardcore. Lately though I’ve been signing a different tune, I have started to get into lo-fi, which has led me closer to noise rock and hardcore.
So with a little nudging from the deeply trusted Nana, and some other music friends, I decided to go see them at Bowery Ballroom on 4/15/10. If I don’t like them at Bowery, then they just aren’t for me. I really gave their 2007 ST album a few good listens before the show. At Jeremy’s recommendation I started with the last track, Protection. It’s the softest and most melodic track, and really demonstrates the depth of what Liars are doing. Before the show I was still not 100% on board, but hey, I love shows, so nothing to lose.
We got there just in time for Liars. To me they seem to be a great paradox: the sound doesn’t match the act of the band. This can be either a good thing or a bad thing, in this case it’s a wonderful thing. They clearly work really hard to build the sound they create, and do it with fervor and enthusiasm. Front man and lead singer Angus Andrew has incredibly long forearms, and when he dances he looks a bit like a transvestite orangoutang, very feminine and little awkward. I loved his dancing, it really defined the paradox: post punk meets Brittany Spears? Also, Andrew is totally raging on stage, and sweats like crazy. He would be still for a moment and then start head banging, and it was like a backlit shower. In the meantime, while Andrew is on stage rocking out, the crowd was essentially moshing in the front. Their music does have some violent undertones (“Blood, Blood, Blood” from the track “Broken Witch”) but also some sweet moments. Part of me wonders if it is intended as sarcasm and humor, validating the fact that upon first listen they are merely a hardcore band, but in reality they have a serious musical background and strong theme.
They were having fun onstage, and being badass rocker pirates has nothing to do with the image, and everything to do with the music. They were incredible onstage, created such energy that I am considering seeing them again at Music Hall of Williamsburg on Sunday. They make me want to run out and see Fuck Buttons and No Age and every other angry band that I previously thought I didn’t want to see.
Have a nice weekend Lovies!
(all photos courtesy of Ryan Muir)
<3 The Elephant
LCD SOUNDSYSTEM: LIVE AT WEBSTER HALL
LCD Soundsystem returned to the stage this week with warm-up performances at Music Hall of Williamsburg last Thursday and another performance at Webster Hall on Monday, April 12th. We last caught LCD Soundsystem in 2007 in support of their sophomore album Sound of Silver which was the last proper tour they’ve played. The time away from the stage resulted in a focused effort on the upcoming though already leaked “This is Happening.” While the album had been leaking out track by track, first with Drunk Girls, then Pow Pow the full album hit the Internet last night and you couldn’t help but get the impression that James was keenly aware of this as he literally got down on his knees and begged the crowd not to fileshare the album. Knowing that filesharing has become a fact of the business he went so far as to say, if you’re going to steal it and share it, fine…just please wait until we release it so we can do it the way we want to. A great point considering James has indicated that This is Happening is to be the final release of the band under this moniker.
Following the hilariously enjoyable set by Fall on your Sword, LCD took the the stage and Murphy’s ill-preparation was hardly recognizable. Looking a bit as though he had only just arisen from a week on the couch and as he admitted, a bit too much on the booze, Murphy started into “Pow Pow,” what will hopefully prove to be the first single from the upcoming album. The energy you come to expect with an LCD Soundsystem show was delivered with the first note. Perhaps he’d forgotten just how incredible LCD Soundsystem comes off live because he continued to thank the crowd over and over for our energy and the way we were dancing. By the time Us vs. Them hit bodies were slamming everywhere and that this was among their warm-up shows had long been forgotten. Unfortunately, such absence was never more obvious than when Murphy started into one of the old classics and one of my personal favorites, “Losing My Edge” when Murphy stumbled drunk through the lines and while the song has always been something of a mockery, Murphy seemed to be mocking his fans in the way he performed this one. While a lyric guy and one who loves Murphy’s off kilter vocals, the best moment for me came when Murphy’s mic broke midway through “Yeah” and he along with the rest of the band launched into the loudest, most violent rendition of the song that I’ve ever heard.
Closing the set with the song that he almost has no option but to close with when performing in New York was of course “New York I Love You” and it seemed to show that Murphy is either completely ready and didn’t need the warm-ups or he’s got a way to go before being completely ready because he was acting goofy and asking himself rhetorical questions throughout the set.
All in all, the music speaks for itself and anytime you have LCD Soundsystem playing LCD Soundsystem’s music, it’s going to be a great time, and while I loved that Murphy was playful with the crowd, I would rather hear him take his own music a little more seriously. I look forward to hearing the rest of This is Happening and having those songs soaked up on the dance floor the way Someone Great and others have over the last few years because once Murphy starts playing all of these songs like he did in those moments of “Us vs Them” and “Yeah” last night, he’s going to murdering kids on the dance floor.
See more photos below:
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Setlist:
Pow Pow
Yr City’s a Sucker
Us V. Them
Drunk Girls
Losing My Edge
All My Friends
I Can Change
Tribulations
Movement
Yeah
Encore:
Someone Great
Daft Punk Is Playing At My House
New York I Love You
LCD Soundsystem @ Webster Hall (4/12/10) from Jaime’s Weekly Concert Alert on Vimeo.
LCD Soundsystem @ Webster Hall (4/12/10) from Jaime’s Weekly Concert Alert on Vimeo.
A PLACE TO BURY STRANGERS, THE BIG PINK: LIVE AT WEBSTER HALL
A Place to Bury Strangers:
Brooklyn’s volume knob maximalist trio A Place to Bury Strangers is an experience in noise. They played Webster Hall last night, March 30th and made me believe the hype that they are New York City’s “loudest band.”
MP3: A PLACE TO BURY STRANGERS: EXPLODING HEAD
MP3: A PLACE TO BURY STRANGERS: IN YOUR HEART
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The Big Pink:
Mp3: THE BIG PINK: VELVET
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ACRYLICS, LISSY TRULLIE, BEAR HANDS, HOLY GHOST!: LIVE AT GLASSLANDS
L
Lissy Trullie:
Lissy Trullie has become the rocker du jour for fashionistas and hipsters throughout New York. She oozes hipness. With her 60’s mod warhol haircut, dangerously high mini skirt, and sexy pouty stage persona, there is no question, Lissy is interesting to look at. But its not all style over substance. Her set on Friday showed she can be interesting to listen to as well. Working through a mix of noisy garage pop rock hits with Strokes-like riffs, along side some more poppy Blondiesc tunes, and a surprisingly good cover of Hot Chips “Ready for the Floor”, she managed to grab my full attention and leave me wanting [to hear] more…and I swear it wasn’t just the mini skirt… I think.
Lissy Trullie – “Self-Taught Learner (TMDP Remix)” | download
"you have punk rock, you have rock, you have blues, you have soul, it’s all disco.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUOsztgBE-I
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