Central Village

2005-04-10T19:38:00.000-04:00

Central Village Has Moved!

It's been real, but Central Village has finally moved on to Typepad. Blogger's inconsistencies of late have driven me away for good. I will continue writing this site at:

http://centralvillage.blogs.com

Please update your blogrolls and bookmarks accordingly. Thanks! I'll see you over there.

2005-04-08T09:13:00.000-04:00

Balm Party?

The more I sit on this, the stranger it sounds. I've received word from a pretty reliable source that Bloc Party is lined up to do some commercials/promotional work for Burt's Bees. My prissy and fashionable informant tells me that they make lip care products. They're the one in the yellow tins with the honeycomb pattern in it (found a picture! see above!). Weird. I don't think I've ever even seen an ad for the product. If this actually pans out, it'd be odd, but not nearly as strange as them passing up the major label bucks and signing with indie label Vice (who appears be the music industry's equivalent to the annoying pimply college kid who gets hot chicks up to his room cause he's got coke.)

The band was also heard on the OC last night, which was cool, but seemed off. Actually the whole episode felt off. It's not that I didn't like it, it just didn't make any sense. At all.

Finally, I noticed recently that Urban Outfitters is selling their album, displaying it prominently in the front of their stores.

I think it's safe to say the Bloc era has officially begun.

I wasn't at the show last night, (ended up not going to ANY show last night. The rain kept me in) but I got a broken up voicemail from a friend this morning who made it sound great. Something about a Mr. Brightside tease? Details please.

Anybody who won't be able to make it tomorrow, rest assured, they'll be back at Webster Hall in June. And speaking of Mr. Brightside, The Killers will be playing Summerstage June 4th. Tickets are not on sale yet for either. More info on both at Good Times Roll.

2005-04-08T08:04:00.000-04:00

Blogger: Dead to me

Blogger really screwed me this time, making it unable for me to log in and edit my unfinished and poorly worded post that I accidentally published yesterday afternoon. There'll be some changes coming soon. Likely this weekend. Stay tuned...

2005-04-07T15:17:00.000-04:00

Culture!

Yesterday was productive! I woke up early and went up to the Museum of Television and Radio for the KEXP sessions. Phoenix was up first. They were awesome. Very stripped down and simple, but for a group of guys who were sprawled out on chairs sleeping minutes up until they went on air live, they sounded remarkably tight and focused. If you goto the KEXP archives page, click on Wednesday, April 6th at 7:32AM. I keep on trying to listen to the albums but end up just going back and re-listening to this session again. If anyone knows how to get this whole thing onto MP3, lemme know.

After a quick breakfast break I went back up see an equally tired and hung-over Dogs Die in Hot Cars. They, unfortunately, played and interviewed a bit more like they looked, but were still a lot of fun. Definitely got better as they went on. Check out their session at Wednesday, April 6th at 9:31AM

Went back downstairs to enjoy the day, walk around the block, and grab some lunch before The Fiery Furnaces played. Another amazing set. Played three new songs. At least one had never been performed ever before. I liked it. I liked them all. It was just Matt and Eleanor acoustic, and while the interview was a little much for me, the music was really memorable. Take a listen at Wednesday, April 6th at 11:01AM. Fluxblog also posted an MP3 of the final song they played, and had some comments on both Phoenix and the Fiery Furnaces sets. One Louder has a review as well.

So after that, it was amazingly only about 2:30 in the afternoon. During my brief walk earlier, I realized that the MOMA was literally around the corner from the Museum of TV and Radio, so we went, since I hadn't been since its reopening.

I was really blown away by the place. I've been to many of the top museums around the world. Some of them twice. I can honestly say nothing even comes close to the New MOMA. No contest. The Musee D'orsay had always been my favorite, but this place trumps it tenfold. I'm very proud to have it in my hometown.

The art is perfect. I've NEVER been so overwhelmed by the amount of stuff I actually looked at. I'm pretty picky when it comes to art that genuinely interests me, but I would say that 80% of the stuff in there I was impressed by. What stood out even from the amazing art was the actual building itself. Every room with a window, I found myself running up to look outside. They so perfectly framed the cityscapes. It was like a Red Grooms painting come to life.

Jen's got lots more pictures from the museum, as well as the latter two studio sessions. Check em out.

2005-04-07T08:33:00.000-04:00

Evening plans

So, if anyone out there either didn't get a ticket tonight to the sold out Bloc Party show (or you sold your tickets to that show to a friend for about 1/5th of what you could have gotten off craigslist) or The Fiery Furnaces show, (or you just don’t feel like going all the way to Williamsburg by yourself to see a band you saw play an acoustic set for KEXP yesterday and who you have tickets to see at Webster Hall Saturday night anyway) there's still another option available.

R.U.O.K., a band I've mentioned a couple times recently, is playing at the Delancey tonight. The party starts at 9:30 and they'll be on around 11. Check em out. And have a listen to my favorite song they're got up on their website (which, I know I've posted before...but it's good):

R.U.O.K - Arms Length

Also, if you're looking for a late night, the Bloc Party after party is at Pianos and features some excellent late-night performances. Get all the info here.

2005-04-06T18:05:00.000-04:00

Day off!

Hi. Took the day off today. Will be back tomorrow.

2005-04-05T11:57:00.000-04:00

Ride

Over the last four days or so I’ve become a very big fan of Ride. It all started when I read a couple of posts and an article at NME.com about how Mark Gardener, former lead singer/guitarist, was playing a solo show at Bar 13 last Sunday night. Bar 13’s quite literally a stone’s throw from the my apartment, and I rarely read about bands with any international buzz playing there, so it got my attention. I poked around on Rhapsody and on the internet and started listening to lots of Ride, as well as Mark's solo stuff. It’s great. Everything I read said they were a massively influential band that never got the recognition they deserved. It’s pretty clear from listening to them that bands like Oasis and Coldplay would not be what they are without these guys. I actually listened to Mark Gardener sing “Dreams Burn Down” solo from his 2003 EP first, thinking is was a blatant rip-off of “Champagne Supernova” meets “In My Place”, before realizing it was a Ride song from an album that came out years before either of those songs ever existed. I’ve listened to that version and the original no less than 30 times over the last few days. It's my favorite.

Anyway, I really wanted to see him on Sunday, but I was totally wiped after watching Intervention and ended up regrettably passing. I found out yesterday, however, that he has been added to the Vicious/KEXP show tonight at Rothko between sets. Can't make the same mistake twice. He goes on at 9:30. I'll be there.

2005-04-04T14:25:00.001-04:00

Putting us all to shame...

I was gonna write a bit about what shows I'm looking forward to this week, cause there are some good ones, but after reading Brooklyn Vegan's new weekly post at Gothamist, I'm finding it hard to justify why I should EVER talk about an upcoming show again. He covered virtually everything, including even the weird shit over at Tonic. Check it out.

If you're still interested...Morning Theft and/or The Cloud Room on Tuesday, Fiery Furnaces at NorthSix Thursday, and Bloc Party Friday. Wednesday I'm taking the day off from work to go see Phoenix, Dogs Die in Hot Cars and The Fiery Furnaces do their KEXP in-studio performances.

2005-04-04T13:33:00.000-04:00

Baseball!

Been nothing really to write about so far this morning. No major goings on over the weekend. LCD Soundsystem was good, but not so great as to make me like their album any more (See pictures at One Louder and Brooklyn Vegan. Also, check out a rare concert review from ToTC). Movement and Losing My Edge were lots of fun, as was the set-closing Yeah, but the rest didn't really do it for me.

But...how bout baseball starting this week? April begins my annual stint as a real Mets fan, which usually fades out around May when they've got a 10-17 record and 8 games behind the Braves. I don't really have any shame about being a fairweather fan. I still follow the sport, and I'll never say I'm not a Mets fan, but I can't go balls out for any of my teams (the Knicks or Giants or Mets) when they're so damn godawful. There are too many other interesting distractions here to be bothered with activities and interests that aren't really entertaining or successful. So I just don't force it. It's not like I'm gonna start rooting for anybody else or anything. I'll just find something else to do. I think that's natural. Can't be bothered.

But, that being said...Lets go Mets! I'll pay you attention so long as you stay above .500. I think that's a fair deal. I might even make the trip out to Flushing once or twice if you really impress me.

2005-04-01T16:06:00.000-05:00

Weakened

Man, I've been sleepy all day. The Album Leaf were great last night, but they really were a dozer. I wanna go see them play a planetarium or something. Standing in a sweaty and crowded Mercury Lounge was not the ideal setting. The sounded really great tho, and the visuals were cool...I just wish I could have been reclining.

Today I've been just going through the motions, trying to get out of here on time. My officemate left sick this afternoon, so I've been blasting the Silent Alarm with the door closed, singing along, etc. It's remarkable how resilient this album is from burnout. I feel like I must have listened to it every day for the last 4 months, and it still sounds as fresh and exciting as the first day I downloaded it. In fact, I think it's even gotten better for me over time. Just amazing. By far the record of the year. I don't think anything can come close.

Copy guy just came in the middle of Price of Gas to deliver a job and gave me a funny look. This whole day I’ve been mad skeptical. Pranksters about. Even got an e-mail from my "boss" basically telling me I was gonna be laid off, only to find a sicko april fools wink emoticon where the letter should have been. NOT FUNNY.

Okay...gonna wrap this up. Slow day 'round here. Have a good weekend.

2005-04-01T01:08:00.000-05:00

The Trumpet Calling the Kettle Ska

Because this story just won't go away...

"I've heard rumours about [members of] that band (The Bravery) being in a different kind of band, and how do you defend that? If you say, 'My heart really belongs to what I'm doing now,' but you used to be in a ska band." -Brendon Flowers to MTV.com earlier this week

Ever talk to your drummer about where his heart "really belongs" ?

That's him. Second from the right. Ronnie Vannucci. Former drummer for the Las Vegas ska band Attaboy Skip.

Is it April Fools Day yet?

2005-03-31T16:57:00.000-05:00

Short run/Long run

Tonight The Album Leaf are at Mercury Lounge. That album has been the soundtrack to my workdays for months now. Very nice. The 22-20's, a band who's been getting a TON of buzz recently, are also playing a benefit at Tonic. Nether show is sold out as of yet.

Tomorrow there are a few shows worth checking out. Firstly, Lightning Bolt is at Club Exit in Greenpoint. Wherever that is. Next, Bay Area rapper Lyrics Born is at Southpaw with local Park Slope favorites Nuclear Family. Nukfam is one of the few hip hop acts that I can not only tolerate live, but actually enjoy going back to see every time. Yeah, I went to highschool with these guys...but believe me when I say they're legit. Finally, my buddy Wynn Walent is playing a midnight show at the C-Note with his new band. Check it out.

In the future, make note that Pinback will be at Irving Plaza on May 24, The New Pornographers will be at Maxwells on June 23, and Calla is playing a free show at The Knitting Factory on April 25. Mark the Dates.

2005-03-31T11:32:00.000-05:00

Change your life...

As previously reported, (and previously assumed) The Shins are playing one more show at Webster Hall on April 25th. Tickets are on sale today at noon. They'll likely sell out quick. Again.

(Thanks Kristen for the heads up!)

2005-03-31T09:42:00.000-05:00

Code 46

What a great movie! How come I barely heard anything about it? I was in bed early last night flipping through the on demand movies and saw it on channel 1000. I like Tim Robbins, the plot looked interesting, and I briefly remembered hearing about it, so I gave it a shot. It was really really good. What stood out was the way in which the film framed itself in the future. Aside from the textual explanation of what the actual “Code 46” was at the beginning, they left pretty much everything else up to the viewer to figure out. All of the laws and intricacies of a globalized and genetically sanitized world were played out almost matter-of-factly. You learned how that world worked just by watching it in action, rather than taking particular scenes when characters had to explain the simpler aspects of their life. It was like the movie was made for people who already lived in the future. Very smart. The result is a much more natural view of the future and a stronger focus on the actual story, which turned out to be quite epic and engaging. I’m not the biggest sci-fi guy out there, but this movie transcends those stereotypes and tells a great story. One that just happens to take place in a different time. Big recommendation from me.

2005-03-30T12:35:00.000-05:00

Also...

Got a lot of work, and not much time to read or post anything, but I did wanna mention that Death From Above 1979 at Mercury Lounge (5/1) and Eisley at Bowery Ballroom (6/24) are both on sale now. These might get a bit buried with all the other big shows going on sale today, but are worth noting. Check em out.

Thats about it for now.

2005-03-29T19:59:00.000-05:00

Quickly, before blogger dies again.

Bright Eyes (5/21-26)
Rilo Kiley (5/27-28)
and
Spoon (6/8-9)

Are all going on sale tomorrow afternoon.
More info at Bowery Presents (Webster Hall)
(Thanks Pete for the heads up!)

2005-03-29T15:36:00.000-05:00

Come on come on, let's get things done…

The Walkmen are hard for me to describe. Their live show is a tough one to swallow, but I leave each time liking them more and more. I'm not sure if I can really pinpoint what it is about them. I think I can just relate to these guys more than your average hipster quintet. They all look like the people I grew up with. They seem real to me. Not just some jaded indie caricature.

Hamilton shouts lyrics that, while vague, feel oddly familiar. I can hear what he's saying. It hits home somehow. These are angry, violent, tragic and frustrating songs performed by people who look like they should have their shit together. There's something oddly refreshing about watching a show like this. It's like punk for the Upper-Middle class. Everyone's got their own problems.

This is music for the kid leaving the loft party at 5:30AM trying to piece together the parts of the night before passing out. You can almost taste the stale cigarettes and see the first hint of daylight over the buildings when you listen to this stuff. It’s the most authentic New York sound I’ve ever heard. With his shirt unbuttoned and hair ruffed up, seeing it live makes it all the more vivid.

It took me over a year to get into Bows and Arrows. It's abrasive music, and with the exception of the near-perfect single, The Rat, there isn't a lot on the album that's instantly catchy. I think over time, hearing the songs on shuffles, seeing them on the OC and then finally in person, they really grew on me. Once you start listening beyond the yelps and howls to the actual desperation in these songs, they are really hard to get out of your head.

(picture via i rock i roll)

2005-03-29T10:52:00.000-05:00

What's that they say about glass houses?

Brandon Flowers calls out The Bravery for ripping off his style! He even publicly called out Endicott's Skabba the Hut roots! Classic! Note the understated photo caption claiming "(This) would be the wussiest fight imaginable..." Indeed.

By the way, Brandon...be glad Simon Le Bon was unavailable for comment at press time. Love the album, thrilled it got so popular, but originality is not the first thing that pops into my head when I hear one of your songs. Lets be reasonable here.

2005-03-28T12:26:00.000-05:00

Oxegen Festival Update

Last summer I went to the Oxegen Festival in Ireland. Had a fantastic time. I saw a ton of bands and met some really great people. It was probably one of the most memorable weekends of my life.

This year's festival is beginning to take shape. Perhaps not an earth-shattering lineup as of yet, but it looks pretty solid and will surely expand and improve as the date approaches. (There were 80 bands on 5 stages last year)

Saturday, July 9th

Green Day
The Frames
The Prodigy
Snoop Dogg
Queens Of The Stone Age
Erick Morillo
Kaiser Chiefs
Ian Brown
Kasabian
Razorlight

Sunday, July 10th

Foo Fighters
Keane
The Killers
Doves
New Order
The Streets
Jimmy Eat World
Audioslave
James Brown
The Beautiful South
Josh Ritter

It is certainly a more laid back, less crowded alternative to Glastonbury, T in the Park and the such. I highly recommend it. Read more at the Oxegen Website.

2005-03-28T09:55:00.000-05:00

Back at Work

Not thrilled to be here. Should be a relatively relaxing week ahead tho.

Friday night I went to go see the Kaiser Chiefs at Bowery and loved them just as much as I did back at Northsix. I still think they're the most fun live band playing right now, and even on one leg, Ricky Wilson was able to jump around and stir up the crowd more than any other band I've recently seen. They all genuinely seem to be having a lot of fun on stage with each other. I just love them. Another terrific show.

The rest of the weekend was pretty laid back. Got my taxes done, watched some movies, went out for a bit. Tonight I'm going to Ben Kweller and The Walkmen and The Album Leaf on Wednesday. I can’t believe March is already over.

2005-03-27T03:09:00.000-05:00

Backlash

There were some real horror stories from the Flaming Lips 'event' last Thursday night, including one on a popular Flaming Lips message board from Lips' drummer Kliph Scurlock:

"...I was almost beaten up by one of those steroid-amped dickheads. My friend Curt and I went outside to smoke where we were told that we were not allowed to smoke on the sidewalk in front of the building. So, we walked across the street and smoked. Then we walked back and the guy said "no re-entry." I showed him our All-Access/Band passes and he yanked them from my hand and said "those are obvious forgeries. Get lost before I hurt you." I explained that I was in the band and there would be no show without me, at which point he grabbed me by the throat and shoved me up against the wall and was about to take a swing at me when someone yelled "he's in the band. Let him go." So, I got back in but had to sneak Curt in through the back. Then I played like shit because I was all shaken up."

Yikes.

There are many other awful stories at that board, as well as a very earnest and heartfelt apology from Kilph for anybody who was given a hard time at or outside the party.

As we were leaving the event, A friend of ours decided to confront the aforementioned bouncer regarding his behavior toward the crowd. He retaliated by shouting obscenities, punching the cab and spitting at us (pictured above). Classy.

If anybody outside was able to snap a picture of that guy, please send it my way. I'd love to plaster his pathetic face all over the internet.

2005-03-25T13:32:00.000-05:00

The Flaming Lips at Gotham Hall

Last night I saw The Flaming Lips play in a half packed banquet hall full of what I guess were mainly Mazda executives, people claiming to be from the media and, according to the AP, "New York City tastemakers". I'm absolutely at a loss of words. Read all about it at Catherine's Pita, Brooklyn Vegan and Daily Refill.

A special thanks to Uber-Scenester Joey ToTC, who got the scoop in the first place to check this thing out. It was an incredible and absolutely indescribable time. There'll be more pics to tell the story once BV gets around to hosting and posting.

2005-03-24T12:50:00.000-05:00

The Shins sell-out...

Yesterday The Shins sold out two shows at Webster Hall almost immediately. I have already heard from several people upset about missing out on the sale. While the popularity of the band is clearly growing, I don't think many could have expected them to clog up the Ticketweb servers like that and sell out two shows this fast.

Anyway, for those who missed out, take note: A quick glance at the The band's tour page shows one open date before and two after their stint at Webster Hall. Should we expect some extra shows being added? Perhaps. If you missed out this time, keep your eyes open for an added date or two in the New York area. Here's hoping for a Maxwells date on April 25th.

2005-03-24T02:25:00.000-05:00

Conor Oberst back in New York

He's gonna be playing 5 nights at Webster Hall, May 21-25 in support of the Digital Ash album. The Faint with Nick Zimmer will be his backing band. I'm really not a very big fan of his music, but this album I thought was somewhat better than his other new one. If the tickets are cheap, (not likely) I may go.

Also, The New Pornographers will be playing Prospect Park for the Celebrate Brooklyn Series on June 25. Tough to think about outdoor shows right now, but it'll be nice out again soon.

Both bits of news via More Cowbell

2005-03-24T02:08:00.000-05:00

You can't do the same card trick twice...

I went out to see The Go! Team again last night at the Canal Room. I had been held up all day in my apartment because of the weather and was itching to get out and do something. Despite my negative reaction to their show on Monday night, I had to give them another shot. I mean, this was perhaps my favorite CD of the last 6 months. There has to be more to the live show...right?

There wasn't. It was the EXACT SAME SET. Except the drinks cost twice as much and the line was around the block. Even down to the between song banter, it was a complete rehash. I simply couldn't "awoop awoop" any longer. I stepped back and watched the set from afar. Everybody seemed to be having a good time. I noticed a couple of people shooting looks at each other as if to say "what the fuck is this?", but overall, people looked to be genuinely enjoying themselves. So what do I know? I just wasn't sold.

I say there's one simple remedy to fixing their show, and that is to scrap the backing tracks and get a trumpet player. I honestly think much would be fixed by adding this one live element. Let Ninja run the show if you want. You can keep everything else as is, but lose the recording and let us hear all the instruments. That's what I was hoping to see, and that would have been a great show. Hopefully next time. From the sound of their new untitled song they played as an encore, we'll be hearing and enjoying a lot more of these guys in the coming years. They'll get another chance from me for sure.

2005-03-23T17:07:00.000-05:00

Party Update

I put up some New MP3s and Videos up over on the sidebar. I'd like to particularly draw attention to the R.U.O.K. track, Arms Length. So good. They are playing at Pianos on Friday night, so go check them out if you're looking for something to do. They are really good.

Feel free to e-mail me an MP3 of your band or of bands you like/know. I'll do my best to keep those links over there more updated.

2005-03-23T11:15:00.000-05:00

Listen to Feist

(Photo from BrooklynVegan)

I saw Feist at Joe's Pub last night. She played a great set, backed by a full band and performing a handful of songs off her record "Let it Die." Anyway, she has been pegged as the opening act for the two upcoming British Sea Power Shows at Bowery May 14th and 15th. The Saturday show is already sold out, but tickets for the Sunday one go on sale today at Noon. It you were on the fence about this one, Fiest should tip you over to the GO column. I, however, will be in Miami for a wedding, so will have to regrettably pass.

Other shows on sale today are a second, later, "Superwolf" show on April 21, and the aforementioned Doves and Shins shows at Webster Hall.

2005-03-23T10:11:00.000-05:00

Spring Break!

From the look of it outside, the beach is out of the question.

I'm on a mini-vacation y'all. Not going anywhere, just taking a week off, get away from work, hang out around the city, whatever whatever. Very excited.

Seeing The Thermals last night was the PERFECT way to kick off a fake spring break. They are a ton of fun live, as anyone who has seen them can attest. Unfortunately, I was completely wiped after running straight from work to see Feist, then from there straight down to the Knitting Factory. I made it through the main set, bouncing around the balcony and singing along to songs I didn't even think I knew, but before we gave them a chance to come out for an encore, I was in the back of a cab heading home, drenched in sweat and about ready to fall asleep. I can't think of any other band that could have kept me that engaged last night. Great Show.

Kind of a pussy way to kick of Spring Break, I know. Home by 12:00 and right to bed. I'll get better as the week progresses.

2005-03-22T12:56:00.000-05:00

Starbucks has Guero?

As a bonus from a generous vendor that my firm deals with, I occasionally receive Starbucks cards with $5 each on them. I don't drink coffee, but I happened to go in the one in my office building this afternoon to get an Odwalla juice and a piece of cake. I was surprised to see that the new Beck album was prominently displayed in the store by the cash register a full week before the scheduled release date. I went upstairs to grab a few more gift cards and came back down to pick up a copy.

I'm not really complaining, but did Beck authorize Starbucks to release his album a week early? Was this common news? Or is my local Starbucks just a bit confused as to the release date? Anybody else see this around town? Very curious. Regardless of the timing, between this and the OC episode, Beck looks to be one iPod commercial away from the modern-day album hype trifecta. Bravo.

And as for the record itself? I'm about 7 songs in and I really love it so far. Earthquake Weather and Girl are instant favorites. This album may be the perfect remedy for the current indie post-punk blues.

UPDATE:According to comments, it looks like it was put out early by mistake. By 6:30 when I left the office to go home, they had already taken it off the rack.

2005-03-22T10:45:00.000-05:00

Dates

More Cowbell lists the upcoming Spoon dates, and it looks like they'll be in town for two shows at Webster Hall on June 8th and 9th. Nobody's a real big fan of Webster Hall I don't think, but I think it got its bad rap as a venue from the shows that got bumped out of Bowery (Arcade Fire in particular). There are many many worse places to see a show. If two nights at Webster Hall becomes the new one night at Hammerstein (see: Doves, Shins) then I can live with that.

And speaking of worse places to see a show, Weezer is doing two shows at Roseland on May 11 and 12. Ick. The Presale is going on tomorrow, and the password is BELIEVE. I think I'll just settle for just seeing them at Coachella. (via the-wicked)

UPDATE: Just noticed The Soundtrack of Our Lives are playing at the Knitting Factory late Thursday night. Tickets are expensive, but still available. I don't know much about these guys, but I've been hearing their name a lot recently. Seems like a good alternative if you're looking for something to do that night.

I also just realized last night that I'm flying out to L.A. the same day that Stars are playing Bowery Ballroom, so I’m gonna have to miss them. Rats. Kinda pissed I blew this one, since I could have flown out Thurdsay just as easy, But I'll live. I got to see them once already recently.

2005-03-22T10:40:00.000-05:00

Samples in a Jar

Last night I was less than impressed by The Go! Team live. Their CD is just about the most favorite thing I own, but this show didn't do it for me. I just felt the songs all fell a bit flat when being played by live instruments. And Ninja, the frontwoman, was a little too involved for my tastes, mumbling echoed rhymes over songs that were previously, to my knowledge, only instrumental. Maybe (most likely) my expectations were too high for a band I love this much, but I was really hoping to be completely blown away by these guys, with the horns and fanfare that the record suggests. Instead I heard a lot of prerecorded sounds underneath some rather dull drum and guitar and an overbearing vocalist. I left the Mercury Lounge just wanting to go back home and listen to their CD again.

I'm going to see them Wednesday as well, so maybe I'll leave there with a better impression. This time around, however, I was underwhelmed.

Check out a couple pictures of the show over at Brooklyn Vegan and a review that shares many of my same sentiments at Productshop.

2005-03-21T15:13:00.000-05:00

I re-watched Garden State this weekend

I was up really early on Sunday, so I watched it again for the first time since it was in theatres. Still think everything from the time they leave the house at the bottom of the quarry till the end is lame, but the rest of the movie was better than I remembered. Perhaps because my expectations had been lowered. Anyway, the point is...

Shins tickets for Webster Hall on April 23-24 will go on sale this Wednesday at noon. The price is $22A/25D, which methinks is a bit steep, but still worth it. I'm gonna go, but I wish I could wait to see who the opener was before totally committing. It'll likely sell out too quick. I think Hysterics should submit a tape and try to get on one of these bills. It'd be worth a shot.

(Thanks Peter for the heads up!)

2005-03-21T12:44:00.000-05:00

Keeping up with reality

Pitchfork is a now a Blog! How about that? Good for them. I wonder if they're gonna start posting IM conversations and Cameraphone pics too?

Of course, just because the newswriters CAN post at all hours of the day isn't quite the cure-all for Pitchfork's biggest ails. I mean, having the ability to report the news in real-time does nothing to fix the major problem that their news is not just couple hours late, but at times several weeks behind other blogs (heh) scooping the same thing. So clearly this is a step in the right direction, and more importantly gives some legitimacy to the Real-Time/Blog format, which is nice, because it IS a pretty good format.

Did anyone go see the Robot and MTV hyped Band Hysterics at Crash Mansion Last night? Well, you can read their story and watch the You Hear it First bit here if you're curious. They're a group of High School kids from Brooklyn (my rival high school, in fact) who play Rouge Wave/Shins-esque pop. From what I've heard it's pretty damn good, too. They played their first gig Sunday at Crash Mansion to a crowd of swooning High Schoolers and proud relatives (one being a good friend of mine who is the lead singer's cousin.) For now these guys are a bit of a novelty, with Ollie the main songwriter being only 15 and all, but they are well connected and appear to have quite a bit of talent. Give them time and they'll surely have opportunities to prove themselves. I've been hearing about them from my friend for a while now, and it's pretty exciting to see people talking. I'd prolly go see then next time they get a gig together. You can listen to a couple MP3's At Music for Robots.

2005-03-21T09:40:00.000-05:00

The Highs and the Lows

At 2:30 yesterday afternoon I thought I was the smartest motherfucker on the planet for predicting Texas Tech, West Virginia and NC State all going to the Sweet 16. But by the time Arrested Development came on, it was over. I was busted. Two of my Final Four teams (Georgia Tech and Florida) were bounced. I was just another sucker. But there was a brief time...for like 5 hours...when I was brilliant.

Besides watching a remarkable amount of basketball, I also got out to see The Name of the Play is Talking Heads Saturday night. It was good. Much deeper and darker than I expected, but it was extremely well written and highly entertaining. It's running through next Saturday and some tickets are still available.

Also listened to a lot of the New Fiona Apple Album (love it), walked around for a while on Saturday in hopes of maybe finding a new pair of pants (no luck) and ate about three quarters of a loaf of my roommate's father's banana bread (delicious). Not a particularly exciting weekend, but I got out of the house a little bit. It was relaxing.

Tonight there is a whole slew of shit going on, with The Go Team at Mercury, the Red Wine Boys at Pianos, Aqualung at Bowery and Queens of the Stone Age at Virgin Megastore. Tomorrow Feist is at Joe's pub and The Thermals are at The Knitting Factory. Wednesday The Go Team again at the Canal Room. Thursday they The Bravery are at Rothko and Friday The Kaiser Chiefs are playing Bowery. Most of these shows are sold out, but they are all really worth trying to get to. Actually, you could probably do without seeing The Bravery, but if you're planning on spending the summer talking shit about them, you really should see for yourself why they are so shit-talk worthy.

2005-03-18T23:54:00.000-05:00

I think I'm in for the night...

Just came across a radio rip of the new Weezer song. Have a listen, I really like it! (right-click/save)

Weezer - Beverly Hills

Not nearly as corny as the title makes it sound...but enough to get the point across.

Also, BIG UPS to Bucknell for proudly representing the Patriot League and taking down the perennially overrated Kansas earlier tonight! I honestly think they have a descent chance at taking down a lousy Wisconsin team on Sunday and moving on to the Sweet 16. Equal ups to the UVM Catamounts, who will also get a shot at an overrated Big 10 team in Michigan State.

2005-03-18T08:43:00.000-05:00

Finally Friday

On the OC...

Once they got past the self-depreciating self-aware shit in the first scene where they tried to explain how and why the show SUCKED for the last 4 months, it was actually a pretty good episode. The characters were remarkably believable, with the kids acting like actual teenagers for once. I was especially impressed by Ryan, who, despite a throw-away line here and there, actually seemed really natural for once. (Nice wrist cuff?? Classic line! If only I didn't have to ask my roommate what he had said.)

Anyway, I wish (and am still hoping) they get more out of this Julie Cooper porn scandal. That's the best thing they've had all year. And maybe they could, instead of bringing in a new character, bring back a beloved old one? That'd be nice.

So anyway…

For those patiently waiting for Shins tickets to go on sale...The Bowery Presents website has updated the info for the shows to say the sale date is TBA. Not breaking news I suppose, but I do think it means they'll give us ample heads up when, in fact, they do hit the public.

Doves tickets at Webster Hall go on sale next Wednesday at noon. There was a presale I completely flaked on yesterday, but I'm not too worried these shows will sell out. At least not right away. Eventually, they will for sure.

Morning Theft is playing their first ever set at Mercury Lounge on April 5th, sharing a bill with former (and maybe current still? It's been a while) Superdrag leadman John Davis. Now that the Post-Punk/New Wave revival appears to be on it's way out by way of The Bravery, is there any doubt that a guitar rock driven "Grunge Revival" of sorts will be next? I don't see why not. Morning Theft's got the goods...I guess it's really only a matter of time now.

This weekend I’m genuinely looking forward to just chilling out and just doing nothing. That’s not to say I’m not insanely jealous of all y’all who are down in Austin this weekend, but I’m ok with having nothing on my plate for a few days. Tonight there is a very slim chance I’ll end up at Xiu Xiu. I don’t think I can put up with that kind of thing today. Tomorrow I’m gonna go see The Name Of This Play Is Talking Heads, which I think will be a lot of fun. Then Sunday I’ll doubtfully leave my apartment all day, maybe give MaxDelivery a shot. Next week I’m only working two days before taking a mini-vacation to recoup, rest up, and give some serious thought to what I wanna be doing professionally in the near and distant future. I've about had enough at this current gig. (any ideas, please feel free to e-mail me.) I hope everyone has a good weekend.

2005-03-17T11:32:00.000-05:00

Zee Life, it is good!

Two things today…Whole Foods and Brazilian Girls.

I went to Whole Foods on my way home from work yesterday. It was my first time and was more or less everything I had come to expect. I got a delicious Steak Dinner to-go (with twos sides!) for a scant $13, and it was actually very tasty. I mean, it’s as tasty as a $13 take-out steak could be I suppose. But since previously the best option was a $40 Rib-Steak from Strip House, this adds a significantly more reasonable meat option to the walk home.

The whole place definitely felt new. Everything was sparkly clean and everyone was chipper and happy and talkative. (I actually could do without three different people telling me how good my meal was gonna be. Just let me go and fucking eat it please?) There must have been 30 check out counters open last night, and some creepy team member very calmly filtered the customers to the next available checker outer with the efficiency of a Soviet ski-lift attendant. All in all an enjoyable experience, tho I didn’t actually do any real grocery shopping. It’s still nice to have a Supermarket upgrade in the neighborhood, even if it drives away Wholesome Market and Garden of Eden in the process.

Last night I also went out to see Brazilian Girls for my buddy Colin’s birthday. The audience was noticeably older than most of the shows I see there. I sensed a very “I read about them in the New York Times last week so they must be good” type crowd. Despite this however, they really were fantastic. Every cheesy thing you may or may not have read about them over the last six months or so is pretty much true. I found them extremely unique, yet oddly familiar sounding. It was nice to see a real performance from them on stage, including a remarkably tight sound for the high level of complexity and variation they have in their music. I think anyone getting tired of the current post-punk/new wave etcetera etcetera should find relief in these guys. (not that I don’t still love that shit, but we’re all starting to see the repetition set in.) This was A+ show. Highly recommended.

2005-03-16T12:25:00.000-05:00

I have no pants

I'm not kidding. Yesterday I threw away my only three pairs of khakis cause they all developed gigantic holes in the seat. For a while I could still wear them out, but it got to the point where these things became completely unacceptable. Two pairs didn't even make it into the laundry bag yesterday morning, and one came back with an irredeemable hole, so they went into the trash as well. Now I'm down to a pair of sweatpants, two pairs of chords and a couple pairs of dressier pants for work(Which haven't been to the cleaners in god knows how long.) Tough shape. I'm gonna have to get to a store this weekend I think. There's too big a gap till I can get shorts back in the rotation...

Anyway...

Doves were lovely last night. I was a bit tired and burnt out by the time we got there, but I still thought they played an excellent set. They'll be back at Webster Hall on May 18th and 19th with Mercury Rev if you missed em last night.

Congrats go out to the Winner of the SAT, who was selected for the oh-so-prestigious "Blog of the Day" spot in yesterday's NY Metro (pg. 14).

I really have no big beef with Pitchfork (except for the fact that they continually claim sole responsibility for The Arcade Fire's popularity, which is just silly and wrong), but I did find it amusing that they reviewed the Kidz Bop "Float On" the other day. Needless to say, if it wasn't for this one, nobody listening to the original would have known it existed. So...thanks? I guess?

It doesn't look like The Shins are going on sale today after all. Some other interesting shows at Bowery, however…Eagles of Death Metal, Mike Doughty, and Earlimart.

Also, The Raveonettes will play three sets at Mercury at the end of April. Two are on the 26th (early and late), and the third is with Morningwood and Saints and Lovers on the 27th.

2005-03-15T15:07:00.000-05:00

"Almost-hump day"

That's what they called it this morning on Cold Pizza (still watch it, yes). How awful is that a way to describe a day? The week is almost half done? Jeez. Anyway. I just prefer plain old Tuesday.

Ended up at a PACKED Rothko last night to see Maximo Park. Really can't stand that place when it's crowded. I mean, I can genuinely enjoy myself there when it's like half full, but on nights like this, added with the upside down and backwards smoking policy, it can get extremely unpleasant inside. And as for the band...See, it's not that I didn't like them. I think they are OK. They have one great catchy pop song and a handful of others that sound like The Futureheads without the complicated vocal overlays. Or the Kaiser Chiefs without the razor-sharp hooks. It was a little too transparent as to what they were going for, and while that alone shouldn't sink a band, it wasn't quite good enough for me to see past it. An A+ single, but a C+ body of work.

Other news...

As many may have already noted, The Shins are playing at Webster Hall on 4/23 and 4/24. Tickets are likely to go on sale tomorrow sometime around Noon. Believe it or not, this should be seen as a smallish show for them, considering the other venues they are playing in different cities.

Cocteau Twins are no longer on the bill for Coachella, claiming personal reasons as to why they will not reunite. I won't miss them, but am more curious about who's gonna fill those big 2nd tier headliner shoes? Is someone gonna be added? Will someone get boosted up? Developing...

Finally, be sure to go get tickets to the Go Team at the Canal Room next Wednesday. Only 5 Bucks!

2005-03-14T17:01:00.000-05:00

Parenthesis

(Pic of UTB via Stereogum)

So it's SXSW week and I'm staying put. Tonight there are two very hot shows, but due to a busy weekend, I might have to pass on both. The GLC are playing at Mercury Lounge tonight. Also, Maximo Park is at Rothko. Both bands aren't in America much, so it's a tough choice. You might be able to make both, but it'd take some hustle and some luck, and I'm not sure if I'll be up to it.

Tomorrow I'm going to see Doves at Bowery. Been listening to them more and more of late (including the immaculate acoustic recordings that Jed's got posted). Really excited. Wednesday it looks like Brazilian Girls, who for a band that is allegedly so hyped, I don't hear much about these days. (Aside from Coolfer's extensive review of the album). Friday I may go see Xiu Xiu, tho I've heard some horror stories about his live shows, so if I'm not up for it I may pass. Then Saturday I'm gonna go see that VH1 Talking Heads play everyone's been talking about. Next week is a whole nother story.

A couple quick links...

Coolfer posted a very well written piece this weekend that started about I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness, and ended up summing up the current state of indie music, and how much longer it can hold on as it is before falling off. Worth a read. Prolly worth another read once The Bravery become huge and everyone denounces everything that sounds like them (see: Jet, Garage Rock Revival)

Brooklyn Vegan posts a shitty-ass Bright Eyes cover of Feist's "Mushaboom". This all but confirms that I really don't like Bright Eyes at all. His voice, the music...does nothing for me. On top of that, I just have a hard time taking someone that young, rich, talented and successful too seriously. Regardless of my personal opinions on the guy, this cover butchers the original.

Gawker reports that Lindsay Lohan is going to be dangerously close to the Central Village for the next few days, filming some wack new movie. I remember this week when I was Lindsay's age, I spent St. Patrick’s Day down around where she'll be at the McDougal Street Ale House, watching my school get destroyed by Temple University in the first round of the tournament.

In any event, if you're in the area, keep your eyes peeled for a nip slip.

2005-03-14T11:40:00.000-05:00

Everything's running late

Friday night I was at Crash Mansion for Nora's birthday. Great time, tho the place just felt a little...weird. Something was off with that club. As was the theme of the weekend, all the bands went on late (No fault of theirs, of course). They were all good, tho I'm afraid I didn’t really give them my full attention all night.

I was excited to go see The Wrens at Maxwells, but I kinda slacked on checking out the details of the show. Went off the info on my ticket that said 9:00 doors, 9:30 show. Last time I went out there it was for Britt Daniel and the place was so packed we got stuck around the corner near the bar the whole time. I was hoping to get there a little early to snag a good spot. Well, at 9:15 when I showed up (It really doesn't take very long to get to Maxwells if you're near a path stop, fyi...) and the band was still on from their earlier set. They didn't even get off the stage till after 9:30 I'd guess. Around 10:00 they reopened the doors, and me and maybe fifteen other people wander into the otherwise empty club. Hmm. This was a very sold out show. I was really thinking I had missed a memo about this thing. Later I was told that there would also be an opener, which I also did not expect. Then around 10:45, this band called Koester came on, who I actually thought weren't too bad, but it fely like they played way too long and I was getting tired and antsy.

So finally, at around 11:30...A full 2 hours after my ticket said they would be going on stage, The Wrens finally come out. And they were fantastic. Easily made up for the wait. I don't think any of them stopped smiling the whole set. When a band has that much fun playing together, it always rubs off on the audience. Despite going on stage around the time I was planning on being back in the city, it was really hard to complain. A great set.

Yesterday I went out again to see Atmosphere at Bowery. I've never really been a fan of any of the live hip-hop shows I've ever been to, but this one was different. Maybe it had to do with that he had a live band backing him. Or I just like his songs a whole lot better than most of the other acts I've seen. Perhaps I just get a kick out of a dude from Minneapolis who can drop a line like "Houston and Ludlow, Maxfish, Vampire" without it sounding forced or pandering.

He is the kind of artist who has the full attention of every single audience member in attendance. Lyrically, there aren't many better from any genre, and as far as putting on a live show, there is no other rap act I’ve ever seen who can match the fun, heartache and intensity that Slug does. If I could expect all hip-hop shows to be more like this, I'd be a much bigger fan of the genre.

And yeah…Atmosphere went on about 90 minutes later than I expected them to due to an extra opener who was added to the bill.

2005-03-11T11:53:00.000-05:00

Fin

The briefs are halfway out the door, and it looks like the last two weeks of crazy hours and busy days may be finally coming to an end for now.

Last night I got out of here at 10:00 and jumped in a cab right down to Bowery for Death From Above 1979. A significantly better experience than the last time I saw them, but they are by no means my new favorite band or anything. I am impressed by what they are able to accomplish with so little on stage, and it certainly is worth seeing them once to realize that. The thing is...It’s Metal. I haven’t listened to or spoken about Metal since 8th grade I don’t think, but I can still appreciate that they are good at what they do and put on an entertaining show. I enjoyed myself.

Dunno what else to talk about. I'm sure everybody has heard the Ted Leo cover of "Since You've Been Gone" by now. I wasn't too impressed. The original is far far superior.

The KEXP studio sessions are mostly full, but I was able to snag passes to Phoenix, Dogs Die in Hot Cars, and The Fiery Furnaces on April 6th. Gonna take the day off and make a day out of it.

Gang of Four tickets are on sale now for the two shows at Irving. I assume they will sell out fairly quickly, so hop on it. (thanks Ashley)

I have a busy weekend ahead of me. Tonight is that party at Crash Mansion...Be sure to RSVP at rsvp@newyorkunderbelly.com to get in for free before 12. I've never been to Crash Mansion before...always kinda seemed like a strange scene walking by it, but they're putting on a remarkable show tonight, so I guess I'm gonna find out for myself. Morning Theft goes on at 11, Snowden at 11:45, and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah at 12:30. Open bar from 11-12, and $2 Pabsts (7 for $10!) all night. More info here.

Tomorrow night I am ecstatic to go see The Wrens at Maxwells. Then Sunday Atmosphere is at Bowery.

Seeing The Wrens come up brings up the debate "what bands would you travel to Maxwells to see?" I can honestly think of very few. The Wrens are one of them, cause they tour so infrequently.

The better question may be, who would you go out to see at Continental Airlines? I'm sure there is some band out there that would get me out there, but I can't think of anyone. Not even a fictional back-from-the-dead reunion show. I'll have to give it some more thought, but seriously, is there a less desirable, more out of the way venue? Maybe Nassau? I dunno.

2005-03-10T19:10:00.000-05:00

If it's not one thing...

The sidekick's more or less back in "top" form, but blogger's been out all fucking ~~morning~~ day and now I'm swamped with work. Hopefully I'll get out of here in time to see those puppydogs DFA '79 at Bowery tonight.

...And by the by, I don't even know what Libation means.

2005-03-09T13:48:00.000-05:00

Sonic Youth at NorthSix Presale

I lied. Here's some relevant ticket info:

There will be a presale tomorrow (Thursday) at 10:00 for Sonic Youth at NorthSix on April 12. The password is esrun(nurse backwards). Tickets go on sale to the public Saturday morning.

Also, UltraBand Louis XIV is playing Bowery on April 26th. Tickets are on sale now.

More later maybe...

2005-03-09T10:25:00.000-05:00

I had six too many drinks last night...

Stars did not disappoint. They were actually a lot more charismatic and entertaining live than I expected, tho I think any band led by an effeminate 5'7 redhead in a double-breasted suit is something I can dig. They put a lot more into their songs than I really thought they would. The singers work the whole stage, getting up and out over the crowd at times with real emotion, rather than the sedated, head-to-the-side lulling that I expected. I'm a bit of a sucker for bands that have the guy/girl back and forth dynamic, and these guys do it better than anyone right now. (My favorite Postal Service song is "Nothing Better" and I love that "True Love is Blind" song by Louis XIV...so go figure)

Anyway, I was all the way up front, right under the right speaker, which is not the best place to get the ideal listening experience, but they still sounded great. I left the club with both of their old albums in hand. Can't wait till the Bowery Show.

Sidekick still not at 100%. Got what the kids are calling the "three dot dance” compared to the inferior “two dot” variety, but I still don't have my e-mail, IM or web working yet. Am hearing reports of service almost fully returning to some this morning, so hopefully I'll be back in full force sometime today.
UPDATE: At 10:57, I got a full "G7", as well as 4 days worth of e-mails. This lasted for 3 minutes before I got dropped back down to the two-dot dance. Wack.
UPDATE2: At 11:15, everything finally seems to be completely up and running. Hooray.
UPDATE3: Bah. At 11:45 it's back down. No more updates till I'm sure it's really back for good.

Pitchfork has a nice little profile on Owen Pallett, who, as Final Fantasy, really impressed me in opening for The Arcade Fire last month. BV has much more on the guy, who has some really really great songs off his newest album. (Check out “Win and Regine” and “The CN Tower…”. My two favorites.)

Nothing of too much personal interest going on sale today, but if something new jumps in and surprises me, I'll post.

2005-03-08T17:43:00.000-05:00

Sidekick Blackout Update

Still no email or IM, tho there was a brief period this afternoon where I was able to sign on. It's now been 2 full days without service. I'm getting antsy. T-Mobile does not seem to be at fault here, believe it or not. It's the Danger network that all this data runs off of, and that's what's all screwy.

Apparently it looks like I'm online all day, so if you've IMed me and I haven't responded...no hard feelings.

Lets hope for everything getting back up by tomorrow.

2005-03-08T11:42:00.000-05:00

I'm not sorry there's nothing to say

I think I've fallen in love with Stars at just the right time.

I've had their newest album on my various iApps for maybe a month now? But for some reason I hadn't given it enough of a chance until last week. Now I'm just listening to the thing pretty much every chance I get. At home, on my commute, at work streaming off the Arts and Crafts website. It is an overwhelmingly beautiful record that manages to balance catchiness, emotion and grace in a way few albums I've ever heard can. How I was able to ignore this for so long is beyond me, but now I could not be more excited to see them play tonight at Mercury Lounge.

I was happy to see that Rob Sheffield at Rolling Stone rewarded it with a four star review recently, which I believe still means something. I'll simply say that it's one of my top three albums of the year so far.

Craigslist looks rough for tonight, but be sure to get a ticket to see them at Bowery in April. Jen is also hosting my favorite song off the album called your ex-lover is dead, so download that if you remain unconvinced. It's a good one.

BIG news via Curbed...A Kozmo-like service is coming back to New York!

Introducing MaxDelivery.com, a one hour online delivery service that begins running its beta testing in Lower Manhattan on March 15th. Kozmo and Urbanfetch were my livelihood back during the golden age of the internet. I am very excited to try the new system out. Bring on the free T-Shirts and cookies!

As for TV last night...

Fat Actress: official verdict is...pretty good! Clearly not in the same league as Curb, but it had its moments. Some scenes felt a little forced, but overall it was not bad at all.

24: Awesome. I'm glad they've thrown reason completely out the window and just focused on making an engaging action show. This season has been very entertaining, and we're only half way through! Michelle's return was so so obvious, and I don't like it. But they've still got me guessing as to what the main terror plot is. A suggestion from a friend watching with me and a brief clip in the scenes from the next is that the terrorists are trying to fuck with the Army from the inside out. I dunno how or why, but that's my official guess...for now.

Also, via Spinach Dip, I read this article summing up, in detail, why the OC has been so...inconsistent this season. If brings up 7 impeccably worded points as to what went wrong this season, and what can be done to remedy it. Worth a read if you are at all interested in the fate of what was once my favorite show. There's still hope, but it's gotta start getting back on track now. Hopefully the recent purge of all extraneous characters will be a step in the right direction.

2005-03-07T14:57:00.000-05:00

T-Mobile is wonderful

Seriously. Anyone who has a Sidekick may have noticed the "network outage" affecting the online Internet/IM/e-mail/etc. stuff on your phone. Well, if you call T-Mobile, they will be happy to credit your account with $5.00 or 50 minutes for the inconvenience of what they are calling a "global system outage". No word, however, on when the service will be coming back. Fingers Crossed.

2005-03-07T10:40:00.000-05:00

Barely Legal

Fun weekend. Unexpectedly ended up seeing the Secret Machines/Moving Units/Autolux show Saturday night. I normally wouldn't go out of my way for this show, but a friend of mine came up with an extra free ticket, so I took it. SM really do give a great performance, with the lights and smoke and the whole production. They are by no means a favorite of mine, but I really do like what they do live much more than what's on the album.

Was most impressed by Autolux that night, however. One of the most devastating drummers I've ever seen in person. I couldn't take my eyes off her. Simply unreal. These guys play a very tight and together style of noise pop, with lots of guitar effects and soft vocals. I always say it takes an extra something for me to take a band from L.A. seriously, but these guys got it. I'd strongly recommend seeing them next time they are back east. I even bought their album after their set, which is great as well..

Other than that, there were a few other underage-themed happenings this weekend, including catching the tail end of a High School House Party at my buddy's parent's loft in Soho and some sort of magazine premiere in what appeared to be a Middle School roof gym on Eldridge Street.

Sunday I sat in front of the TV all day, watching back episodes of Law and Order and some college basketball. Thought the Simpsons were remarkably funny for the first time in a long time, and the Morrissey DVD premiere on HDNet was unspectacular at best. Didn’t think the setlist was all that strong.

This week I'm really looking forward to seeing Stars tomorrow night (heh...no pun intended), but then a lot of hopefullies and maybes following till the weekend. Wednesday I may go see Rainer Maria at Mercury Lounge, or if someone has an extra ticket, I might go to Hot Hot Heat at Bowery. Then Thursday I'm almost definitely going to see DFA '79 to give them another shot. The weekend is a lot more straightforward. Friday there's the thing at Crash Mansion with Morning Theft, Snowden and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Then Saturday I’ve got The Wrens at Maxwell’s. Been waiting to see them again for what seems like forever. Sunday I'm giving live underground Hip Hop another shot with one of my favorites, Atmosphere, at Bowery. Busy busy busy.

2005-03-04T10:07:00.000-05:00

It's over, for now...

I'm afraid to say that Sleater Kinney kinda bored me. There was one song that really stood out, but now I can't remember what it was or how it went. Honestly, I was more fascinated by the random contingent of New York comedians (Barry, Mirman, Armisen) out to take in the girls last night. Odd. Jen's got a few real pictures of the show (and the pregame events), so check um out. I think that shot of the band (above) pretty much sums up my experience, however.

So I know I said the other day that I'd elaborate more on The Frames, but I don't really know what else to say. They just put on such a great show on Tuesday. Their music, stage presence, and personality sum up every positive opinion I have about Irish people as a whole, and I really wish they'd come to New York more often, cause, while they aren't the kind of band that'll necessarily become international superstars, I simply can't imagine somebody not enjoying them live. And it always helps to have a loyal and dedicated fanbase who's willing to sing along to every song. A great experience overall. Take a listen to the opening (and my favorite) track off their live CD called Setlist:

The Frames - Revelate

Anyway...As for upcoming shows, I hope everybody goes to see Out Hud at Bowery on April 23. They're like !!! but better! I loved them at Mercury Lounge a few months back.

Also, there's another presale for NIN tickets at Hammerstein (5/15 and 16) today at 3:00. Then tickets go on sale to the public at 5:00. It's kinda like getting that pass at Disney World that gets you in the park an hour early to beat the crowd. The password is newyork. Good luck. The last presale was impossible, but maybe this one will be better.

OMR has a great preview of the Calla/Palomar show tonight that really makes me wanna go check it out. It's been a rough week tho, so I'll see how I feel later on. Other than that I'm kinda hoping for an easy weekend.

2005-03-03T08:56:00.000-05:00

Last Night's ~~unemployment line~~ Party

I was all set for a big woo-hah fuck the world party night last night in between what will likely be two of the most miserable days at the job...but the world caught up with me at Happy Ending around 1:45 a.m. So now I'm up and tired and certainly not looking forward to work today.

Interpol was awesome are RCMH. Blonde Redhead was even better. These bands really sounded great in the big hall.

Looks like another busy day for me. Hope I don't get stuck at work too late. Brooklyn Vegan sums out a whole bunch of upcoming shows...so check that out. I'm gonna go see Sleater Kinney tonight hopefully.

The Bravery baffle the mind sometimes. Are they really ready to be doing an acoustic version of Honest Mistake??? I say no way, but they went ahead and did it anyway. Have a listen, via Torr.

The Bravery - Honest Mistake (acoustic, w/interview)

Maybe more later...

2005-03-02T14:37:00.000-05:00

Busy Day...

I'll write more about The Frames later, but lemme say now that they are a real treat to see live. I hope they come back soon.

Also, NME's got the scoop on Glastonbury tickets. On sale April 3 @ 9am. Read here.

More later!

2005-03-01T17:26:00.000-05:00

There's always another coming right up behind...

I'm not sure if anybody's really mentioned it, but Elkland is opening for Erasure on their current tour, including about 6000 shows at Irving Plaza next month. This is so perfect cause I've always thought Erasure sounded like their greatest influence. Maybe perhaps their best chance to break out and finally reach some sort of audience? I just hope they are on the top of their game for these shows, cause if they mail in a performance like they did at Movable Hype a few weeks ago, they'll miss a golden opportunity to expose themselves to what should be a very important fan base for them (that being Erasure fans. Like really gay people, I guess). I wish them all the luck in the world.

I saw this the other day…

"I never listened to that band; I don't know their music, I've never heard them."
-Paul Banks on Joy Division
NY Post, Feb. 27. (Via Largehearted Boy)

Hmmm...I see. I don't see any reason to lie about it tho. I always thought the comparisons to JD were a bit of a stretch to completely take for granted. And yes, I'm going tomorrow night to see them at the Music Hall. Blonde Redhead is the real sell tho. Or rather the combination of the two is. Without the other being there, I'd just as well stay home and count my money.

And finally, The NIN presale was a bust for many I assume. Ya either just got stuck on the login page, or got thrown to the "Object reference not set to a blah blah... " page. Oh well. Good luck trying to get them at the public sale this weekend. This is starting to feel like Green Day at Irving all over again. Anyway, if you're bummed about getting shut out, cheer yourself up with some tickets to go see The Decemberists at Irving. They're less than half price and significantly more pleasant.

2005-03-01T10:15:00.000-05:00

Since you've been gone...

Anyone ever watch any of the non-movie on demand channels? Thanks to a tip from my mom, I've been watching the AOL music video channel a lot the last few days. Channel 1002 i think? or 1003? There's all sorts of stuff up there...Home and Garden OD, Golf OD, CNN OD. Lots. Anyway...the point is I've been watching a lot of Avril videos on there recently, including a live one filmed at Webster Hall. Just made me realize how fast I'd jump on tickets if she was playing a club show in New York. Very Fast.

Two shows you've likely already heard about of now, but thought I'd mention anyway.

Nine Inch Nails are playing two nights at Hammerstein May 15th and 16th. You can go here today at 4:00 to try and get presale tickets.

Garbage is also playing Hammerstein on April 19th. There is a presale this Thursday, and the password is SHIRLEY.

So while it's all well and good that these acts are playing Hammerstein, and not Roseland or (god forbid) the Garden, it's gonna cost. Garbage tickets will run you $33.00 and NIN are going for $45.00. All this before service charges, too. Ouch. I guess you gotta expect to pay to see acts like this, but it's still a lot of money. Don't know yet if I'll go to one, the other or both, but I guess I gotta decide soon, cause these shows will sell out instantly.

Is it weird that I wouldn't hesitate to drop $50 to see Avril at Hammerstein, but I am for these guys? Yea, a little I guess.

And don't get me started on the new Kelly Clarkson...

2005-02-28T11:44:00.000-05:00

Luna Lundi

Fun Weekend. Saturday morning I inexplicably woke up on the Upper East Side, and figured while I was already up there, it’d be the perfect opportunity to finally go see the illustrious Gates. I had been getting emails threatening to suspend my blogger account if I didn’t post a picture of them before today, so I figured it was a wise thing to do.

Of course they were kinda boring. I was talking to my parents over dinner at Five Points the night before, and they described it more as a sociological experiment rather then an art exhibit. It was something EVERYBODY had to talk about. Like we are almost forced to. It was THE destination. The likes of which we rarely see in this already-too-crowded city. This aspect was certainly more interesting and impressive then the actual art, which really didn’t do anything for me. (or many, I’d imagine.)

After walking down to 60th street on the east side, I decided to head west on CPS and check out another uptown destination I had never been to: The Time Warner Building. I was even less impressed with this “mall” than I was with The Gates. Not a single shop there had any interest to me. But it was still early, and I was trying to time myself so that I could get back down to Union Square right at 1:00 to catch the box office at Irving opening. I grabbed a quick lunch at BarMasa upstairs before grabbing the N train back downtown to grab Walkmen and Built to Spill tickets and the Upwelling EP at Virgin before finally heading home.

That night I went down to Rothko to see I Love you But I’ve Chosen Darkness, who I really was impressed by, but my god has Rothko become intolerable on a weekend! For starters, they’ve stopped selling Sparks behind the bar, to which I was like fuck that! I had a long day walking about the upper-boro, and it was exactly what I needed to make it through the night, but the mere suggestion was greeted by a dismissive pfft by the bartender. Wack. They, once again, completely overbooked the venue, and it was so uncomfortably crowded I was pinned back almost in that dark little hallway behind the merch table for most of the show. I thought the band was really good tho, and was glad to have caught them while they were in town and all, but shit, it was tough to enjoy.

Yesterday I watched a lot of the pre-Red Carpet shit on E! while playing the new MVP Baseball, which is a ton of fun. An extra treat is that, at least on paper, The Mets are really really good! They are ranked 6th overall (Yankees 2nd, Red Sox 1st) and are a really fun team to play with. Another bonus is the soundtrack, which is remarkably relevant. It features songs from The Bravery ("Honest Mistake"), The Zutons ("Pressure Point"), Hot Hot Heat ("You Owe Me An IOU"), …Trail of Dead ("Let It Dive") and Louis XIV ("Finding Out True Love Is Blind"). I’m not normally a big fan of LXIV (It takes a lot for me to take a band from LA seriously), but I really love that song. Listen below:

Louis XIV -Finding Out True Love Is Blind (right-click/save)

Last night I went down to Bowery somewhat reluctantly because of the Oscars, but when I realized I had basically seen NONE of the nominated movies besides Closer and Eternal Sunshine (Which were barely nominated themselves) I decided to blow them off. Was glad I did. Luna was so impressive live, playing impeccably tight songs with enough (but not too much) guitar meandering for my tastes. Big thumbs up from me. I only wish I was more familiar with their stuff.
UPDATE:Check out a real review at the always excellent One Louder.

This week I’m gonna go see The Frames tomorrow, Interpol and Blonde Redhead play a small club show at RCMH Wednesday and Sleater Kinney on Thursday. And today at work I’m playing through all the Luna albums available on Rhapsody…hence the title to this post.

2005-02-25T16:38:00.000-05:00

OC...

Thank god it's over. Lovely episode, but what made it best was that almost all of the stale story-arcs are done. Lindsay and Zach are gone, and Alex has just one Episode left (ALSO...Did you know the actress playing Alex's real name is Olivia Cockburn? Cockburn??? are you kidding?? And she went to Andover too! Who woulda thunk?).

So now we're all back at the beginning. A fresh start. Sandy too. And let it be said I didn't dislike the new characters...but they just added so little to the story and their motives and plot points were always so transparent and dull. Lets hope for a better second half of the season.

If you haven't already, check out Bill Simmons' head-to-head on the OC v. 90210. Classic. Have a good weekend.

2005-02-25T10:44:00.000-05:00

Two quickies...

Best times roll points out that The Walkmen, Ben Kweller, and The Features are all playing a show together on March 28 at Irving plaza. And it only costs $5. What? I don’t know the reason or the necessity for such an inexpensive show (Do you have to sign up for the Army or something?) but we’ll see. Tickets go on sale on Saturday at 1:00, so after you’ve spent the hour trying to figure out why The Bravery Tickets are all sold out before they were supposed to go on sale, you can hop over to this and buy tickets for another (and better) cheap show.

As for other Irving shows, Built to Spill tickets for May 11, 12, and 13 are on sale now. As are New York Dolls tickets (4/28) for…$35.00. Youch. I'll pass on the latter.

2005-02-24T11:55:00.000-05:00

I dunno

I started writing about the shows I've been to recently, (Devendra, Futureheads and Aesop Rock) but I got kinda bored with that, so I'm gonna lay off it for now. They were all pretty fun in their (very) different ways.

Tonight I'm going out to see a friend of mine's new band play. His name is Wynn Walent and, tho I've only seen him play solo before, he's apparently gotten a real band together (drums, bass, keys and cello, plus himself on guitar). I'm a sucker for strings, so I think this'll be good. He's a truly gifted songwriter, so I am very excited to see what he's gotten together. Tonight they'll be at Otto's Shrunken Head at 10:00 (14th Street b/w A and B). There's no cover, and if you wanna come by and say hi, I'll buy you a drink. Who knows...we might have the next Sea-Ray on our hands :)

One Louder points out that Joanna Newsom is gonna be on Jimmy Kimmel tonight, which is PERFECT, because Milk Eyed Mender has gotten a serious second wind from me of late. I'm setting my Divo if I can't stay up.

Go! Team tickets for both shows (Mercury and Southpaw) are now sold out. I decided to default on the second night in P-Slope, so now I can go see The Thermals instead. Been listening to Fuckin A a lot again recently as well.

I think The Bravery at Rothko is sold out already? Either that, or they've taken tickets off sale till the official on sale date (Saturday @ noon). Developing... (Thanks to Jonathan for the heads up on this)

Via Spinach Dip, I see that Handsome Boy Modeling School is playing at Irving Plaza April 20. Tickets after charges inch up towards $30, tho. That’s a lot of money. I don't think it's gonna sell out any time soon at that price, so I'll have to think about it.

Lost was great last night. Anybody got an idea why Hurley was on Korean Television?? I think next week's ep. is about him, so maybe we'll find out. He's the last primary character we haven't gotten a flashback about, no? Anyway, it's good to see the show back on track after a dragger of a previous episode.

2005-02-23T10:42:00.000-05:00

Work...

Lots. All of a sudden.

M. Ward and CocoRosie @ Bowery April 10 go on sale today at noon. I'll try and get a real post up re: Devendra Banhart and The Futureheads later today when things quiet down around here.

ALSO...KRock is having a show at Rothko March 24th featuring The Bravery and 2 other bands. Despite the website claiming tickets go on sale Saturday at Noon, they are, in fact, on sale now. Buy them up. This'll be a hot show, considering it took these guys about a week to sell out 2 shows at Bowery in April.

2005-02-22T00:34:00.000-05:00

And so it continues...

I rarely say this, but that actually felt like a long weekend. I feel a bit rested and detached from the week before, which is so nice. Lets see how this one lasts.

Productshop reports that the lovely Sondre Lerche is opening for Elvis Costello at the Beacon Theatre on April 22. Tickets are already sold out tho, so...sorry about that. They were too expensive anyway. Tix still available for their show together at the Borgata in AC, if you're a real diehard.

The Wicked (way too off-the-cuffly, I might add...) mentions that Built to Spill are playing Irving for three nights in May (11-13). That'll be fun.

I also got word that Morning Theft will be playing a show with Snowden and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah at Crash Mansion on March 11 to kick off their tour. Great lineup and an interesting venue, which is suddenly beginning to appeal to a slightly less Evan and Jarron-esque crowd. And it's free! I think. So save the date. I'm really looking forward to this one.

Caribou (formerly Manitoba) and Junior Boys add a Bowery show to their stop in New York May 4th. Unfortunately, it's the same night as The Decemberists at Irving, so it looks like I'm staying with Northsix show the night after.

As others have reported, there is a Benefit (for what? I dunno) at Rothko featuring Asobi Seksu, Benzos, aaaaannnd Elkland. Unfortunately, this is the same night I'm seeing Sleater Kinney (3/3), so I'm gonna have to pass. Otherwise, it's a can't miss show.

Finally, Snow Patrol is playing Roseland on May 20th. There's a presale on Thursday at 9AM. The password is WINTER. I like the band, but not nearly enough to have to put up with Roseland on a Friday night. But enjoy if you're down.

2005-02-21T15:53:00.000-05:00

Like Drinking Poison...

I had a really low key weekend, involving a lot of delivery food and a virtual recreation of my apartment and life via The Sims 2. Little did I know that all this time, Hillary Duff was swarming the various indie hotspots around Lower Manhattan looking to score some blow from a pre-op. (She must have a REALLY good fake id or something...)

This sort of came to a head on Sunday night, when we headed out to Motherfucker in the snow to go see Bloc Party at the Roxy. I think it is clear that if you wanna bypass the typical NY indie stereotype and actually get the kids to dance, feeding them free Redbull and vodkas for an hour before the band comes on is the right way to go. It was a fucking ruckus. We somehow found ourselves up front right next to the left stack during the first song (literally painful), then squeezed through the massive sweat-soaked crowd till we were right up front and center, with the band clearly having the time of their lives. (Despite their apparent distaste for American Kids...)

They played through most of Silent Alarm and the EP, dedicating each song to a different group. (Those there from England, those at the Knitting Factory show, etc). Even while bouncing around in a sea of dapperly dressed indie kids, the LAST thing I would suspect would be to get kicked in the back of the head by a motherfucking croudsurfer, but sure enough they were out last night too, loving every single song, and reaching out for a chance to touch the band.

After BP destroyed their drum kit and said their final goodbyes to the crowd, we headed to the gated area out back, alongside a very sweaty and flustered looking Hillary Duff, who was surely on her way to the next hipster jaunt (Sway for Morrissey night, according to Gawker)

We stuck around for a while after, carousing about and taking in the scenery before heading back home. A spectacular end to a perfectly banal weekend.

(all pics via Cameraphone, obviously)

2005-02-21T03:56:00.000-05:00

Tragic

My heart dropped right through my body when I read this. It's way too late and I've had a long night, but this is absolutely awful news.

Author Hunter S. Thompson fatally shoots self

Read his final column here, which was one of my favorites. The quintessential Highdea.

Rest in piece, Mr. Thompson.

2005-02-18T11:37:00.000-05:00

Does Jamba Juice actually serve juice?

Or just smoothies?

The Central Village/Union Square location opened for business this morning. I was hoping for more juice, and less sherbet smoothie in mine, but I guess it’ll take a few weeks for me to work out exactly what I'm looking for.

OC was nothing special last night, tho next week looks exciting (It rains!). I thought it was odd that, at the end of the show when they do the “Music in this episode” bit, they showed the cover of Lali Puna’s "Faking the Books", but said it was Stars. I didn’t recognize either band during the episode so I was stumped. I kinda felt like a loser trying to explain the issue to my friend last night tho, (what? who?) so I’m just gonna leave it at that.
UPDATE: Stereogum says (as expected) both bands were played on the show. Their most popular songs, too. Usually I'm more on top of this shit.

Also, Coolfer’s got the news on a New OC mix. Once again, it’s really good...no matter how much you wanna hate it.

Caught 24, which was awesome. A bit of a staller episode, but it had it’s moments. L&O was pretty weak, despite the fact that it had rent control and NBA basketball plotlines.

Grambo has the trailer for the new Bynes flick, Lovewrecked, co-starring everyone’s favorite meatpacking billboard boy Chris Carmack as the hunky rockstar. I’m not gonna go see this movie, nor will I likely rent it, but when it’s on Showtime HD, I’ll watch it every time it’s on, no doubt.

GoldenFiddle blocked?! Imagine my surprise browsing around this morning and getting a Lingerie and Swimsuit message from my office content filter on my favorite media blog. Bad bad news.

Anyone else really jealous that Leslie Feist is touring with Stars and AoH out on the west coast? What gives? When’s she gonna come to NY?? In fact, anybody really jealous of the week of March 20th at The Troubadour in LA? Kaiser Chiefs, MorningWood, Bloc Party, Louis XIV, 2 nights of the Arts and Crafts kids, then 2 nights of Ash and The Bravery? Sounds like a good time.

That’s all. Enjoy the long weekend, and for god sakes, go down to Othermusic and get yourself a ticket to see Bloc Party on Sunday! It'll be fun!

2005-02-18T00:02:00.000-05:00

Upcoming

Those of us in New York who enjoy live music are very very lucky. We get more interesting bands through here in a month than most towns and cities would be lucky to see in a year. Recently, I've been going out to see a TON of shows, and while this is fine, I often find myself with a ticket or two to a show that, by the time the date comes up, I just don't feel like going anymore. So, I thought I'd make a little guide to try and figure out which upcoming shows I really wanna go to and which ones I can prolly take a pass at. Feel free to disagree, or try and convince me otherwise...

I'll prolly end up going to them all anyway.

Definitely Yes:

2/20 - Bloc Party (Roxy - Motherfucker)
Gotta get dressed up...but it's worth it.
2/21 - Devendra Banhart (Tonic)
Can't wait. Never seen him live, and Tonic is a perfectly intimate place to hear him.
2/22 - The Futureheads/Shout out Louds (Bowery Ballroom)
Still listening to their album regularly...curious to hear the SoL's too.
2/26 - ...Chosen Darkness (Rothko)
Love the EP, cant wait to see them live.
2/27 - Luna (Bowery Ballroom)
Have never seen them, and I have a ticket, so I'm there. Their next to last show ever.
3/01 - The Frames (Bowery Ballroom)
So much Irish Hype, I wouldn't wanna miss them.
3/02 - Interpol/Blonde Redhead (Radio City)
Actually excited to see both bands in such a large hall. I think they'll sound great there.
3/03 - Sleater Kinney (Mercury Lounge)
Got tickets, never seen them before.
3/12 - The Wrens (Maxwells)
One of my favorite shows last year. Not to be missed whenever you get a chance to see them play.
3/13 - Atmosphere (Bowery)
My favorite rapper. Isn't in New York too often, either.
3/14 - Goldie Lookin Chain (Mercury Lounge)
Lots of fun. Rarely come to the States.
3/15 - Doves (Bowery Ballroom)
A good friend's favorite band. Will be fun to see them play at Bowery.
3/21 - The Go! Team (Mercury Lounge)
If they are a quarter as fun live as their album is, it'll be not to be missed.
3/25 - Kaiser Chiefs (Bowery)
The most fun band on the planet right now, tho some weren't quite as impressed as I.
3/31 The Album Leaf (Mercury lounge)
Has been the theme music to my workdays for weeks now. Love the album.
4/07 - Fiery Furnaces (Northsix)
One of the most unique bands you can see live. Are better in a small venue.
4/08 - Bloc Party (Bowery Ballroom)
The last step before taking over the World.
4/18 - The Bravery/Ash (Bowery)
It'll have been 6 months since the last time I had seen the Bravery. And I gotta see Ash while they're in town.
4/19 - Erasure (Irving Plaza)
They won't be doing this for much longer.
4/30 - Coachella (Cali)
Got a ticket, pegged the vacation time...can't wait.
5/04 - Decemberists (Irving)
My favorite band right now.
5/05 - Caribou/Junior Boys (Northsix)
Curious to see what these guys do live. Love the albums.

Maybe:

2/23 - Aesop Rock (Bowery Ballroom)
Friend has a ticket for me, but I can't say I love the guy live.
3/04 - Calla, Palomar (Mercury Lounge)
I like them, but I'm not gonna force myself out. Game-time decision.
3/07 - VHS or BETA/Ambulance Ltd. (Bowery Ballroom)
Sold out, but I'd still like to go.
3/08 - Stars/Apostle of Hustle (Mercury Lounge)
Got a ticket, likely will go, but I gotta hear more of the album.
3/09 - CAT POWER (solo) (Southpaw)
Am I a big enough Cat Power fan to drop $20 and trek to the Slope? Doubt it, but I do love Southpaw.
3/10 - Death From Above 1979 (Bowery Ballroom)
Friend got me a ticket...but I don't even like these guys that much.
3/14 - Embrace (Bowery)
Wanna go, but it's gonna be a busy night with GLC in town.
3/18 - Xiu Xiu (Knitting Factory)
Have a ticket...curious to see how it works live, but there's still a small chance I'll be in Austin that day.
3/21 - Aqualung (Bowery)
If I can get more into them, I'll be there...
3/22 - The Go! Team (Southpaw)
Are they worth seeing twice in a row? Are they worth missing The Thermals for? They'd be great at Southpaw.
3/26 - Crooked Fingers/The Dears (Bowery Ballroom)
Not too familiar with CF, and I wasn't blown away by The Dears last time live...leaning more towards no.
4/02 - LCD Soundsystem (Bowery)
This should be a definite yes...but for some reason I'm not completely sold.
4/09 - Fiery Furnaces (Webster Hall)
Got tickets for BOWERY, assholes. Don't think they'll be as fun in the larger space.
4/16 - Of Montreal (Northsix)
Very curious, but not too familiar with their stuff.
4/15 - Brendan Benson plus Charlie Mars (Bowery)
Hear great great things from people who's tastes I approve of, but haven't heard enough to decide yet.
4/30 - Q and Not U (Northsix)
Maybe.
5/14 - British Sea Power (Bowery)
I like them, but it's not my favorite. I don’t think I'd force myself out to see them, but everyone's been raving about the live shows.
5/21 - Deerhoof (Northsix)
Another case of hearing great things without much personal knowledge.
5/22 - Deerhoof (Northsix)
I'll only go one night...but dunno which one.
5/26 - Decemberists (Warsaw)
Warsaw's a trek...But I love the band. Will have a hard time staying home.

Probably Not:

2/24 - Antony & The Johnsons, Coco Rosie (Bowery)
Afraid to say I'm not a fan. Sold out anyway.
2/26 - Ian Brown - (Webster Hall)
No interest anymore.
3/09 - Rainer Maria (Mercury Lounge)
Don't know them all that well, but not that big a fan of what I've heard.
3/16 - Brazilian Girls (Bowery Ballroom)
Listened...interesting, not in love.
3/22 - The Thermals (Knitting Factory)
I'd like to maybe...depends if it sells out and if I goto the Go! Team.
3/30 - Regina Spektor (Bowery)
I could really get into her...but not there yet.
4/01 - Graham Coxon plus The Golden Republic (Bowery)
Don't love either.
4/07 - Bloc Party (Bowery Ballroom)
Same night as the Fiery Furnaces @ N6...
4/11 - The Kills (Bowery)
Don't know much about them. What I've heard hasn't totally impressed me.
4/13 - M83 (Bowery)
I hear they are kinda boring live.
6/26 - Oasis (MSG)
Meh. Maybe if they were at Hammerstein. Or if it was free.

Anything else major coming up I've passed over? Am I wasting my time somewhere? Am I totally off base in dismissing a band? Lemme know!

2005-02-17T00:54:00.000-05:00

So Sleepy

I'm so excited to stay home tonight, catch up on TV (OC, L&O, Lost AND 24!) Last night at the Knitting Factory was a hell of a lot of fun, but now I'm about two seconds away from putting some boxes in front of my door and crawling under my desk to fall back asleep. Be back later.

2005-02-16T11:34:00.003-05:00

Bowery Wednesday

If you haven't noticed, the Bowery People usually announce new shows and put tickets on sale on Wednesdays at noon. For Bowery Ballroom:

Torr darlings, Embrace (3/14)
Kaiser Chiefs plus MorningWood (3/25)
and Regina Spektor (3/30) (not on sale yet, apparently)

and over at Mercury Lounge, tickets for:
Goldie Lookin Chain (3/14)
and The Album Leaf (3/31)
are all on sale...now.

Also, while we're on the subject of tickets and shows, Tarantula is opening for Devendra Banhart next Monday at Tonic. This is gonna be a really great show. Tickets are still available.

2005-02-16T10:50:00.000-05:00

I've never been this far away from home...

I don't know how you Williamsburgers do it every night...

I got out of the show at around 12:45 (it ran ridiculously late), and start heading back towards Bedford and 7th, but thank GOD I overhear some kid talking about the L not running past midnight. I walk with him and his friends up to the G train...which if you ever have to take, you know you're in bad shape. I looked at a map and realize there is absolutely no way I'm getting home before sunrise. I didn't know whether to go up or down, nor could I figure out which train to transfer to (oddly, none of them seemed to go where I wanted to go...) Finally (Thankfully?) I gave up on the train and waited till a lucky cab rolls by. 10 minutes and $15 later, I'm back safe and sound in the CV.

Where I come from, if your most direct route home involves the G to the JMZ to the F (and I'd STILL be a 10 minute walk from West 4th home), you're in for a rough night. If that cab didn’t happen to go by, I'd have prolly spent the night in the foyer of a vintage furniture store.

So if that alone didn't make a weird enough night, I went to go see The Polyphonic Spree at a club that smells like old Jews. Never been to Warsaw before...Not my favorite, but it's an ok venue. Just kind of a trek from civilization. The band was fun. They put on a spectacle, and it's cool to see 25 people on stage all at once, but the songs are surprisingly bland for having so much going on, and the lyrics are pretty lame. They are worth seeing once, but I wouldn't strain myself to go check them out again I don't think.

Mike Doughty was really awesome, however. He played a full set of like 20 songs, most of which I didn't even recognize. He's still got that great voice and has written some really smart songs since the Soul Coughing days. I'm surprised he doesn't get a new band together. It's all still there for him and from the turnout for his set, he seems to still have a descent and dedicated following. I'd like to see what he could do with more than a guitar and a keyboard player. Soul Coughing was a very interesting band for many reasons beyond his voice and songwriting, and I bet he could get together an interesting group of guys to make new music with.

Anyway, that was last night. Tonight I hope everyone comes out to see Elkland and the rest at the Knitting Factory. For more info on the bands, including some great MP3s and a video, check out Gothamist.com.

2005-02-15T14:22:00.000-05:00

Come back strong like a powered up Pac-man...

I don't really know what to talk about today. Went out last night to go see a friend of a friend's band called LESS play over at Luna Lounge. It was nice, but I was feeling a bit dodgy after scarfing down some super spicy Chinese food right before heading out. A couple glasses of shitty white wine didn't do much to relieve my agony.

We walked by Mercury Lounge afterwards heading towards Ave. B, and I peeked in to catch a glimpse of the Kaiser Chiefs, who were starting into "Every Day I Love You Less and Less". I was jealous not to be inside. I expect everyone in attendance enjoyed themselves.

Pitchfork likes Bloc Party, I see. Good to know. Should knock the street value of those tickets at Bowery up a few bills. I'm still surprised the Motherfucker party is not sold out yet. Are people really scared that their "look" won't be "working" enough to be let in? Lets be realistic here. If you paid for a ticket, they'll have a hard time turning you away.

That being said, I'll do my best to get dolled up at least somewhat for the occasion. It's a holiday, after all...

Tonight, Saints and Lovers are playing a show down at Rothko. Also, Fort Ancient is playing a free showcase with a few other good bands at Sin-E. Both are tempting, but I, however, will be going back out to Brooklyn to check out the Polyphonic Spree at Warsaw. Never seen them, but a buddy of mine here at work lives and dies by their live shows, so I have to see what the big fuss is. Mike Doughty opening was the capper for me, no doubt. I've been a Soul Coughing fan for years and years, and I've never seen the guy perform. Pretty excited.

2005-02-14T08:15:00.000-05:00

Best show of the year?

Perhaps. I can't remember enjoying a band for the first time as much as I did the Kaiser Chiefs on Saturday Night at Northsix. Just the most fun show I've seen in a very long time. So fucking British. I really didn't expect them to be this good, but I was completely floored. Great songs, untopped energy. Do your best to go see them tonight at Mercury Lounge (It's sold out), but if you're out of luck, they'll be back in March at Bowery. I urge you to go then.
(Pic via gigwise.com. Not taken from Saturday's show.)

Grammys...blah blah blah. I watched, was generally bored and occasionally embarrassed. What was that Telemundo interlude with Jenny Lopez all about? Coolfer blogged it live, which is certainly worth a read if you missed it/care.

I like The Bravery. There, I said it. They're not gonna be the greatest band in the world, but they have written some ridiculously catchy songs, and I've been following them for a while, so it'd be cheap to bail on them now that they're on the brink of stardom. I have some issues with the on stage personality of some members of the band, but, for better or worse...isn't supposed to be about the music anyway? (Even when the band tries and fails to make it more about image?) So there.

Anyway, Honest Mistake has always been my favorite song of theirs, and this video shows very little of Sam Endicott mugging for the crowd, so I like it. Check it out... (via Good Times Roll)

The Bravery - Honest Mistake

This Tuesday, I'm gonna go out to Warsaw for Mike Doughty and The Polyphonic Spree. Also, Wednesday is Movable Hype, with Elkland, plus a slathering of bands I've been itching to go check out.

2005-02-11T14:10:00.000-05:00

Bowery, it's hard to stay mad at you for long...

The Minnesotan rap group Atmosphere will be at Bowery Ballroom on March 13th.

Also, The Wedding Present will be there on April 29th.

2005-02-11T11:11:00.000-05:00

That was dumb.

I’m not gonna flat out say that the OC was bad last night…but it was disappointing. Last season, it always seemed like the characters would get themselves in trouble, but always do the right thing in the end, right? It was the smartest part of the show…because whether or not the result was positive or negative, it always deep down felt like the right thing to do. Last night hurt. In a bad way. Sandy Cohen should have done the smart thing. He should have told Kim Delaney goodbye over the phone, and rededicated himself to the Wife. And he NEVER should have kissed her. And no, Mr. Schwartz, acknowledging in the script that it was an uncharacteristic thing for him to do does not cover it up. It’s an easy out you’ve been using all season…leaning out through the third wall just enough to make your show self aware. It comes off cheap. The rest of the episode was fine, however. The kiss was a bit of a letdown…seeing that everybody know it was coming and it wasn’t all that sloppy or exciting. Whatever.

The Album Leaf finally got a post-show music credit on the OC, after having their (his?) music being played on the show for the last couple of weeks. They’ve become my default pleasant work-music of late, and I’m hoping to make it out to see him play on March 31st at the Mercury Lounge. Tickets are not yet on sale.

Brooklyn Vegan tipped me off to Devendra Banhart playing at Tonic on the 21st. That should be a great show. Now, you see, Tonic…If you were able to pull acts even close to this caliber on a regular basis, we wouldn’t be in this sticky situation now, would we?

Torr’s got info on the SXSW wristbands! Starting on Feb. 24, they’ll cost $110 if you act fast. The price goes up as they sell more and more. If you’re going, this is the best way to roll, tho you gotta know somebody down in Austin to get you one, and the max one person can buy at a time is 2, so good luck working it out. More info here.

Finally…really loved Chin Up Chin Up as much as I expected to last night. They played a enjoyable set that got better as it went on. I would not hesitate to go see them again next time they’re in town. (which will be May 19th at Northsix)

2005-02-10T16:58:00.000-05:00

Oh, come on now...

The Fiery Furnaces show at Bowery (4/9) has been moved to Webster Hall. Doors will be opening at a chipper 6:00pm, giving them enough time to clean up for the Staten Island riff raff that goes there to party on Saturday nights. This is Bullshit. I don't mind going to shows at Webster Hall, but please just call it that from the start.

On a separate note, Crooked Fingers w/ The Dears (wow!) are playing Bowery on the 26th, and Aqualung will be there on the 21st.

2005-02-10T11:40:00.000-05:00

Two Bands...

I'm sure most have heard of the Chicago band Chin Up Chin Up by now. They've had some songs floating around the internet for months, as well as a superb LP which I’ve recently discovered (to the delight of my new officemate) is now also available on Rhapsody. I’ve been listening to this album consistently for three months now, and I think it says something about an disc that remains so fresh and inviting after all that time. It is excellent excellent excellent, and if you haven’t given it a listen you owe it to yourself to check it out. I’m still putting “...Like We Were Skyscrapers” on mixes for friends, and it always gets a positive response.

I was kinda bummed I didn't get to see them last time they were here, but it was the same night as Muse at Webster Hall, and it turned out to be a bit of a disaster evening down at The Delancey anyway. I've checked and checked, but they have not been back in town since. Right now, there is probably no other band I've been looking forward to seeing more than these guys. The potential for greatness is there, and I hope they are as impressive live as they are on MP3.

The second band is one I mentioned briefly yesterday called R.U.O.K. There’s a bit of a story behind these guys. They are one of the main reasons I’ve gotten into seeing live music so much over the last few years. Back when I was in college, when I used to come back home I’d occasionally go out to Galapagos in Williamsburg to see this band called “The Others”. They were friends of friends of boyfriends of whatever. Anyway, the first time I saw them play I thought I was witnessing the next big thing. I wasn’t even sure if I totally was a fan of them yet, but I knew that they were really fucking good. They just sounded so tight, together and focused, you could have sworn they were gonna be all over KRock in a matter of months. They had an EP available for free, and I grabbed a handful and gave a copy to everyone I thought would like it back at college. I listened to it a lot, but after a while they faded into my ever growing collection and slipped out of my mind.

Fast forward to two weeks ago. The band comes up in a conversation, and I find out that they had changed their name to R.U.O.K. (we agreed it was a silly name, but whatever), and that they were still playing regularly in Williamsburg and Lower Manhattan. I go home that night, track down their website, and sure enough they are still playing every so often at Galapagos (I think the lead singer is a bartender there), and have some scattered gigs around the smaller clubs in the city. Not quite MTV2, but I was very happy to see that they are still playing, still writing songs, and still impressing everybody who gets a chance to see them. Their website has a number of new songs (new to me, at least) that are all pretty good, but I think you gotta see them in person to truly see what they’re all about. I hope many people come down to Lit in a few weeks, or to Pianos on March 5th to see them. I will be there, and hopefully they will still sound as impressive as they did first time I heard them.

Chin Up Chin Up is playing tonight at the Mercury Lounge. I've been waiting 3 months for another chance to see them. R.U.O.K. will be at Lit on Feb. 26. It’s been over 2 years, and I can’t wait.

2005-02-09T12:12:00.000-05:00

April, come she will...

Big Bowery Ballroom Update...Tickets for:

Graham Coxon with the Golden Republic (4/1),
LCD Soundsystem (4/2),
The Kills (4/11),
M83 with Ulrich Schnauss (4/13-14)
and Ash and The Bravery (4/17-18)

are all on sale now.

UPDATE:Wrong month and venue, but tickets for The Go! Team at Mercury Lounge (March 21st) went on sale today as well...

2005-02-09T10:09:00.000-05:00

Trent is the New FUBAR...

For now, at least. You'd think he had enough to do just keeping his own crazy blog in order. PITNB seems like a full time job as it is...

Just read on CNN that Detective Mike Logan is returning to the streets on New York! Starting this weekend, local Central Village nutjob Chris Noth will be sharing the major case duties with Vincent D'Onofrio on Law and Order: Criminal Intent. It appears that, due to a very busy workload, D'Onofrio needs to scale back his time on the show, which has become a risk to his health. Hard to believe that it was 10 years ago that Noth was a regular on the show. I remember watching his last episode with my dad when I was in middle school. This should be fun!

There are a number of interesting shows going on tonight. One of which is The Plug Awards at Webster Hall. I'll be there. Even tho my last faux-awards concert was a terribly uncomfortable and embarrassing experience, this one is sure to be better. The lineup is made up of A-list acts from every genre of the "indie" scene, and the awards recognize bands that the people in attendance might actually care about. Ted Leo, Sufjan, and Aesop Rock with RJD2 are top talent. I don't know much of Dillinger Escape Plan, but they seem to be good at what they do. (UPDATE: I put their EP on Rhapsody and had a headache within the first 3 seconds of track 1.)(UPDATE2: The headache turned into full blown nausea after a minute. They appear to be the headliner, so I think I'll just take off before their set tonight and save myself another sick day.) Saul Williams i'm not such a huge fan of (either), but he's got fans. I'm curious to see him perform.

Couple shows coming up that recently caught my attention. First off, Morning Theft is playing a show at Lit tonight. Check em out. Calla is playing with Palomar at Mercury Lounge on March 4th, then Rainer Maria will be there one week later on the 12th. Deerhoof, who Pitchfork recently called "the best band out there right now", are playing two shows at Northsix in May on the 22nd and the 23rd. No rush. Finally, a band called R.U.O.K. (formerly The Others) are playing Lit on February 26th. I'll talk more about them later, but be sure to save the date.

2005-02-08T12:18:00.000-05:00

Blasphemy, you’ll yell!

People are gonna flip out over this one. The most classic of all classic films, The Godfather (Ranked #1 on IMDB at last look) is being remade into a videogame. Now, there is a very very good chance this will be a disaster, but looking at the first few screenshots made available, it may not be all that bad. Apparently they are using the original voice actors for the project, which sounds good, but usually just means they’ll take sound clips from the films and put them into the game. Not that special. We’ll see how this develops…

Bloc Party has sold out both nights at Bowery Ballroom a full two months before the shows go on, and two weeks before their album even comes out. Tickets are still available for the Motherfucker Presidents Day Party at which they are playing, but many appear to be scared off by the seemingly strict dress code requirements. Whatever. If you still haven’t heard their upcoming album, you can stream it for free here. (via Brooklyn Vegan)

Good seats come to those who wait. After nothing but rear-side orchestra seating available 5 minutes after the March 2nd Interpol/Blonde Redhead show went on sale, I was skimming across Ticketmaster yesterday I was able to snag dead center Orchestra seats about 18 rows back. Good seats are still available for both nights if you (like me) were having second thoughts regarding not going to one of these two shows at the RC.

2005-02-07T18:31:00.000-05:00

Under the Weather Edition.

Part of the Glastonbury lineup has been announced, according to Productshop, and the roster so far looks good.

--The White Stripes, Coldplay, The Who, Kylie Minogue, Bloc Party, New Order, Doves, Outkast, Athelete, Keane, Brian Wilson, Scissor Sisters, Kasabian, Paul Weller, Stereophonics, Mercury Rev, Gorillaz, The Chemical Brothers, The Concretes, Hot Hot Heat, The Subways, Super Furry Animals, Ian Brown, The Coral, The Dandy Warhols, Queens Of The Stone Age, Grandaddy, Embrace, The Killers, The Bravery, Hope Of The States, The Zutons, The Futureheads, Elbow, and The Tears--

Tickets apparently go on sale April 3rd. The fete will be held on June 24th-26th, and it'll cost ₤125.00.

Sean Lennon and Yoko Ono are gonna play together at Tonic? Weird kinda, right? But I'd go see it if tickets weren't surely gonna be ridiculously expensive. It's a benefit show to save the club, so they'll be asking a lot. No word yet how much, but it'll be going down on Feb. 19th. Ben Lee is playing there too at the end of the month, and tickets are on sale now.

Anybody read that article about the Montreal Music Scene in the Times yesterday? It was good. Gotta give the paper credit for NOT just making this another puff piece about the Arcade Fire's popularity, which would have been perfectly easy to do these days, but actually calling out the other influential bands coming from the emerging scene. Good read.

Pitchfork lists their best albums of the last...5 years today. Strangely, the #1 album of 2004, named so merely 5 or 6 weeks ago, has plummeted down to #45, despite the fact that the # 2 album last year stays up at a respectable #9. I have no problem with the influential zine spreading the hype around equally, but this is pretty silly. Also, the list falls into the age old trap of glorifying older work, even with such a small window of reference…8 of the top 10 albums listed came out in 2000 or 2001.

Don't really feel up for going down to Bowery tonight (Monday), but these tickets would be expensive to eat and I'd like to see the band. I'll see how I feel.

2005-02-07T09:30:00.000-05:00

Tying up the week ends...

I feel sick today. Long weekend trying to balance family time with my social interests equals not a lot of downtime or sleep.

Friday night I went straight from work to services with my dad and grandfather. I swear Central Synagogue is the most fucking Christianized temple in the world. I don't go to services all that often, but I really hate that place. Makes you feel like a 8 year old in a church group.

From there we went out to dinner, then I headed home briefly before heading back out to the Mercury Lounge. Dirty on Purpose was great. Had never seen them, but all the chatter is well deserved. They were followed by Rouge Wave, who were solid, but to be honest it seemed like the band was kinda interfering with Zach's songs. I was thinking while standing there that I'd much rather hear his kind of stuff being played solo. Still good, but a little too busy for my tastes.

The next morning I woke up early to take my parents and little cousin out to Williamsburg to go see Rouge Wave play again at Soundfix Records. Tho the sound in the coffeehouse behind the store wasn't great, they played a very laid back set, and I enjoyed it more than the crowded club show the night before.

That night I met up with more family (among other, older members) for dinner in Chinatown, then passed on the field trip up to Snitch to head over to the Sri Lankan steam bath known as the Knitting Factory for M.I.A. and Diplo. Fun time, no doubt...even if she was in fact ~~Lip Syncing~~ using a backing vocal for most of the show. Joey (very poetically, I might add) sums up the experience nicely.

The next morning I was up early again to attend my Grandfather's wedding at the Lotos Club. Lovely service. Came home kinda drunk around 4:30, had people over for the game by 5:30. Lost some bets, ate some chicken, passed out.

This week, I'm hoping to make it to Kings of Convenience tonight, then the Plug Awards Wednesday (With Sufjan, Aesop Rock w/RJD2, Ted Leo, and others), Chin Up Chin Up Thursday night, then the Kaiser Chiefs with The Prosaics Saturday in Williamsburg.

2005-02-04T14:16:00.000-05:00

Official Prediction: Patriots 24, Eagles 9

Big bucks riding on my lowly box #86. Nine is not a great number, but I like that four. I think New England has a good shot scoring 24 or 34. Feeling good on that end. Philly getting held to 3 FG's is possible I guess, but 9's hard to hit if and once they get past there.

Also, just came across the new Elkland Video for Apart. Check it out:
QT
Real
WMA

Jon's sporting quite the upside-down Trump-esque combover, huh!

2005-02-04T10:45:00.000-05:00

(The) Go Find (yourself) on the OC

I think that wins the award for most obscure artist to be heard on the OC, no? Unfortunately, it was the highlight of the show. With the exception of Seth and Summer, Everyone else seems to just be walking in place once again.

I found an interesting post here regarding Owen "Final Fantasy" Pallett. He had this to say regarding the Conan O'Brian Spot:

"howdy! the band is all upset about conan, they thought the sound was shit. i thought it was awesooooooome. i didn't get paid or anything, in fact they said i couldn't legally be on the set (no work visa) but it went ahead anyway. conan is super tall and has an enormous head."

Interesting. For the record, I thought they looked and sounded great. You can download the video here. (via Ambitious-Outsiders)

I'm a big fan of this guy, Owen. I like his bashful confidence just as much as his music. He seems like a busy guy, with many different projects going on at once, but I hope he gets to tour on his own. Surprisingly, most of the people I talked to had a very mixed reaction to him, but I thought he was stellar, and I'd love to see him again in a more intimate setting. I wholeheartedly recommend the song "The CN Tower Belongs to the Dead" which I've probably listened to 10 times since coming home with his CD Wednesday night. You can download it here.

Last night I went down to Bowery (first time since NYE, I realized) to go see Pedro the Lion and Low. We got there as PtL was going on, and he played a really great set. I had heard much about him, but honestly didn't know any of his stuff. The songs were great and the crowd seemed to really love it.

After that came Low, whose new album is beyond superb, but they are a tough band to watch live. It had been a couple late nights in a row for me at Arcade Fire, and their music was literally putting me to sleep on my feet. We even had to move up to the balcony so I could have a wall to lean against. After five songs, we decided to pack it in. They sounded great, but I couldn't handle it. I got to hear my three favorite songs off The Great Destroyer, and got to bed early.

This weekend is gonna busy. Lots of family in town. Tonight I'm going to go see Rouge Wave at Mercury Lounge. Then tomorrow afternoon, I'm planning to take my little cousin and her family out to go see them play at Soundfix Records in Williamsburg. Later that night I get to see the impenetrable M.I.A. with Diplo at the Knitting Factory.

Then Sunday is the Superbowl! And...My Grandfather's wedding! I say The Patriots hold the Eagles to under 10 points, and win by at least two touchdowns. No way the "happy to be there" Eagles have a chance against this team.

2005-02-03T13:51:00.000-05:00

Rough Week, Pete?

Everyone that has ever met Kate Moss is telling her to leave you. Not to mention you have a very public heroin smoking habit and a somewhat more private crack smoking habit. Now you're in jail. Again. It's only Thursday, Peter! Please slow down.

But!!! Just saw that you're gonna try and go to rehab next week! Lets see how this works out. I'm an optimist. I hope there aren't too many accessible illicit drugs floating around while you recover in...um, St. Petersburg?

Whatever works, dude. Best to ya.

2005-02-03T00:47:00.000-05:00

Improving on Perfection

(via Cameraphone)

Yes, that's David Byrne singing Naive Melody with the Arcade Fire at Irving Plaza. Even the two stock brokers behind me from Stanford, Connecticut got their $160 worth tonight.

UPDATE: Jen's got a video :)

UPDATE II: Arcadefire.net, Brooklyn Vegan, One Louder and IRock IRoll (GREAT picture!) all chime in as well.

2005-02-02T15:30:00.000-05:00

Dates...

Of various kinds...

First off...The Goldie Lookin Chain is gonna play at Mercury Lounge on March 14th! Nice! That'll be a fun show. The Go! Team are then playing the Monday after, the 21th. Tickets are not on sale for either yet. Go Team at Southpaw are on sale for the 22nd now.

Is it possible that tickets for Stars and the Apostle of Hustle on March 8th are sold out already?? I think they went on sale at noon, and now Ticketweb says there are no more available. Strange.

Death From Above 1979 called in sick for their Mercury Lounge show, and they've upgraded right into the cozy confines of The Bowery Ballroom. They will be tearing shit up down there on March 10th. Two days later, Deep Banana Blackout is playing there. That's a name I surely haven't heard in a long time. Makes you kinda miss Wetlands...

One Louder got me curious and excited earlier about an apparent Bloc Party concert at...Double Happiness?? Turns out it's only a DJ set. Oh well...that would have been quite interesting.

Finally, Joystiq says that Gran Turismo 4 is finally coming out, after months of delay, on February 22nd. Perfect. I should be done with Resident Evil 4 by then. Yay videogames!

2005-02-02T09:46:00.000-05:00

Pretension!

(photo via Brooklyn Vegan)

It had all the makings of a letdown. The show was running excruciatingly late. Man Man was perhaps the most unpleasant musical experience I've ever heard. After them, Arcade Fire comes on to set up their instruments for a long long time, then tells the crowd there is another opener. A solo violinist who stuttered over his words. Fortunately I thought he was very very good, and even still, there were isolated calls from the crowd to bring on the band. Then Win and the rest finally take the stage, and he makes an awkward joke before going into their first song which was sounded like the volume was turned way down. And so it went…

I think deep down, many wanted it to be a bad show. All those who were at Bowery or CMJ wanted to be able to say that they saw them at a smaller venue, and that they were so much better back then. Bloggers scattered about Webster Hall were typing up posts in their head, picturing themselves earning some cred by being the guy who is too cool for the hottest band on the planet.

Well...I think anyone who was in attendance would have a tough time arguing, that from the second song on, we were seeing one of the best live acts of our time, and it would be near impossible to say that their set last night was anything short of briliant.

Every song grew bigger into the next. They played everything I think they know how to play, and each maintained the energy they had from Laika on. Was it better than the Bowery show? Was one of Nadia Comaneci's perfect 10's better than the other? How can you even compare this level of excellence?

By the end of the show, after coming out for a second encore, (I had been successfully duped into thinking they might not even come out for one), the band looked wiped. They were asking those remaining in the crowd (it was late, and Webster Hall can be tough to evacuate, so people often try and take off early) what else they could possibly play, begging us to let them go home so they could write more songs. They figured out one more they hadn't already done, and afterwards quietly, politely, and gratefully left the stage.

So, saying all that, I still think there will be plenty of backlash out there. I've already heard back from several people who were a bit disappointed with their show. I clearly was not. It's hard to live up to the hype, ya know? These guys continue to live up to and exceed it every time I get to see them. I'm excited to do it all again tonight. (minus Man Man, thank you.)

2005-02-01T17:26:00.000-05:00

What I'm listening to this week:

Slow news day. Here are the three albums getting the most play in my iPod this week. Keep in mind I dig EP's cause my commute is only about 25 minutes long.

Pinback - Summer in Abaddon

I just cant stop listening to this thing. And I know I'm late to the game here, with this album coming out sometime last year, but I never gave it a shot till just a couple weeks ago. To be honest, I think it sounds like Brand New meets Modest Mouse…and that’s a good thing. The First Modest Mouse CD I ever got obsessed with was "This Is a Long Drive...", and the opening Pinback track, Non Photo-Blue, sounds like a poppier outtake off that disc. Dark, brooding and angular, but with touch of Long Island mall-pop to keep it accessible. This is my favorite album of the moment.

The Decemberists - Five Songs EP
I think I've made it clear over the last two weeks that seeing Colin Meloy at the Fez had completely turned me into a huge Decemberists fan. I hear the songs differently and pay attention to the lyrics much closer. They are so well written and interestingly composed that I can completely overlook the fact that Colin’s voice is kinda nasal and annoying. That being said, I have been listening to all of their albums in a pretty constant rotation since those shows, and I have only singled this one out because it contains perhaps my favorite song right now, the epic "My Mother Was a Chinese Trapeze Artist."
I like songs that I can visualize. Nas always did a great job for me of telling a story I can picture in my head being played out. This track does the same thing. It works. An exceptional song on a solid EP from a very gifted songwriter.

I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness - EP

Very atmospheric and sharp. Interpol comparisons are inevitable, but they've really got quite a different thing going on. Interpol revels in it's simplicity with isolated, individual sounds, while these guys get a lot more going on all at once. I have a feeling this band will be around for a while, and I can't wait to hear a full-length release.

2005-02-01T09:59:00.000-05:00

The theme of the week is everybody blogs about the same thing...

Yesterday was the Coachella lineup. Today will be the news that Bloc Party tickets are now on sale.

Also, for those interested, Fiery Furnaces are on sale.

My bet is that Bloc Party will have sold out both nights by 1:00PM today. FF will last a while longer.

Tomorrow's topic, by the way, will be the Arcade Fire show recaps and reviews, and most likely we'll hear about how it didn't live up to anyone's expectations. There's gotta be some backlash, right?

In some zany blog news, "FUBAR" Justin has completely removed himself from his self made internet empire at ThatsJustNotRight.com Today. Something seems fishy here tho. There is some sort of controlling force...like a company that pays for bandwidth in return for ad revenues. Anyway, some of the regulars over there seem to think these guys have dragged the site down of late, forcing content to be posted in the sole interest of making money, and thereby taking the creative control out of Justin's hands. I don't really know what's going on here, but it's rotten for sure. What is this internet coming to when a simple kid from Michigan can't run a borderline kiddie-porn blog without the man getting his grubby hands all over it? It's a shame.

Developing...

2005-01-31T08:05:00.000-05:00

Monday

The Coachella lineup comes out today! Supposedly. I think the super-main acts are pretty much set (Coldplay and NIN...right?), but there'll be, hopefully, some surprises fer sure. Check out this site for the list of confirms so far, but by the time you read this, the official list may be out anyway.
UPDATE: It's out!!

Chill weekend...no shows, a few little get togethers. Had to go into work twice and played a lot of Resident Evil 4 otherwise.

By the time you read this, U2 tickets will most likely have gone on sale, and most likely have sold out. I have to admit that I have literally zero interest in these guys right now. Maybe it was all the hype overkill that numbed me last year, but, besides the secret show business (which was pretty cool) I just don’t care. Believe it or not, I haven't even listened to their new album yet. And it's not like I'm consciously avoiding it to make a point or something...There's just other stuff to get into out there these days. So I guess if you wanna kick your amateur scalping ring to the next level, now is the time, but otherwise, I'd save your $160 and go to like 20 other shows instead.

Coolfer lets us know that The Go! Team will be playing NYC and Brooklyn in March. Mercury Lounge on the 21st, and Southpaw(!) on the 22nd. I'm excited.

Joey told me last night that The Arcade Fire will be on Conan Tuesday night. How cool is that?? Sources say tickets on Craigslist are now going for nearly $75 a pop!

That's it for now. Gonna be a shitty week at work, but lots of great shows coming up.

2005-01-28T07:40:00.000-05:00

Hey! Did you hear Interpol on the OC last night!?

They just kind of slipped it in there...you had to have been really listening closely to have heard it.

Ok, I feel bad ragging on the show this week cause, despite the Evil overkill, it was a pretty great episode, with a good handful of music favs from 2004 thrown in there. (Portions for Foxes, Pretty (Ugly Before)). Most importantly, there were some semblances of a plot developing out of this near waste of a season. Every episode so far felt like it was wrapped up into a little package by the end of the hour, with no real interesting plot arches reaching across multiple episodes. Now we've got Sandy with the ex-love, Marissa and Alex exploring possibilities, and something finally interesting is going on between Seth and Summer that actually makes sense and advances their relationship. (When was the last time you actually cared about these guys till last night?) Yeah, there are still some quirks, like the whole Caleb thinking Ryan is only out for his money thing that came out of nowhere, and that they still don't know what to do with the Ryan and Lindsay relationship, but at least the show is finally moving along. I haven't looked forward to the next episode this much since the end of the last season. Hopefully this is a permanent change for the better.

For more analysis, check out Spinach Dip's weekly reviews.

Naturally the blogs were all over this article in the Post yesterday. I thought the best part was Jason from The Dark Room admitting he can't even stand going to his own bar on weekends because the Bridge and Tunnel take over. That's rough. But then we here about a murder on Rivington St., and everybody starts to think that maybe more rich people isn't the worst thing after all...

Spencer over at Golden Fiddle has a fantastic photo essay of a night at an Arcade Fire show...which barely consisted of any Arcade Fire at all. Brilliant.

So...Somehow I turned this crazy, show-every-night week into a pretty laid back stay-at-homefest. I've got a bit of downtime for the next few days, but then February 1st the city is back under the Arcade Fire's spell for two nights. After that there's Low, then Rouge Wave, then MIA, then the Superbowl, them much much much much more throughout the month. All in all, I've got plans so far to hit up a show at least 17 nights out of the 28 days of February. And I know I prolly seem crazy, but there is A LOT of really good shit coming to town next month. So what else is there to do but go see as much as you can?

March I guess isn't gonna be much quieter, and now I see that The Doves are playing Bowery Ballroom on the 15th! Holy moly. I would have expected them to be hitting up a much much bigger joint in NYC. They seemed like a "two nights at Irving" type of band to me. Anyway, Tickets go on sale today at Noon for a well worth it $25. What great news to start the weekend!

2005-01-27T14:27:00.000-05:00

A change of plans...

Quick cause I got tons of work to do...

The Thermals are playing at the Knitting Factory on March 22. More info here.

If you're looking for something to do tonight, check out Other Passengers, who are playing at Pianos along with Human Television and The Harlem Shakes. Bummer about DFA '79, but they'll be back soon for sure.

Other Passengers - In the Belly
Other Passengers - Theendisthebeginningistheend

I passed on CYHSY after all last night and stayed in. Watched a screener of In Good Company that my roommate had, which was ok, but not that great. Some nice Central Village on-location shots, which always get points in my book.

That’s it for now. More later if things settle down a bit around here.

2005-01-26T23:25:00.000-05:00

Uh oh...

Death From Above '79 has canceled their set at Mercury Lounge tomorrow night. You can get a refund at the point of purchase.

So um...anybody have an extra Bright Eyes ticket for me?

2005-01-26T15:46:00.000-05:00

The best $30 I ever lost?

It WAS for a good cause...But I read about the delays last night at Rothko that forced Ted Leo to only play 3 songs at around 1:00am. I would have been a miserable prick had I forced myself down there to wait around for 2 hours to hear the headliner play three songs. Shit, I was fast asleep by the time he even took the stage. I'm sorry everything didn't run smoothly, but I am damn glad I skipped out last night. Check out these guys if you wanna hear some first hand accounts of the evening.

Just noticed VHS or Beta and Ambulance Ltd. are playing Bowery on March 7th. Tickets are on sale now. I've been wanting to see VoB for a long time now, and Ambulance played some great new alt-country-esque songs during their set at Mercury Lounge a few weeks back. I think this will be a good show.

Pitty Sing released their album on Tuesday, and, despite what you think about those guys, you gotta admit they write some pretty catchy stuff. They're playing tonight at Rothko if you're interested.

I, however, am likely gonna head down to the final night of the Clap Your Hands... residency at Pianos. Check out some mp3's below. They sound great(Right-Click/Save):

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Lost and Found
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Details of the War
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Home On Ice

Enjoy!

2005-01-26T10:06:00.000-05:00

It was for a good cause...

I ended up staying home last night and eating my tickets to Ted Leo at Rothko. Didn't taste too bad cause I know it was going towards a worthy cause, but it still sucks. I just got home last night from work and simply didn't have the energy to go back out. Too bad. I'm sure it was a great show.

There's only one album I've listened to over the last few days besides the Decemberists, and it's Low's new disc, The Great Destroyer. Really great all the way through. Download the opening track, Monkey, Below:

Low - Monkey(Right-Click/Save)

You can also stream the entire album HERE. Highly recommended. Enjoy.

So, I've heard bad things about this U2 presale that apparently locked out a bunch of fans who had paid $40 for the fanclub. I would have thought, of all bands, U2 would have their shit together for this. Anyway, despite the presale issues...tickets to the public still haven't gone on sale yet (Monday 1/31 for the Garden). This guy is a class act tho...going on craigslist with possibly the worst seats in the Garden (sect. 404), and selling them for $270 each. I have no issues with a little scalping here and there, but this guy is pretty outrageous. Tho it's hard to have any sympathy for someone rich and ignorant enough to actually fall for this shit.

I got hooked into this Not Pron riddle shit for a solid hour last night and completely lost track of time. It's really really hard, but I got to the 6th page before just getting completely stuck and burnt out. Give it a shot if you got some time to kill. Remember to look everywhere on the page for clues, and (as far as I can tell) ignore the dating service popups.

Gotta run up to a meeting. We'll talk later.

2005-01-25T17:10:00.000-05:00

Just as I suspected...

Tickets go on sale Thursday @ 10:00.

2005-01-25T11:30:00.000-05:00

The Grumpy Edition...

Cold Pizza may be the worst show on television, but I usually watch it in the morning because it's tough to break out of a routine. This week, however, they brought in a guest host who is just the worst. A Mustachioed Canadian with no sense of timing or humor now runs the helm, and it is just painful to watch. I went over to CNN's American Morning today and caught Jack Cafferty, the long time Channel 11 anchor doing what appeared to be a daily segment. And what a way to start the day! You got a 60-something, seen-it-all newsman who sits in front of the camera for 5 minutes and bitches about the stupidity of society by reporting some offbeat news stories. Wow! What contrast to the normally perky, empty-headed fluff you normally get. I left the house this morning with a distrust and disappointment with humanity that I usually don't feel till much much later in the day. So thanks, ya old prick! Keeping America real at 8:45AM.

I just read that Petey Ex-Libertines is in love with Kate Moss, huh? I guess that’s cool. Anything to keep Peter going is a good thing. Hopefully Kate can help straighten him out.

For those heading down to SXSW, prolly the most anticipated news (at least for me, if I make it down) is where The Go! Team will play. Well, Torr reports that they will be opening for Embrace and Dogs Die In Hot Cars at a club called Buffalo Billiards. Sounds small. They'll be playing there on March 18th. Torr's prolly gonna be your best source for SXSW info in the coming months, so be sure to check back there often for showcase dates and locations.

Karen points out that The Futureheads have posted their new video for the awesome song 'Hounds of Love.' Second best song on the album behind Manray, IMO. Watch it here in Windows Media or Real.

Staying on the video tip, Beck's videogame-ish video can be seen here in WM and Real as well. His album will be out on March 29th.

I went to see Colin Meloy again last night. This time the place was completely packed, and I was relegated to literally sit on the end of the stage and peer around a mirrored column to watch the set. He was great, and played a similar, but slightly varied set from Saturday night. Check out Stereogum's nice review of last night, and Brooklyn Vegan's pictures from Saturday.

Colin also made a point to mention that he will return with the whole band to play 2 shows in May...One at Irving, and one at Warsaw. I'm looking forward.

Tonight I hope everybody comes to the Sarah Flynn Benefit show at Rothko. Here's the lineup:

11:00 PM - Ted Leo
10:15 PM - Benzos
9:30 PM - The Head Set
8:45 PM - Apollo Sunshine
8:00 PM - Countess Zapak featuring The Gill Scott-Heron Band 8:00 PM
Guest DJ James Murphy of DFA In Between sets & Late Night

If I'm feeling extra motivated, I'm gonna try and sneak over to Sin-e to catch Buck 65 real quick at 8:00. Gonna play it by ear tho.

2005-01-25T10:06:00.000-05:00

Welcome Firefox Users!

I've recently noticed that my sidebar was a bit of a clusterfuck when not being viewed on Internet Explorer. This was mostly due to me inventing my own html code and using the fictional "/BR" tag to designate a line break. IE saw through my improvisation, but Mozilla did not. I did a quick Google search and realized the slash is not supposed to be there, so I took it out and now everything looks peachy. Now if I could understand what all this "span style=font-weight" bullshit is, I'd be 100% explorer free. At home, at least.

2005-01-24T18:08:00.000-05:00

Okay...

Today was NOT so bad, despite what Janelle's article says. But the piece wasn't too far off. Last Wednesday was the worst I think. That's pretty close.

Anyway, There are a lot of shows coming up. I can't believe we're talking about May already...

U2 announced their tour. Thighs has the details, But they're playing one night only in NYC (so far) on May 21st (also 2 at the Medowlands). Tickets go on sale next Monday, but if I hear any further presale info, I will post. Rumor Mongers please note the big gap in the dates surrounding Coachella.

Also, the ghost of Productshop, via Stereogum, says New Order and Portishead are confirmed for the fete, along with others listed here. Again, the full list will be announced next Monday.

The Wicked sez that Tickets for The Wrens in Jerz are now on sale, as are the Kaiser Chiefs with the Prosaics at Northsix.

Aeki Tuesday posted the new Hot Hot Heat song last week...and I think it's pretty good. I played the shit out of Make up in the Breakdown two summers ago, so I'm excited to hear some new stuff. Word is they will play Bowery on March 9th. (UPDATE: Tickets on sale now) Right-Click/Save the new track Below:

Hot Hot Heat - Goodnight Goodnight

Got a ticket to Colin tonight. I rarely, if ever go see someone 2 nights in a row, so that says something about how much I enjoyed his set on Saturday. I even traded an Arcade Fire ticket straight up for it! Can't wait.

2005-01-24T08:29:00.000-05:00

The late to the party edition…

(via Cameraphone)

So…it snowed. The most since the infamous Blizzard of ’96. It didn’t seem nearly enough, ya know?

Friday night seems a long time ago, but I went down to check out Sea Ray’s final show at the Mercury Lounge . It was the first time I had ever actually seen them, but unfortunately and obviously, it will be the last. They were an incredibly exciting band to watch. Honestly one of the best live acts I’ve seen play there. I felt like I was watching something special come to an end there that night. I can now understand why they have garnered so much respect over the years, and it is too bad they were never able to extend their following to a larger audience. I wish them all luck in the future.

Brooklyn Vegan took some of the best pictures I’ve seen him take that night, so it you haven’t already, go check them out here.

Saturday I had a busy night, and it was multiplied by the snow and the cold. I went over to the Fez around 8 to catch Colin Meloy play his set, which was superb. I could never get into his older albums before, but somebody shot me his upcoming album a while back and I really really dig it. I might go as far to say it’s my favorite album of the year so far. He’s got this west-coast/elitist accent and demeanor that I found incredibly endearing. I get sick sometimes of the ‘poor me’ singer/songwriter type that’s always moping around, and it’s surprisingly refreshing to hear an enlightened, intelligent performer singing about stuff you’d more likely hear in a nineteenth century novel than on a stage in Greenwich Village. I really dig it, and have given his other stuff another chance. If anyone has an extra ticket for his late show tonight, I’d really like to go see him again. Please shoot me an e-mail if you do.

After the show, a friend and I went across the street to one of the nicest and most understated restaurants in the city, Five Points. Because of the snow we were able to walk right in and get a table no problem, and we had a quick late meal before adventuring down to Rothko to check out Jean Grae.

By the time we finally got down there, I was cold, exhausted and wet and not in the right mood to be pumping my fist and all that shit. We kinda stood by the back and watched her do her thing. Great personality and stage presence, but I felt like a bit of a downer and couldn’t really get into the whole thing.

Sunday I stayed in and watched football and played Trivial Pursuit with some friends. Also caught the new Iron Chef America, which was fun, and this new show on CBS, Numb3rs…Starring a full cast of “that guys” from Sports Night, Northern Exposure, 10 Things I hate About You, and Ally McBeal. Pretty good.

I spent a lot of time this weekend checking out some new albums…some of which will be coming out in the near future, some of which I never got a chance to listen to last year. Anyway…quickly:

The Bravery’s debut is EXACTLY what you’d expect if you’ve been following them for the last while. The album looks to run 10 songs at a little over 30 minutes total, which is way too short, but kinda expected for this stuff. There is one absolutely awful song that I think is new, one that sounds like a total Strokes rip-off, and then a bunch of familiar stuff which is remarkably catchy and well executed.

I also got around to finally checking out Pinback’s album from last year, which The Magic Carpet called her favorite album of 2004. I thought it was pretty great after one straight listen through.

I also got a peek at the Bright Eyes albums and Elkland’s upcoming LP, but I haven’t listened to either enough to really give an impression just yet.

This week is gonna be mad busy. Tonight I’d love to go see Colin Meloy again if I can find a ticket. Tuesday I will NOT be seeing Stella because I forgot to confirm my Ticketweb order once I realized tickets were back on sale. I will, however, be going to The Ted Leo, etc benefit show at Rothko, and maybe finally go see Buck 65 beforehand if I feel up to it. Wednesday I wanna go see Clap your hands… at Pianos and Thursday I’m gonna get my angry on with Death From Above ’79 and others, who have to be an improvement over the last time I saw them in England. Next weekend should be pretty chill.

2005-01-21T18:26:00.000-05:00

All the big news comes in on Friday night...

Staying on the Coachella Tip...Presale for tickets is going on this weekend. Tickets are $152. The Password is GOBI. They also stated the full lineup will be announced on Monday, January 31st. I'll see you there!

UPDATE: Oh, and as Brooklyn Vegan already said I said, Stella tickets are back on sale for their next two shows at the Fez on the 25th and the 1st...

2005-01-21T13:41:00.000-05:00

The Smiths are getting back together...

So they say...

I'll believe it when I'm there. And I will be there.

UPDATE: Lies...all Lies! (For those curious, Productshop admitted he had been duped shortly before his bandwidth ran out...)

2005-01-21T13:08:00.000-05:00

Mothers, be good to your daughters...

PLJ day 4 is in full effect. Three things I've realized this week...

1. John Mayer is played every 1 hour and 45 minutes like clockwork.
2. The Counting Crows are awful these days. August and Everything After was a lovely CD, but every time I hear one of their newer songs it makes my spine hurt.
3. I've been in denial all this time, but Keane is officially huge. I would have never expected them to live up to the hype, but they are soft rock GODS out in the FM radio mainstream. How bout that.

Anyway...

According to Cold Pizza...yeah I said ESPN2's Cold Pizza, The Beastie Boys' name drop bonanza "Letter to NYC" will be the theme song to EA Sports' upcoming game NBA Street Volume III. Rumor has it that Elkland's "Apart" will be the theme song to the next game in the street series, FIFA Street.

A big welcome back to The Magic Carpet, who took some personal time away from the blogesphere since November. She was listening and loving to The Arcade Fire open for The Wrens way back last February before you or I had ever heard of them...So believe me when I tell you she knows the good music when she hears it. Check her out if you haven't already.

The Sarah Flynn Benefit show at Rothko also has a corresponding auction. There's some really cool shit being sold over there, so if you're in a charitable mood, check it out.

Tonight the place to be is Sea Ray, who is playing their last show ever. They were once considered by some as the saviors of music and perhaps the best band in the world...But unfortunately the rest of the music listening population never gave them enough of a chance. They will be saying goodbye tonight. It is sure to be an emotional evening. Tickets are sold out.

Other options tonight is the sold out Mates of State/Regina Spektor Show at Bowery, and the sold out ...Trail of Dead show at Rothko. There's also a OMR recommended show at CBGB's tonight, tho I'm afraid I am not familiar with any of the bands.

Saturday night I'm gonna try and grab an early cancellation at some nice restaurant with the rents (due to the snowstorm...), then head to the Fez for some hott Meloy action. I love the Decemberists' new album, even tho Colin doesn't want me to sing along just yet. After that I'm shooting to Rothko to hear Jean Grae spit rhymes at her Midnight show. Busy Busy. Next week there are a ton of great bands playing in town, but I'll get to that as they come.

Have a great weekend.