Live Pick: Monday, June 21
Monday, 6.21 - Ted Leo & the Pharmacists, Titus Andronicus @ Kearny Irish American Association - 7:00 PM - All Ages - $15
Phoenix: Best Pop Band Alive
Phoenix
Music Hall of Williamsburg, 6.18.09
Mid-set, Phoenix singer Thomas Mars laid down down on the carpeted floor of the stage at Music Hall of Williamsburg, with his head resting on the monitor. Meanwhile, his bandmates began crafting the opening sounds of "Love Like a Sunset"—the mostly instrumental centerpiece of the band's new record Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix. Mars continued to lay, as the song built up further and further, until finally Mars took to his feet for the second movement. As the instrumentation calmed, in came his voice, and just like it is on record, the moment felt like a truly glorious event. The song relies on a certain listener patience that few other Phoenix songs require, but the reward is bigger than anything else they've ever created.
From the moment the took the stage and ripped through the infectious trio of "Listztomania," "Long Distance Call" and "Consolation Prizes," it was already one of the best shows of the year, and then the band continued through its set, playing the best songs in its catalog, even the oddball older track "Funky Squaredance."
The band left fans with little time to rest their dancing feet, as it sped through fantastic pop song after pop song, pacing itself well, and making that excellent choice of allowing "Love Like a Sunset" to act as the centerpiece of the set, just as it is on the record.
Phoenix had me hooked with the 2000 debut United—which contains the undeniably great "Too Young"—but only now with a fourth record is the French band finally getting the type of attention they deserve.
After finally seeing the band live, after all these years, I have no problem declaring that Phoenix is the best pop band currently making rock music. Like a dancier version of The Strokes with a silken-voiced singer, Phoenix's last two records are completely loaded with potential smash hits, and there's plenty enough depth to the songs for them to retain their value after repeated listens.
Tonight, Phoenix plays the much larger Terminal 5, and as much as I dislike the place, it's going to be another conquest for Phoenix, on the road to larger success. Then on Sept. 25, the band headlines a much larger concert at Central Park's Rumsey Playfield—proof that Phoenix are no longer the most underrated band in the world.
The Jealous Girlfriends - Holly Miranda = New Numbers
In late 2008 Holly Miranda launched a solo career that seemed to quickly rise to the same level as her band The Jealous Girlfriends, if not higher. While Holly has been playing and catching the attention of The New York Times, the other two thirds of The Jealous Girlfriends have been working on a new band named New Numbers. Sure, it's a boring name, but the music that Josh Abbott and Mike Fadem are creating is as good as anything they did with The Jealous Girlfriends, despite the lack of Miranda's sweet voice.
If you don't believe me, then you can find out for yourself, because the band is offering their Islands EP online for free download here. The title track is a really excellent rocker with a great shoegaze guitar howl.
Northside Festival: There to Fill the Gaps in My Otherwise Uneventful Weekend
I'm a loner, a loser, a music geek, and a lonely soul. I often go to concerts to fill up the gaps between work and sleep, so not to be alone with my overactive psychological mind that has the tendency of breaking me down to pieces and attempting to bury me in a combined state of boredom and melancholy.
Music, live and recorded, has been consistently been my refuge from the more somber elements of existence, and festivals can provide the type of overloaded assault that fills every open space of free time over an entire weekend.
If not for my rather unappealing personality traits, I'd probably have had something more to do on a rather beautiful weekend than see a bunch of bands no one's heard of. But that's not who I am, so whenever boredom /psychological meltdown started to run its course over my brain, I left my apartment to find the most appealing collection of bands playing a small space where I could show up with my little badge and enter without charge. In this process, I saw Ivana XL, Tune Yards, Motel Motel, Laura Gibson, The Dodos, Dinosaur Feathers, Wild Yaks, Murder Mystery and a few other bands, acting more as a social medicine than pleasure provider.
I began my career in music publishing as an intern for CMJ back in 2003. With the CMJ Music Marathon about the sweep through NYC, it was a hectic time, during which I got a close glimpse at exactly what it takes to put on such a large-scale event.
This year, L Magazine decided to take a stab at the festival circuit, though on a smaller scale than something like CMJ or SXSW. It still not an easy thing to pull off, and so the people who put in the surely endless hours in making it happen should be proud. For their first year at it, it was incredibly smooth from my exterior perspective.
Taking over the venues of Brooklyn's core scene in Williamsburg and Greenpoint, there was indie music being played on seemingly every block of Williamsburg, and even on the street at Bedford Avenue. Blogs and promoters curated concerts containing a bunch of their favorite unknown bands, while a few major acts provided a couple big names to act as headliners at larger venues Music Hall of Williamsburg and Studio B.
And though I feel that the Northside Festival organizers should be very pleased with their first attempt, I do have some criticisms/suggestions.
Brooklyn is easily the most loaded music scene in the country—home of TV on the Radio, Dirty Projectors, Grizzly Bear, MIA, The Walkmen, Stellastarr, St. Vincent and loads of other bands—and yet Northside festival was really lacking in established local acts. The Hold Steady provided the only big local name. It's not that I expect them to have the elite local bands for the first year of their festival, but even a lot of second-tier names were lacking form the festival. Holly Miranda, White Rabbits, Harlem Shakes, Vivian Girls, The Forms, Right on Dynamite, So So Glos, Parts & Labor—none of these bands were represented either.
Sunset Rubdown, Tallest Man on Earth, Bill Callahan, The Dodos and Ponytail are all bands I have nothing but love for, but I really like the idea of turning Northside Festival into a full on celebration of the local music scene. Even many of the small bands on the lineup were from out of town.
Maybe this is an idealistic notion, and having a bunch of bands you can see pretty regularly at a local club isn't going to generate much excitement, but Northside Festival hardly excited me enough to pry me away from better shows that weren't affiliated with the festival. On Thursday I saw Robyn Hitchcock at Bell House, Friday I saw School of Seven Bells at Bowery, Saturday I was back to Bowery for Tallest Man on Earth and John Vanderslice. This goes to show that Northside Festival lacked that ability to generate the type of excitement needed to compete with Manhattan and the other parts of Brooklyn. Even powerful show promoter Todd P opted to put on a huge show on Sunday, pulling a huge chunk of potential showgoers from Saturday's Northside festivities.
A friend made an incredibly good point about the festival late Sunday night: What Northside Festival lacked more than anything was Buzz Bands—the type of bands that are still playing small shows, but the blogs have begun to hype. These are the type of bands that generate excitement, because fans want to see the next big thing before everyone else cacthed on. Bands like Crystal Antlers, Women and Marnie Stern were what drove fans to CMJ in October. Northside Festival had current buzz band Cymbals Eat Guitars, but aside from them, it seemed to be either unknown bands and a couple well known headliners from play quite frequently.
Over the course of Northside Festival, I really didn't see much, but I was really impressed with Dinosaur Feathers' set last night at Public Assembly. With tight poppy songwriting, along with the type of light tropical vibes that make Ruby Suns and High Places so pleasant, Dinosaur Feathers look like they'll be one of Brooklyn's best bands in no time.
Ps. Why wasn't Warsaw involved with Northside Festival? Their homemade pierogis would have been an excellent addition to the festival.
The Tallest Man on Earth is Getting Even Bigger
The Tallest Man on Earth/John Vanderslice
Bowery Ballroom, 6.13.09
A man standing alone on stage, armed only with his acoustic guitar and his words, has to be good, or the crowd will quickly turn against him. Each additional musician filling the stage is an extra level of protection for a man about to lay his soul on the line. They help divide the focus of the crowd. Place an attractive female on that stage and all of a sudden eyes are just as locked onto her as the man with the microphone.
Kristian Matsson, a relatively short Swedish folk singer goes by the name The Tallest Man on Earth, and when he took the stage at Bowery Ballroom on Saturday night, he might as well have been. He seemed to feed off of the undivided attention laid upon him. He exerted a commanding presence that is hard to accomplish, especially when still building a following. But there was something about the way Matsson engaged his crowd with an intense eye contact, and more importantly, masterfully written songs.
When I was walking along Delancey following the show, I overheard someone joke "I really like that song. You know the one he played over and over." I guess this is a common assessment of lyrical songwriters—I've even heard this complaint about Bob Dylan. There will probably never be another songwriter quite as brilliant as Bob Dylan, and while every year another singer-songwriter is given the unfair title of "the next Dylan," The Tallest Man on Earth is definitely the closest thing I've seen in a long time. Like Dylan, Mattson knows how to tell an engaging story through well crafted prose, all while never losing his musical focus.
With songs loaded with substance, and his ability to command a large crowd, while standing alone on a dark stage, The Tallest Man on Earth has a bright future ahead of him.
Dividing tour headline duties with The Tallest Man on Earth, John Vanderslice opened Saturday night's Bowery Ballroom concert, after headlining Music Hall of Williamsburg the previous night. Vanderslice has always been been one of the most underrated indie musicians since since crafting his debut "Mass Suicide Occult Figurines" in 2000. Despite the critical acclaim his received over the years, he's never quite become a household name. "Romanian Names," his new record and first on the Dead Oceans label (which I consider the best label in music currently), is his best to date. The songs are consistently great from start to finish, and during his set at Bowery Ballroom, they were definitely the highlights, especially The Shins-like "Fetal Horses."
The Next Song Was Written Before Youtube
Robyn Hitchcock & The Venus 3
Bell House, 6.11.09
Anytime you're in the presence of a legend, a special feeling takes hold of you.
The first music icon I ever saw perform was Paul Westerberg. Performing solo acoustic at Virgin Megastore, the former Replacements frontman could do no wrong, even if he forgot the words to a few of his own songs. The man wrote "Unsatisfied" for God's sake.
On Thursday night at Bell House, I stood only inches from a stage upon which stood Robyn Hitchcock, Peter Buck (R.E.M.), Scott McCaughey (Young Fresh Fellows), and Bill Rieflin (Ministry), as they performed as Robyn Hitchcock & The Venus 3. Everyone in America knows Peter Buck from his work as guitarist for REM, but the night was about Hitchcock, who has not gotten enough respect for his influence as a songwriter both solo and with the Soft Boys.
That said, Bell House was packed full of true fans, who seemed totally in tune with his entire prolific catalog from "Black Snake Diamond Role" to the brand new "Goodnight Oslo." On Wednesday, the band played the far larger Radio City Music Hall as opener for The Decemberists, so the much more intimate setting of Bell House, along with the role as headliner gave longtime fans a much better setting to experience the legendary songwriter.
The long set, full of classics including a 1-2 punch of "Vibrating" and "Flesh Number 1" resulted in 2 encores for which Robyn Hitchcock were joined by Ken Stringfellow (Posies). Fans were given a really special treat with covers of The Kinks' "Waterloo Sunset" and The Doors' "Roadhouse Blues."
Throughout the set Hitchcock told us humorously abstract stories as lead ins into his songs. And despite their experience and technical skills, the band even showed a little flawed humanity when Peter Buck accidentally began playing the intro for the wrong song. Even the best of us make mistakes.
If you failed to make it, you also missed such gems as "Adventure Rocket Ship," "Television," "Brenda's Iron Sledge," and "Up To Our Nex."
Bigger and Bolder Bells
Benjamin Curtis discusses the future of School of Seven Bells
“The School of the Seven Bells is a legendary, possibly apocryphal, and deliciously plausible school, said to be based in Colombia. Pickpocketing is largely a skilled combination of timing, and distraction, but South American pickpockets are particularly notorious.
There is, of course, an exam. Thieves-to-be are faced with a mannequin (or even a teacher) in a man’s suit, strewn with pockets, and rigged up with seven strategically placed bells. They must pick the mark clean, without ringing a single bell.”
—CoolThingsinRandomPlaces.com
There is a certain mystical element to the origins and existence of such a school, so it’s appropriate that the band, which has taken this name to represent its musical product, creates a mystical sea of sound.
A pickpocket, however, must operate in stealth, whereas within seconds of a School of Seven Bells concert beginning, fans are completely engulfed by the wall of sound created by guitarist Benjamin Curtis and twin sisters Ally and Claudia Deheza. It’s incredible how full the trio can sound, but then again, Curtis was building sound sculptures the size of the Grand Canyon with Secret Machines before leaving to pursue SVIIB.
Having been on the road for the bulk of 2009, SVIIB finally returns home for a headlining gig at Bowery Ballroom on Friday night with hometown bands Violens and Apache Beat.
New York Press talked to Benjamin Curtis about touring, possible collaborations, and what to expect the band’s sophomore record to sound like.
I have read that the name School of Seven Bells is derived from the name of a notorious Columbian pickpocket academy. Have any of you been victimized by a pickpocket?
Benjamin Curtis: I don’t think so, but who knows. I personally am really bad about misplacing things, so I usually blame myself before I jump to any conclusions.
What is the biggest challenge in taking the sounds of your record to the live setting with only three members? Have you considered adding a live drummer/extending your lineup?
We've actually been on a long process of shrinking our lineup. When we started we had five people playing live, but something just wasn't right. We soon realized that the chemistry of the people performing is probably 90% of what makes a band great, and at the moment, the harmony of the three of us on stage playing our music is really special. We make a surprising amount of noise between the three of us as well, which was a great discovery. For the future, I can't make any promises. We've got a million ideas, and a million plans. As soon as we have the means, we'd love to experiment with all types of instrumentation while playing with musicians we love, but I don't think the typical rock band formula will be a possibility any time soon.
Some bands prefer to always be on the road, others prefer the studio. Where are you at your happiest?
It depends on what day you ask, really. Some days we wake up in such incredible places, and feel so lucky to be doing what we're doing. On the other hand, traveling can be really draining. We've been working out of our home studio in Brooklyn, so after playing 70 shows on this past tour, home seems like a really great place to be at the moment. I love NYC.
I've seen you play venues as varied in size as Mercury Lounge, Webster Hall and Terminal 5. How big of a difference is it to play in front of 500 people or 100 people? When are you at your most comfortable?
Smaller venues tend to be more stressful, believe it or not! Something about somebody standing 5 feet away from you, watching your every move, is more intimidating than 1,000 people who seem miles away. There's also something so satisfying about hearing our music coming out of a massive speaker system, and that can only really happen in a bigger place.
You formed as a band as a result of touring together when you were in the bands On! Air! Library! and Secret Machines. Are there any musicians you've toured with as members of SVIIB that you'd like to collaborate with?
Sarah Jones, who was drumming with Bat For Lashes, is one of the most amazing drummers we've ever seen. If we were ever going to play with one, it would have to be her. We were lucky enough to have Simone Pace from Blonde Redhead play on our record, which was cool. Niki Randa from Blank Blue also sang on “Prince of Peace,” so we definitely have a history of post-tour collaborations.
What has been the most interesting thing to happen to you on this current long stretch of touring?
Getting our van stuck in a dirt road on the top of the Alps was exciting, for sure. Everyday is bizarre in it's own way, I can assure you.
You're currently working on your follow up to Alpinisms. What should fans expect musically?
I think a bigger and bolder record is on the way. We're so much better at doing what we do after playing live so much this year. When we made our record we never really considered how it would be interpreted live, and things have gotten heavier and louder and, in my opinion, more beautiful all around, so I'm ready for people to hear more of that side of us.
What's presently inspiring you creatively?
Sleep, travel, each other, and playing live. There's always plenty to be inspired by.
Dynamite Blows Up
Catching up with Right on Dynamite
When I first saw Right On Dynamite a few years ago, it was just another Brooklyn band struggling to find its sound and place in a very tough scene to crack. This is a band that’s not had the overnight success of MGMT or Vampire Weekend.
Right On Dynamite has played gig after gig in front of small crowds at pretty much every venue in town. Many bands can fall to the crippling nature of elusive success after putting in so much work, but overnight success would have done it no good. The struggle has made the band humble, and most importantly it's allowed it to really develop its sound. All of a sudden, Right on Dynamite has quietly become one of New York’s best bands, harnessing poppy '60s melodies and combining them post-pavement guitar-driven indie rock.
In 2008, people finally started to take notice when Right On Dynamite was selected to play opening dates for Frightened Rabbit, but that's only the tip of the iceberg because the band will soon have the honor of opening for four nights of the upcoming Hold Steady tour in June, after Friday's concert at Music Hall of Williamsburg with Love Is All. Such an opportunity will most certainly help the band reach a load of new fans.
Recently, Right On Dynamite has been very busy, recording a Daytrotter session during a trip to SXSW, helping celebrate the conclusion of 100 bands in 100 nights, and most recently spending a Sunday afternoon at Living to play a Kidrockers show, but I was able to get them to talk a little about kids, the past and, most importantly, the music.
Kids ask the darndest things, and at your recent Kidrockers show you fielded some questions from the tots. What are some of the questions the kids asked you guys, and can you answer them for us?
Dan: They asked us a bunch of different ways how we became a band. It was almost like a deposition or something, each kid has his own way of phrasing the question.
Nick: Yeah, I really like kids asking us questions. They were quite interesting. One very little one mustered up the courage to ask us when we would break up! Ha, I think I just laughed, stated that it was a very good question, and kicked a balloon.
Did you go to any cool shows when you were kids? Who's the first band you ever saw live?
D: Na, my childhood sucked for music, I was a late bloomer, probably the first show I saw was Ringo with Nicky when we were like 13.
N: And what a show it was! Jack Bruce on bass... yes, yes wonderful.
When and where was the first show you played as a band? Who else played?
R.o.D.: We played our first show in the basement of this Italian restaurant called L'asso on the Lower East Side. We played with Americans and Aloke. I remember the pizza was delicious.
How excited are you to be playing show with The Hold Steady?
R.o.D.: So fucking excited—they are such a great band, and one that we have really dug for a long time now.
You recently recorded a Daytrotter session with a bunch of new songs. Will we be seeing any more new recordings from you anytime soon?
D: Yes, the plan is we are going to record in the fall—a full album this time.
N: With 14 bonus tracks
How would you describe your sound? Who are your biggest influences?
D: I'd like it to be more jammy, experimental indie pop, it's getting there, it's what we do live and in practice, but we haven't got it down on a record just yet. My influences are probably Beatles, Kinks, Dinosaur Jr., Pavement, The Clash, Led Zeppelin. I like punk and indie but I like guitars—a lot.
N: Daniel pretty much nailed the first part of the question for me, as far as influences go, us three Dynamites are influences by nothing but the most brilliant shit out there.
>Right on Dynamite
June 5, with Love is All, Real Estate, Sean Bones; Music Hall of Williamsburg, 66 North Six Street, Brooklyn; 8pm, $13a/15d
June 8, with The Hold Steady; Bowery Ballroom, 6 Delancey Street, New York; 8pm, $20
Live Pick: Friday, June 6
Friday, 6.5 - Love is All, Real Estate, Right on Dynamite, Sean Bones @ Music Hall of Williamsburg - 8:00 PM - 18+ - $13a/15d
The Next Big Thing
The Drums
The Annex, 6.3.09
Sometimes you forget that music can be happy.
Stricken with manic depression and lost in a haze of allergy drowse, for a week and a half, I've been a drag, in a serious rut. As with many people, the music I listen to reflects my moods, and most of my recent hours have been spent drifting off to the sounds of Red House Painters. Mark Kozelek's slow, dreary acoustic tunes may or may enhance the feeling of melancholy, but they are also there to connect with and accompany me down the hole, providing a dim light to an otherwise black abyss.
As the allergies began to settle a day or two ago, so did the frequency of my listening to Red House Painters. John Vanderslice's amazing new record Romanian Names began taking over my listening time, but I still had a ways to go.
Wednesday had the makings of another somber night—dark and rainy, and preceded by another drab day at the office. Sitting at home, drinking a beer, and watching Singles, I somehow found the motivation to leave my apartment, venture out into the rain, and catch my friends The Stationary Set play a show at The Annex. Their great, but all too brief set was a solid first step towards a good night, but I still had a decent trip ahead of me.
Following The Stationary Set's performance, I ran over to Pianos to catch the tail end of Twi The Humble Feather's set and mainly to see this month's residency artist, Julianna Barwick. Knowing little about Barwick aside from a breif sampling on myspace, I had no idea what to expect. Standing alone on stage behind a table of sequencers and vocal effects, while video projected behind her, Barwick built beautiful atmospheric songs out of layer upon layer of vocal loops. Clearly influenced by Björk, Barwick's performance and songs may not have the energy of Iceland's greatest musician, but her music is definitely something really special.
Leaving Pianos, I felt pretty satisfied about my decision to get out of my apartment for the night, and I drifted back over to The Annex to catch The Drums. Upon my return, the small L.E.S. venue was packed with Gossip Girl fans and friends who were there for Pretty Reckless—a band containing Gossip Girl star Taylor Momsen. I don't watch Gossip Girl, nor would I see a band just because an actor is a member, so I didn't mind catching only the tail end of their final song.
Minutes later, The Drums took the stage. From start to finish, they play a totally refreshing set that shed a bright joyful light over the entire room. It's not that they have an original sound—they don't at all—but what they do have is that indescribable special something. There's no question at all that former Elkland singer Jonathan Pierce's new band is going to be immensely popular before the summer is over. Their simple, yet infectiously catchy songs about things like surfing marry the fun of '50s surf rock with the energy of 80s synth pop. Comparisons to The Killers first record and New Zealand's Cut Off Your Hands will definitely dominate reviews of The Drums, and that's not a bad thing. Further enhancing their set was Pierce's performance. Dancing throughout the entire set, Pierce's vocals and presence exude a feeling of bliss that envelopes a crowd.
This is exactly what I needed. When the backlash happens, critics will come down on The Drums for not being original, and for playing songs that lack the literal prowess of other indie bands, but sometimes after watching 9 or 10 existential foreign indie films, it's really great to watch Kindergarten Cop.
The Drums will be joined by locals Zambri when they return to The Annex to continue their residency next Wednesday, June 10. I highly recommend catching them now, before everyone catches on and they begin headlining larger capacity venues.
I Was A King Made NYC Debut
I Was a King
Union Hall, 5.31.09
By the time, singer Frode Strømstads introduced "Norman Bleik" as the next song, it was more than clear that Norway's I Was a King is heavily influenced by Teenage Fanclub. And how could you blame them really? Norman Blake and co. have written some of the best songs of the last two decades. As I Was A King's homage to Teenage Fanclub "Norman Bleik" was a good one. They seemed to get the sound just right, and it was possibly the best song of their set on Sunday night at Union Hall.
At first glance,the set list looked pretty long, but that was put in perspective by the brevity of the songs. Short songs were one of the defining qualities of another of the band's greatest influences, Guided By Voices.
I Was a King wears their influences on their sleeves, and Guided by Voices and Teenage Fanclub are a good foundation for any new band. The Norwegian's don't quite have that special something of either of those 90s rock icons, but with the foundation built, they have the potential for really good things in the future.
