April 18, 2010

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart Played Other Music (Part of Record Store Day)

Aside from my birthday, Record Store Day may be my most looked forward to day of the year. It celebrates everything I love (bands, vinyl, performances) and packs it all into one awesome day. For the third year in a row independent record stores have celebrated this event with super limited releases, re-issues, and other awesome merchandise from genre crossing artists and labels. This year I picked up a Neil Young 7", a MC5 7", and a re-issue of the epic Modest Mouse classic The Moon and Antarctica on double 180 gram vinyl. To top the day off I headed back to NYC hot spot Other Music to catch an intimate performance of The Drums and The Pains of Being Pure at Heart. These aren't the types of shows I attend to see amazing performances, but merely to be a part of such a unique experience. The reconfigured store was jam packed with fans as the two bands ripped through their respective sets. TPOBPAH were my main draw for the evening as I have missed seeing them in the past and couldn't resist a FREE chance to see them up close. They rocked through lush, keyboard heavy, dream-pop that cracked the tiny speakers in the shop when the jangly guitar recalled 80s feelings of the Smiths and Jesus and Mary Chain. Favorites such as "Teenager in Love" and "This Love Is Fucking Right" were accompanied by new tunes that challenged the awesomeness of their previous numbers. In between songs the band mentioned their love for the store and the whole record day experience showing just how much this day can really bring together a community of people.

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