July 30, 2012

Animal Collective - "Today's Supernatural"



Last night, Panda Bear stepped up to the table and DJed the first addition of Animal Collective Radio. During his set he premiered the first single off their new record Centipede Hz. Check out "Today's Supernatural" in the video above.

July 25, 2012

Wilco played Prospect Park

It has been quite a while since I found myself at the low end of the age spectrum at a show, but tonight that was certainly the case. For the second consecutive evening, Wilco sold out Brooklyn's Prospect Park and put on a dazzling display that highlighted their massive back catalogue. Perhaps the most quintessential Americana rock band of the past fifteen years, the band unleashed their polished blend of alt-country jams and straightforward indie-rock on a perfect summer evening. Deep cuts such as "Misunderstood,""I must Be High", and "Kingpin" were placed perfectly between new jams "I Might" and "Whole Love"while classics "Hummingbird", "Pot Kettle Black", and "I'm the Man Who Loves You" really got the crowd in high spirit. Nels Cline blazed through a wicked solo for "Impossible Germany" and the band kicked off the encore with a stellar "Via Chicago" complete with chaotic noise breakdowns. For a band that has been in heavy operation since the mid 1990s, Wilco show no signs of slowing down as they powered through for over two hours and appropriately included a track from their Mermaid Avenue project with Billy Bragg (appropriately timed for the 100th birthday of Woody Guthrie). To take out the first encore the band ripped through an extravagant "Monday", probably the most rocking and groove inducing track of the evening and transitioned gorgeously into "Outtasite (Outta Mind)". The classic band was in full form tonight and hit on all the touchstones of their discography proving that no matter how you label this band (country/jam/hippie/indie/rock), their top notch approach to song-writing is something special and worthy of their illustrious career.

Setlist:
I might
Misunderstood
Side With The Seeds
Pot Kettle Black
Hummingbird
Black Moon
Spiders
Impossible Germany
Born Alone
Wishful Thinking
Laminated Cat
Say You Miss Me
I Must Be High
Whole Love
Nothing'severgonnastandinmyway(again)
Radio Cure
Art of Almost
Dawned on Me
A Shot in the Arm
--
Via Chicago
Airline to Heaven
Walken
I'm the Man Who Loves You
Monday
Outtasite (Outta Mind)
--
Kingpin
Hoodoo Voodoo

July 7, 2012

Redd Kross and the Men played Music Hall of Williamsburg



Home town punks, the Men, joined a reunited Redd Kross as part of the inaugural CBGB Festival last night in Brooklyn. Although only a small crowd had assembled by the time the Men took the stage, the band blasted through charging anthems and roared through a set featuring new material from their forth coming record. The opening chords of "Turn It Around" really got people moving and the astounding transition into "Open Your Heart" didn't skip a beat and was without question the highlight of their show. Brooding bass plagued the band's sound, but did not stop them from unleashing a stellar set and their unabashed energy made up for whatever technical issues were keeping them down. When Redd Kross hit the stage, the room was feeling a little tighter and their sing-a-long anthems were met with a hearty reception. Often revered as the band that bridged the power-pop stylings of Big Star and Cheap Trick with the punk of Black Flag and influenced bands like Dinosaur Jr. and the Pixies, the veterans were out in full form last night and delivered a career spanning set from the classic Born Innocent right up to new tracks from their first album in fifteen years. Led by brothers Jeff and Steve McDonald, the California punks offered some witty banter between songs and talked about the joys of being in the band again. After discussing their self-proclaimed laziness of recent memory, the brothers opened up about their excitement of more touring in the future and their new found energy was apparent as they ripped through an extensive set and even returned for several encores that included a full performance of their first EP that the band recorded with Greg Hetson before he joined Bad Religion. The sugary sweet pop-punk blowouts proved that these aging rockers could still nail a slick guitar solo and Roy McDonald might be the most entertaining drummer in punk-rock as he never missed a chance to show off his drum stick twirling skills and still kept the band right on pace.

July 3, 2012

Dinosaur Jr. - "Watch the Corners"



Legends of the loudness, Dinosaur Jr., will return this fall with the third record in their reunion series and it will be called I Bet on Sky. That is the album art above, and below you can check out the first track up for grabs. Don't worry, J Mascis did not forget how to shred.