Ariel Lask played Kenny's Castaway

When I moved to New York four years ago I thought I would be seeing friends play shows all over the city all the time. However, as time has progressed that has turned out to not be the case. I've seen select shows by people I am friends with, but instead many by signed artists. Last night I joined my roommate in heading downtown to see one of our friends play an intimate gig on Bleeker. Despite the terrible band that went on before, the evening was great. Ariel Lask played her folk-pop tunes to a non-inviting audience, but powered through the show with a smile. The songs about love, living abroad, and discovering yourself were complimented by her low voice that was rather reminiscent of the recent British Pop sensation Adele, but you know... better. While the atmosphere was not up to par with letting Lask shine through, she held her own and joked along the entire set. The simple songs were in stark contrast to the metal act on before her, yet she was able to captivate her audience and capture the mood of a final Thursday evening in New York City.

Girl Talk played Williamsburg Waterfront

This has been a strange and long summer filled with travel and life changing experiences. Most of it took place away from the city, hence the lack of posts over the past month. However I am now back in the city for quite some time and ready to get back to the rock. One of the things I always miss about New York in the summer is that I miss all the free shit. Since yesterday was my first Sunday in the city my roommates and I headed to Brooklyn for the free Girl Talk show on the waterfront. Now say what you will about Girl Talk, essentially it is just a guy on a lap top, but the dude knows how to party. The day started off a little slow with a super long line to get in, another long line for beer, and they were out of food before the second act even finished. Even once Girl Talk took the stage things seemed to be a little off. The crowd was not dancing and the hipsters just bobbed along. However once the tunes started bumping it was hard to stand still. Classic pop songs layered over indie guitars and hip-hop made for a perfect summertime jam. He covered everything from Daft Punk to Journey to The Cranberries. Halfway through the show rain began to fall, but that did not stop the people from moving. There were a few times when the show stopped due to Girl Talk's backstage pass hitting his space bar, cords getting unplugged, and then the stage began to brake from all the people dancing. Yet it was nothing the crowd could not handle. When the sample of "Since U Been Gone" began to play everyone went nuts and the finale of Notorious B.I.G. over "Tiny Dancer" was a personal highlight. Not even the heat could keep people from dancing and crowd surfing to the biggest outdoor dance party of the summer.

Dinosaur Jr. Played Music Hall of Williamsburg

While many were out mourning the beloved King of Pop, Fareed and I headed to Brooklyn to endure one of the loudest show of our lives. We made excellent time and only missed the beginning of the Screaming Females set. This band has soared to new popularity in the past months as they have grown from a New Jersey basement band to opening shows for the Dead Weather. Fareed was highly anticipating their set and I was unfamiliar with their work, but was hooked by the time they slumped off stage. The thrio brought grunge (Fareed made an imediate Nirvana relation) and alt. rock to modern times and were a great set up for Dinosaur Jr. The lead singer thrashed the guitar and jolted around stage in true rock form. Her skills were fully displayed in a sense that almost equalled Sir J Masics himself. As Dinosaur Jr. took to the stage I was anxious as the epic erray of Marshall stacks loomed over the stage. As soon as they plugged in, the fuzz soared and the guys never looked back. They plowed through their entire catalouge and did so with every sense of ease. This is what they were made to do; come to the stage and bring the rock without any cause for concern what so ever. Just turn the amps up to 11 and never stop. Not even for a request of "Billie Jean."

Lung
I Want You to Know
Imagination Blind
Wagon
Pieces
Plans
Pick Me Up
Out There
Feel the Pain
Over It
Back to Your Heart
Forget the Swan
Freak Scene
Raisans
--
Tarpit
Been There All the Time

Japandroids - Live on KEXP

Canadian noise-rockers Japandroids stopped by Seattle's KEXP to perform some songs from their kick ass debut album Post-Nothing, one of the year's best new albums. These guys fuse great guitar fuzz and blasting drums that mix pop-punk/hardcore/and once again shoegaze. While I am getting a little sick of this "noise/tropical-punk" phase these guys bring something refreshing to the table. Pitchfork, who also likes the album, posted this video of the guys.

Zack Morris Does Jimmy Fallon

I know this is a little late but here's to hoping for a full on "Saved By The Bell" reunion and more performances of "Friends Forever." Also major credit to Mark-Paul Gosselaar for going full out in this interview.

Dirty Projectors - "Stillness Is The Move"

When I saw Dirty Projectors open for Battles last spring in London I will admit that I was less the amazed. I was unsure of what to think after their set and somewhat disappointed due to their hype. Recently some these guys have been getting some heavy blog press so I gave their album Bitte Orca a listen and have had a complete change of heart. Their sound is so fresh and different from everything happening right now. The first single "Stillness Is The Move" was released in April and has been on heavy rotation for me as of late. The twangy guitar, off kilter drum beats, R&B influence, and killer vocal work all come together so well. This song is just one off many classics on the album. They currently are on tour with fellow Brooklyn band TV on the Radio and will play a free show in July.

mp3: Dirty Projectors - "Stillness Is The Move" (Live at SXSW)

Grizzly Bear played Town Hall

This band has been dominating my blog and life as of late. Their new album has been one of my most anticipated of the year and when it leaked in March I will admit that it did not live up to my expectation. However when the video for "Two Weeks" came out last week my hopes were once again elevated. On Tuesday I made my way to Other Music and purchased the album on vinyl and downloaded the legitimate version. Since then this album has been on repeat and gotten better with each listen. Everything culminated last night with their first of three New York shows. We arrived just after the opening act had finished and patiently waited for Grizzly Bear to take the stage. When the lights dimmed the four men walked onstage in matching outfits and quietly began to do what they do best. These guys put so much painstaking time into their music and the venue really let them play to perfection. The acoustics were amazing and really let these guys showcase their amazing talent. Quickly they launched into three tracks off Veckatimest and I was already won over. "Cheerleader" has been growing as one of my favorite tracks, but it was "Fine For Now" which really blew me away. In particular the guitar work of Rossen on these two tracks and "I Live With You" were astounding, but it was Chris Bear's flawless percussion that stole the show for me. I cannot think of another drummer that plays to such perfection as this man and I strongly encourage every fan to pay attention to the work this man has been putting on these albums. The only old tune of the night was "Service Bell" which they brilliantly transitioned into "Knife". The lighting of the show was especially aesthetically pleasing and Ed made note to tell us that was specially for New York. Overall these guys fully proved what makes them such a great band in today's modern music world. Their delicate precision and exquisite layering of their songs comes across brilliantly when performed live. In addition to thier own brilliance, they were backed by the Brooklyn Youth Chorus which only added an angelic nature to the performance and easily took songs to another level. They played far fewer tracks from Yellow House, but the cover of "He Hit Me" starting off the encore really sealed the deal on the entire evening.

Set-list:
southern point
cheerleader
fine for now
service bell ->
knife
little brother (electric)
two weeks
colorado
ready, able
i live with you
foreground
while you wait for the others
--
he hit me
on a neck, on a spit

Grizzly Bear - "Two Weeks"

This song made its debut on Letterman almost a year ago. Since then I have watched that video, listened to the mp3, seen the song live, and then finally listened to the leaked version numerous times. Yet, I have still yet to grow tired of it. This song showcases so many of the bands talents and still has the ability to sound fresh almost a year after I've been listening to it. Next Tuesday the band will finally release Veckatimest, this single is already out, and next Thursday the band begins a three show run here in New York. The first two are at Town Hall followed by a much more intimate gig at Music Hall of Williamsburg.

The Libertines Reunite

Apparently during the wee hours of Sunday morning, 3/4 of the Libertines gathered onstage for the first time since their split in 2004. The guys whipped through a brief, but I'm sure amazing, six song set. These guys rose to huge fame in England earlier in the decade with the whole garage rock revival, but for some reason they never seemed to hit it big over here in the states. Here's to hoping these guys have worked out their issues and can plan a full on reunion.



When I saw a show in London last January some Libertines tunes were played before hand and the crowd was stoked. It was nice to finally be around people who had a great appreciation for this band. I can only imagine what it would've been like to be at this.

The Get Up Kids played the Gramercy Theater

After the Get Up Kids called it quits in 2005 I was devastated that I would never get to hear "Mass Pike" played live in my home state; I can only imagine what it must have been like when they played it for the last time at the Palladium in Worcester. Well now only part of that is true. When I heard that these guys were reforming and playing some shows I knew I had to attend. Luckily I was able to find a ticket off of craigslist since it sold out so fast. When I arrived at the show I immediately headed downstairs to check out the merch table and as I anticipated there was a show poster, which I instantly purchased. The poster listed the show as the Get Up Kids and a band called Motzahs Ballzes, someone I had never heard. As the lights dimmed and I was hoping this band would play a short set so we could get to the good stuff. Yet as soon as they walked onstage I was beyong shocked to realize that infact this was Brand New, mearly listed under a false name, that was opening the show. After my utter shock rapidly turned into rampant excitement I was treated to a short set y another one of my favorite bands from high school. These guys haven't performed in a while and their sound was a little off, but I was so stoked to see these guys. While the set consisted heavily of material from their third record they threw in so classics from Deja and finally ended with "Seventy Times Seven" which proved to be a crowd pleaser even to people not expecting, or probably wanting, to see this band. After a quick set change it was on to the main event. The Get Up Kids took the stage and began to plow through hit after hit of their classic work. While four years is not a long time to be apart these guys were still as tight and solid as I would have believed them to be in their prime. The crowd was so enthused during the whole show and sang along to every song. That is what I miss the most about these emo/pop-punk shows that shaped my high school life. These are the bands that are just fucking fun to see and everyone gets so excited. There were numerous times when the crowd took over and just sang in place of the band; althought Matt Pryor's voice was still killer and has not aged at all. He still nailed every note and never once seemed to be trying to over do himself. After powering through perfections such as "Holiday" "Red Letter Day" "Campfire Kansas" "Mass Pike" "Action + Action" "Up on the Roof" "I'm A Loner Dottie A Rebel" and ending with the classic "I'll Catch You" the band came back to rock a stunning encore. They statred things off with their excellent cover of the Cure's "Close to Me" off Eudora before launching into "Don't Hate Me" "Ten Minutes" and finally bringing the night to a close with "Walking On a Wire". These guys were the pioneers of the early emo/pop-punk that unfortunately turned into that MySpacey emo garbage. In fact Fall Out Boy has stated that without the Get Up Kids they wouldn't exist. These guys were the realy deal and brought back so much nostalgia. Brand New and the Get Up Kids, doesn't get much better then that.


Brand New Set List:
You Won't Know
Okay I Believe You But My Tommy Gun Don't
New Song
Archers
Jesus Christ
Deguaser
The Quiet Things That Know One Ever Knows
Seventy Times Seven -> Smells Like Teen Spirit Intro