Friday night’s Mates of State show at Le Poisson Rouge was the first time I’d seen them in six years or so, and the first time I was at a sold out show of theirs. A few things about their set up and sound have changed, but Kori Gardner and Jason Hammel are still cute
Monday was the final show of Liam Finn’s Murmuration residency at The Rock Shop. It definitely felt like he had made The Rock Shop his home, full of friends, inside jokes, and freedom to jam and riff and try out some new music. Liam was immediately affable, addressing the packed room as if we were
Alabama Shakes are named quite literally. They are from Alabama, and when they play, there is no way to stay still. Even slower numbers like “Hold On” warrant hands in the air, “Can I get a witness”-style. Their sold out show at Brooklyn Bowl was packed with witnesses, all there to absorb the blues, soul,
Ryan and Nick of Mister Heavenly Sunday night at Mercury Lounge was a line-up of misters, plus a Fort Lean. Mister Heavenly was of course the main draw, with the combined powers of Ryan Kattner (Honus Honus) of Man Man, Nick Thorburn of Islands and The Unicorns, and Joe Plummer from Modest Mouse. The supergroup
Total Slacker The implied apathy of Total Slacker is all just a rouse – these guys put a lot of energy into their shows. They are adept musically and mentally. Their lyrics, despite being based around many a joke on irony and the 90s, are culturally conscious and politically aware. Their music clearly draws from
Talkdemonic (Lisa Molinaro and Kevin O’Connor – shown above) is somewhat of a recent discovery for me, and after just hearing their music first, I was surprised to find out that all that music is made by only two people. Last night at Bowery Ballroom, I got to see how they did it. The use
After a somewhat convoluted series of events, I ended up at Glasslands for the official Stereogum CMJ showcase, just in time to see Cuckoo Chaos. The band has more new songs in their repertoire, more electronics, and more experimentalism up their cuckoo sleeves. They started out with some familiar songs, such as “Jesus Flag American
Last night was Jens Lekman’s (above) third and final sold out show at the Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn, and his last show in the US. Actually, the majority of his US shows were sold out, so he’s definitely had a good run through. Last night was a magnificent end to his sweetly sentimental
The Humans – Toyah Willcox Last night’s show at Highline Ballroom, featuring The Humans with Kid Savant, was a much different show than what I usually go to. Mostly because instead of an open floor in front of the stage, there were rows of tables occupied of couples having drinks and small dinner plates. Nothing
Last night at Glasslands started out casual enough, being a Tuesday and all. There ended up being only two bands on the bill, so the crowd had extra time to hang out and partake of the photo booth after a couple rounds of drinks. Then, Snakes Say Hiss went on. Snakes Say Hiss This Philadelphia-based