Pants were optional at last night's New York x New York indie rock trivia event, NY Mag's first of the year and latest in a series that's included karaoke with Michael Showalter and of Montreal, dinner with Man Man, and an art auction with Zach Galifianakis and Band Of Horses. Zach was again master of ceremonies and one-liners. Les Savy Fav were masters of costume changes. Trivia came in mutliple rounds, titled "'90s Indie Rock," "NYC Indie Rock," and "Round Three." They weren't hard. ("Which baby-faced band of Columbia grads recently played Satuday Night Live?," identify this album cover, etc.) There was also a highly unfortunate final round of "Kanye Or Nay," in which we were asked to perform the indie rock task of determining whether recited lyrics belonged to Kanye. Or, nay. That aside, Zach did a good job, being generally Galifianakis-y and showing off his "marijuana Santa Claus" coif:
Last month, young master Condon bailed on a string of European dates with a letter posted on his site, saying: "It's come time to change some things, reinvent some others, and come back at some point with a fresh perspective and batch of songs." Last week, Zach stealthily announced a Sunday show at Music Hall Of Williamsburg, maybe to try out that new perspective and songs a little sooner than the downcast letter had suggested. Sure enough, MHOW brought the new tunes, and apparently, a new European musical tradition for Beirut to cycle through. Says Kyle:
"My Wife," "The Shrew," "Benito Juarez" and "Leaotinito" made their supposed premiers last night and all featured horn sections that could only be categorized as the Spanish and/or Portuguese tradition. I don't know about all the others ("My Wife" was instrumental), but we were informed that "Leaotinito" is a Portuguese poem that may or may not have been written by Condon.
"My Wife," eh? Is that a wedding ring on that finger, Zach? Anyway, everybody says this show was awesome, making BK this weekend's undisputed champion of music. Beirut's working on the next album as we type -- we will get you more on that as it comes, and more of Reinford's photos (and a YouTube of a last night's "Nantes") post jump.
As most anyone in need of a year-defining dance record, we've spent 2008 enmeshed in Andy Butler and DFA's Hercules & Love Affair triumph. Along with the hardest core of H&LA fans, Abbey Braden secured entry and made the trek to Studio B for the project's first US show at 1:30AM Saturday night. Antony wasn't in the building, but the stage was packed anyway with Kim Ann and glam transexual Nomi on lead vocals, a trombone, a trumpet player, two on keys/korgs/mechanics, a live rhythm section, two dancers full on vogue-ing on the amps ("clad in Hercules oversized tees with 'Banjee' across the middle), one Andy Butler tucked behind a wall of keyboards, and one James Murphy smiling wide sidestage. Says Abbey:
They wasted no time getting to business, and Nomi took over the vox for 'Blind' 3 songs in. Frankly homegirl OWNED it, and I think she should take over the 'As a child' duties from now on (hopefully a giant DFA lightning bolt won't strike me for saying that next time I leave my apt). Kim Ann seemed a bit timid at first, but hell it's their premiere live gig, and she warmed up to the beat eventually. People were chanting her name throughout the set.
Lots post jump, including setlist and, live vids of "Blind" and "Hercules Theme Song," and a platter of Braden pics.
Last night, while you were busy not standing in line with a printout of your MySpace profile with Secret Shows in your top friends on Bleecker St., these people were:
Honestly, was Gelmania at Rififi worth it? Yeah, probably. But acknowledge the awesomeness that must have been seeing Neil fucking Diamond at a place as tiny as the Bitter End (capacity: 110 JD McNugents), down in the NYU drinking quad Village. Speaking of, the Voice got setlist:
"Solitary Man"
"Don't Go There"
"Home Before Dark"
"Really Amazing Grace"
"Kentucky Woman"
"Cherry, Cherry"
"Sweet Caroline"
By Amrit Singh & Brandon Stosuy
When we arrived Sunday we didn't have to wait in line or battle our way through the parking lots. Not because we're some important VIP's -- there just wasn't anyone there. The crowd picked up a bit throughout the day, and was more than respectable for the last couple nighttime sets, but otherwise this felt like a graveyard filled with palm trees and girls in bikinis. Yes.
The first band we caught was Holy Fuck (our least favorite of the current crop of "fuck" bands). OK, sure, we liked it better when Faust -- or insert some other Kraut-y name, or Cul De Sac, if you will -- did it, but Holy Fuck had plenty of energy, looked happy to be there, and own interesting equipment. It's the little things. Still, The Toronto quartet sound pretty much the same as they did two years ago, so we're trying to figure out the sudden popularity surge. Ideas: Crowds have come to terms with how much they love to chant "Holy Fuck" (as they did at the Gobi Tent), indie-rock kids are have since learned how to dance and groove to instrumental acts ala Battles, or people went and got them confused with Fuck Buttons or Fucked Up.
We went from Holy's set to see I'm From Barcelona: Yes, everyone fit on stage. The confetti poured off of it, though. After working the audience into a froth, members of the band spilled off the stage, some into the audience and onto the makeshift dance floor, while others stood on the crowd barrier and cheered folks onward. This many happy Swedes makes up for the Field's cancellation. As did other Swedish folks, Shout Out Louds, who sounded a lot like Robert Smith and friends -- but not in a trill Black Kids way -- out on the Coachella Stage. Nothing amazing, but solid. Hooray for Sweden.
Swervedriver were more than solid, but sadly the Mojave Tent was only 1/3 filled (if that) during the band's reunion set. Sonically, Adam Franklin & Co sounded great -- the heavy interplay of those muscular shoegaze guitars washed over us, brought us right back to Raise and Mezcal Head. We look forward to the sold out Bowery show, sirs (tix for Music Hall of Williamsburg are nearly gone -- get 'em, you'll be happy). In the Mojave's following set, fellow classic Brits Spiritualized had more luck with the attendance, though Jason Pierce & Co had plenty of feedback swells/sound problems for the first few songs in their Acoustic Mainlines set. Still, it's hard not to like "Lord Let It Rain On Me," "True Love Will Find You," and "Hey Man," etc., backed by three perfectly pitched female gospel vocalists and a small string section.
After catching two bands we loved as teenagers, we figured we should see an actor who once did a good job playing a teenager.
By Brandon Stosuy
For their first U.S. show in close to a decade, Portishead showed up as a chilly six-piece, delivering Coachella's set to beat: Beth Gibbons, intense in black, looked both devastated and triumphant while Geoff Barrow rotated between drums/electronics/turntables, and Adrian Utley manned various guitars. The Bristolers brought it -- both the sound and their performances were great. Mixing up oldies/newbies in a stream of icy "trip-hop" that managed to turn the slight Indio breeze into something capable of causing goosebumps, they opened with prematurely (and presently) loved Third opener "Silence" -- they did know what we wanted! -- following it with a mix from all their studio albums: Dummy ("Glory Box," "Wandering Star," "Sour Times," etc.), Portishead ("Cowboys," "Over,") and Third ("The Rip" and its white horses, "Machine Gun," "Threads"), etc. Consider us blown away. Don't believe the hype? Listen for yourself, but imagine it coming through really big speakers. Supplement the audio with these visuals:
By Amrit Singh & Brandon Stosuy
Well, this was the best Saturday we've had in awhile. We started the day with an afternoon set by SM & the Jicks. Malkmus, properly protected from the UV rays in his shades, outback hat, and long-sleeved shirt rolled-up just so, tempered the heat with his as-usual funny between-song banter: "M.I.A. says hi," "I'll get Jack Johnson on your ass...," etc. At one point, commenting on the temperature, comparing April in Indio to July in Stockton (Mike Clark chimed in that it was like Portland in 20 years), he rattled into an a cappella chorusing of "Black Hole Sun" before noting "If I had that song, I'd be there," (i.e. the main stage). "But I don't, so I'm here," (i.e. not the main stage). That's right, bitch. And the music? They sounded great and noisy, focusing on Real Emotional Trash: "Dragonfly Pie," "Elmo Delmo," "Hopscotch Willie," "Cold Sun," "Gardenia," "We Can't Help You," etc. Sorry, "Range Life" requester guy -- maybe some other time.
After Malkmus we headed to that aforementioned Main Stage to see Death Cab's Narrow Stairs stuff live. As someone in the audience noted the moment the band made their way onto stage: "Ben, you've lost weight!" Also, he lost the glasses. And bassist Nick Harmer gained the ability to look exactly like Zach Galifianakis...
By Amrit Singh & Brandon Stosuy
You know what sucked for every band following Les Savy Fav yesterday? The fact that they had to follow Les Savy Fav yesterday. Under intensely blazing Indio heat, Harrington and his hockey blogging art-punkers set the bar high for hijinx and outright spectacle right from the go, with Tim coming out in miner's gear, yelling "Daggummit, get off my property!" and then revealing there were 500 gold coins buried under our feet. Of course the old timey character was stripped by song two, replaced by red skivvies and a trash bag. The combo of bright sun ("Hey sun we dare you to get hotter you puss bag!") + Tim's reflectively white belly made for some washed out photos, but you'll get a sense of all the sweat that descended. Also on the menu: Tim whipping out his prick (sort of), riding kids like horses, and soul kissing two dudes and a girl front row. As much as we highlight those antics, though, know that as always Les Savy Fav also brought the hot rock. We could've gone home happy if there weren't 11 more bands to see.
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