Category Archives: Live

Eight bands, representing selections from the lineups of Hardly Art and Sub Pop. And thus, short takes on each. Unnatural Helpers: Like Idle Times, with whom they share members, it’s solid, unpretentious garage rock. Dean Whitmore’s vocals sound like a more ragged Craig Finn circa-Lifter Puller, which is a plus; the sole downside was their … Continue reading →

Arrived at the Music Hall of Williamsburg a few songs into Headlights‘ set. Last year’s Some Racing, Some Stopping ended up earning an unexpected amount of listening time — it’s a solid, enjoyable pop record, at times reminiscent of Saturday Looks Good To Me, but with less of SLGTM’s overt nostalgia and evocations of fading … Continue reading →

The latter part of last Thursday night was spent at Don Pedro’s, taking in an Impose-curated night of noisy rock music. Girls at Dawn took the stage shortly after I arrived, and it took me longer than expected to realize that they were not the three-piece that I took them for; there was, in fact, … Continue reading →

The Press came highly recommended via friends of mine, with suggestions that their sound was a more accessible, rock-oriented take on the improvisational/ambient-fueled pop currently beloved in many circles of this city. I’m not sure I agree — the sound I heard recalled, in places, recent Modest Mouse and The Walkmen, albeit with a distinctly … Continue reading →

Friends who had heard The Seedy Seeds previously told me after their set at Trash Bar had wrapped up that the space’s sound system had done them no favors, that certain elements of their sound had been lost in the mix. For my part, I still liked what I heard, even knowing that certain instruments … Continue reading →

Despite a fondness for the bands in which Bradford Cox plays, I’ve listened to both Deerhunter and Atlas Sound far more in their recorded versions than in the live setting. Tuesday’s show at Le Poisson Rouge was my first time seeing the latter, and while I found myself nodding my head to the most direct … Continue reading →

Was Glasslands humid for this Thursday night show? Yes; yes, it was. I spent much of the show flashing back to younger days spent in basements and VFW halls under similar sweltering conditions, and occasionally wondering whether my beard had made things much, much worse. German Measles were on first. I recognized a couple of … Continue reading →