Writing about The Moondoggies is harder than it sounds. It isn’t that their music veers into complex, atonal sections utilizing previously-unknown tunings, or that their lyrics reference forgotten philosophies developed in postwar Europe. Rather, it’s the same problem I’m having as I formulate thoughts on the new album from Portland’s Weinland: namely, how does one … Continue reading
Category Archives: Live
Me @ Volume 1- Afternoon Bites: Book art, Dusted and Fluxblog turn ten, Joyland on Greenpoint, and more
- There Is a Documentary About Linotype. We Think This Is Awesome.
- Afternoon Bites: Carl Wilson’s 2011, Emma Straub makes a mix, Justin Davidson on Philip Glass, and more
- Hillary Jordan’s “When She Woke”: A Discussion
- Afternoon Bites: Steve Erickson talks politics, Mikhail Bulgakov gets unreal, Pam Houston on mentoring, and more
April 26, 2009, Author: , Leave a comment
Tags:: concert, Live review, Moondoggies
Live: Moondoggies; Crash Mansion, 04.25.09
Categories: Live, Music, ReviewTags:: concert, Live review, Moondoggies
April 24, 2009, Author: , Leave a comment
Tags:: Glasslands, Suckers, Tanlines
Live: Suckers, Tanlines; Glasslands, 04.24.09
Categories: Live, Music, ReviewTags:: Glasslands, Suckers, Tanlines
Momentum can count for a lot. The last time I saw Brooklyn’s Suckers, on a bill a few months ago with Oxford Collapse and Real Estate, they played a set with no shortage of strong songs that nonetheless felt more like a collection of songs than a proper live set. Their songs are firmly rooted … Continue reading
February 24, 2009, Author: , Leave a comment
Tags:: Idiocracy, media, publishing, Wall-E
notes on beloved films + shambolic futures
Categories: Books, Film, Live, People, Politics, Rocket Fuel, SXSW2008, Thursday, UncategorizedTags:: Idiocracy, media, publishing, Wall-E
Saw Idiocracy last week. I find myself thinking it would make a fine double bill with WALL-E: each depicts a future in which aspects of modern culture have spun out of control, leading to mammoth piles of garbage, an unholy fusion of big business with government, and an agriculturally barren landscape. One’s a cult classic, … Continue reading
December 10, 2008, Author: , Leave a comment
Tags:: The Tallest Man on Earth
brief, live: the tallest man on earth; mercury lounge, 12.09.08
Categories: Live, Music, ReviewTags:: The Tallest Man on Earth
I would deem it quite significant that the audience for The Tallest Man on Earth‘s Mercury Lounge show watched for nearly half the man’s set before a photograph was discernibly taken. One might even have characterized the shared mental state of the room as “enraptured”. Kristian Matsson plays guitar as though seeking to redefine the … Continue reading
November 24, 2008, Author: , Leave a comment
Tags:: live music, stars of the lid
brief, live: stars of the lid; le poisson rouge, 11.21.08
Categories: Live, Music, ReviewTags:: live music, stars of the lid
I’ve been a Stars of the Lid fan for a while, now, and until last Friday they’d been high on the list of groups I’d never seen live whose music I love. I’d missed their Wordless Music show earlier this year, and — as a friend of mine in Seattle had described their music on … Continue reading
November 13, 2008, Author: , Leave a comment
Tags:: Church of Sweden, Frida Hyvönen, live music, show review
Live: Frida Hyvönen; Church of Sweden, 11.12.08
Categories: Live, Music, NYC, Review, UncategorizedTags:: Church of Sweden, Frida Hyvönen, live music, show review
Attendance, the flyer said, would be capped at 90. I’d guess that the chapel in New York’s Church of Sweden — on 48th Street just off Fifth Avenue, unobtrusive among financial offices and gleaming glass hotels — seated 75 at most, and a few songs into her set, Frida Hyvönen suggested that those standing come … Continue reading
October 27, 2008, Author: , Leave a comment
Tags:: 1928 Recordings, Browns, CMJ, CMJ2008, The Muslims, The Sundelles, Union Pool
live: the sundelles, browns, the muslims; union pool, 10.26.08
Categories: CMJ2008, Live, Music, ReviewTags:: 1928 Recordings, Browns, CMJ, CMJ2008, The Muslims, The Sundelles, Union Pool
Sunday night — a couple of hours ago, actually — I stopped by Union Pool for a 1928 Recordings showcase. I’d heard solid things from a few friends about The Muslims, who were headlining and figured, hey, seemed like a fine idea. Spoiler alert — it was. Sunday nights post-CMJ are always interesting — though … Continue reading
October 27, 2008, Author: , Leave a comment
Tags:: CMJ, CMJ2008, Emmy the Great, Glasslands, pianos, the dutchess and the duke, the end of the world
live: the dutchess and the duke, the end of the world, emmy the great; pianos, 10.25.08 / the end of the world; glasslands, 10.25.08
Categories: CMJ2008, Live, Music, ReviewTags:: CMJ, CMJ2008, Emmy the Great, Glasslands, pianos, the dutchess and the duke, the end of the world
Back upstairs at Pianos on Saturday afternoon, for a day party booked by Bowery Presents. I’ve now seen The Dutchess and the Duke five times in 2008, in spaces ranging from basements to mid-sized theaters, playing guitars electric and acoustic. The sound I found so bracing initially has only gotten tighter — there’s a force … Continue reading
October 26, 2008, Author: , 1 Comment
Tags:: Hardly Art, pianos, pretty & nice, Sub Pop, Suicide Squeeze, The Coathangers
live: pretty & nice, the coathangers; pianos, 10.24.08
Categories: CMJ2008, Live, Music, ReviewTags:: Hardly Art, pianos, pretty & nice, Sub Pop, Suicide Squeeze, The Coathangers
Upstairs at Piano’s, Friday night: the Hardly Art / Suicide Squeeze / Sub Pop showcase. The downstairs component is well-reviewed by Marc Hogan for Pitchfork, and includes a photo of Steve from Blood City joining Oxford Collapse onstage. (That’s two-thirds of a Coup Fourre reunion, fellas…) During said Oxford Collapse set, Adam commented that the … Continue reading
October 26, 2008, Author: , Leave a comment
Tags:: Adept, Cakeshop, CMJ, CMJ2008, Subbacultcha, Women
live: adept, women; cakeshop, 10.22.08
Categories: CMJ2008, Live, Music, ReviewTags:: Adept, Cakeshop, CMJ, CMJ2008, Subbacultcha, Women
Belated CMJ blogging, you may ask? It begins here. Wednesday night found me briefly at Cakeshop, there to see Alberta’s Women, whose disc on Jagjaguwar has been gratifying my noisepop receptors a lot lately. The night was hosted by the Dutch magazine/collective Subbacultcha!, and I walked in partway through a set from their countrymen Adept. … Continue reading
September 28, 2008, Author: , Leave a comment
Tags:: ATP Pitchfork
upstate, last weekend
Categories: Live, MusicTags:: ATP Pitchfork
Loud-ass rock and roll. Amy Phillips’s Pitchfork piece is spot-on, I’d say, and covers a lot of the festival’s highlights. (Also, believe the hype: Low has written the creepiest song ever about Santa Claus.) Also worth mentioning: the genius of Maria Bamford; the surprisingly hilarious stage banter of A Silver Mt. Zion; the competitive intensity … Continue reading
September 16, 2008, Author: , Leave a comment
Tags:: becky stark, cake shop, harper simon, human highway, jim guthrie, nick thorburn
live: becky stark, harper simon, human highway; cake shop, 09.15.08
Categories: Live, Music, NYC, ReviewTags:: becky stark, cake shop, harper simon, human highway, jim guthrie, nick thorburn
So hey, Cake Shop. Tropical wallpaper stretching for a dozen feet as you approach the stage, hanging red garlands and tiny white lights dangling amidst soundproofing foam. It’s become one of my favorite places to see shows in New York — actually, given that I once saw Daphne Brooks read from her book on Jeff … Continue reading
September 15, 2008, Author: , Leave a comment
Tags:: air bombay, live show, pianos, pigeons, pretty & nice, show review
live: pigeons, air bombay, pretty & nice; pianos; 09.05.08
Categories: Live, Music, NYC, Review, UncategorizedTags:: air bombay, live show, pianos, pigeons, pretty & nice, show review
Pianos on a Friday night is a strange place to be. The bar portion, which one has to traverse in order to get to the venue in the back, was on this particular night full of well-dressed, well-off types making loud conversation. The actual performance space, which had added a bar since the last time … Continue reading
September 8, 2008, Author: , 2 Comments
Tags:: les savy fav
recommended music writing: 09.08.08
Categories: Live, MusicTags:: les savy fav
Molly Templeton witnesses Les Savy Fav in Portland. Someone gives Harrington a fork and he combs all available hair (on his own body) with it. At one point, he yelps, “What’s the difference between me and a pit bull?” The crowd responds, “Lipstick!” Harrington says, “I have human intelligence!” Amazing.
September 2, 2008, Author: , Leave a comment
Tags:: gorilla coffee, james jackson toth, the dutchess and the duke, union hall, wooden wand
live: the dutchess and the duke, james jackson toth; union hall, 09.01.08
Categories: brooklyn, Coffee, Live, Music, NYC, ReviewTags:: gorilla coffee, james jackson toth, the dutchess and the duke, union hall, wooden wand
Union Hall is around four blocks from Gorilla Coffee in Park Slope, and on nights when my supply of coffee is low and I find myself bound for the venue in question, I’ll generally make a stop beforehand for a freshly ground pack. And so on nights when I find myself standing in Union Hall’s … Continue reading