Early Indications
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The music of New York City’s Twi the Humble Feather sounds like a Wes Anderson movie waiting to happen. Comprising of three acoustic guitarists who all play and sing, often identical or nearly identical parts, the band revels in a cerebral kind of sweet and silly; like a reincarnation of whistles blowing out of a school bus, only here fingers leap in unison like ballerinas and quick gasps of breath make way for a trail of some very important monosyllabic sounds. It turns out, anyhow, that there is a story of cinematic proportions here, and this oddly heartening music owes itself to Twi (pronounced Twai).
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Download “March Movement” | Many a music enthusiast from this city of endless revelry seems to have overlooked an intimate, endearing evening with Talkdemonic this past Saturday. The room did thicken considerably by the time the band went on (after Boston’s Bon Savants opened), but I’d anticipated a fuller turnout, and it was a show that turned out to be completely worthy of it.
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Download “Where Has Sally Gone” | Everyone from Caroline Smith & the Good Night Sleeps seemed pretty likable, and they were quick to make new fans at their first-ever performance in New York City. Of the small crowd present last night–the room was half-full–it seemed most were friends of other bands playing: Measure, Olivia Mancini and Donny Hue are all local acts. Apart from myself, there were perhaps three others who knew of Caroline prior to the show: the band’s jovial mailing list guy, that guy’s friend, and another person Caroline greeted before the show. When the music got going, however, there were howls of approval, enthusiastic roars of applause; when it was time to announce they had only two more songs left, there was a unanimous expression of disappointment; finally as the last song came to a close, there was the request for an encore.
Continued, and all photos after the jump.
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Download “I Woke Up Today” | I headed straight for Union Hall after seeing Regina Spektor at McCarren Pool, and from the 30 or so minutes spent with Port O’Brien in the room, I’m sure everyone picked up on the band’s affability–this is one of those bands who really means it when they name their album All We Could Was Sing. When singer Van Pierszalowski said that they were sad to leave New York and told the audience, “You guys live in the best place”, he was actually quite earnest, as was he when he asked if anyone knew what “Cha Cha” was. The dance? Nope–I guess that would be three cha’s? He, the official caretaker of the band’s myspace, was referring to the the “Ask Away” mobile service, saying “Try it out right now, we won’t mind if we see you texting”. Except, only the super-magical beings get service down there, and a few may have been present.
All photos after the jump.
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Download “Sleepyhead” | Passion Pit–Boston’s Michael Angelakos and his four-man crew–was greeted by supportive fans and friends at its first show in New York City, the first of the three being played as part of a residency at Pianos. Emboldened by a full range of synths (Ian Hultquist, Ayad al Adhamy and Michael all huddled and leaped behind keys) and a high-pitched singing style complimentary to a synth-based aesthetic, the band let the room go giddy for its sweet grooves. For a group that plays under such an ambitious name (to be the pit of passion is quite a feat isn’t it?) it definitely stirs a good deal of spirit in its flowing concoctions, but there’s also a hint of sweetness that feels almost a little wide-eyed (in a good way), and that honeyed element is traceable in the band’s personality too. The crowd loved it anyhow and asked for one more song when the short rendezvous came to a close, though there was to be no more. They saved “Sleepyhead” to be the last song but one (out came the laptop), and that tune performed live is quite a ruckus. Next two shows are on August 20th & 27th; definitely go see.
All photos after the jump.
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Download “Betty Wang” | As I’ve just returned from watching Portland’s Au at Monkeytown, Brooklyn’s pop-rock quartet Hospitality is going to suffer a bit in my review of their show at Cake Shop. Sorry guys, but all of this begins with the little wonder known as a melodica. Au’s show began with Luke Wyland blowing into one, and though I will tell you more about this in the next post, it will suffice to say now that he filled that small instrument with such a soul awakening that it seemed possible that rocks, too, were capable of waking to their own sweet melody-making. The thing is, when Hospitality brought out a melodica at their Cake Shop set, I was excited; however, it was played pretty sloppily, as was the keyboard, for the most part, and the bass and drums were just decent, though I have to give credit to the drummer for giving the harmonica a little spirit. In conclusion I think the band needs more rehearsal time, and to be fair it’s not all that easy with day jobs, which many emerging bands have to deal with in this glorious city of New York. However, I still like Hospitality, and I intend to keep track of their activities. Singer Amber Papini has a promising personality, a fitting voice for the kind of songs they make, and she’s proved quite capable of seemingly nonchalant yet snarky lyrics, such as that involving the useless BA degree in English.
Continued after the jump.
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