photos July 26, 2010
Whartscape weekend
An unedited assortment of photos taken in Baltimore with my phone. “Real” pictures will come later.
SATURDAY
Artwork outside Current Space, the parking lot where Whartscape day show was taking place.
Photos
photos February 17, 2010
Lay Low at Rockwood Music Hall. Photos.
Iceland’s Lovísa Elísabet Sigrúnardóttir, who plays under the moniker Lay Low, was in New York for two small shows in support of her new album Farewell Good Night’s Sleep. She isn’t quite Patsy Cline (to whom she’s been compared) but the untainted worldview she captures in her gentle voice and simple lyrics, and the willingness to give, lose and suffer as a necessary way of life, evident in songs of love and lies, are probably what draw the comparison.
Download “Last Time Around“ and ”By and By”
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photos January 19, 2010
Charlotte Gainsbourg at Bell House, Jan 19. Photos.
Other than the novelty of having Charlotte Gainsbourg sing for you in a modest place like the Bell House, there wasn’t much to this show. If she sang a few tunes at your dinner party, her soft voice, likable personality, unpretentious approach would provide endless delight, but put a price tag of $30 at a sold out show, and the whole thing falls apart a little. I started to think about the Regina Spektor show at McCarren Pool and how that single woman was able to captivate a whole field of people totally soaked in rain—I have my issues with Regina, but it’s evident that she breathes and lives her music; with Charlotte, adorable and likable as she is, it’s hard to believe that she’s moved by these songs, most of which she didn’t write. The only exception was “Just Like a Woman”, where I felt the connection between performer and music — but then that’s a Bob Dylan song in all its poignancy.
photos June 29, 2009
Photos: These United States, Phosphorescent, Dr. Dog at Celebrate Brooklyn
A mix of light rain and resolute sunshine led to a rainbow over Brooklyn while These United States was playing. Back home this kind of weather means a fox wedding. It was kind of perfect. Lots of people were out. Someone lent me a towel to wipe my wet chair with. That was nice.
photos May 21, 2009
Outtake Photos: St. Vincent and Pattern Is Movement at Webster Hall
Not having fallen in love with her new album, Actor, I decided to catch St. Vincent live to see if it would help me appreciate the new music better. I concluded that I prefer the older work after all: Marry Me is a better album because it’s a better showcase of essential songwriting might, which gets lost, or at least takes a back seat, in the newer heavily-produced aesthetic; and St. Vincent the solo act (just Annie on stage) is a more interesting live act because once again I’m a fan of the essentials, the bare minimum that takes an awesome flight under the right hands and the right mind.
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Download “The Strangers”
photos April 27, 2009
Drink Up Buttercup: 7", Bruar Falls, Santos Party House
Philly’s Drink Up Buttercup has a new 7″ for “Farewell Captain”. It’s made in Czechoslovakia and it’s red, and you would know this firsthand too if you owned it for $7. I feel like the band has an identifiable sound that can grouped into light and dark. “Farewell Captain” belongs to the dark, and with its jolting thrusts of everything (keys, bass, guitar, drums), a quirky change of tempo that takes you to rolling dark waves of the ocean sweeping across drowning sailors (quite possibly), and an echoing, semi-operatic, haunting refrain that closes the whole thing, it’s been a staple at Drink Up’s live shows. In a way, it’s in itself a portfolio of the band’s sound. For now you’re either going to have to buy this 7″ or head over to myspace in order to listen, but posted here is the b-side, “Sosey & Dosey”, which is a fair representation of their light sound. After listening to various live versions, it’s pretty exciting to have a proper mp3 of it to yourself (which comes with the 7″ of course). I love the lyrics, too: “Sosey” and “Dosey” are the names of the characters involved, and they “keep on falling”, to the rolling beat of that song thaf feels like one long tumble.
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Download “Sosey and Dosey“
photos April 24, 2009
Suckers release party at Glasslands Gallery
Glasslands seems like the kind of place where interesting things are just waiting to happen, like some hippie collective’s tree house where you build your own furniture and create things all day; and there’s something warm about its minimal appearance. But when it’s super-packed, like it was yesterday at the Suckers and Heeb Magazine’s release party, its eccentric layout can be quite a challenge to mobility, which is probably just as well, but if you were by the merch table, which was at the inside end of the room, and you wanted to head to the bathroom, which has a shower and hangs from the wall on the opposite side of the room, wading through that sea of people was going to be a decision you want to toss in your head for a while. I know, it add charms to the whole experience. By the time Suckers ended their set, though, shoving yourself out on the street seemed like a terrific idea, even though Chris Keating from Yeasayer, a band I like so much, was about to DJ.
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Download “Easy Chairs“
photos April 20, 2009
Tune Yards, Afuche, Sister Suvi at Bruar Falls
Last week I finally headed out to Bruar Falls in Williamsburg, a new venue by the folks who run Cake Shop. The occasion was a release party for multiple releases, with friends Ladyfingers, Sister Suvi, Afuche and Tune Yards all celebrating a newly available body of work, though Ladyfingers pointed out he had nothing to sell at the venue since his release was digital-only (with suggested donations).
It was somewhat of a family affair, where everyone seemed to be fond of every one, except that one guy in reddish leather jacket with a penchant for experimenting on his point-and-shoot camera. I think I saw Phosphorescent. I’m 98% sure that only he can be the bearer of that longish face with hair and beard that are a burst of golden curls. Also, it was Charlie Chaplin’s birthday, and several (but not enough) people had followed the direction to wear only black and white. Sister Suvi, Afuche and Tune Yards ran a projection of a Charlie Chaplin film throughout their sets.
photos April 9, 2009
Shilpa Ray, Coin Under Tongue, My Education, EGM at Death By Audio
Shilpa Ray has a spectacular voice, and a really likable, spunky personality, but from my first time seeing her last night at Death By Audio, it seemed that her songs aren’t quite as engaging or distinct as she herself is. “Generic” is a terrible word, but there wasn’t enough of her own brandmark to the whole thing. There is the harmonium, which sounds ten times as interesting when only she is singing over it, but gets lost when the band kicks in and everything becomes slightly predictable and non specific, leaving you to think, oh with this voice there are so many incredible possibilities! A lot of it may have to do with the aesthetic choices than the songwriting itself. She has a nice way of turning melodic phrases and leaving them low, but the songs have somehow got to match the quality of her voice. There is the amazing Shilpa and there is everything else that takes a backseat and recedes into oblivion. Good show, nonetheless.
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Download “Filthy and Free”
photos April 3, 2009
Antlers at Mercury Lounge
Brooklyn’s The Antlers played a “homecoming show” at Mercury Lounge last night, and I stupidly picked that one instead of the one they’re playing at Music Hall of Williamsburg on April 7; that venue’s sure to be a much better fit for their music. It was my first time seeing them anyhow. The drums were crisp and strong and mic’d so that you could hear every little thing, which meant that certain patterns on the bass side made certain things in the room tremble sometimes. Peter Silberman has a beautiful voice, classifiable in the Jeff Buckley family of voices, even though there were a ton of things laid upon that voice and I would love to hear it unadulterated at some point, unaccompanied by anything else. The range of sounds produced by three men was quite wide, mainly owing to the keys section, which featured handy legwork on the Roland PK5. The only thing is that I have limited capacity for music that feels like every turn of the corner features a climax, but I suppose it’s healthy in moderate amounts.
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Download “Bear“
