Posts about Bowery Ballroom
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Download “Rapture (Sweet Rapture)” by AA Bondy | Download “Vice Rag” by AA Bondy | It was an easy-listening night at Bowery Ballroom on Tuesday, and how wonderful AA Bondy must’ve been with that dreamy, rustic voice of his. I wasn’t there, but Kashish was, and he tells me the performance was mesmerizing. I believe him. A pure crystal of human experience is sheltered in the lyrics, “I don’t want to talk about Jesus / I just want to see his face / The trees are swinging like hanging men / and I just want to see his face”. When a song opens quietly with those words and sweeps you up into the endlessly sweet chorus of “Rapture (Sweet Rapture)”, you can be sure there will be goose bumps. View full post to see all pictures and learn who was suffering from a cold.
All pictures by Kashish.
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Annie Clark’s weapon is her intent. Her grace is a swift punch packed with pointed articulation, and for this she has found the appropriate musical expression (aided by an assortment of gadgets at her feet, including an expressive kick drum, and the coupling of a regular microphone with a distorted one). Her angry, unrestrained outbursts on the electric guitar show off her control over the instrument, but her playing can hardly be classified as flamboyant or subtle. Instead, the power comes from the emotion she keeps sharpened, which results in clarity without being overbearing. Her singing takes on the same quality- it is the intention that provides shape to her voice that otherwise escapes easy categorization, and it’s this skill of Annie’s that makes her shows powerful, with or without a full band.
More after the jump.
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Even after The Books started touring as a duo, they’ve always been good at delivering their experimental songs live. Nick has an understated, calm voice faithful to the recordings while Paul’s cello serves to add improvisational fluidity. Ever since their collection of found-video collages began to take shape, however, the structure of their recent shows has been somewhat standardized. It was a great delight, then, to be surprised during the encore with a rarely performed “Getting the Job Done” from 2002’s Thought for Food. Perhaps it was the addition of opener Todd Reynolds on the violin that allowed it to happen. They referred to the shortened version as a “half” song, an amazing one at that, and Nick can really sing that fast.
More after the jump.
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Download “Comfy in Nautica” by Panda Bear
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The video montage projected behind Animal Collective’s Panda Bear (Noah Lennox) made his solo show all the more arresting. Though with little to say and a strange sort of serenity (despite all the bristling moods his songs convey), his solitary presence was already captivating to begin with. But there was something the visual display conveyed- via flashes of naked bodies, bearded men, a roller-coaster make-out scene, amongst others- that made the connection between his music and the audience more instinctive. Noah went from song to song without a pause, playing plenty of material from Person Pitch. He finally spoke in the end to thank others who played and those in attendance. There was no encore, but the set was not short. Animal Collective band member Avey Tare watched almost the entire show from the side of the stage.
More photos and other bands after the jump.
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After spending gruelling hours at work all weekend, running through the rain to catch Lavender Diamond at Bowery Ballroom was a fantastic decision. The Chapin Sisters, who make an appearance on Lavender Diamond’s latest Imagine Our Love, were almost through their set when I got there (Entrance opened before them). At first I worried over the thin crowd that looked like a ladies night out (we might as well have been given picnic baskets). But as soon as they left the stage, the crowd closed in, and the space filled up nicely, though not completely, by the time Becky Stark and friends came on.
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Becky Stark is a charm, and her energy’s contagious. She uses the words “love” and “peace” unapologetically, has an immensely trained voice that is big without being loud, and is truly happy to be on stage. She made an entrace frolicking and waving. After each song, she jumped in excitement, reiterating how awesome it was going to be as we got “deeper into the night,” wishing that they had a song titled “Deeper Into the Night.” After playing “Open Your Heart,” which the band has nicknamed “the practical song,” she asked if she was allowed to say, “I love that song!” She wondered if that would be inappropriate or uncool.
More Becky Stark obssession after the jump.
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“My Oldest Memory”
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Bowerbirds was a treat to watch at Bowery Ballroom, when they opened for Ladybug Transistor and The Rosebuds last night. The sound that is captured in their recordings is even more elegant live, and the performance reaffirmed the fine quality of Phil Moore’s and Beth Tacular’s voices. It was a soothing set faithful to the recordings, rarely interrupted by any talking. “In Our Talons,” with its energetic chorus, was beautifully rendered. Friend Mark Paulson was also present, switching between bass drum and violin (Beth switched between bass drum and accordian). For the last song they played “Dark Horse,” and two members of the Rosebuds came out to sing the exiting refrain. Almost half the space had filled up through their early set, but it shouldn’t be long till Bowerbirds plays to a devoted audience.
In the midst of Beirut-induced buzz I might’ve under-emphasized the merit of Final Fantasy sets. Here’s some evidence from the May 8th show. He played this after wondering out loud if he should play a downer, and before Beirut joined him for the last song, “That’s When the Audience Died.”
“Took You Two Years To Win My Heart”
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Previously
If you plan to embed these videos, please link to this page. I’ll be posting more clips from this show in the coming days.
“Siki Siki Baba” (encore w/ the Gulag Orkestar)
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Beirut’s last show at its three-day Bowery Ballroom residency was an absolute blast. It’s rare to like a show considerably more the second time, but tonight’s celebratory spirit and awesome crowd were exceptional. Perhaps it’s the familiarity built in two prior nights and the festive mood of jovial goodbyes. The band members were in top shape, as they were on Sunday, but everyone seemed more laid back and cheerier. There was even an adequate supply of confetti, and Owen Pallett’s animator-friend took on the job of shooting strips of ribbons from the stage. Zach might’ve been a little more drunk, too, and whatever the reason, he was a spirited frontman tonight (he said that Owen Pallett commented he made the best drunk frontman). Cafe Eclectica Music has reported that he is relocating from Brooklyn to Paris after a quick break in Montreal after these NYC shows. Tonight he was insistent that France won the World Cup, even integrating the sentiment into the lyrics at one point. He explained, “Sorry, I love France.”
(More videos after the jump)
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The magical experience of Beirut is under the threat of annoying Zach-Condon-worshipping female fans- not all female fans, of course not, but there is a lot willing to shamelessly steal other people’s front row spots and openly offer themselves to Zach. The latter is excusable, though irritating (depending on the delivery/person), but pushing and shoving, trampling over each other even, as they did towards the end, to simply grab the set list from Zach was disturbing. Needless to say, I am also not a fan of continuous yelling of messages at the band, though half of these are usually fun. But people get carried away sometimes. One girl actually yelled, “You cancelled last year” (a band member responded by joking, “Security!”). New York is the only US city getting a Beirut treat at this time of the year when all other dates are non-US. Two fans next to me had driven all the way from Balitmore, and there seemed to be other out-of-towners, too, and I, for one, am thankful that these three dates were rescheduled. That they went to the trouble of bringing Gulag Okestar out, that they have Final Fantasy with them this time, that the performance was worth all the trouble fans have to go through and so on.
(Photos and review continue after the jump)
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Night one of three NYC shows with Beirut at Bowery Ballroom, and Owen Pallett / Final Fantasy did not disappoint. He spins a colorful world by weaving layer after layer on his violin and then some on keys. His voice is crisp, sounding exactly like in recording (woo-hoo), though he did not hesitate to drop a line he’d started to try it again. In the meantime, he shared his admiration of Zach Condon’s projection, calling himself a “pussy behind the microphone.” On stage, Owen is easily humble, charming and funny. In addition to old favorites like “Adventure.exe” and “It Took You Two Years to Win My Heart,” he played some new tunes, one of them being “Flare Gun.”
(Photos and review continue after the jump)
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hooves on the turf is a mostly-music blog based out of brooklyn. i can be reached at hoovesontheturf [at] gmail [dot] com - please send me your lovely music as an attached mp3 or an mp3 link. if i like what you send, i'll be sure to ask for more.
