6 posts tagged “new york city”
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04/19/09 Providence, RI. AS220
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04/20/09 Annandale, NY. Bard College 04/21/09 Danbury, CT. Heirloom Arts 04/22/09 Montreal, Quebec. Lab Synthese 04/23/09 Hamilton, Ontario. Casbah 04/24/09 Toronto, On. Whippersnapper 04/25/09 Buffalo, New York. Soundlab 04/26/09 Brooklyn, New York. Market 04/27/09 Philadelphia, PA Barbary 04/28/09 Baltimore, MD Talking Head Club 04/29/09 Washington, DC. Comet Pizza 04/30/09 Akron, Ohio. Musica 05/01/09 Detroit, MI UFO Factory 05/02/09 Chicago, IL Co-Prosperity Sphere - VERSION FEST 05/03/09 Grand Rapids, MI DAAC * 05/04/09 Chicago, IL Ronny's Bar - * 05/05/09 Minneapolis, MN Eclipse Recs* 05/06/09 Iowa City, IA Public Space * 05/06/09 Indianapolis, IN 05/08/09 Louisville , KY. Skull Alley 05/09/09 Greensboro, North Carolina. UNC - Greensboro Campus 05/10/09 Athens, GA Secret Squirrel 05/11/09 Atlanta, GA Drunken Unicorn 05/12/09 Huntsville, AL Vertical House Recs 05/14/09 New Orleans, LA Spellcaster 05/15/09 Scott, LA Bourque's Social Club 05/16/09 Austin, Texas. Emo's 05/17/09 Denton, Texas. Hailey's Club 05/19/09 Santa Fe, NM Warehouse 21 05/20/09 Tucson, Az Solar Culture 05/21/09 Isla Vista, CA Biko's Garage 05/22/09 Los Angeles, CA Smell 05/23/09 San Francisco, CA Parkside 05/24/09 Oakland, CA Ghost Town Gallery 05/25/09 Santa Cruz, CA Crepe Place 05/27/09 Eureka, CA Accident Gallery 05/28/09 Portland, Oregon. Rotture 05/29/09 Seattle, WA The Vera Project 05/30/09 Vancouver, British Columbia. little mountain studios - 195 E.26TH AVENUE 05/31/09 Anacortes, WA Dept of Safety 06/01/09 Olympia, Washington. Northern - 321 4th Ave. |
Calvin Johnson is many things: founder of K Records, twee patron saint, notorious baritone… and spastic dance machine?
Yes, Calvin Johnson’s dance moves were front and center at 92YTribeca, where he unveiled his latest project, The Hive Dwellers. Fusing the stark catchiness of his influential band, Beat Happening, and the rock sensibility of his other influential band, The Halo Benders, The Hive Dwellers put on a hypnotizing set Friday night before a crowd of K Recs disciples and cardigan-clad pop fans. (Of which I admit to being both, but I refused to wear a cardigan to this gig. Too easy.)
Fred Thomas, of Saturday Looked Good to Me, opened as City Center: a one-man outfit with a microphone and a synthesizer. The mostly instrumental set was largely ignored by the audience, who seemed to be more concerned with the impending presence of Calvin and the tiny hope that he might play “Indian Summer,” the twee-equivalent to “Knocking on Heaven’s Door.” (He did not.)
Half an hour later, Calvin appeared, wearing his familiar uniform of a too-tight, too-small shirt. As this was the Hive Dwellers debut performance, none of the songs had titles yet, but this was of little concern to audience, who were too enthralled by Calvin’s erratic dancing to notice.
Compared to Calvin’s past work, The Hive Dwellers are much more fleshed out, with a bass player, synthesizer/keyboard, guitars, and City Center Fred on drums. Not to mention the mouth organ, acoustic guitar, and maracas Calvin occasionally whipped out between dance moves. As always, Calvin’s deep baritone was impossible to ignore as he rhapsodized about sitting alone in movie theaters and building pinewood coffins – typical subject matter in his case. He continued to charm the audience with his sardonic stage banter, in which he compared Manhattan to the Vatican and extolled the virtues of midriff-bearing t-shirts.
The Hive Dwellers ended on an exceptionally high note, finally plugging in the electric guitar that had been sitting in the corner throughout the whole show. (Too bad it also drowned out most of the vocals.) Though Calvin’s lyrics were unintelligible, his enthusiasm was evident –of course—through his frantic dancing.
Surprisingly, they were not the last act of the night. That honor went to Ian Svenonius’ latest project, Chain and the Gang. Unfortunately I had a midnight birthday party to attend and had to opt out of seeing them. Despite this, I left happy. I had just witnessed Calvin Johnson do suggestive things to a pair of maracas. What more could I want?
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Well while we're on the topic of Juno... Funny story really (ok, typically tedious, but I gotta make it look like I put in the effort, you know?) - while skipping through Ukemeister Afton's latest youtube efforts I came accross one for Anything Else But You. Like the uninformed social recluse I am, I had no idea what was on the Juno soundtrack, and made a comment much ruder than it sounded along the lines of "Moldy Peaches did a much better version of this..." not having realised that the afton was in fact just doing her usual thouroughly thought through bastardised cover of the actual moldy peaches track. So I looked like a twat. Again. But hey, who was I to know that a film released last christmas would use the tracks of a band whom as far as I knew released their last material some time around 2003 while I was still in college, and broke up shortly thereafter? Even more shocking was seeing Kimya playing at film premiers, and her name spoken by non other than Mr WHM himself. I guess they ain't dead. So, now that I look like I've done something useful....
The Moldy Peaches. Circa 2003 and apparently 2008. Consisting of 5+ nutters (I never figured it out...), originating in NYC and playing something known as Anti-Folk. I've included County Fair, an old single, and Nothing Came Out, one of Kimya's sadder solo efforts. And I feel I need say no more as the below pic vid pretty much does all the talking. You know, I once promised to go to my first Crimea gig dressed similarly to Adam... And I'm told both Kimya and Adam's solo albums are extremely good.
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Tour
23 Nov Concorde 2 - Brighton, UK 24 Nov New Trinity Centre - Bristol, UK 26 Nov Everyman Palace - Cork, Ire 27 Nov Everyman Palace - Cork, Ire 29 Nov Dolans Warehouse - Limerick, Ire 30 Nov Rugby Club - Tullamore, Ire 01 Dec Black Box - Galway, Ire 02 Dec Glor - Ennis, Ire 04 Dec The Classic Grand - Glasgow, UK 05 Dec The Empire - Belfast, Ire 06 Dec Olympia Theatre - Dublin, Ire 07 Dec Watergate Theatre - Kilkenny, Ire 08 Dec Forum - Waterford, Ire 11 Dec Club Passim (7pm) - Boston, MA 11 Dec Club Passim (10pm) - Boston, MA 14 Dec Grand Ballroom - New York, NY Links Albums
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And the award for the happiest man alive goes to...Josh Ritter. From the moment he walked on the stage of Hall Two at the Sage Gateshead, to the moment he told his final bow, Josh Ritter wore on his face the most dashing smile I've ever seen.
Now I know Cristina (Ritter's future wife) has already mentioned the Josh Ritter tour, but W♥M is an international site and I loved the gig in Newcastle so much that I couldn't resist mentioning it again.
I never truly understood how being compared to Bob Dylan can used as a criticism, however I've read a few reviews making similar comparisons as if it were a bad thing. In my eyes, Ritter has always stood apart from Dylan, as part of the vanguard of the modern Americana.
I expected a good performance from a seasoned singer-songwriter such as Ritter. What I actually witnessed in the intimate setting of the Sage was an astonishing show from a musician at the peak of his game.
His personal serenade to a bearded man in the balcony was a priceless moment, as was his theory that David Attenborough makes most of the animal sounds on the documentary 'Planet Earth'. There was a moment during the show were he plunged the entire hall into darkness, although the lighting crew were quite reluctant. In the pitch black, he led the audience in making the sound of the giant carnivorous rabbit. Ritter had a lot of fun.
Supported by a band for most of the show, he was rarely off the stage during his two hour set. In total, he left for five minute break before returning for an encore of classics. The sole disappointment of the evening was 'A Girl in the War'. I have become so accustomed to hearing his acoustic demo version, that hearing it plugged in and amplified seemed alien to me. But all sins were forgotten when he started his encore with a soulful cover of 'Chelsea Hotel No 2', which is probably the closest I'll get to Leonard Cohen himself.
Josh was clearly playing to a crowd of fans. He seized the opportunity to rehash classic such as 'Monster Ballads', 'Lillian, Egypt', 'Good Man' and 'The Snow is Gone'. He even threw in an old Dylan song. Throughout though, there remained a healthy dose of new material taken from his latest album, 'The Historical Conquests Of Josh Ritter'.
One of the highlights of the night was 'The Temptation Of Adam'. A ballad about a romantic affair in a nuclear bunker located underground and out of sight, which managed to be hysterical and sentimental all in one as the couple ponder whether WWIII is the only way to make their love flourish.
Supporting Ritter was the surprisingly delightful Katie Walsh, who has just returned from her US tour. Her brand of soft-spoken, sensual ballads was a fitting introduction to the more well-rounded sound of Ritter, and at times a little more heart-felt and personal.
At the end of it all, I felt like a born-again Ritter fan and fully justified in my decision to join the Josh Ritter Appreciation Group on facebook. Talking of facebook, there is an awesome W♥M fan page...Ok, so it ain't awesome but it is pretty good.
Check out Ritter's website for more free tracks available to download (spread across his entire discography).
Josh Ritter's Fall Tour continues on in the UK and Ireland before finishing in Boston and New York. A lot of the venues are already sold out.
Most importantly Ritter managed to convince my younger brother, Tim, that I am still cool. I am still cool. I am still cool. I was never cool. All in all, it was another wonderful night at the Sage Gateshead.
November 22, 2007 21:05
Ryan
my♥posts
joshritter.com
| Links: Allie Moss | Virb | MySpace + Ingrid Michaelson | Fansite | MySpace | Posted by Jason |
You've heard of Hardcore, right? Even possibly, Slowcore. But what about Cuddlecore? That's really the description of Lisa Marr's music.
Marr orginally started off in the Canadian band, Cub, in 1992. They broke up in '97, and Marr ended up in several bands, including Buck, The Beards, The Lisa Marr Experiment, Lisa Marr & Soda, and currently The Here & Now.
It looks like The Here & Now are just Paolo Davanzo and Lisa Marr. Apparently Davanzo is also the founder of Echo Park Film Center (you can look at their Flickr Photos). From my understanding, that every one of Lisa's song, there is a short experimental movie or film that goes with it (presumeably directed and produced by Davanzo).
I haven't
seen any of their films, but this song, called "Xochimilco" is
certainly cute. It's about how they decided to ride the subway train to
the end of the line and ended up at the Xochimilco stop. The song said
they had a pretty good time :)
I believe this train station that she's singing about is actually in South Mexico City.
Trivia: They Might Be Giants made one of her song, New York City, really famous. You can listen to it, if you haven't heard it: They Might Be Giants - New York City. Their version contains bell-sounds, which is actually pretty cool.
Bonus: You can download all of Lisa Marr at WHFR (plus other samples - unfortunately the quality are all mono and sampling rate of 32k).
Flight of Conchords are a duo from Wellington, New Zealand; Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie. They are, in their own words, "New Zealand's 4th most popular guitar-based digi-bongo acapella-rap-funk-comedy folk duo" or in simpler terms, "New Zealand's fourth most popular folk-parody duo". Most of their performances include acoustic guitars and humorous banter. They probably received the most recognition (in the US) from their appearance on HBO's comedy series One Night Stand in which they performed seven songs; the whole show can be viewed on Google Video. When I first saw them, I was wary of the whole comedians-with-musical-instruments routine, but these guys actually mix the instruments with their witty material really well. They recently signed a 12-episode deal with HBO for a self-titled series about them "trying to achieve success in New York City as a band" (Wiki).
They released an album in 2002 of live material called Folk the World Tour featuring 2 studio-recorded tracks, "Something Special for the Ladies" and the Lord of the Rings inspired "Frodo". In 2005, they wrote a six-part, half-hour radio series for BBC Radio 2. "Presented in a 'mockumentary' style the series follows the duo's move to London and all the trials and tribulations they encounter along the way; from being shot by an arrow and dealing with stalker fans to the threat of the band breaking up. Interspersed throughout, are songs which seem to fit each situation" (SmokeCDs). In 2006, it was made available through Audible, Amazon (Canada) (UK), and SmokeCDs.
Aside from Flight of the Conchords, Jemaine and Bret have other side-projects:
Jemaine was part of The Humourbeasts with Taika Cohen (who is also credited as Taika Waititi). I don't know much about the project, but from this thread,
I gather that it was a theatrical sketch-comedy duo. Jemaine is also a
screenwriter/actor who co-wrote and co-starred in a movie called Tongan Ninja
which is an english-dubbed english film done in the style of poorly
dubbed martial arts movies about a ninja trying to save the woman he
loves. Jemaine played the villain, Action Fighter/Marvin. And in 2006,
he appeared in a couple of Outback Steakhouse commercials.
Bret is part of an 8-member band called The Black Seeds with a "reggae, dub, funk and soul" influence (site bio) and also has a solo project called The Video Kid which is more electronic, synth, folk sounding. He was an extra in The Fellowship of the Ring as an elf and nicknamed Figwit by fans which is an acronym for "Frodo is grea...who is THAT?!?" And thanks to some hardcore fans, Peter Jackson gave him a speaking part in The Return of the King. There's a fansite called Figwit Lives! dedicated to the elf and the man who played him.
Jemaine will star in a film called Eagle vs. Shark written and directed by his Humourbeasts pal Taika Cohen (Waititi). It's a "tale of two socially awkward misfits and the strange ways they try to find love; through revenge on high-school bullies, burgers, and video games" (IMDb). The film has received much praise including winning Best Screenplay at the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival and being the Official Selection at both the Sundance Film Festival and SXSW Film Festival and is set to be released on June 15. Their HBO series will premiere two days later on June 17, but if that seems a bit too far, the full pilot episode can be viewed here. Much more info about Flight of the Conchords can be obtained from a great fansite called What the Folk!.
Jason :: Official Site | What the Folk! (fansite)
