2/9/07

What a great night to go to a show. It had been a long week, and I’m telling you, my weeks are getting longer especially going out every single night. Suddenly I’m feeling like Im not 23 years old anymore. Oh wait, I’m not 23 🙂 I only act like I still am 23.  It was a cold night, and New York is getting colder by the minute. I’m hearing freezing rain in the forecast, and snow coming up. Ugg!

Met up with Luke at The Bowery. Luckily I know my around that area, because one confused Luke, well it took him longer than normal to get there. Ah well. I have made that same mistake one too many times, not knowing Kenmare turns into Delancey. The Bowery was nice and toasty tho, which is always a great thing!

So I was front and center for the bands. First up – The Czars? – Im not even sure if thats the correct spelling of their name, but since the band failed to introduce themselves, its a good thing Midlake told us who they were. Yup, had no clue who they were. And they were not memorable. Im not sure I can dig the 2 musician thing anymore. Im just not feeling it. I will say it was much more entertaining when the singer wasn’t behind the keyboard and was singing. I could almost get into those songs (all 2 of them maybe?). Overall, forgettable music.

Next up – St. Vincent – now if you have no clue, this is not a band, but a very perky, cute chick (now thats so UN PC of me). She has this really great voice and was strong on guitar. She was entertaining and made some jokes about the great state of Texas along with some Bush jokes. Definitely has a good sense of humour. Her music was a touch folky, but nothing too over the top, that would make anyone’s head spin.

My only disappointment with the openers is that they really did nothing to get me energized for the show. As I had mentioned I’m going to lots of shows, and I typically get there for the opener. Sometimes you find a hidden gem. But I was nearly comatose before Midlake came on.

But what can I say… Midlake came on and blew me away. The stage was an amazement of keyboards all over the place – 3 sets from what I remember, a tripod on the stage so they could do their picture show, from what I could tell it was cool at moments, a bunch of guitars, and the drummer all by his lonesome in back. I think 5 guys in total.

So I have just noticed they were nominated for Indie Rock album at the Plug Awards, along with their song “Roscoe”. They played the single Roscoe early on in the evening. Their 2nd song to be exact. And its beautiful. Their music is so great to listen to and its so easy to get into the band. The lead singer has a Chris Martin vibe to him with vocals reminiscent of Fran Healy of Travis. I would say easily that they sound like the American version of Travis. Great vocals, catchy songs, great choruses that just bring you into the music. At times it sounded like they had a 70’s sound going on, reminding me of The Eagles, but a friend commented that they were the late 70’s Fleetwood Mac. Im not a huge Fleetwood Mac fan, so I really cant comment on that.

Regardless, hands down, these guys can play music. All of them are so talented, and they have great energy and stage presence on stage. They talked up the crowd, mentioning Denton, Texas quite a bit. They made fun of a New York paper that mentioned a sold-out show by Midlake. Hmmm, why the surprise. New Yorkers can do more than the hottest indie band, and actually listen to a song with meaning? Yeah, crazy! I guess the newspapers forget that New York is not just filled with New Yorkers, but plenty of us come from other states and can appreciate great insightful lyrics that do make us think and feel.

So yes, I fell in love with Midlake and I guarantee if you like Coldplay/Travis, you will too! Now its time to go buy some of their music and start supporting the boys of Denton, Texas.

2/7/07

Its cold at night, and I don’t want to go out. Yes, I know Midnight Movies is playing, its also sold-out. Its also utterly freezing. But I did get my lazy arse up and headed out to Lit Lounge to meet up with a friend and grab a drink. After the drink headed over to the Mercury to a packed house. Luckily for me (and Luke), it wasnt too bad when we got there. And besides, I got to talk to one of the drummers and one of the guys in the band. All very friendly.

So Midnight Movies was perfect for a cold night out. Sweet, haunting vocals, and droning new wave pop is a perfect way to describe the band. The darkness of Joy Division, with the gothic sounds of Siouxsie and mix it all together, add a touch of shoegaze, and long drawn out songs at times, and you get Midnight Movies. Nights in White Satin was a beautiful cover with a drag-em/drop-em/knock you out punch on the drums at the end of the song.  And what a way to end the show. Nearing about 45 mins. and clearly should have gone on for an hour. I’m sure some of those songs could have been dragged out just a bit.

Gena Oliver, singer and sometime drummer, is the woman with that sultry voice that often gets compared to Nico. Besides – she’s pure eye-candy, and not that its important, it never hurt a band. And before the talk about Phil Collins gets mentioned, in Uncut magazine, when comparing her to Meg White and Karen Carpenter her first comment is “I’m glad you didn’t mention Phil Collins”. She clearly has a sense of humour!

And their name, they owe their name to a book about 70’s underground cinema of Andy Warhol.

They are playing all over with Alexi Murdoch (whom I didn’t stay for), but are so worth the $10-$12 to see them. And they have very cool shirts. I really really recommend checking them out if you can.