Archive for the ‘Adventures in the Big City’ Category
The places that I have visited in New York
Posted by xneverwherex on October 20, 2011
CMJ Day 2
10/19/11
Day 2 of CMJ was a bit of a slow-down. I totally missed out on the Duke Spirit (thanks work!), but I did get to head down to yet another lovely, swanky hotel. I ended up spending the later afternoon over at Thompson LES Hotel which is a really great hotel thats nearly hidden. The elevators play old movies and the roofdeck bar is quite nice with views of the LES. Its enclosed and is a great place to hang out.
The music was even better up there. The two bands I saw had a similar electronic sound. Little Red from Melbourne, Australia
were really great live. They have very catchy vocals and strong harmonies. A synth-pop guitar driven pop sound. The bass lines on “Rock It” are catchy and toe-tapping – the whole song makes you want to get up and dance. You can almost picture line-dancing to it – until the keyboards and electro beats kick in. A fun live band.
Little Red
Small Black
Small Black, from Brooklyn, had a similar sound. While still dancey, they definitely have a more lo-fi electronica feel. With 2 keyboards, the band is very much embracing the 80s sound. The band looks to be quite young, but clearly have fun once they hit the stage. Lots of dancing and getting into the show. Definitely worth seeing – and since theyre from Brooklyn – no rush to see them at CMJ.
Posted in Adventures in the Big City, Live Music, Random Ramblings | Tagged: 10/19/11, Australia, Brooklyn, CMJ, electro, indie, LES, Little Red, live, Melbourne, music, NYC, rooftop bar, Small Black, Thompson LES Hotel | Leave a Comment »
Posted by xneverwherex on October 19, 2011
CMJ – 10/18/11
So many bands, so little time! It seems its the same thing year after year with CMJ. Ive got a complete schedule that ends up useless in the first 5 minutes. Bands either fail to deliver or theyre so great – I end up seeing other bands on the showcase I might have passed up. Unfortunately, there are also times when you’d rather just shoot yourself and call it a night when disappointments continue.
The Good:
The Duke Spirit
The Duke Spirit – technically, they shouldnt even be included in this. Theyre established and damn good! Of course, they were the highlight of the night – and I fear if I continue to see them not much else will compare. Liela looking smokin’ hot as usual is always great fun to watch. She has so much energy when she performs and she commands the stage. Its hard to take your eyes off of her when she moves as she glances around the room. Her voice is perfection as she growls through the songs.
Surprisingly, they played their older songs instead of playing newer songs. Perhaps it was due to a really tight schedule in which they were needing to be in Brooklyn. They played a way too short set of about 8 songs but it couldnt have sounded better. The dirty, muddy sounding guitars were a great complement to Liela’s voice. The garage rock psychedelic sounded great in the posh Bowery Hotel. It couldnt have been a greater set.
Hands, from LA, took the stage prior to The Duke Spirit. They had a pretty big turn out with what seemed to be lots of friends (or maybe girlfriends) from Cali.
Hands
They sounded incredible and much better than I could have expected. The backing of the psychedlic, lush sounding keyboards and guitars filled the air, with a similar sound to Sun Airway. The vocals are strong and it seemed like if Division Day (another LA band) had continued and made their songs a bit more dancey this is what youd get.
The drummer, playing barefoot naturally, keeps the beats going. The keyboards nearly swallowing the lead singers voice on some songs works out beautifully. The music, the vocals and the guitars all blend so perfectly well together it gives such a complete sound. If youre not sure of who to see during CMJ, this band is definitely not to be missed. They have a show on Thurs afternoon at Pianos which should be great.
Alamo Race Track – who I actually saw on Monday (pre-CMJ) are also a band that you dont want to miss. Hailing from The Netherlands, it seemed the Dutch contingency came out in full support for them. I had never seen so many insanely tall people in my life. The band started off a bit shaky, and its hard to say whether or not it was the band
Alamo Race Track
or the actual songs they chose, but as their set continued the music definitely got better. They have some great melodies and their voices play off each other’s quite well.
“The Northern Territory” which they ended with was easily one of their best songs and definitely more popular. A lot of people were singing along and its catchy and fun. It sounds so much better live, that its worth seeing them just to hear that song. Its a punchy, fun toe-tapping awesome song. “Black Cat John Brown” was also another highlight. The other band members broke out with other instruments during the song. It seems they’re all quite talented players going back and forth on instruments.
They’ve got a free showcase on Thurs over at The Delancey with some other Dutch bands. If youre not doing much – its worth checking out.
And the well — not so good and you might walk out on bands.
Marcellus Hall – now if youre quite into country music, youd probably find the band quite good. They had a good sound and the lead singer was pretty amusing – so this alone made it better. As Im not a fan of country music – this was pretty painful and it seemed each song kept getting longer. Thankfully when soon there were only 3 songs, it became 2. And naturally, they’re all about love and relationships. The woman on violin did sound pretty awesome and it was her birthday – so cheers to that!
The Silent Comedy – which has such an awesome band name – so disappointed. I couldnt wait to get out of the show and it couldnt happen fast enough. Sounded like some sorta folky-bluegrass jangly type thing with banjos and all. Maybe they should have played after Marcellus Hall insteaad of spacing it out so oddly. Perhaps that was the original set- but with The Duke Spirit having to be in Brooklyn lots of things were changed. Either way – meant an early night.
And oh New Zealand – I had such high hopes for you. Andrew Keoghan, who was oh so nice to look at, was a little underwhelming. The guitar and drum thing had so much potential, but it was more of just a singer-songwriter act. Not bad sounding all, just a bit boring.
Princess Chelsea was interesting. The women had good voices and the way the band mixed it up on instruments was pretty cool. Their first song, which I knew from online, was very catchy, but then it just sounded like more of the same. It really seemed like 2 girls on their computers, mixing it up with sounds and beats and 2 guitars who added a bit more, with a drummer occasionally filling it in. Not a bad thing, just a bit slow and was near sleep inducing. Prob a great band to end a night with.
Heres to Day/Night 2. Hoping for some great things!
Posted in Adventures in the Big City, Live Music, Random Ramblings | Tagged: 10/18, 11, Bowery Hotel, CMJ, concert, dance, festival, Hands, indie, LA, Le Poisson Rouge, live, London, music, New Zealand, NYC, The Duke Spirit, UK | Leave a Comment »
Posted by xneverwherex on October 18, 2011
Mates of State
Mates of State
Other Lives
Yawn
10/12/11
Husband and wife duo – Kori Gardner and Jason Hammel – Mates of State played a really great, fun set on Wed night. In town for their new album Mountaintops, the band played a good chunk of the new material. Theyve also added an additional 2 members to their live set. The guy on the right – drenched in sweat by the end of the night – played his heart out, and worked the stage and delivered on all the instruments.
It was a great addition to the band giving them an even fuller sound. Kori was surrounded by plants/shrubbery which obscured her for those of us in the front. You could make out her blonde hair bouncing around as she jumped and clapped to songs. At one point, the audience wanted to see her and she happily obliged. From much further back, the sound was much better and of course, you had an entire view of the band.
The encore included their more popular ‘My Only Offer’, thank you Gossip Girl, and had the crowd singing and dancing along. Their fans are a great balance between younger and older and everyone seems to just love and adore everything they do. The band also made a point during each of the openers to come out and bring them glasses of tequila. They seemed to really enjoy the openers on tour with them and it was great to see everyone liking each other.
Other Lives, from Stillwater, OK, were a great opener. With a unique sound of folk-indie music, the band nearly outshined the headliners. The band has a great sound with the band members each playing different instruments on the songs. It was great to see the upright bass and violin make appearances on some of the songs. The lush melodies created were just beautiful and filled up the space of Webster Hall. And while there isnt much crowd interaction, the band brings you right in.
It was great to see a lot of people just come out to see them. They have been acquiring quite the fan-base so it was no surprise when people weren’t familiar with Mates of State, but were only there to see Other Lives. Many it seemed, took off soon after MoS took the stage with a pretty different sound and definitely more poppy.
And Yawn – oh why did you come up with such a poorly named band. Sadly, they actually lived up to their band name. They were pretty forgettable and for an opener it actually was close to putting me to sleep. Perhaps its irony at its finest and the band is doing what they set out to do.
Posted in Adventures in the Big City, Live Music, Random Ramblings | Tagged: 10/12/11, band, concert, indie, live, Mates of State, NYC, Other Lives, Webster Hall, Yawn | Leave a Comment »
Posted by xneverwherex on September 25, 2011
Ivy
Tahiti 80
Gramercy Theatre
9/24/11
Ivy had finally returned after a 6 year disappearance. It was great that they brought their French counter-parts with them along for the ride (Tahiti 80). While Ivy technically isn’t French, lead singer Dominique Durand most definitely is. She still looked and sounded as great as ever. She did introduce all of the band members, much to the chagrin of husband Andy Chase, who commented cheekily with ‘I guess we need a new singer now’.
The band was definitely having fun on stage. Adam Schlesinger (of Fountains of Wayne fame) said some funny things which Im not remembering. It was great when they played The Go-Betweens lovely song “Through the Streets of Your Town” even announcing it wasnt their song. Very funny esp as the band said how it showed they hadnt been playing in years as no one does that, but actually many times that does happen (just no mention of the original artist – Im looking at you Broken Social Scene). Either way, the song sounded as great as the original. Lots of people were singing and dancing along.
Through The Streets Of Your Town
Their older hits are definitely what the fans wanted to hear. Lots of fans screaming out songs, of which few were played. The band kept it to a fairly short set, barely reaching an hour. It is too bad as there is so much material. But as Dominique said, it was past her bedtime. Their music sounds even more pop-friendly than Tahiti 80 and is always a good time. The crowd was definitely loving “Thinking About You” and everyone sang and moved around to it. The new material of “All Hours” sounds just as great and I definitely need to be getting my hands on it soon.
Hopefully the band will be back around soon with a proper tour for the new album. And just hopefully play a bit longer.
Openers Tahiti 80 were as fun as ever. A pity their set was quite short as well, as it seems they could have played a lot more. Ah the joys of being an opener. The French group seemed to be having a really great time on stage. Their new material sounds very reminiscent of their first album. Some very catchy, poppy, dance-y songs. It was great hearing a nice mix of new material and their early work. “Heartbeat” still sounds as great as ever and is just beyond super catchy.
The bands definitely were a great fit together. Its no surprise as Andy Chase did produce the bands first 2 albums. Hopefully they will continue a full tour all together. If you like pop bands with great melodies and catchy songs, these are 2 bands that are definitely worth seeing together.
Posted in Adventures in the Big City, Live Music, Random Ramblings | Tagged: 9/24/11, concert, France, Gramercy Theatre, indie, Ivy, live, music, NYC, pop, Tahiti 80 | Leave a Comment »
Posted by xneverwherex on September 23, 2011
The Olivia Tremor Control
The Music Tapes
Le Poisson Rouge
9/22/11
Athens, GA lost a fine, fine band yesterday — “Its the end of the world as we know it” (well not quite) — REM
. It was somewhat bittersweet that I just happened to be seeing another Athens band that same night, The Olivia Tremor Control. The Olivia Tremor Control – part of the Elephant 6 collective – played a really great show at Le Poisson Rouge. While I wasnt a fan of them (more like had no clue of them) in the 90s, Im glad that I came across them through Of Montreal. Better late than never, even if they rarely play and havent released albums in pretty much forever.
After seeing The Elephant 6 Collective earlier this year, I knew that I had to see The Olivia Tremor Control. I was never a huge fan of Neutral Milk Hotel (sacreligious to write, I know!) and I loved The Apples in Stereo, so I figured this might be a once in a blue moon type thing. I had always throught their music was much more pop, but last night proved otherwise. While they have catchy songs and great melodies, I never realized how much of a psychedelic sound they had. Psychedelic pop has never sounded better. They have some great jam songs and the crowd just seemed to love it. Lots of people swaying, lots of dancing and some sorta pit happened.
The band seemed beyond happy to be playing together. As they finished off the set and left the stage, the crowd grew louder and wanted them back. The band was very excited to come out for an encore, and mentioned how they werent yet ready to leave. The encore was great and by the end they seemed quite happy with the show.
The openers – The Music Tapes – another band in the Collective (or at least has some of the other band members) played an interesting set. Much like the Elephant 6 Collective some of the set was the same. Great stories about Romanian circus freaks – and lost dissolving cities – and some sorta magic. Some great songs in between and one of the best parts of the set – the 7′ tall metronome (that mostly worked!)! There were some cool interesting songs that definitely had some sorta gypsy Romanian flair.
A 7' Tall Metronome
Setlist:
A Peculiar Noise Called “Train Director”
I’m Not Feeling Human
Memories Of Jacqueline 1906/The Giant Day (Dusk)
Define A Transparent Dream
Courtyard
A Place We Have Been To
The Game You Play Is In Your Head, Parts 1, 2, 3
Jumping Fences
Grass Canons
California Demise
Green Typewriters (suite)
NYC-25
Paranormal Echoes
I Have Been Floated
No Growing (Exegesis)
A Sleepy Company
Mystery
Hideaway
The Sylvan Screen
—
Holiday Surprise 1, 2, 3
The Opera House
Posted in Adventures in the Big City, Live Music, Random Ramblings | Tagged: Athens, GA, gypsy, indie, Le Poisson Rouge, live, music, NYC, psych-pop, psychedelic, Romanian, The Music Tapes, The Olivia Tremor Control, The Village | Leave a Comment »
Posted by xneverwherex on September 12, 2011
Broken Social Scene
9/8/11
Williamsburg Waterfront
The Waterfront turned out to be a hot, humid night for us. While the view is nothing short of spectactular, the air quality not so much. Besides, a young kid fainted not just once, but twice during the early part of the BSS set. Thats how you know youll be in for a great night.
BSS came out to a smaller crowd, but a group of fans that just loved them. They opened the set with Cause = Time and what a way to start. The crowd was pretty into them and even the fans who were there for TV on the Radio seemed to get into it. People were bopping their heads and singing their songs.
It was a bit sad when a song or two later Kevin Drew said how much he had loved playing for the past 10 years, and 5 shows in NYC in the past year was even more than his hometown. Needless to say, it was kind of obvious that they were ready for a bit of a break. At this point it sounds like an indefinite hiatus with the words ‘Dont Forget Us.’ So that was a bit sad. I cant really imagine someone filling that void or anyone ever being quite like them.
They did play close to an hour set which was decent, but obviously people wanted more. It was great to have some brass on quite a few songs and the band members dancing around and having a great time. The sax section was amazing.
They included a cover from Modest Mouse which was quite good. Lisa Lobsinger still sounded great, but its hard to not miss the likes of Emily Haines or Amy Millan on ‘7/4 (Shoreline)’. They also included a song that Andrew Whiteman had written the prior day called ‘Fire Eye’d Boy’ which of course was a crowd pleaser. Too bad it really wasnt a song that had just been written in the spur of the moment.
In typical fashion, Kevin didnt quite know how to end things. Some fans were calling out songs (which I couldnt hear what they were saying), but he chided them with it being the obvious ending song. While at one point he thought he had finished the set, he was told they would have time for one ‘final’ song. They finally closed out the night with ‘Ibi Dreams Of Pavement (A Better Day)’. It was a song they hadnt played in awhile and still sounded as great as ever.
While the performance as a whole was far from the greatest and the band might not have seemed super into it, it was still a great show. I would hate to think that BSS might not come back here and it was their final show ever in NYC, but if it was all I can say is thanks for all the great times. There were so many good shows
Setlist:
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Posted in Adventures in the Big City, Live Music, Random Ramblings | Tagged: 9/8/11, band, Broken Social Scene, Brooklyn, Canada, indie, Live Music, NYC, rock, Toronto, Williamsburg Watefront | Leave a Comment »
Posted by xneverwherex on August 28, 2011
Dramarama
Wyldlife
8/20/11
Bowery Electric
Dramarama makes for a good night out. Years later, they still make and bring back the best memories. Its hard to complain when they lead to the perfect unplanned date. Now, getting back to the music.
A bit older, but definitely not wearier, Dramarama rocked the club. John Easdale looks exactly the same (perhaps a bit less hair), but still comes out in his trademark sunglasses and cowboy hat. The band which seemingly seemed larger with lots more guitarists, sounded as great as I remembered them in the 90s. It was very awesome that one of the guitarists now has a LA Kings logo on the face of his guitar.
Their set included much of their older songs, and had the mostly older crowd rockin’ out. In prior years, that might have meant a crazy pit, but now people just appreciated it with lots of head bopping and dancing. Their set which never followed a setlist was all about what the band wanted to play. John noted that the prior night that he played very few songs that were written down, and this time he’d try to do better. He continued with his great dance moves and over-the-top choreography which also included a fall into the audience nearly toppling me over. He played it off and never missed a beat.
It was great to hear hits like “Stuck in Wonderamaland” and “Spare Change”. Like shows from the past, sure enough on “Spare Change” a few coins hit the stage. Their fans have definitely not changed. The night ended as John said his voice couldn’t handle much more. “Last Cigarette” had the crowd singing and dancing and cigarettes littered the stage. John picked one up and thankfully one of the guys in the audience gave him a light. The rockstar in him could _not_ be stopped!
It should be noted that instead of drinking a whole lot of alcohol, he drinks _a lot_ of Tab. A drink that some people didn’t even recognize, but it was a cola that was quite popular in the 80s.
The show ended with a 2-second reprieve saying ‘this is the encore.’ The RXP DJ, Rich Russo, who set up the show comes on stage to “introduce” ‘Anything Anything’. It couldnt have been a show without that song, considering the DJs show is called ‘Anything Anything’. And with that, the crowd and band gets the DJ to sing the song. It was pretty awesome when there was a short pause in the song and John tells everyone to start singing. Sure enough everyone starts singing along ‘When I was young I learned a game… I got wasted she got mad…’ No matter how long it had been, everyone still knew the words like any classic rock song!
Posted in Adventures in the Big City, Friends, Live Music, Random Ramblings | Tagged: 8/20/11, Bowery Electric, concert, Dramarama, glam, indie, John Easdale, live show, music, rock, Wyldlife | Leave a Comment »
Posted by xneverwherex on August 4, 2011
Fountains of Wayne
Nicole Atkins
8/3/11
Bowery Ballroom
Fountains of Wayne just might be the greatest power-pop band ever. Adam, Chris, Jody and Brian come (back) home bearing gifts of some of the most fun pop songs ever written. Theyre catchy, clever and Jody’s guitar drives those songs. The guitars on ‘Denise’ simply brilliant. Besides, these days its not too often that a guitarist has enough swaggart to pull out a cigarette and start smoking on stage while still playing and drinking. That is, until Adam comes by and then bam, no more cigarette.
While their lyrics may be beyond cheesy and simple, they no doubt stay with you and you find yourself singing them long after the show is finished. Its hard not to be smiling the entire show. The band undoubtedly is having as great a time as the crowd. Chris tells stories about Japan, a 36 hour trip (or maybe that was rest) and drunken nights in Japan. Whatever the story is, it always sounds like a good time.
FoW played a great mix of their music and included a handful of songs off their new album which definitely has a more country flair to it. But they never seem to lose their pop melodies that they succeed in. Most of their songs are accompanied by crowd sing-alongs or crowd members hand selected to join the band on percussions on ‘Hey Julie’. Its no doubt that the crowd (which skews to an older-ish crowd) is still yearning for their early music. Random people are heard to be yelling ‘Red Dragon Tattoo’, which sadly they did not play. But with their abundance of awesome songs, its hard to get everything you wanted played.
Of course, no Fountains of Wayne show would be complete without the hugely popular ‘Stacy’s Mom’ . Not appearing on the setlist, it showed up as an encore and had everyone dancing and singing along. And each time I hear ‘Radiation Vibe’ Im convinced it will never sound better. And last night might have been the coolest mix – as at the end they went into a Peter Frampton song, followed by Tears For Fears ‘Mad World’ and then one last 70s song. Of course the last song, was horribly botched with Adam forgetting the words and them kinda making them up. Regardless whatever they do, always seems to be fun and awesome. The medley was awesome especially as it segued back into ‘Radiation Vibe’. Few bands can pull it off, but when they do, it can work wonders.
Perhaps, following in the steps of Matthew Sweet, they will do a tour for Utopia Parkway. That would be quite awesome!
Supporting act: Nicole Atkins sounded as great as ever. She has amazing vocals and kept it simple with her and her friend Serena? who was accompanying her on bass. It was even just as nice when it was just Nicole and her acoustic guitar. I always forget how much I like her, shes chill and laid back and just goes with it. Ill make sure next time shes around, I check her out. Thankfully shes from around her, so that should not be a problem.
If youve yet to see FoW, you really should. It can make any day that much better. Besides, they might just have some of the coolest fans ever.
Setlist:
Little Red Light
Valley of Malls
Summer Place
Someone to Love
Barbara H
Richie and Ruben
A Road Song
Valley Winter Song
Fire in the Canyon
Hey Julie
A Dip in the Ocean
Denise
Mexican Wine
Radiation Vibe (medley: Peter Frampton ‘Do You Feel Like We Do’, Tears for Fears ‘Mad World’, Blue Oyster Cult ‘Burnin’ For You’ )
Encore:
Stacy’s Mom
I-95
Cemetery Guns
Joe Rey
Sink
(encore might be off)
Posted in Adventures in the Big City, Live Music, Random Ramblings | Tagged: 8/3/11, Adam Schlesinger, band, Bowery Ballroom, Brian Young, Chris Collingwood, Fountains of Wayne, indie, Jody Porter, live, music, Nicole Atkins, NYC, power-pop, Radiation Vibe, Stacys Mom | Leave a Comment »
Posted by xneverwherex on July 18, 2011
Superchunk
Off!
House of Vans (Brooklyn)
July 14, 2011
Well it was nice to be seeing tweets not too long before Superchunk came on to let people know space was still available and to come on down. I showed up pretty late to the warehouse now known as House of Vans. They have a taco truck out back along with free beer and free water. And of course, music, all for free! Its a win/win any way you look at it.
I came in and caught the last few songs of Off! I had no clue who they were aside for the fact that it was _very_ loud and pretty crazy. Later did I come to learn theyre some hardcore punk bank with the former singer of The Circle Jerks/Black Flag (Keith Morris).
Thankfully not long after Superchunk would be hitting the stage. As always it was an awesome show. Bring back the 90s with lots of pogo-ing, hands in the air, some pushing/shoving and an all around great time. It was great to see a good mix of people from the older(ish) fans to the much younger fans with everyone singing along to “My Gap Feels Weird”.
There were some annoying kids (who clearly dont go to concerts) that continued to scream out the same song every 5 seconds and after every song. Some girl finally turned around to tell them to ‘shut up’ and the song they were yelling was on the setlist. That was great for all of 5 seconds till they decided to yell at another song.
It was a really great mix of songs and it seems they were trying to play some songs off of every album. They noted that a fan complained about them not playing songs off their 2nd album, so of course they included it this time. As always, their music is super catchy. Lots of people singing along. The bands always seems to be having a great time, bouncing around on the stage, interacting with each other and the crowd. And it was rather funny to see Jack putting a band-aid on Macs forehead at the beginning of the show! Those pesky cuts from guitars or some such thing. And Laura is as awesome as ever jumping around and singing and having a great time.
The encore was really great with the aforementioned Keith Morris joining Superchunk and playing a Misfits and Black Flag song. The warehouse turned into complete chaos at that moment and Im glad I was far enough off to the side.
Setlist:
Slack Motherfucker
Digging for Something
My Gap Feels Weird
Animated Airplanes Over Germany
Skip Steps 1 & 3
Sunshine State
Rosemarie
New Low
Sick to Move
Crossed Wires
Martinis on the Roof
Driveway to Driveway
Detroit Has a Skyline
Throwing Things
Encore:
Cursed Mirror
Learned to Surf
Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie (Black Flag cover with Keith Morris)
Where Eagles Dare (Misfits cover with Keith Morris)
Hyper Enough
Posted in Adventures in the Big City, Live Music, Random Ramblings | Tagged: 7/14/11, Brooklyn, Chapel Hill, concert, covers, free, Greenpoint, House of Vans, indie, Keith Morris, live, Misfits, music, NC, Off!, Superchunk | Leave a Comment »
Posted by xneverwherex on June 29, 2011
The Kooks
Smoke Signals
Bowery Ballroom
June 27, 2011
The Kooks finally made it back to this side of the pond after what seemed like a long hiatus. They have a new album coming out in September – Junk of the Heart. From what they played live of their newer stuff, it sounds like it has a lot of promise. Its easily similar to their earlier works and equally poppy.
Luke Pritchard is always quite the front-man. A bit quiet, with guitar in hand, a red tight vneck with tight jeans; he looks every part the rock star. He never has too much to say but it really doesnt matter. The crowd loves him regardless. Anytime he approaches the edge of the stage, people want to pull him to them. Its alike for men and women.
By the time I got there, a bit after the said doortimes, the floor was already half packed. I was quite surprised, but managed to work my way to the front and side. Aside from some pushy guy, who asked way too many questions, the show was good.
I was a bit surprised that the set length is still just a bit over an hour. It hasnt increased much in time even with more songs. Luke did promise to play the favorites and he delivered. A lot of the crowd up front, were singing along to every single song, as Luke pointed out. ‘Do you wanna make love to me?’ was great and had the crowd dancing. He joked about the crowd knowing some of the songs as he broke out into ‘Naive’ and it was a sing-along.
The encore was quite great as Luke came out on his own and did a stripped down version of ‘Seaside’. Im pretty sure this is standard now, as I could have sworn I had seen it before. Either way, still sounds great. The Kooks early stuff still sounds great and its hard to want to hear new stuff when its just as satisfying to hear all of their early music.
Opener Smoke Signals was pretty bad. I was surprised that so many people were so into them. Had a country-ish vibe to them with a pop sensibility. They played for nearly 45 minutes and it was (seemed to be) the longest 45 minutes ever. Wish they had rapped it up sooner and given the Kooks more time. No clue if they might have played longer, but one can hope.
Set List:
Always Where I Need To Be
Eddie’s Gun
See The World
Carried Away
Ooh La
She Moves In Her Own Way
Junk Of The Heart
Is It Me
Do You Wanna
Naive
Saboteur
Eskimo Kiss
Shine On
Stormy Weather
Encore:
Seaside
How D’Ya Like That
Sofa Song
Posted in Adventures in the Big City, Friends, Live Music, Random Ramblings | Tagged: 6/27/11, Bowery Ballroom, britpop, concert, East Sussex, indie, live, Luke Pritchard, music, NYC, The Kooks, UK | Leave a Comment »
Ramblings of a Redhead Music Snob 