Ramblings of a Redhead Music Snob

Life & Music in New York, My City

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Oh those lovely Parisians

Posted by xneverwherex on October 11, 2009

So — in the past 2 weeks Ive seen a _ton_ of shows.  So lets start – a show at a time for the past 2 weeks. Or I should say – the shows that stood out.

Fri – Sept 25 – Phoenix & Passion Pit @ Central Park (Summerstage)

So, I was lucky enough to get into the show since it was sold out. But I volunteered for Summerstage, so I had an easy in. Of course, it really meant that I was working at the show. So I got there early and got to hear Passion Pit doing their soundcheck. They were already sounding great. A quick text to Andrew (one of the guys who works for them, and is also a friend of mine) to let him know how it sounded.

I was assigned to the ‘mobility -impaired’ section as its now called which is right in the front of the stage area on the right hand side. Great spot with a great view and also right next to the VIP section.

Passion Pit played a good set. I cant say I had the same feeling after seeing them in Chicago, but they were enjoyable. But Im a big believer in the fact that they need to just play their faster/upbeat stuff in concert, as their slower stuff doesnt translate as well. And honestly, I can only take so much falsetto. But their catchy songs do work live and the crowd was really living it up.

Phoenix would come on next. And me, being totally forgetful, couldnt understand why my friends were getting all excited. And behind me was Simon Pegg, Kirsten Dunst and Sophia Coppola (wife of Thomas Mars – lead singer of Phoenix). How on earth I didnt think for 2 secs she might show up, I dont know. But sure enough they were all there leaning up against the same fence I was. They seemed friendly enough, but you could tell they did not want to be bothered. And Simon nearly had to jump in and help me do security and get some guys out of the area.

Anyway, after all my celebrity gawking, Phoenix finally hit the stage. And the boys from France never disappoint. Their new stuff sounds great live and starting off with Lisztomania is a great choice getting the crowd really involved in their show. They played stuff from each of their albums, and it was really great to be hearing ‘Funky Squaredance’, although for all I know they play it at all of their shows. But its always a great song – Im just amazed how many people dont know it. Their encore had some of their other hits with Everything is Everything and If I Ever Feel Better. Thomas even did some songs by himself which was a nice change. Overall, they sounded great and what an awesome way to end the summer. Out in the park with gorgeous weather and the boys of Phoenix.

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A Night Left to the Fates

Posted by xneverwherex on September 20, 2009

That sounds like a good title for a Decemberists song, right? Well dont worry – this is about the Decemberists 🙂

Ive decided that Im going to get back on the game (or is that the horse) and start to update this on a regular basis. Theres so many great concerts out there – and so many Ive seen.

According to The Decemberists website this is what we would get – Decemberists will perform a set that will be entirely left to the hands of fate — we will draw songs from a lottery and dutifully play them, regardless of their quality or presence in our memory. Decemberists songs, naturally, but you do never know what bizarre cover songs or strange commands may end up in the pile.

And yes – this was a set left entirely in the hands of fate – along with also the hands of John Wesley Harding. As emcee of the show, he did quite a good job. He was a little too talkative for my taste, as Id have preferred to have heard more songs. And I definitely was not a fan of him throwing out songs at the end. What no “Engine Driver”, which happens to be one of my favorite songs. But he was entertaining and had to throw about some other ridiculous requests. Not sure how many other crowd surfing requests there actually were.

Decemberists did their best to keep things in order. The only thing actually not in order was they did play Crane Wife 3 and then went straight into The Island. And that worked out quite well. It was great to see Laura Veirs on Yankee Bayonet as the last time this was supposed to happen their show was cancelled. The songs were pretty all over the place and Id have loved to have heard even more of their popular songs, but – as left to the hands of fate you never know what youll get.

The Tain was definitely interesting and lasting 20 mins. Im quite sure this will be the first and last time I ever get to hear it played. Colin did write a song about The Hudson River, NYC and Sully and considering it was on the fly, it was pretty damn awesome. Marcel did some crowd surfing which was pretty funny and yes, even Nate and John made out, although Im almost sure there was no tongue. I was right in front of Jenny and she was looking like she was having a great time as always.

The final song was just awesome. Im a big fan of ELO, hahaha, and this was an awesome cover. I got some great video of it and Colin hopping around.

The good: hearing songs Id never have heard otherwise and in general an awesome idea. it was the perfect, the perfect, the perfect, the perfect, the perfect, the perfect crime!

The bad: not enough music. 15 songs in 2 hours really. Not much of Colin Meloy talking 😦 and way too much John Wesley Harding talking.

Laura Veirs was a good opener. She plays a folky-indie style of music and has a great voice. Her backing band is also quite good. Plus, without her we’d not have her wonderful addition on “Yankee Bayonet”.

Setlist:

  1. Yankee Bayonet (w/Laura Veirs)
  2. July July
  3. The Raincoat Song
  4. Bridges and Balloons
  5. From My Own True Love
  6. Bachelor & The Bride
  7. Rake Song
  8. Culling of the Fold
  9. Marcel crowd surfs to a waltz
  10. I Was Meant For The Stage
  11. The Island
  12. Crane Wife 3
  13. Annan Water

Encore 1

  1. Nate & John Make Out
  2. Colin Writes a Song
  3. The Tain
  4. The Perfect Crime 2

Encore 2

  1. Mr. Blue Sky (ELO cover)

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Fischerspooner and running

Posted by xneverwherex on May 9, 2009

Seriously – the two have nothing to do with each other. But I read a blog this morning – about a guy whose mother died when he was 18 from cancer – and how hes running for a cure. And I thought to myself – I should really run (for myself, not for any cure just yet). Actually, must go back a step – I will start out with walking leading up to a run.

For anyone who knows my bout with running last year – it ended up with me seeing a doctor who specializes in problems that arise from running and other sports. It also turned out he was one of the team doctors for the New York Islanders. I couldnt even make up stuff like this. And there were pics of all these Isles players on his wall – and also Nets (he was the current team doctor for the NJ Nets). 

5/8/09 @ Webster Hall w/Drop the Lime and No Bra

So now – lets jump to real good stuff. Last night was the show of shows. It ended with Spooner saying something to the fact of “You will never witness a live show like this. It is the show upon shows”. Words cannot do justice to what I witnessed. So until the pictures are posted, imagination is a necessity. 

It starts out with a bunch of silvery walls placed on the stage. You could easily tell mirrors were on the flip-side. And there were silvery costumes everywhere – tutus, etc. And the DJ set is on the left hand side of the stage – with 2 guys (one being Fischer) getting the music going – and its pumping, the beats throbbing through your body, that its impossible to not start moving to the music. And then Spooner comes out – with this glorious pseudo space time warped hat on that seems to have its own halo. Who knows who created it, but its out there – its spacey, its bizarre. And thus begins this show.

And then the dancers come out – in costumes that have so much silver and black and what happens is just bizarre. The dancing is something else – the way their bodies move and undulate on the stage, their legs moving around in all sorts of shapes – its unreal. 

Amidst the dancing, the use of mirrors and Spooner singing and talking to us about fireside chats, there is a concert in there. And the concert is fabulous – its an art lovers orgasm as it combines something for all the senses. Great fashion, the minimalist sets, aural beats and the crowd moving together dancing as one. Its a mind-fuck to say the least. 

Maybe Erasure and the Pet Shop Boys started it in the 80s, but electro-clash/art-rock certainly is not the same with Fischerspooner on the scene. Its worth checking them out, if only because I guarantee you will _never_ see anything like this in your life. As Spooner said ‘Guess who is here tonight?? … Tom Cruise’. Amongst all the gay boys in the crowd, that would have been something else.

Oh – and “Cloud” performed live – with no use of dancers and just Spooner singing it – simply f’ing gorgeous. He looked like this amazing shimmery goldish thing from an outer-world place.

Now this is one concert worth talking about. If you missed it, be sure it never happens again. Words cannot do justice.

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2008 – the shortest recap ever

Posted by xneverwherex on January 11, 2009

since i didnt post a single thing here in a year – its tragic really – i wasnt altogether absent from reviews and such. if i have time ill one day add them here, but you can read about my adventures in the city on my flickr page. all the concerts come with recaps and what not. www.flickr.com/photos/xneverwherex

and heres to lots of shows in 09. im starting on a great note with the winterpills. and this week liam & me. awesome awesome awesome!

HAPPY NEW YEARS!

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Best of 2007

Posted by xneverwherex on December 15, 2007

My friend Manuel had this brilliant idea (well he stole it from a friend too) and we made a best of 2007 mix of all the best music from this year. Of course Im a bit biased, but I think mine is brilliant. If you end up downloading it and liking the idea, make your own – and pass the link my way.

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Rachel’s Best of 2007

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Its Friday Night at The Apollo

Posted by xneverwherex on November 19, 2007

11/16/07

Friday night at The Apollo! Actually I think it’s really Saturday night at The Apollo – but you get the gist. And yes – really – its that Apollo Theater up in Harlem. Home of Slick Willy (err Bill Clinton).

So for those not familiar with Harlem – its definitely not what I had ever envisioned it to be – but the Theater is exactly how it should be. This strip of Harlem 125th Street is now just store upon store mixed in with every fast food joint you can think of. But it has a nice vibe to it, and I always like being up there.

The Apollo is filled with ushers throughout the theater – taking you to your seat. Asking you to kindly fill out surveys and everyone is uber-helpful. I could get spoiled by this. I was even more spoiled with my seat in the second row. When you look up above behind you from that close to the stage – the feeling is amazing at how big it is. When you think of all the blues/jazz artists (and everyone else in between) that has played there – you can almost feel the intensity. But I digress…

The show started out with Simple Kid (an Irish bloke) who plays a kind folksy-artsy 6-7 songs. The first few songs were ok – but somewhere it just caught and each subsequent song was fabulous. The highlight by far was hearing him say ‘this song is about being Irish’ and starting to play ‘Its Not Easy Being Green’ – featuring yes – Kermit the Frog! Oh that was awesome (I should say this was my first record I ever owned – the Muppets – with Rainbow Connection). His other songs included a song about Elton John – that has a great story to go along with it and the ever catchy Seratonin – which even featured the words on the screen behind him. For a one-man show he did his job and I am ready to go purchase his CD.

Finally – Spiritualized took the stage. I had heard so many stories about them playing live and how amazing it was – that I could only hope it would be that good. Jason was looking pretty thin wearing dark sun glasses the entire night. I was in the unfortunate section with a guy yelling ‘take off your glasses Jason, I want to see your eyes’. I really wanted to say “shut your mouth dude, I want to hear Jason sing’. Maybe I should have, but to interrupt the music would have been sacreligious.

Jason was joined on the stage by the organ player (who with his long able fingers – was a joy to watch), accompanied by a 5 woman orchestra – all in long dark skirts, and a choir comprised with about 5-6 women. The Apollo has the feeling of being in a gospel church and these songs were perfect for it. His voice carried through the theater with the women’s back up vocals creating the perfect fit for him. Jason was pretty quiet throughout the set – just going through each song. At the end he stood up and waved and that was about all you got from him.

It works tho. His music didnt need anything else done to it. Some bands need the theatricals to make the show what it is – but when you have a voice that sounds like Jason’s, songs that are beautiful – about redemption, etc., and you are playing with an orchestra/choir, you dont need more than that. It was delivered to us as it should have been – and hands down – this was the show of the year!

The set list is as follows:

The setlist:

  • Sitting On Fire
  • Lord Let It Rain On Me
  • True Love Will Find You
  • Cool Waves
  • Amen
  • Going Down Slow
  • Feel So Sad
  • Soul On Fire
  • Walking With Jesus
  • Stop Your Crying
  • All Of My Tears
  • Baby, I’m Just A Fool
  • Anything More
  • Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space
  • Broken Heart
  • I Think I’m In Love
  • Encore: Lord Can You Hear Me
  • Oh Happy Day

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2 Nights With Maps = Bliss!

Posted by xneverwherex on October 4, 2007

9/28 – 9/29

I somehow ended up with 2 tickets to Maps for each of the nights. Initially I had planned on seeing them on Friday night with a friend from out of town, but that didnt pan out, but instead of selling both our tickets, I sold off hers and kept mine. And I must say, I’m sure glad that I did.

It was an early set at the Mercury Lounge on Friday night starting out with Brooklyn’s own The Silent League. (as this is a recap of both nights – im infusing two nights shows together, got it?) 🙂 The Silent League played a really great set. I recall last time that I had seen them, there were more members in the band. (I havent seen them in at least 3 years).  Their sound was as incredible as always, and the trumpet player ended the set playing 2 trumpets at the same time. Their songs were quite slow and more mellowed out and we should have been just sitting around a campfire. I guess Kevin (or one of the other guys) was right when he stated that. Justin, formerly in Mercury Rev, has still managed to keep some of that sound in their style and it complements them perfectly. Has that feeling of being in an orchestra with the variety of instruments.

The highlight was definitely on Saturday when Justin brought his brother, Jason, along to sing backups on 2 of the songs. Jason is the lead singer of Hopewell and one thing that I did notice was that it seems Silent League’s new stuff invokes some of Hopewell’s last album. Such as Calcutta. Not necessarily the same middle-eastern/indian flare, but for whatever reason that is what it reminds me of.

Saturday night’s set was really great as well. The crowd didn’t seem to be quite as into it, with very few of us clapping or yelling in appreciation. Im definitely set on seeing them again. I got to meet Justin on Saturday night, and he’s a cool guy. We talked for a bit, and I told him I had come out here to see them. He playfully joked to me, that I better stay around for Maps. 🙂 I had told him that I had first seen them quite a few years back at the Mercury and he seemed pretty stoked about it. Good guy, good music, great sound! What more.

For those thinking that their music is completely different from Maps (which it is), they met when they were playing some festivals in the UK. And they all got along great, and voila! Together the bands were awesome.

Before I get to Maps – there was a 3rd band on the Saturday night show, but I swear it was a joke, and it was really awful. The lead singer cannot sing at all, and it was a cringe-worthy set. For that – I wont even name their name, aside for the fact I also blanked it out.

Maps, from Northampton, UK, were the band to see. Friday night I wasn’t sure what to expect. I remember falling in love with their sound the moment I heard it, but it still couldn’t match what was on stage. The Mercury set was packed and felt overflowing with Brits. I’d have to guage that at least 80% of the crowd were from the UK and the band was quite excited. This was their first show in the states and they were clearly excited to be playing in NYC.

James asked everyone to move forward to be as close to the stage as possible and wanted everyone dancing. Their music, while many would probably think is not the most danceable, works quite well live to dance to. James not only fronts the band, but is apparently THE band and he brings the other guys along with him when touring. His lush vocals almost drowned out by the guitars fit with the music. An electronic beat infuses with the swirling guitars complementing James’ vocals.

Now put all that combination together and you get Maps. A dancey-electronica band with guitars that you’d expect to hear at a My Bloody Valentine or shoegaze show. James seemed excited about Saturday night in a different way than Friday night. He seemed much more relaxed on stage and was having fun with the crowd. He was on the sides while The Silent League were playing, and I caught his eye a few times, and he gave me the biggest smile. You could just see the excitement. While it was not a sold-out show at Luna Lounge, the crowd up front seemed really into them (I think a lot of us saw them on Friday night). The girl next to me grabbed my arm at one point, and excitedely tells me “ive been singing this song all day, i couldnt wait to hear it”. About this time, her, me and some other excited girls continued to dance to a very happy James Chapman.

Stand outs from the set were definitely “You Dont Know Her Name” and “It Will Find You”. Great friends (new and old), great bands, great music = awesome time!

I also managed to catch +/- {plus/minus} on Friday night, but barely remember the rest of the night after a butterscotch shot and some beer on an empty stomach. I do remember trying to find somewhere to eat in Tribeca at 2am and that was not fun!

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Mum is the Word…

Posted by xneverwherex on September 27, 2007

So – I just bought my mum tickets as part of the Wordless Music Series. And I can’t recommend seeing shows at this series enough. I have been listening to mum a bit and am just blown away by how amazing they sound. So naturally, a church and mum seem a great fit!  Now really …. its on to Beirut.

9/24/07

Monday night was a great way to start the week by heading up to the Society for Ethical Culture on the corner of Central Park West & 64th. The church is still in amazing condition (I did read it was recently refurbished) and the paintings are gorgeous. The pews are about as comfortable as pews can be, but more importantly, the acoustics are amazing. This was my second trip to this church – my first time having seen Lisa Gerrard of Dead Can Dance.

This series is about putting together acts that we might never consider listening to. For a lot of indie fans (myself included), its not often that I’d go out and find a new classically trained artist with electronic influences. And its not that I don’t care for the music, I just don’t find myself gravitating towards that. So I look to this series to expose my horizons.

The first review I read about the Beirut show had me so disappointed with what I read, I was convinced I attended a different show. Thanks NYT for thinking outside of the box.

Colleen, a French woman who it turns out barely made it into the states thanks to our government’s efficient visa plan with turning away all these artists, was the first artist to play. She is classically trained and primarily played the cello. She was very gifted and her music was a fusion of classical and electronic. She played everything from a clarinet to wind chimes to the violin. And everything was so beautifully crafted it was hard not to drift away with the music. I had no idea what to expect coming in, but I must say I was pleasantly surprised.

The next artists up were Katya Mihailova (on the piano) and Colin Jacobsen (on violin). Katya came up to perform 2 songs by herself on piano. The song from Chopin was performed perfectly, her fingers flying over the keys amazing to watch. I was seated in the 3rd row on the edge and had an amazing view. Her next song – which I dont remember the title but has something to do with only the left hand – was even more impressive. With just her left hand, she played the entire song. I don’t know if anyone else would have realized it, but when it hit me that she was only playing with one hand, I was blown away. Brooklyn (where she lives) should have been proud tonight!

Katya was later joined on the stage with Colin Jacobsen. Their first piece was from Arvo Part which really played out well together. The violin accompanying the piano was just beautiful. I am a sucker for beautiful piano pieces, and I have a love affair with watching people play the piano. It takes me to a different world. The set ended with a piece from Bela Bartok and Colin asked the lovely men of Beirut to join them on stage. So 4 guys from Beirut came out with a trumpet, a cello and some other instruments. There seemed to be a bit of confusion, but by the last part of the song it came together. It was a great way to end the set and get us pumped up for Beirut.

 Beirut were amazing. Zach Condon, the ever talented lead singer of Beirut, was exceptionally cool! Possibly the epitome of cool. With heavy French influences in the form of Jacques Brel, the band put on quite a show. 6 other guys filled the stage playing a variety of instruments and the lone female primarily on violin. The music which has a very Eastern European flair contained a big sound from the accordion, trumpets, violins, ukuleles and minimal drums. Guitars were barely used which was quite the nice change.

Its hard to close your eyes and imagine this band from Brooklyn, performing this Eastern European music, but this is what they do. And they do it quite well. The evening ended with Zach coming back after the encore and telling everyone to move forward and stand up. It ended with some sort of Romanian jig like tune. It was a perfect setting for nearly an hour and a half even when inside of a church!

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