On Saturday I witnessed/was a part of something cool. I was at 200 5th, my favorite sports bar, watching the Notre Dame - Pitt game. Forget the fact that my Irish lost in 4 overtimes, this isn't about that. While the game was going on, they had most of the other TVs in the place turned to the Georgia - Florida game, which was a huuuge game. At one point there was a 2 minute commercial break that was just good ole Barack telling the people why he should be president. A great slot to invest in, as Florida is potentially huge and Georgia is more up in the air than anybody thought it would be. The entire sports bar was just silent, listening in unison. Afterwards we cheered. It really reinforced my belief that change is going to happen.
The National have a few tracks that are quite potent these days. "Fake Empire" has been used by the Obama campaign, and I think "Mr. November" has been as well. If not, it should be. Both songs are just beautiful political-without-being-so-political-I-want-to-throw-up anthems to what this nation either is, or needs to be. Enjoy them, and go vote if you haven't yet!
11.04.2008
Mr. November
10.30.2008
A Ryan Adams Musical Moment
On Tuesday I woke late in the day with an email stating Ryan Adams would be doing a secret show during the day. I sprinted (literally) to the subway (in flip-flops, on a freezing day) and got to the cafe. The place held about 50 people, and I sat right next to Ryan. He played 8 songs (mostly off of his new album, "Cardinology," which came out on Tuesday, and which is quite good), one of which was my request, "If I Am A Stranger." Straight up one of the most amazingly written songs. When he started playing it I sat in awe. Didn't snap a photo - just sat and soaked. That definitely ranks up there in the all time musical moments of my life. I wrote more and there are more photos.
10.18.2008
PWRFL Power is GR8.
So a few weeks ago I had a friend in town that really wanted to go to see Damien Jurado. OK, I can do that. I got us two tix to the sold out show (thank you BV for the access I now have), and we went. She was really pumped about Damien and I was really excited for my first time seeing opener Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson. In the end, I was a bit disappointed with MBAR, dug Damien, but maybe enjoyed the real opener, PWRFL Power, the most (photos at BV). Super quirky, interesting lyrics... Kaz really offers something unique in his sound. Ever since I've had one specific song stuck in my head - "It's Okay." Actually, I've had "It's Okay" stuck in my head twice as much - it's also a song by Land of Talk that I'm obsessed with - but the PWRFL Power song gets trapped in my head and just won't relent. Anyway, it looks like we've got him booked for a Brooklyn Vegan showcase on Thursday, so I might as well get this song out there... and one more too!
10.12.2008
I'm Feeling Great Tonight.
Partially because of this (my image, if you didn't realize), but also because I love this song by Chairlift. Can't wait to see them live at some point. Now I'm going to a dinner. Should be tasty. More photos and blogging to come this week (taking the week off of concert photography!) For now, enjoy the track.
10.09.2008
Department of Eagles First Show
Monday night I got to see the first ever live show by Department of Eagles. It was a record release party put up by Brooklyn Vegan at the brand new Bell House in Gowanus, and was a huge success. The place was packed, the band was tight, the record is phenomenal, and we got a few treats along the way. Daniel Rossen (who is also a key songwriter in his other band, Grizzly Bear) played some new tracks and a cover. Here's a few of the songs that my buddy Drew taped on the night, and you can read about it and see all the photos from the night here.
[mp3] Department of Eagles - "If You'd Forgive Me"
10.02.2008
Austin City Limits.
So I got to go to Austin City Limits over the weekend. Craziness ensued. A few things that happened:
1. I sat next to Ben Bridwell on the flight down. Ben is the lead singer of Band of Horses and one of the nicest guys I've ever met. We talked for like 2 hours and I met his wife and 5 month old daughter who is absolutely adorable. Ben hooked me up with some backstage stuff as well.
2. I got a hug from Jenny Lewis. She was having a slice of pizza backstage after the Band of Horses Aftershow on Saturday night. I love Jenny the same way I love Emily. Hoping to meet up with her when she's in town this weekend.
3. I saw 53 bands.
4. I took 8200 photos (exactly).
5. I saw Foo Fighters! And immediately after the first three songs that I was allowed to shoot I ran away.
6. I got very little sleep.
7. I gained a definite love and respect for breakfast tacos. They are delicious, especially with egg, cheese, onions and peppers. Chorizo is great on tacos as well.
8. I saw Austin for the first time. I loved the city - well, what I saw of it when I wasn't on the festival grounds. I look forward to going back down and spending more time around town, getting some good BBQ and TexMex. All things in good time.
9. I got a pair of Toms.
10. I met some kindred photo spirits. Good people.
Looks like I'll probably be going back down to Austin in a few weeks for Fun Fun Fun Fest. Looks like the festival might even be paying for my flight so I can speak on a panel about music blogging on Brooklyn Vegan's behalf.
Check out my photos of ACL here!
[mp3] Band of Horses - "The General Specific" (Cease to Begin)
9.21.2008
Santogold is too fast.
Friday night I got to see Santogold at Irving Plaza. Part of the Goldrush tour, I was pretty pumped to see this one that slipped away last time. However, it wasn't the most amazing night of my life (unlike the previous night). First off, there were 3 mediochre openers. None of them great, all of them short sets (thankfully), though they were decent for photos.
Santogold came on at 11 (doors were at 7, I got there for the first band at 8... can you say marathon?) and played for 45 minutes. Yes, 45 minutes. She started with "You'll Find a Way" and played almost all of her album. She also did a new song that samples "Comfy in Nautica" by Panda Bear (though I thought for sure it was "Bros."). I wouldn't complain about the 45 minute set if she hadn't made us stand around for an hour between sets. That was annoying.
Sure, she's good and fun to watch on stage, but it sounds identical to the album (in fact, she may have been lipsyncing). Oh well, I had fun. And I almost (literally) ran into Jay-Z and Beyonce as they were leaving the backstage. I would have, had it not been for those 8 very large men standing in my way.
Summary? I'd see her again, but not until she develops more of a complete live act and doesn't have a massive amount of openers. Until then, I'll enjoy her album.
Here are two of my favorite tracks, and as per usual you can find my photos of the event at Brooklyn Vegan.
9.20.2008
Sigur Rós. Wow.
Thursday night I finally got to the concert I've been dreaming about all this time. Sigur Rós played United Palace, and while I didn't think the venue was ideal for them and I wish they had been playing with their full orchestra, I did not leave disappointed.
During the set I wondered whether or not it was as good as it could have been, but the music was gorgeous. Then, at the end of the initial set, things got awesome. During "Gobbledigook" the band brought opener Parachutes on to stage and invited folks to stand and come close to stage. I got in the middle of the group near the stage, and the rest of the concert rocked my face off. For the encore, the band played "Illgresi" live for the first time ever. Then they finished off with "Untitled #8 (Popplagio)" which is probably the most epic single song performance I've witnessed. The only songs I really wanted to see which were omitted were "Starálfur" (which I hear they never play), "Festival" (which I don't think they've ever played live), and "Gong."
Overall though, no real complaints. I'm still coming down off that concert, honestly. Anyway, here are two of my favorites at the moment, as well as another photo of Jónsi. Also, you can check out more of my photos at Brooklyn Vegan.
Read More......
9.17.2008
Everything Is Borrowed
Have you kids heard the latest album by The Streets? Everything is Borrowed came out on Monday in the UK, and will drop in the US on October 7. The 4th out of 5 albums Mike Skinner will put out under the moniker, it's yet another catchy bunch of songs by the rapper. Two of the songs really stand out to me - "The Escapist" and the title track. "The Escapist" also has a music video - it's Skinner walking 770 miles from Dover to a beach in France. You can watch it here. I've wanted to shoot the man for some time - I hope he sets up some live dates over here, but we'll see about that. As of now all tour dates are on the opposite side of the pond. Bummer. Anyway, while we wait for him, you should check out a few of the new tracks - they're startlingly addictive.
9.16.2008
Land Of Talk Are Quite Good.
Last week I stopped by Mercury Lounge to catch Land of Talk. I didn't know much about them other than the fact that they're in the same circle as Broken Social Scene, and in that circle pretty much everything falls in my range of taste. I wasn't disappointed. Liz and co. were quite impressive - she's a crazy yet awesome performer and the songs are really, really tight. You can tell they're not just great at playing their instruments - the writing is incredible. The trio rocked out for about an hour, but I could have listened for an hour longer. I may have to go to the BSS show at Brooklyn Masonic Temple on October 24th just to hear them (OK, let's face it, I'd be going for BSS as well). Long story short, I'm really looking forward to this band getting more material under their belt and seeing more of their headlining shows. Anyway, you can check out more of my photos from that show over at Brooklyn Vegan. Here are two of the tracks off their debut record, Some Are Lakes, out October 7th on Saddle Creek.
