Akron/Family @ Union Pool, Sunday, March 29th
“Everyone is guilty,” Akron/Family sang at their second gig at Union Pool, but if their performance was any indication, that fact isn’t getting to them. The bi-city band, based in New York as well as Williamsport, Pennsylvania, was full of whimsical energy Sunday night as they surged through an 11-song set without so much as...
Double Dipping: Morrissey @ Webster Hall, The Grates & Micachu and the Shapes @ Pianos, Wednesday, March 25th
New York City living, with its ever-expanding list of options, presents a reoccurring problem: What to do when you need or want to be in two places at once? Given the opportunity to see both legendary crooner Morrissey at Webster Hall for free and up and coming hype bands the Grates and Micachu and the...
Cursive @ Music Hall of Williamsburg, Monday, March 9th
Appearances, as they say, can be deceiving. Looking at Cursive frontman Tim Kasher’s slim stature on stage at the Music Hall of Williamsburg last Monday night, one unfamiliar with his songwriting might have never guessed the hostilities that lurk within. Shaking his head and his fist, Kasher pointed his rage at lovers, religion and critics,...
Les Savy Fav @ The Mezzanine, Sunday, March 1st
By now, most people who’ve heard (of) Les Savy Fav know their live show is more spectacle than concert. This is due in large part to front-man Tim Harrington, whose no-holds-barred antics could probably attract the same crowd sizes on their own. This isn’t to knock Les Savy Fav’s music, or their ability to play...
Frightened Rabbit @ Le Poisson Rouge, Monday, Feb. 2nd
Frightened Rabbit could not have been more different from the setting for their acoustic, all-request set at Le Poisson Rouge on Monday night. Le Poisson Rouge’s pricey beverages and bottle service attracted an audience more interested in being seen there than being there, as the sound of chatter rose above both openers, Joe Pug and...
T-Sides Contest: Win a Smashing Pumpkins T-Shirt!
Don’t know about you, but around here, we’re pretty jazzed about this New Year stuff. So happy, in fact, that we’re going to kick off 2009 with a giveaway! The latter half of 2008 found Billy Corgan, volatile and eccentric front-man for the Smashing Pumpkins in its various reincarnates, doing what he does best: going...
Tallest Man On Earth & Marissa Nadler @ Mercury Lounge, Tuesday, Dec. 9th
Image courtesy flickr user Karl Gunnarsson (note: not from Mercury Lounge show) Though Kristian Matsson’s stature does not meet the expectations set forth by his stage moniker, Tallest Man on Earth, he was plenty intimidating in presence during his recent show at the Mercury Lounge. Pacing about the stage and having staring contests with the...
Dan Deacon & Dirty Projectors @ The Brooklyn Masonic Temple, Thursday, Dec. 11th
Image courtesy flickr user thepiratehat Looking down on the audience at Dan Deacon’s show at the Brooklyn Masonic Temple on Thursday night was akin to watching a strange orgy or mating ritual of some kind. People in their teens and twenties swayed as a group, not moshing so much as just moving, touching each other...
Nine Inch Nails @ DCU Center, Sunday, Nov. 9th
Image courtesy flickr user kernelslacker It would go against the trail-blazing spirit of Trent Reznor to use him as any sort of guideline, but it must be said that any arena rock band should turn to Reznor’s live show for inspiration. Every aspect of Sunday night’s show at the DCU Center in Worcester, MA was...
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