Mountain Goats @ Webster Hall, Tuesday, March 18th
Much like John Darnielle himself, the Mountain Goats’ audience at Webster Hall on Tuesday night had a tendency to flaunt its wit. Every time someone called out a song request – which was frequently, because in this cultish fan base, everyone has a favorite – someone else had a witty thing to yell in retort....
Enablers @ Knitting Factory, Sunday, March 9th
San Francisco’s Enablers are more an amalgam of music and poetry than the average band. This distinction is forged primarily through the use of speech only loosely set in pattern with the music instead of sing-song verse. In a live setting – in this case New York City’s Knitting Factory, at the Tap Bar –...
The Dirty Projectors @ Bowery Ballroom, Tuesday, Dec. 4th
Dirty Projectors are the kind of band that music writers drool over. Describing a band like the Dirty Projectors is a kind of challenge we’re all too eager to accept, encouraged by the unique quality of the music and our own egos, itching to be the one who “wrote it best.” It brings out hyperbolic...
Sufjan Stevens @ BAM, Thursday, Nov. 1
It was difficult to walk into the world-premiere of Sufjan Stevens’ “symphonic and cinematic exploration” of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway without feeling the foreboding sense that something musically important was going to happen. Lofty expectations would be the death of nearly any other modern indie performer, but Stevens – who’s previously announced such infamous knee-buckling goals...
Quick Impressions: The Rocktober Concerts Edition
October gets nick-named “Rocktober” for reason – ’tis the season for concerts. I attended at least two a week, making it hard to find time to write about all them as soon as I would have liked to. Here are quick rundowns of the latest happenings. Fog, Torche & Jesu @ Blender Theater, Saturday, Oct....
Bruce Springsteen @ Madison Square Garden, October 17th
A couple years ago, I made a list of the top three old-school rock acts that I wanted to see while they were still around and touring – The Eagles, The Rolling Stones and Bruce Springsteen. This was before the Eagles had a new album, before The Rolling Stones had A Bigger Bang, so I...
Genesis @ Madison Square Garden, September 23rd
Apologies for the delay, readers, fans, friends and family. I was moving. Expect a barrage of activity once the new place gets internet. My relationship with Genesis is much akin to that of a well-liked acquaintance. Someone you really enjoy seeing and talking to when you run into them at parties, concerts, or on the...
Goodbye, Astroland?
Astroland closed for the summer this weekend – and quite possibly forever. I’ve spent a lot of time at Coney Island over the past year and a half, so if it does indeed shut its doors forever, I’ll greatly miss it. Death Cab For Cutie: “Coney Island” (download) Death Cab For Cutie: “Coney Island (Alternate)”...
This is the Way Siren Fest Ends: Not with a Bang, but a Whimper
With the impending closure of Astroland at the end of the Summer, one question drove this year’s Siren Festival: “will it be the last?” The lackluster line-ups for the Siren Festivals of the past two years almost indicate that somebody knew this was coming. From 2001-2005, Siren Fest was a haven for people who didn’t...
St. Vincent @ Bowery Ballroom, July 17th
St. Vincent’s promotions team must have a grin on their faces a mile wide. In April, the wide-eyed, brunette songstress also known as Annie Clark was opening shows for long established act John Vanderslice in small to medium-sized venues. Fast-forward three months and she’s headlining them all on her own. Not as part of the...
Mark Ronson @ Highline Ballroom, Wednesday, July 11th
Though the phrase “big in Europe” has become something of a joke among the music set, for someone like Mark Ronson, it’s no laughing matter. While he was born in London, Ronson’s family moved to New York at the age of 8, and it’s this big city he considers his hometown. After attending prestigious schools...
Lost MP3 of the Week: “Burnin’ For You”
When I was in high school, rock radio was a huge part of my exposure to music. Despite CDs, despite the internet, radio was still where it was at for me (107.7 the end, specifically). I was a faithful radio listener – it was what I woke up with each morning and what I went...
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