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The Split Personalities of Gotye

March 28th, 2012

Gotye – Webster Hall – March 27, 2012

There’s certain schizophrenia to Webster Hall: Is it a dance club or a rock club? Is it half and half? That dual personality was the perfect setting for Gotye, who last night split his live sound into three overlapping personalities: one-third dance, one-third indie rock and one-third hypnotic dreamscape. Webster Hall was sold out, which seems to mean different things on different nights—not all sellouts are created equal. On Tuesday night, it was truly packed from front to back, the audience bubbling in a multilingual, multiaccented din while awaiting the start of the show.

The band took the stage and immediately launched into “Eyes Wide Open.” While Wally De Backer uses Gotye as his professional pseudonym, it’s clear that in the live setting the name covers everyone in the band who plays an equally important role. The multitalented guitarist added a nice flourish of lap steel to the opening song (and later played an electric mandolin) while the bassist took control of the melody. Still, the story of the band was drums and rhythm, with De Backer surrounded by all sorts of stuff to hit in addition to the drummer behind him and plenty more taken up by the other three musicians. The sound sat on the verge of digital and analog, mallets hitting drums and electronic pads and xylophones in equal amounts. There was something scientific to the music, with the band acting like a single-celled organism, Gotye at the nucleus pulsing messages electronically to the other band members in their organelles. Opening-act Kimbra joined Gotye for lyrics on “Somebody I Used to Know,” getting an even bigger reaction from those in the audience screaming for every song like each one was a favorite.

Behind the stage a single backdrop held a constant stream of projected images, scenes flipping through ultrarealistic time lapses of landscapes and cityscapes and other animated scenes and psychedelic colors. These matched up well enough to the music that it felt like every tune was more than just a song, but also a live-action music video, with the audience sucked into the action. “State of the Art” matched a killer multisynth attack with a weird retro-cartoon music monster perfectly. Gotye worked several audience-participation moments into the set, more or less playing the beloved Making Mirrors album in its entirety, constantly splitting his personality to the crowd’s constant delight. —A. Stein

Photos courtesy of Jeremy Ross | jeremyrossphotography.tumblr.com

Tags: Gotye, Kimbra, Making Mirrors, Photos, Review, Wally De Backer, Webster Hall
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Pressure Gonna Drop on You

March 26th, 2012

Toots and the Maytals – Brooklyn Bowl – March 25, 2012

Frederick Nathaniel “Toots” Hibbert is the self-proclaimed inventor of reggae. As the story goes, his 1968 recording of “Do the Reggay” is among the first songs to use the word and classify the style of music. But regardless of whether he is the genre’s rightful originator, he is certainly one of its oldest and most successful practitioners. At 66, Hibbert is still creating and performing to critical acclaim and large audiences. And on Sunday night at Brooklyn Bowl, Toots and the Maytals played with relentless energy to a sold-out crowd.

The set opened with Hibbert’s widely known “Pressure Drop.” In the years since appearing on the soundtrack to The Harder They Come, the song continues to stay in the public consciousness, with second life from covers by the Clash and other artists. For this show, the band’s straight-up midtempo performance established a solid foundation to build on. And as the group sped up and extended such hits as “Funky Kingston” and a “Louie Louie” cover, the crowd willingly followed suit, dancing and yelling with each call and response.

Throughout the show Hibbert stayed attentive to the band and the audience. “I have a big voice,” he told all, supporting the claim for close to two hours, closing with the semi-autobiographical crowd-favorite “54-46 (That’s My Number).” At the “Give it to me” part, Hibbert improvised and asked the crowd to “Give it to me 13 times.” After approximately thirteen responses of “Hey,” he responded with genuine surprise, “No one has ever done that,” he said. But as long as Toots Hibbert continues to perform, this record is sure to be broken: If he gives it to us, we’ll give it to him. —Jared Levy

Photos courtesy of JC McIlwaine | jcmcilwaine.com

(Toots and the Maytals also play Brooklyn Bowl tomorrow night.)

Tags: Brooklyn Bowl, Photos, Review, Toots and the Maytals
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A Strong Album Leads to a Stronger Performance

March 26th, 2012

Dr. Dog – Terminal 5 – March 23, 2012

There are two types of bands, those that focus on recording and those that focus on live shows. It is the rare exception when both are an active priority, but Dr. Dog appears to strive for overall excellence. Last month the band released its sixth album, Be the Void. As is the case with previous discs, the consistent output contains kernels of pop brilliance: rock that extends the Beatles’ signature sound. The next step was to test the material on the road, and on Friday night, Dr. Dog stopped at Terminal 5 to work out new songs and revisit old ones in front of a sold-out crowd.

The set’s first two songs mirrored the new album’s first two, “Lonesome” and “That Old Black Hole.” Apropos of the band’s established formula, bassist Toby Leaman sang the first song while lead guitarist Scott McMicken sang the second. The trade off and interplay between vocalists is one of Dr. Dog’s more unique and compelling aspects. Leaman’s style is gruff and labored. He chugs through songs with physicality and maximum effort. Contrastingly, McMicken’s voice is brittle yet sweet. During a jubilant performance of “Shadow People,” the crowd pushed with its collective weight to hold up his relentless plea, “Where did all the shadow people go?”

The shadow people are unaccounted for, but the people who came on Friday night made themselves known. Many of those in attendance held on to secret (and not so secret) desires for favorite songs like a hopeful lottery-ticket holder. And the encore performance of “Heart It Races” looked to be a winner for many. But Dr. Dog possesses a deep catalog and most songs seemed to connect with the diverse audience. —Jared Levy

Photos courtesy of Ahron R. Foster | ahronfoster.com

Tags: Be the Void, Dr. Dog, Photos, Review, Scott McMicken, Terminal 5, Toby Leaman
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Fiona Apple Returns and Gives All

March 26th, 2012

Fiona Apple – Music Hall of Williamsburg – March 23, 2012

To say that the sold-out crowd on Friday night at Music Hall of Williamsburg was excited for Fiona Apple’s performance is an understatement. As the venue filled, fans were on a bit of an emotional roller coaster—frantic, eager, flabbergasted, ravenous—awaiting her first New York City performance in years. When the singer and her band appeared onstage, perhaps Apple sensed this loaded energy, negotiating with the crowd that if we refrained from chattering during the show (so as not to piss off fellow fans), she promised: “I will give you everything that I can possibly give you.”

Apple immediately made good on her end of the bargain, as a skittering drumbeat began the opening bars of “Fast as You Can” from 1999’s When the Pawn…, she attacked the vocals with intensity, danced frenetically over the urgent guitar line and then ran over to her piano to pound out the slow verses. Apple followed with a string of songs from the same album, performing powerful renderings of “On the Bound,” “Paper Bag” and “A Mistake.” In addition to these beloved older numbers, she performed several new songs from her forthcoming album (get ready), The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than the Driver of the Screw, and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do, including the slow-burning “Anything We Want” and the dramatic, cabaret-esque “Valentine.”

The vulnerability and personal insecurities Apple often explores in her music (coupled with some well documented public outbursts) often find the singer cast by the media as frail, fragile or volatile. However these simplistic renderings don’t give the singer enough credit for her own power and her authentic ability to express herself. To this end, Apple sang on Friday night with conviction, at times getting her point across with a clenched jaw, with her hands over her face, clutching her chest, wrapping her arms protectively around herself, looking at the crowd through wide, anxious eyes and, yes, occasionally smiling too—in command at all times, and decidedly not fragile. Following a satisfyingly intense performance of the crowd-pleasing “Criminal” and a lovely cover of country standard “It’s Only Make Believe,” we waited in vain for an encore, but it soon became clear. Apple’s performance was complete. She had rightfully given us her all. —Alena Kastin

Photos courtesy of Hilary J. Corts | www.hilaryjcorts.com

Tags: Fiona Apple, Music Hall of Williamsburg, Photos, Review
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Born This Way

March 21st, 2012

The Wood Brothers – The Bowery Ballroom – March 20, 2012

Some musicians just get it. You watch them and wonder if they were born with it. Chris Wood is one of those guys. Every time I see him play the bass, I’m stunned by his groovy abilities, and I wonder how much of that is nature and how much is learned. Watching him pair with his older brother, Oliver, to form the Wood Brothers, I get the impression that there is indeed something in those genes. Opening last night’s show at The Bowery Ballroom with “Postcards from Hell,” the brothers—rounded into a trio by Jano Rix on the drums and percussion—revealed their cards early on, matching greasy blues-folk-rock melodies with eloquent lyricism. It was clear that Oliver, sitting on a stool and spinning musical stories, is also one of those guys who gets it, effortlessly churning out guitar licks with just the right amount of twang and grit and singing with a clear, soulful voice.

The set drew from both the Loaded and the newer Smoke Ring Halo albums equally, with the crowd often singing along emphatically. There was a touching moment early in the set when they played “Lovin’ Arms,” a song the brothers penned after the death of their mother, coincidentally five years ago to the day. A new song, “Honey Dripping Off Your Spoon,” had a nice dual structure, with a slinky groove over the verse meeting a bluesy slant for the chorus. Oliver has a voice that draws others into perfect harmony while Chris’s bass playing starts at the toes and works its way up, until the whole body is moving.

At one point Rix, the kind of guy who does a little bit of everything in just the right amounts, left his drum kit and brought what looked to be a guitar, which he played like a bongo, up front for the covers portion of the show. You can tell a lot about a band by its covers, not just which songs they choose, but how they play them. The Wood Brothers’ canon included a fantastic version of “Buy You a Chevrolet,” which Chris bass-fiddled to a delightful pitch. The highlight, though, was when Oliver made a reference to the “other brothers” playing uptown this month and followed it up with the Allman Brothers Band classic “Midnight Rider.” The trio sang in perfect harmony and then Chris took the guitar solo with a bow and somehow made it his own. By show’s end, the audience demanded a second encore after the first failed to satisfy completely. These guys were making it look easy, like they were born to do it. —A. Stein

Photos courtesy of Mike Benigno | mikebenigno.wordpress.com

Tags: Bowery Ballroom, Chris Wood, Jano Rix, Oliver Wood, Photos, Review, Wood Brothers
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The Head and the Heart Quiet Terminal 5

March 19th, 2012

The Head and the Heart – Terminal 5 – March 18, 2012

People say, “A for effort” like it’s a bad thing, but “A for effort and A for execution” can be something very special. Take the Head and the Heart, playing a sold-out show at Terminal 5 last night. This was a band putting the effort in, starting with the stage itself, filled with small trees beneath strings of lights and Chinese lanterns like someone’s backyard had been decorated for a Sunday-afternoon garden party. Walking out to the strains of My Morning Jacket (tourmates from last fall) over the PA, the band wasted no time digging into their revelatory self-titled debut album.

While the Head and the Heart occasionally cover the morose or fully morbid—like the early “Ghosts,” as in “Someday we’ll all be,” or “Honey Come Home,” with “Just want to die with the one I love”—the Seattle sextet gave every song that little extra something. And despite the subject matter, the feeling was always one of jubilant energy, which peaked with “Lost in My Mind” midset, when every member of both opening bands joined in on vocals, clapping and percussion, rendering the band itself almost entirely redundant. The 75-minute set included several nice new songs as well, one that asked “Are you a lion?” had a tinge of a Latin feel, while “Grandfather’s Wisdom” began solo acoustic and then built into a rather epic piece.

The penultimate song of the set started with a long rumble of noise and had a big, almost orchestral majesty to it, like something out of Broken Social Scene’s repertoire. Suffice it to say, there seems to be a lot more to be heard from the Head and the Heart. The story of the night, though, was the resonance between the band and the crowd. Those in the audience somehow always knew, collectively, when to quietly listen and when to sing along full-throated, when to take out their phones to take a quick snapshot and when to just take in the music. At the softer moments, it was as quiet as I’ve ever heard Terminal 5. The band seems to have leapfrogged the usual arc, instead of saying, “I can’t believe they sold out The Bowery Ballroom,” we’re left marveling that they sold out T5, and with the ecstatic crowd yelping for more, it’s clear that the Head and the Heart have more than earned that A. —A. Stein

Photos courtesy of Mike Benigno | mikebenigno.wordpress.com

Tags: Photos, Review, Terminal 5, the Head and the Heart
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A Step Above the Rest

March 19th, 2012

Justice – Terminal 5 – March 15, 2012

More and more the dance floor is becoming the preeminent destination for popular musical. In 2011, an expanding set of DJs pushed electronic, techno and the elusively defined dubstep to the top of charts and lineups. Hoards of underage high school students and slightly older college students pack venues, displaying their enthusiasm with neon shirts and multiple glow sticks. If it is a trend, it is a potent one. But, if it is a sea change, then it’s worth following the best of the bunch. And, currently, two Frenchmen literally stand above of the rest: Justice.

On Friday night at Terminal 5, Justice positioned themselves well above the crowd. The two members of the group, Gaspard Augé and Xavier de Rosnay, stood on an elevated platform with their signature cross glowing below. Marshall stacks towered on either side and sandwiched the two. The stage display reinforced their already intimidating position in modern dance music: They are a top-bill act and they know it.

Daft Punk, Justice’s predecessor and closest counterpart, is too elusive to maintain steady devotion. While that band’s legendary concerts and strong material make them must-see worthy, Justice actually can be seen. And for those who made it out on Friday night, the duo’s set aimed to capitalize on their burgeoning classics. New single “Civilization” seemed to lurk around every transition. “We Are Your Friends,” the repurposed fragments of Simian’s song of the same name, came in the encore, the place where everyone expected and craved it to be. So, while there are plenty of DJs to follow, the smart money is on seeing Justice. Catch them while you can. —Jared Levy

Photos courtesy of Brian C. Reilly | www.briancreilly.com

Tags: Gaspard Augé, Justice, Photos, Review, Terminal 5, Xavier de Rosnay
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This Jam Is Your Jam

March 15th, 2012

Jay Farrar, Will Johnson, Yim Yames and Anders Parker – Webster Hall – March 14, 2012

While the stage was loaded with talent last night show at Webster Hall, the real MVP might have been the lone roadie/guitar tech. The crowd watched this guy tune about a zillion guitars—acoustic, electric, bass—getting the stage ready. It was an impressive feat and all that work was absolutely necessary because every single instrument was used to its fullest extent over the course of an awe-inspiring show. This was a modern day supergroup playing music written to accompany unfinished lyrics and writings of Woody Guthrie. The band is Jay Farrar (Son Volt, et al.), Anders Parker (Gob Iron, et al.), Jim James (My Morning Jacket) and Will Johnson (Centro-matic, et al.), who nominally played rhythm guitar, lead guitar, bass and drums respectively.

They performed with a communal spirit that would have made Guthrie proud, sharing lead vocals and swapping roles throughout the night. As far as supergroups go, this one is about halfway between Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and Blind Faith, matching hefty harmonies with all-out rock and roll. The first part of the show was expected as the band rolled through all the material on New Multitudes. It was great to watch each member take the lead role and see the others transform into a backing band in the style of that leader. So that Farrar’s opener, “Hoping Machine,” embraced Son Volt’s twang-with-grit feel while James’s “My Revolutionary Mind” had a distinct MMJ arc, starting with a focus on his voice and then exploding into a flesh-crawling rock jam. Practically every permutation of two-, three- and four-part harmonies were realized, with each voice distinctly on its own making powerful music together. My personal highlight was “Chorine My Sheba Queen” with James sweetly harmonizing with Johnson’s lead vocal while Parker and Farrar beautifully laid down atmospheric drum-melody behind them.

The set lasted about an hour, and the crowd, which had been a perfect balance of enthusiastic and attentive all night, howled for an encore. What they got in return would better be described as a full-on second set as each member played a solo acoustic tune of his own, capped by James’s spine-tingling sing-along version of “Wonderful (The Way I Feel).” Again the show felt satisfyingly complete, but the band wasn’t yet finished, as each member highlighted another of his songs with the whole band in tow, each seemingly topping the previous in a playful we-rock-harder competition. As the “encore” reached the hour mark, the band played a ninth song with every member taking lead for a verse. What followed was a blistering, jammy rock out with noisy guitar interplay shaking Webster Hall that went on in glorious feedback, surely exactly the way Woody Guthrie diagrammed it many years ago, until each musician left the stage one at a time to rousing applause (and a nod to the guy who had to tune all those guitars). —A. Stein

Photos courtesy of Joe Papeo | www.irocktheshot.com

Tags: Anders Parker, Centro-matic, Gob Iron, Jay Farrar, Jim James, My Morning Jacket, New Multitudes, Photos, Review, Son Volt, Webster Hall, Will Johnson, Woody Guthrie, Yim Yames
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New Band New Build Makes US Debut at Mercury Lounge

March 14th, 2012

New Build – Mercury Lounge – March 13, 2012

We didn’t know what to expect. How could we? Last night was New Build’s first show in the US. But the facts were promising: assorted members of Hot Chip and LCD Soundsystem playing in a side project at Mercury Lounge, the venue to catch acts with potential. If there was a time to see them, it was now. But what were we to see? The first surprise of the night came in the form of Reverend John Wilkins, a head-scratching yet excellent opener. New Build frontman Al Doyle later revealed the choice was as much about picking someone he wanted to hear as it was about proper billing. Regardless, Wilkins’s charismatic take on blues and gospel endeared him to the crowd and raised the collective mood. By the end of his set, a request for “foot stomping and hand clapping” seemed unnecessary because we were doing it all along.

Between sets it was quiet—not silent, but without house music playing in the background, the transition felt abrupt. The seven touring members of New Build eventually walked onstage to clusters of applause. Doyle, at first visibly nervous, made a passing remark about the peculiar entrance. The awkwardness hung in the air briefly, and then disappeared completely as the band’s percussionists began to play. Over the course of an hour-long set, New Build filled the cozy room with layers of rhythm and sonic texture.

At times, the sound felt like drinking a thick shake through a narrow straw: delicious yet incrementally satisfying. But New Build’s forthcoming album is a basket of treats. The first single, “Do You Not Feel Loved,” pulsed and swelled with calculated intent for the dance floor, while “Medication” was as Doyle described it, “a short poppy number.” The variety of sounds seemed natural for a band finding its footing. These are seasoned musicians, but this is new and a risk. Thankfully, they were as good as their lineage suggested. Truthfully, they were better. The bar is set high for concerts this year. —Jared Levy

Photos courtesy of Mina K

(Tonight’s New Build show at Mercury Lounge is sold out.)

Tags: Al Doyle, Hot Chip, LCD Soundsystem, Mercury Lounge, New Build, Photos, Reverend John Wilkins, Review
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Going in the Right Direction

March 12th, 2012

Young the Giant – Terminal 5 – March 9, 2012

One of the biggest bands on the rise last year, Young the Giant began it in January 2011 with a sold-out show at Mercury Lounge, and then went on to have such a good year, a song of theirs landed on Glee. So it was unsurprising that they not only sold out Terminal 5 on Friday, but also put on a great show to back it up. For the band, however, it was a surprise: “We never thought that we’d be playing here,” mused lead singer Sameer Gadhia.

The set was filled with plenty of tracks off debut album Young the Giant, including easygoing show-opener “I Got” and the now Glee-certified hit “Cough Syrup.” What defined the great show (and what separated a great young band from the more one-and-done newbies) was how Gadhia and his bandmates presented their new material. One of the band’s lone criticisms is that a lot of their early material isn’t varied enough, but these songs were more fleshed out melodically. The writing and execution of the new tracks immediately sounded more developed, and to top it off they brought out a string quartet to complete the robust sound they’re clearly seeking.

That complexity helped the show stay lively, too, as Gadhia ditched the hip shaking and tambourine playing for the keyboards behind him—and when he wasn’t taking a turn on them, guitar player Eric Cannata would hop on for a verse or two. With their chests out after boasting their new direction, Young the Giant returned to the familiar for the encore, and gave the still wild crowd some favorites in “Apartment” and a stage-dive-enhanced “My Body.” —Sean O’Kane

Photos courtesy of Hilary J. Corts | www.hilaryjcorts.com

Tags: Eric Cannata, Photos, Review, Sameer Gadhia, Terminal 5, Young the Giant
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Kaiser Chiefs Know How to Entertain

March 9th, 2012

Kaiser Chiefs – Terminal 5 – March 8, 2012

Long-time English rockers the Kaiser Chiefs brought their high-energy act to Terminal 5 last night, and put on a blistering show while constantly stoking the fans. Using a few tricks he had up his sleeve, lead singer Ricky Wilson made a great effort to keep everyone in the crowd involved in the show. Whether it was standard but playful crowd banter early on (“New York City, have you got your voices on tonight?”), leaning out over the barricade into the first few rows of fans, teaching them various “whoa-oh’s” and “na na’s” before songs like the very literally titled “Na Na Na Na Naa,” Wilson was keen on constantly stoking the audience.

That agitation gave the band big returns: Throughout the show those in the crowd stayed excited, as they chucked beers, hats and shirts toward the stage during “I Predict a Riot.” As if rewarding them for their frenetic involvement, Wilson disappeared briefly at the end of “Kinda Girl You Are” and reappeared on the second floor as his band started “Take My Temperature,” which he then sang as he lapped the venue, poking his head out over the crowd here and there when he wasn’t bobbing and weaving through the unsuspecting fans.

The great give-and-take with the concertgoers shined one more time near the end of the set during one of the band’s biggest songs, “Oh My God.” More beers were thrown as the fans spread out a bit to dance, and even opened a modest pit while Wilson smacked the microphone against his chest between lyrics. —Sean O’Kane

Photos courtesy of Diana Wong | dianawongphoto.com

Tags: Kaiser Chiefs, Photos, Review, Ricky Wilson, Terminal 5
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The Kooks Get Them Bouncing

March 8th, 2012

The Kooks – Terminal 5 – March 7, 2012

With a decade of experience under their belts, the Kooks showed Terminal 5 last night that they’re more than just Britpop. Add that to lead singer Luke Pritchard’s nonstop charm and you had a great setting for some screaming fandemonium. Sure, the band played hits like “Always Where I Need to Be,” with its chorus of “do do’s,” and “Shine On,” both off 2008’s Konk. But instead of speeding through those to get to their newer tracks, they obviously made sure to give those older songs some love.

Pritchard used his acoustic guitar on “She Moves in Her Own Way” to get the crowd bouncing like a British rock club, rather than the normal shove-and-sway mentality we so often adopt at packed shows here in America. The set picked up about halfway through, when Pritchard shimmied along on the riser at the front of the stage during a dizzying version of “If Only,” and then stayed onstage while his bandmates took a break for the swoon-inducing “Seaside.”

When the other members rejoined him, they played a stripped-down, nearly island-jam version of “Tick of Time,” complete with three acoustic guitars and just one drum. The ultimate display of the band’s maturity came right at the end of set, with the heavy, fuzzy rocker “Do You Wanna,” and when they began the encore with the multiple-time signatures and all-out bravado of “Gap.” —Sean O’Kane

Photos courtesy of Joe Papeo | www.irocktheshot.com

Tags: Konk, Photos, Review, Terminal 5, the Kooks
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Tennis Sells Out Music Hall of Williamsburg

March 6th, 2012

Tennis – Music Hall of Williamsburg – March 5, 2012

There’s something kind of adorable about the band Tennis. This is in part due to their unusual origins. Led by Alaina Moore and Patrick Riley, Tennis started after the two met in college and, upon graduating, decided to set out on a seven-month sailing expedition down the East Coast. Inspired by their time at sea, the two decided to write music based off their experiences. Now married and fresh off the heels of their latest release, Young and Old, produced by the Black Keys’ Patrick Carney, the two continue their voyage on land bringing their sea-inspired sounds to new audiences.

Moore and Riley’s relationship is worth noting in part because of how much it’s likely to have inspired their sunny sound. With organs backing Moore’s warm voice, their music almost sounds like a sunnier version of the organ-heavy Beach House. Moore seemed genuinely appreciative of the sold-out crowd last night at Music Hall of Williamsburg, noting that New York City is usually seen as the high point of any band’s tour. She rewarded the crowd by divulging that a few days earlier she was promised an opportunity to fulfill a childhood dream and be a part of a “girlie magazine’s” stylized photo shoot (she wouldn’t disclose which one), only to find out that they were actually being shot as a part of a Tic-Tac advertisement. “What the fuck? I thought I would be promoting my band!” joked Moore. They decided not to go through with the shoot and left instead.

Tennis ended with the dangerously catchy “Origins,” which the audience simply refused to accept as the last song, so the band returned to the stage for two more, ending with the sing-along “Marathon.” Also worth noting is the on-the-rise openers Hospitality, who powered through a killer set of their own filled with bursts of unexpected catchy guitar riffs followed by lulled moments of lead singer Amber Papini’s straightforward lyrics. Expect much more to come from this New York City-based band. —Dan Rickershauser

Photos courtesy of Mike Benigno | mikebenigno.wordpress.com

Tags: Alaina Moore, Amber Papini, Cape Dory, Hospitality, Music Hall of Williamsburg, Patrick Carney, Patrick Riley, Photos, Review, Tennis, Young and Old
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Matthew Dear Brings on the Weekend

March 5th, 2012

Matthew Dear – The Bowery Ballroom – March 2, 2012

There’s just something about a Friday night, the way it straddles the workweek and the weekend, with one foot in each. And Matthew Dear playing a sold-out show at The Bowery Ballroom was the perfect soundtrack for a rainy Friday night, straddling both the indie-rock and electro-dance worlds with aplomb. Following an inside-the-rubber-band warm-up dance set from Brooklyn’s Blondes, Dear kept the audience waiting just a moment, lights down, bodies ready to move.

It began with vocals, Dear singing, his voice echoing in digital loops while lights below the band illuminated their skinny-tie-and-cardigan-chic attire. But after that moment, it was all boogie. Dear let slip at one point that it was only the third show with this band, but they played like a veteran groove machine. Buoyed by mushroom-cloud bass, never-quit drumming and an intense, echoing trumpet, Dear’s lyrics came off like some sort of modern-day beat poetry. Often he’d sing a line and it would hang in the air, looping about while he left the microphone and strutted across the stage, the words like the smoke left behind by a cartoon roadrunner, holding their shape for a second and then poof!

Once the audience was warmed up, Dear offered a one-two punch: highlight versions of “Tide,” with its sing-along lyric of “I don’t care about you anymore,” and “You Put a Smell on Me.” Between songs throughout the set, the punchy dance beats dissolved into simmering ambient bleats of sound that cleared out one tune making way for the next, like Friday straddling the weekend border, it was nothing but party time ahead. —A. Stein

Photos courtesy of Diana Wong | dianawongphoto.com

Tags: Blondes, Bowery Ballroom, Matthew Deer, Photos, Review
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School of Seven Bells (Sort of) Celebrate a New Release

February 29th, 2012

School of Seven Bells – Mercury Lounge – February 28, 2012

Mercury Lounge is too small a venue to contain the School of Seven Bells’ expansive sound. With sprawling guitar melodies reminiscent of shoegazers My Bloody Valentine, the band’s very first instrumental almost knocked all the air out of the place as if there weren’t enough room for anything other than their colossal sound. After years of almost nonstop touring, as a group and opening for Interpol, School of Seven Bells have their live sound remarkably tight. There was no squeak or sound that wasn’t exactly where it belonged.

In a 2008 interview with NPR, lead singer Alejandra Deheza described how the band writes songs the opposite way of most others, starting with the lyrics and writing a song around them. The unusual creative process shows in the final product. It’s almost as if each song crafts its own unique world for Deheza’s voice and lyrics to call home. With her gold jewelry, dangling earrings and jet-black hair, Deheza looked almost like Cleopatra. Yet onstage she remained modestly elegant, never trying to take the spotlight from any other band member. She did that with her voice, one that’s gentle yet assertive and cuts through everything else.

Last night at Mercury Lounge marked the official release of the School of Seven Bells’ third full-length album, Ghostory, a special occasion guitarist Benjamin Curtis only really hinted at throughout the show before humbly stating, “We had a record come out today” during their encore, as though it were an afterthought. And with a set list sampling from all three of their albums, the set was not by any means an “album-release party.” Why let anything else be the highlight of the show when the music’s so good? —Dan Rickershauser