Tag Archives: Here We Go Magic

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Saturday’s Alright for Here We Go Magic

May 13th, 2011


Brooklyn’s Here We Go Magic began as a one-man band when singer-songwriter Luke Temple recorded a bunch of material at home on a four-track recorder over the course of two months. Those songs went on to become the well-received Here We Go Magic. But sometimes it’s more fun to do things with friends, so Temple added Michael Bloch on guitar, Peter Hale on drums, Kristina Lieberson on keys and Jennifer Turner on bass, and Here We Go Magic was suddenly a five-piece with a bigger, deeper sound. A second disc, Pigeons, followed in 2010, and the group released The January EP earlier this year. And now Here We Go Magic (above, doing “Collector” for KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic) brings cool psychedelic electro-folk to Mercury Lounge tomorrow night. You’d be wise to be there, too.

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Broken Social Scene Electrifies Terminal 5

January 19th, 2011

Broken Social Scene – Terminal 5 – January 18, 2010

Broken Social Scene - Terminal 5 - January 18, 2010

Last night, Broken Social Scene, the seasoned Canadian indie-rock collective, broadcast their show from Terminal 5 to an Internet-wide YouTube-viewing audience. On backlit screens around the world, I imagine small but impassioned groups of fans connected to the stream, speakers turned up and eyes fixed on the performance. As digital music forces record companies to amend outdated practices perhaps this is the new fan experience: concerts from the comfort of your own home. Nothing else seems to be sacred, so the live show is the next logical step for digital revamping. But the experience of a concert, the “being there” quality ranging from sound to the energy of the crowd, is irreproducible. Just ask anyone who was at Terminal 5 last night.

Over nearly two-and-a-half hours, Broken Social Scene dug deep into their expansive catalog. While the majority of the set covered the band’s most recent album, Forgiveness Rock Record, “Guilty Cubicles,” “Cause = Time” and “Fire Eye’d Boy,” from their first three albums, respectively, stood alongside newer songs with equal if not greater passion and interest. Even “Canada vs. America,” a rarely played track from EP to Be You and Me, was revived in part due to the rise of the Tea Party, according to frontman Kevin Drew.

Drew, the band’s cofounder along with bassist Brendan Canning, ostensibly stole the show. For “Lover’s Spit,” he solitarily played the introduction on keyboard, and at the close of “Superconnected,” the showstopper dedicated to a friend’s passing, Drew strummed out the song on electric guitar. He even got the big rock and roll moment on “Ungrateful Little Father” when he dove into the crowd. But, ultimately, the night belonged to those onstage and although Drew joked that each of their songs sounds like the end of the show, the band actually closed with a wonderful cover of Smokey Robinson’s “Ooh Baby Baby” (with the opener, Brooklyn’s Here We Go Magic) and a subdued version of “Stars and Sons.” These songs, an encore after the end of the stream, further proved that “being there” is worth the price of admission. —Jared Levy

Photos courtesy of Gregg Greenwood | www.gregggreenwood.com

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Here We Go Magic Takes a Step Forward

October 14th, 2010

Here We Go Magic – The Bowery Ballroom – October 13, 2010

(Photo: Jared Levy)

(Photo: Jared Levy)

Close to a year ago, Here We Go Magic presented themselves as a newly formed quintet, a group constructed around the layered songwriting and folk sensibilities of musician Luke Temple. While the band had a strong head start with Temple’s solo album, the eponymous Here We Go Magic, when they arrived at Music Hall of Williamsburg in January to play a headlining gig, the audience’s expectations derived solely from the album’s representation of a collective sound. Now, after extensively touring behind Here We Go Magic’s second album, Pigeons (though it is technically their first as a fully realized band), their listeners are familiar with the cast rather than just the director. And, on Wednesday night at The Bowery Ballroom, Temple and Co. returned to New York City with an expanded collection of songs and a reformed sense of self.

Most notably, the group went from background to foreground. When once Temple stood singularly as the identity and focal point of Here We Go Magic, now the interplay of the musicians defines their sound. Whether keyboardist Kristina Lieberson’s droning tones color the sound space or bassist Jennifer Turner’s deep groove pulsates on such songs as “Hibernation,” each musician makes a significant contribution. Selections from Pigeons exemplified these cooperative arrangements, however midset, the audience was also treated to a medley of two of Here We Go Magic’s most coherent pop songs, “Fangela” and “Tunnelvision.” Temple appeared to have left the acoustic guitar at home, opting for a Stratocaster, which, matched with his wide brim hat and cowboy boots, made him look like a vision lifted from the Band’s antiquated press photos. The arch of the show peaked and closed on Pigeon’s “Collector,” the height of the band’s pop potential and propulsive songwriting. The next step for this extremely talented group is to focus their energy on songs like “Collector,” which capture a unique sound and, dare I say, magic. —Jared Levy

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Luke Temple Doesn’t Go It Alone

February 1st, 2010

Here We Go Magic – Music Hall of Williamsburg – January 29, 2010

(Photo: Jared Levy)

(Photo: Jared Levy)

Advances in music recording have undeniably given musicians greater ability to compose their own projects. Artists like Neon Indian and tUnE yArDs have embraced the DIY spirit, creating their own lo-fi bedroom productions to considerable fanfare. But when it comes to delivering a live performance, these artists have shed their solitary identities and built groups around their sound. Similarly, Luke Temple morphed his self-titled solo record, Here We Go Magic, from an individual endeavor into a budding young band. As Temple notes in interviews: The sonic texture of the album necessitated forming a band. And judging from Friday’s show at Music Hall of Williamsburg, he picked a fantastic group of musicians to complete Here We Go Magic’s sound.

The New York City-based Glass Ghosts and Midnight Masses opened the show. The second band clearly draws its strength from group-oriented music. Midnight Masses is a new side project from …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead multi-instrumentalist Jason Reece and Dragons of Zynth bassist Autry Fulbright. Their band includes two guitarists, a bass player, two drummers and a string section. They frequently featured five-part harmonies that at times were reminiscent of Crosby, Stills and Nash.

Here We Go Magic followed with a smattering of songs from their debut album. As frontman Temple noted during the one-song encore, the band’s oldies only extend to a few months ago. Nevertheless, “Only Pieces” and “Fangela” came to life with fleshed-out vocal arrangements and dynamic instrumental interplay. Bassist Jennifer Turner is truly a talent, providing steady rhythm and excellent harmonizing. The band’s genuine connection and love of playing came through in their music, and I am eager to see how they continue to mature as a group. —Jared Levy

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