Tag Archives: Neon Indian

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See Neon Indian Play Webster Hall Tomorrow Night

October 20th, 2011


Neon Indian is the brainchild of composer Alan Palomo. He had been writing and creating music as part of the band Ghosthustler and then as the artist VEGA prior to creating the dreamy lullabies and grinding guitar of Neon Indian. After Palomo missed a date to take acid with a friend—Alicia Scardetta, who now provides Neon Indian’s visuals—he sent her a musical apology called “Should Have Taken Acid with You.” When she responded positively to the tune, it spurred him on to create more. The results of which, Psychic Chasms, were released in 2009 to much acclaim. A second disc, Era Extraña, came out last month and so Palomo is now on the road in support of it. And when he plays live, he doesn’t go it alone, instead he’s joined onstage by drums, keys and guitar. See for yourself when Neon Indian (above, doing “Mind Trips” last year at The Beach at Governors Island for Fader TV) plays Webster Hall tomorrow night.

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CMJ Music Marathon Starts Today

October 19th, 2010


For some people, the CMJ Music Marathon, which starts today and runs through Saturday, is the most wonderful time of the year. There’s lots of live music to go around, so you know The Bowery Presents will be involved. Mercury Lounge—with the likes of Harper Blynn, John Vanderslice, Nada Surf, and Gordon Gano (formerly of Violent Femmes) and the Ryans—has a deep, disparate lineup throughout the festival.

But it’s not like The Bowery Ballroom is slacking this week, with seven bands filling the room on Thursday, including the Jezabels, a coed quartet from Sydney making their U.S. debut. Friday brings Dean Wareham, Crocodiles and Wakey! Wakey! to the venue, and Saturday is just crazy with Surfer Blood, Neon Indian, DOM and eight other cool groups. Plus there will even be a free afternoon party on Saturday at Piano’s, with six bands upstairs and five downstairs.

Of course, all of that is in Manhattan. In Brooklyn, Music Hall of Williamsburg will be doing plenty of entertaining of its own, with Kevin Devine and the Goddamn band headlining tonight, Head Automatica taking the lead tomorrow and the Pains of Being Pure at Heart as part of the Brooklyn Vegan showcase on Thursday. Blue Flowers, which began as a night of stellar music in West London and has blossomed into much more, hosts Friday’s showcase, bringing two of the hottest acts coming out of the UK right now, Chapel Club and Everything Everything—above, playing “Tin (Man Hole)” for Little Noise Sessions—to our shores.

So you’ve got an abundance of options. If you find that overwhelming and don’t know what to see, Mercury Lounge talent buyer Jay Belin offered some suggestions to NBC New York.

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Neon Indian – The Beach at Governors Island – August 14, 2010

August 16th, 2010

Neon Indian - The Beach at Governors Island - August 14, 2010

Photos courtesy of Chris La Putt | chrislaputt.com

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Have Yourself a Sandy Little Weekend

August 11th, 2010

The weekend is, thankfully, fast approaching, and the weather looks great. So why not spend two nights outside with your feet in the sand listening to cool music? Neon Indian is the brainchild of composer Alan Palomo. He had been writing and creating music as part of the band Ghosthustler and then as the artist VEGA prior to creating the dreamy lullabies and grinding guitar of Neon Indian. After Palomo missed a date to take acid with a friend—Alicia Scardetta, who now provides Neon Indian’s visuals—he sent her a musical apology called “Should Have Taken Acid with You.” When she responded positively to the tune, it spurred him on to create more. The results of which, Psychic Chasms, came out last year to much acclaim. But when Palomo plays live, he doesn’t go it alone, instead he’s joined onstage by drums, keys and guitar. See for yourself when Neon Indian (above, doing “Terminally Chill” on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon) plays The Beach at Governors Island on Saturday.

The Philly pop-rock quintet Dr. Dog (below, performing “Stranger” on Jimmy Kimmel Live!) openly embraces lo-fi production and the upbeat, late-’60s sounds of the Beatles and the Beach Boys. They’re led by two frontmen, bassist Toby Leaman and lead guitarist Scott McMicken, but as you’ll see for yourself at The Beach at Governors Island on Sunday, the whole band harmonizes throughout their shows. The group formed in 1999 and has toured extensively over the years while still finding time to produce six albums, the most recent of which, Shame, Shame, came out earlier this year. And want to know the best part? Not only can you close out your weekend with a night of great music, but as part of the Gone to Governors series, this show is absolutely FREE.

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IFC Crossroads House – March 17, 2010

March 18th, 2010
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Neon Indian

Photos courtesy of Chris Reddish

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A Nostalgic Multimedia Experience

December 18th, 2009

Neon Indian – Brooklyn Bowl – December 17, 2009

(Photo: Dagny Piasecki)

(Photo: Dagny Piasecki)

Alan Palomo’s Neon Indian is the latest moniker in a long line of successful dance electronica projects for the Austin, Texas, native. Formerly—or still, depending on the night—known as Vega and Ghosthustler, he’s been refining his 8-bit ways, which have exploded in a burst of pure ’80s synth nostalgia on his latest release, Psychic Chasms. What better venue to relive this bygone soundtrack than a bowling alley adorned with Coney Island freak-show banners and the requisite huge disco ball. Neon Indian excels at playing with those minimal synth sounds that instantly recall Kraftwerk or Herbie Hancock’s twitching mannequin torsos.

In the end, Palomo essentially succeeds in moving the crowd with familiar sine waves that have worked their way into the collective unconscious. Like with Daft Punk, it’s nostalgia for a sound that never really existed. It’s easily recognized as part of the old school, but it’s been reimagined from a contemporary distance. Further reworking his own sound for this live tour, Palomo recruited drummer Jason Faries, guitarist Ronald Geirhart and keyboardist Leanne Macomber to add a little bit of humanity to the metronome mechanical perfection on the album. It makes for a more compelling stage show when you can work off the energy from bandmates kicking out beats and soloing on guitar, in front of frighteningly period-accurate video manipulations of late-night B movies. (USA Up All Night anyone?) This is Neon Indian’s shtick, to recollect pop culture in the form of straightforward dance. The only thing missing was the slow, couples-only laps around a wooden dance floor on rented roller skates. —Jason Dean

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