Tag Archives: the Pains of Being Pure at Heart
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.
See the Pains of Being Pure at Heart at Webster Hall This Saturday
September 30th, 2009
The NYC-based quartet the Pains of Being Pure at Heart formed in 2007 and self-released a self-titled EP later that year. An LP, also named The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, followed this year. With the band’s fuzzy-guitar sound and pop sensibilities, the group has earned comparisons to prior shoegaze acts like My Bloody Valentine and Black Tambourine. But you be the judge: Check out the Pains of Being Pure at Heart, above, playing “Higher Than the Stars” for Seattle’s KEXP radio station, and then go see them, along with the Depreciation Guild and Cymbals Eat Guitars, on Saturday at Webster Hall.
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – The Bowery Ballroom – May 12, 2009
May 13th, 2009
(Photo: Annie Powers)
“This is our first show at Bowery and we thought it would be really horrible. But it’s been really fun.” —Peggy Wang
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart play what is known as shoegaze, a genre perfected in the late 1980s by shy, moody kids who strummed their guitars vigorously, buried the vocals deep in the mix and stared down at their feet. (Hence the name.) Good as they are, the Pains are going to have to work at appearing more bummed out. At their sold-out show at The Bowery Ballroom last night, they were positively giddy, overflowing with geeky good cheer and chatting amiably with the crowd between songs. The set was short and sweet—they only have one album plus one EP worth of material—and pretty much flawless. “This is our first show at Bowery and we thought it would be really horrible,” said the keyboardist Peggy Wang. “But it’s been really fun.” So much so that they didn’t gaze at their shoes once. —Joey Pisarcik
