The Conscious Consumer
By Taylor K. Long While record browsing with a friend at Greenpoint’s Permanent Records last week, I found a copy of the Long Winters album, When I Pretend To Fall in the .99 section and realized that though I love it, I don’t own it in any physical form. The kind clerk informed me that...
Phagwah Parade 2011: It’s Spring And The Men Are Horny
Phagwah Parade, by Taylor K. Long By Taylor K. Long My obsession with India could take up its own essay, its own series of essays, even, but it’s not nearly as complex or compelling as the country itself. My first exposure to the Hindu holiday of Holi (also known as Phagwa(h), or “Festival of Colors”)...
Wild Beasts @ Music Hall of Williamsburg, Sunday, February 28th
When Wild Beasts came to New York City last fall, they found themselves in the pressured position of having a lot to prove. They’d made only one US trek beforehand, to SXSW. Members of the press came out in droves to hear and see the UK foursome, now on their second album, Two Dancers, which...
Murder City Devils @ Nokia Theater, February 13th
Murder City Devils are no longer the kind of band that sets their drums on fire, or plays dive bars. For quite some time they were technically no longer even a band. But for now, having reunited for a series of shows instead of just one, they were a band. The kind of band who...
Yeasayer @ Bowery Ballroom, Monday, February 8th, & @ Music Hall of Williamsburg, Tuesday, February 9th
Alternately titled: How I got in to Two Sold Out Yeasayer Shows in New York City, A Tale of Happiness & Triumph One of the biggest challenges a music writer can face is writing about a band you adore. Sometimes you like something so much that the task of describing it is an overwhelming pressure....
Cass McCombs @ Joe’s Pub, Monday, July 27th
As mentioned in the last post, I recently took a gig working for Domino Records, which means I’ll no longer be editorializing about Domino artists, but providing visual coverage – which brings us to the very first instance of such, Cass McCombs, who performed at New York City’s Joe’s Pub on Monday night. T-Sides has...
David Byrne @ Prospect Park Bandshell, Monday, June 8th
An overwhelming 27,000 people showed up to see David Byrne play a free show at the Prospect Park Bandshell in Brooklyn on Monday night. The show was the opening of the 2009 Celebrate Brooklyn concert series. Celebration was easily the theme of the night, whether you were celebrating the fact that it didn’t rain, the...
GAS @ Miller Theatre, Friday, May 29th
Save the massive excitement surrounding what was claimed to be his first and only show in the U.S. (though it seems he played Chicago three nights prior), everything about Wolfgang Voigt’s show at Columbia University’s Miller Theatre on Friday night was minimal. Performing under the name of his popular ambient electronic project, GAS, Voigt was...
Pattern Is Movement & St. Vincent @ Webster Hall, Wednesday, May 20th
Pattern Is Movement have certainly lived up to the Movement part of their name, touring relentlessly since the release of their excellent fourth album, All Together. Seeing them for the third time since October, Pattern Is Movement’s set at Webster Hall last Wednesday was yet another in a line of charged, exciting performances. The duo...
Akron/Family @ Bowery Ballroom, Wednesday, May 6th
After seeing jam-freak-avant-folksters Akron/Family put on an incredible show at Brooklyn’s Union Pool in March, there was only one thing left to do: Go home, go online, buy tickets to see them again. After seeing Akron/Family put on an incredible show at Manhattan’s Bowery Ballroom last night, there’s only one conclusion that can be made:...
Throbbing Gristle @ Brooklyn Masonic Temple, Tuesday, April 28th
If anyone other than Throbbing Gristle had been playing the Brooklyn Masonic Temple on Tuesday night, the fact that the crowd was older and stranger and on more drugs than the average New York City crowd might have been off-putting. And if anyone other than Throbbing Gristle had been on stage, the fact that they...
Glasvegas @ Webster Hall, Monday, March 30th
They may only have an album and a christmas EP behind them, but Glasgow’s Glasvegas are already performing like a big-time rock band. Grabbing the attention of the US late last year with the release of their debut, self-titled album, Glasvegas have packed New York City venues of increasing sizes, including their most recent stop...
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