Akron/Family @ Union Pool, Sunday, March 29th
“Everyone is guilty,” Akron/Family sang at their second gig at Union Pool, but if their performance was any indication, that fact isn’t getting to them. The bi-city band, based in New York as well as Williamsport, Pennsylvania, was full of whimsical energy Sunday night as they surged through an 11-song set without so much as...
Double Dipping: Morrissey @ Webster Hall, The Grates & Micachu and the Shapes @ Pianos, Wednesday, March 25th
New York City living, with its ever-expanding list of options, presents a reoccurring problem: What to do when you need or want to be in two places at once? Given the opportunity to see both legendary crooner Morrissey at Webster Hall for free and up and coming hype bands the Grates and Micachu and the...
Frightened Rabbit @ Le Poisson Rouge, Monday, Feb. 2nd
Frightened Rabbit could not have been more different from the setting for their acoustic, all-request set at Le Poisson Rouge on Monday night. Le Poisson Rouge’s pricey beverages and bottle service attracted an audience more interested in being seen there than being there, as the sound of chatter rose above both openers, Joe Pug and...
Tallest Man On Earth & Marissa Nadler @ Mercury Lounge, Tuesday, Dec. 9th
Image courtesy flickr user Karl Gunnarsson (note: not from Mercury Lounge show) Though Kristian Matsson’s stature does not meet the expectations set forth by his stage moniker, Tallest Man on Earth, he was plenty intimidating in presence during his recent show at the Mercury Lounge. Pacing about the stage and having staring contests with the...
Dan Deacon & Dirty Projectors @ The Brooklyn Masonic Temple, Thursday, Dec. 11th
Image courtesy flickr user thepiratehat Looking down on the audience at Dan Deacon’s show at the Brooklyn Masonic Temple on Thursday night was akin to watching a strange orgy or mating ritual of some kind. People in their teens and twenties swayed as a group, not moshing so much as just moving, touching each other...
Smashing Pumpkins @ United Palace, Thursday, Nov. 6th
Anyone who was unsure as to what to expect from the Smashing Pumpkins’ performance at United Palace last Thursday surely had that question answered within the first few minutes. They started on time, and opened “Roctopus” with a Jimmy Chamberlin drum solo, after which erratic frontman Billy Corgan took the stage – in a dress....
Dispatches from CMJ, Day Five: Drink Up, Buttercup, Little Jackie, Pattern Is Movement
The first half of the last day of CMJ was something of a random draw, with there only being one band I was determined to see that day (Pattern Is Movement, seen above). I ended up at Cake Shop for a repeat performance of Drink Up, Buttercup, the only band I saw more than once...
Dispatches From CMJ, Day Three: The Lovely Sparrows, Au, Goes Cube, Villa Vina
The third day of CMJ began at Fontana’s, with Austin, TX folk-duo the Lovely Sparrows. This is one of the shows I was looking forward to, as occasional T-Sides contributor Clay Franks turned me onto them. Fans of current rising-stars the Fleet Foxes will find much to love in this pair, who also play melodic-pop-folk,...
Dispatches from CMJ, Day Two: Sister Suvi, Drink Up, Buttercup, Project Jenny, Project Jan, Women, Ane Brun, So Many Dynamos
Remember how day one of CMJ was all about the blogs? Well, day two was also sort of all about the blogs, or at least one in particular, NYC-based Ear Farm, offering up the most appealing daytime option with its free showcase of bands as eclectic as its voices and subjects. Arriving late, I unfortunately...
Dispatches from CMJ, Day One: Emmy the Great, the Sammies, Shearwater, Ponytail, Passion Pit, Gang Gang Dance
The first day of CMJ (or the College Music Journal’s Music Marathon, should you prefer to be proper) this year was all about blog showcases, with New York City’s music and pop culture scribes scurrying off to give press to their own, most popularly The Music Slut, Pop Tarts Suck Toasted, Brooklyn Vegan and Stereogum....
Soapbox