Neon Indian, aka Alan Palomo, brought his psychedelic-electro (psychedel-ectro?) to Mercury Lounge for a second straight night last night (12/16). Backed by a drummer (eh), a guitarist (stood in the dark the entire set), an eye-candy keyboardist (was she actually playing?), backing tracks and projected images, he meandered thru songs from his debut disc Psychic Charms.
While the crowd was dancing at times (myself included), the music was overly complicated and too disjointed to establish a groove throughout the night. It wasn’t until the encore, when they delved into the VEGA catalogue (Palomo is also a member) that the rough edges were smoothed out and the crowd responded in kind.
There’s potential here, but until he gets a new band and some new material, I don’t plan on going back for more. They play a sold-out Brooklyn Bowl tonight. Tickets were priced at $5.
Photo courtesy of @MSG
“Thank you . . . you all right here for making this the best year of my life.”
Those were the heartfelt words spoken by Antlers leader Peter Silberman toward the end of their show last night at Bowery Ballroom (12/15). Sharon Van Etten (who opened the show) joined the band on vocals to bookend the set on opener ‘Thirteen’ and closer ‘Wake’. In between were the songs of Hospice, their critically acclaimed album and my favorite of 2009. The songs began delicately with goosebump lyrics and simple guitar and built into big, lush walls of noise kept tight by pounding drums and cymbals. The result was a walloping storm of sound. A little hipster girl next to me was so overwhelmed by ‘Atrophy’ that she passed out into a heap on the floor. I don’t blame her. Time and again, the band went for it, with Silberman leading the way on absolutely stunning vocals, from falsettos to full-on wails hitting high notes that seemed almost impossible.
The Antlers will open for Editors at Terminal 5 on February 19th. Tickets here. Video for ‘Two’ after the jump.
UPDATE: As he notes below in the comments, NYC Taper recorded the show and made it available for download at his site. He also wrote a nice review. Check it out here.
In celebration of their announcement that they’ll be re-releasing Elliott Smith’s albums Roman Candle and From a Basement on the Hill in April, Kill Rock Stars is giving away a previously unreleased Elliott Smith track, ‘Cecillia/Amanda.’ Whoa! Christmas came early!
Download or stream it below and if you have a moment, let me know which Elliott Smith song is your favorite and why in the comments.
Elliott Smith – Cecilia/Amanda
For the unforgettable clip of him performing ‘Miss Misery’ at the 1998 Grammy Awards as well as his New York Times obituary, continue reading below…
Peter Gabriel covers Bon Iver, Arcade Fire, Radiohead and nine others on new album, Scratch My Back
Peter Gabriel has announced the release of his newest album Scratch My Back, due on February 15. The album, produced by Bob Ezrin (Pink Floyd’s The Wall), has Peter singing orchestrally arranged covers of Heroes (David Bowie), The Boy in the Bubble (Paul Simon), Mirrorball (Elbow), Flume (Bon Iver), Listening Wind (Talking Heads),The Power of the Heart (Lou Reed), My Body is a Cage (Arcade Fire), The Book of Love (The Magnetic Fields), I Think it’s Going to Rain Today (Randy Newman), Après Moi (Regina Spektor), Philadelphia (Neil Young) and Street Spirit (Fade Out) (Radiohead). From Peter’s website: “The album is the first part of a series of song exchanges in which Peter and other leading artists reinterpret each others songs.” So it sounds like we may be hearing each of the artists referenced above performing a Peter Gabriel song at some point in the future as well…very cool.
Check out the podcast stream below to hear Peter talk about the album and sample the first four tracks.
Peter Gabriel Podcast – Scratch My Back
He has announced shows in London, Berlin and Paris in March. No US tour dates announced yet.
The Big Pink took the stage at Bowery Ballroom as a 4-piece (guitar, synth/sampler, bass and drums) and proceeded to wail through a set a noisy-electro-rock. They worked through most of their debut album, A Brief History of Love, and threw in a well-placed, folky cover of Otis Redding’s ’These Arms of Mine.’
Not only was the music impressive but the show was visually successful as well. The lights, designed by the band themselves, were heavy on backlit strobes, but also featured moving lights and were done simply, yet cleverly enough to keep the look dynamic all night. While the bassist was violently headbanging thru much of the set, the bad-ass female drummer, Akiko Matsuura, dominated all night and added soaring back-up vocals. To close the set, she held the bass guitar up to her mics for feedback and then trashed her drums and cymbals. OK, no encore, but worth it.
Photo via ICT Mag
Phish at the Garden is tough to beat. 20,000 kids piled into the arena last night (12/2) and were treated with two rollicking sets of rock, bluegrass, extended jams, ballads and covers…everything I’ve come to expect from the band. The sound was crystal clear, despite Trey Anastasio’s eternal desire to make sure his guitar is mixed louder than any other instrument. Page McConnell’s piano was allowed to shine however on two of the night’s highlights, a funky jam on ‘Wolfman’s Brother’ and a big throwdown on ‘Suzy Greenberg’. The crowd was ravenous both for the music and the weed as clouds of ganga smoke and roaring cheers filled the room all night long. The energy in the room was intense and security was pleasantly lax as the aisles were full of dancing hippies-come-lately.
Set list after the jump. Two more shows to follow tonight and tomorrow night. Tickets are sold out but there were a bunch of people selling outside the building (both the traditional NYC scalpers and fans).
I’m hyped to announce that Blackraptor. has teamed with the talented gang at Quiet Color to bring some new elements to each site. In addition to blogging ahead of the curve on the world of indie rock and visual arts, Quiet Color also acts as an indie label and promotes shows (see pic below of their anti-CMJ show featuring Sleigh Bells, impressive). My first post on their site covers Gui Boratto and is up now.
Check it out, check out their site and if you dig it, add them to your RSS or make them a stop on your blog rotation. Keep an eye out for their contributions to Blackraptor. coming soon.
Hans-Peter Lindstrom, the Norske space-disco producer has teamed up with vocalist Christabelle (under the monikor Lindstrom & Christabelle) to put together what promises to be one of 2010’s best records. Full of sonic beats, pop-vocals, scattered brass & piano, Quincy Jones-style funk and lots of groove, the album is made for the dance floor and is sure to be a target for dozens of remixes. This is everything I love about music. Skål to Norway.
The album, Real Life is No Cool, is due January 19th and can be pre-ordered here.
Lindstrom & Christabelle – Baby Can’t Stop
Check out Aeroplane’s remix at L&C’s myspace.
BlakRoc is The Black Keys & a stable of hip-hop vets and rookies alike, all brought together by Damon Dash. The album was made in 11 days, contains 11 tracks and features 11 guest artists including Ol’ Dirty Bastard, Jim Jones, RZA, Mos Def, Ludacris, NOE, Pharoahe Monch, Nicole Wray, Raekwon, Q-Tip and Billy Danze. Album drops Friday, 11/27, pick it up here. ODB’s verse and Nicole Wray’s soul vocals are high points. Check out two tracks below.
BlakRoc – Done Did It (feat. Nicole Wray & NOE) (removed by request)
BlakRoc – Coochie (feat. Ludacris & Ol’ Dirty Bastard) (removed by request)
Apparently they have their own line of Camaro?? I think it’s safe to say this won’t be a touring act.
Have you ever had the urge to spin some disco but were passed a huge spliff at the same moment? I thought so. Let me guess, you weren’t sure if you should crank up the tunes or dial it back a bit? Tricky, but a good problem to have.
Well, CFCF (aka Montreal’s Justin Silver) is here to meet you half way. It’s one part Italo-disco, one part French House and one part smooth jazz or, as I like to call it, stoner-disco. Check it out here. The first two tracks on the myspace page should be skipped on the first time thru, then revisited. His debut LP was released a few weeks ago on Paper Bag Records, buy it here. Sample his take on Fleetwood Mac’s Big Love below, that’s whassup.
