"Don't ever listen to a band...unless that band is the Mountain Goats or the Hold Steady." -Eddie Argos

So much of an Art Brut show depends on how much energy the band has to fed off of. Studio B did not provide that much energy, but the band still put on a decent performance. Shockingly, Eddie also seemed a bit hungover. Whatever, the new tracks sounded pretty good though. Eddie did his usual schtick and wacky banter. Fun was had.

And something about Eddie Argos - like the way he talks and his whole body language - keeps making me think of The Office's Gareth Keenan...........

ART BRUT | STUDIO B | APRIL 17, 2007
Pump Up The Volume / Bang Bang Rock N Roll / I Will Survive / Bad Weekend / St Pauli / Rusted Gun of Milan / Modern Art / People In Love / Emily Kane / Direct Hit / Moving To LA / Late Sunday Evening / Post Soothing Out / My Little Brother / Nag Nag Nag Nag // Good Weekend -> Formed A Band

Soulwax and Muscles played a late set at Studio B yesterday. By the time Art Brut finished there was already a line outside the club. Soulwax did not hit the stage till 1:30 in the morning but those there did not seem to mind. The five from Ghent, Belgium were wearing all white and once they started playing, they didn't stop. Live dance music executed this well is rare and few can pull it off, especially the way they are able to almost erase transitions between songs. You really only notice the cycle of lulls and climaxes. I had to cash out early because I also saw the highly entertaining Art Brut and O'Death but it was hard to know when to just stop dancing. The night probably could have run a bit smoother and ended earlier if they had just combined the two shows, which could have even been called "Lookout! DJs formed a band." Soulwax also christened the venue just seven months ago when Studio B first opened.

The opener Muscles, from Melbourne, Australia, is one guy with two keyboards and a laptop. This unassuming kid's appearance in khaki pants and a parka was quite the contrast to him wildly singing ridiculous lyrics over candy-coated beats. The crowd was slow to start dancing but a large group of European dudes arrived all at once, preceded straight to the front of the dancefloor, and kick-started the rest of the crowd. Muscles was fun. Modular will eventually put out his record.

Let's be honest and say that if it weren't for Pulp, there is no way that Jarvis Cocker would be headlining two sold out nights at Webster Hall. This isn't to say that his solo debut, Jarvis, doesn't rate. It definitely does. It's an extremely strong album. But his biggest strength is still that he's Jarvis Cocker from Pulp, not Jarvis from Jarvis.

That said, Jarvis' first U.S. show in nearly a decade was tops. He's still one of the best frontmen to ever grace the stage. It's almost ironic how his theatrical moves now mirror those of Michael Jackson. His free hand is like a conducters wand that has got a mind of its own. Between every song, Jarvis provided hysterical banter. He sounded amazing. The band was excellent. All in all, top marks.

That being said, Jarvis played eleven of his solo songs (one of which was a UK b-side) and two familiar covers (He's been covering the Talking Heads and Black Sabbath throughout his European dates). It was a nice setlist, even if he didn't play "Black Magic," which was originally on the setlist, but never got played. What the show was missing was kind of obvious. He really should have thrown a couple of Pulp songs into the mix rather than play two cover songs. I'm not asking for him to play "Common People" or "Babies," but he easily could have performed any number of tunes from Pulp's vast back catalog. Hell, he could have played "This is the Night" from the Harry Potter soundtrack and it would have been a great addition. The show really could have used them. The crowd could have used them.

For a performer who staked their claim as one of us, it seems he's now truly gone solo......

JARVIS COCKER | WEBSTER HALL | APRIL 22, 2007
Fat Children / Don't Let Him Waste Your Time / Heavy Weather / One Man Show / I Will Kill Kill Again / From A To I / Tonite / Big Julie / Disney Time / Big Stuff / Cunts Are Still Running The World // Heaven // Paranoid

Last night, Spoon played a super tight hour and fourty minute set at the Bowery Ballroom. They played a bunch of tracks from their upcoming records, but pulled a ton of old gems out for this show. Sweet (setlist photo by Tammy Lo)...

At around 12:30AM this morning, The Childballads crowded onto the small stage at Black Betty's in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, for their first area show in about two years.

The first sign that things would be different was that neither Betsy Wright or Judah Bauer, both of whom played on the Childballads excellent EP, were going to be performing. Instead, Stuart Lupton was backed by a simple three-piece band (Tunde Oyewole on bass guitar, Paul Arfield on rhythm guitar, John Melville on drums).

I don't think it's fair to give a full review, as I left around 1:15AM, after the band barely wobbled their way through three songs, plus a cover of Bob Dylan's "Walls of Red Wing." To say that Stuart Lupton, the troubled singer of Jonathan Fire*Eater, was a mess would be an understatement. He was so fucked up and it was so pathetic and sad to watch. He could barely get out the lyrics. He could barely stand. He could barely even get into his goth character. That amazing voice of his was off all night. And ugh, I don't even want to go on. It's just so sad.

Stuart is such a talent and it's such a waste to see him like this. I couldn't watch this train wreck and had to leave. That boy has got to get his shit together. He really needs to. I beg him. Please.

The Childballads return to Brooklyn on May 10th for a headlining show at Studio B........

The Jesus & Mary Chain played their first reunion gig last night at the Glass House in Pomona, California. As usual, they ignored the crowd, started off like a mess and finished like champs. They were joined by Annie Hardy from Giant Drag, and not Scarlett Johanson, for "Just Like Honey." All reports say it was incredible. This setlist makes me wet........

JESUS & MARY CHAIN | THE GLASS HOUSE | APRIL 26, 2007
Never Understand / Snakedriver / Between Planets / Head On / Far Gone and Out / Sidewalking / Teenage Lust / Blues From a Gun / New Song / Cracking Up / Just Like Honey / Reverence / Happy When It Rains / Some Candy Talking

Video of "Just Like Honey" from The Glass House show (via Losanjealous):

And an old performance of "Far Gone and Out" on Letterman:

Maybe it was that I was pressed up against the stage the entire time, but Arcade Fire's first show in New York City since their heavily covered five-night stand at the Judson Memorial Church was absolutely unreal! Dare I say that the band even sounded better than they did on any of the five nights they performed back in February.

The United Palace is a beautiful theater that happens to hold weekly services, which worked well into Arcade Fire's theme of playing and recording in churches. While the setlist was nothing out of the ordinary and no surprise guests turned up, the band continues to interpret their material with so much heart and power. It's rare that a band can continuously sound so passionate, but these Canadians have that certain something, which in this case is two near-perfect records.

While Win and Régine may be the center of attention, every single Acade Firer has a great stage pressence. It's non-stop energy from these folks. It's what they brought to every song tonight. It was awesome.

Two amazing shows in two nights. Wow. This week is off to an amazing start.........

ARCADE FIRE | UNITED PALACE THEATRE | 05-07-2007
Black Mirror / No Cars Go / Laika / Haiti / Black Wave/Bad Vibrations / Neon Bible / Windowsill / The Well and the Lighthouse / Ocean of Noise / Keep the Car Running / (Antichrist Television Blues) / Power Out -> Rebellion (Lies) // Tunnels // Intervention

DOWNLOAD: Arcade Fire - "Broken Window"
DOWNLOAD: Arcade Fire - "Ocean of Noise -> Rebellion (Lies) (Live from NPR)"

More pictures after the jump.........

Patrick Wolf loves theatrics and set a baroque atmosphere at Bowery Ballroom yesterday with his flamboyant costumes and a band of violin, upright bass, and keyboard. He also had a new drummer. Patrick changed from body suits to cut-off shorts and tank tops three or four times last night, all strung with scarves, neckties, or suspenders. But glitter was his main accessory. He came out wearing black wig, which he yanked off in the climax of the first song and the crowd gasped when they saw his firecracker red hair. Keeping with the baroque theme, I imagine somebody fainted in the back. "The Magic Position" was his anthem yesterday. There were some technical difficulties with his laptop during the encore so he played "Hounds of Love" at the piano. Patrick also tried to explain the drummer situation by saying that the old one claimed he fell asleep because he was on "stackers," which is slang for steroids. Patrick even seemed skeptical of this excuse but at least the new drummer was awake and vital the whole show. Also, Patrick did not mention anything about giving up music and said he would be back to New York soon.

[photo credit: thatgreenplant]

For the second FRICTION party at Mercury Lounge, the line-up featured Dan Deacon, Ponytail, and Meneguar — bands that you would normally seen in a hot, musty, and usually stageless warehouse, loft, or basement across the water in Brooklyn (For a side note, see this article in the NYT about far-off Brooklyn venues).

However, Dan Deacon recreated that ambiance by setting up his keyboard and other gizmos, including a trippy green skull, on the floor and by turning off the AC. Dan felt a little bad about his odd request to generate stuffiness in the room, so he started the show by leading the crowd with a few cheers of "Air conditioning is appropriate!" One thing I learned from Dan at that show is you can pretty much turn any awkward situation around with a cheer. When his CD player ran out of juice, stopping the show momentarily, he had the whole room rally with the chant "The batteries are dead! The batteries are dead!" Later, we all recited a long-winded apology to his friend, in the same fashion as your favorite religious creed, for the mysterious disappearance in another friend's car of the Animatrix bonus disc. The entire show could have been a call and response lead by Dan Deacon and it would have been just as entertaining.

Dan also insisted upon a dance circle for one song with people tagging in and out. For his 12-minute epic "Wham City," he passed around lyric sheets and the crowd did their best to sing along. Usually at a one-person show with few live instruments, the performance hinges on their personality, sometimes it even feels a little like stand-up comedy. But Dan Deacon somehow made the show about the audience with him as their muse.

Stereogum and of course Crackers United were also there.

Be Your Own PET, who are signed to Thurston Moore's Ecstatic Peace Records, opened for the Arctic Monkeys last night at the Hammerstein Ballroom.

While I'm a huge fan of this band, it was an ultra-disappointing show and it wasn't the bands fault. During BYOP's entire set, the sound mix was just awful. The bass and drums were barely audible. The guitar sounded like it was being amplified by a subway speaker and the vocal mix was way to low.

It would be impossible to fairly judge the four new songs the band played or to really give a fair review of their entire performance. I will say that they are all very cute.

On the other hand, the sound for Arctic Monkeys was perfect. I know it's cliché to say that these children sound mature beyond their years, but it's so true. They are such a tight band with a wonderful stage presence, who know how to work an audience into a frenzy. Give them another album and they're be selling out the Garden. (photo by ypkang)

Oh, and before I forget, can I just say that the security at the Hammerstein is ridiculous. No cameras, not allowing people near the merch booth, no standing in the aisle, no fun. What the fuck........

ARCTIC MONKEYS | HAMMERSTEIN BALLROOM | MAY 15, 2007
If You Found This, It's Probably Too Late / Brianstorm / Still Take You Home / Dancing Shoes / From Ritz To Rubble / Balaclava / Fake Tales of San Francisco / You Probably Couldn't See For The Lights... / Teddy Picker / D is For Dangerous / Do Me A Favour / I Bet You Look Good On the Dancefloor / This House Is A Circus / Old Yellow Bricks / If You Were There, Beware / The View From The Afternoon / Fluorescent Adolescent / When The Sun Goes Down / Leave Before the Lights Come On // A Certain Romance

DOWNLOAD: Be Your Own PET - "Adventure"
DOWNLOAD: Arctic Monkeys - "Only One Who Knows"

Primary Wave Music Publishing hosted an intimate, invite-only performance and art exhibit with Daniel Johnston.

At the show, Daniel was accompanied only by a single acoustic guitar player and turned out a wonderful half-hour set which included "Speeding Motorcycle" and "True Love Will Find You in the End."

He avoided his disgusting nazi joke and instead told a wonderful story about seeing the Butthole Surfers in Austin while on Acid.........

DOWNLOAD: Daniel Johnston - "Speeding Motorcycle

The Noisettes and The Maccabees played a sold out show at the Knitting Factory yesterday. Both bands seemed to draw their own set of fanatic Anglophiles.

I had not been to the Knitting Factory in a while, and now the stage is equipped with the super club stylings of twirling lights, strobes, and a smoke machine. With those things in action, the room felt much bigger than it actually is.

This was The Maccabees first time playing in New York. I was surprised that there were a few people cheering just after the mention of a song's name. The Maccabees sing a lot of love songs with angular guitars and fierce drums. They were tight on stage and looked well seasoned as a band. I think some of their lyrics are dumb, but other than that they seem to have the full package.

The Noisettes have been to New York before opening for the Mystery Jets but this show was much better. The singer Shingai has a lot of style. Last night, she wore a plush gold armored top and the braids of her hair exploded into a mohawk. The three-piece band plays music that would be more obvious if punk had been birthed by soul. Sometimes Shingai's voice falls a little flat but the punk diva's attitude keeps their songs together.

[Photo credits: thatgreenplant and muzikspy]

At the early show for The Veils at the Mercury Lounge last Thursday, singer Finn Andrews said, "This is the first time we have played these songs in America – well, since we recorded them. It feels pretty good." The New Zealand band seems to have a fascination with gothic Americana and their songs conjure that same dust bowl imagery. Further, the band played a haunting Springsteen cover of "State Trooper" and revealed they would be spending three months in Oklahoma – possibly to record another album. You might think of Finn as a young Nick Cave.

Finn always wears a black circular-brimmed hat but up-close at the show I noticed a silver necklace of detached angel wings around his neck. But the way they overlapped and dangled on the chain, you could mistake the wings for a pulled tooth from a distance. This identity crisis between upright beauty and pain is also a good analogy to their music.

I went to their show at Union Hall the following night too. Both shows left me wanting more and showcased Finn as a jarring and emotionally intense frontman but neither captured the delicate grandeur of their album Nux Vomica. Next time, I hope they return with more practice, strings, and a better piano. Regardless, it is puzzling (as Stereogum also points out) why The Veils are not (not yet?) huge in America right now. Brooklyn Vegan, and Music Snobbery were also there.

Franz Ferdinand played a show at Bowery Ballroom last night before they head down to Bonnaroo. Thankfully they played the show like they were just headlining Bowery and did not bring any gaudy album cover backdrops like the ones they usually employ for larger rooms.

Alex even seemed amazed that he could talk to the crowd without a microphone, "That's magic, that's what that is." Paul said the same thing. They should do this more often. However, Alex did not say much else other than making fun of his red shirt or Nick's red shirt. But Franz played their songs well and made obvious they could command a bigger stage.

Live, the new songs seemed a bit noisier than their two previous records. The best of the bunch was "Favorite Lie," which had a brisk piano breakdown toward the end that set fire to the crowd. Good show.

Set List:
Jacqueline / Anyone In Love (new) / Walk Away / Shopping For Blood / Dark Of The Matinee / English Goodbye (new) / Take Me Out / A New Thrill (new) /The Fallen / 40 ft. / Favorite Lie (new) // Turn It On (new) // Michael // Outsiders

Jamie T, the DIY genre-bending singer, producer, and bass guitar strummer, played a solo show at Union Pool Tuesday. Descriptions of the UK troubadour's music are hard to pin down because he pulls on many influences from The Clash to The Beastie Boys.

At the show, he was reckless on the bass guitar but spat taut lyrics soaked in cadence and rhyme, which glued the songs together. When singing, sometimes the charming bloke's British accent slurs into patios to make rhyming easier. Many of the anglophiles in the crowd were singing along too since his album Panic Prevention is already a huge success over there.

While I don't think he handed out any mixtapes at this show, recorded, his lyrics float over spliced drumbeats, instrumental samples, and other vocal snippets. A third incarnation of Jamie T's music will be dished out to those patiently waiting in the States when he raucously returns with his backing band The Pacemakers. His album may also hit you over the head around that time too. Take your pick.

Jamie T was also kind enough to join us at Sirius for Product Shop NYC Blog Radio while he was in New York. We talked about everything from his Mercury Prize nomination to his bouts with indigestion and a sudoku addiction. The show aired yesterday but you still may be able to catch a rebroadcast on Left of Center.

JAMIE T US TOUR DATES
Saturday, September 8 – Montreal, Quebec – Osheaga Festival
Sunday, September 9 – Toronto, Ontario – V Festival
Wednesday, September 12 – Boston, MA – Great Scott
Thursday, September 13 – New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom
Saturday, September 15 – Philadelphia, PA – North Star
Tuesday, September 18 – Chicago, IL – Schubas
Wednesday, September 19 – Minneapolis, MN – 7th Street Entry
Saturday, September 22 – Seattle, WA – Crocodile Café
Sunday, September 23 – Portland, OR – Doug Fir Lounge
Tuesday, September 25 – San Francisco, CA – Slim’s
Wednesday, September 26 – Los Angeles, CA – Troubadour

Band of Horses played McCarren Park Pool this past Sunday along with Annuals and Oxford Collapse.

Ben Bridwell from Band of Horses is growing a beard that would rival the beards in Archie Bronson Outfit or Vietnam. The band played some new tracks from their forthcoming album Cease to Begin and now I think I should begin counting the days till its October 9th release. To finish their set, they played — with big grins — an upbeat Stones cover called "Act Together." I guess technically the cover is not a Rolling Stones song but it was written by Jagger and Richards and then given to long-time guitarist Ron Wood for his first solo album ironically titled I've Got My Own Album to Do. No bloggers were injured at this show.

Blitzen Trapper played some heavy jams at Mercury Lounge Wednesday opening for David Vandervelde. The twangy guitars and dusty casios stewed nicely together at the show. They played mostly tunes off their new album Wild Mountain Nation that literally packs up easy-going riffs, breezy harp, and nostalgic country hooks, and takes them to the Final Frontier of rhythm and noise experimentation. Sometimes I can't tell if they are still headed there or on their way back home because their music is brilliantly camped out between the two.






David Vandervelde is on a mission to save the guitar solo. He plays freewheeling rock that resurrects the bygone shredding of the 60s and 70s. He broke two strings on the first song, aptly starting the set in an I-don't-give-a-fuck fashion with “Cocksucker Blues." And then starting the uber-catchy song "Jacket" with a 30 second solo. David has some chops on the guitar he had play a track or two one piano too. Blitzen Trapper also got back up there to whail along on their guitars or bang on a tambourine and ultimately form what the guy in front of me called "Blitzen Vander Trapper Velde."

The last two times I've seen the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, both of which were at the Bowery Ballroom, I was underwhelmed. Their performances had been extremely lackluster. That was not what the band delivered at Webster Hall last night.

Throughout the hour and half set, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs performed an inspired and energetic set that had the crowd bouncing and singing along. The Show Your Bones tracks were the ones the audience went most bonkers for, while the older tracks like "Our Time" and "Art Star" didn't make the crowd lose their shit they way used to at Brownies.

Regardless, Karen O is an excellent frontwoman. Nick is a wicked guitarist. And Brian is the groups backbone. He was posturing all night like Rikki Rocket. Totally awesome. Fun show. Made me fall back in love with them........

YEAH YEAH YEAHS | WEBSTER HALL | AUGUST 6, 2007
Sealings / New Song / Honeybear / Rockers To Swallow / Phenomena / Rockers To Swallow / Cheated Hearts / Gold Lion / Pin / Kiss Kiss / Down Boy / Art Star / Maps / Turn Into / Date With The Night // Y Control // Black Tongue // Our Time // Tick

If you weren't able to make the trip to Lollapalooza this past weekend an excellent alternate music festival was taking place just a few short hours away at Baltimore's Pimlico Race Track- the Virgin Music Festival. I arrived on Saturday afternoon in time to catch the last couple of Amy WInehouse tracks. She sounded good, but looked like she wanted to be elsewhere, I just wanted to buy her a crab cake sandwich- she looked like she could use one.

Afterwards made it over to catch Peter, Bjorn and John who's 4 pm time slot seemed to be a perfect fit for them. Songs like "Amsterdam" and "Paris 2004" sounded really strong to me and their set seemed a lot more energetic than their Bowery show a few months ago. Next up was James Murphy and his LCD Soundsystem crew which was strange to see in broad daylight. They delivered pretty much the same set they've been playing all year, but got the crowd of hipsters, frat boys and random locals who just wanted to "check out the scene" all jumping around in a frenzy.

I had to boogie in time to get over to the North Stage in order to catch the Beastie Boys dressed up in suits who proclaimed "It's hot as a motherfucker out here today!" Agreed. I had checked out weather.com several hours before I boarded the bus, but since it was already technically Saturday the site told me that Baltimore was 74 degrees. Excellent. Unfortunately that was what the weather was like in Baltimore at 1 a.m. not the next day which felt like it was closer to 100 degrees. The Beasties were a definite highlight of the weekend. Their set flowed smoothly from old school hip-hop to the Latin-flavored instrumentals to the inevitable "Sabotage" which made the packed crowd go apeshit. I noticed that they changed a lyric in "Sure Shot" from "well you say I'm twenty-something and I should be slacking" to "thirty-something" which ends up being funny considering these boys are now pushing forty.

Anyway Mike D in particular sounded very excited to be seeing the Police who were due up next. I thought they sounded great, some people were more interested in checking out Modest Mouse, but I had to witness this reunion for myself. They basically played a best-of set which was smart and appreciated by the crowd, too bad they changed up the arrangements on a few of the tunes as to rest Sting's voice from all the falsetto that he sings. He could still hit the notes when he wanted to, he just wasn't hitting them for the duration of the songs. The encore of "So Lonely" and "Every Breath You Take" was literally breathtaking. It seemed like the night was over but they came out once again to play "Next to You." An excellent Day One.

DJ Del will be DJ'ing at Nurse Bettie (106 Norfolk St, NYC) on August 8th.

I've never woken up so early for a second day of a fest ever, but I was smart to do so. Caught local Baltimorian Dan Deacon at the ungodly hour of noon. He seemed to be delaying a bit which was potentially frustrating considering he was only given a half hour set. Turns out that he was waiting on a battery pack that he needed for his gear. Ever the showman, Dan called on on of his friends from some local band whose name escapes me right now to do a little call and response with the audience. He got the crowd to do vocal warm-ups with him holding each note for a very long time: "Pimlicoooo ...... Raaaaaaaace ..... Traaaaaaaaaaack ...... Bringgggggggggggg ............Ussss ........... Luckkkkkkk!!!!!!!" Then we would all shout "Horsey Horsey" repeated ad nauseum to a full count of twenty five. It was hilarious. Eventually the battery pack arrived and the crowd went nuts with everyone dancing and jumping around Dan as if their lives depended on it. I was very impressed that a crowd had gathered this early to support their local homeboy. A few songs in Deacon asked the crowd to make a big circle and said that we were starting a dance contest. One person at a time would head to the middle of the crowd and freak the fuck out until he decided to pick someone else would then do the same thing and so on and so on. However, there were a few rules. Rule #1: You must dance sassy as fuck. Rule #2: No cowards. If you were chosen you had to go out there and basically make a fool out of yourself. One girl was chosen and decided not to dance, you best believed that Mr. Deacon stopped the show and called her out on it. "Have you forgotten Rule #2?! AND you are standing right at the edge of the crowd??!!? Get out there now!!" Anyway, I'm glad I finally got to see this guy and can't wait til he comes to town soon.

He was, in fact, the perfect opener for Girl Talk whose insane set worked the now-packed crowd in the dance tent into the sweatiest thing I was a part of all weekend. Dancing and playing name that tune to the multitude of mash-ups that were frantically flying by as were a couple of 250 lb. meatheads who seemed to think it might be a good idea to go crowd surfing while smoking CIGARS! (you know who you are and should be banned for life from attending anymore festivals). Gregg Gillis invited up cute girls in unitards and commenced to rocking out pretty hard, so hard in fact that he accidentally stopped one tune in mid-climax. Without hardly skipping a beat he got on the mic "Hey, I'm human just like you guys." He was easily forgiven, everyone around couldn't remember the last time they had such a good time that early on a Sunday afternoon.

After these sets caught a nice afternoon solo set by Regina Spektor who looked and sounded lovely. She could not have been more accurate and might as well have been describing herself when she sang that summer in the city is all about cleavage, cleavage, cleavage. Also, I noticed in the comments section of Brooklyn Vegan someone so succinctly stated that "Regina has nice tittays!!! True that.

Spoon was up next and despite being exhausted from traveling in from Chicago they played fantastic as usual. A lot of the crowd seemed to know a lot of the words off of newer jams from the recently released Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga. Managed to run over and catch a few songs from Explosions in the Sky who had attracted a surprisingly big crowd. Got a drink and ran into Virgin CEO/gazillionaire Richard Branson who was munching on an apple and drinking a Red Bull while stopping to take photos with fans. A random woman came up to him gushing: "I love working for Virgin!" That remark was worth a kiss on the mouth. This guy is allowed to do whatever he wants. My friend asked him about what he thought Saturday's attendance might be. Branson's quick response: "what do you think it was? Was it too many or too little?" Touche. Do not fuck with this guy, he will crush you like a grape.

After drinks caught a bit of Bad Brains who sounded tough and looked even cooler and then wandered over to see the Yeah Yeah Yeahs kill it on the main stage. It was just as exciting to watch this middle-aged woman standing next to me who had "never heard of these guys before" get completely blown away by Karen O's energy and overall stage presence. Karen apologized for being "a bit overindulgent" for playing a slow version of "Maps" directly following the regular version, but it is a great summer love song so who could really complain?

Trekked back across the field to see a reunited Wu Tang Clan who seemed to have forgotten that they were part of Virgin Festival and not still doing one of their Rock the Bells shows. Its hard to blame them really, they do smoke an obscene amount of ganja. The fact that they remembered to turn up at all was huge, I thought. Towards the end of their set, Method Man stood on top of the crowd like he was Jesus to announce a new Wu album dropping on November 13th. At this point my friend yelled out "Don't worry, I'll download it on Halloween!!!!"

After this went back over to the North Stage to catch Interpol before I remember that I find them to be an unbelievably boring live act. It started raining but figured I might as well see a few songs of Velvet Revolver because I'd certainly never pay to see them any time in the future. I ended up getting really close and it was great to see Weiland and Duff and Slash in full rock mode. I hadn't seen any of these guy play in probably over ten years. When they did Stone Temple Pilot's "Vaseline" I was fist-pumping along with thousands of actual Velvet Revolver fans which I found pretty hilarious. They also played GNRs "It's So Easy" which sounded great as well. Who'da thunk it? Caught a few tunes by the Pumpkins who I really wanted to like. "Hummer" and "Zero" sounded great and reminded me why I really used to care about this band, but the newer stuff just sounded so uninspired and I knew I had to end my night with M.I.A. which was a great idea. "Baltimore quieten down now!" She made some great sounds to wrap up and excellent festival. "Paper Planes" with its Clash "Straight To Hell" sample was awesome and ending with "Galang" sent everyone in the dance tent heading to the lots with huge grins on their faces.

DJ Del will be DJ'ing at Nurse Bettie (106 Norfolk St, NYC) on August 8th.

Herman Düne played to packed room at Union Hall last night. Their band is big and while this last-minute show could have been just David-Ivar, Neman, and their new bassist, thankfully some other friends were also there to help out. The two girls from The Baby Skins, who are on the last album, were there to sing backup. Members of Beirut, John Natchez and Kelly Pratt (also a touring member of the Arcade Fire if you want to get technical), were filling out the horn section. Maybe having eight people on stage for the show was dumb luck, but their massive sound flooded that tiny room. The only problem was the set was too short and, with eight albums, a lot of people left without hearing their favorite song. But Herman Düne have arranged a last-minute encore at Goodbye Blue Monday this Saturday.

UPCOMING SHOWS
Sept 1 :: Herman Düne – Goodbye Blue Monday, Brooklyn NY
Sept 7 :: David Herman Düne (3 person band) – Cake Shop, New York NY

Yes, it is not listed but they did announce it at the show.

The Veils played the Bowery Ballroom Monday night. The last time they were in New York three months ago, they were starting their tour at The Mercury Lounge and Union Hall. The set list has changed some and they thankfully picked up a better keyboard. But Finn Andrews is still just as volatile in front of a microphone and has yet to take off that hat. The other members of the band don't match his rollercoaster of emotion so he commands the attention. Most of the show could be seen on his face.

For the encore, Finn returned in of a pair of screaming stars and stripes pants, which he said that he bought in San Francisco. At the store, he asked woman at the register if there were any special care instructions for washing the pants with his other clothes. She said, "Nope, these colors don't run." Unfortunately, after that fine display of patriotism and galvanizing rock, The Veils must now head back to New Zealand.

High Places played the last set of the day at the Fader Sideshow. This is a band that sounds better with just the right amount of fuzz from crappy equipment: think chugging synth drums and a girl's soft voice paired with thudding bass and some synth steel drums. They would have fit right in with the bill at Bowery that night.

The band plays again tonight at Cake Shop with Gowns, Ecstatic Sunshine, and others.

I am glad White Williams has a band because he could have gotten up there and pushed a bunch of buttons by himself but that would not convey all of the layers of instrumentation in his music. Although he might want to go one more step and get a drummer, even with just synth pads. His album reminds me of Paul Simon at times but I did not get that at the show. The whole band lacked stage presence but behind them there was a mesmerizing projection of moving patterns using things like dancing moneybags and cent characters.

White Williams plays again for FRICTION on Halloween at the Annex with Telepathe.

The two-man act No Age have some explosive songs, which sometimes start with a tranquil static lull but later erupt into feedback, distortion, and crashes. The crowd upfront got pretty rowdy too. No Age is a DIY guitar and drums punk band that really explores the breadth of noise. The band was a bit chatty at first but then started introducing songs with just expletives, which seems more fitting. At the end of the show Randy stepped on his pedal to cycle some sounds, then gave his guitar to a kid dancing on stage and hoisted him on his shoulders to finish the song. It was a cool move.

No Age plays again at Shangri La next Monday with Deerhunter.

Dan Deacon had a slow and awkward start with 20 "Ethan Hawk!" + 5 "Gattaca!" cheers, the second was a retry of the first but both were poor cheers. Since this may be his last tour on the floor, he knew this wasn't good enough to start, so he had the crowd make sea sounds and shushing noises. After he got going, people danced and went crazy. The room went from pitch dark to full lights for people to make a "Price-Is-Right" hi-five lap around the room. Safety first. Also, there were more cameras dancing on stage than people. Oh CMJ.

Black Kids were probably one of the most hyped bands of CMJ this year and when they only played a song or two at their Annex showcase due to technical problems, lots of people were ready to write them off. I caught them the next day at BrooklynVegan's day party and they actually delivered on the five or six songs that they have. Reggie Youngblood, the singer, also mentioned that some of the criticism in this cloud of hype was about "how physically attractive we are." If the band is really concerned about their weight, maybe they should consider dressing a little differently. Regardless, these kids' strength is that they conjure so many bands at once from The Cure to The Go Team! to Love is All.

They still have four tracks you can download on their myspace.

Islands were amazing at BrooklynVegan's day party. The band played a bunch of new songs and threw in some old favorites. Subtitle killed it on his verse for "Where There's A Will There's A Whalebone." The band was climbing stuff, grabbing props from the audience, and making interesting percussive use of the stripper poles on stage. And Nick said that they just finished putting the finishing touches on a new album. Islands go on.

Thanks BrooklynVegan for putting together some awesome day parties this year.

Ghostland Observatory brought the moves at Webster Hall. These guys never disappoint and seem capable of rocking any size crowd. The place was very smoky and lasers were blasting along with the music. And still, Aaron wears his sunglasses. Maybe lasers can shoot from his eyes and maybe Thomas has special powers with his cape. These things seem possible when they are on stage. Bring on a new album.

Nebraska's Eagle Seagull is one of those bands I have been meaning to see forever. The band was overflowing on to the floor at the Gothamist house. One keyboardist was pushed to the wall and standing on bench, hunched over his instrument. Their songs are so upbeat I think the crowd felt a little awkward sitting down. However, this was near the end of CMJ and lots of folks looked like they were in a daze. I want to see these guys in a different setting but I liked their big restless sound.

Tonight, November 26th, is The Music Slut's turn to host the Knitting Factory's Blogger's Delight thing in the Tap Room. This FREE show will feature sets by The Subway Band, Luke Wesley and Peasant, plus feature dj sets from Jen and Matt Music Slut.

Tuesday night at 7pm, is Liberated Matter's Cross Pollination at Pianos which this week The Music Slut co-curated. This series has been happening upstairs at Pianos every year since 1845 (or something, I have a hard time reading Roman numerals), so it's a real honor to be involved. Matt and Jen picked the STELLAR That Fleeting World to go with Wes Liberated Matter's Bess Rogers. That should be interesting......

Tonight, November 26th, is The Music Slut's turn to host the Knitting Factory's Blogger's Delight thing in the Tap Room. This FREE show will feature sets by The Subway Band, Luke Wesley and Peasant, plus feature dj sets from Jen and Matt Music Slut.

Tuesday night at 7pm, is Liberated Matter's Cross Pollination at Pianos which this week The Music Slut co-curated. This series has been happening upstairs at Pianos every year since 1845 (or something, I have a hard time reading Roman numerals), so it's a real honor to be involved. Matt and Jen picked the STELLAR That Fleeting World to go with Wes Liberated Matter's Bess Rogers. That should be interesting......

Last night at Bowery Ballroom, singer-songwriter Kate Nash drew a diverse crowd to her show: girls who knew all of her lyrics, dudes who either pointed or stared (some prefer baked goods*), and a few shouting idiots. And all of these people managed to make it there before her oddly early 9 PM set.

Kate's show was a looser, stripped-down version of her album, Made of Bricks. Paul Epworth's (Phones) shiny indie-electro production comes out live as folksy piano, guitar, and drums. But Kate's songs really are that simple. She exudes a wholesome girly charm on stage that makes her very likable. Her darker side is in her lyrics about girls wearing all black, drinking, or tagging around with skeletons. Yet everything is so feel-good those stories also appear wrapped in bows or covered in cute stickers. On first listen, Kate Nash seems like a guilty pleasure but actually she makes some very well crafted pop songs and delivers them with a lot of wit and charm.

Wednesday night's show was very similar to the last time she was her at Luna Lounge and Joe's Pub with a few more songs added in and more banging on the piano at the end. She is not quite Regina Spektor or Lily Allen, but Kate Nash could be huge in the US, especially if 13 year-old girls get wind of her music.

*No cookies were exchanged this time, only deep gazes.

Mates of State played an early show yesterday at Mercury Lounge to show off some of their new tracks from Re-Arrange Us. The band's size has doubled for this album with two new members, who happen to be brothers, backing up Kori and Jason with a wide range of instruments: violin, cello, guitar, metallophone, shaker, and even a trumpet on one song. The new mates were not a part of every song nor were they really necessary on some of the ones they were, but their added instruments and sound helped to fill the stage and the room. Mates of States did not play a full set but they promised to be back soon for a proper headlining show.