Kings of Convenience with Feist at Bowery Ballroom, NYC

“Just to be clear, we are not some weird experimental band that thinks that the old stuff is not as good as the new stuff,” Erlend Øye, the more eccentric half of the Norwegian duo Kings of Convenience, told a rapt Bowery Ballroom crowd on September 10th. Øye, along with Eirik Bøe, returned to the Bowery after a more than four-year break from playing in the USA to debut songs from their long-anticipated fourth full-length album, Declaration of Dependence. More at Crawdaddy.com.

Dangerous Cage Match Between CSNY and Fleet Foxes

Living in Harmony: Fleet Foxes vs. CSNY

In 1968, when members of three recently deceased bands—the Byrds, the Hollies, and Buffalo Springfield—improvised a cappella on a newly written song as a party trick, a whole new era of music was born.

Forty years later, indie stalwart label Sub Pop Records helped a young, scruffy quintet quietly emerge from a woodsy suburb of Seattle to gently lay a stunning debut album before music fans thirsty for complexity and beauty. Between 2006 and 2008, with their self-titled full-length and preceding two EPs combined, the Fleet Foxes accidentally created a whole new barometer for quality in modern music.

See what happens on Crawdaddy.com.

Review Update!! Pink Mountaintops, Dirty Projectors, Yim Yames, Crocodiles

Yim Yames "Tribute To"

Originally recorded in 2001, just a few days after Harrison’s passing, Jim James sat down to pay recorded tribute to his spirit. The six Harrison covers James chose were four cuts from All Things Must Pass, Harrison’s near-perfect 1970 solo record, and two Beatles songs penned by Harrison. Finally released this year under the name "Yim Yames," via ATO, Tribute To is a beautiful, meditative homage to a man who inspired so many with his unique and transcendental musical talent. Read more at Crawdaddy.com.

Dirty Projectors "Bitte Orca"

Dirty Projectors have come to define the forward-thinking movement that is the Brooklyn music scene, and, in a way, they have done much to preserve the scene’s organic integrity while trends in noise and art-rock sweep through. It’s the mantle quite a few bands have worn for a moment—TV on the Radio, Grizzly Bear—but few have run with it as far as David Longstreth’s Dirty Projectors have and hopefully will further on into the future. Read more on Crawdaddy.com.

Crocodiles "Summer of Hate"

As far as modern garage-psych goes, it’s hard to fuzz a guitar without drawing a bit too much from Jesus and Mary Chain. But Crocodiles’ tried and true devotion to the JAMC flavors, rather than overpowers, the sound of Summer of Hate. They avoid the nihilistic, neutered tendencies of the noise set and inject sex and melody into a genre that was losing its sense of self. Summer of Hate is a loose and quirky take on serious rock. The album is short (the entire thing clocks in at 34 minutes) and poppy, but it maintains a skidding sense of danger; it could careen off the track at any time, but manages to stay on course. Read more at Crawdaddy.com.

Pink Mountaintops "Outside of Love"

A Danielle Steele novel? From the man at the heart of Black Mountain? Luckily, it’s not exactly true. Or at least, it’s not what you would think a Danielle Steele novel would sound like—that I imagine to be more like Celine Dion over new age piano and sounds of the ocean. Outside Love, by comparison, is noisy and deadpan. The drama and pomp of the content is more what they meant by promoting it as a musical romance novel. And inside the gatefold, the book is pictured at the top of a stack of reading material on the tank of a toilet next to a box of old matches. That’s more like it.  Read the rest at Crawdaddy.com.

Kid Catastrophe's Last Stand

Illinois and Holly Miranda @ Mercury Lounge - Cinco de Mayo 2009

The Kid

An event many years in the making, the release of Illinois' debut full length, The Adventures of Kid Catastrophe, is cause for quite a celebration.  One of the hardest working bands in rock and roll,  they boys of Illinois have been through the music industry wringer over the last three years, and their album was stalled in the process.  Finally finished and time-released via +1 a few tracks at a time in tandem with chunks of a video puzzle, Kid is more than all of us stalwart Illinois fans could have ever hoped for.  It really is an adventure.  Last night Illinois' frontman and Kid Catastrophe alter-ego, Chris Archibald, led his rag-tag band of Bucks County, PA all-stars through the songs from the record as well as from their earlier EP The Revenge of Some Kid.  Congratulations, Kid and Co., on an incredible record.  Archibald will be reaching back into his huge bag of songs for a follow-up this year.

Opening up  for Illinois was the beguiling Holly Miranda, the  Jealous Girlfriends frontwoman whose solo songs have been the talk of New York for the past few months.  Her band includes violin virtuoso and solo artist in his own right Marques Toliver and David Jack Daniels (both also of Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson) as well as Tim Mislock (Abandoned Lighthouse).  Holly brought the house down with songs from her brand spankin' new Sleep On Fire EP.

Illinois' Martin Hoeger adds some claps.

Holly Miranda and Marques Toliver post-show

Holly Miranda

Illinois' JP Kuyper is release relieved

Holly Miranda's hired guns.

The Kid and his crowd.

Coachella 2009 - Three Days in the Life

Due to some funny trick of scheduling (because it has been shifting around for a comfy calendar spot for years) I've never been able to go to Coachella.  The lineups are always great, and I'm always bummed to miss it, so the fact that the stars aligned this year and Coachella fell into the week of the ASCAP EXPO that I was working in L.A. was really, really exciting.  

My highlights were:

#1.  Paul McCartney

About45 mins into his three-hour set, we all of a sudden realized we were watching a Beatle.  Upon discovering that he is also still the most amazing performer alive, mid-grade Beatlemania set in and I swear my legs and throat are still sore from dancing and screaming.  Paul could teach some of his contemporaries a thing or two about crafting a setlist.  He paid touching homage to George, John and Linda and played all of these:

Jet / Drive My Car / Only Mama Knows / Flaming Pie / Got to Get You Into My Life / Let Me Roll It (with a coda of Purple Haze) / Honey Hush / Highway / The Long and Winding Road / My Love / Blackbird / Here Today / Dance Tonight / Calico Skies / Mrs. Vanderbilt / Eleanor Rigby / Sing the Changes / Band on the Run / Back in the U.S.S.R. / Something / I’ve Got a Feeling / Paperback Writer / A Day in the Life > Give Peace a Chance / Let It Be / Live and Let Die / Hey Jude

First encore: Birthday / Can’t Buy Me Love / Lady Madonna

Second encore: Yesterday / Helter Skelter / Get Back / Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise) > The End

Paulie drives the crowd wild at Coachella 2009.  

#2.  My Bloody Valentine

Music you can feel with every part of your body.  Out in the dry desert air that reverb fucking flew.  This set reminded me that it's a rare band that actually pushes the limits of sound.  I am in awe of them.

Cloud Cult's Shawn Neary (center) goes earplugless at My Bloody Valentine - Coachella 2009

The lights, the reverb, the sound madness at My Bloody Valentine - Coachella 2009

Brett Allen of Snowghost Music stands in awe at My Bloody Valentine - Coachella 2009

#3. Leonard Cohen

He's your man, still THE man, at 74 years old.

Leonard Cohen - Coachella 2009

#4. Superchunk

Were we hyper enough?  Not until Superchunk played.

Superchunk - Coachella 2009

Superchunk - Coachella 2009

#5. Fleet Foxes

From the photo pit I witnessed fans crying as they sang along to Robin Pecknold's gorgeous, mountainy lyrics.  Those harmonies even intimidated the desert.  And the desert is pretty intimidating.

Fleet Foxes - Coachella 2009

Fleet Foxes - Coachella 2009

Fleet Foxes - Coachella 2009

#6. The Art

It was on fire, it lit up, you could climb it, activate it, play it!

#7. Booker T and the DBTs

When we walked over Booker T and the Drive By Truckers were blasting through their rendition of "Hey Ya" and completely killing it.  Woefully under-attended (it overlapped with Fleet Foxes) and truly fun.

Booker T and the DBTs - Coachella 2009

#8. Paul Weller

He just rocks.  He just does.  And he brought Johnny Marr with him, so that doesn't hurt.

Paul Weller - Coachella 2009

#9. Conor Oberst's Hat

I don't care about his music at all, but his fashion sense is exceptional.

Conor Oberst's Hat - Coachella 2009

#10. Dr. Dog

It's no secret they're my hometown heroes.  And they just bring so much energy to everything they do.  

Dr. Dog - Coachella 2009

SXSW 2009 or Invasion of the Hotel Room Snatchers or For One Week Only: Nobody Gets Arrested!

Once again, ASCAP launched us to Austin for SXSW. Thank shit I took pictures because my memory of the week was a little screwy. But our showcases were rad (see above shot of Josh Briggs in a hot dog suit receiving a mustache ride from yours truly) and it was by far the most laid-back, fun South By I've been to.

A few precious memories:

Aliens invade the Filter Showdown

Kurt Vile at the Music Gym

A Dance-off breaks out at Flosstradamus

Ariel's show flyer

On the side of the stage for Hold Stead at Insound's 10th anniversary

Adam loses his keys in Town Lake...

...and finds a 3am boat cruise gig.

Hoots and Hellmouth love margaritas

Thee Oh Seas on our first night

Austin Gothic: Adam Arcuragi and Brie Rose at ASCAP's welcome dinner

He's Your Man

Leonard Cohen / Feb. 19, 2009 / New York (Beacon Theatre)

I was unbelievably lucky a couple months back to somehow fall into a ticket to see the man, the myth Leonard Cohen at the Beacon in New York. We were all nervous to hear how he sounded (rumors were flying that his voice was shot) but he put on one of the most fantastic live shows I've ever seen. From my Billboard review:


Defying his 74 years and his decades spent as rock'n'roll's hard-living bard, Leonard Cohen impishly scampered onto the Beacon Theater's newly renovated stage to a standing ovation last night (Feb. 19) in New York. He proceeded to nimbly sink down to one knee to serenade his bandurria player, Javier Mas, with "Dance Me To The End Of Love" in a voice as hot and raspy as a flaming shot of whiskey. ... Ever the gentleman, the dapper, suit-clad Cohen removed his hat for each of his backing musicians and introduced the entire band not once, but twice. He waxed sweetly nostalgic, telling the crowd, "It's been a long time since I stood up on a stage in New York City. I was a young man of 60 then with a dream," and he fondly goofed on his experiments in faith, saying, "I turned to the study of religions and philosophies, but cheerfulness kept breaking through." Indeed, the evening was joyful; for the audience, but more so for Cohen himself. He seemed positively elated to be back in front of an audience in his beloved city, skipping off the stage at the end of the main set and then again after each of two encores. Any first-timer would have seen every bit of the power of Leonard Cohen both as a performer and a songwriter in the show.

read the full review at Billboard.com

Video from the show: