Matt Lowell is someone who makes an impression. My first review of him was also the first I had heard of him. Even with the limited knowledge I had though, his music stayed with me and memories resurfaced as I stood front and center for his EP release last night at Mercury Lounge. That first show I saw him perform solo, but this one had him with a full band. While the band does change the sound to some extent, there was still something there that was uniquely his own. I knew Lowell was special when I first saw him and was glad to see a room full of supportive people dancing with as much energy as the performers themselves offered. I think it is safe to say we will be hearing more from this artist in the future. Stay tuned.
Last week I was lucky enough to make it to both the Brooklyn and NYC dates of Jukebox the Ghost tour with Wakey Wakey. The Brooklyn show was at Rock Shop, and the other was at Bowery Ballroom. This was my first time at Rock Shop, and it might be one of my new favorite venues. It was a nice space with good sound and just enough room to dance. Highlights from this tour included a very memorable fan at this venue and three new songs performed by the band (two new songs + a tasteless cover). The cover was of Huey Lewis’ “The Power of Love,” which fans seemed to respond well to. The two new songs sound great, and have me very excited for future new material and hopefully a new record. There’s eight videos from the Rock Shop on my YouTube page, but I will post the new stuff below.
Here are the two new songs:
and the tasteless cover:
Like I said, I love the new stuff, and I even caught myself singing them after two nights in a row of seeing them performed live. The complete set list was as follows:
Mistletoe
Half Crazy
Hold It In
Interlude/The Stars
Empire
Summer Sun
new song
Nobody
new song
Good Day
Static
Power of Love (Huey Lewis cover)
Schizophrenia
Be sure to check out the other videos I took, as well as a few pictures from the two shows.
About a week ago I got the chance to see Jesse Malin & the St Marks Social perform at the Bell House in Brooklyn. Jesse Malin is a true rock & roll singer, with a great stage presence and storytelling skills. The guitarist is also fantastic, and I will go so far as to say he is one of the best I have seen in this decade. There was a lot of energy from the entire band. You could tell the members had a great rapport and enjoyed playing together on stage.
One thing worth noting (outside of the band’s performance) was the audience. For one thing, there was an expansive age range in this crowd (something I believe I mention in my last review I did from my first time seeing the band live). The other thing worth noting was the connection Malin had with the crowd. He even leapt off stage at one point to interact with them for a song. I mentioned the stage presence he had, and the best example of this was a line directed at the audience when he wanted them to clap and sing along.
“I see what it is, you guys are a singing crowd. You don’t get a singing crowd to clap.”
And with that we all sang along, old and young, to one of the best rock bands we will ever have the pleasure to know.
Eight in Eight is a project where Amanda Palmer, Neil Gaiman, Ben Folds, and Damian of Ok Go pulled together for what was supposed to be 8 songs in 8 hours (but ended up taking slightly longer). While the group may have underestimated how long the project would take to finish, it still is amazing to me that they did have the finished project within the same day (if you define “day” as “24 hours,” since they ended after midnight). Not only is the amount of time spent on the project impressive, it is also amazing that the work actually sounds good. The songs are definitely not mainstream, but when you look at the contributors this detail shouldn’t surprise you. The album includes a song about Nikola Tesla, and another about Joan of Arc. That last one, called “The Problem With Saints” is performed by Neil Gaiman, who is much better known for his writing than his musical abilities. Neil carries the song fine though, and the subject is so interesting you’re inclined not to judge too harshly.
The whole project is surrounded by a ton of mad, wonderful, creative energy. It was essentially a brainstorming session made public for the world to see (and even contribute). This was made possible by video feeds and Twitter. I have spoken before about the power of the social media tool that Twitter has become, but for all it’s uses this is definitely the most creative I have seen yet. This is the kind of experiment I could only imagine AFP and the rest of the people involved would be able to make work as effectively as they did. The finished product is definitely worth the $1 minimum donation they are asking for (if not more). Plus the money goes to charity, which is also nice. It’s great to see something really big and beautiful come from such a short amount of time. I’m sure the actual process must have been really intense (I know the collective Twitter feeds gave a picture of an intense music-writing workshop). If anyone actually watched the webcast, I would love to hear your comments. (And if any of the artists involved want to comment, I am completely OK with that as well). I will close with a thank you to those involved for being creative and trying something different. I think that is what art is all about, and when the internet and technology get involved it makes it all the better.
*The album can be downloaded on Bandcamp, and more information on the project can be found here.
Matt Lowell played an early show Thursday night at Mercury Lounge. There was a decent crowd considering it was 6:30 and the weather was dreary. Lowell was fun and easy-going while on stage. At one point he made fun of the fact the next song he had started playing sounded like a more famous one (totally by accident). This is something that happens to every artist at some point, but not everyone acknowledges it in the same way. He then went on to a short talk of world events and some songs with social reverence. Things got lighter though when he mentioned his new EP (which came out Tuesday). He was surprised and delighted to see some in the crowd had already bought the record. “It’s funny. You get to a certain point where someone who isn’t your Mom and Dad buys your record.”
Lowell also did a cover of La Roux’s “Bulletproof,” which was only recognizable if you knew the lyrics to the song. Musically it was completely different, being stripped of all the electronic sounds and simply being played on a guitar. I love when an artist takes an uncharacteristic cover and makes it their own, so this was enjoyable. I also enjoyed the song Swan Lake, which he concluded the evening with. I already linked to a download of it in my last post.
Linkin Park has always been one of those bands that makes us wait a couple years in between albums, but also always delivers solid material that is well worth the wait. A Thousand Suns is no exception to this. They still keep their rap-rock style mostly, but there are some deviations from that as well. The many different styles are balanced very well here though, keeping things fresh and interesting. And even though the genre may be the same, this is definitely not just a rehashing of their previous work. You can tell Linkin Park worked hard to make sure this was different than anything they had done before. For one thing, each song blends almost seamlessly with the next, creating a more fluid experience. This isn’t to say every song sounds the same. No, each song is it’s own thing, but while also being part of a larger whole. The work that was put into the album is most evident, however, with their single “The Catalyst” which was created in a very unique way.
I thought the idea of having the fans help contribute to this song was cool and different and really made it so they became part of the music.
Personal favorite: While “Catalyst” is a great song and constantly gets stuck in my jukebox of a brain, gotta say I really loved “Iridescent” – both musically and lyrically.
Do you feel cold and lost in desperation You build up hope, but failure’s all you’ve known Remember all the sadness and frustration and let it go, let it go
The song builds then releases to “Fallout” and finally transitions to “Catalyst.” The album then concludes with “The Messenger,” which is both beautiful and rough at the same time. The lyrics and message are sweet, while the vocals are emotional and raw. Personally I think these last few songs combine to make for a perfect ending to an already exceptional record.
When you’ve suffered enough And your spirit is breaking You’re growing desperate from the fight
Remember you’re loved And you always will be This melody will bring you right back home
I discovered Runaway Dorothy through the wonders of Twitter. Somehow their album made its way into my iPod, and even though it didn’t fit my typical listening pattern, I still enjoyed what it had to offer. “And what did the album offer?” you ask.
Well, instead of the alt rock I usually listen to, The Arc is 46 minutes of alt country with somewhat of a Counting Crows vibe. It makes sense that the Crows promote this band so much. I could definitely see Dorothy opening for them and keeping the audience pleased. For the most part songs are slow, and laid back, but this feels relaxing instead of boring. The lyrics are simple yet meaningful. There are also some sweet harmonies on “With You.” Like I said, this normally isn’t my favorite genre, but this album is solid and had me thoroughly impressed. I can only imagine that fans of this genre would only love it all the more.
From the introduction and first song on Danger Days I knew two things: 1) this album is going to be a lot of fun, and 2) but only if I don’t listen to it as a My Chemical Romance album. Through further listening though it would seem that, yes, the sound is different on this album, but there is still just enough of MCR infused in it to be recognizable to old-time fans. It’s not exactly the same as their older material, but that’s ok. It’s closer to The Black Parade in that it’s a concept album with a story attached to it. This time we are following the band’s alter egos, the Killjoys, in their adventures. The first single “Na Na Na” is also the first song on the album, and introduces us to our cast of characters. The rest of the album takes us through the story, set to (mostly) high tempo music. The best way to describe it would be glam rock, a fusion of rock and pop that blends to make for something less dark than previous albums the band has released.
Final thought: While the single may leave you scratching your head as to what to expect here, I say give this one a chance and you might be pleasantly surprised. It might not be what you expect from MCR, but it’s got enough good elements in it to be worth a listen.
On December 14, 2010 I had the opportunity to see Ben Folds make magic happen at Beacon Theater. Unfortunately, this was also when I first started dealing with what became known in my house as the-illness-that-never-dies. This is my pitiful explanation for why this review is appearing almost 2 weeks after the event took place. Proof it was a great show though, or I would have simply forgotten about it and moved on to other things. So, without further ado, I present Ben Folds: Live @ Beacon Theater.
Picture it: It’s a freezing cold night in New York City, you’re sick and cold, but Ben Folds is playing in your city. Of course you go, even though you should stay in and rest up, but it’s Ben Folds (!). How do you say no to the chance to see possibly one of the greatest musicians of our time? You don’t. You brave the cold and wind and keep telling yourself it’s fine because it’s mostly just subway ride anyway. Reasons I love Beacon Theater: an exceptional venue that is also quite convenient to get to. But I digress…
The show itself was everything I could have asked for. Ben Folds has a lot of things going for him. He’s an extremely talented musician both vocally and on the piano (and isn’t too bad on the drums either, for that matter). He also has a great relationship with his audience, keeping things entertaining all the way through an extended set that somehow doesn’t drag in the slightest. Top moments of the night included the story of how Ke$ha’s single “Sleazy” became the cover song of the tour (it happened to be the #1 song on iTunes that day and they stuck with it) and a killer version of Free Bird after an audience member shouted it during a lull. This happens at a lot of shows I’ve been to, but usually the artist doesn’t oblige. Folds said something along the lines of “Gotta be responsible when you yell that out, young lady” before going into his rendition. Best part of this was probably that he didn’t know all the words, so he made up his own. Here’s a video someone posted on YouTube from the night:
Of course this (combined with the length of an average song of his) ate up a lot of time, so there was a 1-song encore where Folds selfishly got some 3-part harmony out of us before ending the night. There was more than enough music in the main set for me to be perfectly fine with this. My only disappointment was not getting to hear “Trusted” since it’s my favorite song of his, but playing “You To Thank” balanced things out. Overall it was a great night, and one I won’t soon forget. Add this to the list of artists I would definitely recommend seeing if ever you get the chance.
This past Friday, December 10th, I was lucky enough to finally get a chance to see April Smith and the Great Picture show live. The opportunity came with a late show at Maxwell’s in Hoboken. Openers for the evening included The Canon Logic and Elizabeth & the Catapult. The first opener, The Canon Logic, got things fired up early on, with a mini dance party even forming in the front of the room. Next, Elizabeth & the Catapult kept things going. Their sound seemed to fit better with April Smith (although I enjoyed the first band as well). It might have helped that Elizabeth & the Catapult are a female-fronted band with a similar style to April Smith (IMO). I thought Elizabeth had a similar quirkiness to April Smith and a lot of heart. Speaking of which, my heart was completely won over by the end of their set, due in large part to the charming lead singer.
That brings us to the main event, April Smith and the Great Picture Show. I did a review of their album over the summer where I raved about how unique and entertaining their sound was. This gave me high expectations for their live show, which I am happy to report were not disappointed in the slightest. April and band had a great stage presence. April Smith was charming and sweet and fun, but also strong as a vocalist. I thought she found the perfect balance of strength and sweetness. Overall the performance was solid and enjoyable. If you ever get a chance to see this band live, I encourage you to take it. I promise they will give you quite a show.
*I was going to use the end of this post to include a video I took from the show, but if you follow me on Twitter you will know I was having trouble with that. I promise to go back and edit later, but really wanted to get this up ASAP for your reading pleasure.
Edit: Sorry this took longer than I wanted it to, but all the video I took from the show is finally up on YouTube. I’m embedding my three favorites below as a sample, but you can view the rest on my YouTube page.
(Warning: that last one has a tiny little curse at the end, which you know if you are familiar with the song)
