my heart's beat

April Album Releases and Reviews

2011-05-01T14:46:00.000-04:00

Check out the third edition of Good Listening with reviews for April 2011 albums by: Alela Diane & The Wild Divine, Timber Timbre, Chris Bathgate, Fleet Foxes, Bill Callahan and Hezekiah Jones!

My reviews are up @ The Ozark Echo Good Listening: Vol. 3 (April)

In-case you missed the March edition of Good Listening

2011-04-12T15:09:00.001-04:00

You can check out reviews and mp3's of J. Mascis, Wye Oak and more:
http://www.ozarkecho.com/?p=628

Chocolate and Coffee Series - Coachella Hair Feathers

2011-04-02T09:47:00.005-04:00

The House Blend and the Chocolate Trio are two new additions to the shop in natural warm brown tones. These are designed in Coachella in mind. Also available is the Caramel Kiss which has been a big hit with girls in California.

Check it out! http://www.etsy.com/shop/FolkandFairyTale
Coachella Line up 2011: http://www.coachella.com/event/lineup

New Video: O'Death - Bugs

2011-03-30T12:06:00.000-04:00

SXSW Style Feather Hair Extensions!

2011-03-03T18:34:00.000-05:00

Get em' while they're hot!
http://www.etsy.com/shop/FolkandFairyTale?ref=pr_shop_more

Good Listening (January - February)

2011-02-22T12:04:00.001-05:00

Another promotion for my new website, I've got a few album reviews/mp3's up over on http://www.ozarkecho.com check it out!

The Valentines Day Playlist

2011-02-14T16:17:00.001-05:00

The playlist is up on my new site that I started with my boyfriend (how sweet)!

The Valentines Day Playlist on The Ozark Echo

<3

Sasquatch! 2011 (is insane)

2011-02-08T12:37:00.001-05:00

Here is the trailer for Sasquatch! 2011 it looks great, the only thing is that driving and camping is the best way to do this and since I just can't drive x-country again I don't think it can happen this year.

Sasquatch 2011 Lineup from World Famous on Vimeo.

Four day passes are going quick: sasquatchfestival.com, single-day tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. 2/14.
The lineup:

!!!
Against Me!
Alberta Cross
Aloe Blacc
The Antlers
Archers of Loaf
Axis of Awesome
Basia Bulat
Bassnectar
Beach House
Best Coast
Black Mountain
Bonobo (DJ Set)
Bright Eyes
The Bronx
CSS
Chromeo
City and Colour
Cold War Kids
Cotton Jones
Dan Mangan
Das Racist
Death Cab For Cutie
The Decemberists
Deerhunter
The Drums
Fitz & The Tantrums
The Flaming Lips
Flogging Molly
Flying Lotus
Foo Fighters
Foster the People
Gayngs
The Globes
Gold Panda
Guided By Voices
Iron & Wine
Jaill
Jenny & Johnny
K-Os
Local Natives
Major Lazer
Matt & Kim
Modest Mouse
MSTRKRFT
Noah & The Whale
Old 97’s
Other Lives
Pepper Rabbit
Pink Martini
The Radio Dept.
Ratatat
Rebecca Gates and The Consortium
Reggie Watts
Rival Schools
Robyn
Rodrigo Y Gabriela
S. Carey
Sam Roberts Band
Secret Sisters
Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings
Sharon Van Etten
Skrillex
Sleigh Bells
Smith Westerns
Stornoway
Surfer Blood
Talkdemonic
The Thermals
Tig Notaro
Tim Minchin
Tokyo Police Club
Trailer Park Boys
Twin Shadow
Villagers
Washed Out
White Arrows
White Denim
Wilco
Wolf Parade
Wye Oak
Yeasayer
The Young Evils
Young the Giant

Wye Oak - Civilian and another homemade video

2011-02-02T01:01:00.000-05:00

I put together footage from a ride on the LIRR (Long Island Rail Road) ((Lawng Island Rail Road)) and added the tune Civilian by Wye Oak since I can't get enough of it. The idea behind this is that once the headphones are in and the music starts you are an observer but when the music stops you become a civilian.

Hallelujah! New Fleet Foxes!

2011-01-31T13:32:00.001-05:00

Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues by subpop

Awesome Alert! Harvest Revisited!

2011-01-11T14:21:00.000-05:00

"In the February issue of Mojo magazine features on the cover and the legendary Neil Young pays tribute to the artist’s classic album Harvest . There are 10 tracks performed by artists such as Villagers, Phosphorescent, Doug Paisley, Smoke Fairies, Neville Skelly, Chip Taylor, Jane Weaver, Kelley Stoltz, Sam Amidon and Danny And The Champions Of The World."

01 – Doug Paisley – Out on the Weekend
02 – Kelley Stoltz – Harvest
03 – Danny And The Champions Of The World – A Man Needs a Maid
04 – Jane Weaver – Heart of Gold
05 – Phosphorescent – Are You Ready for the Country
06 – Villagers – Old Man
07 – Neville Skelly – There’s A World
08 – Smoke Fairies – Alabama
09 – Sam Amidon – The Needle And The Damage Done
10 – Chip Taylor – Words (Between The Lines Of Age)

"In Every Direction" by Junip

2010-12-21T15:33:00.001-05:00

From the album Fields this my homemade video of just clips I put together. Starting at the very beginning with birds in the backyard of where I grew up and driving down Main St. on Long Island NY. Then the transition into driving in Arkansas where I live now. The very end is a shot of the Rocky Mountains (I was very excited to see them for the first time this year).

Top 100 Songs of 2010

2010-12-20T20:55:00.002-05:00

I am almost completely satisfied with this list of my favorite songs from 2010. The first 5 are Elephant Micah but I can't do anything about that. My previous song lists I only allowed one song per artist but this year all the rules changed.

	Song:	Artist:
1	Still Life Blues	Elephant Micah
2	The Brighter Bird, the Better	Elephant Micah
3	Free as the Frees	Elephant Micah
4	Loon Call	Elephant Micah
5	Ambiguous Instincts	Elephant Micah
6	Love Is All	The Tallest Man On Earth
7	Rulers, Ruling All Things	Midlake
8	Los Angeles	Phosphorescent
9	How Come That Blood	Sam Amidon
10	Though All the Fates	David Karsten Daniels & Fight the Big Bull
11	Civilian	Wye Oak
12	Heart Of My Own	Basia Bulat
13	The Drought	Horse Feathers
14	Vesuvius	Sufjan Stevens
15	Cascades	Horse Feathers
16	The Mermaid Parade	Phosphorescent
17	Third And Seneca	Sun Kil Moon
18	Cloudy Shoes	Damien Jurado
19	Core of Nature	Midlake
20	10 Mile Stereo	Beach House
21	Vernonia Blues	Horse Feathers
22	Get Back	Woods
23	Enchanting Ghost	Sufjan Stevens
24	Winter Dies	Midlake
25	Fake Teeth	Hoquiam
26	The Wrestle	Frightened Rabbit
27	Frost	Corey Isenor
28	The Drying Of The Lawns	The Tallest Man On Earth
29	Norway	Beach House
30	Imaginary Melodies	Elephant Micah
31	Silverfishes	Frontier Ruckus
32	The Loneliness And The Scream	Frightened Rabbit
33	If The Sun Stops Shinin'	Damien Jurado & Richard Swift
34	We Used To Wait	Arcade Fire
35	Next Girl	The Black Keys
36	In Every Direction	Junip
37	Heaven's No Place	Horse Feathers
38	Denver	Clem Snide
39	Nothing Was Stolen (love me foolishly)	Phosphorescent
40	Mange	Deer Tick
41	Bartles + James	Band Of Horses
42	Tell Me Baby (have you had enough)	Phosphorescent
43	Belly of June	Horse Feathers
44	Hard Believer	First Aid Kit
45	I Walked	Sufjan Stevens
46	Australian Winter	Sun Kil Moon
47	Suburban War	Arcade Fire
48	Run	Basia Bulat
49	Blood Dries Darker	Woods
50	Arkansas	Damien Jurado
51	Loop and Lil	Elephant Micah
52	Impossible Soul	Sufjan Stevens
53	Mo Clips	Hoquiam
54	Bare Feast	Ratatat
55	Ocean Shores	Hoquiam
56	Always	Junip
57	Conversation 16	The National
58	Daniel's Blues	Strand of Oaks
59	Before you go	Sarah Jaffe
60	I Hope You Die	Wye Oak
61	Life Is Good Blues	Laura Veirs
62	Dogwalkers of the New Age	Breathe Owl Breathe
63	Weather	Meursault
64	The Funeral Bell	David Karsten Daniels & Fight the Big Bull
65	Unknown Brother	The Black Keys
66	To The Grain	Junip
67	Everlasting Light	The Black Keys
68	Howlin' For You	The Black Keys
69	Gold Rush	Basia Bulat
70	Somehow To Keep It Going	Cotton Jones
71	Heavy Storm	First Aid Kit
72	Watch me fall apart	Sarah Jaffe
73	Call It Something Else	The Abramson Singers
74	The Tree (feat. Alela Diane)	Blitzen Trapper
75	Loredo	Band Of Horses
76	I Don't Care If There's Cursing	Phosphorescent
77	Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)	Arcade Fire
78	The Suburbs	Arcade Fire
79	It's About Time	Treetop Flyers
80	Nerves of the Nightmind	Frontier Ruckus
81	Rococo	Arcade Fire
82	I Got High	Clem Snide
83	Like The Ocean, Like The Innocent Pt. 1: The Innocent	The Besnard Lakes
84	Helicopter	Deerhunter
85	Hard As Nails	Peter Wolf Crier
86	Excuses	The Morning Benders
87	Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks	The National
88	I'll Build You A Fire	Seabear
89	Crutch & Cane	Peter Wolf Crier
90	Stoney	Clem Snide
91	Crazy Like A Fox	Damien Jurado & Richard Swift
92	Walking Far From Home	Iron & Wine
93	July Flame	Laura Veirs
94	Just A Boy	Angus & Julia Stone
95	Bright Bright Bright	Dark Dark Dark
96	Secret Breakfast	Citay
97	Whimper and Wail	Nathaniel Rateliff
98	Home	LCD Soundsystem
99	Slow Walk	Hurray For The Riff Raff
100	Tom Cruz	Plants And Animals
101	I'd Do Anything (Soldiers Lament)	John Butler Trio
102	Cameras	Matt & Kim
103	Butcher's Boy	All in the Merry Month of May...

The Best Albums of 2010

2010-12-15T15:49:00.004-05:00

While this year wasn't a big one for new and emerging artists, it was a year for some of my favorite musicians to release albums expressing their creative freedom. Not quite what I was expecting, some were shocking, some were strangely beautiful and one artist who stands the tests of time and took the cake for the first and second albums of the year.

I am talking about ELEPHANT MICAH!

#1. Echoer's Intent (2010, Time-Lag Records) -- Elephant Micah

Being that I had Josephine by Magnolia Electric Co. at #1 last year it shouldn't come as a surprise that EM would be at #1. At #1 and #2 now that surprised me a little. The things that make Elephant Micah great have been amplified this year. His wealth of material that is available for download on his site, his lyrically gorgeous natural imagery. I recently moved from NY to Arkansas and it was a big year for me, these 2 albums are the ones that will take me back to this feeling in my life and "deep thoughts" driving. The longevity of the album heavily weighs in to determine where the albums on this list stand. I find myself keeping certain albums close to me for years to come and here we have two benchmark albums among some other noteworthy and question provoking albums on the list.

When an album meets you at the right time in my life and serves as a tool for letting out complex and overwhelming feelings it then becomes woven in my life's changes and the melody to my memories.
"So we stare at your still-life as if it were wild, we look for your blues in the natural light"
http://www.elephantmicah.com/

#2. Elephant Micah Plays the Songs of Bible Birds (2010, Time-Lag Records) -- Elephant Micah

#3. Heart of My Own (2010) -- Basia Bulat

There wasn't a second I could put this on and keep myself from singing my heart out. She is incredibly talented and one of the best moments of SXSW was watching her from 3 feet away smiling in her face. Although she had to have felt a bit uncomfortable, my creepiness didn't shake her professionalism. If only I would have gotten the courage to ask her for a pic with her.

#4. I See The Sign (2010) -- Sam Amidon

Sam Amidon or Samamidon (however you have him saved in your music library for continuity) has consistently brought a slew of new-old songs with all his theatrical magnificence. Seeing him in Tribecca this year was a treat. He doesn't take himself as seriously as you would expect based on the material he has chosen to reinterpret. He balances this with his wit which gives his shows a lightness as he belts out False Hearted Chicken. Funny guy that Sam.

#5. Brothers (2010) --The Black Keys

An album that speaks for itself.

#6. Here's to Taking It Easy LP - 2010 (Dead Oceans) -- Phosphorescent

For some reason this became my 2010 driving anthem album of the year. It got me pumped up before the gym and relaxed me after. The looks of the other girls in my Zumba class as I pulled up in the parking lot blasting this -- oh I think they wanted in on it.

#7. Admiral Fell Promises -- Sun Kil Moon

"He's a brute of a man " my boyfriend whispered in my ear as Mark Kozelek and his acoustic guitar took the stage earlier this year at the Music Hall of Williamsburg. Then we were speechless as he played a selection of long sweet delicate songs mostly found off this new album. Then he ragged on hipsters referring to them as clones (he later apologized)

#8. Thistled Spring (CD/LP, Kill Rock Stars, 2010) -- Horse Feathers

This should really be higher on the list. I love this album and Horse Feathers. So much so that I stalked them at an airport in Nashville. I was lucky to get a pic with some of them at the airport.A few days later I stood as close as possible to their stage at SXSW. These guys (and girl) are bursting with musical talent. I have seen them in NY and TX, now I need to convince them to come to AR! What a beautiful mess they leave on stage after they preform too, so many instruments are left scattered everywhere.

#9. The Suburbs (2010) -- Arcade Fire

I haven't seen these guys live since 2006 and that probably has something to do with their place on the list because this is a really great album. I don't know one person who hasn't been raving about it this year. A crowd pleaser.

#10. The Age of Adz -- Sufjan Stevens

Gender-bending, uh I mean genre-bending. This album required close examination for a few days. The intriguing puzzle that is The Age of Adz (not really pronounced Odz after all?) The album has its moments. I enjoy seeing what this musical genius is capable of in all types of situations. After close examination this album gave me a fun experience. I agree this is a mash up of all previous Sufjan albums. The live experience of this album answered the questions of surprise the album presented but coated the answers in rehearsed chaos. Broadway plays don't entertain me the way Sufjan did at the Uptown Theater in Kansas City. Impossible Soul is one of my most memorable songs of the year and Vesuvius is one of my favorite tracks this year. I thoroughly enjoyed his EP this year as well. Seeing Sufjan experiment and work through his creative process on stage before our eyes through a neon dance party momentarily interrupted with raw solos left me feeling privileged to have shared this intimate look into the personal process of one of the greatest musicians of my lifetime. Added bonus he danced and apologized if you didn't get what you were expecting.

#11. The Courage of Others -- Midlake

I don't feel like people really gave this album a chance. It is full of that natural imagery stuff I like. Plus flutes. I can dig it.

#12. The Wild Hunt -- The Tallest Man on Earth

Love is All is one of the best songs of the year. The Wild Hunt had lots of momentum but I managed to play it out through the year. Luckily he released an EP that gave me some relief from the constant rotation of TWH, unfortunately it sounded too similar to TWH to stand out from it.

#13. The Big Black & The Blue -- First Aid Kit

Another early favorite of 2010 and two more Swedes for the list. A cute pair of sisters that have more tallent than years of age combined. Gorgeous album art too if I might add. Hard Believer... one of the best songs this year.

#14. Infinite Arms -- Band of Horses

Consistently lovely album art. Consistently pleasing albums. Inconsistent band members. Growing in popularity and declining with mature audiences. Fun for roadtrips, sing-a-longs and parties lacking deep moments of connection. Haven't had a funeral moment since well... Funeral. I wouldn't go so far as to say love BOH like a 15 year old dog that we can't bring to put down. I wouldn't say that. There's a few tricks left in this old dog.

#15. Hoquiam -- Hoquiam

Looking forward to more Hoquiam. I really enjoyed this album. The strong points are really strong if the 17 tracks were cut down and only the really great songs were on here this would have been higher up but I am glad it sits here because I would never want to cut an album down.

#16. Fields -- Junip

José González (another Swede for the list) + high quality production = Awesome Album!!! Someone should ask him to produce a movie soundtrack already!!!

!!!

#17. At Echo Lake -- Woods

so. much. fun.

#18. High Violet -- The National

Just had a hard time fitting this into the list. I think its because the album as a whole is heavy and the way the list is ordered is heavily weighted in being able to listen to the tracks all the way through. After seeing The National at ACL this year (the best performance at ACL) I like big doses of live National and smaller doses of recorded National. ok nuff said... moving on...

#19. Suburban Nature -- Sarah Jaffe

Man I really like Sarah Jaffe, she is one badass chick. If I was having a tough year this would have been all the way up there. Girls -- check her out.

#20. Inter-Be -- Peter Wolf Crier

Big hit this year, highly recommended if you haven't heard it yet. It was great catching them live in NY with the heartless bastards and the builders and the butchers!

Just 20 this year. So I am posting my best songs of 2010 list soon.

In terms of live albums check out the Bill Callahan 2010 Rough Travel for a Rare Thing:

Noteworthy EP of the year:

To Bury The Past -- Treetop Flyers

Samamidon Album Release Party 4/10/10 @ 92YTribeca

2010-04-11T23:15:00.004-04:00

   I See The Sign 2010



<3 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Amidon

SXSW 2010

2010-03-26T16:49:00.007-04:00

SXSW 2010, Austin Texas... probably one of the best weeks of my entire life.

It started at The Parish, Justin and I went to the show to see some of his most anticipated bands of SXSW. I was excited to be in Austin, I wasn't a big fan of scottish bands but the live experience changed me.

First up was Codine Velvet Club, featuring Jon Fratelli from "The Fratelli's" (duh!) Lots of musicians on the stage, lots of instruments and lots of energy. It was very professional, slightly glam and staged.

Next up We Were Promised Jetpacks took the stage, leery of the name I was set on auto-bleh. BUT now I will try harder not to judge a band on it's name. The lead singer completely poured his heart and soul out on the stage and it was intense. Dudes would love this band.

Frightened Rabbit closed our night at The Parish and ended day one. We were tired after all we drove from Arkansas over 8 hours and were stuck in traffic for 2 of those due to an over turned tractor-trailer that was ON FIRE!!! ROCK N ROLL!!!

I will let my feelings on Frightened Rabbit remain an enigma for you, because it's true.

Day 2:

Plants and Animals @ Lovejoys. They really got things going for me. They played a few new songs from their new album La La Land, which is great by the way. I enjoyed seeing them preform Jeans Jeans Jeans... very much but my favorite new song they played was Tom Cruz.
This was my second time seeing them, they have gotten better, I got closer (to the stage) there may be a direct correlation there.

Next up @ Lovejoys (my fav. bar scene venue of SXSW) was BASIA BULAT!!! One of if not my most anticipated :) I tried to avoid awkward eye contact. It was just so hard!!! Heart of My Own is one of my fav. albums this year so far, she is tremendously talented, pretty and her voice is 5 times her size.

Justin and I continued to the next show @ The Red Eyed Fly. Sarah Jaffe, took the stage seriously and looked like she has a tough presence, but her blue eyes glowed and her voice is even better live than it sounds on Suburban Nature. I've been giving that album a lot of play this year and she played all the best tracks from it, minus Watch Me Fall Apart, I guess I will forgive her for that. Sarah's a solid musician who puts a feminine touch on the blues.

Immediately following we jumped into the PASTE Magazine party to catch The Low Anthem. LOVE them. Each of their songs are uniquely crafted and they brought a great vibe during their packed-out set.

Next @ Cheer Up Charlies we waiting patiently outdoors for Quasi to wrap it up. I got my spot front and center for Horse Feathers. There is nothing quite like a live Horse Feathers performance, each member is a band in themselves. I ran into them at the Memphis airport on my way to Tulsa and took a pic with two members. I was careful not to scare them with my presence at their show... I don't want them to think I am a obsessed fan stalker or anything..... I swear I'm not... I only saw them twice ................. I am just a little obsessed. They are just sooooooo good!

From there we walked a while to find Sharon Van Etten. We found her in this Episcopal Church. They had great home-made hummus. OH! And what a heart shattering display of what the female voice can do to your soul. Unbelievable Sharon... Unreal.

Speaking of church... god damn!!! I am still on Day 2!

After checking in constantly with the door people at Buffalo Billiards to make sure we would get into Midlake we decided it would be best to get a veggie burger in my system then sneak in to see The Moondoggies, who we did not want to miss. Awesome... But my legs do hurt by this point. This was just the pick-me-up I needed.

Back in to Buffalo Billiards (quick call to my good friend Beverly to check up on her new palomino) and a few hours to wait it out for Midlake.

We sat in the way back for Lawrence Arabia and got back on our tired feet to get a good spot for Midlake.

Midlake, Midlake, Midlake. I am a big fan of their music and I was really happy with their song selection for the night. For a 1am show I was struggling through my narcolepsy as they seemed to take forEVER to get ALL the instruments tuned. Then the sound check was unsuccessful for the first song you couldn't hear the lead vocals, which meant he couldn't hear them either and he apologized for being off tune. I felt the tension on the stage. Something sparked and all at once they warmed up, all the flutes were a-fluting, right before my eyes and into my ears Midlake musically captured the humble nature of their journey which has brought them to be one of the most loved bands of this time. When they started playing Roscoe their #1 fan rushed to the stage and I wish you could have seen him rock out.

#1 SXSW performer award!
#1 crowd member - Midlake #1 fan guy.

PS - Justin grabed the set-list for me
They didn't have time for Core of Nature though :/
I really wanted to hear that too!

Day 3:

Warm! Beautiful! A New Day!

First stop after a delicious breakfast at Kirby Lane (I recommend the Harvest Omelet or the California Omelet & 86 the olives) We walked down to Hole-In-The-Wall, which is off the beaten path. Floating Action was on my must-see list for SXSW and there were hardly any people there, it was pretty early in the day for a show and a little out of the way but it gave me a chance to get my request in. They played Cinder Cone for me!

I took some video but its not great quality:

We then tried to get into a party that we neglected to RSVP to, didn't get in but got a free RedBull and then went to French Legation Museum to see Woods. This was one of the best places I have ever seen an outdoor show at. Tons of free stuff everywhere you turned and gorgeous blooming flowers and trees. The sun was shining and music was all around. I also tracked down the Ice Cream Man! yum!

As I enjoyed my Ice Cream we walked all the way to Emo's to see Japandroids. That was a big change from the last scene.

That night we caught Juliana Barwick @ Beauty Bar.

We didn't stay for much of her set and quickly ran to Klub Krucial to see Real Estate. Not a fan of the venue, it was hot and pretty sketchy looking. Real Estate sounded perfect though. They played a lot most of the songs I wanted to hear.

Day 4:

The Final Day!

Back where we first started... The Parish. We worked our way into getting into the Stereogum party. It was done so well. I especially loved the comedy.

We missed The Morning Benders while waiting on line but caught:

Wye Oak

A few hilarious comedians including Kristen Schaal from Flight of the Concords.

And to close our SXSW experience Ben Gibbard! Someone yelled out "Where's Zoey?" he said "You should know man" (awkward silence) "She's workin". Nice come back Ben :) She was playing another show during his set :/

Since it was so cold and we walked so far to try to see Deer Tick, we just had to leave. They didn't end up going on for a while, since I have seen them before I decided to eat instead... I know I know.

Sunday I took it easy, did some great vintage shopping then it was back to NY!

Top 60 LP's of 2009

2010-01-08T13:32:00.007-05:00

Favorite Songs of 2009

2009-12-09T16:38:00.005-05:00

Rank	Song	Artist
62-	The Golden Gun	Squanto
61-	Impressions of the Past	Megafaun
60-	Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh	Say Hi
59-	Tunnelvision	Here We Go Magic
58-	Dreams Old Men Dream	Cold War Kids
57-	Never Had Nobody Like You	M. Ward
56-	Stillness Is the Move	Dirty Projectors
55-	The Cave	Mumford & Sons
54-	There's Too Much Love (Live)	Sufjan Stevens
53-	The Strangers	St. Vincent
52-	Consolation Prize	Sharon Van Etten
51-	Fistful Of Swoon	Vandaveer
50-	Dew In The Grass	Sea Wolf
49-	Two Weeks	Grizzly Bear
48-	The Wishing Seat	Adrian Crowley
47-	Brackett, WI	Bon Iver
46-	Fences	Phoenix
45-	The Dog	Alessi's Ark
44-	Agnostic Work Song	Caloric
43-	Autumn, Golden Trees	Haruko
42-	The Times	Ayla Nereo
41-	I'll Never Leave	Cranes & Crows
40-	I Can't See Clear	Espers
39-	Calm Me Down	Port O'Brien
38-	Wildegeeses	Michael Hurley
37-	Suburban Beverage	Real Estate
36-	In The Branches	The Builders And The Butchers
35-	Keep A Secret	The Whitest Boy Alive
34-	So Old Again	Big Blood
33-	Money In The Bank	Dawn Landes
32-	Roslyn	Bon Iver & St. Vincent
31-	Lying In the Hands of God	Dave Matthews Band
30-	I'm An Animal	Neko Case
29-	Ambling Alp	Yeasayer
28-	River	Akron/Family
27-	And It Spread	The Avett Brothers
26-	I Say Fever	Ramona Falls
25-	Daniel	Bat For Lashes
24-	You Don't Love Me	Bonnie 'Prince' Billy
23-	Nicotine Canaries	Cotton Jones
22-	Home	Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros
21-	Friday Xiii	Deer Tick
20-	Dandelion Wine	Gregory Alan Isakov
19-	My Love Goes With You	Mishka
18-	Magic Arrow	Timber Timbre
17-	Who Could Let You Go?	Huck Notari
16-	Earthly Bodies	J. Tillman
15-	Strictly Rule	Vetiver
14-	The Wind And The Dove	Bill Callahan
13-	For A Little While	Langhorne Slim
12-	Story	The White Buffalo
11-	Shampoo	Elvis Perkins In Dearland
10-	Pulling On A Line	Great Lake Swimmers
9-	Northern Lights	Bowerbirds
8-	The Ocean	Alela Diane
7-	Whispered Words	Dan Auerbach
6-	Surprise Hotel	Fool's Gold
5-	Don't Stop Loving Me Now	Floating Action
4-	James Blues	J. Tillman
3-	The Mountain	Heartless Bastards
2-	Two Kids	Strand of Oaks
1-	The Handing Down	Magnolia Electric Co.

Sufjan Stevens @ The Bowery Ballroom NYC 10/5/09

2009-10-06T09:33:00.005-04:00

OH BOY. First I'd like to say thank you to the kind people in front of me. Kerri and I were drinking on an empty stomach. I could say we were the most obnoxious people there but also having the most fun. Sufjan Stevens is dreamy. His voice, his presence, him, gorgeous. When tickets went on sale for this show I was in flight so I was counting on my roomate to get them quickly before they were gone. That was a success. Last night we were a mess. I am laughing as I type this because it isn't what you would expect from a Sufjan Stevens concert. She fell outside, we were carrying each other. We missed our stop on the LIRR and woke up in Babylon and took a 40 dollar cab ride home. I got one of the set-lists. I got yelled at for attempting to take video. I got some blurry pictures. Kerri kept calling this dude Clark Kent. The bathroom was a disaster, the downstairs smelled like shit. It was flooded. I would like to see Sufjan on stage with more people. I would like to see a much better crowd. Cryptacize was cute, her guitarist also had good energy.

Really glad Sufjan played his new jam "Too Much Love" it was so fresh and crispy.
Really glad Sufjan played his old jam "The Dress Looks Nice On You" and "Jacksonville" two of my favorites. If he would have played "Lord God Bird" I could have shed a tear.

Set-list (they gave me the Oct.4th):

Cryptacize//Sufjan:

Dead crowd but nice folks.

Kurt Vile – stream “Childish Prodigy” in its entirety

2009-09-29T16:34:00.001-04:00

I thought this was pretty sweet, haven't seen anything quite like it.

Stream the new Kurt Vile album here or embedd it on your own site :)

I been really enjoying this album... Overnight Religion has gotten lots of play.

From Matador

Ramona Falls @ Pianos 9/17/09

2009-09-19T15:17:00.005-04:00

Sushi dinner with my lovely friend Jenn, 2 glasses of wine, a bar with a Tarot Card reader and then to Piano's on Ludlow in NYC to see Ramona Falls. Earlier this year I raved about the new Ramona Falls album Intuit on my other blog, its one of my favorite albums this year. I like every song and have not been able to play them out despite my heavy rotation. Brent Knopf of Menomena's passion for his art is clearly translated though his powerful performance on stage. I knew it would be a good show and was looking forward to it but I didn't expect them to pull it off that well. It was worth much more than the $10 bux I spent on the ticket. It wasn't a problem to get right up front. I had the best spot I have ever had at a show, almost on stage. Never been to Piano's but it reminded me of how great it is to see a show at the Mercury Lounge and other venues with that style set up. The lighting was beautiful and the sound was on point. The stage turned black and Brent sang Diamond Shovel. Really great song to open up to, it set the mood and displayed his vocals nicely. The energy grew and grew through out their set. I didn't get a great picture of the set list but it was the nicest set list I have ever seen. There were pictographs of the songs, some were obvious (like Boy Ant the instrumental and Bellyfulla) but some of the other pictures I couldn't figure out till they started playing them. I asked for the set-list after the show but it was too special, figured I would try... maybe if he knew I had a wall covered "artistically" with set-lists in my kitchen he would have given it up. It was the only frameworthy set-list I have seen. Those little things are important to me, the small venue the ability to notice details, the fact that you can tell they love to do what their doing. It's the opposite of an arena show with a bunch of f'd up cocky db's who don't want to preform for you and just want the money.

I would see Ramona Falls again and look forward to another album. Drummer (Paul Alcott) was really fun to watch on drums too, check out the video.

pics:

Music Video opened, only caught one song... Jenn dug them.

Cool Lite Brite:

"Window" by Breathe Owl Breathe

2009-09-09T09:29:00.005-04:00

I put some sunset footage I took in Bonaire and added the song "Window" by Breathe Owl Breathe. I thought the lyrics seemed fitting.

http://g-rad.org/breatheowlbreathe/

(Check out the Ghost Glacier LP on blue-marble vinyl)

Folk Fest 50, Newport Rhode Island 2009

2009-08-05T11:36:00.023-04:00

Newport, Rhode Island is a gorgeous landscape for an amazing birthday weekend of folk music. Saturday August 1st (my birthday)we started it off with Langhorne Slim. We tried to get beer but they didn't open till 1 (yes it was 11am and I was trying to get beer) BUT IT WAS MY BIRTHDAY !!! So I met about 5 or 6 other people with the same birthday :) One group we were calling our "birthday friends". We (roomie bff Kerri and I) made lots of friends and were responsible for at least half of the dancing at the festival.

Out on the Water Stage we cleared the aisle as security requested and watched Langhorne Slim play with his drummer and stand up bassist (all 3 rocked). I can't wait to catch him in NY or BK as soon as he is back in town. Even though he has been on the road touring he was fresh with energy at 11:30am and it was worth it for me waking up at 4am to drive from NY to Rhode Island to make sure I could see Slim on my birthday.

Set List

"Be Set Free"

"Back to the Wild"

"Restful"

"Honeypie"

"Diamonds and Gold"

"Mary/Cut It Down"

"For a Little While"

"Blow Your Mind"

"In the Moonlight"

"Hello Sunshine"

"Collette"

"Coming Home"

"Anything for You"

"I love You but Goodbye"

"Rebel Side of Heaven"

Listen//Download performance from NPR HERE

After catching Slim's set on the water stage we headed over to the beer tent where they had Narragansett Beer, founded in Cranston, Rhode Island in 1890. Sunday I played their bean bag game and won a pair of balls (beer pong balls)

We caught a bit of Ben Kweller and danced barefoot in the sun.

So as soon as we started drinking we heard The Avett Brothers starting. We danced in the beer garden and looked at the beautiful veiw around us and felt the sun beating on us I sang along to The Avett Brothers songs and our birthday crew friends were dancing next to us. We ran up to the front to get a closer view.

Set List

"Left on Laura, Left on Lisa"

"Paranoia in B Flat Major"

"Murder in the City"

"Kick Drum Heart"

"Denouncing November Blue"

"Distraction #74"

"Ballad of Love and Hate"

"Go to Sleep"

"Down With the Shine"

"I Would Be Sad"

"Talk on Indolence"

"The Perfect Space"

Whole preformance streaming on NPR HERE

After the amazing Avett Brothers we were stoked to go drink more and get ready for the FLEET FOXES!!! We made more friends that happened to be front and center, with beers! We had the best spot it was great and we were surrounded by nice people that were enjoying it just as much as we were.

Set List

"Sun Giant"

"Sun It Rises"

"Drops in the River"

"English House"

"Bedouin Dress"

"White Winter Hymnal"

"Ragged Wood"

"Your Protector"

"Oliver James"

"Mykonos"

"Blue Ridge Mountains"

Listen//Download the whole preformance on NPR HERE
(you can hear me scream "when I light your darkened door out to Josh like 37 mins in)

After the Fleet Foxes we ran to catch a bit of Iron & Wine...

Download the Iron & Wine set HERE

Set List

"Such Great Heights"

"Woman King"

"Resurrection Fern"

"Sodom, South Georgia"

"Godless Brother in Love"

"Upward Over the Mountain"

"Naked as We Came"

"Peace Beneath the City"

"Love Songs and Some Verses"

"He Lays in the Reins"

"The Trapeze Swinger"

"Glad Mouth River"

"Flightless Bird, American Mouth"

"Sunset Soon Forgotten"

...got shushed for talking loudly about star signs and ran back to the Fort Stage to see The Decemberists.

We caught some Pete Seeger and then it was BREAK time... to our ghetto hotel and got in trouble for removing the smoke detectors... hahah!

Sunday morning bright and early we woke up and sat in a bunch of traffic.
We missed Josh Ritter because of the wait for the shuttle bus to take us all the way from Lot 4 to the show.

We got there just in time to drink! Then we caught Neko Case who was just incredible.

After Neko we drank till it was time for Deer Tick so by then we were READY for one of our most anticipated bands of Folk Fest.

We were responsible for getting everyone up to dance when Kerri yelled out "can we throw our chairs in the water and dance?!" They said yea, you can hear it in the preformance HERE (NPR)

Then we brought the life over to Elvis Perkins in Dearland.

Set List

"Sweet Roseanne"

"I Heard Your Voice In Dresden"

"Chains, Chains, Chains"

"Hey"

"Hour's Last Stand"

"Weeping Mary"

"I'll Be Arriving"

"Stop, Drop, Rock and Roll"

"Gypsy Davy"

"Stay Zombie Stay"

"Four Strong Winds"

"Old Ship of Zion" (with Tim Eriksen)

"While You Were Sleeping"

"Doomsday"

DL HERE (NPR)

Then it was time to hit the road back to NY! After some delicious Barking Crabs :)

Pete And Tao Seeger And Friends Saturday-Night Singalong: Newport Folk Festival 2009

More Pics on my Flickr Here

Dave Mathews Band 7/21/09 @ Jones Beach

2009-07-23T12:37:00.006-04:00

Being on the brink of front row thanks to my bff's ex-boss giving us amazing tickets made this one of the most unforgettable shows of the year for me so far. When we arrived in the packed out parking lot ready to tailgate and praying for sun, one thing lacking was a bathroom. I had a bottle of J.D. and a Big Gulp cup, surprisingly the cops//super-troopers weren't being as strict as rumors told. Kerri and Katie and I met up with a cool chick I work with and her twin sis as well as two of their friends and we got a nice buzz goin before we headed into Jones Beach Theater.

There are a cluster of new songs on "Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King" that I really dig, one in particular Lying In The Hands Of God It was great to get to hear it live. The whole stage set up was very well done (alot better than other acts I have seen @ "Nikon Jones Beach Theater" or whatever they are calling it these days. The theater itself can be a downer if it rains or if your seats are all the way up in the mezzanine. It did rain, it felt good, Dave in the rain is fine with me. Reading people's reactions to the set-list was disappointing today. Everyone is so quick to judge especially if they didn't attend. All I know is that my seats were great and the show was fantastic and the set-list was good enough for me. They did the Talking Heads Burning Down The House, they closed with All Along The Watchtower. Not as many people in the crowed as I had expected seemed to know the new songs but we sang along to them. There were some interesting folks there such as a chick with an umbrella that brought on many comments from the crowd. She finally collapsed the umbrella... Words of advice: when your in the orchestra section don't be a douche and don't use an umbrella.

Jeff Coffin of Bella Fleck & the FleckTones was excellent playing with dave, he plays sax, flute and clarinet with honor to LeRoi Moore, I felt the heart and soul and the fun, all what you would expect from a DMB show. Tim Reynolds was great on the guitar. Throughout the years at the different venues I have seen Dave at it was just such an honor to be so close up and see the smiles, the fingers moving, feel the energy that circulates around each member on stage. It was really something special.

Set-List:

Funny The Way It Is
You Might Die Trying
Seven
Everyday
Squirm
The Dreaming Tree
Lying In The Hands Of God
Burning Down The House
Where Are You Going
Spaceman ...
Corn Bread
Shake Me Like A Monkey
Louisiana Bayou
#41
Don't Drink the Water
E: #40 (Tease)
E: Rye Whiskey
E: All Along The Watchtower

Pics:

Wentworth Kersey

2009-07-09T16:00:00.005-04:00

While I don't typically write reviews I was approached by Jeffrey Wentworth Stevens (pictured below at nine years old) to give them a listen. In less than a week two EP's were at my door with along with a very lovely drawing.

So my ears feeling tired of always searching for something new and tailored to my tastes got to rest as the soothing sounds of Wentworth Kersey found me. At first I was going to sit back and enjoy the music but although their sound is mellow it won't let your senses rest. There is so much to be heard. Each song is unique and multi-dimensional embodied with all these interesting sounds that I can't get over. I would enjoy seeing them preform live to see what types of instruments are responsible for this on such tracks as The Death Of Anthony Gonsavles. Adore is a beautiful song filled with tension that gives me that spaghetti western feel. I do think my favorite song however is Wealth. It might be because it was the first Wentworth Kersey song I heard or just because of the lovely lyrics and rise and fall of the melody.

"do do do do do do doooo, oooohhhh"

Check them out!

DOWNLOAD free tune at....
http://www.wentworthkersey.com

INFO::WENTWORTH KERSEY
http://www.wentworthkersey.com

Psych-Folk / Americana / Avant Garde
For Fans of: Leonard Cohen / Scott Walker / Flying Canyon /Brian Eno / Phil Spector / Ennio MorriconeFrontier man,

Wentworth Kersey, is a psych-folk avant-americana artist from the plains of Colorado. Mister Kersey consists of Joe Kersey Sampson (A Dog Paloma) and Jeffrey Wentworth Stevens (George&Caplin) who met while playing "A Soundtrack for Suicide" at the Youth Hipster Halfway House during a lost era of western greatness. Wentworth Kersey was born out of the need to explore new palettes of sound within the existing structures of Americana. The result feels like a "sci-fi folk experiment" with Joe Kersey Sampson providing his folk compositions and Jeffrey Wentworth Stevens becoming a backup band with his sonic landscapes. "The resulting illusion of an entire alt-folk ensemble is seamless and captivating." (Westword Magazine) Most recently Wentworth Kersey was honored by The Denver Post as #1 "Artist you may not know yet, but will."

Discography:
EP – O Release: November 8th 2008
EP – (O) Release: May 17th, 2009
EP – ((O)) Release: ???

"...an ideal soundtrack to the disintegration of the American Dream. The music on their EP is the sound of dreams deferred and lessons learned. Acoustic guitar, electronic atmospherics, and world-weary vocals create a certain windswept beauty that meshes well with these downtrodden economic times. This eminently listenable release provides a compelling reason to anticipate two follow-up EPs promised in 2009." 8 out of 10
--POP MATTERS.com

"...while it still can be described within the range of new Americana, but then it still sounds different to any other album I have heard before that I would describe as being associated with this style. A very strong debut. Highly recommended." --106.7 RADIO CENTRAL BELGIUM

"Psych-folk experimentalists, sentimental old bastards, self-proclaimed grandpas Wentworth Kersey have embarked upon an exploratory sound project of utmost importance.” "This little EP and its sad melodies, simple message of heartbreak, and simmering production has slyly burrowed deep into my black little heart." --DONNYBROOK WRITING ACADEMY

"Denver's Wentworth Kersey is like Little House on the Prairie on ludes meets 2001 (A Space Odyssey}." --CAUSE=TIME blog

"On WK’s second self-titled EP, Joe Sampson and Jeffrey Wentworth Stevens seamlessly meld haunting folk songs to minimal yet soaring samples and synthesizers. The result is a lush, lonesome vibe that sneaks up and bites you on the ass with its epic-ness." --THE ONION (av section)

"Their sublime chemistry, however, is revelatory, sounding little like either Sampson's various folk-rock projects or Stevens' electro-dappled George&Caplin. On the second in a series of three EPs, the duo oozes a gentle sophistication and patient melodicism that sets it apart."
--THE DENVER POST

Here We Go Magic @ South Street Seaport 7/3/09

2009-07-04T13:02:00.006-04:00

Fun! Free! On The Water! Music! Beer! Great Crowd!

I rolled deep with 10 heads down to the Seaport to see Here We Go Magic, one of my favs of the year so far, Luke Temple (previously solo) now with his band preformed for a large crowd right on the water down at the South Street Seaport on Fulton St. I love the free shows they have down there, and this time was great because it wasn't nearly as hectic as when I went to see The National there. Also it's a great idea to hit up the bar with the HUGE styro. cups of beer for 5 bux.

Great time and Luke even took a pic with me and Kerri (totally forgot to ask for the set-list)... but they opened up with new songs that are not on their album, we asked Luke what his plans are for the future of Here We Go Magic and he is excited and about to begin his European tour and he is currently working on the new album. He was really nice, he also has a nice butt.

Oh yea, we saw Kurt Loader there too which was pretty cool.

pic's:

Here We Go Magic

Common Rotation (Round Two) @ The Living Room -- 6/26/09

2009-06-29T07:32:00.009-04:00

Holy crap it has been a while since I have seen a show! A year ago I went to see Common Rotation @ The Living Room w/ Kerri my roomate then we saw them again at this crazy (in a good way) place "Monkey Town" in Brooklyn. Singer//guitarist Eric Kufs is a friend of friends who is often comparable to James Taylor when he sings. Check out their website for free mp3 downloads and make sure you download "Wasted Words". When they played at Monkey Town they had a bunch of screens surrounding us covering the whole room with their gorgeous footage from their trip to Alaska.

Common Rotation is made up of these three fine fellows who grew up all on the same block on Long Island but now live in LA:

Eric Kufs: he can be found on the Santa Monica promenade.

Adam Busch (yes from Buffy The Vampire Slayer)

& Jordan Katz: he plays trumpet and banjo, and has preformed with an impressive list of musicians.

David Garland had opened for Common Rotation @ Monkey Town, he's a trip... but he joined them on stage this time playing piano and clarinet and probably some other strange instruments. DG is the kind of musician that leaves an internal impression in your brain. You couldn't forget his performance even if you wanted to.

They played a song about what everyone in L.A. tells them to do "Get On The Idol", it got lots of laughs. I did call out for "Rocking Chair" since they played it last time @ The Living Room, but alas as most of my shout outs are... it was ignored.

It's ok though... I made Eric feel bad about it as the night went on and the drinks went down.

The whole night was an interesting one of United Nations, our cab driver was from Ghana, CR had a friend from Paris there, we met a man called "Brazilian Edwardo" who was from Brazil but living in London, and we chatted with 5 Germans on the LIRR the way home. The Germans were my favorite, they were all so nice. We explained to them what "hammers" are and they got a real kick out of us. I convinced them to go to Robert Moses instead of Jones Beach and Kerri had 3 "missed" calls the next day.

Pictures:

Oh I almost forgot to mention that Rachel Ray was there! Weird!

Halfway point: Serious Contenders for Top 2009

2009-06-12T08:42:00.004-04:00

So since it's June and I can't afford to buy concert tickets these days, I am just looking forward to Folk Fest50 in August. It's half way through the year and I've narrowed down my serious contenders for Top LP's of 2009, in alphabetical order we have:

MyHeart'sBeat On Twitta

2009-05-05T14:07:00.002-04:00

i gave in... as soon as I saw you can post DL links... i thought hmmmmmmmm........

listen along with me here: http://twitter.com/MyHeartsBeat

<3

Sam Amidon - "O Where is My Little Darlin"

2009-04-29T08:52:00.002-04:00

Just thought I would upload a video I made on a recent trip to Finland... I filmed this out the train window leaving Helsinki and this song was in my headphones, gorgeous song... hope you enjoy:

Elvis Perkins in Dearland @ The Bowery Ballroom NYC 3/25/09

2009-03-27T22:20:00.004-04:00

Alright, first a laugh... This was the first time this ever happened.

I actually showed up to this show a week early!!! I wrote it on my calendar on the line between the two Wednesdays a week apart and was not thinking clearly and ended up getting drinks before "the show" and showing up to Clem Snide by mistake. When the guy scanned my tickets he said "wrong show" and I jumped in a cab and bounced all the way back home pre-tty f'in bummed out. (It's ok, I am laughing too) I was just realllly excited.

So I then showed up on the right day March 25th and got there right on time, Kerri and I drank some beers and hung out by the bar then went up to the balcony to watch the openers "Himalayas". The were PHENOMENAL!!! Something close to 25 or 30 people playing all instruments New Orleans style. Very entertaining. I wish I was in my high school marching band now. These guys were a tough act to follow, but Elvis was wonderful.

Elvis Perkins first album blew me away then the new one in Dearland, made me wish there was an island called dearland full of the guys on stage. Kerri and I looked at each other with this wide-eyed look of wonder when we read each others mind just wishin there was an island full of beautiful men such as the ones right in front of us. So we worked our way to the front of the stage and I started snappin away with my camera till the bitch next to me asked "are you going to be takin pictures all night?" I told her I would turn the flash off if it was bothering her... So "thanks now the pictures are shitty the one time I bring a REAL camera to a gig" dumb bitch... I was surrounded by idiot girls who wouldn't shut up. I turned around and said "this is NYC, this is a CONCERT, Do you see assigned seating? PLEASE act like you've done this before... Love life... You are miserable..." I think the C word slipped out as I left. I can go on about the douchey crowds I encounter at shows but I won't because I didn't let it take away from the music then and I'll try to stop it from happening again here. (had to vent though)

Elvis Perkins, he is so great live. Some of the Himalayas joined him on stage for a few songs. He had a great set-list (see below) and I shouted out "It's Only Me" which is my favorite EP song and he replied "It's Only Who?" and didn't play it...

Set-List:

Himalayas coming through the crowd from the balcony to take the stage:

Elvis' Set-Up:

Elvis:

Crowd:

Vids!!!!!!!!!!!

(It turns the right way about 20 seconds in)

(I got yelled at to stop filming midway through this one)

:) Great Show!

Modest Mouse @ Terminal 5 // March15th 2009

2009-03-17T15:34:00.003-04:00

Sunday night with Modest Mouse, I was smart by taking off work Monday ahead of time.
Kerri and I have seen Modest Mouse together on the West Coast and we were lucky to see them Sunday on the East Coast.

When we arrived at the venue we heard people discussing how many openers it would take to get Modest Mouse on stage. I ran into two of my best friends from High School, Mike and Lee they had been drinking and were very excited to see Modest Mouse. It was really good to see them and they showed me some brilliant ways to smuggle things into the venue. We were a bit bugged out because the last time I was there with them we were messed up and it was called "EXIT" The roof was open this time for as smoking section which was nice. I had a flash-back remembering the early mornings I would watch the sunrise from that roof as it reflected the rays of light off the glitter on my face with house music vibrating under my platform sandals. As the venue has changed and grown on me I realized I have changed a lot since then too... The ID I used when I was 15 was for a 26 year old woman and I am 25 now and they gave me a harder time about my age at the door than when I was 15.

The Mimicking Birds opened, they were really good! I was even more impressed when one of the Birds gave me some whiskey and let Kerri and I backstage. Terminal 5 is actually growing on me!

Here is the MM setlist:

3rd Planet
Education
Black Cadillacs
Here It Comes
King Rat
The View
Doin' The Cockroach
Custom Concern
Jesus Christ Was An Only Child
Dance Hall
Baby Blue Sedan
Bury Me With It
Night On The Sun
Paper Thin Walls
Satellite Skin
Dramamine
Float On
Parting Of The Sensory
--------------------
Satin In A Coffin
Interstate 8
All Night Diner

Some Vids from Youtube:

my view:

Blitzen Trapper // Plants & Animals // Alela Diane 2/27/09

2009-03-03T12:09:00.004-05:00

@ the Bowery NYC.

Had to get my butt there by 8:15 check my coat, hit up the bathroom to pee(drank a jumbo red bull on the train) grab a cup of tequila and a Sierra Nevada, point out the merch. I would buy if I didn't hate carrying things... enter amazing show with my two favorite people.

Alela Diane was who I was most excited to see. I have seen Blitzen Trapper before (when they opened for a sleeping audience, see previous post). I knew they would put on a good show so I ran right up front for Alela.

She is my #3 fav. living female artist. She gets bonus points for having pops up on stage with her too. She sounded so beautiful live and her whole set was really on point.

Alela pix:

Plants & Animals:

And Blitzen Trapper (with set-list ;)

Deer Tick @ The Bowery Ballroom 2/13/09

2009-02-17T10:39:00.007-05:00

The Weight opened and I had never heard of them before Friday, they were really impressive!

Deer Tick brilliantly entertained the large crowd at the Bowery, playing old songs and new ones. I managed to get the set-list:

(This is what it says but they did change it up)
1. Easy
2. Houston, TX
3. Art Isn't Real (City of Sin)
4. Spend the Night
5. La La La
6. The Dance of Love
7. Song About a Man
8. Ashamed
9. Baltimore Blues No. 1
10.Nebraska
11.Friday
12.Axe is Forever
13.Straight into a Storm
14.Little white Lies
15.Dirty Dishes
16.These Ond Shoes
17.Bring Me My Shotgun

Encore:
The Ghost

But they def. played Jesus Christ at the end.
And a ton of pics:

Cat Power @ The Apollo // Harlem 2/6/09

2009-02-17T10:08:00.002-05:00

Chan sounds better live, The Apollo Theater was a perfect place for me to see Cat Power for the first time. One of the highlights of the night was when she preformed "I don't blame you" - it sounded like a completely different song. I was pleased just being in her presence and watching and listening to her all night so I wouldn't complain about the set-list, but if it had been this one instead I would have died and floated up to heaven.

No Pictures! Security was so tight if anyone even checked their phone the flashlight would be in your face.

Tea Leaf Green @ The Music Hall of Williamsburg 1/23/09 - Brooklyn

2009-01-29T11:10:00.004-05:00

I have seen Trevor Garrod live on my birthday on Aug. 1st 2007...
you can get that show here

But I have never seen the San Francisco band Tea Leaf Green till the Music Hall of Williamsburg Jan. 21st 2009.

The venue was better than I had expected, and the crowd was really into it. Everyone was dancing and just loving the music.
You can get that show here. I recommend just seeing them live for the experience. They are on the schedule for Mountain Jam this year, I bet that show will be fun. I might have seen them at Mountain Jam in 07... um but I don't remember that too well...

Here are pix from the balcony @ the 1/23 show.

Set list:

Set 1

01. Make A Connection>
02. Devil's Pay>
03. Hot Dog>
04. Kali-Yuga>
05. Stormcloud
06. Let Us Go>
07. Stick To The Shallows
08. Red Ribbons
09. Arise
10 Jezebel

Set 2

01. I've Been Seeking
02. California>
03. Dragonfly
04. 7th story>
05. Franz Hanzerbeaker
06. Hangin From A Tree
07. Morning Sun
08. Innocence
09. Me and My Monkey>
10. Sex in the 70's

Encore
11. Pretty Jane
12. The Garden (Part 3)

I will leave you with this video since it is one of the better ones I could find, and I dig that someone commented that it sounds like the doors because that was the vibe I was feeling most of the night:

Next up I want to see Coffee Bean Brown if they ever resurface?!

My Morning Jacket 12/31/08 NYE @ MSG

2009-01-06T12:40:00.004-05:00

Oh this was so incredible words can't really describe how this changed my life.

Here is a video I took of Thank You Too!

There are tons of better vid's on You Tube you should check out and some good ones here.

This is the set-list:

Disc 1/Set 1:
1. intro music - What Are You Doing New Years Eve
2. Move On Up (Curtis Mayfield) *
3. Evil Urges *
4. Off The Record
5. Gideon
6. The Way That He Sings
7. Thank You Too
8. I'm Amazed
9. Golden ^
10. Librarian
11. You're All I Need (marvin gaye) * +
12. Express Yourself (charles wright) *
13. Wonderful Man
14. Lay Low
15. Phone Went West

Disc 2/Set 1(cont):
16. Look At You
17. Dondante
18. Smoking from Shootin->
19. Touch Me Part 2->
20. Run Thru
21. The Wanderer (Dion) *
22. Dancefloors *
23. Magheeta

Disc 3/Set 2:
1. new years' countdown
2. Celebration (kool & the gang) *
3. Get Down On It (kool & the gang) *
4. Wordless Chorus
5. Highly Suspicious
6. Cobra
7. Islands in the Stream (Dolly Parton & Kenny Rogers) +
8. Bring It on Home to Me (Sam Cooke) *
9. Cold Sweat (James Brown)*
10. Anytime
11. One Big Holiday
12. Auld Lang Syne (sung by Jim James over a prerecorded backing track)
13. outro music - We'll Meet Again

Get the whole thing here.

And here are my pix!

Happy New Year!!!

Top 50 LP's of 2008

2008-12-30T12:36:00.014-05:00

First I would just like to say that Bon Iver For Emma Forever Ago and MGMT Oracular Spectacular are not technically 2008 so that is why you do not see these on the list, they are both amazing albums and I was fortunate to see them both live this year so they get some props right now...

and the list goes:

#50. The Whigs - Mission Control

After seeing them live at Sasquatch, I felt like I was back in the 90's when I first saw Pearl Jam, they are grungey and I dig it.

Fav. Track - Production City

49. Mason Proper - Olly Oxen Free

I became quickly addicted to this LP, but it fades as time passed.

My two favs are Lock and Key and Downpour.

48. Cold War Kids - Loyalty to Loyalty

This is sad to see since I remember the name Robbers and Cowards in under a second but Loyalty to Loyalty doesn't stand out... instead I think of Dreams Old Men Dream, the best song off L2L not a bad album as a whole but could be the biggest let down of the year.

47. Women - S/T

Any band that rolls with Chad VanGaalen is chart-worthy in my book, and after multiple listens this LP gets better and better. Black Rice is such an easy tune to listen to, I just absolutely love the way it starts.

46. Kings of Leon - Only By The Night

This LP really surprised me, it is much more like their old stuff and I can throw it on at parties and people like me. Manhattan is a gorgeous song about Native Americans. I dig it.

45. Land of Talk - Some Are Lakes

It is their first full length album! And it is REALLY GOOD! It's Okay is my favorite track, it can make you cry, even if you are telling yourself "it's okay, I don't even cry". Elizabeth Powell's voice is super sweet.

44. Ray LaMontagne - Gossip In The Grain

It was a let down, he is great but didn't live up to my high hopes with this one.
Meg White is a great song just for the fact he says Meegggg Whhhhite in a sexy raspy voice that I like to pretend that is my name he is whispering in my ear. In the end this is another crowd pleaser. I Still Care For You is my favorite song though.

43. eMC - The Show

"The Show is the debut album by Hip Hop supergroup eMC, which consists of rappers Masta Ace, Punchline, Wordsworth and Strick." Nuff Said!!! Best track: The Grudge (and yes it features that scarry sound from that movie)

42. Albert Hammond Jr. - ¿Cómo Te Llama?

Victory At Monterey, dope track. AH Jr. got lots of play this year, solid LP!

41. The Epochs - S/T

Dance Party... RIGHT NOW! You can't deny some ass shaking grooves like: Picture of the Sun, Opposite Sides, Love Complete, Mouths to Feed and Right On - all 5's.

40. Tokyo Police Club - Elephant Shell

TPC and I go way back to 06 when I saw them open for Cold War Kids, I would always enjoy seeing them live except when they open for retarded bands as they have been known to do as of late... This LP flowwwwws... Listen to the Math is my fav. track.

39. Matt Costa - Unfamiliar Faces

Soooo reminds me of SUMMER!!! Heart of Stone sounds like something my dad would play for me as a child. Sweet album, tall dude, great live preformer.

38. TV On The Radio - Dear Science

I like their previous album better with the exception of Love Dog, which is one of my top 15 songs of 2008. TV On The Radio - never a let down, always entertaining.

37. Department Of Eagles - In Ear Park

Gorgeous album cover, gorgeous music. I was blessed to see their first live performance ever from the second row of Town Hall. I reallllly liked this album! Reminds me of Grizzly Bear... hmmm wonder why. No One Does It Like You is my 4th most played song of the year.

36. Death Vessel - Nothing Is Precious Enough For Us

I am so happy this precious little album is on this list. Death Vessel seems like the wrong name for such a folky band with soft female vocals. This album is like the stuffed lamb that sits in my big feather bed. Bruno's Torso is my fav. song. ;)

35. Lykke Li - Youth Novels

She is just the cutest thing I have seen all year, and she is Swedish! Breakin It Up is my fav. track, this is something I throw on for girls night.

34. She & Him - Volume One

Sorry LL, I lied... Zooey is the cutest thing, but Z and I go way back, and now she is engaged to Ben Gibbard <3 <3 <3 I love this album and thought it would be in my top 5 at first listen... oh well Sentimental Heart is in my top songs of 2008. I want to see them live for the Volume Two tour!

33. The Ugly Suit - S/T

Happy Yellow Rainbow - WOW...

32. Death Cab For Cutie - Narrow Stairs

Grapevine Fires!!! One of my fav. songs of the year, this LP is solid as a whole, seeing Death Cab at Sasquatch! this year really made me respect them. Bixby Canyon Bridge is also one of the best songs off this LP. It reminds me of summer too, and the little dance Ben does on stage.

31. Ratatat - LP3

Mike Stroud and Evan Mast are hot, tallented and make me shake my ass. Best Track: Mirando.

30. Vetiver - Thing Of The Past

My favorite album art of the year, great album of covers, I did however leave a show right before they went on stage... but you know Phosphorescent was just sooo good I hadda bounce. Man do I love The Swimming Song, I would lay out in my backyard in the grass by the water and love this song. "I'm a self-destructive fool" The original was by Rufus and Martha's pops the good ol' Loudon Wainwright.

29. Electric President - Sleep Well

Addictive much??? Damn easy to listen to for hours. I could just go down every track name but it's a waste of time, I guess since We Will Walk Through Walls has the most plays it may be my fav? Listen to this LP, it's too pretty to miss out.

28. Elephant Micah - Exiled Magicians

Fortune Telling makes me cry, that is my favorite favorite favorite song right now. Elephant Micah is so amazing with an incredible discography, so if you don't know about him and you happen to be a J. Tillman fan, check him out.

27. Conor Oberst - S/T

Im really impressed with the quality of this album, all the songs are solid and he sounds amazing. This album seems like a very well thought out plan and it was a great idea. Souled Out!!! and Get-Well-Cards are my fav. tracks.

26. Samamidon - All Is Well

Saro = favorite, Wedding Dress = the one you know with the weird puppet video, Fall On My Knees = more love. Sam Amidon has a beatiful voice, the album is unforgettable.
I really enjoy his first LP as well, I just call him Sugar Baby.

25. Ra Ra Riot - Rumb Line

If Ra Ra Riot is in town then so am I. I actually saw them with TPC and CWK's back in the day. Strings on stage makes me happy. So many of these songs are from their EP but who is any different these days. Quality album, tallented band.

24. Seagull - Goodbye Weather

These Australians make some great music! Dictator and Half Asleep are classics. I really tried to play this LP out, but I can't get over it, so what.

23. Wye Oak - If Children

Archaic Smile is my fav. great flow on this album and pretty vocals.

22. Lesser Gonzalez Alvarez - Why Is Bear Billowing?

Build A Tiny Hill is such a great song, put this on... let it flow, fold your laundry.

21. Peasant - On The Ground

It's shady what year this is... their myspace says 09, I have seen 07 and I believe it is 08... Stop for Her is an incredible song, and We're Good feels like such an old song, I just love this album!!!

20. Weinland - LaLamentor

Desiree is my fav. song, All To Yourself maybe the tune you recognize. I was surprised to see this so high up on my charts when all the formulas were calculated. I am really happy it made it to the top 2o :)

19. Greg Laswell - Three Flights From Alto Nido

It's just so damn catchy... even if it is all over the WB.

18. The Tallest Man On Earth - Shallow Grave

Great album, check out some vid's I posted from the Bon Iver review in a previous post. I Won't Be Found is my favorite song... It's in the way-ah he-ah sings-ah the lyrics-ah.

17. Foals - Antidotes

Ugly album art but great party music, get drunk... play Foals. Olympic Airways is my fav.

16. City and Colour - Bring Me Your Love

#1? noooo what are you talking about... I don't know how it tried being #1 so long but there was a "glitch in your formula". Just put my Body In A Box.

15. Blitzen Trapper - Furr

YEAAAAAAAAAAA.... Blitzen Trapper, he sounds kinda like Dylan. They rock. Saw them open for Iron & Wine, it was incredible... I need to see them headline now. Black River Killer , Furr and God and Suicide. (best)

14. Port O'Brien - All We Could Do Was Sing

This album was so addictive, I am glad to say that I lucky I didn't miss them live, they handed out Pots and Pans to the audience (see more in a previous post). I recommend you tubing them as well.

13. Q-Tip - The Renaissance

Such dope lyrics, such a sick LP. I love it, and it is great pre-gaming music. "What good is an ear if there isn't a Q-tip in it" Manwomanboogie Feat. Amanda Diva is my fav. song but it is really hard to pick... "Get your ass in the air"

12. My Morning Jacket - Evil Urges

Mostly solid album, Touch Me I'm Going To Scream Part. 2 and Librarian are my favorite tracks, everything about MMJ is so nostalgic to me. They were so insane on NYE at MSG my life will never be the same, you can't not fall in love.

11. The Black Keys - Attack And Release

I feel like I could really get my mom to love this album, I have never seen two dudes fill up a stage with so much sound. The flow on this album is right on. This is just another beautiful addition to their masterpeices. If you dig this you should have the rest of their albums. Same Old Thing and Psychotic Girl are my favs.

10. Neva Dinova - You May Already Be Dreaming

I fell in love with Neva Dinova when I heard this album, I had never heard of them before this year (what a shame). Clouds is one of my favorite songs this year and Squirrels is my second fav. song off this album. Please listen to Clouds if you haven't heard it before, it will be begging your ears to hit the repeat button.

9. Cat Power - Jukebox

I can't wait to see her at the Apollo soon. When asked my favorite artist of all time, she pops into mind first. I LOVE Chan. She covered my favorite song ever which is a cover of her own song. Metal Heart How sick is that??? A God among men.

8. Thao With The Get Down Stay Down - We Brave Bee Stings And All

She was incredible at Sasquatch! If this isn't my "most played CD" (in my car) I don't know what is... Nothing more I love then Thao while driving, and I sing along loudly. I murder these tracks but it is fun... Try it! Every track is awesome so I would rather know your fav's.

7. Horse Feathers - House With No Home

Another great LP from Thao label mate KRS, I praised Horse Feathers in my live review of their Union Hall performance. This album has all the ingredients my pallet craves, soft mellow male vocals, soft female vocals, banjo, violin, beards and a saw.
Curs Of Weeds, Burden and Working Poor call me to play this album.

6. Jessica Lea Mayfield - With Blasphemy So Heartfelt

Produced by Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys, this album is a gem. I think she writes what goes on in my mind, it's amazing to listen to this and feel as if it were written just for me. As with my love Fiona I get this feeling with JLM. Her voice soothes the soul and Bible Days really gets me. The One That I Love Best is my second fav.

5. Peter And The Wolf - Mellow Owl

Addictive... Gorgeous vocals, fitting album title. This album inspired me for a few drawings I did while listening. Very visual stuff here. City Birds and Supermellofied are my top tracks.

4. Langhorne Slim - S/T

Not a shock to see this in the 4 spot, I forgive him for putting older songs on here because the album is solid. Restless is such an incredible song. The album flows and opens my ears to a sound so refreshing it could only be Slim. If you don't know about this album what are you doing here? Get on it!!!

3. Chad VanGaalen - Soft Airplanes

CAPTIVATING!!! What a piece of art this is... Oh man Oh man Oh man, but if you hung this on the wall what good would it be to your ears or your mind? This really does some trippy things to my head when I listen to it, enjoy the ride. I will say it again Cries of The Dead. Secondly Willow Tree.

2. Frontier Ruckus - The Orion Songbook

Fastest LP to climb my charts, the first 6 songs are all 5 out of 5 with 9 5 star songs on this album. There is no doubt this deserves the 2 spot. I managed to watch every one of their You Tube vids. Orion Town 2 made me cry when I first heard it, I had one of the most enjoyable bubble baths while listening to this album. It is just a matter of time before they are playing major festivals and touring the planet. I must give mention to Foggy Lilac Windows as well which grew on me like Lonicera japonica.

1. Fleet Foxes - S/T

I was calling this "Ragged Wood" all year because that was what they were saying it would be called when I searched for it before it came out... I was completely obsessed with their EP and I am obsessed with Robin Pecknold. :::Sigh::: The sound of Fleet Foxes is the sound of heaven in my ears. I will never forget the beautiful sight of seeing them preform twice at the Gorge Amphitheater and the sound that surrounded me engulfing my body as it became part of the mountain I sat upon. There was never a doubt in my mind all year that would keep this out of the 1 spot. Looking forward to more from them in the future.

Bon Iver // Tallest Man On Earth @ Town Hall NYC 12/10/2008

2008-12-17T11:32:00.004-05:00

This was an incredible night, to start Zach and I roll up in one of these:

We boasted about how "Green" we are on the way, the driver told us how he could "cut up traffic" and he was right.

When we got to Town Hall, we took a seat and I looked around to notice a sea of iphones and black rim glasses. Two dorks in front of me were even trading them... "oh wow ummm... your prescription doesn't work for me" Finally the show started and The Tallest Man On Earth took the stage. Kristian Matsson (TTMOE) is a Swede and shares the same last name as my Swedish relatives. He has a really distinct voice. He played my favorite song off his 2008 LP I won't be found, as well as another fav. The Gardner, Where do my blue bird fly, Pistol Dreams and others. He has a weird stage presence too, I found this to be amusing but I can see how others may find it irritating...

Vid:

Bon Iver, wow!!! Another league, they blew me away, they played all their tracks off the new EP Blood Bank, except Woods (in full) they opened with a failed attempt at Fleet Foxes style a cappella harmony, repeating the first line of the song over and over and over and over... I have to admit I got nervous for a second on how the performance would play out but settled in when they got fucking awesome!!!

The build up of their set kept growing and they got better as they preformed throughout the night. I will not listen to Wolves the same anymore... they got the crowd involved...watch and listen "What Might Have Been Lost":

I got chills...

Justin Vernon of Bon Iver (pronounced "bohn eevair")= good winter, even pronounced his bands name incorrectly by using the popular "Bon Eye-ver"... I swear this guy is hilarious, his banter was so entertaining and he was laid back, although I wanted to feed him vitamins in the beginning of the night, his energy grew and he didn't look like he desperately needed a red bull anymore by the end of the night. He explained that he hates encores and then went on to preform 3. Since we got the head's up about it I guess it isn't a true encore.

I was breathless after the last song "Lovins For Fools" preformed a cappella (it looked just like this footage from Pabst Theater on August 14, 2008.) :

Now preforming the cover with the original artist Sarah Siskind:

And check this out:

http://www.boniver.org/

I was really lucky to see this show, it was beautiful and I will remember it forever as one of the best Christmas presents I ever received.

Top 15 Songs of 2008

2008-12-12T11:52:00.003-05:00

15. She & Him - Sentimental Heart

"Piece of the puzzle, you're my missing part
Oh what can you do with a sentimental heart?"

14. City And Colour - Body In A Box

"And don't you bury me six feet under ground,
Just burn my body in a box.
And let my ashes blow with the wind,
Out into the night sky."
(peaceful)

13. TV On The Radio - Love Dog

"Curse me out in free verse
Wrap me up and reverse this
Patience is a virtue
Until it's silence burns you"

12. Death Cab For Cutie - Grapevine Fires

"A wake up call to a rented room
Sounded like an alarm of impending doom.
To warn us it's only a matter of time.
Before we all burn"

11. Chad VanGaalen - Cries Of The Dead

"weeds and trees that grow from seed
will cover us in time"

10. Port O'Brien - I Woke Up Today

"I woke up today,
In a very simple way"

9. Horse Feathers - Curs In The Weeds

"to live in a house with no home
the sun is the darkest sea"

8. Neva Dinova - Clouds

"Can you see the mountains?
Can you see the birds?
Can you feel the fountain?
Can you feel the world?"

7. Department Of Eagles - No One Does It Like You

"No one does it like youuuuu"

6. My Morning Jacket - Librarian

"When God gave us mirrors He had no idea"

5. Langhorne Slim - Restless

"If your maker dont approve at least you know you've had your fun"

4. Cat Power - Metal Heart

"It's damned if you don't and it's damned if you do
Be true 'cause they'll lock you up in a sad sad zoo"

3. Frontier Ruckus - Orion Town 2

"I-75 is the swallower of Christmas
The gloom of its gladness is night on our shoulders
Connecting our sorrows like ponds with an isthmus"

2. Mumford & Sons - White Blank Page

"You desired my attention but denied my affections, affections
But tell me now where was my fault, in loving you with my whole heart."

1. Fleet Foxes - Mykonos

"Brother you don't need to turn me away
I was waiting down at the ancient gate

You go
Wherever you go today
You go today

I remember how they took you down
As the winter turned the meadow brown"

Horse Feathers // Union Hall 11/21/08

2008-11-24T09:30:00.011-05:00

This is the feeling I had expected from Iron & Wine. The satisfaction of seeing Horse Feathers left me with one of the most enjoyable nights of the Fall.

They played a fantastic set-list that included Curs of the Weeds, Working Poor, Finch on Saturday, Mothers Sick, Blood on the Snow and the encore was In Our Blood, I think...or Falling Through the Roof there are vid's of both, not from Union Hall, but very enjoyable. However check for updates becasue I did see a chick taking video but can not find it on YouTube yet...
I was surprised to hear Walking & Running which Justin Ringle claims to be the first and last song you will hear him curse in.
I hope not! It is awesome download it here among others.

As I left the venue I was "wishin I could get a hold of some solo songs by the female in the group Heather Broderick, I would love that" I wish I could hear more of her voice on the record too because she has an exquisite sound that blended in perfect harmony complementing Justins voice on stage perfectly. I found out she has some solo stuff you can check out here: heatherwoods

"In Our Blood" - "Finch on Saturday" - "Blood on the Snow"
Nathan Crockett: The exact clone of my friend Jonny played the violin and the saw, which was really cool to see and hear.

Anyway I dig the silhouettes.

be friends! and see them live if they travel your way!

Iron & Wine // Terminal 5 sux 11/17/08

2008-11-24T08:58:00.003-05:00

Terminal 5 sux, and the crowd sux for the most part. I got yelled at by an old man and was so taken back that a guy can be such a douche at an I&W concert all I muttered back was "sorry Dad".
Trust, I could go on about it but since Iron & Wine is one of my favorite bands I will just save my breath and give you the positive parts of the night.

BLITZEN TRAPPER!!! - They are absolutely amazing, they are full of energy and they sound better live than they do recorded.

They played a smart opening set that included crowd fav's Furr, and Black River Killer, they also played Saturday Night, Lady on the Water, Summer Town and I called the encore (one of my favs) Wild Mountain Nation.
http://www.last.fm/music/Blitzen+Trapper

I am falling for Portland bands these days. Eric Early (below)

is the front man for BT. He played electric guitar, acoustic guitar and harmonica. He sounds like a better version of Bob Dylan live and has fine tuned vocals built for preforming. The crowd was actually moving too... shocking!!!

And ohhh Sam how I would have loved to rave about the fantastic night of you playing music for me as I danced around but the reality of it was (me, drunk, dancing and getting dirty looks) because I was showing enjoyment, instead of sleeping with my eyes open like the rest of the crowd.

bottom line: I blame the venue.

Fleet Foxes @ Webster Hall 10/04/08

2008-10-14T14:20:00.002-04:00

I stood and admired one of my favorites of 2008 in the back of Webster Hall.

As you can see here:

Mason Jennings @ The Bowery 10/3/08

2008-10-14T12:47:00.002-04:00

I really can't say it better than THIS so I am not goint to even try.

And zach Gil opened.

Here are some pics:

I love Jose Gonzalez @ the Yard! 09/26/08

2008-10-01T16:07:00.003-04:00

Jose Gonzalez you make me cry... at least when you play heartbeats. I did not realize until now that this blog is named in dedication to you.

The Yard huh? What a sweet end to the sweetest season. This is one of my favorite experiences of 2008 live music.

The venue: Amazing! Right on the canal just like my home and warm and cozy like my home. If I had my cat on my lap it would have been perfect but it was damn well close.
A few things that made it better than home: FREE beer, FREE S'mores, FREE liquor, FREE pizza, FREE CD's and the Upright Citizens Brigade.

If I had a goat on my lap I would have sacrificed it into the canal, because even though I am an animal activist I would do whatever Jose wanted me to do to get to hear another beautiful song. (yea he was cute struggling with his broken English to make a joke about sacrificing a goat into the canal to keep the weather pretty).
I come from a Swedish family so hearing the accent again made me feel at home.

Here is a video of "Hints" courtesy of my new favorite site: GetADOG

Pix:

*This is review is dedicated to Morfar (Swedish for "mothers father") I still miss you everyday.*

Throw Me The Statue @ Union Hall 9/27/2008

2008-10-01T11:42:00.009-04:00

Back at the sweet intimate little underground venue called Union Hall where I just saw Port O'Brien. The opener who I will neglect to mention because it is a waste of our time sucked balls, so did the girls yelling over his set next to me, not sure which sound was worse but the combination of both caused me to continue to drink Jack. The courteous man and and his girlfriend who were told to "go F themselves" got the obnoxious biotches to leave, I paid my respect to this man for getting them out and then went outside to get air.

There was a maroon van parked outside, and the back doors swing open and BAM! Out comes Throw Me The Statue!!! Yay! The Ben Gibbard look-a-like held up the set list for this pic:

I later stole it off the stage, then when they came out for another song I got scared they might need it back so I hid it in Zach's pocket.

Ben Gibbard... I mean this guy:
(said "it's subject to change")

We are all connected: Pedro the Lion member Casey Foubert, who helped with the sound of TMTS toured with Ben. Thanks Wiki!!! You always making my head spin!... Seriously! It is a good thing.

Well "Your Girlfriends Car" was on the set list so that put a smile on my face and a bounce in my step as I ventured back down to the secret nook under the boccie courts to enjoy a great performance.

My one complaint... "don't you think they rushed this a bit???"

Throw Me The Statue @ Union Hall 9/27/08

The singer was a good drummer and it added bonus points to the performance... check it:

Throw Me The Statue @ Union Hall 9/27/08 Drums

Pickhturez:

More on Throw Me The Statue here or here.

Getting through the year, rating music along the way.

2008-09-25T10:27:00.002-04:00

It is almost Oct. I have 1,666 songs for 2008 only counting the songs on LP's, I will get to EP's later. Below are some new releases, I have more than half of my songs rated but the albums keep comming in.

New Releases :

Adventure Adventure (CD)
Alexander Tucker Portal (CD)
All Girl Summer Fun Band Looking into It (CD)
Amanda Palmer Who Killed Amanda Palmer (CD)
Andre Williams and the New Orleans Hellhounds Can You Deal With It? (CD)
Anduin Forever Waiting (CD)
Astronautalis Pomegranate (CD)
Begushkin King's Curse (CD)
Blank Dogs On Two Sides (CD)
Blitzen Trapper Furr (CD)
Brad Barr The Fall Apartment: Instrumental Guitar (CD)
Brightblack Morning Light Motion to Rejoin (CD)
Capitol K Notes from Life on the Wire with a Wrecking Ball (CD)
Casiotone for the Painfully Alone Town Topic EP (CDep)
Charalambides Branches (CD)
Charles Bukowski Underwater Poetry Festival (CD)
Charlie Haden Family and Friends Rambling Boy (CD)
Cold War Kids Loyalty to Loyalty (CD)
Cold War Kids Loyalty to Loyalty (Deluxe Edition) (CD+DVD)
Condo Best of Luck (CD)
Conifer Crown Fire (CD)
David Grubbs An Optimist Notes the Dusk (CD)
David Holmes The Holy Pictures (CD)
Digitalism Kitsune Tabloid (CD)
Donovan Quinn & The 13th Month Donovan Quinn & The 13th Month (CD)
Dressy Bessy HOLLERandSTOMP (CD)
Eden and John's East River String Band Some Cold Rainy Day (CD)
Elzhi The Preface (CD)
Friendly Fires Friendly Fires (CD)
Gentleman Jesse and His Men Gentleman Jesse and His Men (CD)
Hacienda Loud Is the Night (CD)
Heartbreak Lies (CD)
High Places High Places (CD)
Holy Sons Decline of the West (CD)
I Heart Lung Interoceans (CD)
Jakob Dylan Seeing Things (CD)
James Hey Ma (CD)
Jandek Glasgow Sunday 2005 (CD)
Jean Grae Jeanius (CD)
Jenny Lewis Acid Tongue (2xLP+CD)
Jenny Lewis Acid Tongue (CD)
John Adams A Flowering Tree (2xCD)
Johnny Foreigner Waited Up Til It Was Light (CD)
Juliana Hatfield How to Walk Away (CD)
Karl Blau Nature's Got Away (CD)
Karl Hector and The Malcouns Sahara Swing (CD)
KatJonBand KatJonBand (CD)
Kings of Leon Only by the Night (CD)
Koufax Strugglers (CD)
Leona Naess Thirteens (CD)
Lonnie JohnsonTribute feat. Blues Anatomy with Jef Lee Johnson Rediscovering Lonnie Johnson (CD)
Luciano Fabric 41 (CD)
Lymbyc Systym Love Your Abuser (Remixed) (CD)
Magazine Play (CD)
Mason Proper Olly Oxen Free (CD)
Max Richter 24 Postcards in Full Colour (CD)
McCarthy Trenching Calamity Drenching (CD)
Merzbow Eucalypse (CD)
Michna Magic Monday (CD)
Midfield General General Disarray (CD)
Mogwai The Hawk Is Howling (CD)
Mogwai The Hawk Is Howling (Deluxe Edition) (CD+DVD)
Monkey Journey to the West (CD)
Morton Feldman The Viola in My Life (CD)
Mother Mother O My Heart (CD)
Mugison Mugiboogie (CD)
Muslimgauze Armsbazzar (CD)
Nadja Trembled (CD)
Nagisa Ni Te Yosuga (CD)
Noah and the Whale Peaceful The World Lays Me Down (CD)
Otis Redding Live in London and Paris (CD)
Oxbow Fuckfest (Reissue) (CD)
Passion Pit Chunk of Change (CDep)
Peter Broderick Home (CD)
Philip Glass Glass Box - A Nonesuch Retrospective (10xCD)
Pidgeon Might As Well Go Eat Worms (CD)
Plush Fed (CD)
Polk Miller Polk Miller and His Old South Quartette (CD)
Portugal the Man Censored Colors (CD)
Prurient Cocaine Death (CD)
Reporter Dust and Stars (CD)
Roots Manuva Slime and Reason (CD)
Sam Champion Heavenly Bender (CD)
Serena Maneesh SM Backwards (2xCD)
Shugo Tokumaru Exit (CD)
Simian Mobile Disco Fabric Live 41 (CD)
Solange Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams (CD)
Solillaquists Of Sound As If We Existed (CD)
Sten The Essence (CD)
Talkdemonic Eyes at Half Mast (CD)
Tecumseh Avalanche and Inundation (CD)
Ten Kens Ten Kens (CD)
Terry Lynn Kingstonlogic (CD)
The Cure Hypnagogic States EP (CDep)
The Gay Blades Ghosts (CD)
The Howling Hex Earth Junk (CD)
The Music Strength in Numbers (CD)
The Pica Beats Beating Back the Claws of the Cold (CD)
The Red Krayola Fingerpointing (CD)
The Replacements All Shook Down (Deluxe Edition) (CD)
The Replacements Don't Tell a Soul (Deluxe Edition) (CD)
The Replacements Pleased to Meet Me (Deluxe Edition) (CD)
The Replacements Tim (Deluxe Edition) (CD)
The Standard Swimmer (CD)
The Tough Alliance A New Chance (CD)
Thievery Corporation Radio Retailiation (CD)
Tindersticks The Hungry Saw (CD)
Tomorrow Tomorrow (CD)
Tracy Shedd Cigarettes and Smoke Machines (CD)
TV on the Radio Dear Science (CD)
TV on the Radio Dear Science (Enhanced CD) (CD)
Various Artists Dr. Boogie - Shim Sham Shimmy (CD)
Various Artists Live at KEXP - Volume 4 (CD)
Various Artists Oh, Run Into Me, But Don't Hurt Me! (CD)
Various Artists The Roots of Hip-Hop (CD)
Various Artists Wizzz! Vol. 2 (CD)
Various Artists Wooden Guitar (CD)
War Tapes War Tapes (CDep)

Port O'Brien @ Union Hall Brooklyn Aug. 15th 2008

2008-08-19T10:24:00.002-04:00

A band to see live:

Port O'Brien

Great energy filled up Union Hall which is a an intimate venue under a bar that you can play bocce ball at.

Read up on Port O'Brien, if you decide to give them a listen.

You can check out some of their songs here or here.

ummm the pix are extra crappy this time, sorry but I'm just keepin it real.

All Points West Aug. 9th 2008

2008-08-11T09:08:00.006-04:00

ASIDE from the ridiculous lines for the ferry, to get in to the festival, to get my 5 drinks, get french fries and to use the "facilities" Radiohead was fucking insane.

Pissed that I caught an 11:48am train from L.I. got 2 strawberry daq's and jumped on the subway to Pier 11. Didn't end up boarding the ferry till 4, didn't get through the gates of the fest till 5ish, watched my fav. Virgins song be preformed and caught some of Animal Collective before waiting on the I.D. check line for most of their set. Finally get in there wait in line again to get beer, then drink it while on line to pee.

Then: Finally get into the beer garden when we notice 5 ridiculous tabs on the wrist band and get an 'X' on my hand... hmmmm so I chat it up with this girl who explains that I have to "rub the X off while its still wet, while you do that I will explain the madness of this system". OK so I do that and when my fingers are completely purple she goes on to say "only allowed 5 drinks!!! and that X means you can't get another braclette". Everyone is just angry because the staff tells us "they are doing us a favor by letting us drink at a state park". Thanks for the favor douche...

The show was packed out and some dude told me that there were alot of fake tickets floating around, hmmm interesting because the scanners were broken. The security checks are another story.

After all this we ran to the ferry amongst others to beat the crowd and made it back with perfect timing. My legs are still sore from walking and dancing and it took about 6 hours of laying on the beach Sunday to recover.

Radiohead - APW Night Two Setist (8/9/08):
01. Reckoner
02. 15 Step
03. The National Anthem
04. Kid A
05. All I Need
06. Nude
07. Weird Fishes/Arpeggi
08. Where I End And You Begin
09. The Gloaming
10. Faust Arp
11. No Surprises
12. Jigsaw Falling Into Place
13. The Bends
14. Bangers and Mash
15. Everything In Its Right Place
16. Exit Music (For A Film)
17. Bodysnatchers

Encore 1
18. Pyramid Song
19. Videotape
20. Airbag
21. Fake Plastic Trees
22. There There

Encore 2
23. House of Cards
24. Planet Telex
25. Idioteque

Pix:

on the way:

The Virgins:

Animal Collective:

Art:

Kings of Leon:

RADIOHEAD:

My crew:

Lines:

vids:

Idioteque:

All I Need clip:

Fake Plastic Trees clip:

Anyone else see Joshua Jackson there?

Julia Nunes and Lauren O'Connell @ The Knitting Factory NYC 7/12/08

2008-07-17T09:24:00.005-04:00

The always entertaining Julia Nunes:

Her bff Lauren O'Connell rockin out breaking strings cursing,

Don't call her Colbie Caillat!

Fantasticlly funny and entertaining!

***LAST CHANCE TO SUBMIT TO M.E.A.N.Y. FEST 08!

2008-07-16T11:21:00.002-04:00

***LAST CHANCE TO SUBMIT TO M.E.A.N.Y. FEST 08!

Submit now at www.meanyfest.com

com thru sonicbids, 260 bands in 20 different venues last year!
2008 prizes include recording time on the John Lennon tour bus, equipment,1000 Cd's, performance on the Warped Tour, appearance on Fearless Music, and much more!
Don't miss out, submit now!

Common Rotation 7/11 @ The Living Room

2008-07-15T14:07:00.011-04:00

Reunited after 13 years or something...

My roomie and an old friend of hers Eric Kufs of Common Rotation were in good spirits @ The Living Room on Ludlow Friday July 11th. The Living Room is a super sweet cozy venue right between PIANOS and The Cake Shop. Check out their site to see the pics of past preformances by the Wainwrights, Sean Lennon and Imogen Heap.

This venue is pretty sweet I will give you one complaint before the praise...

Get there around 8ish get a great seat up front, watch two decent opening bands. The "All for nots" who were freakin hilarious with their new bone shaped guitar pedal and were so stoked about it they tried promoting themselves as "Bone Pedal and Harmony".
I would see them live just for the banter. (I am a huge fan of the banter more than ever these days). OK I got carried away already... my COMPLAINT:

We freakin saved a table up front then they kick you out and make you go pay a cover and you lose ur table? Well thank god girls who drink beer get freindly because we worked a nice plan out and played nice with the musicians to keep our sweet spot up front :)

So Common Rotation played and they were hilarious too... Eric Kufs has an powerful yet calming voice I would have to compare to James Taylor because I got punched in the face when I compared him to Jim James :) This is just because he thinks no one can be compared to JJ, but we all agreed Eric's voice deserves to be heard and ahem... signed. Hey I am NOT the only one who has made the Jim James refrence before. They did a Phil Colins cover and a cover of "Rocking Chair" by the band.
Very tallented and surprisingly not signed!
http://www.myspace.com/CommonRotation

Just curious by a show of hands IF you were stranded on an island and had to pick between... nevermind.

Ana Egge was the closer and she wasn't bad. I can't say I would have enjoyed it as much if her guitarist didn't add most of the flavor.

Check out her Arcade Fire cover of "In the backseat" and her original song off LazyDays (my personal fav) "Sitting in the midday sun"
http://www.myspace.com/anaegge

pix:

In all seriousness... One of the best music vids of all time.

2008-06-23T11:02:00.004-04:00

so beautiful it brings tears to my eyes:

I have always had a dislike for music videos because I believe it is important to have an individual interpretation of the music and once you see a music video you can never listen to that song again the same... I felt (and still do in certain instances) that creating that mass interpretation of the music takes the value out. It can take away the imaginative gift we are given from a song. I never want that taken away from me. It sux to say "I loved that song till I saw the video now I dont even enjoy the band or artist" but there are some amazing, beautiful, deep and educational music videos out there that satisfy my soul. My favorites are videos that are open to a wide range of interpretation, low budget videos where the message is scrambled and could have a completely different reaction each time it is watched and by each one that experiences it. So today I am making it my job to find the very best of these. After getting totally wraped up in watching videos by "the Knive" I am on to re-experiencing all the amazing Radiohead videos.

I am broght to tears by this song and by this video, take one out of the picture and the feeling is the same, they stand alone as beautiful peices of art. I can't explain the feeling it gives me it just fits me, and I think everyone can get this feeling too but the fact that it just is and there is no need to explain you can just watch it and get it... no need for further discussion.

feel me? the sublime

The Hipster Olympics

2008-06-23T09:27:00.001-04:00

someone said it all in one of the comments on this one...

"they will disappear as fast as they came... TRUST"

watch this:

can i haz more kittehs???

2008-06-19T16:17:00.001-04:00

obsessed... still cant get enough had to put two handsome ones up here:

mai two adishunz:

Remote Kitteh

Tye Kitteh

enjoi!

Have you seen Josh Homme in action yet?

2008-06-17T15:33:00.003-04:00

and you thought Akon got pissed...

here is front man "J-Holmes" from QOTSA calling names:

artists are so good to their fans these days :)

don't hurt me Josh... well you can hurt me a little.

NYC upcoming show list!!!

2008-06-17T14:42:00.004-04:00

thanks Brody!!!

courtesy of http://www.britrockatthetop.com

here are some shows you need to check out in NYC!!!! Keep posted on my blog for more cool music news at britrockatthetop

Tom. night tues. 6/17 Futureheads @ Bowery Ballroom

Wed. 6/18 Laura Marling @ Mercury Lounge

Thurs. 6/20 The Ting Tings @ Southpaw (Brooklyn)

Mon. 6/24 Pearl Jam @ Madison Square Garden

Tues. 7/8 Yoav @ Pianos

Wed. 7/9 Feist @ Prospect Park Bandshell

Fri. 7/11 Brian Wilson @ Hammerstein Ballroom

Tues. 7/15 Spoon @ Prospect Park Bandshell

Wed. 7/16 Boyz II Men @ B.B. King Blues Club and Grill

Mon. 7/21 Ed Harcourt @ Maxwell's (NJ)

Tue. 7/22 Jarvis Cocker(Pulp) @ Terminal 5

Fri. 7/25 The Subways @ Blender Theater at Gramercy

Tue. 7/29 Tilly and The Wall @ Music Hall of Williamsburg

Wed. 7/30 Supergrass @ Webster Hall

Thu. 7/31 Wolf Parade @ Terminal 5

Sat. 8/2 Coldplay @ XL Center (CT)

Wed. 8/6 Bloc Party @ Webster Hall

Tue. 8/12 Bob Dylan @ Prospect Park Bandshell

Wed. 8/13 Wilco @ McCarren Park Pool

#1 song?

2008-06-12T14:37:00.000-04:00

Mykonos - Fleet Foxes,

ohhh daddy.

X-Country Drive to SASQUATCH! 2008

2008-06-11T11:10:00.000-04:00

If a picture is worth a thousand words...

How would you measure experience???

Sasquatch! x-country countdown 2 days to go...

2008-05-19T22:12:00.000-04:00

Car geared up, ready for a scenic drive across the USA full of green trees.
Sasquatch! 2008 ready-set-drive for 43 hours straight...

Pre-drive playlist.

1	Fire It Up	Modest Mouse
2	I Will Possess Your Heart	Death Cab For Cutie
3	$20	M.I.A.
4	Phonytown	Rogue Wave
5	Styrofoam Boots /	Modest
	It's All Nice On Ice, Alright	Mouse
6	Hopscotch Wille	Stephen Malkmus
7	Mykonos	Fleet Foxes
8	Fear And Convenience	Thao & The Get Down, Stay Down
9	Hair Down	Cold War Kids
10	I Already Miss You	The Kooks
11	Stormy Weather	The Kooks
12	The Plot	White Rabbits
13	Cheap Wine	What Made Milwaukee Famous
14	Paper Planes (DFA Remix)	M.I.A.
15	It Overtakes Me	The Flaming Lips
16	Production City	The Whigs
17	Lightness	Death Cab For Cutie
18	Medicine Ball	Rogue Wave
19	Hospital Beds	Cold War Kids
20	tiger phone card	dengue fever
21	Children	Delta Spirit
22	Dancing on our Graves	The Cave Singers
23	No Place For Me	Ghostland Observatory
24	Racing Like A Pro	The National
25	Slow Show	The National
26	Postcards From Italy	Beirut

Full list of bands

The Black Keys // 5/15/08 @ Terminal 5

2008-05-19T21:49:00.000-04:00

Seeing just two dudes rock out like that and fill up a big ass multi floor post rave "venue" like Terminal 5 was pretty impressive. The music came so naturally. Making it look easy and rocking the fuck out. See the Black Keys live... the venue doesn't matter.

Cloud Cult @ the Bowery 4/18/08

2008-04-21T09:49:00.001-04:00

If the scene was different it would have been a better show. Musically speaking the front man Craig Minowa had the tallent... The crowd was strange and I was a bit tense watching the preformance. I don't understand why people were hoping like idiots it didn't go with the music AT ALL. Plus I had to leave early because there was a child star* behind me.

The visuals were cool (painting wise) which you could bid on after the show, the painting of two hearts turned out really nice (A-orta style). The visuals on the screen didn't do it for me though, some sequences just looked like a computer screen saver. The lead singer wore a mask as a headband with eyes drawn on it and he was in hospital scrubs... that was pretty cool. Sarah and Shannon on strings looked a mess and bored as hell. If people are going to be watching you at least look somewhat interesting...

Craig mentioned the dark times in his life when he almost "didn't make it out". That I think just keep to yourself, as well as the fact that it was "so weird" "so weird" "so weird" to be in NYC? We got it the first time... but anyway, the crowd was so annoying I left, no one would shut up or stop singing, people were pushy and irritable. They might have well been rockin the scrubs too.

The opener Illinois didn't impress either, maybe one good song they even said "thanks for not booing us".

My lesson for this show is, just act like you've done this before... christ.

child star* - someone who sings obnoxiously into your ear ruining the show (term developed during CYHSY's Bowery preformance of the song child star).

~ "Kicking the Heart Out" ~ Rogue Wave 4/12 @ The Fillmore (Irving plaza)

2008-04-16T11:32:00.000-04:00

Me and two of my girls attended a bar crawl in the West Village, then headed out to the Fillmore to see Rogue Wave. Rogue Wave is one of those bands that seems to stay on the level with every album. Each of their albums are equally smooth and each of their songs hold that constistant structure. Zach Rogue gave me the set-list too with a smile, he is a really nice guy!!! I am used to the Bowery for shows and hang by the door towards the front of the room, we bounced around here, so some of my pictures are pretty far away but the place was packed out with people. They have a bigger fan base than I knew, and such an amazing mellow crowd. Everyone swaying and singing along, Rogue Wave has a strong connection with their fans and put their heart in it.

I was clap happy:

pix:

I recommend checking out all their albums!

Albums

Out of the Shadow
(February 18, 2003; R: July 13, 2004)
Responsive Recordings / Sub Pop Records

Descended Like Vultures
(October 25, 2005)
Sub Pop Records

Asleep at Heaven's Gate
(September 18, 2007)
Brushfire Records

[edit] EPs

10:1
(August 23, 2005)
Sub Pop Records

I-Con 27 // Sunday April 6th

2008-04-07T12:45:00.000-04:00

well, this was my first year attending I-con, while it was interesting... It is not so much my cup of tea if you know what I mean. Basically just wanted to see Billy West but I could not find him.

I did attend a good lecture by Benjamin Parris: "The Universe What's out there", this was the highlight of my attendance @ Icon-27. As well as a reading by Peter S. Beagle who wrote a story I have long admired "The Last Unicorn"

Genre(s) Fantasy novel
Publisher Viking Press
Publication date 1968

Then there was the gaming room, filled with body odor and younger kids in coustumes, but my broseph kicked ass in the tourneys!

Pix:

Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks @ The Bowery 4/1/08

2008-04-02T14:33:00.000-04:00

He rocked it... end of that story, you would have to see for yourself...

"What are we at a Phish show?" -- overheard quote of the night.

Met some nice folks that worked for "ROLLING STONE" (one of the many things that were shouted out during the set.

I am a John Vanderslice fan so I was sad to show up for just the last show because I was too busy drinking to get my ass to the show early enough to catch him. When I got there the band passed a drum through the crowd and preformed on the floor, it was so rad.

Jicks Pix:

I rocked out so hard my neck hurts today and I fell asleep on the train and missed my stop.
But if you know me that is not a shock, I have fallen asleep front row at a punk show STANDING UP!

Cloud Cult Feel Good Ghosts (Tea-Partying Through Tornadoes)

2008-03-27T10:19:00.000-04:00

I am currently reallllly connecting with the new Cloud Cult album, it is inspirational. In 2002 Craig Minowa - singer/songwriter and Connie Minowa - visual artist, suffered the tragic loss of their baby son, my heart goes out to them.

Feel Good Ghosts (Tea-Partying Through Tornadoes) (2008)

Track Listing:

"No One Said It Would Be Easy" – 3:33
"Everybody Here Is a Cloud" – 3:16
"The Tornado Lessons" – 2:34
"When Water Comes to Life" – 3:47
"Must Explore" – 0:21
"Journey of the Featherless" – 3:06
"The Ghost Inside Our House" – 2:52
"It's What You Need" – 1:06
"Story of the Grandson of Jesus" – 2:36
"Hurricane and Fire Survival Guide" – 3:49
"May Your Hearts Stay Strong" – 4:20
"The Will of a Volcano" – 2:37
"Love You All" – 5:03

CC also has an impressive discography.

Which is a good thing they are good to our Earth and use recycled materials!!!

As a bonus they actually do live paintings on stage!

I am going to see them live soon and I can't wait! I will be putting pictures up after the show.

Track 4 lyrics amaze me:

"When Water Comes to Life"

Lyrics:

and when the angels come
they'll cut you down the middle
to see if you're still there
to see if you're still there

and underneath your ribs
they'll find the heart shaped locket
an old photograph of you in daddy's arms

and then they'll sew you closed
and give you back to the water
from where we're all born
from where we're all born

and you'll feed the ghosts
and you'll feed the living
you'll be a stranger
and you'll a friend

you'll be the leper
and you'll be the healer
you'll be the hero
and the tragedy

and when they sew you closed
they'll give you back to the water
from where we're all born
from where we're all born

and when they burn your body
all thats left is sand crystals
two tiny handfuls
all the rest is water, water, water

all you need to know
is you were born of water
you are made of water
you are living water, water, water

all you need to know
is you were born of water
you are made of water
you are living water, water, water

all you need to know
is you were born of water
you are made of water
you are living water, water, water

Official Site: http://www.cloudcult.com/

--Now who wants a swim?