mary j. blige - "one"
wow did anyone else see mary j. blige fire up american idol with her passionate version of U2's "one?" that was amazing. too bad elliott yamin was also part of the duet.

the walkmen @ webster hall

as i walked into webster hall yesterday to see the walkmen, jay told me they were three songs into their set. i hurried up to the balcony, hoping to squeeze myself into some good position for the show. from then on, i was completely mesmerized by their set. the songs just glowed and came alive -- especially the new tracks. their set was powerful -- they pulled out "the rat" and "little house of savages" fairly early, and left the audience cheering for more, to which they responded with "wake up" and "thinking of a dream i had." holy moly.

they did one encore and ended the night with "we've been had" to everyone's delight. i secretly wished they would play "french vacation"... but i have a feeling that song won't see the stage that often from now on. when they performed "louisiana," the first song on their new album, a hundred miles off, (in stores now) they brought out a couple horn players and a lively guy on harmonica. totally fun!

i'm revisiting a hundred miles off this weekend. after seeing them live, i've had the urge to let the album finally sink in. as i said, the walkmen's music usually grows on me. the subtleties are usually caught later on. but i have a feeling this third album is better experienced live so that the keys and guitar strums can shimmer all over you, and hamilton's growl can ignite you. i'm happy to say that hammy is singing more, and screeching less -- which gave the songs last night an honest soul. it was as if he was drawing from somewhere deeper than the bulging veins in his throat. instead, he was invoking from his heart, and it showed. BRAVO!!!

the art of the band interview

the band interviews on this nylon magazine myspace page reminds me of the days when i interviewed people, and how i would flinch during playback. i always felt that i said the stupidest things... it's like leaving a message on the answering machine and after you hang up, you have this awful feeling that you just made an idiot out of yourself. some nervous or filler laughing, a lot of "ums" and starting to ask questions while trailing off, lost in thought, and letting the celebs cut you off with their answer. do you have any idea what they are talking about in their interview with the raconteurs? maybe i should post some of my old interviews too.

sound team have added a last minute nyc show tonight!

Sound Team have added a last minute NYC show.

TONIGHT.

The Annex.
152 Orchard St.
Between Stanton & Rivington

Sound Team play at 10:30.

Tell your friends.

they formed a band... and they're fucking playing tonight

yes, i am one of the peeps going to see art brut tonight at knitting factory with art brut 47 and the chalets in the main room and tim harrington (les savy fav) on the decks in the tap bar. hotness. perhaps i am also the only blogger that is not burnt out on art brut. that's because i've only been witness to half an art brut set, and that was in austin in march. the timing seems right to me to start this weekend off with a bang bang -- rock and roll!

i hadn't really heard of the chalets before, but they are a smarty pants pop punk outfit from dublin. i listened to their songs on myspace, and sort of instantly fell in love with them. listen to "no style" and "lovepunch." i adore the attitude.

i'm not sure how i feel about art brut 47...

out and about in the east village and LES

last night i ventured out once again into the wilds of indie rock in new york city and saw the blood arm, the charlatans uk and lansing-dreiden section ii. all three are pretty different bands...

mike and i stopped by rivington arms to check out the lansing-dreiden art exhibit going on. a lot of their stuff is based on the beauty of symmetry.... almost like very precise inkblots. i grabbed a copy of their literary art paper "death notice" on my way out. it's still in my bag for perusing later...

the blood arm opened for the charlatans at webster hall (hello jay and julia!). i had heard the name before but wasn't familiar with their music. their set started off with some wired spoken artist type ranting a soliloquy about how he came to new york for liberty and acceptance... he basically repeated certain phrases two or three times for emphasis... and then he introduced the blood arm from "los angeles, france" -- whatever that means. so yeah, the blood arm are a band from LA. in fact, they are pretty huge in LA, and i heard they are franz ferdinand's favorite band. this is no surprise as the blood arm are LA's answer to franz. i can see them being a great party band with catchy songs with choruses like "i like all the girls and all the girls like me" but the effect was lost on the crowd at webster hall. i think the space was too big for them to woo a crowd that probably had no idea who the hell they were. they tried to engage the crowd, though not that successfully. the lead singer jumped into the audience several times to dance with people. nobody really budged. in fact, i think i saw someone run away from him. then he started dedicating songs facetiously to people in the crowd after asking for names. "this song is dedicated to regina, who i have fallen in love with." it came off sort of awkwardly. the most awkward part was when he jumped on the bar -- right at the end of the set. i think if you're going to jump on the bar, make sure you have some singing left to do so you can entertain from there instead of just jumping up there for the sake of jumping up there. all in all though, i think webster hall was just the wrong setting for this group. i probably would have been pretty excited to see them play a loft or a smaller venue.

as i told a couple friends last night, the difference between the blood arm and the charlatans uk is like the difference between cocaine and marijuana. one is high energy and spastic and the other is high energy but dreamy. unfortunately i couldn't stay until the end of the charlatans set, but i did manage to catch an oldie -- "can't get out of bed." it made my night, even though i was longing to hear them sing "the only one i know" live. tim burgess still has "it" in my book, though i'm not sure what i think of the newer songs -- let me warm up to it. and is it just me or did some of the songs have a total reggae vibe?

i rushed off to catch lansing-dreiden at annex, a venue i had never been to before. i saw kevin and dave outside and chatted a little bit. when i went inside, the venue was absolutely packed. i saw a couple people i hadn't seen in a while like mihal and morgan. met some nice new people. and also ran into an old-school blogger -- aeki tuesday!

now take into consideration that lansing-dreiden do not perform their music live. they hire a band to convey their musical vision. think of it like an art project of sorts, and it's actually quite interesting to see the fairly quick metamorphosis of L-D Section II. this was something like their fourth live show ever, and i was really impressed with what i saw. sure, they don't have it 100% together yet, but what band does after 4 shows? the interest for me is to see how much they will have grown after they return to new york to bowery ballroom at the end of june with grizzly bear. peeps, i think that's going to be the HOT show to go to. so anyways, section ii is fronted by two black guys who sing beautifully together as a unit and dance sort of like milli vanilli (but note they don't lip sync). at first, this may not appeal to some of you but if you open yourself to the experience, you will have as much fun as the circle of girls shaking their thang in the front last night. my highlights were when they did "disenchanted" and "glass corridor." those are my fave L-D songs.

friends from the past

college seems so long ago to me. but last week, my old friend scotty emailed me and we're going to reconnect tonight. he's taking me to see his friend's play... i'll let you know what i think of it, but it sounds intriguing. anything with asians in it and the "explicit content" warning is interesting to me. you don't normally see the two together unless you're watching a porno. see the details below...

Worth
By Suzanne Lee
Directed by Marc Parees

Korean American generations collide as a father and daughter bargain for the life they want.

With Constance Boardman*, Jonathan Cantor*, Judson Jones*, Hana Moon*, Jenn Pae, and Ben Wang*

Set by Lee Savage
Costumes by Erin Chainani
Lighting by Josh Bradford
Sound by Matthew O'Hare
Choreography by Grant Chang
Production Stage Manager Louise Stewart

May 15-June 3rd
Mon and Wed through Sat at 8 PM
Sun at 7 PM

No Performance Wed, May 24

At Urban Stages
259 West 30th Street (between 7th and 8th Avenues)

New York City
Explicit Content.
For Mature Audiences Only.

Tickets $18 | Please visit www.smarttix.com or call 212-868-4444.

*Performers appear courtesy of the Actors Equity Association

summers in brooklyn

last summer was a doozy for me. i did a lot of bike riding in williamsburg and greenpoint. midnight bike rides in the breeze on empty streets. what other lazy way is there to spend the listless, restless summer nights? one time in a moment of utter foolishness, i tried to sneak into the abandoned mccarren park pool, mostly because of this guy i liked at the time. suddenly i had flashbacks to when i snuck into my community pool when i was in kindergarten. i was successful that time. not at all this time. i stopped climbing when i cut my leg on the fencing that surrounds the massive emptiness that is the mccarren park pool. i still have the scar on my leg from that bloody cut, and every time i look at it, i am reminded of this mischievous night. so when i heard the parks department was trying to re-open the pool with a benefit and some shows (thanks brooklyn vegan), i was instantly taken back to that moment, and the misery and abandon i felt... but also realized that my life has changed dramatically for the better now.

download new silversun pickups song

courtesy of the tripwire... right click here and save as for "melatonin."

you're not very well if you're not at webster tonight

when i was younger, i used to go to this presbyterian church with some school friends. there, i met one of my oldest friends. we used to sit through sermons and pass each other notes. one day she passed me a note that said, "i think charlatan is my new favorite word." that's around the time we started getting into the charlatans uk. i bought some friendly on cassette (yes, they still sold cassettes back then), and i was won over by songs like "you're not very well" and "the only one i know." fast forward to today, when the charlatans are playing webster hall in new york tonight (why isn't it sold out yet, peoples???), and tim burgess is dj'ing at beauty bar at the after-party with lio from kanine records and crashin' in. sooooo wild to me. call me jitters.

Crashin' In and Filter Magazine Present:
The Official afterparty for The Charlatans UK
Tuesday, May 16
11:00pm - 4:00am

With Djs:
Tim Burgess (The Charlatans UK)
Oil (Kanine Records)
Gerald (Other Music)

@ The Beauty Bar
14th Street between 3rd and 2nd Avenues

check out this lansing-dreiden gallery opening and show

Dear Friends,

Please join us in celebrating the release of our new full-length record, 'The Dividing Island,' with a small show of new work at Rivington Arms this coming Tuesday from 7-9pm, and a performance by 'L-D Section II' later that evening. The work at this show (drawings both in ink and graphite, collages and painting) aims to provide a picture of what the record describes with lyrics and sound. It is a preview for works to come in October, when we have our solo show in the same space. Also at the gallery will be a brand-new issue of our newsletter 'Death Notice,' free to take, as always.

Take good care, and hope to see you there!

Best,
L-D


LANSING-DREIDEN RECORD RELEASE / GALLERY PREVIEW SHOW

Tuesday, May 16th, 7-9pm
Rivington Arms - 4 East 2nd Street (at Bowery) NYC

Performance by 'L-D Section II' at THE ANNEX (152 Orchard St) after the gallery reception.

the dirty things @ pianos

i didn't know what to expect when i arrived at pianos last night to catch up with an old friend and also check out the band that new friend irene manages -- the dirty things from chicago. and pleasantly, what i found was a high energy, tight outfit that mixed punk attitude with incredibly catchy beats. my friend and i particularly loved the purring and the soft growling into the mic from seemingly crazy and wild lead singer michael scahill -- what a character. he announced onstage that the band lost their bass player earlier in the week, and have no idea where he is. they were also denied access to canada. go figure... we also loved the noodle-like dancer, the spontaneous dance pit up front and center and even the fact that most of the songs ended before we could say "we hope he purrs on every song." check out their songs on myspace.

calling all kids



i spotted the phoenix boys at the la rocca show last night at mercury lounge (makes sense since la rocca is opening for them at bowery ballroom tonight). i ended up liking the one la rocca song i caught more than the entire set of the sam roberts band. also, i was surrounded by 7 foot tall former basketball players. i have never felt shorter in my life. sorry, just random thinking going on there...

what i'm listening to right now

people are always asking me what i'm listening to... and really, there hasn't been much that has captured my attention and lurve. until today.

silversun pickups - title tba
if anyone doubted that the silversun pickups wouldn't be able to live up to the pikul applause, they were wrong. their full length exceeds my expectations because it is a more balanced mix of songs that show their range and lovely, hazy music. i especially love songs like "melatonin" and "lazy eye." so dreamy!

the walkmen - a hundred miles off
everyone knows i love the walkmen. i didn't know what quite to expect when listening to this album -- but i can say that they are definitely evolving as a band. i think this album is, as are most of their albums, a grower. i need to live with it for a few more weeks. i'll report back.

gnarls barkley - st. elsewhere
how much can i express how i love this collaboration. songs like "just a thought," "smiley faces" and even the ubiquitous "crazy" speak to my soul. sometimes broken, sometimes uplifting, always striving for goodness and honesty.

snow patrol - eyes open
i initially had my doubts about this album... but i feel like snow patrol are like my guilty pleasure. while laura's is fall out boy, mine is snow patrol. my brain makes me not want to like it, but my heart is telling it like it is -- sweet, swoon-worthy stuff!

hallelujah! siren music festival!

new york is one of those places that can make you smile or make you frown. and what goes up, inevitably also comes down. it's not science. it's just new york. it rains for a couple minutes, and then switches to sunshine -- as if asking for an apology for that two minute mishap. and who are you to deny it?

across the street from my job, david blaine was floating in a bubble filled with water. down the street from that, there is a bible read-a-thon. and on the subway last night, many of us exhausted commuters were subjected to a torturous ride home that included a snail-like crawl with occasional sickening jolts.

and then you wake up in the morning and read this in the news... dirty on purpose is playing siren music festival!!!!! wheeeee! along with she wants revenge, stars, art brut, tapes 'n tapes, the stills, the cribs and celebration. woo hoo!

and somehow, all the pain and sacrifice seems worth it.

the new manifesto

ok so i've spent a lot of time on other things, and i have not been updating my blog. that will soon change. as well as many other things in my life. mysterious and intriguing? keep coming back to read more as i promise to update more.

take the long way home

i know i haven't updated in forever... but seriously, i've been running around like crazy and haven't had a chance to breathe. last week i was busy with moving into a new apartment (fully moved!), throwing a private listening party and making sure things ran smoothly at the pratt show for dirty on purpose. (taking a breath now...)

this past week i was swamped with work during the day, and in the afternoons, i spent my time at the tribeca ascap music lounge at the tribeca film festival. my faves -- lisa hannigan (her first US performances! she's the female singer from the damien rice album, o), elvis costello & allen toussaint, nellie mckay, patty griffin, david ford and brazilian girls.

more big news to come soon!