Gates of Heaven W/ Other Passengers @ Monkeytown, Brooklyn, October 2nd, 2007

Monkeytown is one of my favorite small bar/clubs in Williamsburg. It's got a real laid back vibe and a friendly staff. In the back room, the performance space has 3 giant video projectors playing artsy movies on all of the walls while the bands play, so it is a visual as well as aural experience. This was Gates of Heaven's first real show, and I was duly impressed. Carl can't stop raving about their new album (not yet released) and based on their set last night, he should be excited. You could describe them as sounding a little like Panda Bear, maybe not as well rehearsed or refined, but all the melodic, spiritual, sampled and electronic guts are there, although they would probably fight being pigeon holed in those rather large shoes to fill, but I say that's a great place to be. I also caught most of Other Passenger's set and it was quite enjoyable, but kinda hard to describe. I would just go to their site and take a listen and decide for yourself. Also, I think it was the lead singer's birthday, so it was a special night all around. =)

Aqueduct w/Apples In Stereo @ Music Hall of Williamsburg, Sept. 16, 2007

I guess technically Apples in Stereo headlined, but I mainly came to see Aqueduct perform their latest album "Or Give Me Death" (which, if you don't have, I highly recommend!). Lead singer David Terry has a lot of great energy, and really makes the show fun. They played all the songs I wanted to hear, especially "As You Wish," with those three-part vocal harmonies, and "Keep It Together." I read somewhere that he recorded the whole album by himself, which would be quite an impressive feat, given the sound quality and fluidity of it, but I kinda doubt it, since it seems like his bandmates have been playing together for years (also, the Aqueduct bass player is hot. So, check 'em out if you're into hot dude bass players, which I am not.) Apples In Stereo was pretty good too. But they sort of only play in one dynamic style, straight-forward mid-tempo pop/rock, which can get tiring after a while (throw a ballad in there man!). But they did have one band member dressed like an astronaut, for those outer-space sounds....wooooord.

A Brief Smile @ Pianos, Sept 14th, 2007

I've been keeping an eye on A Brief Smile for a while now, ever since I heard "Count Me Out" on radio-indie-pop a couple years ago and loved it. I've always been sort of so-so about their albums, but this latest release "Now We All Have Horns" is great, with a consistent vibe and good songs all the way through, and you can stream the entire album on their website for free! They remind me of like a young, more-shoegazey Radiohead, with tons of effect pedals, a big fuzzy sound, and melodic vocals on top. It's not really music to dance around to, rather to sing along with. What else can i say?... I like bands from NYU. ;)

Battles w/ Deerhunter @ South Street Seaport, Friday August. 31, 2007

Hooooooooooly shit Battles was good! I saw them a few months ago at the Bowery Ballroom, and they were good then, but this time they were unbelievable, 10x better. Their drummer is awesome. He doesn't play the drums, he attacks them, with deadly precision. His toms sound like gunshots. And their single "ATLAS" sounds like chipmunks marching to war. Ridiculous! At first I didn't really understand their band name but now I get it... They use layers upon layers of synchronized samples and effects to build a very rich, textured sound. They're one of those bands where you're like, "How the shit did they do that!?" Sometimes they play two instruments at once (keyboards and guitars), quite impressive. Definitely one of the best shows I've seen this summer (I'll probably do a top ten list sometime soon...) Opener Deerhunter was also good, playing sort of a heavy fuzzed-out pysch garage. But they couldn't touch Battles, not by a long shot.

Broken Social Presents: Kevin Drew w/ Feist @ McCarren Park Pool,

So it was 6pm doors for this show, and that usually means that the first band starts at 7pm, but I got there at 6:45pm and Grizzly Bear had already finished their set (wtf!) How am I supposed to get out of work at 5:15? Who do they think I am? An investment banker? Anyway, I settled in, grabbed a beer, and got ready for "BSS Presents: Kevin Drew." Luckily, I had gotten a leaked version of his new album "Spirit If..." so I knew all of the killer new songs beforehand. Still, it was nice to see it in live form. Some hi-lites included "Tbtf," "Lucky Ones," and a cover version (of himself?) "Superconnected." This was apparently their second show with the new lineup, and they were understandably not as tight as they could be, but it didn't matter, because the songs were so good. I actually think this smaller ensemble might work better than the larger "scene" (with only 6 people on stage, instead of 10+) for a tighter more focused sound. So yeah, go see them, if you can. Oh and Feist headlined. She's not exactly my cup of tea, but I liked the song she ended her encore with, "Let It Die".

The Rentals @ Nokia Theater, Aug. 23rd, 2007

I have seen Weezer a few times, but never had a chance to see their most successful synth-fueled spin-off The Rentals until now. Featuring an enigmatic Matt Sharp as the front man, who was the original bass player for the Weez and left after Pinkerton (one could argue that the Weez lost a bit of it's magic after the split, since subsequent albums were not nearly as 'classic' but I digress...) I was trying to skip the first two bands, because I had no interest in seeing them, but alas the first band didn't go on until 9:30 for a 7pm doors (BS!), and it was pure torture listening to them (luckily, at this point I've purged all thoughts of them from my memory). But at last The Rents came on, and opened up with an extra slow and spooky "The Love I'm Searching For." They played pretty much every Rentals song you'd ever want to hear, mostly from their first, best album, with all the hooks and sing-a-longs intact, even a couple from their second not-too-shabby, album (esp. "The Man With Two Brains"). I couldn't tell if Pat (also from Weez) was on drums. Did he get fat and grow a beard? Either way he was good. Also, the synth player with the ridiculous-looking mustache was good. He had about 6 synths on stage, although I couldn't tell what they were (drat!) because he was way in the back. All in all, they had about 8 people on stage, for a large (and older, 30's-ish) ensemble. Their new songs I checked out online and wasn't super impressed with, but the two they played definitely had a little more inspiration live than their older stuff, which is to be expected I guess, so maybe I'll give it a second listen. Still, I can't complain, because they closed with "Friends of P" and that shit still rules.

The Cribs w/ White Rabbits @ Bowery Ballroom, Thurs. Aug 9th.

The Cribs show was sold out, so I had to scalp a ticket. For some reason I just can't get enough of this band. Every time they come to town I am tempted to see them. Maybe I just like energetic bands that i can jump around and sing-a-long to. Or maybe I am secretly attracted to pretty boys from England? Either way this show was rowdy. There was one kid in the crowd, who was really causing trouble, getting violent, kinda ruined the fun a little. Eventually, he got kicked out and things calmed down a bit, but for a while half of my attention was spent trying to avoid him. The band was in a pissy mood too, i think. They opened with "Hey Scenesters" and Ryan added the line "You're all a bunch of pricks!" to the end of the song, which is true, especially if you look at how Pitchfork rated their last albums (C'mon! 3.0 for The New Fellas? You're F-ing Daft!). Also, they were peeved that the people in the back weren't as into it as the kids in the front. What can you do dude? You can't force people to dance. Anyway, I also saw a little bit of openers White Rabbits play, and I know people rave about that band, but I just couldn't get into it, no matter how hard they tried. Although their song "The Plot" is undeniably catchy...