The Pains of Being Pure at Heart @ Knitting Factory, CMJ 2008, October 22

The Pains of Being Pure At Heart. This is Kip's band. He's a nice guy. He used to work with some of the blue album group dudes back at Insound. So they love this band. Also, the drummer in this band is the lead singer in The Depreciation Guild. See, it's a big happy family. Also, they sound kinda like if The Promise Ring played happy music, or at least that's what came to mind last night. Their record sounds like a more shoe-gazey Belle and Sebastian. Either way, pretty good.

The Depreciation Guild @ Knitting Factory, CMJ 2008, October 22

The Depreciation Guild plays sexy Nintendo shoe-gaze. I love that this genre exists.

Crystal Antlers @ Knitting Factory, CMJ 2008, October 22

Fuck you. Why isn't this band more popular? Alright, their myspace page doesn't do them justice. You have to hear the whole album. Also, the screaming-stoner-psych thing isn't very popular right now. But shit, this was the only band I wanted to see at CMJ. And they SMOKED. A Sunny Day In Glasgow was playing downstairs at the same time, and I peeked my head in, but it was no contest. Crystal Antlers by a landslide. Now if only Obama could do that...

The Morning Benders @ Bowery Ballroom, October 16th 2008

The Morning Benders put out one of my favorite albums this past year, and I've been looking forward to checking out their live show for some time. They did not disappoint, opening their set with a cool, slower, more "psychy" version of "Patient Patient". Lead singer and guitarist Chris Chu carries the band with his sweet and charming voice, but really I think their drummer is the secret weapon, effortlessly guiding the band through a slick set of throwback 60's pop (think of the lead singer of The Shins jamming with The A-Sides and you're almost there). My one criticism for the Benders would be the stage banter... Frankly, less is more when it comes to band members chit-chatting with the audience. But that can be fixed in time, and I'd recommend checking them out now, while they're still young and playing in a small venue (to be honest the Bowery was a little too big for them at this point, but it won't be long until they have to play this size venue). They closed their set with "Waiting for the War", another of my favorites. Man, can this band write a bad song?

Atlas Sound @ South Street Seaport, July 25th, 2008

The stripped down atmospheric psych of Atlas Sound is the perfect companion on a warm summer evening. Mr. Sound put on a luscious free solo set at the seaport, and made up for his lack of bandmates with an even greater reliance of heavily effected vocals, hypnotic drum machines, and layers of acoustic guitar. I even shot a nifty video of this one, but the sound came out crappy cuz I was right up front (and it was pretty loud!) Gorgeous stuff tho...

Times New Viking, A Place To Bury Strangers, The Warlocks @ The Whitney Museum, South Street Seaport, Mercury Lounge, June 27th, 2008

Yikes. Three shows in three different venues in one night! I guess I needed to rock out pretty bad last night, after a week of staying in. Can you blame me? I haven't seen any of these bands before, and their set times were perfectly aligned, and two of the shows were free, so why not!? Try to keep up...


My buddy Dave convinced me to join him to see Times New Viking play a free early show at The Whitney Museum of American Art mostly because he'd heard they put on a great live show, and it's an interesting venue to see a band. They were good, in that "we-sound-exactly-like-our-album" way, but because there was no stage and tons of people in front of us, we couldn't see a thing! Lame. You lose interest pretty quick when all you can see is the back of some brah's head, and half of a guitarist (who wasn't even singing). I don't think I even saw two or three people in the band. But at least I got to check out the latest exhibits at the Whitney, including some cool 70's Polaroids by Mapplethorpe (see sample above).





A Place To Bury Strangers were great, continuing the tradition of amazing free summer outdoor shows down at the Seaport. They build and design their own guitar pedals, so they have truly crafted their own sound. They remind me of other stoner pop bands like The Ponys and The Black Lips, but maybe with more of a psych background. They killed. Plus, the seaport was a great place to watch the waterfall off of the brooklyn bridge.


Well, this was the only show I payed money to see, which probably says something, although $15 bucks is a bit much to see a band like The Warlocks. I am a fan, but sometimes their music can be a bit of a downer. You gotta be in the right mood for it, which I was last night. I just love the sound of this band, very drony, yet also intense, with a good vocalist and a great fuzz guitar. I wanted them to play "Surgery," which they didn't, but they did play a sing-along version of "Come Save Us" which felt good. Check 'em out, if you're in the mood...

These New Puritans @ Music Hall of Williamsburg, Sunday June 8th, 2008

My new English mate Jim insisted that I come check out this band from near his hometown, These New Puritans. They were pretty good, with the right mix of psychedelic/electronic samples, overlapping vocals, and just pure rocking out. I can definitely see the Bloc Party/Wire references, although TNP are younger, more-artsy/less-poppy, and want it all a little more. You can't really tell what lyrics they're saying, except for snippets during the chorus, but this isn't a problem in their recordings. I like how the lead singer wears an old-school chain-mail vest at their shows. Is this a new English fad? It's like watching Joan of Arc front a post-rock band. Nice ax work, Joan.