Gothamist Week in Rock: Plugged Up Edition

Plugs!
The indie rock Grammys were held last night at everyone's favorite venue, Terminal 5. Each year the Plug Awards have gotten bigger and more organized, and the group has been able to establish the "Plug" brand as one of the more recognizable benchmarks for the culture. Moving from Irving Plaza to T5 is a big step, and for the most part, they seemed to keep it together. This year's show featured several bands in various states of their up and comingness, from local faves The Forms to St. Vincent, Dizzee Rascal and Jose Gonzalez. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds headlined, and were the only band to really get a full set. There are way too many awards, nominees and winners to even begin recapping them all, but the full list can be seen here. (pic via Daniella Zalcman's flickr)

Beastie Boys Benefit
When is it okay to charge $75 for a general admission concert ticket? When it's for charity, you cheapskates! The Beastie Boys and Moby joined forces Tuesday night at Terminal 5 to support Music Has Power, which works to combat neurological conditions through music. The Beasties blew through a 2-hour greatest hits set at the relatively intimate venue, bringing songs from every phase of their 30+ year career. For those willing to fork it out, the best part about a high-priced show is that everyone in attendance really wants to be there. Nobody drops that kind of money to stand around bored and talk during the set. For a high energy band like the Beasties, having the crowd fully invested is a major plus, creating the type of environment they can truly thrive in. A good time for all in attendance, and a good cause supported.

The Last Shadow Puppets Miraculously Appear
Who are The Last Shadow Puppets? Up until this week, only those paying extra close attention to the British rock scene would have had a clue. The band consists of Miles Kane, of the Arctic Monkeys-opening band called The Rascals, and Alex Turner, lead singer of the Arctic Monkeys themselves. They decided at the last minute, while in New York for other reasons, to grace the city with their first two shows ever this week, one at Soundfix in Brooklyn, and one at the Cake shop on the LES. It was just the two of them, both singing and on guitar at both shows. Considering these were merely unrehearsed warm-up gigs, the response to the songs seems positive. We can expect to see and hear much more from them in the near future. After the whirlwind couple years Turner's had, it'd probably do him some good to run with a low-key side project like this for a bit. See some great pics from the shows here, here and here.