Tyler Sargent plays bass in a little band called Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, which may have caught your eye back in 2005 when they played the Gothamist Movable Hype 3.0 show at the Knitting Factory. We don’t want to call ourselves kingmakers, but ever since that night the band’s become kind of a big deal, in part because they were one of the first bands to break wide through blog buzz and a self-released album that moved over 45,000 copies in six months, all distributed out of Sargent’s Park Slope apartment. Tomorrow night they play a benefit concert at Bowery Ballroom for Planned Parenthood NYC; it’s sold out, of course, but mark your calendar for February 15th, when Gothamist anoints a new crop of indie rock darlings at Movable Hype 12.0 (it's also Gothamist’s 5th birthday.) Anyway, at some point over the weekend Tyler Sargent sat down at his computer and processed pithy answers to our questions.
Results tagged “elvisperkins”
Singer-songwriter Elvis Perkins has steadily cultivated a loyal following with his warm and thoughtful catalog of tunes. Subdued but soulful, and sometimes swinging, Perkins's debut album Ash Wednesday won critical raves for what Pitchfork called his "ability to merge instrumentation and lyricism to create a romantic's sense of atmosphere." Rolling Stone's review observed a somewhat sombre tone in the album and attributed it to Perkins's unique and rather traumatic family history: His father, actor Anthony...
After several months of playing massive festivals around the world, The original blog-band returns home. And you know, just because blogs don't follow these fellas' every move anymore doesn't mean that the DIY posterboys aren't still out there selling out clubs and supporting their sophomore album. They played a few local shows this week and their ever-improving live act was tight and on point at the Music Hall of Williamsburg and Gramercy Theater (where Natalie Portman turned up to catch their set). These two shows kick off a good old fashioned cross-country club tour with Elvis Perkins and Deerland, which will wind back up here for 2 more sold out concerts at Bowery and Studio B in November. While they stuck to a set of already released songs this week, we hope maybe we'll hear reports of some new songs on this tour. Seems like they’re about due. We shall see. (pic via Tomiffy's flickr)
We've survived the sirens for many years, and if this truly was the last Siren Fest ever, it certainly went out with a bang. Coney Island was packed full of thrifty music fans for the 7th annual Siren Festival this weekend. Despite the current trend of awful weather for every worthwhile free outdoor concert this summer so far, nobody could complain about the perfect day at the beach this past Saturday.
MUSIC: If you haven't checked out the Summer of Love exhibit at the Whitney, head over there after work and get a double dose of rock while you're at it. Tonight Dirty Projectors and Lucky Dragons take the stage at Whitney Live. Get there early to get in. Check out this "Take Away Show" in New York featuring the Dirty Projectors.
ART: A Cloudy Day's Epiphany is an exhibit including artists Devendra Banhart, Andrew Guenther, Brent Ridge, Dash Snow and Valaire van Slyck. You love Dash Snow, right? The idea is to explore the ephiphany as artistic inspiration. More on the show here.
THEATER: The end of the Fringe Festival draws near, and the dilemma sharpens: what should you not miss? Of the shows that are still on, a good bet is Chris Harcum's http://www.chrisharcum.com/ Some Kind of Pink Breakfast, a solo comedy (but multi-character) with music by Debby Schwartz that melds '80's songs and movies with events from his own experiences, making for a hilarious yet poignant retro performance that should be a perfect way to end this year's festival. - Mallory Jensen
COMEDY: The Del Close Marathon is happening this weekend, the full schedule is here.
We caught the "free outdoor music bug" this past weekend, thanks to Siren, and we're determined to go to as many of these shows as possible. Even if it's 18,000 degrees outside and our face is melting.
One of our favorite stations to listen to all day is KEXP, run out of Seattle, and through the magic of online streaming - heard worldwide. This week they're in New York broadcasting (as they are twice a year), putting on some shows and having many in-studio guests. They're in Philip Glass' old studio which is now Gigantic Music, where their musical guests include:



