Results tagged “liveshow”

No "Lost" spoilers in this post. Stephen Merritt doesn't bring the band around too often, so it's always a treat when The Magnetic Fields take the stage in town. Despite the band hailing from Brooklyn, this is the first local show they've played in quite a few years, and the sold-out 4 night run at Town Hall did not disappoint the anxious fans. While their latest album, Distortion, casts a fuzzy haze over the otherwise deliberate, straight forward folk/pop tunes; the live show stripped them down completely, leaving nothing but acoustic instruments and voices. Every song comes across sharp, witty and with complete confidence, and manage to sound universally better then they ever do on record. (pic via coeur-sang's flickr)

We've come around on Hot Chip in a big way over the last few years as they've risen to stateside popularity. Their latest album is a total burner, highlighted by a killer lead single, Ready for the Floor, and the last few times we've seen them live it's been a blast. So needless to say, our expectations for last Saturday night's show at Highline were through the roof. Did they live up to them? Nearly. It was a great time, the crowd was into it and the songs still rule. The band, however, seemed a touch off that night. It may have been a due to the band not having played these songs a whole lot live before, but, especially with the new jams, it didn't seem to flow as well as we'd hoped. Obviously you don't go see a band live to hear them play the songs exactly as they are on record, but their minor tinkering seemed slightly for the worse. That said, a mostly great show, and we can't wait for them to return to Terminal 5 in a few months. (Pic via Ryan Dombal's Flickr)

Sure, with the All Points West Fest announced, Coachella may not have the same appeal for east coasters this year, but the lineup announcement is still an exciting annual event. Over the last few years, it has established itself as the granddaddy and standard bearer of the American festival circuit. Unfortunately, most people are finding this year's lineup is a bit of a dud. Coachella's been operating at such a high level since 2003 that it was really only a matter or time before the lineups would stop exciting everyone, and while last year had it's plusses and minuses, this year seems to have really fallen off. Many of the smaller acts played the fest recently, something they used to try and avoid, and the headliners seem to be all over the place. Sure, a Portishead reunion is a treat, but how many Roger Waters fans are into Jack Johnson? Is a Love and Rockets reunion and Death Cab for Cutie really above the fold top draws? Doesn't seem like it. While we can't speak for their bottom line, which surely is doing okay, it might serve them well to try and scale back a bit in the future if this year has a bit of a drop off. Two days in the desert is more than enough for most, and to pack those days full with bands everyone can get excited about is a much more appealing scenario.

EVENT: Tonight's Downtown Third Thursday seems promising. Pete Hamill, author of Downtown: My Manhattan, will be on hand at 41 Broad Street, a "Classical Revival style building designed by Cross and Cross Architects completed in 1929 as the headquarters of the Lee-Higginson Bank. The original grand banking hall with its marble mosaic columns now houses the Broad Street Ballroom." The NY Times has more on the rarely seen space.

Where, like last year, we recap the biggest stories from the New York music scene of the year.

MOVIE: Nessie's taking off from the Marine Park salt marsh in Brooklyn, but you can catch the creature on the big screen. The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep stars Emily Watson and Ben Chaplin and traces a boy's discovery of a mysterious egg that hatches into the sea creature of the Scottish legend. Way better than finding a sea monkey.

EVENT: This is pretty...interesting. The Sprinkle Brigade "unveils the future of Urban Beautification. Their upcoming show entitled, 'EQUIPPED' at the Riveria Gallery, focuses on the cutting edge in dog poo decoration." The brigade say the "art form" came about after spending "several years of experience wandering the streets of New York, decorating what most people consider to be the enemy." The opening is tonight and the show runs through the 23rd. Leave the pooper scooper...

Sufjan Keeps it Local We really enjoyed Sufjan's BQE show last Friday at BAM. It was a great, refined, change of pace evening for the indie rock crowd. The evening was really a sum of it's parts, all told. The entire presentation of the BQE piece was far more engaging than the actual music itself. It was solid, but not up to Suf's lofty magical standards. But the little things...the gritty video clips of the...

There is no denying the greatness of Justice's album, "Cross," and there is no argument from us that it isn't the type of music that is perfectly suited to be blasted in a massive dance club. But those two things alone do not automatically lead to a good live show. These two are sloppy, to put it simply. Too many changes were missed, beats were a half step off, and the songs didn't mix well together. There was no catastrophic breakdown, but the little things add up. We left Terminal 5 underwhelmed. The light show was cool, though... (pic via pocketmonsterd's flickr)

You might better picture Björk in some sort of magical Garden rather than the Garden, but nonetheless the avant-queen took the big stage earlier this week and brought her elaborate, over the top live show with her. She's been a busy gal all summer, headlining many of the major American music festivals, and with this being her second time through NYC. The last time she was in town she played increasingly large theaters night after night, and MSG acted as a spectacular encore. There were lasers, pyro, confetti and, perhaps most exciting, another guest appearance by Antony, whose haunting voice eerily echoed around the arena in a duet. An impeccably executed show, throughout. (pic via elcunzio1's flickr)

Dave Longstreth has been recording music under the name Dirty Projectors since 2003, and currently tours with a band made up of three others. Amber Coffman, Angel Deradoorian and Brian Mcomber help him put on one of the more amazing live shows this city has to offer -- just check out this Take Away Show (and this one) filmed around New York earlier this year. Their sound is bi-polar...anxious and somber, muddled and crisp, a weathered familiarness mixed with a new sonic punch. Tomorrow night they play at Mercury Lounge before heading out on a tour that will take them on the road through the season.

There's a band looking for a frontman in Brooklyn...and they're bypassing Craigslist postings, MySpace bulletins and good 'ol fashion flyers to get the open position filled. They say "we like internet" and are therefore selling their frontman position on eBay in this Buy a Rock Band auction.

TIP: Starting tomorrow Opera-For_all begins the first of three nights of performances. For cheap! The New York City Opera is selling tickets to every seat in the house for just $25. Over the course of "opera season" 50 or more seats in the front orchestra will be priced at just $25 as well. As for this week, here's the sched:

READING: Today NY Mag asks, "What does Tina Brown have to do to get some attention?" Well tonight she's signing copies of her new book (a tell-all on Princess Di) called The Diana Chronicles.

ART: FreeNYC reminds us that the new gallery Honey Space is opening tonight with a little shindig. The night will include a solo show by Thomas Beale, "otherworldly food, homemade drinks, one New Orleans circus star, a 9-piece brass band, and the products of years of concentrated effort."

There has been much to-do about the anti-establishment efforts of The Arcade Fire at their recent Radio City concert, urging the fans to rush and outnumber the security guards keeping the aisles clear. What was overshadowed was that this is perhaps the best live band touring right now, and they were absolutely at the top of their game this week, playing each of these shows as if it was the last they'd ever do and merely asking the fans to react with an equal enthusiasm. While the debate will continue as to whether the band should have toned their calls to riot down a smidge, or why they were even playing a sit-down theater tour in the first place, what shouldn't be lost is that these guys seem to get better and better as their popularity grows. The inevitable MSG show their next time around is sure to be quite the spectacle.

Superbowl MVP, Colts quarterback Peyton Manning is set to host Saturday Night Live tomorrow. Saying, "The only thing I've done live is play football, and that's the best thing I do. I've told everyone those commercials are very taped and very edited, but being live is kind of like a game."

FILM: Who doesn't like a rendez-vous? Tonight come to Rendez-Vous with French Cinema. The event is in its 12th year and will introduce you to what's been playing on Parisian movie screens. Tonight is the first night and Olivier Dahan’s La Vie en Rose plays - the film will educate you on French legend Edith Piaf.

Ford & Fitzroy are a fairly recent creation, and we hear their live show is "the kind of show that makes you want to see unknown bands more often. Surprising, strange and wonderful at the same time, it made you feel like the insider on something special." With a review like that, and two tracks floating around that we can't stop listening to, we couldn't be more psyched to see this band at our Movable Hype show this Thursday. Join us, and be one of the first in on the secret.

THEATER: The esteemed Classical Theatre of Harlem is reviving Peter Weiss’s masterpiece Marat/Sade. The dizzying action takes place in an asylum in France, where the infamous Marquis de Sade is sequestered in 1808. To pass the time, he directs a play about the assassination of Jean-Paul Marat during the revolution. His asylum casting pool yields up some magnificent performances, though the production is almost squelched by the hospital administrator, a tool of Napoleon’s post-revolutionary regime. In the right hands, which CTH certainly has, the whole production is a multi-layered feast of subversion. - John Del Signore

As we've been mentioning, Movable Hype 11.0 is coming up fast, and the show will also be our 4th Birthday Party! We've introduced you to the host, and two of the bands, and now we have the rest of the lineup for you.

Portland, Oregon resident M. Ward (or "Matt", as his friends call him) is an enigmatic good 'ol fashioned singer/songwriter. Appearing detached and independent from the world he connects to through music, he seems to come to us from another time and place. Without pretense he delivers songs with a voice that hangs in the air, enchanting an audience of listeners who are always left wanting more. An old soul with a guitar and the ability to tell a story through song, his live show is not one to be missed. Tomorrow night he plays Town Hall for the first time.

Andrew Bird, whose inspired 2005 album The Mysterious Production of Eggs was an indie hit, brought his sublime genre-defying songs (and socks) to a sold-out Bowery Ballroom last night. He was joined on percussion and keyboards by regular collaborator Martin Dosh and Jeremy Ylvisaker – a new addition to his road show – on bass and guitar.

SIGNING: If there is one person we could think of that doesn't need an autobiography...it might as well be Rupert Everett. Yet, he'll be signing his new book "Red Carpets and Other Banana Skins: The Autobiography" tonight. He wasn't just in "My Best Friends Wedding", he was also friends with Warhol and has been to easter egg hunts in Elizabeth Taylor's garden. Fabulous.

THEATER: The Phoenix Theatre Ensemble’s production of Antigone begins previews tonight. They’ve chosen the French dramatist Jean Anouilh’s adaptation of Sophocles’ classic tragedy, “which challenged 1940s Vichy France with an enduring story about resistance: a young girl defies a king in order to honor burial rites for her brother. This ancient tale of one person’s stand against the unjust policies of the State resonated then, and continues with fresh relevance now.” - John Del Signore

Watch their video for Three Full Virginias, here. And check them out at one of their upcoming shows in December: Southpaw on 12/3, the Friction party at Sin-e on 12/13, Mercury Lounge on 12/22.

Peelander Z is: Kengoswee, K.O. and Antonio Kazuki

The first time I saw Pete Holmes live was at the Doug Benson Interruption at the UCB, but most people's first experience with Pete probably comes from Best Week Ever, where he's a frequent panelist, or Comedy Central. Or it might be Cosmo Girl.