Results tagged “modestmouse”

ALERT: After their show at MSG with R.E.M. and The National, Modest Mouse will head to Brooklyn for a just-announced late show at the Music Hall of Williamsburg. Tickets for "A Morning with Modest Mouse" are on sale now (but probably not for long)! If you miss out, there's a free (okay, $3 suggested donation) Medeski, Martin & Wood (pictured) performance in Prospect Park at 7p.m. -- you'll get to bed much earlier.

Brooklyn-based quintet The National have spent the last nine years slowly and steadily evolving from bar-band hobby to indie rock royalty, a success built out of old fashioned techniques like laborious songwriting, tireless gigging and the organic cultivation of their own distinct sound: a bruised, moody elegance that swells and crashes under the dreamy baritone of front man Matt Berninger. Their fourth and most recent album, Boxer, was a usual suspect on critical top ten lists for 2007, and the acclaim snowballed into a spot on the bill touring with Modest Mouse and R.E.M. this June. On Friday and Saturday night they play two sold out shows at the Brooklyn Academy of Music opera house.

A poignant week for LAist as they lose their trusted and amazing editor Tony Pierce to the LA Times, but what a blast his last week was. He shared his 25 Favorite CDs of 2007 and wrote a great review of just a good movie, No Country For Old Men. At UCLA, thousands of students celebrated the end of their quarter by running around campus in their undies (lots of photos in a two-part photo essay, one, two). That wasn't the only photo essay either: Joss Whedon/Mutant Enemy friends and Star Trek actors all joined in at the Writers Strike and KROQ's Almost Acoustic Christmas brought two nights of amazing bands that included Avenged Sevenfold, Linkin Park (Part I), Modest Mouse, Muse, Spoon and The Killers (Part II). Not only is L.A. a great music town, it has just been named the best city for bookish types. For those who are looking for something a little more active, American Gladiators are back (yes!) and if that's not enough, how about a Christmas gift of action and adventure?

What started off as an excellent concert lineup just got better and better as the date approached. The additions of Spoon's Britt Daniel and Kevin Drew were a bonus treat. Music, reading and charity aside, perhaps the biggest wow moment was show headliner Jim James' new closely cropped haircut. The My Morning Jacket front man sheared his trademark Muppet locks since the last time we've seen him about. Not that it affected the music in any way, which nearly stole the show from some other very capable performers. Check out more thoughts and pics at BV and Stereogum, and check out our interview with 826NYC's Sarah Vowell. (pic via Muzicspy's flickr)

Six years ago, whether you are ready to believe it or not, The Strokes emerged from a lost and muddled New York music scene and gave a kick start to the current indie rock phenomenon that we are experiencing today. The backbone of their sound and style was the rapid fire rhythm guitar of Albert Hammond Jr. Fast forward to 2007 and all of the emerging talents from the beginning of the century are all growing up and branching out. Modest Mouse found a sound that got them the #1 album in the US this week. Jack White sold out clubs around the world with three guys not named Meg. And Al Hammond is now touring to support a pretty darn good solo album, finding a balance that maintains the Strokes edge while forging a sound completely his own.

It seems like, all across the network, folks were up to no good. Maybe it was all the green beer from last weekend...

Stereogum reports (via Angry Citizen) that this weekend David Cross and Johnny Marr opened the Modest Mouse show at Bowery Ballroom...with Ethan's version of "One". Cross is even all decked out in the appropriate attire. Luckily this was caught on tape (watch above), this is why YouTube won "Invention of the Year", and not some silly disease preventing vaccine.

Oxford Collapse make music that sounds made to play over a montage at the end of a weekly Primetime Drama. A cool one, though. Like How I Met Your Mother or The first season of the OC. It's not sappy or overintellectualized, but pleasantly upbeat and refreshing. The vocals are a bit rough and hysteric, not unlike the Walkmen or Modest Mouse and everyone, but the contrast with the sunny, hopeful music backing them up is what makes it work.

O'death is: Greg Jamie, Gabe Darling, David Rogers-Berry, Bob Pycior, Captain Newman M.D., Dan Sager and Euphonium.

Christian Rudder (guitar)

Tara McPherson, Illustrator

Time to start the new year off right, by seeing live music and not being left out on the cold cold sidewalk listening to your favorite songs echoing down the snow-filled street. This month there are a lot of hyped up bands coming our way. We are mainly talking about the Arcade Fire, if you don't have tickets we don't know what to tell you. If you're good at haikus you could try this contest. We'll also be having some ticket give-a-ways for some shows this month, and maybe MAYBE there will be an Arcade Fire one. But in the meantime, here are some tickets on sale that you can still buy:

Scott Lapatine, Stereogum.com

What went wrong with Lollapalooza this year? The line-up is great, but was it missing the kind of act that brings in the crowds, like, say, a rapper would. Which brings us to another story: According to an MTV.com story, the Strokes and Beastie Boys felt Jay-Z's appearance upstaged them at the K-ROCK Dysfunctional Family Picnic, and a drunken (is there any other kind?) member of the Strokes went crazy, trashing dressing rooms and saying he wanted to kill a K-ROCK program director. Man. Anyway, Lollapalooza would have been at Randalls Island August 16 and 17; all ticket holders will be refunded.

Gothamist was glad to find out that no, we weren't crazy (this time) and in fact, it was the Modest Mouse song "Gravity Rides Everything" from The Moon & Antarctica that was on a Nissan minivan commercial. Deviated Septum confirmed this and alerted us to the fact that "Gravity Rides Everything" had also been used in a beer commercial. Well, you got to sell out some time... we'll check in again when Built to Spill is used in a commercial.

Kelefa Sanneh gives a backhandedly sorta positive review of this year's Siren Festival and basically says that it wasn't that adventurous but it was rather comforting with all these younger bands aping styles of the Rolling Stones, Liquid Liquid, and New Wave bands. He also notes that the Coney Island venue that offered daylight was something new for the bands and their fans: "dazed-looking hipsters, blinking in the sunlight." Among the performers Sanneh mentions: Idlewild; The Kills; Datsuns, !!!, "scene-stealing" plus a song called "Me & Giuliani Down by the Schoolyard (A True Story)"; Hot Hot Heat; Northern State; Ted Leo, who appeared at Tinkle on Sunday; and Jen's favorite, Modest Mouse, whose uneven act was challenging.

Tonight at Smithfield, Jon and Mario are resuming One Small Step, their monthly DJ gig. As Jon puts it, it's like "Pulp meets Modest Mouse meets Nightmares on Wax." Or from their e-mail: "It's on...10pm-2am...indie, britpop, beats, sexuality and mangina all night long." And that's right up Gothamist's alley. Excellent.

Tonight at Smithfield, Jon and Mario are resuming One Small Step, their monthly DJ gig. No Small Step tonight - the owner just called Jon and Mario to tell them about a private party. We'll have to wait until next month. As Jon puts it, it's like "Pulp meets Modest Mouse meets Nightmares on Wax" and that's right up Gothamist's alley. Excellent.