Name that Tune
I knew I recognized this voice…how about you? Can you name this tune?
It’s M. Ward’s “Here Comes the Sun Again” from his album Transistor Radio.
Next, I was happy to hear that English band Mumford & Sons made their way into premiere week on FOX. Their songs were featured in the pilot episode of Lone Star. The show also features songs by Rogue Wave and Jose Gonzalez. View the trailer for the show below, and you’ll be treated to Mumford & Sons’ “Awake My Soul” off of Sigh No More.
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Tags: lone star, m ward, mumford & sons
Besides Daniel @ Eels Lounge
Last night I was on the exclusive guest list of about 20 people who who were invited to assemble in Greenpoint to hear the music of Atlanta-based Besides Daniel. Doors opened at 8, the music was to start at 9. There was an opening band (Tim Walker), professional video cameras and a merch table. This was an official concert, but it also happened to be in my friend’s apartment.
After an email correspondence that somehow got to the point of “Sure, we’ll come play a show in your living room” and a good deal of driving, the three members of Besides Daniel found their way to an apartment in Greenpoint yesterday. It was the second small concert they had done in the area, having just played a show on Long Island. I have to say that I could really get used to this type of thing. A personal concert with good friends, good food, and couches may just be the future of live music (at least in my dreamworld). Seriously, can you imagine it: no wristbands, no lines, byob, and you even get a nice bathroom. There’s also the added feature of getting to chat with the band. Before the music started last night the band members mingled with guests in the kitchen and were very friendly and gracious.
Before the music began, guests made their way into the room and planted themselves in chairs, couches, and a few chose the floor. The space was small, but worked out very well. Eels Lounge (which I have decided to call it, using the first initials of the three resident hostesses) is just the type of place that’s calling out for a concert. Framed concert posters line the walls and banjos and guitars are prominently displayed—though I think the record player was sad that its services were no longer needed for the night.
Tim Walker took to the stage first, and he was joined by Besides Daniel’s drummer, Aaron Schorch. Apparently the two just met a couple weeks ago, so I don’t know how Tim ended up touring with the band. But I think they made a good decision to bring him along. He has a great voice and I really enjoyed his songs. After a quick break, Besides Daniel took over. This included lead singer Danny Brewer, bassist Ryan Robertson, and Schorch back on drums. I can’t say I knew any of the songs, but I enjoyed hearing them for the first time. On the band’s MySpace page it’s noted that “Brewer’s influences are songwriters like Bob Dylan, A.A. Bondy, Ray LaMontagne, Sufjan Stevens, Nick Drake, Justin Vernon (Bon Iver), Elliott Smith, Conor Oberst, and Samuel Beam (Iron & Wine), as well as bands like Sigur Ros, Radiohead, MeWithoutYou, and Arcade Fire.” So I’m not surprised that I liked their sound. Though I should really thank the music booker at Eels Lounge. She’s the one with the good taste. I look forward to hearing about the headlining band for September.
Here are some videos and photos of the concert. The videos are meant to just be a sampling of the music. The picture quality is terrible (due to a little setting error on my camera, but the music makes up for the image). First is Tim Walker, then Besides Daniel.
Besides Daniel
Tim Walker
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Tags: besides daniel, tim walker
The Life is good Festival
Whoa.. did I just read this correctly?? A music festival in Canton, MA???? I can’t believe I just came across this. And Dr. Dog will be there? And Ben Harper? And Grace Potter & the Nocturnals? And The Sippy Cups? Ok, I admit I do not know The Sippy Cups, but I imagine they are huge with the under five crowd. In any case, there must be a typo. Either that or my little hometown has just become host to a large music festival. Wow, I am very impressed. Usually Canton, Ohio or Canton, China gets all the glory, but now it’s little Canton, Massachusetts making its way into the spotlight.
See, Canton, MA is a lovely suburb of Boston. With a population of around 25,000 and a commuter train running through the town it was a lovely place to grow up. When I lived there, there was a library, a high school, pizza joints, a homemade ice cream place (with cows and all), and a championship winning math team. I admit that there are some unique things about Canton—it’s the home of the Dunkin’ Donuts headquarters, a world famous viaduct, and two reality show contestants. But a music festival? I mean there used to be free summer shows by local musicians on the lawn in front of the high school, but those were primarily attended by the lawn chair set and a few fearless dancing children. That was it. Now there appears to be a music festival with multiple nationally recognized, even world famous, performers. Looks like it will be a family-friendly day, and the money raised is for a good cause. Nice work, Canton!
If you are going to be in the Canton area on the weekend of Sept 11 and 12, find out more about the 2010 Life is good Festival.
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Tags: ben harper, canton, grace potter and the nocturnals, jason mraz
I knew Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings were popular, but I had no idea they would bring out such a huge crowd to the Prospect Park bandshell Saturday night. They mentioned that there were around 20,000 people there, but I’m guessing there were actually more than that. When we arrived at 6 p.m. (when the gates were supposed to open) we found a line that wrapped all around the back of the fenced in seating area…and beyond. I never actually got to the end of the line. We walked a bit, but when we saw how far the line stretched we decided to just set up shop the the grass/dirt area outside of the fence. This meant that we wouldn’t really be able to see anything on the stage, but it also mean that we didn’t have to wait in line for two hours. I imagine people were there all day waiting in line. I have never seen a line so long at a Celebrate Brooklyn concert.
Luckily I did have a sneak peek of the show earlier in the afternoon. I happened to be riding my bike in the park during sound check, so I heard some of the music beforehand. I have to say that all the families who were grilling or enjoying picnics in the park had some very good background music.
So this was my view before the sun set:
These were my concertgoing neighbors. The one with the pacifier had some pretty good moves.
This photo was taken to prove that I was actually at a concert. If you look closely enough you will see a musician playing a trumpet.
So this is what I can say: the music was really good, but even though Sharon Jones has a huge voice, it was a little hard to hear it because there were lots of chatter in the nosebleed section. When I stretched my neck I could see a glittering mirror ball-like object coming in and out of view. I assumed that was Sharon Jones. And having seen her in concert before, I could imagine her moves during her dance tutorial. I looked at pictures from the concert and was surprised to see she was wearing a green dress. From my seat, she was in silver sequins. I was also surprised to see that this happened:
Who knew????
Anyway, it was a lovely night for a free concert. Unfortunately too many people thought so. It was also the second to last concert in the Celebrate Brooklyn summer series, so maybe that was a factor as well. Many thanks to the bathroom attendant who kept the ladies moving along, and provided some comic relief for those of us who couldn’t believe we had to stand in such a long line. Luckily it was the only one I chose to wait in that night.
Update 8/11/10: Hi, Dan…in response to your comment here is the pic of the crazy Sharon Jones superfan from the Monolith Music Festival.
Sharon Jones and The Dap Kings + fan
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Tags: celebrate brooklyn, prospect park, sharon jones and the dap kings
Unfortunately I missed The New Pornographers most recent stop in NYC on their current tour, but I realized that NPR has a full concert download from their sold out June show at Washington, D.C.’s 9:30 Club. It’s a good mix of new and old, and the sound is really clear. Best part: with one click you can jump form the end of the concert to the encore, no waiting required. While you’re there also check out the Freelance Whales concert and The xx.
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Tags: npr, the new pornographers
The Siren Music Festival took place on Saturday at Coney Island. It was a little different experience than last year. There was no band in the lineup that I was really excited to see, and I also had to be there for work. So, while many people saw this:
I saw this (the crowd in front of the chicken wing eating contest):
And I was stationed along this row of tents for the day:
Until I took a break and caught this (Wye Oak’s last song):
It was a fun day, but wow was it hot. Good job to all the fans who braved the sun and heat to see the bands. If you happened to use a blue fan that you picked up to cool yourself off, a big thank you goes out to you.
I must say that there are way too many things going on in Coney Island. There’s the beach, the Cyclone, Luna Park, the boardwalk, beer island, Nathan’s…it goes on. Oh, yeah, and also two stages set up for live music, but I’m sure a lot of people didn’t even know that. And I witnessed, once again, people will wait in endless lines for free stuff. This time it was for a free tote bag, and the blaring sun did not stop them.
In the end I was just happy to ride the Cyclone and get my roller coaster fix. I also got a great view of Matt & Kim’s crowd from high in the sky on the Brooklyn Flyer, one of the rides at the new Luna Park. And then, after nearly 11 hours at Coney Island, I called it a night. Until next year…
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Tags: coney island, siren music festival, wye oak
In the end it was Andrew’s night. Andrew is a man who just showed up at a concert yesterday, sat in the blazing heat for a couple of hours, and probably just wanted to hear a few good songs. I bet he never expected to strike up a connection with Band of Horses lead singer Ben Bridwell and then go on to hear his name blasting from the speakers. Never have I seen a lead singer so inspired by (or perhaps fixated on) a fan that the fan is the subject of a new song (not surprisingly called “Andrew”) and also incorporated into songs (“No one’s gonna love you more than Andrew”). It was a bit out of hand. I attribute it to the band’s loopiness at the end of a long period of time on tour, but I’m sure Andrew’s not complaining.
It was a perfect day for an outdoor concert, and it was the first of the season at the Williamsburg Waterfront. Aside from the labyrinth of gates set up to enclose various sets of people (drinkers/non-drinkers/VIPs) and the poor handling of security issues (note to Strike Force Protective Services, Inc: please do not decide to start limiting entry into the large area in front of the stage when audience members have just left for a few minutes to go to the bathroom and then return to find that they now have to wait in line to maybe, if enough people leave, get back to their friends. Do we pay $40 for this??). Ok, I could go on, but to sum it up—some crowd control logistics need to be worked out.
But the music was great. Karen Elson kicked off the concert and then Grizzly Bear took over. Band of Horses took the stage once the sun had set over the Manhattan skyline. This year the stage is set up so that the band faces west and the audience looks east. I’m not sure why they changed it, but it made for an interesting situation in terms of a backdrop. The stage was situated right in front of a building, and some people were occasionally looking out the window to see the show, or at least the back of the musicians. People in nearby apartments could hear the music, but could just see the crowd.
Here are some pictures from the evening:
Ben Bridwell of Band of Horses
Jam pants
Karen Elson
the view
the neighbors
the people with a stage set up right outside their window
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Tags: band of horses, williamsburg waterfront
Since the release of their latest album High Violet in May, The National has been doing some extensive NYC touring. They did a small show at The Bell House (3/12), performed a benefit show at BAM (5/15) with an online simulcast, and then they hit none other than Radio City Music Hall last night. All shows were sold out. By my count, they will have played five shows in NYC by the end of July (the only performance with tickets still available is the Terminal 5 show on 7/29). I wondered how they could sell so many tickets for shows in the same city in the span of two months. This is the stuff of Bruce Springsteen, Madonna, and U2. But as I looked around Radio City Music Hall on Wednesday night, I realized this is a really popular band with an obviously loyal following. I mean I’ve attended 2 shows so far, and I have tickets for the Prospect Park show. How many people at Radio City were also attending another show?
I wondered if I was overdoing it. I really like High Violet, but how many times can I see them promote the same album? Well, I can say that after Wednesday night, I am still excited to go see them again in the park in July—if only to see what Matt Berninger will climb on. “Mr. November” sung from the treetops perhaps?
The show was great, Berninger’s voice was spot on, and some nice lighting effects created some lovely musician silhouettes. The crowd was on its feet for the entire show, which makes for some good energy, but it is rare that you have a nice plush velvet seat reserved for you during a show…I know, I know, I’m being a lazy concertgoer. Special guests for the evening included Annie Clark (aka St. Vincent) and Sufjan Stevens. I thought they would come back later, but they really just appeared for two songs.
There was a good mix of the new High Violet songs and the popular songs from Boxer. The horn section was great, as were the Brothers Dessner and the Brothers Devendorf. Berninger did not disappoint with his crowd-weaving antics (much to the audio technician’s dismay, I’m sure). This time he climbed up the side of the theater to reach the mezzanine. He traveled across the entire front row of the mezzanine, microphone in hand, belting out “Mr. November.” When he finished he seemed a little stranded on the side of the theater. As he made his way back to the stage he reminded me of the Oscar winners who must find the stage from their seats way in the back. The whole audience looks on in silence as we wait to see what’s next.
Matt Berninger's "Mr. November" musical trail
Making his way down from the mezanine
One of my favorites. Your voice is swallowing my soul, soul, soul…
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Tags: radio city music hall, the national
I had never heard of Bob Schneider until last week, but he’s a big name on the Austin music scene. Lucky for me, the Austin music scene took over Madison Square Park this past weekend during the Big Apple Barbecue Block Party. So I got to hear Bob Schneider play live, which I would now recommend to anyone, even if this means you have to travel to Texas to do so.
Prior to the performance, I knew two things about Bob Schneider. He has a song called “40 Dogs (Romeo and Juliet)” and he dated Sandra Bullock. The second fact is pretty irrelevant, but hearing the first proved to be enough to get me to his concert on Saturday. Schneider plays some very catchy rock songs, and managed to include many sing-along moments into his set. The crowd was really into it, and I’m sure Schneider’s performance made up for the fact that they had just spent forty-five minutes in line for a serving of pulled pork and and side of beans. And I have to add that it was quite refreshing to go to a free concert that did not involve waiting in line to get in.
Both Schneider and the crowd seemed to be having a good time, and much to the crowd’s delight he even came back out for an encore. Some audience members were mouthing the words, so he clearly has a New York following, but I think he gained a lot of new fans as well. The songs varied, and some were quite funny, but they were all sort of a mix of funk/rock/pop. I was impressed that he even worked in a song with the words “veggie burger” in it. This is especially ironic considering the food choice of the day: BBQ—including beef brisket, ribs, pulled pork, and sausages.
It didn’t take long for Schneider to warm up to the crowd, and they were all dancing by the end. It was a really fun show, and I got to pretend that I was in Austin for the afternoon. While Schneider was fun to watch, it was hard to ignore the strange outfit worn by one of his band members. How one plays the accordion (or trumpet or tuba—as he did later) with gloves on is beyond me. See for yourself:
More photos from the day:
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Tags: bbq block party, bob schneider, madison square park
It’s outdoor concert and film season! And it seems like each year there are more and more venues added to the mix—like this year’s new stage at Governor’s Island. I’ve listed a bunch of the venues as well a few of the bands playing at each place this summer.
Celebrate Brooklyn: Norah Jones, Ozomatli, The Swell Season, Sonic Youth, Metric, Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, Passion Pit, and The National
Central Park SummerStage: The Flaming Lips, The Black Keys, Hot Chip, St. Vincent, Basia Bulat
River to River Festival: Movies, Music and Dance performances at various locations around NYC all summer
Madison Square Music: Oval Lawn Series June 16 – August 4, Wednesday evening music
The Beach @ Governor’s Island: She & Him, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, Grizzly Bear, Dr. Dog, M.I.A., Local Natives. Added bonus: Free boat ride (even if it’s only 3 minutes long)
Seaport Music Festival: The Apples in Stereo, Thee Oh Sees
Brooklyn Bridge Park Movies with a View: Thursdays in July and August. On the schedule: The Big Lebowski, Rear Window, Brokeback Mountain, Dreamgirls, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
The Williamsburg Waterfront: Band of Horses, Silversun Pickups, Modest Mouse, Gogol Bordello, Keane, Pavement, Belle & Sebastian
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Tags: music calendar, music nyc, outdoor concert, summer concert, summer music
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