The Triumph of Tired Eyes

A very intimate show with The National offered me a chance to hear some new songs from this already established New York favorite. I’ve seen this band play all sized venues and I must say they truly shine when they captivate smaller audiences into their songs. Not as many new songs as I’d hope, but the first ones I heard were really solid. Later in the set the songs tended to get muddy and a bit boring. I was hoping that the new material would offer them a chance to be a bit more daring, but it just sounds like the Boxer part2, not that it’s a bad thing. They have a great fan base and they are in a position to do new things. They sprinkled the set with some oldies including an always emotional “Abel”. Excited to hear the rest of the album when it drops in May.

There are plenty of lengthy reviews of the NIN farewell tour that happened here in NY. What I can say is that Trent is still awesome and puts on a killer show. He played a total of 33 songs spanning his entire catalog. The smoke and light show was awesome and the crowd were all intense fans. Although I felt the overall show was a little “slow,” the encore more than made up for it. Peter Murphy entered the stage hanging from his feet to sing “Reptile” and then sang “Bela Lugosi’s Dead”. Terminal 5 totally sucks and I don’t recommend any shows there but it was NIN. The place was overcrowded, terrible sight lines, and so hot that Trent complained and the walls and ceiling were dripping. I’ll be anxious to see what Mr. Reznor will manifest into next.

Mugison put out one of my favorite albums in 2008 with Mugiboogie that unfortunately went under the radar for most people. When I found out that he was not only playing 1 show but FIVE shows in one day in NY I was elated, He decided to play in each of the 5 boroughs for FREE to draw attention to Amnesty International. Starting in Staten Island at noon and ending in Brooklyn at 11 PM, it was an ambitious event. This time he played solo with a few duets with some girl. Although the Manhattan venue City Winery was awkward for his music (and any music for that matter) he played several of my favorite songs before heading out to the final show at Pete’s Candy Store in a torrential rain storm. The incredibly small place was filled with probably every Icelandic person living in NY. Luckily this crowd was boisterous and sang along to many of his songs helping the very tired and very drunk Mugison. He forgot the verse of the opening song Pathetc Anthem, which he blamed on the alcohol. He commemorated Les Paul who had just died and played a very bluesy number in his honor. The night felt more like a party than a concert and I felt very lucky to have been invited.

Crappy cell phone pics

http://www.mugison.com/

Franz Nicolay is a true performer-musician. Donning a handlebar mustache he sang songs about gypsies, sea travels and circuses. Why this guy is in the Hold Steady still boggles my mind.

I was very eager to catch Ida Maria again at a small venue. She easily made up for losing her voice last time by putting on an intense performance. She slowly built up momentum in her set as her raspy vocals turned into screaming. She slowly disintegrated as she yelled, pulled her hair and threw microphones until the very end. She started off all clean and proper and ended a sweaty mess and I loved every minute.

Music Snobbery was also there,
Pictures from the show.

http://www.myspace.com/franznicolay
http://www.myspace.com/idamaria

I plan to see every South Street Seaport show this summer and you should as well. It’s free, the sound system is actually good, in front of one of the best backdrops ever, and did I mention it was free?!! Kicking off the season this year was Bachelorette from New Zealand and Here We Go Magic. Considering Bachelorette is only Annabel Alpers on a keyboard, a laptop, a guitar and her voice, she easily filled the space with her perfect blend of hazy vocals over computer based compositions. A perfect blend of analog and digital sounds that I give the thumbs up to.

http://www.myspace.com/bachelorettepop

Pretty awesome virtual tour of CBGB’s. I miss you

http://www.bravadousa.com/cbgb/pano/pano.html