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Sol Seppy played a swirly set of reverb and electronic lullabies. Reminiscent of Mazzy Star, her solo endeavors explore the mood of being in a solitary place. Her voice is captivating and no surprise that she worked on Sparklehorse’s previous albums. Her slow fuzz songs really surprised me.

After a much too long hiatus of over 5 years, Sparklehorse makes a triumphant return. The new album, “Dreamt for Light Years in the Belly of a Mountain”, has Tom Waits and Danger Mouse working on it, and if that doesn’t grab your attention, their live act will. I will admit that Sparklehorse’s “It’s a Wonderful Life” is easily one my top albums in my collection and so happy to have them making new tunes. The last time I saw Sparklehorse was when they made a surprise 2 song appearance before The Flaming Lips 4 years ago testing out new material. I couldn’t believe it and made that night even that more incredible. Mark Linkous is a production genius and can create these precious songs that seem to envelop and disintegrate around you. Even the more upbeat songs on the new album has dark undertones and desperate cries for happiness. The music is like a non-linear movie soundtrack of pure emotions. The lo-fi melodies make you feel so vulnerable but in the end Mark makes you realize that it’s all just a dream.
His live show gave me goose-bumps as though I was seeing a ghost that I had forgotten about. He played some old songs and some new and gave the sold out crowd an incredible performance. Sophie from Sol Seppy came out to back up a few songs but the real treat was seeing Nina Persson of The Cardigans sing “Apple Bed”. Wow! They not only gave us 2 encores (which they mentioned they NEVER do) they came out for a 3rd encore and played a new one. It truly is a wonderful life.
Pictures from the show.
Links:
http://www.solseppy.com/
http://www.myspace.com/sparklehorse

Gabba Gabba Hey
The Continental has been home to many local and global bands that have shaped the landscape of music. The Heartbreakers, Jesse Malin, to Iggy Pop played here and it later became the home for the Ramones. Joey even lived across the street from the club. For it’s last hurrah, this punk venue hosted live music from Handsome Dick Manitoba (Dictators), Lenny Kaye (Patti Smith Band) and a full Ramones set played by CJ Ramone, Daniel Rey and Walter Lure.
Approaching St. Marks, I am always struck by the dichotomy that occurs on this street that made up my musical upbringing. Seeing the grungy historic Continental sign buttressed against McDonalds, rising condos, and scaffolding. I walked into a very crowded and smoky club and felt the energy in the room. A melancholy excitement as this would be the last time anyone would hear live music in this tiny room.

I was intrigued to see how the Ramones set would be pulled off and who would be the special guests. There was applause when CJ Ramone, holding a beer, took the stage. He would announce each song before playing and I must admit, they sounded great. It was really special to hear the Ramones music played live and loud. The crowd was pretty subdued until the end when the music picked up and there was some crowd surfing. There were great special guests that took turns singing the nostalgic songs. Trigger took the stage to play the final song after giving a short speech saying good bye to the music in his club. Throughout the night, the musicians bid farewell and pointed the blame for the loss of the soul of music and it’s venues to Corporate Condo America and especially to NYU which has gobbled up, destroyed, and created nothing that attributes to the essence that is New York Fucking City. It’s such a shame to lose so much history in such a small amount of time. It’s crazy to bring my friends to my old parts of this city and to reference all the good things that once were in the past tense. The night ended with “I Wanna Be Sedated”, and I wished that those short 2 minutes could have lasted just a little bit longer.

Pictures from the show.

Spent many hours biking 100 miles around New York City hitting several places I never knew existed. A great ride, well organized, and I didn’t see any bad accidents. Can’t wait to do it again next year.

I absolutely went crazy when I heard about Birdmonster from Gorilla vs. Bear and loved their debut EP in early 2004. Unfortunately missed them live last time they came around, but with 3 back to back shows in NY/NJ it was hard to miss their frenetic live show. When these young unassuming guys took the stage it was hard to believe what came blasting out of the speakers. They were pure intensity from the start and never let up. They were dancing all over the small stage, knocking themselves into the amps and into each other. They were like trapped animals trying to escape and making as much noise and racket in the process. Although their recordings come close to capturing the energetic sound, their live show surpassed every expectation I had. Their soft/loud dynamic was more dramatic and their great attitude on stage is addictive. These guys play like their lives depended on it, but with huge smiles on their faces. These guys just plain rock!

Pictures from the show.

good site with updated blog.
http://www.birdmonster.com/

What a perfect end for CBGB’s than a Sunday Hardcore Matinee. Started the day off with pizza at St. Marks, which has changed so much since the days I used to go to CBGB’s back in the day. I sat down with Rob of Black Train Jack, a band that heavily influenced my life, and he even gave me a nickname. Ha.

Bane and Bold opened things up and Bold, who reunited after 10 years, put on a pretty decent show and prepped things up for the rest of the day.

Before Gorilla Biscuits took the stage, HR from Bad Brains who happened to be in the neighborhood did a surprise 3 song set. Gorilla Biscuits then took the stage and the crowd immediately erupted despite having their opening sample miscued on their song “New Directions”. This was the first time I have ever worn ear plugs at a concert and glad I did as my ears are still ringing days later. The band was on fire from the start and the entire crowd was a moving monster. After almost every song, Civ paid tribute to all the bands that influenced him and the hardcore scene in general. John Porcelly (Youth of Today) and Toby Morse (H20) each played a song onstage. I left the club sweaty, sore, and euphoric. I stared at the battered CBGB’s marquee for some minutes reminiscing of all the amazing moments I had at the club. Civ even mentioned that the club had “many ghosts” trapped in the walls of the club and for 75 minutes that history came out. I was happy to relive those moments once again at such a monumental place. A large part of my past is leaving when the club finally closes, but I’m glad I got to give the floors some more of my sweat and 1 last good-bye.

My pictures from the show.
Links:
Much better pictures here.
Great Article: Gorilla Biscuits play one last time at CBGB

If Union Hall wasn’t so close to me, I’d probably never go to see a show there. Tonight Gritty Midi Gang started things off. And yes, there was a bunch of midi and electronic noises floating around. Although plagued with computer problems and broken guitar strings, the songs were catchy and fun. The keyboardist was really cute and the “midi” guy wore a complete adidas jump suit. We’ll see how this band develops in the future.

Jeesh, how many times can I see The Diggs in one month? Answer: Not enough. These guys created their wall of sound that consumed the small downstairs area. I was so happy that they played a bunch of new songs. They sounded really good and eager for a new release from them soon. The band is consistently on target and never play a bad show. And they FINALLY did an encore rounding out their notoriously short set to a good number of old and new songs. They have gotten better and better and highly recommend checking out their live act and album.

Pictures from the show.

Links:
http://www.grittymidigang.com/
http://www.thediggs.com/