Category: Music

Parachutes was a sleepy amateurish version of the band I’ve been waiting to see for a very long time. Sigur Ros played their 2nd night of 2 and they completely exceeded my expectations. The sounds that poured from the stage were powerful and overwhelming. Along with a complimentary videos and light effects the show left me speechless. I will never forget the encore they gave us. super awesome.

For Her And The Snow is Joe Presti from Brooklyn and sings songs of love and relationships. He goes from piano, guitar and sax effortlessly but the songs are still cheesy.

For an early show, the place was packed to see Land of Talk. Their new drummer Andrew Barr from the Slip was well received and the band played lots of their new tunes. I’ve seen this band a bunch of times now and they always impress me with their innovative song structures and guitar hooks. Although the new stuff isn’t as strong as their debut, the songs are more polished. They open up for Broken Social Scene later in the year.

http://www.landoftalk.com/

When you take enough back roads in America, you’re sure to wind up in a town like Balthrop, Alabama. Although that town is fictional, the folk-rock collective band ironically formed in Brooklyn, is real. Actually it’s a huge collective that somehow fit in Mercury Lounge and winning the award for the most on stage. The music conjures up songs you’d hear from the heart of Dixie, but in a more modern style and narratives about politics and dead people in love. The band was very entertaining and even had an artist interpret the songs through elaborate drawings projected onto a screen. Can’t wait to see these guys again.

Disclaimer: Yup, I’m still in love with Caithlen DeMarrais. I was anxious to hear what Caithlen has been doing since the end of Rainer Maria. Her myspace page had 2 quiet but emotional songs that were quite a departure from her band. She was backed up by members of the opening bands and I was surprised to see Kyle Fisher in the mix as well. She went from piano to guitar to mic flawlessly singing her new songs. The energy in the room was quite different from what I’m used to when seeing her live but it picked up when she played “Make You Mine”. Eager to see where her solo career will take this talented musician.

http://balthropalabama.com
http://www.myspace.com/caithlindemarrais

After many failed attempts to see Bell perform live, I grabbed the opportunity to see her at one of the Rooftop Films viewings. The can factory is quite a cool building for a movie but probably the worst place to put on a music show. Her powerful yet delicate voice is beautiful in her recordings, but doesn’t translate well into a live setting. It sounded like an amateur show at your local coffee shop. At least the movie was kinda good.

http://www.myspace.com/whoisbell
http://rooftopfilms.com/