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Ivy / Matt Costa @ Bowery

Yes, I can admit it. I’m an Ivy fan. I know I know, it’s crazy, but I’ve been a fan for this band for almost a decade now. It must be the songs about love and despair. about nostalgia, the aching to get out. Or maybe cuz Dominique is so hot. Whatever it is, her beautiful voice over simple song pop songs are just engaging. It was actually my first time seeing them live. The crowd was very sparse but made up of devotees, including this 6 foot tall man next to me dancing the entire show. Their setlist didn’t stray from their hits which was good. They touched each of their albums and performed their new ones perfectly. The new song “Tess Don’t Tell” may be the best song they’ve ever written. This was their last show on their tour and they mentioned that we wouldn’t hear from them in awhile. Did I just witness another band dissolving? Man I have a knack for seeing the the very last show from great bands. I hope it’s just a break cuz their new album had some serious potential.

Pictures from the show.

http://www.thebandivy.com/

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Happy New Year – 2006

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
Decided to ring in the new year with a bang rather than a Clap Your Hands whimper. Caught The Giraffes at Ace of Clubs, formally Acme Underground. The concert was also one of the few shows in a decent price range. The show started with a ton of energy shortly after midnight and continued to intensify as they punched through their very long set list. The crowd was loyal and very drunk and the mosh pit was slippery with beer. A great amount of alcohol was drunk and thrown. After an hour they became an intense wall of energy and actually at one point the stage may have caught on fire. Overall a high energy show that just kept on going….

Check out their photo rich site. thegiraffes.com
Be sure to check out some of their videos. The one for Manchestor United is simply ridiculous.

While I was dodging elbows and cans of beer I snapped these pictures.

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Champale @ Mercury Lounge

So it’s been over 2 years since Champale played their last show and I’m glad I was there because I wouldn’t have thought they would go on such a long hiatus. But then again, some of the band members have been busy with their other projects, notably Maplewood and Nada Surf. I’m not sure the reason for the show beacause there is no new album to speak of and they only played 2 or 3 new songs. Nevertheless, this band is so much better live and a great New York band to check out. Maybe we’ll hear more of them in the future but I wouldn’t hold your breath.

http://champalebungalow.com/

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We Are Wolves / Big Bear @ Sin-e

Yet another band with the word “Wolf” in their title and from Canada no less. I was very excited to see We Are Wolves play live and had no idea what to expect. They took the stage adorned with a haphazard quilted banner with their name barely embroidered in plaid. They had these enormous skull banners hovering over their heads. It was like an evil Pentecost. With the lights down they seemed menacing but as soon as the analog squelchs eeked through the speakers, I started to feel more at ease. The band was a riot. Speaking broken English and random French Canadian-isms they barreled through their set. I love the fact that despite only being a trio, they are capable of creating such a unique sound. They reminded me of a more absurd Trans Am (before they got all normal and stuff) and the beaty-ness of Out Hud. People were dancing and jumping along to their crazy sound, and I found it hard not to get carried away to their crazy universe. Go Wolves Go.

The next animal named band, Big Bear took the stage next and after their second song, the place cleared out. The sound was intense and menacing. Another decent performance by them but nothing ground breaking. We’ll see what happens next year.

Afterwards we went to newly opened bar Lafontane to catch a marathon of bands play, including the Holy Ghost and The Organ Donors. (14 or so bands in 4 hours). Needless to say, by 4 AM my ears had their earful….

I just love the We Are Wolves website: http://www.wearewolves.net/

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Langhorne Slim / Richard Buckner @ Mercury Lounge

I was definitely in the mood to see Langhorne sing his fun yet bittersweet tunes again. He seemed to be more at home playing at Mercury Lounge than at Joe’s Pub. A lot of his fans came out for this show to add to the lively environment. It was also the birthday of Langhorne, the bassist AND drummer!

After a grueling wait for Richard Buckner to take the stage (about 35 minutes) he took the stage armed only with a guitar and various effect pedals all linked to another. The musician was quite a presence brooding onstage with his eyes closed singing his heavy songs. I was most impressed with the way he transitioned into the next song without ever stopping. Unfortunately I had to leave early in fear of the transit strike. Got lucky getting the F train at 11:50.

A few pictures from the show

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2005 – The Best of

Although 2005 got off to a slow and boring musical start, it has wound up being one of the best year’s of music in quite some time. A flurry of great albums came out during the summer and CMJ showcased some great new bands. The hits just kept breaking through into the fall and winter. Looking back at September and October I can easily say that those 2 months were the best live musical experiences I’ve had my entire life (and that’s saying a lot).

2005 is drawing a close and there are STILL some great shows to come, and I’m sure it will end on a high note. So I am feverishly working on the SupaComp and hope to get it done by the 1st week of January, so stay tuned. So far it’s turning out to be a great collection of tunes. I can’t wait myself :).

So, as I’m working on the comp, it’s been hard to pick one album that stood out. I have a few in the competition, but I’d like to know what YOU think is the best album of 05. Leave a comment why don’t ya.