Music, Music and more Music
SupaComp is finally finished. It’s the biggest and best comp yet, clocking in at 8.5 hours. Editing this comp was very difficult. So much great music came out in 2005. At the last minute I removed 1 song that just wasn’t working and when I burned my master copy it ended up being 697 MG, just barely fitting on my 700 MG blank disk. It was fate. Can’t wait to get started on SupaComp 2006!
With a bellyful of pizza from the Tour de Slice – Brooklyn, I was eager to catch this show. Kyp Malone (from TV on the Radio) was an opener and I’ve been spotting him a lot at many of the concerts I’ve been going to, including the Langhorne Slim show of all places. What I did catch from him on stage, was terrible. Celebration was up next and they do this gothic-punk-dance blend that I can’t quite put my finger on. Their music is intriguing and their live show gave their songs even more energy. The lead singer would periodically run to the back of the room armed with a tamborine spewing out lyrics. At one point she lies on the ground of the Bowery Ballroom singing her song, and I have never seen THAT before. She seemed possessed by some demon, the music was erratic but catchy, and worth seeing them again. (They are playing at the upcoming PLUG show)
Very eager to see New York’s The Double. A bit of buzz around this band since they’ve recently signed to Matador. Their new album is very eerie jumping from noisy soundscapes to dense melancholy songs. The album is really unique and takes a few listens to get yourself around the chaos that can come out of this band. Their live act unfortunately was crap. Their songs were just a mess of sound and the singer was failure. I was feeling uneasy. Maybe it was the amount of pizza I ate, but more likely the mess that was onstage. Actually walked out during their set; first walk-out of 2006, congratulations The Double!
Celebration media
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.
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.
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.
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/