New Pornographers @ Webster Hall

Webster Hall sucks. Ok, I got that out of the way. This is my 3rd time seeing this band for each of their album releases and this was one of the more lively shows of the bunch, despite having a terrible sound system. They had Neko Case with them this time which makes a huge difference. They are pushing their new album Twin Cimema which is just great and makes up for the mess Electric Version was. They were very lively onstage and every song had the same energy. They brought out their oldies which was nice, but gave their new songs a breath of live juice. I took some pictures, but Dan Harvey took better ones, which the band wound up using for their site.

Dead Can Dance @ Radio City Music Hall

So I bought these tickets the day I got back from my Argentina trip as a birthday present to myself. I couldn’t believe that the show was finally happening. I’ve only heard good things about their live shows and I have been a fan of theirs for over 10 years. They brought an entire orchestra with them and their assortment of intruments. It was great to hear these songs live that I listened to incessantly during my youth. I loved how their world instruments consumed the space with their unique sounds. The crowd was also really unique. A mix of a conserative older crowd and a mix of young and old goth crowd. I think I fell somewhere in the middle. During the performance many were yelling out requests which I thought was kinda funny for a venue like Radio City. It’s great to see a band bridge so many different types of people and to bring them to a place like Radio City. So yea, the music was just amazing, the stage was beautiful, and the night was perfect. A great birthday event. Pictures and videos of the show.

Nada Surf @ Bowery Ballroom

Nada Surf came back to NY to promote their new album The Weight is a Gift, which is quite a gem. They have a lot of momentum with this record and feel this is their big break (again). The crowd was lively with a few drunkards that kept repeating the same damn request every 5 minutes, jeesh. They played many off their new album but practically played every song off all their albums. Their songs have so much more energy live and the quiet songs are even that more intimate. Their drummer is still great and for the encore played “Hyperspace”. Yup you got your wish granted you drunk fucks.