The Triumph of Tired Eyes

I missed Chad Van Gaalen at the Plug Awards the night before, and 2 months ago, so I was glad to finally see this amazing singer/songwriter. He started off the show saying how terrible the Plugs were and went into a new song. Luckily he had a much better crowd at Mercury. He had a unique setup of guitar effects and looping devices to create very layered songs and was able to play the more “rock” songs live. His live show was great and quite different than the studio sound. He makes up for last night.

Pictures from the show.

It’s official. Indie Rock has become as boring as the Grammys. The Plug Awards came to Webster Hall and I had high hopes for the night as it had a ton of great bands performing. And much cheaper than the very crappy Spin show last year. The very funny Aziz Ansari hosted the event and performers included: BEANS w/ HOLY FUCK, CHAD VANGAALEN, CELEBRATION, CAGE, MR LIF & Akrobatik, EMILIANA, THE NATIONAL. playing only 25 minute sets (if that).

The show was slow, boring, and ironically enough, none of the performers won ANY Plug Awards. And I (and most music geeks) disagreed with the winners. I wouldn’t even rank the winners in the top 5 of the list. Best New Artist of the Year: “Clap Your Hands and Say Yea”. Are you fucking kidding me?? Best Indie Rock Album: “Bloc Party” . Whatever… For Best Female Artist, presenter Langhorne Slim pulled the winning envelope out of Rob Crow’s butt and announced that Coco Rosie won (which I agree) and then walked off stage, at the same time “Neko Case” flashed across the screen. That pretty much sums up the event.

Another moment that captured the mood of the show was when Pitchfork went to present Best Album Of The Year, and the douche bag just started to read an article from the New Yorker. It went on for more than 10 minutes. The crowd didn’t care and neither did TV on the Radio who was waiting for the dickhead to shut up. Kyp even took a picture of the idiotness. Just like the website, the writers themselves are long winded, boring, pretentious fucks.

The only award I agreed with was Avant Album of the Year:(whatever the hell that means): Animal Collective – Feels

and in the words of Rob Pollard. “Fucking Bright Eyes, That Fucking Bright Eyes, What a dick.”

links:
Noone Cares About Your Blog
http://www.plugawards.com/
My Pictures from the show

I was quite tired, sweaty, and very drunk from the Idiotrod race a few hours before. Would I be able to stay up for a long night of music ahead of me?? Read on!

I was very eager to catch The Diggs live for this show. The trio from Brooklyn has been generating a lot of buzz in NYC and their new EP is just phenomenal. They blend catchy pop and droney builds to make very listenable and interesting songs. They conjure up elements I enjoyed from the 90’s indie rock scene, but adding some new tricks. Their sound and lead singer remind me so much of Tugboat Annie, but alas, after doing some research it is not a new manifestation of that beloved band. They put on a solid live performance and definitely a band to watch in the future.

The Big Sleep was up next. Now, I rarely see that many bands consecutively, but this band absolutely floored me at Piano’s the week before and I jumped at the opportunity to see them again. This time I was front row and center to take on the barrage of noise. I must say they were amazing and put on another intense performance. The sound system at Mercury held up to them and I felt they were more at ease this time around. I can’t stop listening to them. Although they only have a 3 song EP out, their new album will surely rock as well. I must say, seeing them live is preferred over the recording but it’s better than nothing. Finally a band to kick this stagnant music scene in the ass. And do yourself a favor, go to the link below and grab some mp3’s. Better yet, go to one of their shows and decide for yourself.

Coming from the UK, Field Music took the stage next. They were very poppy and had some interesting songs but nothing that was intriguing. Typical indie rock, this time with accents. Unfortunately they had some minor musical glitches but it still wouldn’t have helped them out if they fixed them. Too bad, I had high hopes for them.

Pictures from the show.

http://www.thediggs.com/
http://thebigsleep.net
http://www.field-music.co.uk/

Calexico sold out 2 shows at Joe’s Pub pretty quick. Although I had just seen them with Iron & Wine, I’d rather see them perform alone and in a more intimate setting. Although the sound was good and the tempo of the show was on target, the space at Joe’s just isn’t right for the band. Joey Burns even commented on all the food being feverishly served around him. The crowd was dead (and older) as it usually is at Joe’s. Their lively songs make you want to dance, move around, clap your hands but there wasn’t even enough room to stand up and not be interfered with the waitresses. The band surely felt the inadequate space, barely fitting up on the small stage. All the musicians were locked in place, not being able to move around. This put a constraining feeling on the music and energy of the show. At one point they had 9 people on stage, which must be a record. An OK show, wishing that I could revisit my experience of them at the Bowery last year.

Pictures from the show

http://www.casadecalexico.com