The company R/GA that I work for had its annual company offsite again. Luckily it was much shorter than last year. We’ve almost doubled in size and we’ve expanded across the street. During the finale, I recieved an award for Innovation. It was kinda surreal to be on stage in front of the whole company. Nevertheless, I was quite honored for the award and hope to do more cool things in the future.
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.
The Posies @ Bowery Ballroom
So after a several year hiatus, The Posies are back. They’ve released a new album and finally a new website which is quite amazing. I’ve been a fan of this band since I was in grammar school and is quite possibly my favorite band. Although the new album “Every Kind of Light” doesn’t hold up like their previous efforts, there are a few gems and it’s just an excuse to tour which these guys are pros at. I’ve seen this band at sold out arenas to intimate spaces like Maxwell’s, and they always put on a killer show. This night was no exception.
I was surprised to see the Bowery Ballroom so empty, but the fans that did show up were hard core and knew every song. Some were peeps that I had met at previous Posies shows in the tri-state area. I was very eager to see them play again and to test out their new material. It was Jon Auer’s birthday so a steady stream of tequilla was being supplied. They opened the show with a new song and the place went nuts. They proceeded to play all their hits as if they were playing them for the first time. After a few songs, Ken Stingfellow jumps down from the stage with his guitar and mic to perform the next few. It was amazing to be right next to him singing along. There was so much energy in the show. For their finale they let anybody, including my friend Alison, get up on stage to be “dancers”. After the encore they destroyed the stage. Some shows are musically perfect. Some shows are just fun. This show was both and it may be the best concert I have ever been to in all my concert goings….Really.
Here are some pictures of the show and a live track.
SPIN 20th Anniversary @ Webster Hall
Spin threw a huge party with a ton of great musical guests for their 20th Anniversary. The problem? Not publicized, expensive tickets, terrible venue. With bands like Public Enemy, Death Cab for Cutie, LCD Soundsystem, the list goes on, you’d think the place would be packed and crazy. Wrong. It was the worst crowd I’ve seen in a long time. Ok. now for the music.
The highlight was the surprise guest J. Mascis coming out solo with a guitar. He played 3 songs and quietly left the stage. He was actually quite good and loved the drony songs he played. Juliette Lewis was the host and was kinda annoying but at least she looked hot. DMC came on and did a few songs including “Walk This Way”. Death Cab was on next and unfortunately they were just awful. They had no energy and the songs sounded terrible. All the young emo kids were going crazy but I couldn’t handle it anymore. I just wanted Public Enemy to come on. They finally took the stage and couldn’t believe how empty the venue was! It’s fucking Public Enemy!! are you kidding me? All them white emo kids just came to see Death Cab! How sad. Well, at least I was able to get to the front row then. Needless to say, PE put on a killer show. Flava Flav came out after the 2nd song with his trademark clock necklace. For a guy who is in his 50’s, he can still rock, but boy is he such a trip. They played for over an hour and kept bringing out their friends. It was nearing 2 AM and the bouncers decided to leave. PE kept on playing and playing as the crowd got smaller and smaller. Great night of music and some decent pictures from the event.