Sunday, May 31, 2009

Caitlin Krisko & The Broadcast Partied At Mercury Lounge

Caitlin Krisko & The Broadcast: May 30 @ Mercury Lounge, New York, NY


Caitlin Krisko & The Broadcast threw a party, a record release party that is, for their new record Over The Undercover. I ask you, who can resist a good party? No one? So, I went over to Mercury Lounge where said party was taking place to enjoy a night music.

This was my first time seeing Caitlin Krisko & The Broadcast perform. I went in expecting a good show based on what I'd heard on Over The Undercover. And, that's exactly what I got. Krisko, in a long flowing dress, kicked off her sandals, took to the stage barefoot and proceeded to belt out the fiery opening number, "The Unintelligible Truth." What a way to kick off a show. My first thought was, why is this the first time I've seen this woman perform?! It was clear from the beginning that Krisko held the crowd in the palm of her hand and she wasn't letting go until she was finished with us. Oh sure, she gave us enough room to breath and dance but we were her captives, possibly the happiest bunch of captives I've ever witnessed.

From the opening number to the closing, a smiling and oft times dancing Krisko led her band through a soulful romp that kept the crowd cheering loudly. You really have to see Krisko perform live to get the complete picture. One moment she's sweet girl next door charming, the next, she's an intoxicating goddess and at times mixing the two for a dizzying combination. On record, her talents shine through but it's more laid back, more of a sexy laze around on a Sunday afternoon with your lover kind of thing. Live, she belts out some serious folk based soul that makes you yell out "go on girl!" The woman, quite simply, sang her ass off. The Broadcast, Dave Rosenthal (electric guitar/backup vocals), Nic Coolidge (bass guitar/backup vocals), Rich Brownstein (keys), Michael W. Davis (drums) and Tyler Householder (percussion) provided a solid and for the most part subtle, but fun foundation. They were joined by horns, a sax player and a trombone player, for a couple of songs that kicked things into full party mode. But, shame on me, I forgot to make note of the horn section names! Hey, I was having fun, you can't expect me to be detailed and professional while having so much fun!

If you weren't at the show and didn't have a chance to get Over The Undercover, fear not, it will be released digitally on June 15 but I'll tell you more about the record another day. In the meantime, if Caitlin Krisko & The Broadcast are playing near you, go check them out. They throw one hell of a party!

The videos ...
"Pull The Trigger"


"Little Release"


"Valerie"

More photos ...

The Set List
www.CaitlinKrisko.com
www.myspace.com/caitlinkrisko

ResidentBand Features Overnight Lows "Goodbye Song"

The cool folks over at ResidentBand have a new episode out ... Episode 19 to be exact. This one features Overnight Lows' "Goodbye Song." Check it out.


www.residentband.tv
www.myspace.com/residentbandtv
www.overnightlows.com
www.myspace.com/overnightlows

From The Platform: Paul Tabachneck

I spent a nice evening out last night listening to good music. While waiting for my mode of transportation home, the F train, I came across Paul Tabachneck rocking out some acoustic soul. You can check out some of his music HERE. He was cool enough to let me take a few photos while he played and here they are.


www.myspace.com/paultab
paultab.com

Saturday, May 30, 2009

Action Painters Rocked The LES

Action Painters: May 28 @ Mercury Lounge, New York, NY


Sometime last year, I came across a record called Chubby Dancer by local band Action Painters and became instantly hooked. Well, on the drizzly night known as this past Thursday, I finally got a chance to check them out live.

First of all, if you haven't seen Action Painters live, you should go check them out should you and they be in the same general vicinity. They put on a terrifically fun show with some seriously infectious tunes. You can't help but sing along. It was all I could do not sing very loudly and off-key to the insanely catchy "Sooner or Later" which is the song, along with "Absolutely Clear," that hooked me on Action Painters when I came across their record on Amie Street last year. I'm sure everyone is glad they didn't have to hear me singing along though! Members of the audience were dancing around up front, wild and carefree, Tom (Haslow, guitar/vocals) worked up a good sweat and I was extremely happy I finally got a chance to catch them live. Their show is like a great basement party where you got lucky enough to hire a un-apologetically addictive, cool band.

They played a tight set that flowed nicely. Everyone knows I'm a guitar fan. Let me tell you, there were some wickedly rockin' guitars smacking you around. And, make no mistake, the rest of the band smacked you silly too. This is indie pop-rock at its finest folks. Can a person be cocksure and humbly charming at the same time? The combination is a bit of a contradiction that frontman Haslow balances well and apparently, it comes naturally. I don't have scientific proof, but I'm pretty sure it's this natural contradiction that separates the rock stars from the pretenders.

I spent most of my night over on the right side of the room (stage left) so, from where I stood, with the low lighting, half the time Allison (Zatarain, keys/vocals) looked like a disembodied head. The other half of the time, the positioning of her keyboards and her strapless dress made it look like she had those black censor bars going across her naughty bits. This made me chuckle as you could only see from her bare shoulders up and from her knees down making me think of the bands hilarious promo "porno" video that can be witnessed HERE, if you haven't seen it or if you want to see it again, you dirty birds.

This was another show that ended much too quickly. Why are all of the good shows too short? Ok, maybe they're not and I'm just a greedy whiner! Why does time have to fly when you're having fun? I don't know the answer to that question but I do know I had a great time and look forward to seeing them again!

Action Painters have been out on the road but they're showing all kinds of love to their fellow New Yorker's. They have some upcoming shows in the area, so, if you missed them Thursday, you still have a chance to show up and dance around like crazy to some really good music. They'll be at Bar Matchless in Brooklyn on June 6, the Wonderland Collective on June 13 in Queens and at The Annex on June 17 in Manhattan.

The Videos ...
"Sooner or Later"


"Leave This City"


"Absolutely Clear"

More photos ...

The Set List
actionpaintersband.com
www.myspace.com/actionpainters

Friday, May 29, 2009

Video: Metric - Sick Muse

Metric released a video of my favorite song, "Sick Muse," from their recent album Fantasies. For those in the New York area, they'll be at Terminal 5 on June 17. Check it out.

Sean Bones Live

Sean Bones: May 28 @ Mercury Lounge, New York, NY

Last night, Sean Bones hit the stage over at Mercury Lounge. Prior to them being on this particular bill, I'll admit, I'd never heard of them. I listened to a couple of songs online and determined I wanted to get there early enough to check them out. I wasn't sure what to expect but I soon found out what they were about. They were fun and rocked out a good set. I was particularly taken with the song they closed with, "Sugar In My Spoon." If you missed them last night, they'll be over at Music Hall of Williamsburg next Friday, June 5, with Love Is All. Check them out if you're in the neighborhood.

Here are a few photos of their set.


The Set List
www.myspace.com/seanbones
frenchkissrecords.com/bands/profile/sean_bones

The Brunettes Live At Mercury Lounge

The Brunettes: May 28 @ Mercury Lounge, New York, NY

New Zealand band The Brunettes took the stage at Mercury Lounge last night. Here are a few photos from their set.
www.thebrunettes.co.nz
www.myspace.com/thebrunettes

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Wheat Set To Release New Record In July

Massachusetts band Wheat will release their new full-length record, White Ink, Black Ink, July 21. They're also doing some shows this summer. For those in the New York area, they'll be over at Mercury Lounge on June 27. Have a listen to "H.O.T.T." from the upcoming release.

Track Listing
  • H.O.T.T
  • Changes Is
  • My Warning Song
  • El Sincero
  • Living 2 Die
  • Everything Falls
  • Music Is Drugs
  • Coke and Tanqueray
  • Two Mountains
  • I Want Less
  • Baby In My Way
www.wheatmusic.com
www.myspace.com/wheatmusic

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Kasabian: West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum

UK rock band Kasabian have a new record coming out. Their third studio record, West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum, is due June 8 in the UK and June 9 here in the US. I had heard songs from this pending release and liked what I heard. Those songs put me in the mood for a proper day of Kasabian listening (music player on repeat) and left me looking forward to the new release.

Well, I got my hands on a copy of West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum last week. I got it home, popped it in and I've been listening to it for several days now and haven't gotten bored with it. It should be noted, that this is a big deal for me since I categorize myself as a casual Kasabian listener. When I'm a casual listener of an artist, I tend to listen for a couple of days, get bored and then ignore it until something sparks my interest to listen to it again. This hasn't happened and I don't foresee it happening with West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum as I'm honestly enjoying this work.

My first thoughts were, "this sounds a bit retro." That doesn't mean it sounds old or dated or even that retro is a negative. West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum is some serious electro psychedelic funk. There's a lot of fun rhythm on this record. You get a nice dose of late 60's psychedelia as well as vintage pop sounds mixed with current day electro dance all making for one heck of a rock album.

"Swarfiga" is an instrumental that leaves me imagining this is what you would have heard if Booker T. & The M.G.'s had made music on the sunny beaches of California with a side trip to England instead of Memphis. "Fast Fuse" continues in the same groovy vibe where as "Take Aim" starts acoustic with vague South American flourishes before turning into a wicked mid-tempo groove ... nice.

I wasn't sure about "Thick As Thieves" when I first heard it. But after a couple of listens I found myself enjoying the interesting slice of vintage pop mixed with the theatrical somewhat cabaret leanings it offers up. Somewhere along the line, they decided to channel classic Rolling Stones in "Ladies And Gentleman (Roll The Dice)" and "Happiness." These songs are what you'd imagine The Stones would sound like if they still released good songs.

The highlight songs of the album are the previously mentioned "Swarfiga" and "Vlad The Impaler" with it's serious dirty groove; it beckons you to some hot, sweaty, questionable club to dance half naked pressed against strangers while not giving a damn. If there isn't already a remix for this song, I fully expect one. "Fire," which at the moment is my favorite of the 12 songs, for some reason, during the low key moments reminds me of Jim Morrison and begs me to hippy dance. These low key moments are surrounded by and kick into a modern day dance floor rev up.

Would I recommend West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum? It's an overall good record that casual listeners such as myself can fully enjoy as well as those who consider themselves fans. So, you bet your sweet funky backside I would recommend it.

 Kasabian - West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum

Track Listing
  • Underdog
  • Where Did All The Love Go?
  • Swarfiga
  • Fast Fuse
  • Take Aim
  • Thick As Thieves
  • West Ryder Silver Bullet
  • Vlad The Impaler
  • Ladies And Gentleman (Roll The Dice)
  • Secret Alphabets
  • Fire
  • Happiness
www.myspace.com/kasabian
blog.kasabian.co.uk

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

On Sale Dates For The Week of May 24

Tickets go on sale this week for upcoming shows in the New York Area.

On Sale Friday, May 29, 2009


July 9 -- Those Darlins / Heavy Trash at Mercury Lounge
www.mercuryloungenyc.com
July 17 -- The Dead Winter at Terminal 5
www.terminal5nyc.com
July 27 -- Col
dplay at Jones Beach
jonesbeach.com
July 28 - 29 -- Pete Yorn at Webster Hall
www.websterhall.com
August 13 --
The Script at Webster Hall
www.websterhall.com
September 26 -- The Charlatans UK (pictured) at Music Hall of Williamsburg
www.musichallofwilliamsburg.com
September 29 -- The Charlatans UK at Bowery Ballroom
www.boweryballroom.com

On Sale Saturday, May 30, 2009

September 1 -- The Killers at Jones Beach
jonesbeach.com
September 11 -- The Cult at Terminal 5
www.terminal5nyc.com