The Morning Benders
Bowery Ballroom
10.16.08

If you went to the Bowery Ballroom last night, there's a good chance you have a song stuck in your head. Each of the three bands that played write the type of pop songs that attach themselves to your brain and without sucking out your soul away (like shitty mindless pop).

By now, headliners Ra Ra Riot are poised for greatness and getting all of the attention they deserve for being one of the best young bands alive. Last night did little to hurt the hype, with every minute of their set being purely magical, especially the exceptional strings which tie the songs together. Every blog in NYC will be talking about their performances last night and tonight. If you have a chance to see them, do yourself a favor and catch them now before they become superstars.

Berkeley's The Morning Benders have been on the road with Ra Ra Riot for a while now, and played an excellent opening set last night. With some of the catchiest songs of any bands around today, they showered us with a golden platter of sunny '60s rock. I don't like to bring up age when talking about a band—if a band is good, they're good—but it's hard not to marvel at the maturity of their songwriting at such a young age. Like former tour mates, The Kooks, what they're doing isn't going to change music. It's not something that hasn't been done for years and years, but they're really good at it. And sometimes, our ears/brains can't handle knob twisting noise experimentation, and a great catchy song like set-closer "Waiting For A War" is exactly what we need.

The Morning Benders will be at Death By Audio in Williamsburg tonight for a much more intimate show that promises to be a lot of fun.

Ra Ra Riot will be at Music Hall of Williamsburg tonight and Sound Fix Records Sunday night.

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My Bloody Valentine
Roseland Ballroom
9/22/08

Earlier this year, former Creations Records honcho Alan McGee labeled the My Bloody Valentine reunion tour “nostalgic cabaret,” presumably an insult. And while McGee—the man who apparently lost his finely tailored shirt resulting from extended recording sessions for seminal album Loveless—may not offer an unbiased opinion, there’s still some truth in what he says.

The classic My Bloody Valentine lineup played the first of two shows at Roseland Ballroom on Monday night, hot off the heels of its Catskills triumph at All Tomorrow’s Parties. And while the band’s setlist picks up where it left off before going on a long hiatus in the early ‘90s, it was so ahead of its time back then, that maybe its taken all this time for us to catch up.

Ideally, one could avoid the cliche of speaking about the volume when recalling a My Bloody Valentine show. It’s in every review, and this isn’t going to be any different. And to be fair, earplugs were being handed out at the door.

Hours later, my ears are still ringing, though not to the point of distraction.

On record, My Bloody Valentine is a collage of sound, shimmering samples here, guitar wizardry there, vocals a hushed tickle up the spine buried somewhere deep within the mix. Live, the dynamics are mostly the same, though amped up well past 11. Even in cavernous Roseland, the sound hits everywhere.

Classics like Loveless-opener “Only Shallow” and “Feed Me With Your Kiss” are ferociously beautiful, like receiving flowers on the front of a freight train. The wall of sound was so forceful, it was like being lifted off the ground, only to crash back down when the music ended.

Kevin Shields, the band’s Brian Wilson-esque resident genius, offered little in the way of stage banter, though it didn’t much matter. It all came out as gibberish, lost in the internal echoes of the prior song turning one’s skull to dust.

With the sonic velocity of the guitars, vocals were even more lost than usual, a minor quibble when the music is familiar enough to hear them in phantom form. And with the band mostly bathed only in the light of a series of song-specific collages, and their haircuts pretty much the same as they were the last time they hit U.S. stages more than 15 years ago, it was easy to immerse one’s self in nostalgia, even if it’s, as McGee said, a bit of cabaret.

Even with aural protection readily available, there were many in the sold out crowd who were caught unawares, holding their hands over their ears. At no point was this more apparent than during set closer, “You Made Me Realise” an early single that features a brief white noise interlude. That section of the song became notorious during the band’s initial heyday, as it would stretch it out to agonizing length. At Roseland on Monday, the white noise was a brutal 20-minute assault, overwhelming the sound of countless jaws hitting the floor.

Where My Bloody Valentine go from here is anyone’s guess. [Following the tour, MBV plans to head to the studio to finally record the follow up to their now legendary '91 release Loveless.] But for now, it’s worth having the band come back to remind us why it mattered to long ago, and why it still does in its own way.













Photos by Jonny-Leather


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Sigur Ros
United Palace Theater
9/17/08

When Sigur Ros played the Manhattan Ballroom back in June, it was quite possibly the most ethereal concert experience I’ve ever had. Every moment of their performance was true bliss, and most of the others who were there felt the same way. Concerts of this emotional magnitude come very very rarely. This particular concert transformed me from a mid-level fan to worshiper of the band.

Last night, the epic Icelandic post-rockers returned to New York to play the magnificent United Palace Theater. Stripped down to a quartet for the first time in years, it was a more intimate version of the band than what we saw in June—no Amiina and no horns. Opening with the now classic “Sven G Englar,” there was a noticeable difference in the scale of their sound without the extra band members. The performance never quite reached that degree of ecstasy that was felt at Manhattan Ballroom on June. The setlist may not have been as strong, lights not as glorious, and the sound not as crisp, but it was still about as good a concert as you could ever see.

Without the full band, it was more noticeable just how powerful Goggi’s bass playing is to the sound of the band, especially on masterpieces “Vid Spilum Endalaust” and “Hoppipolla.” Singer/guitarist Jonsi got the crowd to stand and clap along to the freak-folkish “Gobbledigook,” which ended the regular portion of their set. When the band returned to the stage for their encore—the crowd still standing and cheering—in his sweet Icelandic accent Jonsi told the crowd they could sit down again. At that moment a young woman screamed “I Love You,” which pretty much spoke for how we all felt at the moment.

Sigur Ros has reached that level of being something really really special—an extremely unique band that everyone should give a chance. Amazingly they’ve done all this without English lyrics or even pronounceable song titles.

Photos by Jonny Leather


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Ever find yourself in the mood for George Harrison-inspired melodies, death-metal rubber-band bass lines, bone-chilling screams, and Beck-esque lovelorn ballads, all with a dash of volcanic ash?

Well, you’re in luck. Icelandic punk-troubadour and current golden boy Mugison is kicking off his first full-length American tour at Mercury Lounge this Saturday in support of his third (non-soundtrack) album Mugiboogie (released last year in Iceland and last month here on Mike Patton’s label, Ipecac Recordings). Mugiboogie is a swirling, scathing, pensive ride through the fjords and mountains of Mugi’s mind that took home three trophies at the 2007 Icelandic Music Awards, including Rock/Alternative Album of the Year.
In honor of his triumphant return to the states, Mugison answered our burning questions via e-mail communiqué straight from the land of Vikings and stinky fish.

Which Norse god (or goddess) do you identify with most?
Freyja. She´s good looking and everybody wants to eat her food.

Your new record contains both mellow ballads and in-your-face punk-rock. How does each sound define what you want to accomplish through your music?
I have my own studio in the mountains of the west-fjords in Iceland. When I’m writing new stuff I hang myself upside down like a bat and record the noise I make. I have made software that translates that into chords and melodies. It is very random and unpredictable.

In addition to being a musician, you designed the CD art for your debut album, Lonely Mountain (and hand-assembled 10,000 copies of it). How does visual art contribute to your music?
 I like stuff that is special. I love getting friends and family involved making the artwork. I feel it adds to the whole experience. I think it's just as important as one song on the album. We've handmade 30,000 copies of Mugiboogie which you can only buy on my website.

What are you looking forward to about playing in America?
I can’t wait. All the Americans I've met have had a good sense of humor and I hope that goes for all the people showing up at my gigs. I hope everyone brings an extra ten dollars along to the show. I need money. I've got two kids and a dog to feed.

Who would you most want to perform with?
I'd love to perform with my grandfather. I'd also like to make a band with Christina Agulera, Noam Chomsky, Ringo Starr and Lenny Kravitz.

What do you think is the best way to get your music to people?
I think the best thing would be to send a copy to every home in the world, then follow it up by visiting each and every one and playing a few songs.

Which do you prefer: fish or Phish?
I´d like to listen to Phish while I eat my fish.













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That Wainwright clan has a thing for covering other divas. After brother Rufus took his Judy Garland idea to Carnegie Hall, younger sis Martha would be hard-pressed to find a suitable chanteuse to trump such a publicity perfect performance. But she's managed to do it with her decision to perform chansons of Edith Piaf, who has rocketed to new fame amongst the youthful due to the incredible performance of Marion Cotillard in La Vie en Rose.

Last night Martha Wainwright performed 15 songs, mostly Piaf's, as well as a couple of other French-language songs with her mother and aunt, Kate and Anne McGarrigle. She also invited her big brother Rufus Wainwright to play piano for a Josephine Baker song.



It felt something like a semi-professional dress rehearsal, Martha joked that they'd only started to rehearse the day before, and she had failed to memorize the Piaf songs, relying on printed lyrics that she stared at constantly and would whip through during songs, letting the pages fall to the floor.



After stumping her first album for years and then releasing a disappointing sophomore disc this year, it was great to see Martha excel with someone else's songs. In fact, one guy in the audience also felt she was usually better singing other's work rather than her own. "It contains her passion better."

Most of the Little Sparrow's songs she picked were not the canonical tunes— "L'Accordioniste" and "La Foule" were perhaps the more recognizable—rather she sang more obscure songs from the oeuvre, including a rousing "Les Blouses Blanches" and "C'est Toujours" (with clarinet accompaniment). She mentioned this was an idea someone had proposed, with the intention that she would record a full album of songs, so they were trying them out. I was unsure what an audience of mostly 30-40-year-olds would think of a concert completely in French. Especially the native speakers. I asked two Frenchies who were standing behind me named Guilhen and Sylvain. They admitted that they were not diehard Edith Piaf fans, but that it was impossible to escape back home and the movie had revived their interest. They thought Martha sounded great, that her accent and enunciation were perfect and they enjoyed the songs, although they wre not familiar with many of them.

"She's as crazy as Edith Piaf," remarked Sylvain.

Photos by Guillem Clua.


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Judging by the subdued tones of Noah and the Whale's warm and charming debut LP, Peaceful, the World Lays Me Down, released yesterday in the United States, the live show easily could have fallen flat. This might have been a group bound to pretty studio recordings. But if you caught the U.K. band at Union Pool last night, performing its first New York City show, you know that the band suffered through none of the pitfalls that might come with performing a predominantly genteel album.

The band plugged in for this tour, with lead singer, Charlie Fink, commenting that the band felt it necessary to bring the electric guitar and cymbals out for the U.S. tour, so that Noah and the Whale could really "rock out." Fink and his bandmates—Doug Fink (drums), Tom Hobden (fiddle) and Matt Urby (bass)—looked like rockabilly hipsters with plaid button downs and faint pompadour hair styles, and their vocal harmonies, many done a cappella, combined with rollicking guitars and Hobden's impressive fiddle work, gave the show a down-home feel.

The band ran through songs from the recent album and made the bold choice to open with a new song, titled "Run from Hope," and closed with an encore of The Smiths' "Girlfriend in a Coma." Fink's vocal cracks, phrasing and deeper register packed a natural emotional punch, much like Neutral Milk Hotel's Jeff Mangum. Two additional brass players threw in a bit of a Calexico vibe, while Hobden's crying fiddle injected the music with a country feeling that made the band's sound rise up from the ashes of other indie pack-rats. Noah and the Whale's live show completely exceeded expectations and rocked harder than anticipated. The new CD might have its place reserved as a sweet and solid effort, but the live performance showed that the band's sound is a lot richer and more satisfying than even the album might suggest.



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Borrowing their name from a Neil Young movie, Human Highway is the new side project for Islands' frontman Nick Thorburn and former Island member Jim Guthrie. Their album Moody Motorcycle was released in mid-August. Though not as deep or unique as Thorburn's Unicorns and Islands work, Moody Motorcycle is a perfect end-of-summer record, which the band as described as being Everly Brothers'-influenced.

The band debuted in the live form last night at the small LES club, Cake Shop. The 3 back-up musicians came out first, picking up their instruments and setting the groove for "The Sound" before Guthrie and Thorburn joined them. Interestingly, the band essentially played the album straight through, throwing in Jim Guthrie's "Now, More Than Ever" midway. There were points where it showed that the band was new to playing the material live, and Thorburn often became distracted by the buzzing of his amp. They even had the chord progressions for set-closer "Duties of a Lighthouse Keeper" on a paper at their feet. Introducing the song "Pretty Hair," Thorburn told the audience that it was about Brooklyn, more specifically Toxic Brooklyn (a subject NY Press is quite familiar with), and talked a little bit about how crazy it is for the Greenpoint/Williamsburg area to be the most toxic place in America. Then Thorburn shed some dark words with something like "I spend a lot of time there too, so we'll all die together," before starting up the best song of the night.

If you missed them last night, you'll get a second chance when Human Highway plays Joe's Pub tonight.











Photos by Jonny Leather


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Released this past spring, The Evangelist is the first solo album in over a decade for singer-songwriter Robert Forster, though it could be, in some ways, the latest work by his former band the Go-Betweens. Instead, had it not been for an unforeseen circumstance, it might have been the tenth studio release by the critically acclaimed pop group from Brisbane, Australia.

The unforeseen circumstance was the sudden death of Forster’s other Go-Betweens songwriting partner, Grant McLennan, from a heart attack in 2006. He was only 48 years old. At the time both McLennan and Forster were writing songs and planning to work on the follow-up to their previous album, 2005’s Oceans Apart. The group, which began in 1977, effectively ended with McLennan’s death.

When Forster and McLennan got together as university students, they formed what was arguably one of music’s greatest songwriting partnerships. Over the course of nine studio albums, Forster and McLennan wrote some of the most refreshingly intelligent and heartfelt melodic songs in pop music. Their sound and ambitions contrasted with the flavors-of-the-month bands that ruled the ‘80s. They never achieved commercial success or gained the acceptance of a larger mainstream audience, but the Go-Betweens were admired by loyal fans for works such as “Spring Rain,” “Head Full of Steam” and “Streets of Your Town.” After a hiatus in the ‘90s, Forster and McLennan reformed the Go-Betweens and made three more albums between 2000 and 2005.

Forster headlined two shows at Joe’s Pub last night, marking a return to performing in New York City since the Go-Betweens’ shows there three years ago. He had said that he was not even certain about recording again after his friend’s devastating passing. “What remained were shockwaves of grief and days on my veranda,” he wrote in the British newspaper The Sunday Times, “trying to make sense of it all, and of what I was going to do next.”

The artist explained that his motivation for recording The Evangelist was a song that McLennan wrote and played for Forster one night called “Demon Days.” (“I thought it was one of the best four or five he’d ever written,” recalled Forster in that same article). Eventually Forster wrote a majority of The Evangelist’s tracks while the other three songs were co-written with McLennan.

Like the previous Go-Betweens records, the album features exquisite yet pared down playing, evocative lyrics that read like short stories, and Forster’s deadpan vocals. Accompanied by former latter-day Go-Betweens members—bassist Adele Pickvance and drummer Glenn Thompson— Forster delivers something very touching highlighted by the gorgeous title track and the stirring “Don’t Touch Anything.” 
There are several upbeat sounding-songs featuring some of his impressionistic and witty lyrics, including “Padanus” (“The faded blues and greys/ The silver on the water/ Seems to push so many things away”). And there’s even a happy ending in the cheery story song “Let Your Light In, Babe” about a loner who ends up having a wife and child.

But the shadow of Forster’s departed friend looms large on the album. The rockabilly-sounding “It Aint’ Easy” directly references McLennan about his love for melody, cinema, and literature: “And a river ran, and a train ran, and a dream ran through everything he did,” sings Forster. And the joy and upbeat mood from the some of the previous songs is tempered by the final track, “From Ghost Town.” With piano, strings, harmonica, and wistful harmony vocals, it is the most melancholy and heartbreaking song on the album: “David wrote in his goodbye note ‘it’s all different now’/ And it is there’s much I’ll miss as I go on as I move on.”

“Through it all, though, we knew we were honouring [Grant] by making a great record in a place that he knew,” Forster said in The Sunday Times. In some ways The Evangelist serves a purpose in two ways: it’s a memorial album for McLennan from his friend and musical partner; and it provides a sense of closure for one of music’s unforgettable bands.













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"I prefer VHS myself," said Thurston Moore when I told him I have a 15-year-old video tape copy of 1991: The Year That Punk Broke, a tour documentary featuring Sonic Youth, Nirvana and Dinosaur, Jr., amongst many other groundbreaking indie rock acts of the day, completely intact. Moore was about to take the stage with Ian MacKaye, of Minor Threat and Fugazi fame, for a discussion about punk and publishing at yesterday’s Brooklyn Book Festival.  I wanted to know if the DVD version would ever see the light of day.

"There's sort of proprietary issues because of all the Nirvana stuff in it and all that stuff is under control of whoever control's Kurt [Cobain's] estate—That Which Will Not Be Named is how we refer to it—and we don't really want to release it until we can release it with all the extra footage. There's a whole second film and it's a whole other 90 minutes; a completely different cut of all the footage. And it's even crazier!  It has amazing stuff in it. So until we can do that we're not going to do it—it might be a while," he said.

Recently, there's been some rumbling from long-time fans about when the DVD version might hit shelves, especially considering the myriad bonus materials that were left on the cutting room floor. It looks that the peace accord reached with brilliant but troubled grunge widow Courtney Love over the release of Nirvana's box set, With The Lights Out, four years ago has come to an end.

Not to worry though, said Moore. In true punk fashion, he added, "I'm trying to figure out ways of bootlegging it."



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The Kooks, Stellastarr* and Illinois
Central Park, 9/10/08


In front of me stood young British rock stars The Kooks, and behind me was a pack of young screaming girls, held back by a weak metal barrier and little else. The photo pit at Central Park's Rumsey Playfield felt like no man's land on Wednesday. Rarely do I ever see a band with such a young enthusiastic crowd, enveloped with that aching desire to touch a member of the band. It never made much sense why fans want to do whatever it takes to get a piece of a sweaty rock star, but I guess it has to do with making a surreal dreamlike experience feel a little bit more real.

The Kooks are essentially a new British boy band. Their crowd is very young, and the girls go wild for them, especially singer Luke Pritchard. Basically, they're cute young British boys playing insanely catchy pop music. I am in no way comparing The Kooks to American boy bands like NKOTB and N'Sync. These kids are far more talented. The Brits always produce better boy bands, starting with the first one ever, The Beatles. Of course, unlike the American boy bands, bands like The Kooks weren't assembled as some crazy product to sell to unassuming teenage girls.

Despite being one of the biggest bands in England, with two of the top selling British records of the 21st century, they've still got a little ways to go before taking over America. Their set at Central Park was a good start. The best of their perfectly-crafted pop songs got heads bopping, and the closer Pritchard got to the crowd, the louder the screams became.

Their records have never had me entirely convinced, but live renditions of tunes like the Jam-influenced "Always Where I Need To Be" and acoustic "Jackie Big Tits" were incredibly infectious, and have been stuck in my head ever since.







Opening were Buck's County, PA-natives Illinois and Brooklyn's Stellastarr*. I've seen both bands many many times, and have always been impressed, but felt like neither was at top form on Wednesday. Illinois best moments came early with "Oh Asia" and "Screen Door," while the latter part of their set consisted of somewhat head-scratching new material. The band is obviously experimenting with their sound, which is great, but what they do best is that barn-storming banjo-filled rock.







After two records, Stellastarr* seemed to have disappeared for a while, and it's great to see them back. Their set opened with a brand new song, on which Shawn Christensen's vocals approach was noticeably different than in the past. The new songs played were a bit hit and miss, but past favorites like "In The Walls" and "My Coco" sounded great, as usual. Hopefully, we'll see a new album from the band in the near future.







Photos by Jonny-Leather


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