Last month we saw Kings of Convenience at Warsaw in Brooklyn. It's no secret we love Erland and Erik so any chance we get we go to see them. That night we were introduced to Franklin For Short. They were fantastic! It made us even more homesick for Idaho listening to them. Something about their sound makes us think of home. After the show we met them and found out they are from Ventura, CA. So close enough to the home state. They are really nice and humble guys who deserve a listen. You will become hooked instantly like we were. Their albums have become our summer soundtrack.
Brother Bird is a favourite!
Showing posts with label gigs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gigs. Show all posts
14 July 2010
21 March 2010
yes, we look exactly alike
I haven't really been in the mood to contribute to this little blog that maybe 20 people read, but I'm going to be better about this and even try to write something everyday!
So, to start I have a twin story that happened a few weeks ago. Some find it amusing so here it is for you to decide.
Here is some background info first. Heidi and I are really into music and we really love to go gigs as often as possible and we have no problems with traveling to see a band (The Man mostly, but others too). Well, back in February a band I'm totally into was doing a tour of the US and we decided to do a weekend of three shows starting in NYC, then to Philadelphia, then to Washington DC. Three shows in three days may sound nuts to some but its what we like to do. Winter had been bringing us down and we needed this little pick me up. Since Heidi is a master at finding cheap travel deals, I left her to do all the planning while I enjoy her hard work and go along with it.
So, we were in Washington DC to see this band at the 9:30 club and here is the twin part to the story.
There weren't a lot of people outside when we got to the venue and I walked up to this girl (boring and conservative looking-not really relevant but it has to be said anyway) and this is how it went down:
Me: "Is this the line to go in?"
Her: "Who's playing tonight?" (Errrrr thanks for answering my question)
Me: "Band 1, Band 2, Band 3."
Her: "Oh, do they have bangs and glasses?"
A moment of silence since Heidi and I had no idea how to respond since we didn't know what she was talking about.
Heidi: " I don't know, since I don't know what you mean." She thinks a bit and says "Noooooo, no one in any of the bands wear glasses." And they were a bunch of guys, so no bangs either.
Her: "Oh, well I thought you were emulating someone in the band"
Heidi then gives this girl a death stare that only she can give and says rather firmly. "We are identical twins, we were born this way,I'm just being me."
Her: Stammering and backing up away from us since she knew she was an idiot and simpering "oh, I'm sorry I didn't mean to offend" repeatedly. Then she disappeared and we didn't see her again. I totally lost it and kept laughing over Heidi's "just being me" comment. I kept teasing Heidi about it and her look to the girl and how she must have thought we were going to kick her ass. Heidi can get pretty tough and NY on you when she needs to. She's protected me at many a gig when people have been rough on me. Not that I can't defend myself-I did palm a guy in the nose once who grabbed me inappropriately. We've decided to start a girls gang (like the Pink Ladies) called "Sweet and Vicious". So far it's just the two of us.
I guess if I'd thought about it a little bit more I would have picked up on her stupid question but I guess I was just a little annoyed that she wasn't answering my original question. And really our look isn't that unique-girls with bangs and nerd glasses are a dime a dozen in Brooklyn. We think we're different enough but I guess we could do something more about looking so much alike. Yet, neither of us really wants to change our styles so I guess we'll just have to put up with the constant staring, questions, and my favourite-when some people find out we are twins and say to us "god bless you". Um, thanks? I really don't have any special powers because I was born with someone else that looks just like me but that's sweet.
The final gig was great but I think Philly was my favourite since I spent a lot of time during the DC show feeling self conscious about being so bloody identical. While we were waiting for the final band to play I was tapped on the shoulder and a girl said she's seen us at all the shows. I think she thought we were "cute".
--Katie
16 March 2010
18 October 2009
kings of convenience
Kings of Convenience played Bowery Ballroom on the 10th of September and we were fortunate enough to be there. This show was a HOT ticket!
When I first moved to New York they played two nights there. It was the first time I saw them and the first time I had ever been to the Bowery Ballroom. Both nights were fantastic. After the second night I met Erland (who I have a massive crush on) which made me love them even more. Erland is so charming and funny it's impossible not to like him. Plus he is a very talented musician and songwriter. swoon!
This time Katie and I were able to go together along with a friend of hers from work. The show was so magical-it was just the two them with their acoustic guitars (just like last time).
The crowd was so quiet, taking it all in. They played a lot of their news songs from the new album Declaration of Dependence. (it is released on October 20--we highly recommend everyone run out and BUY it!! You won't regret it) At one point you could hear a professional camera snapping pictures which when it's oh-so quiet it can be a bit distracting. After the song was finished Erland said "Dear professional photographer, please refrain from taking pictures." Then Erik offered to pose for a few photos so they could get their shots and be quiet. The poses that they gave were perfect "musician" stances, with a bit of tongue in cheek to them of course. They also did a cover of "It's My Party" and moved into their classics.
The encore was so fantastic. They came out and stood at the edge of the stage and just sang out to the audience without their guitars a favorite of ours "The Build Up" and near the end of the song when Feist joins in we all were wondering if she was there when from above us on the balcony she started singing and everyone freaked out a bit. It was so beautiful and raw.
Found this video of the encore on youtube. It was a fantastic way to end the evening.
04 August 2009
reach out and touch faith
We have been trying for the last few weeks to get tickets for Depeche Mode in NY. Shouldn't be hard but when you have a very small amount of money to spend it is tricky. By the the night of the show (last night) we still didn't have anything but we figured if we went maybe we could find something cheap from someone who just wanted to make some of their money back instead of loosing out on all of it. We weren't even going to be picky about the seats, we just wanted to go. It got down to 15 to 10 minutes before the show and by then all the touts knew that we were not interested in buying from them.
We finally started to accept defeat when we saw a lady who looked like she maybe had some spares to sell so we were about to go ask her when one of the nicer touts that we had spoken to earlier started calling out "where are those two girls, give 'em to them!" He had asked her if she was selling and she was, or so we thought...she then gave us the tickets for free! We offered to pay her what little money we could afford to pay but she insisted we take them. We rushed in with BIG smiles on our faces to find our seats and right when we got to them Depeche Mode came out.
It was fantastic to see them live again and sing and dance to all our old favorites and hear some of their new songs live. As always the visuals were incredible, really adding to the entire experience. Dave was in fine form doing all our favorite moves, Martin looked great in a silver suit and Fletch was so charming as always. It was worth all the stress that we went through to get there.
"Never Let Me Down Again" is one of our favorites live. When Dave has us all put our arms in the air and you look out and see the crowd it's magical. The best part of the show! Below is a clip from Berlin this year. Wonderful.
If you have never seen Depeche Mode 101, you must! Our sweet mother who indulged all our musical obsessions got it for us when we turned 15. We must have watched it every afternoon for months. It is a classic that we still quote to this day.
The video of "Enjoy the Silence" reminds us of our junior high and high school days when we would watch 120 mintues. ahhh....good times
We finally started to accept defeat when we saw a lady who looked like she maybe had some spares to sell so we were about to go ask her when one of the nicer touts that we had spoken to earlier started calling out "where are those two girls, give 'em to them!" He had asked her if she was selling and she was, or so we thought...she then gave us the tickets for free! We offered to pay her what little money we could afford to pay but she insisted we take them. We rushed in with BIG smiles on our faces to find our seats and right when we got to them Depeche Mode came out.
It was fantastic to see them live again and sing and dance to all our old favorites and hear some of their new songs live. As always the visuals were incredible, really adding to the entire experience. Dave was in fine form doing all our favorite moves, Martin looked great in a silver suit and Fletch was so charming as always. It was worth all the stress that we went through to get there.
"Never Let Me Down Again" is one of our favorites live. When Dave has us all put our arms in the air and you look out and see the crowd it's magical. The best part of the show! Below is a clip from Berlin this year. Wonderful.
If you have never seen Depeche Mode 101, you must! Our sweet mother who indulged all our musical obsessions got it for us when we turned 15. We must have watched it every afternoon for months. It is a classic that we still quote to this day.
The video of "Enjoy the Silence" reminds us of our junior high and high school days when we would watch 120 mintues. ahhh....good times
20 July 2009
"i'm not 50, i'm actually 40-10 "
Since we are such the international jet setters we were off to an extended weekend in England just 10 days after getting back from Scotland. Only one thing would make us go back so quickly-The Man's 50th birthday gig at the Apollo Theater. Those that know us have heard us talk for years about him and what an important part he is in our lives, so need we say more about why we rushed back to the UK for this glorious event.
We flew Virgin Atlantic this time and it was not even close to the flights to/from Scotland. Very cozy indeed and again the meals had soggy lumps of spinach in them. Why? Why? Why? Fresh uncooked spinach-yes, cooked spinach-gag inducing. This was a cattle car type situation with six people across and our seats were so uncomfortable barely any sleep was to be had on this red eye flight but there was a great interview on the TV/Radio with the Blur boys so that was good at least.
We flew into London and then took the Megabus (which was way more comfortable than our flight) up to Manchester getting in to the city around early evening. We stayed at a hostel with friends of ours who were also in town for the big event. The hostel was in a great central location just blocks from the city center so we were able to get around without any problems and it was certainly one of the better ones we've stayed in over the years. The only downside was at night the streets were full of drunken lads and ladettes and they are very loud, breaking bottles on buildings etc. We were in the corner room on the top floor so we would get all the noise from both sides, but somehow we manged to fall asleep through it all. It really wasn't bad-does it sound like we hated it? It was really a very nice place and neighborhood (Katie did watch a guy getting arrested our first night there but even that was pretty tame).
Our hostel (party central)
Our first night we walked around to see how much things had changed since we had last been in Manchester 10 years before (then to pay respect for The Man's 40th birthday). Once again, we were surprised by how much we remembered of the city as we had in Edinburgh. After walking around for awhile we ended up at a Thai restaurant for dinner. Not bad, but our server was a bit strange and ended up laughing and leaning in on Katie's shoulder. She was saying something about the couple seated behind us to her but it was extremely hard to understand what she was saying through her fits of giggles, we just pretended to understand and then high tailed it out of there. Next stop was a supermarket for some treats, ie: our daily dose of Malteasers. We eat them constantly every time we are in the UK. Can you blame us really, they are the best treat.
When we got back to our hostel Heidi mentioned her ankles were swollen, her right arm was tingly and she was having mild chest pains. We got on the Internet to investigate what it could be, figuring it was probably from all the travel, and that's what it seemed to be. We decided on a wait and see approach and crashed in our room from exhaustion.
The next morning Heidi woke up early with severe chest pains and was worried that it would get worse. This was the big day that we had traveled so far for, nothing could get in our way of celebrating that night with The Man. So to be on the safe side we ended up going to the infirmary to have Heidi checked out. Fortunately, we got there early enough and it wasn't busy, the rush from the night before had just cleared out before we got there. Everyone was so kind, they took very good care of Heidi and did an excellent job of checking her out. The best part of the whole experience...it was free! Thank goodness for universal health care, especially since Heidi doesn't have any insurance. Just another plus in the pro list of living in the UK.
After the unexpected detour in the morning we got ready to go over to the venue and when we got there the excitement of seeing HIM kicked in. It had been almost two years since our last gig so we were READY. We were able to catch up with lots of old friends and made a few new friends while we there. Even though we had just seen them, it was great to see Maggie and Vikki again and share in all the excitement. (We would never have met them if it wasn't for The Man so we have him to thank for our friendship.) There were many people from all over the world who had traveled for this special event. The first in line was a chap who came from Mexico City, he arrived the day before and just came straight to the venue from the airport.
As the time grew closer for the doors to open we started to get anxious so we peaked inside to see what was happening and saw a banner that made us a bit teary eyed. Just to really bring the point home in case it wasn't obvious by now-we have loved this man with all of our hearts for over half our lives and such an event meant so much to us, we weren't taking it for granted that we were lucky enough to be there for something so very special. There was an electric energy in the air and everyone was excited and so happy to be there to celebrate HIM. It's nice to be surrounded by people who KNOW and UNDERSTAND.
Truer words were never spoken.
A half hour before doors opened the staff of the venue came out to give everyone special laminates for the gig. We grabbed a few just so we would have back-up in case something happened to them during the show. Holding these precious gifts made us teary once again.
The setlist-he didn't really sing that song for the encore (it's a joke) he sang First of the Gang.
The show was amazing and there were so many great moments. The crowd went mental, singing along with all our hearts to "the songs that saved our lives". Heavenly! Here is a clip from YouTube of the crowd singing Happy Birthday. The sign that he holds up was made by our dear friend Vivian. Yea! The sound is a bit dodgy and it's a bit wobbly but you'll get the idea.
On Saturday this man was our source of entertainment while in the queue. By 9:00 am he was well on his was to being drunk for the day. He took it upon himself to chat all the girls up, sleep on every step so we had nowhere to sit, yell incoherently at everyone and then proceed to accidentally spill his beer all over the place. Right after Maggie took this picture for us he walked out into traffic and tried to get hit by all the passing cars. Then he tried to pee in the street, in which he did not succeed. We did get mooned one last time before he left us for the day. The collective groan from us said it all.
That night was yet another brilliant show and again we were just on a total high of happiness. Here is another clip from YouTube from Saturday the 23rd that someone from the balcony recorded. We love what he says about us saving his life-it's really the other way around but nice to have him say it as well.
The next day we went with Maggie around Manchester and revisited the places that are so special to us because they are all associated to HIM.
We lifted the lead off The Holy Name Church.
"A dreaded sunny day, so I meet you at the cemetry gates"
"So we go inside and we gravely read the stones "
"...under the iron bridge we kissed, and although I ended up with sore lips"
The bridge had a lot of graffiti on it that once again made us teary. The love this man inspires is breathtaking.
384 Kings Road where he lived as a boy.
Salford Lads Club, a must in any pilgrimage to Manchester.
The sight of the first ever gig. October 4, 1982 almost exactly 10 years before the first time we ever saw The Man live.
The hospital he was born at. We had the nicest taxi driver who was born and raised in Manchester. He said we were his most interesting fare of the day and seemed to have a lot of fun driving us around.
The G-Mex center (now known as Manchester Central) was home to some famous gigs.
MEN Arena where he played in 2004 for his 45th birthday. The first time he played Manchester in over 12 years. (click on the picture to see it better)
We also did a few other touristy things that weekend. We walked around with Maggie shopping and admiring all the beautiful architecture. The most surprising sight was the public urinals in the city center. Better than a dumpster which is a very popular choice in NY.
We love libraries and the city library here is one of our favourites.
Dale Street...just for you dad. Vinyl Exchange is a well known record shop, we could spend a lot of time there for sure.
She's knicking his wallet! The cheek.
This mural was right outside our hostel. What a sight each morning when we went out.
It was a fantastic weekend filled with celebrations, laughter and so much love for The Man.
We flew Virgin Atlantic this time and it was not even close to the flights to/from Scotland. Very cozy indeed and again the meals had soggy lumps of spinach in them. Why? Why? Why? Fresh uncooked spinach-yes, cooked spinach-gag inducing. This was a cattle car type situation with six people across and our seats were so uncomfortable barely any sleep was to be had on this red eye flight but there was a great interview on the TV/Radio with the Blur boys so that was good at least.
We flew into London and then took the Megabus (which was way more comfortable than our flight) up to Manchester getting in to the city around early evening. We stayed at a hostel with friends of ours who were also in town for the big event. The hostel was in a great central location just blocks from the city center so we were able to get around without any problems and it was certainly one of the better ones we've stayed in over the years. The only downside was at night the streets were full of drunken lads and ladettes and they are very loud, breaking bottles on buildings etc. We were in the corner room on the top floor so we would get all the noise from both sides, but somehow we manged to fall asleep through it all. It really wasn't bad-does it sound like we hated it? It was really a very nice place and neighborhood (Katie did watch a guy getting arrested our first night there but even that was pretty tame).
Our hostel (party central)
Our first night we walked around to see how much things had changed since we had last been in Manchester 10 years before (then to pay respect for The Man's 40th birthday). Once again, we were surprised by how much we remembered of the city as we had in Edinburgh. After walking around for awhile we ended up at a Thai restaurant for dinner. Not bad, but our server was a bit strange and ended up laughing and leaning in on Katie's shoulder. She was saying something about the couple seated behind us to her but it was extremely hard to understand what she was saying through her fits of giggles, we just pretended to understand and then high tailed it out of there. Next stop was a supermarket for some treats, ie: our daily dose of Malteasers. We eat them constantly every time we are in the UK. Can you blame us really, they are the best treat.
When we got back to our hostel Heidi mentioned her ankles were swollen, her right arm was tingly and she was having mild chest pains. We got on the Internet to investigate what it could be, figuring it was probably from all the travel, and that's what it seemed to be. We decided on a wait and see approach and crashed in our room from exhaustion.
The next morning Heidi woke up early with severe chest pains and was worried that it would get worse. This was the big day that we had traveled so far for, nothing could get in our way of celebrating that night with The Man. So to be on the safe side we ended up going to the infirmary to have Heidi checked out. Fortunately, we got there early enough and it wasn't busy, the rush from the night before had just cleared out before we got there. Everyone was so kind, they took very good care of Heidi and did an excellent job of checking her out. The best part of the whole experience...it was free! Thank goodness for universal health care, especially since Heidi doesn't have any insurance. Just another plus in the pro list of living in the UK.
After the unexpected detour in the morning we got ready to go over to the venue and when we got there the excitement of seeing HIM kicked in. It had been almost two years since our last gig so we were READY. We were able to catch up with lots of old friends and made a few new friends while we there. Even though we had just seen them, it was great to see Maggie and Vikki again and share in all the excitement. (We would never have met them if it wasn't for The Man so we have him to thank for our friendship.) There were many people from all over the world who had traveled for this special event. The first in line was a chap who came from Mexico City, he arrived the day before and just came straight to the venue from the airport.
As the time grew closer for the doors to open we started to get anxious so we peaked inside to see what was happening and saw a banner that made us a bit teary eyed. Just to really bring the point home in case it wasn't obvious by now-we have loved this man with all of our hearts for over half our lives and such an event meant so much to us, we weren't taking it for granted that we were lucky enough to be there for something so very special. There was an electric energy in the air and everyone was excited and so happy to be there to celebrate HIM. It's nice to be surrounded by people who KNOW and UNDERSTAND.
Truer words were never spoken.
A half hour before doors opened the staff of the venue came out to give everyone special laminates for the gig. We grabbed a few just so we would have back-up in case something happened to them during the show. Holding these precious gifts made us teary once again.
The setlist-he didn't really sing that song for the encore (it's a joke) he sang First of the Gang.
The show was amazing and there were so many great moments. The crowd went mental, singing along with all our hearts to "the songs that saved our lives". Heavenly! Here is a clip from YouTube of the crowd singing Happy Birthday. The sign that he holds up was made by our dear friend Vivian. Yea! The sound is a bit dodgy and it's a bit wobbly but you'll get the idea.
On Saturday this man was our source of entertainment while in the queue. By 9:00 am he was well on his was to being drunk for the day. He took it upon himself to chat all the girls up, sleep on every step so we had nowhere to sit, yell incoherently at everyone and then proceed to accidentally spill his beer all over the place. Right after Maggie took this picture for us he walked out into traffic and tried to get hit by all the passing cars. Then he tried to pee in the street, in which he did not succeed. We did get mooned one last time before he left us for the day. The collective groan from us said it all.
That night was yet another brilliant show and again we were just on a total high of happiness. Here is another clip from YouTube from Saturday the 23rd that someone from the balcony recorded. We love what he says about us saving his life-it's really the other way around but nice to have him say it as well.
The next day we went with Maggie around Manchester and revisited the places that are so special to us because they are all associated to HIM.
We lifted the lead off The Holy Name Church.
"A dreaded sunny day, so I meet you at the cemetry gates"
"So we go inside and we gravely read the stones "
"...under the iron bridge we kissed, and although I ended up with sore lips"
The bridge had a lot of graffiti on it that once again made us teary. The love this man inspires is breathtaking.
384 Kings Road where he lived as a boy.
Salford Lads Club, a must in any pilgrimage to Manchester.
The sight of the first ever gig. October 4, 1982 almost exactly 10 years before the first time we ever saw The Man live.
The hospital he was born at. We had the nicest taxi driver who was born and raised in Manchester. He said we were his most interesting fare of the day and seemed to have a lot of fun driving us around.
The G-Mex center (now known as Manchester Central) was home to some famous gigs.
MEN Arena where he played in 2004 for his 45th birthday. The first time he played Manchester in over 12 years. (click on the picture to see it better)
We also did a few other touristy things that weekend. We walked around with Maggie shopping and admiring all the beautiful architecture. The most surprising sight was the public urinals in the city center. Better than a dumpster which is a very popular choice in NY.
We love libraries and the city library here is one of our favourites.
Dale Street...just for you dad. Vinyl Exchange is a well known record shop, we could spend a lot of time there for sure.
She's knicking his wallet! The cheek.
This mural was right outside our hostel. What a sight each morning when we went out.
It was a fantastic weekend filled with celebrations, laughter and so much love for The Man.
12 July 2009
passion pit
A few weeks ago we went to see the much hyped Passion Pit play at Bowery Ballroom. We have been addicted to the ep and the album so we were very excited to see them live. Once again we hit the jackpot with great opening bands. First was Body Language from Brooklyn (whoot!). So much energy and so much fun. Their visuals were very 70's retro but perfect for the set. They just released an ep, it will have to tide us over until they release a full album. Check out their song "Sandwiches", it's our favorite. Next was Bear Hands another Brooklyn band (whoot whoot!). Completely different sound, a bit edgier and raw. They remind us of Les Savy Fav. It was a great set and they got us geared up for the main event. Check out their song "Can't Stick 'em", we love it!
When Passion Pit came out everyone was ready to dancity dance. They were excited to be there and they got the crowd movin'. The set lasted about an hour, it may have been a short set but it was certainly packed with all our favorites. Can't wait to see them again in September when they open for Pheonix, now that will be a brilliant gig!
Check out their video for "Sleppyhead". So creative and different.
When Passion Pit came out everyone was ready to dancity dance. They were excited to be there and they got the crowd movin'. The set lasted about an hour, it may have been a short set but it was certainly packed with all our favorites. Can't wait to see them again in September when they open for Pheonix, now that will be a brilliant gig!
Check out their video for "Sleppyhead". So creative and different.
13 June 2009
doll and the kicks
While in Manchester we had the chance to see Doll and the Kicks. We like them a lot, please check them out.
22 May 2009
we've come to wish you a happy birthday
Happy Birthday to "The Man " Today he is celebrating the milestone of 50 and we are so happy to celebrate with him in his hometown of Manchester. We originally didn't think we would be able to go but we're so glad we did. He has been such a large part of our lives for the last 16 1/2 years how could we not say thank you and be there with him.
"For everybody there is an artist that captures you just at the right time, and you never let them go, and they can never disappoint you." Yes, so true.
31 March 2009
the courteeners
We recently saw The Courteeners who hail from Manchester. Their set was fantastic! We were familiar with a few songs but hearing them live always makes a big difference. We were instantly hooked. The songs are strong and layered so each time you hear them something different comes out in the lyrics or the music. They also had family at the gig, it was so fun to watch their parents singing and cheering them on. They all looked so proud of their boys. AwwwBelow is one of our favorites but we recommend checking out the entire album. It's quickly gone onto our most played this week.
23 February 2009
mystery jets
We're glad that we're finally going to see Mystery Jets tomorrow night. We've been listening to them a lot as of late. This song is our current favorite and has been on a constant repeat. Edward Scissorhands is even in the band!
--heidi
--heidi
20 February 2009
start the love affair
This song by The Bird & The Bee is so fabbity fab and since I totally dig Japan I love it even more for that. I've been listening to it a lot and I can't wait to see them play in a few weeks. I saw them perform on TV a few weeks ago and haven't stopped doing the back up girls dance since and by the way how great are their outfits?
--Katie
--Katie
05 February 2009
wildbirds & peacedrums
We went to see Lykke Li again this week in Williamsburg. As always she was brilliant. That girl can dance, dance, dance. She did a cover of Kings Of Leon's "Knocked Up" that was so heartfelt. At one point she had her drummer on one side of the stage and the drummer for Wildbirds & Pecedrums on the other side of the stage drumming together. The sound was incredible and intense. Loved it!
We love to get to all gigs early enough for the opener because you never know what hidden gem you might discover. For Lykke Li it was Wildbirds & Peacedrums (from the lovely land of Sweeden) WOW is what we thought with the first song and by the end of their set we were hooked. Worth checking out live if you ever have the chance. Beautiful and very moving.
--heidi
We love to get to all gigs early enough for the opener because you never know what hidden gem you might discover. For Lykke Li it was Wildbirds & Peacedrums (from the lovely land of Sweeden) WOW is what we thought with the first song and by the end of their set we were hooked. Worth checking out live if you ever have the chance. Beautiful and very moving.
--heidi
07 June 2008
gigs galore
At the end of April and into May we went to quite a few shows but we've been so busy we haven't written about them so we're going to break it up into a few posts.
We saw Elbow with Jesca Hoop at Webster Hall on April 26. Right before Jesca was due to come out Guy Garvey from Elbow came onstage to introduced her. He said that her voice was soft and beautiful, one of his favorites of all time, and he asked that people not talk since they were in for a special treat and he wanted us all to enjoy her music. That's asking a lot for a NY crowd, especially with the bar at the back of the venue. People were quiet at first but half way through her set more people arrived and soon a lot of people were chattering over her. She made a comment but to no avail. Her music was lovely and her voice is very unique in a soft whisper kind of way.
It was so great to finally see Elbow live after being fans since their first album came out in 2002. They started out with "Starlings" which has such a dramatic beginning, it set the mood for the rest of the night. We knew it was going to be great but they completely exceeded our expectations. They played most songs off the new album "The Seldom Seen Kid". Highlights were when they sang "Mirror ball" Guy requested that the huge mirror ball come down for the song. Between the song and the lovely glimmering mirror ball the set was so memorable.
At the final song when Guy asked everyone to sing along (something about this venue- it prompts sing-a-longs?) to "One Day Like This". He looked up at us in the balcony and said to the guy next to Katie "I see you up there in the green shirt, you'd better sing along or else I'll have to come up there for you". Then he said we'd have to sing something if we wanted them to come back for an encore. A guy in the crowd suggested "Killing Me Softly" so that's what we did-when Guy Garvey askes you to sing-you do it. It really was brilliant to hear it start quiet and then get louder and louder. Guy loved it! He said it gave him goose bumps. It was ace!
Next we went to see The Teenagers play at the Music Hall of Williamsburg on May 3. There were two opening bands and while The Blakes were okay it was really their drummer we liked the most. We dig a good drummer that's for sure. The hall wasn't very full yet so we had a great time watching people act like fools. You'd think they don't get out much by the way they act but we suspect they are like this all the time-sad.
The second opening band were HORRIBLE. It was really unbearable to stand through their set. The "music" wasn't much more than noise (we sound so old but really-when you hear great music all the time the bad stuff is just SO BAD) and they kept jumping off the stage and "singing" in the crowd. They totally reminded us of "dance bully" from SLC. (Dance bully is a guy Katie would have to endure in Salt Lake at shows who would bully people into dancing like him or just dancing in general and he is utterly annoying in every way and has developed quite a following of disgusted people-Katie would have none of his antics and proudly pushed past him at a Bloc Party gig to avoid his "dancing".) One of the guys in the band had his parents there and they were more fun to watch than the band. Even though their son's band is utter crap they are still there to support him. Ahhh
The Teenagers were fun but since they just have the one album their set wasn't very long. They were surprisingly better live than expected but not a group we need to go see every time they are in town. They still have a long way to go to become a truly great band (if they even want to be one) which we doubt as they seem more like a band that's just fun at the time but doesn't have the longevity to keep going for years and years. They also went into the audience to sing and make people dance during their set, then they invited a lot of trashy girls up on stage to dance with them. It will be interesting to see if they evolve or fizzle out.
May 8 was El Perro Del Mar with Lykke Li and Anna Ternheim at the Bowery Ballroom It was a Swedish extravaganza! Sweden is just churning out the great musicians lately.
Anna has a beautiful soft voice and she had great stage banter. She told a story about when she first moved to New York her neighbor had recently been mugged and when Anna met her for the first time she had knife in her hand. What a welcome! Anna looked a bit like Jodie Foster from Freaky Friday, a personal favorite so we automatically liked her.
She had beautiful songs and played the most wonderful cover of China Girl by Bowie so we had to buy her cd. It is definitely worth checking out.
Lykke Li was fantastic! She wore a cropped shirt and very wide legged, high waisted trousers that made her dancing the best entertainment of the night. Her jewelry was the cherry on top of her look, many heavy gold chains-how very early 80's of her. Hearing her songs live made us love them even more.
El Perro del Mar was lovely but her expressions made it seem she was in pain the entire time. She smiled a few times, mostly at the end when she was singing with Lykke. It was a fabulous girls only night of music.
We saw Elbow with Jesca Hoop at Webster Hall on April 26. Right before Jesca was due to come out Guy Garvey from Elbow came onstage to introduced her. He said that her voice was soft and beautiful, one of his favorites of all time, and he asked that people not talk since they were in for a special treat and he wanted us all to enjoy her music. That's asking a lot for a NY crowd, especially with the bar at the back of the venue. People were quiet at first but half way through her set more people arrived and soon a lot of people were chattering over her. She made a comment but to no avail. Her music was lovely and her voice is very unique in a soft whisper kind of way.
It was so great to finally see Elbow live after being fans since their first album came out in 2002. They started out with "Starlings" which has such a dramatic beginning, it set the mood for the rest of the night. We knew it was going to be great but they completely exceeded our expectations. They played most songs off the new album "The Seldom Seen Kid". Highlights were when they sang "Mirror ball" Guy requested that the huge mirror ball come down for the song. Between the song and the lovely glimmering mirror ball the set was so memorable.
At the final song when Guy asked everyone to sing along (something about this venue- it prompts sing-a-longs?) to "One Day Like This". He looked up at us in the balcony and said to the guy next to Katie "I see you up there in the green shirt, you'd better sing along or else I'll have to come up there for you". Then he said we'd have to sing something if we wanted them to come back for an encore. A guy in the crowd suggested "Killing Me Softly" so that's what we did-when Guy Garvey askes you to sing-you do it. It really was brilliant to hear it start quiet and then get louder and louder. Guy loved it! He said it gave him goose bumps. It was ace!
Next we went to see The Teenagers play at the Music Hall of Williamsburg on May 3. There were two opening bands and while The Blakes were okay it was really their drummer we liked the most. We dig a good drummer that's for sure. The hall wasn't very full yet so we had a great time watching people act like fools. You'd think they don't get out much by the way they act but we suspect they are like this all the time-sad.
The second opening band were HORRIBLE. It was really unbearable to stand through their set. The "music" wasn't much more than noise (we sound so old but really-when you hear great music all the time the bad stuff is just SO BAD) and they kept jumping off the stage and "singing" in the crowd. They totally reminded us of "dance bully" from SLC. (Dance bully is a guy Katie would have to endure in Salt Lake at shows who would bully people into dancing like him or just dancing in general and he is utterly annoying in every way and has developed quite a following of disgusted people-Katie would have none of his antics and proudly pushed past him at a Bloc Party gig to avoid his "dancing".) One of the guys in the band had his parents there and they were more fun to watch than the band. Even though their son's band is utter crap they are still there to support him. Ahhh
The Teenagers were fun but since they just have the one album their set wasn't very long. They were surprisingly better live than expected but not a group we need to go see every time they are in town. They still have a long way to go to become a truly great band (if they even want to be one) which we doubt as they seem more like a band that's just fun at the time but doesn't have the longevity to keep going for years and years. They also went into the audience to sing and make people dance during their set, then they invited a lot of trashy girls up on stage to dance with them. It will be interesting to see if they evolve or fizzle out.
May 8 was El Perro Del Mar with Lykke Li and Anna Ternheim at the Bowery Ballroom It was a Swedish extravaganza! Sweden is just churning out the great musicians lately.
Anna has a beautiful soft voice and she had great stage banter. She told a story about when she first moved to New York her neighbor had recently been mugged and when Anna met her for the first time she had knife in her hand. What a welcome! Anna looked a bit like Jodie Foster from Freaky Friday, a personal favorite so we automatically liked her.
She had beautiful songs and played the most wonderful cover of China Girl by Bowie so we had to buy her cd. It is definitely worth checking out.
Lykke Li was fantastic! She wore a cropped shirt and very wide legged, high waisted trousers that made her dancing the best entertainment of the night. Her jewelry was the cherry on top of her look, many heavy gold chains-how very early 80's of her. Hearing her songs live made us love them even more.
El Perro del Mar was lovely but her expressions made it seem she was in pain the entire time. She smiled a few times, mostly at the end when she was singing with Lykke. It was a fabulous girls only night of music.
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