baby

It has been miserably hot in NY this week so why do I keep listening to music that makes me want to dance? So I can sweat more? I can't get enough of this remix right now so it looks like I will have to try to find a place with a/c to listen to this on repeat and not die from the heat.

i need to listen to this more so I'm forced to walk at a more leisurely pace so I won't melt.

--heidi

manchester...so much to answer for

We have been back from Scotland for just ten days and now we are off again. This time we are going for a long weekend to Manchester, England to celebrate a very important birthday. We just couldn't miss this glorious event.

Soon we'll have lots of pictures from both Scotland and Manchester-once we've recovered.

fischerspooner

Last night we went to the first of three open rehearsals Fischerspooner was holding at The Performing Garage in Soho. Each rehearsal holds 60 people so it was very intimate. It was BRILLIANT!! The new direction that they are moving in is so incredible. Their creativity is beyond words, each time we see them we are in complete awe.

If they are coming to a city near you, you must go. We promise you will be so glad you went.

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

bunneymen never stop

This morning we were reminiscing about our high school years and how we found out about good music. Growing up in Idaho we did not have access to radio stations that played anything other that top 40 music, blech. We instead had to rely on music papers and magazines from the UK which we could only get when we went to Utah. Back when there was Select, Melody Maker, Q and enemy to THE MAN the NME. The later two are still around but we don't read them as much if at all anymore. We also had the beloved show 120 Minutes on MTV. It was on Sunday nights at 10 pm. As mentioned before we lived for this show. One of the best videos we ever saw that will always be a favorite of ours is by Echo and the Bunneymen. It's just a performance video but it still gets us geared up to boogie and sing our hearts out. We recently saw the Bunneymen at Radio City Music Hall and as always it was FANTASTIC!! The first half was a lot of classic songs, we sang and danced like we were 15 again. The second half was with a full orchestra and they performed all the songs off their classic album Ocean Rain. Throughout the second half old photos of the the band were projected up on screens. It was so lovely to see them when they were first starting out. We just love 'em!

work is a four letter word

We have been back for a week but have been trying to catch up with work and life. Right now our Internet is spotty since we are pirating wi-fi from our neighbors until the cable man comes. Only a week more to go! Then we will resume our regular posting. Until then please enjoy this fabbity-fab video by a brill band from London, it's...The Rakes. Gotta love 'em. This song is one of our current favorites, it's a toe tapper.

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.

thank you for your live

My friend at work told me today about a great web page where you can view live shows. I feel like I was slow to catch this train but now I'm on board! Check out fabchannel to see if your favorite bands are on it, they seem to be constantly adding more shows so it's good to always check back. They are mainly shot in Amsterdam so it has an intimate feeling from a smaller venue.


--heidi

french kicks are fab that is le fact

To celebrate finishing our taxes we went to the final night of French Kicks residency at Mercury Lounge. This show was the official beginning of their tour in support of their new album. The venue is so small, it was destined to be a fun intimate gig. The only downside was that it was a late show so they didn't even go on until 11:00. Thankfully is doesn't take us long to get home from the lower east side. They played all our favorite songs and the new album promises to be just as great as their others. Mercury Lounge is so small that the band has to walk through the crowd to get to the stage. Hard to make an "entrance" with that kind of set up. It was a great gig but we were tres tired after and very thankful that our train came quickly.

smokin' hot

Last Tuesday night we saw Hot Chip and Matthew Dear at The Music Hall of Williamsburg. This show was added after the April 12th show at Terminal 5 sold out. Of course we would rather see the Hot Chip boys in a smaller venue since they are so fun live. Our friend Emily came with us and we had so much fun! Hot Chip live is an experience to be had, you just can't help but dance the whole time. New Yorkers get a bad wrap for being "too cool for school" at gigs and never dancing. The last few shows we have been to are just the opposite, maybe people are starting to lighten up a bit.

We were a little bit familiar with Matthew Dear since we had heard that just a few days before he had his hard drive stolen out from under him at a gig. We were very impressed with him, his voice is deep and rich and the way he danced and clapped was fun to watch. The first thing we really noticed about Mr. Dear was how tight his jeans were. They were so tight you could see the outline of his front pockets. Impressive that he could dance in them. We could see the boys from Hot Chip watching from the back and then they came out and joined Matthew on his song "Don & Sherri". Even though Matthew was the opener people were already dancing, this does not happen often, usually people are saving their energy for the main event. It was a sign that the night was going to get better and better.



Hot Chip played songs from their new album but they also played all the old favorites. "Over and Over" and "No Fit State" had the crowds going crazy. We danced like there was no tomorrow. Definitely one of the best shows we have been to of theirs. As always there is at least one twat in the crowd that is acting the total fool. Thankfully this time they were not by us.


Love that they can play multiple instruments and switch it up throughout the show. It just shows that they are all talented musicians. We were all so tired after the show but it was so worth it because we had so much fun. Check out Hot Chip if you can, you will not be sorry!

jens is worth 900 kroner

We have a new tradition of going to a restaurant called Yummy House before shows at Webster Hall since it's just right around the corner. It's cheap and indeed yummy. The veggie dumplings are green (love!) and they have many vegetarian options for us to choose from. There is also an Asian convenience store across the street with all sorts of fascinating items to purchase-like candies with Hello Kitty packaging. We didn't get anything but this place requires further investigation when we're not rushing off to a show.



Saturday night we went to see Jens Lekman with The Honeydrips at Webster Hall. Both are from the fabulous land of Sweden. We had not heard of The Honeydrips but we loved him, not surprising at all since he's Swedish. It's just one guy and his computer and he bobs his head very s l o w l y while he sings and it's mesmerizing to watch. He also stands with his arms at his side and his hands stuck out almost parallel to his body and closes his eyes and just sings-all the while he has a guitar strapped over the front of his body but he never plays it. We LOVED his set-not only was his music wonderful but he made us giggle too (he also has a bitchin tattoo at the crook of his arm and who doesn't love a great tattoo?).



Jens came out with his band and was so lovely (yeah we use that term a lot but it's the best word to describe things). He quieted all the cheering and respectfully asked for just one night that no one video the show as he thought it was going to be a special night and he just wanted everyone there to be a part of it and not share it with the rest of the world.



Jens has a great band of all girls plus one guy named Viktor, he does the digital sounds. Both Jens and Viktor had on slim trousers with white shoes. Viktor's trousers were a bit cropped and they kept creeping up through out the night showing off his white socks. He pulled it off in a way most guys could not. At one point he was dancing and did this kick to the music, it was timed out perfectly. It is moments like that, that make the show even better because they are getting into the music just as much as we are.


Jens is a very good storyteller. Our favorite story was before one of the last songs he played when he held up his instrument and explained it was from South Africa and it's always fun coming through US Customs with it. The customs agent is usually called John and there is also always another guy behind him named Bob and they are trying to figure out what it is and then Jens explains that it's an instrument. Well, "John" tells "Bob" to wikipedia it and then they also decide to wikipedia Jens when they find out he's a musician. He said (sarcastically) he loves that U.S. government workers use wikipedia as a tool in their job. Then he mentioned his friend in Chicago who monitors his wikipedia page to make sure it doesn't have any correct information on it. For the encore Jens would consider finishing but then do "one more song" and for the actual final song of the evening. He had the entire crowd singing with him to "Pocketful of Money ", it was truly a beautiful moment that is so rare-especially in such a large crowd. There was an energy of a sincere love for the music and everyone was just mesmerized (not to sound corny but that's how it was really).



Afterwards on the subway home we were laughing so much and being silly over a music magazine we were looking through. Then we had a great moment on the train that made us laugh even more. There was a couple next to us who were probably in their mid-fifties and Bob (yes-Bob again) was determined to get off at Jay Street and transfer to the F train. Bob chose to disregard the MANY announcements that the conductor had made at e v e r y stop. His wife called out to him "BOB! BOB! the F train isn't running!" The stop for the shuttle bus was next at the spooky Hoyt Schermerhorn stop. Bob ignored his wife and got off anyway. She freaked out and wouldn't get off the train and was yelling at him to get back on. He was just ignoring her and being very stubborn but was finally convinced that he did need to get back on and made it just before the doors closed where they continued their bickering until the next stop. This just struck us as the most hilarious thing and for the rest of the ride we were so energized and chattering away about the UK music scene and what we thought of certain bands etc. It's been awhile since we've been that energetic so late at night after a long day, but don't worry, as soon as we hit the door to our place we collapsed exhausted. This was a great start to a month of almost 2 gigs a week.

dance fever

Last Saturday we went to see Digitalism at Webster Hall. We had heard good things about them and were familiar with one song so we went to check them out for ourselves. Webster Hall's sound is better from the balcony so we made sure to get there earlyish and claim our spot, plus the view is better--as in no tall people in front of us equaling no view at all.

The opening DJ was OK for about two songs and then after that it became repetitive and boring. It turned into the same thumping beat for 30 minutes. We took that time to people watch, which in NY is always fun since there are so many interesting people here.

Once Digitalism came on the entire mood of the venue shifted into full dance mode. The whole show was great and their sound was incredible. We were next to a guy who looked like Elvis Costello and he was hilarious to watch dance. He would run around behind where we were standing and then stand with his back against the wall and shake his bottom back and forth. Then he would call out to whoever was listening " you are.....my friend". He was German so maybe that explains it a bit? The encore turned into madness as people climbed on stage to dance. The flood gates opened and before security knew what hit them there were so many people on stage there almost wasn't any room the equipment. A fun evening indeed!

good friday was good to us

Last Friday was a fun day, but a long day full of activities. We both had the day off and had originally intended to go to the Museum of Natural History but since it was a holiday weekend and NYC is full of people on spring break we decided it would be full of annoying tourists so we decided to have a play day in Brooklyn instead.

Brooklyn has so much charm and history to it, we could walk around and explore for hours (actually, it's a favorite activity in any city we are in) which is essentially what we did. We went to some neighborhoods that we had never been to before like Clinton Hill, Fort Greene and Boerum Hill. These parts of Brooklyn are smallish and are all right next to each other. There are lots of great little shops and restaurants and we felt right at home in this 'hood. Too bad most of the area is too expensive for us to live in, but now we know what is there and can go visit. We will definitely need to go back and try out one of the several middle eastern restaurants we found. Serious withdrawals are in effect for Kaite after eating yummy food almost every week for a year in SLC at Mazza. Nothing will ever compare to the fabulousness that is the hummus there but we're going to try and find an adequate replacement.

Here are some pictures Heidi took on our walk.






After a long day of walking and giggling we took the G train over to Williamsburg to see Sons and Daughters at the Music Hall of Williamsburg. We had never been to this venue before since it has only been open a few months but we are now fans and will make a point of going to shows there as often as we can since the venue is very similar to the Bowery Ballroom. The only difference here was a raised area on the sides of the main floor that gave a better view of the stage. We elected to stand there so we would have a place to lean, plus if someone tall stood in front of us we would still be able to see. There is nothing worse than when a tall person walks right up and stands right in front of you and believe us it always happens!

There were two opening bands before Sons and Daughters, first was The Brunettes from New Zealand and then Bodies of Water from LA. We've both seen The Brunettes before and we were looking forward to hearing their new album live, especially "Her Hairigami Set"-such a lovely song and we never tire of it. A bit disappointed they didn't do "If You Were An Alien" as that is a current favorite too. Heather has such a sweet voice-sweet as in nice not sweet in a sufer dude way. They also have the best way of introducing the band in the name song-a la banana fanna.


We hadn't gotten into Bodies of Water even though there's buzz about them (there isn't time for everything!). The best thing about them is their rocking girl drummer! Oh so jealous as we've always wanted to learn to play drums.



For the most part we liked them but the lead girl needs to work on her stage banter a bit. She was trying to be funny and she WASN'T. Also, being the fashion girls we are, could Mr. Guitar player work on the wardrobe a bit-he looked like he'd just come from mowing lawns. Big baggy shirts and light denim are no one's friend. We get the whole "it's about the music not my clothes" thing but really-it is about your clothes too. The bass player gets it-he needs to pull his bandmate aside and give him some help. Okay, so back to their music-which was pretty good and they have an Arcade Fire quality to their sound but at the end it was getting a bit repetitious and a tad bit dull.


Sons and Daughters were brilliant and it was great to hear the new songs. They started with "Dance Me In" which is such a rocking tune it got everyone going. Adele had wee little shorts on under her top and some great gold socks. She was a golden goddess and seemed in a happy mood even though when she sings she seems so GRRR tough.

Really, they are such a great band and are truly talented. Katie was lucky enough to meet them a few years ago in SLC when they opened for Bright Eyes and chat with them in their dressing room (thanks Maddy!) where they lent her their all access pass to go see them play. Oh, those Glaswegians we love ye! There is so much greatness that comes from that city... which is why we're going in October!!



It was a long day and rolling into our flat at 2am was rough knowing we had to be at work by 8 and 9 am respectively and then going out again Saturday night to see Digitalism. Yes, it's a tough life. CHEEKY!

pigeons are streetwise doves

Last week we decided to go to The Pigeon Detectives show at Bowery Ballroom. Heidi had heard about them from somewhere and even though we hadn't heard more than a minute of one or two of their songs we decided to take a chance and check them out. The Bowery Ballroom is one of Heidi's favorite venues because the sound guy is famous for being the best around.

When we got there we caught the last four songs of the first opener's set-Emily the Great (bit presumptious). She was okay but could really use a band backing her up as just her and some guy on guitar for most of the songs with an occasional violinist is a bit lacking in energy in such a space. It would have worked great in a little coffee shop or something. The second band was Your Vegas and they were from Leeds originally but are now based in NYC-normally an English band would have us excited as we LURV the brit bands but you wouldn't even know these guys were from England and we were not impressed. After two or three songs it was evident they were big fans of U2 and The Killers and were into making "safe" tunes for the masses. Their sound was very... produced. Almost like they weren't really playing their instruments at all and it was them miming to a recording. We also thought they sounded like they could be on the soundtrack to a classic 80's film with Michael J. Fox called The Secret Of My Success. I'm sure they'll do well in the US as the general public dig this kind of crap music.

I had high hopes for The Pigeon Detectives (from Leeds and definitely more our kind of band than the previous Leeds boys) since the night was so far a bit of a disappointment and thankfully they were brilliant!


They are an energetic bunch and the lead singer (looks a bit like a young Rod Stewart) is especially fun to watch. He loves to pour water over his head and shake it out over the crowd and then throw the rest of his water bottle out over everyone. He must have gone through 12 bottles of water during their whole set and it was a bit "Flashdance" at times but we had a giggle over it.






The guy can also really work a mic! He would fling his mic and chord out about 10 feet and whip it back and catch it like it was the most natural thing and so easy to do. He must practice a lot because not once did that mic hit anyone or drop to the floor. At one point while we waited for the guitarist to fix his guitar Mr. Lead Singer pulled a guy up on stage to tell a "joke" (which was lame and he was quickly taken away for being LAME).




You wouldn't have known we didn't know any of their songs as we were hopping up and down and clapping like fiends the whole time-especially to "I'm Not Sorry" which was the final song of the night and had us pogoing like mad. Being up since 5 am that morning it's amazing where I got the energy, but good music can give me a bit of an adrenaline rush. Pigeon Detectives saved the night!

-Katie

just start it already!

Okay, it's time to just start this and it's going to be fun right? We keep talking about starting this, but later, and now is the time to just do it. We've been pretty busy with work and going to gigs. That's the beauty of living in NYC-there are bands playing all the time and we've gone to 3 in a week. Last Saturday we went to Sia at Webster Hall, Tuesday we saw Pigeon Detectives at the Bowery Ballroom and this Saturday we went to Cut Copy in Brooklyn at Studio B. Being the music addicts that we are we have more shows coming up this weekend with Sons and Daughters and Digitalism. There will be plenty to write about. Stay tuned for the shenanigans to really begin.