 Bear Hands was a pleasant surprise – musically. On stage they were nothing special, but certainly sounded nice. They were kind of funny to look at, as the lead guitarist, who actually added the necessary atmosphere to fill out the sound and bring together some of the dreamy, ambient parts of the songs, was soooo disinterested. I got bored watching him act bored. So it goes, I guess.
But the bashing stops there, because I enjoyed what I heard. And it’s hard to rag on a band when the music sounds good. They were one of the few performers at Siren to sound cohesive enough on stage where I could actually make out the subtleties of the arrangements and structure. It’s not like Bear Hands are treading new territory here – they sounded fairly standard for a pop/rock group, but they did layer their sound very nicely and played well off of each other. Definitely good chemistry, which was a plus, helping to offset the lack of a “wow” factor. After Siren it’s easy to forget that you don’t (…necessarily) need to induce mosh pits or to crowd surf on bass drums to be heard.
Bear Hands -“Bad Blood” [MP3]
More photos after the jump. (this is the last of our Siren reviews – hope you enjoyed ’em)
Continue reading Bear Hands @ Siren →
I really hate doing this to such young artists. And as much as I try to avoid excuses when reviewing music, it’s just way too difficult to throw out the age factor with Brooklyn’s Tiny Masters of Today. Because it was SO unavoidable at Siren. For those who are unaware, Tiny Masters of Today are, in actuality, tiny. Ivan is a mere 15 and his sister Ada is 13. And that’s your whole band right there – the two of them, making punk rock and taking the world David Bowie by storm.
While they may talk like punk rockers, they certainly don’t walk like punk rockers. There’s something to be said about watching music that has received legitimate press and thinking you accidentally walked in on the Napoleon Dynamite sequel. Or maybe prequel. Because they’re like, younger.
The siblings’ stage presence was… GOSH they’re so YOUNG. I don’t think I ever saw Ivan’s face for more than 10 seconds. His hair was draped over it the entire time. But not in the Monotonix way. More so in the way that kid in the corner stares creepily at everyone’s feet. Yeah, kinda like that. Ada was cute… I guess. She earnestly sang um, expressed vocals, into the mic. I’m not really against their recorded music either – some of it sounds really good. Especially considering age and all. (Have I mentioned their age yet? No?) They just have a lot of growing up to do on stage. I’m willing to give them a couple years to develop and then see what they’ve got.
More photos after the jump.
Continue reading Tiny Masters of Today @ Siren →
Thus begins my string of negative reviews. We weren’t going to be pleased by all of these shows – so I might as well just let you know from the start: I did not like A Place To Bury Strangers. If you’re one of those folks who hate on people disagreeing with you and that statement goes against everything you stand for, then bring it on. I like to hear another side and I accept that I may catch some flak for this. But be forewarned, if you choose the other side, the dark side (I’m such a hypocrite), do offer an explanation and analysis. Because what I heard of APTBS at Coney Island on Saturday was messy, and their stage presence was underwhelming at best, leaving the show pretty darn forgetful.
Mindfully thinking, they did play when the sun was ablaze, yet summertime is no time to lose your grip on an outdoors show. A Place To Bury Strangers have been playing New York City for quite some time now (4-5 years?), so they must have something in their live shows that wasn’t happening at Siren. Or maybe they don’t, and that’s why it’s taken them so long to “break out” to people outside the indie mecca of NYC. I don’t know. Musically, the bass was way too loud and the guys just sang low voiced gurgles with a bunch of background clutter, which I guess was supposedly an accurate portrayal of “psychedelica” to some people. If by psychedelica you mean “absent”, then I wholeheartedly agree. Sadly, that can be taken literally too: I actually saw several individuals leave during their first couple songs (though, that isn’t entirely fair – even more people – including me – left upon first listen to Future of the Left’s show. Oh god. Good thing I’m not reviewing them, eh? You can read Jamie’s take on that one.)
More photos after the jump.
Continue reading A Place To Bury Strangers @ Siren →
On a day full of jocularity, spontaneity, and just general insanity, The Raveonettes were an anomaly. Having never seen the Danish folks live, I was curious how their relaxed music would translate to the stage. Would they amp it up? Would they scream and shout? Would they take their clothes off?? All can be answered succinctly: No, No, and Fuck No – are you out of your mind?
The black and white Raveonette outfit suits (no pun intended please) the Raveonette allure quite well, as Wagner and Foo barely shed an expression, much less a grin, during their entire set. They just stood there and played in all their seasoned vette (ha…) glory – ready to take on whatever effed up business Coney Island had to offer. Which is why it was all too fitting that “Dead Sound” was one of the first songs played.
That’s not to say that I didn’t enjoy the performance. The Raveonettes aren’t meant for displays of extravagance, and it would have been slightly off-putting if they had come out with a bit of lunacy. The sound was probably the tightest of any of the performers there, and they managed to somehow work with the poor sound of the main stage instead of against it. While some may have considered them disinterested, I think it’s all part of their appeal – they were the calm before the storm (that storm being Monotonix and Spank Rock on the Stillwell stage), and they played that role to perfection. If you want to hear a band perform live almost exactly like you’ve heard on record – including the crisp production, then have a blast with the even-tempered Raveonettes.
The Raveonettes – “Dead Sound” [MP3]
More photos after the jump.
Continue reading The Raveonettes @ Siren →
Allow me to preface this post before I delve into Frightened Rabbit‘s performance at Siren. They were, by far, the act I was most looking forward to, as I have been utterly obsessed with the The Midnight Organ Fight, and to a lesser extent, Sing The Greys. I also was well aware of the fact the guys were from Scotland and wasn’t expecting to see them around for a while. Yet here they were, embarking on their American tour (as aforementioned) right in New York City.
What has attracted me most to Frightened Rabbit’s sound are the intense, gut-wrenching, heart-breaking vocals from Scott Hutchison. While the band is incredibly talented and has a knack for making brilliant pop songs with their staggering crescendos and unique arrangements, before Siren it had been blatantly clear to me that Hutchison’s voice made Frightened Rabbit. Without him, they were another great indie band – with him, they were one of my favorites. So I went into the show expecting this sentiment to be the case. But boy was I wrong.
It should be noted that Hutchison’s vocals are no less stunning in person. But what I didn’t expect was the rest of the band to hold up their end as well as they did, and I apologize for not having given them more credit beforehand. I’ll expand: When Frightened Rabbit took the stage, I told Jon I wanted to hear them play “The Modern Leper”, “Keep Yourself Warm”, and “Backwards Walk” – and for the rest it could be anything – they’re all on the same (high) level playing ground. Me being the expert psychic and all, FR naturally started with Modern Leper, and it was looking to be like one hell of an experience. I was ready for a Hutchison vocal drop-kick to toss me to the ground. But the main stage just wasn’t delivering the vocals the entire day – they were soft, blended in with the sound, and almost became a background noise at times – not only for Frightened Rabbit but also for the other main-stagers. FR struggled through that first song (disappointingly), sounding confused and out-of-touch. But as the set moved on, they became all the more comfortable and adapted to the poor levels of the main stage, churning out the guitar and bass lines as best they could. By the time “The Twist” and “I Feel Better” came around (among others) they were in “the zone”.
The highlight was an awe-inspiring second-to-last song, which I can’t even name for you – because honestly, there was so much going on up there at once, with different sounds coming together into one huge musical orgasm, that I had no idea what I was listening to – I think (with Jon’s help) it was a reworked version of the end of “Square 9” from Sing The Greys, but I’m not going to pretend to know just for the sake of being indie smart – I could be totally wrong.
Oh yeah, and if there was any doubt, FR finished off the set with “Keep Yourself Warm”, as Hutchison’s Scottish red beard dripped of spittle and the echo of perhaps the most memorable lyric off The Midnight Organ Flight, “It takes more than fucking someone / to keep yourself warm”, reverberated throughout the crowd.
Frightened Rabbit – “Keep Yourself Warm” [MP3]
Frightened Rabbit – “Last Tango in Brooklyn” [MP3]
More photos after the jump.
Continue reading Frightened Rabbit @ Siren →
A lot of things don’t shock me. I grew up with Mortal Combat, our childhood cat brought all sorts of things to the doorstep and yes, I’ve seen “BME Pain Olympics.” But nothing (not even Monotonix’s ridiculous set) could prepare me for Thee Oh Sees.
Front Man John Dwyer has a reputation for being, well, legitimately crazy. As in, I question whether or not he’s on medication crazy. But I don’t judge! It’s all in good fun (??)! From the first second of the band’s old school garage/alternative rock set Dwyer treated the equipment like a dog on a peanut butter covered fist. I swear, the man has some sort of oral fixation.
But Dwyer’s antics aside, Thee Oh Sees proved to be tight, loud and rough in all the right places. With music that hearkens back to The Sonics and The 13th Floor Elevators, they’re the perfect obscure throwback band. With mouth on everything.
Pictures after the jump.
Thee Oh Sees – “Ruby Come Home” [MP3]
Continue reading Thee Oh Sees @ Siren →
Spank Rock’s set at Siren wasn’t a concert. It was a dance party. A couple songs in, MC Spank Rock (Naeem Juwan) invited the crowd behind the barrier to come dance in the pit. Mind you, this was after he brought people on stage to dance. It seemed the group would stop at nothing to turn the ex-Coney Island parking lot into a club. The crowd was definitely on Spank Rock’s side, gaining energy after a long day of standing in the sun. Rapping in stride with a playful cadence and constant grins, the group, led primarily by Juwan, turned the boardwalk on its bad side (that’s the good kind of bad, Mom).
They churned out the stuff they’re known for, primarily off 2006’s YoYoYoYoYo, but threw in some other gems (a rendition of Booty Bass’ “Shake That Ass”). Being the sole and seemingly token hip-hop act on the bill for the day didn’t seem to affect anyone. Spank Rock played flawlessly like nobody and everybody was watching. And the crowd played right into their hands and loved every second.
UPDATE: The group apparently played a second “show” on the Williamsburg bridge. Epic.
Spank Rock – “Backyard Betty” [MP3]
More photos after the jump.
Continue reading Spank Rock @ Siren →
Yeah. That’s tomorrow. At the Central Park Summerstage. Meaning outside in New York City. How often do you get to see one of the best-known live acts perform at such an incredible outdoors venue?? Just get there early; you’ll be facing quite the line. Don’t wanna drown in that old man’s B.O. in […]
Our Scarlet Ending friends will be playing a HUGE show in New York City in a mere two weeks (July 14), so I better see some loyal KR fans out there. I wish I could say I’d give you like an album or free tickets to a show, but alas, there may be a […]
Why does it seem like only now, with just a week before the show, is promotion occuring for Dark Was The Night at Radio City Music Hall? I’ve seen advertisements (posters/flyers) all over downtown, yet I hadn’t seen anything less than a week ago. Can someone tell me what’s up?
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