“How Come You Never Go There” is the first single from Feist’s upcoming new album Metals. It’s the first bit of new music from Feist since The Reminder, and the song plays as a wonderful reminder why Feist has become the star that she is.
“How Come You Never Go There” is everything that we could have hoped from new Feist. I can see myself listening to this track during those lounge-y days when its bleak and rainy up in Binghamton.
Last night while opening for Cut Copy at Prospect Park (read my recap here), Foster The People delivered a very solid opening set that made me an even bigger of the hot rising band. If you’ve been paying attention, you saw that Weezer covered Fosters’ smash hit “Pumped Up Kicks” at a Weezer concert a few days ago.
Late in their set last night, Mark Foster, lead singer of Foster The People told the crowd about a time a few years ago when he met Rivers Cuomo from Weezer at a L.A. party and played a song for Rivers on an acoustic guitar. Foster then told us how honored he was that Weezer covered their song. He responded the only way they could. By covering Weezer’s “Say It Ain’t So”. It was Mark’s way of returning the favor. The band hit it out of the park. They should be proud of their cover, it’s all kinds of awesome.
Foster The People were the openers for Cut Copy at Prospect Park, which is a pretty great one two punch. I expected a decent set from Foster, but they surprised me with an energetic set that I couldn’t help but enjoy. Most of the crowd was singing along to all their songs, testifying to the bands rapid success. Lead singer Mark Foster showed a modest attitude for someone so successful, telling the crowd how amazed he was to be playing a venue such as Prospect Park opening for Cut Copy
Late in the set he told us how he met Weezer’s Rivers Cuomo at a party in LA a few years back and remembers playing him a song. He admitted how honored he was that Weezer covered “Pumped Up Kicks” the other day. He returned the favor by delivering an equally as awesome cover of Weezer’s “Say It Aint So”. It showed me that Foster The People are classy guys who are easier to root for. They haven’t let any of their pumped up success get to their heads, and that’s plain awesome to see.
Cut Copy are one of my favorite bands because they make some of the most satisfying dance rock of today. Song after song is emotion driven music that offers moment after moment of dance worthy material. It would be easy for a band heavy on the electronics such as Cut Cupy to cheapen their show and let the machines do the work, but that’s not them. Cut Copy bring everything to the highest level on stage, and you’d be a damn fool if you weren’t dancing along in the pit. Opener “Feel The Love”, felt just as appropriate as it does on In Ghost Colours, dominating the cool nightfall that played as a welcoming backdrop to the soon to be dance party.
“Take Me Over” and “Where I’m Going” were feel good transitions, right before the band played “Hanging Onto Every Heartbeat” for the first time ever live. The band played a lot off the new album (“Corner Of The Sky”, “Blink And You’ll Miss A Revolution”, “Pharaohs & Pyramids”) as well all 15 minutes of Zonoscope album closer, “Sun God”. A beefed up version of “Saturdays” from first album, Bright Like Neon Love, was a pleasant surprise which nearly end in a rave (the bands urged us along). “Need You Now” opened the encore in a glorious call to arms moment that made the song even more grandiose than it already was.
Thankfully the band stayed true to their best album In Ghost Colours. “So Haunted” and encore opener “Out There On The Ice” that edged on the waters of a near-frenzy. The real dance craze came with the golden tracks known as “Lights & Music” and “Hearts On Fire”. Both songs were boardaline ecstasy experiences that had the whole crowd dancing without a care. If you weren’t grooving with the rest of us, then you got something missing inside.
Dan Whitford and the rest of Cut Copy have made dance rock into an etheral experience that shouldn’t be missed. Cut Copy may not be the saviors of rock and roll but they are keeping it alive.
-Check out some videos from the show, including Foster The People’s cover of “Say It Ain’t So” and bits of Cut Copy playing “Lights & Music” and “Hearts On Fire”. All were recorded by me:
Foster The People – Say It Ain’t So (Weezer Cover):
Cut Copy – Hearts On Fire (Live @ Prospect Park):
Cut Copy – Lights & Music (Live @ Prospect Park):
Cut Copy Photos:
Check out more photos of Cut Copy & Foster The People by clicking read more:
Going into Prospect Park to see Bon Iver I had heavy expectations. The guy is just in a legue of his own. After only two albums and one EP, Justin Vernon and the rest of the band have become a big act that the world is starting to recognize. With support from a huge 9 piece band, which included two drummers and lots of brass, the Bon Iver live experience isn’t a shy one.
Bon Iver give a full experience that targets many emotions. There are moments of heartbreaking solidarity (“Re: Stacks”) and overwhelming bliss (almost everything from Bon Iver). Bon Iver is so brilliant because they can go from loud to quiet and be just as effective. Opener “Perth” set the tone, and as day turned to night, the band gave us breathtaking moment after breathtaking moment.
One song that snuck up on me was “Blood Bank which is beefed up live, which made it sound a lot bigger than I remember it being on the EP. The new songs had plenty of goosebump filled moments but it was all about “Holocene”. It’s a thing of beauty live. It broke me down in every which way. The album version is as good as it gets, but it did wonders out in the open air where it just soared and soared.
The new album cuts were wonderful, but it was cuts from the first album that left me truly speechless. Justin asking us to scream along to “The Wolves (Act I And II)” during the first of two encores was almost as good as it gets. But then he throws in “Flume” and “For Emma” and your in awe.
The real treasure was “Skinny Love” a true standout in a pile of gold. Justin sat down on a chair, and his band surrounded him, backing him up. It was one of the more natural performances of the night also creating one of the most powerful. I saw the true genius of Bon Iver. Not the great imagery produced from his lyrics, or the diverse instrumentation.
It’s what his music does for you when your listening to it. It speaks to each person in it’s own way, and has the ability to become larger in life. Now that’s music.
- The Rosebuds opened and did a good job getting the crowd warmed up. Still gotta check out their latest album, but it was cool to hear some of their older stuff.
More photos after the jump, but not before this video of “Skinny Love” from tonight:
The Tins have a kickstarter going which will help them properly record their debut LP. I’m a big fan of the guys as you should know by now, and I hope you guys share the same sentiments. I already wrote about the kickstarter, but I wanted to do one more post since they are so close, yet still have a little to go.
They have 30 days to go, and $2,844 of the $8,000 has been raised. If everyone chipped in even just a few dollars, they would be well on their way. I know times are hard for everyone, but if you have anything to spare, I’m sure the band could use the help.
The band have allowed me to stream the demo of “Taking Liberties”, a song that would appear on this LP:
Canon Blue is playing The Mercury Lounge on August 16. It’s the release dates how for his new album, Rumspringa. I got a pair of tickets for one of you guys to win. Leave a comment below and I’ll choose a winner at random. Only thing is you have to be 21 or older.
Yesterday we saw The Shinscover David Bowie. At last nights The Shins show the band debuted a new song. It does sound like something from the bands earlier days, so that’s certainly a good thing. As disappointed as I was with a completely new lineup, the band is sounded pretty good. That’s all that matters in the end. Matt from YANP thinks that the song’s called “Taken For A Fool”. He may be on to something:
A few months back The National released a new song called “Exile Vilify” to the video game Portal 2. The band teamed up with the game to hold a music video contest for the song.
The winner was announced to be director CF Meister. His video features a really sad sock puppet singing the song while traveling across beautiful landscapes. It’s pretty much perfect.
The Studio At Webster Hall is as intimate of a venue as they come. It was a perfect fit for The Horrors to play a set of songs that had no problem dominating the small, but fitting venue. They played a set full of songs from Skying (it was the U.S. release show) and Primary Colours. There was not a single song from their debut album played, a telling sign that they have all but abandoned that image/time.
The five guys looked super cramped on the small stage, but it made for a more interesting show. Gone were the big stages and huge crowds that the band are accustomed to overseas. Here we had five guys on a modest stage with nothing to do but play their music to the best of their ability, and that’s exactly what they did.
The set literally flip flopped between the two albums. The tall Faris Badwan had a dominating presence on stage, his vocals acting as a soothing tone for the colorful music that flooded the stage. As expected, “Sea Within A Sea” and “Still Life” were immense, fully hitting their potential live. “Who Can Say”, “Endless Blue” and “Moving Further Away” were memorable because they were executed in a way that mixed the sounds on Skying/Primary Colours so well.
People used to question my fandom for The Horrors. People were turned off by the bands early goth-punk look/appeal. I always saw something in the band that kept me coming back for more. Tonight, I saw the potential of this band come to full fruition right before my eyes.
The sky seems to be the only limit for The Horrors. Maybe that’s why it’s called Skying…
MTV Hive was there recording the whole thing for a live stream. You can watch the entire show below. My head is in the center of the screen at certain points. Sorry about that:
The amazing artwork you see above is via the awesome Space Monkey
Arctic Monkeys US uncovered this acoustic version of “Reckless Serenade that Alex Turner did during a session of some sort. It’s all kinds of wonderful. Download it below:
