We All Want Someone To Shout For

I was fortunate enough to score a ticket for the intimate Jack White show at Webster Hall from last Friday, and it was worth every bit of effort. The webcast was great, don’t get me wrong. But being there truly made all the difference in the world. The amount of pure rock & roll energy that translates live with Jack White is indescribable. The floor was shaking, there was a general happy glee among every in the crowd. It was one of those moments where you knew you were around greatness.

Jack White is old fashioned. He had girls taking Polaroids for fans, that we got to take home with us. No cameras were allowed, as Jack wanted us just to enjoy the show, like people used to. There was an intermission, and his all girl band opened the show, and his all boys band finished. He dished out most of his solo stuff, amongst classic White Stripes cuts, as well as a few Raconteurs/Dead Weather songs.

There was no lack of effort, and no cockiness. Jack White just played his songs, and boy did he play them well. I still want to learn guitar, but after witnessing Jack play, there’s truly no point.

I’ve embedded the webstream below. I’ve also included a photo I took of Gary Oldman passing by while I was in line. Commish Gordon live in the flesh!
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Willis Earl Beal is the real deal. Live, he’s one of the most powerful voices I’ve heard solo. It’s mostly just him, doing his thing, up there alone with a tape deck chugging along some bare sounds. He plays guitar for one song, which blew me away. Absolute power man. Very Tom Waits. Definitely check him out if you haven’t already.

I had a funny feeling what the Wu Lyf live experience is like. Energetic, raw, powerful, plenty of crowd movement. The show went above and beyond these hopeful expectations and turned out to be one hell of a show. These guys don’t look much older than me, yet they harnessed the power and energy of veterans who have been at it for years and years. Dancing along to “We Bros” is worth the price of admission alone.
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Part Time were the first opener, hailing from San Francisco. They sounded a lot like Ariel Pink to me. Craft Spells followed and put on a pretty high energy, set that got people’s feet moving. Justin Paul Vallesteros vocals didn’t sound as good as I hoped, but he adjusted well during the second half of their set. The faster paced songs definitely do the band more good live.

The Drums seemingly sound better every time I see them. Although they had another new live drummer and were without guitarist Connor Hanwick. They didn’t miss a beat though playing through most of Portamento, and the hits from their debut. They finished strong with “The Future” and “Let’s Go Surfing”, leaving me more than satisfied. I’m already counting down the days until they open for Bloc Party. See you then.

Hit the jump for photos from all three bands.
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We Barbarians were the opener for Tennis at Brooklyn Bowl this past Tuesday to my great excitement. I’ve seen them open three times now, and it has definitely made me wonder why I haven’t seen them headline yet. They do the whole big sounding arena rock thing in small venues perfectly. Imagine if Kings Of Leon tried to do what they did the last few years, except they still had a soul. You got some big fat ambitious rock and roll that is impossible to dislike. Call me a fan.

It’s been a little overdue, but I finally caught Tennis live. I hoped for good things, but what I got was pretty damn good. They sounded a lot livelier live. The sharp production that you find on Young & Old translates well live for Alaina Moore & Patrick Riley. They played most of the new album along with all of my favorites from their debut, Cape Dory. Moore is a great frontwoman, humble and at ease. She’s a pretty lady, and most of the attention is surely on her. Riley on the other hand keeps a pretty low profile, and it works. The two personalities mix well, and remind us of why I fell in love with their sea-tales last year.

Find photos after the jump.
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This show was my 4th time seeing The Black Keys live, and easily the best show yet. The first time was an shyer version of the band at MSG opening for Pearl Jam. The second was a show at Terminal 5 that was solid, but left me wanting more. Then there was Bonnaroo, which was good, but you lose a lot at festivals. I was in the pit at MSG, and was as close as you could get to the stage. The Black Keys didn’t disappoint. How could they?

The band sounded crisp and electric, bringing a tremendous amount of power for what is honestly only a duo. Dan Auerbach’s vocals sounded crystal clear, and Pat Carney was going as humanly hard as possible on his poor drum set. The band knocked out a steady slew of songs from their most recent albums, backed up by two additional band mates. “Gold On The Ceiling” was a knock out live, bringing the best of the bands two different eras to full formation.

The real fun was in the middle of their set when it was just the duo of Dan and Pat, and they played all of their older cuts. How can you deny the hard-hitting soulful “Thickfreakness”, the pounding of “Your Touch” and the ever so bluesy twang of “I’ll Be Your Man”. The band went back and forth between eras after this, and they had me moving and grooving throughout.

“Tighten Up” and “Lonely Boy” were as electric as they should have been, and were a perfect lead in into the encore, which saw the release of a giant disco ball that made the encore even more theatrical. “Everlasting Light”, “She’s Long Gone” and “I Got Mine” were the final three cuts, and they proved to be as hearty and strong of a finish as you could have asked for.

I love myself an intimate show just like the next guy, but when you get two bands that are bound of big things, sometimes the worlds greatest are Read the rest of this entry »

So Arctic Monkeys finally played at The Garden. Though they’re not headlining quite yet, an opening gig for The Black Keys is still an awesome thing.

The Monkeys didn’t sound lost at all during their set, which was dedicated to the heavier, faster-paced songs of their catalogue. Starting things off with banging versions of “Brianstorm”, “This House Is A Circus”. and “Still Take You Home”, the pit had no problem getting into things. From there the heavy riffs continued to dominate with demanding versions of “Don’t Sit Down ‘Cause I’ve Moved Your Chair”, “The View From The Afternoon”, “I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor”. I shouldn’t have been surprised by how well the tunes filled out the massive MSG, but I couldn’t help but be in awe. This was a big stage even for these guys, and it made me very proud to see them dominate it so well.

I was glad to see that the band brought “If You Were There, Beware” out, since it’s one of the best early showings of the darker sound that the band now occupy’s. “Pretty Visitors” is always worth it live just purely to watch Matt Helders tear up his drum set. “Teddy Picker” eeriely brought back memories from the first time that I heard the song ever so long ago. The urgency of “Crying Lightning” has gone no where, especially with Turner’s hilariously creative guitar pick trick. He’s certainly been practicing.

“Evil Twin” and “R U Mine?” are ideal thrashers for a bigger stage, and boy, did they translate with an enthusiastic bang. It was a great end to a trying performance that hopefully transformed some of the Black Keys fans into fans of the Sheffield 4.

Photos and setlist are posted below.
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Miike Snow’s reputation has been growing ever since their initial outburst onto the scene years ago. The band has three upcoming shows at the fairly large Terminal 5, which are all sold out. So it was a great opportunity to catch them at the more intimate Music Hall of Williamsburg.

They kicked things off with “Enter The Joker’s Lair”, the opening track from new album Happy To You. The band came out with their signature masks but soon removed them for the remainder of the show, a message that they will never forget their earlier roots, but also a notion that they are clearly moving on as a band.

The band weaved in and out of new songs and old, pleasing and dazzling fans in various ways. The new songs sounded great, but the songs from their debut were the ones that really shined. The band has spent plenty of time developing these familiar cuts into blitz formation, making it sound fuller, and giving it more room to breath with extended outtro’s and jams.

Miike Snow is a full band, but don’t get it wrong, it’s frontman Andrew Wyatt’s show. He has a demanding stage presence up front, putting out a show with his various microphones. His voice registered very well live, proving that Miike Snow isn’t one of those electronic bands who rely soley on the studio. No, no, these dudes are the real deal.

Hit the jump for the set list, and for more photos.

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Caveman first caught my attention after a wondrous set at Glasslands during CMJ. It has had me singing praises about their live show to everyone I know. Since then their debut album CoCo Beware has been on constant rotation. When I saw that the band was headlining Bowery Ballroom, there was no way I would miss out.

Pitchfork didn’t even bother to review their debut album, and until Fat Possum recently signed the band, not many people were educated as to who these Brooklyn indie rockers were. If things go as they should, 2012 will be a big year for this band. The bands show on Friday was a confident statement that they are here to stay.

Caveman’s set was inspiring from top to bottom, not giving us one dull moment. The songs jump out at you live, with a full atmospheric sound taking flight, forcing you to nod your head with ease. They gave us a few new songs along with CoCo Beware, and I can’t think of a moment where I wasn’t in complete enjoyment. Not many bands are as humble as Caveman are, and that’s just another testament to the success that they are sure to receive this year.

Don’t miss a chance to catch this band. In a few years Caveman will be playing much bigger venues, and you’ll be wondering why you didn’t catch them sooner.
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Sharon Van Etten played an intimate show for us New Yorkers tonight at The Mercury Lounge. The crowd was hushed to a perfect silence for her and she seemed to shy away her quiet demeanor playfully teasing herself about her clumsiness. Nothing was clumsy about her live performance which would hit moments of beautiful fragility and then spark into big eruptions such as “Serpents”, which is a song that deserves your attention.

The set was heavily dedicated to her new album Tramp, and let me tell you, it’s sounding good. Match the song quality with her ability to transfix you live, and you’re in love. Sharon is as loveable as a person as you will find on stage. With winning songs that are easy to adore, the only question you need to be asking yourself is why you didn’t see her sooner.

Be sure to catch Sharon at a venue near you, and pick up Tramp when it comes out February 7th via Jagjaguwar.

Find more photos from the show after the jump.
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My first show of 2012 was no small affair. It was a lethal bill consisting of King Krule, Real Estate, and Girls at Terminal 5. You can call it an indie rock invasion. A good one at that.

First you got a young band just emerging from the breeding grounds of True Panther. Another is a band that seems to be rising every given moment, making New Jersey very proud. Finally you got Girls, a band who have come a long way since 2009, selling out one of the bigger venues NYC has to offer, and doing so with relative ease.
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