Mainland was the first band that played at the Sucre show at Webster Hall (presented by Nylon Magazine) on Saturday night.
Mainland managed to draw in a sizeable crowd, and their best songs were “Margot” (the chorus of which is really catchy) and their penultimate song “The Stroll” (music video below).
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“The Stroll”:
I got to the Studio @ Webster Hall early on Friday to catch The Jim Ivins Band open for Rooney’s Robert Schwartzman.
The band started strong with “Run” — very catchy chorus. Most of their songs sound like late 90s/early 2000s power pop.
The sound was good and full, but 5 people made the stage too crowded. I think they would’ve been tighter with 3 or 4 band members, ditching the extraneous Korg keyboard.
I’d be interested in hearing some of these songs stripped down/acoustic.
“Rollercoaster” was a highlight, and they ended their set with “Everything We Wanted.”
Big Scary, the Australian duo of Tom Iansek and Jo Syme, played at Pianos last night (Wednesday October 24th).
Big Scary have been a band since 2006, and they released their first songs back in 2008 .
The electric guitar driven “Gladiator” as well as the keyboard driven “Falling Away” were really great live, even for people in the audience who hadn’t necessarily heard the album versions of those songs.
Big Scary ended their set with “Purple” off of their Vacation LP, which sounded a bit out of place (it’s more aggressive, with a spoken word chorus) compared to their other songs.
Night Beds played their first New York show Friday night at Mercury Lounge.
Winston, the lead singer, had a unique vocal setup — he alternated his singing between two microphones, which were next to each other on the stage. One mike had some sort of echo effect which made the vocals sound like they were drifting in from far away.
Winston’s voice was the highlight of the show and the band’s secret weapon. “Even If We Try” showcases those vocals with its acapella beginning.
He seemed to switch guitars between almost every song, and the repeated unplugging/plugging/re-tuning was a little distracting, though.
I noticed a lot of musical transitions within the songs. The drummer was strong, and he switched it up with mallets and brushes on different songs.
“Even If We Try”:
“Night Beds”:
Photo Credit: Brendan Pattengale
Largo is the perfect intimate venue for The Milk Carton Kids (Joey Ryan + Kenneth Pattengale).
The symmetrical, simple stage setup consisted of 4 microphones — 2 for vocals and 2 for acoustic guitars, with a red velvet curtain as the backdrop.
For the most part, Kenneth focused more on string work while Joey strummed. They were dressed pretty formally in suits, and they harmonized and sang most songs together.
On a couple of songs, though, one took the lead vocally. For example, Joey sang his song “Permanent” and Kenneth took over on “Charlie,” a memorable song to his future daughter.
The audience loved all the jokes, stories, and banter between the two. They also told the crowd about the new album of 12 songs they recorded in 4 days.
Highlights: “New York,” “Michigan,” and the last song before the encore (“I Still Want A Little More”).
*Download The Milk Carton Kids’ albums for free on their website + check out the upcoming tour dates.
Photo Credit: Neil Krug
First time seeing First Aid Kit live, and it didn’t disappoint!
First Aid Kit played to a packed house at Irving Plaza on Saturday (and they play Sunday at Music Hall of Williamsburg).
Mike Mogis, the “Dr. Dre of indie rock” as Klara introduced him, was a special guest who sat in with the band and played mandolin.
“Blue” sounded particularly good live, and First Aid Kit played “Ghost Town” completely acoustic – with no microphones or amplification – in the middle of their set.
The audience responded well to “The Lion’s Roar” and the band’s latest single “Wolf,” but technical difficulties with Johanna’s keyboard messed up a few songs. I wish they played “Emmylou” with drums instead of acoustically — the drums are really necessary to drive the song.
Their last song was the rousing, hand-clapping “King of The World.”
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