Deerhunter opened their fall tour at Cat’s Cradle Saturday night. The tour promotes their new album Halcyon Digest, released just two weeks ago on September 28th.
The welcome from the eclectic Cradle crowd was almost as warm as the distorted melodies to come. The group methodically made their way through the set, while frontman Bradford Cox kept the mood relaxed by joking with the crowd between songs. (He jokingly claimed one of his guitars was hand made by his friend’s dad. If it’s true – thank you, Bradford Cox’s friend’s dad!)
Deerhunter’s music has been described as “ambient punk” which is a pretty spot on description. It’s not as sleepy as ambient, nor is it as jarring as punk. It sits confidently in the middle.
All in all the show gave me a much-welcomed sense of both excitement and relaxation. To me, Deerhunter is the musical equivalent to “Icy Hot” – Distorted noise to dull the pain, warm melodies to relax it away.
FEND can’t be in all places at once, but we can sure as hell try. To cover situations like the following we sent a writer to Toronto, Canada. You say party! We say die!, from Vancouver, played Friday night in Toronto at the Phoenix. The full band is not allowed to make any American show dates until 2011. Why? It appears that one of the members “mis-represented the truth” while trying to cross the border a few months back in attempt to share their indie glory with Canada’s yankee comrades (don’t worry, they have a lawyer from Vermont on the case).
Becky Ninkovic entered the stage wearing a red body suit with fabric connecting from her wrist down to her waist. She looked like a beautiful butterfly or dragonfly with the lights illuminating her radiance from behind. YSP! WSD! played an exceptional show for a, surprisingly, not sold out show. The audience was on their side, dancing and singing along much to the credit of the Montreal band they have been touring with, Think About Life.
Think About Life has been making the kids shake their rumps and pump their fists uncontrollably on the Montreal scene for some time. Damn, I want to dance just at the thought of it. The bands stage presence was exemplified through their continuity, I thought they might even be having a better time than the adoring fans. They brought their own glitter and balloons to evoke further kick ass chaos. A video was posted here of the ass shaking and rump kicking that was seen. Also, check out front man, Graham Van Pelt’s, other project Miracle Fortress.
The first opener must have taken memos from bands like women and girls in the ungoogleable name department. The “shitgaze” trio of Little Girls, from Toronto, started out the night. Much promise, but the lofi goodness wasn’t in effect on Friday. However, the tunes on their myspace do have the droning goodness we are seeing and enjoying a lot of recently.
Imagine a world where rock ‘n roll is illegal to play over the airwaves. In this day and age it’s almost impossible, but back in the 1960′s in a less open minded England that is precisely what was going down. A group of rock lovin DJs band together to bring Great Britain the rock tunes the masses desired via Pirate Radio. The men lived on a boat and commendeered radio waves in order to bring the legends of rock into the homes of their fans.
The crew of eccentric misfits are hilarious. Philip Seymour Hoffman stands out as a leader amongst the DJs in his role as “The Count”. Bil Nigh plays the witty and awe inspiring mastermind behind pirate radio, Quintin. And the young and handsome Tom Sturridge plays Carl, a rebellious teenager sent to spend time with his god father (Quintin) in order to help him find his path in life.
The film is one of the best in theaters right now, not only is the cast incredible but the soudtrack will have your foot tappin and head boppin for the 2 hours and 9 minutes it is on the screen.
I have to be honest, I was a little choked up at the end when you see the amount of Iisteners they have an effect on and the lengths people will go for something they believe in. What can I say? Sometimes I am overwhelmed by the whole.
Mercedes Benz Spring 2010 Fashion week is in full swing and yesterday morning Georges Chakra blew it out of the water. His Spring 2010 Ready To Wear collection made it very clear why his gowns are red carpet favorites. Elegance with a modern edge strutted down the runway and the finale dress was incredible with a long black multi-layered tulle skirt cascading over a short black jumpsuit. Take a look at a bit of his collection.
Remember those old “choose your own adventure” books? It was the series we all loved to take out of the 3rd grade school library collection where you were given the freedom to determine how the story would unfold. Inspired by Herman Melville’s mid-19th century novel “The Confidence Man” comes a Woodshed Collective production by the same name whose development follows a similar idea as those old favorites. The story is told in a series of intertwining scenes and scenarios performed throughout manhattan’s own historical lighthouse tender, the Lilac.
The audience was given the freedom to explore the ship while exploring the play vignette to vignette in any fashion one desired. If you got lost or needed direction there were four or so distinctly dressed play-guides, per say, who would be able to lead you through a story line coherently. I felt like I was in a whole new world out on the Hudson River, balancing a brooklyn lager in one hand while climbing and running about the ship roaming from one time period to the next and back again. It was a fascinating display and one that posed a very definite question of where and what you place your confidence in. Who is to be trusted? How do you decipher truth from vain?
The production of “The Confidence Man” will be held on the Lilac ship at pier 40 until the end of September. The tickets are free and are going fast.
I saw Bon Iver at Bonaroo last month. The show had an intense effect on me, I hadnt given Bon Iver a lot of attention before that day and I was pissed when I heard them play because I had been missing out.
Their sound: lyrics driven by life and love melt over your body with some help from Bon Ivers “rise and fall” folk ballads.
My favorite tunes: Flume, Skinny Love and The Wolves (Part 1 and Part 3). When they played The Wolves at Bonaroo they asked the audience to join in on the end when the band repeats the phrase “What might have been lost” the band/audience participation lasted only minutes but felt like centuries… All the struggles that I have faced came crashing to the forefront of my mind and all of a sudden tears began to stream down my face. What might have been lost, had I given up when I wanted to? It was all I could think of, over and over and over the band and everyone under the tent, “what might have been lost?” From very quiet to practically screaming it and then when you felt like your heart might burst….everyone was asked to scream as loud as they could. Never before have I been so deeply effected by a band I had barely give a listen to before seeing them play.
The fiery redhead has done it again, Abnormally Attracted to Sin was released last May with 17 brilliantly written tracks for our listening pleasure. Each track is filled with Tori’s sick piano skills, haunting strings and ominous drums. July 1st marks the start to the Tori Amos tour, and her first stop is Seattle, WA.
Fend’s Favorite Tracks: “Welcome To England,” “Curtain Call,” and “Ophelia”
One of the best new bands to watch and listen to this season is Sleepy Sun, the sextet from San Francisco. The musicians, friends, and lovers have come out with their first album entitled Embrace and have been met with exultations, especially after SXSW. Their psychedelic styled rock and roll tracks pull you in from the start of the album all the way through the finish. Even “White Dove”, a 9:23 minute song, is compatible with the ADHD in all of us.
With an album this high energy, I can’t wait to see what they do live. God, I love the harmonica.
Isabel Toledo is a cuban fashion designer highly regarded in the designing world. Her name in growing recognition now in the eyes of the general public for the design of Michelle Obama’s inauguration day dress. The elegant designer works very closely with her husband and illustrator Ruben Toledo. The FIT museum in NYC will be welcoming a new exhibit on Isabel Toledo and her work starting June 16th and will remain until September 26th.
The Violens (pronounced vy-lenz) is the new band to beat. This four-piece group out of Brooklyn, NY writes flawlessly with “Violent Sensation Descends” as one of SPIN Magazine’s songs you need to download now. Why stop there? Their tracks bring you back in time in the most relevant way. ”Lighting Lightning” is like Morrissey in a new wave rock band. The Violens are like a compilation of all your favorite artists with a new and improved 60′s pop spin.
Here is their new video: If you like this be sure to grab a ticket to their upcoming show at the Bowery Ballroom on June 12th.
Imagine a world where rock ‘n roll is illegal to play over the airwaves. In this day and age it’s almost impossible, but back in the 1960′s in a less open minded England that is precisely what was going down. A group of rock lovin DJs band together to bring Great Britain the rock tunes the masses desired via 
