End of the year best, round one: Shows

I’m starting with this list because it is perhaps the easiest to compile. More to come.

There are 19 here. Deal with it. They’re also in descending order, for dramatic effect.
(The asterisks link to the appropriate show review.)

19. Warpaint – Music Hall of Williamsburg, December 2nd *
This was another surprise. Though I had heard the name Warpaint thrown around for a few months, I knew little about them going into the show, but they had me bewitched with their alternating vocals and mesmerizing minimalism.

18. Seabear – Mercury Lounge, March 25th *
I really can’t get enough of these quaint Icelandic bands, homespun sweaters and all. The harmonies and the impressive range of instruments in this large band leave me with an extra spring in my step. I want to get inducted into their family. You don’t think they’d notice if I joined in, do you? Maybe I could play the tambourine… or just pretend to sing.

Seabear (Photo Thomas Helbig)

17. Land of Talk – Bowery Ballroom, November 6th *
I really loved this album – the lyrics especially, so seeing Land of Talk this past November was a real treat.

16. Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy and the Cairo Gang, The Babblers – Town Hall, December 8th *
Surprisingly, this was my first time seeing B’P'B. It was a long time coming. Perhaps the biggest surprise of the evening, however, was The Babblers – yet another of Will Oldham’s special projects, featuring the irresistible Angel Olsen on vox.

15. tUnE-yArDs – The Bell House, February 5th *
With her wild gaze and tribal-influenced songs, Merril Garbus is a force to behold. From what I heard, she stole the show from the Dirty Projectors when she opened for them. Somehow, that doesn’t at all surprise me.

tUnE-yArDs (Photo Jessica Amaya)

14. Casiotone for the Painfully Alone – Mercury Lounge, October 14th * (an interview with Owen)
I’ve seen Owen more times than nearly everyone else (3 or 4 times this year alone), and every time is a treat. This show was an extra treat because it was one of his last performances as CFTPA… ever! (I also attended his last NY show the next night, but the Brooklyn Masonic Temple was not the right environment, and too many people were there to see the other bands on the bill – ahem, Dan Deacon and Lightning Bolt). What a sweet man. I look forward to hearing his next musical project.

13. Scout Niblett and Holy Sons – The Mercury Lounge, October 6th *
After the disastrous Cat Power-esque performance in 2007, I’m certainly glad I gave you another chance, Scout (aka Emma). I love how raw her voice is and how she effortlessly shifts in tone from the sweet, innocent girl to the big bad wolf. Though I had never heard of them prior to the show, Holy Sons wowed me so much that I left with two albums.

Scout Niblett (Ian Crowther)

12. Lost in the Trees – The Mercury Lounge, August 23rd *
These guys from North Carolina are every bit as mesmerizing now as when I first saw them in 2008. Their moody orchestral arrangements and haunting lyrics make me shiver every time.

11. The Blow – Glasslands Gallery,  May 13th *
Oh, Khaela. Your banter about the lost album with the unnamed starlet (Lindsey Lohan) may not be true, but it makes for quite an entertaining schtick. I love her beautiful, awkward stage presence and the candidness of her songs.

The Blow (Photo Devyn Manibo)

10. Beirut – Music Hall of Williamsburg, July 5th *
The man has French horn tattoos. Enough said.

9. Belle & Sebastian – The Williamsburg Waterfront, September 20th *
This was perhaps my most anticipated show of the year. I’ve spent countless hours listening to Belle & Sebastian. They were just one of those formative bands for me. Too bad it took me like 6 years to actually see them. The show was good, and the band was charming. Sadly, it just never could have lived up to my expectations.

Belle & Sebastian (Photo Amanda Hatfield)

8. CocoRosie – Music Hall of Williamsburg, September 15th *
This was kind of the wild card of the year. I wasn’t sure if I’d want to storm out of the room or take the sisters home with me. The latter was more accurate. I was pretty much speechless by the end of the night.

7. Andrew Bird – The Guggenheim, August 5th *
Andrew Bird… at the Guggenheim. The set-up alone is drool-worthy. Then there was the ‘forest floor of horns’ and the multi-level rotunda, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.

Andrew Bird (Photo Macey Foronda)

6. The National – Radio City Music Hall – June 16th *
I’d say I preferred their show at the Bell House or BAM earlier in the year (whoa, I saw them 4 times)… except for the fact that this was the show when Matt Berninger left the stage, climbed over the seats in my aisle, and landed in mine. The feeling of his hand on my shoulder as he steadied himself and the knowledge that I could have easily reached across the three-inch divide and caressed his cheek, are almost too much to handle.

5. DM Stith + Silje Nes + Inlets – Littlefield, June 13th *
Again, a fantastic line-up and a small, intimate show (with seats!). This was my first encounter with the Norwegian beauty Silje Nes, and I hope to see her many more times. And David Michael, might we go on a picnic sometime?

4. Laura Marling – Le Poisson Rouge, February 12th *
I love this girl… even if her songs strongly suggest that she doesn’t believe in the emotion. She is miles in front of her British contemporaries (Noah and the Whale, Fanfarlo, Mumford and Sons). Laura, I foolishly invite you to ditch Marcus and trample on my heart instead.

Laura Marling (Photo kDamo)

3. Efterklang + Sam Amidon + Daniel Bjarnason – Le Poisson Rouge, March 3rd *
I loved each of these acts individually. Together, they made for one of the most memorable shows of the year. What a talented array of musicians. Even though shows at LPR can be a bummer due to the pesky 2-item minimum at tables, I’d gladly hulk in the corner for you any day, Sam.

2. Atlas Sound – The Bell House, February 3rd *
Remember when the Bell House consistently hosted great musicians? I really hope these winter shows become an annual tradition as Bradford hinted a couple of weeks ago. I love Deerhunter, but I feel like Bradford would be dead without Atlas Sound to channel his surfeit of creative energy. Wonderful, heartfelt show – a nice contrast to the cold, dark February night.

1. Sufjan Stevens + DM Stith – Beacon Theatre, November 14th *
How could this not be the best show of the year? One minute I was dancing and laughing with glee and a few songs later, I was silently sobbing. Simply amazing.

Sufjan and his ladies (Photo Tammy Lo)

New songs and fantastical stories from The Blow

The Blow – Joe’s Pub – July 9th

On Friday night, I had the pleasure of seeing The Blow again. (Post on Brooklyn Vegan) Though I reported on her recent show at Glasslands recently, I went into Joe’s Pub with the advantage of having my recorder, so I thought I’d let you hear some excerpts from Khaela’s (most-likely untrue but wildly entertaining) banter. Khaela is definitely a performance artist, after all. Her dancing is mesmerizingly awkward and wonderful and the stories she tells between songs are wildly entertaining. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to capture her dancing, but I was able to log some sound.

Khaela of The Blow (Photo Devyn Manibo)

Here’s an intro to the evening in which Khaela introduces the meme of the unnamed celebrity that will carry through the evening and sings a new song:

Khaela goes on to explain why it would have been such a big deal to have had these new songs come out the unnamed celeb’s never-to-be-released album and launches into another new song (the ‘you’ she refers to is the unnamed celeb):

And finally, here’s a good chunk from the old favorite “True Affection” at the end of the evening:

At the end of the night, the veracity of Khaela’s celeb story was still in question, but true or not, it certainly made for quite an entertaining evening.

Where aliens… and Lindsay Lohan collide

The Blow + Acrylics – Glasslands – May 13

When Molly Shea and Jason Klauber of Acrylics walked on stage wearing their nearly-all-white outfits and donning solid white wigs, I actually thought to myself, Wow. Are you serious? Martians. Martians steeped in shoe-gazey, ambient space rock. Honestly though, if martians are going to be playing a show in Brooklyn, I can think of few better venues than Glasslands. Lining the stage and ceiling are these puffy white 3D creations – it kind of looks like a bunch of white tissue paper that has been sculpted into flower-like buds. Oh yeah, and they have rigged up lights to illuminate different parts of their patchwork sky, so the background flickers with a gentle off-white light. The effect was rather spectacular given the Acrylics’ look and accompanying repertoire.

Acrylics - in normal (hipster) garb (Photo Victoria Jacob)

Still, I couldn’t help but pondering the merits of the gimmick band. You know what I’m talking about. I once saw a band where every member wore large sunglasses on stage. Or you know – maybe they’re all wearing construction workers’ hats. Sure, maybe it’s interesting at first, but it can all get a little old. And who really enjoys a gimmick band more than once? Same schtick every time.

Acrylics – they weren’t bad per sé, but come on. Towards the end of their set, they threw silver-spraypainted beach balls into the crowd. Yeah. At Glasslands. The beach balls did little more than hit unsuspecting people in the face and distract me from the music being played, and make me long for outdoor summer shows.

When Tears for Fears’ “Head Over Heels” immediately started playing after Acrylics were done, I couldn’t help but grin. Standard weird 80s stuff. Perfect martian music.

An outdated photo of The Blow's Khaela (now she has long Charlotte Gainsbourg style hair)

Then… The Blow. I fell in love with Khaela Maricich when I saw her in 2007. Sure, her music may just consist of her vocals and pre-recorded dance beats, but it just seems real, and I always have been a sucker for lo-fi done right. Then, of course there are Khaela’s lyrics.

When you’re holding me,
we make a pair of parentheses.
There’s plenty of space to encase
whatever weird way my mind goes,
I know I’ll be safe in these arms.
…
You’re not a baby if you feel the world.
All of the babies, they can feel the world.
That’s why the cry.

I love it. And apparently, so does Lindsay Lohan.

OK, I admit Khaela never actually came out and said she had been hanging out with Lindsay and writing songs for her, but it was certainly strongly insinuated.

So I wrote this song for a celebrity. Someone you definitely would have heard of, but you probably have never listened to her. She went on to say that this unnamed celebrity had recently had a big downfall – her face was all over those magazines, she had been dating a girl (but it wasn’t a big deal in the media), she sometimes goes around comando, she apparently likes to sing “Parentheses,” and well, apparently she likes gold, strappy high-heeled sandals. hmm…

Sadly, the album Khaela had been writing for this mystery celebrity is no longer coming out. The thing that sucks is that it exists, but it’s locked in a vault and not in peoples’ heads. But I can still sing them here.

One of the new songs was all about owning disasters and personal meltdowns. All you have to do is make disasters sound cool.

Another was about making things up as  you went along. (Apparently, this unnamed celebrity (UC) had been telling her mother about her feelings for a girl, when her mother responded that she was just looking for attention and that she was making it up, prompting the UC to respond You know, you’re right. We are just making it up together. Kinda genius.

Khaela had had big plans for this album. She admitted that she often sang about boys instead of girls because for her, singing about being a lesbian wouldn’t be radical. I’m spastic. But if you get a ‘normal girl’ to sing about a radical topic, and if the ‘normal person’ does radical things and does it right, then these radical things can become normal.

It was a good evening. Sure, some people actually walked out or balked at Khaela’s sheer awkwardness and minimal music, but then there was also the group of girls near the front who sung along and listened appreciatively when she began telling a story… and I guess I was more aligned with the latter group.

Other highlights from the evening of ‘hits’ included: “Hey Boy,” “Parentheses,” “The Long List of Girls,” and “Come on Petunia.”

Also – apparently Khaela now lives in one of the five boroughs, so hopefully we’ll be seeing and hearing more from her.