ÜberDrivel

What To Do?

2009-10-23T12:11:00.002-04:00

So. It's been a while.

I know this week is the CMJ Music Marathon and all, but schoolwork has prevented me from going to any shows. And really, I'm not terribly excited about seeing any of the bands, aside from Broadcast on Tuesday (sold out) and School of Seven Bells and the xx tonight (ditto). I guess I got burnt out on shows somewhere along there.

These days, most of my writing can be found here. Those of you in New York may have heard about a certain lawsuit in the last couple days, and I'm proud of my reporting in the last week. But yeah, these days my beat is more skyscrapers and apartment buildings, rather than indie rock venues.

That's not to say I've given up beats entirely - I'm still pretty excited about electronic music, and watch this space for a profile on an active local DJ.

I guess this will serve as a repository of sorts of my stories, other people's stories and occasional musical ramblings. You can also follow me on Twitter if you want.

PS - There's been a ton of spam in these parts, so comments are now moderated and require a word verification. Just want to make sure you're human.

Telephasic Workshop (06.12.09)

2009-06-16T04:24:00.001-04:00

1:00 AM	Sten "The Gate" The Essence (Kompakt) CD
1:08 AM	Matthias Meyer "Tout Va Bien" Tout Va Bien / The Anger (Liebe*Detail) CD
1:16 AM	Rhythim is Rhythim "Strings of Life" Strings of Life (Transmat) CD
1:24 AM	Seefeel "Spangle" Artificial Intelligence II (Warp) CD
1:30 AM	James Venturi "People (Microdinamic Remix)" People (Suara) CD
1:36 AM	Heartthrob "Futures Past" Dear Painter, Paint Me (M_nus) CD
1:44 AM	Marc Houle "Bucla9" Sixty-Four (M_nus) CD
1:52 AM	Robag Wruhme "Wortkabular" Kopfnikker (Musik Krause) CD
1:54 AM	Spektre "Deal With It (Kanio Remix)" Deal With It (Suruba) CD
2:01 AM	Solead "Lili" Lili EP (Three Hand Music) CD
2:07 AM	Daniel Dreier "Tapas For Two" Manhar EP (Supdub) CD
2:13 AM	Javi Mula "Come On" Come On (Time) CD
2:17 AM	Jon Cutler ft. E-Man "It's Yours (David Penn Dub)" It's Yours (Bargrooves) CD
2:23 AM	Dave Aju "Crazy Place" Open Wide (Circus Company) CD
2:31 AM	Patrice Bäumel "Javelin" Get Physical Presents The Full Body Workout Vol. 4 (Get Physical) CD
2:36 AM	Efdemin "Back To School" Efdemin (Dial) CD
2:42 AM	Dyed Soundorom "Tapioka" Tapioka (Tsuba Recordings) CD
2:46 AM	Claro Intelecto "New Dawn" Warehouse Sessions (Modern Love) CD
2:52 AM	Âme "Rej" Rej EP (Innervisions) CD

Stream: Telephasic Workshop (06.12.09)
Download: Telephasic Workshop (06.12.09)

Telephasic Workshop (06.05.09)

2009-06-05T03:04:00.003-04:00

Every Thursday night (technically Friday morning), I do a radio show at WNYU.org called Telephasic Workshop (like the Boards of Canada song). I play techno, minimal, deep house and IDM. You can listen live from 1 to 3 am, and the show gets archived immediately afterward, so you can stream and download it right away. Here's this week's show, enjoy.

Playlist:

1:00 AM	Namito "Iran" Iran (Great Stuff Recordings)
1:08 AM	Kate Simko "Soltera" She Said EP (Spectral Sound)
1:13 AM	Alter Ego "Lycra" Minimal Techno (ZYX Music)
1:18 AM	Nick Curly "Say Something" Series 1.1 (8bit)
1:24 AM	GummiHz "Under The Sun" Under The Sun (Mobilee)
1:32 AM	Martin Buttrich "Cruise Control" Stoned Autopilot (Planet E)
1:40 AM	Stimming "Una Pena" Una Pena (Diynamic Music)
1:48 AM	Polder "Bondage (D'Julz Remix)" Poldermodel-Rmx (Intacto Records)
1:54 AM	René Breitbarth "Cooling The Plasma" With A Little Luck... (Treibstoff)
2:00 AM	Lawrence "Teaser" Total 3 (Kompakt)
2:05 AM	Sascha Funke "Drei Auf Drei" Total 3 (Kompakt)
2:12 AM	Lauhaus "Casamance" Casamance (Arearemote)
2:20 AM	Larry Heard Presents: Mr. White "The Sun Can't Compare" You Rock Me / The Sun Can't Compare (Alleviated Records)
2:24 AM	Metalogic "Escape From Torresdale" Boxed and Warped (Hidden Agenda)
2:29 AM	Metro Area "Miura" Metro Area (Environ)
2:34 AM	Daniel Bell "The Butterfly Effect" Tresor Compilation Vol. 7 (Tresor)
2:38 AM	Substance "Relish (Shed Remix)" Relish (Scion Versions)
2:44 AM	Mihai Popoviciu "Motor Like (Maresh Remix)" Motor Like (Subconce Records)
2:50 AM	Ricardo Villalobos "The Comtempt (Trip Tollsmix)" Please Please Please (Kompakt)
2:55 AM	Djuma Soundsystem "Les Djinns (Trentemøller Remix)" The Trentemøller Chronicles (Audiomatique)

Stream: Telephasic Workshop (06.05.09)
Download: Telephasic Workshop (06.05.09)

"Your Band Sucks"

2009-05-21T13:26:00.003-04:00

Hopes were high for Summer Hymns on the eve of the release of the band’s fourth album, Backward Masks, in 2006. The quartet had already been exulted by Pitchfork Media, the premier indie rock tastemaker, for its previous albums, receiving 8.4 and 8.8 ratings out of 10.0.

“I was thinking, ‘Best New Music,’” says Lucas Jensen, the band’s publicist at the time, referring to the web site’s most prestigious seal of approval. “It could take them to a new level.”

But the fickle Pitchfork slammed the album with a 4.4. Despite acknowledging that the album echoed their acclaimed back catalogue, reviewer Jason Crock concluded, “This might be the most alarmingly tedious indie release of the year.”

The fallout was immediate. Jensen spoke to writers, all of whom mentioned the negative review and assumed the record was bad. When Gresham tried to tour, booking agents scorned him and audiences were tiny.

“I don’t necessarily blame Pitchfork for it. It’s more about people who like the record, and then read something on Pitchfork, and then decide they don’t like it. I think that’s more their fault than Pitchfork’s fault,” says Gresham.

But it’s everyone’s fault, really.

The music revolution that has left major labels liquidating and record stores crumbling has also sparked an overload of opinion. Music geeks have never been so able to smear their opinions across the Internet, and the exhilaration of hype has never been so fickle. But the breathlessness that comes with each discovered gem is tempered by the thud of abandonment, sometimes just months or weeks later, as the next buzz-worthy group emerges. The speed of decay is often outpaced by the viciousness of the response. Bands that are old news are ignored, or become punch lines. Careers are destroyed or created with a click. Backlash has become more than inevitable – it has become anticipated.

Gresham lives in Athens, GA. and works as a clerk in Horton’s, a local drugstore. Music was never a full time job for him – he worked as a carpenter before the economy tanked. But after releasing numerous albums over 15 years and still struggling to break even during a tour, he can’t help but be wistful.

“We just haven’t found the right way to reach the masses,” he says. “I guess I’m better at writings song than figuring out a marketing strategy.”

But there was also the issue of timing. Summer Hymns’ earlier releases were reviewed by the nascent Pitchfork of the early 2000s, in the absence of a hyperactive blogosphere – and less susceptible to inflammatory hype.

“The first couple albums we got an 8-point-something - that was the early days of Pitchfork. If we had put out our first record in 2004, and we had an 8.8, we would have had 500 people at our shows,” says Gresham.

At the eve of the release of Backward Masks, the band had received steady press elsewhere, and charted well on the blog aggregator Elbo.ws, says publicist Jensen. But then things crashed after the negative review.

“The paradigm shift has totally occurred, it used to be the thing to do was play shows and hit the same towns, and build up your following slowly but surely. That’s kind of the old model,” says Gresham. “There’s definitely a new model emerging where your first tour, you’re playing in front of 500 to 1,000 people a night [with hype]. For a band like us that’s been doing it for 10 years, you can’t keep touring.”

As the traditional radio and physical album model crumbled, Pitchfork grew up and become notorious for its influence. The Washington Post described its founder, Ryan Schreiber as an “Indie-rock kingmaker,” crediting the site for propelling bands such as Arcade Fire (Rating for their debut album, Funeral: 9.7) from obscurity to stardom. But with great power came great negativity.

In 2004, the site gave Travis Morrison’s Travistan a 0.0, five years after declaring Emergency & I , by Morrison’s original band, The Dismemberment Plan, album of the year. The album was pulled from store shelves and college radio stations refused to play it. A 2006 review of Jet’s Shine On featured a monkey peeing into its mouth in lieu of text. In October 2007, the site championed Black Kids’ self-released Wizard of Ahhhs EP, with an 8.4 and Best New Music stamp (“catchy, tightly executed songs that put a memorable stamp on pop's classic themes."). But by the time their full-length album, Partie Traumatic, arrived the next July, they were old news. Again, the reviewer declined to include text, aside from a 3.3 and a “Sorry :-/” superimposed over a picture of two sad puppies.

The impact of one snarky review is sometimes magnified, but often it’s because early hype was so breathless. Even Jensen, who has witnessed the impact of backlash first hand, can’t help but embrace to the backlash. He cites Wavves, a recent Pitchfork favorite.

“I think it’s terrible. I think it’s as pedantic a low-fi record that I’ve heard in years. Somehow he’s getting hoisted up as this halcyon example of the noise rock movement,” says Jensen, who now writes for the music industry blog Idolator. “Bands that are crappy should be called out. But it’s dangerous. He’s a 22-year-old making records and playing at shows. Why should that be wrong?”

“I don’t know him. Why should I discourage him from making music? I’m not commenting on him personally. I’m commenting on the hype itself,” says Jensen. “The cycle throws people high, and then we got to knock them down.”

“People are smart enough to know half the time, if someone is slamming an album, it’s a personal issue,” says Scott Mou, who works at the tiny, influential Other Music, a record store in Manhattan. “It’s beyond having an issue with the music. There’s entertainment there. If you’re that snotty or nasty, you’ll make an impact. I don’t think they’re out to hurt anyone – but sometimes it seems too much.”

The hype cycle isn’t new. Jensen cites Melody Maker, a British music magazine published weekly in the relatively small and insular country throughout the 1990s. The quick turnaround meant that a favorite band could become a joke in just a matter of days. But the Internet has transformed the single-stream, critic-to-audience feed into a tremendous, all-consuming roar.

“People feel the need to weigh in on everything. Not only do you have backlash moving faster, it’s much louder than it was before,” says Jensen. “When you’re on the internet you’re on a feedback loop. You’re either making statements in ones or zeros – ‘Cold War Kids are monumental’ or ‘Cold War Kids are horrible.’”

It’s not merely a problem of attention deficiency or malignancy, but also one of saturation. The collision of caustic criticism or breathless praise suggests that while CD sales are limping, the consumption of music as an art form is alive and well – and many publicists prefer damnation to indifference. But as liberating as choices are, old models of hegemony are emerging.

“The sad part is that when people are faced with a lot of choices, they follow the lowest common denominator. Or they look to gatekeepers, like Pitchfork,” says Jensen.

Another danger of hype is the uprooting of bands in incubation – artists who may very well develop into something special, but our collective short attention span relegates them to media flares that quickly fizzle. Black Kids, who became a sensation during the College Music Journal (CMJ) Music Marathon, an industry event, did so with a handful of tracks – not quite a one hit wonder, but one with about the same life expectancy – and often praise is based off of a demo or leak. Sometimes the backlash is over before an album is even officially released.

“We make these instant superstars, but what does it mean? We cover them like they’re superstars, and then we forget about them,” says Jensen. “What would we have done to Tom Waits or Bruce Springsteen, New Order, the Cure or U2? A lot of these bands got better.”

“But for Wavves, I need to shut up. Because he’s a 22-yr old who’s making music on his four track,” says Jensen. “We should be encouraging people. We need to comment more on the music and less on the hype.”

But sometimes, the hype – or lack thereof – is more relevant than the music.

On September 17th, 2008, Pitchfork published a scathing reprisal of the Airborne Toxic Event, a Los Angeles band. The reviewer, Ian Cohen, began gently, describing the music “lyrically moody, musically sumptuous, and dramatic,” but then rattled off obvious indie reference points and concluded, unceremoniously, “The Airborne Toxic Event is an album that's almost insulting in its unoriginality.”

The rating was a precipitous 1.6, a rating that would send most bands running for more sympathetic ears, burying it with positive press. But instead, the Airborne Toxic Event responded.

In an open letter, the band argued that the review was biased, if not entirely invalid.

“We love indie rock and we know full well that Pitchfork doesn't so much critique bands as critique a band's ability to match a certain indie rock aesthetic. We don't match it,” wrote the band.

Jim Merlis of Big Hassle Media, the Airborne Toxic Event’s publicist, was initially against releasing the letter because of what he called Publicity 101: “Never react to negative reviews, some journalists will take pleasure in torturing you if they know you care,” he says. But his views changed.

“After a conversation with the band, I was supportive of their efforts, and I actually feel it was helpful. You know the letter was cogent, well written, and it sparked dialogue, and that's always a good thing these days. I think the goal of press these days especially is to create echo chambers of conversation,” says Merlis. “To be honest, we weren't getting love from the ultra-hipsters anyway, so why not go at them? They are the goliath in this story and they've written negative things about a lot of bands and I was pretty sure that there would be a lot of sympathy.”

If Pitchfork is the elitist arbiter in its ivory tower, the cesspool of backlash is undoubtedly the comments section of brooklynvegan. The ferocious underbelly of the vigorously updated New York blog is saturated with anonymous users, who tear into artists, both established and emerging, with zeal.

Naturally, they ate the Airborne Toxic Event controversy up.

After the site posted the letter, comments ranged from dismissive (“Such a pathetic cry for attention. You're [sic] band sucks. Deal with it.”) to absurd (“OMG-BAWWWWW! TEH INTERNETS NO LUV US!”), but others saw Pitchfork as the greater evil. The post ballooned to over ninety comments within hours.

“First reading the review, then the letter, and then all of these comments, I am struck by how staggeringly ridiculous we all are,” wrote one anonymous poster.

But there remains a segment of the audience that sees the proliferation of negative comments as necessary, perhaps even noble, task.

“If you're not passionate about the music you like, then what's the point? We're fans of real indie rock, so when shitty bands incorrectly labeled as indie rock come around and get all popular with trendy douchebags, yeah, the defamation of the name and genre of indie rock pisses us off,” posted HBK, a brooklynvegan commenter and author of indierocksucks.com.

“There is backlash because people like HBK are talentless idiots who have nothing better to do with their lives,” countered another anonymous poster.

But even among writers, there is a sense that quality control must be maintained.

“The way I look at it, there are so many bands out there, as journalists, it’s our job to help the listener weed out the crap and spend their time and money on the worthwhile,” says Dean van Nguyen, a music critic and contributor to Wireless Bollinger, an Australian music web site.

Ultimately, that 1.6 hasn’t really hurt the Airborne Toxic Event. The band has toured throughout the United States, played the late night circuit on major television networks, and recently signed with Island Records, a major label. The exceptionally low number may have introduced the band to those wondering if they were really that bad.

Meanwhile, Summer Hymns is working on their next album, tentatively to be released in the fall.

But one can’t help but wonder who the next victim will be.

Interlude: Actor Out of Work

2009-05-19T04:25:00.001-04:00

Scanning the riotous "Going Out of Business" signs, I found myself remembering.

It was just a few years ago when another behemoth closed, ten blocks downtown. I'm unconvinced that these were both illegal download-related fatalities. Real estate and economics played a role, surely, but so did mismanagement and greed. The Times Square Virgin Megastore, and its more familiar, Union Square cousin, are (were) highly profitable and always have (had) costumers. The story here isn't slumping sales, but rent. Vornado Realty Trust purchased the entire Virgin Megastore chain, and as owners of the two actual properties in New York, the company wants to get a tenant who will pay more.

I know times are tough and the bottom line is important, but what about cultural value? Virgin was, for all its corporate branding and big box disadvantages, a vivacious, socially vital institution. And nothing exemplified that more than in-stores.

Annie Clark, the petite maelstrom at the center of St Vincent, was a brave choice for the "last days," as she cheekily deemed them. Emotionally jittery, restless and evocative, Clark is a far cry from any norm, indie rock or otherwise. Laughing with a mouth of blood, as one of her songs go, needn't be a depressive state. While the subjects are gloomy, the music is cathartic and cataclysmic, with guitar-driven blasts and operatic vocals, at once regal and earthy. Alas, no old songs, but the new cuts off of Actor were much in the same vein, complete with horns, strings and fuzzy, violent guitar.

St Vincent plays Webster Hall on Wednesday, May 20th.

MP3: St Vincent - Actor Out of Work
MySpace: St Vincent
Official Site: St Vincent

More photos at brooklynvegan.

While We Were Out

2009-05-18T00:02:00.001-04:00

Three months. A quarter of a year. A lot of albums, and a lot of news.

I haven't been ignoring things - it's very difficult not to hear change when the ground is shaking around you - but it's fair to say that I haven't been broadcasting myself as much. My passion became a job, of sorts. Interviews started sounding the same. Shows were repetitive - or at least covering them became so.

But it's still exciting.

When I first started ÜberDrivel - almost three years ago now - I just wanted something to pass the time. I didn't really know where it would go, and it has completely surpassed my expectations. And I realize that's too much to just throw away. Too important.

So, ladies and gentlemen, to make it official: I'm back!

Here are some things that happened during the hiatus (mostly depressing):

-Blender runs out of juice. I interviewed for an internship there last year, and it seemed like a really cool place. While not always my style or subject matter, there was some good journalism in there, and some really good writers. It's sad to see yet another print publication go under, but at least there's still the website.

-Google pursues free, "legal" downloads in China. The fact that the major labels have bought into this means two things to me: business is so desperate that they're willing to pursue anything that might give them a market share and China is a serious deal, and potentially a huge chunk of the pie. I was born in Beijing, and it always discouraged me how little interesting music seemed to emerge from China, so hopefully that will change. (More on this later...)

-R.I.P. Etherea, R.I.P. Kim's, R.I.P. Virgin (soon), R.I.P. Sound Fix Lounge (maybe not?). Other Music, please hang on!

-Sirius and XM merge. Which would seem like a massive antitrust issue, but people don't really want to pay for anything these days, least of all radio. On a related note, I have a newish radio program on WNYU, called Telephasic Workshop. Deep house, minimal techno and IDM, enjoy.

-ÜberDrivel is on Twitter - free NYC concert feed all summer!

And, since it has really been a while, here is a musical treat. I dare you to not get it stuck in your head.

MP3: Gabriel Ananda - Babypunk

Interview: The Gyronauts

2009-02-06T11:37:00.002-05:00

This feature appears in today's Washington Square News.

It’s showtime in a tiny venue on the Lower East Side, and Megan Heckard is worried about fire — specifically, twirling it around her waist, neck and limbs.

“I had to make a judgment call — you’re worried about your personal safety, but you’re even more concerned for the safety of your audience,” Heckard said.

With its low ceiling and a surface that hasn’t been fireproofed, the space wasn’t ideal, but she went for it and in the end, everyone left unscathed. Risk is perhaps what makes Heckard’s passion so appealing; what sounds like a potentially life-threatening proposition is actually a dynamic, lucrative act.

Heckard, a Steinhardt junior studying music business, is part of the Gyronauts, a hula hoop ensemble. The group is comprised of Heckard, Gallatin senior Natasha Kouri, Tisch senior Sean Stogner, Gallatin junior Daniel Darwin, CAS senior Anna Chazelle and Tisch senior Sarah Freeman, all of whom adopt various stage personas that invoke the glamorous and the futuristic.

In January, the group played a show at Highline Ballroom with NYU band Sea Foam and banjo player and yodeler Curtis Eller. Over a hundred people filled the available tables, leaving stragglers standing in the back. Although Eller has been performing for almost a decade and has toured in Europe, it was the Gyronauts that commanded the greatest turnout.

“We looked out and there was a sea of people,” said Kouri, who performs under the name Glam O’Saurus.

Heckard and Kouri manage the business side of the group. Heckard, who performs as Justina Flash, was able to put her marketing skills to good use in promoting the Highline show.

“We reached a whole new audience,” she said.

Versatility is also a major asset; the group has appeared in burlesque shows, corporate events, parties, religious functions, hospitals and abandoned warehouses.

“What’s great about our performance group is that we get to do a little bit of everything,” Heckard said.

While other local hula hoop groups exist, including Groovehoops and Ladycircus, none have quite embraced the relentless self-promotion and hectic show schedule that has made the Gyronauts so prolific.

“We’re probably the most active hoop troop in the greater New York area,” Heckard said.

Kouri also sells handmade hula hoops. Although she initially sold them in Union Square, the police took exceptional notice of the uncommon item and forced her to relocate.

“You’re allowed to legally sell art in Union Square under the first amendment,” Kouri said. But it was questionable what sort of category her hoops fell under. “It was functional. Art cannot be functional,” she said.

She argues that the opposite is true — that art is inherently functional. Hooping, for the Gyronauts, has become an artistic medium. It’s empowered these individuals, transforming them into spectacular, flame-evading, risk-taking characters.

The members of the group, however, are unsure what form the Gyronauts will take once their seniors graduate. Kouri is thinking about moving to California, which would make the group bi-coastal. Even now there is some tension over who could keep the now-acclaimed moniker and what group composition would allow them to stay true to their roots.

“I keep it in the back of my mind whenever I do an individual event. This could be short-lived,” Heckard said.

But for now, the Gyronauts keep spinning.

--

MySpace: The Gyronauts

I, For One, Do Not Welcome Our New Ticketing Overlords

2009-02-04T13:38:00.000-05:00

My first four shows in NYC, ever.

From IndustryDrivel:

A week back, I was looking forward to a couple shows - the ArtBattles event at Le Poisson Rouge, and Modeselektor at Bowery Ballroom. I usually try to be prepared for an event - either having a ticket in hand or a guest list spot secured. But my plans were somewhat spur of the moment, and I took a calculated risk. In this case, the calculation consisted of the $6 surcharge for an online ticket, which I felt morally repugnant. Thus, I showed up for ArtBattles and it was sold out at the door. The next day, tickets for Modeselektor weren't available online, and I figured that one sold out too. In short, online convenience charges are a pain, but when a show is selling out anyways, you can afford to be a little greedy.

Today, the Wall Street Journal (registration possibly required) reports that the major culprits of the surcharge epidemic, Live Nation and Ticketmaster, are considering a merger. Cue the AIM conversation between myself and Jeff of the culture of me.

[13:03] MADLIBS04: so..is it really going to change things?
[13:03] MADLIBS04: /shrug
[13:05] thatdudejeffwho: nope
[13:05] MADLIBS04: interesting
[13:05] thatdudejeffwho: now just one website to go get raped on

Perhaps a little facetious, but let's face it - these companies aren't in the business to promote good music. They're here to increase their profit, and all else comes second. It's one of the last fringes of the music industry that actually makes money, and it pains me to see it being perverted.

The Disappearing Venue: Sound Fix Silenced

2009-01-29T00:39:00.003-05:00

From IndustryDrivel, my new blog on music marketing.

It’s a frosty night in Williamsburg a few weeks ago, and I am getting squished. If there is any place on the planet where people would flock to see vaguely twee indie pop from Cardiff, Wales in subzero climate, it would be Brooklyn’s nexus of hipsterdom. But I type such a sentiment lovingly – I have similar priorities. The band tonight particularly loveable: Los Campesinos!, who have just released a new album, just a half year since their debut. It’s my first show in about a month, and while the wait makes my ankles ache, the payoff is just as visceral and satisfying as ever.

Live in-store performances have always been a happy medium between the full blown shows and listening to a band on your iPod. They're also fantastic marketing tools - free admission virtually guarantees a packed room in the densely attentive NYC, as well as other big markets. A live performance by a band might just induce that reluctant fan to fork over the $14.99 for the actual album, and no bootleg can truly replace live music.

Unfortunately, it will to be one of the last events in Sound Fix, adding to the venue body count. While the record store mainstay will be hanging on, the performance area portion, which features a bar and small stage, is closing in February, according to brooklynvegan. Follow the paper trail, apparently the performance area has been in trouble since last April, as reported by Brownstoner. The culprit appears to be noise complaints from neighbors.

Tonight, I’m probably off to Studio B, another troubled Brooklyn venue that’s had its fair share of noise complaints, for the Norwegian DJ Lindstrøm. The club has recently reversed its strict 21+ policy, and shows through April are 19+. The mantra has always been that alcohol sales fuel a venue, so this is a bit of an interesting (though personally gratifying) change – perhaps they think underage people will be quieter?

The State of the Industry

2008-12-24T15:26:00.000-05:00

Last month, Angela Poe, Online Marketing, Promotions and Social Media Director at Eenie Meenie Records, an independent (“indie") record label based in California, was laid off.

Instead of using conventional job-search methods, Poe used her publicity background to market herself, sending out an e-mail that linked to her resume. The message was picked up by blogs, including those she had worked with as a publicist. Much like a hot new band that gains online buzz, Poe found herself approached by numerous interested employers.

“Part of the job, working for the label, has always been finding a creative, inexpensive way to make an impact, to find an audience,” Poe said. “Marketing in general isn’t about a user purchasing a product. It’s about them enjoying the experience - they needed it all along, they just didn’t know.”

The music industry is in a bewildering state of contradiction. There is no consensus on what business model will emerge from the current confusion, but the Internet has shattered major label hegemony and ushered in an era of great uncertainty, but also great opportunity. There’s no arguing that these are interesting times – especially for those willing to seize opportunities. Even amidst downturn, there are encouraging signs.

Physical record sales are plummeting, with a 17 percent drop in the shipment of CDs in 2007, according to the Recording Industry Association of America, which represents the major U.S. music labels. Yet digital downloads, both legal and illicit, mean that music has never been able to proliferate so quickly. Job prospects are bleak, and the problem is compounded by the financial crisis, yet actual musicians aren’t necessarily doing poorly.

“It’s purely a financial issue. Indie labels suffer when the economy is bad. People who own and run them have to invest elsewhere. When there’s an economic crisis, no matter how well the artists are doing, the staff has to be downsized to hold up,” Poe said.

Major labels also have suffered. EMI announced in January that it would cut its 4,500 person workforce down to 2,000, and laid off employees at affiliate labels Caroline and Blue Note this summer.

Record stores are disappearing, particularly in New York. 3,100 record stores have closed in the United States since 2003, according to the Almighty Institute of Music Retail, a market research firm, including 80 in Manhattan and Brooklyn. However, live music is immensely profitable, with LiveNation, a concert promoter juggernaut, reporting a 17 percent increase in live concerts produced compared to last year, and a 9 percent increase in revenue. A slew of new venues, both large and small, have recently opened in New York, where LiveNation competes with the Bowery Presents.

“New York has its own economy. It doesn’t seem like the city is affected. Even after 9/11, we were packed a week after,” said Scott Koshnoodi, owner of Littlefield, a new music venue opening in Brooklyn. “The economy here is just so powerful; you have so many young people who don’t want to stay at home. Even in bad times, people want drinks.”

No doubt aided by alcohol, the ”recession-proof” commodity, the Bowery Presents opened a new small venue in Brooklyn, the Music Hall of Williamsburg and a massive 3,000-person club in Manhattan, Terminal 5, a year ago. It has recently expanded to Montclair, New Jersey with another large venue, the Wellmont Theatre.

Unsurprisingly, record labels have attempted to cash in on live revenue. Traditionally, ticket sales and merchandise sold at concerts would go directly to the band, but record labels have initiated “360 deals,” in which the record label gains revenue from merchandise and concert tickets sales as well as CD sales, in return for more career support.

“Turn-around comes from licensing, venue sales, and 360 deals,” said Poe. “As far as the actual sale of the record goes, not a whole lot of money comes from that anyway.”

Thus, in order to stay commercially viable, there are many stores that sell more than just CDs. Massive “big box” chains such as Virgin Megastore and Best Buy also offer clothing, video games, books and DVDs.

“I think companies like Virgin have this ‘we’ll just move with the times’ mission statement. Even though they’re enormous, that doesn’t feel bad to me,” said Poe. “Where else would you find an autobiography of Bob Dylan next to Beatles T-shirts next to a $9.99 Sex Pistols record, with Donny Darko in Limited Edition DVD downstairs?”

The diverse merchandise has paid off. In 2007, Virgin had a 10 percent increase in music sales through fourth period, and an 11 percent increase in DVD sales and a 26 percent increase in video games sales, together with an average increase of 30 percent in fashion and electronics, according to a press release.

But in New York’s competitive real estate market, such a large operation may be unsustainable – not so much because of sales, but rather, because prime real estate is so valuable. Related Companies and Vornado Realty Trust are the landlords for the Virgin Megastore’s Union Square and Times Square locations, huge, iconic store that are flagships for the brand. In September, the two companies finalized their purchase of the 11 nationwide Virgin stores from the Virgin Group. The buy has fueled speculation that the two New York stores, which are underpaying per square foot, will close. Winick Realty Group, a New York-based commercial real estate firm, is handling the Union Square property, according to their website.

A spokeswoman for Vornado declined to comment, but Megan Heckard, who has been working in the music product department of the Union Square store since June, confirmed the imminent closure of the Times Square location in 2009. The Union Square store may last longer – ironically, it may have been saved by the financial crisis – but she suggested that closure was inevitable.

“Because of the recession it is unlikely that any other retailer will want to sign the lease, so we are probably going to keep the whole thing up and running,” she said. “But I mean, it is the general thought that it is only a matter of time though, whether it be months or a few years.”

Kim’s Video Underground is a small video rental and music chain, with its largest location at St. Mark's Place in the East Village. It will be moving at the beginning of the new year to a smaller location on First Avenue. The move includes a 30 percent discount on videos and CDs, and owner Yongman Kim is looking for an organization that will take the 55,000-video rental collection. On signs inside the store, he requests 3,000 square feet of space to maintain the collection, and continue to allow members rental access.

Kim declined to comment for this article, but in an interview with WNYC, he said, “Business is declining. Our lifestyle of entertainment is changing as well.”

But again, it’s not entirely clear if the move is based on declining sales, or an effort to capitalize on prime real estate. Kim owns the building, and a sign advertising “space available” hangs above the store, on its unoccupied upper floors.

In September, a Kim’s Video closed near Columbia University on the Upper West Side and donated its video collection to the university. In 2004, a Kim’s Video closed at Avenue A, in eastern Manhattan.

Other Music, a tiny independent music store, has hung on. It is located across the street from the former location of Tower Records in Greenwich Village, which closed at the end of 2006, and has outlasted its much larger neighbor.

“It’s slower, but we still have our hardcore fans,” said Scott Mou, who works there. “We’re trying to be special.”

In 2007, Other Music opened a digital music store, similar to Apple’s iTunes store, but stocked with obscure and rare releases. “It’s doing well. We’re filling it up with things you expect to see, but also more exclusives,” Mou said, adding his speculation that one day the store could exist entirely online.

Right now, one of the store’s biggest assets is vinyl records. According to the RIAA, in 2007, there were 1.3 million shipments of LPs, compared with 511 million shipments of CDs. While minuscule in comparison, shipments of LPs still increased 36 percent compared with 2006, while shipments of CDs dropped over 17 percent, according to the same data. While vinyl sales are relatively tiny, they appeal to music fanatics who praise the format for its superior sound quality and impressive packaging – the sort of costumers that Other Music attracts.

“The storefront is more important to this store than Virgin Megastore. People still come here to experience music, whether it’s talking about it or listening to it,” Mou said.

Local artists can also use the store to promote their own work, even without being signed to a label. Jon Shina has been performing music for six years, and discovered Other Music at its Cambridge, Mass. location. When that store closed, he came to the New York, and was discussing with the store about carrying his new album, which was self-released.

“If you have a favorite local record store, there’s more of a community. You want your stuff in a community,” said Shina. “You can’t get this at Best Buy. You can’t get it at Virgin.”

His priorities, however, are not sales so much as exposure. “I’d just be happy if anyone listens to my stuff,” he said.

But the record store experience has only a niche audience, particularly with the popularity of digital downloads.

“It’s like describing color to blind people. It’s not like they won’t appreciate it, they can’t,” Poe said. “They don’t know a world without an Internet. They don’t know how to buy music without iTunes. It’s not that they won’t appreciate buying music at a record store, they don’t have the frame of reference of it.”

As for Poe, she has a new job at the Gary Group, a marketing firm that works with concert promoters, record labels and other entertainment outlets.

She described her success this way: “Here’s what I can do for you, because here’s what I can do for myself.”

Angela Poe blogs at music is my boyfriend.

The Lead: Music as Equalizer

2008-11-24T22:07:00.000-05:00

The front page of today's New York Times contains a story from Jidda, Saudi Arabia, about an all-female band called Accolade - unprecendented in the "ultraconservative kingdom." The band's name is inspired by the above painting. (“I liked the painting because it shows a woman who is satisfied with a man,” Guitarist Dina says in the article.) While hardly a huge force of revolution in itself, the existence of such a band is encouraging and another testament to the potential of music as a force for social change.

While reading the article, I thought back on an interview I had with Ellen Allien last year, and how techno was such a powerful force in post-unification Berlin. In essence, music became the language of nationalism, and the language of liberation. Particularly on Ellen's earlier albums, one of which was entitled Berlinette, her lyrics explore such themes. She's particularly special, not only as one of few women in the male-driven DJ world, but as boss of the great label, BPitch Control.

It remains to be seen what sort of impact Accolade end up having. They're currently unsigned, according to their MySpace, but have over 37,000 plays of their first single, "Pinocchio." It reminds me of Lacuna Coil - a piano introduction that soon turns heavy, and slightly accented vocals. Nothing extraordinary, but created under pretty extraordinary circumstances.

Much-blogged Duo Floats Above the Hype

2008-11-24T01:20:00.002-05:00

This is a review I did a few weeks back, actually for class, and while a bit late, I like this record and think it's worth posting about.

Brooklyn duo High Places has a friendship that most of us can only dream of. Mary Pearson and Rob Barber met in 2006, and moved in with each other two days later. Their beguiling, abstract pop took longer to emerge - earlier this spring, they released a shimmering collection of singles, entitled 03/07-09/07, which referred to March to September 2007, the time in which the songs were created. The album, which was released exclusively through digital music store emusic, receiving quick online praise, include a 8.4 from Pitchfork. With Pearson singing “of dinosaurs and seagulls' wings” and other whimsical phrases, High Places might be considered child-like, if not outright childish. But her voice is wrapped around surprisingly sophisticated instrumentation, courtesy of Barber, who uses a variety of synths, drum effects and reverb to create backdrops suffused with mood.

Their MySpace page cheekily labels themselves “Surf/Hardcore/Trance,” but such disparate genres aren't entirely off the mark – Barber grew up with punk music and Pearson initially studied the bassoon. Jeff Meltz, a music blogger and photographer, approvingly called High Places “indie jungle” after an early performance at the Bowery Bowery last fall, and subsequent internet reactions range from delight to admiration, albeit with no real consensus on genre. If there was one popular complaint with 03/07 – 09/07, it was that the compilation lacked cohesion – that despite the similarities music, there was no common thread to united the tracks.

Now signed to Chicago-based label Thrill Jockey, High Places' official, self-titled debut is more focused, but retains free-spirited experimenting that makes it an effortless listen. While not a great divergence from earlier work, the album cements the band's appeal. Opener “The Storm” has Pearson floating up to high notes over a playful beat, “Vision's the First...” loops her sublime vocalizing, and closer “From Stardust To Sentience” is a cinematic outro.

Although High Places is unlikely to play anything larger than cozy clubs and dive bars, along with the occasional indie-minded festival, their modesty isn't necessarily a bad thing. In a hype-crazed industry, starved for the next big thing, High Places have circumvented the backlash. Despite their ethereal music, their promise is concrete.

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MP3: High Places - Head Spins
Blog: High Places

CHANGE

2008-11-24T01:12:00.004-05:00

These days, it seems pretty easy to fade away. I've lost my focus here, from a combination of school, work and perhaps being a little burnt out. It's not that I write or report less - I'm trying my hand at real estate - and I listen to plenty of music, but there needs to be some changes here. I still love live music, but reviewing show after show becomes a burden when you're constantly falling behind. That's not to say I'm not going to catch up eventually, but there needs to be some variety. The more I occupy this world of music, the more I realize how much things are changing. And the more I want to be a part of it. Essentially, what I'm looking for is some sort of dialogue. The simplest thing is just linking to other people, but I'm not interested so much in aggregation as commentary.

Anyhow, watch this space - I'm going to be more active and I'm going to try to be more creative. And let me know what you think.

CMJ 2008, Day 1

2008-11-18T01:41:00.002-05:00

My long overdue writeup for CMJ begins on Tuesday, when brooklynvegan took over the Music Hall of Williamsburg. British singer-songwriter Emma-Lee Moss of Emmy the Great opened the night with appealing, acoustic pop, echoing the past success of Kate Nash and Lily Allen. The Sammies, the self-described "rock portion" of the show, followed her with Southern accents hollering alongside galloping drums, as frontman Frank Backgammon leapt into the air and struck poses atop his monitor. The majestic Shearwater brought a more tranquil intensity, with singer Jonathan Meiburg's quavering falsetto erupting into an occasional snarl. But drummer Thor Harris was the real star. His flowing hair and bare forearms contrasted jarringly with the rest of the band's tailored suits, but that didn't stop many cries of "I love you Thor!" and "Thor, you rock!" Good stuff.

Emmy the Great

MP3: Emmy The Great - Easter Parade

MySpace: Emmy the Great
Official Site: Emmy the Great

The Sammies

MP3: The Sammies - Glisten
MP3: The Sammeis - Old Grey
MySpace: The Sammies
Official Site: The Sammies

Shearwater

MP3: Shearwater - Leviathan, Bound
MP3: Shearwater - Rooks
MySpace: Shearwater
Official Site: Shearwater

Interview: M83

2008-11-14T16:02:00.003-05:00

This feature appears in Washington Square News.

Brian Eno called his watershed ambient album “Music For Airports.” By that logic, M83’s fifth album, “Saturdays = Youth,” is music for high schools.

From the album cover’s “Breakfast Club” teenager doppelgangers to its ’80s synth-pop sound, “Saturdays” is a celebration of being young. But M83’s leader Anthony Gonzalez isn’t from America, the land of angst-ridden teen movies. Instead, Gonzalez resides in Antibes in southern France, where American culture has bridged the Atlantic most prominently on the silver screen.

“I’m a big fan of movies,” Gonzalez said. “Cinema is a big influence for me and also soundtracks.”

Fittingly, the album includes vocals from Morgan Kibby, the lead singer in Los Angeles-based band The Romanovs, who has also appeared on soundtracks for M. Night Shyamalan’s “Lady in the Water” and “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.”

“Saturdays” was produced by Ken Thomas, who has worked with Sigur Rós and dream-pop primogenitors Cocteau Twins, and Ewan Pearson, who has remixed countless artists and produced Tracey Thorn, The Rapture and Ladytron. A live guitarist and drummer complete M83’s touring quartet, but Gonzalez is as much a producer as a member of a band.

Prior to “Saturdays,” he released “Digital Shades Vol. 1,” an ambient release indebted to Eno but created with a program that wasn’t available in 1979: Pro Tools.

“For the ‘Digital Shades’ project, I can do pretty much everything alone,” Gonzalez said. “I’m free to do anything that I want to do.”

He says that he worked alone as M83’s primary composer even during its early existence, when Nicolas Fromageau was still a member of the band. The two formed M83 in 2001 after meeting — where else? — in high school. But Fromageau left after the group’s second album, “Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts.”

Despite an affinity for electronic music and a common home country, don’t mistake Gonzalez for the bottom-heavy crunch of Paris’ Ed Banger Records, home of Justice.

“I love their music, but I think my music is really different from them. I never met those guys,” Gonzalez said. In what was perhaps a telling sign, Gonzalez moved to Paris but quickly came back to his native Antibes.

M83 is signed to Mute Records, but despite the financial woes of parent company EMI, Gonzalez’s stance on illegal downloading is laissez-faire.

“I don’t mind. I’m downloading music off the internet as well,” he said. “It’s not a problem, as long as people love my music.”

The generosity seems to have paid off. The band is currently on their second American tour in support of “Saturdays,” playing Webster Hall tonight with School of Seven Bells. Gonzalez says that the stateside audience even surpasses his home turf.

“The crowd in America is a bit more attentive to the music, and I think they’re more passionate,” Gonzalez said.

Then again, there are a lot of movie buffs here.

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MP3: M83 - Kim & Jessie
MP3: M83 - Teen Angst
MySpace: M83
Official Site: M83

CMJ: In This Year's Fest, Esoteric Acts Ruled

2008-11-09T12:41:00.003-05:00

From Washington Square News' CMJ Roundup.

Last Friday I found myself in a strange part of town for a CMJ show: Chelsea. I was there in hopes of seeing the Irish singer Roisin Murphy, a European import who sings like Kylie Minogue. She was playing at Mansion, on 28th Street and 11th Avenue, and my hopes of getting in were fading as I came across a staggering mass of people.

“Hey, is this the line for Roisin Murphy?” I asked no one in particular.

A woman scoffed, “Uh, yeah. Who else would it be for?”

I navigated past the line but on the other side of the entrance were only a handful of press and industry people. They were letting in CMJ Music Marathon badge holders, but only those who were 21. My underage self was straight out of luck.

CMJ doesn’t change the rules of New York City’s concerts so much as it magnifies attention. Spanning last Tuesday to Saturday, it featured over a thousand bands playing in dozens of venues, some clumped in the Lower East Side and Williamsburg, others scattered in obscure locations, like Mansion.

For music fanatics, the week is part-marathon, part-juggling act. You can either camp out at one place all night, as I did on Wednesday night at the Bowery Ballroom, or sprint from one venue to another, trying to catch a variety of acts.

For more casual music fans, this year’s CMJ was a head-scratcher, devoid of big names, with only Broken Social Scene and Coheed and Cambria registering more than a blip of mainstream recognition — definitely less buzz than last year’s marquee performers, Spoon, Justice and M.I.A.

This year, it was a week of esoteric thrills, including some New York debuts. On Thursday, London’s Lucky Soul played its first stateside show. I also witnessed the U.S. debut of Chilean DJ Luciano (check out the “Fabric 41” mix), who played a mellow set at Irving Plaza.

School of Seven Bells played a mesmerizing set at Le Poisson Rouge in the last hours of CMJ, where it meshed shoe-gaze blasts and heavenly vocals. Ghostly International labelmate Matthew Dear closed out the night, strutting around with a mic stand when he wasn’t manipulating his laptop.

Sure, these two artists, and many of the other performers, play in New York all the time. But when it comes to seizing exposure, CMJ is special.

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Full coverage coming!

Interlude: You Can Play These Songs With Chords

2008-10-29T17:01:00.001-04:00

Irving Plaza has become a pretty popular stop of late, actually eclipsing the stalwart Bowery Ballroom, and I have to give Live Nation and pals some credit for booking some interesting acts over the last couple months. I do have to say that the lighting is pretty terrible, though. Anyhow, Stereolab played a bunch of shows here at the beginning of October, and I was fortunate enough to catch their final show on the 4th. Thanks to Catherine at Beggars!

Monade

Stereolab's singer Lætitia Sadier also fronts Monade, which admittedly isn't much a divergence from her main band. The songs aren't quite as immediate, but Sadier's francophone vocals are always wonderful. Their third album, Monstre Cosmic, came out in March, and while Stereolab deservedly gets more attention, this band is quite good as well.

MySpace: Monade
Official Site: Monade

Le Loup

A acquaintance that I ran into during last year's CMJ Marathon raved about Le Loup, but I never managed to give them a proper listen until this night, despite acquiring their verbosely titled album, The Throne of the Third Heaven of the Nations' Millennium Assembly. I didn't see Nicole Keenan, who may or may not still be in the band, but they played a strange and appealing set amidst the dark stagelights, with frontman Sam Simkoff hopping around like an M.C., before settling down with a banjo.

MP3: Le Loup - We Are Gods! We Are Wolves!
MySpace: Le Loup
Official Site: Le Loup

Stereolab

It's a shame that Stereolab has never attracted more than an underground following. In a fairer parellel universe, their techy, breezy music would top charts. But for now, they remain a medium-sized band that is replete with warped pop gems. What surprised me was the amount of muscle behind the songs, old and new, as the band erupted into gratuitous jam after gratuitous jam. Perhaps if people knew how much this band rocked out, they'd be playing a bigger venue. As good as they are, the band probably has hit a bit of a plateau. Emperor Tomato Ketchup is regarded by some as their best work, and it's the one I'm most familiar with - "Percolator" and "Cybele's Reverie" are great - and their subsequent work hasn't quite hit that peak, but I need to do some digging.

Here's a live set, recorded on March 21st, 2007, at Washington, D.C.'s 9:30 club. Enjoy.

1. Come and Play in the Milky Night
2. Eye of the Volcano
3. Vonal Declosion
4. Visionary Roadmaps
5. Need To Be
6. Interlake
7. Pack Yr Romantic Mind
8. Excursion into Oh, A-Oh
9. I Feel The Air (Of Another Planet)
10. Mountain
11. Miss Modular
12. Widow Weirdo
13. U.H.F. - MFP

14. Whisper Pitch

15. Vodiak
16. Cybele's Reverie
17. ...Sudden Stars
18. Outer Bongolia

MySpace: Stereolab
Official Site: Stereolab

The Ocean Between Us: Trembling Blue Stars Live

2008-10-28T02:29:00.000-04:00

Our long CMJ hangover is finally over. Full coverage is coming up, but first, here's a short and sweet acoustic set from Trembling Blue Stars, a band that unfortunately seems to have given up touring. That's a shame, because their most recent album, The Last Holy Writer, is filled with pretty, jangly pop songs. The highlight is "Idyllwild," which ranked pretty high on last year's song list, and that's a great place to start - the song really showcases Beth Arzy's lovely vocals. But it's her counterpart, Robert Wratten, who sings lead on most the songs, and his wistful voice gives the band much of its character. This set is from a while back, recorded around 2001 in something called Sesion Polar. Enjoy!

MP3: Trembling Blue Stars - Idyllwild

1. The Ghost of an Unkissed Kiss
2. Moonlight On Snow
3. Kensington Gardens
4. If I Handle You With Care
5. Missing the Moon

MySpace: Trembling Blue Stars
Official Site: Trembling Blue Stars

Interlude: MBV

2008-10-20T23:19:00.001-04:00

During “You Made Me Realise,” the last song of My Bloody Valentine’s second show at New York’s Roseland Ballroom, the venue grew eerily quiet. In actuality, the band was creating punishing waves of feedback, but with earplugs stuffed in firmly, it felt like the eye of a storm. The atmosphere was foreign to a rock concert. Instead of exultation, there was serene anticipation.

Fans of the Irish quartet are used to waiting. My Bloody Valentine’s watershed 1991 release, Loveless, smeared glorious dream pop with a distorted haze of guitars and soporific vocals from singers Kevin Shields and Bilinda Butcher. The band has not released an album since, but Loveless has become the primogenitor for shoegaze, a term that originates from the abundance of foot-operated effects pedals. (Shields reportedly used 30 pedals on this tour.) They had not played in the United States for 16 years.

The setlist contained songs from Loveless and the band’s 1988 debut, Isn’t Anything, which the band delivered like a hurricane. Shields and Butcher’s breathy vocals were barely audible under the blast of guitars and blistering percussion. The band almost disappeared under the lighting, which flooded the stage. Shields would give a quiet “thank you” to the crowd in the middle of the set, but his presence was ethereal: the songs spoke for themselves.

From the overcharged “Only Shallow” to the acid-tinged cascades of “Soon,” the performance was an affirmation of how well My Bloody Valentine has stood the test of time. Loveless took over two years to craft, bankrupting the band’s label, Creation, in the process. But its influence has only grown in the nearly two decades since its release. Shields has said that the band will attempt to record a third album this fall, but no matter what they produce in the future, their legacy is cemented.

The calm of “You Made Me Realise” was broken by a final squall of feedback, followed by a bassline so massive that a tremor devoured the packed stage floor, leaving feet reverberating. Leaving a residue of feedback, like the afterglow of a dying sun, the band departed, fading away as fleetingly as they arrived.

Here's the band at the Roxy Theater in Los Angeles on February 4th, 2002, the last time they were in the States. However, if you're new to MBV, I strongly sugest starting with Loveless, which kicks off like this. Enjoy.

1. Intro
2. When You Sleep
3. Only Shallow
4. I Only Said
5. Slow
6. Nothing Much to Lose
7. You Never Should
8. Blown A Wish
9. Honey Power
10. Soon
11. To Here Knows When
12. Feed Me With Your Kiss
13. You Made Me Realise

MySpace: My Bloody Valentine
Official Site: My Bloody Valentine

Interlude: Hearts on Fire

2008-10-20T03:06:00.000-04:00

I cried a little inside when I saw the venue for this show. To think that Stars, the most romantic band I know, would be playing a venue as unemotional as Terminal 5 was a shame. Would the magic that was so vivid in their Music Hall show last year be sustained? Could their narratives translate in such a cavernous setting? Turns out I shouldn't have worried, as it turned into something spectacular.

Bell X11

Bell X1 fit closely with the Snow Patrol archetype, playing appealing, emotionally unabashed songs that have lifted them to the top of the charts in their native Ireland. Conquering the States is the natural next step, but it's uncertain if they'd be able to without a "Chasing Cars" equivalent, although they seem to have gotten on some soundtracks. The crowd seemed pretty appreciative of their show, and credit to the band for shattering some of my skepticism - an endearing effort to "bring the funk," saw frontman Paul Noonan gyrating dramatically, despite the disclaimer that the Irish defer to New Yorkers when it comes to that sort of thing.

MP3: Bell X1 - Heartlands
MP3: Bell X1 - Flame (Chicken Lips Remix)
MySpace: Bell X1
Official Site: Bell X1

Stars

I was psyched, and Stars delivered right off the bat. The one-two punch of "The Night Starts Here" and the stunner "Ageless Beauty" outshone even the overcharged lighting rig. These are, after all, some of my favorite songs, but even the slower numbers kept the overflowing crowd enraptured. Again, I have to defer to Torquil Campbell and Amy Milan, the two pillars of what make Stars so great. While people have complained about Torquil's temperment, you can't question the guy's sincerity and passion, and Amy's voice is just sublime. There are questions of whether Stars have hit a plateau - I haven't heard their most recent Sad Robots EP, but In Our Bedroom After the War wasn't nearly as revelatory as their past work. But right now, the band has amassed an astonishing amount of quality songs, and the depth of the setlist was staggering.

I go to a lot of shows, and I have to admit that the huge ones are memorable in ways that smaller dives can't match. And Stars rose to the occasion, filling the (large) space with their instruments, but also their love, tossing roses and sparking more than a few sing-alongs. Torquil reiterated their New York roots, saying they started off just a few blocks away from the venue. Ultimately, it wasn't just about the music, it was about celebrating how music unites us.

Here's the band playing to another big crowd at Lollapalooza in 2006. Enjoy.

1. Set Yourself on Fire
2. Elevator Love Letter
3. Reunion
4. Death To Death
5. Going, Going, Gone
6. What I'm Trying To Say
7. One More Night
8. Your Ex-Lover Is Dead
9. Ageless Beauty
10. Soft Revolution
11. He Lied About Death
12. Calender Girl

MySpace: Stars
Official Site: Stars

Interlude: East Village Radio Festival

2008-10-17T00:57:00.000-04:00

My initial reaction to the East Village Radio Festival was a dropped jaw. While the South Street Seaport was a staple over the summer, I had never been to a show as stacked as this. Although yet another downpour shifted the event to Sunday, September 7th (making this post very delayed, but better late than never), the actual event went off without a hitch. I missed the very first couple of performers, but arrived in time for Vivian Girls - note that this was before their self-titled album was properly hyped. Along with Brooklyn's High Places, they made the most of short sets, playing dreamy, pleasant indie pop.

Master of Ceremonies KRS-One noted during the break that EVR was celebrating its fifth year. Initially a pirate FM station, it now streams online, where most independent music thrives. A DJ from the station even joined in with Awesome Color, helping out with blasting, frenetic guitarwork. Events turned pretty silly afterwards, with an appearance from John Oliver from the Daily Show and an absurd romp through cars, girls and drugs with Devin the Dude. The set that I was looking forward the most was next: Warp's Flying Lotus. I was curious to see what sort of reaction he would receive, worrying that the crowd wouldn't "get" his abstract turntablism. But my fears were quelled: the set was weird but the beats were persistent and confident, and Lotus spun with a grin on his face. It was great.

Flying Lotus would stay on the stage, providing more beats as KRS-One began his own set, before departing. Even the MC veteran was impressed, saying he should grab some beats for his next album. KRS then launched into the most politically-charged set I've witnessed. While the perspective was a bit radical and oversimplified things, hip-hop should be about activism, and I commend him for it. The gargantuan sounds of Boris brought the day to a thunderous end, although I headed back a bit early. It was a great way to finish off the season, and I can't wait for next year. One thing that I missed out on was the side stage, on 210 Front Street, and it looks as if the folks at EVR aren't quite done: there's another show there in a week, featuring bands from Seaport Music Radio.

Vivian Girls

MP3: Vivian Girls - Tell the World
MP3: Vivian Girls - Where Do You Run To

MySpace: Vivian Girls
Official Site: Vivian Girls

High Places

MP3: High Places - The Storm
MP3: High Places - Head Spins (Extended Version)
MySpace: High Places

Awesome Color

MySpace: Awesome Color
Official Site: Awesome Color

John Oliver

Official Site: The Daily Show

Devin the Dude

MySpace: Devin the Dude

Flying Lotus

MP3: Flying Lotus - Camel
MP3: Radiohead - Reckoner (Flying Lotus Mix)
MySpace: Flying Lotus
Official Site: Flying Lotus

KRS-One

MySpace: KRS-One

Boris

MP3: Boris - Statement
MySpace: Boris
Official Site: Boris

Interlude: Massive Nights

2008-10-09T00:49:00.002-04:00

September began auspiciously, with an epic night (the 4th) of indie rock and minimal techno. It was, in some ways, a reminder of summer, with two artists that had performed free outdoor shows a month or so before, and a DJ set that was relocated after Studio B's closing. The first stop, however, was NYU's Kimmel Center, for the annual mystery concert.

Pattern is Movement

I always thought that Philly's Pattern is Movement was a full band, based on some peripheral listens of their new one, All Together. Turns out it's just two guys, both with serious beards, who make percussive, off-kilter indie rock. Singer Andrew Thiboldeaux's mournful timbre surrounded the jerky, almost mechanical drumming of Chris Ward. It was solid, and perhaps the only misstep was trying to get the crowd to sing along with the almost operatic "Right Away." It didn't really work out, but the duo lived up to their dynamic name.

MP3: Pattern is Movement - Right Away
MySpace: Pattern is Movement

Official Site: Pattern is Movement

French Kicks

You may remember that I left a French Kick's show back in August a bit early. Perhaps the new venue did them some good - the crowd spent these two opening sets seated - and being further back gave me more appreciation for the band's big-venue aspirations. The multi-part vocals managed to fill out the room nicely, and while the band still doesn't stick out in the crowded indie rockosphere, my opinion of them definitely improved over the course of the performance.

MP3: French Kicks - Abandon
MySpace: French Kicks
Official Site: French Kicks

Broken Social Scene

It's feast and famine with these guys. The set started off stupendously, with the brilliant "Stars and Sons" and a massive "7/4 (Shoreline)" that featured Elizabeth Powell of Land of Talk on female vox, and the rolicking "Fire Eye'd Boy." Then came the obligatory solo stuff, which is fine and all, but not nearly as engrossing as the classics. The silver lining was "Anthems for a Seventeen Year-Old Girl," stripping down the cacophony for simple guitar lines (Jimmy Shaw of Metric was on one of these), and that aching refrain: "Stop that car/drop that phone/sleep on the floor/dream about me." Amazing stuff, but then things stalled again, with Kevin Drew inviting a random NYU student to jam of the band. There was a raucous finale, with the crowd ambling on-stage and freaking, but that was it. Looking at the setlist and what they skipped ("Ibi Dreams!" "Lover's Spit!") makes me sad, but I'm tough to please when it comes to bands I adore. They'll be back for CMJ, not sure if I'll be there yet.

MP3: Brendan Canning - Hit The Wall
MySpace: Broken Social Scene
Official Site: Broken Social Scene

Ellen Allien

And then, for something completely different. Ellen Allien will always hold a special place in my musical heart for the sublime electronic and pop-crossover album Orchestra of Bubbles, with Appart. Her new one, SOOL, unfortunately sheds much of the vibrancy for a minimal, cold sound, and her DJ set at Highline Ballroom was more along those lines. But when it comes to creating atmosphere, Ellen's peerless, and her selections were impeccable. They were also totally over my head, aside from the timely opener "Sleepless," which features her own eerie vocals. It wasn't a dance banger, but it was cerebral, melodic and enveloping. Absolutely check out her Fabric mix and the rest of her discography; it's incredible.

MP3: Ellen Allien & Apparat - Do Not Break
MySpace: Ellen Allien
Official Site: Ellen Allien

Modeselektor

It's kind of weird that Modeselektor "headlined," as they're actually on Ellen's own BPitch Control imprint, but in terms of aesthetics, it made sense. The amount of bass in the room shot up hugely, as did the energy. It was now past 2 am, and I was slowly passing out on the dance floor - through no fault of the guys onstage - but I stuck around for as long as I could, and by all respects it looked like a banger. Alas, with class the next day, I had to head out prematurely, but I could hear the boom from blocks away.

MP3: Modeselektor - Godspeed
MySpace: Modeselektor
Official Site: Modeselektor

Near miasma of Gowanus, a new music venue takes root

2008-10-01T17:17:00.004-04:00

This feature appears in today's Washington Square News.

It all begin a few years ago when Scott Koshnoodi and his partner Julie Kim were catching some live music at a unique concert venue in a neglected quarter of Oslo.

“We found it in this old industrial area by a canal,” Koshnoodi said. “It had transformed itself into a haven. It was an unbelievable location, surrounded by graffiti everywhere, kind of isolated.”

Half a world away, Koshnoodi found a perfect mirror in Gowanus, Brooklyn. The area is primarily industrial and sandwiched between Park Slope and Carroll Gardens, providing a stark contrast to its bustling neighbors. Because Gowanus’s landmarks are warehouses and the Gowanus Canal, its most appealing feature is that a loud rock club is not going to disturb any neighbors since no one lives there.

In November Koshnoodi and Kim will open Littlefield at 622 Degraw St. The 6,200 square-foot converted warehouse will host live music, as well as art displays and independent movie screenings.

Both owners are environmental engineers by training, and the venue reflects their background.

According to Koshnoodi, Littlefield’s green features will include a landscaped interior courtyard, sound walls formed from recycled rubber tires and a bar constructed of salvaged bowling alley lanes.

“It fit with our aesthetic, which was mixing industry and organic,” Koshnoodi said.

After school, Kim became involved in music booking with the promoters FRICTION NYC, who will help fill out the schedule. Meanwhile, Koshnoodi became a chef and hopes to flex his management skills.

However, Littlefield won’t be the only attraction in Gowanus, which was the first Dutch settlement in what is now Brooklyn.

The Yard, an outdoor venue along the canal, has been active over the last three years. Under MeanRed Productions, it hosted numerous shows this past summer, including the Sunday Best dance parties, which featured appearances from disc jockeys Kevin Saunderson, John Tejada and Metro Area. The venue will close for the season in October, but not before an appearance from José González as part of the New York Magazine 40th Anniversary festival.

Last week the owners of Union Hall opened a sister venue in Gowanus called the Bell House at 149 7th St. The Rosebuds, Crystal Stilts and A.C. Newman of the New Pornographers are some of the acts slated to perform in the coming months.

Even as our post-Lehman Brothers economy implodes, such expansion is evidence that entertainment continues to boom.

“New York has its own economy. It doesn’t seem like the city is affected. Even after 9/11, we were packed a week after,” Koshnoodi said. “The economy here is just so powerful; you have so many young people who don’t want to stay at home. Even in bad times, people want drinks.”

The downside is saturation. Although more options exist than ever, it can be challenging for a venue to distinguish itself.

“Everyone can put a box up, and as long as you have good talent buyers, you can have good bands,” Koshnoodi said. “We just wouldn’t be proud of having a box with some speakers. For us, if we’re going to be spending this kind of money, it has to be something that we have to proud of. Will it make people interested? That’s the chance you take. I don’t think it’s a detriment to do something interesting, and then you roll the dice.”

Interlude: Wrapping Up

2008-10-01T00:11:00.000-04:00

It's over. Summer flew by this year, and in the last few weeks of August, the free shows kind of petered out, no thanks to some nasty rain. But there were some good ones. I don't really have the time or energy to go this far back, so I'm just going to post some photos up here, and let them speak for themselves. Looking forward to 2009!

The Dirty Projectors - South Street Seaport, August 15th

MP3: The Dirty Projectors - Hazard Lights
MySpace: The Dirty Projectors
Official Site: The Dirty Projectors

Ra Ra Riot - Virgin Megastore, Union Square, August 19th

Ra Ra Riot plays at Music Hall of Willamsburg on October 17th. I might have to see them for a fifth time. The Rhumb Line is great!

MP3: Ra Ra Riot - Dying is Fine
MySpace: Ra Ra Riot
Official Site: Ra Ra Riot

Violens - South Street Seaport, August 22nd

Free track over at RCRD LBL.

MySpace: Violens

Grand Archives - South Street Seaport, August 22nd

A few tracks, including the one below, over at Pitchfork.

MP3: Grand Archives - Sleepdriving

MySpace: Grand Archives
Official Site: Grand Archives

Ebony Bones - McCarren Pool, August 24th

MySpace: Ebony Bones

Titus Andronicus - McCarren Pool, August 24th

MySpace: Titus Andronicus

Yo La Tengo - McCarren Pool, August 24th

MP3: Yo La Tengo - The Summer (KEXP Session)
MP3: Yo La Tengo - I Feel Like Going Home (Live on KCMP)
MySpace: Yo La Tengo
Official Site: Yo La Tengo

R.I.P. MCCARREN POOL!

Virgin Festival 2008, Day 2

2008-09-26T20:58:00.008-04:00

This was originally posted last week, but for reasons unknown I got a notice from Google, saying it violated copyright and they pulled it. I have no idea why - these words and photos are all mine. If anyone has complaints, let me know...

I'm still hanging on to summer. The new season has been caused a swift change of packed days and sleepless nights, a pretty lame digression from lots of hanging out - not to mention live music. I'm feeling pretty nostalgic, so it's nice to be able to relive the good times. Timely this isn't, but sometimes it takes a while to move on.

Chromeo

Chromeo has always tried to be suave, and they often succeed. But the odds were against them: the noon sun flooding the Dance Tent and the crowd presumably wanted to move, rather than appreciate any lyrical cleverness. The duo of Dave 1 and P-Thugg played gamely, and their crossover appeal is undeniable. But they were in a bit of a tight spot: not relentless enough for raving, but not authentically rockist enough to be promoted to a full stage. Their stop-and-go set had moments, particularly the covers - Journey's "Any Way You Want It " and the Outfield's "Your Love " are fantastic jams. But there were a lot of rough edges compared to the swaggering studio cuts. This is a fun band, but probably more effective when blasting from boomboxes at home.

MP3: Chromeo - Fancy Footwork
MySpace: Chromeo
Official Site: Chromeo

Andrew Bird

The violin has gained such a ubiquity in indie pop that it's virtually mandatory, in order to gain the glowing tag of "orchestral." But that's okay; it's a distinct, swoon-inducing instrument, and Andrew Bird knows how to play one. His songs meander, casting a laid-back but intricate vibe. His songs are earthy but not parochial, sophisticated but unpretentious. It's no wonder that he's a critical darling , and his next album, due in January, should garner a similar amount of praise.

MP3: Andrew Bird - A Nervous Tic Motion of the Head to the Left
MySpace: Andrew Bird
Official Site: Andrew Bird

She & Him

As I suspected, it was more her than him. Zooey Deschanel, indie film starlet and all-around swooner took center stage, while her collaborator M. Ward had a fleeting presence. Indie folk fans will surely protest the veteran Ward's secondary status, but if the duo was going for pure appeal, Deschanel was the clear choice. For one, she's got a great voice and charming stage presence. Say what you will of actresses becoming musicians, but in this case, I think the switch is justified.

MP3: She & Him - Why Don't You Let Me Stay Here
MySpace: She & Him
Official Site: She & Him

Lil Wayne

After waiting for the longest time between sets, Wayne's posse finally came on stage. They paraded around, and at long last, Weezy himself appeared. As you might imagine, rap is not my forte, but I had given Tha Carter III a few tentative spins, and the album has definite upsides. "Mrs. Officer" is hilarious and strangely touching ("I'll do the time but her love is timeless"). And the police siren imitation isn't just fun; it's a great hook. I can't say I'm that big on his other stuff, and I squeezed my way to the dance tent before the end, but it wasn't bad.

MP3: Lil Wayne - Mrs. Officer
MySpace: Lil Wayne
Official Site: Lil Wayne

Richie Hawtin

Richie Hawtin is the man. Not only does he run the trendsetting label, M_nus , but the British-Canadian DJ has recorded an astounding back catalogue, including masterpieces under the name Plastikman. I was really curious to see how it would translate live. The answer was quite well: his set was relentless, austere and impressive. While the definition of an acquired taste, minimal techno has become surprisingly fashionable of late, and it was a treat to see one of the great figures of the genre perform. Did anyone catch him at Minitek ?

MP3: Plastikman - Plastique
MySpace: Richie Hawtin
Official Site: Richie Hawtin

Moby

Don't call it a comeback. Moby's pretty much hung up his superstar hat (or astronaut helmet) in the last couple years, and his set was pretty much business as usual. He DJs a bunch of smaller parties here in the city, and blended a dependably dancey mix. I wasn't there for the whole thing, but what I heard was pretty good. I find it kind of amusing that the disclaimer (DJ Set) was next to Moby's name on the schedule, but it was accurate - he was playing other people's music. Kind of a downer for those hoping for cuts from the megahit Play , and I'm curious as to whether he spun anything off of his last album. Incidentally, he hasn't completely shed his legendary status - a number of times he stood on his deck, arms outstretched. I guess he's earned that much.

MP3: Moby - We Are All Made of Stars
MySpace: Moby
Official Site: Moby

Bob Dylan

How does one critique a legend? When it's someone of such stature, but in such a sad present state, it's a hard thing to do. Admittedly, I was never a huge Dylan fan - I respect the lyrics, but that voice is just a big obstacle to overcome. Unfortunately, the man's in no position to really impress. He sat and played piano, and it seemed as if most of the crowd wasn't even paying attention. Sorry to admit it, but to the consternation of some, I went back to Moby after a few songs. If you were there, you would probably have done the same.

Armin van Buuren

Trance. It has some pretty negative connotations: commercial, over-the-top, sissy lyrics. After experiencing Armin's set, I'd have to say, guilty as charged! But what the haters overlook is the sheer force of the genre - especially in a live setting. Sometimes the solution is to just wave your hands in the air and hop. And yes, the vocal samples are embarrassing, with their romantic exultation and melodrama, but talk about mass appeal. By no means was this a terribly interesting or thought-provoking set, but did it justify the headliner slot? Absolutely. Armin's understandably one of the world's biggest DJs, and while he doesn't do anything particularly innovative, it's undeniably effective.

MP3: Above & Beyond - Can't Sleep
MySpace: Armin Van Buuren
Official Site: Armin Van Buuren

So what does it all mean? Well, last year had the benefit of quasi-headliner Interpol, who I had been dying to see, whereas this one just sort of ended. I would have to say that this year, the festival lineup wasn't quite as jaw-dropping. But it was still a big highlight of a packed summer, between the environment, getting to see some frickin' electronic music without getting carded, and yes, getting out of NYC for a little bit. Despite the inevitable fatigue that sets in, both in the two days here and pretty much for the last two years, live music is still one of the best parts of my life, and I don't see that changing any time soon. I will, however, work on getting these posts up quicker.