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ISLANDS | Avalon Review

No man is an island. But seven dudes, including Nick Diamonds and J'aime Tambeur formerly of the Unicorns, make up a band called Islands. They brought guitars, keyboards, bass, drums, a violin, a viola, and a few woodwinds to Avalon Saturday for an early show (it ended at 10:30?!) that was part of the Green Apple Music Fest. Yes, I said woodwinds, like a cool island breeze. Sorry. But things of and relating to islands are actually a theme in the lyrics. While ghosts and unicorns were a staple in Unicorns songs, Islands often mention the land mass and the surrounding water. In their songs there are sunsets, whalebones, swans, volcanoes and trouble with the gods. However, this theme is only at play in a few songs. Other highlights during the show not concerned with water were "Don't Call Me Whitney, Bobby," "I Feel Evil," and "Rough Gem," a play on Nick's stage name. Their music is also more panoramic. The unusual bass clarinet bounces along nicely with the bass guitar. Some guy even gave it a shout out from the crowd. There was also a regular clarinet and recorder on a few tunes. The strings came in and out sometimes playing long sentimental notes and then switching to more playful plucking. With all these instruments, these seven guys had a really big sound on stage. One sustained note by the entire band in between songs reminded me of an orchestra tuning.
The crowd was really into it and pressing toward the front the whole time. But the craziest moment was when the three rappers, one was Busdriver, came out for the hip-hop interlude in "Where There is a Will, There is Whalebone." They spit their fast raps, which are as goofy as Islands' songs, and then disappeared when "Whalebone" went back to being just a rock song. The crowd went bananas for it.
Nick was pissed that the show was ending so early and said they would continue the party elsewhere by going to get some "milk and cookies." After the encore, the band unplugged their instruments and the drummer picked his floor tom up by the leg, flipping it over. They quickly marched off stage and out the door carrying an acoustic guitar, a recorder, a banjo, and the modified marching drum. Many people, including me, trailed right behind them. But the rain was pouring outside and they picked up speed once they hit Sixth Avenue so I lost them. I would like to think that they did not just march around the block but ran straight to a bar or bodega to get those "milk and cookies." So if you were out Saturday at 10:30 and seven guys in matching white outfits carrying instruments burst into your bar shortly followed by a parade of people, know that they just came from a ridiculous show at Avalon.

Update: After reading the blogs this morning, I learned that Islands returned to the front of Avalon for some street-side music with the remaining crowd chanting "too legit to quit." (KevChino via stereogum – check out Kev's YouTube video)

SCISSOR SISTERS | Tits On The Bowery

The Scissor Sisters' weekend run at the Bowery Ballroom brought out all the stars, including Karl Lagerfeld, Cher and Kylie Minogue. I guess that's not surprising considering that they are the gayest band since Queen.

Anyway, both shows had exactly the same setlist, and were both uber-fun. The Scissors strutted and pranced and had an absolute party on the stage. While their pre-Live 8 shows last year at Mercury Lounge were super-fun, these sets saw the band completely energized. I think it was because they finally were playing many new songs (they're super gay and disco).

Anyway, it was a dance party. It's was sweaty. It was so sexualized. It was an awesome Scissor Sisters show.......

The Modern Age thought it was gay
This Is Not A Photograph has excellent pix

CLOUD CULT | Knitting Factory Review

Gothamist's Movable Hype 7.0 went down Monday evening at the Knitting Factory and it was a winner with Cloud Cult, Land of Talk, Stars of Track and Field, and The Slack Republic. This was my first chance to see Land of Talk and I was very impressed, caught in the tractor beam of Elizabeth Powell's awesome voice. Stars of Track and Field did well in their first New York show and The Slack Republic had a lot of energy. Minnesota's Cloud Cult was the main draw though.

Cloud Cult's songs are filled with allusions to life and death with images like the final suspended moments before a car crash or shedding your old skin to start anew. There are speculations on reincarnation as a buffalo or a bumblebee, and a story about a kid communicating via radio with his deceased grandpa. Singer Craig Minowa's focus on human mortality is rooted in his own anguish over the death of his infant son a few years ago but his songs are by no means downers nor does he dwell on that unfortunate event.
Interestingly enough, Cloud Cult's set at the Knitting Factory was amazing if you only consider the beginning and the end. A new song started the show with only Craig's boyish voice floating over his deft plucking on guitar. The band came in on the second song, as did some electronic noise and the crackle of distortion, while Craig pulled out a funky riff to transition into "Living On The Outside Of Your Skin." There were a few instrumental introductions but this one was by far the best. Cloud Cult’s songs seem to have a lifespan of their own as some grow from mild, warm, and innocent tunes to wild, noisy, entanglements close to their breaking point.
The band has the capability to reach this breadth with a wide range of instrumentation. Sarah Young plays the cello and also adds a female voice to the vocals. Mathew Freed provides an essential hum and buzz from his bass. Dan Greenwood and Craig’s percussion span from rock drumming to programmed funk beats. Craig also triggers samples, filters sounds through pedals, and plays the keyboard when he's not on guitar. The only thing really lacking from their live show is more of the sampling, clipping, and layering that works so well on their latest album Advice From The Happy Hippopotamus.
Still, the last time I saw Cloud Cult (BMJ), I was completely floored because they played most of the songs off this album and, if I remember correctly, also had a violin and flute that added even more depth to their live sound. Last time, Craig could not spit out the lyrics to “Transistor Radio” so the song was skipped. But this time at the end of the show, despite a false start due to an out of tune guitar, the curse on “Transistor Radio” was lifted. There was no time for an encore but they finished with “Happy Hippo,” which exemplifies their rare combination of untarnished strings meshed with glitchy but organic synths and drums. The show at the Knitting Factory was great despite some unfocused instrumental segments and some new songs that I hope are still in their rough stages. This band has their quirks but I don’t think they would be making great music without them.

Don't miss your last chance to see Cloud Cult (with the Undisputed Heavyweights) while they’re intown at Arlene's Grocery on Friday!

Obviously, lots of other bloggers were also there. These are the reviews I could find: Gothamist, Daily Refill, BrooklynVegan (and here), Jerry Yeti, and ryspace. More pics after the jump.

BLACK CROWES | Brothers On A Feather Warsaw Review

The Brothers On A Feather: An Acoustic Evening with Chris and Rich Robinson of the Black Crowes touched down last night at Warsaw and it was phenomenal. For people who like the brothers Robinson as a rock band and can't take their jamband guitar noodling, this was an exceptional night.

First off, the Warsaw put out a good five hundred seats for this intimate show, which was just weird to see. And the crowd was so energetic and happy. Everyone was totally into the show, especially the two men sitting on stage. With very little stage banter, the two chose to communicate through nods and smiles. It was definitely that "brother I know what you're thinking" vibe and totally translated through their music.

They played an outstanding set that included not a single dud, everything from the hits to the rarities to the covers sounded great. This was Chris and Rich at their very best.........

Brothers On A Feather | Warsaw | Thursday, April 13th
Wiser Time / Jealous Again / Over The Hill / Cold Boy Smile / Leave It Alone / Smile / Nonfiction / Bring On Bring On / Darling Of The Underground Press / Someday Past The Sunset / Soul Singing / Do Right Woman / Peace Anyway / Thorn In My Pride / No Expectations / She Talks To Angels // Willin' / Welcome To The Goodtimes

MATES OF STATE | Bowery Ballroom Review

Husband and wife team Mates of State played a bunch of happy songs at the Bowery Ballroom Wednesday. Even if you did not know that Kori Gardner and Jason Hammel were married, you probably could have guessed by the positioning of their instruments. Kori's main keyboard and Jason's drum set were nestled tightly together, facing one another so their views crossed as they looked out into the crowd. This angle allow for extreme eye contact where the two would lock gazes endlessly. While this was all very cute, thankfully it also served a musical purpose for staying in synch. Kori and Jason sing together, interweaving different vocals that alternate the lead and rejoin in unison.
Mates of State also combine disjointed movements within the same song. These fragments work in their favor at shows because they can cut and paste all the liveliest parts of their songs into one long medley. They blended a lot of their older songs together, which kept people moving and maintained the frenzy in the room. All the songs off their new album Bring It Back were played all the way through. The pieces of “Punchlines” fit together especially well during the encore. It builds from a slow remorseful tune about heartbreak to a punchy commanding cry to “get into the car and aim it at the sun.” Hearing these complete songs, which are still composed of disparate parts, mixed with fragments from other songs put a fresh spin on their music for the evening. There was no slowing down either.

Rough set list:
Think Long / Goods (All In Your Head) / Whiner’s Bio / La’hov / Beautiful Dreamer / Fluke / For the Actor / Like u Crazy / Beehive State / HaHa / Everyone Needs an Editor / Girls Singing / Fraud In The 80’s / A Duel Will Settle This / So Many Ways / Open Book / A Control Group // These Days / Punchlines

QUASI | North Six Review

Quasi isn't the type of band to give it to you straight. This Portland duo of Sam Coomes (played bass in Heatmiser and for Elliot Smith) and Janet Weiss (the drummer in Sleater-Kinney) along with a backup bassist played North Six Tuesday. Describing their first few songs, Sam said, "Sometimes it's like butter, sometimes it's like shards of glass." Now, butter is an apt term if you are talking about the popiness of their best songs—smooth structure and catchy lyrics—and shards of glass is equally accurate if you are talking about the messiness of their best songs—discordant melodies and murky distortion. Quasi wields raw distortion using a rocksichord, which is a keyboard that emulates a harpsichord, filtered through many different pedals. When Sam hammered away at the keys, you might think his amp was blown too if the sound wasn't so clear.
But back to butter and glass, these ingredients could also represent the randomness of their set list. The band focused on songs from their new album When The Going Gets Dark, which is their best work since the late 90s and delivers more experimentation with guitar than previous albums. The smattering of tracks they played from their six other albums was not the group of Quasi hits I was dying to hear. There was no "I Give Up," or  "The Happy Prole," or "Ghost vs. Vampire." However the band was open to requests, and while most were denied, they were slightly flexible with their written set list. Somebody in the crowd shouted, "I Never Want To See You Again." Janet sarcastically responded, "We never want to see you again either," then they played the song. The band also played a very redeeming four-song encore including "My Coffin," another request. So while Quasi's songs were morbid and cynical, and we appropriately did not get all the songs we expected, I think most people went home happy.

VOXTROT | Mercury Lounge Review

Rather than being faced with the tough decision of choosing which Voxtrot show to see, I just went to both (a lot of other people had the same idea). Monday was the original show, the show that sold out first, so one might anticipate this show and the crowd being better. Monday's set list started off stronger with "Mothers, Sisters, Daughters & Wives" instead of an unfamiliar and unrecorded track on Sunday. Monday, the band was all wearing white in their outfits, while Sunday, t-shirts were the only thing common to their wardrobe. Monday had all the makings of a formal show, while Sunday, in comparison, seemed to be a casual add on. But Sunday the band was more relaxed; Jason and Ramesh were flailing all over the stage and Ramesh was even dancing in his seat at the keyboard. Ramesh was also chattier at Sunday's show where he confessed that he thought the day was Easter. He had grandiose plans to hide Easter eggs filled with drink tickets and Voxtrot badges all over the Mercury Lounge with one lucky egg containing a golden ticket for a vegan chocolate bunny. That afternoon Ramesh had asked their manager to scour the city for this bunny. Later their manager called back to say that he googled it and Sunday was not Easter. The air was lighter at the first show. The stage banter on Monday revolved more around a few problems. An amp broke but they borrowed one from Aloha and a clueless girl got on the stage to dance but the band and the crowd demanded she get off. Regardless of these bumps, Monday's crowd was very appreciative and Voxtrot played their cover of "Heaven," which was a request from the crowd, as an unexpected encore. And despite the differences in the shows, I can't think of any other way I would have rather spent my last two evenings.

Sunday Set list:
? (New Song) / Raised By Wolves / Mothers, Sisters, Daughters & Wives / Rise Up In The Dirt / Wrecking Force / Long Haul / "I Want To Swing Back" (New Song) / Fast Asleep / Soft & Warm / Start of Something / Missing Pieces

Monday Set list:
Mothers, Sisters, Daughters & Wives / Raised by Wolves / You Can't Hide Your Love Forever / Rise Up in the Dirt / Missing Pieces / Soft & Warm / "I Want To Swing Back" (New Song) / Start of Something / Wrecking Force / Fast Asleep // Heaven

Note the pictures are from Sunday. More after the jump.

THE HEARTLESS BASTARDS | Mercury Lounge Review

The Heartless Bastards played the Mercury Lounge this weekend; I saw them Saturday. Their music is a combination of distorted garage rock and gritty blues riffage bashed with aggressive drums. Erika Wennerstrom has a commanding low and troubled voice that is quite surprising to hear bellowed from her tiny frame. Singing, she made dramatic and painful facial expressions, forcing some words out and desperately holding onto others. I was really with the band on their faster songs, like "New Resolution" and "Pass and Fail," as the frustration in the lyrics brimmed to the top of the continual dejection. Those songs were like hitting rock bottom and then trying to scramble out of the pit that you fell into. The Heartless Bastards also played a few songs from a new album due out in July.

Download "New Resolution" from their website.

I also saw The Gaskets on Friday at Pianos. They were too much fun. Jerry Yeti has a review and some MP3s.

RAHIM | Rothko Review

Local favorites Rahim held their record release party at Rothko yesterday. Rahim is Michael Friedrich, Ryan McCoy, and Phil Sutton. I have seen Rahim two other times with just these three core members playing guitar, bass, synth, an extra floor tom, and drums. But at Rothko they brought trumpeters, another percussionist, and backup singers—this was Rahim in full effect. On songs like "Shut Off The Light" when the chorus of galloping drums kicks in, three floor toms were booming in unison as symbols crashed into one another. While the complex percussion, acute vocals, and uneasy melodies of the album might require some digestion, you can’t help being immediately drawn in live. This is how Rahim should be heard, loud and massive. Other highlights included “One At A Time,” “10,000 Horses,” and “It's Not What You Said.” Their album Ideal Lives is out on French Kiss.

Foreign Islands, also from New York, opened for Rahim. This band got some bodies moving with their spastic and noisy dance-rock. Their show is also high energy but a bit more on the edge. The lead singer threw the mic against wall a few times and the bassist blasted off the stage at the end of their set. Foreign Islands gets into it.

ART BRUT | Bowery Ballroom Review

There are shows at the Bowery …  and then there's Art Brut. There are people out there living the American Dream with a house, a backyard, and a swing set … and then there's Art Brut.

Before Eddie Argos and Art Brut took the stage on Tuesday, they sent out their hypeman who recited a similar "poem" and introduced the band as Art Brut, aka Da Brut, aka Wild Seafood. This ramble set the tone for the evening and Eddie followed suit with many long funny monologues. They started off obviously with "Formed a Band" and then somebody asked, "What are you going to play next?" Eddie replied, "We don't have a set list anymore, we have decided on a checklist, so that I can decide what’s the best song to play next." That song was "My Little Brother" who is apparently now 23. I guess he had a birthday since they recorded the album. Eddie also gave us an update during "Emily Kane" by interrupting one of the verses to say he had spoken with her recently. People stopped dancing to listen. She had heard the song, given him a call, and they talked about credit card debt and student loans. He realized that he was merely blinded by the idea of being in love. And no, he is not still in love with Emily Kane. Half way through the show some people in the crowd thought it would be funny to boo instead of cheer. Eddie responded by saying "Boos? Haven't you had enough booze?" Later he asked a more important question, one he probably asks every person he meets: "Have you formed a band?" He has and they’re pretty good.

Art Brut is ready to play some more songs tonight at Bowery and again on the 11th at Southpaw.

Set list:
Formed A Band / My Little Brother / These Animal Menswe@r / Bang Bang Rock and Roll / Blame It On The Trains / Moving To L.A. / Rusted Guns of Milan / Modern Art / St. Pauli / Post Soothing Out / Emily Kane / Bad Weekend // 18,000 Lira / Good Weekend