Todd's outdoor acoustic fest @ tip of Roosevelt Island 6/4/06

This was such an amazing day, i was really glad i made it out to this thing even if i was late and missed out on matt and kim. After quite a bike trip down the island, i had never ridden onto it before, you approach a large fence, and on one side there is a small gate with a little piece of paper that says todds show and has an arrow pointing ahead, after riding past a creepy ruined castle you come across about 200 kids sitting on a huge patch of grass, and all around you are huge buildings that are only 100 yards away on either side. The first band i got to watch was Tiagaa! they were really beautiful rhythmic chant style songs, a really nice trible feel that went well with the setting.

Pterodactyl played after that, they played two really nice acoustic jams that they claimed to have written that morning they were som good songs, and thier drummer used this cool contraption that kim made for a drum, it was a bass pedal taped to a cardboard box and on top was a little cowbell and a tin full of change, all to beat on to make it sound right, and that it did.
Up next was the ever infectious puttin on the ritz. who weve all seen hundreds of times, and sometimes the novelty seems to wear off and then they give a performance like this and you remember why you stick around. there were water whistles, magazines, and some running all the way to the edge of the island and back.

Im pretty sure this nxt guy was Dylan Ewing, he played very sweet singersongwriter type stuff, kinda put me to sleep.

Lidia Stone played next, i thought it was gonna be another lady singing witha guitar but it is in fact just a clever name for a great noise duo. one guy played a cheapo keyboard with some droning synth noise, while the other banged away on a snare drum while singing, i really liked these guys alot.

Zeke Healy played his crazy guitar after that, this guy is a really gifted guitar player he just riffs like crazy on his steel beast and it sounds really great, innovative maybe? hes good times.

Dirty Projectors played so quietly i had to crane my neck even though i was mere feet away, i really love that guys voice, it really has its own sound altogether, i could pick it out of a lineup easily. he played a few songs with a buddy helping out on second guitar.

Dirty Beauty Shop were some really cute hippie ladies singing some soft somber relationship songs, guitar and tambourine, and the singer had mono on top of it all, she still sounded very elligant.

The main event, Aa played a megamazing set, maybe the best ive ever seen, i love Aa very much and love how thier show is always taking on different forms and an acoustic set isnt even a challenge for them, its just so intensly awesome, definately my favorite set of the day.


It was a mistake putting drummers corpse on right after Aa because sadly it is kind of a poor mans version, especially when its right after. These guys seem like they are trying to hard to do what comes so naturally to Aa, they even include a member of Aa with the same drum equiptment setup. the worst part of thier performance was this acid casualty they had rolling around in a white dress while they performed.

Warren Ng was my other favorite of the day, very sweet finger plucked ballads that were only paid attention to, sadly, by about 10 people. Very beautiful performance, that included one of the best covers ive maybe ever heard of nico's these days. breathtaking maybe?

Miguel Mendez rocked through some jams next, theres something about miguel that has a really heavy 90s feel to me, like he himself embodies this decade gone past without being touched in any way by the new century, but i guess thats kind of a weird feeling.

Stars Like Fleas had a n incredibly huge elaborate set up for themselves, they sounded really great, they wondered through a few songs as dust came closer and closer, a really good collective of people who work well together.

The Wowz were my third favorite these guys had a woodie guthrie type feeling to them, really folky down home of the people sort of thing, it was all covers and the best one had to be "this land is my land."

In Mountains In Stars were really beutiful to, some light acoustic string work, i couldnt really hear the words to well but the music was nice enough.

and to seal the deal Meneguar came out and played some very delicate versions of thier usually balls out rock awesomenss. After they got a few songs out it started to sprinkle and then a deluge of rain came down and every one had to run for the hills, but hey it didnt really matter after such a great day of beautiful music to sooth the soul.

Wolfmother 6/3/06 @ webster hall

ok so this shows doors were at 6:45, can you tell me what the fuck that shit is about. I guess it was club night, anyway. FUCKING WOLFMOTHER!!! Dear lord these guys rocked way harder then when i saw them at sxsw. Maybe its because they got thier full hour of rock in this time. A great live show to say the least. the lead singer is all over the stage wailing on that axe. while the bass player splits his timing molesting a keyboard like crazy, at the end of each song he had to carry it back to where its supposed to reside. they played every single song. but i guess they dont have a huge back catalog or anything, but still they were everything you could want and more, to bad they got so huge so fast and have to be seen at webster, but when you see them, you understand why.

Genghis Tron & Gospel @ the knit (tap bar) 5/30/06

Its about time i saw some fucking metal. after the tragedy of missing tragedy at cb's the night before i went to check out the genghis tron record release show, and it fucking rawked. Gospel have been haunting this city for quite some time now, they play the droning dark metal brand, really long heavy guitar riffs, bring that shit home.


Genghis Tron kill. They play spazzmetal techno-grindcore if it sounds awesome thats because it is, with mostly preprogrammed beats, these three guys rock out like crazy, a killer guitarest knocks out the riffs while the two other dudes blast away on synthesizers and drum machines and then scream out the lyrics on top of it all. This was a party for thier new album, dead mountain mouth, which is great from what i heard on this night. World tour coming in july.

Partyline @ the knit 5/30/06

Yay! Partyline! it has been a long time since i have been able to see partyline, i caught them almost by accident a year and ahalf or so ago at kingsland tavern, all i knew was that it included allison from bratmobile and thats really all i needed to know, these ladies kick out the riotgirrrl jams for the new century. Straight outta dc these girls with glasses have released an ep and a 7" split with spider and the webs. The show tonight brought out all that material as well as a handful of new tracks that have the signature allison sound, her voice is unmistakable for sure. They mentioned that they had just layed down most everything for thier new full length due out sometime. The ladies opened up for team dresch's reunion shows. who i caught but unfortunately was rather unfamiliar with, to bad though because there was a lot of fun to bae had. never really do you see such an aggressive punk rock show that is all girls, like the entire crowd, the moshers, the crowd surfers and the stage divers were all of the female persuasion. girls get busy!

Ra Ra Riot & Pocket Parade @ pianos 5/24/06

Half of Pocket Parade is an old friend i came to check out and support. Little did I know id really like thier pop sensibility. A two piece from portland one plays drums and a laptop with a handful of other instruments prerecorded and the other rocks that saxamaphone. The songs come out sounding something like the get up kids (with a sax) its a fun sound that makes you want to sing along, but alas there is no recorded material yet so you cannot, but i could see them catching on to a younger generation and being quite a success.



Which brings me to the next band that i saw by accident because they played in this slot after my friend, but much to my suprise they were a seven piece bundle of joy. Ra Ra Riot sound like your younger brother invented the arcade fire. They have a tumultuous sonic assault from all sides. disco drums, some great guitar work, two killer keyboards and a cute string section to boot. i really think they could be a younger more accesable arcade fire. They may not sound so on the four tracks they have available, but think of the difference between the arcade fire live vs on record. the difference is huge, and the same goes for RRR. They played through about 10 tracks that were all over the place musically, but every but very fun and dancy, there were a few laughs and even a keytar solo. The encore brought a 6 minute epic that consisted of only the lyrics "come on kids this is where (insert persons name here) lives, he/she knows where the party is, the party is where he/she is!" it was a really great party for all involved. caught it again on 6/3 at the knit and it was just as good as the first time.

Old Time Relijun & Green Milk from the Planet Orange @ cake shop 5/19/06

Green Milk played a great set, i saw them 10 or so months ago and there was something lacking from thier brand of psych rock. Whatever it was they have found it. They rocked through about 40 minutes of great noise, they pulled the same trick as last time and i fell for it again, they only play a few songs and then they say the next one is there last so you feel a bit let down and then that song is 15 mins long. Its great stuff, i wanted to pick up there new 7" but it was $20, i get it your from japan now stop screwing me.



Old Time Relijun were great too, thier sound is one that seems like david byrne took a bunch of meth and went on some crazy trip and wrote crazy nonsensical lyrics and then grabbed three friends and told them to play whatever instruments they had. Their brand of nutty-rock could also be like a more hippie version of devo on acid. either way it sounds like a good time and it is. i mean how does sushi become a vampire anyway.

Art Brut, Art Brut 47, Robocop Krauss, & The Chalets @ the knit 5/17/06

Man this show was fucking great. I missed most of the chalets, they were some sweet english girl pop. I saw most of Robocop Krauss, they were german rockers, i had written them off up to this point due to the fact that thier album cover is almost a direct rip off of talking heads-more songs about food and cars. but they delivered a good times rock show that included a minor threat cover, who knew. Then Art Brut 47 played a bunch of rock tunes, insert dumb joke about them not being we are scientists here. I do enjoy the scientists quite a bit, does that make me a girl? They just have really poppy tunes and they play them well.

yeah my pix suck, but if you really need to see them, you can find them enywhere, every one and there mom went to these shows.

Art Brut were fucking spectacular. i had yet to see thier liveness. It was really fun rock and roll, really great musicians back a really great frontman. and a lady bass player that could kick your ass. Many people have said the show is a rehash of thier other shows, but shit its a great show, how much can you vary a set with only one album and a few singles. Yeah sure the jokes are going to be the same, they are funny jokes. I had a great time.

Home Video @ the merc 5/16/06

After about a yearlong haitus Home Video have returned with very few differences. They are playing most of the songs from before they left, which are good songs. They really honed thier skills prior to the lapse, and they are a tad rusty getting back into things, but its mostly because of the addition of thier new drummer. While he is definately skilled he lacks the talent and diversity of thier last one. He plays more straightforward drum-machine like beats. They are still without a label to release an album that has been finished for over a year, is thier no justice in america. Maybe some one in germany can help, because like i always say, Germans love Home Video.