Photos/Review: Dirty Projectors @ Music Hall of Williamsburg

Dirty Projectors @ Music Hall of Williamsburg - July 9, 2012
Photos: Nadia Chaudhury / Review: Josh Kurp

On the night before the official release date of their sixth album (and second that actually matters), Swing Lo Magellan, Dirty Projectors played a hometown show at Music Hall of Williamsburg. Beginning with the title track, Dave Longstreth and company, including fellow guitarist and vocalist Amber Coffman, as well as new member Olga Bell, played the entirety of Swing, with a few older tracks, like "Useful Chamber" and fan favorite "Stillness is the Move," scattered throughout, too.

Spreading the songs between the new release and 2009's Bitte Orca, one thing became instantly clear: Swing is much "friendlier" and less abstract than it's predecessor; it doesn't stray away from the group's signature staticity R&B/folk/funk/billion other genre's sound, but "Gun Has No Trigger" and "Impregnable Question" feel more human, like Longstreth began with the words then worked on the beat, not vice versa. It was an excellent show from an excellent band playing their excellent new album.

Dirty Projectors play again tonight at Prospect Park, for which tickets are still available. Check out a huge gallery of shots that Nadia took of last night's show, including photos of opener Dustin Wong (of Ponytail).

Photos/Review: The Cribs @ Music Hall of Williamsburg

The Cribs @ Music Hall of Williamsburg – April 13, 2012
Photos: Chris / Review: Jennifer Harmon

The Cribs returned to Music Hall of Brooklyn on Friday the 13th, two years after their last NYC appearance at the same venue. Following stops in Portland, Seattle, Minneapolis, Chicago, and Canada, The Cribs felt right at home at the familiar concert hall.

I was ecstatic to discover the indie punk band is indeed going back to its old school roots. Following Johnny Marr’s exit from the group last year, twins Gary (on bass, vocals) and Ryan Jarman (guitar, vocals), along with their younger brother Ross on drums, are back to touring as a trio. While we all loved watching the former Smiths guitarist rock out with The Cribs, there is no denying that the brothers pack more punch as a trio.

My first encounter with The Cribs came in the summer of 2007 at Lollapalooza in Chicago. Under the sweltering sun in Grant Park, I quickly fell for their beguiling good looks, stinging guitars, and infectious vocals.

Photos: Shearwater/Sharon Van Etten @ Music Hall of Williamsburg

Shearwater

Sharon Van Etten

Shearwater/Sharon Van Etten @ Music Hall of Williamsburg - February 24, 2012

Photos: Chris

The last time I caught Sharon Van Etten, at the much smaller Mercury Lounge, she was basically testing out her new band for the first time with her latest material--performing Tramp in full for an audience who had not yet heard it. Her and her band's performance was flawless, but she was clearly reserved and a little nervous, barely speaking a word in between songs. What a difference a few weeks on tour makes. 

On Friday night, Van Etten headlined a very sold out Music Hall of Williamsburg where she looked extremely comfortable on stage, joking frequently with the crowd and her band--her performance no less flawless than I would expect. With The National's Aaron Dessner (who also produced Tramp) on guitar from the middle of the set on, Van Etten and her band played through most of her latest excellent album, along with "Save Yourself" and "Don't Do it" off her last album Epic. Highlights of the set included her performance of "Serpents," which, let's just say it: that's pretty much the best song of 2012 so far. And her encore-ending performance of "Love More" brought the entire show full circle, reminding me of why I fell in love with her music in the first place.

Major credit has to go to openers Shearwater, who are doing one of the most original things in indie today. Their latest album Animal Joy, which is one fine record, takes new shape in a live setting--with frontman Jonathan Meiburg leading a band of four highly talented musicians through a set of layered, melodic and rhythmically complex songs. It's hard to pinpoint exactly what Shearwater are doing right now, but it's clearly not being done as passionately and unique by anyone else at the moment.

Below, take a look at a full set of photos of both bands including Van Etten's setlist...

Sebadoh Return To NYC/NJ This Weekend To Rock Our Faces Off + ATP In March

One of the very first shows we covered on this site was Sebadoh at Bowery Ballroom in April, which was subsequently the last time they were in New York City. And now that they’re coming back, we’re pretty thrilled. If you’re in the New York City area, you have two opportunities to catch the band this weekend. Tomorrow night Sebadoh will play Maxwell’s in Hoboken, NJ, and then on Saturday night they will melt faces in Brooklyn at Music Hall of Williamsburg. Tickets are sold out for Maxwell’s but you can still nab one for MHOW.

My pick of the two goes to Maxwell’s--mainly because I just love that venue, it’s incredibly small, and the sound is pretty phenomenal. Check Craigslist for people getting rid of extras. But if you’re too lazy to take the 10 minute bus ride out to Jersey, then you’re better off sticking to Brooklyn (you lazy, lazy person). Anyway – we’ll be covering both shows, so be sure to check back for photos and reviews. We have our fingers crossed for new material (at least that’s what Lou semi-promised when I spoke to him in May), so we’ll be sure to report back to you on that.

And don’t forget, Sebadoh is still confirmed to play the Jeff Mangum-curated ATP in Minehead as announced earlier today. Tickets--for those who didn’t already purchase them before the original December dates were cancelled-- are on sale now.

Photos: Les Savy Fav @ Music Hall of Williamsburg

Les Savy Fav @ Music Hall of Williamsburg - September 6, 2011

The first time I had heard of Les Savy Fav was when my brother raved about the crazy show he had seen them play in Brooklyn around 2004. Intrigued by his description of a big half-naked bearded guy who runs around the crowd the entire performance, I quickly got my hands on their singles collection Inches, and was almost immediately hooked. It wasn't until around 2008 that I finally got to see them live (at Music Hall of Williamsburg no less), and I walked away from that show with the affirmation that Les Savy Fav were the craziest live band I had ever seen. I still stand by that.

It doesn't mean that they're necessarily the best live band that's ever been, or the most proficient... half the time Tim Harrington isn't even singing, he's kissing crowd members and climbing up ladders. But shit if they don't put on the most hilarious/fun show you'll see from a punk band this day and age. As Les Savy Fav tore through favorites such as "Patty Lee," "What Would Wolves Do?" and "The Sweat Descends," the endless mosh pit only gained more and more steam as the show went along, culminating in a ridiculously long version of "Who Rocks The Party" that closed out the performance and left me exhausted (and bruised).

Below check out a full set of photos of Les Savy Fav from last night's show, which also happened to be the fourth birthday of the Music Hall of Williamsburg...

Photos: Thurston Moore @ Music Hall of Williamsburg

 Thurston Moore @ Music Hall of Williamsburg, May 20th, 2011

Thurston Moore is undeniably one of the more iconic figures of the NYC music scene, being one of the most prolific and prevalent musicians of the past three decades. And so when he takes the time to record a solo album with another iconic figure of music on production duties (Beck), it's a pretty special event. To celebrate, Thurston played a show with a full band to support him at the Music Hall of Williamsburg on Friday night.

With the single strum of his guitar, it was impossible to forget that you were hearing the unique and incomparable Thurston Moore playing mere feet away from you. You could blame the alternative tuning methods he uses for that distinct sound, but I suspect it's more than just that. It's the absolutely gorgeous way in which he plays that reminds you he's one of the most innovative guitarists and songwriters of our time. Opening with "Mina Loy" and "Blood Never Lies" from the new album Demolished Thoughts, and with an endless loop of slow motion black & footage as the backdrop, Mr. Moore set the stage for the night. This was to be a mellow performance in comparison to the intensity of a typical Sonic Youth show, but would still carry the edge and euphoria you would expect from a performer such as himself.

Other songs off the album, "Space" and lead single, "Benediction" came off absolutely beautiful with the addition of harp and violin, his drummer and additional guitarist present but never once drawing more attention than needed. The highlights of his 80 minute set were the extended jams that closed "Orchard Street" and "Circulation," in which Thurston would play higher and higher on the neck of his guitar, so high in fact you were afraid he would run out of room and would have no choice but to spontaneously combust. Luckily, that didn't happen. But the bliss that Moore created onstage transcended into the crowd, and during those intense moments of his frantic strumming, the somewhat paralyzed audience would shot out almost involuntarily in appreciation. In between songs, Thurston would dedicate songs to openers I Feel Tractor (who were great) and poet Eileen Myles (who was also great) and briefly chat with the crowd about his family members in the audience, the impending Rapture, and yes, Bridesmaids. "I thought it was a masterpiece," Thurston stated.

If you haven't already pre-ordered Demolished Thoughts directly from Matador, you still have until 11:59pm tonight to enter our contest and win a copy on double LP vinyl (which includes the download code for the album in mp3 format). Thurston plays a free show tonight at Other Music at 8pm. Full set of photos (including the setlist) from Thurston's set on Friday are below...

Photos: Wire @ Music Hall of Williamsburg

Post-punk legends Wire blasted through their set last night (4/5), complete with two encores at the Music Hall of Williamsburg. Anyone who knows anything about Wire knows that they approach their career like sharks; moving forward and never looking back. In other words, not the most nostalgic band (you'll rarely see them playing anything off of fan favorites Pink Flag or Chairs Missing)(we did get the song "Pink Flag" last night though). But it doesn't matter when their recent output is just as good, just as catchy, and just as punk as their earlier work. Weekend, a band I kept hearing about during SXSW last month, were worthy openers. Though you couldn't hear the vocals at all (pretty sure that was intentional), they played extremely melodic, shoegazy tunes, performed with the energy and intensity of a classic '77 punk band.

Wire will play the Bowery Ballroom tonight (4/6) with Madensuyu. Tickets are still on sale. Full set of photos of both bands and Wire's setlist is below.