Holy shit, there's a lot of stuff going on this week. And for some god forsaken reason I've waited until this late to write about it. Okay, not wasting anymore time, here it is...
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| Deerhoof @ Europa (more) |
Deerhoof @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
Tuesday, September 20
It really doesn't get much better than seeing
Deerhoof live. Forget the fact that they're one of the most progressive musical acts of the 21st century, or that they're practically a genre unto themselves, or that they feature one of the greatest drummers of all time... Deerhoof are a phenomenal fucking band to see live. And the fact that they're so weird and off-putting to some people ensures that they will continue to play in small venues throughout the duration of their career. So wallow in the fact that Deerhoof come to NYC every few months to melt our faces with their unique brand of psychedelic, jazz-tinged indie rock.
Tickets are still on sale.
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark @ Irving Plaza
Tuesday, September 20 / Wednesday September 21
OMD, despite having that song in
Pretty in Pink, are actually one of the more influential electronic acts to emerge from the sea of god awful pop acts of the '80s. Having reunited with the classic lineup in 2007, the band played their first North American tour since 1988 earlier this year and received rave reviews throughout. They also just released a very
limited edition live album last month, that, having listened to, I can assure is pleasantly awesome. Definitely check out OMD at Irving Plaza on either
Tuesday or
Wednesday, for which tickets are still on sale for both.
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| Elephant 6 Orchestra @ LPR (more) |
Olivia Tremor Control @ Le Poisson Rouge
Wednesday, September 21
This is the show this week that I'm most excited about. When I first came back to New York City in 2005 after spending four years in Plattsburgh, NY for school, I was given an extra ticket to see
Olivia Tremor Control at Bowery Ballroom by my brother. It was a revelatory moment for me, when I realized that psychedelic music was very much alive and present in music today, and could be just as accessible as anything that was on the radio at the time. Still, not many people know the importance of Olivia Tremor Control--which is a shame. If you're curious what the pinnacle Elephant Six band sounds like, do yourself a favor and pick up a
ticket for their show at the intimate Le Poisson Rouge for Wednesday, where I also saw many of the same band members play as
the Elephant Six Collective back in May. Fellow E6 band
The Music Tapes open. Rock.
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| Jeff Tweedy @ Maxwell's (more) |
Nick Lowe / Wilco @ Central Park SummerStage
Thursday, September 22 / Friday, September 23
It's always kind of weird when the influencer opens for the influenced - when
Pixies opened for
Radiohead at Coachella in 2004,
Thom Yorke was very open about how embarrassed he was of his band's headlining spot. Not so sure
Jeff Tweedy will be as open, but you never know. I'm excited to get to see
Nick Lowe play live after recently discovering his greatness (I was slow on this one), and
Wilco is inevitably going to do well after releasing
a very great new album this month. It's kind of sad that the outdoor concert season is winding down, so be sure to pack in as many summer shows as you can and make it special. Tickets for both shows are sold out, but keep your eye on craigslist and StubHub on the day of... I'm sure you'll be able to get a good deal.
The Descendents @ Roseland Ballroom
Friday, September 23
Shit, this is gonna be a great fucking show.
The Descendents were one of the earliest punk bands (if not the first) to crossover to the skateboarding/pop-punk scene that emerged in the mid-to-late '80s. Chalk it up to their catchy hooks, slick production, and songs about having sex and puking. Yep, it's all there. It would be awesome to see them in a smaller venue like Bowery Ballroom or Maxwell's, but if their popularity demands they play the massive Roseland Ballroom, so be it. At least it's not Terminal 5.
H20 and
The Suicide Machines open. Tickets are sold out and StubHub's cheapest options are currently at $65, so craigslist may be your best bet. Good luck, it's gonna be a great one.
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| Malkmus @ Other Music (more) |
Stephen Malkmus and The Jicks @ Webster Hall
Sunday, September 25
This was a show
we announced a long time ago, and although it seemed a little weird to me at the time for
The Jicks to be playing the 3,000 capacity Terminal 5, in a post-Pavement reunion world, anything is possible. Except I suspect that just may have been the problem. Now that seeing
Stephen Malkmus live is no longer the next best thing to seeing Pavement live (and hopefully you had the chance to do that last summer), something tells me he is not as in high demand as he used to be. Hence the
moving of this show to the smaller (but still pretty huge) Webster Hall. I, for one, am not complaining at all. The recently released Mirror Traffic is a fine album, and
after catching the band's stripped down performance at Other Music a few weeks ago I'm really excited to see the band at its full potential.
Tickets are still on sale.
Notable mentions:
The Rapture @ Webster Hall - Friday, September 23 (
Tickets)
The Human League / Men Without Hats @ Best Buy Theater - Friday, September 23 (
Tickets)
There you go. Tons of stuff happening to get your nostalgia fix this week. Be sure to check out the playlist we made for
This Week's Nostalgia on Spotify and subscribe to it so you have new songs to listen to each week. If there are any shows you feel we missed this week, let us know about it in the comments below. Until next time...
