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Corin Ashley with John Brodeur – Pete’s Candy Store (Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY) – Thursday, April 11, 2013
Although Pete’s no longer sells sweet treats, on this night Ashley and Brodeur nourished us with plenty of delicious ear candy.
9 April 2013Scale Model – Scale Model EP (Scale Model)
Originally released last August, this Nashville foursome’s 2012 self-titled EP has recently been remastered and sounds as wonderful as it did when I first heard it.
2 April 2013Exit Clov – Jailbird (Nervous People)
This sophomore effort combines 2010 debut Memento Mori’s melodic depth and multi-faceted songwriting with a harder-edged bite.
2 April 2013Misty Boyce – Tough Love EP (Misty Boyce)
By stripping things down and laying bare her soul, Boyce knocks one way out of the park on this follow-up to her 2010 self-titled debut.
2 April 2013Andrew Norsworthy – The Key & the Cross (Andrew Norsworthy)
Seattle-based troubadour Norsworthy shifts direction on his sixth album, veering into traditional, old-timey blues.
2 April 2013Vanessa Lowe – Stars of Bean Hollow (The Mighty Prawn/Jicama Salad Co.)
Berkeley, CA-based Lowe’s pretty songs and soothing voice go down easy, like a cup of herbal tea on a Spring morning.
19 March 2013The NowhereNauts – The Bitter End (New York, NY) – Friday, February 15, 2013; Sullivan Hall (New York, NY) – Saturday, March 2, 2013
This college-aged New York foursome’s marvelous just-released second LP Warned You is one of my favorite albums of 2013, so these two Greenwich Village shows were eagerly anticipated. Much to my surprise, the band was as convincing and formidable live as on record!
17 March 2013The Lost Patrol – The Bitter End (New York, NY) – Friday, February 15, 2013; The Loop Lounge (Passaic, NJ) – Saturday, February 23, 2013
Although this greater New York ethereal trio had to cancel their first February show at Brooklyn’s Rock Shop due to Blizzard Nemo, the band “stormed” back with these two superb follow-up gigs later in the month.
4 March 2013Bob Mould – Bowery Ballroom (New York, NY) – Tuesday, February 26, 2013
On the first show of their tour, bassist Jason Narducy’s and drummer Jon Wurster’s hefty yet fluid rhythms constantly sent Mould’s propulsive, buzzing guitar to Shuttle launch intensities.
27 February 2013Ken Stringfellow – Mercury Lounge (New York, NY) – Saturday, February 16, 2013
Each of Stringfellow’s previous shows I’ve seen were all analogous in how he strove to achieve an intimate, one-on-one connection with the audience. This early Saturday evening show was no different.
18 February 2013Mission of Burma – Bowery Ballroom (New York, NY) – Friday, January 18, 2013
This show marked the 15th time I’ve seen Mission of Burma since their NYC comeback at Irving Plaza in January 2002, and their performance was as pulverizing, unrelenting, and physically exhausting as any of those previous gigs.
22 January 2013The Moog – Pianos (New York, NY) – Wednesday, November 28, 2012
The last time this Hungarian group played in New York I had to miss them because of a Buzzcocks show on the same night. So I was glad to have this second chance to see them, even if I had to wait over two years for it.
15 January 2013The Nowherenauts - Warned You (The Nowherenauts)
This college-aged New York foursome’s second LP finds guitarist Hunter Lombard’s thick, propulsive riffs and singer Sofie Kapur’s irresistible pipes continually soaring to stratospheric heights.
18 December 2012At Sea with Gift Horse and The Oats – Union Hall (Park Slope, Brooklyn, NY) – Thursday, November 29, 2012
This Brooklyn trio built up such vigorous, colossal crescendos, I thought Union Hall’s upstairs bocce courts might collapse on top of us.
12 December 2012The Joy Formidable – Littlefield (Gowanus, Brooklyn, NY) – Sunday, November 11, 2012
After headlining Manhattan’s spacious Terminal 5 in front of 3,000 punters last March, here they were eight short months later, playing this much smaller, 400-capacity Gowanus art/performance space.
29 November 2012The Avengers – Littlefield (Gowanus, Brooklyn, NY) – Thursday, October 25, 2012
Even 33 years after the original lineup split, an Avengers show is still, remarkably, a carefree and liberating experience.
20 November 2012Sloan – Maxwell’s (Hoboken, NJ) – Wednesday, October 10, 2012
For this tour, Sloan trotted out their 1994 second LP Twice Removed, the occasion being its recent box set reissue. Like the previous six times I’ve seen them, this was another smashing performance!
9 November 2012Lotion with Edsel – Mercury Lounge (New York, NY) – Saturday, October 6, 2012
Lotion were one of the best bands in NYC back in the 1990’s, and they still sound better than most current local outfits. Here’s hoping they continue to play once (or more) per year, to keep reminding us of that.
5 November 2012Neil Halstead – Rockwood Music Hall (New York, NY) – Thursday, October 4, 2012; Union Hall (Park Slope, Brooklyn, NY) – Friday, October 5, 2012
We’ll keep our fingers crossed for that Slowdive reunion, but as these shows proved, Halstead on his own is equally worth making the trek from New Jersey to NYC on two successive nights to see.
4 November 2012School of Seven Bells – Maxwell’s (Hoboken, NJ) – Saturday, September 29, 2012
In person their music engulfs and entrances you, even moreso than on record. It makes for a distinctive double-whammy of muscle and beauty that keeps getting better with each show.
23 September 2012Maxïmo Park – Webster Hall (New York, NY) – Thursday, September 13, 2012
A zealous crowd of diehards ensured that two-thirds of the main floor was full, so this was far from a bust. Despite the thinner turnout, this was a welcome return from a band that deserves a bigger following here.
13 September 2012Bob Mould – Williamsburg Park (Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY) – Friday, September 7, 2012
Mould seemed so rejuvenated, and his band so on fire, that this was more dynamic and passionate than any prior Mould full-band show I’d seen.
3 September 2012The Ascetic Junkies – ZirZamin (New York, NY) – Saturday, September 1, 2012
The quiet setting allowed Matt Harmon and Kali Giaritta to take advantage of the intimate room’s natural acoustics, making their attractive trade-off vocals and harmonies resonate.
16 August 2012Death Cab for Cutie with Surfer Blood – The Wellmont Theatre (Montclair, NJ) – Thursday, July 19, 2012
You could tell that everyone in attendance, especially the many seeing the band for the first time, were electrified – the thunderous applause at the end of the main set was louder than at any past show I can recall.
1 August 2012Guided By Voices with The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, The War on Drugs, and Cloud Nothings – CBGB Festival @ Central Park Summerstage (New York, NY) – Saturday, July 7, 2012
This free quadruple bill in Central Park, part of CBGB’s inaugural four-day, 300+ band festival, was well worth enduring a few sweaty hours for in the oppressive heat.
19 July 2012Veronica Falls – South Street Seaport (New York, NY) – Friday, June 29, 2012
Though the fledgling London foursome wasn’t used to playing in such heat, they gamely plowed ahead with another intense performance.
11 July 2012Real Estate – Kasschau Memorial Shell (Ridgewood, NJ) – Sunday, June 24, 2012
Right from the opening song, the twinkly, jangly guitars of Martin Courtney and Matt Mondanile sounded as soothing as cicadas and wind chimes on a warm, breezy night.
2 July 2012Jeff Litman – Caffe Vivaldi (New York, NY) – Friday, May 4, 2012
Overall, Litman’s consummate showmanship and the venue’s classy old-style West Village charm made this feel like a quintessential NYC evening out.
1 July 2012OFF! – The Bell House (Gowanus, Brooklyn, NY) – Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Owing to this free show’s last-minute arrangements and the fact it wasn’t even mentioned at the previous night’s sold-out Bowery Ballroom gig, a relatively modest crowd showed up. Yet we were treated to an identical setlist as at Bowery!
22 June 2012Bastards of Melody with The Successful Failures and Radio Barons – The Rock Shop (Park Slope, Brooklyn, NY) – Saturday, May 26, 2012
This was an ideal opportunity for New Yorkers to catch two of New Jersey’s best power-pop bands for the price of one.
14 June 2012Wild Carnation with Antietam – Maxwell’s (Hoboken, NJ) – Saturday, May 5, 2012
Although I’m not much of a horse racing fan, I was more than enthusiastic for this early Saturday evening “Kentucky Derby party” double bill featuring these two great veteran, female-fronted local bands.
21 May 2012Adam Franklin & Bolts of Melody - The Grand Victory (Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY) - Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Given the focus on Franklin’s first two solo LPs, the show highlighted his moodier, more ethereal psych-folk side, in contrast to Swervedriver’s full-on blast furnace rockers.
16 May 2012Everest – Bowery Electric (New York, NY) – Thursday, April 26, 2012
On this final show of their NYC residency, the Los Angeles roots rock quintet treated the modest Bowery Electric crowd to their upcoming third album Ownerless from start to finish.
11 May 2012Crystal Stilts with Widowspeak – Maxwell’s (Hoboken, NJ) – Friday, April 13, 2012
With a large draped sheet hanging behind them, onto which paint-splattered, kaleidoscopic images were projected, I couldn’t help but feel like I had stumbled into some illicit, impromptu ‘60s psychedelic basement party.
28 April 2012Nada Surf – Music Hall of Williamsburg (Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY) – Sunday, April 8, 2012
Aided by the Music Hall of Williamsburg’s crystal-clear, punchy sound system, the band delivered another explosive and energetic performance.
11 April 2012glowfriends – Arlene’s Grocery (New York, NY) – Thursday, March 29, 2012
Throughout, it was a pleasure hearing Mark and April harmonize together, like on the catchy single “Wait For the Waves,” with that extra special close-knit entwining of voices that singing siblings often have.
6 April 2012Swervedriver – Bowery Ballroom (New York, NY) – Saturday, March 31, 2012
Once again, Swervedriver delivered another fantastic, lights out performance that left me feeling awestruck.
3 April 2012The Joy Formidable - Terminal 5 (New York, NY) - Wednesday, March 28, 2012
What we sacrificed by losing the previous shows’ up-close-and-personal immediacy was offset by the band’s most thunderous, earth-shattering assault yet!
23 March 2012The Wedding Present with The Jet Age – The Bell House (Gowanus, Brooklyn, NY) – Wednesday, March 21, 2012
This show was not quite as blistering as the 2010 Seaport gig, which showcased the speedier Bizarro. But the more understated Seamonsters still sounded 10x more hard-hitting in this lineup’s hands.
22 March 2012Choir of Young Believers – Mercury Lounge (New York, NY) – Monday, March 19, 2012
This tour marked the first time all seven band members have played together in the U.S. Thus, this was an ideal chance to witness their luxurious music performed with all the bells and whistles.
15 March 2012The Veda Rays – Union Pool (Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY) – Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Though this was a short, 35-minute opening set, it was a good opportunity to catch this fantastic new Brooklyn foursome before they embarked on a two-week SXSW tour.
8 March 2012The Waldos – The Brighton Bar (Long Branch, NJ) – Saturday, March 3, 2012
Judging by the lively crowd at the venerated, long-lasting punk club, it seemed like every old school rock ‘n’ roller within spitting distance showed up in eager anticipation of seeing Lure in action. Once again, the band did not disappoint.
4 March 2012Gemma Ray with This Frontier Needs Heroes – Rockwood Music Hall (New York, NY) – Wednesday, February 29, 2012
For this gratifying set, Ray brought along organist Rory More and drummer Andrew Zammit, who provided just the right shading and color for her distinctive songs.
1 March 2012Steve Wynn & the Miracle 3 – Bowery Electric (New York, NY) – Friday, February 24, 2012
While not quite as start-to-finish blasting as December’s show, this more well rounded overview still rocked like nobody’s business.
24 February 2012Scud Mountain Boys – Maxwell’s (Hoboken, NJ) – Friday, February 17, 2012
It was a shock that these reunion shows even happened at all, given that Pernice hadn’t spoken with his old bandmates in 14 years. Judging by this sublime show, it was as if no time had passed at all.
18 February 2012Honeychurch with The Explorers Club and The Color Bars – Maxwell’s (Hoboken, NJ) – Monday, February 13, 2012; Rockwood Music Hall (New York, NY) – Wednesday, February 15, 2012
It was a pleasure to finally see them on stage again, in support of their beautiful new third LP, Will You Be There With Me.
15 February 2012Dum Dum Girls – Maxwell’s (Hoboken, NJ) – Saturday, February 11, 2012
The band had a more ferocious edge and a newfound punkish roar that, while percolating below the surface before, came out more forcefully tonight.
13 February 2012Vivian Girls – Gansevoort Plaza, Kate Spade Pop-Up Shop Promo Show (New York, NY) – Friday, February 10, 2012
Hey, if Vivian Girls are willing to risk a minor bout of pneumonia to play a few songs for free on a Friday night, I’m up for it!
12 February 2012Veronica Falls – Music Hall of Williamsburg (Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY) – Thursday, February 9, 2012
So how did they fare, making the sudden jump to this much larger, 550-capacity venue in so short a time? I’m happy to say, much better than most young bands.
8 February 2012Mirah – Glasslands Gallery (Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY) – Monday, February 6, 2012
The normally chatty Brooklyn crowd, seemingly filled with Mirah diehards, was held spellbound – at times you could almost hear a pin drop.
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