Kill Rock Stars -- Xiu Xiu, Mary Timony, Marnie Stern, Mika Miko -- @ Gramercy Theatre, NYC (CMJ)

Marnie Stern...

Marnie Stern kicked off the night with a furious yet playful set of songs. She’s a rare bird: a great guitarist and charismatic frontwoman. The pointed melodies and tribal pulse of her music recalled not just one of her major influences, Sleater-Kinney, but also the earliest, most dangerous-sounding songs from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs — passed down, probably, from the No Wave inspirations Stern and the YYYs share. [Allmusic]

Mika Miko are, along with Marnie Stern, part of a new generation of Kill Rock Stars, but these five ladies take their KRS influences right back to the source with messy, energetic riot grrl punk rock. Brisk, invigorating, and retaining a playing-around-in-Mom’s-basement carelessness also projected through the adding-nothing-but-character stage banter. [Impose]

Marnie Stern was originally supposed to be performing in this time slot. I'm still not sure exactly what happened, but whatever. Washington, D.C.-born Mary Timony, formerly of Boston noise-pop outfit Helium, is an artist I've long respected more than listened to, and if her set lacked the fret-tapping pyrotechnics of Stern, the muso in me could still geek out over her jarring tunings and sudden rhythm changes. [Pitchfork]

Under shafts of multi colored lights, against a backdrop of trippy projections, not once did Stewart crack a smile, even when giving props to his support acts or declaring his love for his label. But then, Xiu Xiu’s music is dark stuff, generally borne of despair and indignation about the state of Stewart’s world, or the one around all of us. It’s enough to make anyone a serious guy. There are delicate, ambient moments and blistering noise-filled ones. For the better part of an hour, the band on stage at the Gramercy was savage, primal, angst-filled, foreboding, sometimes unsettling, but never tedious and often captivating. Thanks to KRS and CMJ for including in their ranks a band as compelling as Xiu Xiu. [John Norris for MTV]