Yeasayer @ Mercury Lounge, NYC - pics

is this from the future?

poor nordlead.

High Places sucked.

i'm rooting for these guys and I like their music, but I think they could tone down the evangelist-hail jesus schtick a bit. seems a bit contrived. actually scratched that, it is contrived.

wait, what does jesus have to do with yeasayer?

They are my father's children, just like you, Anonymous 12:08 PM.

am i retarded? did this happen? or is it going to happen? what year is it? how's my hair?

i didnt know the dude from the killers is now fronting Yeasayer.

am i retarded? did this happen? or is it going to happen? what year is it? how's my hair?

why high places was in between team robespierre and yeasayer, i'll never know.
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

So glad I did not go to this show. Yeasayer are so way overrated. As with many bands blogged about today.

high places is odd. i liked it though. plus, i always love having a not full band precede a full band. makes it that much more exciting when a real drum set kicks in.

High Places was great, Team Robbespierre was good, and Yeasayer was okay.

Team Robespierre was grreeeeeeeeaaaaaaat, high places was meh, and yeasayer was w00t!

i like all the bands, but the line-up was a bit schizo. I thought High Places should've played after Chairlift to build into Team Robes and Yeasayer, instead it was down-up-down-up.

But let's give it up for Team Robespierre - the first band to get the stiffs at Mercury to un-cross their arms and move.

I thought Team Robespierre killed it! They would probably make more sense at the next Friction party with Health and Crystal Castles in March. I kinda think Yeasayer is a bit overated as well, maybe just not my thing. High Places was good as always but really let's give it up for Chairlift, luckily I got to see them and they were great!

the bass player scares the shit outta me

that bass player was in The Ally. That blows my mind. I am really enjoying this album. I look forward to seeing them at bowery!!

this whole show was great! yeasayer is really an exciting band to watch. team robespierre is totally not my usual thing, but i do think they stole the show. it takes a lot of guts to go crazy like that a place like the mercury.

I wish I saw this show, because High Places were showing up on some important Pitchfork best of lists, Bradford, The Blow, and even a editors, and they only have singles. They are young and will only get better, I think. Their myspace songs are the freshest thing I've heard in a while. Yeasayer seem a bit too clean at times, but really good at what they do. Team Robespierre is not my thing, but diversity on a bill is good.

WAIT?! To the comments that stated High Places "sucked" : I really don't understand why this board is so mean-spirited. It's not like they got up on stage and acted all pretentious and self aware. They always seem so shy and scared. Why be mean about them? If it's not your thing, fine, but they were so friendly, and sweet, and most importantly, they ruled. They are really onto something new, and I for one find them exciting, even though they have (at times) a complicated sound. Pick on somebody your own size!

For the record, all the bands were GREAT.

"I wish I saw this show, because High Places were showing up on some important Pitchfork best of lists,"

Statements like this and some others on here about how this and that band are awesome and doing something completely diff with music is exactly why the internet and blogs are killing the music industry today.

I long for the good old days when none of this existed and the cream actually did rise to the top.

important Pitchfork best of lists. Haha i am chuckling just thinking how stupid it is to put important and pitchfork next to each other.

Hmmmmm.... Good point. I guess in retrospect it sounded pretty dumb, like I was getting all my leads for music by pitchfork. I guess what I meant was that people I like (musicians, like Deerhunther, the Blow/Yacht, Dan Deacon, Lucky Dragons) have all name-checked and played/toured with them, and the pitchfork lists we maybe just a reminder that I need to get down from upstate more often to see a rad new band. I too don't hold pitchfork as some devine athourity.

I think High Places is actually doing what you said though, gaining popularity the old fashioned way, putting out painfully obscure eps, touring and playing the more DIY circiut, not with the push of a publicist or label (ie. the opposite of Yeasayer, not a diss, they are good). Honestly, It seems like this show was really uncharacteristic of them, considering they seem to usually hang in the DIY world.

I do sort of think that there has always been "press" and writing about music. Hype and all that. Now it is just electronic and often anonamous. Perhaps it's more grass roots? I don't know.

Also, and please don't take this the wrong way, but why are you here reading this if you aren't in to the whole blog thing?

I like High Places. They are like a Calypso version of Animal Collective or something. That's kind of different.

did anyone else there notice the return of The Bad Photographer?

(http://www.brooklynvegan.com/archives/2007/09/les_savy_fav_pl_5.html#more)

I could barely see the bands in front of her camera she held above her head the entire time during High Places and Yeasayer! There was a wall of photographers (all with big cameras, so one would assume pretty serious about it) in front of the stage for Yeasayer, yet she was the ONLY one who was obtrusive. Bad form. Next time I should bring a yard stick to push her camera down in front or something.

Kudos to Mike R. for actually admitting fault in a Brooklyn Vegan comments thread! A new first!

I do agree with him though that when musicians I like name check a band, I usually check it out. I have only seen High Places get pushed in honorable ways, as opposed to the industry hype method. The majority of the shows they play in NY seem to be with their friends, although they seem to be friends with every "hot" band right now. Their photos on their myspace and blog look like an indie fan's wet dream. Yeasayer have been "sold" a lot more, but still not in a sleazy way. They actually can back up their hype.

Pitchfork has had a really bad history of being cruel and mean (which thankfully they seem to have knocked off a bit lately), but BV (comments section, not the blog itself) is starting to get super negative in PF's place.

Did you hear the High Places song that Pitchfork streamed a while back? One of the best songs of 2007 in my opinion. Oh wait, I'm not supposed to mention PF. Sorry.

Let's just admit it. We all read it, and we all learn about new shit from it.

Anon 10:54pm, please speak for yourself

That was a great show. Not important but noteworthy: the Yeasayer's blue crab tattoo was beautiful! Be more merry!

High Places, you are giving me serious musical blue balls! Please put out something other than a 7" that goes instantly out of print!!!! I demand more!

Team Robespierre = Best new band!

Yeasayer was awesome! i didn't know how tribal or theatric their live show was going to be (because the music could totally inspire a push in that direction), and thankfully, they kept their performance really rock n' roll. Annand Wilder's hair is a pantherbeast.

Chairlift was the surprise of the night. Stunning- who ARE these guys? the room was half empty, but they cast a spell over it with a gentle psych/new-age/prog mashup of kate bush and hot chip... is it possible? they're on the same label that put out grizzly bear's Horn of Plenty, i'm gonna keep and eye on these guys.

What are you talking about? Chairlift were terrible!!! The room was half empty because everyone left and went to the front bar or outside in the cold. Even the cold was better to listening to them. You must be friends with the band. Yeasayer were great.