Posted in music | pictures on September 4, 2008

photos by Ryan Muir

Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson @ Zebulon

Saturday (August 30, 2008) was a long day. After four bands in a row at McCarren Pool, (Ryan and) I considered going to watch some bands perform 'round robin', but the idea of a hot Market Hotel didn't seem that appealing. Instead I went over to the much smaller and much less DIY bar and performance space, Zebulon, to catch Holly Miranda (The Jealous Girlfriends) and Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson (the Internet). Ironically, Zebulon ended up ridiculously crowded and hot, but I'm not complaining.

Holly was great, though I stood towards the back of the bar where I couldn't even see her for most of the set. Miles and band put on a good (and free) (not counting tips) show, but not a great show. I moved near the front of the club early on in his set because there was no chance of enjoying it from the back of the noisy venue. That helped a lot. Unlike Holly's voice who cut through the whole club, you could barely hear what Miles was saying, even from the front row. There's something soft and choppy about his voice live that makes it hard to get into. Production has fixed that on the record. Maybe he just needed to turn his mic way up. That said, the songs still made me want to tap my foot (which is about all the dancing you can do when the setup is such that the whole crowd needs to shift so someone can get from the bar to the bathroom) and there were still a few big clapping moments.

I have yet to read a good review of his live show (here in the comments or elsewhere) (ok, I take that back...). People probably expect a little more once they've seen you on the cover of Fader. Maybe touring with TV on the Radio will be good training. He and full band played for about an hour with no encore (crowd's choice). More pics below...

Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson @ Zebulon

Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson @ Zebulon

Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson @ Zebulon

Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson @ Zebulon

Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson @ Zebulon

Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson @ Zebulon

Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson @ Zebulon

Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson @ Zebulon

Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson @ Zebulon

Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson @ Zebulon

Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson @ Zebulon

Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson @ Zebulon

Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson @ Zebulon

Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson @ Zebulon

Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson - Buriedfed

Comments (25)

he got vetted for that fader cover about as much as sarah palin did.

Posted by Anonymous | September 4, 2008 9:31 AM

real world brooklyn cast member joins shitty local pop punk band Shiragirl

Posted by Anonymous | September 4, 2008 9:40 AM

heres youre good review:
month or so back when he opened for the last white rabbits show of their tour at mhow. his voice was fine, could hear it from anywhere in the place, it was mumbly, but thats his voice, so if you dont like that then you wouldnt like the record either. it was a really energenic set including him ripping strings off his ovation at one point and cutting his finger open. maybe it was the fact that he had not been on fader yet and the people who were there were either his friends or people who were there to see white rabbits like me, but regardless everyone who was there was really into it including the girl i brought who is rarely into anything, so much that she stole the album from me.

theres youre good review, stop bagging on the guy with the long name cause youre jealous

Posted by Anonymous | September 4, 2008 9:43 AM

Great photos Ryan! I love the draggy shutter flashy one.

Posted by lori | September 4, 2008 9:48 AM

"so much that she stole the album from me"

the album is good. she should steal it from you. live? not as good.

Posted by stevie | September 4, 2008 9:53 AM

I want to see him again when he gets back from tour. He needs to add Bon Iver effects into his show.

Posted by Anonymous | September 4, 2008 9:57 AM

"fine", "mumbly". that's the good review? i guess we'll take what we can get.

Posted by Anonymous | September 4, 2008 9:58 AM

when they say he sounds like Dylan, they mean the Dylan of now

Posted by Anonymous | September 4, 2008 10:05 AM

DJ Megan? There's a cool name for a DJ.

Posted by Anonymous | September 4, 2008 10:12 AM

I agree - I've seen him 3 times, most recently with Thao @ Bowery - I just can't get behind him yet. His songs definitely had me taping my toe as well, and he has a great stage presence, but there is some developing left to be done. Touring with TVOR should certainly help.
www.starkmagazine.blogspot.com

Posted by Stark Online | September 4, 2008 10:19 AM

"real world brooklyn cast member joins shitty local pop punk band Shiragirl"

Stop spamming BV with these reverse-psychology ads, asshole.

Posted by Anonymous | September 4, 2008 10:23 AM

I saw him at MHOW opening for White Rabbits and wasn't impressed. But I'm glad someone likes him, I guess?

Posted by Anonymous | September 4, 2008 10:37 AM

i just feel like we're being told to like this guy. so the album is pretty good. fine then. good for him. but really, i'm feeling manipulated into this guy. it's just ok stuff. tapping our feet is great, but i guess that's it, eh? fuck fader, et. al.

Posted by Anonymous | September 4, 2008 10:39 AM

fuck this shit. so boring

Posted by Anonymous | September 4, 2008 10:52 AM

be careful of the cobra juice at zebulon!

Posted by Anonymous | September 4, 2008 11:17 AM

I've got a bubble butt, but I don't mind, because it's what powers me forward when I run.

Posted by Elisabeth Hasselbeck | September 4, 2008 11:59 AM

Your review has been my experience too, BV, but wow those photos are great. Nice work, Ryan.

Posted by bill p | September 4, 2008 12:38 PM

i actually thought he sounded great when he played at zebulon last august (or maybe it was last november) with holly miranda. i think it was just him and his guitar (and maybe a drummer... definitely not as many people on stage with him as on saturday). maybe he was just having an off night?

and does no one on here have an opinion about holly miranda? she's been absolutely fantastic every time i've seen her play solo or with the jealous girlfriends.

Posted by Anonymous | September 4, 2008 2:15 PM

i am surprised she hasn't got more press...great voice, and she's definitely marketable

Posted by Anonymous | September 4, 2008 5:01 PM

I third the Holly Miranda recommendation.

Posted by Aaron | September 4, 2008 8:00 PM

I really, really like this guy. can't put my finger on it.

Posted by Anonymous | September 5, 2008 12:31 AM

i'm tired of nyu kids bitching about how expensive the education their parents paid for was. go back to portland.

Posted by Anonymous | September 5, 2008 12:48 AM

I'm sure Portland doesn't want them back.

Posted by Anonymous | September 5, 2008 1:04 AM

Maine or Oregon?

Posted by Anonymous | September 5, 2008 8:18 AM

Oregon. If his parents had paid for it he wouldn't have anything to bitch about.

Posted by Anonymous | October 2, 2008 5:11 PM

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