words and photos by Jonny Leather

The Frightened Rabbit show at Le Poisson Rouge on Monday night (2/2) was a very special performance. With blank setlists at their feet, the Scottish quartet gave fans complete control over what they'd play. That was pretty obvious when "Backwards Walk" was the first song chosen, to which singer Scott Hutchinson questioned, "You really wanna start with 'Backwards Walk'?" It was an odd choice, and would have worked better later on, but the choose-your-own-adventure style set brought out a really fun, relaxed mood with the band, which was a fair trade for the complete lack of flow with the set. Normally a bit more rambunctious live, the set was toned down and acoustic, giving an extra feeling of intimacy to a song like "Poke." The best moments of the night came late as the packed crowd began singing along, especially on "Modern Leper" and "Keep Yourself Warm." People really like to sing along when one of the words is 'fucking'.

The most amazing thing about the set, which Hutchinson pointed out midway was the lack of requests for ridiculous/ironic covers. No one yelled "Freebird" until Hutchinson pointed out that no one had. And even after that moment, the one real cover request was the National's "Fake Empire" which the band played despite Hutchinson's reaction that he didn't know all the words to the song.

For an encore they played a cover of N-Trance's "Set You Free," which is featured on the second volume of the Guilt By Association compilation series. Scott Hutchinson's emotional Scottish wail even made this UK dance song seem deeply infused with pain and sorrow, in that same great way that makes his own songs so moving.

Fat Cat labelmates Gregory and the Hawk opened. Impeccably cute Singer/songwriter Meredith Godreau's sweet adorable voice was so soft it often drowned beneath the subtle guitars of the duo, sucking the crowd into a deep lull.

Later this month Gregory and the Hawk are playing three shows with Swirlies. That includes February 27th at Mercury Lounge (a show Takka Takka is also playing). More LPR pictures and the FR setlist below...

Continue reading "Frightened Rabbit (acoustic) & Gregory and the Hawk @ (Le) Poisson Rouge, NYC - pics & setlist"

TT & SS

Takka Takka has three NYC shows coming up at the moment. The first is the previously-mentioned Guilt By Association party this Saturday night at Music Hall of Williamsburg that Jukebox the Ghost, Lowry, and Robbers on High Street are also playing. It's a "Guilt by Association" party because that's the name of the new album that all the artists on the bill contribute a cover track to. Tickets are still on sale.

Almost a month later Takka plays a show at Mercury Lounge. It's February 27th with the Swirlies. And the third show is March 15th at Cake Shop. That one is also the first night of a tour they're going on with Sister Suvi that will bring both bands from NY to SXSW (and then also other places).

Sister Suvi is Patrick Gregoire of Islands' other band. Here's a live review...

Montreal/Toronto three-piece Sister Suvi blessed the hundred-plus patrons at the expansive Hart House performance hall with a relentless display of innovative, energetic (and alternating) instrumentation, so much so that lead singer Merrill was tinged crimson by the second song. Her comedic character carried the songs with impressive gusto, and her ukulele skills were not to be scoffed at, especially when she pulled out her violin bow and went to town with an even more animated display of performance power. [NOW Toronto]

All dates below...

Continue reading "Takka Takka & Sister Suvi - 2009 Tour Dates "

DOWNLOAD: My Brightest Diamond: Tainted Love (Soft Cell/Gloria Jones cover) (MP3)

My Brightest Diamond is playing a show with Clare & the Reasons at Le Poisson Rouge in NYC on December 13th. Tickets are on sale. In other MBD news,

[the new album] Guilt By Association Vol 2 was conceptualized and produced by [former BV contributor] Wesley Verhoeve and lends towards danceable covers of some of the artists favorite pop songs. "We wanted to take what was done on Volume 1 and pour it into a cohesive framework. We're big fans of pop music, but also of indie music and in that sense there's nothing ironic about this project. Together with the artists we picked pop songs they loved that might sometimes be painted as guilty pleasures by some (but not us), and then attempted to shine a light on them in a way that exposes what is so awesome about these songs," says Wes.

The Forms's cover of Billy Joel's 'We Didn't Start The Fire' or My Brightest Diamond's take on 'Tainted Love', are transformed into a slamming modern indie dance party track that fits right into today's' Brooklyn scene. Others like Matt Pond PA's version of My Chemical Romance' "I'm Not Okay" provide us with a quick mellow moment of melancholy.

Download the MBD track above. Stream the whole album and check out the full tracklist below. All MBD tour dates are down there too...

Continue reading "My Brightest Diamond - 2008 Tour Dates, a new covers comp w/ The Forms, Takka, Matt Pond, Frightened Rabbit, more (MP3, stream)"