photos by Ryan Muir

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...

Continue reading "Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson @ Zebulon, Brooklyn- pics"

Yo La Tengo @ McCarren Pool - Aug 24th (Ryan Muir/Metromix) (LOOK AT IT BIG)

today in NYC
* FREE STUFF
* The Game @ Irving Plaza
* Bango Benefit @ Bowery Ballroom
* Billy Idol @ Hammerstein Ballroom
* Rushmore (movie) & bands @ McCarren Pool
* Scribble Jam w/ Junk Science @ Knitting Factory
* long, free sets by Anthony Jeselnik & Kristen Schaal
* Dr. Dog, Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson & R Stevie Moore @ MHOW

I think the race is on to see who can play more NYC shows in 2008: Vivian Girls or Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson. It's a tight race.

Speaking of a tight race, Joe Biden and the RIAA = BFF and Madonna thinks McCain is like Hitler.

The above photo is another view of Sunday's final Pool Party.

What else?

TV on the Radio @ Masonic Temple in Brooklyn
Oct 14 - w/ The Dirtbombs (SOLD OUT)
Oct 15 - w/ Telepathe (SOLD OUT)
Oct 16 - w/ Dragons of Zynth (on sale Thursday @ noon)

All dates below...

Continue reading "TV On the Radio - a 3rd Brooklyn show, updated tour dates "

Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson opens for Thao With The Get Down Stay Down at Bowery Ballroom tonight (Aug 13). David Shultz & The Skyline and Pepi Ginsburg are also on the bill. It's hard to keep track, but I'm pretty sure this MBAR gig was recenly added to his ever-growing list of recent/future NYC shows.

With JagJaguwar, JagJaguwar, Dead Oceans, Dead Oceans and David Vandervelde's only upcoming tour date after today all on the front page, I was inspired to also post this piece of Secretly Canadian news and that is a new album by Damien Jurado called "Caught in the Trees" (out September 9, 2008 on Secretly Canadian) and a related tour which has him at Mercury Lounge on September 30th and Union Hall one day later. Both NYC shows are with Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson (add them to the list). All dates below...

Continue reading "Damien Jurado - new album, 2008 Tour Dates"

TVOTR's Kyp Malone @ Ottawa Bluesfest - July 3, 2008 (Digital Rebel)

MBAR = Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson who had 5 upcoming NYC shows in my last post. The one at Glasslands happened and four more were added. That makes 8 upcoming NYC shows for Miles this summer, including one this Saturday at Cake Shop with TV on the Radio's Kyp Malone. Then in September Miles and Kyp and Tunde and the rest of TV on the Radio will play some shows together elsewhere in the country. Hopefully TVOTR will add a NYC date soon as well. All shows, and MBAR's new "Buriedfed" video, below...

Continue reading "TV on the Radio & MBAR - 2008 Tour Dates, Buriedfed video"

Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson @ Daytrotter

Continue reading "Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson - 2008 Tour Dates (tonight, Cake Shop, South Street Seaport, etc)"

DOWNLOAD: FADER Issue 55 podcast (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: NY Times 6/25 music podcast (MP3)

Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson plays Southpaw in Brooklyn tonight (June 30, 2008) with Deer Tick. He's also opening for Black Kids at that show they're playing at Santos Party House on July 25th.