words by Bill Pearis, Coachella photos by Rachel Carr

The Whitest Boy Alive @ Coachella

"Are you ready to rock?," Erlend Øye asked the packed Music Hall of Williamsburg last night (4/21). The crowd screamed. "Are you ready to house?" The place went bananas. If you've only ever seen Øye perform with hushed folk duo Kings of Convenience, you might think he's a stick in the mud, but it's clear, to me at least, he has a lot more fun in Whitest Boy Alive.

Along with Hot Chip and LCD Soundsystem, MHoW has played host to the best dance music shows I've seen this year -- hell, any shows -- and Whitest Boy Alive is right up there with both of those. I was kind of blown away. Whitest Boy Alive seem closer to Soulwax in ethos (though not in material) than LCD or Hot Chip, playing club music as a live band to club kids. The audience reflected it, more club kids and Euro-types (more than a few armed with glo-sticks) rather than your typical indie crowd. They were there to dance.

And when "High on the Heels" kicked in with it's CeCe Peniston-esque keybord riff, the place lost it. I felt sure everyone around me was peaking. People were bouncing, hugging, bouncing while hugging and generally freaking out. I had no idea they were so popular. Whitest Boy Alive's two albums -- 2006's indiepop-ish Dreams and last year's more dancefloor oriented Rules -- are polite affairs, a kind of Funk Lite disco that's part Steely Dan, Al Jarreau, New Order and '90s Eurohouse (they covered Robin S.'s "Show Me Love" for the encore). But live it's much more the Erlend Øye Party Machine, thanks in no small part to a super tight band. The night really belonged to keyboardist Daniel Netwig -- who flipped his Crumar at one point for a bit of welcome showboating -- whose lithe, funky playing kept hands in the air all night.

The 90-minute set hit all the highlights of Dreams and Rules, including the aforementioned "High on the Heels," a version of "Golden Cage" that has clearly been influenced by its Fred Falke remix, the Daft Punk-y "1517" (that I hoped would work in "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger," but no ), and an extended "Islands" where Øye and the band worked the crowd like a DJ in Ibiza. This was The Whitest Boy Alive's second-ever NYC show, the first being the night before at Bowery Ballroom, part of a tour that included Coachella. They got a horn section but I can't imagine the vibe was anywhere near as ecstatic as MHoW. "Last night we finally played New York," Øye told the crowd near the end of the band's set. "It was a good show. But tonight is a great show." I gotta concur.

Hopefully The Whitest Boy Alive will be back sooner than later. In the meantime, Kings of Convenience return in June.

Check out more pictures from the band's Coachella set (we only posted two the other day), plus video from there, along with two shots from MHOW, and video from Bowery Ballroom, below...

Continue reading "The Whitest Boy Alive played 2 NYC shows, Coachella (pics) "

photos by Rachel Carr, words by Daiana Feuer

Jay-Z, Beyonce & Johnny Rotten

This year, the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival reveals that tattoos are more ubiquitous among social scenes than ever before. A walking museum of quotes and legendary faces from Jesus to Michael Jackson decorates the backs, shoulders, calves and fingers of people fashionably reliving their favorite historical decades at this heat-stroke inducing music marathon.

I thought Wale didn't show up, but later found out that he showed up late. Baroness demonstrated the art of rocking out at least three to five times before each song reached a satisfied climax. Metal can be a real turn on, especially surrounded by sweaty good-looking people. Deer Tick performed an R+B version of "Ashamed" followed by John McCauley caressing his nipples. LA band Iglu and Hartly had enthusiasm, but is this Mickey Avalon without the drugs and prostitutes? Which leaves what? Sleigh Bells began with a booty melting bass line palpable from the VIP section across the field, soon overtaken by hipster hop metal pop for people that like beaches and children. The Avett Brothers made an exciting second Coachella appearance on the Outdoor Stage. Two years ago, the band played Sunday gospel time, all manners and simplicity, but the Bros returned with a full band, and a few thousand people singing every word, stomping to the banjo, and hugging during the sweet parts. The banjo will take over America. Just wait. Country music is infiltrating avant-garde and above ground indie worlds alike.

Standing midway between the big stages, just a few feet from yet another girl with the words "Have u seen my friend Molly?" scrawled on her back, the Avett Brothers' heart-wrenching "January Wedding" got a reggaeton remix from Calle 13 booming on the Main Stage. This Puerto Rican dancefloor marvel used a tea kettle for a mic effect, and taught the audience to say "No me jodas las pelotas" against negativity ("Don't fuck my balls"). Speaking of balls, Yeasayer's crowd went absolutely nuts screaming, but the guys barely seemed aware, transported as they were to some space station cloud. The harmonies rocked like angelic aliens-but, smile, guys. Hockey demonstrated a genuine interest in moving indie rock standards forward, especially attracting the PG-13 festival contingency. M. ward raspy singing "Roll Over Beethoven" during She & Him's set delivered tingly shivers, but Zooey Deschanel's approach to "I Put A Spell On You" did not crumble souls. Her jazzy voice and bouncy energy otherwise made for a good time that elicited repetitive shouts of "I Love You!" from the first row.

Gil Scott-Heron

Music should be at least marginally weird or infinitely classic, but Tom Morello's band, Street Sweeper Social Club, brings nothing new to either category and so seems a waste of great musicians. Get weird or the future will never arrive. That being said, the musicians Coachella digs up from history often present the most exciting moments. Rock steady ska pioneers The Specials sent a crispy, warm message to Rudy that every witness appreciated immensely, but it was outrageous that barely any photographers showed up for Gil Scott-Heron's smooth, soulful set [editor's note: ours did!]. The man is partly responsible for getting Martin Luther King, Jr. a holiday, godfathered hip hop, and that doesn't merit attention? A large crowd attended his every word, but the photos won't show it. Later on, James Murphy screamed Gil Scott-Heron's name during "Losing My Edge" as if it were the name of God. Glad he gets it. LCD Soundsystem's first single in 2002, "Losing My Edge" is a historical document worth preserving for the ages, an essence that speaks to what Coachella seems bent on capturing and rewriting every year. Echo & The Bunnymen rode the high-hat zealously-as many have copied since-giving chapped lips sugar kisses. Public Image, Ltd., could not take Jay-Z's audience away from him nor unglue Fever Ray fans from Karin Dreijer Andersson's encompassing fog spell, but I'll be damned if PiL wasn't the best show all day. John Lydon's hair stood on edge and he rolled his rrrr's heroically. His gang of old men put the good junk in post-punk.

As this first 12 hour music summary comes to a close, a few acts remain worth giving a hoot about. Grizzly Bear's hypnotic power hardly needs mentioning and Vampire Weekend knows you love "Horchata." New cool La Roux magnetizes with a disco flavor that Anita Ward might approve. As hoped, Little Dragon's gentle fire breathing soul pop fronted by Yukimi's sexy voice and adorable stage presence comes in as Friday's second favorite. The music's weird enough, bent on discovering surprises. One-woman band Imogen Heap, as well, is the queen of surprises. She moves around her instruments, looping this and dubbing that as if casually mixing a magic potion or prepping a sandwich. Jay-Z's "On To The Next One" is an appropriate theme song for the attention span needed to get your money's worth at Coachella. And then Beyonce came out. We all bowed down before her short shorts.

Them Crooked Vultures, Passion Pit, Dillinger Escape Plan, Yo Gabba Gabba, and The Whitest Boy Alive also played sets on Friday. The Cribs were among those who could not. Coachella continues for a second day today/Saturday (Record Store Day). More pictures and videos and stuff from the first day, below...

Continue reading "Coachella 2010 - Day One in pics, video & review "

DOWNLOAD: Marcos Cabral DJ Mix - OTPMIX02 (MP3)

Josh Link is remembered @ Santos this Wednesday

Hopefully you've had a good week in dance so far. I've yet to hit any dancefloors this week, but plan on making up for it on Saturday (9/26):

Continue reading "the week in Dance w/ Showtrotta (part 2) "

DOWNLOAD: Casiokids - Fot I Hose (Axemax Remix) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Kittens Ablaze - Gloom Doom Buttercups (MP3)

Casiokids @ On the Side @ the Seaport (more by Kyle Dean Reinford)

One of our favorite bands from CMJ is coming back to the United States in March. Norway's Casiokids will play two shows in NYC before they head to Austin to play a bunch of shows at SXSW. The NYC shows are March 17th at the Annex with BM Linx, and one day earlier at The Bell House with fellow Norwegians The New Wine, NYC's Anamanaguchi, and NYC's Kittens Ablaze. Tickets for the Brooklyn show are on sale.

Norway's annual by:Larm music conference went down in Oslo this past weekend. Billboard reports:

In total, 280 bands participated in over 500 concerts (a substantial increase from 2008's 350), with several more playing unofficial by:Larm shows in fringe venues during the event. Attendance was strong from the international delegate fraternity as well as local residents, amounting to an approximate total audience of 25,000, according to organizers.

Some of the hot tips packing out venues were recent Universal Music Norway signing Harry's Gym, Icelandic outfit Hjaltalin, Norwegian-language group Casiokids and the Whitest Boy Alive, an electronic act featuring Erlend Øye of Norwegian indie-folk duo Kings Of Convenience. Danish electro group WhoMadeWho headlined the Saturday night main tent finale.

Moshi Moshi is releasing a new Casiokids single on March 2nd. One of the songs on that is the instrumental "Fot I Hose". A remix of that song above, and its new official video, and all tour dates, are below...

Continue reading "Casiokids - NYC & SXSW dates, by:Larm + new video, remix"

by Showtrotta

DOWNLOAD: Whitest Boy Alive - Golden Cage (Fred Falke Rmx) (Sendspace MP3)

Sinden at Hiro Ballroom, NYC - April 10, 2008 (Nicky Digital)

Lately I've hit a spell where deejays I am really looking forward to seeing are very disappointing. Last weekend the spell continued...

Saturday I was quite excited to see Justice's Xavier de Rosnay deejay at Le Royale. I'd had a great time hearing him drop a mix of very current dance music with tons of unexpected pop and classics at Studio B following the Oct. 20th Justice show at Terminal 5. Unfortunately something was missing at Le Royale on Saturday. For the most part his set can be broken down like this - the first hour was mainly electro tracks, the second was mainly pop. Things could have been a lot better if more of the electro and pop were played together, and if more new electro tracks were played - I still love the Soulwax remix of Justice's Phantom Part II, but I remember first getting really excited about that track last April.

Thursday night saw the same problem with Steve Aoki dropping all the standard electro fare, heard over and over for the past year. I left mid-set which I am pretty reluctant to do, but it honestly was that bad. Thankfully the night wasn't a complete wash as Sinden spun an intensely banging set of grimey, UK-styled tunes that had everybody losing it. A-trak's set that followed was good as well, but a little less intense. For me the highlight of his set was when he dropped the Fred Falke Remix of Golden Cage by The Whitest Boy Alive (download it above).

much more below....

Continue reading "the week in Dance w/ Showtrotta (part 1 - Thursday stuff)"