One show already sold out. The other on sale now.

Back in February I wrote, "It looks like the days of cheap performances at places like UCB and Union Hall are once again over." Well, now it looks like those days are back! For one night at least. Mike Birbiglia, whose show 'My Girlfriend's Boyfriend' closed in June, returns to Union Hall in Brooklyn for "An Evening of Stories" on October 18th. Tickets are on sale now. UPDATE: and... they're gone.

Evacuate to the Bell House tonight (8/26) to catch a show by punk veterans Deniz Tek & Ivan Julian, but then stay away for the rest of the weekend because David Kilgour & Richard Buckner and the rest of Saturday & Sunday's shows at both the Bell House and Union Hall are all cancelled.

With our Ted Leo show cancelled too, there's now a lot less music to see in Park Slope this weekend.

Real Estate on a boat in November (more by Marielle Sloan)

Real Estate seem like they've graduated up to levels of popularity that would allow them to headline larger venues like Bowery Ballroom, so though their next NYC show which is also their only show left in 2010 is free, it still might be a treat to catch them in the basement of the intimate Union Hall in Park Slope on January 29th with a member of the Smiths DJing. Tickets are on sale. No other Real Estate tour dates at the moment.

As mentioned back in 2005, Todd Abramson, is "a veteran music booking agent and part owner of the legendary Maxwell's rock club in Hoboken." More recently, Todd, who sometimes puts a show at the Landmark Loew's Theatre in Jersey City, was also booking shows at Southpaw in Park Slope. He won't be booking shows at Southpaw anymore though. Instead, Todd has taken the position of head booker at the Bell House in the same neighborhood. He'll also be booking some shows at Union Hall, but not as their head booker.

Todd (who will continue to book Maxwell's too) took over for Skippy who recently left the Bell House & Union Hall, and has since found a home as the booker for The Rock Shop.

The Mugs, a band who Skippy especially has supported through the years, play their final show at The Bell House tonight (7/23).

The Dirty Glamour play The Rock Shop tonight.

Southpaw is hosting The 2010 Coney Island Cockabilly Roadshow (Real Live Sideshow! Real Live Burlesque! Real Live Rock and Roll!!).

Union Hall has: "SIKELIANOS & SIKELIANOS / MY GAY BANJO / THE LESBIAN DORKESTRA / KAREN AND THE SORROWS / DJ LIL RAY "

Skippy @ the Bell House (more by Jonny Leather)

As you may have heard, Jack "Skippy" McFadden has parted ways, presumably not on great terms, with the Brooklyn venues he booked: Union Hall and The Bell House. Skippy essentially was the man behind the music at Union Hall. He then went on to help build the Bell House from scratch, giving him a "small" and "big" venue to play with for both local and touring bands, comedians, burlesque and other local events. He's even part owner of the Bell House.

It was his eclectic taste and encyclopedic knowledge of indie rock that helped him compete in a Bowery/AEG/LiveNation world. His accomplishments include Peter Bjorn & John's first NYC show in the basement at Union Hall, a large amount of money raised for Haiti at the Bell House and too many shows to count over the past four years (by the likes of Vampire Weekend, Yeasayer, Animal Collective, Fleet Foxes, Andrew Bird, Nada Surf, The Thermals, The National, Charlotte Gainsbourg and many more). His upcoming shows include two nights of Unrest.

He won't say much at the moment, presumably for legal reasons, but he would tell me that he's "grateful for the opportunity and some really wonderful times" and that it'll be one of his "life's biggest regrets that it didn't work out given the amount of effort I made. At both venues." Good luck Skippy.

What the future holds for those venues is unclear, but it seems some shows are already jumping ship to Littlefield and elsewhere. Stay tuned for more details.

Budos Band @ the 5th Ave Street Fair, 2007

Park Slope's annual 5th Avenue Street Fair is Sunday, May 16th. It runs from Sterling to 12th Street and starts at noon. Not your typical corn dog and lemonade street fair (though they do have that stuff), the Brooklyn event features multiple stages of live music including two hosted by Southpaw which is also home to the day's Punk & Underground Record Fair (10am-6pm, $5 entry). Southpaw's stages, assuming it doesn't rain, will be in front of Southpaw, and at the Gate (5th Ave & 3rd St). If it rains, music moves inside Southpaw where the record fair will also be taking place.

While on Fifth Ave, you can also stop by Union Hall (season finale of tearing the veil of maya at 7 / indie rock all stars cover tusk by fleetwood mac at 9), and walk a block down to 4th Ave to check out new venue Rock Shop.

Flyers and music lineups (which aren't 100% consistent with the flyers) below...

Continue reading "the 2010 Park Slope 5th Ave Street & Record Fair is Sunday "

Union Hall photos by Kyle Dean Reinford, Bowery Hotel photos by Chris La Putt

Ra Ra Riot @ Union Hall

In town to play an Ann Taylor "Loft" party at Bowery Hotel last night (4/14), Ra Ra Riot also threw in a more public show at Union Hall one night earlier with Montreal's Plants & Animals also on the bill. Paper was at the more stylish one:

"Mena Suvari, Alexis Bledel, Amanda Hearst, and Alexa Chung stopped by the Bowery Hotel last night for the launch of Ann Taylor's new offshoot LOFT Style Studio... Chung started the evening off with a DJ set featuring lots of '60s pop and some Pulp thrown in for good measure, and was surrounded by a coterie, including friend and designer Henry Holland, who shooed away reporters and photographers from the DJ booth. Maggie Gyllenhaal, however, was up for a chat. Gyllenhaal, dressed in a flowy ACNE top and a striped cardigan by LOFT, says, like most New Yorkers, she's determined to dress for spring despite our yo-yoing temperatures. She's also looking to stock up on "some practical dresses that you don't have to wear a bra with and can get dirty" for summer. (But she'll probably just end up getting something from American Apparel, she supposes). Meanwhile a coterie of tweed-coated young men lingered near the stage, waiting for Ra Ra Riot to begin their set..."

Continue reading "Ra Ra Riot played Union Hall (with Plants & Animals) & Bowery Hotel (a "Loft" party) - pics from both (setlist from one)"

DOWNLOAD: DJ Ayres & DJ Eleven - Glamourous Life 3 (mix) (MP3)

There's no single New Year's Eve option that is like OMG this year, but the amount of options does keep increasing. We've learned about a bunch more events since our first roundup, and many of them were then covered in subsequent posts. Here are even more....

One potentially really good one is happening at the Old American Can Factory with The Rub. Built by MeanRed hosts . Tickets are on sale. Grab a new free mix from the The Rub's DJ Ayres and Eleven above. Flyer for the event below.

The Rub sometimes play Southpaw on New Years Eve, but that Brooklyn venue hosts two separate shows this year instead (Felice Brothers is sold out, but tickets still available for Dean & Britta).

If you have a lot of money to burn, Standard Hotel's Boom Boom Room is selling $250 to $750 tickets for a night that features a performance by Courtney Love (of Facebook fail fame). Get your spot here. A flyer, just to show it's not too good to be true (that is if she shows up), below.

Public Assembly is hosting a party with DJs from The Ohio Party. Tickets (with open bar and not) are on sale.

Team Robespierre headlines Bruar Falls. Full lineup below.

92YTribeca has a party too with "music, comedy, visual and conceptual art." A lengthy list of those involved is below. Tickets are on sale.

Chuck Inglish of the Cool Kids and Scott Durday of the Soundmen are playing a party in NoHo. Flyer below.

Union Hall hosts Project Jenny Project Jan and DJs. Tickets are on sale. Its sister venue The Bell House has Obits and Eli Reed.

Glasslands promises an "extravaganza" with locals Golden Triangle and Electric Tickle Machine.

And remember, Gogol Bordello play pre-NYE shows December 27th-29th at Webster Hall (they're in Charlottesville, VA, for NYE itself). Tickets are still on sale.

Tickets are also on sale for the previously-mentioned Europa Trouble & Bass bash, with DJs "AC Slater/B. Rich/Udachi/The Captain(T&B)/Stareyes(T&B)/Jubilee/VDRK/Bradley D." Flyer below

One stay-at-home option includes watching the Times Square "action" via the live feed while browsing the Brooklyn Vegan archives. The embedded Times Square feed, event flyers and two Will Smith-related videos are below...

Continue reading "more New Year's Eve parties & shows (The Rub, Courtney Love, Golden Triangle, a Times Square stream & more)"

Jeremy Jay

Speaking of Union Hall, the small Park Slope venue doesn't get as much attention since its bigger sister The Bell House opened in the same neighborhood, but there are a bunch of shows coming up there in the next few days that I want to highlight real quick.

LA's Jeremy Jay (K Records) is there tonight (11/5). LA's Black Umbrella is on tour with Jeremy and the pair also play Cake Shop on Friday (11/6). Michael Leviton is also on the Union Hall bill. All dates below.

Friday night (11/6) at Union Hall is a solo show by Glenn Tilbrook of Squeeze who plays Maxwell's tonight (11/5).

"Do you really want to hear the answer to the question "What if Glenn Tilbrook started singing like Freddy Mercury?" Do you think that jumping from the awkwardly stomping prog of late Led Zeppelin to ultra-compressed contemporary beats 'n' coos or McCartney-esque cute-pop is inherently interesting? If you answer yes, you might love this record. But if you're left shaking your head like me, it's probably because [Dave] Longstreth's music begs the question. Why did he make Bitte Orca? The only answer proffered is, because he could. " [Dusted]

Dave Longstreth: Who's Glenn Tilbrook?

AV Club: The guy from Squeeze.

Dave Longstreth: From Squeeze? Really? Is this guy British too? Well, whatever. I don't give a fuck.

The late show at the same venue is your 2nd NYC chance to catch The Hidden Cameras and Gentleman Reg on their current tour. The Canadian artists played Le Poisson Rouge last night while the Yankees were winning the World Series. How was it (the show I mean)?

Glorytellers and Ida play Union Hall on Saturday (11/7). Tickets are still on sale.

Finally, end the weekend laughing. Eugene Mirman and Michael Showalter's comedy show, Tearing the Veil of Maya, is happening at Union Hall on Sunday (11/8).

Continue reading "Jeremy Jay on tour ++ other upcoming shows @ Union Hall "

Tim Fite is releasing Watch Your Mouth, the third album of his Halloween trilogy (for free) on October 31. He's also playing that night with The Woes and Via Audio at Union Hall. Tickets are still on sale. More info on the album and show below...

Continue reading "Tim Fite releasing free album, playing show on Halloween"

DOWNLOAD: Throw Me The Statue - Ancestors (MP3)

Bishop Allen @ Sasquatch Fest in June (more by Chris Graham)

"The new songs are a glorious mess right now," [Bishop Allen] frontman Justin Rice admits to Spinner. "There are bits and pieces strung together, exquisite corpse-style: donkey heads on snake bodies with chicken feet. It's a great time because I can feel the potential in everything we're working on. Nothing's let me down yet by turning out ugly or tamer than I'd hoped."

Opening both shows, and the entire tour, are catchy Seattle indie-poppers Throw Me the Statue (whose new LP, Creaturesque, came out in August - an MP3 from it is above) and Darwin Deez, an affable NYC quartet who sometimes break out into on-stage synchronized dance routines (video below). Darwin Deez is also appearing at a number of official and unofficial CMJ showcases. Those and all other tour dates are posted below...

Continue reading "Bishop Allen - touring (Union Hall, Bell House, other dates) w/ Throw Me the Statue & Darwin Deez"

by Klaus Kinski

Secret Wars @ All Points West 2009 (more by Tim Griffin)

So we've got the Del Close Marathon happening this weekend (8/14-8/16) and we've got the New York Comedy Festival happening in November. And now it is with unbridled enthusiasm that I can achieve a comedy-festival-posting-hat-trick by announcing the EUGENE MIRMAN COMEDY FESTIVAL which is set to take over Brooklyn venues Union Hall and the Bell House from September 17 - September 20. OK, so we briefly mentioned the festival before, but with line-ups, showtimes, as well as venue and ticket info just released, it's time to spread the word.

Curated by the great Eugene Mirman, this year's festival has a gasp worthy line-up that is truly beyond belief and will feature stand-up, panels, videos, special guests, 'theme' shows, the occasional free drink, after-parties, and much more. The highlight of the festival for me are two Daniel Kitson headlining gigs at Union Hall. Daniel is a British Stand-up comedian who I've only had the opportunity to see once, but that one experience was epic. More monologuist than stand-up comedian, he is one of the smartest, funniest, most energetic and eloquent performers I have ever seen. We are blessed to have two chances to see him headline such an intimate room. Besides that, the festival boasts appearances by Reggie Watts, Todd Barry, John Hodgman, Bobby Tisdale, AD Miles, Kristen Schaal, Michael Showalter, Marc Maron, John Mulaney, Jon Benjamin, and many many more. And, of course, Eugene.

The schedule so far is below. According to the folks in charge, even more excitement will be announced in the coming weeks, so stay tuned!! Tickets for all shows go on sale Sunday August 16 Saturday, August 15 at noon via Ticketweb (Bell House, Union Hall).

Full lineup and more below...

Continue reading "Eugene Mirman Comedy Festival 2009 lineup (Daniel Kitson & more), an 826NYC benefit (tickets), a new Sub Pop album"

Dean & Britta Celebrating Brooklyn, Prospect Park - Aug 1, 2009 (pic by Paul Shin)

Dean and Britta launched their set and the film series in understated fashion with the "Richard Rheem Theme," a discofied electro composition as sleek as the coolly handsome Rheem, a wealthy Warhol hanger-on, himself. Things moved into high gear, however, with "Teenage Lightning (and Lonely Highways," D&B's jangly guitar-pop evocation of the equally handsome Paul Johnson, a speed-freak hustler and sometime Edie Sedgwick BF who practically commanded the camera with scowling bravado. (It bears mentioning that Johnson, who was struck by a car in 1982, was one of four screen testees in 13 Most Beautiful who came to an untimely end.) As for the Factory Girl herself, her slightly stunned onscreen affect (she was recuperating from a car crash at the time) juxtaposed hauntingly with the swooshing synthesizer flourishes of "It Don't Rain in Beverly Hills." Equally arresting: a tweedy pre-Easy Rider Dennis Hopper, nodding and laughing over a blues-rock instrumental; and future cult-film queen Mary Woronov, as severely beautiful as Rock 'n' Roll High School's Miss Togar yet with a glint of wry amusement.

Notwithstanding Dean and Britta's precisely tailored compositions, their most memorable musical selections were two covers: For Nico, Britta's folk-rock rendering of Dylan's "I'll Keep It With Mine" offered a honeyed counterpoint to the German chanteuse's almost-robotic version (not to mention Nico's fidgety, restless screen presence). And as Lou Reed in sunglasses nonchalantly chugged a Coke on screen, Dean shed his vocal reserve to growl out the great, obscure VU raver "I'm Not a Young Man Anymore." [EW.com]

Dean & Britta's upcoming schedule of "Warhol" shows includes a number of not-to-far dates at places that include Philadelphia, Providence and Ithaca.

The band announced at their June LPR show that they wouldn't have any more non-"Warhol" shows (at least in the US) this year. One place you cans see Dean Wareham though, is at Union Hall, tonight (August 4th) for the venue's Stories in High Fidelity. He'll be reading with Village Voice music editor Rob Harvilla, and McSweeney's Dan Kennedy, and special guests. Tickets are still on sale.

Dean's writing credits (besides lots of song lyrics) include his memoir Black Postcards, which came out last year. Galaxie 500, which, with Luna, is one of Dean's former bands, recently remastered and re-released parts of their back catalog on vinyl.

A flyer for the Union Hall reading and all Dean & Britta tour dates, below...

Continue reading "Dean & Britta played Prospect Park --- Dean reading tonight"

Ambulance Ltd are playing Union Hall with Savoir Adore on August 17th (tickets). That's one day before their previously-announced show at Mercury Lounge (tickets).

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Jaguar Club - Beat of My Heart (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Jaguar Club - Who Says We're Last? (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Spanish Prisoners - Los Angeles Guitar Dream EP (Zip)

JEFF the Brotherhood @ Death By Audio (more by Leia Jospe)

Nashville's JEFF the Brotherhood are back in town this weekend and if you missed Jake and Jamin's four-show run at Death by Audio last month you should definitely try to make one of their three area shows: Cake Shop on Friday (5/22), Bruar Falls on Saturday (5/23) or Death by Audio on Tuesday (5/26). They are a serious amount of fun. JEFF just made a video for their song "Bone Jam" which you can watch below.

Along for the ride are their Nashville neighbors Turbo Fruits, fronted by Jonas Stein who was guitarist in Be Your Own Pet. Their self-titled album from 2007 on Ecstatic Peace is a fun slab of grungy, garagey party rock. Since BYOP's dissolution, Turbo Fruits have gone through a couple lineup changes and have signed to Fat Possum, home of WAVVES, Crocodiles, and Andrew Bird. There's a video for their song "Volcano" below.

Spanish Prisoners

Elsewhere this weekend, the Spicy Times party returns to Union Hall with New York locals Jaguar Club, Spanish Prisoners and ECHOecho (who replaced the Shackletons). Most of the press Jaguar Club have gotten make reference to new wave or new-new wave which I think must come from them listing Echo & the Bunnymen, The Smiths and Talking Heads as influences on their MySpace. Apart from the new romantic singing style of frontman Will Popadic, I don't think there's anything overtly retro about Jaguar Club's sound. They're doing their own thing.

Spanish Prisoners are a band I've been meaning to write about for a while, as I thought their debut, Songs to Forget, was one of the more underrated (and underheard) albums of last year. Part of that was they didn't play all that much, the band kind of imploded with main Prisoner Leo Maymind rebuilding it this year into a new precision touring unit. The first fruits of this is a free download EP, Los Angeles Guitar Dream, which is a bit different than what they've done before but is pretty great, especially the ethereal-yet-dancey title track which you can check out at the top of this post. If you want to learn more about Spanish Prisoners and Jaguar Club, Maymind and Popadic recently interviewed each other and it's a pretty entertaining read.

Kingsbury Manx

Another good Saturday option is this week's Cake Shop 4th Anniversary Awesome Saturdays event. While not the 16-band spectacular that was last Saturday's party, this week features Chapel Hill, NC's The Kingsbury Manx who've been plugging away for nearly a decade now making good album after good album of gentle '60s-ish folk pop, garnering good reviews but not much attention. I would like to think this might change with their new album, Ascenseur Ouvert!, which might be their best yet, with songcraft playing as big a part as mood this time. If you like the current roster of Sub Pop folk (Fleet Foxes, Grand Archives) seek this band out. Also on the Cake Shop bill: fellow Chapel Hill natives (and Odessa Records labelmates) Americans in France; two dreamy artists from Arizona (Stephen Steinbrink and Hell-Kite); NYC-via-NZ's The Mad Scene which features Hamish Kilgour of the Clean, as well as Georgia Hubley of Yo La Tengo; and local post punks Fan-Tan.

Tour dates for most of the bands mentioned here, and videos after the jump...

Continue reading "JEFF the Brotherhood, Spanish Prisoners (free EP), Turbo Fruits, The Kingsbury Manx & more in This Week in Indie"

DOWNLOAD: Dylan Mondegreen - Girl in Grass (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Dylan Mondegreen - Wishing Well (MP3)

Olof Arnalds kicks off her four-night, four-venue NYC run tonight at Union Hall in Brooklyn (5/4). Opening tonight's show will be Norway's Dylan Mondgreen. It's his only US gig, and his first-ever US gig. MP3's above. Video below...

Continue reading "Dylan Mondegreen plays his first US show (tonight) at Olof Arnalds's first of 4 NYC shows this week"

John Wesley Harding will be releasing his latest album, Who Was Changed And Who Was Dead, on March 10 via Popover Corps/Rebel Group. Recorded with backing band The Minus Five (featuring Scott McCaughey and Peter Buck of REM), Who Was Changed is Harding's first rock album since 2004's Adam's Apple. Included with the new record is a live bonus CD, recorded at Brooklyn's Union Hall on October 27, 2008 with guest duetist Josh Ritter among others.

John Wesley Harding will be hosting a series of unique variety shows, featuring a hand-picked crew from the worlds of music, literature and comedy. The three-show residency will be held at NYC's Le Poisson Rouge on February 11, March 11 and April 15.

- Jonathan Ames (author, HBO pilot, Bored to Death, with Jason Schwartzman)
- Rick Moody (author, The Ice Storm, Demonology, The Black Veil)
- Eugene Mirman (comedian, Flight of the Conchords)
- Shivaree (musician, Zoë Records)
- Carla Rhodes (rock and roll ventriloquist)
- P.T. Walkley (songwriter/film composer, Ed Burns collaborator)

Tickets for that JWH show are still on sale.

One day earlier (February 10th) you can catch Eugene Mirman celebrating the release of his new book at The Bell House in Brooklyn. John Oliver, John Hodgman, Kristen Schaal and Paul F. Tompkins are also performing at that show, which is sold out.

One day earlier than that (February 9th) (TODAY!) Eugene Mirman will be performing, for free, again with Kristen Schall, at UCB. It's all part of Leo Allen's 11pm Whiplash show that Zach Galifianakis will also be attending. Info and free tickets HERE.

As stated above, John Wesley Harding will be back at LPR in March and April. So will Eugene Mirman. A video trailer for this week's show, and the full lineup of all three (including Roseanne Cash, Josh Ritter, and Graham Parker), below...

Continue reading "JOHN WESLEY HARDING's Cabinet of Wonders... and other EUGENE MIRMAN shows, Josh Ritter, albums & stuff"

photos by Tim Griffin

DOWNLOAD: Loney Dear - Airport Surroundings (MP3)

What is the story behind your pseudonym, Loney, Dear?

I felt like a lone music maker. The name implies that someone is noticing you. Right now it probably more a rest from something in the past, but has on the other side more moved into just being a name, and my own name. I'm pretty amazed by its strangeness every now and then. I wanted an odd name, just like I want the music to be.

Continue reading "Loney Dear & Arms @ Union Hall, Brooklyn, NY - pics"

Pretty & Nice @ Pianos for BV CMJ (more by Kyle Dean Reinford)

Tucked away in a basement somewhere on the outskirts of Boston, there is a secret lair filled with motley recording equipment, and a neatly organized cache of guitars, synths and other flashing electronics. The stockpile of gadgetry is owned and operated by three young gentlemen who call themselves Pretty & Nice.

Continue reading "Pretty & Nice - w/ Thermals tonight & other 2009 Tour Dates"

Union Hall photos by Kyle Dean Reinford, Mercury Lounge photos by Fresh Bread,

Mercury Lounge

Union Hall

Hockey played four NYC shows last week. After a negative first impression, I thought maybe I would give them a chance live, but I never made it out. I talked to people who did though and the reviews ranged from bad to ok to great. Did you catch them? What did you think? The next MGMT? More pictures from two of the shows below...

Continue reading "How was Hockey? (pics from Union Hall & Mercury Lounge)"

AHAAH @ Mercury Lounge - Jan 10, 2009 (more by Natasha Ryan)

A Hawk And A Hacksaw plays the grand opening party at the new Lomography Gallery Store in Manhattan this Monday 26 January (approx 9pm). The show is free but requires a RSVP to info-usa@lomography.com on a limited first come, first served basis! The show will see AHAAH perform as the core duo of Jeremy Barnes and Heather Trost, and will be an early opportunity to hear some new tracks from the band's fourth album due out this spring.

Monday 26 January
The Lomography Gallery Store, NYC
41 W. 8th St, Manhattan
Doors 7pm
Tickets Free (RSVP to info-usa@lomography.com)

Continue reading "A Hawk and a Hacksaw - a free NYC show, Union Hall video"

Ida Maria @ Union Hall (more by Kyle Dean Reinford)

Ida Maria will be touring North America with fellow Europeans Glasvegas in the Spring (basically from probably-SXSW to probably-Coachella). That tour includes a March 28th show at Music Hall of Williamsburg (on sale at noon today) and the March 30th one at Webster Hall (still on sale). After recently seeing Glasvegas at Bowery Ballroom and Ida Maria at Mercury Lounge (which was a day before her show at Union Hall), I've come to the conclusion that the opener will be giving the better live performance on this tour. I would say, "that sucks that she's opening", but her headlining sets were only 30 minutes, so it probably doesn't make a difference. All in all though, a good double bill of two buzzed bands from overseas.

Did anyone catch Ida on Carson Daly the other night? I can't find a video, but there are some from the Union Hall show below...

Continue reading "Ida Maria touring with Glasvegas, 2 NYC shows included"

words & photos by Natasha Ryan

"We're going to do our sound check now, usually we have other people do this, but it's the recession," said a joking Tim Kasher as he took the stage nearly an hour after the scheduled 11:30pm slot. Sunday night's (1/18) sold out show at Union Hall in Brooklyn was Omaha based Cursive's third stop of their brief 2009 winter tour; the night before they played Cleveland and spent Sunday making the 470 mile drive to New York. On their previous tour the band concentrated on material from their upcoming album, and Sunday's show offered much of the same, with a healthy amount of older songs dating back to the 1996 release The Disruption.

They began with appropriate opener "Some Red-Handed Sleight of Hand" off The Ugly Organ, as Kasher bellowed, "And now we proudly present / Songs perverse and songs of lament," to the rabid crowd who matched the howls and cries with eerie precision, a display of dedicated fandom always prevalent during the live shows. Using the meticulous formula of playing beloved sing-a-longs while slyly slipping in foreign tracks, Cursive found the perfect pacing for the set, keeping the energy high and the audience engaged. The sound from the unreleased album Mama, I'm Swollen is not surprisingly different than 2006's Happy Hallow; it's moodier than the vivacious rhythmic arrangements of the acclaimed album and returns to slower, darker renditions more akin to earlier recordings.

In true fashion, Cursive's songs were broken up by humorous rants from Kasher and passive aggressive exchanges with the audience teetering on the brink of seriousness yet duly self-aware of the symbiotic relationship. "Who said fuck you? Come up on stage!" Kasher screamed, in response to a cliched taunt from one audience member. "You sir, are going to buy me a double shot of Jameson for knocking my drink over. During Thanksgiving, when you're sitting with your family eating dinner- I'm going to come in and shout fuck you too!" It might seem abrasive on paper, but the playful rowdiness often serves as a notable function of his stage persona. Surprisingly, during "Art is Hard" former member Gretta Cohn did not come out on stage to play cello, though her Brooklyn based band Twin Thousands opened the show.

Towards the end of the set a giddy Kasher informed the crowd of his proposal to his girlfriend earlier that day, and then brought her up to briefly make out on stage. It was just the beginning of the strange antics that later ensued, with Kasher's frequent signature facial contortions and silly inebriated ramblings, at one point claiming he wanted to blow up a building. The loud set was rough and almost deafening at times due to the sound at Union Hall, but it never detracted from the experience. For the encore Kasher promised, "We're not pandering, we just want to play these songs," and dived off the stage during "Sierra", knocking beers over and dragging the microphone stand to belt out the anthem in the middle of the floor.

McCarthy Trenching also opened, and then Cursive played Mercury Lounge in Manhattan the next day. You can next catch Cursive in March when they play the suitably sized venues (3/09) Music Hall of Williamsburg and (3/10) Bowery Ballroom.

More pictures & Cursive's setlist below...

Continue reading "Cursive & Twin Thousands @ Union Hall, NYC - pics & setlist"

photos by Kyle Dean Reinford

Ida Maria @ Union Hall

It is ungenerous, maybe, to call Ida Maria the thinking person's Katy Perry. But just as Ms. Perry's generally execrable "I Kissed a Girl," a No. 1 pop hit last year, mixed equal parts titillation and coyness, so too does Ida Maria's song "I Like You So Much Better When You're Naked," itself something of a flirty stunt.

Last year that song became a hit in Britain, a blog favorite and a misleading advertisement for this talented Norwegian singer: unlike Ms. Perry, Ida Maria, who performs under her first two names, has a story behind her wink.

And at the Mercury Lounge on Thursday night, when she and the crowd shouted the chorus together -- "I like you so much better when you're naked/I like me so much better when you're naked" -- it was a reminder that the song isn't so much a tease as a cry for help. [NY Times]

Continue reading "Ida Maria @ Union Hall, Brooklyn, NYC - pics & setlist"