The Pains of Being Pure at Heart played Webster Hall w/ Twin Shadow who also played Fallon (pics & video)

May 9, 2011

TPOBPAH

Appearing as a five-piece following the addition of guitarist Christoph Hocheim, The Pains‘ live performance largely eschewed excessive bombast and theatrics in favor of sharply-written and arranged shoegaze-inspired songs awash with passion and an understated intensity. The band’s romantic, major chord-driven melancholic pop retained the low-key yet dramatic sensibilities of their recent records, with singer Kip Berman’s gentle, whispered vocals proving the perfect counterpoint to dense, fuzz drenched guitars and synthesizer hooks.

The band’s 13-song set was almost evenly divided between their first and second albums, as early singles “Teenager in Love” and “Come Saturday” brimmed with an indelible youthful energy. But The Pains were especially engaged and confident on songs from their recently-released album Belong. The synth-driven dream pop of “The Body,” the Ride-influenced “Heaven’s Gonna Happen Now” and the album’s dynamic title track easily stood as highlights of the evening and demonstrated a marked evolution in the group’s skills as composers and performers. -[kevchino]

The review comes from the Pains of Being Pure at Heart/Twin Shadow tour stop at Daniel Street in Milford, CT on May 2nd, four days before the tour ended in NYC at Webster Hall (on May 6th). Pictures from Webster Hall, opener Big Troubles included, are in this post.

The Webster show was one day after Twin Shadow played an NYU show at LPR with the Thermals which was the same night Twin Shadow appeared on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon to perform “Castles in the Snow,” and web-exclusive “I Can’t Wait.” Both videos are below.

Twin Shadow and Pains will cross paths again at the Osheaga Festival in Montreal at the end of July. All upcoming tour dates for both bands, and more pictures and those videos, below…

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Big Troubles

Twin Shadow

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart

Twin Shadow – “Castles In The Snow”

TWIN SHADOW – 2011 TOUR DATES
05-11 London, England – The Scala
05-12 Brighton, England – Corn Exchange
05-13 Nantes, Frances – Olympic
05-14 Paris, France – La Machine
05-15 Milan, Italy – Salumeria della Musica
05-17 Frankfurt, Germany – Panorama Bar
05-18 Istanbul, Turkey – Babylon
05-19 Dusseldorf, Germany – Zakk
05-20 Berlin, Germany – Magnet
05-21 Amsterdam, Netherlands – Paradiso
05-22 Brussels, Belgium – Nuits Botanique
05-25 Lisbon, Portugal – Lux
05-26 Oporto, Portugal – Oporto Estaleiro
05-27 Barcelona, Spain – Primavera Sound
05-30 George, WA – Sasquatch Festival
06-09 Manchester, TN – Bonnaroo
06-18 Toronto, Ontario – NXNE at Lee’s Place
06-20 Philadelphia, PA – Festival Pier
06-23 Boston, MA – Bank of America Pavilion
06-24 New York, NY – Central Park Summerstage w/ Florence
06-25 Calgary, Alberta – Sled Island Music Festival
07-16 Chicago, IL – Pitchfork Music Festival
07-30 Montreal, Quebec – Osheaga Festival
09-02 Gardenstown, Scotland – End of the Road Festival

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THE PAINS OF BEING PURE AT HEART – 2011 TOUR DATES
06.01: Dublin, IE – Button Factory
06.04: Istanbul, TR – To The City Festival – Timirane
06.07: Cambridge, UK – Junction 2
06.08: London, UK – Electric Ballroom
06.09: Bristol, UK – The Trinity
06.10: Manchester, UK – Sound Control
06.11: Glasgow, UK – Arches
06.13: Sheffield, UK, Queens Social Club
06.14: Birmingham, UK – Academy HMV Institute
06.16: Paris, FR – La Fleche D’or
06.18: Madrid, ES – Dia de la Musica Festival
06.19: Majorca, ES – Palou Dels Camtes D’aiamans
06.20: Barcelona, ES – Apolo
06.22: Bordeaux, FR – BT59
06.23: Limoges, FR – La Fourmi
06.24: Lyons, FR – Sonic
06.26: Ravenna, IT – Hana Bi Festival
06.29: Munich, DE – Backstage
06.30: Vienna, AT – Fluc
07.02: ES – Transforma Festival
07.04: Dresden, DE – Groeve Station
07.05: Berlin, DE – KL. Posthahnhof
07.07: Hamburg, DE – Knust
07.09: Koln, DE – Luxor
07.11: Amsterdam, NL – Trouw
07.13: Bremen, DE – Lagerhaus
07.15: SE – Hultsford Festival
07.31: Osheaga Festival – Montreal, CA
08.02: Toronto, CA – Opera House %
08.03: Pontiac, MI – The Crofoot Ballroom %
08.04: Newport, KY – Southgate House %
08.05: St. Louis, MO – Off Broadway Nightclub %
08.05-07: Lollapalooza – Chicago, IL
08.09: Pittsburgh, PA – Mr. Small’s
% w/ Craft Spells