a long delayed notes on a show

Coldplay, Saturday Night Live Taping, 10/25, New York

Please excuse the tardiness of this belated post, but I would like to regail you with a tale of the greatest day of my life.

Somehow I am the luckiest person ever and managed to win the NBC ticket lottery, securing spots for Lindsey and I to attend a live taping of the greatest sketch comedy show ever to exist. That in itself is unbelievable news, but Lindsey's obsession, Jon Hamm, star of AMC's retro drama "Mad Men" was hosting, and the musical guest was MY FAVORITE BAND OF ALL TIME, COLDPLAY.

In a bittersweet turn of events, funny gal Amy Poehler was absent, whisked off to give birth to her and Will Arnett's born-to-be-hilarious offspring. But this meant that we all scored in the music department--to fill the time slots of her previously scheduled skits, Coldplay played 4 songs instead of the usual 2 song allotment. Recent chart toppers "Viva La Vida" and "Lost!" were joined by blast-from-the-past "Yellow" and a super-bonus of new single "Lovers in Japan." The live broadcast cut off "Lovers in Japan" after about 10 seconds, but the studio audience heard it all. We were sitting on the left hand side of the balcony, directly in front of the stage, MERE FEET away from the band. The sound was incredible, and I couldn't believe their musical passion, as evident then as it was a couple years ago at a much larger outdoor venue. All four songs sent Lindsey and I into cardiac arrest.

This video gives you a pretty good idea of our ecstasy. (And if you pause at 7 seconds, you can pick Linds and I out of the crowd!)


P.S. Watch this skit. You won't regret it.

notes on a show

Ari Hest, Julian Velard and Marianne Keith, 11/06, New York

ari and julian

I am pretty much in love with acoustic rock crooner Ari Hest. Freshman year of college, Iza and I borrowed a car from an acquaintance we barely knew to schlep to Raleigh for his concert on the eve of my Chem 21 final exam. The venue was hardly full, but the imaginary duet with Norah Jones-- he sang her parts in falsetto--and the chance to meet him after the show were TOTALLY worth an almost failing grade in the class. Since then, I've grown up (I'd like to think I'm a bit more responsible) and so has Ari.

iza, ari, and myself way back in 2004.

Last Thursday's performance at Village hotspot Le Poisson Rouge, an intimate cabaret-style venue with seating in the round (and a stellar bar menu-- choices include tater tots, PB&J, and milk and cookies), was nothing short of amazing.

Opener Marianne Keith is today's answer to the Paula Coles and Jewels of the 90s...and while I have a clear preference for male singers, her performance was sweet (to the point where Lindsey and I wondered if fellow concertgoers thought we were on a lesbian date). Her song "Kiss Me in the Rain" is full of folksy flavor and sentiment.

Next up was piano rock hottie Julian Velard. I was unfamiliar with his poppy, carefree music before that night, but I left a fan. His energy is contagious, his humor is raunchy, his songs are guaranteed to make you happy. Lindsey describes him as John Legend meets Matt Costa, with a frat boy attitude. Our personal favorite-- a spirited cover of Chris Brown's "Forever."

Finally, the man of the hour, Sir Ari Hest (not actually knighted but royalty in my eyes). Drawing his set list heavily from 52, a one-song-per-week project begun in January of 2008 after leaving his record label, Ari's trademark baritone and contemplative guitar once again reached the very depths of my music-loving soul. He made sure to touch on old favorites such as "Annemarie" and "So Slow," but the song that nearly brought tears to my eyes was an acoustic/sans band rendition of the sweet sweet lullaby "I've Got You." I LOVE this song--its lyrics capture the earnest longing of true affection, wrapped up in a simple melody that still showcases Ari's vocal talents. Basically I died.

I managed to pull myself together for a joint Ari/Julian encore cover JEWET (a jew duet) of 10cc's "I'm Not In Love." Julian prefaced their performance with a snarky "This is a fucking classic and you should be fucking honored that we played it." Honored indeed.

notes on a show

Deerhunter, 11/05, Philly

Imagine this.  Five gawky youngsters walk on stage.  The lead singer is clad in a j. crew-esque sweater (complete with polo underneath) and sports a mop of perfectly combed blonde hair.  Lights go down.  The five awkward kids proceed to TEAR THE HOUSE TO SHREDS.  

This is precisely what happened at last night's Deerhunter show.  These guys can really engage a crowd.  Fresh off the release of their latest album, which arrived on Halloween, the band will be jamming across the U.S. of A. until December 6th.  I would definitely recommend catching a show if the band heads your way, as they have great stage presence, a top-notch sound system, and very cool effects of the Frampton-talk-box genre.

The best moment of the show was when the band played my personal favorite, Little Kids.  The live track stayed true to it's recorded version, but the power of five musicians in a small venue pushed it to a new level.  Ethereal it remained, yet head-banging it became.  

Go to iTunes to download a copy of Microcastle and click here to hear more from Deerhunter.

notes on a show

Fleet Foxes, 10/02, Philly

While I was (literally) the only person present sans flannel and a beard, I thoroughly enjoyed the Fleet Foxes show last Thursday night.  Why?

1) They're one of those bands that sounds even better live than on a recording.

2) Robin has the voice of an angel.  And he's gorgeous.

3) The band make nerd jokes about Lord of the Rings -- bonus points!!

One of the highlights of the show was when Robin came out to sing a solo acoustic version of Tiger Mountain Peasant Song.  This is, a mon avis, the most beautiful song in the Fleet Foxes repertoire, but it sounds even prettier when the rest of the band stays out of it.  

The band's four-part harmonies are rather reminiscent of CSN&Y, in the best way possible.  The fifth Fleet Fox is oddly the only one who doesn't sing, perhaps because he's the only band member without facial hair (perhaps a requirement for doing vocals?)

The downfall: there weren't any goats on stage during He Doesn't Know Why.  Click the link if you need clarification.  Then, check out two other favorites, White Winter Hymnal and Your Protector.

photo credit: 1

notes on a show

Sunset Rubdown, 09/18, Philly  

On a scale of one to crazy awesome, how good was Thursday night's Sunset Rubdown show?  Only CRAZY AWESOME.  Spencer Krug (of Wolf Parade and at least fifty other bands) has somehow found the time to go on tour with his 5-piece band before heading back to the studio to record some new material.  The "small church basement" venue really suited this band, because a) they're quite awkward and b) they got to test out some of their new material in front of a small audience.

Notable happenings:

- There were 4 lamps on stage, including a giant conch shell that emitted neon green light.

- I want Camilla to be my best friend.  She looks like she's from the 1800s, and plays the egg shaker, mouth keyboard, and xylophone.  Wow.

- The other three members of the band rotated around to different instruments throughout the show.  What a multi-talented quintet.

- Canadians are good people, en general.

Two highlights of the show were The Taming of the Hands that Came Back to Life, and my personal favorite, The Mending of the Gown.  The band also covered an "unknown" Swan Lake tune, which was off the hook.  Spencer sounds as good live as he does on any recording, which made the show very pleasant.  

Bottom line: DEAR SPENCER, PLZ LET ME BE IN ONE OF YOUR BANDS.  I will play the egg shaker, the harmonica, anything you want.  I just want to jam with you.

Download the Daytrotter Session (free) here.

Also, did you listen to this song yet?  SICK.