Mar 05, 2010
Live
The thing about opening bands is, they rarely serve their intended purpose. Sure an act comes out, plays a mini set, and endures audience neglect and outright abuse in the name of hocking a few t-shirts and EPs, but as far as serving as a delicious appetizer to the musical main course to follow? Nine times out of ten you're better off cruising the bar for attractive singles, or more practically, earplugs. Maybe that's why the combination of co-headliners El Perro del Mar and Taken by Tress make such a shockingly successful paring. Both are thoughtful female singer/songwriters from Sweden with slightly off-kilter vocals, the only question is: what took them so long? More
Feb 17, 2010
Live
At 20, Laura Marling possesses more grace and professional polish than I, at my decidedly more than 20 years, will ever have. However, with work that speaks for itself, shining amidst the London-based nu-folk scene that includes Noah and the Whale and Mumford & Sons, and hinting at a record collection filled with 1960s troubadours, age is a non-factor. Even if a post-gig drink during her recent North American Tour was out of the question. More
Feb 17, 2010
Live
I go to a lot of shows. But rarely—if ever—am I as fired up about an opener as I was about seeing Wildbirds & Peacedrums open for St. Vincent. Lighter already aloft (metaphorically anyway) but the end of their eight song set I was ready to quit my job and start following them around in a van. More
Jan 28, 2010
Live
The Wiltern—it should be noted—has excellent pretzels. The sound mixing however? Suspect at best. As the night wore on and Cold War Kids took the stage it improved, but sadly the brunt of the bad sound fell on dynamic opener Alec Ounsworth. Despite having a fantastic hat and compelling stage persona, he couldn't quite rise above the truly crappy conditions. More
Jan 22, 2010
Live
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You are in between albums. You are bored. You are fooling around in the studio. A side project is born. This is the story behind The Hotrats, comprised of Supergrass' persona, Gaz Coombes (vocalist/guitarist) and powerhouse, Danny Coffey (drummer). More
Jan 15, 2010
Live
Dinosaurs are totally rock and roll. Think about it: A group of outsiders appeared—seemingly out of nowhere—made a huge impact on history in a very short period, got wildly mixed reviews (Rock critics: direct descendents of cavemen?), and then vanished. In this context, it makes sense that the Los Angeles Natural History Museum would play host to musical acts during the first Friday of the Month program, kicking off the year with Under the Radar cover artist, Bradford Cox (aka Atlas Sound). More
Jan 14, 2010
Live
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The Wrens are one of those bands that defines cult status. Let's frame it in the context of one of the biggest "cult" acts to ever grace the indie stage, Neutral Milk Hotel. After recording two albums, one a certified classic, the band and its enigmatic frontman Jeff Mangum simply went away, and people have been pining for them ever since. New Jersey's The Wrens have followed a similar musical trajectory in their 20-year history, recording very little—three albums and a smattering of EPs and 7-inch records—yet they are critically acclaimed for their work and have developed a quite devoted following, renewed in recent years by the strength of their "comeback" album, 2003's The Meadowlands. More
Dec 17, 2009
Live
The quote of the evening goes to the girl next to me—who just before Mew took the stage emphatically announced "Mew aren't Danish! They're from Denmark!" Errr...pardon? Audience confusion aside, the three Danes men from Denmark known as Mew (along with two touring members on bass and keyboard) put on one heck of a show-even after a delayed entrance post curtain-rise caused the (much saner) girl next to me to mutter, "Concerts—you're doing it wrong!" More
Dec 07, 2009
Live
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There is no shortage of crappy bars in most cities in America where on any given night you can see bunch of amateur musicians slogging through cover versions of their favorite classic rock tunes. But it's not every night that you get to hear two of alt rock's finest play essentially the same gig, albeit in nicer surroundings with less cheap beer. On an unseasonably warm night in Pennsylvania's quaint town of Sellersville, Matthew Sweet (he of the famed Girlfriend) and Susanna Hoffs (The Bangles) brought their revival act to several hundred concertgoers at the tiny former movie house called The Sellersville Theater. More
Nov 24, 2009
Live
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Camera Obscura's Tracyanne Campbell crooned, "I don't wanna be sad again" in "My Maudlin Career," the set opener of the band's Nov. 22 show at Brooklyn's Music Hall of Williamsburg (and title track of its latest record), but her claim wasn't very convincing. More
