Eric's Indie Concert Review Page

10:09:47 PM EDT

 

So before going to see a late show with THE BESNARD LAKES at the Mercury Lounge, I went to see MENOMENA play an early show at South Street Seaport.  So this is the third time I'm seeing Menomena, and while they might have sounded a little better in smaller indoor venues…their show at the Seaport just came together beautifully.  The crowd was huge as thousands packed Pier 17 for 'em and they were great, the weather held out and didn't rain, and it was cool and breezy as well.  If you haven't seen a show there yet, make sure you make it there at least once during the summer on Friday nights.  The view of the boats, and the way the pier lights up at night, and listening to some good indie music, just makes for an overall special and memorable experience….(much, MUCH better than my Saturday night listening to some atrocious cover band in NJ, though hanging out with my buddies was definitely great!) Menomena once again played a well balanced set from their latest album, Friend and Foe, and some of their older classics from I am the Fun Blame Monster…even throwing out E. Is Stable during their set!  My brother was sooooo pumped up to hear it again! eh Here's a write up of their show my wife and I went to this March at Johnny Brenda's in Philly. Here are two Youtube vids I shot of the band… I must warn you that the sound is pretty crappy (lousy camera!) and it gets muddy at times.  My pics turned out pretty bad and blurry as well…but it sure was a fun, memorable show! E. Is Stable:

     

      Duel:

     

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2:30:49 PM EDT

After listening to their album, I knew THE BESNARD LAKES were going to be something special.  Hailing from Montreal, this six piece band's appropriately named album, The Besnard Lakes Are The Dark Horse, paint lush and layered melancholy sounds capes paired with somber vocals.  Armed with three guitars, bass, drums, and synth, Not for the faint of heart, The Besnard Lakes live show is surprisingly LOUD.  

I was close to the front, and could clearly see a number of people around me holding their ears shut from time to time.  The instrumentals grind and drone, and rise to near eardrum-blistering levels for some of their louder tracks like Devastation and And You Lied to Me.  As loud as the wall of sound instrumentals were, the alternating male/female vocals were clearly audible and spot on.  

The band throws an amazing live show, and is set to play a free show at Citysol today (7/14) with Les Savy Fav and Land of Talk.  They are also playing Maxwells Sunday night (7/15) with Dirty on Purpose and Jealous Girlfriends opening for them.


Here is a video I took of them playing one of their quieter songs:

The Besnard Lakes:  Disaster




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11:59:34 PM EDT









THE OCTOPUS PROJECT were awesome as expected, and quickly erased the bad taste in my mouth after Erase Errata's unfortunate set (more on that later).  The band played with a lot of energy and got the crowd involved right from the opening song...with balloons for all!  Even local Japanese punk band Peelander Z got into the action and got the crowd up.  Yvonne had a lot of stage presence as well...by being Yvonne!  Yvonne and the rest of the band also alternated between different instruments, depending on the song.  By far the coolest instrument is Yvonne's reverby magic stick (hell I don't even know what it's called!).  The stick and the loop on the opposite side respond to the hand movements that she makes.



As far their setlist...I think the band pretty much played all the songs I wanted to hear!  All their songs sounded great as they came to life...though I wished that Music Is Happiness did rock *just a little harder.  All in all a great set and a great show!






The Octopus Project will be touring the US this August and September, and will be playing in NYC once again on August 24 at Webster Hall.


Enjoy a video I shot of "Music Is Happiness", moreto come soon!





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9:16:23 AM EDT

So yesterday was my birthday and I was thinking about going to the one-time Boredoms show featuring 77 drummers from various indie rock bands.  Fortunately, I think I made the right decision to stay home.

The event was so hyped up and had a RSVP system that turned to shit...according to commentors from Brooklynvegan, it appeared that they didn't even put a cap to the RSVP, and due to overwhelming demand ended up making it first come first serve.  They were asking people to line up at 2:30 for a 7 PM show!  I was running late coming back from lunch with the folks and would've likely missed it if I had gone.  I read that they ended up turning away a few thousand people at the gate.  People were also pissed since they closed the park and didn't even seem to fill it to capacity as well.

Anyways, check out this Flickr set of photos from the show:

Someone already uploaded a short clip of the drummers in action on Youtube:

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10:10:28 PM EDT

...Well, I'm in the trailer at least!  I was psyched to find out that my favorite band is coming out with a 100 minute tour documentary, and got a real nice suprise when I clicked on the trailer. 

The first footage of the crowd looked like a venue that looked verrry familiar.  I saw the second floor balcony and bam!  I instantly recognized it as Bowery Ballroom.  I then scanned the crowd (towards the left) and saw myself, and my brother right at about the 10 second mark into the trailer! 

It's only fitting that I end up on their dvd lol, as I've been to pretty much to all their NYC shows since 2004!    Haha, this serves as another evidence that I go to too many shows lol...I've been spotting myself in blog photos, Youtube videos, and now the trailer for my favorite band's first DVD!  No details on the release date though.

YOU CAN WATCH THE TRAILER HERE and look for me lol!!!

Mono is touring the US this September and October, and is slated to play at Webster Hall on 10/8.  Check out their newly launched MYSPACE PAGE!

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10:08:29 PM EDT

(Tons o' people!)






I got to the Seaport late and was suprised to see that there was already a huge crowd there by the time BLACK MOTH SUPER RAINBOW'S set was underway.  BMSR sounded pretty good, and has actually collaborated with The Octopus Project, who I'm really looking forward to seeing Sunday in Brooklyn.  I didn't stay for the set since I was starving, and went into the mall to get some overpriced mall foodcout munchies. 

Getting out in time for FUJIYA & MIYAGI to start their set, I just walked and stayed by the sidelines.  F&M are not Japanese at all, but are from the UK, and play low-key, electro synth pop paired with hushed, nondescript vocals.  Their live show is actually...kinda....MEH.  Their music makes you want to chill out, but it doesn't quite work live....ESPECIALLY in an outdoor live show.  I stayed for what must be about half their set and left, unimpressed.  I think their album is better suited for listening on your Ipod or car.

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8:18:39 AM EDT

As promised, I uploaded two videos of Man Man from their crazy, fun-filled free show at McCarren Park Pool in Brooklyn!  I'm new to Man Man, and am not sure what the titles of these songs are...so please leave a comment if you can help!

Opening Song:

 

Third song (I believe?) for their set.

 

Here's a shot of the pumped up crowd by the front...I'm somewhere in there!

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12:48:43 AM EDT

Damn!  Let me say that again….DAMN!  Now, I've listened to MAN MAN'S recordings and didn't think much of them, and have really been putting off seeing their live show…until now!

The band played tightly clustered together, playing as if they were at the Cake Shop rather than the expansive stage of McCarren Park Pool.  Who knew that silly, carnival-y songs that sound like they're sung by a drunken sailor could be so much riot-inducing fun!   On the album Man Man sound deceptively simple, but their live show just shows the depth that the 6 man band plays with!  It seems that each person plays and rotates between 2 or 3 instruments as well, giving many songs a unique sound and feel (although they're all so chock full-o-fun!)   The crowd responded in kind, and threw their energy right back at the band.  





Man Man surely surprised me, and is on the growing list of bands that I should've checked out waaaaaaaaaaaay sooner!


I'll be uploading2 videos from their show as well, so stay tuned!

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12:03:12 AM EDT

Prior to this weekend, I didn't even know that there was such a thing as 60's Cambodian rock/pop revival!  That is, until I read about DENGUE FEVER!  I was nicely surprised to see my friend from ROCK OF JAPAN at the show, but even more surprised at his thorough knowledge of 60's Cambodian pop music!   He told me that he's been following the band for a while and was excited to finally see their material live!



For me, my exposure to them was much more recent.  They're a band that I was suddenly enthralled with after reading their full page feature in Time Out NY.  The band features traditional a Cambodian Chhom Nimol singing in a traditional style in her native language, with instrumentals that are tinged with good old fashioned psychedelic rock and pop from the 60s from when US soldiers were in the neighboring country due to the Vietnam War. 



Dengue Fever threw together a refreshing show and played a lengthy set as well.  Nimol's stellar vocals were the draw, and she projected her voice clear and loud for the thousands of spectators at McCarren Park who saw them play.  Now that they played to such a big audience, I'm gonna say something that I thought I'd never say:   60's Cambodian pop is alive and well!

Check out this video of Sni Bong that I shot from the show!

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10:25:46 AM EDT

 

RA RA RIOT managed to throw together one hell of a spirited show last night at the South Street Seaport.  It was only earlier this month when their drummer John Pike had passed away untimely, and instead of canceling last night's show, the band decided to push forward and put on quite a performance in front of a massive crowd at Pier 17.   The audience was great, and showed the band their support during their emotional night back onstage.

My review of Ra Ra Riot's 10/31/06 CMJ show HERE.

This is a video I shot of Dying is fine, from last night's show at the Seaport:

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