The Mercury Lounge show was an early show which started at 8 for some reason. I got the feeling that it was simply a warm up show for the tour the band was about to embark on. It’s funny to listen to how mellow this crowd is and the band sounds considering that now they are bona fide rock stars and have sold out every headlining show they played in NYC after this one (3 to date). I’m glad I got to see these guys in such an intimate environment before they blew the fuck up.

The Terminal 5 show took place during the bands’ tour with Cut Copy on April 1st (see previous TSOI post). This week was a busy concert week at Terminal 5, full of DFA-related bands. LCD Soundsystem had just finished up their 4 night T5 run leading up to their farewell gig (see previous TSOI post), followed by this tour rolling into town for 2 nights. This LCD overload may account for the fact that the place was half empty when Holy Ghost! took the stage.

Mercury Lounge 02/02/11
1. Static on the Wire
2. It’s Not Over
3. Hold On
4. Say My Name
5. Hold My Breath
6. Wait and See
7. Slow Motion
8. Do It Again
9. I Will Come Back
10. Jam for Jerry

Download: Holy Ghost! – New York City – 2/2/11 – 324 MB

Sample: Hold On (Live)


 

Terminal 5 04/01/11
1. Wait and See
2. Hold On
3. It’s Not Over
4. Slow Motion
5. Do It Again
6. I Will Come Back
7. Jam for Jerry

Download: Holy Ghost! – New York City – 4/1/11 – 208 MB

Sample: Do It Again (Live)

Since I grow my music library by bouncing back and forth between decades and music styles, playing catch up on the music I’ve missed, I don’t really have a “Top 10 Albums of 2011″. I could do a list of “10 Albums That Were Released in 2011 That I Have” but that would make me look stupid since I’m pretty sure Duran Duran’s newest album is not one to the best 10 albums released this year. I could also do a “Top 10 Albums That I Discovered This Year” list, but then people would see how out of touch I am with what’s cool in music (see the LCD Soundsystem entry below). So here’s my “Top 10 Shows of 2011″ list:

1.OMD – Terminal 5 March 8
This was the culmination of years of anticipation. OMD has been one of my favorites for many years, and I had been following their tour plans closely since they announced their reunion. After seeing them announce one tour after another in Europe, they finally made the announcement that they were coming to the US. Originally booked at Webster Hall, the show sold out quickly and was moved to the much more spacious Terminal 5. I got to attend the soundcheck and meet the band before the show, the whole day was a trip, and possibly one of the best days of my life. It’s all been downhill since then.

2.The Cure – Beacon Theater Nov 27
I was fortunate to score a ticket to the final night of The Cure’s “Reflections” series of shows which came to the Beacon Theater for 3 nights. The set was simply mind blowing: The first three albums in their entirety followed by a series of encores which added up to 3+ hours of music and 48 songs, all of which dated from the early phase of the bands’ career. If I was a bigger Cure fan, I’m pretty sure my head would’ve exploded.

3.LCD Soundsystem – Terminal 5 March 28
I didn’t even like LCD Soundsystem until I went to this show. I just bought a ticket figuring I’d get into them at some point in the future and I’d be kicking myself for not seeing them during their original run when I had the chance. It turned out to be a wise decision. Much like my #2 show, this one clocked in at over 3 hours. It was an awesome show, though the crowd was a bit too rambunctious for my taste, perhaps because they really thought the band was breaking up forever (I still think they’ll be back in 2017).

4.Royksopp – Music Hall of Williamsburg March 21
I had a ticket for this sold-out show, but wasn’t really feeling up to going out the day of. I debated whether or not to sell my ticket but in the end sucked it up and went in with the expectation that it was going to be a crappy DJ type show with 2 guys standing behind gear the whole time. Holy shit I was wrong, the guys brought in band members to spice up their tracks and the visuals were really cool. I’d definitely recommend seeing them even if you’ve never heard them.

5.The Damned – Irving Plaza Oct 22
It sucks that the Damned are so freakin’ old. This show celebrated their 35th anniversary by playing their first album (::yawn::) and the Black Album (::boner::) in their entirety. The Damned is my favorite band of all time, and the show should be higher up on the list, but this was a stupid Live Nation show at Irving Plaza. There were a million different sections on the balcony, and I had “VIP” tickets but was escorted to the wrong section at first then got moved to this horrible area with this horrible shrieking banshee of a woman behind me, who absolutely wrecked my attempt at recording the show. The day after the show, I fired off an angry email to Live Nation about how they’re an evil corporation and their customer service is lacking and ended it with the phrase “OCCUPY LIVE NATION!”. I’m still waiting for a response.

6.Cold Cave – Knitting Factory July 12
I’m glad I caught these guys at the intimate Knitting Factory in Brooklyn. I was unsure how good the band was going to sound, and I had heard they intentionally played more obscure tracks in lieu of their more well known songs. In the end, I was pleasantly surprised how much fun this show was despite Cold Cave playing only 10 songs. I’m looking forward to seeing them again, hopefully in 2012.

7.Soundgarden – Prudential Center July 08
This one wins the award for the best show with the worst sound. Soundgarden played their first NYC area show in 15 years at the cavernous Prudential Center. The set was awesome, the song selection was great, and the sound was awful. But it was still a good show. Plus, it could have been a lot worse: the band played the alcohol-free Jones Beach Theater on Long Island the next night. It has really, really, REALLY bad sound…trust me. And there’s a serial killer on the loose who’s been killing prostitutes and dumping their bodies in the marshes up the road from the place. So that can’t be good.

8.Duran Duran – Madison Square Garden Oct 25
I finally popped my “Floor Tickets to an arena show” cherry with Duran Duran playing to a definitely not sold out Madison Square Garden. Seeing a show from the floor at the Garden is an awesome experience, as the sound is way better than my usual tickets in the upper reaches of the arena. The downside is that there’s only one bar and it’s occupied by the 1%, who choose to order mixed drink after mixed drink in their continued effort to stop the 99% from getting a beer in a reasonable amount of time.

9.Deicide – Gramercy Theater Feb 21 My first death metal show in a couple years was a good one. Deicide brought the brutality and Satan was definitely in the house this night. I naively stood in the middle of the floor when the band took the stage, completely forgetting that mosh pits happen at metal shows. I was gently reminded and immediately got pushed to the outskirts of the floor, where the long haired dude in front of me kept whipping his hair around blocking my view. It was stereotypically metal.

10.Penguin Prison – Music Hall of Williamsburg Dec 30
My last show of 2011 managed to sneak into my Top 10 at the last minute. Though this shows’ appearance on this list could be chalked up to the fact that I only recently started listening to the band, I decided that I really liked the show and it was worthy of being named. You’re welcome, Penguin Prison.

Bottom 3 Worst Shows of the Year
Chameleons Vox – Home Sweet Home Nov 23
Believe it or not, I went to a show this year that was actually worse than Guns N Roses. Chameleons Vox is two original members of The Chameleons and two other guys playing Chameleons songs. They were playing the classic Chameleons’ album “Script of the Bridge” in its entirety, so I was really looking forward to the show despite the fact that it wasn’t the original band. I figured at least they had the original singer/bassist in the band, so how bad can it be? The answer? Really bad. The show was held at a bar on the Lower East Side during a goth night, there was no bathroom, and it was super crowded around the stage so I couldn’t see anything. As far as the sound, the drums weren’t miked so it was basically like going to a local band showcase. And the guitars, which were miked, sounded like they were underwater. It was produced by some NYC – based post-punk record label. They are dumb and do not know how to put on concerts and should not be allowed to book bands that I like. I was chanting “refund! refund! refund!” during the set (I was pretty intoxicated) but no one else in the place shared my sentiment. If the show was held at a real venue, it probably would’ve kicked ass because the band sounded fairly competent.

Guns N Roses – Izod Center Nov 18
Yeah, I know, it’s not really Guns N Roses. I knew going into this show that it was going to be bad. I heard that Axl had gained a lot of weight and that his voice was shot and that he had fallen on stage a couple times during this tour, so I was kind of hoping for a train wreck. Unfortunately what I got was more like a train fender bender. Axl sucked, but not enough that it was funny. He managed to stay upright the whole time, despite the fact that he constantly dashed on and off stage, leaving his band to fend for themselves through countless guitar solos and boring classic rock covers. By the time they went on stage at 11PM, beer sales had stopped and the buzz from my tailgating was wearing off. Though I did make myself laugh several times that night by referring to the arena as the “Kneel Before Zod Center”.

Chris Isaak – Jones Beach June 18
The only reason I had the misfortune of seeing this douchebag was because he was the opening act for Hall and Oates (don’t judge!) at the aforementioned Jones Beach Theater. Don’t get the wrong idea, I know he sucks and would never pay money or travel to see him. I just got to the show way too early. He played nothing but obvious covers (Pretty Woman, Ring of Fire, etc.) while undergoing multiple costume changes in the process. He didn’t even play his one hit, Wicked Game, which is actually not awful. My girlfriend and I tried to wait out his set in the concession area by slowly eating overpriced chicken fingers for about 40 minutes, and still got stuck witnessing his last 2 songs because he would not get off the stage.

Dishonorable Mention:
Rammstein – Izod Center May 5
These guys’ December 11th Madison Square Garden appearance made my top 10 show list for 2010. Then they came back to the NYC area a couple months later in May and played the EXACT SAME SHOW. Fuck that shit.

1.PJ Harvey – Let England Shake
Polly Jean Harvey has been my favorite artist for almost 20 years (!), but I haven’t felt this strongly about one of her albums in at least a decade — maybe even since 1995 and To Bring You My Love. Casting herself as an English patriot just to knock those ideals off their pedestal, Harvey uses discordant sounds, off-kilter rhythms, skewed stereotypes…and her tremendous vocal range to create a haunting, hypnotic record. Just a stunning achievement.

2.Peter Bjorn and John – Gimme Some
Probably the record that spent the most time in my car stereo this year, this is pop gold that resuscitates the reputation won by Writer’s Block back in 2006. I could have done without the album cover, one of the least appealing I’ve seen in a long time (it features a cartoon amputated hand with three thumbs up, viewed from the viscera end), and the pseudo-punk “Black Book,” which reeked of trying too hard, though.

3.The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – Belong
POBPAH have moved into the big time, getting production on this album from the likes of Flood and Alan Moulder. You can still hear some of the Cure-influence left over from their debut, but the songs are considerably cleaned-up. Now they sound more like early-’90′s shoegaze, which certainly works for the themes of teenage love and loss that dominate Belong. Fun show, too, when we caught them in New Orleans in March.

4.TV on the Radio – Nine Types of Light
On first listen, Nine Types of Light isn’t much of an evolution from 2008′s Dear Science. But the slowed-down tempos on many of the songs may signify that the band has reached a comfort zone. I would suggest that lyrics such as those in the first single, “Will Do” (which repeats cliches, co-opting them to create heartfelt meaning), imply a willingness to show a sense of humor, too.

5.Cults – Cults
I see Cults as producing a New York version of the vintage ’60′s instrumentation that Generationals has been perfecting over the last few years in Louisiana. (I have to admit, by the way, I have no excuse for not having heard the Generationals album Actor-Caster yet, except that it came out in the summer while I was abroad and then moving halfway across the country. Probably it’s insanely good and deserves to be on this list, too.) There’s more of the synth stuff with Cults, and of course the front-and-center female vocals that call back to Phil Spector.

6.The Feelies – Here Before
New Jersey’s Real Estate won all the plaudits from journalists this year for Days, but if you ask me, that album was small beer (boring, even) compared to Here Before, which was released by The Feelies, a legendary band from the same region (and one that obviously influenced Real Estate). The Feelies take up where they left off twenty-some-odd years ago, with sweet songs that are somehow both casual and precise at the same time. As with (now-departed?) Sonic Youth, I think the feeling of precision comes from the drumming; Stanley Demeski is rock-solid against the loose guitars. The slowed-down “Morning Comes” is a real stand-out.

7.Beirut – The Rip Tide
Like Nine Types of Light, The Rip Tide is not a radical change from what came before it. The traditional European instrumentation creates an appealing contrast to so much indie rock, and Beirut seals the deal by avoiding the too-clever literary lyrics of The Decemberists. There isn’t much that I listen to that really transports me to another place on the planet, but Beirut does it.

8.St. Vincent – Strange Mercy
Annie Clark is a weirdo — in the best way: madly creative and a virtuosic musician. It’s one thing to listen to tiresome weirdness like Animal Collective, Panda Bear, or The Fiery Furnaces and say, “OK, these guys are just being weird for weird’s sake, or because they’re high, or because they’re messing around with their equipment to no real end, or all-of-the-above, and it’s just annoying and I don’t care.” Annie Clark’s music is, in many ways, equally weird — to the extent that I usually spend half my time listening just trying to understand how she came up with these ideas — but it’s also beautiful and moving and challenging…and clearly not weird merely for the sake of being weird.

9.Yuck – Yuck
Dumb band name, great record. I said in my post on a show they opened in Baton Rouge for The Smith Westerns back in February that they reminded me of old Superchunk (especially on songs like “Operation”), and I still think that comment fits — brash, charming power-pop from young folks.

10.Anna Calvi – Anna Calvi
Anna Calvi is totally derivative — it just so happens that she’s derivative of probably my favorite album of all time, the aforementioned To Bring You My Love. The same twangy, Morricone reverb on the guitar; sultry, blues-style, low female vocals — this is a formula that never needs updating.

Honorable mention
Dum Dum Girls – Only in Dreams
It happens every year in the last spot: an album I listened to over and over, even if I can spot its deficiencies straight away. In the case of Only in Dreams, the real problem is a lack of imagination — phrases like “I need your bedroom eyes” or “I think I’m coming down” are repeated ad nauseam rather than livening them up with even minor variations. Otherwise, the songs are terrific, with a moody atmosphere like Mazzy Star and Wall-of-Sound-style production.

Once again, the great releases of this year are roundly ignored by other ‘best-of’ music compilers. I am again mystified how some of the releases included here got such short shrift, particularly, when there was not much by way of competition. 2011, overall, was largely dominated by folkie southern-rock sounding bands, which is a direction that is easy for me to ignore except for the insanely good The Wooden Birds record, which, against all reason has shown up on no best-of lists that I have seen. Low put out another great record, which, has long been expected out of Low. I am convinced that Low and The Wooden Birds are the two current active pillars of great American rock music, without which, the whole shaky edifice would crumble. Once again, these two great bands release another great record and because they are expected to do just that, they get passed-over by critics for the latest pan flash.

Otherwise, based on prominence of keyboard based bands last year, I figured we would get much more of the same in 2011. We did get a new Cut Copy release and similarly styled debut by Holy Ghost! but there wasn’t near the output of synth driven bands as I expected.

Anyway, the following are the top-ten very worthy cds that kept my laser occupied.

1.Acid House Kings – Music Sounds Better With You
AHK put out the best pure pop album of the year by a country mile. Music Sounds Better With You is pure and effortless and along with The Wooden Birds release nearly monopolized my cd laser for the whole year. The track “Windshields” is so good I can barely stand it – even after hundreds of listens.

2.The Wooden Birds – Two Matchsticks
As noted, 2011 is full of Southern-Rock and Folk-Rock tinged albums. The Wooden Birds, the post American Analog Set project of Andrew Kenney, mine some of the same influences but do it with subtle brilliance and without being retreads. The cool burn of Two Matchsticks and its delicate, yet assertive guitar and male/female vocal interplay make The Wooden Birds the best thing going right now. How this band has gotten so little attention is criminal. I just don’t get it. Pure. Simple. Brilliant.

3.Low – C’mon
Low have been quietly releasing the best catalog of the past 20 years, and this is another nice addition to their epic high standards of quality. Unlike their also great release of a few years ago, Drums and Guns, C’mon has pretty fuss-free production, which I think is how the religious experience that is a Low release is best served.

4.Cut Copy – Zonoscope
The Cutters self-produced 2011 release, Zonoscope, starts out with a face-melting gem in “Need You Now”. The rest of the album doesn’t reach that high again, but is a consistently good stream of interwoven synth excursions.

5.Anything Goes Original Cast Recording – Broadway Original Cast Recording
What can I say, I bought my first ‘show tunes’ album (I don’t think buying Laibach‘s Jesus Christ Superstar really counts). I would generally not be too proud of that fact, but this Sutten Foster led production of the Cole Porter classic was too irresistible to one who swore he was immune to the saccharine charms of musicals. This Cole Porter and P.G. Wodehouse collaboration has to be among the best examples of ‘all killer, no filler’ ever, like the Purple Rain of the 1930s!

6.The Pains of Being Pure of Heart – Belong
The Pains went big with this album as far as production goes, but their charms remain subtle. I hope they are hard at work on a follow up.

7.Holy Ghost! – Holy Ghost!
Based on a few tracks of Holy Ghost! 2010 ep, I was really hoping for a band that was going to re-inhabit Shriekback as a bit more sophisticated and bit more aggressively vocaled synth band, but that hope is dashed pretty much after the second track of this, their self-titled debut. Nonetheless, this is a great synth pop record.

8.Peter Murphy – Nine
This record pretty follows along the buzz guitar rock of Cascade, which is, in my opinion, Murphy’s best. Nine is a shockingly good and fresh record coming from a true unabashed living legend.

9.Lykke Li – Wounded Rhymes
Lykke Li has dropped some of her quirks that acted as a kind of hook for her in her debut and put out a little more straight forward release that digs more in ’50s girl group soul rather than in asymmetric indie affectations, which got her initial notice. I like.

10.Chain Gang of 1974 – Wayward Fire
This is the only new band, for me, to make the list. Chain Gang tread in the ’80s and ’90s New Wave New Romantics territory that several others are into these days. The vocals and other intangibles makes this effort by Chain Gang of 1974 my favorite of the lot.

Here is a list of releases that are honorable mentions but were eeked out of the top 10 slots.
Peter, Bjorn, and John – Gimme Some
Foster the People pretty much lifted the template that PBandJ set with “Writer’s Block” and I hope are paying PBandJ their due royalties. PBandJ, to their credit are moving on.
Jane’s Addiction – Great Escape Artist
This might not be a great Jane’s Addiction album, but god-knows, there is no where to get killer top-shelf hard rock vocals like Perry Ferrel’s anywhere else. I am glad they are providing me a new fix.
Handsome Furs – Sound Kapital
This probably would have made the list but I totally forgot about it. This was the best M/F with Synth record of the year.

Top 10 Concerts of 2011

As in 2009 and in 2010, the best of 2011 is once again filled with veteran bands. If you are a new band, for the love of god, go see some of the bands on this list and see how it is done. Actually, the top slot belongs to the sublime The Wooden Birds (see above for best album pick) for their 2011 performance, who also was my pick for tops performance for 2010 too!

1. The Wooden Birds – Rock Shop (see Sept 28, 2010 TSOI post)
2. Savoir Adore/French Horn Rebellion – Glasslands (see French Horn Rebellion Jan 4 2011 TSOI post and see Savoir Adore Dec 8 2010 TSOI post)
3. The Cure (first three albums) – Beacon Theater
I was not particularly looking forward to hearing The Cure perform three of their least accessible albums back-to-back, but wow, this was a great way to see why The Cure are so good and why they have been able to fill stadiums for decades. This short tour was a nice display of the gestation of the weird genius that is Robert Smith.
4. Bad Religion – 3 Decade Shows – Irving Plaza (’80s, ’90s and ’00s)
5. Controlled Bleeding – Death by Audio
6. Advance Base – Mercury Lounge
This is the first NY showing of Owen’s first Casiotone for the Painfully Alone project. I look forward seeing more of this bigger-and-badder enterprise.
7. OMD (Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark) – Terminal 5 (see March 29 TSOI post)
8. Universal Order of Armageddon – Death by Audio
9. D Generation – Irving Plaza
D Generation are to be praised for bringing Rock and Roll back to New York City, where it belongs. I am sure The Strokes tip them a hat when they cross.
10.Jane’s Addiction – Irving Plaza
Truth be told, the most notable part of this show was an enterprising gentleman that took it upon himself to raise his phone video recorder among the sea of other raised arms getting crappy YouTube fodder, but instead of recording footage, played porn on his screen. The affect was like he was recording something much more interesting than the rest of his neighbors. Super funny. I hope it catches on.

Austra
Bowery Ballroom
New York City, NY
10/5/11

I recently discovered Austra when I came across the song “Lose It” and was immediately hooked. It’s one of those handful of songs that hit me right in my musical G-spot. When I listen to it, my body tingles and I feel like a real woman. The whole song is perfectly written and I listened to it like 30 times in a row the day I first heard it. What I’m trying to say is that I like the song. The rest of the album is pretty good too.  It falls in line with what I call the “indie-goth” scene that has been emerging on my iPod lately, along with bands such as Cold Cave and Zola Jesus.

Austra is, for the most part, singer/keyboardist Katie Stelmanis’ project. A drummer and bassist, Maya Postepski and Dorian Wolf respectively, are credited as band members, but I’m pretty sure Katie’s running the show. The focal point of Austra’s music is the vocals. Voices are used as instruments to create layered harmonies. To pull it off live, the band is augmented by two singers to sing the parts rather than relying on samples. The result is excellent. Check out the bridge in “The Beat and the Pulse” to see what I’m talking about.

Several songs included in the set the were not on the “Feel It Break” LP. After the show, I discovered that two of the songs I didn’t know were B-sides from “The Beat and the Pulse” single. I’m completely making this up, but no band has released a single with B-sides since 1996. Back in the day, I used to love tracking down singles of bands I listened to to see what non-album tracks were being included. For some reason, a disproportionate amount of those B-sides were better than the singles they were backing. I thought it was very cool to see of Austra release some album leftovers as part of an under the radar release and sell it at the show.

In addition to the aforementioned B-sides, there was a new song “Habitat” performed as well as most of the “Feel It Break” album. I really can’t complain with the content of the setlist, although I didn’t like hearing “Lose It” so early in the setlist. That song is just simply too awesome to be played fourth.

Setlist
1. The Beast
2. Young and Gay
3. Hate Crime
4. Lose It
5. The Choke
6. The Villain
7. Identity
8. Darken Her Horse
9. The Beat and the Pulse
10. Spellwork

Encore:
11. The Future
12. Habitat

Download: Austra – New York City – 10/5/11 – 420 MB

Sample: Lose It (Live)

Sample: The Beast and the Pulse (Live)

I’m pretty sure I’m the only person in America who is actually a fan of Men Without Hats. Other than the enduring “Safety Dance” most people don’t know any of their other songs, which is a shame, because they wrote some really good synth pop in the 80s before writing a grunge album (Sideways) and breaking up in the 90s. The 2011 version of the recently re-activated band consists of sole original member and chief songwriter Ivan Doroschuk backed by hired musicians, none of whom is a drummer unfortunately. I’ve read (by which I mean I looked at the Wikipedia page), that Doroschuk’s brother Stefan, in essence the other original member of MWH, disapproves of the current incarnation of the band in typical rock n roll fashion. I agree the lineup is a bit weak with only a single original member, but when you’re into a band that’s this old, you gotta take what you can get or get nothing at all. A live drummer would be nice, but apparently when Men Without Hats started out they didn’t have a drummer, so I guess this could be considered “keeping it real”.

This show took place at the Best Buy Theater in Time Sqaure. I hate this place. It used to be called the Nokia Theater, but now it’s Best Buy, and who knows what company it will be named after in 2 years. There is a lack of quality recording positions and I always get a lot of chatter whenever I record here, despite going to great lengths to minimize the damage. And not to mention the mobs of tourists that need to be navigated just to get to the place. This was the last stop of Human League’s headline tour with Men Without Hats in the opening slot, so MWH’s set was relatively short. For what it’s worth, the performance itself was a lot of fun. Ivan’s stage presence defied his age. He constantly ran back and forth across the stage dancing, his voice was strong, and he seemed to be having a genuinely good time up there.

The set opened with the surprisingly good new song “This War.” This song sounds like it was written in 1982, and fit in perfectly with MWH’s older material. After that, the band just kept hitting me with songs I wanted to hear, mostly off of their debut album (the one with “Safety Dance”).  Here I’ve included the last 3 songs from the set:

“Living in China” is one of my favorite Men Without Hats songs. When I hear it, it makes me want to stand in place and pump my fists back and forth in a motion akin to power walking, but with my fists moving in time with the music and without all the legwork. I also like to change the lyrics to this song as “Living Vagina” when I sing it to myself because it makes me giggle. People on the subway think I’m crazy when I do this.

I included “Safety Dance” here just because everyone knows it, and who wouldn’t be curious to hear the 2011 live version of it for free? I knew before I went into this show that recording of the actual song was fucked. Once the intro started, the entire crowd took the opportunity to break out of their relative indifference to relentlessly “woooo!” for the duration of the song. Can’t say I blame them, if I wasn’t trying to make a decent recording out of the show, I would’ve been pretty hammered and “woo-ing” like a motherfucker too. Just think of this version as the “Safety Dance (Now with 110% More Woo-ing Remix)”.  Also, if you listen carefully, there’s also a group of people in the crowd chanting “what! what! what!” in time to the music around the 2:45 mark. I thought that was pretty funny.

Corporate Sponsored Theater (currently Best Buy) in Times Square 09/24/11
This War
Antarctica
I Got the Message
I Like
Ideas for Walls
Pop Goes the World
S.O.S.
Living in China
Where Do the Boys Go?
Safety Dance

Download: Men Without Hats – Living in China (Live)

Download: Men Without Hats – Where Do the Boys Go? (Live)

Download: Men Without Hats – Safety Dance (Live)

Peter Murphy
Mayan Theater
Los Angeles, CA
3/14/11

Earlier this year I caught Peter Murphy at the Mayan here in Los Angeles. It was the first time I had ever been to that venue. It was also the first time I had ever caught Peter Murphy solo. As a long time fan of Bauhaus et al., it was never in the cards for me to see Peter Murphy solo before. Despite the self deprecating jokes throughout the set, he still puts on a great show. I would have to say I actually enjoyed it more than any of the Bauhaus reunion shows I’ve attended. As a special treat for those in attendance, he honored a special request for a newly married couple and played a song you don’t hear any many (any?) other solo sets on this tour, Bauhaus’ All We Ever Wanted Was Everything. I’ve included that as the sample below.

Setlist
1. Intro
2. Low Room
3. Velocity Bird
4. Peace To Each
5. Raw Power (Iggy & The Stooges)
6. Disappearing
7. Silent Hedges (Bauhaus)
8. Burning From the Inside (Bauhaus song)
9. I’ll Fall With Your Knife
10. Subway
11. Hurt (Nine Inch Nails)
12. Marlene Dietrich’s Favourite Poem
13. The Prince & Old Lady Shade
14. Stigmata Martyr (Bauhaus)
15. Uneven & Brittle

Encore:
16. A Strange Kind Of Love/Bela Lugosi’s Dead
17. She’s In Parties (Bauhaus)
18. Cuts You Up
19. All We Ever Wanted Was Everything (Bauhaus)

Encore 2:
Missing: Too Much 21st Century

Download: Peter Murphy – Los Angeles – 3/14/11 – 549 MB

Sample: All We Ever Wanted Was Everything (Live)

In my younger metal days, I remember hearing about a hardcore band called American Nightmare who had a singer with one hand. Under normal circumstances, it would suck to be that guy, but if you’re the vocalist in a hardcore band, it could be used as a pretty unique gimmick to separate yourself from the pack in a crowded marketplace. Personally I would’ve gone with a hook attachment for maximum effect during live performances, but that’s just me, and I’m weird. Anyways, American Nightmare never really took off and they broke up sometime in the mid-00s. The singer, Wesley Eisold took that time to re-invent himself as a sort of goth indie hipster type and created the experimental synth pop band Cold Cave. They just released their second album Cherish the Light Years, and I this was the first date of what I believe was their maiden headlining tour.

The set was short and sweet, only 10 songs in 45 minutes. I’ve never seen a headliner do this, but considering that the show was only about $12 to get in, I wasn’t complaining too much. There were a lot of noticeable omissions from the set, especially “The Great Pan is Dead” which was the lead single from the new album. Considering that this is a new band, I expect there will be plenty of other opportunities to hear the songs they skipped.

To be honest, the show wasn’t very “live” at all other than the drums. It appeared that Wesley Eisold and his co-keyboard/sequencer operator were hitting “play” on a sequencer and tweaking the samples with filters. To drive this point home, the keyboard player at one point ran away from his setup in mid song to dance, and the song was not affected in any way. Conspicuously missing from this tour was the female member of the group. I’ve read a lot of interweb chatter that she is indie rock royalty and is in some super cool band I’ve never heard of, so I can only assume she was busy with that. The female vocals were sampled instead, which was kind of weak, but the show was still fantastic and Cold Cave sounded better than a lot of “live” bands I’ve seen.

As a recording note, I want to mention that this show was noisy. A lot of feedback and sounds that make you want to cover your ears. Not helping the situation was the fact that the singer would shake the mic over the monitors in front of the stage mid-song, creating a very shrill feedback loop that would make me regret forgetting my earplugs.

Included here is “Love Comes Close”, “The Laurels of Erotomania” and “Catacombs”.

Setlist: 07/12/11 Knitting Factory Brooklyn

1. Icons of Summer

2. Youth and Lust

3. Confetti

4. Love Comes Close

5. Theme from Tomorrow’s World

6. Villians of the Moon

7. I’ve Seen the Future and It’s No Place for Me

8. Burning Sage

Encore

9. The Laurels of Erotomania

10. Catacombs

Download: Cold Cave – Love Comes Love (Live)

Download: Cold Cave – The Laurels Of Erotomania/Catacombs (Live)

After sitting through the comedy/hip hop stylings of Das Racist, TV on the Radio started things off with slow jams “Killer Crane” from the new album and classic “Young Liars”. By the third song, they had kicked in full intensity and sounded more like a punk band than the indie darlings that they are. This turned out to be the theme of the night. “Staring at the Sun” for instance, was played with much more zeal than the subdued versions found on two of their albums.

The next night, the band played the cavernous Radio City Music Hall, which is one of my least favorite venues. It’s all seats, the sound sucks, and drinks are overpriced. I’m glad I was fortunate enough to attend this show, as I can’t possibly see this set translating as well in that place. Sadly, a couple weeks after the show, this tour was cut short by the tragic death of longtime bass player Gerard Smith, who lost his battle with lung cancer.

Music Hall of Williamsburg 04/12/11
1. Killer Crane
2. Young Liars
3. The Wrong Way
4. Caffeinated Consciousness
5. Dancing Choose
6. You
7. Blues From Down Here
8. Keep Your Heart
9. Province
10. Will Do
11. Staring at the Sun
12. Repetition
13. Wolf Like Me

Encore:
14. Forgotten
15. Red Dress
16. Satellite

Download: TV On The Radio – Brooklyn – 4/12/11 – 110 MB

Sample: Satellite (Live)

Included in this post are “Bales of Cocaine” and “Loaded Gun” from 1993′s Full Custom Gospel Sounds and “Psychobilly Freakout”, the video for which was on Beavis and Butthead back in the day.

Highline Ballroom 05-08-11
Marijuana
Baby, It’s You
Lonesome Train Whistle
Nurture My Pig
Cruisin’ for a Bruisin’
Five-O-Ford
Now Right Now
Crooked Cigarette
Baby I’m Drunk
Jimbo Song
Party in Your Head

Intermission
There Ain’t No Sagauro in Texas
Drinking and Smoking Cigarettes
Please Don’t Take the Baby to the Liquor Store
Death Metal Guys
Galaxy 500
Calling in Twisted
Indigo Friends
Loco Gringos Like a Party
Big Little Baby
Bales of Cocaine
400 Bucks
Loaded Gun
Psychobilly Freakout

Encore:
It’s Martini Time
Big Red Rocket of Love
Folsom Prison Blues
Big Red Rocket of Love (Reprise)

Download: Reverend Horton Heat – Bales Of Cocaine (Live)

Download: Reverend Horton Heat – Loaded Gun (Live)

Download: Reverend Horton Heat – Psychobilly Freakout (Live)