Grizzly Bear played Town Hall

This band has been dominating my blog and life as of late. Their new album has been one of my most anticipated of the year and when it leaked in March I will admit that it did not live up to my expectation. However when the video for "Two Weeks" came out last week my hopes were once again elevated. On Tuesday I made my way to Other Music and purchased the album on vinyl and downloaded the legitimate version. Since then this album has been on repeat and gotten better with each listen. Everything culminated last night with their first of three New York shows. We arrived just after the opening act had finished and patiently waited for Grizzly Bear to take the stage. When the lights dimmed the four men walked onstage in matching outfits and quietly began to do what they do best. These guys put so much painstaking time into their music and the venue really let them play to perfection. The acoustics were amazing and really let these guys showcase their amazing talent. Quickly they launched into three tracks off Veckatimest and I was already won over. "Cheerleader" has been growing as one of my favorite tracks, but it was "Fine For Now" which really blew me away. In particular the guitar work of Rossen on these two tracks and "I Live With You" were astounding, but it was Chris Bear's flawless percussion that stole the show for me. I cannot think of another drummer that plays to such perfection as this man and I strongly encourage every fan to pay attention to the work this man has been putting on these albums. The only old tune of the night was "Service Bell" which they brilliantly transitioned into "Knife". The lighting of the show was especially aesthetically pleasing and Ed made note to tell us that was specially for New York. Overall these guys fully proved what makes them such a great band in today's modern music world. Their delicate precision and exquisite layering of their songs comes across brilliantly when performed live. In addition to thier own brilliance, they were backed by the Brooklyn Youth Chorus which only added an angelic nature to the performance and easily took songs to another level. They played far fewer tracks from Yellow House, but the cover of "He Hit Me" starting off the encore really sealed the deal on the entire evening.

Set-list:
southern point
cheerleader
fine for now
service bell ->
knife
little brother (electric)
two weeks
colorado
ready, able
i live with you
foreground
while you wait for the others
--
he hit me
on a neck, on a spit

Grizzly Bear - "Two Weeks"

This song made its debut on Letterman almost a year ago. Since then I have watched that video, listened to the mp3, seen the song live, and then finally listened to the leaked version numerous times. Yet, I have still yet to grow tired of it. This song showcases so many of the bands talents and still has the ability to sound fresh almost a year after I've been listening to it. Next Tuesday the band will finally release Veckatimest, this single is already out, and next Thursday the band begins a three show run here in New York. The first two are at Town Hall followed by a much more intimate gig at Music Hall of Williamsburg.

The Libertines Reunite

Apparently during the wee hours of Sunday morning, 3/4 of the Libertines gathered onstage for the first time since their split in 2004. The guys whipped through a brief, but I'm sure amazing, six song set. These guys rose to huge fame in England earlier in the decade with the whole garage rock revival, but for some reason they never seemed to hit it big over here in the states. Here's to hoping these guys have worked out their issues and can plan a full on reunion.



When I saw a show in London last January some Libertines tunes were played before hand and the crowd was stoked. It was nice to finally be around people who had a great appreciation for this band. I can only imagine what it would've been like to be at this.

The Get Up Kids played the Gramercy Theater

After the Get Up Kids called it quits in 2005 I was devastated that I would never get to hear "Mass Pike" played live in my home state; I can only imagine what it must have been like when they played it for the last time at the Palladium in Worcester. Well now only part of that is true. When I heard that these guys were reforming and playing some shows I knew I had to attend. Luckily I was able to find a ticket off of craigslist since it sold out so fast. When I arrived at the show I immediately headed downstairs to check out the merch table and as I anticipated there was a show poster, which I instantly purchased. The poster listed the show as the Get Up Kids and a band called Motzahs Ballzes, someone I had never heard. As the lights dimmed and I was hoping this band would play a short set so we could get to the good stuff. Yet as soon as they walked onstage I was beyong shocked to realize that infact this was Brand New, mearly listed under a false name, that was opening the show. After my utter shock rapidly turned into rampant excitement I was treated to a short set y another one of my favorite bands from high school. These guys haven't performed in a while and their sound was a little off, but I was so stoked to see these guys. While the set consisted heavily of material from their third record they threw in so classics from Deja and finally ended with "Seventy Times Seven" which proved to be a crowd pleaser even to people not expecting, or probably wanting, to see this band. After a quick set change it was on to the main event. The Get Up Kids took the stage and began to plow through hit after hit of their classic work. While four years is not a long time to be apart these guys were still as tight and solid as I would have believed them to be in their prime. The crowd was so enthused during the whole show and sang along to every song. That is what I miss the most about these emo/pop-punk shows that shaped my high school life. These are the bands that are just fucking fun to see and everyone gets so excited. There were numerous times when the crowd took over and just sang in place of the band; althought Matt Pryor's voice was still killer and has not aged at all. He still nailed every note and never once seemed to be trying to over do himself. After powering through perfections such as "Holiday" "Red Letter Day" "Campfire Kansas" "Mass Pike" "Action + Action" "Up on the Roof" "I'm A Loner Dottie A Rebel" and ending with the classic "I'll Catch You" the band came back to rock a stunning encore. They statred things off with their excellent cover of the Cure's "Close to Me" off Eudora before launching into "Don't Hate Me" "Ten Minutes" and finally bringing the night to a close with "Walking On a Wire". These guys were the pioneers of the early emo/pop-punk that unfortunately turned into that MySpacey emo garbage. In fact Fall Out Boy has stated that without the Get Up Kids they wouldn't exist. These guys were the realy deal and brought back so much nostalgia. Brand New and the Get Up Kids, doesn't get much better then that.


Brand New Set List:
You Won't Know
Okay I Believe You But My Tommy Gun Don't
New Song
Archers
Jesus Christ
Deguaser
The Quiet Things That Know One Ever Knows
Seventy Times Seven -> Smells Like Teen Spirit Intro