Ezra Furman & The Harpoons - Video Reprise

http://vimeo.com/5825462 from Adam Holz on Vimeo.

"This song is called Mother's Day, it's about a whore I knew in Chicago. Here it goes, goes, ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR!"

Yes, that is Furman's prolific uttering made at the beginning of "Mother's Day" a key track off 2007's Banging Down the Doors. This album was our introduction found after filtering through a number of influential sources and landing in our lap, . Upon arrival, the record found a home on our iPods and in our (insert cheesy cliche beginning with "H" here.) Since moving on from 2007's release, Furman found different musical friends including the Clash, Green Day, and Johnathan Richman of the Modern Lovers. Influences abound, Furman began to sow his punk-rock oats, culminating in the release of 2008's Inside the Human Body.

Since then, Stark has become closer with Furman and his entourage, learning more about what makes the band tick, smile, cry, eat, the usual. Please enjoy the video above taken from the Stark-sponsored Ezra Furman & the Harpoons Show @ Piano's. See our interview here as well. Speical thanks of course to videographer, Adam Holz.

Happy Music for Hot Times

[mp3] The Drums: "Let's Go Surfing"

It's kind of hard not to like The Drums. In the midst of the swamp that is New York city right now, The Drums manage to cut through the haze and humidity with their beach-infused surf pop. It's happy music for hot times. They are playing a TON of New York shows, so there are plenty of opportunities to catch them around the area. Here is their track "Let's Go Surfing" from their upcoming EP fittingly entitled Summertime. Ok. We get it. You like summer. This quote pretty much sums up the band:

"We'd been planning a new band together for a while. Jon was living in New York and I was living in Florida. He said the music scene was better in NYC and I said the surfing was better down here so Jon moved to Florida and we started The Drums."

Aug 7 2009 Don Hill’s / Mondo indie dance party/ "Summertime!" EP RELEASE PARTY! New York, New York
Aug 14 2009 Glasslands w/ Racoon Fighter, The Sundelles, and TBA brooklyn, New York
Aug 27 2009 Brooklyn Bowl-INSOUND 10 Year Anniversary bash! (daytime show!) Greenpoint, Brooklyn
Aug 29 2009 Littlefield - After The Jump Show! Brooklyn
Oct 21 2009 Santos - OH MY ROCKNESS CMJ SHOWCASE! New York, New York

He Got New Yorkers to Dance: The Very Best

STARK vs. ESAU MWAMWAYA (THE VERY BEST)

"They told me, 'people in New York don't dance.' People need to dance," Esau Mwamwaya said, speaking of his recent performance at Manhattan's Le Poisson Rouge. Dance they did, much to Mwamwaya's enjoyment.

Describing himself as a naturally happy and loving person, Mwamwaya reflects on the fact that most from his native Malawi in central African tend to be as well. "If we love one another and build strong relationships, then some of these things won't happen..." Mwamwaya said in regard to the social unrest and impoverishment of some in his homeland. "There are people out there suffering and they need to be loved."

The Very Best, comprised of frontman Mwamwaya and Radioclit a.k.a Etienne Tron and Johan Karlberg, are an unlikely, pseudonym-heavy, musical combination. After releasing their free Mix Tape in 2008 featuring Karlberg's previously-established Rolodex of artist contacts including MIA, Santigold, Ezra Koenig (Vampire Weekend) and more, the indie world began to take notice.

Hear more from The Very Best including thoughts on the new track "Chalo," Ezra Koenig and a bit of heart break after the jump.

If you are curious as to how a central-African-born drummer became an underground hip-hop sensation, track back to London some years ago. Running a bicycle shop at the time, Mwamwaya crossed paths with Karlberg multiple times before striking up a conversation. "Johan [Karlberg] would cut through my shop, buy stuff...one day he asked if I was doing anything...I told him I was a drummer and he was happy to hear that," Mwamwaya remembers. Soon, Karlberg introduced Mwamwaya to Tron and his production studio giving birth to The Very Best. Sometime thereafter, the newly-formed trio realized the vocal abilities of Mwamwaya and recorded their first track together "Chalo" which is a keynote track on the groups newest record, Warm Heart of Africa, releasing this fall on Green Owl.

"Chalo" as described by Mwamwaya, is "a positive and negative song." "It is about war and starvation, but also about love," Mwamwaya said. Feeling that love is the only foundation that can keep people together, Mwamwaya trys to impart that feeling through his musical performances.

It was this loving life outlook that, after an introduction through Karlberg, initially drew Mwamwaya to Vampire Weekend's Koenig -- "we have a relationship that is more than just music...we hang together," Mwamwaya said. Koenig is featured on the title track of the upcoming Warm Heart of Africa release.

Another fantastic track from the new record is "Julia," a song sung in Mwamwaya's native language of Chichewa. It is assumed that domestic audiences don't understand the lyrics of most, if not all of The Very Best's tracks; therefore, it is interesting to note that even a joyous sounding song, can really be about heartbreak. "Julia" Mwamaway notes, is about "falling in love...you know love is so precious...like an egg, it is easy to break...you need to be careful and handle [gently]."

It is this passion for love, peace, harmony, songwriting, spreading of joy and general betterment of the world, that draws most to The Very Best. Though you may not understand the lyrics, this music makes you feel good about where you are, what you are doing and yeah, that fist that is pumping hard and high in the air.

Liam the Younger

[album] Liam the Younger: After the Grave

[album] Liam the Younger: Clear Skies of Black River

The photo says it all. Thanks to Chocolate Bobka for pointing us to the 2 free albums from Liam the Younger. His two tracks "Country Wide" and "This Land pt 1" stood out to us immediately from the fuzzy, reverb-heavy noise of the excellent Underwater Peoples summer compilation. Out of the haze, came this lonesome acoustic guitar hinting at familiar strains of old American folk melodies. His voice was understated and closely recorded, while the songs as a whole hinted at the dustbowl world of Woody Guthrie. We took to him immediately. While we can't go on record as to the quality of the two albums available above via Brave Men Run (we just got them last night), we can safely state that Liam the Younger plays a mysterious strand of lo-fi folk that we find addicting and highly rewarding. He somehow channels visions of a rural americana that is slowly being phased out by the generic strip malls and freeways of 2009. Certainly looking forward to hearing and learning more about this artist soon.

New Joe Henry

Joe Henry: "The Man I Keep Hid"

Joe Henry doesn't get enough love on this site. That stops now. Not only are we huge fans of his music, we've had the pleasure to work with him in a professional capacity, and there really isn't a nicer more humble musician out there these days. This post could easily be feature length, touching on his early highlights (Short Man's Room) mid-career gems (Scar), recent highlights (Civilians) and now his new record Blood From The Stars (8/18 Anti). That's not even mentioning his production work for amazing artists such as Mary Gauthier and Betty Lavette. He is renowned by critics and held in the highest regards by fellow musicians. We haven't heard more than snippets from his newest record, but what we heard has more than whett our appitte for his most recent effort. Can't wait. Here is a track from that record "The Man I Keep Hid" (via Magnet).

"Should Have Done Acid with You"

[mp3] Neon Indian "Should Have Done Acid With You"

This morning we get another new track from the highly anticipated Neon Indian album Psychic Chasms, which drops 10/13 on Lefse. We posted "Terminally Chill" and the song "Deadbeat Summer" is also out and about as well. It's clear that Neon Indian, which is VEGA's Alan Palomo's project with video artist Alicia Scardetta, is making some of the best druggy psych elctro music out there today. (via p4k)

Dr. Dog Enjoying the Ride

STARK vs. DR. DOG

An interview with Zach Miller of Dr. Dog
By Andrew Daniels

It isn’t appropriate - or the slighest bit accurate - to call Dr. Dog Philadelphia’s best kept secret anymore. Not after the last couple of years they’ve had. The classic pop quintet has seen itself skyrocket from the Philly underground to the national conscious at a staggering rate, beginning with the release of Easy Beat in 2005 to last year’s breakthrough, Fate. The band’s accomplishments? Spreads in magazines like Rolling Stone, playing major festivals like Coachella and becoming the go-to band in late night television, to name just a few.

As soon as the guys finish their set at Musikfest in Bethlehem, Pa. on Aug. 3, they’ll travel to New York to record their sixth studio album with producer Rob Schnapf for new label Anti- Records. As organist Zach Miller reveals, things are looking brighter than ever for Dr. Dog.

What are you doing right now? Just taking some time off before heading back out to tour?

Well actually, we’re gonna be recording next. That’s our next big endeavor. We’re going up to Dreamland Studios up in the Catskill Mountains all of August. I think we’re actually heading up there the day after the Musikfest show.

Let’s get to recording in a second, but I kind of wanted to you to start off by talking about the band’s year so far. We’re a little more than halfway through 2009, and it seems that now more than ever, things are at a whirlwind for the band. I wanted to congratulate you on “My Friend” being in the trailer for Funny People. That’s huge.

Thanks, yep, I’ve been seeing a lot of stuff on television about that, and it also looks like a really good movie. I’m psyched about that. I’m not sure how they picked it, but I know that Jonah Hill is a big fan of ours. Obviously he’s in that movie, but I don’t know if he had anything to do with it. They kind of came to us and said, “hey, want to be in the trailer?” And we said sure. [Laughs.] I think there was some money involved, but I don’t really remember how much. It’s kind of weird how subtle the use of the song is. You have to listen for it to hear it. Not to complain or anything, but I’d be surprised if somebody heard that and said, “wow, I have to check that song out.”

For much more with Zach, including details about the new album, the deal with Anti- and which band's break up was "one of the great tragedies of all time," continue reading after the jump.

What else has been going on this year?

Well, we started off in Australia, which was really exciting. Having a summer new year was pretty interesting. We were on tour two days until Christmas until the 11th in Australia with the Black Keys. We played this festival outside of Melbourne called Pyramid Rock on New Year’s Eve. We were actually on stage with the Black Keys for the big countdown. There are only two guys in that band, so they wanted to make it look more like a party. That was kind of an exciting way to ring in the New Year. After that, we did a tour in April, we did the Jimmy Fallon show, which nobody had really done yet. That was the first week of his show, and it was really cool. We followed that up with some pretty good festivals, including Coachella, where I saw Paul McCartney and Ariel Pink, and they were both really awesome. Since then, we’ve just kind of been jetting around. Oh, we actually did a festival in Spain called the Azkena in May. We saw the Zombies, Alice Cooper, Dan from the Black Keys. That was a cool festival because it was only two stages, and nobody was playing while anybody else was playing. Everyone would be down at one end watching a band and then when they were done would turn around and walk down to the other side.

Has all the success that you guys have built up in the last three or four years on a national scale - late night television, spreads in major magazines, playing big festivals - ever overwhelmed or surprised you?

Well, I don’t really feel like our lives have changed that much because of it. We’re not living like rock stars, let’s put it that way. We just work really hard, so it kind of just feels normal to us now. But then when I take a step back and think about what we’ve done, it’s actually pretty incredible. Like, I watch Dave Letterman at night and think, “we were on this show.” So yeah, it’s funny to step outside yourself and look at the whole thing. I don’t know if I feel surprised. I always knew the music was great, from the first time I saw Dr. Dog play before I was in the band to the day I joined. We just put a lot of hard work into it, and a lot of people do know Dr. Dog and will hopefully know us in the future.

I was talking to Sean from Hoots and Hellmouth a few days ago, and he was talking about how the rise of Dr. Dog has significantly contributed to a sort of boom in the Philly scene. There’s now a spotlight on some of the bands and things going on in the city because of your band’s success. Do you agree with that? Are you honored?

We just felt obliged to show everyone these great bands in Philly. For a while there, literally all my favorite bands were bands my friends were in. I did step back and asked myself objectively, “are these bands really just this good or do I just like them because I like the people that are in them?” But no, these bands are amazing. Even if I didn’t know these guys, I’d still think so. When we first got signed to Park The Van, they put out Easy Beat. Toby and Scott had toured with Chris, the owner of the label, before with their first project, Raccoon. Chris was tour managing Racoon as he was starting the label, and he said, “do you know any other bands?” And we gave him a handful of great bands in Philly that are all our favorite bands in the world, like The Teeth, The National Eye and The Capitol Years. It was amazing that none of these bands were on labels or doing anything, so Chris signed them and we quickly became an even more integrated family of bands. Not only are we from the same city, but now also on the same label, which Philly didn’t really have.

Park The Van is based in New Orleans, right? But a lot of the bands are in Philly.

Yeah, well not too long after we signed with them, Chris got flooded out in Katrina. So for 4 or 5 months, he was essentially just kind of wandering around, literally homeless. He had Dr. Dog and The Teeth on his label, and the only thing he had going on was in Philly. At first he got placed in a hotel up here until he found housing, and eventually he found a place in Schwenksville. Last year, he moved back to New Orleans once everything calmed down a bit.

You had mentioned The Teeth, who were pretty beloved around here before they broke up a year or so ago. Two of those guys actually lived in Bethlehem, which I never really appreciated until I realized how great that band was. Do you know what they’re up to now?

One of the great tragedies of all time. Those guys were so, so good and I think they’d just been a band so long and played so many shows. Things were really starting to happen for them, like playing Bonnaroo and all these great opening slots on big tours. For a multitude of reasons, they broke up. I know Peter and Brian had started this band called The Purples. They had some songs up online, but that was a while ago, I’m not sure what they’ve done recently. Someone was talking about bringing them out on the road as their band, I can’t remember who. I hope it doesn’t end with The Teeth. I hope they’ll continue producing music again.

Today is the one year anniversary of the release of Fate. I saw you guys in Rittenhouse Square either during the release week or the week after, and your live set was almost if not all of that record. Clearly you were pretty psyched on the record at the time. Are you still pushing that record as hard on these upcoming dates, or are you gonna focus on new stuff on the fall tour?

We haven’t really played any new songs, except for one that’s actually kind of old. We still play all the Fate tracks except for “Uncovering the Old,” which is one we’ve never really quite mastered live. Everything else we still play every show. Those songs feel more like where we are as a band right now, and I think we play them a lot better than some of the songs we’ve been playing for years and years. So there’s a lot of incentive for us to play those songs.

Let’s get to the new record, then. You’re trekking to the Catskills for this one?

Yep, I think it’s the day after we play up there in Bethlehem. We’re going to Dreamland with Rob Schnapf.

Get out, really? That’s big. How’d you hook up with him?

We were talking about working with a producer in some capacity for this record, and he was one of the names that came up between our manager and a number of people we work with whose opinions we trust. They gave us a list of names and he had reached out to us before as a known fan of the band. He goes to see us every time we’re in L.A. We’d never met him before but during that tour in April, we just went around and met with what must’ve been 8-10 different producers and engineers and he was one of the guys we felt most comfortable with. He felt like one of the guys, super laid back and he knew our songs and was obviously familiar with us. Just seemed like a great guy for the job, and we’re all super psyched about it. I’m really looking forward to it.

This is the first time you guys have used a producer on a record.

Yeah, we wanted to focus on musicality a lot more, because our role right now is we pretty much do everything. We share the studio with Bill Moriarty, who helps us out a lot with mixing and just setting everything up and making sure it’s all working together. But tracking is something we mostly do on our own, and it just gets a little hectic sometimes when you have to go back and forth from your instrument to the board to figure out why it’s not sounding good. You have to have the technical knowledge and then try to put yourself back into the song musically. So I think we all realized that we wanted to focus more on the musicality, and do some more live tracking which we don’t usually do. Ninety percent of our records are just overdubbed. We wanted to have a little more fidelity, too. I think we’ve really come along way from Easy Beat to Fate...there’s a pretty notable gap between those two. Obviously Rob will be running the show from a technical side of things, but it should be more of a collaborative process. We’ve been really used to tracking ourselves, and it’ll be interesting to see how everything plays out.

Is there a particular direction that the songs are going in?

Well, the initial concept is more of directness, I would say. It’s more song-serving arrangements, and maybe not as much orchestration as Fate. There are definitely fewer layers. The more direct approach is what we’ve been talking about lately. But anything could happen. It’s going to be a new experience for us, so there’s a lot of ideas going around.

What kind of timetable are you looking at? An early 2010 release?

Yeah, that’s the plan. We just signed to Anti- Records. We knew that Fate was going to be the last record with Park The Van. They’re a really small label, and I think they’ve done a good job and we’ve been very fortunate to have all the opportunities we’ve had, and we’ve really come a long way on an extremely small label. I mean, they have three people on staff. I think a new label will raise our profile a lot and get the songs out to more people, obviously.

I don’t know how familiar you are with the Lehigh Valley or Musikfest.

My cousins live up there in Allentown, but I know nothing about Musikfest.

It’s an annual 10-day festival spread across several stages in downtown Bethlehem that draws almost a million people a year. You guys are playing on Amerikaplatz, which might be the biggest free stage at the festival, so there will be virtually every kind of music fan in the audience. How do you approach playing shows like these with such diverse crowds?

[Laughs] You’re making me nervous.

Maybe I shouldn’t hype it up like that, but it’s definitely something special.

We don’t normally try and tailor our set to who we think is out there. We just go up there and do what we do, plain and simple, and try to have a good time. If people respond to it, that’s great, but if not, there’s not much else we can do. I do feel like we have pretty wide appeal. We get people who are in their 60s, and then like, toddlers are into it as well. So it’s always nice to hear from somebody who maybe you wouldn’t expect to be a fan come up and say that they liked the show. It feels good to have that cross-cultural appeal.

This might be kind of hard to answer, but is there one song from the Dr. Dog repertoire that best represents the band? Obviously your sound has significantly evolved over the last decade. If I had someone who wanted to check out the Musikfest show and was curious to what you guys sound like, what’s that one song I could go tell them to illegally download?

That’s a really tough one. It would have to be something from Fate. I think maybe “My Friend” would be a good example. It’s got both Toby and Scott singing lead on it, it’s got the harmonies, and it’s got the ambition that we always try to put into the songs. Know what I mean?

Totally. It’s got the two really distinct parts to it, and the ending kind of encapsulates the whole record. That’s a good pick.

Nice, I got the right answer!

Last question. Every review I’ve ever read of the last couple records have gone something like, “Dr. Dog sounds like The Beatles, The Band and The Beach Boys.” It’s all true, and I’m sure that’s flattering to be linked with those giants, but to be honest, those comparisons get boring to read over and over. Who are some lesser known influences that have creeped into your music over the years? Maybe even for the upcoming record?

A very obscure one would be R. Stevie Moore, who’s sort of been a pretty prominent influence in the tastes that we’ve developed. Tom Waits is obviously really awesome. He doesn’t come up a lot as far as a direct reference point. Well, some of Toby’s songs kind of get Tom Waitsy on them. But in terms of guitar sounds, Marc Ribot’s been a huge influence on Scott for years. Recently we’ve been talking about the whole directness angle, which has led us to referencing the Rolling Stones albums a lot, and old soul music, and just in how seemingly simple yet colorful the songs were. If you listen to a Rolling Stones song, it’s guitar, bass and drums, and then one little color instrument. Like the marimba on “Under My Thumb.” That’s definitely going to be an influence on the new one.

You were mentioning some of the bands in Philly as your favorite bands. Have you felt their influence?

Like with The Teeth, they haven’t neccessarily influenced the music but definitely the live show. Just with touring them so much, we had the unenviable task of following them on most shows, and I mean, they were just an incredible live band. I feel like that energy in the room when they were playing was really palpable. You can definitely see the influence when we put more energy into the live show, because they just raised the bar.

Thanks to Zach for talking forever! Catch the band live on its fall tour. Dates are up on Myspace.

New El Perro Del Mar due 10/20

Swedish songwriter El Perro Del Mar (Sarah Assbring) returns on October 10th with her third record Love is Not Pop coming out on the Control Group label. El Perro Del Mar will play two headline US shows in NY and LA and tour with Peter Bjorn and John on their N. American dates in November. Assbring's first two full-length efforts, 2006's eponymous debut and 2008's From the Valley To the Stars, were sweetly melancholy affairs showcasing Assbring's charming voice and solid songwriting talent. The records succeeded in their ability to flirt with a certain twee-pop quality without ever succumbing to it's dangerous ways. Songs from her new record are streaming at myspace. Of the new record Assbring states:

I'd spent some bad times in New York and some good times in Paris and both these cities have made a great imprint on this album and my current outlook on love. I've decided to call it 'Love Is Not Pop' - the songs on the album are all pop songs and they are all about love. But naturally, it is not all as simple as that. As much as pop can be love and vice versa - I'd like to believe that love goes so much deeper than a pop song.

Walkmen and Here We Go Magic Dates

[mp3] The Walkmen: "In The New Year"

What a solid bill. Some pretty ace shows on here. Nicely done. 

US Tour Dates

8/14 - Guggenheim 'It Came From Brooklyn' - New York, NY
8/16 - Central Park SummerStage w/ Dinosaur Jr. - New York, NY
9/12 - Red Rocks (Monolith Festival) - Morrison, CO
9/18 - Middle East - Cambridge, MA*
9/19 - Middle East - Cambridge, MA*
9/20 - Pearl Street Downstairs - Northampton, MA*
9/22 - 9:30 Club - Washington, DC*
9/23 - Theatre Of The Living Arts - Philadelphia, PA*
9/25 - Variety Playhouse - Atlanta, GA*
9/26 - Grey Eagle Tavern - Asheville, NC*
9/27 - Mercy Lounge - Nashville, TN
9/29 - The Bottletree - Birmingham, AL*
9/30 - One Eyed Jacks - New Orleans, LA*
10/2 - Zilker Park (Austin City Limits) - Austin, TX
10/18 - Treasure Island - San Francisco, CA
*with Here We Go Magic

Tickets Are Available Starting August 1st At 12PM EST

Coming Attractions!

We are making a big end of the week push and wanted to alert you to some of our upcoming Taster's Choice Moments of Inquisition... a.k.a., we will be posting a new interview every day until the week's end.

Today: We speak with Dr. Dog organist Zach Miller about the band's recent signing to Anti- and hiring producer Rob Schnapf to helm its new album. We recently posted exclusive news about the Anti- deal HERE.

Thursday: We speak with The Very Best frontman Esau Mwamawaya about the upcoming release, Warm Heart of Africa, his recent NYC performance at Le Poisson Rouge, and more. See NYC show review HERE.

Friday: We speak with acclaimed singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright about his new opera, Prima Donna, and his work on a new record.

Stay tuned folks!

New Yo La Tengo Video

Here's the new video for "Here to Fall" from Yo La Tengo's upcoming record Popular Songs. Via the Matablog:

“Here to Fall” kicks off director John McSwain’s multi-song visual accompaniment to the diverse and arresting sounds of YLT’s exceptional new album. Each video will debut with a unique partner site (well, the Matablog is kicking it off), one per week leading up to the September 8th release of “Popular Songs”. The videos will be collected here, so check back!

It's Always Sunny in Glasgow

[mp3] A Sunny Day in Glasgow: "Ashes Grammar / Ashes Maths"

Admittedly, we're not always down with music that can be classified as "dream pop" but we decided to give it the old college try with local Philly favorites A Sunny Day in Glasgow. I mean, with the Phillies winning the World Series and Dr. Dog signing to Anti, our hometown is on the rise, so why not. Following up on their debut Scribble Mural Comic Journal a Sunny Day in Glasgow have opted for a more expansive sound, abonding the bedroom recording of their debut for a large dance studio in New Jersey. The music containted on Ashes Grammer (9/15, Mis Ojos Discos) reflects the new environment. The sound is booming and large, complete with strings, heaps of backing vocals and layers of synths, guitars and drums. All this shapes up to a bold effort form this group. While we're not sure if we're coverts to the Dream Pop genre yet, Ashes Grammar makes a solid case that we should be definitely paying attention to what's happening there.

Williamsburg Waterfront Part III

Since we're relatively new to the whole photo pit thing, it was pretty great being on the front lines of the legit mayhem that was the Black Lips portion of Sunday's set at the Williamsburg Waterfront. As seen in many photos and videos on other blogs already, there was much stage diving, security guard breaching and general bouts of chaos. It was refreshing to see fans going nuts to music. It was almost like 1995 in there. The excitement did much to cover the lull from some of the new tunes that you know we're not the biggest fans of. They're not bad --just boring. Yet, there is really nothing better than a Black Lips live set. Urine or no urine. Preferably, the latter.

Health opened the festivities with a thrashing set that was way louder than expected, but certainly welcome. One note guitar shedding, effects pedals, noise, and general volume characterized what was a vibrant and fantastically messy set from the band. While we'll still opt for the remix CD over their studio record, the set was pretty solid from a band that we're only marginal fans of.

After the Black Lips, it rained and we left. Then the headliners ...Trail of Dead were canceled anyway! They'll be at All Points West this weekend though. Until next week... which is fixing to be maybe the highlight of the summer -- No Age (!), Deerhunter and Dan Deacon. See you there. Photos after the jump!

New Vic Chesnutt mp3

[mp3] Vic Chesnutt: "Chain"

Vic Chesnutt is one of the true unsung heroes of the folk/Americana scene. He's been crafting wonderfully dark and haunting albums for almost 20 years. He's critically acclaimed and adored by his peers, yet, somehow left out of most stories that are written about the genres in which he resides. For some reason, we feel like Vic is okay with that. The shadowy characters that inhabit his songs often embody a dark, yet, wry humor, that one can only imagine comes straight from the writer himself. Vic returns September 22 with a new album, At The Cut, coming out on Constellation Records. This is his follow up to 2007's North Star Deserter. We have a new mp3 "Chain" for you above. For a back catalog choice, we choose the spry, brighter affair Is The Actor Happy? New West has reissued a lot of these older records, which are fairly essential listening. (Thx ListenDammit)

YACHT - "See Mystery Lights" Song-by-Song in Twitter Form

[MP3] YACHT- "Psychic City"

The highly anticipated YACHT record, See Mystery Lights, was just released today on DFA Records. Jona Bechtolt and Claire Evans are YACHT, hailing from the somewhat unlikely Portland, OR region. The locale is unlikely only because the group's sound is reminiscent of an East coast bedroom popper, though production quality is nice and clean. We thought we'd indulge the social networking beings-that-be, and use Twitter's 140-character textual regulatory method for review purposes. Enjoy Googling YACHT...reminds me of Gob.

Want more elegant Twitter alerts? Click to follow us!
@Starkonline
@vinceamoroso
@skippyd

Track One - "Ring the Bell"
::Egg shaker intro. Loving the jaunty MIDI back line. Catchy vocal lines, nice harmonies with electronic effects. "Will we go to heaven" -chorus.

Track Two - "The Afterlife"
::Beach Boy-like drum intro. Female lead now. Sparse beginning. "Hail to thee, land of heroes!" Feels like a B-52's track on ecstasy.

Track Three - "I'm In Love With a Ripper"
::Stripper or Ripper? Hilarious. Poppiest song yet. Drum machine is tasty. Autotune in full-force but works. Crazy Kayne/MJ hybrid feel

See rest of the Twitter review after the jump!

Track Four - "It's Boring/You Can Live Where You Want."
:: This song is 8:52 in length.

Track Five - "Psychic City (Voodoo City)"
:: Female lead. Has a Talking Head's "Cities" feel. "Dream of London. Small city." YACHT sings "I use to live in a Psychic City." Mildly fun.

Track Six - "Summer Song"
:: Feels like LCD Soundsystem. Heavy house beat. Layered electro beats. Vocal lines, eh. Not very summery.

Track Seven - "We Have All We Ever Wanted"
:: Ominous beginning. Feel like "Thriller" is about to drop. Doesn't really go anywhere. Feeling this record may be front loaded?

Track Eight - "Don't Fight the Darkness"
:: Sick beat. Uh. Uh. Where is this going? Ah, lyrics are lazy sounding. Fun tribal beats though. End of song picks up nicely.

Track Nine - "I'm In Love With A Ripper (Party Mix)"
:: Yep. It's a party mix. Get up with the get down.

Track Ten - "Psychic City (Version)"
:: The end of the album.

Kabukimono

[mp3] Rainbow Arabia: "Harlem Sunrise"

[mp3] Rainbow Arabia: "Holiday in Congo (Mexican with Guns Remix)"

While we haven't heard the full record yet, Rainbow Arabia's new album Kabukimono has been on our radar for awhile. Rainbow Arabia's last record The Basta featured edgy dance-synth straight from a middle eastern desert night. Kabukimono promises the same pulsing tribal rhythms only with a few more splashes of sun to brighten up the sound a bit. It's going to be hard for writers and critics to stop making comparisons to Gang Gang Dance, but since when is that a problem? Kabukimono is out today Manimal Vinyl. .

Thoughts From My Lunch Hour: The End of a Very Bad Case of Weezer Denial

THOUGHTS FROM MY LUNCH HOUR by Andrew Daniels

Weezer, I'd like to see you in my office, please. I've been a bit lenient in allowing you to sneak away from the scene of your crimes relatively unscathed for the better part of the decade, but no, just no, I can't do that anymore. I told myself I was strong, so this is me being strong. Your recent live debut of two new songs is the straw that breaks this camel's back. Weezer, you are awful now.

I can no longer defend your mediocrity anymore in hopes of you one day recapturing your gloried past. Not happening. I turned a blind eye as I refused to see the signs of your progressive decay. When The Green Album came out and was 28 minutes of formulaic dreck devoid of any emotion, I said, "it's okay, because you're back! You just need to find your footing after such a long layoff." Maladroit was no better than Def Leppard with a French title, but those demos were so great! You must have been saving all the good songs for the next one. You promised me that Make Believe was a return to form, but it was only a return to your 2001 boring form! With an extra side of cheese! And then The Red Album. Oh, The Red Album. Remember when you leaked the 30-second clip of "Pork And Beans" that sounded so much like Blue and Pinkerton and got me stoked on your band again? But Rivers, remember when you had the unfortunate idea of letting your bandmates sing their own songs on the album and it ended up sounding like Creed? That's probably when I knew my love affair with you guys was over, but I still held that glimmer of hope.

No. These two new songs just shit on my face. And break my heart at the same time, extra points for that. What happened to you guys? Old age? Meditation? Asian wives? Rick Rubin? I guess it's time for a new generation of hopeless kids to fawn over gems like "I'm Your Daddy" and "The Girl Got Hot" the way I did with "Falling For You" and "Butterfly" all those years ago. Expulsion for all of you. Back to class, pack your things, I've called your parents to pick you up. Good luck in your future endeavors.

We Have Video

We caught the british trio We Have Band at Pianos several months back. While they couldv'e used a bit more time in the rehearsal studio and a little bit more work on their stage show, the three brits did well to win over the audience (made up mostly of English people) by delivering a compact set of catchy indie dance pop. While the market is beyond saturated with this type of music, We Have Band seem to be a cut above the rest and have been garnering press accolades to show for it, albeit those accolades have come from mainly British publications. We here at Stark aren't completely sold yet (we've been down this brit pop road before), but we're hoping a spin through their self-titled EP (Sept 15th iTunes release) can bring us around. (via)

New Old Arctic Monkeys

UPDATE: Web Sheriffed!! Here is the legit video for their tune which has been circulating for a bit "Crying Lightning." All comments below on Alex Turner still apply.

Fist pump to our UK friends on hipping us to the new song "My Propeller" from the Arctic Monkeys. It's truly heartening to see these kids continue to develop over the course of their records. Ok, well, it's mostly songwriter Alex Turner that's developing -- but still that's all that really matters. It was clear from the beginning that Turner had the talent and know-how to prevent the Monkey's from being a flash-in-the-pan fad. Here's to hoping he can keep it up.  Domino releases the Arctic Monkey's third album Humbug on August 25. They are also in NY this weekend for All Points West.

New Holiday Shores: "Edge of Our Lives" mp3

[mp3] Holiday Shores: "Edge of Our Lives"

We've been following this Florida band for several months now and managed to catch them at a sparsely populated but excellent early show at Pianos before they shot uptown to play a private event at the Spin offices. Their album Columbus'd the Whim comes out August 4th on Twosyllable Records. It's jangely, analog sounding, and yes, warm and summery with tons of reverb. We already posted the first single "Phone's Don't Fued." Today you get the second single "Edge of Our Lives" - happy Friday.  

New Fresh and Only's & Ducktails

[mp3] Fresh and Only's: "Invisible Forces"

We caught the Fresh and Only's during our little 4th of July excursion to the Woodsist/Captured Tracks festival. We were a little hazy come the late afternoon hours (blame 99 cent 24 oz Coors and July sun), but the Fresh and Only's were a standout alongside the clear favorite Real Estate. The San Fran based group have been fairly prolific in their output, and will now drop Grey Eyed Girls on September 15th via Woodsist (of course). The band is bringing their lo-fi brand of 80s synth/garage/classic rock to the road, touring with Stephen Malkmus (!) and usual suspects Thee Oh Sees amongst others. Tour dates after the jump.

in other Real Estate related matters...

[mp3] Ducktails: "Roses"

Stereogum premiered a new track from Ducktails... it's a little downtrodden and predictably ramshackle - a simple bass guitar melody drives the track which has a lovely late afternoon relaxing nature to it. Enjoy peoples.


THE FRESH & ONLYS

Thu 7/23/09 Harlow's Sacramento CA *
Sat 7/25/09 Echoplex Los Angeles CA *
Sun 7/26/09 Belly Up Tavern Solano Beach CA *
Tue 7/28/09 Rio Theater Santa Cruz CA *
Mon 9/21/09 House Show Provo UT #
Tue 9/22/09 Larimer Lounge Denver CO #
Wed 9/23/09 Jack Pot Saloon Lawrence KS #
Thu 9/24/09 Goner Fest Memphis TN #
Sat 9/26/09 Uncle Fester's Bloomington IL #
Sun 9/27/09 Schubas Tavern Chicago IL #
Tue 9/29/09 Brass Rail Ft Wayne IN #
Wed 9/30/09 Magic Stick Detroit MI #
Thu 10/1/09 Wrong Bar Toronto ON #
Fri 10/2/09 Babylon Ottawa ON #
Sat 10/3/09 Pop Montreal Montreal QC #%
Mon 10/5/09 The Dark Lady Providence RI #
Tue 10/6/09 Great Scotts Allston MA #
Wed 10/7/09 Wesleyan Middletown CT #
Thu 10/8/09 Mercury Lounge New York NY #
Fri 10/9/09 The Bell House Brooklyn NY #%
Sat 10/10/09 31st St. Pub Pittsburgh PA $
Sun 10/11/09 Hideout Chicago IL $
Mon 10/12/09 Brothers Omaha NE $
Tue 10/13/09 Bender's Denver CO $
Sat 10/17/09 Scion/Vice Event Portland OR
Sun 10/18/09 Funhouse Seattle WA &
Tue 10/20/09 Stork Club Oakland CA &
Wed 10/21/09 Bar Pink Elephant San Diego CA &#
Thu 10/22/09 Echo Los Angeles CA &#
Sat 10/24/09 The Partisan Merced CA &
Sun 10/25/09 Budget Rock @ Bottom of the Hill San Francisco CA

* = w/ Stephen Malkmus and The Jicks
# = w/ The Oh Sees
% = w/ Golden Triangle
$ = w/ Box Elders
& = w/ Dan Melchoir

Drop This: Fuck Buttons New Record

[MP3]Fuck Buttons - "Bright Tomorrow"

Don't like Buttons, good fuck 'em.

Straight from overseas is word of a new Fuck Buttons album, Tarot Sport which releases Oct. 12 on ATP Recordings. There is not much else to report other than record's already agreed upon single, "Surf Solar," drops Sept. 14 and a slew of UK tour dates are to follow the LPs debut.

UK Tour Dates After the Jump.

TOUR DATES with support from Zun Zun Equi on all dates except Glasgow and London
SEPTEMBER
17th – Leeds, Brudenell Social Club
18th – Sheffield, The Corporation
19th – Oxford, The Cellar
20th – Manchester, Deaf Institute
21st – Nottingham, Bodega
22nd – Birmingham, Hare & Hounds
23rd – Newcastle, The Other Room
24th – Glasgow, Stereo
25th – Lancaster, The Storey
26th – Bristol, Colston Hall (as part of Geoff Barrow’s Invada Invasion event)
27th – Brighton, Audio
OCTOBER
27th – London, Heaven

New Pains of Beng Pure at Heart EP

[mp3] Pains of Being Pure at Heart: "Young Adult Friction"

These kids are having quite a year for themselves!

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
Higher Than The Stars EP (Slumberland)
Street date: Sept. 22, 2009
Formats: 7", 12", CD and digital

1. Falling Over
2. Twins
3. Higher Than The Stars
4. 103

New Deastro: "Toxic Crusaders" mp3

[mp3] Deastro: "Toxic Crusaders"

So Deastro has managed to put out another damn fine record with his/their most recent effort Moondagger. Some describe Deastro as bedroom electro, which may be accurate in terms of how the music is created, but the actual soundscapes are thick with layers and epic in nature. It's heartening to see Deastro begining to get love in the press, let's hope it continues! Here is the newest single "Toxic Crusaders."

Thoughts From My Lunch Hour: Crosby Loggins Is Surprisingly Not Terrible

[stream] Crosby Loggins: "Seriously"

[stream] Crosby Loggins: "Time to Move" (featuring John Mayer)

(A QUICK) THOUGHTS FROM MY LUNCH HOUR by Andrew Daniels

Okay, so it's no secret that I harbor completely irrational feelings of ill will toward celebrities who I'm sure are charming and great but are just the worst at everything (sup, Stephen King?) Another frequent subject of scorn is the terrible Kenny Loggins. But you know what? Dude's got a son named Crosby, who is (duh) also a singer-songwriter but not as awful as his father. In fact, he's downright enjoyable and doesn't make me want to vom. Crosby, who is undoubtedly sick of being referred to as Kenny's kid, just released a new album, Time to Move two weeks ago. I really dig what I've heard from it. He's got an airy voice akin to James Taylor, but definitely less pussified, and the lead single "Seriously" is a mover with an immediate chorus and actually, even better verses. It's streaming along with the title track, which features John Mayer on guitar (sweet hook up!) For those of you who aren't ashamed to admit you kinda like Top 40 piano pop, you could do far worse than check the kid out. Do I give glowing endorsements or what?

New Princeton mp3: Calypso Gold

[mp3] Princeton: "Calypso Gold"

We wrote a few weeks ago in excitement at the news that West Coast summer-rockers Princeton finally got signed to a real deal record contract with Kanine. Their debut Cocoon Of Love comes out on 9/29. Princeton's poppy string and woodwind laced rock jams will provide a wistful backdrop as summer transitions to fall. Luckily we'll be getting early tastes of the record (mp3 above) whilst the heat and humidity are still on us. Ballantine 40s on the roof? Sure. See their tourdates after the jump including a stop at Union Hall. (via)

07/25 - Los Angeles, CA @ E2 Building [Night Lights Benefit]
08/29 - Los Angeles, CA @ Pehrspace
08/31 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court
09/01 - Denver, CO @ Hi Dive
09/02 - Omaha, NE @ The Waiting Room #
09/03 - Iowa City, IA @ Picador
09/04 - Dekalb, IL @ The House Cafe #
09/05 - Toledo, OH @ Frankie's #
09/06 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Garfield Artworks #
09/08 - Baltimore, MD @ Sonar [Talking Head Club Stage]
09/09 - Brooklyn, NY @ Union Hall %
09/10 - Ithaca, NY @ Castaways $ &
09/11 - Toronto, ON @ Lee's Palace $ &
09/12 - Buffalo, NY @ Mohawk Place &
09/13 - Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop $ &
09/14 - Columbus, OH @ The Basement $ &
09/17 - Minneapolis, MN @ Varsity Theater $ &
09/19 - Urbana, IL @ Krannert Center [Pygmalion Fest] $
09/20 - St. Louis, MO @ The Firebird $ &
09/21 - Lawrence, KS @ The Bottleneck $ &
09/23 - Dallas, TX @ Granada Theater $ &
09/24 - Austin, TX @ Emo's $ &
09/25 - Houston, TX @ Warehouse Live $ &
09/26 - Baton Rouge, LA @ Spanish Moon $ &
09/27 - Birmingham, AL @ Bottle Tree $ &
09/29 - Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade $ &
09/30 - Carborro, NC @ Cat's Cradle $ &
10/01 - Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club $ &
10/02 - Philadelphia, PA @ Trocadero $ &

# = w/ Ice Palace
% = w/ Phil and the Osophers
$ = w/ Ra Ra Riot
& = w/ Maps and Atlases

New Fiery Furnaces

[mp3] Fiery Furnaces: "Keep Me In The Dark"

[mp3] Fiery Furnaces: "The End is Near"

We were a little slow picking up on this album, as we were never really massive fans of this band who have done well to establish themselves as stalwarts of the indie-rock scene. Yet, there is something about the Fiery Furnaces' new album I'm Going Away that's beguilingly charming and accesible -- even more so than previous efforts. It's an intangible catchiness that suggests listening to the record just one more time. While critically, it hasn't reached the heights achieved by some of their previous works, I'm Going Away stands as another solid entry into the band's time-tested catalog. Worth picking up for old and new fans alike.

The Day's Trot with Bad Veins

[MP3] Bad Veins "Gold and Warm

Enjoy the Bad Veins Daytrotter Session here! First, it must be said, that Daytrotter does some fanstactic graphical work. Their band "photos" are, and have become, an easily recognizable staple of the blog world. Their lastest victims, Bad Veins, whose self-titled debut was released Tuesday, has been making a splash; incorporating etheral guitar lines and punchy vocals reminiscent of The National's Matt Berninger, Bad Veins deserves the press.

See tour dates after the jump.

Jul 24 2009 10:00P
Fountain Square CINCINNATI
Jul 31 2009 8:00P
Abbey Pub w/ Now Now Every Children Chicago, Illinois
Aug 1 2009 9:00P
The Crofoot w/Now Now Every Children PONTIAC
Aug 2 2009 8:00P
El Mocambo w/Now Now Every Children Toronto
Aug 4 2009 9:00P
Heirloom Arts Theatre w/Now Now Every Children DANBURY
Aug 5 2009 10:00P
North Star w/Now Now Every Children PHILADELPHIA
Aug 6 2009 8:00P
The Mercury Lounge w/Now Now Every Children NEW YORK
Aug 7 2009 10:15P
Garfield Artworks w/Now Now Every Children PITTSBURGH
Aug 9 2009 9:00P
Picador w/Now Now Every Children IOWA CITY
Sep 13 2009 8:00P
Red Rocks Amphitheater - Monolith Festival

EXCLUSIVE: Dr. Dog Signs to Anti-, Set to Record with Rob Schnapf

They grow up so fast! We are proud to exclusively announce that our little Dr. Dog has just signed to Anti- Records. They leave tiny Park The Van, where they released their last three records, including 2008's excellent Fate, which saw them reap huge national exposure in the form of late night appearances (Conan, Fallon) and spreads in major magazines (Rolling Stone, Spin.) Keyboardist Zach Miller also reveals that the band will record its sixth studio album with uber-producer Rob Schnapf (Beck, Foo Fighters, Elliott Smith) beginning in August. Congratulations to Philly's finest!

In the meantime, we'll have an in-depth interview with Miller next week. In the meantime, if you haven't yet, now would be a good time to jump on the Dr. Dog bandwagon.

Black Lips: "Drugs" Video, Free Show This Weekend

[mp3] Black Lips: "Starting Over"

While we may not love all of the Black Lips' new album, this video for the song "Drugs" is pretty great, and the tune is one of the better songs off the album. Sorry kids, there's just too much filler on that record for us. The Black Lips will be part of a great bill this weekend at the Williamsburg Waterfront which includes Health, ... Trail of Dead and Groupo Fantasma. (via TMS)

Newcomer to Watch: Israel Darling

[mp3] Israel Darling: "Samson the Mason"

There's a lot of Darlings out there these days. Those Darlin's, Darlings, now Israel Darling. Israel Darling is the brainchild and main vehicle for the songs of Jacob Darden, an ex-baptist who spent the first 20 years of his life living in the burned out Appalachian mill town of Drexel, NC. The son of a guitar maker, Darden became immersed in the folk and blues music all around him. After a stint in the hospital at 19, Darden gave up his religious roots and decided to focus solely on his music. Such is how Israel Darling came to be.

Now hailing from Greensboro, NC, Israel Darling clearly has storied past and some excellent songs in their repertoire as well. The quieter moments play out like a smooth voiced Deer Tick song, while the louder moments incorporate band singalongs, rollicking drums and some wholesome Southern guitar rock in the vein of Cory Brannan. Yet, for this writer, Jacob Darden finds his greatest success in the gently strummed, fragile ballads that display the character in his voice and his well crafted and lonesome songwriting. Israel Darling is a band whose songs demand attention and are easily on par with any indie/folk musician writing today. The band are embarking on a month-long East Coast tour in support of their debut record Dinosaur Bones and Mechanical Hands which comes out on August 4th from the great folks at Engine Room Recordings. Cover art and full tour dates including a stop at Pianos after the jump.


Jul 23 2009 House Show -- Asheville, North Carolina
Jul 31 2009 Greene Street -- Greensboro, North Carolina
Aug 6 2009 The Camel -- Richmond, Virginia
Aug 7 2009 Twisted Branch -- Charlottesville, Virginia
Aug 8 2009 Cyclops -- Baltimore, Maryland
Aug 9 2009 Recording for GBA 3 -- Brooklyn, New York
Aug 10 2009 Recording for GBA 3 -- Brooklyn, New York
Aug 11 2009 Pianos -- New York City, New York
Aug 12 2009 Spike Hill -- Brooklyn, New York
Aug 13 2009 All Asia -- Cambridge/Boston, Massachusetts
Aug 14 2009 Bar 46 -- Independence, New Jersey
Aug 15 2009 The Fire -- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Aug 22 2009 My Favorite Things -- Greensboro, North Carolina

A.A. Bondy Headline Tour

[mp3] A.A. Bondy: "When The Devil's Loose"

In anticipation of his new album When The Devil's Loose (Sept 1, Fat Possum) Mr. Bondy has announced a far reaching headlining tour that takes him to all the major markets in every corner of the US. We'll be at the Mercury Lounge for sure. The first mp3 from his new record is above, dates are below.

A.A. Bondy September Tour Dates:

SEPT. 2 PORTLAND, OR --- MISSISSIPPI STUDIOS
SEPT. 3 SEATTLE, WA ---  THE HIGH DIVE
SEPT. 5 LOS ANGELES, CA --- F YEAH FEST 6 (L.A. Historic State Park)
SEPT. 8 ALLSTON, MA --- GREAT SCOTT
SEPT. 9 NEW YORK, NY ---    MERCURY LOUNGE
SEPT. 10 WASHINGTON, DC ---   ROCK AND ROLL HOTEL
SEPT. 11 PHILADELPHIA, PA ---  KUNG FU NECKTIE

Got it Covered: Deer Tick Does "Dead Flowers

Deer Tick - Dead Flowers from LaundroMatinee on Vimeo.

[mp3] Deer Tick: "Easy"

Thanks to the Deer Tick Twitter for bringing this fantastic cover of The Rolling Stones' "Dead Flowers" to our attention. Deer Tick (a.k.a. John Joseph McCauley III) released his newest effort, Born on Flag Day, on June 23 via Partisan Records. The new album is more electric, but not lacking in the folky-mysticism previously established by War Elephant. It's still in heavy rotation around these parts.

More From the Pool: Crystal Antlers, Magnolia, Dirty Projectors

Another LOVELY Sunday out at the ole' Jelly sponsored Williamsburg Waterfront. Sunshiney, warm and just generally the best bang for your buck (it's free) you can get on a Sunday (if you can manage to stay away from Time Out New York reporters trying to trick you into being in their "singles" section. There's no easier way for you to stop getting laid, immediately.)

Crystal Antlers were good, not great -- high energy psych/punk songs with great stage presence. Yet, from the "Crystal" name to the group choruses and jangley staccato guitar lines, the 'Antlers were fairly cookie cutter indie rock. Not bad in the least, but certainly needing something to set them apart from the million other bands out there. Hear our thoughts on some recent fashion trends (yup, we're qualified), as well as sets from Dirty Projectors and Magnolia Electric Company alongside more great photos from resident photog Karp. 

SIDEBAR: I don't know whether it was us or not, but there was a lot of really stupid looking people there yesterday - more than usual. Not trying to jude here - my rolled up jeans did not look the sweetest - but the metallic gold, gladiator boot/sandal combo one girl was wearing was one of the stupidest looking pairs of shoes I've ever seen. It was all downhill from there. Just sayin' is all. Also, the crazy crack-dancer in front of the VIP section was a classic touch. 

Moving swiftly along. Magnolia Electric Company were a bit of a disappointment. We LOVE this band. Yet, outside in the sun, it wasn't the melancholy nature of the music, it was more the lagging tempos that brought the set down. We knew it would be slow and mellow, but not THIS slow. We'll never flatly criticize Jason Molina, but from Magnolia's vast catalog they could have easily brought out a few more uptempo numbers to spice up the vibe for the eager concert-goers. It was nice to hear the new material from Josephine that comes out today though. Of course, the vocals and musicianship were top-notch.

The headliners Dirty Projectors solidified themselves as the front-runner for band of the year. Anyone who claims they ride on hype alone is full of shit. This is a band of immaculately talented musicians (save one or two) who write music that is artistically challenging and accessible at the same time. Yesterday, (for us) was less about a quality show (it wasn't) but more about evaluating the band on a live basis for the first time. From crappy sound to a few sloppy moments on stage, it was clear this wasn't the DP's best show. Yet, from the likes of what we saw - it's obvious this band is capable of great things live. With the right venue and good sound, the Dirty Projectors will easily exceed all expectations. Highlights included the closer "Knotty Pine" (we're still waiting for Byrne to ride his bike on stage in a white suit and sing back-up) all tunes from Rise Above and of course the "hit" Stillness is the Move. 

(me masquerading as a photographer in the photo pit)