As fall comes into full swing this week, we’re getting a really nice mix of interesting shows in NYC with some especially noteworthy bands in the indie rock and folk realms. Starting with the more eccentric artists, there’s tUnE-YaRds @ Le Poisson Rouge (tonight), Cymbals Eat Guitars @ Music Hall of Williamsburg (Wed), the triumphant return of the Rapture @ Webster Hall (Thurs), and Superhuman Happiness doing two nights at Zebulon in Williamsburg (Fri-Sat). For something eclectic but a bit more folk-oriented, there’s lots to choose from, including Beirut @ T5 (Thurs), Wilco @ Central Park (Thurs-Fri), Fleet Foxes @ the Williamsburg Waterfront (Sat), and Megafaun @ Mercury Lounge (Sat-Sun). If the Indie Folk thing’s not your bag, there’s also plenty of dance-oriented jams with Lotus playing T5 and the return of Particle at Brooklyn Bowl (both Saturday). >>>
This is another one of those week’s of live music in NYC that requires some serious skills with scheduling and logistics. There are a ton of great shows and there’s just not enough time, energy, and cash flow to take them all in. Since I’m still out of pocket, and there’s so much to choose from, I’m foregoing my normal highlight reel and just going with the entire list. Call me a slacker if you will, but given all these options, I think I’m mainly just indecisive…
Interesting shows from this week’s NYC concert calendar:
Tonight I’m heading to the second set at Yoshi’s for The Bad Plus, a band I’ve really grown to love over the past year after seeing them first in Chicago and then in May right when I moved out to San Francisco. They’re a tremendous live act, one that seriously just leaves the room’s collective jaw on the floor. Yes, the room has a jaw. You can also order sushi at your table, so the personification makes sense overall.
I hope to be able to capture a few photos but I’m not really sure how the lighting is, so we’ll see what I can come up with.
Dear readers of the LMB, Martin Dosh is a marvel of a musician and an even greater gentleman. Harken back to Bonnaroo 2006 when, drenched in sweat from the Tennessee sun, I yelled through the wire fencing that separated the artists from the crowds, “Hey! Were you the guy drumming with Andrew Bird?” Dosh indulged my boyish fandom and left the comforts of the back stage to have a conversation with me, explaining that yes, he was the drummer that accompanied the Birdman. He also told me that he toured on his own and that he was anticipating the release of a new album that would become The Lost Take (2006). That album pulled off the rare feat of properly displaying the virtuosity of an experimental percussionist that often only presents itself in a live setting.
Then, mid-week of a drowsy SXSW 2007, I catch wind that Dosh is playing an outdoor show sandwiched between Buck 65 and a hip-hop act I cannot recall at the moment. This is what happens to Anticon artists – no one knows how to categorize them, so they all slowly congeal in the eclectic showcases. Regardless of the odd lineup, I was excited to see how these layers of sounds I had been listening to on repeat for four months would play out live from the hands of one man. Plus there is always the rumor that Bird would slyly step on stage.
One band that I’ve really been taking a liking to over the past year or so would be The Bad Plus, the jazz trio that has officially crossed-over into territory that few piano jazz trios could ever hope for. Little did I know that these guys could have been on my radar well before Bonnaroo 2004, the first year they played the festival and the one year I attended and unfortunately missed most of everything that I wanted to see. No, these guys came into my life much later when I befriended a fan of theirs that passed along a little background on the them and what they’re all about. It was then that my fascination with their music started, and I got to satisfy that curiosity again by catching them for the second time ever here in San Francisco last Thursday.
It’s been a busy day for me today but I’ve got a bit of time to drop a couple updates on the site, one of which being the fact that I’m going to be catching The Bad Plus tonight in San Francisco at the Palace of Fine Arts Theatre. I was fortunate enough to catch the set they did last September at the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago, which really blew me away in many different respects. Much like the clip above would if you had never heard or seen these guys before. Can’t wait; hope to have some stuff to share tomorrow once I find my camera USB cable. I still have stuff on there from SXSW that needs to be wrapped up.
