Moonface / Talkdemonic / Tammar @ Bowery Ballroom 10.30.11

Spencer Krug and his impeccable hair

On a Mischief Night more akin to a sleepy Sunday night than the devilish eve before Halloween, Montreal's Moonface lured costumed customers away from the holiday shenanigans to Bowery Ballroom for some nice organ music fun.

Hitting the floor well after Tammar's set, we caught Talkdemonic and became instantly enamored. The Portland, Oregon instrumental duo dropped some weather appropriate electro-folk jams that reminded Snail of I See Rowboats (now sadly disbanded). While the music was enough to reel us in, the band had us completely at their unique stage presence. Witnessing our first viola rock-out courtesy of Lisa Molinaro, we wondered why other bowed string musicians didn't get down like that, too. Drummer Kevin O'Connor kept it classy, boldly jumping from stage to floor weaving through the scantily crowded audience playing a melodica.

Blame it on Sunday, the holiday, or the efficiency of Spencer Krug's unspoken strategy to revert to obscurity with this project (we'll go with the last one), the venue only grew to about half capacity by the time Moonface came on. Dimly lit with a fireplace going in the background, Spencer and his cohort, the amazing Mike Bigelow played a set similar to their previous shows at Envelope and Mercury Lounge with a few exceptions. No "Shit-Hawk in the Snow" left room for an unreleased song Spencer admitted rips off lyrics from Real Life's 80's classic "Send Me an Angel." Quite generously, we were also gifted with a very rare encore with solo Spencer doing a beautiful cover of Fine Young Cannibals' "I'm Not The Man I Used To Be".

Seemingly growing more chatty with every leg of this tour, Mr. Krug not only entertained audience shouts but indulged us with a couple of silly anecdotes. First he recounted their plan to dress up like Jim Morrison and a member of The Blue Man Grouponly to can the idea because they'd be too busy dying of laughter to play. Later, we learned about his first run in with American police on a highway all due to a driver taking a joke sign, "Mike is stuck in a Haagen Daz container, Send Help!", on the window back of the mini van too seriously.

Keeping his promise to reinvent Moonface as he goes (he's currently recording material with Finnish band Siinai for the next release), Spencer announced this would be last time we'd hear the contents of Organ Music Not Vibraphone Like I'd Hoped played live. While its bittersweet to think we'd have to wait longer than a couple months to see him live again, after three times, it's easier to say goodbye to the old songs and hello to the next musical reincarnation of Spencer Krug.  --Cheep

Photo by Charles Steinberg via The House List

Metronomy / Class Actress / Caged Animals / True Womanhood @ Music Hall of Williamsburg 10.20.11

With CMJ madness in full swing, we came out of hiding from it for our first  Metronomy show at MOHW. On this night the British band was the epitome of light-hearted fun, adorableness and, dare I say it, quirk.

Below borderline creepy painted portraits, hometown-proud mastermind Joseph Mount and co. brought his addictive dance pop ditties to life to a sold-out crowd, the jovial energy of the studio recording amplified tenfold. Metronomy got the place pulsating, much like the bulbs on their tops, to the beat of our favorite danceables like "Heartbreaker," "Love Underlined," "The Bay" and "A Thing for Me." The main set closed with the slow simmer of "Some Written" though the night ended after a two-song encore: starting with the sweetness of "Everything Goes My Way" and ending with a massive power up via "Radio Ladio."

On the stage, we admired from afar Oscar Cash's multi-instrumental awesome (epic sax, ftw!) and drummer Anna Prior playing like a crazy, working a green sequin catsuit like we never could. As mad lovers of Metronomy's low-end, the man of the night was bassist (and impeccable dresser) Gbenga Adelekan. This dude has been grooving from the womb and the evidence is in his infallible bringing of the funk.

It would have been an absolute flawless first time if we weren't in the back with the least enthusiastic part of the audience. Luckily, Joseph announced their return is set for March and we can indulge in a dancey do-over next year. --Cheep

Photo via

Portishead & Thought Forms @ Hammerstein Ballroom 10.4.11

Portishead being ridiculously dope

Despite shot nerves from the excitement surrounding Radiohead at Roseland just days before, senses were still a-tingling for our long-awaited first Portishead show at Hammerstein Ballroom.

Thought Forms started off the night with long-winded droning guitar rock that lost us from the get-go. Their only palatable song was their second of the night which a friend pointed out could soundtrack the manhunt for serial killer. At some point we wondered "are they playing the first song again?" and that was it. Thought Forms may have not impressed much but at least their loud, massive sound served as great indicator that our beloved headliners were bound to blow our eardrums out.

The first time on a New York stage in years, the Bristol band made up for lost time with a life-affirming set mainly of the songs off their last album Third and a few lovely songs from our youth. Bearing witness to this band's prowess in person  --the vulnerability in Beth Gibbons' voice, Geoff Barrow going battlestar scratchlactica on the turntables, etc.-- cemented the realization that we've been listening to great music for most of our short lives and it was something to be proud of.

Some highlights of the night: The pulling of heartstrings during "The Rip," the near deafening greatness of "Machine Gun," observing drummer Clive Deamer in his natural habitat, fresh off playing with Radiohead, the crowd going into a frenzy every time Geoff Barrow worked the turntables and finally Beth coming down to the floor at the end of the set to shake hands with the front row. It was no crowd surf like at All Tomorrow's Parties but a sweet gesture all the same.

A brilliant performance left us awestruck and hungry. Luckily this was no reunion tour but a preparation for things to come and we can hardly wait!

Words by Cheep
Photo by Snail

Check out more pictures and the setlist at BrooklynVegan

Atari Teenage Riot and Otto von Schirach @ Gramercy Theater 9.23.11

Atari Teenage Riot's Alec Empire

An overwhelming week initiated with a wild ride of emotions left us wanting to exert all this excess energy and rage. There was no better place to let loose with Atari Teenage Riot and Otto von Schriach at Gramercy Theater.

When Otto von Schirach walked out looking like a  wrestler with a penchant for bejeweled grandma sweaters, it was apparent this was going to be the ultimate otherworldly freak show. Joined on stage by the silent but potential deadly dancer Lily, the Crack Monster and an inflatable pink flamingo, the Miami producer put on a ridiculous breakbeat funhouse nightmare that won over the early birds. It felt like like watching a faction of the Fantastic Nobodies with their usual musical companions, Modeselektor, present via deep booty-dropping bass (naturally, these kindred spirits have collaborated before.)

The Crack Monster and a masked Otto go crazy

The creepy, unsettling awful good time came to a close after 45 minutes with a song about santeros. The Spanish word caused our ears to perk, as per usual, when Otto introduced the song sans accent. This lead to wondering if he was one of us (we would later find the Cuban/German costumed crazy is :)) and admittedly, his assumed Latino cred was the red bow on the killer-clown-from-outer-space-severed-head-in-a-box of a gift that is his live show.

The thought of being swallowed up the sweaty vortex of adrenaline-fueled madness we envisioned Atari Teenage Riot concerts to embody was scary and intriguing. Surprisingly, the floor was desolate compared to what we expected it to be when the band hit the ground running with opener "Activate!" The digital hardcore trio Alec Empire, Nic Endo and CX Kidtronik eventually lured the shy out of the woodwork with their relentless energy and got a decent mosh pit going that lasted the whole set through.

ATR's Nic Endo and CX Kidtronik

The crowd rattled to the sound of ATR's best like "Sick to Death," "Delete Yourself" and "Burn, Berlin, Burn!" and new songs "Blood in My Eyes" "Codebreaker" and "The Collapse of History" from most of their current manifesto Is This Hyperreal???. Almost a decade gone, a member lost (R.I.P. Carl Crack) and a member gained in CX Kidtronik, Atari Teenage Riot resurrected in 2010 to finish what they started in a world that continues to be at the mercy of oppressing forces. Alec's monologue in the title track especially echoed the current climate in NYC with the Occupy Wall Street protests taking shape, their non-violent protest against corporate greed subject to police brutality. For an hour we shouted, pumped our fists and danced to these protest songs in solidarity... and it was beautiful. --Cheep

Photos (via)

Cut Copy/Foster the People/Midnight Magic @ Celebrate Brooklyn! - Prospect Park

By Jessica Amaya via BrooklynVegan

Concerts outdoors are a blessing and a curse. You're at the mercy of the elements: a pitch perfect sunny day is ideal but random rain can ruin weaves or have you regret you wore socks. If the band is still small enough,  you lose the intimacy that comes with a club show to a larger, less attentive crowd. In the masses, you can gain the camaraderie of some nice people who are there to have fun or be surrounded by a ton of unstable, fucked up assholes who chain smoke in your face and talk the entire show. We experienced a little bit of everything at all the outdoor shows we went to this summer and this one was no exception.

Midnight Magic had played and gone by the time we arrived to a people laden Prospect Park where were reminded why the idea, and only the idea, of living in NYC is awesome. Pregnant with burger and waffle fry food babies (we never learn) and tired from lack of sleep and overworking we were put out of commission again by the evening breeze and sat until Foster the People came on.

Somehow we managed to stand up and move, I danced knowing I might barf at any minute but didn't care. Snail, the older and wiser of us both, was more cautious and threw down only on favorites. White people started to dance like white people dance and we found a rare species of black girl that had no rhythm (!) who we wanted to tag for further study. The band was great but we felt great relief to had seen them for the first time at the Music Hall of Williamsburg in June as opposed to this show because it wasn't as fun and as we learned watching their SXSW performances on YouTube, we don't like seeing them play in the daylight.

Singer Mark Foster was more Thom Yorkian than usual on this day. In addition to being a little man with an amazing signature dance style, he did it all in a navy Fred Perry polo which we loved. Cubbie Andreas was still handsome slappin' da bass, mon, free banging in a signature chambray button-down with sleeves rolled up as high as he could get 'em. We're convinced keyboarding drummer guy Isom Innis takes uppers because his endless energy is inexplicable. He goes hard, all day, every day this band plays and that is unnatural so he's on coke or speed until proven otherwise... (not really!)

Foster talked about playing a song for Rivers Cuomo ages ago at a party and I was kinda bored because in our state we just wanted this to be over so we could sleep. That feeling melted away when they broke into Weezer's "Say it Ain't So" in appreciation for the band playing "Pumped Up Kicks" at a show days prior. A massive sing-a-long began and it felt nice to belt it into the sky with Snail. Everyone who felt excluded from the fun with this classic came back into the fold with final song, "Helena Beat."

The lull between bands was just another window for fatigue to seep through. Cut Copy had to come on ASAP to slap us out of this misery. Like a cruel joke, they opened with a series of dance-lite downers. Then "Corner of the Sky"  opened up a handful of body rattling gooduns "Blink And You'll Miss the Revolution," "Lights and Music," "Saturdays," "Pharaohs and Pyramids" and "Hearts on Fire." I inserted my funny dances for Snail into the most 90s sounding parts of a couple songs, as I promised her, and she did not pee her pants this time.

At some point the band was so psyched about playing they came to accordance that they were all moving to New York we were so awesome. Bands will say anything when emotions are running high, won't they? Haha!

During the epic ender "Sun God" we were thirsty and sick of people. We left the floor for some dranks and a seat under a tree for the encore. If we weren't such newbs to concerts at this park, we could've been here all along with a spectacular view of the stage, chilling out with the crazies dancing on the grass.  We did get to enjoy happy dance times in the wild to the beat "Need You Now"  and "Out there on the Ice" anyhow, all the more wise to the way to make it work for us when seeing a band play outdoors.

More pics of Midnight Magic, Foster the People and Cut Copy here

Cold Cave/Austra/Cult of Youth @ Bowery Ballroom 8.6.11

Photo by Dominick Mastrangelo via BrooklynVegan

We constantly dream how it would've been to see the likes of Depeche Mode, Siouxsie Sioux and the Banshees, Joy Division, New Order, Bauhaus and the Cure when they were young, inciting new wave dancey parties live in clubs and special to small group of romantic, dark and lonely weirdos. Literally babies then, we missed the boat and have been looking for the new wave dance party of our dreams ever since this music came into our line of hearing. Once upon a time, we had it in The Faint but their absence has left us thirsty. On this particular Saturday night libations flowed for what seemed forever with Austra and Cold Cave and we drank furiously.

Among the gays, girls, goths and everything inside and between, we stood on the floor, coming in during the last of Cult of Youth's loud yelps and fiddledidoos. Our brains were programmed for danceable electronics on this night so we dismissed them and their lack thereof accordingly. We soon fell out of attack mode with Austra's appearance -- or rather performance.

The band -- with the exception of harness booted keyboardist Ryan Wosniak -- walked on stage looking like the ultimate hipster caricatures. As it was the last day of tour, they threw together the last random bits of clothing they had left into less than stellar outfits. While their wardrobe choices were questionable, they hit the mark where it counts the most, musically. Singer Kate Stelmanis' has cemented herself as unique voice in indie with her fragile coos. In combination with the voices of Sari and Romy Lightman, the ladies sound like a chorus of wounded birds singing themselves into oblivion, tragic yet beautiful.

Bassist Dorian Wolf and drummer Maya Postepski add a new and welcome oomph to the set electro beats of the better songs off the Canadian band's debut Feel It Break. "Darken Her Horse," "Lose It" "Spellwork," "The Villain," and "Beat and the Pulse." Some may say "Lose It" is the single that made them but I offer up the sonically perfect and instantly contagious "Beat and The Pulse." You have to be soulless to not move to this joint.

In addition to the familar, they performed two songs we'd never heard, "Young and Gay" from the Beat and the Pulse EP and the unreleased "Habitat" our ears and feet quickly embraced them both happily.

At the end of their set, we had a decision to make: to stay or not to stay. Aside from a quick listen to Cherish the Light Years days before the show, we knew nothing of Cold Cave except that there was the potential danceyness to ensue. In the ever-present spirit of no regret, we vowed to stay on hopes of having a great time and if shit got boring, we'd leave and get some bubble tea at Just Sweet.

As usual we can't plan anything because it always ends up out window. Cold Cave had us the second they hit the stage after the shortest wait in between bands known to us. Into the darkness came drummer Alex Garcia-Rivera, singer Wes Einsold and synthesizer-er Ian Dominick Fernow, the latter two wearing the best leather jackets we'd ever laid our unworthy eyes on. Einsold intiated the set with a throwing of sunflowers into the crowd of which we were two of the lucky recipients. Then the music hit us.

It came in like the firestorm of Sarah Connor's dream, blowing away every layer of human leaving only our bare bones intact holding onto the lip of the stage. Two songs in and I thought we'd found our new The Faint. This was new wave party we've been dying to attend -- only we thought more people would be dancing instead of standing around oogling at the stage. We did our thing as hard as we could but it was nothing close to Fernow's moves. He thrashed about the stage, his body with no choice but to exorcise the abundance of energy and anguish and angst in this way. It was focan inspiring.

The band proved their worth and our brain signaled GET $5 DOLLAR BAND SHIRTS NOW! and during a slow jam we gave up front spots to venture out to the merch table and get what we wanted -- well, "needed" at this point. Unfortunately, the merch dude was away and would be back after their set so we went back inside danced to the encore in the back where the sound was better but it hurt to watch so many people not moving.

The second Wes uttered "This is our last song," we timed it so we'd head down toward the middle of it. We got our stuff and left, their hour long set leaving us enough time to still make it to Just Sweet for a bubble tea fix. Sipping on our iced teas with lychee jelly in awe of the night's happenings, we thanked the sons and daughters of 80s new wave for giving us something new to dance to.

Setlist and pics over at BrooklynVegan

Death Cab for Cutie/Frightened Rabbit @ Williamsburg Waterfront 8.2.11

Photo by Dominick Mastrangelo via BrooklynVegan

It seems when we see bands at Williamsburg Waterfront together there's always an ever-present pleasantness. On this particular day we came to this riverside park on one of the most beautiful days of the season to see Death Cab for Cutie and, like with Belle and Sebastian before them, experience some of the most delightful sounds our ears have ever encountered in the fresh, open air.

We missed most of openers Frightened Rabbit's performance and sat on the grass trying to fight our food baby induced itis for their last two or three songs. This was a fail, the little we could hear and the river breeze did nothing but make us want to take a nicely soundtracked nap. Though we stood up to find a good place to stand and once we were settled the wind continued to seduce us. Our excitement gave that noise the hand, however, in the name of no defeat!

The guys sealed that deal with the opening bassline of "I Will Posess Your Heart." Easily one of the best --and longest -- song intros of all time initiated an instant widening of the eyes and perking of the ears. This is how it was all night: Mindblowing basslines and smiles as we watched the band rocking out and making the best of the giant stage that years of paid dues and record sales have awarded them.

Listening to DCFC's albums, you'd think their shows would be a stage full of shy shoegazers playing these sad songs to a group of sobbing sallies but on the contrary. Working through a batch of oldies and the best of Codes and Keys, Ben Gibbard (aka Benjamin Gibblets) exemplified the antithesis to his deceptively happy-sounding songs swinging his weightless hair about, twirling from mic to piano, swinging his guitar on and off, and back again -- stopping occasionally for bits of banter and to admire the skyline behind us, from sunset to crescent moon nestled in the night sky.

The 20-song set came to a close with a meaty four track encore, beginning with the amazing "Home is a Fire" and punctuated by Gibblets playing drums on "Transalanticism." The night was free of tearjerkers like "Stability" or "Someday You Will Be Loved," thankfully, but could've used "Information Travels Faster," a mutual fave. Snail got to it during their downer-heavy Sasquatch! set and it would've been nice for us to share that greatness but, alas, it was not meant to be.

The night overall, however, was so. Our ears cozy with post-concert fuzz and warmth in our hearts courtesy of Gibblets and company. A pleasant feeling that lingered for days, kept alive by marathon plays of their songs.

Take a look at the complete setlist and pics at BrooklynVegan 

Death from Above 1979/The Drums @ Williamsburg Waterfront 7.22.11

Photo by Vincent Cornelli via BrooklynVegan

It's a rare thing when divorced parents get back together. Once upon a time, it was just as rare for a band to do the same but now it seems like many are making up and taking their show on the road once again.

In 2006, Death from Above 1979 left fans grieving the loss of the powerhouse duo and the missed chance to dance and mosh in the name of sexy music. A reunion and tour announcement earlier this year gave us new hope. DFA 1979 lovers, experienced or virgin, like us, were vowing not to miss them -- no matter what. Snail got her chance first at Sasquatch! Morrissey and I got tickets to their NYC show. Our date, the hottest day of a three-day heatwave, came with a high risk factor but it couldn't stop us, we rode that shit all the way to Williamsburg Waterfront.  

After a sweaty bus ride that brought me back to packed and swamp-assed bus rides in the third world tropics and cool redemption at Wild Ginger for dinner, we arrived to The Drums' pleasant indie pop ditties and found a nice spot near the stage. Sweaty and gross again, I tried to fight the urge to sway to their sweet beat as to not provoke my sweat glands further. Even though I was only familiar with "Best Friend" from their self-titled, I liked all of it, especially the new songs from Portamento, and a few sways escaped me anyway.

The sun had lost some power by their end but it was still too hot most people stood as far from each other as possible, reserving whatever time they had in anticipation for the potential body heat massacre that was to be during DFA's set.

People slowly began to migrate closer the the stage as Fugazi, AC/DC and At the Drive-In blared through the speakers.  A mini-sing-along broke out during ATDI's "One Arm Scissor" bouts where we stood and that made me happy. The headliner's banner soon fell, an amazing piece of black and white art featuring the guys' elephant-trunked zombified alter egos creeping up from behind their gravestone, engraved "DFA 1979 2001-2006," and everyone screamed. This was not a hallucinatory side effect of heatstroke, our boys were back from the dead.

All anxiousness from waiting abated, excitement and cheers reigned as Jesse F. Keeler and Sebastien Grainger hit the stage in ebony and ivory respectively, Sebby sporting a weird but ultimately very becoming bleach blonde moptop. We danced and thrashed -- some physically, others mentally -- and swooned over the Canadian hotnesses during our beloved songs, mostly from their Heads Up EP and album You're a Woman I'm a Machine. During the breaks, Sebastien asked if we were okay and riffed, telling joke after joke like a rookie comedian at his first open mic. He was hilarious, as usual. 

The heat was definitely affecting the level of crazy among the masses. We came into this mostly fearing that we were going to be eaten alive by a moshing mob but though a decent mosh pit got started, people seemed to care more about making through the show than risking their lives going hard in the pit. It was so hot, many guys and gals either walked out of it or reserved their cr00sh moments of their favorite jams.

After the end of the set, we cheered the men back on to the stage for an a two-song encore, apparently Sebastien didn't think we were going hard enough. “Mom and Dad get back together and that’s all you got?” he said and garnered our best roar -- or rather the best we could do as sunbeaten as we were -- and played us out with personal faves "Losing Friends" and "If We Don't Make It We'll Fake It."

As we walked out into the streets of North Brooklyn, we could hear people crossing this event off their bucket lists through the massive exodus. We hope Mom and Dad continue to ride the ecstasy of their make up sex well into their ancient years but if that's not the case at least we got to experience their legend first hand, at least once.

For setlist and more pics check out BrooklynVegan

Moonface/Flow Child @ Mercury Lounge 7.20.11

On this Wednesday night we revisited two of our favorite places in LES after a very long time: Teany for dinner and Mercury Lounge to see Moonface. We were welcomed into the venue to the beat of SBTRKT and danced to "Pharaohs" making up for its absence in his PS 1 set. I kept dancing funny to make Snail laugh really hard but I had to contain myself, as badly as I wanted to make her laugh I DID NOT want her to pee herself so I held back.

She lucked out because my dances did not match opener Flow Child's tune. This dude, who resembled Grizzly Bear Chris Taylor's little brother, tweaked knobs to create weird whimsy beats that reminded us of Animal Collective and scenes of candy colored fantasy creatures like pink hippos and rainbow-haired polycorns at times -- all in an old bata that had another life as a v-neck that turned into a crewneck and then a frayed boatneck. After his set, the venue's mystery mixmaster played "My Girls" and validated our keen ears.

I continued to clown out and kill Snail. A nice young man from Arkansas named Eli turned around to speak to us, curious about our raucousness. We discussed Flow Child's bata situation and I fell in love with his T-shirt. On the back it said, in German and Helvetica font "Bier trinkt man nicht nur zum Frühstück" (roughly "beer is not only for breakfast.")  He was surprised we didn't make incest jokes since he was from Arkansas. Who the fuck does that shit? A bunch a people he met in New York so far apparently. "You've been talking to a lot dicks" Snail said. "I guess so," Eli replied. And so we talked about his stay in NYC, he compared it to living in Berlin and my heart skipped a beat at the thought of my own impending dream of living in Germany's capital city.

Spencer Krug and Mike Bigelow had a similar effect on all of the crowd who cheered the duo on as they climbed on the stage. Before going all in on the whole of Moonface's freshly released Organ Music Not Vibraphone Like I'd Hoped, Spencer forewarned his organ was broken and joked if they fucked up and the show had to stop we were all going to get in their October show for free. In usual form, Krug played every song as if it was his last. His hair gone wild in fan wind and fingers undulating on the keys, he danced, no stool in his way this time, just the music moving him like a tuning fork that occasionally dips and shakes his hips. Mike wasn't far behind beating those electric drums with his whole body, working himself into a massive sweat.

They ended it all with non-encore Swan Lake's "All Fires" which Spencer prefaced with another funny comment, "This is our last song, so we can all get out of here...its Wednesday, we can all go home and watch movies on our laptops." The song caused a fanboy next to us to go into a nervous, excited frenzy. We saw him singing all the words to the songs earlier and concluded it was a privilege to finally stand next someone who outdid our frenzied fandom.

The venue played us out with some DJ Shadow. I stole a poster of the show as a keepsake and we were sad we didn't have any money for the Organ Music... vinyl or tour poster. Snail, being her Honest Abe self asked a security guard if she could take the other Moonface poster that was up and in that instant this drugged up fatty snatched it. We could've easily tripped him and stole it from him, but we had committed enough petty crimes for the night.

Related: Moonface/Matteah Baim @ Envelope 5.6.11

Darkstar/Phaseone @ le poisson rouge 7.18.11

Photo via The Guardian

It seems that no matter how exciting the prospect of Darkstar's debut live performance in NYC was it would always be accompanied by the most metal gift of all: disappointment.

First concert announcement, yay! Then a cancellation, boo! New show announced for July, yay! Snail getting sick and not coming, boo! I go anyway, for both of us, yay! Stand outside for an hour and try to sell the extra ticket when the show is not sold out, boo! Meet someone new to hang with inside, yay! No one is biting and I'm nervous about how big the crowd is inside, boo! Small talk with (and initiated by) singer James Buttery, yay! Let my anxiety get to me, give up and go inside, boo! The set was short as heck, boo!

All the nervousness about the venue being full and being ready to hate people was in vain. I came downstairs to an empty floor, most people leaning against walls or sitting on couches in the perimeter. In the end, the crowd grew to about 1/3 of the capacity at most. Possibly hoping more people would come in, the 9 p.m. show started at 10. Opener Phaseone concocted some beats that I remember went well within a dream sequence where there was a party somewhere and people drove home in the dark riding on the chill of his conclusion. My new acquaintance Eddie was pretty psyched on him but one Swiss avant-garde electronic musician we met outside after the set, felt he was too much the amateur to be opening up for a band like Darkstar. I didn't mind it, didn't feel like I wanted him to finish as soon as possible so he was good enough.

Without a sound the elusive Brit trio came in from the darkness onto the stage, all in jackets more appropriate for mid-fall than the summer heat, prefacing their set with a continuous ominous thump. James Buttery softly cooed into a mic and played with his voice pushing buttons at his feet. Aidan Whalley and James Young remained silent, their attention focused on manipulating beats and twiddling knobs. 

The bare bones set was about 6 songs long of mostly somber jams including "Gold," "Two Chords," "Darkness" and a cover of Radiohead's "Videotape." Of course, this band would play the saddest song in the RH catalog. Refusing to check out videos online of past performances, this came as a total surprise. It was also the first time I've heard the track in a while, which we actively avoid in order to maintain composure while listening to In Rainbows, since we saw the band headline All Points West in 2008. I hoped I the waterworks wouldn't turn on in public as they always do. However, I was safe for as melancholy and soul wrenching James' voice can be, it lacks the Thom Yorke effect so I only got that tingling in the nose.

One song after that, it was over. Forty-five minutes. They said thank you and left the stage to be seen no more. I was confused and ultimately pretty bummed. I was dumbfounded. They surely have enough material, even if they had decided against cranking out their dubstep oldies, the whole of their debut North was enough for at least an hour-long headlining set. I wondered if they were discouraged by the small crowd or if that's just how they do their thing. Not used to headlining sets so short part of me felt kind of gyped. Frankly, if my jams "Dear Heartbeat" and "Aidy's Girl is a Computer" were in the setlist I wouldn't have cared so much about the length. Hopefully, there's a next time where those tracks are played and Snail can be there to experience it with me.

A Perfect Circle/Red Bacteria Vacuum @ Beacon Theater 7.15.11

Photo by Keeyahtay Lewis

As per Snail's request not to pull a Lightning Bolt--going to a show without her and not write about -- Here's my account of APC at Beacon Theater.

From the great "old man" seats granted by my brother Felix's persistence months ago, first row of a section above the floor -- an instant upgrade from looking down below to the tiny stage people from the high in the balcony as with Massive Attack last year -- he and I experienced our third show together in great comfort.

Besides the fact they were Japanese openers Red Bacteria Vacuum were a mystery before our ears beheld their noise. While Felix remained skeptical, it was all good for me for I've never seen a Japanese opening act I didn't like (see: Melt Banana, Ogre You Asshole!). This trend continued this night as the all-girl punk band from Tokyo hit the stage with an adorable cheerleader formation to industrial beats that led into a varied set of songs, some speedy and headbang-inspiring numbers akin to a chorus of rabid cats fighting and some the likes of a super-kawaii anime theme.

The ladies were cheery, super grateful and in between songs repeated "We are Red Vacuum Bacteria, we are from Tokyo, Japan!" joked around ("pleased to eat you!")  and politely asked everyone to stand for the performance, all in their best English. Many people did, but I didn't because I am coward but glad everyone else did.

Equally as captivating as they were, was drummer Jasmine's canary yellow drumkit. Each drum was like a tube, built to shoot sound directly into your face. Felix loved the drumset, liked the music but wished he understood what they were saying. Language never a barrier for this Cheep, I was all kinds of giddy about them. Super sweet Japanese ladies who can rock hard win all the time, without question.

Promptly at 9 p.m., A Perfect Circle took their places on the stage to the roar of the crowd. The scene set was a desert army base, cargo, a sign that said "MINES DANGER" on the floor and a shade tarp with their logo draped on the wall behind them. Guitarist Billy Howerdel sat at toy piano at the front of the stage for opening cover, Crucifix's "Annihilation." Singer Maynard James Keenan in a trooper's costume, in his anti-frontman fashion, stood in the back right corner of the stage on a giant crate. Both of them clad in combat boots and tight pants, umph! James Iha, platinum blonde and unaging,  handled guitar and keys from his own pedestal next to Keenan. My brain missed Joshua Freese who is off drumming elsewhere and ex-bassist Paz Lenchantin who I secretly hope will rejoin the band one day but the guys handling the rhythm section brought it well enough.

Not exactly a fan of their (mostly) covers album eMotive, the idea that eight songs on the set were covers was disappointing. As the band played on, however, I developed an appreciation for the way they completely transformed the tracks into A Perfect Circle's dark, sensual and at times whimsical signature sound.

Depeche Mode's "People Are People," a favorite of mine, was beautiful but unrecognizable until I realized what Billy was cooing. The best cover of the night was Black Flag's "Gimme Gimme Gimme" this live version far superior to the studio recording. The original songs from the disc, "Passive" and "Counting Bodies Like Sheep to the Rhythm of the War Drums," were also performed. The first is major goosebump business live while I could've done without the later, it just mad me annoyed they didn't just play "Pet" instead of that loud droney crap.

I savored the moments during the show where the original tracks from the Mer de Noms and Thirteenth Step were played like a one-in-a-blue-moon cherry-flavored hard candy. Everything I knew and loved about the band was on point and Beacon Theater's amazing sound amplified it well especially the loudness of the sexy, guitar noise whirring swells. As usual vocals could've Maynard and Billy Howerdel's velveteen le sigh-worthy vocals you just want to swim in.

A wisecrack from Maynard initiated the tail end the show, joking it was time to "clip some coupons and save time" and pretend they left the stage for a while and came back out for the encore, where they played three more songs, ending with the impressive new song, "By and Down."  If this song is at all indicative of upcoming album's quality, it's going to be a definite ear pleaser.

Taking into account that they're a band who does what they do very well and we can't always get what we want, it was pretty awesome for what it was.

Listen to "By and Down" here

PS1 WarmUp: TURRBOTAX® DJs/Bronze/FaltyDL/SBTRKT/Four Tet 7.9.11

Four Tet - Photo by Loren Wohl (via Pitchfork)

Our first outdoor dancey pari of the summer this Saturday was quite the beasting affair.

Snail had to stick around longer than we planned reporting on the tragic murder of Facundo Cabral, so we arrived at the museum fashionably late to the final beats of Bronze's far out primitive-sounding madness. Weaving through the number of freaks shakin' it in the sunshine, we found a good place on the stairs to nestle our booties and save our energies for the potential craziness of Four Tet's set.

With FaltyDL's sweet mix in the background, we bobbed our heads and engaged in our usual crowd watching, picking out the best and (laughing at) the worst body movers on the floor. Among the pelvic thrusters, ravers, giraffes, and the bouncy-kneed gringos rose a very special dancer: the bearded dude with the maritime hat and devil horns icon pin. This guy not only blew our minds with his unique moves but also with his inability to give an effing shit. Not since "Sweatpants" at Modeselektor, had we witnessed this kind of grace and non-fuckery. He worked the crowd and inspired other crazies to follow his lead, but no one could step to him. We would've given that whole crowd for clones of him moving at the same time, forever, he was that solid.

SBTRKT hit the stage soon to an even more densely packed audience,  complete with an African tribal mask wielding fan. It was exciting to listen many of the tracks from the LDN producer's terrific debut full length bumping into the warm afternoon air and live drums in the mix. After scoping out a decent spot on top of the stairs near the stage and the booming speakers, we caught a glimpse of SBTRKT and Sampha, masked as expected, finishing up a super-short set and got quite distracted when Kieran Hebden came on stage to set up his gear. There we were, ogling at these dudes-- what happens when we're in the presence of greatnesses we have crushes on. When SBTRKT was done, the mask came off to reveal a royal hotness and it was understood why the man really covers up that face of his: he wants his work to cause the boners not his beautiful face. Fair enough, at least now we've seen it.

After missing Herr Hebden inaugurate the Mr. Sunday parties Memorial Day weekend, we were long overdue for an eye and ear pleasing via Four Tet and this second chance to see our boy DJ outdoors was not to be passed up.  We were nervous, blind to what he might spin, hoping he'd play his collab with Burial and Thom Yorke "Ego" and his Rocketnumbernine remix of "Matthew and Toby."

For an hour and a half he ripped it up -- in flip-flops nonetheless. His own "Love Cry" opened a sick mix of jazz, reggae, hip-hop and electro joints including tracks by Caribou, Nas, P. Diddy, and LFO. He seemed to have played everything under the sun but the songs we wanted... womp. No matter, despite this small sadness, we shook what our mamas gave us as Kieran hit it out the park, as per usual. The frenzied masses behind us affirmed, going mental, even crowd surfing!

Danced to sweaty and tired hungry messes, we took ourselves to a local diner for some grub before heading back into Manhattan for some Pinkberry and the trip home. Super psyched that our first summer dance party went off without a hitch and so many more are on the horizon. Tonight we're going to be living the dream and bringing on the heatstroke with Ratatat, Omar Souleyman and Black Pus at Central Park Summerstage. IT WILL BE GRAND!

Check out more photos of the party here

Foster the People/Gardens & Villa @ Music Hall of Williamsburg 6.20.11

Photo by Greg Notch

As far as we're concerned summa-summa-summatime officially started one day before the solstice: A perfect sunny day punctuated by a great Wild Ginger dinner al fresco and fun courtesy of some of the sunshine state's finest dancey pant movers, Foster the People and Gardens and Villa's at Music Hall of Williamsburg.

We entered the venue, relieved to only have one opener between us and Foster the People with figurative fingers crossed hoping -- as usual -- the opening band would be on the right side of awesome. And boy did the Wizard make it so.

It was love at first listen with Santa Barbara's Gardens & Villa. The Michael Jackson loving band inspired major body rattles from us with a sound that features the best of 60s pop, 80s new wave and today's indie rock. Snail was half-way to loosing control of her bodily functions burning love holes into the MJ sweatshirt wearing multi-instrumentalist cutie on stage right, unable to remove her stare from his fancy footwork behind the keyboard.

We grooved to the tunes of their summery self-titled debut ourselves including now favorites "Spacetime," "Black Hills," "Cruise Ship" and "Star Fire Power" and wrapped it up with a cover of Gary Numan's synth hit "Cars." So impressed we were that we rushed to the merch booth immediately after their set for a copy of the album, on sale in advance of its July 5th release date. Listening that night at home we realized the album doesn't hold a candle to their live performance.

We discovered Foster the People via footage of an explosive set at SXSW and have come prefer the high-energy renditions of the jams from first LP, Torches on the stage to the less exciting studio versions. Of course, we were now super stoked to finally bear witness to their power punch of a live show in the flesh.

The LA band burst onto the stage in no time, flashing through the contents of Torches. They played on and on at full tilt, looking super adorable and happy as heck stopping only a few words of thanks and a shout out to a ticket giveaway winner who impressed the band with an interpretive dance on YouTube.
We danced on and on to the likes of "Hustling," "Don't Stop" and "Broken Jaw," annoyed "sexy" girls in process, only coming to a full stop to rest during epic mushfest "I Would Do Anything For You."

The magic came to close with encore, and certified rump shaker, "Helena Beat." Everyone went nuts.
We exited eager to rehydrate with some coconut water but not so much to start the trek back home, happy to have kicked off summer with this craziness and equally sad because it came and went so fast. Then we're all smiles again because we'll be getting down to FTP once again this summer when they open for Cut Copy in August at Celebrate Brooklyn. Hells. Yes!

Laura Marling/Sleepy Doug Shaw @ Housing Works Bookstore 06.14.11

After three years of fandom and many a failed attempt to see Ms. Laura Marling live, we finally did it on Tuesday night at a benefit show at Housing Works.  Cheep made the early arrival to guarantee us the best seats, front and center. After work, I met her and we snacked on Pret-A-Manger goodies as we waited for doors to open. We've been to Housing Works enough times to be in love with the place. Everything you buy, from the strangest book to their delicious chai lattes and muffins goes to benefit the homeless living with AIDS. The venue was truly perfect for Laura who performed, not coincidentally, in front of the "Rare & Unusual" stand of books.

Before her set, a self-declared jet-lagged Sleepy Doug Shaw, gave us a few songs. We hadn't heard him before but all we could say at the end was, "these Brits and their silky voices." He performed a cheeky cover of a song by a Sierra Leone artist despite his guitar having "airplane fevah" and it was "awesome" as some girl in the crowd reassured him it would be, since he seemed a bit nervous when he took the stage.

Seamlessly, Laura transitioned to the stage after a glowing introduction by Alan Light that made her blush a bit. He accurately called her "one of the best singer-songwriters of her generation." She looked down and fiddled with her guitar looking humbled in skinny jeans, white tee and sneakers, her blond hair untied and a bit wild... glowing. The bookstore was immediately silenced as she opened her completely acoustic set with "Rambling Man" and "Alpha Shallows," a few of my favorites from I Speak Because I Can. In between songs, the lady felt rude for having to tune her guitar so much, so the filler banter was kept to a minimum. She did manage to squeeze in a book recommendation, because she's dying to talk to someone about it, and kind words to those who chose to be there instead of the big Spider Man premiere with Bono, also happening that night. We laughed at that.

A few beer bottles clanked in the background but mostly, everyone seemed to be holding their breath, it was a impossible not to be when sitting so close to this gorgeous human being. She joked about not thinking her setlist through, "I hope you were not already sad." But tried to cheer us up by playing the theme song to Cinema Paradiso, which she half-mastered "bored" at the studio whilst recording her upcoming new album A Creature I Don't Know. A highlight for us was definitely getting a lot of those new songs, and it was hard not to tear up during "Night After Night."

Her voice is absolute goosebump business. Laura has a super calm stage presence, but she is like a rock getting thrown in a river, going from a tiny splash then rippling out into infinity with her voice. She wrapped the night with the amazing "I Speak Because I Can" and on the way out everyone finally exhaled, uplifted for what we had just seen, and a bit bummed we had to leave.

Amazing photos by Norlan Cruz here.
More videos, including her cover of "Blues Run The Game" here.

Johnny Flynn & The Sussex Wit/Caitlin Rose/James Mathé @ Bowery Ballroom 5.28.11

Photo by WilyBrunette

While Snail was gallivanting at The Gorge getting her Sasquatch! on, I stayed behind to venture into NYC's misplaced August heat at the end of May to represent Cheep & Snail at Johnny Flynn and the Sussex Wit.

It's no secret I prefer to go to shows in good company but whenever that's not possible, I suck it up, go through the motions until the artist I'm there to see comes on stage. This time it was a little different. Having listened to very little of Johnny's music beforehand-- about 6 songs -- I didn't feel ready for this jelly. I was going mostly on Snail's love for him and my trust of her taste in awesomeness and the hope he would play the songs I knew so vaguely and this made me nervous, a wannabe fan surrounded by superfans can feel terribly lonely. Feeling this way and without Snail's excitement to feed off of, I thought twice about attending all together. However, in the spirit of no regrets and thinking about how awesome it feels to go see someone play with innocent ears and instantly be enamored, I forged ahead in the name of good music!

As expected I couldn't avoid the boredom in between performers. Anxiety crept as I was growing impatient by the minute, particularly when the Dave Grohl appreciation music stopped blaring from the speakers. Surrounded by pretty girls in pretty summer clothes talking to their equally attractive friends or boyfriends I prayed for time to fly and the openers to be a sweet relief from this lonely hell as opposed to fuel the fiery inferno. Thankfully, my prayers were answered.

Sussex Wit keyboardist James Mathé opened the show with a soulful slow jams that would be great to soundtrack a perfect Sunday morning, so chill. His velvety voice reminded me of a more refined Justin Timberlake at his best. Second act Caitlin Rose played country songs about New York City's greatness, a shitty packs of cigarettes and going out on the town and finding a man to love and a man to leave. I was mostly entertained by her sassy banter in between songs. Cursing like a sailor, making fun of herself and joking with the band and the guys in the crowd flirting with her-- she seemed like a dudely dame in her own right and that's always worth approval.

Johnny Flynn hit the stage to the crowd screaming "I love you"s so amped to see the handsome Brit play his brand of folk. Once he and the Sussex Wit began to play I was instantly drawn in, my boredom/lonely anxiety dissipated. My heart pitter-pattered at his multi-instrumental talent, switching from guitar to mandolin to trumpet to fiddle (!!!!) all set, this is always too much. My favorite moment of the night was Johnny's rendition of "The Water" or that-river-song-he-sings-with-Laura Marling as I knew it, with his sister Lillie. It was a thing of goosebump business and tears, their voices were just magical together. At the end the audience, who seemed to be in a state of loving awe all this time, was jolted into movement by "Eyeless in Holloway" and "Tickle Me Pink." Singing at the top of their lungs and dancing, some stomping, others doing the goofy Caucasian bounce it was fun to witness their elation.

There was a 2-song encore "Amazing Love" and "Leftovers" but I missed them driven out by the urgency to free my dogs from their painful bootie prison.

Going into this all anxious and innocent, I left feeling like a proud mama. The band's dynamic was great and I was awed by Johnny's focused and centered performance. He was hoarse, broke a mandolin string, and a cough made him forfeit a whole verse on "Churlish May" only made his work on stage more endearing. his awkward yet appreciative demeanor as the crowd yelled out hyped-up comments and belting his songs back at him was also super adorable.

I missed Snail like heck but thrived on the thought that I'd do it all again, with her, the fires lonely hell extinguished, reveling in Johnny Flynn's awesomeness together.

Moonface/Matteah Baim @ Envelope 05.06.11

Friday night we rode to L to the Jefferson stop to see Spencer Krug as Moonface. We've declared our love for the man and his music plenty of times here, so to attempt to describe how happy we were to see him in a 65-person capacity space is a bit challenging. Let's just say it was sickening.

The fourth-floor candle-lit apartment boasted a warm --it was quite tropical in there-- and relaxed atmosphere that made this event feel more more like party in some friend's living room --giant cat portrait painting included-- than a concert. It was as though we were invited to check out what they were working on lately, like good old friends, mad casual.

The show opened with a quick set of Matteah Baim's beautiful haunting folk songs. After a short sound check, it was on to Moonface's first show ever. There was no Dreamland EP to be heard but plenty of marimba and shit drums via band mate Mike Bigelow on rad new songs nobody had heard before including the hilariously titled "Shithawk." A slender Spencer did his thing looking like a mad scientist, whipping his long hair about and stomping on the ground behind all those buttons on his "golden pipes" and synthesizers.

It was great to see Spencer thriving in this intimate setting. He seemed more playful than usual in between songs, joking around "seriously, guys, if you could just crawl up here one by one and see there's just so many buttons" and "doot-dooting" while playing with his globe tap lamp in between raising his glass to cheer with us. Serious appreciation also goes to Mike who killed it on the percussion end, holding his own complimenting Krug's brilliance. When we weren't dancing to the new downright crazy electro beats and trying not to pass out in the heat, we spent the show eyes darting between their hypnotizing cohesive energy.

Then to our awesome surprise, Sunset Rubdown's Camilla Wynne Ingr crawled on stage to sing a couple of songs, concluding with Swan Lake's "All Fires," during which she slugged sips from a bottle of Jameson at the instrumental parts and poked fun at Spencer for covering his own song. Needless to say, she's our kind of lady, and obviously the entire room's because as soon as she got off the stage she was surrounded by many a person telling her, "you are so cool."

Though everyone stuck around post show to finish their fancy drinks or get a chance to talk to the band or just not to waste the rest of a perfectly good Friday, ousted by the heat and habit we went home along in our usual haze of gratitude and feeling like what just happened was one great incredible dream. A wonderful Spring evening indeed.

Spencer said the new album should be out around August!

Gang Gang Dance/New Moods @ Music Hall of Williamsburg 05.04.11

Photo above by Jason Lester

While everyone else was enjoying Foals in Manhattan, we ventured Brooklyn-ward to catch Gang Gang Dance's headlining show at Music Hall of Williamsburg.

The opening DJs did us wrong by spinning reggaeton and Chris Brown in a confusing mish-mashing of the good with the bad and ultimately losing us all together.

New Moods was a step up but would've been more enjoyable if their opening song didn't drag on forever and the rest of the set sounded like the one atmospheric Zola Jesus-y thing they did.

In no time we were tripping the light fantastic to Gang Gang Dance's psychedelic percussion party.

The set list, comprised of mostly tracks from their amazing fifth album, Eye Contact, was something to the effect of "Adult Goth," "House Jam," "Glass Jar," "MindKilla" -- give or take a song or two -- plus an encore. Highlight of the night was definitely the "MindKilla" jam sesh, starting out more stripped down than the album version but gave way to a rump-shakin' drum-heavy extended mix that left nothing more to be desired and culminated in a crush on drummer, Jesse Lee.

This band has been tearing up the fabric of electronic beats and cross-genre experimentation for years, playing their brand of dance all over NYC. This was the first time we were able to catch them doing their shit, legit, it was great to see them perform at their seasoned best.

Tame Impala/Yuck/Yawn @ Webster Hall 4.25.11

Photo by Kenny Shin

While Ron Paul supporters got high on some politickin' about a presidential bid or some shit in Webster Hall's basement, we chilled out maximus to the stoner hippie stylings of Tame Impala upstairs in the Grand Ballroom.

Chicago band Yawn was already opening the show when we got in. All I remember, unfortunately, was thinking the singer was cute and the drums were nice and dancey.

During the intermission, we got all soul-searchy and weird pondering about when we would stop checking out new bands and seeing them live and got a little grossed out on the prospect of being in our 50s and still raging at indie shows... then Yuck came on. Earlier than scheduled, even, and we hope this didn't mean their set would be longer than necessary (it wasn't).

This band sounds a bit Pixies-ish and like they belong doing guest spots on '90s teen dramz like Beverly Hills 90210. Aside from this there was some denim on denim, Poppy hair and an Acapulco bata (we like the word "bata"). I want to say we were kind of tricked into enjoying their set -- we weren't in the mood but in order to not get bored we listened and swayed to the songs which really weren't so bad, especially one song called "Fat Pussy."

After the torturous but inevitable worst 30 minutes ever --the ones before a headlining band comes on-- Kevin Parker and co. brought their cute bare feet to the Webster Hall stage for the first time in NYC since November's Bowery Ballroom show. For an hour and a half we shook, shimmied and swayed as they hopscotched through jams from Innerspeaker, played a phenomenal cover of Massive Attack's "Angel"--amped to the appropriate volume level for once-- and topped with what drumma Jay Watson called a "decadent medley, like a slice of decadent cake" to which Kevin replied saying "la torta" in Spanish and our ears perked up at the sound of our native language being spoken by an adorable Aussie in an enviable cheetah shirt. This decadent torta consisted of "Lucidity" and parts of "Skeleton Tiger" and "Half Glass Full of Wine." I expected "41 Mosquitoes.." would be thrown up in that slice but nay. No encore, either, since those things tend to get lame according to Kevin Parker but worry not, he assured they were to return soon enough to satiate our needs. That said, I'm just putting it out there: next time give us some "41 Mosquitoes..." and "Sundown Syndrome," grcs.

Homeward bound, we guzzled black cherry sodas and talked about many a thing as usual, including Snail's accidental eavesdropping on a disgusting post-concert conversation, and wrapped up another night of doing what we do until we can't handle people all up in our auras no more: getting our minds blown by our favorite artists live.

Handsome Furs/The Cinnamon Band @ The Bell House 04.14.11

Our night with the Handsome Furs could be described simply as concert nirvana. Everything in its right place. Nothing gone wrong. A night of magnificent firsts.

Despite being fans of the Furs for a long time, we hadn't been able to catch them live. Maybe it was because we had to wait until the perfect things aligned to make it a truly memorable show. It was our first show ever at The Bell House in Brooklyn and everyone from the bouncer to the bartenders and merch people were the kindest. We even snatched some essentials from the Village Voice newsletter reps (chapstick, earplugs, a pen and a koozie!). In impromptu fashion we decided to knock back a few beers, to (maybe?) keep us under control in the presence of Dan and Alexei, the coolest couple since Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward, according to Cheep.

The Cinnamon Band, who had to fill in for Grimes at the last minute, did a great job with their set and we swayed in the back until the Furs came out and we made our way forward. We quickly befriended with a girl in front of us and when Alexei popped out for a quick gear check we did something we're usually against. Yelling stuff. It was all so laid back, it seemed alright, they kept talking to us and laughing. She kept holding her heart, mad grateful.

Honestly, this band is pure fucking love. You are in their presence and feel just how happy they are to be doing this, and in turn all they get is love and good vibes from everyone around. Not since dancing with The Flaming Lips  or going insane at Buraka Som Sistema, were we surrounded by such cool peeps who were there for the music, booty shaking and managed to have a good time without losing their humanity. Everyone was in the moment, but it stemmed from them being in the moment. After an amazing set which included newbie "What About Us" and one badass encore, the show was over. Like all incredible things, way too fast.

We hung around grinning like fools, ready to talk with Alexei who smelled like a magical ball of sweat, perfume and cigarettes. We hugged repeatedly. She broke into her Spanish like it was no thing with us after recognizing our Latinoness. Mi padre es cubano, she said. She agreed that her and Dan are like -- if not better than -- Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward. She kissed and hugged us again, real hugs and real kisses the kind you lean into all the way. Yes, gushing love is all this recap is getting and a big thank you to the universe for the best night out at a show in forever. Fuck. Yes.

Warpaint/PVT/Family Band @ Bowery Ballroom 3.31.11

After a massive charging up of the vegan persuasion at Wild Ginger in Little Italy, we electrified Bowery Ballroom with our booty go-rounds for Warpaint, PVT and Family Band.

After a Grizzly Bear caught our eye at the bar, we enjoyed an awesome time during Family Band. The Brooklyn-based group led by husband and wife singer Kim Krans and guitarist Jonny Ollsin played their brand of intense mood rock that made us want to kick ourselves for dismissing them the last time they opened for Warpaint.

This great start to the night got us even more pumped to see PVT -- the Aussies formerly known as Pivot and still known as such in our brains-- again. We hadn't seen these guys since they killed us softly with their bleeps and bloops at Glasslands in '09, this was long overdue. A bit of worry lurked in the back of our minds since we weren't well-acquainted with the new album, Church with No Magic but on the contrary, the set was great, major p-control loss experienced, despite being restricted to tracks off Church... and nothing from their amazing first LP, O Soundtrack My Heart. According to synth wizard Dave Miller, who we accosted after the show, they were going to play a one oldie but time ran out. Guess we have to wait until these guys are headlining gigs to get the obscure jams, haha.
As time came closer for the L.A, ladies to hit the stage, people in a crowd started to get a bit unruly, many a peep hungry from a close up glimpse of the band. For a second we thought the bit of room we had to bust a move was going to be gone due to the madness, but the universe had other things in mind. By the time the ladies hit the stage we shifted about, put all disturbances aside and did our booty rolls, accordingly.

Warpaint live the second time around was not much different from December's show with a few exceptions: we got Theresa on drums and Stella guitar on opener "Set Your Arms Down," Snail's ability to keep composure (no pun!) lowered 80% from the last show, "Elephants" was the lone encore and "Burgundy" was sacrificed for the very gorgeous "Billie Holiday." This is where Snail and I put our arms around each other and swayed as we sang. We couldn't help it, this band just fills us with overwhelming love! That's what they do, the Warpaint, warm our hearts to the core.

All fuzzy inside we exited knowing that 1) Warpaint is a band we can not miss live EVER  and 2) I had the guts to talk to a PVT and will not being dying an old man filled with regret as of yet. That's Numberwang!