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Review: Vampire Weekend @ Webster Hall

Jeffrey Greenblatt January 26, 2010 5 Comments

On paper there is nothing cool about Vampire Weekend. They’re four Ivy League graduates that play indie-pop music inspired by African rhythms and guitar with lyrics full of literary references, visits to foreign countries and summers spent in New England on records put out by a small UK-based label. With barely two-dozen songs in their catalog, these fresh-faced early 20-somethings have managed a meteoric rise in a just a few short years selling close to half a million copies of their infectious self-titled debut, and more recently dropping their sophomore effort Contra on January 12.

[All Photos By Jeremy Gordon]

Last week Ezra Koening & Co. returned to New York City, playing their first proper hometown headlining shows since December of 2008 taking over three different size venues over the course of three nights. VW played a 3,000+ person theater, a mid-size and small club – all of which sold out within minutes. The second of their mini-NYC tour brought them to the historic Webster Hall – a venue that these splits time between hosting concerts and dance parties – located in a nebulous area between Manhattan’s Union Square and East Village.

Decorated with a giant backdrop that featured the cover art for Contra, Vampire Weekend strolled onto the stage shortly after 10 PM to the strains of DJ Kool’s club anthem Let Me Clear My Throat, before launching straight into the synth-y, drum machine laced White Sky to the roar of a packed house of enthusiastic fans – many of which, from eavesdropped conversations, were college classmates with the foursome. Over the next hour and change the band ran through almost every song in their repertoire as the floor bounced and pulsed from the dancing and pogo-ing masses.

READ ON for more of my thoughts and Jeremy’s fantastic pictures…

New Year’s Eve Report: the Disco Biscuits

Jeremy Gordon January 7, 2010 1 Comment

Words by Carla Danca
Photos by Jeremy Gordon

After an amazing year on the road the Disco Biscuits returned to New York City’s Nokia Theater for the 2nd year for their New Year’s Holiday Run. Memories of the chaos and cold from last year couldn’t keep people away as the show was again sold out much in advance. With a light wet snow falling outside, the theater staff was much better prepared to greet the masses of fans going into the show, and the smooth entry process allowed everyone to get inside before the first notes of M.E.P.H.I.S rang out. The night started early. Though the curfew at the Nokia was extended for the NYE festivities, tDB went on without an opener and hit the stage promptly at 9:30 much to my surprise.

Stage Shot

The past year has been a big one for the Disco Biscuits. From creating their own festival at Red Rocks, to their big sets at Rothbury and High Sierra Music Festival, to a new video on mtvU, the signing with Red Light Management, and the constant teasing of the long awaited album Planet Anthem. The quartet has been in high gear with no signs of stopping. While the entire holiday run is getting rave reviews (especially 12/30/09), this NYE show was one for the records.

Overall just a great collection of shows from start to finish that showed off how tight and together these guys have become.

Alan & Brownie

READ ON to read more about tDB’s New Year’s run and Jeremy’s photos.

Hidden Track Review: Umphrey’s McGee S2 – In Which UM Shows Their Hand

DaveO November 25, 2009 7 Comments

Where do these guys get off? It’s not enough that they sold out five of their last eight shows of the tour, but now they start charging $100/head to fucking watch them rehearse? What a bullshit money-grab. But this sentence, that I promised to open with, couldn’t be farther from the truth. What Chicago-based sextet Umphrey’s McGee is accomplishing by throwing these events effectively demonstrates what separates the men from the boys in the world of improvisational music.

Atmosphere of S2

A little background. S² is an hour-long session – this one was closer to 75 minutes – with 50 fans who buy tickets and the members of UM and their crew. There is a giant projection screen visible to both the band and those in the audience and the attendees are encouraged to use their cell phones to text in themed suggestions. The texts arrive on UM sound caresser Kevin Browning’s laptop and he decides what gets put up on the screen for the next section of music. There were four sections of improv – containing between 9-12 themes – with short Q&As between featuring questions from the audience hosted by Lighting Crew Chief Wade Wilby.

More background: we need to look at 2009 as a whole and look at how these events are the perfect culmination of what I equate to the poker term of “showing your hand.” UM has always taken a methodical and precise approach to their music and to a degree their improvisation. The concept of “Jimmy Stewart” was explained in its best detail to date right here on Hidden Track in August of 2008 with help from the band and the band’s street team coordinator Jon McLennand. And in case it was not apparent from the written form, S2 is a variation on “Stew” short for Stewart. They also call these events Stew Art. READ ON for more on S2…

Review & Photos: Phish in Cincinnati

Hidden Track Staff November 24, 2009 12 Comments

Words and Images: Tim Hara

Last weekend, Phish made their triumphant return to Cincinnati for the first time in six years. They played the U.S. Arena, a 17,000 person venue located downtown right next to the stadiums where the Reds and the Bengals play. Although the place was packed both nights, fans could find cheap tickets – some even free – in the lot with ease. You could feel the excitement in the air as the crowd funneled through the doors and into the venue to begin what would turn out to be an incredible two-night stand in the Midwest.

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Phish kicked off the first night with good, but standard versions of Chalk Dust and Moma Dance. The entire building shook as the audience roared during “the pause” in The Divided Sky. After a solid rendition of Alaska, things were slowed down for Fast Enough for You, which was played for only the second time this year. The high point in the set came for Gotta Jibboo > Fluffhead, two crowd-pleasers that closed out the first half. Overall a solid, fun set, but it was obvious that the band was just getting warmed up.

The real magic came in the second set with the Tweezer > Light > Back on the Train > Possum sequence. The quartet jammed patiently and absolutely nailed the transitions in this segment; especially the segue into Possum. After a blissful, standalone Slave to the Traffic Light, the funk dance party started up with a monster You Enjoy Myself that clocked in at over 20 minutes to close what was a perfectly executed set. Phish then treated the crowd to a three-song encore that started with Joy and Golgi Apparatus and concluded with a Tweezer Reprise that ensured the show ended on a high note.

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READ ON for more of Tim’s thoughts and photos on Phish…

Phish in Syracuse: Setlist and Recap

Scott Bernstein November 22, 2009 9 Comments

Phish drummer Jon Fishman came home tonight as Phish rocked the War Memorial in Syracuse for the first time since November 4, 1994. In a show that was high-energy from

Review & Photos: Phish @ Cobo Hall

Pietro C. Truba November 19, 2009 40 Comments

“I want to tell you, Detroit, that you done set me up for a comeback,” former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick said after he was forced to resign last year. Echoing the words of the infamous Detroit mayor, Phish returned for a comeback of their own in the Motor City for this year’s fall tour opener, however, delivering on the comeback would be a different story. Save a few bright spots, (Down With Disease>Free and 46 Days) the show sounded like the first show of a tour, a bit rusty and apprehensive.

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The quartet came out to a barrage of roses from someone hopeful for Ween’s Roses Are Free, that unfortunately didn’t come. Most of the first set was fairly straightforward as nothing really found a perfect fit. With the newer songs Stealing Time From The Faulty Plan and Kill Devil Falls, guitarist Trey Anastasio’s, for lack of a better word, Joy, was apparent as he played these new compositions just as noticeably eager as he was the past summer to push the crowd to enjoy them as much as he seems to.

It’s Ice made for an interesting highlight of the first set, but most of the opening stanza was filled with slower tunes such as Mist. Things got slightly more upbeat with Poor Heart and 46 Days would branch out a bit, with Trey pinging notes over a spacey pulsing background soundscape while lighting director Chris Kuroda covered the side walls of Cobo Hall during the ambient improv. Slowly, the space in 46 Days fizzled into silence before it got to any real interesting territory.

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READ ON for more of Pietro’s thoughts and photos from Phish…

Review: The Avett Brothers @ Terminal 5

Hidden Track Staff October 28, 2009 3 Comments

Words: Daniel Schneier
Pictures: Will Porter

It’s taken The Avett Brothers 9 years, 11 albums and a tireless touring schedule to abandon the indie label cradle and enter the musical mainstream, though one evening with this North Carolina foursome leaves no doubt as to why they have courted the interest of big city suitors. The group is currently in the throes of a touring and promotional blitz in conjunction with the late September release of I and Love and You, their major-label debut, recorded in collaboration with acclaimed producer, accomplished beardsman and recently minted Columbia Records co-helmsman, Rick Rubin.

Having sold out two straight nights at the formidable “Fillmore” at Irving Plaza back in June, the Avett’s took on an even larger New York City stage on Saturday, October 17th, delivering a high-energy set of music to a packed house at Terminal 5. The band, consisting of talented multi-instrumentalists, Scott and Seth Avett, longtime bassist Bob Crawford and cellist, Joe Kwon, wasted no time in setting the night’s hootenanny tone, taking the stage around 9:15 to a roar of raucous approval from the audience.

With a swarm of homemade signs and t-shirts pressed up against the stage, and denizens of flannel-wearing, 20-somethings leaning off the venue’s 2^nd and 3^rd story balconies, the Avett’s broke out the ringing acoustical chords to opener, Paranoia in bFlat Major and proceeded to power through a breakneck paced 90-minute set of rock-infused folk and bluegrass.

READ ON for more on the Avetts from Dan and Will…

Review: Vic Chesnutt @ Somerville Theater

DaveO October 27, 2009 6 Comments

In general, when I arrive at a show and learn that I am walking in on an opening act that I was not aware of – I’m not very pleased. I had a timeline in my head of what I thought set times were going to be and realized that now, all of a sudden, every thing had been pushed back an hour. Sunday night however, it only took about five minutes for me to realize that I was going to be catching a great set of music from Clare & The Reasons, a band I had never heard of – in fact I did not know the name of the group until after their set was over and I swung by the merch table.

Clare & The Reasons touring band are a quartet, fronted by Clare Manchon and all four musicians are multi-instrumentalists. There was fiddle, trombone, clarinet, keyboards, guitars and basses constantly being passed around amongst all the members of the band, and while there was no percussionist…Clare had a foot-tambourine setup that added a little extra punch in the choruses of some songs.

They played the majority of their brand new album Arrow including the first-ever performance of the “Japanese Bonus Track”. As her set came to a close, Manchon announced that “You will all know this song” and launched into a great arrangement of That’s All (which is also on the album Arrow). With the signature piano line being played on a clarinet, the crowd – of unfortunately only dozens of people – let out an audible laugh and Clare quickly explained, “It’s not funny” into the microphone. This band is opening for Vic Chesnutt through November 7th, I highly recommend arriving early to check them out. Manchon’s gentle voice is a perfect fit for their type of music which borders somewhere between Twee Pop and gypsy street musicians. As my friend Indie Dan said, “Even though there wasn’t an accordion onstage, I totally could see them having one.”

Here is their music video for the song All The Wine:

READ ON for more from Dave including a review of Vic Chesnutt’s new band and to see the hilarious infomercial for Clare & The Reasons New Album…

Review: Yonder Shines On Broadway

Hidden Track Staff October 20, 2009 2 Comments

Words: Jonathan “Kos” Kosakow
Images: S. Balaji Mani

In a city where you can find entertainment of just about any kind, Yonder Mountain String Band stood out from the rest of options this past Saturday night in New York City’s Times Square thanks to their unique way of adding a slight twist of modern rock to traditional bluegrass that allows their sound to satisfy the tastes of fans across the board.

Even without a percussionist, the group is able to keep any crowd shuffling their feet for hours on end. Vocally, all four members are able to take center stage – with the majority of songs led by mandolin player Jeff Austin or bassist Ben Kaufman. The moments that they truly shine, though, come when they all harmonize together.

Unlike many current acts, the four members of YMSB, though they play different parts and sing different lines, come together to sound as one. Given their excitement at playing on Broadway, the quartet came out rocking, ready to play to their largest New York City audience to date at the 2,100-capacity Nokia Theater. READ ON for more from Kos and Balaji…

Review: RAA @ Bowery Ballroom

Hidden Track Staff October 9, 2009 2 Comments

Words By: Jonathan “Kos” Kosakow

Nils Edenloff, Amy Cole and Paul Banwatt, who together comprise The Rural Alberta Advantage, occupied many nights of their 2005 lives at an open mic night in Cabbagetown, outside of Toronto. Three years later, the trio released their first album, Hometowns, and was soon after signed by Saddle Creek Records. The RAA’s new-found success allowed them to spend most of the past year consistently touring Canada and the U.S.

It was apparent that they were still getting used to this success on Wednesday night, when a near capacity crowd at New York City’s Bowery Ballroom played host to one of their last scheduled shows of the year. Between songs, Cole and Banwatt shuffled back and forth between instruments (they both switched between percussion and synthesizer, though Banwatt favored the full drum-kit). Edenloff nervously stopped to remark on their thankfulness for playing in front of such dedicated fans. Though when the music started, it was clear that they were in their element. READ ON for more of Jonathan’s experience seeing RAA…

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