Dec 07, 2009
Live
Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs
There is no shortage of crappy bars in most cities in America where on any given night you can see bunch of amateur musicians slogging through cover versions of their favorite classic rock tunes. But it’s not every night that you get to hear two of alt rock’s finest play essentially the same gig, albeit in nicer surroundings with less cheap beer. On an unseasonably warm night in Pennsylvania’s quaint town of Sellersville, Matthew Sweet (he of the famed Girlfriend) and Susanna Hoffs (The Bangles) brought their revival act to several hundred concertgoers at the tiny former movie house called The Sellersville Theater.
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Nov 24, 2009
Live
Camera Obscura
Camera Obscura’s Tracyanne Campbell crooned, “I don’t wanna be sad again” in “My Maudlin Career,” the set opener of the band’s Nov. 22 show at Brooklyn’s Music Hall of Williamsburg (and title track of its latest record), but her claim wasn’t very convincing.
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Nov 11, 2009
Live
Dirty Projectors
By 7:15, the line for the Dirty Projectors rounded the corner of Sunset and Logan in Echo Park. Trick-or-treaters passed close to costumed Projectors fans until the sidewalk was a moving Halloween confusion.
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Nov 10, 2009
Live
The Dodos
Fresh from their performance on one of the biggest stages at Austin City Limits, The Dodos stepped on to a small stage nestled into a corner of the Rock and Roll Hotel. Large enough to comfortably hold the three-piece setup, which includes a vibraphone and one thrashing Meric Long, the stage remained dwarfed by the sold out crowd pressed up against it.
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Nov 03, 2009
Live
Cymbals Eat Guitars
Cymbals Eat Guitars come to this performance on the heels of a rather successful debut. Why There Are Mountains was met with praise from several prestigious voices in the pop scene, including this very rag. And to be fair, I came to this performance with rather high expectations.
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Nov 02, 2009
Live
The Decemberists
UCLA’s Royce Hall is a beautiful little venue. Ornately decorated, acoustically lush and comfortable in size, the theater lends itself well to all manner of performances. And on October 19th, Portland’s The Decemberists brought their fun blur of theater and rock show to the hall.
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Oct 30, 2009
Live
Laura Marling
While former cohorts Noah and the Whale are busy with a grand launch of their new album/movie project, London singer-songwriter Laura Marling has opted to quietly debut songs from her own forthcoming sophomore album, due in early 2010, in a series of intimate concerts in small East coast U.S. venues this fall. Two extraneous details threatened to ruin the mood on this particular night at World Café Live in Philadelphia.
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Oct 29, 2009
Live
Florence and the Machine
It’s no surprise that Florence and the Machine’s first proper New York show sold out quickly, as this performance was way overdue but very much worth the wait.
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Oct 29, 2009
Live
CMJ 2009 Day Five
“It’s early for everyone, I think,” said Jesse Lortz, guitarist and vocalist for Seattle’s the Dutchess and the Duke at 2-something on Saturday afternoon. After almost a straight week of shows and parties, it was about time for CMJ-goers’ collective hangover to kick in if it hadn’t already.
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Oct 28, 2009
Live
Daniel Johnston
Sometimes, it can be easy to take a concert at face value. A guy comes in with an instrument, plays a few songs, tells a few stories, and then everyone goes out for drinks and small talk. This process of thoughtless artistic consumption becomes significantly more difficult when that artist is Daniel Johnston.
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