The Poison Tree played a packed showcase at Pete’s Candy Store last Friday and UnRated NYC was there to document the Brooklyn project’s “innovative indie rock opus” (American Songwriter).
Here’s The Poison Tree covering Doveman’s “Angel’s Share.” Doveman contributed to the Poison Tree’s self-titled debut album, out March 15 on embarque:
Here’s a new one, presumably titled “What Kind of Man Is He”:
Ron Sexsmith visited Time Magazine on Monday and sat down with Craig Duff for a video interview and performance of “Love Shines” from his brilliant new album ‘Long Player Late Bloomer,’ out March 1. Despite a flight cancellation in the morning that caused him a lack of sleep, Sexsmith was in good spirits and sounded fantastic!
Back in 2004, when I first joined Shore Fire, we all got LL Bean coats for Christmas. It was an amazing present! (Thank you, Santa!) At this point, I don’t wear it regularly anymore. But when temperatures dipped into the single digits this week, followed by snow and a forecast for more, I grabbed it from my closet. Check out that old-school Shore Fire logo!
Here’s a pic of me (beardless!) in early 2006 w/ James Hunter and GO Records’ Steven Erdman, wearing the then-new coat:
A couple of videos that I took from David Wax Museum’s mid-January Greenwich Village house concert. It was an a wonderful night. They possess such amazing energy and harmonies.
After an amazing show last Wednesday at Mercury Lounge, documented here by Brooklyn Vegan, we spent the day in Manhattan, where the band visited Spinner.com, Billboard.com, and NoiseVox.
Here are Amy, Nils, and Paul at Billboard.com’s new studio performing “Stamp,” their riveting new single:
After the performance, they sat down with Lisa Binkert to talk about the new album ‘Departing,’ their propulsive percussion and the songwriting that draws on themes of (you guessed it) rural Canada.
As a friend put, “I’m pretty sure that the Rural Alberta Advantage is my new favorite band. No, wait… I’m sure!” Personally, I can’t wait until they come back to town to play a pair of shows in March.
I had the pleasure of attending the extended Gov’t Mule show on Friday night at the Beacon. They played 24 songs over the course of 3 sets, first hitting the stage at 9:30pm and not calling it quits until 2:30am. It was their 9th time playing the Beacon on New Years Eve and the theme was “Get Behind The Mule: The Ultimate Gov’t Mule Concert.” Fans picked the songs, both Mule originals and covers and it resulted in an incredible show. Check out the full set list. Highlights for me were their own “Thorazine Shuffle” and “Mule”; The Beatles’ “Yer Blues”; “Shakedown Street” and “Sugaree,” a pair of Grateful Dead songs; and “Afro Blue,” made famous by John Coltrane, with guests Bill Evans and Oz Noy. And Warren Haynes presided over the countdown to midnight, which saw balloons released from the ceiling of the Beacon. Here’s the stage, minutes after the countdown, littered with balloons, as shot from the balcony:
On Thursday, Brad Whitford of Aerosmith and David Hidalgo of Los Lobos showed up to jam. Incredibly, they played 21 songs on Thursday and the set list did not repeat over the course of the two nights.
I had David Wax Museum’s new song “Born With a Broken Heart” in my head all weekend and I can’t stop playing their new video, in which they frolic in and around Boston in fall 2010. As NPR.org’s Bob Boilen’s described the song, it’s “infectious.” Look out for several NYC-area house parties in January at which the band will perform. Also, check out the jarana (Mexican guitar) and donkey jawbone, both integral to the band’s sound, in the video:
Walked all of about five blocks from work last Friday to check out David Wax Museum at a house show at 3B in Brooklyn. They’ve made a career of playing at houses and parties and I can see why. Without being tethered to microphones, they could jump and flail and strum all over the place. There was little separation between the “stage” and the audience, seated at their feet, and it made for an intimate evening. DWM also made full use of the space, singing from all corners of the room at one point. They also rocked some interesting instruments including the donkey jawbone as percussion and the jarana, a Mexican guitar.
Knowing that they made their debut at the Newport Folk Festival this year made a small show like this all the more impressive. They’ll be back for a Joe’s Pub CD release show in February.
Here’s a clip of them playing “Born With a Broken Heart” earlier this year in their hometown of Boston:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bYmFeddhWY]
There was literally no telling what Peter Himmelman would do next at his City Winery show last night, a rare NYC appearance for the LA singer-songwriter. Though I knew that he had a reputation for concert spontaneity (including improvising songs and taking the entire audience for a walk during shows in the past), it was one of the most distinctive shows I’ve ever seen. He was interested in deconstructing the concert experience and exposing its conventions; at one point, he instructed us not to clap at the end of one song but instead to gossip amongst ourselves to see how we perceived the music differently. He invited a random audience member, whom he’d never met, to play drums on a stool during one song. He talked about the ways in which smart phones have made us less present at concerts and other events. He joked that one could buy his CD after the show for ten thousand dollars. He improvised a song for an audience member’s birthday.
His commentary made us aware of the absurdity of the conventions of concerts and, subsequently, made the audience an integral part of the performance.
Himmelman delivered the goods musically as well; his songs took on another resonance in concert. I really enjoyed hearing some of my favorites from new album ‘The Mystery & The Hum’ including “Motel Room in Davenport,” “Georgia Clay,” and “Don’t Give a Damn.” Some of my favorite parts took place when he would perform autobiographical, spoken word pieces, sometimes accompanying himself on guitar and sometimes accompanied by a guest piano player. I thought these made for some of the most poignant and funny moments during a night full of them.
Here’s some fan footage from last night:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHrPdIgjWOE]
We kicked off 2012 with a pretty intense month of January, Shore Fire's most successful January on record, actually! So what better way to relax while still being productive than bringing the beauty salon to us? The kind ladies of our Brooklyn … continued
