Archive for February, 2009
Pavement Reunite! (for about 15 minutes, literally)
I have always hoped for the day when the news would arrive that Indie Godfathers, Pavement were reuniting. I often consider going to Mark Ibold’s place of work (he works in a resturant in NYC) and trying to talk to him about ‘How we can rebuild Pavement’. Well, I ALMOST had it this time!
Pavement reunited at Bob Nastanovich’s Nashville wedding where all members were in attendence. Stephen Malkmus, Ibold, and Steve West took to the stage as Malkmus performed “Come and Get Your Love” and The O’ Jays “Love Train.” WOW. That must have been a site to see. By the end of the night the Pavement boys were onstage, not performing with each other, but just there together. I guess its been too long since they’ve played together to play actual Pavement songs. Whether or not Pavement will ever actually reunite is up in the air, but fingers crossed! Ibold we need to talk…..
A short clip of Malkmus Performing at Bob’s Wedding
An oldie but goodie Pavment video, Gold Soundz
The Morning Benders Return to Daytrotter
Today Daytrotter had an extra special treat (for us at least!). The Morning Benders have returned for a second time to provide us with 3 more Daytrotter session songs. The Morning Benders are one of those bands that everything they touch turns to gold. Chris Chu’s voice is remarkable on every occassion, especially in a Daytrotter session.
The first song the band performed was an alternate version of ‘Patient Patient’ called ‘Doctor Doctor’, which makes the song a bit darker, but nonetheless still beautiful. The second song titled ‘Worth the Fight’ was a track that was left off of ‘Talking Through Tin Cans’ because the band didn’t feel it fit well with the other songs. Maybe a studio version of the song will make it onto the new Morning Benders record. The final song the band recorded for Daytrotter is ‘Nothin’ in This World Can Stop Me Worryin’ Bout That Girl,’ a Kink’s cover which the band started playing around with the night before. This is one incredible cover, but hey, The Morning Benders are an incredible band.
Listen to The Morning Benders Daytrotter Session HERE
February 25, 2009 at 12:38 am Melissa Nastasi Leave a comment
Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band New Album
It has been less than a year since Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band released their first record. Actually its only been about 6 months as of right now. We all know that Conor is one of those guys who just churn out the tunes, but I don’t think any of us were expecting a follow up release so fast. The band already displayed new songs on their last tour proving that they were still in the writing mode. Oberst and the boys will release ‘Outer South’ on May 5th on Merge Records, and yes, it has 16 tracks of new material which includes “Nikorette” which they performed on Conan. No doubt it will sound a lot like the first record, but that is what we love about it. Anything that Conor touches is pretty much gold.
Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band are stopping at Coachella this spring, and have announced a few West Coast tour dates.
Thu-Apr-09 Omaha, NE Slowdown
Fri-Apr-10 Denver, CO Ogden Theatre
Sat-Apr-11 Aspen, CO Belly Up
Sun-Apr-12 El Paso, TX Barnett Harley Davidson (Hands of Love & Hope Benefit)
Mon-Apr-13 Albuquerque, NM Sunshine Theatre
Tue-Apr-14 Tempe, AZ Marquee Theatre
Wed-Apr-15 Pomona, CA Glass House
Fri-Apr-17 Indio, CA Coachella Music & Arts Festival
Thu-Jun-18 Telluride, CO Telluride Bluegrass Festival
Watch Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band peforming “Nikorette” on Conan.
February 23, 2009 at 4:39 pm Melissa Nastasi Leave a comment
The Miniature Tigers * Mercury Lounge, NYC * 2-15-2009
This past Sunday, February 15, The Miniature Tigers dropped into the Mercury Lounge in New York City and were welcomed to a packed venue. The word about the Mini T’s is certainly spreading, and the Modern Mystery crew couldn’t be happier and more excited about this fact. The band who is currently on the road with Mr. Ben Folds, have been doing a few one off shows as headliners when they have free time on the tour.
The Miniature Tigers play like old pros. They are flawless onstage and certainly astonishing to hear. Charlie Brand’s voice is remarkable, and hits every single note, soft or loud. Darren Robinson (guitarist from the hiatus Phantom Planet) is a nice addition to the band almost like he has been playing with them from the start. Lou Kummerer was stellar on bass and tamborine duties, and drummer Rich Schaier is a total badass when it comes to drumming. He is also incredible on the keys and harmonies as well.
The band had everyone in the room dancing and I think we can all agree that The Miniature Tigers are one of the most fun bands out there. The band played some of my personal favorites such as ‘Cannibal Queen’, ‘Tell it to the Volcano’ and ‘Last Night’s Fake Blood’ which I was very excited to hear. Not only did they play a good amount of songs from ‘Tell it to the Volcano’, which came out on CD officially yesterday, but they also played a few new songs. New songs already? Yes! I can’t wait until The Miniature Tigers comes back to New York City again! Its a show you surely do not want to miss. Check them out when they come to your town. The band will be on the tour non stop until the end of March.
You can check out their tourdates on their Myspace.
More pictures from The Miniature Tigers at the Mercury Lounge after the Jump.
February 19, 2009 at 10:56 pm Melissa Nastasi Leave a comment
Lily Allen ‘The Fear’
I’ve never been a fan of Lily Allen. Not because I didn’t like her music, but basically because I never had an excuse to listen to her. Sunday night while coming back from The Miniature Tigers show (review up this week!), I picked up a copy of Spin to read on the train ride home. It was the only half decent thing lying around. Miss Allen was on the cover and I thought I’d give her a chance.
Lily opened up about boys, drugs and alcohol and how she was trying to ‘better herself’. From there I kind of grew a respect for this sad girl trying to make her life normal. Yesterday I had caught her video for ‘The Fear’ which is off her newest record ‘Its Not Me, Its You’. Both video and song are very intriguing. ‘The Fear’ seems like it ventures away from the last record and I must say, the song sounds very sweet. The video matches it with pastel colors, dancing boys and balloons. Lily Allen, I think you’ve got a new fan.
Watch the video for ‘The Fear’
February 18, 2009 at 3:47 pm Melissa Nastasi Leave a comment
Conan O’Brien’s Last Musical Guests: The White Stripes!
Yes, Conan O’Brien moving to The Tonight Show has its ups and downs. First off, we get him at an earlier time. Nice. But the bad news is that he is moving to California to do the show. Bummer. Conan is doing a nice little send off on March 2nd with his last musical guests and friends, The White Stripes! Conan and the band have a pretty good history together. They did a week of performances on the show a few years back and Conan appeared in their video for ‘Denial Twist’. I guess they are a match made in heaven. Here’s to Conan and his new beginnings.
Watch The White Stripes’ (w/ Conan) ‘Denial Twist’
February 14, 2009 at 6:24 pm Melissa Nastasi Leave a comment
Slow Club ‘Me and You’
Commercials always seem to capture me. When I get a good song stuck in my head from one it doesn’t leave me alone until I find it. This is currently the case with Slow Club. You may have heard them in the new Lays Potato Chip commerical which is the weirdest way you can possibly say you discovered a new band. Slow Club is a 2 person group made up of Charles and Rebecca. They’re also from the UK. They have a lot of indie pop in them and are a bit similar to Bishop Allen when they slow it down a bit.
Check out Slow Club on Myspace
Annuals at Bowery Ballroom *1.28.2009
Annuals are just getting started with their fierce U.S. tour and they already play the new tracks from their newest release ‘Such Fun’ like old pros. I’ve seen Annuals before (hell I’ve even recorded them once at a show in Brooklyn) but the Annuals Bowery show was just incredible to say the least. Did I mention they have a light show thing going on now? Usually I don’t like those sort of things but Annuals had me truly intrigued.
As a drummer I was pysched to hear a sweet little drum intro as a bit of an opener. Its always great to hear. For a band with only two full lengths under their belt, they gave the New York crowd their money’s worth. Annuals played for about an hour and a half of new material as well as some older stuff from ‘Be He Me’ even with some EP stuff mixed in. The band plays with such intensity on stage that they manage to even blow their own recorded work out of the water. Killer, right?
My personal favorites of the night is when the band played ‘Hardwood Floor’ and ‘Carry Around’ which I will always consider the two songs that standout to me the most out of all of their recorded work. Chances are Annuals are coming to your town soon so it should be in your best interest to check them out. Bands like these are far and few between. Catch them while you can.
-Bry
Check out Annuals on Myspace
*Note: Sorry my pics are not the greatest kids. I was just having too much fun*
February 9, 2009 at 11:02 pm Melissa Nastasi Leave a comment
Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys Releases Solo Debut
The Black Keys are already one of the best indie bands out there, so when we heard that Dan Auerbach the band’s singer and guitarist was releasing a solo record, we didn’t know what to expect. I’m not too sure if its too early to start making our Top 10 Albums of 2009, but this would rank Top 3. Auerbach is releasing ‘Keep it Hid’on Nonesuch Records on February 10th.
Yes, his solo stuff differs from The Black Keys, but any Keys fan will certainly enjoy this record. Auerbach stated in a press release that ‘I just wanted to do the things I loved,’ and in this case it includes blending a little bit of bluegrass, a twang of country ballad, Memphis R&B, blues and psychedelic rock. Sure this may appear that this could be a total mess in theory. On record though it proves to be astonishing. Auerbach pulls it off beautifully and every track on the album just flows perfectly into each other. Though a couple of tracks like ‘The Prowl’ still show hints of The Black Keys, Auerbach has really made his solo debut his own.
Check out Dan Auerbach and the new Tunes at his Myspace
Tourdates are also listed including two stops in New York!
Bishop Allen Release New Record
Finally! Bishop Allen is due to release their new record titled ‘Grrr…’ through Dead Oceans on March 10th. This will be the third full length from the band and fans couldn’t be happier. Will there a bigger buzz about the band since they appeared in Nick and Nora’s Infinite Playlist? Who knows. The band continues to play those great catchy indie pop songs that we’ve come to know and love. Bishop Allen will also play and instore at Other Music in New York City the day of the album release. After that the band is off to an extensive U.S. tour, some dates including MM favorites, The Miniature Tigers.
Download Bishop Allen’s newest track, Dimmer
Bishop Allen Tour Dates
03/10 – New York City, NY @ Other Music (Free In-Store)
03/12 – Philadelphia, PA @ First Unitarian Church
03/13 – Washington, DC @ Black Cat
03/14 – Chapel Hill, NC @ Local 506
03/15 – Asheville, NC @ The Rocket Club
03/16 – Memphis, TN @ Hi Tone Cafe
03/17 – Little Rock, AR @ Sticky Fingerz Chicken Shack
03/18 – Dallas, TX @ House of Blues – The Pontiac Garage
03/19 – Austin, TX @ SXSW
03/20 – Austin, TX @ SXSW
03/23 – West Hollywood, CA @ The Troubadour
03/24 – San Francisco, CA @ The Rickshaw Shop
03/26 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court
03/27 – Provo, UT @ Velour
03/28 – Denver, CO @ Hi Dive
03/29 – Lawrence, KS @ Jackpot Saloon
03/31 – Chicago, IL @ Subterranean
04/02 – Northhampton, MA @ Iron Horse
04/03 – Cambridge, MA @ Middle East
04/04 – Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
04/05 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
February 5, 2009 at 11:35 pm Melissa Nastasi Leave a comment
Chad Vangaalen “Moltin Light”
Chad Vangaalen is one of the most beautiful musicians that the world has to offer. His words are flawless. His voice evokes such dreary emotion. As most know by now, Vangaalen does all of his own artwork, especially for his music videos. His art is just as exceptional has his music. A new favorite of ours at Modern Mystery is his animated video for ‘Moltin Light’ which is one of the most haunting tracks we’ve ever heard. It will send chills down your spine everytime you see it.
Check out Chad Vangaalen on Myspace
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