Tag Archives: indie

06.11.09
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The Miniature Tigers *Music Hall of Williamsburg* June 7 2009* Brooklyn, New York*

Its always a fun time with The Miniature Tigers come to town. The band has currently been on tour with Kevin Devine and Brian Bonz, and their stop at the Music Hall of Williamsburg this past Sunday was the last night of the tour. You can see that these bands have become like old friends in such a short period of time. The Miniature Tigers took the stage and Brooklyn gave them a very warm welcome as the venue was packed. The word about the band is really getting out there and they deserve it.

They opened with ‘Last Night’s Fake Blood’which is a personal favorite of mine. The band had everyone dancing before they were even done with the first verse. This time around, the band has a few lineup changes, recently losing bass player, Lou Kummerer and temporary guitarist Darren Robinson (also of Phantom Planet). The new members of the band Alex Gerber and Algernon Quashe seem to work perfectly into the lineup, and didn’t miss a note.  Even though they didn’t have a lot of time to practice with each other before the tour started, you would never know it.  The Miniature Tigers played incredible as always.

Like prior performances we have seen from the band, Charlie Brand and Rick Schaier are dead on.  They play together like a band that is beyond their years. They are flawless and it is obvious they have a passion for what they are doing. Rick has also seemed to be doing more harmonies which blend perfectly with Charlie’s voice. Its a nice little addition to the songs.

Other songs of the night included not only tracks off their highly acclaimed ‘Tell It To The Volcano’ , but also new songs like ‘Egyptian Robe’ and ‘There’s a Japanese Woman in My Closet.’ Both incredible new songs that already have fans craving for the new record. On the album the band is perfect but onstage they bring a whole new life to the songs, filling them with astonishing little surprises and a giant burst of energy. Its amazing what they can do and I’ve seen very little bands be able to put so much heart and soul into their live set. For the last song, The Miniature Tigers  brought Brian Bonz, Kevin Devine and their band members onto the stage. They first started with a short and surprising version of Reel 2 Reel’s ‘I Like to Move It’ which oddly enough sounding really good! The band then launched into the most unbelievable version of ‘Cannibal Queen’ the world has ever laid it’s ears upon. It was like one giant party and everyone was singing along.

The Miniature Tigers have a few more dates minus Kevin Devine before they head home so if you haven’t caught them live yet, I suggest that you do so. You’ll kick yourself if you don’t.

More Photos from the Brooklyn Show AFTER THE JUMP

WATCH OUR VIDEOS OF ‘TELL IT TO THE VOLCANO’ AND ‘CANNIBAL QUEEN’ with Kevin Devine and Brian Bonz HERE

05.27.09
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The Everyday Visuals Astound with New Album

The Everyday Visuals are more than just a band that hails from Boston, but they can also be viewed as a ‘listening experience’. Recently recieving a copy of their newest self titled record, ‘The Everyday Visuals’,I was immediatly drawn to what they were selling. This album blew away any expectations I had going into it.

The record starts off with ‘Intro (Morning Star)’  which is a nice soft start to what is about to come. It hits you with a ‘bang’ but not in the way you would expect it to. It feels a bit like Fleet Foxes at first, but The Everyday Visuals certainly make this sound their own. Taking it up a notch is ‘Limb From Limb’ that will have listeners out of their seat dancing. ‘ Florence Foster Jensen’ contains the most beautiful harmonies that I’ve heard in quite a long time. They are literally flawless.  The members voices are meant to go together. Its obvious.

 ‘I Can’t Stop You’ is a nice ballad that seems like it would be the perfect Sunday morning song. ‘Heal Me’ which has quickly become my favorite song on the record really brings out the  beauty in singer’s Christoper Pappa’s voice, which adds to the overall depth of the record. ‘I’ll Take it All in Stride’ puts emphasis on everything The Everyday Visuals are about. Amazing vocals and harmonies, infectious guitar sounds and smooth keyboard playing which I wish there was more of in this world.

‘Boom! Boom! Boom!’ is a song that will catch your attention immediately. I think the title really explains it all. Mixing indie with folk,this song is perfect. ‘Restless Heart’ reminds me of an old Ryan Adams song which is an extremely good thing to remind someone of.  The overall vibe of the song and  with Pappa’s voice coming in and out is beautiful and well crafted. The same goes for ‘Daydream Ghosts’ which is another song that can only be described as perfect. ‘Driving’ is a lovely soft song that brings out more silky vocals and acoustic guitar picking. ‘Peers’  will have your foot tapping for sure, ‘Its too much to bare’ sings Pappas as his voice fades into the distance. The album ends with ‘It’s All I Can Do’,  a sweet little acoustic song that makes for a brilliant ending to a more than astonishing record. In all honesty, if I put together my ‘Top 10 of 2009’ right now, The Everyday Visuals would be the number 1 spot.  This record is filled with brilliant melodies and catchy tunes that only get better with every listen.

Listen to The Everyday Visuals at their MYSPACE

Watch The Everyday Visuals Video for ‘Boom! Boom! Boom!’

05.25.09
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Drew Danburry ‘Memorial Day’

Just when you didn’t think we could find a song about Memorial Day we proved you wrong. Indie artist Drew Danburry who has just recently toured with those lovely lads in Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, hasn’t always had it easy when he comes to music (remember his disaster of a tour in 2008?), but it doesn’t stop him from making brilliant songs. We’re sure he is of the very few musicians to have a song about Memorial Day (at least that we know of). Maybe he wrote it just for that reason.

Download Drew Danburry’s ‘Memorial Day’  from “This Could Mean Trouble, You Don’t Speak for the Club” HERE

05.19.09
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Modest Mouse ‘Guilty Cocker Spaniels’

Modest Mouse, oh has it been that long since we’ve heard from you last? It seems like it. The band has just released the first single off thier upcoming record ‘No One’s First And You’re Next ‘ titled ‘Satellite Skin’, but the band has now released the B-side of the vinyl single ‘Guilty Cocker Spaniels’.  The single will be out on vinyl, limited edition of 4,000 copies, on May 26th. Try and get your hands on it. ‘Guilty Cocker Spaniels’ is quickly becoming one of my favorite songs by the band…maybe its because I have a cocker spaniel.

Steam the track via Stereogum HERE

05.10.09
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Happy Mother’s Day!

A shoutout to all the Mothers out there. Hope you are having a very Happy Mother’s Day and your family is taking care of you.

Of course the day couldn’t be complete without a song. Check out a find from my personal music collection; Black Bear’s ‘Whistler’s Mother’s Day’. If your mom likes whistling, this song is for you….there are words too though in case you were wondering.

Download Black Bear’s ‘Whistle’s Mother’s Day’ HERE

04.28.09
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Sufjan Stevens Sings About Sofia Coppola

Over the weekend Sufjan Stevens shared with the world that he is very nostalgic. Stevens came across a few old demo tapes of his from college and decided to share one of them with the world. The title? ‘Sofia’s Song’,  which is literally a song about Sofia Coppola. This borders on flattering and weird, but you can already tell that he was brewing something special. Equipped with banjo he came up with the song claiming that Sofia was his ‘imaginary confident’ when writing songs in his early days. I guess everyone needs to be inspired by something. The tale of his name and early music career was posted along with the song on his label, Asthamatic Kitty, along about the journey of his songwriting process. This is a great listen and read for any Sufjan fan, obsessive or otherwise.

Download ‘Sofia’s Song’