by kenami

Tokyo Police Club @ Terminal 5, NYC – January 21st, 2011

Our Modern Mystery favorites, Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin took the stage on Friday night at Terminal 5 which was their first time being an opening band in a long time. They knew they had something to prove and they did it well. Starting with Phil Dickey on vocals for the night, the band blew the crowd away and really got the show started. Performing tracks off their new album Let It Sway their catchy indie pop hooks filled the room and had everyone in good spirits. This is a major tour for the boys and we’re proud of them!
-MM

It’s going to sound highly smug of me to say but it has to be said: I was the first person to say Two Door Cinema Club and Tokyo Police Club should tour together. In all honesty I’m not. After seeing Tokyo perform past summer with Passion Pit I (drunkenly) cornered their guitarist/keyboardist Graham Wright and demanded that they toured with Two Door Cinema Club to which he replied “Fuck! You’re the 8th person who’s told me that today!”

Fast forward to January 21st and what would you know? It actually has happened! The two acts are going on a lengthy co-headlining tour around the US and selling out shows effortlessly. To celebrate they even released a mash up of two of their tracks which can be downloaded here

The venue was packed! People of all ages and varieties. A grand highlight of the night was being in the photographers pit and looking at all the young faces. When I was younger I remember music was something you’d use as an escape and the fact these kids would call Two Door Cinema Club an escape was quite something. I personally love Northern Irish music and seeing this band do so well here in the states hit a chord with me (no pun intended). Everyone danced the night away and the band received the most cheer when they played their latest single “What You Know”

For a whole gallery of photos from the entire show be sure to go here

11.22.10

by kenami

The Morning Benders @ Webster Hall, NYC – November 18, 2010

The Morning Benders are a band I first encountered at The Market Place Hotel (R.I.P.) in Brooklyn supporting Surfer Blood (also that evening playing alongside bands such as Grooms, Turbo Fruits, and Beach Fossils) and I’ll admit at first I wasn’t impressed, but there was a certain charm their stage presence put out that has stuck with me. The band not only seemed incredibly young but ripe for the journey most aspiring musicians cannot even comprehend, fast forward to where we are today, the bands sophomore record Big Echo is destined to make many top 10 list, they have already supported Ra Ra Riot, White Rabbits, MGMT, Yeasayer, and The Black Keys, and after all of that the band have set out on their first headlining tour. Not bad for the four little guys who played Market Hotel earlier this year.

The bands performance really surprised me. Its unbelievable how much a band can change in the span of a year but The Morning Benders make it a feat to show that they’ve been doing nothing but learning. Chris Chu fronts the band with a relaxed talent but isn’t afraid to get into his tunes, while his brother Jon Chu backs him up with a rhythm guitar which could be named precision. After the third track Chris Chu proclaimed “Earlier this year we released an album called Big Echo! We’re going to play a lot of tracks from it to thank all of you for the year we had!” I was lucky enough to capture their show at Webster Hall (along with photos of opening act Twin Sister).

Photos from the show can be viewed here.

11.01.10

by Jane Lambert

Playtime!: Paul and the Patients – CMJ 2010

Paul and the Patients are one of our favorite up and comers that hit up CMJ this year. We met up with singer Paul Holmes early the Saturday morning of the marathon and headed to a cozy Lower East Side playground tucked away in Manhattan.

07.21.09

by Jane Lambert

The Spinto Band The Mercury Lounge, NYC 7-17-2009

It was truly a treat this weekend to attend the New York City show of the Spinto Band who was doing a 4 date mini tour, also know to their fans as ‘The Freakend’. Along for the ride were The Swims, And The Moneynotes, and Big Bang TV. A killer lineup.

I’ve been to a few Spinto shows in my day and the level of energy onstage is always incredible, but on Friday at the Mercury Lounge, the band brought it up to a whole new level. We’re talking astonishing. This had to be the best show I have attended in the past five years, or quite frankily, possibly ever. The room was packed with people ready to dance and it was at least 85 degrees in there. So warm the band was sweating before they got onto the stage.

The Spintos ripped through about 16 songs and somehow brought the energy up with every song. They even invited three fans onstage to dance to ‘Oh Mandy’ which was by far one of the coolest things I’ve seen. Nick Krill and Tom Hughes always deliver on the vocals and the combination of the two fit perfectly back and fourth on stage. The rest of the Spintos, Jon Eaton, Joey Hobson, Jeff Hobson and Sam Hughes hold it all down, never missing a note. From the sounds of ‘Later On’ to ‘Direct to Helmet’ this was surely a night to remember. Hopefully there will be another Freakend in the near future.

The Setlist:
Cat’s Pajamas (listed as ‘Cat’s Shams’)
Brown Boxes
Summer Grof
Vivian, Don’t
Mountains
They All Laughed
Later On
Brazil
Direct to Helmet
The Black Flag (listed as ‘Blag Flak’)
Japan is an Island
Oh Mandy
Pumpkins and Paisley
Late
Encore Included:
Needlepoint and don’t quote me on this, but I believe Crack the Whip. They were not written on the setlist as the band discussed the encore songs on the side of the stage.