by Jane Lambert

NYC Shows This Week!

MONDAY

J. Roddy Walston and The Business, These United States, MyNameIsJohnMichael
@ Brooklyn Bowl

Le Sphinxxx, Ah, Moskva!, The Magick Report, Great Republic of Rough and Ready, Great Republic of Rough and Ready, Sonia Megias
@ Cake Shop

TUESDAY

Vivian Girls, Widowspeak, Colleen Green @ 285 Kent Avenue

Urge Overkill, Blackbells @ Bowery Ballroom

Project Jenny / Project Jan, Murder Mystery @ Mercury Lounge

The Head and the Heart, Luke Rathborne (early show) @ Mercury Lounge

Cassettes Won’t Listen, The Freeze Tag, Turnbull Green, Grimace, Eka, Echoes Alike @ The Rock Shop

Lykke Li, Grimes @ Webster Hall

WEDNESDAY

Sam Roberts Band, The Rassle, Anthony D’amato @ Bowery Ballroom

Dustin Wong, Hear Hums, Emily Reo, Dark Sea of Awareness, Philip Seymour Hoffman @ Silent Barn

The Felice Brothers, Shovels and Rope, RIG 1 @ The Bell House

Elvis Costello and the Imposters @ The Wellmont Theatre

Fleet Foxes, The Cave Singers @ United Palace Theatre

Lykke Li, Grimes @ Webster Hall

THURSDAY

Adele, Civil Wars @ Beacon Theater

Junip, Acrylics, High Highs @ Bowery Ballroom

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Dream Diary, Sea Lions, Gold-Bears, Amida, Pet Milk @ Cake Shop

The Antlers, Little Scream @ Music Hall of Williamsburg

Cave In, Make Do and Mend, Janes Plotkin @ Santos Party House

White Lies, School of Seven Bells, Sun Airway @ Terminal 5

The Felice Brothers, Tom Brosseau @ The Bell House

Fleet Foxes, The Cave Singers @ United Palace Theatre

FRIDAY

The Antlers, Little Scream @ Bowery Ballroom

Cymbals Eat Guitars, The Yellow Dogs, Mirror Mirror, Radical Dads @ Glasslands

Dan Deacon, Hesta Prynn (DJ Set) @ Museum of Natural History

Thurston Moore, Eileen Myles, I Feel Tractor @ Music Hall of Williamsburg

Real Estate, Julian Lynch, Big Troubles, Family Portrait @ The Bell House

Robbers on High Street, Underthings, The Totallys @ The Gutter

11.11.10

by firstrays1

The Tall Tall Trees Announce November 20th Fundraiser in NYC

The Tall Tall Trees will be celebrating their Kickstarter Fundraiser at The Mercury Lounge on November 20th starting at 8 PM. Harlem folk rocker’s goal is to raise $12,000 to record their sophmore release. The band features Mike Savino on vocals and banjo, Kyle Sanna on guitar, Benjamin Campbell on bass and Mathias Kunzli but this is not your traditional folk group. Through the use of effects pedals on banjo and amplification they have managed to achieve a fresh sound that incorporates a mix of American Folk and rock elements with Brazilian and African music. The Tall Tall Trees musical chemistry and energetic live performances allow them to re-invent their songs on a nightly basis. They have spent years collaborating with such diverse acts as Moby, Yo Yo Ma and Vieux Farka Toure and can be compared to fellow NY acts such as Vampire Weekend and Dirty Projectors. For more information on The Tall Tall Trees visit their MYSPACE.

Tickets to The Mercury Lounge show are $10 and are available HERE

08.20.10

by Jane Lambert

The Spinto Band with The Miniature Tigers @ Mercury Lounge, NYC -8/13/2010

A little late, I know, but one hell of a show. Spintos + Mini T’s + One Show = AMAZING!

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.

TONS OF MORE PHOTOS AFTER THE JUMP

WATCH LIVE VIDEOS FROM THE MERCURY SHOW

‘OH MANDY’

‘LATER ON’

‘BRAZIL’ (CLIP)

07.14.09

by Jane Lambert

Robbers on High Street Mercury Lounge, NYC July 10, 2009

Friday night team Modern Mystery had the chance of catching indie darlings Robbers on High Street at the Mercury Lounge. The band who is currently finishing up their third record hit the stage for a New York only show that was certainly a surprise.

I heard someone comment at the show that Robbers on High Street is ‘one of the great indie bands of our generation. I couldn’t agree more. The bond within the band seems stronger than ever and the musical relationship of Ben Trokan and Stephen Mercado is flawless. They know how to play off each other and the rest of the band is in on the game.

Robbers play like old pros. They know how to work the stage and put on a stellar show. Even when the amplifier went out on Trokan, the band handled it perfectly and with such humor! Robbers on High Street played a variety of songs ranging from old favorites such as ‘Spanish Teeth’, as well as classics such as ‘Fatalist’. The band also mixed in great deal of new songs that have us excited for the new album to come out. It changes things up a slight bit but it completely remains to be the Robbers sound that we know and love. Stay tuned for the interview with the band we did to be posted this week. You won’t want to miss out!

Watch Our Robbers on High Street live from the Mercury Lounge Video HERE

Check out More Pictures After the JUMP

The Setlist

Crystal Run
Unbelievers
Happy Horses
Electric Eye
Spanish Teeth
Fatalist
Across Your Knee
Letter
Crown Victoria
Face Fog
Watch it Disappear
Turnaround
Hudson Tubes
Married Young
*Also played was ‘Love Underground’, not on the setlist, as well as ‘Souls’ and ‘Achilles Last’ was listed.

04.16.09

by Jane Lambert

Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin * Mercury Lounge, NYC * April 9, 2009

Ah there is nothing like springtime when your favorite indie pop band rolls into town. The Mercury Lounge in New York City last week was packed for the highly anticipated Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin show, and we expected no different. Blending recent songs from their second release Pershing and their first Broom, the band did not miss a beat. I’m not sure I’ve personally ever seen a band so flawless, so ‘dead on’ with every little note. Even when Phil Dickey’s cowbell started moving around and giving him trouble, he may have laughed, but it didn’t bother him one bit. When John Robert Cardwell broke a guitar string mid song, he just kept going and smiled. Kids, that is what real rock and roll is about. Enjoying every second of it. Even though the SSLYBY boys haven’t been around for an extreme length of time, they play better than any band their senior I’ve seen.

John Robert’s voice is just as perfect onstage as on the records and the same goes for when Phil takes the mic. The blending sounds of Phil, Will Knauer and Jonathan James are nothing less than brilliant. The band is really meant for each other because they manage to compliment the other players so well. Thats a rare find.

Some of the night’s highlights were Anne Elephtant, Glue Girls, Think I Wanna Die, We Can Win Missouri! and of course, Modern Mystery (hmm why would we like that song?! It was really sweet of the band to play it for us!) They also played a few new songs for the upcoming record, one in particular called ‘All Hail Dracula’. You can’t even imagine how good this song is.

If you haven’t seen Someone Still Love You Boris Yeltsin live yet you are doing yourself a horrible deed. In other words, jump on the bandwagon! Do yourself another favor and pick up their records. They will change yr life…or at least impress the hell out of you.

TONS of more pictures after the Jump

Watch Video of ‘Modern Mystery’ at the Mercury Lounge

Video from wingedfeetxc on Youtube. hehe note our little point from Phil at the end of the song 🙂