Tag Archives: New York

06.27.10
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Matt Pond PA “Starting”

Tonight I am going to see one of my favorite bands, Matt Pond PA. Here’s my little secret. For some reason I have NEVER seen MPPA live. This is beyond wierd isn’t it? I’m not exactly sure how this has happened, being I live in New York, as does the band, but we have unfortunate incidents, that every time for the past 5 years, when MPPA took the stage I either already had tickets to another show or I was on vacation. It seemed to be working against me. Good grief Charlie Brown.

I still remember the first time I discovered Matt Pond PA. It was 2005 and I was interning at big record label in Manhattan. Someone got fired, and as the intern I was, I got to clean out their cd collection, and keep what I wanted to, and put the rest in the trash. Nothing caught my eye but this mix someone had made the person oddly titled “Sunsetting.” Looking at the tracklist, I saw the good Matt Pond PA name on there, noticed it being familar, and took it. The song that was on there was “The Butcher,” and in my ever mess of a room, I didn’t listen to the mix for almost two weeks. It wasn’t until Sunday night two weeks later when I was watching Subteranean on MTV2, that they showed the MPPA video for “Closest (Look Out).” I’ve been hooked ever since.

Well tonight is the night that I get to experience first hand, MPPA at the Bowery Ballroom. With the recent release of The Dark Leaves (Polyvinyl), and some of the strongest songs Pond has ever written, it is sure to be an amazing night. Plus I am going to experience it with someone who I love dearly. I think it was all meant to happen at once.

Recently MPPA released the first video for the record, “Starting,” which features the new-ish lineup featuring the lovely Miss Leslie Sisson of the Wooden Birds (which she plays with Pond and Andrew Kenny formerly of American Analog Set), running away from a slow swerving car with glowing orbs. It MPPA fashion, it’s beautiful.

Matt Pond PA “Starting”

01.27.10
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Spoon Announce U.S. Tour with Deerhunter

Last week another gigantic buzz album hit stores in the form of Spoon’s Transference (Merge). To celebrate the release of their record, the band is heading out on tour starting this March with friends, Deerhunter. Spoon will travel from Glasglow to California, and are also taking The Strange Boys and Micachu and the Shapes along with them with Deerhunter to take over as openers in the spring. The venues look pretty intimate for the tour, and very classy for the most part. Spoon will be hitting Radio City Music Hall when they come to New York City which is certainly a step up for the band who seems to get bigger and bigger everytime they release a new song. Check out the tour dates below!

02-14 Glasgow, Scotland – King Tut’s
02-15 Manchester, England – Academy 3
02-16 London, England – Electric Ballroom
02-18 Amsterdam, Netherlands – Paradiso
02-19 Cologne, Germany – Luxor
02-20 Berlin, Germany – Frannz Club
03-17 Austin, TX – Stubbs (NPR SXSW showcase) %
03-18 New Orleans, LA – Republic %@
03-19 Birmingham, AL – Workplay Soundstage %@
03-20 Atlanta, GA – Tabernacle %@
03-22 Washington, DC – 9:30 Club %@
03-23 Washington, DC – 9:30 Club %@
03-24 Richmond, VA – The National %@
03-26 New York, NY – Radio City Music Hall %@
03-27 Boston, MA – House of Blues %@
03-29 Toronto, Ontario – Sound Academy %@
03-30 Royal Oak, MI – Royal Oak Music Theater %@
04-01 Chicago, IL – Aragon Ballroom %^
04-02 Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue %^
04-03 Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue %^
04-05 Denver, CO – Ogden Theater %^
04-06 Denver, CO – Ogden Theater %^
04-07 Salt Lake City, UT – In the Venue %^
04-09 Seattle, WA – Moore Theater %^
04-10 Seattle, WA – Moore Theater %^
04-11 Vancouver, British Columbia – Orpheum Theater %^
04-13 Oakland, CA – Fox Theater %^

% with Deerhunter
@ with the Strange Boys
^ with Micachu and the Shapes

12.12.09
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PLAYTIME!: Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin “Modern Mystery”


Oh call us THE most excited blog in the world! This past Monday night when our Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin boys were in town, Phil and Will were nice enough to take part in our Playtime! series. The night was freezing and there were a few onlookers after the show seeing just what the Yeltsins were going to pull off.  What did we get? The raddest up close and personal performance of “Modern Mystery” you could possibly experience. Enjoy!

11.25.09
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Sloan “Hit and Run” EP

The Canadian Godfathers of indie pop, Sloan, are back at it again to provide you with some sugary tunes.  Yesterday the band has just released via their official website their newest EP titled Hit and Run (Murderecords). The name is pretty self explanatory, as singer/bass player/sometimes drummer Chris Murphy was involved in a hit and run this summer when a car plowed into him crossing the street in Canada. This is a surprising yet clever title to the record.

One of the most interesting things about Sloan is the fact that they switch instruments and vocals. This creates the ultimate diversity within the band, but somehow they seem to bring it all together. The album starts off with the “Take it Upon Yourself,” which is a Murphy penned song that begins with the classic Sloan keyboard sound and handclaps that automatically want to make you dance around the room. This is a great way to start off the record. For the track “Midnight Mass,” Jay Ferguson takes over lead duties as his voice croons over the piano. The rest of the band comes in filling the song with stellar harmonies that also add a 60’s nostalgia feel. Patrick Pentland heads to the front for the track “It Is Never,” which is filled with sonic guitar sounds and brilliant melodies that he always successfully brings to the table. Murphy returns with another song in tow, “Oh Dear Diary,” which at first glance of the title has the potential to be foolish, but turns out to be a sincere song which brings a bit of old school Sloan back into the mix. With the mixture of voices, piano and the retro sounding drums this is one track that will be stuck in your head for days. Andrew Scott comes from behind the drum kit to take on “Where Are You Now?” which is perhaps his strongest song since the band released Between the Bridges in the late 90s. Infectious guitar riffs fill the song with Scott’s strong voice prominant in the song. Hit and Run takes on a life of it’s own and proves that Sloan shows no signs of slowing down.

Sloan is also embarking on a short North American tour in support of the EP that starts on Saturday. Check out the dates below and come back to Modern Mystery for coverage of their show in Brooklyn next week!

Sloan Tour Dates

November 28th- The Filmore- Detroit, MI
November 29th- Skully’s Music Diner- Columbus, OH
November 30th- Maxwell’s- Hoboken, NJ
December 1st- Jammin’ Java- Vienna, VA
December 3rd- TT The Bear’s- Cambridge, MA
December 4th- The Bell House- Brooklyn, NY
December 5th- Kung Fu Necktie- Philadelphia, PA
December 6th- Grog Shop-Cleveland, OH
December 7th- Lincoln Hall- Chicago, IL
December 9th- The Pyramid-Winnipeg, MB
December 10th- Louis’ Pub- Saskatoon, SK
December 11th- The Gateway- Calgary, AB
December 12th- Starlite Room-Edmonton, AB
December 15th- Commodore Ballroom- Vancouver, BC

11.05.09
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Robbers on High Street @ Modern Mystery’s Playtime!

Robbers on High Street by you.

Ah, CMJ week. We kind of miss it and the great bands we had the pleasure to work with. One of our favorites of the week was Robbers on High Street. Not only did they put on my personal favorite show at CMJ, but somehow we roped Ben Trokan and Dave Sherman into performing for us in an alley/bus washing station in Park Slope, Brooklyn that night. Robbers played two new songs for us including “Watch Me Disappear” which will sure to be placed on the next record. Everytime I watch this video I’m amazed by the fact that Dave did not pass out from blowing into that keyboard.  Enjoy watching one of the greatest indie bands of the past 10 years getting creative on the street.

“Watch Me Disappear”

Another New Robbers on High Street Song!

10.07.09
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Sufjan Stevens @ Bowery Ballroom, New York – October 5, 2009

Going into the Sufjan Stevens show last night, I must admit I didn’t know what to expect. Having heard great things about his live set, the bar was set pretty high for him. This was his second date in New York as there are two sold out nights in Williamsburg to follow. The show opened with Asthmatic Kitty labelmates, Cryptacize who were a pleasant surprise. Singer Nedelle Torrisi has a soft angelic voice that’s not afraid to mix dark with poppy. The band seemed well recieved by the crowd.

Then, it was Sufjan time. No matter how big this guy gets, he still comes on stage to set up his own equipment. Fans in the front of the stage were sneaking pictures of him getting ready with smiles on their faces. With a band of over ten people it’s amazing how they even fit onto the Bowery stage.

Stevens greeted the crowd and launched into the set with banjo in hand. The setlist was mostly a cross between new songs and Come on Feel the Illinoise which made for a stellar lineup. Seeing Stevens play live is every bit as amazing as hearing his records. He sings with little effort because it comes so natural to him. The backup singers who included Nedelle from Cryptacize sounded heavenly behind the mixture of trumpets and assorted wind instruments that appeared throughout the night.

One thing I learned about Sufjan last night is that he is a bit of a joker. He said he is ‘”not very good talking onstage,” before he announced a string of songs, giggling “this one’s by Sufjan Stevens!” A lot of the new songs that he played last night strayed away from his orchestral sound that we’ve come to know and love. The new tracks with titles like “Impossible Soul” and “There is Too Much Love in Here,” are a bit electronic based but not in a cheesey way that feels forced. Somehow these songs still fit in with the likes of his banjo/acoustic songs like “Casimir Pulaski Day” which was one of the highlights of the night. Another surprise Sufjan had up his sleeves was the track “The Man of Metropolis Steals Our Hearts,” which they hadn’t played it in so long that he admittedly had to write out the words to keep onstage. Stevens and the band played it flawlessly though, just like the other songs in the set. The show closed with a short encore: a low key version of “Chicago” and the earlier mentioned new tune “There is Too Much Love in Here,” as Sufjan stated that the encore had to end ‘just right and louder.’ It did just that.

Photos by Ivy Weir

Check out MORE Photos of Sufjan’s Show AFTER THE JUMP