Monday, December 31, 2007

2007 YEAR IN REVIEW: Best in Live Music - Electronic Music Explodes

2007 Year In Review:
Best Live Music  |  Best Coachella Catch  |  Best CMJ Ticket  |  Best Crowd


Maybe I've been living under a rock and you've known it all along, but is electronic music having a new renaissance? What I'm talking about extends beyond just the realm of the recording to the live concert experience. Not only has it been a ridiculously good year for releases, but it's been an unparalleled year (in my memory, at least) for the sheer number of electronic tours to come across our doorsteps.

Take these videos and photos of the best live shows I saw this year as cases in point.

Daft Punk @ Keyspan Coney Island 8/9/07
1: Daft Punk
Keyspan Park, Coney Island, NY
One of the Top 3 shows I've ever seen.
Photos  |  Video


Justice @ Terminal 5 102207-306_edited
2: Justice
Terminal 5, NY
Photos 


Paul Van Dyk @ Central Park 081807-072
3: Paul Van Dyk
Central Park Summerstage, Rumsey Playfield, NY
Photos  |  Video


Bjork at United Palace Theatre
4: Bjork
United Palace Theatre, Harlem, NY
Photos  |  Video


DJ Krush @ Highline Ballroom
5: DJ Krush
Highline Ballroom, NY
Photos  |  Video


Simian Mobile Disco Live KEXP Broadcast @ CMJ
6: Simian Mobile Disco
KEXP Live Broadcast from CMJ, Gibson Showroom, NY
Photos   |   Videos


LCD Soundsystem @ Randal's Island
7: LCD Soundsystem
Randall's Island, NY
Photos   |   Videos


UNKLE @ Webster Hall for CMJ 101807-079_edited
8: UNKLE
Webster Hall CMJ Showcase, NY
Photos   |   Videos


Teddybears at Hiro Ballroom, 3/1/07
9: Teddybears
Hiro Ballroom, Maritime Hotel, NY
Photos   |   Videos


HONORABLE MENTIONS

Runners-Up:
I'd like to call out Brazilian Girls, CSS and Klaxons as among the top Dance shows, as well. All of them at Coachella, btw. But alas, I think it's appropriate to set the limit of requiring some portion of the music to be performed by DJs in order to be considered true "electronic music." So there you have it.

Coachella 2007 - Brazilian Girls  Coachella 2007 - CSS    Coachella 2007- Klaxons
Brazilian Girls | CSS | Klaxons
Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival 2007, Indio, CA


2007 YEAR IN REVIEW: Best Coachella Catch - The Good, The Bad & The Queen

2007 Year In Review:
Best Live Music  |  Best Coachella Catch  |  Best CMJ Ticket  |  Best Crowd


Best Coachella Catch:

1: The Good, The Bad & The Queen:    Photos   |   Videos
2: Bjork:                                            Photos   |   Videos
3: Brazilian Girls:                                Photos   |   Videos
4: CSS:                                             Photos   |   Videos
5: Klaxons:                                        Photos   |   Videos
6: Peter Bjorn and John:                     Photos   |   Videos
7: The Arcade Fire:                            Photos   |   Videos
8: Rufus Wainwright:                          Photos   |   Videos
9: The Decemberists:                         Photos   |   Videos

Coachella 2007 - The Good, The Bad & The Queen   Coachella 2007 - Peter Bjorn & John  Coachella 2007 - Arcade Fire  Coachella 2007 - Rufus Wainwright   Coachella 2007 - The Decemberists
The Good, The Bad & The Queen | Peter Bjorn & John | The Arcade Fire | Rufus Wainwright | The Decemberists
Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival 2007, Indio, CA


2007 YEAR IN REVIEW: Best CMJ Ticket - KEXP Seattle In-Studio Live Broadcasts from CMJ

2007 Year In Review:
Best Live Music  |  Best Coachella Catch  |  Best CMJ Ticket  |  Best Crowd


Best CMJ Ticket: KEXP Seattle In-Studio Live Broadcasts from CMJ Music Marathon
Featuring live performances broadcast from the Gibson Showroom, NY
Why didn't everybody do this? It made KEXP the only terrestrial radio station on my radar right now. (Sorry, FNX, it's been a while.) It was the ability to sit right in the room with the artists that made these shows THE guest list to be on. The interviews and between-tune banter made the Band of Horses broadcast one of the most memorable of my CMJ experience. But as for incredible performances, watching cross-legged on the studio floor while Simian Mobile Disco did their animated knob-twiddling was one of my
most favorite live "show" memories of the year altogether.

Simian Mobile Disco Live KEXP Broadcast @ CMJ

1: Simian Mobile Disco     Photos   |   Videos
2: Band of Horses            Photos   |   Videos
3: The Maccabees            Photos  

Simian Mobile Disco Live KEXP Broadcast @ CMJ   Band of Horses Live KEXP Broadcast @ CMJ 101907-045_edited
SimianMobile Disco | Band of Horses
KEXP Live Broadcast,
2007 CMJ Music Marathon & Film Festival, Gibson Guitar Showroom, NY


2007 YEAR IN REVIEW: Best Crowd - Keyspan Park, Coney Island for Daft Punk

2007 Year In Review:
Best Live Music  |  Best Coachella Catch  |  Best CMJ Ticket  |  Best Crowd


Best Crowd: Keyspan Park, Coney Island for Daft Punk
Daft Punk wins, hands down. But the fever that spread through Terminal 5 when the
Daft Punk discoveries, Justice, nearly tore the roof off the m*otherf*cker led to an
unbelievable display of wild abandon. Bacchus would have been proud.

Crowd for Daft Punk @ Keyspan Coney Island 8/9/07
The crowd for Daft Punk @ Coney Island, NY

1: Daft Punk, Keyspan Park at Coney Island, NY         Photos  |  Video
2: Justice, Terminal 5, NY                                          Photos 
3: Gogol Bordello, Irving Plaza, NY                             Photos  |  Video
4: Rufus Wainwright, Central Park Summerstage, NY   Photos  |  Video
5: Paul Van Dyke, Central Park Summerstage, NY       Photos  |  Video
6: Les Savy Fav, Randall's Island, NY                          Photos  |  Video
7: Cypress Hill, Rock the Bells at Randall's Island, NY   Photos  |  Video
8: Balkan Beat Box, Bowery Ballroom, NY                   Photos  |  Video
9: Justin Timberlake, Madison Square Garden, NY      Photos  |  Video

Justice @ Terminal 5 102207-327
The crowd for Justice @ Terminal 5, NY

Sunday, December 16, 2007

NEW PHOTOS & VIDEO: Cake & Brazilian Girls at Terminal 5 NY Dec 12th

Finally! (*gush*) After nearly a decade of near misses attempting to see my beloved
band and cursing Murphy's Law run amok, I have at last witnessed the Unlimited
Sunshine that is a Cake concert. Yay! 

Cake & Brazilian Girls @ Terminal 5 121207-073

Forgive my giggling girlitude about the matter, but there's just something so uplifting and
happy-making about Cake.

How do they invariably manage to make me feel so good? Maybe it's their quirky,
winking lyrics. (I offer up "Satan is my motor, feel my motor purr," as evidence.) Maybe
it's their Mexicali funk-tinged alt-pop, that sounded so different from anything else the 90s
pumped out. Possibly it's that unmistakable rockabilly guitar with its ballsy, low end
fullness that anchors the lightheartedness. Very likely it's that signature trumpet that makes
every Cake tune immediately identifiable. Most definitely it's the "aw yeah, aw no, alright"
that punctuates nearly every tune. I can't get enough of those.  I find myself 'aw yeah, aw
no, alright'ing for days after listening to Cake, and it never ceases to make me smile.

Cake @ Terminal 5 12/12/07  Cake @ Terminal 5 12/12/07             

The one thing missing from my adoration was the ability to say, "Aw yeah, I've seen 'em
live." And now I can gladly say that Cake live up to all my expectations live. No wonder
they've dubbed their annual trek the Unlimited Sunshine Tour. They spin sunlight. Sample
some of these live moments, and let the sun shine in on your long winter's nap.



This year's trek celebrates the release of their new album, "B-Sides and Rarities." Anyone
who had one of those, "Is that... could it be..." moments hearing the opening notes to
Black Sabbath's "War Pigs" would be well advised to pick up a copy of the new disc.
(See what I said about it at Spinner.com.)

Also along for the ride were one of my most favorite live bands: The Brazilian Girls.
Sabina and Co. were their New York arty, gorgeous selves. But alas, it wasn't exactly
the right pairing of sounds for a tour. Brazilian Girls are the epitome of nighttime New
York. They are not happy-go-lucky, sunshiney, nor goofy. What they are is sexy,
sophisticated, and sultry with a sly, European lunacy. It's like adding a single trip-hop
band to an all alt-folk lineup. And I think it backfired.

Brazilian Girls @ Terminal 5 12/12/07

The Brazilians tried their darnedest, but they never won over the Terminal 5 crowd. And
their energy flagged as a result, which simply served to perpetuate the problem.

Alas, the 12th just wasn't their night. Therefore, I choose to remember their free show at
Brooklyn's Fort Greene Park
a summer or two ago, where they proved they really can
be sunshine-friendly in an outdoor summertime setting. Or their triumphant turn last New
Years Eve atIrving Plaza
. Or their hot as hellfire show in the CA desert last Spring at
Coachella
.

Check out one of my faves from Coachella and see why I love them so...



MORE CAKE LIVE
--See Photos: Cake live at Terminal 5 in NY
--Watch Video: Cake live at Terminal 5 in NY
--Get Tickets: See Cake live in concert

MORE BRAZILIAN GIRLS LIVE
--See Photos: Brazilian Girls live at Terminal 5, Coachella, New Years Eve at Irving
--Watch Video: Brazilian Girls live at Terminal 5 and Coachella
--Watch Video: Brazilian Girls New Years Eve show live at Irving Plaza
--Get Tickets: See Brazilian Girls New Years Eve in San Francisco

Cake @ Terminal 5 12/12/07  Brazilian Girls @ Terminal 5 12/12/07