R.I.P. LeRoi Moore

Leroi Moore, the saxophonist of Dave Matthews Band, died yesterday. The press says it was from complications from an earlier car accident. Read more...

Did anyone make it to the Gildon Works & Capitol Years show in Rittenhouse Square this evening? Apparently they have these free concerts for 4 Wednesdays, and I missed Dr. Dog last week. Here is the lineup for the next 2 weeks:

8/27 - Jotto & Bitter Bitter Weeks
9/3 - The Hustle & Black Landlord


Click here to read more about the bands & listen.

Ra Ra Riot's The Rhumb Line Out today!

The print above is one of my all-time favorites. It's based off a photo I took when Ra Ra Riot was playing in the Schine Underground at Syracuse University a year or two back. It features Wes Miles, who is still the band's frontman, and Shaw Flick who is now a happy newlywed! They've come so far since then...

I feel like this has turned into the all-Ra Ra Riot, all the time channel. I don't mean it to be like that, it's just an exciting time. They got another great review, this time in Pitchfork, which I like a whole lot better than the RS one (see below).

And The Rhumb Line is out today! If you're in NYC, make sure you go over to the Virgin Store in Union Sq. around 7pm for their in-store performance and get your copy of the album. Also, they're going to be on Conan O'Brien on Sept 2. Check out their website for tour dates and more info about what's going on with them.

I'm going to give you some new music so you know that RRR is not all on my mind, or my ipod...

Bad Viens is a duo from Cinncinnati, OH that I originally saw at Pianos when I was working there. I was initially intrigued because the guy was singing through a freakin phone, a house phone...who even had them anymore? And was using a reel to reel. Their set was nothing short of enjoyable and they're apparently playing with VHS or Beta in Kentucky on 8/22.

VHS or Beta seems to play with some really amazing bands. When they played in Rochester this past spring, my friends Magic Hour opened for them and they came back to recommend another one of my favorites these days — Brooklyn's Tigercity. They remind me of Prince in that they are totally built for dancing. Their high-pitched male vocals are subtle, but produce an intense lust in the listener. It's impossible to resist.

Bad Veins - "Gold & Warm"
Ra Ra Riot -"Dying is Fine"
Tigercity - "Powerstripe"

Just A Note

I will not be working with Village Green Productions anymore. New & exciting music endeavors to come, as always. Stay tuned...


Also, check out this Rolling Stone review of Ra Ra Riot's The Rhumb Line. I was really upset by the poetic justice the writer chose to use in describing sensitive subjects of the opening line. Anyone else agree? Disagree? I thought it was a weirdly written article for something that is supposed to be praise. I also thought it was funny that he described Ra Ra's music in terms of Vampire Weekend's music, when VW started out opening for Ra Ra. Just my take, decide for yourself...

Prospect Park Photos

Not much to say about this show except that it was amazing. The Prospect Park bandshell shows are really enjoyable. The weather was luckily beautiful with a slight cool breeze. Con: I forgot how expensive beer is in NYC ($6 for a 16 oz. Bud), and since I refuse to drink Bud, it was $6 for a 12 oz. Red Hook instead. Pro: seating! I haven't been to a concert with seats since I used to go see Dave Matthews Band at the Tweeter Center in Camden, NJ (before it was Susquehanna Bank Center) - and I know, I never live that down. Although I got antsy when the bands played my favorite songs and went to stand up front with the other fans, it was nice to be able to sit and relax at first with a drink & friends until the sun went down.

Compelling sets by each band, including Bear Hands, even though one song had a slight stutter. This was a first time for me seeing Ghostland Observatory and, man, who knew pigtail braids and unbuttoned, traditionally-stitched shirts paired with some super slick dance moves and sunglasses would equal sexy as hell? Sure caught me off guard...

BEAR HANDS - listen

Ted on guitar - "Slides are for cool kids"

"Long & lean, G-d save the Queen!"

Val on bass guitar, energetic at center stage

THE JEALOUS GIRLFRIENDS - listen

I was so glad they played Organs in the Kitchen (my favorite)

Holly gets down, literally

GHOSTLAND OBSERVATORY - listen

Aaron, i.e. McDreamy

Euphoria in NYC

Ra Ra Riot @ Siren Music Festival, 7/19/08

I've already expressed my extreme love of the city compared to my hatred of suburbia, so I would simply like to expand on the prior...

This past weekend, I had the pleasure of attending Village Voice's Siren Music Festival on Coney Island. Due to G train issues and having to take a stupid shuttle bus half the way, we arrived later than I wanted to, missing Annuals and JUST making it for Ra Ra Riot. They were fabulous as always, playing a bunch of new songs from their yet unreleased album, The Rhumb Line. The new album will be out August 19th courtesy of their new family, Barsuk Records. They've made the newest version of Dying Is Fine available for free online! How nice!

Ra Ra Riot - Dying Is Fine
(from new album, The Rhumb Line, to be released Aug 19 on Barsuk Records)
Preorder album here

Apparently, a new drummer has joined the Ra Ra lineup. Gabriel Duquette, formerly of Sam Buck Rosen, started up with the group about a month ago. His playing is more than sufficient, holding the backbone of the band in place despite a lot of uncertainty in the last year. I was unaware of the drumspot switch-up prior to seeing the band on stage that day, but it cleared up a lot of confusion from the shuttle bus ride I mentioned previously. On this ride, I just happened to sit down right next to a fellow named Aaron who mentioned that the new drummer for Ra Ra Riot used to play in the band he plays for now. Upon asking which band this was and he mentioned Sam Rosen, I immediately made the connection since Ra Ra has played with Sam before...but I didn't think Cameron (the old drummer of Ra Ra) had played for Sam...so I was confused. Hence, the clarification upon seeing Gabe on stage once I arrived at Siren. I hope that wasn't too confusing.

The last word about the subject: I haven't been the first, and I'm sure I won't be the last to mention the eerie physical resemblance between Gabe and John [Pike]. I was a little disturbed, honestly. A lovely little video tidbit of Ra Ra Riot performing Too Too Too Fast is below. It's one of the more fun tracks that will be on the new album. I especially love Allie's keys and backup vocals.

Ra Ra Riot - Too Too Too Fast, Siren Music Festival 7/19/08

After indulging in the shade and free drinks of the VIP tent (hay hay), we mosied over to see Broken Social Scene. It has been five years I have been waiting to see this Toronto collective from the Canadian label that can do no wrong, Arts & Crafts, perform full-out and altogether in eurphoric unison. And that's exactly what it was: spiritual and perfect. I was mildly disappointed that they didn't play any of my 3 favorite songs (Looks Like the Sun, Anthems for a Seventeen-Year-Old Girl and Windsurfing Nation), but they did manage to play Cause=Time and a few others that were just as great. Kevin Drew was spotless, the horn section was superfun and the girl (does anyone know her name?) that they picked up off the street, Kevin said, an hour before the performance delivered well...although no one can compared to Amy [Millan, of Stars], Emily [Haines, of Metric] or Feist.

Broken Social Scene @ Siren Music Festival, 7/19/08

All in all, it was a heavenly concert day brought to us by the gods of concert-going. I didn't think it could get better, but I think next weekend has real possibility to rival.

I already had plans to go see my friend, Bear Hands (Brooklyn, NY), play with Ghostland Observatory for free in Prospect Park next Saturday (July 26), but upon checking my email tonight, I was overjoyed to find out that another one of my favorite NYC bands, The Jealous Girlfriends, will be performing as well! I'll be dying and going to concert heaven on Saturday, See ya! The show starts early (6:30pm), so be there or be very very square. This is one of those concert bills that, in my eyes, only comes around once in a blue moon.

I also saw NYC's The Bloodsugars at Pianos the Friday night when I was up. They were fun and fabulous as always.

We have some great Village Green shows this week:

Tomorrow night 7/23: Bound Stems with Dark Room & Sunfold (Members of Annuals)
8pm @ M Room, 21+, $8
Thursday night 7/24: Gang Gang Dance with Prowler & The Popo
9pm @ M Room, 21+, $12
Details, tickets & full roster of shows are at the site: VillageGreenProductions.net

The City vs. Suburbia

In a heavyweight sumo mudwrestling match between The City and Suburbia, who would win?

Let's talk about Suburbia for a minute - I have to drive (with gas over $4 a gallon) to and from work 35 minutes every day. Sometimes there's traffic (roadwork, accidents, idiots...you know, the norm) which is obviously aggravating. After work, I often stop at the supermarket to pick up ingredients for dinner. I have major issues finding produce, let alone healthy-looking, organic produce. Or anything whole grain, whole wheat, unprocessed without a ton of sugar and salt and chemicals in it. I make dinner in a house with no one to eat it and tell me how good it is because all my friends are in The City. Since all the music and art and culture and people are in town, I usually go there at night for a show or plans. Hello to another 35 minute drive (did I mention gas is over $4 a gallon). Then I can't stay too late because I have to drive back home to get to bed to start it all over again.

In The City (and I'm generally referencing cities, but I'm thinking mostly of NYC), I walk to work - or take the subway. Never any traffic or gas prices. I can walk a block or two to a bodega at any time and they are littered with healthy, unprocessed, fresh food - lots of local & organic. Then, the there are usually at least 10 things to do every night and they're usually within your neighborhood. Sure, it's dirtier and things like food are more expensive, but when you think about how much gas money you're saving - it makes it all worth it. Sure, it's nice to have a big kitchen, in a rent-free house (thanks Mom) with central air, a dishwasher, OnDemand and a washer/dryer - but the isolation from everything and gas expense kills it all.

Ok Suburbia, I've had enough of you. Get a grip.
I vote City! Luckily, I'll be up in NYC three weekends in a row starting this weekend. This weekend is The Bloodsugars at Pianos & Siren Music Festival to see Ra Ra Riot & Broken Social Scene! See you there!

GREAT THING 002: Yelp.com, My Yelp
Yelp is the fun and easy way to find, review and talk about what's great (and not so great) in your world. You already know that asking friends is the best way to find restaurants, dentists, hairstylists, and anything local. Yelp makes it fast and easy by collecting and organizing your friends' recommendations in one convenient place.

And I almost love this town when I'm by your side

Close your eyes and think about a song that moves you, a song that really means something to you. Think about where you were, what you were doing, and who you were with (isn't this always the most important part?) the first time you heard it. The song starts there and is born. Through time, it develops a character, a life, a history with you. These songs become the connecting thread between you and that moment in time. These relationships are some of the strongest and are rarely broken, even though the relationship with that time, place or person probably has been. Obviously closing your eyes would've been completely detrimental to the reading of this paragraph, but I hope you gave the thought sincere effort.

If a song has never touched you this way and you can't relate, this blog is probably not for you. Don't get me wrong: I would love for everyone to find a home in the words here. But the reality is, I am a creative. Just like that National album never had a chance when your first love played it for you - it was born into making you feel warm and content inside - so to are creatives born into a life of passion. Indulgence, intensity, free spirited action, attention to detail, disregard for the reasonable, and so on.

I work in the music business and it has been easy for me to forget how it feels to really be moved by a song, but I remembered yesterday:

You woke me from a long sleep
And I'm almost back
Closer than ever
To finding the hidden track
If I told you the truth
You wouldn't like what I said I almost believed I was dead
There'll be no more waiting
You're gonna melt all the ice
In my head
There'll be no more crying
You're gonna make it all better instead.

Killian's Red by Nada Surf. The "you" in that passage, for me, is music. And I need to show my gratitude to it for teaching me how to love, giving me strength when it all fell apart, sedating me when I was in pergatory and bringing me back to life when it was the right time.

So this blog is my thank you note to music and art and the things that make life worth sticking around for, because it's too easy to forget...

There are so many great things around these days that I get obsessed with and love to play with. I will try to post one of these things each time:

GREAT THING 001: Muxtape.com, My Muxtape
Muxtape is a website that allows users to upload playlists of MP3s, based on the idea of a mixtape. It was created by Justin Oullette in March of 2008. (Wiki)