Earlier this evening, there was a lot of speculation about whether or not Ted Leo and the Pharmacists were going to be able to play their free show tonight at Pier 54, since he said on their website and Twitter that they would do their best as always to persevere and play the show come rain or high water.
Apparently they played!
Ted Leo @ Pier 54 (from Twitpic)
Not so timorous, Ted. Way to give the people what they want. So in honor of his valorous move, here’s a really strange (but secretly hilarious) video of the great jam “Timorous Me.” I’m not sure who this director dude is, but this video is bonkers.
One band that we really wanted to see play at the Siren Music Festival this year, but ended up missing (it’s hard to leave the VIP area and its free booze/food combo), is Frightened Rabbit. This indie outfit from Scotland currently consists of four members, although this number has grown over the band’s life thus far, starting with just Scott Hutchison on vocals and guitar, adding his brother, Grant, on drums and vocals, and later Billy Kennedy and Andy Monaghan, who both play keyboards, guitar, and bass.
One reason why I like them is that their name sounds suspiciously similar to one of my favorite bands, Modest Mouse. The other is that they’re making some pretty great music right now: their second, and most recent, release Midnight Organ Fightscored over an 8 rating from Pitchfork last year, and their live sound is so good that in May they released a live album, Quietly, Now, that is basically the same as Midnight Organ Fight only live, and mostly acoustic, and really really good.
Just so you don’t think I’m making this up, and also since we missed their set during Siren, here’s a video of Frightened Rabbit performing their song “Fast Blood” live at the Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago two days later. Can anyone else hear a little Braid in there?
I’m not sure how many of you made it to Coney Island for the Siren Music Festival last weekend but, if you did come, hopefully you made it there by 2:30pm, when Bear Hands played. It was such a great day to be outside drinking some beers and enjoying live music! Bear Hands played a pretty tight set, including the song “Frank” that they hadn’t played in a while, and all the regular favorites such as “Golden,” “Sickly Brunette,” and “Can’t Stick Em” before they finished up with a spontaneous-crowd-hand-clap-backed version of “What a Drag.”
Bear Hands @ Siren Music Festival 2009 (7/18/09)
What was really interesting to me is that it seems like some of the songs – most notably “Frank” – have been re-tooled in the studio and are sounding really sleek and sing-along ready. I am expecting a fantastic reception to their full length (probably being released in late winter?), especially if this live show was a taste of things to come.
One of the most fun/funny moments of the show was when Dylan called Das Racist up on stage to perform a rendition of their unexpected hit “Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell” over the band playing a live cover of Jay-Z’s “D.O.A.” and a hail of “Yeah”s, “Uh-huh”s, “No”s and the general histeria/noise that ensued. Fun times all around, although I wasn’t sure that the crowd really had any sort of idea what was going on.
On a side note, Das Racist is playing a show tonight at Union Pool with our friends The Tony Castles and IN, which should be a really hot sweaty time. Come join us!
There were a ton of great other performances over the course of the day, although we spent most of our time at the Stillwell Stage. But near the end of the night, as the sun set and the general revelry-level creeped up a notch, we made it over to the main stage to check out Built to Spill. They were awesome as always, and ended the festival on a perfect note, right next to the Wonder Wheel:
Today marks the 40th anniversary of the first man walking on the moon. Neil Armstrong and the crew of the Apollo 11 completed this awesome feat back in 1969 and, by some assessments, astronauts in the United States space program haven’t surpassed this achievement since. NASA is still trying to return humans to the moon, but before they get the funding, the Obama administration has put together a panel of independent space experts to evaluate the current condition of NASA’s human spaceflight program. The panel will make their recommendations at the end of the summer, but the federal deficit, and other programs like health care, will most likely get any available funding first. Although they may not get the necessary dollars anytime soon, NASA plans to eventually create a “moon base” that would allow astronauts to practice living on another planet, an experience that space crews would need before heading to explore other planets like Mars. According to NASA.gov, “As the space shuttle approaches retirement and the International Space Station nears completion, NASA is building the next fleet of vehicles to bring astronauts back to the moon, and possibly to Mars and beyond.”
Today’s Jam comes to us from David Bowie, who rushed the release of his single, “Space Oddity,” back in 1969 to coincide with the first man landing on the moon and all of the surrounding buzz and excitement. The exposure that the song received gave Bowie his first big hit when it reached the top five on the UK singles chart that fall. When Bowie re-emerged in 1972, as his androgynously flamboyant alter-ego, Ziggy Stardust, the album was re-released with the title “Space Oddity,” and a new video was included as part of the makeover.
To celebrate the 40th anniversary of “Space Oddity,” Bowie is re-releasing the EP on iTunes along with a new “Space Oddity App” for the iPhone. The application allows you to create your own mixes of the song and save them. If you don’t want to bother with anything as complex as sliding faders you can just shake your iPhone and it will create a brand new mix for you. Although nobody could improve on the original, many have tried including Cat Power, who did a teaser of a cover of this song for Lexus (that could have been awesome had it been longer than 30 seconds), and Shiny Toy Guns, who released an excellent response song, “Major Tom,” in 2008.
Tomorrow the 9th Annual Village Voice Siren Music Festival will take over Coney Island with a free concert that includes a lineup of about 15 bands, culminating in sets by Built to Spill and Spank Rock at the Main Stage (on W. 10th St. off Surf Ave.) and the Stillwell Stage (Stillwell Ave. off Surf Ave.), respectively. There’s a great group of bands playing this year, so grab some sunscreen, your friends, and a beachball (these were a must-have item whenever the above picture from beatcrave.com was taken, apparently) and kick it in Coney Island all day. And given that Budweiser is sponsoring the Official After Party, I’m sure there will be lots of boozing in addition to the dancing. Doesn’t sound like a drag at all.
Here at ev2bk we’re especially excited to see/party with one of our favorite bands, and longtime buddies, Bear Hands, who are playing on the Stillwell Stage at 2:30pm sharp. Even the New York Metro is psyched (thanks Betsy)!
Bear Hands was formed back in 2006 when Dylan Rau was living in Brooklyn and asked Ted Feldman, Val Loper, and TJ Orscher to play on some demos that he was recording. Dylan was going to school with Ted at Wesleyan at the time, and already knew TJ and Val from the CT music scene (Val and TJ had been in CT hardcore band In Pieces, and had – if I remember correctly – played some shows with Dylan’s old band Building a Factory, but in any case, they knew each other well enough to have at least shared a bowl or whatnot). The general band-mythology is that during the recording sessions, all four guys sort of realized “hmm, maybe this could be a pretty kick-ass band” and so now they’re “doing the best they can” (from their myspace page).
But just in case you think this implies some sort of lack of ambition or luster, it should be noted that already in 2009 alone the boys have toured Europe twice:
Bear Hands @ Cargo in London (2/23/09)
Recorded some live tracks with Daytrotter after playing a few shows at SXSW in Austin (here’s my favorite of those songs):
“Belongings”
Totally killed it at a show with Passion Pit at Bowery Ballroom back in June:
Bear Hands at Bowery Ballroom (6/19/09)
And for the rest of the summer are all set to play Hartford with Airbourne Toxic Event, Boston with We Are Scientists, and both the Leeds Festival and Reading Festival in the UK later this August. Oh and did I mention that they are currently in the studio recording their first full-length record? Last week when I spoke with Dylan he told me that it was sounding pretty great so far; I’ll post an update after I listen to some of the tracks with him tonight in the studio.
We love this band, and think you will too! Each and every member of the band is the sweetest of dudes and would probably love to get to know you. So come join us and get your dance on with Bear Hands and the rest of the bands tomorrow at the Siren Music Festival. Here’s a little preview of the remix of the hotness from Bear Hands. The song, “What a Drag,” can be purchased as a 7″ import from Rough Trade Shops and Too Pure Records.
Tuesday night we checked out The New York Philharmonic performance in Central Park. Music Director Alan Gilbert lead the orchestra in Mozart’s Symphony No. 41 from the Jupiter cycle and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7, during the first of the season’s concerts. It was a beautiful night and the Great Lawn was packed, but it was not until I was reading about it yesterday that I found out that there were an estimated 80,000 people there! Luckily there are lots of other concerts planned over the summer season in lots of boroughs, so you won’t have to travel too far to check them out.
But that’s not to say that you have to be in New York to enjoy the Phil. The president of the Philharmonic, Zarin Mehta, announced today that he and other Philharmonic officials planned to travel to Havana, Cuba tomorrow to investigate logistics and see if it will be feasible for them to accept Cuba’s invitation to perform there in the fall. The Philharmonic seems to be hoping to add another exotic and controversial destination to its touring season. In light of the recent US embargo lifting some travel restrictions to Cuba, the Philharmonic has already received licenses to travel there. This trip would come at the end of their Asian tour in October, during which they will visit Vietnam. And you may recall that last year they were the first major orchestra to ever travel to the dictatorial, and exceedingly isolated, North Korea. As Gilbert explained to the Times, the trip would be a nonpolitical “cultural exchange,” explaining, “I think that music really does speak for itself.” Let’s hope that music continues to transcend borders more and more in the years to come.
Returning to more U.S.-related “Havana” news, a new album entitled Havana Winter by singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Kevin Hearn will be released here on July 28th. Hearn is best known as a skilled multi-instrumentalist in the platinum-selling pop band, Barenaked Ladies. Hearn, a classically trained pianist, has pursued a parallel solo career path for some time now, and this will be his 5th solo album. As a solo artitst, his songs continue to be introspective, and are framed by gentle, seductive melodies and charmingly subtle vocals.
On Havana Winter, he is joined by Lou Reed, Laurie Anderson, Mary Margaret O’Hara, John McDermott, and Chantal Kreviazuk. Hearn is performing tonight at the Mercury Lounge with his band, Thin Buckle. If you’re feeling like easing into your weekend on a mellow note, you should check them out.
East Village to Brooklyn 