Results tagged “yeasayer”

December is list-making season. And for us music journalists, it is a time to look back on scores of albums, reflect upon the music and recapitulate our favorites. But this year, just like the last, we took this opportunity to flip that tradition upside down, asking the artists that influenced us what influenced them. The prompt was not limited to albums that came out in 2008.

Tonight Brooklyn-based buzz band Yeasayer will be headlining the Troubadour. Last year they were rocking out to twenty some-odd people at the CMJ Festival in New York. And a mere ten months later they were performing for thousands at this year's Lollapalooza. Talk about mobility! Anyways, Rhett Miller will be returning to the Largo at the Coronet with Murry Hammond of the Old 97s. And local singer-songwriter extraordinaire Charlie Wadhams will be continuing his residency at Tangier. But, in all honesty, we're really excited for the Cure Tribute Night at the Echo. LA-by-way-of-Brooklyn psych duo Gangi (LAist Review) are slated to perform with Hecuba. It'll be a strange night of electronic-infused fringe music, but it is not to be missed.

It's the last Saturday of the month and that means The Blue Mask at Mr. T's Bowl in Highland Park is back after a little holiday break. LA Weekly describes the all-night music party put on by fellow musicians of Motorcycle Black Madonnas as a venue to catch "some of the city’s most respected underground punk, hard-rock and bent-jazz musicians... Best of all, there’s almost no chance that the faux-rock glitterati (or celebrity trash like Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan) will ever discover/ruin the place."

I've always been intrigued by other "best of" lists, but this year I decided to take it to a whole new level. I e-mailed a handful of bands that I've seen this past year in order to unearth what exactly captivated them in '07. As music listeners, it is our duty to take a keen interest in our favorite musician's influences. After all, they rocked our little world, might as well see what rocked their...

As one blogger so delicately phrased it, "CMJ goes out with a whimper". There wasn't a whole lot I wanted to see on Day Five of CMJ. So I rested my weary bones, wandered around Williamsburg, and caught a couple of shows. One highlight was Ha Ha Tonka's performance at Union Pool in Williamsburg at a homey, jam-packed venue. I believe there was a BBQ going on as well. Williamsburg was lovely, flourishing with...

Day Four began with jazz hands. I started off at Cake Shop to see NY native Patrick Cleandenim. He struck my interest with his brand of flamboyant, jazz-infused pop. However, it'd be nearly impossible for him to replicate the orchestral backing live and thus his live performance seemed a bit flat. Regardless, Patrick is destined for large things. His latest effort Baby, Come Home was recorded in Kansas at a studio I am quite...

Yesterday commenced with an LA bang. I started off at the Indaba music loft again because they have been hosting a plethora of good (free!) shows. There's something comforting about watching bands from someone else's living room. I showed up around mid-day to catch one of my favorite LA bands Division Day. Front man Rohner Segnitz and the boys ran through a pleasant acoustic set. With drummer Kevin Lenhart on shakers, Division Day sounded...