Magnetic Fields and Laura Barrett at Town Hall

I am so happy to report that Venus Zine is back in business, which means that I will now be reviewing shows and writing about music, art and culture for them more regularly. My first review after a long hiatus was the Magnetic Fields' performance at Town Hall on March 10th. It was a very nice and stately show and had the feeling of a reunion of friends who are all in someway connected to the Magnetic Fields. You can read the full review here.

Mud Jacuzzi at All Points We(s)t

Dominick and I took on our biggest challenge yet, covering the three day All Points West music festival, held in Liberty State Park in New Jersey. While covering music festivals is daunting anyway, this one was made more so because of two days of rain (and lightening) that turned the festival grounds into one big mud pit that smelled like a cow farm. Dominick was a super sport and even wrote some up some of the show to cover while I had to work. Read our review and see the pictures for Venus zine here.
After you've soaked in the music coverage, let me point out this: I was miserable, and I got in for free! I have no idea why people who live in or near NYC would pay so much for a muddy music festival when they can see most of the bands who played in NYC fairly regularly and for that much money they can even sit down!

I think that if All Points West is to be successful with a New York audience they need to really give people an added value to their ticket. It's not enough to book top acts in a city that's saturated with them. Here's my suggestions to make All Points West better:

Put it in the city proper. How about Flushing Meadows/Corona Park? At least it's not Jersey and you can get there by bike!

If it must be in Liberty State Park, how about providing a FREE ferry service from lower Manhattan, instead of asking concert goers to shell out an additional $25 or suffer on the light rail to path to subway.

Set up the stages so that sound from different bands doesn't bleed together.

Value your journalists! The press tent felt like a refugee camp at times, the ground was soaking wet like the rest of the festival grounds, and sometimes we weren't even allowed to walk on a path behind some bleachers to get there. When I first got to the festival no one told me where the press tent was and most staff members didn't even know there was one.
You can see more (amateurish) photos on my flickr stream.

Covering the 9th Annual Siren Fest!

It was a perfect beach day last Saturday and Dominick and I spent it at Coney Island covering Siren Fest. We were thankful for the shade of the VIP tent and the free drinks, as well as the close views of the bands. Highlights included Frightened Rabbit, The Ravonettes, Built to Spill, Grand Duchy,and in a strange way, Thee Oh Sees. Please check out my review for Venus Zine here and Dominick's lovely photos.

Recent Reviews

I've been going to some great shows lately and Dominick has been taking some great photos! Just this week we saw Camera Obscura at the Bell House and they were breath taking. They were much better than the last time I saw them in New York at the South Street Seaport. They've really grown as a band and their new album "My Maudlin Career" illustrates this very nicely. Check out my review and Dominick's photos here.
We also saw the French Kicks not too long ago and you can read that review here.

December Reviews

Now that the holidays are over (!) and 2009 has begun (!!), I thought I would share my last two reviews of 2008: Bon Iver and Ingrid Michaelson, both at Town Hall. The Bon Iver show was one of the best shows I've seen in 2008 and Ingrid Michaelson wasn't bad either, but her voice and the screeching of her fans did tend to wear on me. Dominick did a great job of taking photos under challenging conditions, so please do take a look!

Love is All Review

I'd been hearing a lot of buzz about the Swedish group Love is All for the past few years and I was excited to check them out when they opened for Of Montreal in October. I was even more excited when I got the chance to review them properly when they were headlining at the Bowery Ballroom this past Sunday. Dominick and I were talking about our top five shows of 2008 and Love is All's set are definitely on my list. They are legendary for bringing an intense amount of enthusiastic energy to their live performances and this one was no exception, even though it clocked in at just over 40 minutes! You can read my full review for Venus Zine and my thoughts about the Crystal Stilt's opening set here and see more of Dominick's lovely photographs.

Blitzen Trapper, yay! Iron and Wine, snore.

On a freezing cold Monday I walked half-way across Manhattan to see Blitzen Trapper and Iron and Wine play at the cavernous Terminal Five. I had not heard of Blitzen Trapper before, though they hail from Portland, Oregon, a city close to my heart. For anyone who loves classic rock from the 1970's, murder ballads and American roots music, they are a compelling new band. They were opening for Iron and Wine, who, while he certainly writes novelistic lyrics, is not that interesting. I honestly don't see what the big deal is, and besides, it turned into a big, sickening swoon fest for the couples in the audience. To read what else I have to say and to see Crissy Lush's photos, check out my review here on Venuszine.com!

Uh Huh Her at Irving Plaza

The other week Dominick and I went to see Uh Uh Her at Irving Plaza. I personally do not like the name (though I do like the PJ Harvey album they are named for), but the crowd there was really into them and their shiny outfits. They didn't seem to be phased by the radio-ready quality of the set either. You can read my review here and see more of Dominick's super slick pictures.

Abe Vigoda and Telepathe Review

Last week I went to see Abe Vigoda and Telepathe open for Diplo at my least favorite New York City venue, Webster Hall. I hear its a New York City landmark, but I cannot stand the fake "Egyptian" decoration. Go figure this would make a museum educator crazy. When I first saw these bands together over the summer at South Street Seaport I swore they were both like 18 years old, as there was gangly limbs and youthful noodling everywhere. Imagine my surprise when I heard one of the ladies in Telepathe is 32! Could have fooled me. Anyway, both bands were engaging in completely different ways and you can read my review here. I really love Telepathe's circular, loopy drones. They are kind of the band version of the film Celine et Julie Vont En Bateau. Despite my curiosity and being a fan of his recorded work, I skipped out early when Diplo came on, as it was a little too house music for me and since he put his DJ booth on the floor, I couldn't even see him twiddling the knobs.

Department of Eagles and Of Montreal Reviews

October is rocktastic so far, with two show reviews in the past week and two more to go in the upcoming weeks. Last Monday Dominick and I saw the debut full band performance of Department of Eagles, which is one-half of (and sounds a lot like) Grizzly Bear. You can check out that review here (and see more of Dominick's lovely photos like the one I used here). Friday brought some fairly tedious glam rock from Of Montreal, whose set included bringing a live horse on stage. After that, where can you go, really? You can check out the review here and see Natasha's totally fab photos.

Dressy Bessy at Arlene's Grocery

It had been a few years since I listened to Dressy Bessy, but I always enjoyed their sweetly catchy songs that packed a punch sass. When the chance to review them live at Arlene's Grocery came up, I jumped at it and despite the late night it was well worth it! Their sound, while still rooted in 1960's pop, has evolved over the years and I like it! You can check out my review (and Dominick's great photos) on Venuszine here.

Bodies of Water for Venuszine

In between all my travels and Brooklyn fun this summer, I managed to review the Bodies of Water show (which you can read here) at Mercury Lounge for venuszine.com. I really enjoy the opportunity to go to a show and really think about it critically, as well as enjoy it as a spectator. Please check it out! I'll be writing more on my travels in just a moment...

The Old Haunts at Cake Shop

This week I went to see the Old Haunts play at Cake Shop and reviewed the show for Venuszine.com. You can read the review here:
http://www.venuszine.com/articles/music/live_reviews/3230/The_Old_Haunts_bring_Northwest_punk_to_NYC