M.I.A. @ Terminal 5 in NY, September 27th 2010

My heart pounded and stomach dropped at the sight of her, onstage in a "Fuck Google, Ask Me" shirt, dark sunglasses, and fabulously nonchalant way of carrying herself. This being my, what, fourth time seeing M.I.A. in concert, I fully expected a good show... let me just tell you, blog readers: THIS WAS THE BEST SHOW I HAVE BEEN TO IN A LONG TIME. And that's saying a lot. My god was she amazing... I admittedly had my doubts, as I have heard rumours that she has taken her live shows in a "preachier" direction, whatever that means (RE: stfu new album haters). Either everyone who has been saying negative things is trying to stir up controversy or she has taken a hint, but I swear to god I have never seen her so engaged with the crowd before, nor have I ever seen a more pleased and energetic group of fellow onlookers since, well, since I saw her at Coachella in 2009. I might be a bit biased, seeing as I held her hand when she crowd-surfed, drank out of her bottle of Patron, and sang in her microphone with her.... but I digress. Wow. I fully expected her to sing songs mostly off of Maya, but to my great surprise she did an astonishingly large amount of her old stuff.... I was utterly elated to watch her play favorite after favorite, songs like "World Town", "Galang", "XR2", "Boyz", and "Bird Flu". Despite what some have been saying, I am also a really big fan of the new album, and quite enjoyed dancing (well, more like being pushed in a crowd of overly sweaty, extremely energetic superfans) to "Story to be Told", "Lovealot", and my personal favorite, "Teqkilla"... hence the bottle of Patron. In my opinion she should have played "XXXO" to please her fans, as well as tracks like "Tell Me Why" and "Believer" which have proven to be some of the stronger new songs, but whatever. She killed it, she is a legend, and I consider myself honored to have stood so close and interacted with a woman I think will remain an icon of our generation. Let's just hope she doesn't give me another heart attack and threaten to quit music for the purpose of expanding her family...sidenote: having Ickett did ANYTHING to her body, it's completely inhuman and unfair, as made evident in the following photos:

Oh yeah, Rye Rye kicked ass too. Obviously not as much as M.I.A. (sorry girl), but she is an incredible dancer and I have new found respect for her. I really enjoyed listening to her perform "Bang" (which, if you haven't heard, features M.I.A. in the chorus), and songs I had never heard before like "Wassup Wassup" and "Shake it to the Ground". If you are new to Rye Rye and like the sort of music played at this show, definitely check out her Myspace. I am hesitant to say she had a better outfit than M.I.A., but she looked damn good with her extremely white hair and neon 2- piece sweatsuit:

All in all, it was a mind-blowingly memorable show; one I will most certainly never forget. They're still on tour, so if you happen to be near any of the places listed on the tour dates (check them out at miauk.com) definitely get tickets. And for the love of god, if you have not listened to M.I.A.'s new album, please check it out (and keep an open mind!).

Of Montreal and Janelle Monae @ Terminal 5 in NY, September 18th 2010

To say that I have been to my fair share of fabulously bizarre shows is quite an understatement... Fever Ray, N.A.S.A., and obviously Lady Gaga are a few that come to mind. But I think Of Montreal and Janelle Monae have successfully topped them all on the weirdness scale, and I mean that in the best of ways. The combination of these two acts at first came to me as a bit of a surprise; I couldn't really picture them directly appealing to the same demographic. I was completely proven wrong, however, as I have come to learn that both Janelle and Kevin Barnes & co. employ similar performance techniques that I found to be equally entertaining and attention-grabbing.

Janelle's set, which included incredible songs such as "Wondaland", "Tightrope", and "Cold War", was extraordinarily fun to watch, as everyone on stage was in various costumes of all black and white, contrasting beautifully to the vast array of colors projected onto the stage.... very aesthetically pleasing. What I appreciated most about her show, though, was her tangible energy and absolutely jaw-dropping vocals; I have a whole new appreciation for this girl. Her songs are brilliantly arranged and so great to dance to, the kind of music that could put anyone in a good mood no matter the time or circumstance. She's so god damn fierce I can't get over it... her sophomore album, The ArchAndroid, is definitely going on my list of top albums for the year.

I won't lie, Janelle Monae may have been a bit eccentric but her edginess seems almost mundane compared to the SHITSHOW that was Of Montreal. Giant fish in gas masks, girls dressed as pigs simulating things in cages I won't post on this blog, and magical wing-like capes: I honestly don't know where they come up with this shit but someone has a very, VERY active imagination. Needless to say, it was so unbelievable to watch and to dance to; they always put on a great show, and we all loved singing along to old classics like "Gronlandic Edit", "A Sentence of Sorts in Kongsvinger", and "For Our Elegant Caste", as well as new songs off of the recently released False Priest, which came out earlier this month. I can't say personally that False Priest trumps Hissing Fauna in any way, I think the latter is actually much better in its entirety. Regardless, I admire Of Montreal's originality (to say the least), and aspire to be that weird in public one day and get away with it like Kevin does.

Moving in the Right Direction

I hate to admit this, as it makes me rather ashamed of myself, but it has been so long since I have heard anything new from Matt Costa or seen him live that I had almost filed him away in the back of my brain. All I have to say is, I am everso glad he is back in my life. His new record, Mobile Chateau, is both a reminder of why I have always loved his music, as a lot of it sounds similar to his old stuff (in a good way), and a refreshing presentation of his somewhat newly-invented sound. I am impressed with the fact that he's moved beyond being a mere singer-songwriter and now is dipping a toe into several other genres, not that I'm not a fan of the fantastic singer-songwritery sound of old songs like "Yellow Taxi", "Emergency Call" and "Cold December". The delightfully bluesy feel of "The Season" kind of reminds me of a male version of some of Zooey Deschanel's vocals in She & Him music, whereas I get a Beach Boys-meets-The Shins vibe from the song "Witchcraft"... so really, this album is bringing quite the variety to the table. A lot of it is much darker than his older stuff, however I really admire the increased complexity in his guitar playing and think he has grown quite a bit as an artist. Do yo thang, Matt Costa. I will always be a fan. So far I recommend "Can You Tell Me", "Witchcraft", and of course "Mobile Chateau" the most, but a cover-to-cover listen is, in my opinion, a must for this fast-approaching autumn season. Perfect timing.

Mixing Business With Pleasure

My first instinct would definitely not be to make an album with my significant other, but in Jenny Lewis's case it has worked out beautifully. Jenny and her boyfriend Johnathan Rice have come together to create a truly sophisticated and masterful first album under the name Jenny and Johnny, entitled I'm Having Fun Now. Lewis is someone I consider to be a juggernaut for modern-day indie rock/ country/ folk infused music, as Rilo Kiley is one of my favorite groups and her most recent solo album, Acid Tongue, has some incredible tracks on it. However, there's something about the two of them together that really brings out Jenny's true vocal and lyric-writing prowess; the harmonies and compositions of almost every song on this record feel both incredibly organic and meticulously well thought-out. None of this comes as a surprise to me, both of them are incredibly talented; I just would never have expected this to be the direction she would have gone in. Regardless, I have nothing but good things to say about I'm Having Fun Now. It is truly fantastic. My recommendations are "Animal", "Big Wave", and "The Highs and Lows of Being #1". Listen to "Big Wave" here: