Kate Nash @ Terminal 5 in NY- November 19th, 2010

This was my sixth time seeing Kate Nash perform live, and I am so amazed at how much she has transformed herself artistically since shyly singing charming little melodies in front of an audience of no more than 300 people at Amoeba Records in January of 2008, her first show in Los Angeles. She’s gone from a loveable young artist to an absolute force of nature and true role model for what every girl in her teens and 20’s should be like, speaking her mind through both poetry and song and not really giving a shit if people don’t agree. Mid-way through her show, following her most controversial new number “Mansion Song” (which you must hear for yourself to fully appreciate), she playfully asked the crowd, “Are you afraid of a girl with an opinion?”, to which she responded after a few seconds of cheering: “Yeah… me neither.”

Kate has come quite a way from her earliest days of sitting in her room post- rejection from college tinkering with GarageBand and writing ditties like “Foundations” and “Skeleton Song”… not that I don’t thoroughly enjoy those songs still. Dressed in a sequenced blue leotard and tights, and sitting down at her fabulous light bulb-adorned keyboard in the middle of the stage, I could immediately tell that her level of comfort and confidence in front of a crowd had dramatically changed in the past few years; before, she used to come out smiling at her audience but clearly trying to stifle her nerves with a few deep breaths before gingerly placing her hands on the keys. The Kate I saw a few weeks ago, however, came out as strong as ever, taking complete control of her stage and soaking up the attention as she opened her set with the rambunctious, scream-laden “I Just Love You More.” The New York crowd immediately fed off of her energy, dancing and throwing their hands up as she sang numbers like “Take Me To A Higher Plane”, “Later On”, and “Kiss That Grrl”. Of her new material, I was most excited to hear her play “Don’t You Want To Share The Guilt’, a long-time favorite of mine, “Do-Wah-Doo”, and “Paris”. The show was a delightful mix of old and new, as she also sang songs like “Merry Happy”, “Pumpkin Soup”, and my quintessential high school songs “Birds” and “Mouthwash”… in fact, with very few exceptions I don’t think she skipped any of the songs I wanted to hear from either album. The highlight of the show, however, was her performance of the song “Model Behaviour”, a song I completely had forgotten about that had me crying from laughing so hard... take heed of Kate’s advice from the lyrics of this song, everyone: “You don’t have to suck dick to succeed”.

I don’t want to be that girl and pretend like I can relate to her on any deeply personal level, but I mean it when I say that I am quite proud of her and the message she is sending to her fans; she has always been a role model of mine and has proven herself to be an even bigger inspiration for me, both in terms of performance/ song-writing and in her general outlook on life. She cares about things that matter and wants people to believe that there is more to life than caring about petty things that don’t really matter, and I for one wish there were more people like her taking a stand and speaking their opinions. I’m sure most people have heard her most famous songs, and I doubt I am talking about her as a new artist in any way, but if you haven’t listened to the songs I have mentioned above or any of 2010’s My Best Friend Is You, it’s definitely worth it.

The Beauty of a Wild Imagination

Cameron Mesirow aka Glasser, an artist out of Los Angeles who recently put out her debut album, Ring, in September, has made such an impression on me that I don’t know if I can fully put it into words. The past few months of my life have been completely consumed with her beautifully arranged harmonies, eclectic use of percussion, and absolutely mastery of the art of combining electronic music with live instrumentation. Everything about her music is absolutely beautiful and daringly creative; I have not found an album this solid from start to finish in a long while. “Mirrorage”, the song I first fell in love with, is undeniably one of the strongest: her vocals are absolutely breathtaking and it is rather impossible to sit still when the beat picks up; her use of a Fever Ray-esque vocalizer half-way through the song is also pleasantly unexpected and innovative. “Apply” has that same catchiness in its beat and strength of vocals, and I think has some of the most sophisticated lyrics and harmonies out of the whole album. To express how amazing I think my third favorite song, “Home”, is, I will even reveal a rather embarrassing anecdote and disclose that I was actually reduced to tears when I first heard it (however those of you who know me or have read my blog in the past shouldn’t be that surprised… shit like this always gets to me). I actually stand before you on my hands and knees, readers, and beg you to support one of 2010’s absolute best new artists and buy her record; there is so much shit that circulates in the music world that I think it is of utmost importance to acknowledge when artists as talented as Glasser surface. If my words aren’t enough to convince you, listen to the three aforementioned songs below:

Glasser- “Home”

Glasser- “Apply”

Glasser- “Mirrorage”

Matt and Kim @ Toad's Place in New Haven, CT- November 5th, 2010

I recognize that way too much has time has passed between me writing this post and actually seeing Matt Johnson and Kim Schifino play at Toad’s Place in New Haven on November 5^th, but this lapse in time is in no way a reflection of how much I enjoyed the show. To but it shortly, they blew my mind. Although I rarely see an artist perform that doesn’t inspire me in some way or another, I have to say that this pair has proven to be unparalleled when it comes to a tangible level of energy on stage and love for making music. As Matt put it, “There are 3 things I value most in life, the first one being the ability to stand on stage and do what I love in front of all you guys.” Truer words have never been spoken. The dynamic duo from Brooklyn has been at it for a while now, selling millions of copies of their previous album, Grand, and infecting music lovers of all sorts with songs like the ever-popular “Daylight”. After seeing their set a few weeks ago, though, I can now completely appreciate why they are so successful: the music they make may not be the most advanced or artistically superior in any way, but they are proof positive that making your audience feel the passion you feel for your work is the key to ensuring a large following for years to come.

They opened the show by coming out and leading the crowd in raging to “Where Brooklyn At?”, a moment in which I could not help but feel so overwhelmingly excited by their vivacity that I thought I might have passed out. Extraordinarily large smiles seemed to be permanently glued to both their faces throughout their entire set, as they played crowd favorites such as “Countdown”, “Lessons Learned”, and “Good Ol’ Fashioned Nightmare”, each one with more energy than the next. I found Kim especially admirable upon seeing her absolutely kick ass on the drums for hours; never have I seen anyone play an instrument so tirelessly and with so much happiness in my life. The show definitely hit a high point towards the end of their set, as they threw un-inflated balloons of all colors into the audience, had everyone who caught them blow them up, and then counted down from 3 and release them into the air into an array of color and excitement. The reaction of utter elation that they received from such a simple act made me fall in love with their ability to make others appreciate the simple things in life; if nothing else, Matt & Kim will go down in indie music history as a pair that knew exactly how to get the most out of every performance and make others truly love their biggest passion in life.

I wish I had gotten to stay until the end, as I’m sure they played songs like “Cameras”, “Daylight”, and “Am/Fm Sound” that would have been so much fun to dance around to, but overall my experience seeing them definitely didn’t fall short. If you haven’t gotten a chance to listen to their new album, Sidewalks, or don’t have Grand in it’s entirety in your possession, it’s definitely time to get on it. Matt & Kim are an experience that I think no one of my generation should be missing out on.

At Long Last.

The UK's most talented young vocalist is back, ladies and gentlemen. I know I am obviously not the only one who has been long-anticipating Adele's sophomore album, but I can say with full confidence that no one is more excited to hear what she has been working on for over a year than I am. I fell head over heels in love with Ms. Adkins quite early on in the game, and got a chance to meet her and talk to her at her first show in Los Angeles at The Roxy in 2008. I have never seen someone more nervous and unsure of her vocal ability in my life, ironic as she now sells out stadium-sized venues and has Grammys and worldwide recognition under her belt, nor have I ever known someone to be genuinely appreciative and grateful for what she has been given in life. I can honestly say that no one is more deserving of the acclaim she received for her tour-de-force of an album, 19, two years ago... the release of her newest, 21, is set to be released February 22nd and cannot come soon enough. I love that she stuck with naming the album after the age she was when she wrote the songs; it's a clever way of telling her audience that the tracks are wholly representative of the person she is now versus who she was when she first started, giving the songs a pleasantly ephemeral quality within the timeless nature of their sound.

After recording her album in Malibu, California for months on end (in what was, as I gathered from reading an article in Q Magazine, a quaint little beach shack-meets-recording-studio), it appears as though the final touches are being made, as she unveiled one of the first tracks yesterday, entitled Rolling In The Deep. The accompanying video is a gorgeous display of her time in Malibu and recording process, giving her fans a deeply personal connection to what I know is going to be one of the most epic albums of 2011. The song itself displays an innate confidence that was somewhat lacking in her first album, as the empowering kick-drum and passionate lyrics and tone in her voice seem to let the world know she has conquered love, and not the other way around. It's hard to say that her voice sounds better than it did in any way, because she has vocals that are relatively impossible to improve upon. Needless to say, though, she sounds AMAZING. Listen to "Rolling In the Deep" and watch the video posted below, and I know you will become as unexplainably excited for the month of February as I now am.

New Video: Lykke Li's New Single "Get Some"

So for those of you who read my previous post about this song, it won't shock you that the video for "Get Some", which was released earlier today, is teeming with sexual tension and innuendos. But oh my god do I love this girl, she took a song that could have just been another song about sex and completely flips its on its back, taking a stand with her intimidatingly fierce self-confidence and being a voice for female empowerment. The video, for being a relatively simple concept and in black-and-white, is quite artistically creative and very visually pleasing; everything from the camera angles to the video clips playing in the background to her expressions and outfit make a statement. Not to mention the fact that she looks amazing. I love this video and can't wait for the new album. You go Lykke... get some indeed.

Florence + The Machine @ Terminal 5 NY, November 1st, 2010

It’s been almost two weeks since I have seen Florence + The Machine play at Terminal 5, and I have to say I’m still completely mesmerized by the performance she put on. This was my fifth Florence show, and it absolutely amazes me that she somehow defies the odds and finds a way to get better each and every time. She’s become quite known for wearing long, regally elegant dresses on stage… this show she sported the most beautiful dress I have ever seen her wear, a long white flowing chiffon number that she held up as she floated around the stage, barefoot of course but with a goddess-like presence. She opened with “Howl”, which has always been a favorite of mine, and proceeded to wow the crowd as she always does with performances of “Between Two Lungs”, “Cosmic Love”, “Drumming Song”, and “Kiss With A Fist”. She also played a new song of hers, entitled “Strangeness and Charm”, which was absolutely fantastic and made me unthinkably excited for the next album… not that I wasn’t already. Her encore was outstanding, as I got to hear her play “Heavy in Your Arms” live for the first time, which was absolutely jaw dropping, and, as expected, she killed it with “Dog Days”. I have so much respect for this girl: not only is she amazingly talented but she genuinely appreciates her audience and visibly humbled by the experience of playing live for people, and simultaneously puts her whole heart into her performances with absolutely tangible energy and passion. I have no doubt that she will stand out as one of the greatest talents of her generation, and can’t wait to see what she produces next. My camera died at the show, which was tragic, but here are a couple of pictures that pretty accurately depict her immortal stage presence:

Ratatat @ Terminal 5 in NY: October 9th, 2010

It’s no secret that the duo of Mike Stroud and Evan Mast has created quite a musical empire… there’s really no one quite like them and I have yet to come across a group who can so effortlessly rile up a crowd of people, and keep them that way, WITHOUT LYRICS. Ratatat’s show at Terminal 5, however, completely boosted my respect for these two unbelievably talented musicians. Mike is so extraordinarily talented and plays guitar with such precision, I don’t think he made one even minutely noticeable mistake throughout their entire set. The aesthetic of the show, too, was probably one of the best parts… the creativity of their stage with projected images of a cello player and violinist dressed as Mozart-esque characters, combined with the incredible light display and hilarious video playing behind them of really awkward couples and painfully mundane businessmen. Their performances of old classics like “Loud Pipes”, “Falcon Jab”, “Wildcat” and “Lex” obviously sparked an audience mass-freak out, but I thought they absolutely killed it with songs off of their newest record, LP4, such as “Party With Children” and “Grape Juice City” (my new Ratatat favorite). If you don’t own LP4 yet, buy it. Now. And while you’re at it, look at the pictures I took from the show below… if these don’t inspire you to want to experience this group for yourselves I’m not quite sure what will.