Ideal Conditions

I, like many, first heard of The Temper Trap when I went to see (500) Days of Summer this summer, of which their track "Sweet Disposition" was featured in multiple scenes of the movie. It's one of those tracks that makes you want to just start crying because of how beautiful it is, and I'll admit that I may or may not have actually cried during the movie when their song was played (don't tell anyone). Their debut album, Conditions, was released about a month ago and I have absolutely fallen in love with this band. It's a mesmerizing album, and is perfect for anything from a roadtrip CD to background music while sitting alone in your room. I can tell this band is going to get really big really fast.

Metric @ The Webster Theatre in Hartford, November 18th

I went to see Metric a week ago in Hartford, and was honestly blown away by Emily Haines and how good Metric is live. They played a lot of old songs, which I thought was great and so much fun to sing along with, but I really love their new album, Fantasies, and loved hearing songs like Help I'm Alive and Gold Guns Girls live. The band, especially Emily, sustained an incredible amount of energy and were very dynamic with the crowd; I was very impressed. I was disappointed they didn't perform Blindness, one of my favorite tracks off of the new album, but I definitely had no complaints. The opening act, Band of Skulls, was not too impressive in my opinion, all of their stuff sounded similar and they were pretty dull. But hey, what do I know. They're featured in the latest SPIN magazine so we'll see how they progress as a band. If you get a chance to go to one of their shows on this tour I wouldn't pass it up!

A Fine Frenzy @ The Blender Gramercy Theater, October 28th 2009

Alison Sudol, aka A Fine Frenzy, has been a favorite artist of mine since 2006, I always enjoy seeing her live and she is one of the most humble, sincere artists I have met. Seeing her at the Gramercy Theater this year really made me realize how much she has transformed as an artist; she seems so much more comfortable with herself on stage and the upbeatedness of her new songs makes it a much more lively, fun show. She is still her same self, smiling the entire time and sometimes getting so emotionally into her songs that she looks like she's crying, and I absolutely loved every minute of her show. They wouldn't let me bring my camera in unfortunately, so I don't have pictures from the show but if you haven't purchased her new album, Bomb in a Birdcage, it is a must-have for 2009!

Florence + The Machine @ Bowery Ballroom, October 27th 2009

It has been my goal to see Florence Welch live for EVER and I have finally seen her. Needless to say, she did not disappoint she has one of the most amazing voices I have literally ever heard. Her set was beautiful, I stole a couple of the roses for myself. She sang almost every song from Lungs and a couple of new ones which were incredible! She is such an inspiration to me and if anyone ever gets the chance to see her live definitely do not pass it up. Her opening band, Holly Miranda, was also so incredibly good and they had a special guest appearance from Nada Surf! Here are some of my pics from the show. Enjoy!

It still sooths you, doesn't it, like a lick of ice cream.

Thao Nguyen has been an artist I really admire for a while now, I think she's so creative and her vocals are unlike anything I've really heard before. Thao and the Get Down Stay Down have a new record out, Know Better Learn Faster, that was released October 13th and I'm really excited that it's being picked up so well. It's being featured right now on Pitchfork amongst other places and I highly recommend it! Also, if you haven't heard her song "Bag of Hammers", it's on of my favorites of all time.