Grizzly Bear @ Town Hall - Thu May 28, 2009

[Pics]

Animal Collective @ Terminal 5 - Wed May 13th, 2009

[Pics]

This was my eight time seeing Animal Collective, my favorite band of the 00's. It was nice to see them with some new tricks on stage, like the big ball where they reflected psychedelic videos on, and their own desks lightning up randomly all night. It looked simple, and I liked it that way, since their new music is far from that. It was very Animal Collective.

Their set list needs an urgent shake up, because they are becoming kind of predictable. The classic songs they have been playing has been the same for the past four times I've seen them. Time to change and play some from Feels and or Strawberry Jam (except Fireworks, which I love, but I've heard enough). Or they just need to play the entire Merriweather Post Pavillion... I am sure no one is gonna complain... best album of the decade? You know it is, you just don't want to agree because for cool people it would be lame to do so. I don't care.

Animal Collective Links: Stream - Merriweather Post Pavillion Stream Strawberry Jam, Stream Feels, MySpace, Domino Records, YouTube, Pitchfork interviews the Collective.

The Walkmen (w/ Beach House) @ Webster Hall - Thu Apr 16, 2009

[Pics]

Deerhunter @ Le Poisson Rouge - Tue Sep 09, 2008

Agoraphobia

I don't have much time these days to blog the shows I attend, but I can't ignore one of my favorite bands of the past two years to come to a small venue in the city, play their most accessible songs from their breakthrough album Cryptograms and Fluorescent Grey EP, and show us why their upcoming releases, Microcastle and Weird Era Cont., are to be some of the best albums this year will see out there. Here is Deerhunter yet one more time:

Le Poisson Rouge, the new venue on Bleecker St almost arruined it for me. Even though it is a cool space and it has nice lights, last night also had too many sound problems, at least from upfront, where I was standing. Bradford's vocals were too low at the beginning of the show and the setup for the speakers and returns on stage (I guess) was not the best because I kept hearing the vibration of the drum set sometimes even more than the guitars. If I forget that... what a great show. The music selection couldn't have been better:

Calvary Scars

Never Stops

Spring Hall Convert

Dr. Glass

Hazel St.

Saved By Old Times

Operation

Fluorescent Grey

Nothing Ever Happened

--

Some death metal

Intro (as in Microcastle)

Agoraphobia

Strange Lights

After the first two (new and very convincing) songs, which are both on Microcastle, they played three of their most accesible songs from Cryptograms and Fluorescent Grey, with no talking in between. It was smooth. Spring Hall Convert and Dr. Glass were great, but Hazel St. was just ridiculous. All these songs are all very good and I could write an essay (not necessarily good) about each of them and what little details on each of them helped to make my night, but I need to go to sleep, so I'll just mention the new ones and  say that you need to hear live Operation and its cool changes in rhythm, Nothing Ever Happened and its great Bradford's fingertapping, the grandiosity of Microcastle's Intro, and the delicate Bradford's vocals on Agoraphobia, to feel as excited as I was for having the pleasure of being there.

Everytime I am about to buy a ticket to go to see Deerhunter I always think that I might have seen them enough times already. This time, as before, once I heard their three guitars making such an enjoyable noise in the new extended Strange Lights, Bradford's vocals and its effects in everything that's on Cryptograms, and Moses's potent drum hits, to which Microcastle owes a lot of its (future) success, I was proved wrong yet one more time. That being said, see you at Bowery on November 10th. [photos of the show]

♫♫♫♫♪

Were you at the show? How did you like it?

Deerhunter Links: MySpace, Blog, Wikipedia, YouTube, Kranky, 4AD

Black Moth Super Rainbow / Subtle @ Knitting Factory - Fri May 23, 2008

Black Moth Super Subtle

I usually do not review the opening bands of the shows I attend, but this time, having the hard work of opening for the very alive band Subtle, it would be stupid to deny how mind blowing Black Moth Super Rainbow were.

[Black Moth Super Rainbow][Subtle]

These two bands are not characterized for playing pleasant music for everybody. Black Moth Super Rainbow plays something I like to call electronic folk, with plenty of vocoder, and Subtle a very original mix of hip-hop and rock, let's say hip rock. To my ears, their best albums are their new ones, Dandelion Gum and Exiting Arm, respectively, and some of the most underrated recent releases that come to my mind (although Subtle's is very very new, but as with their previous albums I am sure it will be ignored by mostly everybody). But I guess if you are reading this you probably have heard of them already, maybe own some of their albums, and want to know how the tour is going. I am going to be brief cause I have another show tonight. In short words: It is going great, you gotta see BMSR asap and I think I missed one rapper in Subtle's lineup.

BMSR got on stage with a lot of equipment, this time with a couple of girls, one playing drums and the other one playing synthesizers, and four guys, one on bass, one on guitar (and a huge metal plate), one on keyboards, and the singer on the vocoder. It was seriously good. Most of the time I just closed my eyes and let myself travel in a gigantic gum bubble. I think their forthcoming free show at McCarren Pool, under the sun with a cool Brooklyn lager, will be one of the best shows of the summer.


Subtle was very good too, although not as moving to me as the opener, even tho they don't lack of energy and sweat . On stage they were a guy on manual drum machines, a drummer, a guy with an electric cello and Doseone, their frontman, on keyboards, samples and the craziest vocals you are to hear this year. Man, the guy has the sickest tongue around. Ah I almost forgot, Tunde (of TV on the Radio) showed up to back Doseone on vocals for one song, and "Hour Hero Yes" was present too. I have recently had on repeat their awesome Exiting Arm and comparing to that I think on record there is one more person rapping back and forth sometimes with Doseone, but that persone was not two days ago there. I heard about a van accident a couple of years ago, which left one of the Subtle guys quadriplegic... maybe that is that guy.


This gotta be the worst review I have ever writtien, especially for such a good show, but I gotta go to see Apparat (and Telefon Tel Aviv). [photos of the show]

♫♫♫♫♪

Were you at the show? How did you like it?

Sutble Links: Stream For Hero: For Fool, Official Website, MySpace, Wiki
Black Moth Super Rainbow Links: Stream Dandelion Gum, Official Website, MySpace, Wiki

Holy Fuck / A Place to Bury Strangers @ Music Hall of Williamsburg - Sat Mar 22, 2008

Holy Fuck were Buried

I hate going to shows when I am sick, but you know, I had the tickets, I was taking out friends who were visiting the city, and this was the first time I was going to see Holy Fuck sort of headlining a show. I had to go. I told my friends that by the end of the night to decide what band was better live we could have just tossed a coin. It turned out that wasn't necessary either, A Place to Bury Strangers must have felt really home because they blew Holy Fuck away.


I am a fan of Holy Fuck for a longer time than of A Place to Bury Strangers, but after this show I am afraid I will be enjoying more the latter. I saw Holy Fuck for the first time opening for !!! and they almost steal the show. Since then, I saw them opening (and stealing shows) for so many bands in the city that I wondered whether they were really from Canada or not. It was about time they would headline their own show here, but they made a mistake... they played Brooklyn and their openers were one of the most loved local bands there.

A Place to Bury Strangers were brought to my attention by Pitchfork, got the album, thought it was cool, saw them once live and still thought they were cool, but the night of March 22 they were not only cool to me but a great live band. I mean, they stole Holy Fuck's show! Their self-titled debut album and their gorgeous noise and feedback doesn't sound anymore to me like an imitation of Jesus & Mary Chain or Joy Division, but like a balanced amalgamation.

Holy Fuck's encore was special. They invited A Place to Bury Strangers on stage to play their lovely Lovely Allen (that Radiohead likes btw) with all their guitars and black boxes. It ruled... Holy Fuck needs some of that.


I am running out of time and I didn't really talk about the show itself, sorry. One last thing... I never wanted to say Holy Fuck is not worth your $15 anymore in case you got that impression. No. Holy Fuck is still a powerful band live, but their albums haven't been aging too well for me and I might have seen them live way too often. And as someone who is digging new music all the time, I guess I just needed some fresh air. [photos of the show]

♫♫♫♫♪

Were you at the show? How did you like it?

A Place to Bury Strangers Links: Official Website, MySpace, YouTube, at Daytrotter,
Holy Fuck Links: Stream Holy Fuck (LP), Official Website, MySpace, Wiki

Matthew Dear @ Hiro Ballroom - Mar 13, 2008

Don't Go This Way

Matthew Dear's debut album Asa Breed is one of the most underrated albums of 2007. Even myself, who bought it and listened to it quite a few times, didn't realize how much I like it. All those perceptions came up last night when I saw Matthew Dear's live show, as Big Hands, where he clearly showed he is one of the most defying genre mixers in electronic music right now. I don't know if I write that right (excuse me, English is not my first language), but I think you got the idea. I left Hiro Ballroom last night quite impressed.


Last year I missed out when Matthew played a show at Mercury Lounge in support of his fantastic Asa Breed, but since I knew he moved to NYC I figured there were going to come plenty of opportunities to see him live at least once. Well, it hadn't been quite like that. Even though Matthew has been playing around, it turns out he has several monikers to do it. As a DJ, that is as Audion, he has played several times this year and I have heard he is decent and knows how to carry a party on, but that he is nothing really special at it. As a live act, I can be now one more person to tell you that he is nothing lesser than excellent.


Matthew came out sometime around midnight in some extremely tight black pants. I don't know how he was standing, cause I doubt there was any blood going down to his feet. He looks like his music... elegant, sort of European style, but with a mix of a latin and hipster look. Mr. Dear stands in front of his band, a drummer and a bassist, with his voice manipulator, a computer and his moves. Nice moves. We were delighted with the best songs of Asa Breed and a couple of new songs, including the one that recently has been posted on all blogs around, the icy Don't Go This Way. This new song was not included on his debut album, adn hearing how good it is I wonder what else he has kept hidden. Show us Mathhew. [photos of the show]

♫♫♫♫♪

Were you at the show? How did you like it?

Matthew Dear Links: Stream Asa Breed, Official Website, MySpace, Wikipedia, at Ghostly

Atlas Sound @ Mercury Lounge - Sat Feb 23, 2008

Scraping Past

If you read what it says at the top of the web page, you can see that Bradford Cox was one of the reasons why I started writing about the shows I go every weekend. Since he made such a good impression on me when I saw his stellar show at Bowery Ballroom with Deerhunter, now a while ago, I will probably check out any band he decides to affiliate his name to, Atlas Sound this time, because the guy is pretty much a genius to me and he is making one of the most exciting sounds these days.


Haven't you heard Let The Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel yet? It's one of my favorite albums this year, and live Bradford and his band even made it more interesting. The show started with Cold As Ice, one of best tracks on LTBLTWCSBCF, but somehow I didn't really like it. They started playing it very loud and I was missing the funky electronics that makes it a standout on the record. It was a good beginning, but just different from what I expected. After listening to their debut album I thought Bradford was going to give us a more relaxed ambient show, but instead we got a pretty rocky one tho still not as dense as a Deerhunter's one. Once I got in the mood for it, damn, I couldn't stop thinking once in a while: Wow.

Bradford has a killer bassist playing for him (she has her own solo project called Valet), a nerd looking guy playing the keyboards (he has his own solo project but I can't recall right now), a cute drummer, and an excellent guitarist (and very annoying) guy who goes by the name Adam (aka White Rainbow). It's easy to see they haven't been playing together for a long time, but soon they will look like it because the chemistry is evident and good energy just floats around.

I got a picture of the set list, so if you are going to see them anytime soon, this is probably what you are going to hear:

Cold As Ice
Bite Marks
Recent Bedroom
Ativan
Quarantined
River Card
Scraping Past
Winter Vacation
---
Requiem

By the time I heard Quarantined, another one of my favorite ones, I was completely sold to their re-interpretations. I guess that's why the best moment of the show had to be, besides Adam finally shutting up, when the band played the pretty River Card and soon after blew everybody's mind with Scraping Past. I am listening to it right now. It's that kind of song that slowly evolves and makes you anxious about wanting to let it explode already, but the peak doesn't really come as such... it tricks you and sort of fades away without letting you notice. It fucking gets addictive. [pics of the show]

♫♫♫♫♪

Were you at the show? How did you like it?

Atlas Sound Links: Stream Let the Blind (...), MySpace, Blog, Wikipedia

Yo La Tengo @ Maxwell's - Dec 05, 2007

Hanukkah

Excuse me but I didn't know what Hanukkah meant. It took me to go out with an Israeli guy to remember about the Hanukkah miracle and the candles themselves. I know I read it before in the Bible once, but my memory is getting worst and worst with time. Oh Well. In any case, Yo La Tengo played a stellar show for the fourth day of Hanukkah, one that I'm never gonna forget.


Out of all the Yo La Tengo catalog I only know, from beginning to end, the latest I am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass, which is not a bad introduction to the band at all. From that album they played the excellent Pass the Hatchet, I Think I'm Goodkind, The Weakest Part and Beanbag Chair. This was the third time I see them live, and as before, I left the venue thinking I need to get some more YLT albums... for my own sake! They are the kind of band that deserves it.


These Hanukkah shows are very special. Yo La Tengo play almost different sets every night, have different underground praised opening bands, and on top of that play a handful of covers with even more special guests. That's a lot of specials right there. I remember Ira making one third of my night singing a rocky Heroin by the Velvet Underground, Georgia the second third by singing a beautiful song I don't know and the final third with Alex Chilton, of Big Star, singing Femme Fatale for the band. I am amazed at how little I know about classic music sometimes... for instance I thought that Femme Fatale was original by Duran Duran and so it surprised me seeing that Yo La Tengo was covering it. How fool I am. Wikipedia is enlightening me by letin me know it is original by the Velvet Underground, which makes now a lot of sense.

I'll keep learning. [photos of the show]

♫♫♫♫♪

Were you at the show? How did you like it?

Yo La Tengo links: Hanukkah 2007 Diary, Stream I am Not Afraid Of You and I Will Beat Your Ass, Official Website, Wikipedia, MySpace, at Matador Records

My Brightest Diamond @ Gramercy Theatre - Nov 17, 2007

The 11 finger tour

I still remember how impressed I was with Shara Worden and her band My Brightest Diamond back when I saw her for the first time during CMJ 2006. She had recently put out her excellent debut album Bring Me the Workhorse, showed us how amazingly she can control her voice and how good she is at the guitar. Last night she excelled at all those things one more time and even showed us how to dance.


I got late to the show. I usually do not talk about shows I don't see in its entirety, but I am going to make an exception here. I hope I didn't miss either the best or the worst part tho, cause I don't want to give wrong impressions, but what I saw were 40 minutes of pure magic made a woman playing guitar, with cool hairstyle, a dress made by the 11 finger dresser and a killer band including a full string section with a couple of energetic bass and drum players.

Shara Worden's voice is classically trained and she is very smart for matching it with the kind of rock she plays. Or it might be the other way around tho, since she is so skilled. Her music, to me, is like a mix of indie rock, opera and sometimes even soft metal, but you gotta see her to get the full effect and fall in love forever not only with her music and voice, but actually with her. In one of those moments between songs she told us that her tour mate, Tim Fite, who I unfortunately missed, named the tour as the 11 finger tour because her dress looked like a regular dress made by a person with eleven fingers. It was because of that eleven finger that her dress looked like one with little things here and there. Cute, but now that I think about it I don't remember seeing anything particularly strange on her dress. In fact I don't think I even looked at her dress... I just looked at her smile.


My Brightest Diamond played Bring Me the Workhorse almost in its enterity, including the beautiful Something of an End, Golden Star, Dragon Fly, We Were Sparkling, Magic Rabbit and Dissappear, plus a very good new song, a cover of a Jeff Buckley's song (it was his birthday), and a killer encore with a song in French. Did you know that Shara released an album with remixes of Bring me the Workhorse called Tear it Down? After seeing her for the second time, it was obvious how Shara has been letting some other music genres to relax her music and sometimes even not only highlight its beauty but make it a lot of fun. Dissappear is the best example. After an excellent interpretation, her band kept playing the song while Shara put her guitar aside, faced us all from the center of the stage for two seconds with a look of warn, and started moving like the best dancer Missy Elliott is gonna hire for her next video. Oliver, one of the guys playing strings, joined her and they pretty much gave us fire.


Shara, please keep them coming like that cause I got hooked one more time. [photos of the show]

♫♫♫♫♪

Were you at the show? How did you like it?

My Brightest Diamond links: Stream Bring Me the Workhorse, Live at SXSW 2007, Official website, MySpace, At Asthmatic Records, At Daytrotter

The Go! Team at Bowery Ballroom - Oct 27, 2007

The Power is On

Ian Parton, founder of The Go! Team, should consider himself very lucky. I read he is pretty much responsible of the music, samplings and stuff, but I don't know what he could have done to pull all that off in concert if he hadn't met Ninja ever.


Live, The Go! Team are really a team, switching instruments and places on stage, but it is Ninja who steals your attention... she is that "!" that makes them The Go! Team and not only The Go Team. When she is not on stage, letting her other two girl band mates to sing, you miss her. When she fakes she has broken her knee, you feel it too and get worried. When she dances ridiculously or not, you follow her... she makes you don't even care you are at the Bowery Ballroom with the cool people and don't feel embarrassed about doing it. I hadn't seen so many hands up in the air there by request of the artist, like ever.

Thunder, Lightning, Strike might be one of the best albums of this 00's and yesterday live, together with their new Proof of Youth, sounded even better. Besides how awesome their sound already is, we enjoyed Ian playing harmonica and Ninja singing all (?) the sampled vocals. This is what the Team played for us:

The Power is On
We Just Won't Be Defeated
Panther Dash
Wrath of Marcie
Fake ID
Grip Like a Vice
A Version of Myself
Junior Kickstart
Bottle Rocket
Everyone's a VIP to Someone
Flashlight Fight
Ladyflash
Huddle Information
Titanic Vandalism
----------
Doing it Right
Keys to the City


As you can guess, The Team doesn't play 30 minute sets anymore... this one was at least 1h 20m of pure celebration. I thought I knew how to have fun... [photos of the show]

♫♫♫♫♪

Were you at the show? How did you like it?

The Go! Team Links: Youtube (Recommended), Official Website, MySpace, Wikipedia, Memphis

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah @ Gramercy Theater - Sep 11, 2007

Young Blood

I went to this show, in the middle of my school week, only to check if Clap Your Hands Say Yeah still deserved my money and attention. It was important to me because I really like their first album and just like OK their new one, Some Loud Thunder. I wanted to see if those new songs had the charming the old ones had on me the first time I heard them live.

Cause that's how it worked for me last time actually. I had the pleasure of listening to their self-titled album in a live setting before I did on record, and I loved it (I still do), but with their second one it didn't happen like that, apparently all CYHSY fans live in the NYC area and left me with no ticket last time they played Mercury Lounge. So that's why I wanted to hear the new songs live and I am glad I did.

Cred: Tomiffy

CYHSY is still a wonderful band. A cool singer dressed like I did when I was 17, an energetic member, Robbie Guertin, who doesn't stop dancing and playing whatever he finds on his way, a couple of tense looking siblings playing guitar and bass, and an openly Guns N' Roses fan as their drummer. So just with their characters and without spending much money, they put on quite a show.

Cred: Tomiffy

We were wondering what song they were going to start with. Last time I saw them, they obviously started with their Clap Your Hands!, but this time it wasn't clear. They begun with In This Home On Ice. I like when bands start playing their old hits at the beginning of their shows... it's like giving a "if you only came for our old hits... cool, after this you can now go home" kind of thing and then non very interested fans leave some more space and air to dance, but it didn't really happen, they just chose one of their old songs to start... it's just that most of their old ones are old hits!

Without talking they quickly continued with the new ones Mama, Won't You Keep Them Castles In The Air And Burning? and new live favorite Satan Said Dance. Here I started feeling what I mentioned already. I wasn't really liking Satan on the album, but live it was so energetic that you couldn't stop half jumping or moving your head, and those weird noises they added for that song at the studio, they now just made sense. In general, not only for this song, doesn't it take time, or a live show, or the appropriate mood, for some CYHSY songs to make sense? It's like if their songs where behind some fog they want you to go through. I find that interesting and with the rewards I usually get from that process with them, after a show like last night's, I will keep doing it.

Did they play next Love Song No. 7 or Emily Jean Stock? Those are a couple of my favorite ones on their new record. You know? I think they played Emily Jean Stock. I guess I am just confused because then they played six consecutive songs that blew me away like if it was my first CYHSY show and made everybody sang in unison: Is This Love? / Over and Over Again (Lost and Found) / Gimme Some Salt / The Skin of My Yellow Country Teeth / Details of the War / Let The Cool Goddess Rust Away. If the show had finished right there, this would have been one of the best shows I had seen this year, but I would have felt also that CYHSY hadn't done anything else since 2005.


Not everything was perfect though. There was one song, Details of the War, which sounded just like if you take away all of its ornaments and play it sort of fast with an unpleasant U2 vibe. Thank god (and really to their great taste) it was only that song, the rest were very well interpreted and re-interpreted to my ears.

The show finished with my all time favorite CYHSY song, Upon This Tidal Wave of Young Blood, which by the way, should win a prize for being one of those perfect songs to close an album (and a show). I don't know why but I feel so close to Alec Ounsworth while singing the chorus of that song

They Are Child Stars, Child Stars, Child Stars...

until my voice cannot keep working anymore.

Encore? Sure. CYHSY now has two albums and encore times are properly up for their shows. They gave us Underwater and Heavy Metal. Although I would have changed the order of the songs a little bit and added the great closing album track Five Easy Pieces, this was a tighter set than last time I saw them. But as always, I might be full of shit... it's not me who has a band, who has a damn special voice, and put out two great indie rock albums. We'll see what happens next... I am looking forward. [photos of the show]

♫♫♫♫♪

Were you at the show? How did you like it?

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah Links: Official Website, MySpace, Live on NPR

Deerhunter @ South Street Seaport - Aug 31, 2007

I was the sound

I hope Friday's show was a proof for everybody that Deerhunter's strongest is their music and why so they are one of the best new bands around (around my head at least!).

Bradford was serious (you never know with him) when he said he wanted to check if his fans were looking after them because of their music or just because of their very publicized eccentricities. He did not wear any woman dress nor became a mic-fallating mad man on stage, but simply guided his four member band (since three days ago) playing on guitar the delicate noises that their spectacular Cryptograms and Fluorescent Grey are.


Actually they started with two new songs, Calvary Scars and White Out, which was funny to me, because I read the guy who just left the band was complaining they had been playing the same set for more than a year supporting their new album and EP. Although Calvary Scars was an excellent start, White Out caught my attention because not only I was hearing Bradford in the vocals but also, for the first time, guitarist Locket Pundt was singing. Judging for how good the songs were, Deerhunter has no intentions of slowing down anyhow for Microcastle, which should come out by the end of winter 2008, so we can keep expecting more awesomeness from them.

Then it was all familiar for whoever has been following this band for a bit now. Cryptograms, Hazel St., Dr. Glass, and Wash Off paved the way for the best song of the concert, Fluorescent Grey. It sounded different than the EP version. Damn, it sounded even better! I might have been too excited for how ridiculous that song was that I think I heard Intro and Octet next, but I am not sure about that. Last, they played the only single they have released, Strange Lights.


Not being the best Deerhunter show I have seen, I think this concert was important. It shuts whoever said, in the NYC area, that Deerhunter was only about being weird and crazy, and in fact it was a confirmation for some of my friends (as I am sure it was for way more people) that they are worth our time. Next time I am going to make sure I see them again in an indoors venue, for a 21+ show and with not much light... I have the idea it makes them even better. Go Deerhunter! Go! [photos of the show]

♫♫♫♫♪

Were you at the show? How did you like it?

Deerhunter's Links: Stream Cryptograms, Stream Fluoresent Grey EP, Blog, Interview (Recommended), MySpace, Kranky Records, YouTube

The Police @ Giants Stadium - Aug 5, 2007

The question is... you wanna sing tonight?

I have two CD wallets I brought with me from Colombia three years ago. One was very empty with the CDs of all those bands (4 only!) I had seen back there, and the other one full of CDs I was sure I was never going to see. The Police is now part of that first wallet, a wallet that is not empty at all anymore.

I really like their last album before breaking up, Synchronicity, and had the pleasure of hearing live great songs off this album such as Synchronicy II, Walking in your Footsteps, King of Pain, and probably some more I don't remember right now. It was very cool when their scenario took the colors of the cover of that album. It was like going back in time... to a time I was not really part of, but for the moment I wished I was...


The Police, together with The Smiths, are the bands I though would have the most difficult time playing together again, but with these guys it went smooth. It was very unlikely fans were going to see them tour again, 23 years later, but their prays were heard. The guys probably needed some money, but who cares? they are totally worth it (Thanks Cecilia!).

I already said I love Synchronicity, but this time, it was their even more classic songs which blew me away. Of course I'd heard those songs before, several many times, but maybe because the show was really good and I don't really know the albums those songs are part of, they were pleasant surprises. I need to get them! Anyways, it was a stream of hits, one after the other one. Take a look:

Message in a Battle, Synchronicity II, Walking on the Moon, Voices Inside My Head/When the World is Running Down, Don’t Stand So Close to Me, Driven to Tears, Truth Hits Everybody, Bed’s Too Big Without You, Every Little Thing She Does is Magic, Wrapped Around Your Finger, De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da, Invisible Sun, Walking In Your Footsteps, I Can’t Stand Losing You, Roxanne, King of Pain, So Lonely, Every Breath You Take. Encore: Next to You

So, if you have their compilation Greatest Hits and you randomize it and add some other songs, then you would have one third of what we lived that day. The other two thirds were people's energy and the band's excitement of playing for their fans one more time... you are never gonna get that on your iPod!


The band sounded tight, like they hadn't been gone for long. Sting was awesomely playing his very old looking bass (without the jumping), Andy Summers still kicking ass with his solos and awkwardly doing his scissor-like jumps, and Stewart Copeland delighting us with all that percussion he had around. I was glad it was only them and not a full band of strangers filling in with their sound a space we wanted to be filled in by the ones and only ones, The Police.


We kept singing Sting's eeeeeaaaa oo-oo-oo while in traffic getting out of the mess that Giants Stadium is... it certainly helped. [photos of the show]

♫♫♫♫♪

Were you at the show? How did you like it?

The Police links: Stream The Police (Disc 1), Stream The Police (Disc 2), Wikipedia, Sting, YouTube

Cafe Tacuba @ Summerstage - Jul 14, 2007

Cómo van, ya se cansaron?
Noooooooooooooooooooo
Pues nosotros si muchachos. Ya estamos viejitos!

I wasn't planning to see Cafe Tacuba this day. I was sort of feeling they were part of my high school era, thinking it wasn't cool to listen to them anymore and I was WRONG. Cafe Tacuba left the stage and I could only wonder one thing about them right after the show... are they the best latin american rock band?


Right from the beginning I was already having an awesome time. They started playing their great cover No Controles, original by Flans, and everybody in the public, as Cosme did on stage, went nuts. Then it was a continuous flow of hits... one after the other one.


They played Ingrata, a song with a very Mexican sound. It was awesome to sing it surrounded by lots of Mexicans screaming it too like if it was the ranchera of the moment. Well, it was... a while ago. I remember also they played one more very Mexican song, called Chilanga Banda. I love that song. Mexicans should love it. It's so clever! Most of the words in the lyrics start with ch. Do you know that the Spanish that Mexicans speak has plenty of words starting with ch? Just listen to this song and get amazed. You know? Maybe that's why I am liking Cafe Tacuba so much again. They seriously have mixed their roots with their music and I hadn't realized it. What is so Argentinian about Soda Stereo?

Does Cafe Tacuba have an album made of covers only? or those are just spread all over their albums? Let me tell you, they are excellent at it. Besides the Flans cover, they played Dejate Caer, a song by a Chilean band called Los Tres, which I liked a lot years ago, when Rock en Español mattered to me, and their version didn't dissapoint. Moreover, it fucking rocked.


They were having a blast too... dancing, jumping and moving like if they were 20. We were particularly entertained by Meme, the guy on the keyboards. He was dancing so good, like Dante or Emmanuel from Illya Kuryaki and the Valderramas, that made us try to imitate him. He was also in charge of another great moment of the show when, to our surprise, he sang Eres during the encore... I though Cosme was the only singer in the band. That reminds me that Cosme was fantastic too. His voice was as good as I remember I used to enjoy it and I particularly loved it when he sang Baile Y Salon.

I gotta stop writing in past tense about this band... Cafe Tacuba is back and you should not miss out as I have been. Start buying their album Cuatro Caminos, get psyched, and then buy the rest of their catalog... you won't regret it. At least you will learn some Spanish. [photos of the show]

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Were you at the show? How did you like it?

Cafe Tacuba Links: Official website, YouTube, MySpace