Vivian Girls at Webster Hall

That first photo makes Vivian Girls look like a metal band or something. There was more rock-n-roll to their sound that I had expected based on what I had heard in the past. Their 50s girl-group influences are obvious but the overall sound was fuller and heavier than I expected. They had kind of a surf-rock thing going on a couple of songs. Nice!

Posted: 4/13/2011 at 10:34pm     Tags: Vivian Girls  Webster Hall 

Yellow Dogs at Webster Hall

This was one great show from beginning to end. On my way in to the venue I got to see Eric Davidson (of New Bomb Turks) get carded by the door guy (hint for door guy: he's 40-something). I finally saw Webster Hall proper, not just the Studio. And of all things: an opening act which was actually cool! Yellow Dog are a "post-punk", "indie rock", "modern whatever" band which means they play hard rock but are not pretentious or silly. They just rock.

Posted: 4/13/2011 at 9:02pm     Tags: Webster Hall  Yellow Dogs 

Living Days at Cameo Gallery

Cameo Gallery really upgraded in the last year. It used to be a dark little backroom with a bar in the closet (really). Now it's larger, with a real bar, and has some really impressive lighting which unfortunately they turned down most of the time. Living Days is not a goth band, people! In fact they're pretty much the opposite. Their picture may not be next to the word "upbeat" in the dictionary, but it will be on Wikipedia as soon as I'm done writing this...

Posted: 4/9/2011 at 2:02pm     Tags: Cameo Gallery  Living Days 

The Vacant Lots at The Knitting Factory

It is almost accurate to call these photos of the lightshow rather than photos of the band. That was one intense lightshow! As for the music I would say that the songs were catchy or even hypnotic and all sounded kind of similar. Feel free to judge for yourself, the entire concert is online.

Posted: 4/5/2011 at 7:16pm     Tags: lightshow  The Knitting Factory  The Vacant Lots 

The Vandelles at The Knitting Factory

The last time I saw this band they were terribly sloppy, so I can honestly say that I was pleased by how much better they sounded this time even if they weren't exactly at their peak. I guess they took a little break after hitting the SXSW touring circuit last month. Love the new songs, though.

Posted: 4/5/2011 at 4:43pm     Tags: The Knitting Factory  The Vandelles