Today, July 1 marks the start of the second six months of 2011, so why not start it off with a recap of my favorite albums of the first six months of the year. I did this very unscientifically and just picked what I feel are the best records of the year, factoring in both my opinions and opinions of how they affect the scene at large. I came up with the list after the jump. What could go wrong?
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Another night, another show at Rock and Roll Hotel and another experience with weird vibes, although not as bad as Smith Westerns last night. The only hiccup tonight was drunk people being a little obnoxious during La Sera’s set, but nothing overall as weird as last night.
After getting my hands on La Sera’s self-titled a few weeks ago, I’ve been listening non-stop to Katy Goodman’s dreamy vocals and the catchy instrumentation. The songs are short and catchy, which is just the type of music that is really catching me right now. Plus, to see this group open for Tennis sweetened the pot.
Scheduled opener Holiday Shores had to cancel at the last minute, leaving the only bands on the bill as Tennis and La Sera. Goodman and her backing group took the stage first and put together a set of songs from the self-titled album along with new tracks in a fashion that melded the dreaminess of the recordings with the garage feel of a live show, which I thought was really awesome. Despite being sick with the flu, they managed to put together an extremely solid set that was danceable and just really, really fun. Also, I’d like to thank them for the towel I caught when they threw them into the audience. That was awesome.
Then Tennis. Alaina and Patrick were also suffering from the flu causing some songs to be cut from their set because of Alaina saying she couldn’t hit some notes, but it was impossible to notice. The band played “Pigeon” and “Cape Dory” flawlessly, and introduced new songs like “New Year” and “Robin,” written about a baby robin Patrick and Alaina saved once, seamlessly. The music was just incredibly happy and no one was getting down. The highlight of the show for me was the performance of “Baltimore,” which was just so dynamic and awesome in the live setting. It had so much more feel to it and was so much catchier. I loved it. Alaina had enlist the help of audience members to do harmonies on “Marathon,” something that was pretty funny and let the band still be able to nail the song.
For a short show (just about two hours), this was really awesome because it packed great things together and was just extremely fun overall.
Also some girl was taking incredibly conceptual video in the front row so be on the lookout for that on YouTube. I interviewed Katy Goodman before the show as well, so tune in to In Afternoon Air on Friday to check that out as well.
Two shows down this weekend, one more to go: Dum Dum Girls, Minks, Dirty Beaches.
–Daniel
Filed under Live
It’s just starting to hit me that I’m going to see Tennis and La Sera plus Holiday Shores on Saturday night, making it incredibly hard to believe that it’s already basically March. So to start the hype leading up to this show, check out the new video for La Sera’s “Devils Hearts Grow Gold,” which is streaming now on Pitchfork. It pretty much does exactly what the song title says, with a starring role from Katy Goodman as herself. It’s great, and a little light-hearted (and less bloody) compared to “Never Come Around.”
Watch “Devils Hearts Grow Gold” here via Pitchfork. Also watch “Never Come Around” while you’re there.
–Daniel
Filed under Video
Today at 4 p.m. on University of Maryland’s WMUC, I’m going to be counting down my Top 25 (Radio Friendly) Songs of 2010 on “In Afternoon Air.” This list will be a little different from my Top 50 Songs of 2010 list, seeing as how there are some songs out there (“Younger Us” by Japandroids, anything by Kanye or Big Boi) that are not suitable for FM radio play. So for now, it’s just those songs that can be played on the radio. I think I have a pretty solid list put together, so definitely take the time to head on over at 4 p.m. to WMUC to check it out.
You can head over to wmucradio.com or directly stream WMUC here. Either way, it’s going to be a great show.
EDIT: Download the show here!
Afterwards, I’m going to post my Top 25 (Radio Friendly) Songs of 2010 here along with a link to download the show for your later listening pleasure.
Enjoy the show.
UPDATE (2:38 p.m.): Tune in at 3:30 because Denver’s Tennis is going to be in the studio on Victory Sweater, the show before mine. So stoked to see Tennis play in the studio because I’m missing them tonight at 9:30 Club. Listen here!
UPDATE (7:21 p.m.): So Tennis was late and didn’t actually get to play, which was a bit of a disappointment. However, they did sit down with Youth Orientation‘s Reese and seemed like some of the nicest people ever, which was awesome. And also, my Top 25 (Radio Friendly) Songs of 2010:
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Filed under Music
Our blog buddy Gabrielle over at All Things Inspiring debuted her new mixtape this afternoon to celebrate the first day of September. It’s the perfect segue from the amazing summer jams we’ve been privileged to hear this year, to the fall, when all of these gorgeous folk gems will be more than appropriate. So take a listen to her favorites (and ours too!) while you peruse her charming design blog!
–Anna
Filed under Music
