long time no blog! i shot warpaint when they opened up for akron/family at mhow and they put on a phenomenal show. not only was i impressed by their rockness, i was blown away by how they treated their fans. between songs they chatted to everyone who was there to see them. a class act.
please the trees, a band from the czech repulic, opened for akron/family a few months ago at the music hall of williamsburg in their first ever u.s. appearance. and i have to say, they did an impressive job winning over a completely new audience.
john shade (formerly dave godowsky) opened the evening and played a lovely set of songs on the accoustic guitar. he mentioned more than once that this was his first ever performance as john shade. i enjoyed it thoroughly.
shara worden aka my brightest diamond was a surprise guest at the benefit and even though she only played two songs (one of which was an AWESOME cover of prince's how come u don't call me anymore), they were both showstoppers. she is one hell of a musician and singer and she sang her heart out. what a voice. i'm actually going to include a video of it because you have to hear her to believe her.
janeane garofalo is hilarious and smart....a deadly combination. and she killed it at mhow. her comedy was edgy and timely and right on point and she kept the crowd thoroughly entertained. also, she is TINY.
annie clark aka st. vincent is so amazing. not only does she have a beautiful voice, but she is a force to be reckoned with on the guitar. she played a short set of covers including nico's these days and the national's mistaken for strangers. AWESOME.
i am a HUGE spoon fan, so getting the chance to see britt daniel in a more intimate venue than last time i saw spoon play in prospect park was a thrill. he only played three songs, but they were all amazing. their new album transference is excellent. pick it up immediately!
anyway, zach galifianakis was HILARIOUS. the odd and sometimes disturbing banter, the half-told jokes, the piano schtick...it was all too much. my ribs still hurt from laughing.
i enjoyed cryptacize's performance more on night two than i did the first night. it helped to be down in front where it was more immediate and i could actually see the interaction between the band members. up high and far away like i was on the first night didn't do much for me - the band seemed really small on a too-big stage and their sound didn't fill the room. but on night two, they looked like they took a bit more ownership of the stage and seemed more comfortable and like they were having more fun.
by the time night two of sufjan stevens at the music hall of williamsburg rolled around, i was so exhausted that i couldn't imagine that i'd even be able to stand for five minutes of the show. and then i got there, landed an amazing piece of real estate from which to watch, and remembered the magic of the previous night's performance. and he didn't disappoint. he and his band were perfect and it didn't matter how tired i was (and i was TIRED), i was riveted. i didn't want it to end. just beautiful. hopefully these pictures captured a little bit of the magic.
i know that was a lot of photos, but i don't have the discipline to narrow it down any further. click here for even more :)
i have a huge crush on sufjan stevens. HUGE. not only is he one of the most interesting and talented musicians around, he's also adorable. i would like for us to be friends. if any of you know him, please drop him a hint. or my phone number.
anyway, i've only seen him play once before...at the world premiere of his beautiful multimedia extravaganza that featured live hula-hoopers, the bqe, at bam 2 years ago. it's coming out on cd/dvd soon. and it's AWESOME. i highly recommend it.
when he announced that he was going to play a four-night stand in nyc last month, i immediately jumped on it. there were all sorts of restrictions regarding tickets and all 4 shows sold out pretty much instantly. but i was lucky enough to snag tickets to the two shows he was playing at the music hall of williamsburg (the others were at the bowery ballroom). tuesday night was the first of these shows.
asthmatic kitty labelmates cryptacize opened and while i wasn't all that impressed with their music (sorry!) i was impressed with lead singer nedelle torrisi's vocals when she backed up and dueted with sufjan. the hilarious and talented rosie thomas not only lent her backing vocals to the show, but also her comedic talents. she was HILARIOUS. another awesome surprise guest was bryce dessner (from the national) who contributed his guitar-playing talents to a few songs. (i also randomly ran into him on the stairs in the club and held the door open for him. a nice surprise.)
sufjan played old and new songs - including my favorite, the hauntingly beautiful john wayne gacy, jr. the old songs were gorgeous and the new songs were...interesting. there was a lot of electronica, which normally isn't my favorite, but i actually enjoyed these songs. and the horns...THE HORNS!!! i can't even begin to tell you how they blew me away. AMAZING. his trumpet player, whoever he is, needs a contract.
here are the photos from night 1. i ended up in the balcony without my zoom lens, so most of these are far away. hopefully i'll get right up front for night 2!
All content and images (unless otherwise stated) are copyright 2010, Katherine L. Ehle, and may not be used in any manner without permission. All rights reserved.
Monday, November 7, 2011 at 06:26AM 
