atlas sound aka bradford cox, lead singer of deerhunter, is an AMAZING musician. when he played the bell house last february, his looping machine kept quitting on him. you would think that this would have ruined the performance, but to the contrary. he held the audience in the palm of his hand. he makes gorgeous music and is a completely enthralling performer - even if he never moved off of his stool.

you can see the rest of my pictures here and download the recording here.

k

hi folks.

long time, no write. i really do apologize - i've had a crazy summer with lots of traveling and lots of work. and since i have satellite internet in the barn, i have found that working on my site takes up too much bandwidth. so i can really only work on this when i'm somewhere with a solid internet connection, which isn't very often. i didn't figure this out until after i had already started re-designing my site, so everything is kind of a mess right now and a bunch of stuff is missing. but i'll hopefully get it fixed and good as new soon!

as a result of my major lack of posts in recent months, i have a HUGE backlog of photos i took at a bunch of really great shows. so in honor of the fact that i leave a little later this morning for wilco's solid sound festival in the berkshires (!!!), i thought i'd jump right in with the photos i took at their amazing show at the wellmont theater in montclair, nj last april. they played the night before and i was there for that show, too, but i only took pictures on the second night. if you're a wilco fan, i'm sure you know all about their spring tour and how they played EPIC 3+ hour sets with no opener. and these shows were both epic and AMAZING.

here are the photos i took for night 2:

these aren't my best wilco shots - they implemented the 3 song rule and there was no pit, so i was way off to the side and away from the light. i've shot them twice before where i was positioned much better - you can see the photos from those shows here and here.

the ever-awesome nyctaper recorded both nights and both recordings are excellent. click here for night 1 and here for night 2.

to see the rest of my photos from this show, click here.

more to come soon!

k

james husband (aka jamey huggins, drummer for of montreal) and his band opened the show at the highline ballroom and got the crowd going. the band had several of montreal members in it and kevin barnes even came out and played the drums for a couple of tunes.

you can see the rest of my photos here.

k

brooklyn's motel motel is the last band from nyctaper's cmj showcase and i definitely saved the best for last. this was the second time that i'd seen motel motel and the send time that i've shot them. not only are they wildly talented musicians who make really good music, they are nice and generous guys. i hope i get to see them play again soon.

to see the rest of my photos, click here.

k

the antlers have had a really big year. and it's no wonder - their new album hospice is one of the best to come out this year. i shot this show at the bowery ballroom for nyctaper who captured an amazing recording of this epic show, which you can download here. the show was one of the most incredible i've seen all year and the crowd was incredibly appreciative. the new york times reviewed the show...you should read it to get a real understanding of the magic that transpired that night. my photos from the show have popped up all over the place - you can see them here, here and here.

you can see the rest of my photos here.

k

omaha's thunder power played nyctaper's cmj showcase and i can honestly say i've never heard anything like them. they were very, very good. this band incorporated nearly every genre of popular music while still managing to sound completely original. not an easy feat.

to see the rest of my photos, click here.

k

i think it's fair to say that i officially have a girl crush on sharon van etten. she is so incredibly talented and wonderful and amazing. She opened for the antlers at the bowery ballroom and blew me away with her intricately crafted yet subtle folk songs. and her singing voice is one of the most beautiful i've ever heard. i plan to be standing in the front row every time she plays from here on out.

you can see the rest of my photos here.

and download nyctaper's excellent recording here.

peasant, aka damien nicholas derose, played a lovely set of gorgeous songs at nyctaper's cmj showcase.  every song told a story and every story was just beautiful. after his set, we talked for a little bit and i told him that while his singing style reminded me of damien rice (who i love), i found peasant a more compelling performer with better songs. check him out, you won't be disappointed.

you can see the rest of my photos here.

k

uninhabitable mansions, a group that includes members of clap your hands say yeah and au revoir simone, opened for the antlers at the bowery ballroom and were a lot of fun. they played lots of energetic pop songs that had the crowd dancing and smiling right along with them.

you can see the rest of my photos here.

k

blood warrior also played nyctaper's cmj showcase and were great. blood warrior counts o'death's greg jamie as a member and their music is every bit as good. their set of folk music rocked and i would see them play again in a heartbeat.

you can see the rest of my photos here.

k

brooklyn's the loom also played nyctaper's cmj showcase at bruar falls and let me tell you - I LOVE THIS BAND. they make music that feels like it was made just for my ears. nyctaper says it better than i can...

To say that The Loom’s performance was a revelation would be to understate the significance of this unit. They combine musical talent, strong writing, and an abundant amount of band camaraderie into an intense amalgam.

click here to see the rest of my photos.

k

brooklyn's emanuel and the fear played nyctaper's cmj showcase in october and their set was worth seeing not just for the music, but the sheer mechanics of watching all 11 members squeeze onto that tiny stage. :) seriously, they were awesome. their music was part classical, part indie pop, and part something else that was all their own. they were so inventive, i just loved watching them play.

you can see the rest of my photos here.

merry christmas, friends!!!

k

as i mentioned, final fantasy opened for the mountain goats at webster hall. and it was pretty spectacular. owen pallett is so talented, it's freakish. interesting songwriting, virtuosic violin playing, and great singing made for a terrific opening set that i enjoyed thoroughly. my only disappointment was with the lighting - it was TERRIBLE and made taking photos really difficult. it also didn't help that i was at the other side of the stage as owen. but i managed to get a few good ones.

stay tuned for a nyctaper recording of this show.

you can see the rest of my photos here.

k

thanks to the generosity of nyctaper, i was able to attend this awesome show at webster hall. i have been a mountain goats fan for awhile now, but had never seen john darnielle live until this show. and i am so glad that i got to go. he has so much energy and such a wonderful relationship with his audience. everyone there was just freaking out with joy at the prospect of seeing him. and once he came out and started performing, the crowd grew even more intense. everyone was HAPPY. and so was john. the wonderful final fantasy opened (pics to come soon) and owen pallatt came out and joined john on a few songs. it was a special night.

you can download a recording (mp3 and flac) here.

you can also download a recording of the show the following night at the bell house here.

it was also nice to see my photos pop up on the village voice website here and here.

see the rest of my photos here.

k

when i got to bruar falls the morning of the showcase, unicycle loves you was there setting up as they were going on at noon and the first band to play that day. it was just them and me in the bar and it was fascinating to get a behind-the-scenes view as they set up and warmed up. nyctaper describes this chicago band's sound as "psychadelic garage rock" and that's a pretty fair assessment though i would be remiss not to mention that their songs have incredible hooks, great lyrics, and awesome harmonies. they were not only talented, but extremely nice. i talked to the band after the show and can't say enough about how friendly they are. hopefully this great band who has been featured in spin and filter magazines will get signed soon. 

setlist:

1 - magnetic horses
2 - highway robbery
3 - golden girls
4 - gateway drugs
5 - justine

download nyctaper's recording here. and see the rest of my photos here.

k

kittens ablaze closed out nyctaper's cmj showcase at bruar falls and they were FANTASTIC. i read a review of them that said kittens ablaze sound like "ra ra riot meets cursive" which is not a bad way at all to describe their sound. the orchestrations were intense yet playful and their energy was some of the best i've seen. combine that with a drummer who sings lead and a cellist who plays like it's a guitar and you have kittens ablaze - clever and passionate indie rock. they blew me away and i can't wait to see them again.

setlist:

1 - strobelight
2 - this machine is dying
3 - gloom doom buttercups
4 - rabbit is a livewire
5 - hotel room
6 - evangeline
7 - branches
8 - wandering song

download the recording NOW at nyctaper and see the rest of my photos here.

k

on thursday, i spent a very valuable vacation day to photograph nyctaper's cmj showcase at bruar falls in williamsburg. and i am so glad that i did. i spent one of the best days i can remember taking pictures, hearing some really great bands (dan has EXCELLENT taste), chatting with musicians and other photographers, and drinking beer. it was really amazing. there were 8 bands (listed above) and i took about 1700 photos, so you won't see any photo posts until monday - lots and lots of editing to do. and dan recorded all of the awesome performances, so stay tuned for photos and links to download the recordings.

k

last week i went to the deerhoof show (part of the most excellent wordless music series) at le poisson rouge and it was AMAZING. and as much as i would love to write a review, nyctaper (who i took pictures for) wrote something better than i ever could:

..."the crowd was treated to an hour of that tightly crafted and intense music that only deerhoof can create — angular dueling guitar lines, thundering omnipresent drums, and the offbeat bass and vocals of tiny but ferocious satomi matsuzaki."

here's the setlist:

01 +81
02 chatterboxes
03 [instrumental]
04 fresh born
05 the tears and music of love
06 [instrumental]
07 flower
08 giga dance
09 panda panda panda
10 pinhead (ramones)
11 spirit ditties of no tone
12 i did crimes for you [new song debut]
13 the perfect me
14 [introducing kliph]
15 milking*
16 [encore break]
17 going up the country (canned heat)
18 basket ball get your groove back
19 [second encore break]
20 snoopy waves

*with kliph scurlock (flaming lips)

download mp3 and flac recordings at nyctaper.

click here to see the rest of my photos.

of course, i left before kliph scurlock came out and i'm still kicking myself. i left because i got caught in a MOSH PIT. i am not even kidding. this was DEERHOOF, not KORN.  ridiculous.  i was afraid for my camera and my life, so i took off.  but the rest of the show that i saw was really incredible.  stay tuned for my pictures of the openers, serengeti & polyphonic and wildbirds & peacedrums - they were both great.

k

UPDATE: many thanks to gothamist for publishing one of my photos with their story.

conor oberst & the mystic valley band opened for wilco at the dutchess stadium show and also put on an awesome show. i must be honest, i haven't followed him that closely since the bright eyes days, but i am definitely a conor oberst fan. he's just so prolific that he's hard to keep up with. anyway, this was the first time i've seen him play live and i was absolutely impressed. incredible energy, great tunes, and an excellent band. they all seemed to be really enjoying themselves which created a great environment for the crowd.

setlist:

slowly (oh so slowly)
sausalito
nikorette
get well cards
spoiled
moab
cape canaveral
air mattress
danny callahan
nyc- gone, gone
souled out!!!
big black nothing
i don’t want to die (in the hospital)

visit nyctaper for flac and mp3 recordings of the show. many thanks to dan for posting one of my photos with the recording!

to see the rest of my photos, click here.

kate