how does one describe the wrens? this group of guys has been playing together since the late 80's and you can tell. their musicianship and comraderie and general rockness was apparent. when greg whelan walked off the stage i'm pretty sure i yelled some innapropriate expletive before the word AWESOME in his face. he thanked me. but honestly, that's what their set was. *#!&@+% AWESOME.

you can see the rest of my photos here.

k

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

remember how much you loved lauren ambrose in six feet under? how about can't hardly wait? so talented, right? now imagine her heading up an amazing old-time band and singing her guts out. still talented. what a voice.

you can see the rest of my photos here.

k

sondre lerche is one of my all-time favorites. i've been listening to him for years and have seen him play a bunch of times. i rather enjoyed running into him backstage when we were both in line for beers and telling him about the time i saw him play in the tiny arlington, va club called iota in 2003. once we had our beers, we realized that there wasn't a bottle opener. i think i really impressed him when i acted all classy-like and opened his beer for him with a lighter. i'm nothing if not resourceful.

you can see the rest of my photos here.

k

as i mentioned in my last post, rhett miller, nicole atkins, a.c. newman and charles bissell formed a seekers cover band for the bell house haiti benefit. and they were TERRIFIC. they sounded like they've been playing together forever and the songs were just right for the event. i took these all from backstage.

you can see the rest of my photos here.

k

as i mentioned in my last post, i spent the rest of the bell house haiti benefit backstage. and it was AWESOME. i took this shot of rhett miller right after he performed. i tried several times thoughout the night to talk to him, because i am a HUGE fan, but every time i saw him, there were 82 people attached to him. that is, until the very end of the night when i was leaving. he was sitting alone, right by the door and said to me, "you're leaving already?" (it was 1:00 a.m.) so i took advantage and had a really nice conversation with him. i ended it by saying "GOOD JOB" and forcing him to give me a high-five. yes, i'm that person.

anyway, earlier in the night, my friend lisa and i were wandering around when we stumbled upon the green room. we could hear music coming out of there, so we decided to poke our heads in and see what was going on. and we hit the jackpot. we walked in, sat down, and were treated to a private concert by rhett miller (of the old 97's), nicole atkins, charles bissell (of the wrens) and a.c. newman (of the new pornographers) who were rehearsing for their set as a seekers cover band. it was like heaven. my pictures aren't that great, but it was one of the best moments i've had in a long time.

you can see the rest of my photos here.

k

here we go magic, who i really enjoy, also played the benefit. unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it) i never got to see them beyond their setting up. because i ended up backstage shooting the rest of the performances from the side of the stage.

these are the only pictures i've got....sad. although later in the evening when i was in line for cheese with the drummer, i remarked to him that he had to be at least a million feet tall (i'm 5'2" - almost). he agreed.

k

the always hilarious and bell house mainstay eugene mirman also played the benefit. and was so damn funny. i especially enjoyed his schtick about writing pearls of wisdom on cocktail napkins in bars and then putting them in the middle of the stack so that some unsuspecting drunk person can read them and learn something.

you can see the rest of my photos here.

the wahoo skiffle crazies are staten island's finest jugband and are a bunch of super talented musicians who play instruments like washtub bass, ukelele, banjo, washboard, saw and of course, the jug. they are also my friends and i cannot say enough good about them. they are consummate performers and they have a hell of a lot of fun performing their unique brand of americana. i've seen them play so many times and they always make me dance and bring a smile to my face. if you ever get the chance to see them, DO IT. you will be happy that you did. i promise. i am so proud of them that they were invited to play such an important event and that they brought the house down while doing it.

you can check out the rest of my photos here.

k

the freelance whales also played the bell house's haiti benefit. they've been getting a lot of buzz lately (and not just for their infamous busking at the bedford l stop) - and deservedly so. they were a tight band and played original and inventive songs.

you can see the rest of my photos here.

k

jimmy fallon played the all-star strength through unity haiti benefit at the bell house in january. he came out as neil young, said nothing, sat on a stool, played the theme song from "the fresh prince of bell air" and then wordlessly got up and left. it was HILARIOUS.

you can see the rest of my photos here.

k

i've already written about my love for sam amidon, so i'll just let the photos do the talking.

you can see the rest of my photos here.

k

i LOVE beth orton and have for years. i just think her voice magical and her music is so beautiful.  i've only seen her perform once before at the ill-fated field day music festival in 2003, so it was a thrill to see her play in such a tiny venue. she was recovering from walking pneumonia, so she stopped and started a lot, but that just made her performance all the more charming.  and, as if already seeing them the week prior wasn't enough, doveman and sam amidon lent their backup support. it was a terrific night.

you can see the rest of my photos here.

k

i don't know why i've waited so long to post these pictures...they are certainly not my best. but nada surf is one of my all-time favorite bands. most people think of their song popular when they hear the name, but you should know that nada surf have put out several brilliant albums since then and their live shows are always a thrill. matthew caws writes what i find to be the most poignant lyrics - i relate to nearly every one of his songs. i feel so passionately about this band that when i was asked by a friend a few years ago to name which band wrote the soundtrack to my twenties. i answered with nada surf without any hesitation. in fact, before this show, matthew caws was standing right next to me and we had a conversation where i revealed this to him. he asked me for a cough drop.

to see the rest of my photos, click here.

k

the french post-punk band underground railroad also opened for nada surf at the bell house.

thanks for looking!

k

this is an oldie but goodie. holly miranda opened for one of my all-time favorite bands, nada surf, at the bell house last spring. and i was floored by how great she was. i was already a fan of the jealous girlfriends, but had not heard holly's solo music before this show. beautiful vocals, excellent lyrics, dreamlike songs...check her out.

you can see the rest of my photos here.

k

new york's mike bones also opened for phosphorescent on 2/28 and i can't say that i really liked or got his music. ironically, my camera REALLY liked him.

thanks, as always, for looking!

k

brooklyn's own motel motel opened for phosphorescent on 2/28 and were pretty great. i love me some good alt-country.

by the way, i should apologize - i know that a lot of these posts are about events that happened awhile ago. but i'm just playing catch up until the fall season of concerts starts. i'm taking pictures at some pretty amazing shows and i'm psyched. stay tuned!

k

this show may have happened last winter, but it was too awesome to not blog about now. there's a little bit of a backstory...in february of 2008, my friend katie and i hit up a friend who went to nyu to buy us tickets to a tiny show that the national were playing on campus. awesome. until we discovered that one of the tickets had to be used by a student, which neither of us were. so we decided to put our best college kid faces on and try to crash the party. and even though we looked like soccer moms compared to everyone there, we got through several levels of security with no problem. the show was one of the most incredible i've ever seen...it was in such a small space and so immediate. anyway, the opener was a band called phosphorescent who i had never heard of before. and as they came out and took the stage, i was like, "hey, that's jeff!" and sure enough, phosphorescent's bass player is jeff bailey who plays in my friend mike's band, mason dixon (who you should definitely check out). they started playing and we were both blown away....really beautiful music that was at once subtle and totally rockin. we were both instant fans. fast forward a year to when they put out an album of willie nelson covers called "to willie". i hadn't heard a note from it when i heard that they were playing the album in its entirety for the first time live at the bell house. katie and i immediately bought tickets. oh man, what a great show and great album. and unless some miracle happens in the remaining few months of this year, "to willie" will be at the top of my list of the best music that was released this year. here are the pictures.

i can't wait to hear what they do next.

k

i have to admit, i really went to the bell house to see hotel lights...i had no idea who the heck mark eitzel was. well, i certainly know who he is now. he blew me away. hilarious banter, interesting stories, and a voice that i never would have expected before he opened his mouth. this man can croon with the best of them.

i was more than impressed and will absolutely go to see him when he's in town next. you should, too!

k