W♥M (Archive)

Sondre Lerche at Bowery Ballroom, New York (23 Sep 2014)

Setlist After the Excorcism Bad Law Crickets You Know So Well Go Right Ahead No One’s Gonna Come My Hands are Shaking Sleep on Needles At a Loss for Words Sentimentalist Lucifer Private Caller Two Way Monologue Legends -- Encore -- Lucky Guy Modern Nature Read More Sondre Lerche Sondre Lerche is a Norwegian singer/songwriter who is always experimenting with his sound, in particular his Heartbeat Radio album … TEEN Brooklyn-based TEEN followed Jenkins. The indie rock band formed in 2012 is composed of lead Kristina "Teeny" Lieberson, her two sisters Lizzy and Katherine, and friend Jane …

Sondre Lerche kicked off his tour Tuesday night at the Bowery Ballroom promoting his new album, Please, released the same day. Playing to a full house of devoted fans, Lerche “was feeling it, friends,” according to a Facebook post the next day.

TEEN

Opening for Lerche was Brooklyn-based band, TEEN. With their electronic, alternative rock music, the harmonies from all four members blended in smoothly and strongly. Their semi-repetitious sequences in each song give off a slight trance-like vibe. Though it seemed like most of the audience came to see Lerche, TEEN definitely was able to hold the majority of the crowd’s attention.

Sondre Lerche

The last time I saw Sondre Lerche was in 2009 and he was solo. This tour, he is joined by drummer David Heilman and bassist Chris Holm, though occasionally going solo for songs like “My Hands Are Shaking.” Joining for a few songs were members of TEEN and violinist Tim Fain, or as Lerche calls him, “T-Fain,” better than T-Pain.

The crowd seemed to be quite enthusiastic, which Lerche most definitely fed off of and gave the audience several opportunities to sing along. Combining both older songs like “Sleep on Needles,” and “Two Way Monologue” with new songs from the just-released album like “Bad Law” (music video) and “Legends” (music video), the crowd got to revel in the oldies and enjoy the experiencing the new material live.

Aside from the great musicianship, Lerche’s banter on stage kept the crowd entertained. After telling the audience how great they were, he side noted with “I’m not trying to seduce you,” but later on, somehow managed to unbutton his shirt (though quickly rebuttoned it). His genuine excitement for his new album and to be on tour again was palpable and contagious.

Catch him on tour in the US, Europe, and/or Asia.

USA Dates
Sep 30 House of Blues Cleveland, OH
Oct 01 Newport Music Hall Columbus, OH
Oct 03 Backstage Bar Las Vegas, NV
Oct 04 Musical Instrument Museum Phoenix, AZ
Oct 05 5th Avenue Side Stage San Diego, CA
Oct 08 Troubadour Los Angeles, CA
Oct 09 The Independent San Francisco, CA
Oct 11 Doug Fir Portland, OR
Oct 12 Nectar Lounge Seattle, WA
Oct 15 Bluebird Theatre Denver, CO
Oct 16 Vega Lincoln, NE
Oct 17 Turf Club St Paul, MN
Oct 18 Lincoln Hall Chicago, IL
Oct 19 Magic Stick Detroit Lakes, MN
Oct 20 Altar Bar Pittsburgh, PA

Sondre Lerche at Bowery Ballroom, New York (23 Sep 2014)

justina ♥ weheartmusic.com

Jonathan Richman at Bowery Ballroom, New York City (11/1/10)

Read More Jonathan Richman Jonathan Richman is always fun. This is a pretty typically fun song from Richman, "Abominable Snowman in the Market". I think the title pretty much sums up the song :)

Whether you think Jonathan Richman is an untrained genius or an overrated man-child, you can’t deny that he’s entertaining. At last night’s show at Bowery Ballroom, he had the audience laughing, dancing, and occasionally ‘aww-ing’ at his painfully honest lyrics and campy dance moves. As endearing as he proved to be, he proved his chops with some fancy guitar playing, accompanied by his right-hand man, Tommy Larkin on drums. Richman started the show with one of his many songs about famous artists, “No One Was Like Vermeer,” and the audience giggled at his overly sincere delivery and rambling narrative. On an old favorite like “Pablo Picasso,” he changed the words a little, noting that the phrase “to pick up” a girl had a much creepier context in 2010. It was such improvisation that had everyone cooing over his every move. The audience, a slightly older crowd, was much more reverent than a typical Williamsburg mob. The only contrary moment occurred when someone yelled, “Show yer tits!” during a dance number. Richman, ever the gentleman, coyly shook his head.

As the majority of Richman’s song are about love (and the lack of it), the show seemed like an ideal place to bring a date. Couples slow-danced to quirky songs like “When We Refuse to Suffer” and “My Baby Love Love Loves Me.” A song like “Springtime in New York,” though idyllic and sentimental, prompted the occasional laugh with its specific references to the constant construction in the city. And of course, there was the dancing. Richman went all out during “I Was Dancing in the Lesbian Bar” had him busting out his most absurd moves, while the audience helped him with the chorus. In the span of an hour, he had the audience sighing and laughing at regular intervals. By the time he ended the show with an a capella rendition of “Even Though I Know I Am The Wind and The Sun, I?” from his new album, he had the crowd doing a little bit of both.

♥ Jonathan Richman at Bowery Ballroom, New York City (11/1/10)

kateg () ♥ vaporrecords.com

Kings of Convenience (and a surprise guest) at Bowery Ballroom, New York (9/10/09)

Kings of Convenience - The Build-Up Kings of Convenience       Kings of Convenience at Bowery       Ballroom, NY (9/10/09) ♥ photo by Jason Tour Dates 10/03/09 Nalen Stockholm, Stockholms län 10/04/09 Mejeriet Lund 10/05/09 Train Arhus, Syddanmark 10/06/09 Vega Copenhagen, Nordjylland 10/08/09 Huxleys Berlin, Berlin 10/09/09 Konzerhaus Dortmund 10/10/09 Kampagnel Hamburg, Hamburg 10/11/09 Paradiso Amsterdam, Holland 10/13/09 De La Warr Pavilion Bexhill, London 10/14/09 Barbican London, London 10/15/09 Warwick Arts Coventry, Midlands 10/16/09 Airwaves Church Reykjavik 10/28/09 CONCILIAZIONE Rome 10/29/09 CONSERVATORIO Milan 11/01/09 TEATRE CIRCO PRICE Madrid 11/02/09 THEATRO CIRCO Braga, Braga 11/03/09 THEATRE CAIXAVIGO Vigo 11/04/09 COLISEUM Lisboa, Lisboa 11/06/09 PALAU DE LA MUSICA Barcelona 11/06/09 TEATRO VICTORIA EUGENIA 11/09/09 CIRQUE ROYALE Brussels 11/10/09 WATT (Main Hall) Rotterdam Discography [Mar 2001] Quiet Is the New Loud [Oct 2001] Versus [Jun 2004] Riot on an Empty Street

Save for their breakout single, “I’d Rather Dance With You,” Kings of Convenience’s music is typically the kind of fare that lulls you into a dreamy sleep or provides an ideal soundtrack to a rainy afternoon. I thought their live show would be just as low key, but coupled with their humor and warmth, Erlend Øye and Eirik Bøe had plenty of surprises (including a special, Mac-compatible friend) to keep anyone from drifting off.

Kings of Convenience at Bowery Ballroom, NY (9/10/09) ♥ photo by Jason Kings of Convenience at Bowery Ballroom, NY (9/10/09) ♥ photo by Jason

As there was no opening band, there was a palpable sense of excitement within the crowd as Erlend and Eirik finally took the stage. For one thing, their music is quite subdued and most of their songs require silence from the audience to be fully appreciated. For most of the show, the audience adopted sort of a hushed awe as they played, making it one of the most reverent shows I have attended at Bowery Ballroom. As the boys often reminded us, this was their first show in New York in four-and-a-half years, so the audience seemed hellbent on making it special for them. At one point, someone in the audience yelled, “Play some old stuff!” and she was immediately booed into submission. The crowd that night was oddly defensive of the boys, wanting them to feel as welcome and loved as possible. It was sweet, but also somewhat off-putting. This is how cults form, right?

The band made it easy to incite such passion, as they were charming and hilarious all through the set. As a contrast to their lyrical and delicate songs, they told several quirky, amusing anecdotes (including a particularly endearing one about spilling espresso on Eirik’s pants) and Erlend made everyone swoon with his haphazard, quasi-robotic dancing. They even managed to complain about loud photography graciously, posing like pouting male models for two minutes to provide ample material for the cameras. With their offbeat banter and obvious camaraderie, they came off as sort of a melodic, quieter version of Flight of the Conchords – but with tons more street cred, of course.

Kings of Convenience at Bowery Ballroom, NY (9/10/09) ♥ photo by Jason

Oh, and there was music too. The first half of the set was devoted to the upcoming album, Declaration of Dependence. The new songs weren’t a huge departure from their previous material, but they prove that they are masters at crafting perfect, intricate melodies with seamless vocals. They debuted songs like “24-25” and “Mrs. Cold,” and the audience swayed in appreciation. My personal favorite, “Boat Behind,” features jaunty acoustic guitars and a simple “oh-oh-oh” chorus in their signature blend of flawless harmonies.

The second half of the show was all old favorites, including “Misread” and “Little Kids.” They stayed away from their more popular songs, but once again, the audience didn’t seem to mind. Their final song before the encore was a completely unexpected but perfect cover of Leslie Gore’s “It’s My Party.” They sang about Judy and Johnny with such goofy sincerity that they left the audience completely smitten, practically heartbroken for an encore.

Feist at Bowery Ballroom, NY (9/10/09) ♥ photo by Jessica Amaya

They obliged and returned with “The Build-Up,” a duet from their previous album, Riot on an Empty Street. Someone behind me said, “I wonder who’s going to sing the Feist part,” and lo and behold, a voice beckoned from the balcony above us – Feist! The audience let out a collective gasp, Erlend and Eirik grinned like little boys, the photographers elbowed people in the nose for a good shot, and I was filled with the sudden urge to buy an iPod nano. It was a lovely surprise, and she eventually joined them on stage, prompting everyone to go completely ape-shit and inciting a tidal wave of frenzied Tweeting.

But despite this, I left the show in a quiet and happy mood. It was exactly the kind of feelings a good Kings of Convenience song conjures up: a sense of calm that lingers for a while, making you both wistful and hopeful at the same time.

 09/11/2009 10:52:12 ♥ kateg () ♥ kingsofconvenience.com ♥ myspace.com/kingsofconvenience 

Brett Dennen @ the Bowery, NYC 10/30

Brett Dennen - Ain't no Reason

Brett Dennen

By the time Brett Dennen took the stage Tuesday night at the Bowery Ballroom, the modestly-sized venue had reached standing room capacity.  It was a khaki-colored sea of enthused co-eds, toothy Econ majors clutching plastic cups of Stella, uniformly bopping their heads in stiff rhythmic intervals.  But despite the awkward campus demographic, Dennen’s good boy looks and earnest, chill sensibility made for a jovial, if conventional, pop show.

 

Dennen’s style fits comfortably in the pocket of mainstream folk nouveau, with shades of jam band gaiety (minus the ability to inspire shirtless hackysack).  He’s been compared to Jack Johnson and has toured with John Mayer, two musicians that once dominated Top 40 radio but have steadily declined in cultural relevance, occasionally re-emerging as background noise on an episode of Grey’s Anatomy or as man-candy for B-list pop starlets.  If the shelf life for catchy songwriting of this vein is, roughly, five years, then I would suggest that Dennen enjoy his fruits.  Because, while it’s obvious that the boy has a flair for arousing “woos” and high-fives and beer salutes, I wonder if his music possesses the kind of edge that breeds longevity.

 

Tuesday’s show was all very familiar.  I enjoyed a live version of “Ain’t No Reason,” one of his strongest tracks, and “Darlin’ Do Not Fear” kind of made me want to lace up my Docs and maybe organize an impromptu backyard bonfire.  Had there been a few less imported beers and a few more Dave Matthews covers, I would be convinced that the Bowery is actually a front for a super-secret government time travel experiment that transports unknowing New Yorkers back to their years as Midwest college kids. 

 

Perhaps I’m being unfairly critical.  Lyrically, Dennen is more than a cut above “Your Body is a Wonderland,” which is reason enough to celebrate.  In fact, “Ain’t No Reason” is quite poignant in its simplicity, a gentle meditation on finding meaning from a life resigned to work and pain:  “love will come set me free.”  He believes this.  And perhaps sincerity will be his salvation.  We’ll find out in five years time.

 

For more information on Brett Dennen and for a listing of tour dates, visit www.brettdennen.net or www.myspace.com/brettdennen.

 

-Lara