Tag Archives: newvillager

2012, live music, music

CMJ Music Marathon 2012

October 16, 2012 Concrete Opinions Leave a comment

Now until Oct 20th, hundreds of bands and music fans will take over New York City for the annual CMJ Music Marathon. While CMJ may lack the “big names” you find at Coachella and Lollapalooza, it totally makes up for it with shear volume. There are soooo many bands and artists playing, it’s actually a bit nerve wrecking, trying to decide which acts to see. But what really makes CMJ rad, is the music discovery aspect. This is where you’ll see the next “big name” and it will be in a random Manhattan basement with 10 other lucky people. Personally, this is the music festival I want to attend most. One of these days my dream will become a reality, but until then I am happy writing about it. And hopefully helping this year’s attendees deal with the daunting task of combing through all the music they have at their fingertips. So if you’re having a tough time deciding who to see this week, consider these artists/bands. And last but not least, have fun discovering your new favorite band.

CMJ Schedule//CMJ Artists

A
Alex Winston

B
Beach Day
Blonde Summer
Blue Hawaii

C
Chad Valley
Chip Tha Ripper
Choir of Young Believers
Com Truise
Conveyor
Cruiser

D
Debo Band
Drop Electric

Dum Dum Girls

E
Eleanor Friedberger
Electric Guest

F
Field Mouse
French Camp
French Horn Rebellion

G
Generationals
Geographer
Ghostface Killah
Goldroom

GZA

H
Heliotropes
Hey Marseilles

Hey Rosetta!
HUMANS

I
Icona Pop

J
Jensen Sportag
JJAMZ
The Jezabels

K
Ki:Theory

Killer Mike
Kimbra

L
Little Beard
Little Green Cars
Local H
Lovelife
Lowlakes
The Luyas

M
Magmana
Mansions
Miami Horror DJs
Miracles of Modern Science
MNDR

Mount Moriah
Mountain Goats
MSMR

N
Natureboy
NewVillager
Nina Sky
Nneka

O
OFF!
OK SWEETHEART
OPOSSOM

P
Penguin Prison (DJ)
Pillow Talk
The Postelles
The Presets
Psychic Twin
Purple

Q
Q-Tip
Quiet Loudly

R
Raccoon Fighter
Radical Dads
Rah Rah
Rocket & The Ghost
Rumors

S
San Cisco
Savoir Adore

Sea Wolf
Sick/Sea
Skinny Lister
Skipping Girl Vinegar
Slowdance
Solid Gold
Starlight Girls
Swimclub

T
Talk Normal
Teen Daze

Telekinesis
Tempers
Thieves Like Us
Tiny Victories
Twin Tigers

U
Umbrella Men

V
Viceroy
Vital

W
The Walkmen

Wichita Falls
Wild Child
Wildcat! Wildcat!
Winter People

X
XNY

Y
Yacht
Young Adults
Young magic

Z
Zula

2011, best of 2011, favorites of 2011, music

Favorites Albums of 2011 (So Far)

July 1, 2011 Concrete Opinions Leave a comment

2011 is more than half-way through and in a mere seven months, a boat-load of fantastic new music has hit the airwaves (we’ve also survived yet another prophesied apocalypse…not too shabby plant earth).

Anyways, I did this last Summer and it was fun to look back and see what albums held up when “Best of” season was full effect. So without further ado, I’m pleased to present my favorite albums of 2011 (so far) and be sure to check back in on December 15th to see if any of these picks make my Top 10.

(in alphabetical order)

Acid House Kings – Music Sounds Better With You

♫ Are We Lovers or Are We Friends ♫

Anna Calvi – Anna Calvi

♫ Blackout ♫

The Antlers – Burst Apart

♫ No Widows ♫

Braids – Native Speaker

♫ Lemonade ♫

Childish Gambino – EP

♫ Freaks and Geeks ♫

Clock Opera – Belongings 7”

♫ Belongings ♫

Cults – Cults

♫ You Know What I Mean ♫

Cut Copy – Zonoscope

♫ Need You Now ♫

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. – It’s A Corporate World

♫ Morning Thought ♫

Diego Garcia – Laura

♫ You Were Never There ♫

The Go! Team – Proof of Youth

♫ T.O.R.N.A.D.O. ♫

Lykke Li – Wounded Rhymes

♫ Sadness is a Blessing ♫

NewVillager – NewVillager

♫ Rich Doors ♫

Panda Bear – Tomboy

♫ Last Night At The Jetty ♫

The Postelles – The Postelles

♫ White Night ♫

Radiohead – The King of Limbs

♫ Codex ♫

Starfucker – Reptilians

♫ Bury Us Alive ♫

Telekinesis – 12 Desperate Straight Lines

♫ Car Crash ♫

Tennis – Cape Dory

♫ Marathon ♫

Unknown Mortal Orchestra – Unknown Mortal Orchersta

♫ How Can You Luv Me ♫

The Vaccines – What Did You Expect from The Vaccines?

♫ Post Break-Up Sex ♫

The White Panda – Pandamonium

♫ I Want Brooklyn Back ♫

Woods – Sun and Shade

♫ Pushing Onlys ♫

concerts, live music, music

[recap] Make Music Pasadena 2011

June 24, 2011 Concrete Opinions 1 Comment

Make Music Pasadena was last week (i know, i know…i totally lagged on posting this) and it was super fun!

First and foremost, it was FREE. You can’t really complain about free music. On top of that, the lineup was quite impressive (I would’ve paid to see a lot of the acts that played), it wasn’t nearly as hot as it could’ve been, and the people watching was epic.

My only real complaint was the how they handled the main stage setup and crowd control. The Morning Benders set was basically ruined because it took Pasadena PD, and the laziest event security I’ve ever seen, way too long to clear a sidewalk. If this event continues to grow, the organizers are going to have to brainstorm quite a bit between now and then on how to allow for more peeps.

As far as the actual music goes, I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Unfortunately, I was unable to stay ’til the end, so I missed out on Ra Ra Riot, Zola Jesus, Kisses, and Robotanists, but the acts I did catch didn’t disappoint.

Saint Motel was my personal favorite of the day. Butch was just as good live (maybe even better) than the recorded version, and their new track, Puzzle Pieces, was fantastic (but i’m a sucker for anything with piano or keyboards). Coming into it, I was most looking forward to NewVillager. I wouldn’t say I was disappointed, but after a strong start, they started to fizzle out by the end of their set. Either way though, I’m still super excited for their debut album (out Aug 16 via I Am Sound Music).

Best Coast definitely drew the largest crowd of the day (at least what I saw). This was my first time seeing them live and they definitely lived up to the hype. They kicked off their set with one of my favorite tracks (Crazy For You) and even played some new stuff (Gone Again – Free download courtesy of Adult Swim).

All in all, I had a great day and i’m already looking forward to next year.

Pasadena PD ruining The Morning Bender's set

Best Coast (would've been such a good shot, had it not been for the douche fist-pumping with the water bottle)

Creepy Guy in Gold Unitard and Russian Hat

♫ Saint Motel – Puzzle Pieces ♫

p.s. if you want some more free music in Pasadena, be sure to check out Seattle’s Motopony for KCRW’s Summer Nights at One Colorado this Saturday (6/25).

live music, music

Mid-Week Mixtape: Make Music Pasadena 2011

June 15, 2011 Concrete Opinions Leave a comment

Make Music Pasadena is this Saturday (6/18), and in honor of this fantastic (AND FREE!) event, this week’s mix features all the artists i’m most excited about.

For those of you not familiar with the event, Make Music Pasadena is a FREE musical celebration throughout Pasadena. This Saturday, sidewalks, parks, courtyards, alleys, building lobbies and other unconventional performance spaces will become spontaneous musical stages and social gathering places. This year’s line up includes Best Coast, Ra Ra Riot, Morning Benders, Carla Morrison, Hello Seahorse!, Saint Motel, and much, much more.

For more info, be sure to visit MakeMusicPasadena.org.

♫ Carla Morrison – Yo Sigo Aqui ♫
2pm at the Luckman “World Music” Stage

♫ Saint Motel – Butch ♫
2pm at the Indie Rock Stage

♫ The Morning Benders – Excuses ♫
3pm at the Indie Rock Stage

♫ NewVillager – Rich Doors ♫
4:15pm at the Indie Rock Stage

♫ Best Coast – When I’m With You ♫
5pm at the Indie Rock Stage

♫ Ra Ra Riot – Can You Tell ♫
6:15pm at the Indie Rock Stage

♫ Jenny O – Well Okay, Honey ♫
8pm at the Emerging Artists Stage

♫ Seasons – Lights, Lost ♫
8:30pm at the Majestical Roof Stage

♫ Kisses – Bermuda ♫
9pm at the Emerging Artists Stage

♫ Zola Jesus – Night ♫
10pm at the Emerging Artists Stage

♫ Robotanists – Exiled State of Mind (Jay-Z Rework) ♫
11pm at the Majestical Roof Stage