Dec 26, 2011 Posted by Tolgar

The Cure – Reflections

Three Imaginary Boys. Seventeen Seconds. Faith.

These are of course the first three albums of music legends The Cure. And as part of the highly exclusive Reflections tour they played all three albums – in their entirety! – to an ecstatic crowd at Beacon Theater. And what a night it was! They played all three albums front to back, with short intermissions in between. Then it was topped with 3 more encores, for a total of 46 songs. Check out the amazing setlist of this show.

I didn’t get tickets through Ticketmaster, damn scalpers didn’t give me a chance. I was luckily able to score tickets via Stubhub though, had great seats, and this was certainly one of my absolute concert highlights ever.

Here’s just a short video I shot at the concert. Sorry I didn’t record full length. For one, I find it annoying when I’m at a concert and all people in front of me have their iPhones constantly in my sight. Also, I was entertained too much by the show to be bothered recording myself. In retrospect I would’ve liked to have at least one full song captured myself. Oh well, we can’t have it all.

In any case, Robert Smith’s voice was outstanding, the venue was chosen wisely, and the whole night was simply amazing.

(PS: Obviously this concert was already way back on 11/25. Had this post saved as draft the whole time because I wanted to write a more polished review, which just never happened.
Procrastination 1 – Tolgar 0.)

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Nov 27, 2011 Posted by Tolgar

Moogfest 2011

For the second year in a row the Moogfest was celebrated in Asheville, NC. I’ve never been to the Moogfest nor to North Carolina before but have heard only good things. So when I saw the initial line-up it was a no-brainer to finally go there this year. I like to travel anyway, and it probably helps that trips like this are covered by the company – ah, the perks of running a music site! Anyway, let me first say this: The people of Asheville have to be among the friendliest you’ll ever meet. Everyone, and I mean literally everyone, is so welcoming and open, it’s simply amazing. And the Asheville area looks beautiful, too. I’d love to go back. With that out of the way, let’s talk about the festival itself.

Basically there were two main indoor venues, one major outdoor venue, and several smaller clubs booked for the weekend. The sound system at all events was top notch. We arrived on Friday afternoon, and the first band we saw was already Tangerine Dream. I’m not the hugest fan, but I definitely love lots of their mid-70s to early 80s stuff. And given that this was their first US show in over a decade and founder Edgar Froese is already 67 years old, there might not be too many opportunities left to see these pioneers of electronic music. Unfortunately their set was a bit too new-agey for my taste and gave the guitarist too much attention. But still this set was special and dear to my heart.

The visual highlight of the weekend was (no surprise) Amon Tobin’s ISAM show on Saturday. It’s an artistic, breathtaking audio-visual event that sets new standards. Finally, the musical (and overall) highlight for me came on Sunday with the combined show of first Active Child followed by M83. Each show for itself is already fantastic. But combine the beautiful, often fragile music of Active Child with the explosive and powerful electro-shoegaze act of M83 and it’s just… wow! They are both currently touring together so catch them if you can.

There were so many other great sets, and it certainly helped that we got VIP badges and could skip all lines. Highly recommended! Overall it has been an amazing weekend, and I love to go back.

NPR covers Moogfest (with full concert streams)

My own video of Tangerine Dream

Official Amon Tobin ISAM trailer

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Oct 19, 2011 Posted by Tolgar

ohnomoon

I wasn’t familiar with ohnomoon before but saw them last night at the Delancey. They were playing a showcase for a CMJ event here in New York, and despite the early set time the place was packed. They were pretty awesome, and played a great mix of dream pop and shoegaze. One of the songs was this great David Bowie cover, take a listen below. The next time they play here (and maybe at a place with a better sound system) I will certainly check them out again!

ohnomoon - Ashes To Ashes (David Bowie cover)
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Jul 27, 2011 Posted by Tolgar

Metronomy at Pier 54

I finally get to see Metronomy live, yes! They’re going to play here in NYC at Pier 54, right on the waterfront. It’s a free open-air show, and I’ve been excited about this event for over a month now. If you’re in NYC, going to this show should be a no-brainer. See ya there!

Metronomy - The Look
Metronomy - Everything Goes My Way

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Jul 27, 2011 Posted by Tolgar

Spotify

Finally Spotify is available in the USA. After using it for a good week I can definitely say I like it, even though it’s far from perfect. As you probaby know, Spotify comes with its own client. Open it, and you can immediately play any song or album from their vast library of 13 millions songs. This in itself is pretty amazing! We’re talking full-length songs in very good sound quality. Full albums. All the new stuff, but also lots of deep cuts. And if you don’t mind the occasional audio ad, you don’t even have to pay a dime. Nice! Another feature I love is that you can share playlists with your friends. And you can create ‘collaborative playlists’ where you and your selected friends all can edit the songs on that same open playlist. Haven’t tried that feature yet, but I certainly will!

Now, the things that are still missing are smart radio playlists. Basically what we have already with Last.fm or Pandora. Spotify already has the same information, knows what I like, so setting this up should be a no-brainer. In the same vein, I miss the smart playlists that iTunes has. Finally, when I share songs on Facebook or Twitter, I want them to be playable right there. Unlike services like Blip.fm, Spotify only creates a link, so that you can then click twice and listen to a song on their own client. It’s understandable, but for sharing songs I will stay with Blip.fm or YouTube links.

Overall, I really like what Spotify has to offer. Add me @ http://open.spotify.com/user/tolgarnyc

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Jun 13, 2011 Posted by Tolgar

Concert Weekend

Next weekend promises to be an extremely memorable one. For one there is the Northside Festival in Williamsburg (NYC). This event has steadily grown over the years, and that’s a welcome addition to the summer music culture in NYC.

Friday Beirut is headlining (already sold out), and on Saturday Guided By Voices will rock the stage. But wait, there’s more! Kicking off the weekend will be the indie-alternative shoegazers of Swervedriver. While this is not part of the Northside Festival, it’s gonna be an excellent start into my early weekend!

Swervedriver - Duel
Beirut - Guyamas Sonora
Guided By Voices - Big School

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Jun 13, 2011 Posted by Tolgar

USA Summer Event

The USA network was hosting a preview event at Pier 46 here in NYC to showcase their upcoming TV series. A good friend of mine, DJ Lady Byrd of Who Needs Radio, was DJing all three afternoons. If you’re wondering, she is the raven-haired DJ in the classy black-and-white dress. As always she did a fantastic job, and I think it comes across in this promotional video they shot.

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Jun 13, 2011 Posted by Tolgar

Summer in New York

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Jun 13, 2011 Posted by Tolgar

Sleep No More

The dark images from the Silent Hill video games. The classic story of murder, intrigue, insanity. A scenery so imaginative, you feel like you are in someone else’s dream. Place all this in a 5-story abandoned building in Manhattan, and you have the Sleep No More experience.

That’s how I started this post back in April. I guess I should be less concerned with writing great reviews and at least actually post stuff here. So in a nutshell, I loved, loved, loved Sleep No More. If you’re into anything I mentioned in the intro I highly recommend seeing this! Don’t expect any classical theater experience, just go there with an open and inquisitive mindset. Fair warning: there is some nudity. One last tip: Do follow the smaller groups, try to avoid the larger ones. And however you approach it, try to explore as much as possible on your own.

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Feb 27, 2011 Posted by Tolgar

Curtis Mayfield – If There’s a Hell…

Today’s featured song is from Curtis Mayfield‘s debut album as solo artist from 1970, simply titled ‘Curtis’. Taking all musical freedom by releasing this album on his own newly founded record label, Curtis Mayfield’s sound changed to a more aggressive funky style.

This song also shows the type of social commentary that he used in his lyrics. The version I’m playing here is from the excellent sampler “What It Is!”, but this single version misses the famous introductory lines, “Sisters! N**ers! Whities! Jews! Crackers! Don’t worry, If there’s a Hell below, we’re all gonna go!” But on the plus side it immediately starts with the memorable heavy bass line and horn section.

Curtis Mayfield - (Don't Worry) If There's a Hell Below We're All Going to Go
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