Here I am, doing my thing at the Knitting Factory. Pretty good crowd there for a Sunday night. I had the indie rock kids dancing to, among others, Pulp, The Rapture, Ladytron, Moving Units, The Bravery, the Happy Mondays, and the rarely heard "Groovy Train" by The Farm. Is this up-beat music for downtown kids?
And then my brother and I proceeded to get drunk. From playing with turntables to playing with pint glasses.
Doves will release their new single "Black and White Town" on February 7 and their third album Some Cities follows two weeks later on February 21. I heard "Black and White Town" on XFM and it's good, but not great - it sounds more like The Last Broadcast than Lost Souls, that is - more uplifting guitar work than the darker sound of their debut.
The Bravery and Moving Units at the Bowery Ballroom
It's not unprecedented that an opener completely blows away the main act, and it occurred last night at the Bowery Ballroom. Although they were both double-billed as the headliner, New York's The Bravery just came out and rocked - upstaging Moving Units headline set. Opening with "Honest Mistake" and plowing through 45 minutes of great music, The Bravery had the crowd moving, a rare feat with the "I'm to cool to dance" New York crowds. The lead singer stalked around the stage, Morrissey-esque, and told the crowd how glad they were to be back home. Unfortunately, their CD is not available until February, much to the disappointment of numerous concert-goers that stopped by the merchandise table.
Moving Units, despite numerous technical issues with the mic and guitar, put on a good show and also had the crowd dancing. However, the technical lapses led to down time, and many in the crowd called out for The Bravery again.
Last Friday was the last Step On at the Royale in Brooklyn. Tony Fletcher's Manchester night came to an end in brilliant form, with tunes from Happy Mondays, Charlatans, the Stone Roses, and New Order. Unfortunately, it was the only time I went out there and now it's over. Great night though!
