Sunday, December 16, 2012

My Top 10 Albums of 2012

These are the albums that got played from start to finish once they started.  I'd sit in the car for an extra 5 minutes or stay at the gym for one more rep just to hear it in it's entirety.  It's the way that they flow, how the songs transition, the journey the artist takes you on that sets these albums apart from others for me.
  • 10 - America by Dan Deacon
  • 9 - Reservoir by Fanfarlo
  • 8 - Attack On Memory by Cloud Nothings
  • 7 - Something by Chairlift
  • 6 - Give You The Ghost by Polica
  • 5 - Nocturne by Wild Nothing
  • 4 - Mixed Emotions by Tanlines
  • 3 - Bloom by Beach House
  • 2 - Celebration Rock by Japandroids
  • 1 - Lonerism by Tame Impala

Friday, December 7, 2012

Favorite Performances of 2012

Throughout 2012 I probably attended close to 20 concerts in 5 different states.  Here are a few of the most memorable performances that I saw.
  1. Phish - Atlantic City, NJ 6/16/12
    • My first Phish experience was not a let-down.  The middle set of their 3 night stint in AC was a stellar live introduction to the band for me.
  2. The Killers - Firefly Music Festival: Dover, DE 7/??/12
    • They headlined night 2 of the inaugural year for the festival.  We waited about an hour and a half to get within 25-30' of the stage among a crowd of about 30,000.
  3. Alabama Shakes - Baltimore, MD 4/7/12
    • All the good things you've heard about seeing them live are true.
  4. Girls - Philadelphia, PA 1/12/12
    • Glad I got to see them before they broke up a few months later.
  5. M83 - Philadelphia, PA 8/1/12
    • An energetic and blistering set with a top notch lighting display. 

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Boot: The Killers - Baden, Germany 8/9/12

A nice set from The Killers with great sound quality.  I got to see them just a couple weeks before this performance at the Firefly Music Festival.  It was definitely one of the best performances I saw all year.


Setlist:
1 - Runaways
2 - Somebody Told Me
3 - Smile Like You Mean It
4 - Spaceman
5 - Flesh And Bone
6 - For Reasons Unknown
7 - Bling (Confessions Of A King)
8 - Miss Atomic Bomb
9 - Human
10 - A Dustland Fairytale
11 - Forever Young (cover)
12 - Read My Mind
13 - Mr. Brightside
14 - All These Things That I've Done
15 - Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine
16 - When You Were Young
Download: The Killers - Baden 8/9/12

Sunday, November 25, 2012

New To Me: Lord Huron

Designated as WXPN's Artist to Watch for October, Lord Huron came across my radar just following the release of their debut full-length album "Lonesome Dreams".  The group's name is taken from time Ben Schneider spent at Lake Huron in his native Michigan.  In addition to the inspiration for the name, nature and the outdoors are a reoccurring theme throughout the album.  Lord Huron is bound for success amongst fans of Fleet Foxes, The Lumineers, and My Morning Jacket.


Tuesday, October 30, 2012

'Girls' Fans Rejoice

Last week former Girls front man Christopher Owens announced he'll be releasing a solo album in January.  Many fans were distraught earlier this year to hear that Owens was leaving his band Girls, who appeared to be at the height of their game.  His solo debut "Lysandre" is said to be inspired by the event's on his 2011 tour and a girl he fell in love with during that time.  Check out the first two songs of the album below!
Christopher Owens - Lysandre's Theme/Here We Go - Soundcloud

Monday, October 22, 2012

New to me: Tame Impala and Wild Nothing

I recently got turned onto these two bands.  Both have new albums out this year that are pretty darn good.
  • A comment on Youtbe for a Tame Impala video claimed 'If Pink Floyd and the Beatles fucked and had a love child it would be Tame Impala'.  Hailing from Australia, their classic psychedelic sound shines on their sophomore album "Lonerism". 
  •  Channeling the 80's and drenched in reverb, Wild Nothing struck a smart and simplistic chord with me.  Their sophomore album "Nocturne" is also out now. 

Back at it

Sorry for the hiatus over the past few months, I'm hoping to post regularly again.  Stay tuned!

Monday, August 27, 2012

Boot: Spoon - Live at the Greek 8-12-06

I recently went on a Spoon kick after hearing Britt's new project 'Divine Fits'.  This is a terrific sounding show from 2006 when the band was out in support of their album "Gimme Fiction" (my personal favorite) and opening for Death Cab For Cutie.
  Spoon - I Summon You - Live at the Greek 8-12-06 by Ledjam311
Setlist:
1 - The Beast & Dragon, Adored
2 - Monsieur Valentine
3 - Stay Don't Go
4 - Jonathon Fisk
5 - I Turn My Camera On
6 - 'Tuning & Thanks'
7 - Rhythm & Soul
8 - Paper Tiger
9 - Someone Something
10 - They Never Got You
11 - I Summon You
12 - The Way We Get By
Download: Spoon - Live at the Greek

Thursday, August 16, 2012

New To Me: Divine Fits & Field Report

Here are a couple new groups that came across my radar this week:

  • Divine Fits is one of the latest indie rock supergroups to emerge on the scene.  Comprised of Spoon's Britt Daniel, Dan Boekner of Wolf Parade, and New Bomb Turks' Sam Brown, Divine Fits originated through the mutual admiration and friendship of Daniel and Boekner.  The recent hiatus of Wolf Parade provided an opening for a collaboration between the two.  The album definitely has a Spoon flavor to it, which is fine by me, but there's enough influence from it's other members to make Divine Fits stand on their own.  You can stream the album, 'A Thing Called Divine Fits' on NPR's First Listen up until it's release date on August 28th.  Check out the track "Would That Not Be Nice" below.


  • Chris Porterfield is back with a new studio album under the name Field Report.  I was unfamiliar with his previous group, DeYarmond Edison, but do recall having heard something about his former bandmate Justin Vernon of Bon Iver.  Field Report represents a culmination of Porterfield's writing since that time.  Based on a few of the songs available on the band's website I'm eagerly awaiting the album's release in September.







Sunday, July 29, 2012

Firefly Music Festival 2012

One week after Firefly I find myself caught up on sleep, hang-over free, and eagerly awaiting the 2013 return of Firefly.  The inaugural year for the festival held in Dover Delaware went off mostly without a hitch and garnered many positive to glowing reviews.  Overall I was really impressed with the way the festival was handled and run.  Hopefully some of the minor shortcomings, i.e.  uninformed volunteers/staff, no late night sets, sound issues on the main stage, will be resolved during the year. 

The best performance(s) I saw were The Killers and The Flaming Lips, hands down.  We waited for nearly 2 hours packed in like sardines to get as close as possible for The Killers set.  It was completely worth it though, ending up about 20 feet or so from the stage.  The Killers are just great performers with a knack for anthems fitting of the big stage.  I'd never seen The Flaming Lips but I had a pretty good idea what I was in for.  Their stage show was one of the best I've ever seen.  Confetti cannons, giant balloons, Wayne Coyne in his hamster ball (picture above) and giant foam hands, it was all there.  Their music is sometimes hit or miss with me but save for one or two songs I really enjoyed their set as well. 

I also caught great sets by John Legend, Heartless Bastards, The Head and the Heart, Polica, Ok Go (picture above) and got turned onto Penguin Prison and Walk The Moon.  Some other highlights of Firefly included the Dogfish Head beer tent with the new Firefly Ale, hot air balloon rides, the 'hammock hang-out' tucked back in the woods, and of course good times with great friends.

Sunday, July 15, 2012

New To Me: Chairlift

How's this for a interesting back-story, before finding their place in the synth-pop world, the duo that makes up Chairlift were creating background music for haunted houses.  Fortunately for the music community the haunted house business apparently didn't take.  Their 2nd album "Something" came out earlier this year. 

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

New Music - Passion Pit, Bloc Party, Dirty Projectors, Fand Island

Some new singles and album streams of upcoming releases:
  • Passion Pit released "Constant Conversations", another single off their forthcoming album 'Gossamer'. 
  • Dirty Projectors released a new album titled 'Swing Lo Magellan' last week.  Check out the track "Gun Has No Trigger".
  • Bloc Party's single "Octopus" just hit the web.  It will appear on their new album 'Four'.  I'm really hoping for a return to the Silent Alarm/Weekend In The City era from them.  If this song is an indication they may be on that path.
  • NPR is streaming Fang Island's new album "Major" in it's entirety prior to it's release.  The band has definitely seemed to grow lyrically and instrumentally on their sophomore release.

Saturday, July 7, 2012

Favorite Albums Of 2012.....So Far

Well we're halfway through 2012 and in the world of music websites & blogs that means it's time for mid-year album rankings.  Here are 10 albums that have been in my constant rotation this year.

Friday, June 29, 2012

Boot: Dawes - San Francisco 11/20/10

Dawes have released 2 studio albums to much critical acclaim, including 2011's 'Nothing Is Wrong' which was #2 on WXPN's Year End Album list.  For me though, Dawes' talent and ability is on display best during their concerts.  I got to see them open for Death Cab For Cutie last year and I've been itching to see them again ever since.  They'll be at this years Xponential Music Festival in July, which unfortunately is the same weekend as the Firefly Music Festival of which I'll be in attendance.  Please come back soon Dawes.  Take a minute to enjoy this show from the tail end of their 2010 tour.
Dawes - Fire Away - San Fran 11/20/10 by Ledjam311
Setlist:
1 - My Girl To Me
2 - When You Call My Name
3 - That Western Skyline
4 - If I Wanted Someone
5 - God Rest My Soul
6 - My Way Back Home
7 - Bedside Manner
8 - How Far We've Come
9 - Love Is All I Am
10- Fire Away
11 - Peace In The Valley
12 - When My Time Comes
13 - A Little Bit Of Everything
14 - If You Let Me Be Your Anchor
15 - I've Got A Feeling (It's Gonna Be Alright)
Download: Dawes - San Fran 11/20/12

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Concert Review: Phish - Bader Field, Atlantic City 6/16/2012


Night 2 of their weekend occupancy in Atlantic City also happened to be my first introduction to the live world of Phish.  Why it took me so long to see them I'm not sure but I've definitely been missing out.  As a casual Phish fan I was definitely in the minority in the sea of people gathered at the old airfield as AC lit up the skyline in the distance.  Even so, I enjoyed the hell out of myself.  So did the band it seemed, who sound as tight as ever and are firing on all cylinders.  The set had something for everyone: crowd favorites, covers, and cuts from deep in the Phish catalog.  Highlights for me included the opening trilogy of "Mike's Song > I Am Hydrogen > Weekapaug Groove" and Talking Heads cover "Crosseyed and Painless".  You can check out the rest of the Setlist here at Phish.net, and get a taste of the show in the video below.




Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Fresh Cover

Yesterday on WXPN I heard Australian folk artist Julia Stone's take on The National's 'Bloodbuzz Ohio'.  The cover appears on her new album "By The Horns" which was released yesterday.  Give it a listen below.
Julia Stone - Bloodbuzz Ohio by Nettwerk Music Group

Friday, May 25, 2012

New to Me...Japandroids

When I first heard of Japandroids I got seriously pissed off at myself for not having discovered them up until now.  The duo from Canada deliver in-your-face garage rock that makes you realize how much you miss hearing it in today's music.  Their 2nd album "Celebration Rock" is out on June 5th, be sure to pick it up.  The album's first single, 'The House That Heaven Built', is below.

Friday, May 11, 2012

Boot: The Head & The Heart - Moody Theatre - 9/16/11

One of the bands I'm most excited to see at this summer's Firefly Music Festival is The Head & The Heart.  Here's a performance from their trip to Austin City Limits last Fall. 
The Head And The Heart - Down In The Valley - Moody Theatre 9/16/11 by Ledjam311
Setlist:
1 - Cats and Dogs >
2 - Coeur D'Alene
3 - Winter Song
4 - Lost In My Mind
5 - Down In The Valley
6 - Rivers And Roads
7 - Interview
Download: The Head & The Heart - Moody Theatre 9/16/11

Firefly Approaches...

On April 1 rumors started swirling about a 3 day music festival coming to Delaware of all places.  Some, including myself, suspected it to be a cruel April fools joke.  It turned out to be legit and I bought my festival and camping pass as soon as they went on sale.  We're about 2 months away from the festival (July 20-22) and I'm getting more and more excited the further I explore the artists on the bill.  The folks at Firefly announced additional artists this week (Polica, Silversun Pickups, and Fitz & The Tantrums among others) that join an already stellar lineup.  Hopefully the festival will be a big hit and become a summer standard in years to come.

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

New Albums from Beach House & Best Coast

Just in time for summer come some new tunes to guide you through the warming days.  Beach House follows up the acclaimed album "Teen Dreams" with their 4th release titled "Bloom".  The lead single 'Myth' has already created a lot of buzz among eager fans.  Best Coast offers their sophomore effort titled "The Only Place" hoping to capture and build upon the magic of 2010's "Crazy For You".  Leading up to their release dates you can preview these albums at NPR's Exclusive First Listen:
Beach House - Bloom - NPR First Listen
Best Coast - The Only Place - NPR First Listen

Friday, April 27, 2012

Recent Concert Round-up

It's been a busy couple weeks for me which included taking in a handful of shows.  Here's a quick follow-up with some show notes.
  • March 26 - My recent string of shows started off with Youth Lagoon at Union Transfer in Philly.  The man behind the music, Trevor Powers, had a simple set-up including him and one guitarist.  His vocals were a lot clearer then I expected based on the reverb-drenched sound on the album.  One downside was the size of the crowd at the show.  It would have been more appropriate in a smaller venue like Johnny Brendas.
  • April 3 - A group that was new to me, Friends, opened the show with a erratic yet entertaining set.  A highlight of headliner Neon Indian's set was the light display centered around a monolith-like light machine in the center of the stage.  My problem with this show though wasn't the artist's performance so much as the sound quality.  Whether it's the sound guy or just the system at the venue, the vocals were covered up by bass/synths and nearly inaudible.
  • April 5 - This evening brought me to Northstar Bar to see Frankie Rose.  The set seemed short for what you'd expect from a headliner but her performance definitely did justice to her most recent album which I enjoy a lot.  Opening act East Hundred was a pleasant surprise also, although I just found out that after 8 years together the members have decided to go their separate ways.  East Hundred, I hardly knew ye.
  • April 7 - Alabama Shakes completely blew me away at Ramshead Live in Baltimore.  Fresh off the release of their debut album they're making a big splash in the music world anchored by amazing live performances.  They concluded the show with a Led Zeppelin cover (How Many More Times) which was a pleasant surprise.
  • April 12 - It was a spur of the moment decision to go see Diego Garcia at World Cafe Live-The Queen when a friend offered me an extra ticket.  The decision paid off as I witnessed an intimate acoustic show.  Diego shared stories behind the songs and interacted with the crowed throughout the show, at one point even playing an improvised version of 'Happy Birthday' for one of the attendees.  The set also included a cover of one of my favorites, 'Harvest Moon' by Neil Young.  My concert-buddy Erin even snagged an autograph from Diego after the show.

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Boot: Passion Pit - WXPN Free at Noon 8-15-09

I've been on a Passion Pit kick since hearing some rumblings about a new album coming out early this summer.  Here's a short set they played back in 2009 that I just rediscovered in my music catalog.  It includes stripped-down versions of 'Sleepyhead' and 'The Reeling' that give the otherwise expansive songs a very intimate feel.
 Passion Pit - Little Secrets 8-15-09 by Ledjam311
Setlist:
1 - Sleepyhead
2 - To Kingdom Come
3 - I've Got Your Number
4 - Little Secrets
5 - The Reeling
Download:  Passion Pit - Live 8-15-09

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

In Case You Missed It.....SXSW edition

In case you weren't lucky enough to travel to SXSW this year you can listen to several performances at the Live In Concert page on NPR's website.  Notable performances include: Andrew Bird, Alabama Shakes, Lower Dens, and Polica. 

You can also find some good show analysis on Pitchfork's Best & Worst of SXSW, and Spin's Top 10 Shows at SXSW.

Thursday, March 8, 2012

New To Me: Tanlines

Although they've worked on a number of projects since 2008, Tanlines will release their debut album "Mixed Emotions" later this month.  I stumbled onto them via NPR's Exclusive First Listen and was drawn in instantaneously.  Listen to the album HERE at NPR's website until March 20th.

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Stream "Rooms Filled With Light" by Fanfarlo

You can now hear "Rooms Filled With Light", Fanfarlo's new album, on Exclusive First Listen at NPR.  I saw Fanfarlo in concert a couple months ago and the set included quite a few of these songs.  Even having never heard the songs before, they sounded great and fit in well with the rest of their catalog.  The only thing that sucked was that I had to wait several months to hear them again.  Well the waiting ended today and the new material is just as good as I remembered.

Alabama Shakes on KEXP

Up and coming artist Alabama Shakes recently stopped by KEXP's studio to record a performance.  Watch the full performance below or stream it here.  Also remember to buy their album "Boys & Girls" when it comes out on April 9th!

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Let's Try This Show Posting Thing Again...

Alright, I'm gonna give it another go.  The link for the Lykke Li show posted a few weeks ago works again.  Consider the older shows archived.  If you're interested in one just email me and I'll try to get it to you.  Hopefully the Megaupload fallout doesn't continue to spread.  This ever changing world in which we live in...

Monday, February 13, 2012

New Discovery: Faithfull Ale

Combine two things that I love (Pearl Jam & Beer) and you get Faithfull Ale by Dogfish Head Craft Brewery.  My sister picked me up a bottle of the Belgian style golden ale knowing my affection toward the band.  Dogfish Head created the brew in conjunction with the 20th anniversary of Pearl Jam's first album 'Ten'.  A quote from Dogfish Head's website states "To me 'Ten' is the perfect example of a record-lovers-record.  The whole thing rocks....As an off-centered brewery, we believe in celebrating the breadth of our whole portfolio and we feel an affinity for Pearl Jam, a long-player band in a singles-obsessed world."  This is the third music related beer that Dogfish Head have created.  Others include Bitches Brew inspired by Miles Davis and Hellhound On My Ale inspired by Robert Johnson.  Try them out if you run across them at your liquor store.  Faithfull Ale tastes delicious!

Monday, January 30, 2012

New To Me: Alabama Shakes

The debut album from Alabama Shakes titled "Boys & Girls" will be released on April 9th.  For now you can listen below to 4 songs from an EP they put out in September of 2011.  Their grooves are infectious, they can jam out, and lead singer Brittany Howard has some serious pipes.  I wouldn't be surprised at all to see them blow up in 2012.

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Adios Megaupload & All My Shows

Late this week the federal government shut down file sharing site Megaupload.  I won't pretend to know all the ins and outs of this move and the recent anti-piracy legislation going through the House & Senate, but to me these actions serve only to create a quick headline and hollow victory without doing much to address the root of the problem.  The move against Megaupload is remniscent of the fight against Napster nearly a decade ago.  Once Napster was shut down Internet users simply moved to other sites like Kazaa and Limewire.  Sites similar to Megaupload already exist and will continue to pop up.  Copyrighted material was definitely being shared through their site, but where do search engines like Google or video sharing sites like Youtube figure into this?  I'm pretty sure when people were looking for free/pirated music and movies it started with a Google search.

If you've downloaded a show from this blog before you probably know that I used Megaupload for posting my shows.  So all those links are dead and the files not accessible.  I'm working on finding a new source of posting shows so continue to check back for updates.  In the meantime if there's a older show that you want just shoot me an email and I'll see about getting it to you.

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

New Music from The Shins!

The Shins released a new song titled "Simple Song" this week.  It will be on their new album 'Port of Morrow', due out in March.  After some line-up changes and front man James Mercer's side project Broken Bells I was very intrigued to see what direction a new Shins effort would take.  The chorus is classic Shins-style, around it though I feel like there's some branching out from their past releases.  It'll be interesting to hear 'Port of Morrow' in it's entirety.....why is March so far away???
 Simple Song by theshins

Saturday, January 7, 2012

Boot: Lykke Li - Morning Becomes Eclectic 3/8/11

Here's a nice performance from Swedish musician Lykke Li on KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic.  She released her second album "Wounded Rhymes" in 2011.
 Lykke Li - Sadness Is A Blessing [3.8.11] by Ledjam311
Setlist:
1 - Intro
2 - Jerome
3 - Banter
4 - Love Out Of Lust
5 - Banter
6 - I Know Places
7 - Interview
8 - I Follow Rivers
9 - Banter
10 - Sadness Is A Blessing
11 - Banter
12 - Unrequited Love
13 - Banter
14 - Velvet
15 - Banter
16 - Youth Knows No Pain
Download:  Lykke Li - MBE 3/8/11

Monday, January 2, 2012

New To Me: Youth Lagoon

The creative mind behind Youth Lagoon is 22 year old Trevor Powers.  His debut album "The Year of Hibernation" was released this past year.  Many of his songs start as melodic slow-builders with pianos & synthesizers that evolve into powerful choruses backed by electronic drumbeats.  With vocals draped in hazy echoes the listener gets a feeling of recluse and anxiety which is also apparent in some of his lyrics.