vedera in nyc?

So I just found out about this, and although I'm not familiar with a lot of their music, I'm really tempted to go because I've loved everything I've heard from them since Mooney introduced me to their music and Kristen May's gorgeous voice my first summer in New York City.

Collin Herring: Punches

I really like what this guy had to say about Collin Herring's song, "Punches".

"Punches" came on the sampler CD of this April's Paste Magazine, and I've since lost track as to how many times I've listened to it.

Related Links:
myspace.com/collinherringmusic
http://www.collinherring.com/

Blue Note: Late Night Groove Series (take 3)

A table during a Friday night show at Blue Note usually run about $25-35, but a couple summers ago Jared and I discovered that they have late night shows -- we're talking so late it's early. (Read my account of our first show here. Or Jared's account here.) These Friday and Saturday night shows feature: "New York's up-and-coming jazz, soul, hip-hop, R&B and funk artists." We went a couple times and although it makes for a really late night (shows ending somewhere around 2-3 in the morning and then trekking home on a local train uptown from the Village to get home at like 4am) it's been well worth it each time considering the caliber of the music we've heard and the price of tickets being $8-10 (typical ticket price for one of their late night shows).

I'm sure the 8pm and 10:30pm shows are phenomenal, but the Late Night Groove Series is definitely a winner for someone like me who:
- doesn't own money tree
- enjoys jazz without being a connoisseur of the form
- has a music taste that entertains a bit of the avant-garde and digs the cross-pollination of music genres
- doesn't mind staying up late and getting home at about 4am

Anyways, all of that was basically a longish intro to tell you this:

Leah gets up really early on Saturday mornings; so consequently, our typical Friday night ends earlier than that of our friends. This makes attending something like the above mentioned Late Night Groove Series slightly difficult, considering the start time of the set is ~12:30 am.

Well, wanting to attend a late-night show at Blue Note, Leah and I decided to take advantage of the fact that her early morning Saturday would not be in affect for conference weekend. We enjoyed the night of April 4th (err...the morning of April 5th?) listening to a Brooklyn-based band named "Soul Cycle." The show was great. On their youtube site, they describe themselves as "a sublime mix of jazz, funk, and breakbeats, with a little reggae, Latin, and African grooves thrown in for good measure." I'd say that's fairly accurate and would definitely encourage people to go to one of their shows. If the opportunity arises, I could easily see myself enjoying my time at another one of their shows.

Wait, Wait, Wait

I am a little bit sad because I just learned from a friend's blog that The Format is no more--looks like the band is on a hiatus. You can read about it in the news section of their website or on Spin. Nate and Same are still good buddies...they just want to do their own thing for awhile. It's still a little sad.

If you remember, I blogged about seeing them back in August at Webster Hall. Good music. Good show. Good memories. (Becca, I wish you would have joined me that evening as well.)

I think I'm going to listen to their music for the rest of the day today.

Old Springs Pike

I find it difficult to think of many things better than an Old Springs Pike show...unless maybe it's an Old Springs Pike show with someone whose company you enjoy.
This is why I count my blessings when I think that I've been able to experience such a thing on two separate occasions.

Rockin' Bluegrass in The Living Room

So last night a couple friends of mine and I went to see Michael Daves and Chris Thile perform at The Living Room here in NYC.

I'm at a loss for how to describe it. I found out about this show while rockin' out to the amazingness that is Michael Daves and Chris Thile at another show I went to Dec 4th with my friend Rachel (thanks for letting me know about it babe). She sadly couldn't be there last night because she's here supposedly working.

Michael Daves plays at Rockwood Music Hall every Tuesday (well, not this coming Tuesday seeing as how it's Christmas, but whatever) and occasionally he will have a guest artist come play with him. When Rachel told me at like 4 or 5 o'clock the day of the 4th that she just got an email saying that he'd be playing that night with Chris Thile I thought to myself, "There is no way I'm missing this show."

For those of you who don't know, Chris Thile was the mandolin player and lead vocalist for the former Nickel Creek who I was able to see in Salt Lake with my brother when they came through on their final tour back in May. Chris is amazing. Thus the obvious reasoning behind my thinking, "There is no way I'm missing this show." I'm glad I didn't. The place was packed, but how could it not be considering Rockwood is like a 40 ft square room, and there wasn't a cover charge. It was amazing. So intimate. And just plain rocked.

In my mind, last night's show was just a continuation of the awesomeness that was Dec 4th, with only minor differences: This time Michael and Chris had actually practiced a couple songs together before the show, we had to pay a cover, the room was a little bit bigger, and we were all seated.

I apologize that I don't have any video of the show to share with you all. (I must get my own small digital camera soon.) Their set really was amazing. They returned to the stage twice for encores.

If you go to michaeldaves.com/sound, you can hear a live recording of him and Chris from an older show at Rockwood. The song is titled "Loneliness and Desperation." You can also hear an older recording of Michael performing "Rain and Snow." An awesome song. As a request, the two of them performed it last night as the first of three songs they played during the two times they retook the stage for an encore.

Sidenote:
After the show I asked this woman sitting at the table next to us if she wouldn't mind emailing me some of the pictures I noticed her taking during the show. In her own words, she's "no professional photog," but I very much appreciate her willingness to share them with me.

The following pics are thanks to Jen (who I found out is actually playing with Michael Daves next month at Banjo Jim's. :)

The Plan: the Cannon Center - March 30th, 2007

I friend of mine sent me links to these videos a couple weeks ago. They're from...I think it was our second show? I didn't even know that she had recorded video of the show. I don't think anyone from the band knew. haha. Anyways, good times. I thought I'd share.

The Format at Webster Hall - 21 Aug 07

(Alyssa Scheinson took the original pictures in the above thumbnail grid. Check out the full pics here and the rest of her amazing work here.)

A couple weeks ago I went to Webster Hall to see The Format. It was awesome. I wanted to see if anyone would post some good video of the show onto YouTube so I waited a little while to see what would turn up. Nothing too amazing (I really need to get my own digital camera), but you can get a taste of what I was able to experience at least. (Nate Ruess's voice is just as amazing live.)

On Your Porch:


Oceans:


The First Single:
(This was the first song I heard of The Format. I knew right away I was going to love their music.)


Here's a pic of the setlist that somebody posted on their flickr account. :)

The last 4 or 5 songs on that list made up their awesomely long encore.

In case you feel teased by only hearing parts of each of the above songs. Here's one in its entirety.

Jazz Mobile

I got off the subway at 125th on my way home from work today and as I walked past 127th I saw and heard this:


Well...not exactly. I just found that picture of the Jazz Mobile trailer/stage on the internet. That's basically what I saw...what with the cool stage and signage. The band was different though. What I heard was this guy.

It was great. Nothing quite like good jazz in Harlem -- good free jazz on the streets of Harlem.

Flight of the Conchords

I suppose there is some good about working over the weekend. Two of my coworkers introduced me to these guys today when we needed a quick break.

(Just to warn you: these videos contain some mild sexual humor and a few choice words, but nothing I would deem exceptionally offensive to the majority of my readers.)

Business Time



Hiphopopotamus vs. Rhymenoceros

Emily Loizeau: (Je suis) Jalouse

I came across this music video quite randomly today and I fell in love instantly. So amazing! So so amazing!



PS - I found another version of the music video with English subtitles. If anyone wants to get an idea of what she's singing you can see it here.

I wanna know what it's like...

This song is beautiful.



Nada Surf - Inside of Love

Nickel Creek

My brother and I went to see Nickel Creek in Salt Lake the Saturday I got back from my New York trip. The concert was awesome!

The sound/video quality isn't the best, but my brother recorded the following video from the concert. It's one of my favorite songs.



Jon Brion opened for them and performed with them on a couple of songs. He's produced/composed music for movies like Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind, I Heart Huckabees, and Punch Drunk Love.

I was definately blessed to see some amazingly talented artist and musicians that night.

Upcoming Show! This Saturday!!

I've been busy, but I really should post about this.

OK, so maybe you noticed the addition to the sidebar. You can see a list of our upcoming shows. I don't know how long this will last since I have no idea what's going to happen after I graduate so come enjoy The Plan while you can!!!

We are playing this Saturday at Muse Music with some other very talented musicians (at least, that's what I've been told....I don't know any of them personally, but apparently Taylor does.) Oh! and if you're lucky we will be unveiling a new song as well as have a guest come perform a song or two with us...yes folks, that's right: Rob Whalen. :)

Starry Night: Show #2

Starry Night is a way cool venue. It's small but uber chill, has fun lighting, and a good house PA system. It was a great show. We had an excellent turnout and played slightly longer than expected since the first opening band didn't show.

I also think we sounded better than our first show. The levels were a little better and I could actually hear myself in the monitors!!! Yeah!

Here are some pics my sister took.

We ended with Flying Over the Atlantic again. People seem to really like it, and it seemed an appropriate lead in to the headlining band since they were playing much softer stuff. I really like this pic.

The band we opened for (Ring of Scribes) was way cool. They played a rock opera called Magic. It's based on the Harry Potter books. It sounds super cheesey, but it was totally awesome. Way cool stuff, and totally relaxing.

Here's some pics I snapped with what little battery power was left on my camera.

Oh ye of little faith

I promised pictures, so here you go. For those of you who couldn't make it last Wednesday, I hope the selection of photos I chose to post (courtesy of Xaque) will serve as a photo tour of sorts to help you feel a little more connected to the event.

Here we have Becca and Richard posing outside Muse Music with their cans of food.Look at all the wonderful people that came to support us! We must be loved.
Here we are...so nice and respectable.Haha...atleast that's what we want you to think. But then when you least expect it...unleash the rock!
Don't worry. The rock isn't that scary. I mean honestly...look at that inviting sign. Come back in and join us. It will be fun.
There you go. Just a couple more steps. Come on in and make yourself comfortable among our friends.
Or you could just stay standing in the back next to Tyler over there on the left. He's cool. But you already knew that from his hair.
I just love how Sean looks in this pic. So cool. And way to go Adam for rockin' it solo style up at the front of the stage. I love you!
This is a good pic. you can actually see all of us.
Ah....bubbles. I liked these next couple of pictures. They're kind of progressive. I mean, we start out pretty chill. We got some nice bubbles doing their thing here.
Then we ditch the bubbles and start singing.
Then we turn it up for full effect. (I look so intense right here.)
Then we decide to throw in some harmonies. Oh yeah. That sounds nice.
We ended up finishing with Flying Over the Atlantic (a favorite of the few who had heard our music before.)
Overall, it was a good show. Let's all thank Xaque for some sweet pictures:
Thanks Xaque!

i HEART indie kids

that dance super crazy ridiculous over at the edge of the crowd stage right as Of Montreal performs in the frigid outdoors of Mainstreet and 7th Avenue in Park City Thursday night in January of '07 as part of the free Sundance Film Festival festivities.

What's that you're humming?

So I'm sitting in class and someone behind me just started humming The Offspring's "Why Don't You Get a Job" from there Americana album.
It made me smile. I think if you knew the first couple lines of lyrics that went with what he was humming it would have made you smile as well...especially considering the context of where he was humming the aforementioned song.

Band of Annuals: Thought I'd Learn by Now

Christina and Adrienne, thank you for introducing me to this beautiful song. I thought I would post it on my blog as well in the hopes of sharing it with more people. -check out their myspace page-

Little Drummer Boy

Announcements, Announcements, Announcements!

FYI: The Plan had someone audition this morning and let's just say that we know have a drummer. Jacob is an amazing drummer. He's got a heavy jazz background and we are all really excited for him to join us.