So in the midst of all the partying today (which, as the former Catholic I am, I rush to remind you is in anticipation of 40 days of suffering through fasts as the Lord your Saviour suffered for 40 days in the desert before returning for Palm Sunday), I have compiled fat list of concerts that you should jump on for tickets. Because I'm still nursing the wounds of not seeing
BLOOD ON THE WALL open for the
YEAH YEAH YEAHS, and the
EAGLES OF DEATH METAL open for
THE STROKES. [By the by, EODM have a video for their new track,
"Don't Speak (I Came to Make a Bang)". And no, it sounds nothing like it's
Tragic Kingdom name-sharer].
Also, before the list, check out
STEREOGUM today. Every post is golden, and there's even a download of Henry Mancini doing "Walk Like An Egyptian". Presents, everyone!
MAN MAN @ Mercury Lounge. March 2nd.
$10.
NADA SURF with Rogue Wave @ Webster Hall. March 8th. 18+.
$20.
BLOOD ON THE WALL @ Mercury Lounge. March 9th.
$10.
METRIC w/ ISLANDS (ex UNICORNS) @ Webster Hall. March 10. 16+.
$20.
Devendra Banhart, Bright Eyes, Rufus Wainwright, Fischerspooner, Peaches, Michael Stipe, Steve Earle, Chuck D., and Margaret Cho in the
BRING 'EM HOME NOW concert. With an appearance by Cindy Sheehan. Hammerstein Ballroom.
$28-$150. March 20, 8pm.
ANIMAL COLLECTIVE @ Webster Hall. March 23rd. 16+.
$20adv/$22 day of.
ART BRUT @ Bowery Ballroom.
April 4th (with The Ponys) and
5th. $15.
SONDRE LERCHE with Tracy Bonham [HUH?????] @ Bowery Ballroom. April 6th.
$20.
WOLF PARADE with Holy Fuck @ Webster Hall. April 10th. 18+.
$17.
BETH ORTON @ Webster Hall. April 11th. 18+.
$23adv/$25day of.
JAMIE LIDELL with Jimmy Edgar @ Bowery Ballroom. April 25th.
$15adv/ $18.
Now, for a little blast from the past, I give you two hits that have both captured my heart. I go through phases in my music listening, and though a couple of months ago it was '70s obscurities and hits, it is now mid-to-late '50s and early '60s pop. Two singers have particularly caught my liking: Adam Faith and Cliff Richard. Both were contemporaries on the British pop scene. Faith's song that I've placed below, the hypnotic light-as-meringue "Baby Take A Bow", reached number 22 on the charts in December 1962. Richard holds the honor of being the only UK act to have a #1 single in every decade since the '50s, when the UK singles charts were invented. The saccharine "Summer Holiday" is one of those #1s, and it was one of six #1 singles Richard produced in the 1960s. I love this song for so many reasons, but one of the main ones is it's one of the many songs I've envisioned using as a music supervisor one day. It has that Tarantino quality where you can totally picture it being the musical backdrop to a grisly murder scene. Right? Am I right? Or just insane? You decide:
