Week in Rock: Co-Headliners Edition
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tUnE-yArDs/Xiu Xiu at Bowery Ballroom"Get people's attention or die," said Merrill Garbus, better known as tUnE-yArDs, in a recent interview. She co-headlined Bowery Ballroom this past Friday with Xiu Xiu, and defiantly backed up those words with her engaging, exciting, thoroughly-entrancing performance.tUnE-yArDs needs to be seen live to be appreciated; it's mostly Garbus, assisted by bassist Nate Brenner, looping her voice and percussion into a frenzy of backing tracks, then playing an electric ukulele and singing on top of all that. She builds each song from one element to the next, a thrilling pile-on of pitch-perfect notes and harmonies. She opened with the killer "Hatori," where she practically grabbed each member of the sold-out audience and shaked them into a jumble of "grrrrraw grrrrraw's." She engaged with the audience in a direct, unpretentious manner that was refreshing and charming. The set spanned several songs from her debut album, including highlights "Fiya" and "Real Live Flesh," and new songs such as the bubbly "Powa" and set closer "Do You Want to Live." (You can see a video of that one below.)Xiu Xiu had the unenviable task of following Garbus' incredibly joyous setâhalf the room emptied out before they even started. Now reduced to a duo, Xiu Xiu played their whispery gothic-punk songs, steeped in early Cure and lots of synthy electronics, to a somewhat indifferent crowd. They started off with two of their most atonal songs, but soon found a groove that carried through the rest of the show, including highlight "I Love the Valley Oh." Maybe it'd make more sense if the two bands swap time-slots next time.
<strong>Sam Amidon at 92YTribeca</strong><p>Good folk is hard to find sometimes; in a city crammed with every kind of music imaginable, available on any night of the week at a myriad number of venues spread throughout the boroughs, it's often hardest to find traditional folk that doesn't put you to sleep.</p><p>Thankfully, we have musicians like Thomas Bartlett and <a href="http://gothamist.com/2008/09/16/sam_amidon_musician.php">Sam Amidon</a>, appreciators of R Kelly as well as Woody Guthrie, to help with that. They played together at an intimate record release show for Amidon's new album, <em>I See the Sign</em>, at the 92Y Tribeca this past Saturday. <a href="http://gothamist.com/2006/03/01/gothamist_band_4.php">Bartlett</a>, better known as frontman for the ever-expanding <a href="http://gothamist.com/2005/08/19/the_gothamist_band_interview_doveman.php">Doveman</a>, is the understated all-star collaborator, having recorded with just about every great musician that's passed through the city, from The National to Dave Deporis. He opened the evening in a jazz trio formation, playing hushed, delicate piano covers of songs such as R Kelly's "I Believe I Can Fly," and "Moon River."</p><p>The retiring <a href="http://www.myspace.com/samamidon">Amidon</a> has a sweet voice, sounding like a mix of Arthur Russell and John Martyn, with a slight croak creeping behind the soft veneer. He switched between banjo and acoustic guitar during the night, accompanied at times by Bartlett's opening trio for the intimate performance. Amidon specializes in 19th/20th century folk songs, murder ballads and flannel shirts included. He told funny little stories and kept the packed room in his palm, and the night ended on a two-fold punch, with a crowd-assisted singalong of R Kelly's "Relief," followed by a beautiful reading of the traditional "Wedding Dress," a lilting ballad about sitting and sewing.</p>
<p>When we first fell for Montreal hook-masters <a href="http://gothamist.com/2008/08/04/plants_animals_band.php">Plants and Animals</a> back in 2007, they were upstaging Wolf Parade at Warsaw. Tuesday night found the trio up to their same old tricks at tiny Union Hall, outrocking precious indie lab creations Ra Ra Riot. <a href="http://www.plantsandanimals.ca/">Plants and Animals</a>' set consisted of almost entirely new material, with just one song off their essential debut Parc Avenue. It's not easy to get heads bopping with all new material, but these guys have a knack for crafting immediately accessible fist pumpers. The new stuff, from their forthcoming album La La Land, is even more propulsive as Parc Avenue, and with extra grit. At times, one does wonder how the addition of bass might bring some gravity to their groovy, "post-classic rock" anthems, but why mess with perfection? They'll be back in town for a gig <a href="http://www.boweryballroom.com/event/4408">at Bowery Ballroom on June 9th</a>âthis time there are no more headliners for them to conquer; they're at the top of the bill where they belong.</p>