Week in Rock: Co-Headliners Edition

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. — Gothamist

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Published Apr 16, 2010

Modified Apr 16, 2010

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Click through for more on Xiu Xiu and tUnE-yArDs co-headlining at the Bowery, folk singer Sam Amidon, and infectious indie rockers Plants and Animals.

Also this week:

Saturday is our favorite day of the year, Record Store Day, and you can find all participating NY stores here. (Other Music was named #3 best indie store in America by Spin!)
NBC released their 2010 TODAY Summer Concert Series schedule, which includes performances by Sting, Lady Gaga, Christina Aguilera, James Taylor and Carol King, and that "singer" who uses a $ instead of an s.
Wondering which Bob Dylan album is your favorite? Here's a Bob Dylan calculator to help you figure out if your heart is in the Highlands or ashtabula.
Tomorrow night at the Bell House is the premiere of the 12th episode of the cramazing Yacht Rock series. Soft rock legends Ambrosia will perform before the episode. It is highly recommended that every fool who wants to believe should attend.