Sondre Lerche Debuts New Tune In NYC

Enjoy the untitled ditty below. Download a Sondre Lerche MP3 at bottom of post.


MP3: Sondre Lerche - To Be Surprised

Sondre Lerche Reveals Joe's Pub Residency

Well, 2 shows in one evening (June 1st).

For ticket info, head here.

Visit Sondre at his official site.

MP3: Sondre Lerche - To Be Surprised

Chris Garneau Reveals First Gig Of US Summer Trek

Details are as follows:

July 18th
Joe’s Pub
New York, NY

View his spring Euro dates here.

Visit Chris Garneau on MySpace.

MP3: Chris Garneau - Not Nice

The Lisps @ Joe's Pub: A Party Of Forbidden Thoughts

There's a very limited number of acts that I can endure seeing more than a handful of times within any given period. The Lisps fall directly into this noble bunch. Since January of 2007, I've witnessed the Brooklyn-based band's magnificent live show on nearly a dozen different occasions. I've watched them perform for a mere handful of zealous fans on a chilly winter's evening at Pianos & I've also observed the 4-piece wowing a sold-out crowd at Joe's Pub for their record release party (circa this past Saturday night). For 70 minutes, The Lisps validated their buzz-worthy stamp with exuberance & poise. Opening with the acoustic TMS favorite, 'I'm Sorry', and closing with their equally brilliant, 'Sidewalk Girls', The Lisps delivered their strongest and most cohesive gig to date. Expect '08 to bring the zany band universal adoration from coast to coast, mountain to mountain & river to river.

Read my review of Country Doctor Museum here. Visit The Lisps at their MySpace page.



MP3: The Lisps - I'm Sorry

Nellie McKay @ Joe's Pub: Just Your Pimp

Last night I stayed up well past my bedtime for a midnight soiree with the one and only, Nellie McKay. The show marked her second visit to New York's Joe's Pub within the past two weeks and it was incontestably glorious (albeit surely too brief at sixty minutes, flat).

Over the course of the evening, Nellie bounced back and forth between her debut, Get Away From Me, & her sophomore LP, Pretty Little Head, while jugging a handful of random covers, in-progress tracks + a taste of her forthcoming record, Obligatory Villagers.

This review would be incomplete if I didn't provide a link to StopColumbia.org. As the site explains: "Columbia University wants to bulldoze 18 acres of West Harlem, displacing families and eliminating businesses and jobs, to develop a hazardous biotech research center, luxury housing and retail, and other facilities, in a cluster of high-rise buildings that it would exclusively control. All of Harlem, Washington Heights, Morningside Heights, and Hamilton Heights are at risk." Nellie not only had a 'Stop Columbia' banner behind her last night, but also encouraged all in attendance to learn more about the injustices carried on by the college. She then gave away a book (see top photo) by a former Columbia professor who recently quit following a dispute with the Columbia bureaucracy regarding these issues. Nellie performed + dedicated an abrasive version of 'Columbia Is Bleeding' to him.

Other highlights of the evening included a 'techno-bluegrass' version of 'David' (per request), as well as a tip-top rendition of 'Bee Charmer'. For the latter, Nellie was joined by a fan with a superb and hilarious Cyndi Lauper-esque vocal delivery (for those out of the loop, Cyndi duets with Nellie on the recorded version of the tune). The opening (Music Slut fave), 'Toto Dies', also brought many smiles to the Nellie faithfuls in attendance.

Catch Nellie McKay at a city near you at one of these forthcoming North American gigs.

MP3: Nellie McKay - David (live @ Joe's Pub, circa '03)

Nellie McKay Plans Joe's Pub Residency

TMS fave, Nellie McKay, will be sampling tunes from her upcoming LP, Obligatory Villagers (more info here), as well as sprinkling in some old favorites at Joe's Pub on August 8th and 22nd, respectively (with possibly more shows to be announced).

Tickets are $20 and can be purchased here!

Check out a live Nellie track below from her Joe's Pub appearance nearly 4 years ago, supporting her debut, Get Away From Me. More MP3s from that show can be downloaded via this link.

MP3: Nellie McKay - Food (live)

Kristoffer Ragnstam @ Joe's Pub 4/4: Come Again

Despite illness, Kristoffer Ragnstam made a great effort earlier this month at Joe's Pub in New York. I have been waiting quite a while to see the Swede in person, and though Joe's Pub isn't the ideal place to see a show, I still had to reign myself in from absolutely losing my shit on those sleep inducing velvet couches during 'Breakfast by the Mattress.' A big thanks to Kristoffer for braving a nasty sickness, he was in the hospital the night before, and making my night.

Kristoffer has a unique sound that bounces from pop, dance, to slower Elliott Smith type music. On stage, the Gothenburg born singer has the distinct swagger of fellow Swedish musicians The Hives, but with a laced bashfulness that perhaps reveals his beginnings as a solo drummer, crashing in the studio he worked at after long nights spent alone perfecting his music. April 4th's set was short and sweet and bound with the promise of larger audiences.

MP3: 'Breakfast by the Mattress'

Kiki & Herb @ Joe's Pub: They Were Meant For The Stage

Last night I saw the best 'American drag cabaret duo' around (hey, I'm only quoting Wikipedia). Sure, I've seen Kiki & Herb before but not at their premiere show at the teeny-tiny Joe's Pub (capacity: under 200), following their month-long run on Broadway. Kiki was in rare form last night. By rare, I mean very very drunk and very very hilarious. The set featured mostly new covers not previously attempted including Belle & Sebastian's 'Fox In The Snow' (mixed with 'Material Girl', it was AWESOME!), 'Smells Like Teen Spirit'/'Miss World', a Kanye West number and even, if you can believe it, an encore of The Knife's 'Heartbeats'!!

We were also treated to a variety of Christmas tracks including 'Frosty The Snowman', 'The Little Drummer Boy' and 'Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer'. The two-hour set also, as you would assume with the downtown duo, featured many stabs and rants about Madonna, Oasis, Farah Fawcett (as part of the 'cancer medley' which also featured a line or two of Kylie's massive smash 'Can't Get You Out Of My Head'), and oh yeah, more stabs at Madonna.

This was by far the best Kiki & Herb show I've seen throughout the years. Kiki & Herb return tonight for the 2nd of 4 performances, the last 2 will take place after Thanksgiving. They are all sold out, but you can hear more of their brilliant cabaret covers on their MySpace page. If you somehow can get tickets for one of the remaining 3 shows, don't hesitate!

Flashy Python and The Body Snatchers @ Joe's Pub 6/21: Clap Your Hands Say Yeehaw

Last night's blogger convention took place at Joe's Pub to see Flashy Python and The Body Snatchers. AKA: the Alec Ounsworth project. I showed-up with mate Miss ModernAge, Chris of MusicSnobbery pretended he wasn't stalking me inside and Dan from Who's Driving The Bus looked oh so cool chilling on the velvet sofas. Together, we formed the Indie equivalent of the papparazzi- with all of us snapping pictures throughout the show. Don't worry, I made myself ill.


It should be no surprise to anyone who reads this site, that I am not the biggest fan of Clap You Hands. So it was thus that I attended this show with much trepidation, or at least some low expectations. Really, it was just meant to be an evening to hang out with my friend. I have to say though, I was really pleasantly surprised.


I am very attracted to Hank Williamsesque, old western style music. Back in December, you may recall that I commented on the revival of this type of music in New York whilst discussing O'death and their legions of fans. It seems as if Alec has caught on to this scene as well and has been inspired to create his own version of a nuovo-bluegrass band. Not being a CYHSY fan, I have to say that I think this group works a lot better. I enjoyed the entire set and thought that I actually would listen to this album. I do, however, think that Alec relies too heavily on his influences- often he would start up a song during the show and I would be tricked into thinking he was about to play a cover. His manner of singing and style of music sounds too similar to O'death, so much so that I wouldn't be surprised if Alec had their album on heavy rotation at home. Also lyrically, his songs seem a bit derived - it's tough to use the term 'Fire and Rain' and not draw a James Taylor comparison.

I got to meet Alec afterward (thanks Chris). He's a really lovely, short, fro-hair guy. Soft-spoken and affable with a good hand-shake. It made me feel bad for hating CYHSY but at least I could honestly tell him I enjoyed the show.