This has been a really long week. If not for the free coffee at my job, I never would have made it. Granted, I didn't find any time for a blog entry, but sometimes that just happens. Forgive me.
Anyways, let me attempt to recap my life.
Last night I walked over (YAY for walking to shows) to the new Luna Lounge in Brooklyn for the Gothamist Moveable Hype 2.billion party, although I was going primarily to see White Rabbits, because I think they are by far one of the better new bands to come out of NYC recently. But first thing first, let's talk about this new Luna "Lounge" which is more like... North Six part two. At least as far as sheer size is concerned. I'm sure pretty much everyone still remembers (well at least I hope so because i'm not THAT old) how great the old Luna Lounge on Ludlow was for showcasing mostly new and relatively unknown bands. The space was small but not terribly cramped and the best part was that ALL of the shows were gloriously free. If any of these memories are still in your head, you might as well forget any of them when you attend a show at the new venue of the same name because there is really no similarity at all.
The new Luna is, in a word, gianormous. It looks great, and the sound is fairly good, the people who work there were EXTREMELY friendly which was a really nice change of pace, and it could be a really cool venue except for one pretty blatent problem... they are still booking bands for the most part at the same "level" or place in their musical careers as the OLD Luna Lounge. These bands can't really be expected to fill the 350+ person capacity room and last night it left bands who would have packed the old Luna playing to what appeared to be a very sparse crowd because of how spread out everyone was. Either way, I think the new Luna Lounge could be a really amazing venue, but if you are expecting any of what you used to find for free on Ludlow street a couple years ago, you might as well forget that thought right now (and be prepared to spend an 8 dollar cover while doing so - though admission is free to drink after any show apparently). Hopefully they will start booking bigger bands who are more equipped to play such a large space.
None of this REALLY matters though, because White Rabbits were pretty fucking amazing. The band doesn't have an album out yet, so a lot of people haven't warmed up to the majority of their material (myself included), but this band is pure awesome fun. They have THREE drummers on some songs for christsake! The highlight of last night was the bombastic "Kid On My Shouders" where the band just all out raged all over the stage. It was fantastic to watch that song from beginning to end, and I haven't felt that way about a performance in a long time. It was electric. I wish they had ended with it actually because the two songs they played afterwards (or anything for that matter) paled in comparison.
These boys have some serious talent, so watch out for them!
White Rabbits - Kid On My Shoulders
Otherwise, despite not having an Arcade Fire ticket and lacking the stamina to stand outside in the cold for a couple years to get into one of the shows (sigh... sadness), I have been playing Neon Bible into the fucking ground, and I have to agree with the rest of the blogsphere that it is GOOD. "Black Mirror" is... there are not enough words. Wow. I can't say it has grown on me to Funeral level massive LUSTING, but that even took me a long time. It's a great album and missing these no doubt fabulous shows has made me pretty sad.. but no more moping! Instead, here is a song.
Arcade Fire - Keep The Car Running
Anyways, let me attempt to recap my life.
Last night I walked over (YAY for walking to shows) to the new Luna Lounge in Brooklyn for the Gothamist Moveable Hype 2.billion party, although I was going primarily to see White Rabbits, because I think they are by far one of the better new bands to come out of NYC recently. But first thing first, let's talk about this new Luna "Lounge" which is more like... North Six part two. At least as far as sheer size is concerned. I'm sure pretty much everyone still remembers (well at least I hope so because i'm not THAT old) how great the old Luna Lounge on Ludlow was for showcasing mostly new and relatively unknown bands. The space was small but not terribly cramped and the best part was that ALL of the shows were gloriously free. If any of these memories are still in your head, you might as well forget any of them when you attend a show at the new venue of the same name because there is really no similarity at all.
The new Luna is, in a word, gianormous. It looks great, and the sound is fairly good, the people who work there were EXTREMELY friendly which was a really nice change of pace, and it could be a really cool venue except for one pretty blatent problem... they are still booking bands for the most part at the same "level" or place in their musical careers as the OLD Luna Lounge. These bands can't really be expected to fill the 350+ person capacity room and last night it left bands who would have packed the old Luna playing to what appeared to be a very sparse crowd because of how spread out everyone was. Either way, I think the new Luna Lounge could be a really amazing venue, but if you are expecting any of what you used to find for free on Ludlow street a couple years ago, you might as well forget that thought right now (and be prepared to spend an 8 dollar cover while doing so - though admission is free to drink after any show apparently). Hopefully they will start booking bigger bands who are more equipped to play such a large space.
None of this REALLY matters though, because White Rabbits were pretty fucking amazing. The band doesn't have an album out yet, so a lot of people haven't warmed up to the majority of their material (myself included), but this band is pure awesome fun. They have THREE drummers on some songs for christsake! The highlight of last night was the bombastic "Kid On My Shouders" where the band just all out raged all over the stage. It was fantastic to watch that song from beginning to end, and I haven't felt that way about a performance in a long time. It was electric. I wish they had ended with it actually because the two songs they played afterwards (or anything for that matter) paled in comparison.
These boys have some serious talent, so watch out for them!
White Rabbits - Kid On My Shoulders
Otherwise, despite not having an Arcade Fire ticket and lacking the stamina to stand outside in the cold for a couple years to get into one of the shows (sigh... sadness), I have been playing Neon Bible into the fucking ground, and I have to agree with the rest of the blogsphere that it is GOOD. "Black Mirror" is... there are not enough words. Wow. I can't say it has grown on me to Funeral level massive LUSTING, but that even took me a long time. It's a great album and missing these no doubt fabulous shows has made me pretty sad.. but no more moping! Instead, here is a song. Arcade Fire - Keep The Car Running