Author Archives: Tanya Gelman

I’ve seen my fair share of shows, attending roughly two a week for probably the last six or seven years. Even after all those concerts and all those bands, there are few that I’ve seen that match the energy and performance level of Los Angeles’ Say Anything.

This was my sixth time seeing the band live, and after their Long Island show at the Paramount Theater, there was no doubt in my mind that this was their best performance yet.

Although it took a bit of effort to get to the show (the Long Island Railroad stopped servicing the stop where the venue was located), I made it inside just in time to find a packed (and huge) venue screaming for the band. Led by frontman Max Bemis, the band came out and opened their set with “The Writhing South” from their debut album …Is A Real Boy. A couple more songs were played before Bemis (unnecessarily) announced who they were—but it was clear that every single person was there for them.

Read More »

Los Angeles rockers, Say Anything recently launched the “Anarchy Fall Tour” which pulls into New York’s Paramount next weekend (10/20) for what will be a full night of anthemic sing-a-longs and pop-punk sneer.

There is no shortage of energy and excitement at Say Anything’s shows and Anarchy, My Dear, the band’s most recent release from March, 2012 is a favorite among the band’s rabid cult following. Having seen the band about six times now, it is clear that singer Max Bemis allows his lyrics to do the talking, running through the band’s most popular tracks, but leaving time to hit upon some hidden gems.

Fan of the band? Lucky for you, we have a pair of tickets to give away to one winner!

Read More »

There are few things better (in my opinion) than seeing Band of Horses in a full (but not packed) open warehouse with the rain drizzling and a slight chill in the air. That just seems like the perfect weather and listening conditions for one of my favorite bands of all time. Not to mention, this incredible show was held on the release day of their newest album, Mirage Rock.

For a band that has and will be playing festivals to tens of thousands of people, including this Saturday’s Global Fest (featuring Foo Fighters and Neil Young), Band of Horses put on just as an energetic performance as any time I’ve seen them, playing in front of 500 or 5,000.

What Band of Horses did though, that I find extremely refreshing, is what I believe most bands should do. Nowadays, it seems that bands play (either) a bunch of old/new songs, and then change the pace by asking the audience if it’s “okay to play a couple old/new ones”; obviously the crowd chants and says it’s okay. Band of Horses, however, played one song from the first album, followers by another song from another album, followed by another song from a different album, and so on. This made the band’s set unpredictable, and for me, even more captivating.

Read More »

Terminal 5 seemed like quite the place to be on Saturday, September 14th when Circa Survive, Touche Amore, Balance and Composure and O’Brother made their way into New York City.

Although I’m not the biggest hardcore fan in the world, I was pleasantly surprised by all bands and the musicality they all brought with them. Standouts for the show definitely were Touche Amore and headliners, Circa Survive.

I have to admit that my favorite part of hardcore shows is that the majority of songs are under two minutes. Although this makes my job as a photographer a bit difficult as I’m only given three songs to photograph out of each set, this makes my job as a music listener easier. I find myself quickly zoning out of the music after 2 minutes, but with the short, sweet tracks that Touché Amore played (“The Great Repetition” and “Art Official”), I was fully engaged their entire set.

Read More »

There was no better location for the 8th Annual Afropunk Festival than Commodore Barry Park in Brooklyn. Over thirty bands and artists took the stage for two full days of music, art, and skate. I have to admit I’m a bit sad I was only able to attend Sunday’s festivities. Although I was extremely pleased with all of the acts I saw on Sunday, something about seeing Erykah Badu on Saturday would have been the icing on the cake.

Sunday’s lineup was stacked with some of the industry’s most talented acts, including Bad Rabbits, Toro Y Moi, Reggie Watts, and one of the day’s headliners, Janelle Monae. I found myself walking from one stage to the other after each set due to the festival’s perfectly timed schedule.

The first band I was able to check out happened to be one of my favorite bands of all time, Bad Rabbits. Having seen them for the first time two years ago (and proceeding to never miss them again when they were in NYC), I was automatically hooked by their dance moves, insane energy and passion for what they do. Body Language, a band I had seen merely 2 weeks prior, managed to match Bad Rabbits energy with their more electronic-based set.

Read More »

It seems nearly unimaginable that any band can play a 22-song set with the same energy from beginning to end. However, My Morning Jacket proved that it is in fact, very much possible. The band took the stage to a packed house off the Williamsburg Waterfront as the sun set on a wonderful Sunday.

Opening with “The Dark,” the band made way for a two-hour set full of some of their most popular tracks, including many from their 2011 release, Circuital. It was absolutely refreshing to see a band that has such musicality and appreciation for their art.

The set continued with more crowd sing-a-longs and more jumping and shaking by not only the audience, but by the band themselves. “War Begun” and “Off The Record” from earlier releases got the crowd just as excited, if not more, than the newer material. Either way, it was clear that every member of the audience loved this band and the music they produce, both recorded and live.

Read More »

It’s hard to imagine a time when Mumford & Sons wasn’t playing for 15,000 people nights and nights at a time. But after their impeccable performance at Pier A in Hoboken, New Jersey – why would you need to?

15,000 fans (literally) came out to see the band play an outdoor performance right off the Hudson River, and although forecasts stated it would rain and storm the entire night, the band was able to push the storm clouds away, and make for an absolutely brilliant night of acoustic guitars, banjos, and beautiful weather.

Playing an array of both new and old songs, Mumford and Sons put on what I would consider one of the best concerts I have attended. Although I have only seen the band once before (in the comparatively small 9:30 Club in Washington, DC), they seemed just as together harmonically as I remembered. Crowd favorites for the night included the popular “Little Lion Man” and “Awake My Soul.” It seemed though that the crowd took just as well to the new songs off the forthcoming Babel (“Below My Feet” and “Lover’s Eyes”).

Read More »

What more could you want from someone than being able to sing, play guitar, plus have an English accent? Personally, that’s really it for me.

Ed Sheeran brought those three things along with an uncanny ability to catch an audience’s attention to his show this past Tuesday at Irving Plaza. Sheeran’s most recent success stems from the single off of +(Plus) entitled “The A Team.” It took less than 20 seconds to get the entire crowd singing along to Sheeran’s songs. Opening with the album’s closer, “Give Me Love” (my personal favorite track off the album), Ed led the audience in an eight-minute-long sing-a-long leading simply with his voice and an acoustic guitar.

He continued to woo the audience members with his spectacular voice and unbelievable rapping skills. Yes, rapping.

Read More »

Flash flooding and thunderstorms in the surrounding cities did not stop the rock at the Vans Warped Tour at the Nassau Coliseum last weekend.

Tens of thousands of eager fans, young and old, lined up hours before doors opened to see their favorite acts, including some of this year’s headliners: New Found Glory, All Time Low, Taking Back Sunday and The Used. 60+ bands took to the stages between the hours of 11:30AM to 8PM to show off their rock and roll, punk rock, R&B, pop, and hip-hop chops.

Although I haven’t been going to Warped Tour since the day I was born, I have been an avid attendee for the past four years. This year was no different, with the large crowds, numerous mosh pits, and parents in the corner watching over their kids.

Read More »

Extreme heat did not stop Young The Giant from putting on a stellar performance at Central Park’s Summerstage. A setting sun and sold-out crowd made way for a wonderful evening of music and dancing.

Young The Giant let their infectious music do most of the talking throughout their almost two hour set. After playing a few high energy jams, the band brought it down a notch and played a crowd-favorite, “Cough Syrup.” The band’s lead vocalist Sameer Gadhia led the crowd with a sing-a-long of the song’s last line and a perfect unison of voices echoed throughout Central Park.

After an hour and a half of both new songs (“Camera”) as well as old, (“Apartment” and “Island”), the band left the stage, but immediately returned upon a screaming and clapping crowd demanding an encore. Sure enough, the band closed with a sure crowd-favorite, “My Body,” bringing the crowd in for one last, incredibly loud sing-a-long.

Read More »

On Friday evening, Motion City Soundtrack took the stage for one of the final dates of the Go tour. With a sold-out crowd of eager fans awaiting their set, the band took over Gramercy Theatre for a night of non-stop dancing and sing-a-longs.

Playing an evening’s worth of what singer Justin Pierre quoted as “mostly requests,” the audience never missed a bit. Although the album for which the tour was named, Go, was only released three weeks prior to the show, it seemed as if every audience member had been listening to it for years based on their knowledge of the lyrics. The set of requests consisted of many tracks from older albums by the band, including “Her Words Destroyed My Planet” and “Everything Is Alright,” but still included the newer material, such as “Circuits and Wires” and “True Romance.”

Pierre closed the set with “Hold Me Down,” thanked the audience, and left the stage. But it only took one more minute to get them back on stage to encore with fan-favorites “Fell In Love Without You” and “The Future Freaks Me Out.”

Read More »