Bully at Brooklyn Bowl (photo by Ray Rusinak) It’s been quite some time since Bully graced a stage here in New York. The last time was back in the fall of 2018 when they were part of The National’s “There’s No Leaving New York” fe...
Wet Leg at Baby’s All Right (photo by Emilio Herce) It’s hard not to be a little suspicious about Wet Leg’s meteoric rise. Upon their first visit to NYC, the Isle of Wight founded duo of Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers sold out...
Metz at Elsewhere (photo by Kate Hoos) Like many people, I had plenty of time on my hands during the early days of the pandemic. But instead of learning to make soda bread, I filled that time with a lot of music; Metz was one of the bands I...
Alex G at Webster Hall (photo by Emilio Herce) Alex G’s eclectic style has long made him your favorite songwriter’s favorite songwriter. At risk of having my indie card revoked, I will admit that while I got the appeal, it took ...
The Dream Syndicate at Brooklyn Made (photo by Ray Rusinak) This past weekend was pretty much a Sophie’s Choice for the gray beard aging rockers of New York City. Of course there was Yo La Tengo’s Eight Days of Chanukah at Bowery Ballro...
Hiss Golden Messenger at Webster Hall (photo by Emilio Herce) Hiss Golden Messenger performed a stirring set at Webster Hall on Thursday, December 2nd. Despite thanking the crowd for bearing with him and his band while they shook the cobwe...
Jeff Rosenstock at Warsaw (photo by Ray Rusinak) Anyone familiar with the Brooklyn DIY punk scene of the past 10-20 years is well aware of the name Jeff Rosenstock. From his early teen years on Long Island with Arrogant Sons Of Bitches to h...
Sub*T at Elsewhere Zone One (photo by Ray Rusinak) There is a certain beauty about “firsts.” After all, by their very definition, there can only be one of them. So when I discovered that Sunday night’s set by Sub*T at Elsewhere Zo...
NOBRO at Bowery Ballroom (photo by Ray Rusinak) It’s never easy for a relatively unknown band to play the role of opener. It’s even harder when that band is composed of four young women. Because sure the rock touring scene has gotten be...
Bat Fangs at Union Pool (photo by Kate Hoos) We all need a midweek pick me up sometimes and what better way to get it than with some in your fucking face rock n roll??? I personally can’t think of a better way. Finding myself in the m...
Fisty at Wonderville (photo by Kate Hoos) Full disclosure: Fisty are some of my favorite people and closest friends (and also features two FTA contributors, Chantal Wright and Rebecca DeRosa as their rhythm section) so I was pretty bummed w...
LAPÊCHE at The Sultan Room (photo by Kate Hoos) It should come as no surprise by now that I REALLY love going to shows and here is another (not so) secret thing about me: I absolutely build my monthly work/life schedule around the shows I&...
TVOD at Our Wicked Lady (photo by Kate Hoos) If you’ve read this blog before, then you know I REALLY love Spite Fuxxx and TVOD and that both of them are powerhouse units on stage. So combine them together on one show and you can guar...
Sloppy Jane at Baby’s All Right (photo by Ellen Qbertplaya) Haley Dahl and her band, Sloppy Jane, celebrated the release of their new album, Madison, with a stunning performance on Sunday night 11/7/21 at Baby’s All Right. Despite t...
Bad Religion at Hammerstein Ballroom (photo by Kate Hoos) Bad Religion’s 40th anniversary tour finally hit NYC just before Halloween, after being twice delayed due to the pandemic. Joining them were Alkaline Trio, who were co-headlini...
The Songs of Big Star at St. Ann & Holy Trinity Church (photo by Ray Rusinak) The historical musical landscape of rock and rock is strewn with the bodies of tragic figures who for countless reasons were chewed up and spit out by the ru...
Lady Bits at The Bowery Electric (photo by Kate Hoos) Lady Bits and The Loneliers hit The Bowery Electric recently for a pre-Halloween bash which was a special night for me, as both bands are among my favorites and both are long time frien...
Nation of Language at Market Hotel (photo by Ellen Qbertplaya) To celebrate the release of their second album, A Way Forward, which drops today, Brooklyn-based synth-pop band Nation of Language headlined a sold-out show at Bushwick venue ...
Lucy Dacus at Brooklyn Steel (photo by Kate Hoos) Lucy Dacus kicked off a three night run at Brooklyn Steel on Monday 10/25 as part of her current tour supporting her brilliant new record, Home Video. I was lucky enough to catch her at her ...
Screaming Females at Saint Vitus (photo by Kate Hoos) The first time I saw Screaming Females was 15 years ago at a DIY show that my band at the time was also booked on. I had no idea who they were before the show but remember being knocked ...
The Death Set at Our Wicked Lady (photo by Kate Hoos) I’m not quite sure when or how I initially came across glitch punks The Death Set, but I do know it was in the mp3 blogosphere era circa 2006/2007ish around the time their first EP...
Shannon and the Clams at Webster Hall (photo by Kate Hoos) The fabulously glam and as always wonderfully coifed Shannon and the Clams hit Webster Hall this week as part of their current tour in support of their newest offering, Year Of The...
Venus Twins at The Broadway 10/19/21 (photo by Kate Hoos) Venus Twins (yes the name is literal, they are in fact identical twins, Jake and Matt Derting, drummer and bassist respectively) are a band I discovered near the end of 2019 when I w...
IDLES at Terminal 5, Saturday 10/16/21 (photo by Kate Hoos) What is better than seeing IDLES deliver an insane set at a packed venue? Getting to do it two nights in a row of course! After the show on Friday night, I was on such a high and w...
Laura Stevenson at Music Hall of Williamsburg (photo by Ray Rusinak) The last time I saw Laura Stevenson, she was very pregnant and the world had not yet been turned upside down. Back in December of 2019, I got to see her and her band at Je...
IDLES at Terminal 5 10/15/21 (photo by Kate Hoos) IDLES truly are one of the most explosive live bands currently touring today; anyone who has experienced one of their shows knows this. The first time I saw them in 2019 (I admit I was a lit...
Rebelmatic performing in Brooklyn with Angelo Moore (photo by Ellen Qbertplaya) For over a year now, NYC hardcore punk band (and FTA favorite) Rebelmatic has been organizing regular outdoor events drawing from a roster of fine ope...
Waxahatchee at Elsewhere 10/13/21 (photo by Ray Rusinak) Originally scheduled for April 2020, and then rescheduled for September 2020….then rescheduled again to October 2021, Katie and Katy (Crutchfield and Kirby) finally made their...
Valerie June at Fort Greene Park (photo by Ellen Qbertplaya) As part of BAM’s R&B Festival at Fort Greene Park, the always charming Valerie June headlined a free show late Sunday afternoon and closed out the week-long concert series...
UV-TV at TV Eye (photo by Ray Rusinak) UV-TV, a band hailing from Ridgewood, Queens released their latest effort, Always Something, in May of this year but for reasons which we are all really sick of hearing about, had to wait until this...
Marc Ribot’s Ceramic Dog at The Bell House (photo by Ellen Qbertplaya) On Thursday, October 7th, I headed to The Bell House in Gowanus to catch a most interesting pairing of bands: Marc Ribot’s Ceramic Dog with opener The Messtheti...
Activity at Mercury Lounge (photo by Kate Hoos) Like a wonderful mid-week oasis, I stepped into the Mercury Lounge on Wednesday 10/6 for a much needed respite from the chaos of life which somehow only seeing a live band with a camera in my ...
Joey Cape at Knitting Factory (photo by Ray Rusinak) Joey Cape of Lagwagon is the artist that I’ll always buy an advance ticket for when he’s playing around town, and then something will come up (mostly work) and I invariably have to...
Frida Kill at Putnam Palace 10/2/21 (photo by Kate Hoos) I talk a lot in this blog about how much DIY means to me and that I will never walk away from it no matter what else happens in my life or the world; that is a 100% true statement tha...
Nihiloceros performing at Econolodge (photo by Kate Hoos) This just in! Nihiloceros have been crowned the hardest working band not just in Brooklyn, but on earth. And on top of that, they just released an incredible new EP, Self Destroy, th...
Mac McCaughan performing at Union Pool (photo by Ray Rusinak) After playing a handful of solo shows for the last week or so, Mac McCaughan kicked off what would be his full band leg of his tour on Tuesday night at Williamsburg’s Union Po...
Action Park (photo by Kate Hoos) I love going to DIY shows and that will never change. No matter how many times I see big artists in big venues, nothing feels quite like a DIY show in a tiny dive bar with no stage and a loveable cast of ch...
Kathleen Edwards at Les Poisson Rouge (photo by Ray Rusinak) Canadian chanteuse, Kathleen Edwards, is a bit of a legend in the Americana niche of the music world. Her 2002 debut, Failer, is considered by many in this little corner of the mu...
Flogging Molly at Pier 17 (photo by Kate Hoos) The punk rock road show hit the beautiful open air venue on the rooftop of Pier 17 this past week for a show complete with breathtaking views of the city and the Brooklyn Bridge. Energetic Ce...
Bartees Strange performing at Mercury Lounge (photo by Edwina Hay). One of the final acts I saw in 2020 before large gatherings were banned in New York to help stop the spread of COVID-19 was Bartees Strange. He took the stage at The Sult...
Man Or Astro-Man? performing 2/21/20 at Market Hotel (photo by Kate Hoos). I have a considerable archive of images of live shows that have for one reason or another never been published before, so I have decided to start sharing some of t...
Algiers at Saint Vitus (photo by Kate Hoos) Algiers is currently on tour supporting their exceptional 2020 release, There Is No Year, and hit Saint Vitus for a pair of shows; we caught the second night on 9/15. The album was released prior...
Julien Baker at Beacon Theater (photo by Kate Hoos) Julien Baker returned to New York City for the first time since the end of 2018 to play her largest headlining show here to date. The show was at Beacon Theater, a gorgeous old fashioned ...
Les Savy Fav performing at Market Hotel (photo by Kate Hoos) Les Savy Fav played their first show back in the (semi) after times on Sunday 9/12 at Market Hotel which was also their first hometown show since early 2019. Like any LSF show, it...
Gal Fieri performing at Our Wicked Lady 8/8/2021 (photo by Kate Hoos). I’ve found myself on the rooftop of OWL a lot lately and I tell ya, its a good place to be. I was originally supposed to work on this night, but the venue I work ...
Glass Animals performing at BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival (photo by Ellen Qbertplaya) This past Tuesday, British indie pop band Glass Animals headlined the Lena Horne Bandshell in Prospect Park for a sold-out show benefiting the BRIC...
Jawbreaker at Starland Ballroom, 3/30/19 (photo by Kate Hoos) I have a considerable archive of images of live shows that have for one reason or another never been published before, so I have decided to start sharing some of those because wh...
Ali of Control Top on the Williamsburg Bridge (photo by Kate Hoos) I love seeing music any time, any place, and I will never not love going to DIY events. I very much stand by these statements and put them to the true test as I walked up th...
Cloud Nothings at Elsewhere (photo by Ray Rusinak) Cleveland, Ohio’s indie/punk rock outfit, Cloud Nothings, brought their current midwest/northeast tour to Bushwick (yes, contrary to what you might have heard at the show, Elsewhere is in Bu...
TVOD at Rippers (photo by Kate Hoos) I’m not one to really ever go to the beach…the sand, the heat, all the rigamarole with getting there…it’s just not for me (many have tried to convince me to change my ways over t...