Quasi at TV Eye (photo by Amanda Meth) If you were at the sold out Quasi and Bat Fangs show at TV Eye this past Thursday, March 16th, there is a 100% chance that you absolutely got your face rocked off. With both bands bringing a unique set...
DADDY LONG LEGS at The Sultan Room (photo by Kevin McGann) New York City’s own DADDY LONG LEGS brought their brand of blues infused rock to The Sultan Room last week to celebrate the release of their latest album, Street Sermons (due out ...
Frida Kill at Purgatory (photo by Kate Hoos) The perfect bill for a show doesn’t exi….wait a minute….Beeyotch, Perennial and Frida Kill all on one night?! Think I need to reassess that statement! As it turns out, punk rock...
Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs at Saint Vitus (photo by Kate Hoos) This past Saturday night, Greenpoint Brooklyn’s heavy music haven, Saint Vitus, welcomed Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs, the UK-based band we previously dubbed “sto...
Deep Sea Peach Tree at Pianos (photo by Kyle Ostrander) Last Friday, Deep Sea Peach Tree closed out night three of the New Colossus Festival with a late night set at Pianos. Even though the band didn’t take the stage until almost 1am, the...
Bard’s Flying Vessel at Alphaville (photo by Kevin McGann) This past weekend, Brooklyn’s own Bard’s Flying Vessel released their awesome new album Nightfall Generator and played Alphaville to launch it. Like their eponymous deb...
Weyes Blood at Brooklyn Steel (photo by Emilio Herce) About halfway through the first of her two sold-out dates at Brooklyn Steel on March 3rd, Natalie Laura Mering, known professionally as Weyes Blood, asked the crowd to guess the astrolog...
The Beths at Brooklyn Steel (photo by Ray Rusinak) When posed with the prospect of doing a writeup on last Thursday’s sold out The Beths show at Brooklyn Steel, I must admit I was a bit perplexed. This would be my fifth writeup I would be...
Big Thief at Brooklyn Steel (photo by Emilio Herce) Big Thief performed a sold-out hometown show on March 1st at Brooklyn Steel, the penultimate show on their current tour. It’s always nice to roll up to Steel and not see a massive to...
Otoboke Beaver at LPR (photo by Kate Hoos) No one quite does it like Otoboke Beaver, the whipsmart punk quartet from Kyoto. Their intense and frenetic music infuses elements of punk, disco, hardcore and a healthy heaping of riot grrrl att...
Ammar Farooki at Rockwood Music Hall (photo by Kevin McGann) This past weekend, singer songwriter Ammar Farooki brought his gift of song to Stage 2 of NYC’s Rockwood Music Hall. And like his other recent shows, including his sold-out gig ...
Geese at Mercury Lounge (photo by Kevin McGann) It’s hard to believe Brooklyn’s own Geese hadn’t played a show since August before this past weekend. Partly because their last NYC gig at Bowery Ballroom is still fresh in my mind, but ...
Valentine’s Village of Love at TV Eye (photo by Kevin McGann) On Valentine’s Day there was plenty of love in the air for those in attendance at the 10th annual Valentine’s Village of Love presented by NY Night Train and ...
Gilla Band at Brooklyn Made (photo by Leah Bouchier-Hayes) Tuesday February 21st saw Irish band Gilla Band (formerly known as Girl Band) take to the stage at Brooklyn Made for their long awaited sold out show. Frontman Dara Kiely, ...
Elliott Fullam at Mercury Lounge (photo by Kyle Ostrander) Last week, singer-songwriter Elliott Fullam brought his melodic and perfectly somber music to the stage at Mercury Lounge. Although it was a cold and rainy NYC night, there was an e...
Tits Dick Ass at The Broadway (photo by Kate Hoos) Love was in the air on Valentine’s Day at The Broadway. Love of noise, love of punk, love of chaos, love of radical queerness and much much more. So you know it was exactly my kind o...
Screaming Females at White Eagle Hall (photo by Ray Rusinak) Screaming Females began throwing their annual Garden Party in 2016 at WFMU’s Monty Hall. The two-night affair features some of the best rock/punk/post-punk/indie music that New ...
FACS at Union Pool (photo by Brianna DiGioia) FACS, the post-punk art rock band from Chicago, recently announced a brand new album, Still Life In Decay, and have been playing a short run of dates on the East Coast previewing some songs fro...
GIFT at Baby’s All Right (photo by Kevin McGann) Last year I discovered NYC’s GIFT when they opened for Frankie and the Witch Fingers and was instantly hooked (see pics). A few months later I was there to celebrate the release of th...
A Deer A Horse at TV Eye (photo by Kate Hoos) “It’s been a bit of a weird week, anyone else having a weird week?” asked Angela Phillips, lead singer/bassist of A Deer A Horse (and also owner of the coolest bass in New York...
Angel Olsen at Bearsville Theater (photo by Emilio Herce) On Wednesday, February 8th, Angel Olsen performed at Woodstock’s Bearsville Theatre, and you should not expect this to be an unbiased review. First of all, The Bearsville Theat...
MJ Lenderman at Market Hotel (photo by Ray Rusinak) Truth be told, I had extremely high expectations for this MJ Lenderman show on Tuesday 2/7 at Market Hotel. Not only was his album, Boat Songs, a top 20 album for me in 2022, but I had he...
Mac Saturn at Racket (photo by Kevin McGann) This past weekend, Racket NYC was transported back to the rocking glam 70’s thanks to the one-two punch of Mac Saturn and opener Billy Tibbals. Currently on the Until the Money Runs Out tour, ...
Dry Cleaning at Pioneer Works (photo by Leah Bouchier-Hayes) On Thursday February 2nd 2023, Dry Cleaning wrapped up their North American tour with a sensational sold out show at Red Hook’s Pioneer Works. The London four piece have bee...
The Men at Saint Vitus (photo by Ray Rusinak) I came to know of the band The Men via their 2014 album, Tomorrow’s Hits, which I had no idea upon first (or second) listen that the rootsy rock and roll on that album was a complete departur...
Ted Leo at Union Pool (photo by Ray Rusinak) Williamsburg music venue, Union Pool, has been hosting a weekly free concert series every Tuesday and this week’s artist was Ted Leo with opening support act Tami Hart. With early sets and free...
Tea Eater at The Broadway (photo by Kate Hoos) The raucous art/noise punk band, Tea Eater (feat. members of Gustaf, Baby Acid, Sharkmuffin and more), just wrapped up a four week residency at The Broadway which featured them playing once a...
Caravela at Elsewhere Zone One (photo by Kate Hoos) Long live the early week night show! We were thrilled to catch an early evening at Elsewhere this Thursday night with a trio of bands playing powerhouse fuckin rock. FTA faves Desert Shar...
Downtown Boys at Union Pool (photo by Kate Hoos) On Tuesday, January 25th, long running political dance punk band, Downtown Boys, and Brooklyn grunge rock band, Oceanator, delivered highly energized sets to a tightly packed room at Brookl...
Nick Hakim at Brooklyn Steel (photo by Emilio Herce) The Queens-based alternative soul singer Nick Hakim cast a seductive spell over an adoring crowd at Brooklyn Steel this past Saturday night. Born and raised in Washington DC to a Chilean ...
Frida Kill at TV Eye (photo by Kate Hoos) A rock n roll show on a school night (or any night) sounds like my kind of good time. This was also a night for all of these bands to kick off their 2023 of shows and with several friends on the bil...
We Are Scientists at Brooklyn Made (photo by Kevin McGann) This past Friday, 1/20/23, long running New York City based band We Are Scientists were back in action to celebrate their eighth and latest album, Lobes (read our review), to a pac...
Kississippi at Baby’s All Right (photo by Amanda Meth) This past Sunday, January 15th, I got to ring in my first show of 2023 with the tender indie beats of Kississippi, Highnoon, and Jane Lai as they performed in front of a packed ro...
They Might Be Giants at Bowery Ballroom (photo by Kate Hoos) In 1990, They Might Be Giants released their third album, Flood, on Elektra Records (their first release with a major label). Flood went platinum, and I spent my sophomore year ...
Tomberlin at Baby’s All Right (photo by Ellen Qbertplaya) Last month, Tomberlin and Palehound had scheduled two shows at Baby’s All Right that I could not attend due to prior commitments (including shooting the Foals show at Termina...
WORLDSUCKS at Avalon Lounge (photo by Kate Hoos) I shot my first show of 2023 and I’m more than thrilled that it was a DIY show in a dive bar, first and foremost the kinds of shows my heart always lives for and the place you’ll ...
Patti Smith at Brooklyn Steel (photo by Emilio Herce) Patti Smith is a living legend, and I came to love her art—as I suspect a good number in attendance of her December 29th Brooklyn Steels show did—through her writing, specifically, h...
Wet Leg at Webster Hall (photo by Emilio Herce) Wet Leg returned to NYC last week to perform four sold-out shows at Webster Hall, Bowery Ballroom, Elsewhere, and Music Hall of Williamsburg. I was lucky enough to catch the inaugural show on ...
Jeff Rosenstock and Laura Stevenson at Bowery Ballroom (photo by Ray Rusinak) It was November 2019 when Jeff (Rosenstock) and Laura (Stevenson) unexpectedly released an EP of Neil Young covers called Still Young on Polyvinyl Records. At the...
Foals at Terminal 5 (photo by Ellen Qbertplaya) Friday night 12/16 saw the return of British rock band Foals to New York. The band hadn’t played our fine city since a pair of shows in April of 2019, so they were overdue for a visit, and t...
Lightning Bolt at Brooklyn Monarch (photo by Kate Hoos) One can’t possibly have a conversation about noise or experimental music without mentioning the pioneering duo, Lightning Bolt. They formed almost three decades ago in the wonder...
Sasami at Baby’s All Right (photo by Kate Hoos) When Sasami comes to town, you can bet on where I’ll be. I had already seen her twice this year (see pics from her show in Philadelphia in March and her show at BRIC in July) and f...
Snotty Nose Rez Kids at Purgatory (photo by Kevin McGann) Last week, Snotty Nose Rez Kids were happy to shout, “Brooklyn’s in the house!” as they took to the stage at Purgatory for an all-out assault on the NYC venue. It was the culmi...
Bouncing Souls at Brooklyn Made (photo by Jeanette D. Moses) Last Thursday, 12/8, Brooklyn Made played host to an epic tri-state rager featuring Philadelphia’s Catbite, Brooklyn’s very own Thick and New Jersey punk legends, Boun...
Jobber at Alphaville (photo by Kate Hoos) One of my favorite discoveries of 2022 has been Jobber, the new post grunge band that just recently released their debut EP, Hell In A Cell. I described them in a review of their single “Heel...
Turnstile at Roadrunner (photo by Sam Schraub) Sometimes you gotta cross state borders to get to the gig. When Turnstile announced their penultimate show this tour would be in Boston—with Snail Mail opening—it was a no brainer to me tha...
Hammered Hulls at TV Eye (photo by Kate Hoos) Dischord/DC supergroup, Hammered Hulls, recently put out their debut full length, Careening, and embarked on a short tour to promote it. The band members—Alec MacKaye, Mary Timony, Mark Cisner...
Christeene at Market Hotel (photo by Kate Hoos) Google “Christeene” and one word will keep coming back over and over again to describe her, feral. And indeed, the recent performance by Christeene at Market Hotel could hardly be ...
The Hold Steady at Brooklyn Bowl (photo by Ray Rusinak) The Hold Steady have been at it for 19 years now. Upon the demise of Minneapolis underground punk rock band Lifter Puller, Craig Finn and Tad Kubler moved to Brooklyn and formed The Ho...
Mevius at Mercury Lounge (photo by Kate Hoos) Local R&B/soul infused indie pop artist, Papi Shiitake recently released a brand new album, Wabi-Sabi, and to celebrate played a co-headline bill at Mercury Lounge with electro shoegaze band...
Quasi at TV Eye (photo by Amanda Meth) If you were at the sold out Quasi and Bat Fangs show at TV Eye this past Thursday, March 16th, there is a 100% chance that you absolutely got your face rocked off. With both bands bringing a unique set...
DADDY LONG LEGS at The Sultan Room (photo by Kevin McGann) New York City’s own DADDY LONG LEGS brought their brand of blues infused rock to The Sultan Room last week to celebrate the release of their latest album, Street Sermons (due out ...
Frida Kill at Purgatory (photo by Kate Hoos) The perfect bill for a show doesn’t exi….wait a minute….Beeyotch, Perennial and Frida Kill all on one night?! Think I need to reassess that statement! As it turns out, punk rock...
Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs at Saint Vitus (photo by Kate Hoos) This past Saturday night, Greenpoint Brooklyn’s heavy music haven, Saint Vitus, welcomed Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs, the UK-based band we previously dubbed “sto...
Deep Sea Peach Tree at Pianos (photo by Kyle Ostrander) Last Friday, Deep Sea Peach Tree closed out night three of the New Colossus Festival with a late night set at Pianos. Even though the band didn’t take the stage until almost 1am, the...
Bard’s Flying Vessel at Alphaville (photo by Kevin McGann) This past weekend, Brooklyn’s own Bard’s Flying Vessel released their awesome new album Nightfall Generator and played Alphaville to launch it. Like their eponymous deb...
Weyes Blood at Brooklyn Steel (photo by Emilio Herce) About halfway through the first of her two sold-out dates at Brooklyn Steel on March 3rd, Natalie Laura Mering, known professionally as Weyes Blood, asked the crowd to guess the astrolog...
The Beths at Brooklyn Steel (photo by Ray Rusinak) When posed with the prospect of doing a writeup on last Thursday’s sold out The Beths show at Brooklyn Steel, I must admit I was a bit perplexed. This would be my fifth writeup I would be...
Big Thief at Brooklyn Steel (photo by Emilio Herce) Big Thief performed a sold-out hometown show on March 1st at Brooklyn Steel, the penultimate show on their current tour. It’s always nice to roll up to Steel and not see a massive to...
Otoboke Beaver at LPR (photo by Kate Hoos) No one quite does it like Otoboke Beaver, the whipsmart punk quartet from Kyoto. Their intense and frenetic music infuses elements of punk, disco, hardcore and a healthy heaping of riot grrrl att...
Ammar Farooki at Rockwood Music Hall (photo by Kevin McGann) This past weekend, singer songwriter Ammar Farooki brought his gift of song to Stage 2 of NYC’s Rockwood Music Hall. And like his other recent shows, including his sold-out gig ...
Geese at Mercury Lounge (photo by Kevin McGann) It’s hard to believe Brooklyn’s own Geese hadn’t played a show since August before this past weekend. Partly because their last NYC gig at Bowery Ballroom is still fresh in my mind, but ...
Valentine’s Village of Love at TV Eye (photo by Kevin McGann) On Valentine’s Day there was plenty of love in the air for those in attendance at the 10th annual Valentine’s Village of Love presented by NY Night Train and ...
Gilla Band at Brooklyn Made (photo by Leah Bouchier-Hayes) Tuesday February 21st saw Irish band Gilla Band (formerly known as Girl Band) take to the stage at Brooklyn Made for their long awaited sold out show. Frontman Dara Kiely, ...
Elliott Fullam at Mercury Lounge (photo by Kyle Ostrander) Last week, singer-songwriter Elliott Fullam brought his melodic and perfectly somber music to the stage at Mercury Lounge. Although it was a cold and rainy NYC night, there was an e...
Tits Dick Ass at The Broadway (photo by Kate Hoos) Love was in the air on Valentine’s Day at The Broadway. Love of noise, love of punk, love of chaos, love of radical queerness and much much more. So you know it was exactly my kind o...
Screaming Females at White Eagle Hall (photo by Ray Rusinak) Screaming Females began throwing their annual Garden Party in 2016 at WFMU’s Monty Hall. The two-night affair features some of the best rock/punk/post-punk/indie music that New ...
FACS at Union Pool (photo by Brianna DiGioia) FACS, the post-punk art rock band from Chicago, recently announced a brand new album, Still Life In Decay, and have been playing a short run of dates on the East Coast previewing some songs fro...
GIFT at Baby’s All Right (photo by Kevin McGann) Last year I discovered NYC’s GIFT when they opened for Frankie and the Witch Fingers and was instantly hooked (see pics). A few months later I was there to celebrate the release of th...
A Deer A Horse at TV Eye (photo by Kate Hoos) “It’s been a bit of a weird week, anyone else having a weird week?” asked Angela Phillips, lead singer/bassist of A Deer A Horse (and also owner of the coolest bass in New York...
Angel Olsen at Bearsville Theater (photo by Emilio Herce) On Wednesday, February 8th, Angel Olsen performed at Woodstock’s Bearsville Theatre, and you should not expect this to be an unbiased review. First of all, The Bearsville Theat...
MJ Lenderman at Market Hotel (photo by Ray Rusinak) Truth be told, I had extremely high expectations for this MJ Lenderman show on Tuesday 2/7 at Market Hotel. Not only was his album, Boat Songs, a top 20 album for me in 2022, but I had he...
Mac Saturn at Racket (photo by Kevin McGann) This past weekend, Racket NYC was transported back to the rocking glam 70’s thanks to the one-two punch of Mac Saturn and opener Billy Tibbals. Currently on the Until the Money Runs Out tour, ...
Dry Cleaning at Pioneer Works (photo by Leah Bouchier-Hayes) On Thursday February 2nd 2023, Dry Cleaning wrapped up their North American tour with a sensational sold out show at Red Hook’s Pioneer Works. The London four piece have bee...
The Men at Saint Vitus (photo by Ray Rusinak) I came to know of the band The Men via their 2014 album, Tomorrow’s Hits, which I had no idea upon first (or second) listen that the rootsy rock and roll on that album was a complete departur...
Ted Leo at Union Pool (photo by Ray Rusinak) Williamsburg music venue, Union Pool, has been hosting a weekly free concert series every Tuesday and this week’s artist was Ted Leo with opening support act Tami Hart. With early sets and free...
Tea Eater at The Broadway (photo by Kate Hoos) The raucous art/noise punk band, Tea Eater (feat. members of Gustaf, Baby Acid, Sharkmuffin and more), just wrapped up a four week residency at The Broadway which featured them playing once a...
Caravela at Elsewhere Zone One (photo by Kate Hoos) Long live the early week night show! We were thrilled to catch an early evening at Elsewhere this Thursday night with a trio of bands playing powerhouse fuckin rock. FTA faves Desert Shar...
Downtown Boys at Union Pool (photo by Kate Hoos) On Tuesday, January 25th, long running political dance punk band, Downtown Boys, and Brooklyn grunge rock band, Oceanator, delivered highly energized sets to a tightly packed room at Brookl...
Nick Hakim at Brooklyn Steel (photo by Emilio Herce) The Queens-based alternative soul singer Nick Hakim cast a seductive spell over an adoring crowd at Brooklyn Steel this past Saturday night. Born and raised in Washington DC to a Chilean ...
Frida Kill at TV Eye (photo by Kate Hoos) A rock n roll show on a school night (or any night) sounds like my kind of good time. This was also a night for all of these bands to kick off their 2023 of shows and with several friends on the bil...
We Are Scientists at Brooklyn Made (photo by Kevin McGann) This past Friday, 1/20/23, long running New York City based band We Are Scientists were back in action to celebrate their eighth and latest album, Lobes (read our review), to a pac...
Kississippi at Baby’s All Right (photo by Amanda Meth) This past Sunday, January 15th, I got to ring in my first show of 2023 with the tender indie beats of Kississippi, Highnoon, and Jane Lai as they performed in front of a packed ro...
They Might Be Giants at Bowery Ballroom (photo by Kate Hoos) In 1990, They Might Be Giants released their third album, Flood, on Elektra Records (their first release with a major label). Flood went platinum, and I spent my sophomore year ...
Tomberlin at Baby’s All Right (photo by Ellen Qbertplaya) Last month, Tomberlin and Palehound had scheduled two shows at Baby’s All Right that I could not attend due to prior commitments (including shooting the Foals show at Termina...
WORLDSUCKS at Avalon Lounge (photo by Kate Hoos) I shot my first show of 2023 and I’m more than thrilled that it was a DIY show in a dive bar, first and foremost the kinds of shows my heart always lives for and the place you’ll ...
Patti Smith at Brooklyn Steel (photo by Emilio Herce) Patti Smith is a living legend, and I came to love her art—as I suspect a good number in attendance of her December 29th Brooklyn Steels show did—through her writing, specifically, h...
Wet Leg at Webster Hall (photo by Emilio Herce) Wet Leg returned to NYC last week to perform four sold-out shows at Webster Hall, Bowery Ballroom, Elsewhere, and Music Hall of Williamsburg. I was lucky enough to catch the inaugural show on ...
Jeff Rosenstock and Laura Stevenson at Bowery Ballroom (photo by Ray Rusinak) It was November 2019 when Jeff (Rosenstock) and Laura (Stevenson) unexpectedly released an EP of Neil Young covers called Still Young on Polyvinyl Records. At the...
Foals at Terminal 5 (photo by Ellen Qbertplaya) Friday night 12/16 saw the return of British rock band Foals to New York. The band hadn’t played our fine city since a pair of shows in April of 2019, so they were overdue for a visit, and t...
Lightning Bolt at Brooklyn Monarch (photo by Kate Hoos) One can’t possibly have a conversation about noise or experimental music without mentioning the pioneering duo, Lightning Bolt. They formed almost three decades ago in the wonder...
Sasami at Baby’s All Right (photo by Kate Hoos) When Sasami comes to town, you can bet on where I’ll be. I had already seen her twice this year (see pics from her show in Philadelphia in March and her show at BRIC in July) and f...
Snotty Nose Rez Kids at Purgatory (photo by Kevin McGann) Last week, Snotty Nose Rez Kids were happy to shout, “Brooklyn’s in the house!” as they took to the stage at Purgatory for an all-out assault on the NYC venue. It was the culmi...
Bouncing Souls at Brooklyn Made (photo by Jeanette D. Moses) Last Thursday, 12/8, Brooklyn Made played host to an epic tri-state rager featuring Philadelphia’s Catbite, Brooklyn’s very own Thick and New Jersey punk legends, Boun...
Jobber at Alphaville (photo by Kate Hoos) One of my favorite discoveries of 2022 has been Jobber, the new post grunge band that just recently released their debut EP, Hell In A Cell. I described them in a review of their single “Heel...
Turnstile at Roadrunner (photo by Sam Schraub) Sometimes you gotta cross state borders to get to the gig. When Turnstile announced their penultimate show this tour would be in Boston—with Snail Mail opening—it was a no brainer to me tha...
Hammered Hulls at TV Eye (photo by Kate Hoos) Dischord/DC supergroup, Hammered Hulls, recently put out their debut full length, Careening, and embarked on a short tour to promote it. The band members—Alec MacKaye, Mary Timony, Mark Cisner...
Christeene at Market Hotel (photo by Kate Hoos) Google “Christeene” and one word will keep coming back over and over again to describe her, feral. And indeed, the recent performance by Christeene at Market Hotel could hardly be ...
The Hold Steady at Brooklyn Bowl (photo by Ray Rusinak) The Hold Steady have been at it for 19 years now. Upon the demise of Minneapolis underground punk rock band Lifter Puller, Craig Finn and Tad Kubler moved to Brooklyn and formed The Ho...
Mevius at Mercury Lounge (photo by Kate Hoos) Local R&B/soul infused indie pop artist, Papi Shiitake recently released a brand new album, Wabi-Sabi, and to celebrate played a co-headline bill at Mercury Lounge with electro shoegaze band...