Post archive for ‘Concert Ratings’

Animal Collective @ Prospect Park

They are an absolute blast to see live. Between the lanterns strewn all around the audience and the elementary school styled stage dressing, fun was the order of the evening.

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

Camera Obscura @ Webster Hall

They sound just as good live as they do on their albums which is the highest praise one can give a musician.

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

Harlem Shakes @ Bowery Ballroom

Long on charm, short on songs. While the show was good, it’s hard to really wow when you’ve only got one LP to your credit even if that album is one of the best so far in 2009. Add to that the sound issues they were having most of the night and it makes for tougher rating. That hardly mattered to the teeming mass of college-age kids who packed this sold-out show.

Rating: ★★★½☆ 

Spoon @ Stubb’s

This was a tough show all-around for everyone involved. The audience was packed into the backyard amphitheater at Stubb’s, making for a massive sweaty, hot mess. Spoon, meanwhile, was on stage under hot lights and even hotter temperatures as the thermometer held steady at close to 100-degree heat. They somehow managed to play an energetic set that lasted over 90 minutes. It was heavy on Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga and classic albums but almost no cuts came off of the album prior to Ga, Gimme Fiction – a shame really since that was also a pretty good record.

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

The Decemberists @ Radio City Music Hall

I had just seen these guys back in November so why did I plunk down nearly $50 to see them again only seven months later? Seeing them perform The Hazards of Love live from start to finish, that’s why. The album, when performed this way, is as Colin Meloy intended it to be – a rock opera that tells a story in just under an hour. After they finished performing the album in its entirety, the audience was treated to an amazing cover of Heart’s Crazy on You – Shara Worden belting out the lyrics might just have been better than Heart’s rendition.

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

Art Brut @ Mercury Lounge

With a set list light on the somewhat inferior second album, Eddie Argos and company closed out their sold-out five night run at New York’s Mercury Lounge with a show that lasted over 90 minutes. As always, Argos played to the crowd, even jumping into the crowd during a few songs as fans surrounded him while he attempted to sing.

Rating: ★★★★½