Hurricane Benefit Show At Bowery Ballroom
Last night, The Bowery Ballroom hosted a Salvation Army benefit concert to help hurricane victims in LA and TX. There were 6 bands/artists on the bill, and they managed to all fit in 4 hours. Other Passengers opened, and apparently their singer was instrumental in bringing the whole show together. Which is really great, but his faux-Jarvis Cocker routine wore thin, and his irritating antics overshadowed some of the potentially interesting instrumentation.
Grizzly Bear followed with a powerful set that undoubtedly won them some new fans.
Akron/Family followed with a raucous and eclectic performance. Definitely not a band to be missed live.
The less said about Wooden Wand and Adam Green's performances, the better, I'm afraid.
Sufjan Stevens closed out the night with a solo acoustic set, and he really delivered the goods. He opened with REM's "The One I Love" and played "Romulus" for his encore. Basically, any song from Michigan up through Illinois with a guitar or banjo-heavy arrangement got played.
MP3s from the bands (where available):
Other Passengers - "In The Belly" (MP3)
Other Passengers - "Bank" (MP3)
Akron Family - "Small Shape" (MP3)
Akron Family - "Shake Collage" (MP3)
Akron Family - "Deep Kazoo" (MP3)
Akron Family - "I'll Be On The Water" (MP3)
Sufjan Stevens - "The One I Love" (MP3)
Posted at 3:06 PM
Tags: Akron Family | Grizzly Bear
wow jed, i could not have said it better. you liked all the things I did. and I had those same thought about OP, and adam green was terrifying
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That show had the most amazing crowd control I've ever seen...not only did Grizzly Bear lead them in finger-snapping and clapping, but during Sufjan's set you could literally hear the sound of people shifting their weight on the sticky floors.
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yeah I was amazed by that too. the crowd was really respectful for all the bands, and whether or not I liked certain acts, I'm glad everyone was polite. makes for a good vibe. if I'm bored I just go downstairs, which is what I did for the wand/green segment of the evening.
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What was so bad about Wooden Wand? I love those guys--are they just terrible live, or do none of you like that sort of music?
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I wish Owen from Final Fantasy would play with Grizzly Bear
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Man...I wish I could've gone. I've heard so many amazing things about Grizzly Bear live. Sufjan would've been nice to see, as well. Together, I bet they were amazing. I love the Akron album. But really, Grizzly Bear. I still can't get over them. What a benefit it must've been!
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I hate to be a prick, but considering I love Sufjan and that R.E.M. is my favorite band, could I make the request that you spell "R.E.M." with the three periods as opposed to "REM"? It's an honest request, and it might be trivial, but it's alot like people referring to the Dave Matthews Band as "Dave" or calling the Beatles "the Beetles". I'm a fan of your site, keep up the good work.
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hmmm, "filenotfound.mp3" is what I got for all of the Akron Family songs. This makes me sad.
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Cat, just go to their myspace page. Thanks Stereogum for pointing me towards the weird and wonderful Akrons.
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Really great show. Incidentally, I've seen Grizzly a few times at Bowery. The sound was a little off at one of their earlier shows there, but on Monday night, they sounded absolutely incredible. Really awesome performance. Time for a new album!
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it is better not to mention the adam green set, but i didn't think wooden wand was all that bad, nothing special but not terrible. disagree about OP, i had never seen them and i was completely blown away as was everyone standing near me. definitely a highlight as well as great perfromances by grizzly bear and akron. sufjan great as always
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I wish the akron album sounded like that live show, but I still love both. stereogum guys have you heard the gb cover of owner of lonely heart by yes? i am happy i got to see sufjan play solo, because it is those songs that I enjoy the most from him on the album. anyone going to see USE this friday at knitting?
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the show was smokin hot! never seen akron better before. hadn't seen other passengers and was quite blown away and grizzly bear is so so so good. and sufjan solo....***sigh***
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I wasn't so enamoured with Grizzly Bear's live show. I was really curious to see how their studio album would be translated live, but was ultimately disappointed. I felt that the drums totally overpowered the majority of the subtle shifts and laptop rhythms that made me fall for Horn of Plenty. Their Alligator finale just sounded like an incoherent wall of sound.
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i can see that, but to me it's exciting to see something different from an album. it sounds fuller and personally better to me than the album. but if you were expecting a hushed alligator i can see how'd you be sorely mistaken.
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dan is definitely smoking the crack pipe, they are great live
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i missed OP so i saw them the next night. never seen jarvis cocker in action so i can't compare but i like their music and their show.
a few pics of akron/family and sufjan and a brief synopsis:
http://echoplex.blogspot.com/2005/10/this-one-goes-out-to.html
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