The Great GoogaMooga will be taking place at Brooklyn’s Prospect Park on May 19th & 20th.  There will be a bounty of food and drinks at GoogaMooga, but isn’t it really about the music (I’m projecting)…The Roots, Hall & Oates, Holy Ghost!, Bear Hands, Fort Lean, etc…see below for complete lineup.  While it looks like all of the free tickets have been consumed, you can still buy tickets here.

Four Tet has been a consistent resident of my headphones since I stumbled upon, “As Serious As Your Life,” a few years ago and I was beyond excited to finally hear his music live. On the other hand, I don’t really frequent shows that are driven by laptops, samplers and launchpads, so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. It kind of felt like a first date.

Hebden (Four Tet) started his set off gradually, taking his time to fill the cloudy air with melodic tunes. It seemed like he wanted to lull the crowd before sending them into a tizzy – how considerate. After about ten minutes into his set he flipped a switch, probably literally, and there was not one person standing still. This was especially true when “Love Cry” and ‘Angel Echoes” came pounding out of the speakers mashed together…I thought I might see some heads explode. This moment and “Sing” were the standouts from an overall stellar, non-stop performance.

There was definitely a contagious energy pulsing through the audience, and it didn’t stop until about 3:30am (thank you daylight savings). Actually, if it were up to the audience Hebden would have played until dawn. When he powered down his machines and bid the crowd adieu, chants of more started ringing out, but the show was over.

My expectations were far surpassed, and I look forward to seeing Four Tet again.

Canon Blue @ Best Buy Theater

Canon Blue took the stage and I immediately noticed that the music sounded much fuller in a live setting; this was especially true for the songs, “Chicago” and “Honeysuckle.” Lead singer and driving force of Canon Blue, Daniel James, was certainly energetic…I even had to dodge a falling mic stand. It seemed like most of the highlights came when there was an excess of electronic influences running amuck, it gave the music more personality. Their set was pretty short, about 30 minutes, and was comprised mainly of songs from their (James’) most recent album, ‘Rumspringa.” Side note – If you’re planning on seeing Canon Blue in concert be prepared for drunken hoots of “rumspringggaa,” which is a term (Amish passage of rights) that apparently seeped into pop culture thanks to the movie ‘Sex Drive.’ At times James’ vocals sounded a bit rough, but overall it was a good set and the crowd looked to be enjoying themselves.

MuteMath @ Best Buy Theater

As the venue went dim a string of lights appeared behind the audience, it was MuteMath making their way through the crowd towards the stage in marching band fashion. After the four members settled into their stations, they kicked off the show with some “Odd Soul.” After “Blood Pressure,” Meany announced that they planned on playing every song from their latest album, ‘Odd Soul,’ while sprinkling in some older material. He didn’t lie, this was a hearty set (I lost track but they had to have played about 25 songs). Their newer material translated really nicely live, notably “Prytania”, “In No Time,” and “Equals,” which found Meany in the middle of the audience tweaking on some type of sound machine followed by explosions of confetti. This was not my first time seeing MuteMath so perhaps I was being nostalgic, not sure, but I found myself most enjoy the older material, “Control,” “Typical,” and “Chaos.” Either way, MuteMath still puts on one heck of a show…I overheard one guy say, “Dude, this band is blowing my mind right now.”

MuteMath @ Best Buy Theater

In my humble opinion both of these bands are stronger live. Canon Blue: Tour Dates —- MuteMath: Tour Dates

This year’s Governors Ball Music Festival will be taking place June 23rd – 24th on Randall’s Island (NYC). You can check out the lineup below, or head on over to the official website to find out more details and pick up your tickets.

Walking over to The Bowery Ballroom, clinging onto my umbrella and shivering from the cold wind, I was thinking, “man, this better be a good show.” Even though I ruined my shoes and looked like a wet rat walking into the venue, it was worth it. Hooray For Earth’s album, ‘True Loves’, with its heavy percussion, synth infusions and fluid harmonies, translated marvelously in a live setting. The pounding, “Sails,” got the show going and there weren’t too many people standing still, as the song has a certain swagger about it. Whether accompanied by the pair of ladies on backup vocals, or singing solo, Heroux’s falsetto mixed well with the infectious and often enveloping sounds. I was happy to see that their stage set-up positioned drummer, Ciampini, at the front of the stage rather than hiding him in the background.

While there was a consistent pulse throughout their set, “True Loves,” “Bring Us Closer Together” and “No Love,” seemed to enchant the audience, forcing even the most stubborn into a thumb in pocket, tapping your leg with the rest of your fingers frenzy. They ended the show with the appropriate, “Black Trees,” and were joined by a couple members of Cymbals Eat Guitars. Hooray For Earth certainly delivered live, altering the mood with electro-pop goodness.

No Love from Hooray For Earth

Side Note: I caught a few songs from Beige (who opened up the show), and while watching two guys standing mostly motionless messing around on keyboards didn’t really hold my attention for too long, their music percolated nicely in my ears.

With all the bands/artists strolling through NYC this past week for CMJ, I was looking forward to one in particular, Parlovr. I caught them at a showcase @ Bruar Falls, and it was bittersweet. (Bitter) – When I arrived at the venue they were already playing…pretty sure the calendar event listing had the wrong time, so I was only able to enjoy a short part of their already brief set. (Sweet) – However, I thoroughly enjoyed what I did get to see/hear.  Fixed on a rather tiny stage with a minimalistic set-up (guitar, keys, drums) and playing to a sparse crowd (it was 6:50pm on a Saturday)  the three-piece did not seem to hold back. For some reason I thought that Jackson’s vocals could possibly sound a little messy live, but they did not, they sounded on par with their polished records, yet more vigorous.  The drummer, MacCuish, was pretty intriguing to watch as he wailed away like a flailing bird, and I found it rather suiting that he was missing a front tooth…just seemed appropriate. While the music sounded gritty, it also sounded really tight and contained. I was disappoint and kind of pissed off at that flyer when they started packing up their gear after a stellar rendition of, “Pen To The Paper.” I’m looking forward to checking them out next time they’re in town and have a longer set.

I was pretty excited to see Yuck this past weekend at Music Hall of Williamsburg, as their self-titled album has been one of my favorite releases this year. The four-piece was pretty low-key on stage, there was not too much straying outside their self contained boundaries. This actually surprised me a little, I thought they would be a bit more wily…perhaps it’s because of their bizarre (and amazing) cover art. Since the band has only released one full-length album thus far, the set list was pretty much a rendition of the track list. The crowd seemed to be enjoying themselves, singing along to their favorite songs…although I don’t recall them playing, “Suck,” which I was most looking forward to.

The band is still on tour but headed back over to Europe, so if you dig their album, you should check them out if they’re in your neck of the woods. Tour dates.