Spoon & Deerhunter - 9:30 Club (3/23/10)

While Spoon's latest, Transference, isn't my favorite, I couldn't pass this one up - especially at the bargain price of $25. I don't think I've ever read anything bad about Spoon in concert, but have read a fair amount of lukewarm reviews from years past which surprised me. Interestingly enough though, those from this tour are much more favorable, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. Throw Deerhunter into the mix and who knows what the hell this night would bring.

Deerhunter was... well, intense. And lead singer Bradford Cox is... well, different. In between songs he would ramble on about nothing in particular and many times seemed to just string words together without much concern for whether or not they made any sense. But then he would introduce a song, the band would start playing and it was like a switch turned on (or off) in his brain and everything became right in the world. Deerhunter played a hell of a set and the place was packed for them (it actually seemed to be more so than for Spoon). Their performance took me by surprise, but in a good way - at the end I felt like they had chewed me up and spit me out. I was relieved that it was over yet still wanted more. It was a strange feeling.

By the time Spoon came on, it was after 10pm and I was almost 18 hours into my day so I was starting to drag some serious ass. But they did a hell of a job of picking me up, dusting me off and giving me a swift kick in said ass. They blasted through their setlist, hitting all parts of their catalog and even covering a song by The Damned (“Love Song” maybe?). The only really low point for me was “The Underdog.” Substituting the horns for a piano seemed karaoke-ish. It’s all good though, I just used the opportunity to hit the head.

This week's late night TV lineup

Kimmel

• Tues - Erykah Badu
• Wed - Matisyahu

Letterman

• Wed - The Whigs
• Fri - She & Him

Craig Ferguson

• Fri - Joss Stone

Leno

• Mon - Joss Stone

Jimmy Fallon

• Mon - Julian Casablancas
• Wed - Drive-By Truckers

New music (UPDATED)

• The National, "Bloodbuzz Ohio," High Violet (May 11th), Pfork
• Beck, St. Vincent, Liars, and Os Mutantes, “Guns in the Sky" (INXS cover), Record Club (Beck’s cover album series, Record Club), TwentyFourBit
• The Gaslight Anthem, "American Slang," American Slang (Jun 15th), TwentyFourBit
• Phoenix, free download of Live in Sydney, Ultra8201
• MGMT, full stream of Congratulations (Apr 13th), Product Shop NYC
• LCD Soundsystem, "Drunk Girls," untiled as of now (May 18th), Pfork
  

This week's late night TV lineup

Jimmy Kimmel

• Tues - Neon Trees

Leno

• Tues - Rodrigo y Gabriela
• Fri - Ludacris

Jimmy Fallon

• Mon - Rogue Wave
• Tues - The Besnard Lakes
• Wed - Clientele
• Thurs - Robert Randolph & Sacred Steel

Carson

• Mon - Grizzly Bear
• Wed - The Ravonettes
• Fri - Black Lips
  

This week's late night TV lineup

Jimmy Kimmel

• Mon -Galactic with Allen Toussaint

Jimmy Fallon

• Wed - The xx
• Fri - Air

Carson Daly

• Mon - Phoenix
• Wed - Metric
• Thurs - Wild Light
• Fri - 311

Letterman

• Wed - Free Energy
• Thurs - Fanfarlo

The more you read, the better it gets

This week a woman in Florida rear-ended a truck. Not too exciting of a story, right? You couldn't be more wrong.

The woman told police she was shaving her pubes when the accident happened (the police used the term "landscaping" when describing the incident). Apparently, she was meeting her boyfriend and wanted to be ready for the impending party in her pants. Even better was that her ex-husband was in the passenger seat steering the car. And just one day prior, the woman was convicted of DUI and was driving with a suspended license.

Natural selection is a beautiful thing...

New music - The National

"Terrible Love" from High Violet (May 11th)

New music

• Plants and Animals, "Tom Cruz," La La Land (Apr 20th), Oceans Never Listen
• MGMT, "Flash Delirium," Congratulations (Apr 13th), Indie Blog Heaven
  
• Grizzly Bear ft. Intuition, "Two Weeks," I Ruined These Songs For You (TBD), Potholes in My Blog
  
• Dr. Dog, "Stranger," Shame, Shame (Apr 6th), Everybody Taste
  

Not yet... but it's getting close!

The most heartening time of year in the northern climes is when the earth nods toward the sun, the temperature spikes, and the streets fill with women sprung from the prison of bulky winter clothes. Ignore the calendar; the appearance of the sundress marks the first day of summer. The little black dress, the miniskirt, the belly shirt all deserve praise. But the sundress - so strappy, so revealing, so sexy - fairly sings of warmth and possibility. The ladies enjoy it too. "Women jump at the first chance to put one on," says my fiancee, who looks both tart and sweet in the lemony yellows she prefers. "They've been waiting and waiting all winter." As have we. Gentlemen, the wait is over.

- Larry Smith, Men's Health

This week's late night TV lineup

SNL - Pearl Jam

Leno

• Mon - Ben Harper

Fallon

• Mon - Ted Leo & The Pharmacists
• Tues - The Allman Brothers Band
• Wed - The National
• Thurs - Broken Bells
• Fri - Vampire Weekend

Caron Daly

• Tues - Weezer
• Thurs - David Gray

Letterman

• Tues - Broken Bells
• Fri - Drive-By Truckers

Jimmy Kimmel

• Wed - Manchester Orchestra

This week's late night TV lineup

SNL - Vampire Weekend

Jimmy Kimmel

• Thurs - Galactic w/Allen Toussaint

Carson Daly

• Tues - Phoenix
• Thurs - Fanfarlo

Jimmy Fallon

• Tues - Ludacris
• Wed - Erykah Badu
• Thurs - Silversun Pickups
• Fri - Joannna Newsome

Letterman

• Mon - Ludacris
• Thurs - Spoon

Craig Ferguson

• Fri - Regina Spektor