In January, I properly expressed my adoration for the NYC based quartet. Last Thursday’s forty minute set only deepened the crush. Showcasing a swarm of brand new material alongside a handful of recently released tunes, I Love Monsters impressed me yet again. Personal highlights included ‘Rescue’, ‘Little White Lies’ & ‘Stop Pretending’. TMS Rating: 9/10. Watch ILM’s video for ‘Heart/Beat’ here. Become a fan of ILM on Facebook.

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In spite of the fact that 1998’s Moon Safari stands as one of my favorite albums of all time, I’ve never had the privilege of catching a performance by Air. Last night remedied that situation. Backed by a live drummer, the fashionably attired French duo’s ninety minute set bounced back and forth between all of their releases - opening with a bevy of tunes from their latest effort, Love 2, and commencing with myriad Moon Safari favorites. While Air’s stage presence is far from engaging, there’s no denying the simplistic beauty of their material. TMS Rating: 8/10. Be sure to visit Air on MySpace.

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Our photographer, Santiago Felipe, attended last night’s intimate gig!

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As you may have guessed by now, I rarely miss an opportunity to catch a performance by Chris Garneau. Particularly, when he plays at a venue with a capacity of just over 100. Last night’s set featured a trio of brand new tracks alongside favorites from Music For Tourists & El Radio. Official TMS Rating: 9/10. Be certain to watch Chris Garneau’s official video for ‘Fireflies’ here.

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I was so enamored with Sunday night’s show that I had to see her once more! TMS Rating: 9/10. Watch Marina’s official video for ‘Hollywood’ here.

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At last night’s first-ever American gig, the Welsh chanteuse put a charming yet seductive spell on 400 overzealous Brooklynites. Performing the vast majority of her brilliant debut album, The Family Jewels, Marina proved why she’s already a sensation overseas and is one of the major buzz acts at this year’s SXSW Festival. Simultaneously confident & charismatic on stage, Marina’s undoubtedly one of the most clever and engaging pop stars I’ve had the pleasure of seeing in a live setting. Official TMS Rating: 9/10. All photographs by Santiago Felipe. Be certain to visit Marina on MySpace.

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Our brilliant guest blogger, Britt Lundborg, attended last night’s gig and offers a full report! MGMT played a semi-secret gig last night at Mercury Lounge. The whole business was password protected so when you received your confirmation e-mail for the ticket, it read that you’d bought the opportunity to hear the fine vocal stylings of ‘The Smirking Worm’. Believe me, anyone who managed to score a ticket surely had every reason to smirk. Every gig at Mercury is intimate. And here was MGMT fresh off their trip to the Grammys debuting new tunes from their upcoming release, Congratulations. When I walked in, the room was a quarter full and the boys were rolling around the room, mixing with well-wishers and mates. The room quickly packed and after a rather odd opening act consisting of a foul-mouthed ventriloquist dummy (is there any other kind?) and his human partner, MGMT took the stage to huge cheers. Andrew VanWyngarden, cutie that he is, pulled an awe-shucks move when he said to the rapt crowd, ‘We just really like to play music’. Bless. Seamlessly shuffling between new material and tracks the entire audience could sing back to them, MGMT look, feel and sound like polished pros. They seemed comfortable and confident and didn’t grimace once when playing crowd-pleasing favorites, like ‘Weekend…’ & ‘Electric Feel’. And when they played ‘Flash…’ & ‘Congratulations’, two songs that have just barely begun banging around the blogosphere, the crowd knew just how to sing along. Congratulations, indeed.

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Thanks for making our party such a blast! Pics by Alexis Maindrault.

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Last night, The National (accompanied by a brilliant horn section) debuted a bevy of tunes from their forthcoming album, High Violet, at Brooklyn’s most pristine venue. Upon initial introduction, High Violet maintains the morose sensuality of Boxer while harking back to the unabated vigor of Alligator. In other words, there’s a high probability that it will be instantly epic. TMS Rating: 10/10. Earlier this week, The National performed on Jimmy Fallon.

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Our brilliant guest blogger, Britt Lundborg, attended last night’s gig and offers a full report! Broken Bells have been widely touted in the press as the snazzy collaboration between Shins front man, James Mercer, and producer extraordinaire, Danger Mouse. Last night they played their first gig in New York at the Music Hall Of Williamsburg and, rather surprisingly, sold it out. Well, perhaps it isn’t surprising given the Shins’ rabid shoegaze fan base. I was a little amazed that Shins fans even knew where Williamsburg was. The image of Broken Bells we’ve been fed is of two guys (one a sad troubadour, the other a morose knob-twiddler), so imagine the shock when seven dudes stroll out on stage. I suppose you need an extra large crew for tunes as well-wrought and highly-orchestrated as Broken Bells’ are. Now, I would be lying if I said that Mercer and co. then proceeded to get freak-busy on the mic, but they did kick up some nicely-mannered dust. By nicely-mannered, I mean they played their entire album front to back and inserted tiny flourishes when it mattered. On ‘Ghost Inside’, a grinding bass line pulsed the floorboards and threw the song’s aching sexiness all the way to the back of the house. James Mercer’s voice sounded beautifully soulful, like a hopeful bird chirping down a dark mine. Danger Mouse tended to stay behind the drums, but showed off his musical dexterity strumming a guitar and playing the keyboard during their encore. For this, they played 2 covers: Neil Diamond’s ‘Don’t…’ and Tommy James & The Shondells’ ‘Crimson…’, which were both epically great. Perhaps playing songs written by others untethers them.

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