Last night (courtesy of the fine folks at Rhapsody), I was fortunate enough to catch an extraordinarily intimate gig from Death Cab For Cutie’s alluring frontman. While you might assume that the 50 minute acoustic set would be corporate and lackluster, it was anything but. Ben showcased a bouquet of covers (including Rilo Kiley’s ‘Silver Lining’ & Stars’ ‘Your Ex Lover Is Dead) alongside some of DCFC’s most cherished early material (stunning takes on ‘Photobooth’ & ’405′). Perhaps an even bigger treat was a flawless rendition of The Postal Service’s ‘Brand New Colony’. The surprisingly respectful crowd pleaded for ‘I Will Follow You Into The Dark’ (off 2005′s Plans) and that’s exactly how Ben ended the divine evening. Read my review of Ben Gibbard @ NYC’s Town Hall, circa May of 2007, here. Photos below.

MP3: Death Cab For Cutie – Title & Registration

I’ve been waiting four excruciating long years to see Patrick Wolf in the flesh. Last night marked his first show in NYC since touring for his debut, Lycanthropy, back when he was just a teenager. There was no way in hell I was missing this gig. Rain, sleet, snow and/or a confused cab driver was not going to hold me back on this time around.

When Patrick entered the stage, somewhere around midnight, and began the set with a stunning rendition of The Magic Position-opening ‘Overture’, I knew I was going to leave this show more than elated. In spite of the brief set (clocking in around 40 minutes), Patrick somehow managed to gain the trust of the ‘rookies’ in the crowd while satiating every long-term fan as well. Seriously, the woman next to me looked like she was going to have some sort of breakdown. I’ve never seen tears flow that quickly out of anyone!

The rest of the set featured not one, not two, but THREE outfit changes. As far as the setlist for the evening, it was pretty evenly split between all of Patrick’s releases to date, including a cover of ‘Moon River’. Perhaps the second most well-received tune of the night (the first being ‘The Magic Position’) was Wind In The Wire single ‘Tristan’. The track was played with such vigor that Patrick was literally falling over himself at various points during the song.

In fact, while Patrick quietly juggles back and forth bewteen ukelele, keyboard and violin, he is probably most recognized or at least, most applauded for his distinctive dance moves/stage presence.

During main-set closing ‘The Magic Position’, Patrick requested that we dance like he does in the song’s video. That dance includes a left and right foot stomp during the song’s chorus, which most of the crowd (at least in the front) was actually partaking in. Though, as Patrick described, the move did not go over well with the video’s choreographer, we happen to think it’s a charming little 1-2 step.

Ending the show was an impromptu cover of Frank Sinatra’s staple ‘New York, New York’. For those of you who read our site regularly, you’ll know that this felt like deja vu for the sluts as we just saw The Fratellis cover the same tune, just two weeks prior (our reviews of those shows, including a video of the cover, can be found here & here). While The Fratellis’ rendition had an acoustic flair to it, Patrick’s had a similarly delicate feel to it. There’s something irresistably charming hearing the song covered live that will never grow old for me.

Patrick’s The Magic Position will see the light of day this side of The Atlantic on May 1st. Last night, he promised us many visits throughout the year. I’m holding him to that!

Missed last night’s show? Not to fret – Patrick will be at Studio B tonight (supposed set time is 11:30 although for those of you who have been to Studio B, you already realize that probably translates into 1am) in Brooklyn, and at MisShapes @ Don Hill’s on Saturday evening.

Setlist: Overture/Get Lost/Tristan/The Childcatcher/The Libertine/Moon River/The Magic Position//Bloodbeat/New York, New York

MP3: Patrick Wolf – The Childcatcher

I’ve been waiting four excruciating long years to see Patrick Wolf in the flesh. Last night marked his first show in NYC since touring for his debut, Lycanthropy, back when he was just a teenager. There was no way in hell I was missing this gig. Rain, sleet, snow and/or a confused cab driver was not going to hold me back on this time around.

When Patrick entered the stage, somewhere around midnight, and began the set with a stunning rendition of The Magic Position-opening ‘Overture’, I knew I was going to leave this show more than elated. In spite of the brief set (clocking in around 40 minutes), Patrick somehow managed to gain the trust of the ‘rookies’ in the crowd while satiating every long-term fan as well. Seriously, the woman next to me looked like she was going to have some sort of breakdown. I’ve never seen tears flow that quickly out of anyone!

The rest of the set featured not one, not two, but THREE outfit changes. As far as the setlist for the evening, it was pretty evenly split between all of Patrick’s releases to date, including a cover of ‘Moon River’. Perhaps the second most well-received tune of the night (the first being ‘The Magic Position’) was Wind In The Wire single ‘Tristan’. The track was played with such vigor that Patrick was literally falling over himself at various points during the song.

In fact, while Patrick quietly juggles back and forth bewteen ukelele, keyboard and violin, he is probably most recognized or at least, most applauded for his distinctive dance moves/stage presence.

During main-set closing ‘The Magic Position’, Patrick requested that we dance like he does in the song’s video. That dance includes a left and right foot stomp during the song’s chorus, which most of the crowd (at least in the front) was actually partaking in. Though, as Patrick described, the move did not go over well with the video’s choreographer, we happen to think it’s a charming little 1-2 step.

Ending the show was an impromptu cover of Frank Sinatra’s staple ‘New York, New York’. For those of you who read our site regularly, you’ll know that this felt like deja vu for the sluts as we just saw The Fratellis cover the same tune, just two weeks prior (our reviews of those shows, including a video of the cover, can be found here & here). While The Fratellis’ rendition had an acoustic flair to it, Patrick’s had a similarly delicate feel to it. There’s something irresistably charming hearing the song covered live that will never grow old for me.

Patrick’s The Magic Position will see the light of day this side of The Atlantic on May 1st. Last night, he promised us many visits throughout the year. I’m holding him to that!

Missed last night’s show? Not to fret – Patrick will be at Studio B tonight (supposed set time is 11:30 although for those of you who have been to Studio B, you already realize that probably translates into 1am) in Brooklyn, and at MisShapes @ Don Hill’s on Saturday evening.

Setlist: Overture/Get Lost/Tristan/The Childcatcher/The Libertine/Moon River/The Magic Position//Bloodbeat/New York, New York

MP3: Patrick Wolf – The Childcatcher

I’ve been waiting four excruciating long years to see Patrick Wolf in the flesh. Last night marked his first show in NYC since touring for his debut, Lycanthropy, back when he was just a teenager. There was no way in hell I was missing this gig. Rain, sleet, snow and/or a confused cab driver was not going to hold me back on this time around.

When Patrick entered the stage, somewhere around midnight, and began the set with a stunning rendition of The Magic Position-opening ‘Overture’, I knew I was going to leave this show more than elated. In spite of the brief set (clocking in around 40 minutes), Patrick somehow managed to gain the trust of the ‘rookies’ in the crowd while satiating every long-term fan as well. Seriously, the woman next to me looked like she was going to have some sort of breakdown. I’ve never seen tears flow that quickly out of anyone!

The rest of the set featured not one, not two, but THREE outfit changes. As far as the setlist for the evening, it was pretty evenly split between all of Patrick’s releases to date, including a cover of ‘Moon River’. Perhaps the second most well-received tune of the night (the first being ‘The Magic Position’) was Wind In The Wire single ‘Tristan’. The track was played with such vigor that Patrick was literally falling over himself at various points during the song.

In fact, while Patrick quietly juggles back and forth bewteen ukelele, keyboard and violin, he is probably most recognized or at least, most applauded for his distinctive dance moves/stage presence.

During main-set closing ‘The Magic Position’, Patrick requested that we dance like he does in the song’s video. That dance includes a left and right foot stomp during the song’s chorus, which most of the crowd (at least in the front) was actually partaking in. Though, as Patrick described, the move did not go over well with the video’s choreographer, we happen to think it’s a charming little 1-2 step.

Ending the show was an impromptu cover of Frank Sinatra’s staple ‘New York, New York’. For those of you who read our site regularly, you’ll know that this felt like deja vu for the sluts as we just saw The Fratellis cover the same tune, just two weeks prior (our reviews of those shows, including a video of the cover, can be found here & here). While The Fratellis’ rendition had an acoustic flair to it, Patrick’s had a similarly delicate feel to it. There’s something irresistably charming hearing the song covered live that will never grow old for me.

Patrick’s The Magic Position will see the light of day this side of The Atlantic on May 1st. Last night, he promised us many visits throughout the year. I’m holding him to that!

Missed last night’s show? Not to fret – Patrick will be at Studio B tonight (supposed set time is 11:30 although for those of you who have been to Studio B, you already realize that probably translates into 1am) in Brooklyn, and at MisShapes @ Don Hill’s on Saturday evening.

Setlist: Overture/Get Lost/Tristan/The Childcatcher/The Libertine/Moon River/The Magic Position//Bloodbeat/New York, New York

MP3: Patrick Wolf – The Childcatcher

What a night! Damien and his band turned Hiro Ballroom into a combination ‘Storytellers’/'MTV Unplugged’ and completely wowed all 250 in attendance (seated and packt like sardines in a crushd tin box, what was with that?).

Damien started the set with a group of familiar songs before breaking into some b-sides and even a song created on the spot with the aid of fans throwing out words to include in the tune. Considering that most of the lyrics revolved around the emotion someone shouted for (happiness), I’m going to go ahead and name the song ‘Happy’. I hope Damien doesn’t mind. People also shouted out ‘red’ and ‘nose’ which Damien incorporated quite beautifully into the tune. ’9 Crimes’ sounded flawless and was preluded by Damien’s ‘oldest song’ (all night people were requesting songs from O but it wasn’t until midway through the set that he complied with their wishes), ‘Delicate’.

Towards the end of the main set, Damien had each of the band members request a song of his to play (they didn’t follow any setlist whatsoever and apparently rarely do). While he was fearful that Lisa would pick a cover, she actually chose ‘The Animals Were Gone’ which was fucking stunning. One of my favorites of the night. To close the main set, the cellist (sorry, I don’t know her name) requested a rare old b-side but since nobody in the band remembered the words nor the melody, she chose ‘Cheers Darlin’ much to the crowd’s delight. Damien put a twist on the track but asking her to sing it, while drinking to accompany the sentiment behind the song. She was also forced into telling the story Damien usually shares when they play the song, it was quite hysterical since the cellist was attempting to speak with Damien’s diction. She managed to pull off most of the story and the first half of the song before Damien eventually finished it off.

She came back out with Lisa for the totally silly but lovable ‘Random Man On The Motorway’ played exclusively with the cello. Lisa then did her own song, which was breathtaking, of course. Damien closed the show by busting out 2 of his biggest singles to cap the night off. 2 hours later, as we were leaving Hiro Ballroom everybody was gushing. Why wouldn’t they be? This will surely go down as one of the best shows of the year.

Setlist: Grey Room/Cannonball/Me My Yoke And I/Woman Like A Man/Sand/’Happy’/Delicate/9 Crimes/Dogs/Rootless Tree/The Animals Were Gone/Cheers Darlin’//Random Man On The Motorway/(new unreleased song – Lisa singing)/Elephant/Volcano/The Blower’s Daughter

Qbertplaya has some great shots (she was in the second row!) and even a video of ‘Delicate’, pop over there!

Over the last few days, we’ve gotten many many people coming across the site recently searching for Damien Rice + Hiro Ballroom. Sadly upon their search they land on my review of the recent Badly Drawn Boy show.

Well, we just got official word that the show is ON and it will be on 11/16.

No tickets up yet on TicketWeb but we gather they’ll go quickly and will be friggin’ expensive!

We’ll keep ya posted!

And here they are:

1) Springsteen Influence #1: The T-Shirt (‘Born To Run’)

2) Springsteen Influence #2: The Album Title (‘Born In The UK’)
3) Springsteen Influence #3: The Cover (of ‘Thunder Road’)

4) The rip on James Blunt.
5) The rip on Coldplay.

6) The Madonna cover (‘Like A Virgin’)
7) The Journey cover (‘Don’t Stop Believin’)
8) The affirmation that he is the best songwriter of the last 20 years.
9) Stopping the set at 100 minutes, a first! (Only 2 or 3 stories!)

10) Dancing with the ladies in the front row during ‘All Possibilities’.

11) Not paying any attention to the printed setlist, whatsoever.
12) Bringing out his girlfriend Claire for the final tune of the night.

13) The fact that he’s still got it and you should see him tonight if you
know what’s good for you!