Cursive’s show at the Mercury Lounge on Tuesday night was dedicated to playing material from their new album, which they are two weeks into recording.  They played the entire new album from start to finish in the planned sequence, though as Kasher mentioned the track list will probably get pulled in a million directions before release.  The eleven new songs were played in about 45 minutes with possible song titles like “Blood Red Sun,” “Going to Hell” and “Diablo.”  Usually, Kasher writes loose concept albums so is this one possibly about Hell? The third track they played, “Hips” as labeled on the set list (see photo below) was amazing bringing together the best of their older works like Domestica with the refinement of their newer albums.  

The new songs had some balls to them that the band did not really show on Happy Hollow. New drummer Cornbread Compton makes for a great addition to the band, adding a new style that seemed to give the band some new life.  Kasher seemed to be more emotionally invested in the new songs, perhaps just because they are so fresh. He seemed more excited to be playing these songs then anytime I saw them during the touring cycle for Happy Hollow.   Needless to say, we here at LNWF are very amped on this new album.

More pictures and encore setlist after the jump.
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Photos by Bill Shouldis

Former Cave In member Stephen Brodsky stopped by Generation Records this past Sunday with his acoustic guitar for an in-store performance. The set was a mix of songs from his latest solo album, Black Ribbon Award, the Pet Genius full-length and even two Jupiter-era Cave In songs (“Brain Candle” and “New Moon”). Hell, the dude even threw in a Desmond Dekker song and a righteous cover of Jawbreaker’s “Save Your Generation.” Check out a video after the jump, along with some more pictures.

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Islands played their biggest NYC gig yet on Saturday at Webster Hall. The set list consisted mostly of songs off their new record Arms Way (Anti), including stand out tracks like “Creeper,” “J’aime Vous Voir Quitter” and “Pieces of You.” In fact the only song before the encore that came from Return to the Sea was “Don’t Call Me Whitney, Bobby,” which Diamonds prefaced by saying “this is what we used to sound like.”  When the crowd cheered he exclaimed “No, boo! Out with the old in with the new!”

While Return to the Sea was a very logical step from their previous band, The Unicorns, Arms Way is the band’s boldest statement to date. The difference in the sound between the two records is astounding and that was even more apparent at the show. Despite Diamonds’ distaste for the old songs, the encore consisted of two Return to the Sea songs; “Swans” and “Rough Gem.”  

Also of note, Man Man’s biggest fan Darren Mabee was in the crowd trying to perform some show stealing antics. Has he moved on to Islands?

Check out some more pictures after the jump.
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The Misfits (currently Jerry Only, Dez Cadena and Robo) stopped by the Warsaw in Brooklyn on Friday night. The band, in whatever shape or member formation, has been around for thirty plus years, so they have quite an extensive discography to work from. The band gave the skull-face-painted fans what they wanted as they played all the hits, including “Helena,” “Some Kind of Hate,” “Skulls,” “Astro Zombies,” “Dig Up Her Bones” and the list goes on. Although, it was actually the shortest set I have ever seen the band play. They also dropped in some Black Flag covers at the end. (2/3 of the lineup was in Black Flag at some point so it only makes sense). Songs typically under two minutes normally were played at hyper speeds. I guess the best way to describe them would be that they were about the length it would take Danzig to howl “One Last Caress.”

Long Island hardcore act, This Is Hell were the sole opening band for the night, with people yelling terms of endearment such as “you suck” and “get off the stage” throughout their set. The band kept their composure though and even caused a small pit for a song.

Check out some pictures after the jump.

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It was an emotional rollercoaster this month for Philly-area Explosions In The Sky fans. First, their 4/9 show at the Starlight Ballroom sold out weeks before anyone thought it would and hundreds mourned. Then, we were saved. The band announced a second show at The Trocadero the next day, and there was rejoicing in the city. Also, the sound at the Troc kicks the Starlight’ ass, so double score for us.

On the leisurely walk to the venue, we randomly walked into this on 13th and Sansom. The night was off to a good start and it only got better from there. Read about it after the jump!

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