I’ve been having some fun with this audio + visual format lately, so I thought I’d hop on the Phish summer tour bandwagon and put together some new videos. Here’s an especially triumphant section of improv from their first night at Great Woods in MA:
More to follow….
I’ve begun playing around with using some of my digital artworks in a new way by combining them with some music and adding some subtle animations. I’ve mainly been using the music of the band Goose as my audio backdrop, splicing some nice moments of improvisation from some of their recent shows (something I used to do back when I was writing and podcasting for Live Music Blog). I have not done a lot of video creation, so this is a new thing for me, but it has been a fun experiment and I am liking the results so far. Here are a few samples:
I made a couple shorts:
And I’ve been toying around with this “grids” concept which I plan to do more of in the coming weeks:
I also did some longer form videos to show off more images and let the jams play out a bit:
Video content seems to get more attention on some of the social media sites, so this experiment was a good start and something I’ll probably keep doing.
BTW, if you the “JOTY” acronym thing seems odd to you, it’s a nod to a Goose fan term I’ve seen thrown around and used here and there; the term is just short for “jam of the year” and has been used in making list of their favorite sections of of improv (jams) for each year, but it is also sort of a knock on overzealous fans calling every new great jam “jam of the year.”
I was lucky to see a lot of great live shows this year, and even luckier to be able to shoot most of them with my Nikon D5000. Although I am decidedly an amateur, I think I ended up with some pretty decent shots, so I decided to create a “best of” style compilation to wrap up a great 2011. Continue Reading…
We had our first snowfall of the season here in NYC this past weekend. But even though the weather’s starting to chill out, the live shows are still keeping up the heat. Check out my preview of the week’s shows with some videos of my top picks… Continue Reading…
This week in NYC shows is a crazy one, with the CMJ Music Marathon officially taking over a good chunk of NYC’s clubs and venues. CMJ is a bit like NYC’s version of SXSW with industry panels, showcase events, day parties, and all manner of nighttime parties and multi-band extravaganzas. Also like SXSW, the concert options are nearly endless and definitely a bit overwhelming. If you’re doing CMJ proper (like, with a badge), then your best route is to hit up the official calendar over at CMJ’s Official Shed site to get all the showcase slots, parties, and panels in one spot for your scheduling needs. Also, Consequence of Sound has a solid round-up of picks and suggestions, and NPR put together a CMJ 2011 Mix to whet your appetite for some of the many artists/bands rolling through town. Keep in mind that, once you’ve made your picks, it’s worth checking show details to make sure you can get in without an official CMJ badge.
Although I can’t possibly touch on every amazing lineup, showcase or day party, I can point to a few bands that I know will put on interesting & entertaining shows. Here’s a quick rundown of some of my top suggestions, in alpha order:
American Babies @ Rockwood Music Hall (and a few of other showcase slots):
Tommy Hamilton’s Americana side project which I covered in depth after their Spring show at Mercury Lounge.
Arctic Monkeys w/ Smith Westerns @ Music Hall of Williamsburg:
It’s like a weird pairing of former indie rock darlings (one from 2005 and the other from five years later). But even if a lot of the hype has subsided for these two, this one still looks like a pretty killer match-up.
The Barr Brothers (various shows):
Nice, rootsy folk and blues tunes from the guitar & drums brothers known for their previous projects, the Slip and Surprise Me Mr. Davis.
Charlie Hunter (@ the Sycamore):
I think it’s safe to assume this has nothing to do with CMJ, but I don’t care. Charlie’s doing another residency at the Sycamore down in the Ditmas Park section of Brooklyn, and it’s bound to be cool, weird and a little groovy.
Delicate Steve (various shows):
Off-kilter, guitar-driven instrumentals that are hard to pin down sonically and very interesting to bored ears. Lots of options for catching these guys.
Small Black (various shows):
A softer, slower, sweeter-sounding electronic rock which others have called chillwave (a term which makes me want to hurl).
STS9 @ Best Buy Theater:
Another show that likely has nothing to do with CMJ, but should be pretty rad for the groove-oriented folks among us.
Stanley Jordan’s Guitar Fest, Wed-Sun nights @ Iridium:
Expect lots of special guests and some serious guitar chops.
Yellow Ostrich (bunch of different shows):
Vocal-oriented indie rock tunes with cool loops and interesting rhythms. Def. dug their set at SXSW.
Overall, it’s quite a crazy week of non-stop options for NYC concerts across all kinds of genres, scenes and styles. But I think my favorite way of looking at it is just checking out our picks for Sunday night. Any week that ends with Dick Dale, Gwar, and Stanley Jordan, is a pretty silly week of live music now, isn’t it?
You can check out my full weekly post and list of shows over at Live Music Blog: LMB NYC: This Week’s Concert Calendar – Oct 17-23
No, Elvis isn’t playing the Apollo, but I can’t resist a good opportunity to post that photo. It’s so iconic. However, Elvis Costello is playing in NYC this week. He’s one of a few interesting artists playing shows in the NYC metro area….which is what I post over on Live Music Blog every week. Check it out:
LMB NYC: This Week’s Concert Calendar – Oct 3 – 9
Read on for the highlights as I see ’em… Continue Reading…
After taking a week off last week for some much-needed vacay, I’m back in town and I had just enough time to finalize a little live music round-up for NYC shows. There are a ton of great concerts happening this week, and as usual, that includes a bunch of bands I’ve blogged about here on this site (including The Dodos, Greensky Bluegrass, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, & Washed Out).
Check it out: Live Music in NYC: This Week’s Concert Calendar – Sept 13 – 19
I just posted my NYC concert listings for this week over at Live Music Blog. A few highlights include bands/artists I’ve covered on this site before: Joe Russo, Marco Benevento, and Small Black.
Dig in: LMB NYC: This Week’s Concert Calendar – Aug 30-Sept 5
I caught up with my buddy Burke recently and he made a point to say how much he liked my live improv mixes, even though I don’t think he really considers himself a big live music/improv guy. In honor of summer, I recently put together two different all-improv, all-instrumental mixes around a “summer bliss” theme. I’m pretty darn happy with the final products, so I thought I should probably flag the new material on my site before the summer’s over!
Check ’em out:
#1
Podcast #069: Bisco Bliss Mix:
Live Music Blog Podcast #069 – Bisco Bliss Mix by whitperson
#2
Podcast #70: Phish Summer Bliss Mix:
Podcast #070 – Phish Summer 2011 Bliss Mix by livemusicblog
By the way, I typically post most of my mixes over on Live Music Blog to add to our ongoing podcast series (which you can subscribe to via iTunes if you’re so inclined).
I’ve been seeing a ton of music this spring and summer and making great use of my two new camera lenses, so I decided to put together a round-up of my favorite shows and Live Music Blog posts. Check it out… Continue Reading…