New York

I recently saw the band Swans live for the second time. They were promoting a stellar new album (The Seer) which essentially encompasses all of the varied and challenging music that bandleader Michael Gira has made under a few different monikers over the last thirty years. In the two years since I saw them last, I had gotten to know their oeuvre better, and coming to this show with a more educated ear paid off.… See more →

For a 6:30 p.m. show with five bands on the bill and no food for sale, you might want to reconsider your “NO RE-ENTRY” policy.

Thrill Jockey anniversary show last night was the most eclectic I’ve seen in ages. I loved Future Islands fans being made to endure Liturgy.

While I’m still probably not going to be a fan, holy crap does that Future Islands singer guy own the stage.

I’ve been following Mike Birbiglia’s work for a few years now, which means I’ve heard this story several times before. Sleepwalk With Me had its origins in his stand-up act, which morphed into a one-man show, which became a book, which has now been adapted into a film. It’s a good story deserving of all these media, but it is still best told onstage with a microphone.

Birbiglia is a gifted storyteller, heartfelt and free… See more →

Tonight, my glasses spent about twenty seconds on the floor of a crowded and rowdy Bowery Ballroom. Then they were returned to me, unharmed.

Scowling crust punk girl who just walked past the line for the Wussy show: “Is Cher playing tonight?”

Though he occasionally rises above it, Wes Anderson’s real great talent is in actively, counter-intuitively preventing an emotional connection between character and audience. I have never seen anyone work so hard to undermine his own ostensible goals. In spite of the delight his twee aesthetic elicits from his fan base, Anderson’s characters tend to be lifeless props populating meticulously constructed dioramas which were designed to be admired from the outside.

If being emotionally impenetrable truly… See more →

There are two things that make New York City one of the toughest markets in US Air Guitar:

1. The staggering amount of top tier talent, both local and imported, and
2. The Daily Show’s Jason Jones, whose commentary has reduced all but the most thick-skinned competitors to quivering heaps in the backstage bathroom.

Alongside ACLU lawyer Ben Wizner and music biz free agent Leigh Lust, Jones returned on Thursday night to his perch in the… See more →

Um holy shit Refused.

Someone left $20 in the ATM, so I’m getting paid to see Jesse Sykes & The Sweet Hereafter and The Sadies tonight. I like this arrangement.

When music is great, there’s nothing better.

Believe the hype about Fucked Up’s live show.

Over three years ago, I won my first air guitar competition in Philadelphia. It had more of an impact on my life than I ever would have expected, introducing me to a bizarre and joyful underworld of free spirits who forced me to reevaluate what it means to experience music.

A few months later, and not entirely coincidentally, I accepted a job offer in Boston at what might be described as competitive air guitar’s above-ground… See more →

Staff at a new venue giddily pulled us off the street for the final moments of a Fred Frith performance. I ❤ Brooklyn. roulette.org

What is it about punk rock jocks five times your size that makes them think it’s cool to throw you into a pile of chairs?

Time for Tombs to blast the residue of this crappy day off me. @ Studio at Webster Hall gowal.la/c/4p8TJ

Holy shit, Tombs was fucking fantastic. A sound like theirs can easily turn into a murky mess live, but they brought it to terrifying life.

Obligatory inaugural iPad video.

Thin Lizzy without Phil always seemed like a bad idea, but holy hell am I glad I saw them tonight. He’s gone but certainly not forgotten.

By all means, bring your identity-starved girlfriend accessory to the metal show and clutch each other all night like junior high is ending.

To introduce their 2011 Battledecks event, my pals at Mule Design asked me to do a little testimonial video about my past experience with Battledecks, and I’ve decided to turn the product into a contest. It goes like this:

There are fifty-five album covers visible on my screen saver (spanning both screens) in the background of this video. How many can you identify?

Instructions and rules

1. E-mail the list of covers you’ve identified to [rob@robweychert.com](mailto:rob@robweychert.com?subject=Flickr… See more →

Mixed feelings about Godspeed You Black Emperor tonight. Iffy setlist, but great to hear them live and insanely loud again after so long.

Tonight I danced my ass off to a live Dismemberment Plan set for the first time in seven years.

Feeling pretty sorry for those of you that didn’t see Man or Astro-man and Dex Romweber Duo on the tour they’re wrapping up tomorrow.