Old Photographs: The XX & Phantogram @ HoB, 6/8/2010

I have these folders of photos that I've never uploaded glaring at me and it's time for me to file them on to the external harddrive. Sarah & Josh from Phantogram were nice enough to get me a photopass, and while it's fun trying to get photos with such gnarly lighting, the result was very limited success. That's probably the reason why I was mentally roadblocked on this particular show and just never really even looked at my photos. That said, here's what I've got. The rest are after the jump.

Oh, and obviously I'm not going to attempt to review the show 3 months later, but it was the kind of show that casual fans probably hated but uber fans (like me) loved. It was sold out and crowded. It was pretty hilarious that between Phantogram and The XX, they attempted to flood the stage with fog which ended up so thick I couldn't see my hand 2 inches from my own face. This triggered the fire alarms and a recording (which nobody could really hear) urged everyone to evacuate. Not a single person budged, but the alarm triggered at least 3 times before the band was able to come out, sans fog machine. So I should at least be grateful that I got the photos I got because the stage-shy members of The XX probably would've preferred not to be seen at all.

CMJ: Redemption!

Despite the lackluster start of our CMJ music week, we feel it has been redeemed--our ears are buzzing and our feet hurting from last night's line-up of fantastic talent.

The NME showcase at The Delancey took the cake with a dancey bill consisting of Yes Giantess, Dolorean, The Antlers and Bear Hands followed with a droney, stargaze, late night set from special guests, The xx. We still can't get the catchy chorus from "Crystalised" out of our head...well that, and we just uploaded our front-row iPhone video...

NOTE: turn your speakers down for The xx video, the recording is pretty loud

Dolorean

We did check out the AAM party at The Suffolk which hosted a few buzzy bands like Surf City; who didn't quite rock our world, but on their behalf, were a bit diluted by the big venue and not so big crowd.

One of the great things we love about our Lower East Side stomping grounds are the familiar faces we always seem to run into on the street. Last night's sighting was our friends Matt and Tyler who run Lefse Records. We had a nice chat en route about the insta-cred of their bands Neon Indian and the rising career of SD's own Tape Deck Mountain. These guys are definitely on to something and we couldn't be more excited for them.

Our night/morning concluded with our first dose of 3 a.m. munchies from our favorite post-show NY pizza joint, Ray's on Houston near our hotel. The employees were super excited to pose for their SDDIALEDIN debut.

Today, our friends at Planetary and Future Sounds threw a great party at Pianos. We kicked up our feet up for what seemed to be hours of great music, including a delicious spoonful of folk and harmonies from the campy trio, The Wheel, from Denver. Their stage banter was hilarious as they sipped shots of whiskey between songs--yes, this afternoon. Makes us want to pitch a tent with these guys--literally.

Another perk of our day was the five-finger discount we were allowed for band merch in the 7-10 Music office. Don't be surprised if we look like super fans, sporting The Virgins, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, and AA Bondy schwag, the next time you see us.

On that note, it's 9pm and time to hit the scene...

~INDIGENOUS