POPFEST! day two: cats on fire, liechtenstein, the radio dept., and the tartans

Cats on Fire with Liechtenstein, The Radio Dept., and The Tartans @ Don Hill's, New York (May 15, 2009)

Late again, I walked as fast as I could across town to get to Don Hill’s (the lol home of all those infamous Misshapes parties), hoping I wouldn’t miss The Tartans. Luckily, they were just setting up when I arrived.

Hailing from LA, The Tartans have released some of my favorite songs of the past year. Outside of their hits, though, their other songs seem to fall a bit flat, but I hope that will change as they write more. “My Baby Doesn’t Care for You,” “Cats of Camerford,” and “1939” are all great songs, and all of which were played during their short set. I was glad not to have missed them, and look forward to more of their classic pop-tinged lo-fi twee, somewhere along the lines of California friends like The Aislers Set.

The Tartans


The Radio Dept. was definitely the most highly anticipated band for Popfest as far as I could tell. They sold out the Saturday show and were billed as a “secret band” for Friday’s show. Now, I’m not a HUGE Radio Dept. fan, but I was excited to see them. Sadly, I was sorely disappointed. The usually lush instrumentation seemed muddled, and they seemed to avoid any of their real sensational songs: a total letdown.

My low spirits were made lower with the over-priced spirits at the bar ($7 for a watered-down gin and tonic? a $4 PBR? I just can’t get used to those NYC prices…). Luckily, Liechtenstein was phenomenal and made me forget all my other troubles (like really sore feet). A little less fuzzed out than they sound on their recordings, they made up for it with perfect harmonies and a great preview of the new album (which I scored a copy of already!).

Liechtenstein


And then, perhaps the reason I most wanted to come to Popfest: Cats on Fire. The Province Complains was one of my favorite albums of 2006, and three years later, Our Temperance Movement did not disappoint. Unsurprisingly, Cats on Fire’s live performance was just as flawless as their recordings. Mattias seems like the perfect frontman: reserved but fascinating, delivering the most masterful set of Popfest. I am pretty sure I could be happy listening to these Fins forever, so I just hope they keep making music forever.

Left in a near euphoria, I crawled back up 8th Avenue, looking forward to yet another day of pop.

Download:
The Tartans - "The Cats of Camerford"
The Tartans - "My Baby Doesn't Care for You"

The Radio Dept. - "Freddie and the Trojan Horse"

Liechtenstein - "Postcard"

Cats on Fire - "Horoscope"

liechtenstein full-length!

Liechtenstein - "Everything's For Sale" (Live in Glasgow)

It’s what we’ve been waiting for since, what, 2006? After a full two years to get Apathy, Liechtenstein quickly followed with Everything’s For Sale. But now, just a few short months later, Liechtenstein will finally release its first full-length (well, nearly full-length, since there are only 23 minutes on that 10-inch) called Survival Strategies in a Modern World on May 26 on Fraction Discs in Sweden and on Slumberland here in the US!

Liechtenstein is definitely one of the bands I am more excited to see at NYC Popfest this year (after Cats on Fire and now Suburban Kids, of course). Their 80s post-punk girl-group sound has enthralled me since I first heard “Stalking Skills,” but this new single, “Roses in the Park,” shows the band at a whole new level. Taking the three-part garage-girl harmonies of The Vivian Girls and mixing it with the catchiness and snottiness of classic girl-groups like The Mo-Dettes, they prove pop in Göteborg will never be the same!

Here’s the tracklist:
1. All At Once
2. Postcard
3. Sophistication
4. By Staying Here (We Will Slowly Disappear)
5. Wallpaper Stripes
6. Roses In The Park (Download!—a must-listen)
7. Reflections
8. White Dress
9. The End

Get excited!!

NYC POPFEST

(This has nothing to do with the post, but my mind seems to have split—I just love the puns.)


Okay, so I totally lied about updating the blog more, but quite frankly all I can think about is my thesis. So unless you want to hear all about phenomenological experience, the production of spectacle, and the turn in presence in art after 1960, there’s not much I can do.

But to get back on track (and to procrastinate writing the last six pages): NEW YORK CITY POPFEST!!

To be honest, I’m not a huge fan of music festivals—they are usually in the summer in the scorching sun as I sweat buckets and get to watch mediocre bands from a distance. I mean, at least The Pains and The Vivian Girls are playing Pitchfork here in Chicago this year, but that is barely a consolation.

New York City Popfest is definitely something I can get behind, though. Pop shows at night, scattered around New York, what could be better? Oh, the fact that Cats on Fire, Liechtenstein, The Radio Dept., The Tartans, The Smittens, Eux Autres, The Ballet, and Very Truly Yours are all playing? Well… I guess.

I must admit, San Francisco Popfest is just as tempting, maybe even more given this will be a rare stateside appearance for some of my favorite Scandinavian bands: Suburban Kids With Biblical Names, Champagne Riot, Northern Portrait, Pelle Carlberg, and Springfactory, not to mention what will possibly be TULLYCRAFT’S LAST EVER LIVE PERFORMANCE, but San Francisco is four hours away, and tickets to New York were just so cheap…

Bought my plane tickets, hotel reserved, Popfest tickets all secured, I am totally ready.

Now I just need for this stupid thesis to finish itself…