Indie rockers and St. Paul, Minnesota natives Hippo Campus stopped at Brooklyn Steel Tuesday, March 1st, for their first of two concerts in the city. The tour is fresh off the release of the band’s new album LP3, featuring the popular singles “Ride or Die” and “Semi Pro.” The band harnesses a classic indie rock base and adds embellished horns and a cheeky vocal and lyric style.
Hippo Campus at Brooklyn Steel, 3/1/22. Photo by Buscar Photo
Hippo Campus made the long trip across the East River for a second gig at Webster Hall on Wednesday night. Support is being provided by San Diego native and rising indie-pop sensation Jelani Aryeh. Providing a perfect complement to Hippo Campus, Jelani Aryeh mixes a breezy R&B vocal style with electro-pop instrumentals. Despite playing with a new band, they perform with the chemistry of a longstanding group. The band is gaining momentum so quickly that Jelani joked on stage that they are “trying out a different band name every night” until they find one that sticks. While unfamiliar with the group prior to the show, the hard hitting jams and outros left a stinging impression on us and the rest of the crowd. Many fans made sure to grab a shirt and record from the surging young artist.
Jelani Aryeh at Brooklyn Steel, 3/1/22. Photo by Buscar Photo
Hippo Campus released their first two LPs back in 2017 and 2018. After a short turned extended break due to the pandemic, the band returned in February with their third effort. LP3 is the band’s first album on Grand Jury Records and sees the group making strides in their production and album development. The 10-track album spans a concise 33 minutes but packs in indie rock bangers, soulful ballads, and crowd pleasing sing alongs. Fans filled out two sold-out NYC shows and most of the remaining tour is sold out.
Hippo Campus at Brooklyn Steel, 3/1/22. Photo by Buscar Photo
The Hippo Campus tour is in the final phase. Beginning in early February around the release of LP3, shows are scheduled through the middle of March. There is one more New York stop on the run, over at Buffalo’s Town Ballroom with support coming from Boyish. Tickets are still available for this show. Head over to the band’s website for the tour itinerary and see our full photo gallery from the Brooklyn Steel show below.
Los Angeles based rockers Illuminati Hotties made their way to Manhattan’s Bowery Ballroom on Thursday, February 24th as part of their co-headline tour with Fenne Lily. The band is touring behind their excellent sophomore LP, Let Me Do One More, released last October on Hopeless Records. The show on Thursday was opened by Texas native Katy Kirby, with Illuminati Hotties in the middle spot followed by Fenne Lily. Check out our full photo gallery below.
Illuminati Hotties is the brainchild of singer, producer, and guitarist Sarah Tudzin. Getting her start as a recording and mixing engineer, the music of became an extension of her work into more creative areas. Presenting a fun, upbeat, and incredibly catchy pop-punk, the band has made a huge splash with this latest record. Let Me Do One More highlight “Pool Hopping” is an essential jam for any summer playlist, reminiscing about hot summer days spent floating in the pool.
The co-headline tour with Fenne Lily began at the beginning of February and continues through mid-March with stops to be made in Chicago, Canada, and Portland. After this run of shows, Illuminati Hotties head over to Europe for a lengthy headlining tour into May. Head over to the band’s Bandcamp page for the full tour schedule.
Magdalena Bay, the synth-pop duo of Mica Tenenbaum and Matthew Lewin, stopped at Bushwick’s Elsewhere last Friday as part of their first ever headlining tour. The Mercurial Tour kicked off on Thursday in Boston ahead of the band’s headlining debut in NYC. Photos from the show in Brooklyn are in the gallery below.
Magdalena Bay ate Elsewhere, 2/18/2022. Photo by Buscar Photo
Last October, Magdalena Bay released their debut LP Mercurial World on Luminelle records. Featuring groovy, synth-pop beats and Mica’s art-pop vocals, the album feels like listening to pop radio from the future. For this tour, the duo have added live drums via Nick Villa and VHS-era DIY visuals to top off their retro-futurism vibe. Elsewhere sold out quickly and drew one of the more passionate crowds we have seen there in some time.
Magdalena Bay ate Elsewhere, 2/18/2022. Photo by Buscar Photo
Mercurial World is rapidly making its mark on the pop landscape. The duo played the smaller Elsewhere space, Zone One, last October and sold out the much larger Hall 4 months later. Singles “Secrets (Your Fire)” and “You Lose!” from the record are making their rounds on the radio and in media while the band is popping up on festival flyers all over the world. Watch the band’s official video for the former single below.
“Secrets (Your Fire)” by Magdalena Bay. Via YouTube.
There are a handful of more dates on the current tour before several festival stops sprinkled throughout the summer. Head over to the band’s website for the full run of dates. Magdalena Bay’s stock is quickly rising; Charli XCX just announced the full details for her upcoming tour and Magdalena Bay will be opening the New York (Hammerstein Ballroom) and Chicago dates at the end of April. The band has a lot of momentum with many more shows and festival appearances to be announced in the coming months. See our full photo gallery from the show at Elsewhere below.
Pennsylvania natives Ceramic Animal are gearing up to release their fourth LP, Sweet Unknown, and the band previewed the record at Bushwick’s The Sultan Room this Wednesday, February 16. The show marked the band’s first return to the live stage since the beginning of the pandemic, beginning a short tour with stops in the Northeast, Midwest and South. The show was supported by Brooklyn locals Glom.
Ceramic Animal at The Sultan Room, 2/16/22. Photo by Buscar Photo
Sweet Unknown is the band’s first effort on Easy Eye Sound Records and was produced by The Black Keys front man Dan Auerbach. Prior to signing to the label, Ceramic Animal wrote, produced, and self-released all three of their previous albums. The band has gained a solid footing throughout their young career and they are poised to reach a much wider audience with their major label debut. The title track was released as the lead single along with the music video below.
“Sweet Unknown” by Ceramic Animal. Via YouTube
The five-piece band consists of three brothers and childhood friends; relationships that bleed chemistry, especially on such a small stage. Dressed in all white suits, and surrounded by friends and family in the intimate Sultan Room, Ceramic Animal performed with an overt love for their music. Head over to the band’s website to preorder the record and check out the rest of the tour itinerary. Find our full photo gallery from the show at The Sultan Room below.
In light of the fact that COVID-19 and its variants are going to be with us for the foreseeable future, bands and concert venues are trying to adapt in order to keep the curtains raised. One particular challenge was on clear display Wednesday night for the Thursday and Cursive show at Irving Plaza, when positive COVID tests amongst three of the four bands on the bill threatened to cancel the show. Instead of making the easier (yet painful) decision to cancel dates on the tour for a second time, the bands came together to put on a truly memorable night at Irving Plaza for the veteran emo bands.
Thursday at Irving Plaza, 1/26/22. Photo by Buscar Photo
The tour was originally announced back in November 2021 and was set to feature Thursday as the headliner with Cursive, Jeremy Enigk and The Appleseed Cast providing the support. Cursive have toured with Thursday on and off since the 00’s; the two bands’ stage presence complement each other quite well and one could find an equal number of Cursive and Thursday T-ees throughout Irving. The first show was scheduled for 1/6 in Virginia but the Omicron surge late in 2021 forced the postponement of the first couple weeks of shows, leading to an opening night on 1/19 in Detroit. As a result, Jeremy Enigk was forced to drop off the bill but was replaced by Nate Bergman (solo) from Lionize.
Tim Kasher of Cursive. Irving Plaza, 1/26/22. Photo by Buscar Photo
Cursive was the only band to be spared from any positive COVID tests and were thus the only band to play a full set with all their members. Bergman performed solo and The Appleseed cast was whittled down to mostly a solo set from frontman Chris Crisci. Chris admitted on one song that he roughly recorded a backing drum track right before the show and was later joined by Bergman on guitar and Cursive frontman Tim Kasher on drums for a noisy jam to end the set. At this point in the show, even though it was clear all aspects were being put together on the fly, the two opening acts had done it so successfully that had you been unfamiliar with the music you would have never known.
Cursive took the stage to an enormously warm welcome from the Irving Plaza crowd. Not many bands from the emo/hardcore heyday of the 2000s are still touring (let’s call the upcoming When We Were Young festival an outlier for the time being) but Cursive have released two solid LPs in recent years and still garner support from fans all over the world. Their blend of horns and strings with emo and hardcore was unique back in the 2000s and remains to be so today. Featuring an electric cello, brass horns, keys, and Tim Kasher’s eclectic vocal delivery all blend together to create an infectious “baroque-emo-core.” Cursive played a career-spanning set featuring Ugly Organ tracks “Art is Hard” and “Gentleman Caller” as well as personal favorite “The Martyr” from 2003’s Domestica.
Cursive at Irving Plaza, 1/26/22. Photos by Buscar Photo
Right before Thursday kicked off their set, frontman Geoff Rickly came out on stage to let the crowd know what was going on. He explained that guitarist Norman Brannon had tested positive and that instead of cancelling the show they decided to “play a basement hardcore show at Irving Plaza.” Several of the touring guitar techs were tasked with learning as many of the guitar tracks as they could and they filled in throughout the show, including on the opener with War All The Time’s “For The Workforce, Drowning.” Thursday made their name in the NJ/NYC DIY hardcore scene so the band was channeling their roots to come through for the fans who came out.
Thursday at Irving Plaza, 1/26/22. Photo by Buscar Photo
Thursday closed the main set at Irving Plaza with their emo anthem “Understanding In A Car Crash” and while a very recognizable guitar track was missing, the void was filled by a guest vocal appearance from Wax Idols singer, Heather Fortune. This show had every reason and excuse to be cancelled, but the will to make it work created one of the more memorable shows NYSM has seen in quite some time. Nate Bergman showed off his vocal prowess, Chris Crisci stripped down The Appleseed cast to its bare songwriting genius and jammed out with Tim Kasher, Cursive held down the fort with a perfect dose of nostalgia, and Thursday sounded as heavy and emotional as ever even if our ears were tingling with missing guitar notes. The crowd provided all the energy needed to overcome COVID in a very typical 2000’s way.
Thursday at Irving Plaza, 1/26/22. Photo by Buscar Photo
The tour is continuing on as planned with a couple shows in New England before the bands return to New York for a show at The Paramount in Huntington. A big hometown show for Thursday is planned at Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, NJ for 2/27. Nate Bergman will continue to open the shows until Jeremy Enigk rejoins the bill in February. Find the full itinerary HERE and check out our full photo gallery below.
Cursive at Irving Plaza, 1/26/22. Photos by Buscar Photo
Thursday at Irving Plaza, 1/26/22. Photos by Buscar Photo
Liverpool born indie rock veterans The Wombats made their way to Terminal 5 on Tuesday, January 25th, in support of their fifth studio LP Fix Yourself, Not The World. The record, released just two weeks ago, is the band’s first effort on AWAL Records after four straight releases on 14th Floor Records. Check out the video for the single “If You Ever Leave, I’m Coming With You” and our photos from the show at Terminal 5 below.
The Wombats at Terminal 5, 1/25/22. Photo by Buscar Photo
Fix Yourself, Not The World as a sentiment could not be any more true today. The Wombats took several opportunities at Terminal 5 to talk about what it has meant to finally be on the road supporting the new record and to be engaging with fans again. We have no real control over existential events in the world, but those events give us the opportunity to better ourselves and make the most of the situation. This theme is omnipresent on the record and also in the atmosphere at concerts across New York.
The Wombats “If You Ever Lave, I’m Coming With You” via YouTube
The Wombats next show on the tour is this Friday, January 28th, at Empire Live in Albany. After that the band will travel across the Midwest and West Coast before a lengthy leg of shows in Europe. Find the full run of dates on the band’s website.
Multi-platinum rap star Wale stopped at Webster Hall on Monday, January 24th for the second show of his ‘Under A Blue Moon Tour.’ The tour comes in support of his eponymous 2021 LP Folarin II released last October on Warner Records. Support for the night came from up and coming rappers Cam Wallace followed by Guapdad 4000. See our full photo gallery below.
Wale at Wesbter Hall, 1/24/2022. Photo by Buscar Photo
Coming as a sequel to Wale’s pivotal EP Folarin, Folarin II is soaked in nostalgia while looking ambitiously towards the future. Living through two years of a global pandemic has forced all of us to examine our past while forging new paths into the future. Such is the case for Wale and the lyrics on the new LP, mixing anecdotal stories with anthemic and hard hitting bars about our place in the world today. Wale played an extensive set late into Monday night, performing many tracks off the new records alongside a career spanning set of fan favorites.
Wale at Wesbter Hall, 1/24/2022. Photo by Buscar Photo
Wale’s show at Webster Hall was the first stop in NYC in two years since playing Brooklyn Steel back in January of 2019, prior to the pandemic. Wale followed up the Webster Hall date with a show in Boston on Tuesday, and the tour moves on to the Midwest starting this Friday. Find the full run of tour dates HERE and catch Wale on the big screen this April with an appearance in the new Michael Bay film Ambulance.
