When [It] Strikes Me

Just downloaded my tickets for two upcoming concerts that should rock it all out.

First, on January 19, I’m going to see a redux of the Fitz and the Tantrums concert that blew me away last year (review here).  This time they’re playing the Bowery Ballroom for the steal price of $18 a seat, general admission. Tickets here.

Just a week later, I’ve bought my seats for White Lies on the secondary market.  The show has been sold out for a bit, so it remains to be seen what price the seats will bear, but I got them for about $30 a pop, general admission.  They’re playing the Highline Ballroom on January 27.  Tickets here.

If you don’t yet own them, I highly recommend Fitz‘ album Pickin’ Up The Pieces and White Lies‘ To Lose My Life ….  Additionally, White Lies‘ new album Ritual is set to release in three weeks, with the first single available for free download here.

If you have a chance to see them, definitely take it.

This past Saturday some friends and I dropped on down to Mercury Lounge on East Houston in Manhattan for an early show by Fitz & the Tantrums.  The band, fronted by Michael Fitzpatrick and Noelle Scaggs has been burning up my iPod of late and was featured in a player post linked here.

Needless to say, I knew I was going to love the music, but I was bringing along two newbies as well.  The sound is relatively unique and hasn’t gone mainstream yet.  It is somewhat of a revisit to 50s soul music, but with a decidedly modern hipster vibe.  While I normally want to punch most things hipster, that’s not the case for Fitz & the Tantrums.

The show was sold out, but the venue was not so crowded as to make the concert uncomfortable or getting drinks impossible.  In fact, the only complaint could be some issues with the bass levels and our choosing to stand too close a bank of speakers.  It took a good day for my right ear to clear up fully.

All in all, the show was outstanding and the crowd was lively.  The band played near studio quality tunes, true to the CD and the only real hiccup is when Scaggs fell off the stage into the crowd.  After getting up with little more than her pride hurt, she claimed her tussle with gravity was a failed stage dive with nobody catching.  As a note, I’m not sure being found unworthy in a trust fall is any less embarrassing than catching an edge of the stage.

All in all, I could not recommend the show more highly.  This is an opportunity to catch a rising artist before they hit it big.

Some additional thoughts and videos from the performance after the jump. Read more…

I’ve been jamming of late to a new band that a buddy turned me on to. The sound is just epic, with an older, soulful vibe to it. To put it best, it’s the type of tunes that makes you feel happy and somewhat inspired to listen to.