Mercury Lounge

[lucasdavidsamuels]

anyone hit the show in NYC? here's a video i found on youtube, it is mislabeled though (says the show was at the bowery ballroom)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEMqhc5aNZ8

[tote]

Tombstone,
If you knew,
I'm no good at all,
Summer of my fall,
When a woman,
I hate love,
Mardi Gras,
That's the way,
Sissyfuss,
Joelle,
Everything must go,
As the crow flies

Thoughts as they come: I'm not totally certain on the order of a couple of these tunes. There may even be one I'm leaving out. This was a fine sold out evening with SMMD and 3 other bands, notably Land Of Talk, Andrew's rhythm-crazy side project, who headlined (to a totally packed house). I didn't time it but it seemed like SMMD played nearly as long as LOT. Which is to say, we got an earful. On a personal note, this was my Dad's first ever Davis show, and given that, it worked out well for us that the show wasn't billed to start at Midnight as was the case with the headliner. At any rate, he and I and my friends were amazed as usual. and not just by Nathan's new 'magic solo' during sissyfuss. Nathan, btw, said something about big plans for 2010, even going so far as to bust out the term "goal oriented" which after a show like last night's was a very forceful statement indeed. Even if they've not been so goal oriented this year, they still seem to get a little bit more innovative with each passing show. Sound quality was good but not the best (a little muddy, especially compared to my last show at the Bell House). Joelle is shaping up to be one to hang on to for posterity, thanks in large part to some very expressive, mature playing from Brad (to match Nathan's characteristically heart-felt, inspirational-yet-sad lyrics). Overall a great show. No idea if it was taped (sorry).

[lucasdavidsamuels]

as strong as the performance probably was, i really wish Marco had been there as it seems as though they played to a large, diverse audience
glad to hear the boys killed it. and yah, hopefully they get their act together and promote themselves a bit in 2010. its rare/a shame to see a band with so much talent have such a laissez-faire attitude towards promotion.

[tote]

I hear both sides of the issue. I was just discussing this today actually, because it was indeed exciting how much exposure they got last night (and the room was packed and ecstatic throughout the set). My brother, for his part, takes a strong stance against extensive touring and promotion, but he may be playing devil's advocate, I'm never really sure. He's taken the sort of strange view that minimalist simplicity is better over the long haul, because it lends a sort of grounded quality to your life and by extension your music. When it comes to Mr. Davis he obviously has a point. But I argued back that that's all well and good, however what if the Beatles had done something similar and never had the British Invasion and been huge commercial artists with a massive promotional arm? Where would we all be today had their music only reached a very limited audience? He counters that the Beatles had to do their thing for the sake of the rest of us, just like the Grateful dead had to unite the hippies (his words) and the Rolling Stones had to destroy themselves in the name of Rock and Roll (again). Take your pick but that is how the debate breaks down as I see it. The tricky part that may lend even more weight to his argument (though it shouldn't matter at all really) is that in today's music market, even the Beatles may have had trouble promoting themselves to the extent that they did in the sixties, due to the rise of new media and the related drop in record sales. I for one still think it's ultimately important that more people get to experience those aha moments that happen so freely at SMMD shows and unite New Yorkers, of all people, not to mention New Englanders and Americans across a wide range of social strata.

[lucasdavidsamuels]

i totally see your brother's side of the argument, but i'm talking simple, simple promotion which is usually standard for band's these days. things as simple as updating Facebook and MySpace pages with the occasional exceptional audience filmed video or new recording. providing contact information on your new website (ie. the new Davis website) for booking purposes. releasing a downloadable version of the new EP so people can push it on their friends instead of only allowing it to stream. update the MySpace page with all the new Davis songs which should be no big deal now that it the tunes are available on their website.

these are simple, simple steps that could help promote them and can be done easily by one individual, be it band member or hired help

i'm a media major at university so maybe this all seems like obvious steps a band should take, or maybe the issue is they simply don't realllyyyy care that much, who knows its all speculation

[lucasdavidsamuels]

pics from this show are up over at www.brooklynvegan.com

[bear]

does anyone know if the "All My friends" on the LoT setlist is BSS's "all my friends" or a tune of their own by the same name?

[tyler]

It's a tune of their own, from the Applause Cheer Boo Hiss EP. Not a cover of the BSS song of the same name, nor the LCD Soundsystem song of the same name, nor the Pavement song of the same name...

Although Lizzie from Land of Talk did do a lovely job as the go-to girl for Broken Social Scene on their tour late last year.

[bear]

i knew she filled the girl role with bss and they opened for them last year or whatever...which is why i thought it may be the bss tune. which i love. I only have some are lakes. thanks for the info...

[bradm]

jambase has an article/review on the show:

http://www.jambase.com/Articles/20629/S ... alk--11.21

Aloha,
Brad

[bear]

"At this point Brad mentions that a few of the new songs they have been playing can be found on their new demo that can be purchased at the merch table...However, he laments that they only have four to sell. "

yep, that sounds about right. ha