Bell and Takka Takka @ Pianos - 31 March 2008

Bell and Takka Takka played Pianos last night. But wait, there's more! These two EAR FARM favorites were but a portion of the entire lineup of fun that was put together by Brooklyn Vegan... also joining in on the fun were five comedians (Rock n ROFL), lots of free Newcastle and Kronenbourg, and a special set from John Vanderslice that closed out the evening. The comedy was excellent, Vanderslice not entirely my thing, but the real stand outs were Bell and Takka Takka (both of which I caught at SXSW).

Bell played a set that began with rocking versions of most of the songs you can find on the soon-to-be released EP and concluded with a darker (very nice) new song as well as Bell's patented "Videotape"/"Eraser" Radiohead/Thom Yorke cover. A large portion of the audience was clearly there to see Bell and Olga and her fellas kicked out the jamz and did not disappoint. My only complaint is that Pianos - Pianos - still hasn't yet figured out how to light their on-stage piano.

Takka Takka opened their set with an old favorite ("We feel safer at night", posted below) before playing song after song from their upcoming record. The new songs have a hint of Peter Gabriel going on (or perhaps more accurately Speaking in Tongues era Talking Heads) but are completely their own unique Takka Takka sound. Which, I must say, has grown and matured incredibly well over the band's brief history thus far. Something about their current collection of songs really creeps up on you - upon first listen you'll enjoy it, then the next day you'll find yourself thinking more and more about Takka Takka as your love for the band secretly grows and grows. Then, before you know it, all you'll want is for their new record to come out and for them to play more shows so you can feed your (not-so-secret) Takka Takka obsession. As of right now, their 2008 album is one of the ones I'm most looking forward to over the next few months... I don't know the name of the two songs from last night that are now stuck in my head, but I do know that they need to get themselves up in my stereo ASAP. Maybe that's just me? Nah.

But wait, there's more! Check out more pics after the jump.

Bell




Listen:
"It's Oh So Quiet" by Bell (cover of a cover by Björk, from Stereogum's Enjoyed: A Tribute To Björk's Post)

See more pictures of Bell (from this show and many others, including their earlier SXSW show) HERE.

Visit Bell on MySpace

Takka Takka





Listen:
"We feel safer at night" by Takka Takka

See more pictures of Takka Takka (from this show and others) HERE.

Visit Takka Takka on MySpace.

Bell is playing tonight @ Bowery Ballroom

Bell is one of EAR FARM's favorites, this you perhaps already know. You may not already know that Bell is playing Bowery Ballroom tonight, part of a lineup that also includes Au Revoir Simone and April March.

Doors are at 8:30, the show is 18+, and tickets are still available for $15.

Recently Bell performed live on PRI's Fair Game which got noticed by those slow-Bobs over at Pitchfork, largely due to Bell's excellent Radiohead/Thom Yorke cover that's posted below.

Listen:
"Videotape / The Eraser"

Bell @ Rockwood Music Hall - 19 October 2007

It's no secret that I'm a big fan of Bell. Their sound is a unique blend of styles ranging from classical to jazz to pop to rock to lounge to experimental - pretty much everything I enjoy gets touched upon in one way or another. As a result, I generally try to catch any of Olga Bell's shows that I can. And sadly my schedule has been such that I've missed out on most of her recent concert appearances. Sigh.

Don't cry for me though. This post is me telling you that I just saw Bell on Friday night at the very intimate Rockwood Music Hall. The set was as entertaining, sprightly, interesting, and sing alongable as I had hoped it would be. Olga had the audience in the palm of her hand with her cheery lyrical impression of the L train, with many of my favorite Bell songs, and with an interesting Radiohead into Thom Yorke cover blend (listen below). The rest of the band was as solid as ever, with a couple of very fine guest vocalist appearances and a bit of extra percussive punch from Gunnar on drums.

Some day you're going to thank me for telling you about Olga Bell early enough in her career that you were able to catch one of her shows at one of NYC's smaller venues. If you're a fan of an artist that combines aspects of Bjork, Radiohead, Fiona Apple, hand claps, Chopin, blips, beeps, and popular songs of the '90s; look no further, you've just found what you're looking for in the music of Bell. I'll see you at the next show.

Listen:
"Brown Bear" (live from this show)

Watch:
"Brown Bear" live (from this show) on YouTube | download QT

See more pictures of Bell (from this show and many others) HERE.

Visit Bell on MySpace.

Bell @ Pianos - 29 May 2007

Bell - featuring Olga Bell on keys and vocals, Jason Nazary on percussion, Mike Chiavaro on bass guitar, and Grey McMurray on guitar - played their final of three Pianos May residency shows last night. The band was as tight as they've ever been (seriously... Mike, Jason, and Gray excel at their respective instruments and are a pleasure to see and hear each and every time) and Olga appeared to be very much at ease as she charmed the audience between songs and masterfully steered the set from high to low, fast to slow, and everything in between. Oh, and there was dancing! Lots of dancing from the first two rows of fans and I've got proof on video. Woot!

It was a pleasure seeing each of Bell's performances at Pianos and I'm very much looking forward to all that the future has in store for Olga and her band. If you ask me, there's a lot of greatness just around the corner for these guys. They're going into the studio at the end of this week to record songs for a soon-to-be-released EP, have a few shows lined up for early Summer, and have plans to reach out to audiences outside of NYC very very soon.

Listen:
"A Better Way" (live @ Pianos - 29 May 2007)
"Clementine" (live @ Pianos - 29 May 2007)

Visit Bell on MySpace, see more pictures (from this show and others) of Bell HERE.

Bell @ Pianos - 22 May 2007

Last night Bell played their second of three scheduled Pianos May residency shows. While it was a more mellow set overall, if I'm being honest, it was a better show than last time. That's not at all meant to be a knock on their show last week, just meant to explain how well everything came together last night. The band as a whole seemed to be slightly tighter and Olga's vocals sounded even better than before. I've included two MP3s below for your enjoyment: the first is my current second favorite song of theirs (I think...these things change lots though when you love each and every song by an artist) and the second is Bell's cover of "The Eraser" by Thom Yorke. Having seen this band a number of times now, I'm constantly amazed at how a new song that I've never heard them play seems to show up at each performance. Will the parade of excellent newness ever end?! When Bell finally gets in to the studio I'd imagine they're going to have a very tough time deciding which of their billions of great songs they'd like to commit to tape. "Tape".

What you either already love about Bell, or will soon, are the peaks and valleys of the music, both live and on "tape". Songs that start out as a quiet study in delicate elegance and reserved professionalism inevitably evolve into an irresistible explosion of exuberance before returning once again to the lovely tranquility from whence they came. Like a roller coaster ride for your ears. Look, I don't mean to sound obscenely PR-speaky, it's the simple truth. And the same can be said of a Bell show as a whole. Hey, don't just take it from me - the audience last night (largely made up of musicians I recognized from a variety of successful NY bands) enjoyed Bell's show so much they demanded an encore, and the band responded with an abbreviated version of their trademark show closer. Want to know what that is? Sad you missed the first two shows at Pianos? Well, luckily there will be another encore... an encore performance.

Make sure not to miss your last chance to see Bell during their residency at Pianos on the 29th of May. One week from yesterday. Be there, or be willing to explain to yourself why you missed three perfect opportunities to see one of New York's most promising up and coming artists at a venue the size of Pianos.

Listen:
"The Miner" (live @ Pianos - 22 May 2007)
"The Eraser" (live @ Pianos - 22 May 2007)

Visit Bell on MySpace, see more pictures (from this show and others) of Bell HERE.

Via Audio, Bell @ Pianos - 15 May 2007

Via AudioThough this was my third time seeing Via Audio (links to first and second) it was the first time I've been able to fully pay attention to their show. I was very impressed. Not just by the continuous trading off of instruments, but also by the incredible variety of songwriting that exists within this one band.

Listen:
"Modern Day Saint"

Visit Via Audio on MySpace, see more pictures (from this show) of Via Audio HERE.

BellBell played the first of three scheduled Pianos May residency shows last night and kicked major ass. They had a substitute drummer for the evening (named Gunnar, he was fantastic) but didn't miss a beat as they played through a set that included a brand new song, some old favorites, and two fun '90s covers. I must say that I'm currently head over heels in love with the song "Chunk" and the entire audience seemed to be pretty thrilled with Bell's version of "Lump". Check out the picture above of Olga singing "Lump" on the floor in front of the stage with two members of Via Audio, and dig on the two MP3s posted below from last night's show. You too can join in on the fun at one of Bell's two remaining shows (next Tuesday and then again on the 29th) at Pianos.

Listen:
"Chunk" (live @ Pianos - 15 May 2007)
"Lump" (live @ Pianos - 15 May 2007)

Visit Bell on MySpace, see more pictures (from this show and others) of Bell HERE.

Bell begins three-week residency at Pianos tonight

One of Ear Farm's favorite New York artists is set to begin her residency at Pianos tonight. In case you've missed some of the previous postings, I think Olga and her band put on quite the show and I suggest doing your best to make it out to one of the three Bell shows happening at Pianos this month. Word on the street is that there'll be a fun mid-90's era cover song for us all to sing along to. You don't want to miss that!

Here is tonight's lineup:

11:00 Enzo
10:00 Bell
9:00 Via Audio
8:00 The Teeth
7:00 Annekei

Bell @ The Living Room - 13 April 2007

The photos above are of Bell playing an amazing show @ The Living Room this past Friday night.

Listen:
"Expanding File"

Visit Bell on MySpace.

More pictures of Bell (from this show and others) HERE.

Bell @ Sidewalk Cafe - 6 January 2007

This past Saturday night at Sidewalk Cafe was my second time seeing Bell. The first time I fell head over heels for Olga and her band so, believe it or not, this time I went into the show a bit apprehensive. That's natural for me though. I didn't want to fool myself, right? After all, Bell is a young band and the goo goo ears that I got after seeing them might have been a one-time-only thing. Maybe this show would reveal Olga Bell and her boys to be nothing more than an enchantress playing music with a couple of talentless hacks.

Okay, so that's totally not what my second impression turned out to be. This time Olga played the house piano rather than one of those fancy newer generation Juno synthesizers that she played last time and the band performed without the guest aid of Jessica from Via Audio. Happy guy was I, as this made for an entirely different experience. If the first show was a party for the eyes and ears this show was an intimate session for the heart and mind. (score one for cheese/hyperbole)

Gone was the joie de vivre dancey/clappy playing that I saw at The Delancey and in its place was a mellower style that highlighted the performing talents of the three members of Bell. At various moments Mike's bass or Jason's kit work would jump to the front but for most of the show I focused on Olga's piano playing and let her voice lead the way. The band played three cover songs (including their now instant-classic take on Ski Lo's "I Wish" and a nice twist on The Go-Go's "Vacation") that may very well have turned out to be the highlights of the evening. That's what I heard some people saying afterwards at least. Still, speaking for myself, I have to say that my favorite moments were two originals. Two songs of Bell's that I love more than words... MORE than "More Than Words" even. The first ("Expanding File") you can listen to below and the other ("Better Way") is available at Bell's MySpace page. Is it fair to say that I'm already anxiously looking forward to Bell's debut album? Is it that obvious? It should be.

Listen:
"Expanding File"

See more pictures from this show HERE.

Want to see Bell live? Bell's next show will be to perform the classic song "Do Right" as part of the Covers for the Cure: A Benefit for Breast Cancer Research at Joe's Pub. More dates HERE.

Neon Lights presents... Bell, Lismore, Thieves Like Us, The Ballet

This past Friday night (at The Delancey) Neon Lights put on the first of what I'm hoping will be a long run of fantastic shows. Those of us who attended were treated to some very fine live music as well as three two of the best darn DJs this side of the Mississippi. No, I'm not talking about Prince Paul's set upstairs - I'm talking about DJ Colleen Crumbcake and DJ Fluxblog.

The bands: so, I went to the show not knowing much about the four bands I was going to see, other than that they were all D-approved and that they all share some sense of a love of synthesizers. Of course, that's really all one needs to hear to get excited right? Works for me. I figured I'd listen to each band a tiny bit before getting some songs for my own DJ sets in mind, and I did. Then I stayed as far away from the bands as I could so as to have as pure of an experience as possible. Okay, all except for Lismore. I kind of already posted about them back when my plan was to find out TONS about each of these bands before seeing them at this show. First one plan then another. I voted for posting about all of these bands before I voted against it. A flip-flopper...you got me.

Bell
Bell was the first band to take the stage. All I knew about them before the show was that they'd recorded an excellent (but too short) cover version of "Moonriver". I knew this because Colleen posted it about a week ago and I listened and then waited to see how the band sounded live. Well, it turns out that "they" only describes the band in terms of live shows and that Bell is really the work of one Olga Bell (lead singer/Juno player in the picture). It also turns out that Bell put on an amazing show on Friday night, afterwhich I realized that Olga Bell happens to be my new favorite musician in New York. Is that an exaggeration? Perhaps, but sometimes hyperbole is extremely effective in conveying a message and this is one I'm going to need everyone to pay attention to: Olga Bell has a very bright future ahead of her in the world of music. You're doing yourself a disservice by not listening to, and not going to see, Bell.

In recorded form Olga Bell's songs are delicate sparse bedroom recordings. Low-fi goodness that sounds as if it would've been very comfortable hanging out in the '90s with Bjork and Folk Implosion. In a live setting, however, Bell's music reached a completely different level of excellent. Olga's voice is simply amazing. She has this beautiful warm lilt in the way she sings that seems to cut right through the darkness of a venue as if she's singing just for you. Plus, she plays a mean (borrowed, which resulted in a few minor miscues) keyboard. Don't let her tell you, though, that Bell's set wasn't a success just because she made a mistake during the beginning of one song. Being able to display vulnerability and a sense of humor on stage is something more New York bands need to learn how to do and the moment when she stopped a song to start it over again only served to let the audience grow a bit closer to Olga and her band.

The band she surrounded herself with was perfect. The rhythm section not only kept things together nicely but knew how to shine at just the right time when the moment allowed for it. Jessica (from Via Audio) brought her usual vocal and stage presence, as Bell's backup vocalist, and I was rather impressed to later find out that this assembly of musicians isn't a full-time band. Given the collective joie de vivre with which they breezed through their set, highlighted by a totally awesome cover of Ski Lo's "I Wish", I would have thought that they've been performing together as Bell for years. No? Good. That means they've only just begun and I've still got a chance to see Bell again before the rest of the world wants a piece of them.

Listen: "Expanding File"
see more pictures of Bell's set HERE

Lismore
Lismore was the second band of the evening and they immediately took things a bit more towards the darkness. While Bell offered a warm take on '90s influenced indie-pop Lismore brought a sound more cold in nature. Winter-pop. Yeah, that's the ticket. Beautiful winter-pop. If only it would finally start acting like winter then maybe Lismore would be the perfect band to provide our seasonal soundtrack. Get with it weather!

As Lismore took the stage, and I saw their Prodigy and other synthesizers, I realized that they were going to be doing quite a bit more than the previous band to sate my desire to see a band get all wicked synthy. Have I mentioned how much I love synthesizers? Well, Lismore does too - thank goodness for that. They played through their set with a shy professionalism emphasizing mood and sound. I thought their performance was very good, and their material clearly well rehearsed, but I think I still had Bell a bit too much on my mind to give my full attention. At any rate, Lismore is a band I'd love to see again.

Listen: "Tremolo"
see more pictures of Lismore's set HERE

Thieves Like Us
With a name like Thieves Like Us you better bring the goods. I mean, you can't just go and name your band the same name as a New Order song and not have the chops to back it up, right? Well Thieves Like Us has got it going on and played a very fine set on Friday night. As the night was progressing, and the bands seemed to be moving towards even more synth-based sounds, towards more dark music, it was only appropriate that Thieves Like Us have the stage lights turned down so that you could barely see them. This set up an unavoidably appropriate atmosphere. Watching them I felt as if I was in Manchester in 1982 seeing an up and coming new wave band blossom before my eyes. Or maybe I mean Sheffield. Yeah...Sheffield. If there's any one criticism I'd offer about the band it's that their sound rarely strays from sounding like early New Order/early Human League fronted by Larry Cassidy (from Section 25). But how can that be bad really? Those are only some of my most favorite bands ever.

Listen: "Lady"
see more pictures of the Thieves Like Us set HERE

Sadly, having fulfilled my DJ duties and aiming to try and see another band at another venue I ended up leaving before I could catch The Ballet. This is no excuse for you to avoid checking them out, however, and I suggest you do so right now. Don't you fear, I'll be going to see them live in the near future and I'll give you a full report then.

Listen: "I Hate the War"

So there you have it. A wrap-up (from one weirdo's point of view) of the most-definitely-fun premiere Neon Lights presents... show. Between the choice DJs, perfectly selected bands, and really great people in attendance I can't see how I'll not be going to the next one. When I find out when it is, I'll let you know in advance.