The Who in Austin, April 2015 (more by Tim Griffin)
You can browse our full NYC show calendar for all of tonight’s shows, but here are some highlights…
The Who, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts @ Barclays Center
The Who are currently on the road celebrating their 50th anniversary. Tonight’s their second of five shows in the NYC-area, and first of three in NYC proper. At this point, they have enough hits to put out a double album compilation of them (which they did last year), and these shows are sure to be filled with them. The great Joan Jett opens on all dates.
FIDLAR, METZ, Honduras @ Bowery Ballroom
Toronto’s METZ upped their assault on our eardrums on all fronts with their second album which has better songs, better production and sharper focus. It somehow seems louder (and snottier), too, which basically ticks all the boxes of what you want from a record like this. Their tour with party boys FIDLAR is a bit odd, except that both groups turn crowds into a sweaty mess. They’re alternating headline slots, tonight FIDLAR play last; Wednesday’s show at Music Hall of Williamsburg flips it. Both are sold out.
Modern Pain, Vice, Mad Diesel, Impact @ Acheron
Dallas hardcore band Modern Pain have elements of d-beat, various underground metal subgenres, and noise (they covered Sonic Youth), and it all comes together in a pretty awesome, nasty way. Their debut album is coming at some point in the near future via Bridge 9, so hopefully we’ll hear some of that tonight.
Holy Wave, The Mystery Lights, Laser Background, Annique Monet @ Baby’s All Right
Austin and psych go hand in hand (they’ve even got a fest for it) and six-piece Holy Wave do it well: jangly, trippy and melodic. NYC’s best pysch band, The Mystery Lights, also play making for a good night.
Pixies, John Grant @ Beacon Theater
While it’s not quite the same without Kim Deal, Pixies continue on, delivering the hits. If you’re going to this show, we highly recommend you get there for opener John Grant, whose funny, sad songs and and magnetic stage presences is not to be missed.
Porches, Frankie Cosmos @ Elvis Guesthouse
Both acts tonight play in each other’s bands, and are much too popular to be playing somewhere as tiny as Elvis Guesthouse. If you got tickets to this sold out show, get there early.
Laura Cantrell, Michael Shelley Band
Singer, songwriter and former WFMU DJ Laura Cantrell is playing Union Hall every Tuesday in May. The “Springtime Songbook” residency promises “country and folk music for urbanites.”
Ivan & Alyosha, Kris Orlowski @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
While Ivan & Alyosha may sound like they’re a duo, they are in fact a many-membered band (named of course after two characters from Dostoyevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov), and almost all of them contribute vocals making for some pretty nice harmonies.
Sirs and Madams, Ratboys, The Naked Hugs, Kitten Ruckus @ Bushwick Public House
Ratboys are among the group of recent bands mixing folk, pop, punk, and indie rock into one super-genre (think Hop Along, Waxahatchee), and they recently signed to the always-trusty Topshelf Records. They’re in town tonight from Chicago.
For all of tonight’s shows, and tomorrow’s, check out our NYC concert calendar.
For laughs, check out the NYC Comedy calendar too.
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