Fri 18 May – Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, The Darcys

Was great that they started their tour here…hehe you could tell from the first few songs that they hadn't played live in a bit…could barely hear Alec's voice during the first few songs…but once they found their groove it was awesome!

They played all the good stuff from the new album (Same Mistake/Hysterical) as well as all the classics from their debut album and Some Loud Thunder.
Crowd was great, we were all dancing our ass off…not sure why Casbah didn't have their fans on…was drenched in sweat after…

Tue 21 Jun – Thao & Mirah, BOBBY, Led to Sea

Dual drumming…check
3 on 1 drum…check
Wii-mote drum…check
Thao boot stomping…check
Seeing the musical madness and complexity of "Eleven" all come together by everyone going in different directions…CHECK!

Was a great show, I couldn't stand "eleven" as their first single off this album, as it sounds so musically different from everything else on it (and anything Thao has done beforehand), but seeing it live as converted me…so many of the songs on Thao & Mirah sounded so much better live, especially the harmonies. Thao's guitar work (and drumming!) are…

Sat 9 Oct – Phantogram, Josiah Wolf

Just gonna keep this short, they have a drummer now and sound so much fuller now! No more of that shitty beat box! Can't wait to hear them all together on a studio album now, some of the album cuts just sound no where near as good as their live stuff now thanks to that drummer!Phantogram

Wed 23 Sep – Sondre Lerche

Sondre did a long monologue about Lindbergh field…and then proceeded not to go into "Airport Taxi Reception"! That woulda been the perfect segue! It was nice to hear an artist that actually tries to learn something about the city he's playing in.

Was my first time seeing him live (Sorry, but last time he played here it was against Broken Social Scene, they're always gonna win!). Was surprised it was just him, no backing band, but he sure can wail away on that guitar! Was really a rather intimate show when you think about…

Sat 30 May – St. Vincent

For some reason or another (mostly because 3 other bands were scheduled to play later that night) lil ole Annie of St. Vincent had to have her show bright n early at 5:30 pm on a Saturday…an ungodly early hour for a show at the Casbah.

The opening band was "Pattern Is Movement". Two kinda chunky bearded fellow who could have sorta been mistaken for twins. One fellow he played keyboards, and the other drums. They were alright as far as opening bands go…I tend to wonder about bands that have chunky drummers…shouldn't they…

Thu 21 May – M83, James Yuill, dj lord nelson

Had no idea what to expect from them live. I'd seen them play once on Conan or Letterman, one of those late night shows, and they seemed to sound just like their album. One can never tell from those made for TV appearances, they're all prerecorded and time constrained and whatnot. I was supposed to go with a friend of mine who is a big fan, but she couldn't make it, so I had to brave the Belly Up alone.

I decided to sit on the right side of the…

Tue 3 Mar – Neko Case MySpace Secret Show

**I put way too much back-story into this, if you wanna see what songs she played, scroll dooooooooown**

Once upon a time, about two years ago, Neko Case played the Belly-Up tavern. I was quite excited to go see her, as I had fallen in love with her alterna-noir quasi country sound that nobody else seems to have.

My work at the time was a few minutes away from the Belly-Up, but for some reason I kept putting off buying tixs. Finally the Friday before the show, I stopped by, and…

Wed 25 Feb – A.C. Newman, Dent May & His Magnificent Ukulele

I gotta say, the new material sounds so much better and fuller live! I'm fighting off the beginnings of what may be a cold, so I felt awful, but once they got on stage, I was temporarily cured….hallelujah!

He played a good selection of songs from both his first album and the new one. Some of my faves were the opener "Miracle Drug", "Young Atlantis", and the first song from his "encore" "On the Table" I can't stress how much better the new material sounds live…on the album…

Fri 28 Nov – Deerhunter, Times New Viking, Nite Jewel

This is a partial set list, I can't remember everything they played and have very little memory of what order they played it in (with the exception of the first and last songs)…sad really considering the set list was on the floor a few feet from me. Here's a few that I know of:

Cryptograms
Hazelwood
Octet
Like New
Saved by Old Times
Agoraphobia
Never Stops
Microcastles
Nothing Ever Happened
Backspace Century

From what I've read, Deerhunter shows can get pretty crazy, but much like their new album, they didn't…

Wed 1 Oct – Sigur Rós, Parachutes

Amazing & surreal….easily the best show I've seen in my life!

CONFETTI CANNON!!!