08:35 AM - Finian McKean: playing tonight at Union Hall

View original photo - taken by me

Far from his roots in the 90's band The Push Kings, Finian McKean has established himself in Brooklyn as a unique and strong (primarily solo) songwriter and performer. Honing his craft by playing regularly at a local bar (in fact the best bar in Red Hook, if you can remember which days of the week they're open!), Finian has developed a style that moves from the almost spiritual folk to blues-inspired heavier rock (often dependent on the venue and musical accompaniment). I've seen him play in venues ranging in size from a large rock club to a small room (my kitchen, specifically), and each time the performance has fit perfectly. Tonight, Finian McKean plays at Union Hall, which falls somewhere in between in terms of size. Here are some tracks:

Finian McKean - "Dropping Roses"
Finian Mckean - "Sumthin' Wrong"

And a classic track (well, to me at least)- the title track from his previous LP:

Finian McKean - "Shades Are Drawn"

I chose two tracks with dominant use of a tremolo effect because it's interesting to see how in the older track it really drives the pulse of the music, whereas in the newer one it's subtler but mimicked and strengthened by a similar piano figure and the vocals. There's more to listen to on FinianMcKean.com and myspace.

One of the other bands on the bill tonight are Austin's The Lovely Sparrows. Their recent Daytrotter session is pleasant, and really gives their ambitious instrumentation a chance to come through strongly. The vocals are along the Neutral Milk Hotel nasal side of things, and though they come close sometimes they never get to be too much to bear. While the music never really gets to fully rock out, if it did I could imagine it sounding a lot like Wolf Parade. I'd expect to see a lot of acoustic stringed instruments onstage. They should be a good match tonight for Finian.

The Lovely Sparrows - "Chemicals Change"

Also on the bill is David Garland - I'm not familiar with his work though I imagine quite a few people know some of the contributors to his music, including Sufjan Stevens, Diane Cluck, Mira Romantschuk, and more. Will they all be there to perform tonight? If so, it could get a little crowded in that basement!

In other band news:

From their ever-growing page full of free and legal amazing mp3s, Beat Radio have a new mp3 for you, off the upcoming Miracle Flag ep (the release show is Saturday, August 11th @ Union Hall).

Beat Radio - "What I Love The Most

The XYZ Affair are Spin's Band of the Day! Congrats!

Comments

Post a comment on Finian McKean: playing tonight at Union Hall

Name:

Email Address:

URL:
Remember Me? YesNo

Comments:

 ?

Robotinevs (bands as robots):
Old Robotinevs 1: Pela 2: Secret Machines 3: The Song Corporation 4: Mistakes 5: Glenn Branca 6: the Pinkmeat 7: DraculaZombieUSA 8: Hockey Night 9: Radio 4 10: El Jezel 11:the iOs 12: the Hard Lessons 13: Margot... 14: Planes for Spaces 15: Morning Theft 16: Mission of Burma 17: Be Your Own Pet 18: Up the Empire 19: Sonic Youth 20: Telenovela Star 21: the Secret Life of Sofia 22: Takka Takka 23: Unsacred Hearts 24: Lean Seasoned Beef 25: Sleater-Kinney 26: Professor Murder 27: Proton Proton 28: Agent Sparks 29: Tiny Masters of Today 30: Pretty Girls Make Graves 31: Ben Kweller 32: Gold Streets 33: Western Civ 34: A Place to Bury Strangers 35: TV on the Radio 36: the Zutons 37: the Thermals 38: the Big Sleep 39: Via Audio 40: Bling Kong 41: Beck 42: Spank Rock 43: Rainer Maria 44: the Harlem Shakes 45: the Muggabears 46: the Privates 47: Tim Williams 48: Alina Simone 49: Mussels 50: O'Death 51: The Black Swans 52: Lewis and Clarke 53: SHLSHKD 54: Grizzly Bear 55: Beat Radio 56: Sure Juror 57: A Sunny Day in Glasgow 58: UndisputedHeavyweights 59: Slim Cessna's Auto Club 60: Fulton Lights 61: Who By Fire 62: EZ Machine 63: Land Of Talk 64: Palomar 65: Mancino 66: Run Chico Run 67: The Robot Ate Me 68: The Shondes 69: Great Northern 70: Poingly 71: De Novo Dahl 72: Mason Proper 73: Finian McKean 74: Goes Cube 75: Liars 76: She Keeps Bees 77: Gorillaz 78: The XYZ Affair 79: Hotpipes 80: Phantom Buffalo 81: The Shamblers 82: DJ Shufflelovers 83: The Lisps 84: Raveonettes 85: Nada Surf 86: Renminbi
All Robotinevs

---------------------------------------------


--------------------------------------------- Monthly archives July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005

Syndicate the blog (RSS 2.0)