Wake Me Up Before September Ends: Four Bangin' Shows the Next Two Weeks
The last two weeks of September play host to numerous concerts but here are four of the best coming up! St. Lucia
Who they are: Brooklyn Synthpop band
Where: Terminal 5
When: Tuesday and Wednesday, September 20th and 21st
Tickets: $28
Opener(s): Sofi Tukker
Why You Should Go: Bummed about Fall Retreat being over? Bummed about your onerous workload? St. Lucia’s giddy synthpop riffs will bump your blues away and have you feeling as ecstatic as when President Thornbury addressed us at Convocation. St. Lucia is a really catchy, happy indie pop band that will keep tapping your feet to their blissful beats. Try not to smile watching their performance of “Dancing on Glass” on Jimmy Kimmel below.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMi3RFu39IM[/embed]
Explosions in the Sky
Who they are: Texas Instrumental Rock band
Where: Terminal 5
When: Thursday, September 22nd
Tickets: $20 (on Stubhub)
Opener(s): Julianna Barwick
Why You Should Go: Featuring on the killer Friday Night Lights soundtrack, Explosions in the Sky is a post-rock band which means that instead of using their guitars for riffs and power chords they focus on producing a more dynamic tonal experience. They don’t have a vocalist or any computers but produce a out-of-worldly experience with their slow-building instrumental rock that eventually crescendos in magnificently transcendent releases. Their song “The Only Moment We Are Alone” is a great example of this and has the most beautiful section of any song I’ve ever heard, which you can hear starting at 8:27 below.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4HvZuOMPwk[/embed]
Tourist
Who he is: Electronic artist from England
Where: Music Hall of Williamsburg
When: Thursday, September 22nd
Tickets: $16
Opener(s): Jim-e Stack
Why You Should Go: Tourist is the project of 29 year old Brit William Phillips. Phillips won a Grammy for writing Sam Smith’s hit “Stay with Me” in 2015, and has enough sick beats of his own to guarantee a sick show. He is playing the same night as Explosions in the Sky, and you should head to Tourist if you like computers and funky electronic beats more than instrumental rock. Plus, you should boogey over to Williamsburg as many times as you can before they shut the L train down. Most Tourist tracks don’t have a vocalist but you can listen below to his biggest track with Josef Salvat and Niia “Holding On”.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOfnwd48QUI[/embed]
Penguin Prison
Who they are: Brooklyn Synthpop band
Where: Brooklyn Bazaar
When: Monday, September 26th
Tickets: $22
Opener(s): Baile and Black Coast
Why You Should Go: If St. Lucia is the happiest the band around, Penguin Prison is a close second. Penguin Prison’s upbeat groovy tunes are another perfect anecdote for fall blues. And don’t worry animal lovers, Penguin Prison does not condone animal captivity or cruelty. The Brooklyn based electropop project of Chris Glover actually advocates for abolition of any penguin prisons around the world. Plus, Penguin Prison is playing at the newly re-opened Brooklyn Bazaar in Greenpoint. You can pick up handknit Albanian undergarments, down an organic tofu meatloaf and catch a cool concert all in one night. Listen to a live performance of “Show Me The Way” below.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAD9QbyTNnE[/embed]