Voxtrot In concert!
Well, guys.... I got to see Voxtrot in concert last week. They were excellent! Ramesh and co. pulled it off. The concert had high energy and people seemed into the music quite a bit. Ramesh even made a comment about how he was told that at the NYC concerts no one ever dances, but a few up front were dancing somewhat. I had the opportunity to see them in concert around 2 years ago in a smaller venue. The only differences I saw from this concert was that they were a little nervous playing in front of a larger crowd and then the addition of the string orchestra. Now I don't want you to think I have something against orchestras. They sounded good, but I am still of the opinion (as I mentioned in a previous post) that the strings seem out of place with their sound. It was strange considering they used the strings to open up the whole concert which I thought wasn't a good way to start things off. Their best songs that most got into were obviously their oldest from the Raised by Wolves EP. They did 2 encores and it seemed like we would be in store for a 3rd , but no such luck. They ended up singing 2 (?) new songs in addition to a mixture of their old favorites and songs from their latest LP release. Ramesh offered comic relief a few times showing how nervous he was by commenting on how his complete black outfit with non-black shoes made him look like Jerry Seinfeld or Ian Curtis. Very funny..
Anyway, I also thought I'd mention 2 new bands that I have found out about recently that I am enjoying or about to download: White Rabbits and Vampire Weekend. The second has a more eclectic pop sound (and no formal full length album release) while the first of them has a standard indie rock sound. Both are good and worth checking out.. Any good concerts or music suggestions out there?

Candid Camera...
Isn't my little niece so cute? I couldn't resist not posting the picture for you all! I don't use the word "cute" too often. So I count this as a special occasion. When I see her in person her cheeks just beg to be squeezed... oh no I am following in the footsteps of my mom. Anyway, this candid shot was at my family Christmas celebration that I only recently got around to downloading off my camera (yeah I am not a big picture taker, I know). She looks so innocent, but looks can be deceiving... I'll work on the indie rock pose for the next picture. :-)

Is the hipster dead?
So I was reading an interesting article this past week in the Time Out NY magazine (click here for article) about the death of the "hipster". Now, I see many hipsters around where I live and at concerts. Some may even say I am a hipster, which I don't think at a core I am. But it brings an interesting discussion of what has become of the hipster? Indie music and the hipster have seem to become synonymous these days, but the article argues that most of the hipster style and look (aka tight jeans, 80's garage t-shirt, Buddy Holly Glasses, Converse shoes, etc.) has become "mainstream" in much of urban America. The article termed a new breed of people called "indie yuppies" who devour the hipster culture and have it mass marketed. They are kinda like Clark Kent and Superman - accountant by day and hipster by night. I can see this definitely in NYC. So the fear of the independent, hipster is how to stay different if everyone looks like you? How to stay cutting edge? I am not sure the answer to the question. The article leaves it open for discussion too. My only thought that there shouldn't be anything wrong with having a culture copy a style as long as the substance doesn't get too watered down. Keep the good music and artistic sensibility. The only thing that I can do without is a sense of superiority complex that may exude from hipsters.. Thoughts?
And for some hipster laughs here a few links:
-Hipster Bingo
-Hipster Handbook
-That's Pretty Undgerground