friday night saturday morning

So many french bands and acts are getting noticed and recognized over here and i'm just amazed by the phenomenon, especially by all the different genres praised. You've got everything from the funky rock of Phoenix, to the fragile folk-pop of Keren Ann, and the electro-shoegaze of M83. I wrote not long ago about Carla Bruni's 2002 debut album getting a domestic release, which has sold over 3000 albums in two weeks with no promotion whatsover. Even Gainsbourg-wannabee (and Catherine Deneuve's son-in-law) Benjamin Biolay got a pretty big write up in the new york times a couple weeks ago, and rightfully so. Biolay's new album A L'origine is an astonishing piece of work, and i only heard it once so far when it usually takes me 17 listens and one live show to make such a statement.

The latest french wave to hit (pun intended) comes from Paris under the name Nouvelle Vague. First off, how amazing is it that the name Nouvelle Vague was not already taken? This was the name given to the crop of 60's french directors including Godard and Truffaut, who were pivotal and extremely influential directors in the history of cinema. Luckily for the band founders, the name was available, luckily i say because otherwise their whole concept would not be as cool as it is. You have a band called Nouvelle Vague (which means "new wave" in english) singing 80s New Wave cover songs Bossa Nova (which means "new wave" in english) style. Pretty clever, and it really works in a non-gimmicky way, mostly thanks to a variety of talented french female vocalists.
On tuesday night, Nouvelle Vague made their new york live debut at Joe's Pub where the two founding members brought two of the singers to play with them. Opening with A forest, it was clear from the very first note that the band, and especially the girls' voices, were able to captivate a packed and impatient audience. They played most of the songs on the debut album and added Bizarre Love Triangle (which clearly recalled the Frente version) and Ever fallen in love. The best part of the live show was by far the gorgeous vocal harmonies of songs you'd never except to sound so delicate and sensual. The downside of the show was the fact that the Bossa Nova rhythmic touches were too subdued (compared to the album), and left some the songs lacking in substance turning them into mere, though still pretty, acoustic numbers. What was missing musically was completely made up by the two singers' playful (and sometimes staged) performance, particularly when both of them ended up up on the bar drinking off a full Courvoisier bottle during Too drunk to fuck because, as they stated, they weren't drunk enough! The band was so excited to play in new york, they came back for two encores, giving us two different renditions of I just can't get enough. I definitely left the show a bigger fan and appreciator of Nouvelle Vague's adventures in sonic interpretation. Check out photos of the show at All the Young Mod Soldiers and One Louder.

Listen to tracks off Nouvelle Vague's upcoming album.

Nouvelle Vague will be back in new york in september to play more shows. They'll also be recording a new album in which you can expect a cover of The Talking Heads, and even perhaps a cover from a french new wave band, though to my regret it will not be from french band Téléphone.

Let's play a little game/contest!
Which new wave/post-punk song would you like to hear Nouvelle Vague cover bossa nova style? The person who comes up with the most interesting and original idea for a cover will get some cool free Nouvelle Vague swags and an advance copy of the album, which comes out in the US on may 3rd on Luaka Bop! I'll start with an easy and obvious one (not a winner for sure), The Smiths - There is a light that never goes out. Your turn...

hanging on the telephone

Last night Rothko had a special private show, therefore my Vicious tuesday was moved to tonight. I highly recommend you go to Rothko to check the bands and then come over to LIT for the return of ATOMIQUE every wednesday night!

Melody Nelson presents... Wednesday April 13 :: 7:30pm :: $8 :: 21+

11pm - The Black Spoons
10pm - Autodrone
9pm - The Art of Shooting
8pm - The Social Register [from Montreal!]
7:45pm - eugene

Rothko :: 116 Suffolk St. Between Rivington and Delancey St.
For more info on the bands, go to the Vicious site.
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Three bands are performing downstairs before the party starts:
Squirrels from Hell (9pm), 1000 Year Plan (10pm) and Cut The Wires (11pm).

Lit :: 93 2nd Avenue between 5th and 6th Sts.

heartbeat

You've heard the rumors, here's the official invite for Annie's first ever live performance at James Friedman's ALL WRONG party at the Tribeca Grand on thursday night. Geo will be hosting the night.
Annie will also be doing a DJ set this saturday at MisShapes along with Elkland and Adam Shore.

hounds of love

I hear this Birmingham (UK) band is getting some airplay on MTV2 France, and that some people are mistaking them for Interpol... check out The Editors.

I had a really good time at MisShapes this past weekend, i spun records as people were slowly getting in, so in other words i didn't need to play hits! I'm blanking, but i remember starting with Kate Bush, DNA (Tom's Diner), Annie, Out Hud, and later played the Phones remix of Hounds of Love covered by The Futureheads... While at MisShapes, i was also asked to help a bit with running the party so i spent most of my time near the DJ booth making sure there were no technical glitches. I stood near Casey Spooner as he played a really fun set, that included two Fischerspooner songs (both remixes), Laurie Anderson, Mylo, LCD Soundsystem and more.
Little anecdote of the night... Casey told me he heard The Kills were going to stop by (after their Maxwell's show), and he was excited cause he had brought one of their records to spin. When i asked him what song he was going to play, he took out The Killers' Mr. Brightside 12" out of his record bag... so i told him that was The Killers, not The Kills, different band, and i was pretty positive The Killers were not coming to MisShapes... i'm not kidding if i tell you that he got genuinely upset by this revelation (though i'm not sure what upsetted him more, that he confused the two bands or that The Killers were not coming), and i felt bad for taking his excitement away. Turns out The Kills (or The Killers) did not show up (to the best of my knowledge at least) and Mr Brightside never got played. It didn't seem to matter to the crowd who had a great time dancing when he spun. Steve Aoki, who played last on the bill, totally killed the dancefloor, i really enjoyed his set. Check him out you he can, he DJs a lot!

As of this week, ATOMIQUE, the party i've been hosting/dj-ing since last summer, will be held at a new venue on a new night: wednesday! Well the venue's not exactly new, it's a long time hot spot LIT (downstairs) in the east village, but it's nonetheless really exciting. I've also recruited a resident DJ, Eamon Harkin (from Ireland and London where he's been DJ-ing for years) to spin along with me. To make things even better, every week, there will be 3 bands playing before the party starts, so if you're interested in playing the basement at LIT, drop me a line at: booking(at)melodynelson.com
Tomorrow, three bands are playing including Squirrels from Hell (9pm), 1000 Year Plan (10pm) and Cut The Wires (11pm).

Come every wednesday night to Lit and have good times with us!!