Band of Horses, Fred Armisen, the Fratellis, and a nice vacation

The plan worked out perfectly, watch my Redskins at a Sports Bar down town, hop in a cab to Bowery for the 2nd (of two nights) Band of Horses show. The results, however, were mixed. The Skins were not able to turn on the switch after a lousy preseason and the sound from the tv at the bar was so loud that I was already deaf before I actually got to Bowery. Got there in time to watch Chad Van Gaalen wrap up (wouldn't recommend it). Band of Horses came on at 11 and after the first song Ben Bridwell announces to the crowd that the next song is dedicated to everyone who has to work the next morning and breaks right in "Funeral." Their best song, the one that most people know them by...second. I think that takes some guts and it sounded damn good. It was a solid show all around but it didn't blow me away. Similar to Wolf Parade, they played their best songs before they even got to the encore which didn't leave anything worth sticking around for. Ben was very entertaining throughout and it seemed like a pretty drunk crowd. Lastly, and the reason why Fred Armisen is pictured, he was on the opening bill and it was only fitting that he joined the band on a couple songs (can't remember which ones) - handling snare drums and tambourines - and really did a bang up job. Only in New York...

A new album that I've really been enjoying lately is the major label debut (Island Records) from Glasgow-based The Fratellis. The album came out yesterday in the UK but I'm not sure if there are any immediate plans to release it here in the States. I've been listening to it quite a bit on my commute to work and I fully recommend it. It's not quite a carbon copy of any particular genre but really more of a combination of everything great coming out of the UK at the moment (Futureheads, Arctic Monkeys, Razorlight, Maximo Park, etc.) and it comes from what appears to be three brothers. Here's a track:

MP3: The Fratellis - "Flathead"

Added bonus, you can stream the entire album, Costello Music, on their MySpace page here.

Well, this will be my last post for a while as I head out for my wedding/honeymoon but safe to say, InMyTree has got us covered. Laters.