Wild Beasts Offer Soundcheck & Make “Bed of Nails,” Le Poisson Rouge Teams with Concert Window

I’ve listened to no album this year more than I’ve listened to Wild Beasts’ Smother. For that matter, I’ve enjoyed no album more this year than Wild Beasts’ Smother. It courses slowly and deliberately through colors and moods of pain, longing, love, and desire—all that good stuff—and it does so with such a gentle touch, a delicious smoothness, a constant, lulling pulse.

It pours from your loudspeakers and into the room.

I wanted to see the band perform live during their recent stop at Le Poisson Rouge—I had tickets, too—but I had to paint some pictures of the California Audio Show. Luckily, Wild Beasts have added several dates to their tour and will be supported by EMA and Twin Sister (whose debut album, In Heaven, to be released by the Domino Recording Company on September 27th, has also been spending lots of time in my Exposure 2010 CD player).

Anyway, there’s no real reason to miss a performance at Le Poisson Rouge, my favorite Manhattan venue. Through a partnership with Cambridge, MA-based streaming company, Concert Window, Le Possion Rouge helps performers stream their concerts live, in high-definition, to any computer in the world. Artists who have taken advantage of the streaming service include Best Coast, Thurston Moore, and Wild Beasts.

The performances, utilizing the sound system that makes Le Poisson Rouge one of the best places in NYC to see live music [Really!–Ed.], stream live board audio parallel to the two-camera shoot. These streams with high quality audio aim to alleviate the boredom of the infrequent single camera streams, with little attention paid to audio quality, that viewers are used to right now.

Forrest O’Connor, CEO of Concert Window, adds: “The future of the music industry really does lie in harnessing the power of live performance. Our vision is to cultivate a community of viewers who love live music but don’t have easy or regular access to great venues.”

Future streaming events from Le Poisson Rouge include Chico Trujillo with DJ Rockass on August 4th and the final episode of Radio Happy Hour (which I plan to attend) with Twin Sister, Jenny Slate, and others, on August 12th.

All streams can be viewed at concertwindow.com/lpr.

Meanwhile, Wild Beasts’ latest video provides a taste of their live performances. The song, “Bed of Nails,” is perhaps my favorite of all on Smother. I send it to all my girls.

They love it.

“Bed of Nails,” backed with "Catherine Wheel," is available digitally from iTunes and also available from Domino as a limited-edition postcard, signed by the band and featuring artwork by photographer Jason Evans. Each postcard, limited to 500, includes a download code for both tracks.

While the band was in town, they also made a stop at WNYC for a Soundcheck session.

COMMENTS
dbowker's picture

Your previous post about these guys summed it best: "Two Dancers, which was nominated for 2010’s prestigious Mercury Prize, continues to find a place near the front of my vinyl stacks. The girls like it, too."

Jeff0000's picture

Stephen:

What a Saturday night! I go from;

Tomaso Albinoni - Oboe Concerto #2 in D Minor op 9

                                  -to-

Mozart - Clarinet Concerto in A Major K 622

                                  -to-

Wild Beasts

AWESOME ! It really is some pretty good wine too. cool

Jeff

X