Marisa LaScala: Writer, Editor, and Good Addition to Your Bar Trivia Team

As promised.

Los Campesinos! @ the Bowery Ballroom

"But when they dipped into previous EPs for the catchy 'We Throw Parties, You Throw Knives,' Campesinos looked into the audience and crooned, 'I'll sing what you like if you shout it straight back at me.' At the time, it seemed less like a lyric and more like a prognostication."

It's been a while since I've done one of these, but I have a new gig review up at Beyond Race.

Bishop Allen @ The Music Hall of Williamsburg

"On the record, the songs are light and poppy, generally a breeze to listen through. The live show allowed for a few more rock and roll indulgences—muscular guitar parts here and there where pianos worked on the album—and, coupled with Rice's Beatles-style head-bopping and twitchy dancing, the band came across as having more amped-up energy than you'd guess from the sweetness of its sound."

Check back again soon for a capsule about Los Campesinos!

I just started reviewing concerts for the cultured folks over at Beyond Race Magazine. My first article is up, about the riotous NME tour with the 1990s, Art Brut, and the Hold Steady (a band I'm completely obsessed with).

Art Brut and the Hold Steady: Almost Killed Me

"Perched way out on the Western edge of Manhattan sits Terminal 5, a cavernous venue whose name is more than appropriate for the last stop on a rock ’n’ roll tour, as was the case on November 21 when Art Brut and the Hold Steady wrapped up the NME Rock 'n' Roll Riot Tour. At first, the venue almost seemed too big for the bands contained therein: some of the vocals were swallowed up by the expanse of space, a shame for two bands who, with openers the 1990s, are all such superb lyricists."