Tennis
Hospitality
Mon, March 5, 2012
Doors: 8:00 pm / Show: 9:00 pm
Music Hall of Williamsburg
Brooklyn, NY
$15
Sold Out
This event is 18 and over
http://www.musichallofwilliamsburg.com/event/91905/
Share This Event
Tennis
Two on a big ocean
Patrick Riley and Alaina Moore met while studying philosophy in college. The two agreed that upon graduating they would sell their collective possessions and leave behind their lives in Denver. They planned to buy a small sailboat and spend the next year living aboard and traveling exclusively under sail. For years this dream was carefully nurtured while preparations were made. Learning to sail and selecting a boat is difficult to accomplish from a landlocked state. Their nautical self-education consisted of a steady diet of how-to books and videos.
They were motivated by stories shared by sailors like Joshua Slocum, or Lin and Larry Pardey. On a sailboat minimalism transcends efficiency. There are no schedules, no agendas, or the many concerns that come with modern life. A sailor cares only for the direction of the wind and the condition of the water. Riley and Moore did not want their perception of the world to be shaped by spreadsheets, or facts gleaned in classrooms. They wanted a life of experience unmediated by people or things, a life of intimate participation with their environment. Cell phones, television, household appliances, the conveniences of modern life were traded for simplicity and contentment. A return to evenings spent indulging in the profound silence of the remotest regions, far from the yellowy glow of civilization.
Voyaging along the North Atlantic coastline for seven months at an average speed of five miles an hour lends itself to reordering one’s priorities. The long way is the beautiful one. The hard way is the most rewarding. Two years after completing their 2500 nautical mile voyage, Riley and Moore’s experience has led them to seek out a new endeavor. Their music bears the mark of months spent alone with the sea and each other. It is tinged with the sweet affection of new lovers. It bears the uncluttered aesthetic of time spent in remote and uninhabited regions. Their music is a modest attempt to translate an old truth rediscovered. Their album will be released by Fat Possum in January 2011.
Patrick Riley and Alaina Moore met while studying philosophy in college. The two agreed that upon graduating they would sell their collective possessions and leave behind their lives in Denver. They planned to buy a small sailboat and spend the next year living aboard and traveling exclusively under sail. For years this dream was carefully nurtured while preparations were made. Learning to sail and selecting a boat is difficult to accomplish from a landlocked state. Their nautical self-education consisted of a steady diet of how-to books and videos.
They were motivated by stories shared by sailors like Joshua Slocum, or Lin and Larry Pardey. On a sailboat minimalism transcends efficiency. There are no schedules, no agendas, or the many concerns that come with modern life. A sailor cares only for the direction of the wind and the condition of the water. Riley and Moore did not want their perception of the world to be shaped by spreadsheets, or facts gleaned in classrooms. They wanted a life of experience unmediated by people or things, a life of intimate participation with their environment. Cell phones, television, household appliances, the conveniences of modern life were traded for simplicity and contentment. A return to evenings spent indulging in the profound silence of the remotest regions, far from the yellowy glow of civilization.
Voyaging along the North Atlantic coastline for seven months at an average speed of five miles an hour lends itself to reordering one’s priorities. The long way is the beautiful one. The hard way is the most rewarding. Two years after completing their 2500 nautical mile voyage, Riley and Moore’s experience has led them to seek out a new endeavor. Their music bears the mark of months spent alone with the sea and each other. It is tinged with the sweet affection of new lovers. It bears the uncluttered aesthetic of time spent in remote and uninhabited regions. Their music is a modest attempt to translate an old truth rediscovered. Their album will be released by Fat Possum in January 2011.
Hospitality
The angular, intricate, and intelligent compositions of Hospitality signal a sophisticated new pop voice. Singer Amber Papini’s idiosyncratic songwriting and incisive lyrics coupled with the band’s rich arrangements on their self-titled debut explore youth, New York, and the bittersweet commingling of past and present in a way that feels just right, right now.
From the opening phrase of “Eighth Avenue,” guitar hooks are balanced with a cultivated melody. Papini’s singing has a wisp of an English accent via Kansas City (she learned to sing by imitating Richard Butler on The Psychedelic Furs’ Talk Talk Talk) and her lyrics create a moonstruck, even cinematic vision of New York City, where the band formed in 2007. The production by Shane Stoneback (Vampire Weekend, Sleigh Bells) and band member Nathan Michel (guitar, drums, keyboards), who released his share of experimental “bedroom” pop, culminating in 2005’s The Beast (Skipp/Sonig), imbues the entire record with an intimate yet prodigious sound, layering period keyboards with horns, synthesizers, and treated guitars.
Hospitality the album has an overarching vision and should be listened to as a whole, though every song registers as a single. (Will Merge take a cue from Epic’s Thriller campaign and release seven singles? They should!) “Friends of Friends” could break the Hot 100 with its heavy intro, swingin’ breakdown, and horn riffs; “Betty Wang,” the lynchpin of their live set a few years back, is impossibly catchy, the story of one of Papini’s real-life colleagues at a financial day job; and “The Right Profession” is a power-pop burst of an anthem with Papini chanting the immortal line, “It’s hard to change!” (Isn’t it?) And “The Birthday,” with a sinuous, dissonant lead guitar, the lockstep rhythm of the drums, and Brian Betancourt’s nimble bass, wouldn’t be out of place on The Police’s debut record, but its epic coda makes it decidedly CinemaScope. Hospitality, while hearkening back to ‘70s/‘80s pop—both Elvis Costello and Kate Bush are influences—has an ambitious vision: its big promise is nowhere more evident than on the gorgeous anthem “Julie,” the album’s centerpiece which already sounds like a classic. The song’s lush, glorious build is coupled with lyrics inspired by Papini’s great-grandfather, a Pennsylvania coalminer.
Reprising some songs from a self-released 2008 EP recorded by Karl Blau (K Records) allows Hospitality to nod to its beginnings as a more lo-fi outfit; that early intimacy can be found in the arrangement of the cheeky and distinctly NC-17 “Liberal Arts.” And after patiently honing its craft, playing concerts (and gaining converts), Hospitality has reached what will be its first apex with many more heights to come; from their modest debut in a Red Hook row house, the band has evolved from four-track low-fidelity to a luxury five-star future.
-Gabriele Caroti
From the opening phrase of “Eighth Avenue,” guitar hooks are balanced with a cultivated melody. Papini’s singing has a wisp of an English accent via Kansas City (she learned to sing by imitating Richard Butler on The Psychedelic Furs’ Talk Talk Talk) and her lyrics create a moonstruck, even cinematic vision of New York City, where the band formed in 2007. The production by Shane Stoneback (Vampire Weekend, Sleigh Bells) and band member Nathan Michel (guitar, drums, keyboards), who released his share of experimental “bedroom” pop, culminating in 2005’s The Beast (Skipp/Sonig), imbues the entire record with an intimate yet prodigious sound, layering period keyboards with horns, synthesizers, and treated guitars.
Hospitality the album has an overarching vision and should be listened to as a whole, though every song registers as a single. (Will Merge take a cue from Epic’s Thriller campaign and release seven singles? They should!) “Friends of Friends” could break the Hot 100 with its heavy intro, swingin’ breakdown, and horn riffs; “Betty Wang,” the lynchpin of their live set a few years back, is impossibly catchy, the story of one of Papini’s real-life colleagues at a financial day job; and “The Right Profession” is a power-pop burst of an anthem with Papini chanting the immortal line, “It’s hard to change!” (Isn’t it?) And “The Birthday,” with a sinuous, dissonant lead guitar, the lockstep rhythm of the drums, and Brian Betancourt’s nimble bass, wouldn’t be out of place on The Police’s debut record, but its epic coda makes it decidedly CinemaScope. Hospitality, while hearkening back to ‘70s/‘80s pop—both Elvis Costello and Kate Bush are influences—has an ambitious vision: its big promise is nowhere more evident than on the gorgeous anthem “Julie,” the album’s centerpiece which already sounds like a classic. The song’s lush, glorious build is coupled with lyrics inspired by Papini’s great-grandfather, a Pennsylvania coalminer.
Reprising some songs from a self-released 2008 EP recorded by Karl Blau (K Records) allows Hospitality to nod to its beginnings as a more lo-fi outfit; that early intimacy can be found in the arrangement of the cheeky and distinctly NC-17 “Liberal Arts.” And after patiently honing its craft, playing concerts (and gaining converts), Hospitality has reached what will be its first apex with many more heights to come; from their modest debut in a Red Hook row house, the band has evolved from four-track low-fidelity to a luxury five-star future.
-Gabriele Caroti
Venue Information:
Music Hall of Williamsburg
66 North 6th St
Brooklyn, NY, 11211
http://www.musichallofwilliamsburg.com/
Music Hall of Williamsburg
66 North 6th St
Brooklyn, NY, 11211
http://www.musichallofwilliamsburg.com/
