Voxtrot
June 15, 2007
Webster Hall, 13th St., NYC.

(Clearly, we're as good as The New York Times -- if not better! Thanks for the exclusive images, Kathryn!)

What can we say? The Voxtrot show last Friday is a memory we'll cherish always.

Give Pinkie a moment, and she'll remind you that there was a time, very, very early in Voxtrot's history, that I wasn't exactly kind to them (a truism for which I've done my penance) and a time that she saw them play for maybe ten people at Habana Calle Six at SXSW 2005. She was one of the first (if not the first) people to write about Voxtrot on the interwebs -- but she's super-modest about that fact. Later, they were our best Valentine's date ever in 2006, and showed us a dang good time at the Mercury Lounge a few months later.

From our perch in VIP (yeah, yeah), we were positively moved to (very happy) tears at the sight of the kids -- about 1,500 of 'em -- dancing and singing along. The bouncing young man in the fedora and suspenders; the two drunk BFF, arms draped around each other blissfully singing along; the tiny little girl on the front row pumping her fist with the beat as if her life depended on it.

And the boys were dazzling. With the Tosca String Quartet (and vibraphone!) in tow, they glittered on the new songs and brought a patina of road-weary wisdom to old favorites. It was a glorious sight. Our favorite little Austin band is no longer just "local music for local people" -- they're a bona fide phenomenon. And Ramesh's songs just keep getting bigger, tighter, angrier -- as demonstrated by the anti-hits of Voxtrot -- yet each is practically overflowing with a pop sensibility you can't find anywhere else these days. (Except maybe in Spoon -- and Voxtrot are certainly the worthy heirs to Austin's elder statesmen of indie rock.)

(And I admit, I was totally chuffed by the shout-out, Jared -- even though I wasn't at that Magnetic Fields show -- Kathryn was! But I'll pretend, for you, that I was in attendance!)

(More pics at Kathryn Yu's Flickr.)

Voxtrot -- Firecracker

Also, four things to remember!

One: Luxxury plays at APT on Thursday!

repost: Luxxury -- Drunk (Lovesick Vocoders at Night remix)

Two: Brooklyn's best AM gold tunesmiths The Silent League (think Todd Rungren meets ELO meets mushy 80's Roxy Music, tied up with what made Beulah awesome -- swingin' horns!) play the Annex on Wednesday, before heading off for their festival stint in the UK.

The Silent League -- Breathe

Three: Minus Story's My Ion Truss is out today. Check out their amazing site with gobs of pictures and secret tracks galore. They're touring later this summer with Shearwater and Old Crane! They also have a tour blog!

Minus Story -- Stitch Me Up
Minus Story -- Joyless, Joyless

Four: Just so you know that we're not totally biased towards one party in the matters of bespoke suiting, check out the work of tailor-to-rockstars Craig Robinson in photos by Rudy Archuleta at The Gallery at the Soho Grand (310 W. Broadway), through August 31.


Devastatingly sexy: Mr. Robinson at Work. (directed by Robinson and Archuleta, edited by Aurelio Valle, music by The Secret Machines)