While it's not technically a "talent show", La Blogotheque's "Les Concerts a Emporter" (or "Take Away Shows") are a true showcase of the raw talent of many indie artists. The shows are filmed in beautiful locations by talented directors and require artists to perform their songs acoustically, on the spot. There's a lot of performances to sift through, so here are my favorite 5.
1. Arcade Fire performing Neon Bible
The huge (both metaphorically and literally) band manages to fit inside a freight elevator for their performance and prove quite resourceful, ripping magazine pages for percussion. A beautiful, subdued rendition.
2. Local Natives performing Who Knows, Who Cares
The California natives create a whole new arrangement, substituting vocals for instruments. It's even better than the original- the harmonies will echo in your head for days.
3. Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros performing Home
The charming tune gets a charmingperformance atop a piano amidst a crowd of people.
4. Beirut performing Nantes
With trash can drums and singer Zach acting as a conductor, Beirut performs Nantes as a fantastic street orchestra.
5. Sufjan Stevens performing The Lakes of Canada
The multi-talented singer-songwriter is at first reluctant to perform on a windy rooftop, but the beautiful view and the delicate cover are both well worth the wait.
I love to see independent artists promoting their music and getting recognition for their talent. Thanks for sharing!!
ReplyDeleteI'm familiar with a few of these bands, even though I haven't followed indie music for a while these days, sadly. Mostly Arcade Fire, who I was a big fan of around the release of "Funeral." Like I said, not sure what they're doing lately--I think they came out with a new album recently--but I still listen to what remains of them on my MP3 player from time to time. I was pretty big into Neutral Milk Hotel when I was a freshman in high school, too, even though these lo-fi gods basically disappeared off the face of the earth before I'd ever even heard of them. I gotta admit, bands like these bring back good memories. Sometimes I still catch myself on last.fm or tuning into WUAG just for the heck of it. :)
ReplyDeleteFrom a young age, ive had a interest in music similar to yours so I actually really enjoyed reading your blog. During my first couple years in highschool I loved listening to indie bands but Ive since kind of gotten away from it. But all that to say that I like the concept of an Internet talent show because it gives bands publicity who dont really have the desire to be mainstream and it allows others to appreciate their work in its purest form
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