Dark was the night @ radio city

One of the best things about living in NYC is easy access to live music. Everyone comes through new york. And one of the best things about E's job is easy access to tickets. We can get in everywhere :) 

Last night we went to dark was the night at radio city music hall. 

Performers included the dirty projectors, my brightest diamond, feist, the nationals, david byrne, bon iver, sharon jones and the dap kings. I was really disappointed that grizzly bear didn't show up, because they were one of the main reasons I wanted to go...

my brightest diamond

feist

photos by natasha ryan via brooklyn vegan

I didn't know this before last night, but Dark was the night is a compilation that benefits the Red Hot Organization, a organization that raises money and awareness for HIV and AIDS. Another bonus to going.

Even though I didn't know the music of some of the performers, I was blown away. Feist was amazing live. Her recordings don't at all capture the silky smokey melancholy of her voice the same way it sounds live. Bon iver was unbelievable too.

I was sitting there, and for a while listening to the music I felt like I was floating away, lost in the indefinable magic of the moment. The whole audience dissolves and you are collectively carried to a distant shore, captured only through melody.   

Bon Iver

It's just so wrong that there's no mainstream outlet for truly innovative music like this. Seems like the only way that great artists get exposed to the masses is as the background track of a tv commercial. And of course there is the internet. But it's so easy to get lost in the vast ocean of noise online. When is this going to change?