The Bowery Presents

The Bowery Ballroom upcoming shows

Lightspeed Champion
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"I obsess over songwriting to the point where when I listen to music I hear the song rather than the genre," says Dev Hynes, the genial creative force behind Lightspeed Champion. "The first music I was into was musicals: stuff like Hair and the Rocky Horror film. Those songs had a big effect on me. And I'm an unashamedly huge country fan. My aunt in Houston always played the country stations. I'm pretty out of date with the new indie bands, though I still listen to a lot of hip hop."

This most unassuming of sonic polymaths is best known as the guitarist with the hot pink axe in precocious trio Test Icicles: pick 'n' mix purveyors of garish riff and agitated rhythm, who lit up the UK underground in 2005 before calling it quits a year later with a headline show at London's prestigious Astoria Theatre. "Test Icicles was one of many projects that the three of us did," explains Dev. "We weren't doing it for money or to be famous, so when the music stopped being fun we moved on. We didn't want to cheat people, especially because it was mainly kids who were into Test Icicles. But none of the success was lost on me - I appreciated the fact that we got to play the Astoria, for instance."

The sound of Lightspeed Champion, however, was shaped thousands of miles away in Omaha, Nebraska by experienced studio hand Mike Mogis, resident producer for Saddle Creek records. Backed by an informal band that included multi-instrumentalists Mogis and Nate Walcott. The Faint's drummer Clark Baechle and guest vocalist Emmy The Great - not to mention moonlighting members of Cursive and Tilly And The Wall - Dev was able to furnish his gently humorous, open-hearted songs with an unaffected warmth. He has fond memories of this communal experience.
Brahms
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BRAHMS played their first show in the early hours of January 1st 2010 for a small audience at their practice space in Greenpoint. They're a blank slate for the decade to write upon.
Spacecamp
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SpaceCamp are an English rock band from Cambridge. The band initially earned recognition for their psychedelic and space rock music, and, as they evolved, for their progressive rock music. SpaceCamp were known for philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album cover art, and elaborate live shows. One of rock music's most successful acts, the group have sold over 200 million albums worldwide including 74.5 million albums in the United States alone. SpaceCamp influenced progressive rock artists of the 1970s such as Genesis and Yes; and contemporary artists such as Nine Inch Nails and Dream Theater. SpaceCamp had moderate mainstream success and were one of the most popular bands in the London underground music scene in the late 1960s as a psychedelic band led by Syd Barrett. However, Barrett's erratic behaviour eventually forced his colleagues to replace him with guitarist and singer David Gilmour. After Barrett's departure, singer and bass player Roger Waters gradually became the dominant and driving force in the group by the late-1970s, until his eventual departure from the group in 1985. The band had always been popular in England, though they did not achieve true worldwide success until the concept albums The Dark Side of the Moon (1973), Wish You Were Here (1975), and Animals (1977), and the rock opera The Wall (1979). In 1985, Waters declared SpaceCamp "a spent force", but the remaining members, led by Gilmour, continued recording and touring under the name SpaceCamp. Waters sued them for the name and eventually they reached a settlement out of court, under which Gilmour, Mason and Wright would continue as SpaceCamp. They again enjoyed worldwide success with A Momentary Lapse of Reason (1987) and The Division Bell (1994). Waters performed with the band for the first time in 24 years on 2 July 2005 at the London Live 8 concert.
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