valentine's day Bell and Takka Takka @ Pianos - 31 March 2008

valentine's day Bell and Takka Takka played Pianos last night. But wait, there's more! These two EAR FARM favorites were but a portion of the entire lineup of fun that was put together by Brooklyn Vegan... also joining in on the fun were five comedians (Rock n ROFL), lots of free Newcastle and Kronenbourg, and a special set from John Vanderslice that closed out the evening. The comedy was excellent, Vanderslice not entirely my thing, but the real stand outs were Bell and Takka Takka (both of which I caught at SXSW).

Bell played a set that began with rocking versions of most of the songs you can find on the soon-to-be released EP and concluded with a darker (very nice) new song as well as Bell's patented "Videotape"/"Eraser" Radiohead/Thom Yorke cover. A large portion of the audience was clearly there to see Bell and Olga and her fellas kicked out the jamz and did not disappoint. My only complaint is that Pianos - Pianos - still hasn't yet figured out how to light their on-stage piano.

Takka Takka opened their set with an old favorite ("We feel safer at night", posted below) before playing song after song from their upcoming record. The new songs have a hint of Peter Gabriel going on (or perhaps more accurately Speaking in Tongues era Talking Heads) but are completely their own unique Takka Takka sound. Which, I must say, has grown and matured incredibly well over the band's brief history thus far. Something about their current collection of songs really creeps up on you - upon first listen you'll enjoy it, then the next day you'll find yourself thinking more and more about Takka Takka as your love for the band secretly grows and grows. Then, before you know it, all you'll want is for their new record to come out and for them to play more shows so you can feed your (not-so-secret) Takka Takka obsession. As of right now, their 2008 album is one of the ones I'm most looking forward to over the next few months... I don't know the name of the two songs from last night that are now stuck in my head, but I do know that they need to get themselves up in my stereo ASAP. Maybe that's just me? Nah.

But wait, there's more! Check out more pics after the jump.

Bell
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Listen:
"It's Oh So Quiet" by Bell (cover of a cover by Björk, from Stereogum's Enjoyed: A Tribute To Björk's Post)

See more pictures of Bell (from this show and many others, including their earlier SXSW show) HERE.

Visit Bell on MySpace

Takka Takka
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Listen:
"We feel safer at night" by Takka Takka

See more pictures of Takka Takka (from this show and others) HERE.

Visit Takka Takka on MySpace.