The triumphant return of Asobi Seksu

Caught the Asobi Seksu CMJ gig last night at Crash Mansion. When was the last time they played in New York? February?

They sounded as good as they did the last time I saw them, new lineup and all. Played a few new songs with more emphasis on the "pop" part of dream pop. So that's the good news. The bad news is, they're going back to the studio to record the followup to their self-titled debut, so we might not see them for a while again. Or so I hear. Yes, I too thought they were busy recording this summer.

Waiting for extrawack! to post his pics so I can steal them and put 'em up here.

Feel compelled to point out how small the lead singer Yuki is every time I post about Asobi. But her size, especially considering how "big" they sound, is part of what makes them so appealing.

The wall of sound at the end of every show - never gets old.

Can't type in complete sentences as I stuck around for Gil Mantera's Party Dream who went far longer than I was prepared to stay, as entertaining as they were. They were favorably compared to Andrew W.K. (no really, that's a good thing) and the Party Dream delivered, and then some.

A mix of aggro and homoerotica on stage. A lot of both. But they sounded great.

I'll probably go back and retype this post when I'm more coherent.

As for tonight, I'd check out Blackalicious (how often do they play on the East Coast?) and the incredibly hyped Lady Sovereign, but can't do the 6 pm showtime and it's Webster Hall, not always the happiest place on Earth. Laura Veirs and Amadou & Miriam at Hiro Ballroom might be worth checking out.

On a non-CMJ note, public sale for Ben Folds at Radio City starts tomorrow at noon. I've already missed 4 (?) Ben Folds shows in the city, in-store performances included, and I really should go to this one. Just feels wrong to pay $30+ for a ticket, which is double what I'd normally pay for two tickets plus service charge. We'll see.