After being snowed out of their first New York gig of the year at Highline Ballroom earlier this year, White Lies rescheduled their sold out show at the massive Terminal 5 last night. Without having any warm up gigs for their new album Ritual, I honestly think it was a bad venue choice… singer Harry McVeigh even joked early in the set “we didn’t expect so many people tonight!”

From that moment on it was the band’s goal to move the very diverse crowd, mostly unfamiliar with the new material, which came alive once they played Farewell to the Fairground from their 2009 album To Lose My Life.  Surprisingly Death was not saved for encore, but regardless they finished off huge with of one of my favorite tracks The Power and the Glory (see the video below), The Price of Love and Bigger Than Us. Check out the full gallery here and a video of The Power and the Glory below. Purchase Ritual at inSound here.

Stream: White Lies – Death (Crystal Castles Remix)

Cold Cave’s set was sadly quite short and for some reason Jennifer Clavin did not perform with the band, hence Life Magazine‘s omission from the set. Cold Cave will be playing Knitting Factory on July 12th to play their own gig, which will be more intimate and proper.  Terminal 5 just isn’t dark and moody enough for me.

Unfortunately I did not snap any pictures of The Kills’ set at the band’s request to remove the photo pit, however Brooklyn Vegan snapped a few.  The set kicked off with No Wow and concluded with Sour Cherry before an encore that included Lady Goodbye, Pots and Pans and Fried My Little Brains. Alison’s onstage presence is so fierce and effortless, like a black panther on the prowl that can’t take your eyes off of. The Kills return to Terminal 5′s stage on August 8th get your tickets here.

mp3: The Kills -  Pale Blue Eyes (The Velvet Underground Cover)

Warner (MNDR) opened with her Calypso tinged taboo jam Caligula as a lightshow projection burst onto the stage like a layered veil. Sadly her set didn’t include the catchy new song she debuted at Mercury Lounge Diamonds, but was a great opportunity for her to play alongside one of the most successful electronic acts of the past year, to which she shone brightly.

Miike Snow appeared onstage masked  after a moody introduction, kicking off their set with one of my favorite tracks Cult Logic. After having seen the trio countless times over the past 12 months, it was great to see them switch it up a bit with their setlist (which included a light-up suit cover of Vampire Weekend’s The Kids Don’t Stand a Chance.) Miike Snow never disappoint with their live sets, which create an awesome array of lights, visuals and improvisational musical moments. Can’t wait to see them again!

Setlist: Intro // Cult Logic // Burial // A Horse is Not a Home // Silvia // Plastic Jungle // Sans Soleil // Animal // In Search Of // Kids Don’t Stand a Chance

mp3: Crookers – Remedy Ft. Miike Snow

mp3: Mark Ronson And The Business Intl – Somebody To Love Me (ft. Boy George & Miike Snow)

Promoters advised ticketholders to return later for doors, but unfortunately I missed most of Rye Rye’s set due to the vague information. Following a DJ set by Asma the venue lights dimmed and the opening notes of The Message redirected everyone’s attention to the stage where M.I.A. and her posse of burka-clad backup singers kicked off the set.

At the start of her show Maya wore an awesome sloppy trench coat with a military hat over a T-Shirt that said “Fuck Google, Ask Me!,”  focusing her attention on interacting with the audience. She disrobed to a YouTube-inspired getup a few songs into her set before diving into the crowd and performing an awesome stripped down version of It Takes a Muscle.

Although I had fun at both Creators Project and HARD, last night’s show was a proper performance and return to form with great sound and a much more positive stage presence (even through all of the unforeseen obstacles.) What’s an M.I.A. show without a little bit of drama?? M.I.A. plays a free show at Brooklyn Bowl on October 6th to make up for the stormed out HARD gig. Check out the full gallery of last night’s show HERE and a video I shot of Teqkilla and Steppin’ Up!

mp3: M.I.A. – It Takes a Muscle

T.I. and Mary J. Blige at Capitale

If you visit this site regularly you will notice that I have barely updated this summer.  2010 has been a year for major changes and maturing (if you can believe it) in a sense. After hitting a plateau in every sense of the word with my previous job of nearly 4 years,  I left for greener pastures to work with film (in particular The Angelika Film Center.) One aspect of my job will be overseeing their social media (You can keep up with me by following @AngelikaFilmCen and reading blog updates at AngelikaBlog.com) It’s all very fun and exciting and engaging which is amazing but hard to juggle along with the blog, my social life, family life and real life. I contemplated putting Tastes Like Caramel on a hiatus indefinitely (I did informally), but as I’ve said before this blog is a creative outlet for me.  There is no monetary incentive here but it’s the passion I feel about art, music and film that keeps this alive. I have a lot of history on these pages so I intend to keep it alive. I intend to continue to have fun, go to shows, interview bands and write about it here.

Now that I’ve gotten that out of the way… my summer was great but uneventful. I started the new job so my head has been focused on doing the best I can but now that I’m up to speed I should be able to do more fun things and share those experiences with you. I cannot believe it is September 1st! Here are a few highlights from August since I was so M.I.A. in the blogosphere.

August 16th: T.I.’s very first post-jail concert at Capitale.

Mary J. Blige, Cam’Ron, B.o.B., Keri Hilson, Swizz Beats all performed with T.I. for a 3 hour long show presented by AXE at the swanky Capitale venue! Free hors d’oeuvres and drinks, wardrobe changes and did I mention MARY J. BLIGE! Wendy Williams and Ciara (accidentally touched my back when going down the stairs) were also in attendance.

Class Actress at Mercury Lounge

August 19th: Class Actress and Brahms at Mercury Lounge

Early in the afternoon I stopped by Virgin Mobile Live to hang with Abbey Braden for an on-air interview and to my surprise Class Actress aka Elizabeth Harper was in studio. In case you forgot I was interviewed her at Brooklyn Bowl in April during the  Kylie Minogue encounter! Elizabeth is always pleasant in person and onstage, which we saw later that night at Mercury Lounge. Brahms played an incredible and visually infectious  set following Class Actress. They’re on my list of bands you must see in 2010!

August 21st: Crystal Castles deathmatch at Terminal 5

Photo-pass issues at Terminal 5 for Crystal Castles (no surprise) so I didn’t even bother taking pictures from the audience, in fear that my camera would be destroyed. Amazing fun, annoying crowd, loud, chaos and epic moshing. Check out my review/pictures/video from their show at Irving Plaza if you don’t believe me.

mp3: T.I.  – Hell of a Life

mp3: Brahms – Brought it Out

mp3: Crystal Castles – Insectica

mp3: Class Actress – All the Saints

Empire of the Sun Live at Terminal 5, 8.9.10

Back in 2008 a friend introduced me to Empire of the Sun via the music video for Walking on a Dream, my initial reaction being “What is this…?” After a few listens, views and the supplemental  debut album, Empire of the Sun began to make sense.

Two years after the release of Walking on a Dream, the band decided they were finally ready to make a debut performance in North America with a very brief 7-gig tour beginning earlier this month. In New York they played two sold-out shows at Terminal 5, the second of which I was in the house for.

Having been under the radar for over a year after the release of their debut I was not quite sure what to expect from the live show, actually I was pretty skeptical. However from the opening notes of Standing on the Shore and the accompanying visual and performance art, I was quickly proven otherwise. Lead singer Luke Steele clearly has an image and concept for this project, and onstage it is the best execution of avant-garde in my opinion (“as I told someone at the show Empire of the Sun is who Lady Gaga would be if she did it right”)

Standout moments from the set included Swordfish Hotkiss Night complete with swordfish-masked dancers, Without You performed seated in a wheelchair, and of course the closer Walking on a Dream. This is a show not to be missed so if the rare opportunity comes your way, don’t miss out!  Pictures and full set-list below.

Set List: Intro // Standing on the Shore // Breakdown // Half Mast // We Are the People // Delta Bay // The World // Movies // Swordfish Hotkiss Night // Without You // Tiger By My Side // Walking on a Dream

mp3: Empire of The Sun – Country

mp3: Empire of The Sun – Walking on a Dream (Van SheTech Remix)

I’ve seen James Murphy DJ a number of times but it wasn’t until last night that I finally saw LCD Soundsystem in concert (I especially kicked myself for missing the gig with Arcade Fire on Randall’s Island), an experience that has left me on a high leading into the weekend. Holy Ghost! followed up their very first live show (see: Holy Ghost! Live at Under 100) with the high-lauded supporting slot for LCD Soundsystem, and although the stage almost entirely dark they managed to get the crowd even more amped up for the headliner.

When the opening notes of US v Them kicked in a wave of warmth hugged me as I danced along and snapped pictures, basking in the orchestra of lights and sounds. And James Murphy loves it too! What is refreshing about seeing LCD Soundsystem work collectively onstage to put on an awesome show is that you can genuinely tell that they are having fun and doing something that comes naturally.

Surprisingly the 15 song set only consisted of 3 new songs but kept fans new and old thoroughly happy and entertained. Show highlights included Get Innocuous, All I Want, All My Friends, Someone Great and the epic closing number for New York I Love You which melted into a cover of Jay-Z’s Empire State of Mind and a balloon shower. This was definitely one of my favorite shows in recent memory but my only complaint was that Dance Yrself Clean and Home were left out, which next time I bump into James Murphy at a bar will casually plead for in upcoming shows. Spotted at the show: Karen O. with Nick Zinner (who I sadly missed) and Katy Perry.

Setlist: Us v. Them // Drunk Girls // Get Innocuous //Yr City’s A Sucker // Pow Pow // Daft Punk is Playing at My House // All I Want // All My Friends // I Can Change // Tribulations // Movement // Yeah Encore: Someone Great // Losing My Edge // New York I Love You But You’re Bringing Me Down + Empire State of Mind

mp3: LCD Soundsystem – Someone Great [alt]

mp3: LCD Soundsystem – Drunk Girls (Holy Ghost! Remix) [alt]

The set was heavily focused on new material but fan favorites were also performed before an awe-inducing backdrop of lights and visuals. Highlights for me included Martina Topley-Rose’s rendition of Teardrop and Horace Andy‘s vocals on Angel (which you can enjoy below.) Setlist courtesy of Sheena Beaston.

Setlist: United Snakes // Babel // Risingson // Girl, I Love You // Psyche // Future Proof // Invade Me // Teardrop // Mezzanine //Angel // Safe From Harm // Inertia Creeps // Encore: Splitting the Atom // Unfinished Sympathy // Atlas Air //Karmakoma

mp3: Massive Attack – Safe From Harm (Perfecto Mix) [alt]

The stage was covered with crocheted slips and colorful stripes after 9PM when Sia stepped onstage wearing a fringy plastic gown and a blinking unicorn horn for The Fight.  Adoring fans chanted along like the choir, cheering and showering the Australian singer with an eccentric range of gifts (chocolate, an umbrella, socks, pillows…)

Sia’s interaction goes beyond anything I’ve ever seen, which was best shown when she stopped the show to tell security that it was okay that fans record her performance! The 17-song set concluded with Sia wearing bubble-machine wings before dipping into the night. A Truly magical show! Full set list and pictures below. We Are Born will be in stores on June 8th and will surely be a great addition to your summer playlisting!

SET LIST: The Fight // Buttons // Big Girl, Little Girl // Little Black Sandals // You’ve Changed // Oh Father (Madonna Cover) // Lentil // Bring Night // I Go To Sleep // Never Gonna Leave Me // The Girl You Lost to Cocaine // Cloud // Clap Your Hands // You Have Been Loved // Breathe Me // ENCORE: Co-Dependent // Soon We’ll Be Found

mp3: Sia – Bring Night

mp3: Lauren Flax and Sia – You’ve Changed [alt]

Gossip as always were an absolute pleasure to see live. Fans shook the house as Beth Ditto’s powerful and gut wrenching voice rang through Terminal 5, while band members Brace Paine and Hannah Blilie recreated the epic music to match.

My personal highlights of their set last night included live renditions of Love Long Distance and the cover of Grace Jones‘ Pull Up to the Bumper. Check out the full gallery from last night’s show HERE and more live videos via Tastes Like Caramel’s Official YouTube Channel.

mp3: Crookers featuring Rye Rye – Hip Hop Changed [alt]

mp3: Gossip – Heavy Cross (RAC Remix) [alt]