Sonic Boom @ The Knitting Factory (3.30.2012)

Pete Kember (Sonic Boom of Spacemen 3 and Spectrum) played a solo show last weekend at the Knitting Factory in Brooklyn.  Aside from his own musical ventures, he has also made a name for himself as a producer, most recently working with Noah Lennox (Panda Bear, Animal Collective) on his fourth solo release Tomboy and subsequent touring dates (you can find him on the Music Hall of Williamsburg and Webster Hall recordings). His contributions to the Tomboy material were impressive, exemplifying his understanding of sound and texture, as well as his overall talent.  Evan and I became acquainted with Pete over the last few months and were given permission to record his performance this weekend.

Panda Bear @ Webster Hall (10.1.2011)

When we saw Panda Bear in July at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, me and Jen had some bad luck. While the show was for the most part excellent (minus some minor feedback issues which could be chalked up to Panda and Sonic Boom playing together for the first time), we had some mishaps with our recorder and the recording was essentially trash. Boo. When we saw that he was doing another show in October, though, we were double psyched. First, it was another chance to hear one of the top albums from 2011 live, and second because we could try to redeem ourselves! I think you'll all be excited to find that we have the first quality audio recording of the Panda Bear/Sonic Boom Tomboy tour.

Animal Collective @ Prospect Park (7.12.2011)

We've been lucky enough to catch Animal Collective three times prior to this performance, our favorite of the three being at Prospect Park in August of 2009.  The atmosphere and incredible stage design by Abby Portner at the bandshell two summers ago certainly contributed to our love for the show, as well as our excitement when we heard that the band would be returning to the park this year.  Animal Collective, being our favorite band for many years now, has never disappointed us with any of their music (live or studio) and this time was no exception.

Panda Bear @ The Music Hall of Williamsburg (7.3.2010)

Panda Bear played this past Sunday at the Music Hall of Williamsburg. The show felt like a bit of a victory lap (in a good way!) for Panda's recent release, Tomboy. He played, for the first time, the tracks in the same order as they appeared on the album. On top of that, he also collaborated with Sonic Boom/Pete Kember of Spaceman 3 (the producer of the album) for the show. Pete added samples and sounds to give the songs the complete feel they had on the album. Danny Perez was also on stage, adding his perfectly fitting projections to the music. He also had two projectors shining light out onto the crowd, completing the surreal environment. The effect was to make you feel lost in the music, especially during the more droney sections between songs

Panda Bear "Surfers Hymn" Demo (2008)

Here's another post that is a little out of the ordinary for Two Sails.  We have been given the opportunity to host a link for Panda Bear's demo version of his song "Surfers Hymn" from 2008 given to us by Collected Animals member dirtypants. After years of hearing about how he had an early recorded version of this song, he finally got permission from Noah Lennox himself (through the help of Sonic Boom) to share the early version.  This is what Noah had to say in the email to Sonic Boom:

'surfers hymn was one of the first two songs i did (for tomboy lp) . the other was a very different version of friendship bracelet which at the time was called i want to go with you. i had originally done the surfers hymn recording for a skateboarding video part featuring a friend of mine but the video producers rejected it so it just kind of sat around. i dont mind if people want to share around that version although i wonder where they got it haha.'' 

Additionally, dirtypants provided us with some background information on his involvement with the track:

"In 2008, I got a phone call from a friend who works for Alien Workshop asking if I wanted to hear some new Animal Collective tracks. He got the tracks because he was heavily involved with their 2009 video "Mind Field." I ended up listening to the finished studio versions of In the Flowers, My Girls, Summertime Clothes, Daily Routine and Brother Sport, which were still mostly referred to as Dancer, House, Bearhug, Daily Routine and Brothersport. He then opened a folder that had Surfer's Hymn and mentioned that Noah was going to put an album out the following year featuring that song. 

Almost 3 years later and here we are now! It was really hard to not share this with anyone, but I had to honor my promise so my friend wouldn't lose his job. Hope it was worth the wait!"

This version of "Surfers Hymn" resembles the more minimal version on the ATP 2009 recording.  Enjoy and thanks to everyone involved!

Download "Surfers Hymn" HERE

Panda Bear @ ATP (9.11.09)

This post will be a little bit different than the norm since we didn't actually record this concert. Me and Jen were there though, we just didn't have a recorder at the time. This recording comes courtesy of Collected Animals user Maxwell Hell, who ripped the concert off of an internet broadcast by WMFU radio. This concert is probably the best I've ever been to for a bunch of reasons: the setting (Kutcher's Resort in upstate NY) was beautiful and relaxing, it was our first time seeing Panda Bear solo, and the setlist (complete with 3 songs we had never heard before) was a near perfect mix of new and old, with I Think I Can, Surfer's Hymn, and Friendship Bracelet for the first time, along with what is probably the best version of Bros and a rare live version of Boneless.