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.

Deakin @ The New Museum, NY (12.10.2010)

Deakin (Josh Dibb) is the third member of Animal Collective to pursue his own solo career.  Evan and I followed the bootlegs of his solo shows for almost a year prior to seeing him at the New Museum in New York City.  The New Museum provided an intimate setting for the show to take place which was a nice change from the large shows that Animal Collective and even Panda Bear are now known to play.

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