New York
Moon Taxi
Saturday, December 01, 2012 (9:00 PM - 2:00 AM) | 
Bowery Ballroom 6 Delancey St. New York NY
Moon Taxi
The Ludlow Thieves, Great Elk
The Ludlow Thieves, Great Elk
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Moon Taxi is one of those rare bands that unites musical ingenuity with thoughtful lyrics and still somehow manages to wildly entertain and thrill a crowd. Their new record, Cabaret, is a layered, multi-dimensional endeavor that displays the band’s maturing sense of their own musical identity. A follow-up to their live album, Live Ride, Cabaret illustrates the challenges of defining yourself in a world that seems to be suffering from its own identity loss. Lead singer Trevor Terndrup says, “It’s about juxtaposition—putting together seemingly opposite ideas and finding a strange harmony.” Inspired by surrealist artwork and novelist Tom Robbins, Terndrup says, “I guess we are trying to say that things are not so black and white, or good or evil, but relative to your own perspective.”
Evoking the musical revolution of the sixties and seventies, Moon Taxi ignites their eclectic sound with unique melodies and energetic shows. The band has already formed a loyal fan base across the Southeast, selling out clubs and creating a strong grassroots following. Keyboardist Wes Bailey says, “It’s an incredible feeling to see people who we’ve never met before in a town we’ve never played before, dancing and singing our lyrics at the top of their lungs. That’s what really gets us off.”
The songs on Cabaret are stories in themselves, each contributing to the continuing narrative of ideals lost to youth and also newly discovered for the future—both of revelry and social-consciousness. On “Hideaway”, an anti-war protest is heard in the background. The chant was recorded on the spur of the moment when Trevor and guitarist Spencer Thomson followed an anti-Middle Eastern occupation march during a trip to New York City. Spencer opened his laptop to capture the moment, and the use of the chant, he says, shows the band’s hip-hop influences. Songs such as “Southern Trance”, “Whiskey Sunset”, and “Cabaret”, perpetuate youthful visions of campfires, torn jeans, and a good roll in the hay with the cutest stranger at the party. Spencer says about the variety of their songs, “Moon Taxi is unique because we don’t have preconceived notions about who we are supposed to be so there are no boundaries for what we are willing to do or try.”
Inspired by artists who push the envelope, such as minimalist composer Phillip Glass, Director Quentin Tarintino, and bands like The Beatles and Radiohead, Moon Taxi’s study of the greats is apparent on Cabaret. The record was recorded at Alex The Great in Nashville, where others such as Gomez, Yo La Tengo, and Be Your Own Pet have also sojourned. Cabaret was impressively produced by the band's guitarist Spencer Thomson and Hank Sullivant (Whigs, MGMT, Kuroma), mixed by Grammy award winning sound engineer Vance Powell (Raconteurs), and features folk/hip-hop artist Matisyahu, who the band has also opened for, on the track “Square Circles”.
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Saturday, December 01, 2012 (9:00 PM - 2:00 AM)
Bowery Ballroom 6 Delancey St., New YorkNY
Map of 6 Delancey St.
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