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Album Art for Plant and Animal's Parc Avenue

I’m glad I managed to snag last minute tickets to see Plants and Animals & Born Ruffians—both Canadian indie bands—at Mercury Lounge last night. I hadn’t heard Plants and Animals before but was immediately impressed by their range and the way they artfully blended a vast array of influences—a bit of the Kooks, The Beatles, Neil Young, Devandra Banhart, Arcade Fire, Yeasayers. They could even go from orchestral, to a dance-driven Afro-beat, to a haunting guitar instrumental.

The Born Ruffians have a very unique sound; it’s frenetic, folksy, and edgy but at the center of their melodies is a special “brand of lovelorn poetry sung by frontman Luke Lalonde sung with equal parts distress and persuasion”—perfectly captured by the iTunes review.

Here’s a sampling of the music:

Plants and Animals - Good Friend
Plants and Animals - Guru
Born Ruffians - I Need A Life
Born Ruffians - Hummingbird

I’ve been obsessed with Brooke Waggoner since she released her first EP last year and jumped at the chance to see her given that I missed her the last time. It was my first time at Joe’s Pub and just like Brooke put it, I was expecting something very “pub-sey”. Quite the contrary—reminiscent of a speakeasy, it has a dark candlelit ambiance, velvet walls and couches to lounge on. Brooke was everything I expected her to be and more: beautiful voice, brilliant on the piano, quirky, and cute with a childlike playfulness that resonates in her music—I think I have a crush!

You can download Brooke’s first EP, Fresh Pair of Eyes, free from her website.

The Pines who opened were really refreshing as well… deep, haunting, and Dylan-esque! What’s more, the club played Devendra Banhart in between sets—totally geeked out!

Enjoy this little video I shot of the concert. The “Hearts on Fire” finale by Cut Copy was the highlight but all the jumping around messed up the audio. Either way, the lights were off the charts.