Clips

Songstress Ani DiFranco performed a powerful, peerless set — the second of two sold out shows at Manhattan’s Irving Plaza — despite a barrage of setbacks that included shoddy monitoring, stubbornly out-of-tune guitars, broken strings and visable exhaustion. The 25-year-old songwriter was armed only with her Alvarez acoustic guitar, black-taped Lee Press-On Nails and a…

Superchunk’s Mac McCaughan’s convulsed with dizzying recklessness Tuesday night as Chapel Hill’s reigning hook-monger pummelled the sold-out crowd with seething bursts of guitar noise. Spinning and faltering like a Tazmanian across Irving Plaza’s stage, McCaughan came perilously close to knocking pogoing uber-bassist (and former girlfriend) Laura Ballance into the wings. But Ballance and drummer John…

Though frontman Dean Wareham’s deadpan delivery and perpetual straight face were little indication, Luna’s shimmering guitar pop shone brilliantly Saturday night, illuminating the bleak and twisted landscape Wareham navigates with such svelte. Waking their latest triumph, Penthouse, from its mordant and mellow foundation, Wareham and Sean Eden’s wall of swirling, simmering guitars blared a full-tilt,…

It’s a sweltering summer afternoon when Better Than Ezra’s Cary Bonnecaze shows up late from soundcheck 24 floors above the impending clamour of the MTV Music Awards. The band is in New York City to kick of the CMJ New Music Festival with a show at The Academy, collect their gold record and, apparently, shop.…

Late afternoon. Near Montreal, Quebec. Matthew Sweet checks in from his tour bus. Touring with Canada’s Tragically Hip, Inbreds and Spirit of the West along with Eric’s Trip, Reo-Static, Blues Traveler and Ziggy Marley. Having already played a forty minute set, Sweet is phoning in one of five interviews in a row in support of…

Better Than Ezra’s Kevin Griffin may well be Lemonhead Evan Dando’s heir apparent as pop’s newest poster boy. Scissor kicking and hip swaying in his red cords, suede Cons and gold Strat, Griffin peered through his curly mop top at the homogenous throngs of hair flippers and head bangers with apparent appreciation for the 800,000…