Stephen Thompson

First Listen: Thao & The Get Down Stay Down, 'We The Common'

Stephen Thompson — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 22:08:06 +0000

Audio for this feature is no longer available.

Quirky but cutting, playful but forceful, controlled but ragged, Thao Nguyen is one of the most commanding and distinctive young singers around. She infuses everything around her with electricity and mischievous boldness, from her live-wire concerts to the way her songs gallop and clamor, picking up intensity as they go along. With her band The Get Down Stay Down, Nguyen is about to release her third album — We the Common, out Feb.

Alabama Shakes, Live In Concert: SXSW 2012

Stephen Thompson — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 13:16:10 +0000

A staple of "Bands To Watch" lists far and wide, Alabama Shakes sure didn't shrink under the open Texas skies during NPR Music's 2012 SXSW showcase at Stubb's on Wednesday night. Armed with a bright new batch of songs from the forthcoming Boys & Girls — not to mention booming, shout-along standbys like "Hold On" — lead singer Brittany Howard seemed to feed off a crowd 2,000 strong and packed to the exits.

Dan Deacon, Live In Concert: SXSW 2012

Stephen Thompson — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 13:15:51 +0000

Few high-profile musicians could disappear into the SXSW crowd as seamlessly as Dan Deacon, who doesn't exactly cut a lithe, otherworldly, Mick Jagger-esque figure offstage. But everything about his set at Stubb's on Wednesday night was a raving, raging bundle of surprises: Deacon puts on some of the most rivetingly unpredictable, oddly interactive concerts in the business, whether he's teaching the crowd how to move in choreographed unison — witness the dance contest that precedes "Konono Ripoff No.

Sharon Van Etten, Live In Concert: SXSW 2012

Stephen Thompson — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 13:12:23 +0000

Staring out across the sea of people crowding an outdoor band shell in Austin, Sharon Van Etten practically dared her audience to pipe down and listen as she held long, cooing notes.

The Cranberries: Tiny Desk Concert

Stephen Thompson — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 16:32:53 +0000

This One's For The Chicken: A Super Bowl Party With A Purpose

Stephen Thompson — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 11:49:00 +0000

This Sunday will mark the 16th annual installment of "Chicken Bowl," my Super Bowl party, which doubles as a grand fried-chicken-eating contest. As many as 80 friends, coworkers, enablers and hangers-on will cram into my long-suffering house for this noble occasion.

But even with all the extravagances I've cobbled together to keep them happy — large TVs, vintage arcade machines, working toilets — there has never been a shred of doubt that chicken is king.

I spend more at Popeye's on this particular Sunday than I spend on my wardrobe in a year, so great is the demand.

Heartless Bastards - Arrow

Aaron Sharpe and Stephen Thompson — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 19:11:40 +0000

February's CD of the Month is "Arrow" from Cincinnati's very own, Heartless Bastards.

JOIN THE CLUB TODAY!

Bon Iver On World Cafe

Stephen Thompson — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 07:30:00 +0000

It's a stretch to call "Beth/Rest" the year's most divisive song, but it's hard to discuss Bon Iver's second album without weighing in on its '80s-style closer.

Mates Of State: Tiny Desk Concert

Stephen Thompson — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 02:00:46 +0000

Mates of State's music isn't the stuff of unplugged busking in subway stations, or of singing listeners to sleep. It's big, broad and bold — voices shouting in unison over arrangements that swell and billow.