In the day of digital photography concert reviews, and photos typically come the next day, but over here at the Great Pumpkin I move at a slower pace…and it’s not because I’m lazy, but more due to the fact that my pictures come from a film canister.

City Center played the first show of their US tour on March 29th at Death By Audio (Love of Everything was there too, and there will be photos and video of them to come), and while this was only my third time seeing City Center play I’ve followed them so closely over the past year and a half it felt like I’ve seen the play every night for several weeks straight.

City Center ended up playing third right in the middle of an amazing night of music.  Fred and Ryan have an aura around them, and it feels like community follows them were ever they go.  Death By Audio has been cleaned up a bit, which you can probably tell by the paint on the walls, and this night was just relaxed.  While I didn’t know very many people at the show it just felt like everyone was friends there to watch other friends play music.  Oddly enough I ended up running into someone I’ve know for years…basically good vibes all around.

City Center brought their sweet sounds to an attentive room, and for only two men on stage they are completely engaging. Running through the full range of genres from ambient, pop, noise, and psychedelic rock they keep their set interesting, and you can never anticipate their next move.  There is something special about a band that can do just about anything, but keep their same warm vibe throughout their adventures in sound.

Even after experiencing City Center live several times I’m still enamored by them.  While some bands make music and get caught up in the business of it City Center, at the heart of it, are friends and there is something special about that.  These gentlemen are top notch and if they are coming through your town I highly recommend catching them.

Fred and Ryan I wish you safety and luck on your tour, and look forward to seeing you back in NYC.

City Center is still on tour here are the tour dates according to the CC blog:

• 04.22 Thu Lubbock, Texas. Bash Riprocks
• 04.23 Fri Austin, Texas. Mohawk (3rd Annual Psych Fest!!)
• 04.24 Sat Denton, Texas Rubbergloves
• 04.27 Tue Lawrence, Kansas. Replay Lounge
• 04.28 Wed University City, MO. Cicero’s
• 04.29 Thu Bloomington, Indiana. The Bishop
• 04.30 Fri Detroit, Michigan. Majestic Cafe w/ Harlem, Johnny Ill Band

I always talk about City Center’s diversity in sound, and I figure this is as good a time as any to share with you a selection of some of my favorite downloads that they have made available off their blog.  While some of these tracks have been posted on the Great Pumpkin before I’m posting them again mainly due to the fact that I can now host them myself…I’ve specifically obsessed about “Obvious” for a really long time…possibly my favorite City Center track to date.  I also revisited the High Places remix recently, and that version of “Whitey Hands” is really moving me right now.

[mp3] City Center- “Obvious”

[mp3] City Center- “Whitey Hands (High Places Remix)”

“This Is How We see…” is a demo version of City Center’s track from their way out of print split 7″ with Grouper:

[mp3] City Center- “This Is How We See… (1st Version)”

I’m a sucker for covers, and have loved this Smiths cover since the first time I heard it…the Bat For Lashes cover is a new one that popped up really recently on the blog.

[mp3] City Center- “Girlfriend in a Coma (Smiths cover)”

[mp3] City Center- “Daniel (Bat For Lashes cover)”

Again all of these were made available for free download via City Center’s blog (I know…how fucking cool is that?!?).  If you are digging on these… search through the archives…you are sure to find some awesome free gems.

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City Center has many releases out, and you can buy most of them here, or directly from the band (via email//paypal) here.

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• More on City Center can be found here.
• These photos are from the White Lodge. If you would like to use these photos please link back to the flickr page, and credit the White Lodge. More posts featuring photos from the White Lodge can be found here.