Bon Iver

Check out this stripped-down (only pianos and vocals) performance from Bon Iver. Or I should say Grammy award winner Bon Iver.

- Joel

Balmorhea

My sister and I were talking about Balmorhea tonight, so I decided to check out their website. Little did I know they had recently recorded a performance for SerialBox. Check it out a video or download the audio below.

- Joel

Andrew Ripp

Another performance from Andrew Ripp. The guy can sing.

- Joel

Andrew Ripp - "Joy to the World"

It's pretty bad that I've let law school get in the way of blogging. I need to get my priorities straight. But now that it's finals season, I'll let blogging be my study break. I saw this guy - Andrew Ripp - in Austin a month ago. He's got legit vocal ability. I'm normally not a fan of non-traditional takes on Christmas carols, but I'll give Andrew Ripp a pass because of his mad pipes.

Enjoy.

- Joel

Bon Iver

Here's a stripped-down piano version of Bon Iver's "Beth/Rest" as performed for NPR's "New World Cafe".

- Joel

Bon Iver - "Beth/Rest (Piano Version)

Andrew Belle Daytrotter Session

I'm a big fan of Andrew Belle, a singer/songwriter from Nashville. He recorded a great session for Daytrotter.com. Go here to listen to and download the session for free. If you've never heard of Andrew Belle, check out a song of his below.

- Joel

Andrew Belle - "Static Wave feat. Katie Herzig"

Fleet Foxes

In anticipation of their upcoming album Helplessness Blues, Fleet Foxes played today for BBC Radio 1. Go here if you'd like to download the entire performance. You can also check out a few tracks below. I'm excited by what I hear in these live tracks (I'm intentionally avoiding all leaks for this album).

- Joel

Fleet Foxes - "Montezuma (Maida Vale Session)"

Fleet Foxes - "Battery Kinzie (Maida Vale Session)"

Spoon - Take Away Show

Spoon is my favorite band that I have yet to see in person (besides The Beatles of course, which is impossible, until I finish building my time machine). I'm becoming more and more keen on the idea of attending law school in Austin, Texas, which just so happens to be where these guys reside. Maybe I'd get to see them then. Check out an excellent performance of theirs in Paris for La Blogotheque. If you like what you hear, you can download the recordings here. While all three songs were excellent, "Black Like Me" was my favorite of the performance.

- Joel

The Morning Benders

A few pretty little diddies performed by The Morning Benders for La Blogotheque. You can watch a performance of one of the tracks below the mp3 links.

- Joel

The Morning Benders - "Oh Annie (live)"

The Morning Benders - "Virgins (live)"

A tribute to Townes Van Zandt as played by Isobel Campbell and Willy Mason.

- Joel

Royal Forest

I saw this video on the Public School blog. The band is Royal Forest. I haven't listened to much of their music but the song in the video is good. It was shot at the sand dunes in Monahans, Texas. As you can see, they snuck in the shoot right before a big storm. Good stuff.

- Joel

Lisbon

The Walkmen are just about my favorite thing going right now. Their new album drops tomorrow. In honor of that, here is another live performance of theirs. This time in France with the same acoustic feel as one I posted last week. The great thing about the video below is that you can skip through to different songs - kind of like a DVD. Very nice. Also, if you like performances like these and are a fan of bands like Beach House, Vampire Weekend, Bon Iver, or The Dodos, just go here for their performances.

- Joel

The Walkmen

The Walkmen release their next album in nine days. The band stopped by the New York Public Library earlier this month and played a few of their new tunes.

- Joel

Dead Man's Bones

If you didn't already love Ryan Gosling, you will after watching his band perform at an old folks home. If you watch all the way to the end (even past the weird interlude in the middle) you'll get to see the children's choir and the old folks break into a dance party. It's kind of ironic that Dead Man's Bones is performing for nearly-dead men's bones. Get it?

- Joel

Edward Sharpe Take Away Show

A bunch of crazy hippies playing to a bunch of crazy French kids. See more shows like this at La Blogotheque.

- Joel

Tallest Man On Earth

I've posted about The Tallest Man on Earth before. If you are partial to Bob Dylan's growl or Weezy's croak then you'll enjoy this guy as well. Watch a performance of Sister Rosetta Tharpe's "My Journey To The Sky" below.

- Joel

Spoon

When I first bought Spoon's album this year, I wasn't in the right mood to enjoy it. However, it really is a great album. The band played on Jimmy Fallon last night. Britt Daniel decided to rock the white jeans.

- Joel

Morning Benders - "Stitches"

What do you get when you put 75 California hipsters in a room? Apparently you get some pretty cool music. Yours Truly recently posted this video from a session recorded last December. If you'd like to download the audio version of the live session, I've put that below as well. Enjoy.

- Joel

The Morning Benders – "Stitches (Yours Truly Session)"

Lissie - Pursuit of Happiness

After hearing this song and watching the video, I have a semi-crush on Lissie Maurus. Not really but you gotta love a girl who digs hip hop and can sing like she can. Here she covers the Kid Cudi track "Pursuit of Happiness". I think I like it better than the original version. You can watch the performance and download the live recording below. As with any hip hop, beware of a bit of language.

- Joel

Lissie - "Pursuit of Happiness (Kid Cudi Cover)"

Sufjan Out of Hiding

Fans of Sufjan Stevens will be happy to know he is still alive. He sang back up for The National during their performance on The Late Show with David Letterman. Watch the performance below. Sufjan is the timid looking fellow on the right. If only he would pick up the 50 states project again...alas. In other news, The National really did nail their performance.

- Joel