The infectious, psychedelic nature of the 5-man act had the entire crowd, including myself, bouncing around the venue. The vocals, however, were obscure. Neon Indian’s technique of burying their voices into their instruments was interesting to say the least. They seized upon their lo-fi abilities, which made it hard to dissect Palomo’s voice from the layers of instruments. Did this make the concert less enjoyable? No. Each song individually was an experiment. Even the transitions between songs were decorated with video game sound effects and throbbing beats that hyped the crowd.

Tracks off their new album, Era Extraña, were given an extra punch in comparison to LP format. Notable songs and crowd favorites, “Hex Girlfriend” and “Polish Girl,” sent vibrating waves crashing around the venue. Appreciation was showed whenever the mic was turned to the crowd to fill in a chorus or a few “oh oh oh” lines. In “Future Sick,” the band took advantage of screeching electronics and a catchy chorus. They also held onto the precision they were certain of maintaining throughout the show. It’s evident that Neon Indian has learned how to make their performances crisper but still maintain their fuzzy nature.

Even though it has a chiller vibe, “Physic Chasms” was also a song that had the venue fully engaged in the performance. Palomo proved to be a good showman with his firm grip on the mic and sly maneuvers around the stage. The band had an unusually long encore (or intermission rather) that included first album, Psychic Chasms, hits “Should Have Taken Acid With You” and “Deadbeat Summer” which satisfied old fans.

Neon Indian has come to the forefront of indie music since their album debut in 2009 and they have been able to collect a pretty widespread fan base, which is a rarity. It’s safe to say I spotted a few girls who had half of their heads shaved sharing the venue with boys who look like they frequent Barstool Sports. I wished that Palomo’s voice was more articulate amongst the heavy synth beats and smash-a-bash drums, but in the end I did end up losing my voice. In a literal sense, Neon Indian was a more polished and entertaining machine than I had expected.

M83 greeted a packed house with a barrage of neon beams, analogue synths, costumed cape-wearing wolves and ear-deafening bass during their performance at Boston’s House of Blues on May 9.

Swedish band, I Break Horses, opened for M83 and performed in the same vein as the headlining group: breathy vocals from Maria Lindén and Fredrik Balck accompanied pounding bass lines supplied by their impeccably dressed Swedish band mates. For the exception of a few stoned, mildly-confused faces in the audience, the band was received fairly well.

After I Break Horses’ brief performance, crowds were kept in darkness for nearly an hour due to slow stage set-up (on part of the venue) for M83. However, the wait wasn’t in vain; fans were rewarded with a blast of bass, flashing neon lights, and Morgan Kibby – in a wolf’s head and cape – with his arms outstretched in welcome to a screaming audience.

Sound wise, aside from a few perfectly-timed saxophone improv solos, there wasn’t too much divergence from what’s normally heard on the band’s albums. Highlights of the show included performances of “Steve McQueen,” “We Own The Sky” and of course the band’s well-known single, “Midnight City,” as well as a lengthy encore during which the humble frontman Anthony Gonzalez blew kisses of gratitude to the audience.

M83 did an impressive job of retaining the same sonic quality heard on their recordings during the live show. While many musicians and DJs bury themselves in their equipment during dance shows, neglecting their audience in favor of recreating the polished sound of their recordings, M83’s main focus was split between each other and their audience –who undoubtedly seemed to enjoy Jordan Lawlor’s exaggerated jittery onstage antics.

Honestly, at a time when there are a sea of bands performing dance music hardly distinguishable from each other, M83 is a pretty decent deviation from the norm.

By incorporating elements of shoegaze and slight tinges of post-punk into their set, the band created a familiar atmosphere that drew dance music fans and those who would usually shy away from similar acts alike to their show.

If bass, capes, synths, neon lights, and Lawlor’s near-epileptic spasms seem like a nice combination, you’ll definitely get your money’s worth from this band.

Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros played two back-to-back nights at the Roseland Ballroom in Manhattan. The headliner was supported by Fool’s Gold, a band from Los Angeles who kicked off the evening with a five-minute intro-jam preceding their first song. Most impressive was the quick, clean picking exhibited by both guitarists.

What Fool’s Gold lacked in stage presence and personality was far more than made up for by the crowd-interaction of Alexander Ebert and the sheer likability of Jade Castrinos during a two-hour-long set by Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros. I’ll be blunt – the barefooted front man appeared as though he had not showered in about a week, but that was no matter. Continually throughout the show, Alex held fans’ hands, danced in the crowd, conversed with the sea of people before him, and once, even passed the microphone into the audience. The instruments and back-up vocals of the many band members (the number falling in the double digits) truly complemented Alexander’s stirring voice. Lead female vocalist Jade seemed to sing much more in concert than on the band’s recorded tracks. Extensively hearing her unique voice – especially alongside Alex’s – turned out to be one of my favorite aspects of the evening.

Alexander made it clear that the “set list thing” was not quite his style, so he mostly based the course of the show on fans’ requests. Although I am a fan of the band, they performed many songs that I had never previously heard. I expected to experience the majority of Up From Below, seeing as it is the band’s only full-length album to date. However, what the crowd received was a just sampling of songs from the band’s debut album, (“Carries On,” “Up From Below”) along with a few tunes from Alexander’s solo side project, (“Truth,” “Awake My Body”) and several new songs from the upcoming album, Here (“Man on Fire,” “That’s What’s Up.”) While I was not familiar with the entire set, I was not at all disappointed. I am now more interested in Alexander’s solo project and eager to purchase Here, which will be released May 29.

“That’s What’s Up,” the first single off of Here, was the highlight of the show. It arrived after several jam sessions that, frankly, were far too long and reoccurring to remain totally enjoyable. But when Jade came up front and sat down next to Alex, the pair became completely engulfed in one another as they sang together. They put on a charming little sit down act: they gazed into each others’ eyes, pretended to be riding in a car, and simultaneously crossed and uncrossed their legs to the beat of the drums. There was indescribable energy between them as they sang, “We’ve been best friends forever darling, that’s what’s up… You’ve got my love to lean on darling no matter what!” Although they played up the performance, it was clear that the words were genuine.

As I would have predicted, “Home” seemed to be the big finale. But just before the band could leave the stage, Alex hopped down, entered the crowd, walked about 20 feet in, and planted himself on the floor. He invited everyone around him to join him on the ground for one final song. Despite the fact that I was kneeling in stale beer, it was unlike anything I had previously experienced at a concert, and something I will never forget.

Overall, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros put on a great show. Having so many people in one band may seem excessive, but with the skill at which they played their (sometimes obscure) instruments, it was evident that every person on stage was there for a reason. As mentioned, I found issue in the extensive jam sessions that they consistently resorted to. It often felt as though they were teasing the crowd or were simply dragging out songs for up to twenty minutes. However, I suppose this should have been expected since every band member deserves to receive his or her share of the spot light.

Real Estate, a five-piece band from New Jersey, preceded The Shins with a rather lifeless performance. The Shins opened with “Caring is Creepy” and “Australia” before playing “Simple Song,” the single from their new album. Some of the best numbers – “Saint Simon,” “So Says I” and “Kissing the Lipless” – were from 2003’s Chutes Too Narrow.

The Shins have four solid, impeccably crafted albums, but their varying vibes make them difficult to reconcile in a live performance. The songs performed from Oh, Inverted World were the milestones – the songs considered their classics. The concert marked Chutes Too Narrow a critical part of their repertoire. The tracks played from Wincing the Night Away were a bit more upbeat and fun. And those from Port of Morrow show Mercer stepping in a different direction as he reflects back and hearkens to the future, providing some wise, more optimistic advice. At times, The Shins struggled to make these differing worlds sound cohesive.

Despite this and an inherent awkward quality (which was actually endearing), Mercer is a confident performer. His semi-frequent note changes show that he is both comfortable with his work and not simply going through the motions. While most bands always amp up their songs for live performances, some of The Shins’ numbers were markedly less energetic, with positive and negative results. Their weakest song was “Phantom Limb,” which was slowed down significantly and not as climactic at the chorus as on the album version. “New Slang” was also softer and slower, but it felt peaceful, almost romantic.

Conversely, many songs rocked harder. Mercer’s voice was less harnessed – in a good way – as he wailed out high notes. “Bait and Switch,” “The Rifle’s Spiral” and “One by One All Day,” the final encore, were all more upbeat and more rockin’ than their respective album versions. The highlight was “Sleeping Lessons,” the last number before the encore, during which Mercer was at his most tuned-in and the drums at the end were wild.

Overall, it was a solid, enjoyable concert. But as one of my favorite bands, I hold The Shins to high standards. The nature of their oft-ethereal music makes it better for listening to with eyes closed, alone somewhere, drifting into another world.

The 11-song set, a perfect mixture of new and old songs, flew by and left the crowd chanting for more. Not before long, Fun. came out to perform an encore with “Some Nights” and “Take Your Time,” bringing the set total to 13 songs. This show was definitely one of the best I’ve seen all year, if not the best so far. The spectacular musicianship of Ruess, Antonoff, and Andrew Dost on keys, is not left unnoticed during their live performances.

View full set of photos on Flickr.

The audience was quiet and attentive for the opening set by Bear’s Den. Singer Andrew Davie, formerly of Cherbourg, was clearly comfortable in front of the sold out crowd. Their short, half-hour set was full of new material. The group is a three-piece folk-rock outfit with mellow music and tender lyrics. Davie’s funny observations on American culture lightened the mood between somber songs and strengthened the already engaging environment of Café 939’s Red Room.

Nathaniel Rateliff, the lone non-Brit of the tour, followed Bear’s Den with a solo acoustic set. Clearly influenced by American folk and country, Rateliff possesses a raw quality in his voice that focuses attention on his writing. Bouncing between gentle finger picking and aggressive strumming, there was a subtle urgency to his music that was quite captivating.

The Staves had the third set of the night and definitely made an impression. The sisters from London are fresh off a tour supporting The Civil Wars. With only an acoustic guitar, ukulele and three strong voices, The Staves filled the room with soaring harmonies. Their music is soft and delicate, yet powerful in its precision. They played their Mexico EP, as well as some newer songs and a rousing cover of “Chicago” by Sufjan Stevens.

The quiet audience found their voice when Ben Howard finally took the stage. Between shouts of “I love you Ben!” and “Have my babies!” the audience also sang along to many of his songs. Accompanied by a cellist and a multitasking drummer/bass player, Howard’s warm, soulful voice sounded great live. He opened with “Promise” from his debut Every Kingdom, and quickly followed with lead single “Old Pine.” Howard seemed to enjoy himself on stage, beating the exhaustion of 13 shows in 16 days spread across the country. The show ended with the funky, foot-stomper “The Fear,” for which Howard invited the opening acts onstage. Humble and appreciative, he noted the importance of the American tour, “We’re all going to remember it for a long time; it’s been amazing.”

Yellow stage lights illuminated hands waving Icelandic flags in a packed House of Blues on Saturday. Some college students may not have heard of the Icelandic group Of Monsters and Men, but those who have constitute a loyal following. These fans supported the sextet – and an accompanying trumpeter – when they played in Boston, following stops in Philadelphia and New York City.

The show began at 7 p.m. with Lovísa Elísabet Sigrúnardóttir, an Icelandic singer-songwriter better known by her stage name Lay Low. She spent about 40 minutes strumming soulful folk tunes on her 11-string guitar (apparently, her friend and soundman broke the 12th). One of the highlights was “Please Don’t Hate Me,” which did not seem a difficult request for someone so charming and endearing.

A few minutes after 8, Of Monsters and Men came onstage and opened with “Dirty Paws.” The song began with mysterious hushed voices and guitar picking from co-singers Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir and Ragnar “Raggi” Þórhallsson. When this ended in a dramatic pause and gave way to louder guitars, the stage lit up with yellow fairy lights. It gave the venue the vibe of a cozy backyard performance on a summer’s night.

The group was promoting their album My Head is an Animal, released in the U.S. on April 3. The album had been out in Iceland since September, but the U.S. version included two new tracks, “Mountain Sound” and “Slow and Steady,” and they played all 13 from the latter release.

Of Monsters and Men was proficient on guitar, bass, drums, piano, trumpet and accordion. In particular, the drummer bounced about and mouthed along with great vivacity. Their guitar parts and song patterns have drawn them comparisons to Mumford and Sons, and the abundance of “hey”s and “la la la”s – along with the male-female duets – are reminiscent of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes.

They were particularly strong on “Your Bones” and “King and Lionheart.” After nine songs, they performed “Little Talks,” the single that brought the audience into an audible sing-along. They followed and ended with “Six Weeks” before returning to play “Sloom” and the unreleased “Beneath my Bed” as an encore.

The downside of seeing an up-and-coming band was evident stiffness and nervousness; the musicians seemed to still be thinking about what they were doing. Hilmarsdóttir, the lead female singer, occasionally stumbled over her words. Otherwise, her voice – which is similar to that of Kate Nash – was pleasant, sounding emotive in her fragmented phrases. While Of Monsters and Men does not yet have a powerful presence analogous to the lions they oft sing about, their talent and versatility reflect promise.

Wild Flag is the favorite band that you thought you were born a generation too late to find. What many are claiming to be a super group (with members of Sleater-Kinney, Helium, Quasi, and The Minders) always prove their own with one anthem after another.

This time around, the band offered some solid hope of a new album. Four new songs were ripped through, including “Winter Pair” and “Nothing”, but the energy was held at its highest throughout. The sold out crowd made it as though the new songs were held as close as the ones before them.

There was no slacking on the favorites, though. The entirety of the band’s self-titled album was played through, but there was a little bit of a tease along the way.

The audience was left at a high with Wild Flag’s single, “Romance”, before the encore break. When the four returned on stage, they got straight back to business. “Endless Talk” completed the setlist of expectations. When Janet Weiss (drums) broke rolled back into a rhythm, there was not much left to be guessed.

Brownstein went guitar-less and handled the mic as the other three members got things going. Believe it or not, Wild Flag slammed down a cover of Fugazi’s “Margin Walker” and it seemed to be everything that the crowd would have wanted and more.

If there is anything to take away from this show, it is the spirit of the four them. No one can diddle their fingers around the fingerboard like Mary Timony or wail out vocals like Carrie Brownstein. Whatever it is about their jam session vibe, it’s infectious. The kicks, the soulful beat and the boppy melodies draw you into the genuinity of it all.

I’m not, but I wish I was one of the people to whom Other Lives was something more familiar than “The Band That Will Tour With Radiohead Later.” And no, I don’t mean I wish I knew them as “The Band That Toured With Bon Iver Earlier.”

The Oklahoma City 5-piece seems to have struck it rich with their knack for getting selected to support indie and alternative music’s biggest names with the opportunity to play to arena crowds of 20,000, as opposed to the odd 250 that can fit in Great Scott. And that’s always good, right?

Well… no. Not always.

Don’t get me wrong, the publicity is great. An up-and-coming band is constantly hankering for more ears, and there’s no introduction in indie music like being hand chosen by Radiohead as tour-mates. But this is a big step. Other Lives needs time to grow and play mid-sized venues full of their own fans, not Radiohead fans. If deprived of that chance, Other Lives could well find themselves being some other band that Radiohead fans like, but not as much, rather than one possessing its own base of support that has no affiliation with an established body.

Other Lives, mature for a band only two albums old, are ready for a bigger stage, too. Great Scott’s feeble acoustics couldn’t do justice to their thunderous, two-man percussion section, and vocalist Jesse Tabish seemed completely at ease improvising and taking control of the show, covering a Leonard Cohen song on his own to pass the time during a technical mishap. A better sound system will only help to flesh out Other Lives’ music, but that can be found at the 1,000-capacity Paradise, not only amidst the 20,000 or so that can fit in TD Garden for concerts.

Other Lives have all the pieces in place to launch a fantastic career. The band is composed of accomplished musicians, sophomore LP Tamer Animals is a great record, and the band is finding recognition in high places among musicians. But touring is the biggest part of being a young band, and there’s only so far a band can go pleasantly surprising concertgoers there to see Bon Iver or Radiohead. The Radiohead tour certainly isn’t the kind of chance a band turns down, but it has to be followed by persistence and a willingness to stay on the road. Other Lives have the chops to pull an audience back for more, it just remains to be seen if they possess the necessary stamina to do so.

Delicate Steve was a band a little bit closer to what Cults fans prefer, but they still seemed like an off beat choice for this particular show. The tribal-esque jam band warned everyone, “It’s going to be a jungle in here!” Guitar screeching, bottle tapping, and keyboard soloing commenced from there to make quite the bouncy jungle. After people got over the unusual nature, most of the crowd let their guards down to enjoy unique instrumental experience.

The unexpected choice of openers made the wait for Cults that much more anxious. Eerie projections layered the background with static, and black and white images to rile up the mood to a new level. When band members, Madeline Follin and Brian Oblivion started their set with the resounding “Abducted,” the room filled with dance. The lyrics of each song played off everyone’s lips as if every song on the debut album ‘Cults’ was a single. The mic was a little funky that night, muffling Follin’s sultry voice, but the crowd did not seemed to be bothered either way.

It was refreshing to see such enthusiasm for a relatively new band, but Follin was not going to lend a smile that easy. She soared through a song rocking shoulders back and forth as Oblivion rocked right beside her. Every song was followed by Follin’s stare into the crowd, a pause, and a brief, “Thank you”. When it got to the point where she looked to the side with a blushed smile, you really felt as though you were earning something as a crowd.

Brian Oblivion is not one to be generous with his interaction either, but from the beginning Oblivion would inject some conversation in the pauses. “We’ve got some loud Boston people in here, huh?” he stopped to observe with a smile, “Wouldn’t want to mess with you.” The keyboard stopped playing around, a pause, and then a crack into “Bumper.” The band continued to keep everyone satisfied, playing the entirety of their album, but the crowd undoubtedly hit their high when the first sign of that xylophone introduction to “Go Outside” was in grasp. Cults provided quite the night from their opener choices to the end.

The Swedish sensation, Tim Bergling, has been at the forefront of the most recent movement of electronic/house music.  With singles such as “Levels” and “Fade into Darkness” the 22 year old is effortlessly leading Americans to the lights of this addicting music genre.

The 133,000 square foot Manhattan venue, Pier 94, sits massively on the West Side Highway with the capability of holding over 11,000 people.  Naturally, with such space the line to enter took a good forty minutes in weather a little too cold with attire too few.  Even with Avicii’s start time of 1:30 am the atmosphere was electric with a cast of characters ranging from casual NYC club goers to the tutu-clad, topless ravers.  Despite the anticipation of such a headliner, openers Arty, Glenn Morrisson and Cazzette kept the attention of the energetic crowd playing both original songs and those of favorites such as Swedish House Mafia, Tiesto and Afrojack.

With the ball dropping even before Avicii took the stage it seemed as if the highlight of the night was inaccurately placed.  However, only 5 seconds into the 3-hour set it became clear that the biggest events had yet to occur.  Opening with the worldwide hit, “Levels,” was bold, but resulted in the explosion of the crowd.  As Etta James’ soulful voice bellowed throughout the pier from the sampled track “Something’s Got a Hold On Me,” the audience of thousands transformed into a sea of movement.  With multi-colored lights, smoke machines and a rain of balloons signaling the DJ’s entrance, it was impossible to dismiss such a perfect moment.

The crowd would not hear the full track until 19 songs later however as the Old School Intro faded into “Spectrum,” a collaboration between Avicii and David Guetta with Florence + the Machines’ track of the same name.  A combination of energetic dance music and powerhouse vocals, I couldn’t imagine a better song to lead into the set.

Over the course of three hours Avicii played a total of 40 songs going until 4:30 in the morning.  From fan favorites like “Bromance” and “ID,” to Tiesto’s “Escape Me” and Swedish House Mafia’s “Calling,” all ends of the spectrum were covered.  Although it is challenging to achieve variety in a genre such as electronic music, the opportunity to combine different musical styles offers a general appeal across audiences.  Some of the most memorable moments during Avicii’s set was  The Killer’s “Mr. Brightside” as well as “Otherside” by The Red Hot Chili Peppers revamped to the speed and style of today’s dance music.

Logistics aside, the most incredible thing about this New Years Eve concert was the atmosphere it radiated.  From the over the top detail of lasers, smoke and confetti to a bliss soaked crowd dancing to a theme of a fresh start I truly cannot imagine a better way to ring in 2012.  As we left the pier at the bright morning hour of 6:30 am and I stood there, freezing, hailing a cab that would never come I couldn’t help but to have a smile on my face thanks to a DJ, good friends, and excitement for the year ahead.  Cheers to 2012.