Act II of the ‘Cosmic Opera’ event covered two nights just like the first. But while Act I was called the Overture, Act II was dubbed Imbroglio as the promoters sought to bring out more “intensity, conflict, and charged emotion” in the performance. On the first night, a Thursday, ‘Cosmic Opera’ Act II succeeded in adding more glamour and theatrics with additional stages for frequent dancer appearances and a doubling down on costumes with people attired in either dark Mardi Gras theme apparel or in shimmery silver body suits with blonde wigs. These somewhat waylaid the main complaints that arose about Act I (with Axwell) where the theme was done weakly as PopMatters and others reported. There was little need to create a theme around the event with such a huge turnout for the DJ. I wouldn’t suggest Act II’s improvements were important, but it was nice to see they were trying.

The latest band from Iceland to watch out for is Of Monsters and Men. Their album, My Head is an Animal was released in the latter half of 2011 in Iceland from which they released the single “Little Talks”. As highly improbable as it may sound, it seems the band broke in the States from the enthusiasm radio stations had for them.

The band eventually were signed to a label, reworked tracks like “Lakehouse” a bit, added two new ones (“Mountain Sound”, “Slow and Steady”) and removed “Numb Bears” for the US release of their album this month. Currently on tour, the band found themselves in New York City for two sold out nights, the first of which was broadcast live from the intimate Music Hall of Williamsburg by the Bowery Presents.

Mathew Caws, Nada Surf’s lead singer, greets his audience as warmly as old friends. Creating an immediate sense of intimacy in Toronto’s Opera House, a local rock institution with a high brow name, Caws brought a relaxed, warm energy and an easy confidence to the room, as the band blended their newer material with their ‘90s hits seamlessly, building their energy to the rousing, anthemic new single “When I Was Young”. The touchstone of youth, nostalgia and longing continued through another new song “Teenage Dreams” (a reminder that you are never too old for them).

Ah, El Ten Eleven. The instrumental rock duo, Kristian Dunn (double necked guitars) and Tim Fogarty (drums), put out such engaging music that it still surprises me that they aren’t playing larger venues. However, those who have heard them will return to show after show when they get a chance. And it was surprising that the New York area had a chance when the band came to Maxwell’s in Hoboken for one short night in early 2012. The band had made some last minute decisions to do a tour along the east coast following a string of dates on the west coast and through SXSW.

The tail end of opener Busy P’s set did not give any suggestion as to what Justice had in store for their sold out shows at Terminal 5 in New York on March 16th. The audience was still meandering in while Busy P played some indie / rock songs to hype up the crowd. Justice, however, are not the mainstream. They aren’t even part of the mainstream dubstep or rock trends in electronic music. This French DJ duo put together songs with a bit of artistry and a bit of drama like their fellow countrymen, Daft Punk. The audience, anticipating a heavy hitting set of tracks from the albums † and Audio, Video, Disco were not wearing neon, fuzzy boots or waving glow sticks. This wasn’t a club night, this was was the start of the electronic producers Gaspard Augé and Xavier de Rosnay’s first US tour in two years, and the first since the release of Audio, Video, Disco.