El Medio @ Bruar Falls | Williamsburg, Brooklyn | $5
El Medio are an awesome lo-fi pop band who hardly ever play live, so go see this. They are sad and restrained and their songs are truly beautiful. [myspace]
Benefit for Haiti: The Walkmen, Ted Leo,
This is some line-up! And for a good cause too - no wonder it's sold out. If you can make it, make it. But skip Freelance Whales. I first became aware of Freelance Whales this fall when I was on a subway car with them and eavesdropped long enough to find out their name. Even if the name weren't so stupid, though, I knew the music would be awful just from sitting near them on a train. Imagine my surprise when a few months later, their name started popping up all over the place! And everything we've learned from the blogger buzz deepens my disapproval of their existence. I don't even need to listen to them to know they suck. But anyway, I digress...the rest of this line-up is amazing. You should go.
Tomorrow!!! Thursday, January 28
Mattress, Weird Fantasy Band @ Shea Stadium | Bushwick, Brooklyn | $7
Mattress is a punk band from the New Brunswick scene, which means true, down-to-earth, old-school DIY American hardcore punk. Weird Fantasy Band is kinda the same thing - it seems to be one man backed by a variable collective out of that scene. I haven't enjoyed WFB's music all that much, but "Jasper" says they are amazing live. [mattress myspace] [wfb myspace]
Friday, January 29
Sounds Like Brooklyn: Les Savy Fav + Vivian Girls @ Brooklyn Academy of Music | Fort Greene, Brooklyn | $20-25
Les Savy Fav are one of the hardcore bands fronted a bald, bearded fat dude who strips to his underwear. They aren't the best of such bands, but might come in a respectable second. One of the Vivian Girls just e-mailed me and asked me why I keep taking cheap shots at her band. I take cheap shots because I don't think they are worth the hype and I find them boring. And boring music to me is like waterboarding to most people. But they have improved significantly over the last year and I'm warming up to them ever so slowly. So, I dunno what to say. They mostly still suck, but at least they are better than the Freelance fuckin Whales. [lsf myspace] [vg myspace]
Oneida @ Market Hotel | Bushwick, Brooklyn | $10
I like Oneida's older stuff better and they've changed a lot over the years, but they basically play pretty heavy music that jerks like metal, smiles like punk, bristles like industrial and most of all, breaks your head like krautrock, looping and trancing the hell out. So yeah, it's interesting. [myspace]
Mission of Burma @ Bowery Ballroom | LES, Manhattan | $20
Mission of Fucking Burma, folks. They were one of the first of the second generation of American punk bands, but their music was a bit slower and a lot more complex than the rest of the hardcore crowd - they brought musical sophistication back to punk. And they are still awesome. Go see them Saturday, though, because there are too many other shows going on Friday.
PC Worship @ Glasslands | Williamsburg, Brooklyn | $7
PC Worship is amazing lo-fi avant-rock with noise experiments and sadness. But there's too much else going on for me to recommend this show, especially since the rest of the line-up sucks. They are a Brooklyn band, so you'll get another chance. [myspace]
Drunkdriver @ Union Pool | Williamsburg, Brooklyn
One of NYC's most hateful hardcore bands, Drunkdriver put on an unforgettable live show. They seem like really nice people, but would definitely freak your parents out. [myspace]
Saturday, January 30
Mission of Burma @ Bowery Ballroom | LES, Manhattan | $20
See above.
Sisters, Fluffy Lumbers, Total Slacker @ Shea Stadium | Bushwick, Brooklyn | $7
Sisters are the BOMB. Among noise-punk/noise-pop duos, they are easily one of the best. See them now before they go the way of No Age and Japandroids and start playing fewer and bigger spaces. Fluffy Lumbers and Total Slacker are all the rage. I haven't listened yet, but they are probably worth at least checking out. [sisters myspace] [fl myspace] [ts myspace]
PC Worship @ Market Hotel | Bushwick, Brooklyn
See above.
Dinowalrus + Javelin @ House of Yes! | Bushwick, Brooklyn | $10
I've never heard of this place before, but my guys Dinowalrus are playing there Saturday, so if for some reason you skip the above shows, consider this one. Dinowalrus play art. Like Sonic Youth, but only in spirit. Javelin plays throw-away post-disco dance-pop, but I gotta admit, their whole amplification by radio broadcast (BYOB, bring your own boombox) is pretty cool. [dinowalrus myspace] [javelin myspace]
And then there are like no shows worth mentioning for several days...weird...
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