Upcoming Shows: Z'EV, Bush Tetras + more!

Tonight!!!  Thursday, April 14

R. Stevie Moore @ Cameo * Williamsburg, Brooklyn * $8/$10
R. Stevie Moore has been making crazy underground pop for many decades.  He looks like Santa Claus but is even more bad ass than Santa, absolutely refusing to give a fuck.  A highly underrated legend and cult act worth checking out. [myspace]

Other shows
Wye Oak (noise-folk) @ Bowery Ballroom (Sold Out)
Sky Drops (shoegaze) @ Bruar Falls ($8)
Lichens (experimental electro) @ Death By Audio ($7)


Tomorrow!  Friday, April 15

Z'EV, Bush Tetras @ The Kitchen * Chelsea, Manhattan * $10-12 (Sold Out?)
If you know these bands, all I need say is: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  But if you don't, you should learn them, regardless of whether you plan to attend this show.  These are some old mo'fos, especially Z'EV, who first gained recognition as a poet and percussionist in the late 60's.  However, Z'EV have never been among the many washed up hippies who clung to the late 60's decades after the moment died; his music continued to move forward, one step ahead of the curve, putting him at the forefront of the nascent industrial movement in San Francisco in the late 70's and early 80's.  Taking his training in African and Indonesian percussion, he applied his rhythmic sense to the new harsh tonality of early industrial, creating rhythmic soundscapes of primal energy and metallic timbre.  The Bush Tetras were equally innovative, arising in the fray of Post-No Wave New York to inspire such trivial musicians as Sonic Youth (!!!).  Formed by Pat Place of the Contortions, the Bush Tetras, along with Liquid Liquid, ESG and Place's ex bandmate James Chance, pioneered the use of minimal funk and dance rhythms in New York's arty downtown music scene.  Although none of the bands from this scene achieved commercial success, their influence can be felt in everything from house music to early hip hop to noise and avant garde music to New Wave. [zev myspace] [tetras myspace]

Other shows
Passive Aggressor (hard-edged, noisy pop punk) @ Death By Audio ($7)
Young Boys (ultra-raw nasty noise pop) @ Coco 66 ($7, not headlining)


Saturday, April 16

AIDS Wolf, White Suns @ Death By Audio * Williamsburg, Brooklyn * $7
AIDS Wolf are as awesome as their name (very).  Basically, three guys make crazy noise on some instruments while a girl deep throats a microphone and screams for 45 minutes straight.  While the band departs from nearly every convention of music (melody, key signature), they do have a complex rhythmic underpinning that holds it all together, if barely.  Definitely a must-see.  [myspace]

Come @ Bell House * Gowanus, Brooklyn * $20
Twenty bucks is a bit steep for a band I'm pretty sure no one has ever heard of.  That said, Come are fairly important for a band no one has ever heard of.  Their moody alt rock was a hallmark of 90's indie, never breaking the surface but receiving acclaim from critics and musicians.  I wouldn't spend $20 on it, but it's worth a mention. [myspace]

Other shows
Grouper (ambient noise) @ Glasslands ($10)
Spectrum (ex-Spacemen 3), Crystal Stilts (post punk, Joy Division and Velvet Underground rip-off) @ Le Poisson Rouge ($15)
Pop 1280 (noise, post hardcore) @ 285 Kent ($7, not headlining)


Sunday, April 17

Nothing to write home about.

Grouper (see above) @ Le Poisson Rouge ($13/$15)
Spectrum (see above), Crystal Stilts (see above) @ Music Hall of Williamsburg


Monday, April 18

Really, nothing whatsoever worth seeing.


Tuesday, April 19

PJ Harvey @ Terminal 5 * Midtown West, Manhattan * Sold Out
Pros: PJ Harvey.  Cons: terrible venue, expensive.  I say skip it.  But on the other hand: PJ Harvey!  [myspace]


Wednesday, April 20

PJ Harvey @ Terminal 5 * Midtown West, Manhattan * Sold Out
See above.


The long view...

April
23
Grass Widow, K-Holes (lady noise!) @ Glasslands

24
Talk Normal, Grass Widow (lady noise!) @ Death By Audio

27
Low (ultra-restrained slowcore and occasional bloodcurdling screaming about Santa Claus) @ Bowery Ballroom
Battles (experimental electro) @ Le Poisson Rouge (Sold Out)
Lemuria (pop punk, emo, but good) @ Webster Studio
Lightning Bolt (post-thrash noise) @ 285 Kent ($12)

28
Lightning Bolt (post-thrash noise), Pterodactyl (crazy noise) @ Le Poisson Rouge ($12/$14)

30
Titus Andronicus (epic hardcore punk songs about history - but so much better than that sounds) @ Music Hall of Williamsburg

May
4
Gang Gang Dance (experimental dub) @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
Foals (mathy dancy post punky indie rock) @ Terminal 5

6
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart (saccharine indie pop with subtly dark lyrics) @ Webster Hall

10
Yo La Tengo (inventors of noise pop) @ Bell House (Sold Out)

11
Yo La Tengo (see above) @ Bell House (Sold Out)
CSS (ultra hip crazy dance pop with punk attitude from Brazilian ladies), Sleigh Bells (ultra hip duo with danceable heavy hip-hop beats + girly vocals + metal/hardcore/industrial sheets of guitar noise + some screaming) @  Webster Hall (Sold Out)

12
CSS, Sleigh Bells (see above) @ Music Hall of Williamsburg (Sold Out)

15
CSS, Sleigh Bells (see above) @ Bowery Ballroom (Sold Out)

19
The Antlers (sad noisy music) @ Music Hall of Williamsburg

20
The Antlers (see above) @ Bowery Ballroom
Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth), I Feel Tractor @ Music Hall of Williamsburg

June
2
Stiff Little Fingers (late 70's UK punk)

23
Dinosaur Jr (late 80's/early 90's loud proto-alt rock, performing their classic album Bug), Fucked Up (wall of sound meets hardcore/thrash meets best thing ever) @ Terminal 5