Upcoming Shows: Mission of Burma, Les Savy Fav + more

Tonight!!! Wednesday, January 27

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, Cold War Kids, the Wrens, Here We Go Magic, A.C. Newman, Rhett Miller, Freelance Whales (YUCK), Jimmy Fallon @ Bell House | Gowanus, Brooklyn | SOLD OUT!
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...

Live: Mission of Burma + Fucked Up

When: July 12
Where: Williamsburg Waterfront

The McCarren Pool Parties are now minus the Pool. And minus the McCarren. But they've still got the party, and they kicked things off right this summer with this free show at their new location at the East River State Park.

I missed out on the first two acts - Jemina Pearl of Be Your Own Pet and Baltimore's illustrious Ponytail. I was bummed to miss Ponytail, because I know how amazing their live show is. Rumour is they were just as awesome on the big stage as they were in the tiny club where I saw them (in fact, certain people were texting me with things like "I can't believe you're missing this," which is hardly very nice!) So, though I can't offer a review, I can offer a plug - Ponytail are one of the most original and daring bands around today. And they kick serious ass live. [MySpace]

As for the bands I did see - the first was Fucked Up, a hardcore punk band that falls pretty far towards the "thrash" end of the spectrum. I'm not hugely into thrash or those ridiculous vocals that come with it. However, even fore the show, I suspected I might be a fan of the band live, and I was definitely not disappointed.

On the surface, Fucked Up sounds like a lot of ubermacho metal-ish bands, but, however inexplicably, Fucked Up's unleashed rage is not macho in the least. There is the presence of a woman on stage (Sandy Miranda on bass), and there's the fact that lead singer Damian Abraham publicly commented on his rather small wanker. (After stripping to his boxers, he realized it had been visible to some of the audience, and remarked "Trust me, it works just fine. I have a baby to prove it."). Indeed, his clear pride at being a new father, his willing vulnerability in undressing in front of hundreds of kids despite not having a body convention would describe as attractive and his obvious sense of humor all served to remind the audience what punk is really all about: the freaks and losers making rock music, finding community in one another and having a fuckload of fun.


Fucked Up (picture from MySpace)
Also, despite their flippant name, the group's lyrics are intellectual, their songs carefully crafted and their stage presence welcoming. As musicians, they are outstanding, perhaps not so much in terms of virtuous playing as in their complex, thoughtful arrangements featuring constant guitar interplay. My only complaint is the presence of three guitars on stage - it's no secret that I don't like superfluous musicians in a band, and there's no reason for any hardcore thrash band to need more than two guitarists. Still, that's small potatoes compared to the intense show the group delivered. [MySpace]

Headliners Mission of Burma are one of the great bands of the second wave of American punk, helping uproot hardcore and broaden punk's horizons before hardcore had even had a chance to see itself as a movement. The band has always kept their edge through a combination of exceptional songwriting, sonic unpredictability (thanks to an off-stage fourth member on "tape loops") and a certain darkness that came with the band's relative maturity at the time of their formation - they were in their mid-twenties in an era of high-school aged punks, and thus never gave themselves over to sheer manic energy at the expensive of musicianship.

I've seen the band once before since they reunited back in 2002 and both shows were amazing. Though most bands reunite for money or as an outlet for a midlife crisis, some do better than others at keeping the independent, edgy spirit of their music alive, and none I've seen have accomplished this as well as Mission of Burma. Recent releases by Dinosaur Jr and the Meat Puppets have been great, but represented a step towards convention for both bands, while MOB remains as edgy (if not necessarily as relevant) as they were in 1979.

The set list was a good mixture of new material and old classics. Of course, there were many songs I wanted to hear that didn't get played, but since the majority of the songs the band put out in its 1979-1983 incarnation are classics, it would be impossible for them to hit anywhere near everything. They were playing well and having even more fun that the crowd was - and that's a lot! And just seeing one of the great American punk bands playing against a sunset and the Manhattan skyline...unforgettable. [MySpace]

Upcoming Shows: Japandroids, Mission of Burma + more

TONIGHT - Monday, July 6

Peter Murphy @ Highline Ballroom | Chelsea, Manhattan | $35
Pete Murphy is the original goth, the frontman of Bauhaus.


TOMORROW - Tuesday, July 7

Peter Murphy @ Highline Ballroom | Chelsea, Manhattan | $35
See above.


Wednesday, July 8

Sundelles, Little Girls @ Cake Shop | LES, Manhattan | $7
I haven't seen the Sundelles, but they're meant to play garagey indie pop - 50's revival with a punk 'tude. People like them. Little Girls are one of the five bands I've recommended you watch in the rest of 2009 - a recommendation made by "Jasper" but which I can now more confidently confirm, having seen them at this weekend's Woodsist/Capture Tracks festival. Dark and gloomy DIY punk from Canada that's very worth checking out. [Sundelles MySpace] [Little Girls MySpace]


Thursday, July 9

MC Lyte @ Von King Park | Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn | FREE!
MC Lyte is one the greatest MCs ever, and was one of the first women to get behind a mic and rap. She was a revolutionary, paving the way for women in hip-hop and expanding the boundaries of what rap music could say and do. I'd pay way more than $0 to check this out.


Friday, July 10

Japandroids, Little Girls @ Cameo | Williamsburg, Brooklyn | $8
Japandroids have recently become one of my favorite new bands. Like No Age but more conventional and with more tightly-written songs, Japandroids offer an amazing mix of roaring noise, punk energy and infectious melody. This is what pop-punk should have been. I just told you about Little Girls (see Wednesday listing). [Japandroids MySpace] [Little Girls MySpace]

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart @ South Street Seaport | Downtown Manhattan | FREE!
The Pains have got nothing on Japandroids, but they are pretty good pop music that the kids are crazy for. Their ascent from playing loft parties to a few dozen friends to scoring full features in Spin and Newsweek has been dizzying and makes me kind of want to hate them. But I can't hate them because they are nice people, outstanding songwriters and great performers. Like I said, you should go see Japandroids, but if don't have eight bucks, this FREE show is a pretty sweet alternative. [MySpace]


Saturday, July 11

Japandroids @ Pianos | LES, Manhattan | SOLD OUT!
Japandroids rock. (See above.) [MySpace]

Parts and Labor @ Market Hotel | Bushwick, Brooklyn | $7-20 (donation)
Parts and Labor are a super-rad NYC band. They play experimental rock that can be kind of like Oneida and kind of like Liars and often like no one else in particular. They have some very pop moments and some very weird ones, inhabiting the no man's land between pop music and noise-rock more fully and broadly than any of their contemporaries. Since you went to see Japandroids on Friday and Pianos is sold out anyway, you'll want to head over to Market Hotel on Saturday night. [MySpace]


Sunday, July 12

Mission of Burma, Fucked Up, Ponytail @ Williamsburg Waterfront | Williamsburg, Brooklyn | FREE!!
Daaaamn. Mission of Burma has been redefining indie, punk and noise since the early 80's and their reunion a few years ago came a surprise to those familiar with the band's good-natured break-up, meant to save the last remaining shreds of Roger Miller's hearing. Better earplug technology has allowed them to regroup and play awesome shows like this. Fucked Up are one of the best hardcore punk groups around these days, and as for Ponytail, they are amazing live as well as recorded. [MOB MySpace] [FU MySpace] [Ponytail MySpace]

Upcoming Shows: SUMMER SHOWS!

So, after all that (i.e. this weekend's listings), I'm going to give you a quick list of the bigger shows coming up later this summer. Many are outdoors and free. I'll give more details as the dates approach.


June
16
Jonathan Richman @ Bowery Ballroom ($15)

17
Jonathan Richman @ Bowery Ballroom ($15)

18
Twee As Fuck: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Cause Co-Motion!, Crystal Stilts @ Cake Shop

19
Secret Machines, A Place to Bury Strangers @ Santos ($10)

20
Crocodiles @ Mercury Lounge ($10)
Health, Kid Congo Powers (ex-Cramps, ex-Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds) @ 979 Broadway Backyard

22
The New York Dolls @ Music Hall of Williamsburg ($32.50)

25
Dinosaur Jr @ Music Hall of Williamsburg (SOLD OUT)

26
Blonde Redhead @ Prospect Park (FREE)

27
Dr. Dog, Phosphorescent @ Prospect Park (FREE)


July
1
MGMT @ Prospect Park (SOLD OUT)
Jay Reatard @ Stuyvesant Oval (FREE!)

2
The Germs @ Mercury Lounge ($14)
Jay Reatard @ Music Hall of Williamsburg ($15)

3
Sonic Youth @ United Palace ($38-$45)
Woodsist Festival: Crystal Stilts, Blank Dogs @ 979 Broadway Backyard

4
Woodsist Festival: Woods, Dum Dum Girls, Real Estate + more @ 979 Broadway Backyard

5
Allen Toussaint @ Joe's Pub

6
Peter Murphy (of Bauhaus) @ Highline Ballroom ($35)

7
Peter Murphy (of Bauhaus) @ Highline Ballroom ($35)

9
MC Lyte @ Von King Park (FREE)

10
River to River: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart @ the Seaport (FREE)
The Yardbirds, the Zombies @ Hammerstein Ballroom ($37-$73)

11
Japandroids @ Pianos

12
Parts & Labor @ 979 Broadway Backyard
Mission of Burma, Fucked Up, Ponytail @ Williamsburg Waterfront (FREE)

14
Sugar Hill Gang @ Queensbridge Park (FREE)

15
Wavves, Woods, Real Estate @ Bowery Ballroom

16
Kronos Quartet @ Prospect Park (FREE)

18
Q-Tip @ Central Park (FREE)
Siren Festival: Raveonettes, Frightened Rabbit, Japandroids, Bear Hands + more @ Coney Island

21
Jackson Browne @ Prospect Park ($45-$200)

24
Buckwheat Zydeco @ Prospect Park (FREE)

30
Method Man, Ghostface Killah @ Nokia Theater
CMA Songwriters @ Joe’s Pub

31
River to River: Polvo, Obits @ the Seaport (FREE)
All Points West: Beastie Boys, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Fleet Foxes, National, Q-Tip, Telepathe, Heartless Bastards + more @ Liberty State Park
Mekons @ Bell House ($15)


August
1
M. Ward, Mike Watt @ Central Park (FREE)
Dean & Britta, Crystal Stilts @ Prospect Park (FREE)
All Points West: MBV, Tool, Tokyo Police Club, Kool Keith, Chairlift + more @ Liberty State Park

2
All Points West: Echo & Bunnymen, MGMT, Coldplay, Black Keys, Silversun Pickups, Lykke Li + more @ Liberty State Park
Deerhunter, No Age, Dan Deacon @ Williamsburg Waterfront (FREE)

3
Depeche Mode @ Madison Square Gardens

4
Depeche Mode @ Madison Square Gardens
Los Campesinos! @ Webster ($17)

11
TV on the Radio @ Prospect Park ($30)

12
Friendly Fires @ Le Poisson Rouge

13
Friendly Fires @ Music Hall of Williamsburg ($15)

14
Animal Collective @ Prospect Park (SOLD OUT)

15
Animal Collective @ Prospect Park ($30)

21
Antlers (album release party) @ Mercury Lounge ($10)