Upcoming Shows: Marnie Stern, Pissed Jeans + more

Sorry I’ve been away for a bit. I will get back on blogging schedule next week.

[Upcoming Shows Playlist]
TONIGHT! Friday, June 18

Marnie Stern + Anni Rossi, True Womanhood @ Glasslands * Williamsburg, Brooklyn * $12/$15
Marnie Fucking Stern, ladies and gentlemen, one of the greatest guitar heroes of our generation. At Glasslands, which is small and often has very good acoustics. This show cannot be beat. Marnie Stern isn’t quite metal and isn’t quite punk and isn’t quite anything else except awesome. Plus Anni Rossi, who’s pretty okay at violin and songs and True Womanhood, who sound like Radiohead - in a good way. GO TO THIS SHOW. [marnie myspace] [rossi myspace] [true myspace]


Saturday, June 19

Pissed Jeans, Pop. 1280 @ Death By Audio * Williamsburg, Brooklyn * $12
This will be one of the hardcore/post-hardcore/noise rock shows of the year. You might be seriously injured but it will be worth it. These bands play lurching, desperate anthems straight from the gut. They channel the collective underbelly of our world and let it out via amplifiers and hella distortion. [piss myspace] [pop myspace]


Sunday, June 20

Dinowalrus @ Cameo Gallery * Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Last time I talked to Dinowalrus, they pointed out that I should stop calling them "mathy" because they aren’t, and for once, a band was right about their own music (seriously) so let me just say they are not mathy, but are very rhythm driven, experimental music that’s clearly psychedelic and sometimes danceable. It’s not so experimental as to forgo a strong pop appeal as well. [myspace]

Knight School, Boy Genius @ Bruar Falls * Williamsburg, Brooklyn * $7
Knight School play fuzzy indie pop with the best tunez around. Boy Genius play less fuzzy indie pop and also have more than few good songs. [knight myspace] [boy myspace]


Monday, June 21

Miniboone, Gunfight!, Quiet Loudly, Pet Ghost Project @ Spike Hill * Williamsburg, Brooklyn
OK, this line up RULES. Miniboone are make big, dramatic pop with manic punk energy. Quiet Loudly are a bit more chill, with a sort of angular take on 60’s psychedelic music. Gunfight! make fun cow punk you can’t not enjoy and Pet Ghost Project do a bunch of stuff that swings between lo-fi pop and post-hardcore noise rock. I wouldn’t normally recommend Spike Hill, but this line up is SICK. [mini myspace] [ql myspace] [gun myspace] [pgp myspace]


Wednesday, June 23

Tortoise @ Le Poisson Rouge * Greenwich Village, Manhattan * $22
Electro kings of experimental music back in the 90’s, Tortoise were an influence on just about every worthwhile post rock band in the last decade or so. Their music draws on ambient, jazz, krautrock and post punk and sounds like no one else. [ myspace]

[Upcoming Shows Playlist]
The long view...

June
24
Wavves @ Knitting Factory

25
Fiery Furnaces @ Brooklyn Bowl
Silversun Pickups, Against Me! @ Williamsburg Waterfront

26
Fiery Furnaces @ Mercury Lounge
Titus Andronicus @ Newtown Barge Park
Liars, Fucked Up, High Places @ Newtown Barge Park

27
Les Savy Fav, Polvo @ Newtown Barge Park

July
6
B-52s @ Highline Ballroom

11
The Roots, Talib Kweli @ Prospect Park

13
Cheap Trick @ Radio City Music Hall

16
Weezer @ Williamsburg Waterfront

17
Siren Fest: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Matt & Kim, Ted Leo, Surfer Blood @ Coney Island

22
Antlers, Dinosaur Feathers @ Pier 54

23
Modest Mouse @ Williamsburg Waterfront

24
M.I.A., Sleigh Bells @ Governors Island

26
Flaming Lips @ Central Park

27
Black Keys @ Central Park
The National, Beach House @ Prospect Park

28
Black Keys @ Central Park

30
Big Takeover: Springhouse @ Bell House

31
Sonic Youth, Grass Widow, Talk Normal @ Prospect Park
Big Takeover: Springhouse, For Against @ Bell House

August
12
Gang Gang Dance, Grizzly Bear, Walkmen @ Governors Island

15
Public Enemy @ Central Park

17
MGMT @ Radio City Music Hall

18
MGMT @ Radio City Music Hall

[Upcoming Shows Playlist]

News: L Magainze Likes Mediocre Pop Bands

That L Magazine picked their "8 Bands You Need to Hear" for the year is kind of old news. But I just bothered to sit down and read it and then felt inspired to make some observations.

First of all, there are a handful of good picks. Miniboone, Asa Ransom and among runners up Led Er Est and Pet Ghost Project are all bands I told you to check out a long time ago, and L Magazine has finally realized that I am right.

But here's really what I want to get at. Combined, the eight bands selected by L Magazine have forty members. Of those forty, five are women, leaving a whooping 87% of slots for menfolk. And of those five women, one plays piano and sings, while the other four only sing. Proportions by race are similar to those by gender as well. I don't think this is entirely L Mag's fault, I think it's a sad reflection of what is actually happening in Brooklyn. In conjunction with indie music moving towards an ultraconservative folk/pop/baroque movement of non-confrontation and complacency, it seems to me that fewer women are playing indie/rock/pop than were a decade ago. Even if it's not worse than it was, it's certainly not better nor acceptable. Affluent white men are running the show like they always have. But indie used to be punk and that used to be about dissidence, progress and empowerment.

Am I the only person who's seeing this??

[l mag article]

Live: Quiet Loudly and Pet Ghost Project

When: 1/11
Where: Arlene's Grocery

Last night, I stopped by the Petting Zoo benefit show, the proceeds from which will help provide shelter and care for homeless animals. The Petting Zoo seems to be good people and they have good taste in music, so if you missed the show, you should check out the organization and maybe even make a donation here.

Quiet Loudly - Quiet Loudly is a three-piece band from Brooklyn. I've been aware of them for a while now - they are in the Gunfight! extended family (sharing a bass player), and I first heard their demo late last summer. Since then, the band has self-released a whole album. They sent me a copy with a really lovely note, but I've been too busy to give it a proper listen - which means last night was my first exposure to most of their new material.

And it's good news! Though the demo was decent, it didn't hold my attention, and I certainly didn't think of it as anything to write home about. But I must say, the newer material is promising! It rocks harder and the songs sound much more focused, but the band hasn't broken with their signature angular, experimental style.


Quiet Loudly
One complaint: Quiet Loudly needs to learn to edit themselves - it sounds like much of their writing comes by accidentally playing around on guitar instead of from some vision or unifying idea. That sort of jamming may sound spontaneous and cool, but it's not that great, because the whole comes out to be less than the sum of its parts - in other words, cool-sounding sections can add up to a pretty incoherent song.

However, the weak moments didn't define the show - the music's percussive rhythms, masterful blues-inflected guitar solos and awesome walking bass lines made the majority of the set engaging and fun. What's more, as I indicated, the newer songs have begun to address some of the band's biggest problems, so things look even brighter for the future. Even if this band hasn't quite got it down yet, they are original and talented and definitely worth checking out live.

Quiet Loudly MySpace

Pet Ghost Project - WTF? I've heard one of this band's albums and I was pretty much in love with it - tightly-constructed songs, amazing sounds, strong melodies - some maturity and editing was needed but the band sounded like one of the most promising lo-fi acts I've heard in a long time. I even put them on my list of bands to watch in 2009.

So, what the hell happened last night? That's not a rhetorical question, I really want an answer! The band had very serious pitch problems with both vocals and guitar, they fell out of sync, the music was rambling and hard to follow and the whole thing sounded like the bands I used to hear in high school - an amateur mush of early 90's influences. Yes, I know lo-fi is meant to be messy, but this was something else entirely. How can a band of four obviously talented musicians with a known repertoire of great songs put on a show like this?

I really don't know what to think. Maybe they were just having a bad night. I'll give them another try and report back, but for now, I'd say there are better ways to help animals than to listen to these guys.

Pet Ghost Project MySpace

Upcoming Shows: Arms, Depreciation Guild, Pet Ghost Project + more!

Tonight, 1/6

Arms @ Pianos - LES, Manhattan - $8
I've been telling you about fuzzy indie rockers Arms and how you should check them out. Here's your chance. ::MySpace


Thursday, 1/8

The Depreciation Guild @ Bell House - Park Slope, Brooklyn
Another one of my bands to watch in 2009, Depreciation Guild really stands out from the bazillion other "shoegaze" bands. Their detailed guitar work creates lush, dynamic walls of sound, and once you crawl inside, you won't want to leave. ::MySpace


Friday, 1/9

Bear Hands @ Webster Studio - E. Village, Manhattan - $10
Bear Hands are hyper-conventional (though very solid) indie rock, with a slight pop-punk flavor. They are completely digestible for mainstream radio audiences but skillful and just innovative enough to appease a more indie-minded crowd. ::MySpace

Bridges and Powerlines, My Teenage Stride @ Union Hall - Park Slope, Brooklyn - $8
Yet another one of my bands to watch in 2009, Bridges and Powerlines play jumpy indie rock with a strong pop sensibility. My Teenage Stride plays sweet, tightly-locked indie pop that's fun and mostly pretty damn good. ::B&P MySpace ::MTS MySpace


Saturday, 1/10

Team Genius @ Lit Lounge - E. Village, Manhattan
[Please double check this show exists before going. It shows up on some listings and not on others.] I've told you about Team Genius before, in fact more than once, so I'll just let you look at that to see what they are all about. The main appeal of going to this particular show is to see how they are going to fit eight members on a stage that's not much bigger than your average broom closet. Anyway, they play fun, comforting pop music that it's hard not to love. ::MySpace


Sunday, 1/11

Pet Ghost Project, Quiet Loudly @ Arlene's Grocery - LES, Manhattan
For the first time in recent history, Arlene's has decent bands playing. Yet another of my picks for 2009, Pet Ghost Project is some great American lo-fi pop, with strong melodies, fuzzy guitar and innovative compositions. Quiet Loudly is a very experimental pop band, with jagged guitar riffs and driving rhythms, and I highly recommend checking them out - they are better live than recorded and it's worth giving them a chance. Plus, the whole thing is a benefit show for an animal shelter, so not going would be like kicking puppies in the face: wrong. ::PGP MySpace ::QL MySpace

Fifteen Bands to Watch in 2009 - Part 3

PREVIOUS>>
Part 1
Part 2

Led Er Est - A new band in the Weird Record crowd, Led Er Est's dark electronica falls somewhere between Krautrock and goth. It's simultaneously spooky and catchy and their intriguing songs have a haunting appeal. :: MySpace

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - They're getting big in Europe. By which I mean, they are touring there eating pastries and candy all the day long. No, actually, I mean they are getting popular there. They are adorable and sweet, but they blast your eardrums at the same time. :: MySpace

Pet Ghost Project - I'm not generally a fan of solo projects and I'm definitely not a fan of bands with "project" in the name, but I am a fan of this highly creative low-fi noise pop! And I think if Justin Stivers plays his cards right, it could fare very well in 2009 indeed. :: MySpace

The Ruling Class - Britpop is back, with all its best elements in place: classic British pop melodies, rolling dance beats, soaring vocals and shoegaze-inspired guitar reverb. It's 1989, 2009 style. :: MySpace

The Spanish Prisoners - The opener of choice among NYC's most buzzed bands, these guys can't be long to follow. It may be standard angular, catchy indie rock, but it's really good and it's got potential to be better. :: MySpace