When: 6/24
Where: 285 Kent
Although I've loved the Coathangers for a few years now and consider them top-notch badasses, they reached a new level of badassery and awesomeness during their opening slot for Bush Tetras on Friday. The Coathangers are four attractive but intimidating ladies from Georgia. They play strange, energetic, sarcastic punk music. Their vocal styles range from gender-bending growl to possessed muppet, at times warbling, at times screeching - but somehow, there are melodies.
The Coathangers haven't changed that much since I first saw them but they have gone in a new direction on one thing: their approach to the keyboard. Once upon a time, about 90% of their keyboard playing involved randomly banging clusters of keys, but now they've moved away from that technique towards actual melodic riffs (though they still do some random pounding as well). Honestly, it's not better or worse this way - on the one hand, the music is a little less ferociously wild than it once was, but on the other, the band's songs are more distinct and more tightly constructed.
And around those melodic riffs, the band still rages like always. Seriously, don't fuck with these girls. Todd P and his sound guy tried to fuck with them by cutting the band off during one of their instrument rotations. Because their set was a little (ok, a lot) long and there were two bands yet to go, Big Brother decided to pull the plug and start blasting the Beach Boys (or something similar) through the PA, signalling the end of the set. The Coathangers ignored it and kept playing. And won. The music was shut off and the mics were turned back on. Pausing for only about two or three seconds to shout "don't turn off our mics" they launched into another song.
Twice more, the bossman tried to drown them out with shite, but the band refused to leave the stage. During one last instrument switch, someone decided enough was enough and cut off the mics for good. But did that stop our feisty foursome? Ha! They played their last song OVER the between-sets mix that was blasting out of the PA. I don't know how they managed to stay together with a whole other song going at the same time, but they pulled it off and it was awesome. True, the vocals were inaudible and although the band did what they could to encourage a shout-along, not enough people knew the words to make that effective. But even if parts of the song were lost in the cacophony, the point still got across: the Coathangers are nobody's bitch. [video (not this show)]
Granted, the Coathangers are a hard act to follow, but upon seeing Friends, I could see why the much superior Coathangers felt inspired to run over their allotment into the next set. Friends weren't all bad. But the parts that were bad were pretty awful. The band is more post-disco than post-funk, but they were a logical opener for Bush Tetras, warm but white female vocals over angular post-punk dance grooves. They were tight and some of their b-lines were pretty outstanding. Their rhythm section over all was tight and they had some good ideas. Unfortunately, they chose to use two of the most piercing and annoying sounds possible on many of their songs: wood block and claves (those two wood sticks that you click together in Latin music).
The main thing that put me out wasn't the whacking of pieces of wood together, however. It was the oversung pop singing of the frontwoman that really grated my nerves after a while. There were moments when the set was enjoyable, more than I expected, but the overarching vocals sounded a little too much like a showcase of vocal ability and not quite enough like pop hooks or genuine expression.
The band was also a bit grating on a personal level. They were informed mid-way through their set that New York had legalized gay marriage. They made several well-intentioned attempts to express their agreement with the decision but the more they tried, the more awkward and offensive their comments got. As if the vocals hadn't made me cringe enough for one night! Still, their hearts were in the right place. [video (not this show)]
The Bush Tetras closed out the night with a set that was a little too long, given the heat of the room, but they did hit most of their best songs and well, they are too awesome for words. And what words I can use for them, I just used a few days ago. [video (not this show)]
Showing posts with label no wave. Show all posts
Showing posts with label no wave. Show all posts
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Friday, June 24, 2011
Live: Bush Tetras
When: 6/10
Where: Le Poisson Rouge
Another way overdue live review, but timely because the Bush Tetras are playing TONIGHT at 285 Kent and you should hear them.
For those who don't know who the Tetras are, here's a brief history: in New York City in the late 70's, a group of artists reacted to the commercialization of punk by making music that could never be co-opted by the record industry because it was pretty much unlistenable. That movement, dubbed "No Wave," included a broad variety of bands but all were noisy and eschewed conventional song structures and most were non-musicians. One of the main groups was the Contortions who had a guitarist named Pat Place. Once No Wavers had made their point, all the chaos started getting a little old, so they moved on to other things. Pat Place, along with a few other women from the scene, moved on to Bush Tetras, a group that took the dissonance and aggression of No Wave and channeled it into tight funk grooves that are jagged but actually danceable.
The Bush Tetras were a great band and an influential one, although they never reached massive commercial success (they weren't exactly aiming for the Top 40, obviously).
When I saw them on June 10, they had some gray hairs, but they were still as great a band as ever. They played old "hits" as well as some "newer" songs. Although original bassist Laura Kennedy is not in the mix, but Julia Murphy still bangs out some of the best b-lines I've ever heard - funky grooves but with that special angularity that sets the Tetras apart. (In case you're wondering, Kennedy hasn't played with the band in ages because of serious health problems. In fact, that was one of the major reasons for the band's 2007 reunion - she needed a liver transplant and her old band reformed to raise funds. Yes, they were successful and last we heard, she's got a new liver and is slowly rebuilding her health.)
The two most important band members are still very much in top form. They don't shy away from looking middle-aged, especially vocalist Cynthia Sley, who looks pretty much like every other artsy 50-ish woman from the Village, you know the kind of old hippie lady with the long hair and the simple, flowy clothes. Pat Place has always stood in a bit of contrast to this, with cropped hair and a tough, androgynous look. She's definitely the punk nihilist to Sley's sage flowerchild.
But Sley's lyrics are not so flowery. The band closed on their most well-known song, "Too Many Creeps," but all of their songs have a similar sense of mixed paranoia and ennui. Place's searing, discordant guitar certainly adds to the sense of claustrophobia but the entire band and their entire oeuvre seems to say "We're so bored and we're so totally screwed, but let's have fun and get down." Of course, they have some less nihilistic political points but it's all coated in the crime of New York City (and in particular the shithole that was New York City in the late 70's).
Most reunited bands are lucky if they don't look ridiculous doing what they do (the same could be said of bands that just never break up, amiright Mr. Jagger?) but the Tetras are miles beyond that. Maybe because they're so sincere, maybe because they're having so much fun, maybe because they never had a whole lot of glory in the first place so they haven't got some youthful folly they're trying to reclaim, they are as cool as they ever were. Maybe even more so. Yeah, they are who they are - it's not perfect - but they play tighter and rock harder than most of the wussy youngsters making indie "rock" today. So kids, take notes - this is how it's done.
Where: Le Poisson Rouge
Another way overdue live review, but timely because the Bush Tetras are playing TONIGHT at 285 Kent and you should hear them.
For those who don't know who the Tetras are, here's a brief history: in New York City in the late 70's, a group of artists reacted to the commercialization of punk by making music that could never be co-opted by the record industry because it was pretty much unlistenable. That movement, dubbed "No Wave," included a broad variety of bands but all were noisy and eschewed conventional song structures and most were non-musicians. One of the main groups was the Contortions who had a guitarist named Pat Place. Once No Wavers had made their point, all the chaos started getting a little old, so they moved on to other things. Pat Place, along with a few other women from the scene, moved on to Bush Tetras, a group that took the dissonance and aggression of No Wave and channeled it into tight funk grooves that are jagged but actually danceable.
The Bush Tetras were a great band and an influential one, although they never reached massive commercial success (they weren't exactly aiming for the Top 40, obviously).
When I saw them on June 10, they had some gray hairs, but they were still as great a band as ever. They played old "hits" as well as some "newer" songs. Although original bassist Laura Kennedy is not in the mix, but Julia Murphy still bangs out some of the best b-lines I've ever heard - funky grooves but with that special angularity that sets the Tetras apart. (In case you're wondering, Kennedy hasn't played with the band in ages because of serious health problems. In fact, that was one of the major reasons for the band's 2007 reunion - she needed a liver transplant and her old band reformed to raise funds. Yes, they were successful and last we heard, she's got a new liver and is slowly rebuilding her health.)
The two most important band members are still very much in top form. They don't shy away from looking middle-aged, especially vocalist Cynthia Sley, who looks pretty much like every other artsy 50-ish woman from the Village, you know the kind of old hippie lady with the long hair and the simple, flowy clothes. Pat Place has always stood in a bit of contrast to this, with cropped hair and a tough, androgynous look. She's definitely the punk nihilist to Sley's sage flowerchild.
But Sley's lyrics are not so flowery. The band closed on their most well-known song, "Too Many Creeps," but all of their songs have a similar sense of mixed paranoia and ennui. Place's searing, discordant guitar certainly adds to the sense of claustrophobia but the entire band and their entire oeuvre seems to say "We're so bored and we're so totally screwed, but let's have fun and get down." Of course, they have some less nihilistic political points but it's all coated in the crime of New York City (and in particular the shithole that was New York City in the late 70's).
Most reunited bands are lucky if they don't look ridiculous doing what they do (the same could be said of bands that just never break up, amiright Mr. Jagger?) but the Tetras are miles beyond that. Maybe because they're so sincere, maybe because they're having so much fun, maybe because they never had a whole lot of glory in the first place so they haven't got some youthful folly they're trying to reclaim, they are as cool as they ever were. Maybe even more so. Yeah, they are who they are - it's not perfect - but they play tighter and rock harder than most of the wussy youngsters making indie "rock" today. So kids, take notes - this is how it's done.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
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
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
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Live: Sightings, Oneida
When: 3/19
Where: Knitting Factory
So a few weeks ago, I went to see Oneida at the new Knitting Factory in Brooklyn and Sightings were opening. I've seen the band before, but the night I know I saw them first is almost entirely missing from my memory, so it was pretty much like coming to the band fresh. And they proved my lack of memory of the last set I saw was not the fault of the band - love 'em or hate 'em, they are memorable.
I do love them! Their noise is like bulldozers razing your eardrums - if any band could challenge A Place To Bury Strangers for the spot of "loudest band in NYC," it's these guys. However, APTBS get you with cutting blasts of feedback, whereas Sightings pile sheer sonic weight on their audience. "Noise" is the only way to describe it, but unlike many "noise" bands, Sightings have meticulous control of their sound. They aren't just playing with shit and getting lucky, they have a vision - a bleak, skull-shattering vision - and they know how to get their instruments make the sounds to do it.
And through all of this massive guitar drone and woven into the heavy, mindless pulse of the bass are songs. There's a pop appeal here - most people probably wouldn't see it, but there are rhythms, structures and the faintest hint of melody that keep the band on point. (This was exemplified with even more clarity when I saw the band at Death by Audio last week.)
The indecipherable vocals, though in some contrast to the inhuman buzz and thud of the guitars and drums, never sound like an afterthought. Instead, delivered by the oddly appealing Mark Morgan, the words are marked with genuine desperation that has not yet turned to nihilism. Pronounced with flat restraint, they form a ominous conversation with band's erratic noise. The result is uneasy, cataclysmic and ultimately, deeply satisfying. [myspace]
Sadly, not so for Oneida, whom, despite my best efforts, I just can't really get into. I do respect the band - it's made up of talented musicians with some truly original ideas. But to my ears, it just doesn't quite come together. The band launched into an instrumental epic and by the time vocals came in, they did seem like an afterthought - they failed to blend with the music. The long passages - and they are all long - are a bit self-indulgent, with slight modulations on repetition after repetition. It's the kind of thing that could be amazing to someone on drugs. Less so to me.
What it comes down to is that, as far as I can understand the music, the whole is never more than the sum of its parts. Each song is a series of good ideas which the band slowly nurtures into robust sections, but they take too long to grow each part and that is all they do, over and over again. I hesitate to speak with definitive sentiment here, because I can tell the band has immense talent and creativity and I keep hoping there's something I'm not getting and once I get it, I'll love the band as much as many others seem to. But there seemed no logic to the sequencing of sections, no ultimate momentum or focus, just ideas fleshed out to the point of exhaustion. I like my music to be written, not just played, but if this was written, composed, it was done so poorly.
I was also irked by the band's stage presence. Guitarist "Hanoi Jane" proved a regular chatty Cathy not with the audience but with his bandmates. He repeatedly walked up to each one to exchange words. No doubt the exchanges were about the music, but there was something in them that seemed disaffected. Perhaps it's too much to ask that bands converse on stage only with great emotional intensity, but the little asides and laughs really gave me the feeling this is just a job for Oneida. I know that's not true, but c'mon, you gotta show us you want to be on stage, you want to be making this music - need to, even - and the way they presented themselves, they might have just as well gone to the beach.
Perhaps the pairing with Sightings was unfortunate for the band - where Sightings were bleeding with sincerity, Oneida were somewhat lackadaisical and aloof. Where Sightings were focused and restrained, Oneida were indulgent and scattered. I wouldn't write Oneida off - they are the real deal - but if given the choice, I'd go with Sightings every time. [myspace]
Where: Knitting Factory
So a few weeks ago, I went to see Oneida at the new Knitting Factory in Brooklyn and Sightings were opening. I've seen the band before, but the night I know I saw them first is almost entirely missing from my memory, so it was pretty much like coming to the band fresh. And they proved my lack of memory of the last set I saw was not the fault of the band - love 'em or hate 'em, they are memorable.
I do love them! Their noise is like bulldozers razing your eardrums - if any band could challenge A Place To Bury Strangers for the spot of "loudest band in NYC," it's these guys. However, APTBS get you with cutting blasts of feedback, whereas Sightings pile sheer sonic weight on their audience. "Noise" is the only way to describe it, but unlike many "noise" bands, Sightings have meticulous control of their sound. They aren't just playing with shit and getting lucky, they have a vision - a bleak, skull-shattering vision - and they know how to get their instruments make the sounds to do it.
And through all of this massive guitar drone and woven into the heavy, mindless pulse of the bass are songs. There's a pop appeal here - most people probably wouldn't see it, but there are rhythms, structures and the faintest hint of melody that keep the band on point. (This was exemplified with even more clarity when I saw the band at Death by Audio last week.)
The indecipherable vocals, though in some contrast to the inhuman buzz and thud of the guitars and drums, never sound like an afterthought. Instead, delivered by the oddly appealing Mark Morgan, the words are marked with genuine desperation that has not yet turned to nihilism. Pronounced with flat restraint, they form a ominous conversation with band's erratic noise. The result is uneasy, cataclysmic and ultimately, deeply satisfying. [myspace]
Sadly, not so for Oneida, whom, despite my best efforts, I just can't really get into. I do respect the band - it's made up of talented musicians with some truly original ideas. But to my ears, it just doesn't quite come together. The band launched into an instrumental epic and by the time vocals came in, they did seem like an afterthought - they failed to blend with the music. The long passages - and they are all long - are a bit self-indulgent, with slight modulations on repetition after repetition. It's the kind of thing that could be amazing to someone on drugs. Less so to me.
What it comes down to is that, as far as I can understand the music, the whole is never more than the sum of its parts. Each song is a series of good ideas which the band slowly nurtures into robust sections, but they take too long to grow each part and that is all they do, over and over again. I hesitate to speak with definitive sentiment here, because I can tell the band has immense talent and creativity and I keep hoping there's something I'm not getting and once I get it, I'll love the band as much as many others seem to. But there seemed no logic to the sequencing of sections, no ultimate momentum or focus, just ideas fleshed out to the point of exhaustion. I like my music to be written, not just played, but if this was written, composed, it was done so poorly.
I was also irked by the band's stage presence. Guitarist "Hanoi Jane" proved a regular chatty Cathy not with the audience but with his bandmates. He repeatedly walked up to each one to exchange words. No doubt the exchanges were about the music, but there was something in them that seemed disaffected. Perhaps it's too much to ask that bands converse on stage only with great emotional intensity, but the little asides and laughs really gave me the feeling this is just a job for Oneida. I know that's not true, but c'mon, you gotta show us you want to be on stage, you want to be making this music - need to, even - and the way they presented themselves, they might have just as well gone to the beach.
Perhaps the pairing with Sightings was unfortunate for the band - where Sightings were bleeding with sincerity, Oneida were somewhat lackadaisical and aloof. Where Sightings were focused and restrained, Oneida were indulgent and scattered. I wouldn't write Oneida off - they are the real deal - but if given the choice, I'd go with Sightings every time. [myspace]
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Upcoming Shows: Bellmer Dolls LAST SHOWS EVER! + more
Tonight! Wednesday, March 17
The Bellmer Dolls @ The Studio at Webster Hall | East Village, Manhattan | $10
Horrible news, friends. The Bellmer Dolls, one of NYC's great undiscovered bands, is calling it quits. They've got a few more shows before they throw in the towel, including this one tonight. The Dolls' garage goth is demonic and intense and their live show has the wild spontaneity that can only come from a legitimate disturbed genius. This is the real thing. [myspace]
TOMORROW! Thursday, March 18
Mahogany + Autodrone @ The Studio at Webster Hall | East Village, Manhattan | $10
Mahogany one of the greatest dream-pop bands ever. Unlike most bands of the genre, however, Mahogany doesn't rely on blurred, amorphous noise. Instead, a hundred distinct moving pieces weave together to create a thick blanket of sound. The whole thing is held together by sweet slow-pop melodies. And this show is all new songs, previewed from their forthcoming EP, so it will be exciting even to old fans. Autodrone play something similar, but with harder edge. Their raging lead guitar draws from proggy metal as much as shoegaze, but it never becomes burdensome. It just gives a sharp alt-rock edge to their dark, dense pop songs. [mahogany myspace] [autodrone myspace]
Friday, March 19
Oneida, Sightings @ Knitting Factory | Williamsburg, Brooklyn | $10-12
I'm never quite sure how to describe Oneida, given they don't fit into a genre and given how many different directions they've explored in the last decade. They draw on krautrock and industrial, concentrating on rhythm and repetition. They tend to be heavy, but their latest LP showed as much world and club influence as metal. It's trancy, cold, loud, aggressive and wholly original. Sightings is even more out-there. They draw on noise, avant garde and no wave to create an unforgiving, skull-shattering noise. [oneida myspace] [sightings myspace]
[Upcoming Shows Playlist]
Saturday, March 20
Ain't shit going on. Everyone is in Texas, I guess. No SXSW for me this year...alas.
Sunday, March 21
Bellmer Dolls @ Coco 66 | Greenpoint, Brooklyn | $7
See above. This is their last show. Ever.
Tuesday, March 23
Black Lips @ Brooklyn Bowl | Williamsburg, Brooklyn | $17
Black Lips play decent garage punk but I don't like Brooklyn Bowl or paying $17 for a show. Still, I thought I'd mention it, especially since there's nothing else worthwhile going on on Monday or Tuesday. [myspace]
[Upcoming Shows Playlist]
The long view...
March
24
Black Lips @ Bowery Ballroom
25
Nada Surf play Let Go + surprise guest @ Bowery Ballroom
Jello Biafra and Guantanamo Schools of Medicine @ Brooklyn Masonic Temple
26
Nada Surf play The Weight Is a Gift + surprise guest @ Bell House
Spoon, Deerhunter @ Radio City Music Hall
27
Nada Surf play Lucky + surprise guest @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
30
Big Pink, A Place to Bury Strangers @ Webster Hall
April
1
Bonnie Prince Billy @ Monster Island Basement
2
The Bronx, Japanther @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
Captured Tracks Showcase: Blank Dogs, Wet Dog + more @ Glasslands
Bonnie Prince Billy @ Monster Island Basement
3
Soft Pack, Nodzzz, Male Bonding @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
6
The Bronx, Japanther @ Bowery Ballroom
8
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club @ Webster Hall
9
Pissed Jeans + Himalaya @ Knitting Factory
Xiu-Xiu, Tune-Yards @ Bowery Ballroom
10
Washed Out, Small Black @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
15
Liars @ Bowery Ballroom
17
Trans Am @ Santos Party House
18
Liars @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
Trans Am @ Market Hotel
20
The Thermals @ Brooklyn Bowl
21
Apples in Stereo @ Bowery Ballroom
22
Quasi, Let's Wrestle @ Bowery Ballroom
25
Shellshag, Noun (Marissa Paternoster of Screaming Females), Black Wine, Pregnant @ Mercury Lounge
May
3
Chapterhouse @ Bell House
[Upcoming Shows Playlist]
The Bellmer Dolls @ The Studio at Webster Hall | East Village, Manhattan | $10
Horrible news, friends. The Bellmer Dolls, one of NYC's great undiscovered bands, is calling it quits. They've got a few more shows before they throw in the towel, including this one tonight. The Dolls' garage goth is demonic and intense and their live show has the wild spontaneity that can only come from a legitimate disturbed genius. This is the real thing. [myspace]
TOMORROW! Thursday, March 18
Mahogany + Autodrone @ The Studio at Webster Hall | East Village, Manhattan | $10
Mahogany one of the greatest dream-pop bands ever. Unlike most bands of the genre, however, Mahogany doesn't rely on blurred, amorphous noise. Instead, a hundred distinct moving pieces weave together to create a thick blanket of sound. The whole thing is held together by sweet slow-pop melodies. And this show is all new songs, previewed from their forthcoming EP, so it will be exciting even to old fans. Autodrone play something similar, but with harder edge. Their raging lead guitar draws from proggy metal as much as shoegaze, but it never becomes burdensome. It just gives a sharp alt-rock edge to their dark, dense pop songs. [mahogany myspace] [autodrone myspace]
Friday, March 19
Oneida, Sightings @ Knitting Factory | Williamsburg, Brooklyn | $10-12
I'm never quite sure how to describe Oneida, given they don't fit into a genre and given how many different directions they've explored in the last decade. They draw on krautrock and industrial, concentrating on rhythm and repetition. They tend to be heavy, but their latest LP showed as much world and club influence as metal. It's trancy, cold, loud, aggressive and wholly original. Sightings is even more out-there. They draw on noise, avant garde and no wave to create an unforgiving, skull-shattering noise. [oneida myspace] [sightings myspace]
Saturday, March 20
Ain't shit going on. Everyone is in Texas, I guess. No SXSW for me this year...alas.
Sunday, March 21
Bellmer Dolls @ Coco 66 | Greenpoint, Brooklyn | $7
See above. This is their last show. Ever.
Tuesday, March 23
Black Lips @ Brooklyn Bowl | Williamsburg, Brooklyn | $17
Black Lips play decent garage punk but I don't like Brooklyn Bowl or paying $17 for a show. Still, I thought I'd mention it, especially since there's nothing else worthwhile going on on Monday or Tuesday. [myspace]
The long view...
March
24
Black Lips @ Bowery Ballroom
25
Nada Surf play Let Go + surprise guest @ Bowery Ballroom
Jello Biafra and Guantanamo Schools of Medicine @ Brooklyn Masonic Temple
26
Nada Surf play The Weight Is a Gift + surprise guest @ Bell House
Spoon, Deerhunter @ Radio City Music Hall
27
Nada Surf play Lucky + surprise guest @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
30
Big Pink, A Place to Bury Strangers @ Webster Hall
April
1
Bonnie Prince Billy @ Monster Island Basement
2
The Bronx, Japanther @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
Captured Tracks Showcase: Blank Dogs, Wet Dog + more @ Glasslands
Bonnie Prince Billy @ Monster Island Basement
3
Soft Pack, Nodzzz, Male Bonding @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
6
The Bronx, Japanther @ Bowery Ballroom
8
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club @ Webster Hall
9
Pissed Jeans + Himalaya @ Knitting Factory
Xiu-Xiu, Tune-Yards @ Bowery Ballroom
10
Washed Out, Small Black @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
15
Liars @ Bowery Ballroom
17
Trans Am @ Santos Party House
18
Liars @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
Trans Am @ Market Hotel
20
The Thermals @ Brooklyn Bowl
21
Apples in Stereo @ Bowery Ballroom
22
Quasi, Let's Wrestle @ Bowery Ballroom
25
Shellshag, Noun (Marissa Paternoster of Screaming Females), Black Wine, Pregnant @ Mercury Lounge
May
3
Chapterhouse @ Bell House
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Upcoming Shows: Trail of Dead, Glenn Branca + more
Tonight!!! Wednesday, February 24
…and You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead (original line-up) @ Union Pool | Williamsburg, Brooklyn
I'm not sure if "original line-up" means just the duo who started the band or if it refers to some other incarnation. But whoever it is, it's Trail of Fuckin Dead and they are as amazing as their name is long. [myspace]
Friday, February 26
Sisters, Knight School @ Bruar Falls | Williamsburg, Brooklyn | $5
Sisters are a lo-fi pop/punk duo who are going to take over the world. Their fan base includes many of the best musicians in the city and it's only a matter of time before everyone else finds out and they start playing much bigger venues for a lot more than five bucks. And Knight School are one of the better indie pop bands, with a sort of scuzzy, lo-fi aesthetic and Beatles-esque songwriting. [sisters myspace] [knight myspace]
Saturday, February 27
Glenn Branca (record release) @ Le Poisson Rouge | Greenwich Village, Manhattan | $15 adv./$18 dos.
Glenn Branca, who has long bridged the gap between avant-garde classical and punk rock, is releasing an album and celebrating it at Le Poisson Rogue. He was a key figure in the late 70's No Wave scene and helped set such innovators as Sonic Youth on their paths.
Grooms + Surfer Blood, Beach Fossils @ Market Hotel | Bushwick, Brooklyn
Grooms are a really rad band. They play experimental post-punk with a lot of sonic experimentation and some real heartfelt angst. I don't care for Surfer Blood and Beach Fossils, but they're trendy. [grooms myspace]
Sunday, February 28
Shilpa Ray, Asa Ransom @ Cameo Gallery | Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Shilpa Ray is one badass lady, who plays bluesy rock with a punk rock attitude. She's small and plays a hand-powered harmonium and says the f-word a lot. I haven't heard Asa Ransom in ages, but last I did hear them, they were playing insane-asylum style punk rock, reminiscent of Pere Ubu, with keyboards and a amp-climbing live show. [shilpa myspace] [asa myspace]
Shooting Spires, Pterodactyl, Unstoppable Death Machines @ Union Pool | Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Shooting Spires is a Parts & Labor side project that sounds a lot like Parts & Labor - great, soaring pop melodies and hooks shouted out from a whirlwind of distorted noise. Pterodactyl does something similar, but their instrumentals are not as think and heavy, their melodies a little odder and their tempos faster. Their sound is jumpy and nervy, asymmetrical and wholly original. Meanwhile, Unstoppable Death Machines are the very definition of heavy. The bass and drumkit duo lays down thick riffs while the scream into microphones they strap to their mouths. [spires myspace] [ptero myspace] [udm myspace]
Monday, March 1
Pregnant @ Bruar Falls | Williamsburg, Brooklyn | FREE!!
I don't know anything about this band except that Stupid Party sent me an e-mail when they were drunk telling me this was their favorite band. Which is more than enough recommendation for me. They've got a good name and they are punk rock and they don't give a shit what you think of them. [myspace]
The long view...
March
4
Japanther @ Mercury Lounge
5
Muse, the Silversun Pickups @ Madison Square Garden
6
Titus Andronicus, Parts & Labor, Babies @ Bowery Ballroom
7
Awesome Color, Tyvek, Talk Normal @ Market Hotel
Washed Out, Small Black @ Mercury Lounge (sold out)
8
Dinowalrus @ Cameo
Washed Out, Small Black @ Mercury Lounge (sold out)
9
Aa, Screens @ Death By Audio
101
The Magnetic Fields @ Town Hall
11
The Magnetic Fields @ Town Hall
Iran @ Knitting Factory
12-13
Henry Rollins @ The Fillmore
18
Killswitch Engage @ The Fillmore
19
Killswitch Engage @ The Fillmore
Oneida + Sightings @ Knitting Factory
23
Black Lips @ Brooklyn Bowl
24
Black Lips @ Bowery Ballroom
25
Nada Surf play Let Go + surprise guest @ Bowery Ballroom
Jello Biafra and Guantanamo Schools of Medicine @ Brooklyn Masonic Temple
26
Nada Surf play The Weight Is a Gift + surprise guest @ Bell House
Spoon, Deerhunter @ Radio City Music Hall
27
Nada Surf play Lucky + surprise guest @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
30
Big Pink, A Place to Bury Strangers @ Webster Hall
April
2
The Bronx, Japanther @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
Captured Tracks Showcase: Blank Dogs, Wet Dog + more @ Glasslands
3
Soft Pack, Nodzzz, Male Bonding @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
6
The Bronx, Japanther @ Bowery Ballroom
8
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club @ Webster Hall
10
Washed Out, Small Black @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
15
Liars @ Bowery Ballroom
18
Liars @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
21
Apples in Stereo @ Bowery Ballroom
May
3
Chapterhouse @ Bell House
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Who to Watch in 2010: Part 3
PREVIOUS >>
Part 1 (reruns)
Part 2
Knight School - Indie pop has certainly experienced a bit of a revival lately and I have a hunch Knight School will be one of the next swept up the craze. They aren't anything new, but slightly harder-edged and rawer than the Pains of Being Pure at Heart and their ilk, they have a niche. Their songwriting is consistently superb, with Bealtes-esque melody. And they've got all the right friends. Stay tuned. [MySpace]
Male Bonding - This one may be a bit of an easy pick, but so far, the U.S. press hasn't really picked up on these new signees to SubPop. My first thought about this band (aside from the fact that they share a name with an early incarnation of Sonic Youth) was, what do we need with another DIY punk band? But it quickly became apparent to me, especially seeing the band live at CMJ, that they have something special. Their music is simply explosive - let's hope people on this side of the Atlantic take notice soon! [MySpace]
PC Worship - I was originally under the impression this band was quite a bit more avant-garde than they really are. They do build a space in their music for a lot of sonic experimentation, but their murky, echoey noise carries twice-removed psychedelic melodies and lo-fi charm. [MySpace]
Screens - Screens dub their reverby drones with spooky, emotive vocals and organic sounding electronic grooves. The band may be a little too strange to make it really big, but hey, you never know. And whether or not they garner attention, I am willing to bet they will do something bold and exciting in 2010. [MySpace]
Sleigh Bells - This is another somewhat obvious pick. I mean, even my mom has heard of them! But they were little known until this October, when they became the surprise stars of CMJ. They are an electrodance duo, but with serious no wave, punk and noise influences. From searing distorted guitars and searing distorted vocals to ten thousand pound downbeats, this band will make a real impact. And not just an impact on your eardums, but that too! [MySpace]
NEXT>> Part 4
Part 1 (reruns)
Part 2
Knight School - Indie pop has certainly experienced a bit of a revival lately and I have a hunch Knight School will be one of the next swept up the craze. They aren't anything new, but slightly harder-edged and rawer than the Pains of Being Pure at Heart and their ilk, they have a niche. Their songwriting is consistently superb, with Bealtes-esque melody. And they've got all the right friends. Stay tuned. [MySpace]
Male Bonding - This one may be a bit of an easy pick, but so far, the U.S. press hasn't really picked up on these new signees to SubPop. My first thought about this band (aside from the fact that they share a name with an early incarnation of Sonic Youth) was, what do we need with another DIY punk band? But it quickly became apparent to me, especially seeing the band live at CMJ, that they have something special. Their music is simply explosive - let's hope people on this side of the Atlantic take notice soon! [MySpace]
PC Worship - I was originally under the impression this band was quite a bit more avant-garde than they really are. They do build a space in their music for a lot of sonic experimentation, but their murky, echoey noise carries twice-removed psychedelic melodies and lo-fi charm. [MySpace]
Screens - Screens dub their reverby drones with spooky, emotive vocals and organic sounding electronic grooves. The band may be a little too strange to make it really big, but hey, you never know. And whether or not they garner attention, I am willing to bet they will do something bold and exciting in 2010. [MySpace]
Sleigh Bells - This is another somewhat obvious pick. I mean, even my mom has heard of them! But they were little known until this October, when they became the surprise stars of CMJ. They are an electrodance duo, but with serious no wave, punk and noise influences. From searing distorted guitars and searing distorted vocals to ten thousand pound downbeats, this band will make a real impact. And not just an impact on your eardums, but that too! [MySpace]
NEXT>> Part 4
Monday, January 4, 2010
Who to Watch in 2010: The Deja Vu List
Last year, I listed bands to watch in 2009. I definitely got a few right and a few wrong. Others, I think, are just a matter of timing and yet more are just continuing what they started. That means there are a few repeats from 2009 on this years "To Watch" list. These are they:
The Antlers - This is one of the bands I got right for 2009. But despite their massive climb in 2009 (they appeared to have all of fifteen people at a show in early 2009 and recently sold out Bowery Ballroom), I think their ascent has only just begun. They make sad ambient rock a little like Radiohead or Arcade Fire. [MySpace]
Coin Under Tongue - I recommended these guys back in June for the second half of 2009. They've been a bit slow to catch on, but I still think they are headed for greatness. Great sludgy post-hardcore with a keen melodic sensibility.
Coyote Eyes - Another one I recommended back in June. These guys are one of the most promising Brooklyn bands, playing arty post punk with a totally fresh sound. [MySpace]
Led Er Est - This band didn't make as big of strides in 2009 as I expected. But they have a lot of potential and lately, they seem to be gaining some real momentum. Their gothy no-wavey drones are certainly better than a lot of what's been getting hype lately. Expect a lot more in 2010. [MySpace]
Pterodactyl - 2010 might not be the biggest year for these guys because I don't know if they have any plans to release a full-length album. However, given that they remain one of the most innovate and underrated bands in Brooklyn and given that they are on the radars of most indie critics at this point, I think this band is still very much on the ascent. [MySpace]
The Ruling Class - This UK band hasn't yet had the break-through they deserve but I'm starting to see them on the radar at last. They are the most talented britpop group since the early 90's and 2010 should be their year. [MySpace]
Screaming Females - Okay, they weren't on any of my "to watch" lists, but I've talked about them so much, they may as well have been - and then some. They are probably the best indie rock band left on earth and yes, 2009 was tremendous for them, but I think they'll go even further in the years to come. [MySpace]
Sisters - Another band from my list in June, Sisters are an amazing duo with talent and spirit and their name has been in the The New Yorker, so 2010 is certainly looking bright. Their lo-fi noise pop will delight fans of everything from twee to 90's indie to punk rock proper. [MySpace]
NEXT>> Part 2
The Antlers - This is one of the bands I got right for 2009. But despite their massive climb in 2009 (they appeared to have all of fifteen people at a show in early 2009 and recently sold out Bowery Ballroom), I think their ascent has only just begun. They make sad ambient rock a little like Radiohead or Arcade Fire. [MySpace]
Coin Under Tongue - I recommended these guys back in June for the second half of 2009. They've been a bit slow to catch on, but I still think they are headed for greatness. Great sludgy post-hardcore with a keen melodic sensibility.
Coyote Eyes - Another one I recommended back in June. These guys are one of the most promising Brooklyn bands, playing arty post punk with a totally fresh sound. [MySpace]
Led Er Est - This band didn't make as big of strides in 2009 as I expected. But they have a lot of potential and lately, they seem to be gaining some real momentum. Their gothy no-wavey drones are certainly better than a lot of what's been getting hype lately. Expect a lot more in 2010. [MySpace]
Pterodactyl - 2010 might not be the biggest year for these guys because I don't know if they have any plans to release a full-length album. However, given that they remain one of the most innovate and underrated bands in Brooklyn and given that they are on the radars of most indie critics at this point, I think this band is still very much on the ascent. [MySpace]
The Ruling Class - This UK band hasn't yet had the break-through they deserve but I'm starting to see them on the radar at last. They are the most talented britpop group since the early 90's and 2010 should be their year. [MySpace]
Screaming Females - Okay, they weren't on any of my "to watch" lists, but I've talked about them so much, they may as well have been - and then some. They are probably the best indie rock band left on earth and yes, 2009 was tremendous for them, but I think they'll go even further in the years to come. [MySpace]
Sisters - Another band from my list in June, Sisters are an amazing duo with talent and spirit and their name has been in the The New Yorker, so 2010 is certainly looking bright. Their lo-fi noise pop will delight fans of everything from twee to 90's indie to punk rock proper. [MySpace]
NEXT>> Part 2
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Live: Sonic Youth
When: 11/24
Where: Bowery Ballroom
Sonic Youth is one of those bands that's hard to review, because they've been examined, analyzed and explained by thousands of critics at every step of their three-decade career. But Sonic Youth is also constantly changing, pushing themselves in new directions (albeit some directions better than others) with each album. Most recently, their 2009 album The Eternal went more rock'n'roll, with heavy, direct songs (direct for Sonic Youth, that is). They've also mixed things up by adding a fifth member, bassist Mark Ibold of Pavement.
It's not the first time Sonic Youth has added a member. A few years back, experimental guitarist Jim O'Rourke was a full-time member on guitar and bass. I saw that incarnation play once, O'Rourke and Lee Ranaldo involved in some avant-garde guitar conspiracy on stage right. Where O'Rourke's presence further abstracted the music, though, Ibold focuses it, keeping the band just heavy enough to stay on the ground.
Also unlike O'Rourke, Ibold doesn't play guitar. He stays on bass, freeing Kim Gordon to sing unencumbered by an instrument, to play guitar or - best of all - to double up on bass. Two bass guitars are almost always better than one! It's nice to see Gordon in a more versatile position. Although she's always been integral to the band, her creative input stood out more than ever at this show.
The rest of the band is unchanged. Despite quite a lot of gray hair, the band doesn't seem to be aging. Thurston Moore is still his boyish self, climbing on speakers and amps and attacking his guitar with unrivaled intensity. Lee is as calm and deliberate as ever while drummer Steve Shelley, with his content, steady smile, is even more agile on his kit than I remembered.
The band played a great mix of new and old songs. The set was by far the most focused and straight-forward I've ever heard from them, and I can't even remember how many times I've seen them now (never before with Ibold, though). I've seen sets at the opposite extreme, where Thurston and Lee just make feedback for an hour, and I definitely felt more like I got my money's worth at this show. There were some noise freak-outs, which is good, because it's not Sonic Youth without that. They just didn't take over the majority of the set. And the selection of old songs was great. They played some of their less obvious classics, like "Catholic Block," "Tom Violence" and "Silver Rocket." Sadly, they skipped "Teenage Riot," but did get "Schizophrenia" into the encore.
All in all, it was a classic Sonic-Youth-at-the-top-of-their-game show. It's not 1988, but that's not Sonic Youth's fault. They've done more than any other indie band to keep themselves from growing stale, and while their efforts have been hit or miss, I'd say this era is right on target.
Where: Bowery Ballroom
Sonic Youth is one of those bands that's hard to review, because they've been examined, analyzed and explained by thousands of critics at every step of their three-decade career. But Sonic Youth is also constantly changing, pushing themselves in new directions (albeit some directions better than others) with each album. Most recently, their 2009 album The Eternal went more rock'n'roll, with heavy, direct songs (direct for Sonic Youth, that is). They've also mixed things up by adding a fifth member, bassist Mark Ibold of Pavement.
It's not the first time Sonic Youth has added a member. A few years back, experimental guitarist Jim O'Rourke was a full-time member on guitar and bass. I saw that incarnation play once, O'Rourke and Lee Ranaldo involved in some avant-garde guitar conspiracy on stage right. Where O'Rourke's presence further abstracted the music, though, Ibold focuses it, keeping the band just heavy enough to stay on the ground.
Also unlike O'Rourke, Ibold doesn't play guitar. He stays on bass, freeing Kim Gordon to sing unencumbered by an instrument, to play guitar or - best of all - to double up on bass. Two bass guitars are almost always better than one! It's nice to see Gordon in a more versatile position. Although she's always been integral to the band, her creative input stood out more than ever at this show.
The rest of the band is unchanged. Despite quite a lot of gray hair, the band doesn't seem to be aging. Thurston Moore is still his boyish self, climbing on speakers and amps and attacking his guitar with unrivaled intensity. Lee is as calm and deliberate as ever while drummer Steve Shelley, with his content, steady smile, is even more agile on his kit than I remembered.
The band played a great mix of new and old songs. The set was by far the most focused and straight-forward I've ever heard from them, and I can't even remember how many times I've seen them now (never before with Ibold, though). I've seen sets at the opposite extreme, where Thurston and Lee just make feedback for an hour, and I definitely felt more like I got my money's worth at this show. There were some noise freak-outs, which is good, because it's not Sonic Youth without that. They just didn't take over the majority of the set. And the selection of old songs was great. They played some of their less obvious classics, like "Catholic Block," "Tom Violence" and "Silver Rocket." Sadly, they skipped "Teenage Riot," but did get "Schizophrenia" into the encore.
All in all, it was a classic Sonic-Youth-at-the-top-of-their-game show. It's not 1988, but that's not Sonic Youth's fault. They've done more than any other indie band to keep themselves from growing stale, and while their efforts have been hit or miss, I'd say this era is right on target.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Album: Little Girls - Concepts
Album: Concepts
Paper Bag, 2009
Rating: ******* (7/10)
Little Girls first came to my attention last summer when the mythical "Jasper" saw them live and told me they were the shit. I saw them for myself twice, and it quickly became apparent why they were associated with Mike Sniper's Captured Tracks label early on - Mike Sniper (a.k.a. Blank Dogs) is the only other band around making this type of nervous, lo-fi, gothy post-punk. Like Blank Dogs, Little Girls is mostly a solo project, this one of Josh McIntyre, a high-strung youngster from Toronto whose influences span from no wave to hip-hop.
Concepts is a spooky album that does well capturing the band's tense energy - and it's this tense energy that sets the band apart from its peers and makes it worthy of note. On the opening track, "Youth Tunes," the vocals are almost completely inaudible, warning us that McIntyre will be speaking from a dark and distant place. The vocals never really come above the surface on the whole album, so though the press release says the album is about coming of age, the listener's only real clues are the song titles.
Following "Youth Tunes," the ominous mix continues with the atonal, reverbed vocals of "Seeing." "Tambourine" is the first semi-accessible song, with a great riff and vocals, but we don't leave the minor scales until "Imaginary Friends," a tune that manages to be simultaneously upbeat and sinister. The tightly wound, repetitive "Venom" is something of a mess, with the instruments and vocals seemingly fighting for control of the rhythm. [Update: it just occured to me that I should have indicated that comment on "Venom" is a compliment. (11/6)]
However, there are some questions of originality. The dramatic melodies of "Salt Swimmers" and "Thrills" are distinctly familiar - I'm almost positive I've heard the latter in some sort of musical theater or soundtrack. This may be more reference than accident, showing a refusal to be held back from dramatics by any typical indie rock sense of self-consciousness. It's a bold move, but I'm dubious that this was the best way for the band to display their lack of self-awareness.
Moreover, the Joy Division influences are undeniable, and at times a little overboard. "Concepts" has almost the same bass riff as "Disorder" and "Last Call" also borrows more than a few notes from Bernard Summer and Peter Hook. The similarities don't ruin the music, by any stretch, but it is a bit disappointing if you're looking for something new.
The songwriting in general leaves a bit to be desired. Repetition is clearly a part of Little Girls' craft, as is their anticlimactic composition, but the songs sometimes stagnate too much, crossing that thin line from expressing a dark ennui to being, well, a little boring. I appreciate short, simple songs, instead of cramming a million ideas into a single track, but here it sounds a little underdeveloped.
Still, all in all, Concepts is an electrifying album and shows a band with great promise. The uneasy darkness of all eleven tracks demonstrates McIntyre's rare ability to translate emotion into sound, making an indescribable anxiety palpable in the music. However, the band is young and this album wants for maturity in many instances. Of course, the rawness adds to the excitement in a way, but it also frustrates. The unsophisticated songwriting makes this album seem far more trifling than it actually is. However, McIntyre's sharp sense of pop, his innovative ideas about sound, and most of all, his sincerity are unmistakable. He's the real deal.
"Growing" makes a warm closer, as though the tensions of the album have found a little peace. But despite the major key, it's not a happy peace. It's a lullaby for the darkest of hearts, a resignation without resolution and a testament to the secrets told, if never explained, on the previous ten tracks of the record.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Live: Teenage Jesus & the Jerks + Talk Normal
Damn, I am WAY behind in writing my reviews...
When: 10/3
Where: WFMU Fest @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
Of the opening acts, I paid most attention to, and liked the best, Talk Normal, and experimental noise duo with droning guitar and primitive, pounding drums. I didn't expect to enjoy the set, because I get quite bored with noise bands and rarely find anything original in their approach. So I was delighted to find Talk Normal could hold my attention. The main factor was the vocals, which ranged from mutter to shriek but always just hinted at some sort of melodic structure - it's as though you're seeing the ruins where a pop melody got bulldozed and then burnt to the ground. This, coupled with a very dimly lit stage, generated a sense of intrigue and suspense. I found the percussion vaguely offensive and the guitar only sporadically good, but despite that, I'd definitely go see this band again. [MySpace]
There were other bands on the bill, also playing avant-garde art/noise stuff with a punk edge. I think the bands in question were Drunkdriver and Sightings, but in any case, I came out pretty neutral on both and really don't have anything interesting to say on the subject. So onward!
Onward to the headliner, one Lydia Lunch and her infamous band, Teenage Jesus & the Jerks. [If you know the history of Lunch, Teenage Jesus and no wave, skip this paragraph and the next one.] Teenage Jesus were one of the flagship bands for the late 70's New York art-punk movement known as "no wave." A few people around the drug- and arson-addled city saw how punk rock on both sides of the Atlantic sold out and commercialized into "new wave" almost as soon as punk coalesced as a genre in 1977. Independently, these few people - some musicians, some visual artists - began to create forms of music that could never be commercialized. Soon enough, these like-minded rebels found one another and joined forces in making abrasive, bizarre music that could never be adapted for mass appeal.
Teenage Jesus & the Jerks, one of four bands featured on Brian Eno's genre-defining compilation No New York, were a highly incompetent band who would make grating, inhuman noise rock. The main features were unchanging pounding on a drum, caustic, waaaay out of tune guitar and bass lines and Lydia Lunch's angry, madwoman chanting. Their songs were mostly about 30 seconds long.
[OK, pre-educated readers, join us again here!] At the WFMU set, the band, featuring acclaimed no wavers Jim Sclavunos and Al Kizys on bass and drums, was doing exactly what they've always done. Audience members cried out declarations of love for Lydia Lunch, which she rejected with particular vicious hatred. When one suggested she marry him "for money," she asked him to open his mouth. When he complied, she spat into his mouth from the stage and then turned her attention back to the set.
The band played a characteristic 20 minute set (I didn't time it but something like that) of extremely ugly music. Then, apparently too disgusted to bear another minute with their despised audience, they walked out. It was pretty much perfect.
When: 10/3
Where: WFMU Fest @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
Of the opening acts, I paid most attention to, and liked the best, Talk Normal, and experimental noise duo with droning guitar and primitive, pounding drums. I didn't expect to enjoy the set, because I get quite bored with noise bands and rarely find anything original in their approach. So I was delighted to find Talk Normal could hold my attention. The main factor was the vocals, which ranged from mutter to shriek but always just hinted at some sort of melodic structure - it's as though you're seeing the ruins where a pop melody got bulldozed and then burnt to the ground. This, coupled with a very dimly lit stage, generated a sense of intrigue and suspense. I found the percussion vaguely offensive and the guitar only sporadically good, but despite that, I'd definitely go see this band again. [MySpace]
There were other bands on the bill, also playing avant-garde art/noise stuff with a punk edge. I think the bands in question were Drunkdriver and Sightings, but in any case, I came out pretty neutral on both and really don't have anything interesting to say on the subject. So onward!
Onward to the headliner, one Lydia Lunch and her infamous band, Teenage Jesus & the Jerks. [If you know the history of Lunch, Teenage Jesus and no wave, skip this paragraph and the next one.] Teenage Jesus were one of the flagship bands for the late 70's New York art-punk movement known as "no wave." A few people around the drug- and arson-addled city saw how punk rock on both sides of the Atlantic sold out and commercialized into "new wave" almost as soon as punk coalesced as a genre in 1977. Independently, these few people - some musicians, some visual artists - began to create forms of music that could never be commercialized. Soon enough, these like-minded rebels found one another and joined forces in making abrasive, bizarre music that could never be adapted for mass appeal.
Teenage Jesus & the Jerks, one of four bands featured on Brian Eno's genre-defining compilation No New York, were a highly incompetent band who would make grating, inhuman noise rock. The main features were unchanging pounding on a drum, caustic, waaaay out of tune guitar and bass lines and Lydia Lunch's angry, madwoman chanting. Their songs were mostly about 30 seconds long.
[OK, pre-educated readers, join us again here!] At the WFMU set, the band, featuring acclaimed no wavers Jim Sclavunos and Al Kizys on bass and drums, was doing exactly what they've always done. Audience members cried out declarations of love for Lydia Lunch, which she rejected with particular vicious hatred. When one suggested she marry him "for money," she asked him to open his mouth. When he complied, she spat into his mouth from the stage and then turned her attention back to the set.
The band played a characteristic 20 minute set (I didn't time it but something like that) of extremely ugly music. Then, apparently too disgusted to bear another minute with their despised audience, they walked out. It was pretty much perfect.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Upcoming Shows: Raincoats, Shonen Knife, No Age, Marnie Stern + more
This is a confusing and difficult week for show-goers. Way too much that's way too awesome. The extent to which awesomeness overlaps will probably make you cry.
Thursday, October 15
Titus Andronicus, So So Glos, Grooms @ Knitting Factory | Williamsburg, Brooklyn (NEW LOCATION!!!) | $12
Titus Andronicus and So So Glos are two of the awesomest hardcore punk bands around. And by hardcore punk, I don't mean fifteen-year-old skinheads who go around beating people up. I mean nice kids who like to play rock music. Titus puts on a hell of a live show. Grooms are an odd fit, with a much slower, more complex, less energized sound. But they are good too. Also, this is their album release party. I just reviewed their album like 10 minutes ago. [TA MySpace] [SSG MySpace] [Grooms MySpace]
No Age @ MoMA | Midtown East, Manhattan
I don't know why No Age is playing at MoMA. It sounds pretentious and not worth missing the above show to see. But I figured I'd let you know. They play the New Museum the next day and have a proper show Saturday (see below). [MySpace]
Friday, October 16
Raincoats, Marnie Stern, Viv Albertine @ Knitting Factory | Williamsburg, Brooklyn (NEW LOCATION!!!) | $22 adv./$25 dos.
HOLY FUCKIN SHIT THE FUCKIN RAINCOATS!!!!!!!!! Or, more calmly put, one of the first and greatest UK punk bands and one of the bands that pioneered the way for women in indie rock music. The other band to fit this description, of course, is the Slits. And the Slits' guitarist was...anybody? Anybody? That's right, Viv Albertine! And as for Marnie Stern, she's the new generation, and just as awesome. You cannot miss this show, unless... [Raincoats MySpace] [MS MySpace] [VA MySpace]
...you miss it to see this one:
Shonen Knife @ Santos Party House | Chinatown, Manhattan | $12
More of indie rock's leading ladies, Shonen Knife have one of the coolest backstories in rock history. Formed in the 1980's in uber-conservative Japan, Shonen Knife consisted of three women who worked as secretaries by day and led secret lives as indie pop musicians at night, unbeknownst to their families and employers - it was considered unseemly for a woman to play rock or pop music, but Shonen Knife gave chauvinism the finger and kicked out some jams, motherfuckers. [MySpace]
Saturday, October 17
No Age @ Above the AutoParts Store | Bushwick, Brooklyn
No Age are a "noise punk" duo from California. "Noise punk" is the in-term right now for bands like this, and it does make a lot of sense. Borrowing from shoegaze, lo-fi and noise pop, No Age and their ilk make dense walls of distortiony sound, but slam out fast 2/4 punk tunes instead of meandering ambiance or wimpy indie pop. No Age are the best of their peers at this style, with bright, irresistible melodies and an unbelievable amount of noise, made on only one guitar. Go see them. [MySpace]
Echo & the Bunnymen @ Mercury Lounge | LES, Manhattan | SOLD OUT!
Obviously, Echo & the Bunnymen is one of the greatest bands of all time. Their mopey post punk, with its stark landscapes and dramatic, tuneful tenor, adds a psychedelic sensibility to the mix. Formed in 1978, this band is the real deal. Mercury Lounge is probably the best small venue in the city. You will NEVER have another chance to see this band this close. Obviously, it's sold out, so if you don't have a ticket, good luck.
Glenn Branca @ Issue Project Room | Gowanus, Brooklyn | $12 adv. / $15 dos.
One of the leaders of New York City's late 70's arty No Wave scene, Branca is an avant garde composer who makes crazy-ass sounds on guitars and mentored Thurtston Moore and Lee Renaldo when they were both wee young things. Or something like that (the nature of the relationship depends on who you ask). I wouldn't go see this over the above shows. He's from town and will perform again. Probably at IPR.
Thursday, October 15
Titus Andronicus, So So Glos, Grooms @ Knitting Factory | Williamsburg, Brooklyn (NEW LOCATION!!!) | $12
Titus Andronicus and So So Glos are two of the awesomest hardcore punk bands around. And by hardcore punk, I don't mean fifteen-year-old skinheads who go around beating people up. I mean nice kids who like to play rock music. Titus puts on a hell of a live show. Grooms are an odd fit, with a much slower, more complex, less energized sound. But they are good too. Also, this is their album release party. I just reviewed their album like 10 minutes ago. [TA MySpace] [SSG MySpace] [Grooms MySpace]
No Age @ MoMA | Midtown East, Manhattan
I don't know why No Age is playing at MoMA. It sounds pretentious and not worth missing the above show to see. But I figured I'd let you know. They play the New Museum the next day and have a proper show Saturday (see below). [MySpace]
Friday, October 16
Raincoats, Marnie Stern, Viv Albertine @ Knitting Factory | Williamsburg, Brooklyn (NEW LOCATION!!!) | $22 adv./$25 dos.
HOLY FUCKIN SHIT THE FUCKIN RAINCOATS!!!!!!!!! Or, more calmly put, one of the first and greatest UK punk bands and one of the bands that pioneered the way for women in indie rock music. The other band to fit this description, of course, is the Slits. And the Slits' guitarist was...anybody? Anybody? That's right, Viv Albertine! And as for Marnie Stern, she's the new generation, and just as awesome. You cannot miss this show, unless... [Raincoats MySpace] [MS MySpace] [VA MySpace]
...you miss it to see this one:
Shonen Knife @ Santos Party House | Chinatown, Manhattan | $12
More of indie rock's leading ladies, Shonen Knife have one of the coolest backstories in rock history. Formed in the 1980's in uber-conservative Japan, Shonen Knife consisted of three women who worked as secretaries by day and led secret lives as indie pop musicians at night, unbeknownst to their families and employers - it was considered unseemly for a woman to play rock or pop music, but Shonen Knife gave chauvinism the finger and kicked out some jams, motherfuckers. [MySpace]
Saturday, October 17
No Age @ Above the AutoParts Store | Bushwick, Brooklyn
No Age are a "noise punk" duo from California. "Noise punk" is the in-term right now for bands like this, and it does make a lot of sense. Borrowing from shoegaze, lo-fi and noise pop, No Age and their ilk make dense walls of distortiony sound, but slam out fast 2/4 punk tunes instead of meandering ambiance or wimpy indie pop. No Age are the best of their peers at this style, with bright, irresistible melodies and an unbelievable amount of noise, made on only one guitar. Go see them. [MySpace]
Echo & the Bunnymen @ Mercury Lounge | LES, Manhattan | SOLD OUT!
Obviously, Echo & the Bunnymen is one of the greatest bands of all time. Their mopey post punk, with its stark landscapes and dramatic, tuneful tenor, adds a psychedelic sensibility to the mix. Formed in 1978, this band is the real deal. Mercury Lounge is probably the best small venue in the city. You will NEVER have another chance to see this band this close. Obviously, it's sold out, so if you don't have a ticket, good luck.
Glenn Branca @ Issue Project Room | Gowanus, Brooklyn | $12 adv. / $15 dos.
One of the leaders of New York City's late 70's arty No Wave scene, Branca is an avant garde composer who makes crazy-ass sounds on guitars and mentored Thurtston Moore and Lee Renaldo when they were both wee young things. Or something like that (the nature of the relationship depends on who you ask). I wouldn't go see this over the above shows. He's from town and will perform again. Probably at IPR.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Upcoming Shows: Teenage Jesus & the Jerks + more
Tomorrow!! Thursday, October 1
Faust @ Music Hall of Williamsburg | Williamsburg, Brooklyn | $20
WFMU has been one of NYC's best radio stations for the half century of their existence. Their three-day festival at MHOW is positively amazing, opening with a Thursday night show headlined by Faust. Faust, formed in 1969, was one of the first and greatest Krautrock bands, laying much of the groundwork for post punk, art rock and electronica for decades to come.
Coin Under Tongue @ Death By Audio | Williamsburg, Brookly
If Krautrock gives you a headache, check out post-hardcore sludge-punks Coin Under Tongue in their home space at Death By Audio.
Saturday, October 3
Teenage Jesus & the Jerks @ Music Hall of Williamsburg | Williamsburg, Brooklyn | $20
WFMU does it again, bringing their mini-fest to an outstanding close. Teenage Jesus was the quintessential band of the highly arty No Wave scene in NYC in the late 70's. Fronted by the ever-scary crazed queen of the New York avant garde, Lydia Lunch, Teenage Jesus deconstructs punk music to its most intense core. The band is simply without equal.
Monday, October 5
Stupid Party @ Bruar Falls | Williamsburg Brooklyn
Stupid Party is one of my new favorites around town. Their in-your-face mess of noise boasts melodies and rhythms slammed out with sloppy passion. Uncompromising and original, Stupid Party is a must-see. [MySpace]
Faust @ Music Hall of Williamsburg | Williamsburg, Brooklyn | $20
WFMU has been one of NYC's best radio stations for the half century of their existence. Their three-day festival at MHOW is positively amazing, opening with a Thursday night show headlined by Faust. Faust, formed in 1969, was one of the first and greatest Krautrock bands, laying much of the groundwork for post punk, art rock and electronica for decades to come.
Coin Under Tongue @ Death By Audio | Williamsburg, Brookly
If Krautrock gives you a headache, check out post-hardcore sludge-punks Coin Under Tongue in their home space at Death By Audio.
Saturday, October 3
Teenage Jesus & the Jerks @ Music Hall of Williamsburg | Williamsburg, Brooklyn | $20
WFMU does it again, bringing their mini-fest to an outstanding close. Teenage Jesus was the quintessential band of the highly arty No Wave scene in NYC in the late 70's. Fronted by the ever-scary crazed queen of the New York avant garde, Lydia Lunch, Teenage Jesus deconstructs punk music to its most intense core. The band is simply without equal.
Monday, October 5
Stupid Party @ Bruar Falls | Williamsburg Brooklyn
Stupid Party is one of my new favorites around town. Their in-your-face mess of noise boasts melodies and rhythms slammed out with sloppy passion. Uncompromising and original, Stupid Party is a must-see. [MySpace]
Friday, June 19, 2009
Radio Flyer Review Presents New York No-Gaze
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| [Click for higher quality version] |
The show tomorrow is all set, please come out!
The loft is at 255 McKibben St., apartment 507. To get there, take the L to Montrose, then walk south three blocks on Bushwick Ave. (If you cross Meserole, you're going the wrong way.) When you come to McKibben, take a left. It's about halfway down the long block, on the left side. If the door downstairs is closed, just buzz. It's on the fifth floor.
Or, if you prefer, take the L to Morgan. Walk one block west on Harrison Pl., then take a right and immediately take a left on McKibben. After you cross White St., it's about halfway down the long block on the right side.
Here's the line up:
Doors at 8 PM
9 PM - Gracefully
10 PM - IfWhen
11 PM - 28 Degrees Taurus
The door charge is suggested donation only, but please pitch in so the bands can get paid! They work very hard!
Massive thanks to Rachel and roommates for letting us use their loft and Vanishing Point for letting us use their PA.
See you tomorrow!
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
RADIO FLYER REVIEW PRESENTS...
It's my first ever Radio Flyer Review show! The bands are truly brilliant and I'm thrilled to have them on my bill. Though shoegaze - and honestly, rock itself - often seem washed up, bands like these three prove that not everything has already been done. All three are pop bands, but none of them sound at all like anyone I've ever heard.
This is the cutting edge.
Oh, and I'll be DJing between sets.
I'll put up directions and a few more details closer to the date. I hope you can make it out!
Thanks to Vanishing Point for lending equipment and sound expertise and our very gracious hosts who have opened up their home for this event!!!
This is the cutting edge.
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| [Click for higher quality version] |
Oh, and I'll be DJing between sets.
I'll put up directions and a few more details closer to the date. I hope you can make it out!
Thanks to Vanishing Point for lending equipment and sound expertise and our very gracious hosts who have opened up their home for this event!!!
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Upcoming Shows: X, A Place To Bury Strangers + more
TONIGHT! Wednesday, May 27
A Place to Bury Strangers, Shilpa Ray, Sisters, Coin Under Tongue @ Pianos | LES, Manhattan | $10
If this isn't the best NYC line-up imaginable, I don't know what is. Four bands associated with the always-excellent Death By Audio family = delicious. Sisters sound like Sonic Youth at their most minimalist-punk. Coin Under Tongue I haven't heard, but it's ex-Dirty On Purpose, so you know it's good. Shilpa, well, I've already explained that. And APTBS, well, one of the loudest bands you ever hear. Not to mention one of the best. [Sisters MySpace] [Shilpa MySpace] [APTBS MySpace]
TOMORROW! Thursday, May 28
Tyvek, Cause Co-Motion! @ Monster Island Basement | Williamsburg, Brooklyn | $7
Tyvek are rad punks from the Midwest. When I saw them at Death By Audio, they kicked serious ass. Cause Co-Motion! are lo-fi C-86-style pop, friends and labelmates of the Pains of Being Pure at Heart and Crystal Stilts. Don't miss. [Tyvek MySpace] [CCM MySpace]
Friday, May 29
Beluga, Wild Yaks @ Monster Island Basement | Williamsburg, Brooklyn | $8
I'm sick of describing Beluga and how much I love them. Super awesome lady punks who scream and rock out and put on a hell of a show. Check out my last review of them. Wild Yaks are one of those names I've heard, and I have a friend who really loves yaks, the species, so that seems like a good reason to catch this band too. [Beluga MySpace] [Wild Yaks MySpace]
A.R.E. Weapons @ Webster Hall Studio | East Village, Manhattan | $10
A.R.E. Weapons may have a disappointing recorded legacy, but their live show is unbeatable. Their massive electronics and noise sound like Suicide - dissonant, heavy and noisy, yet focused. They play with a rare chemistry, their improvised parts weaving together in nigh-perfection. This is the shit. [MySpace]
Saturday, May 30
X @ Bowery Ballroom | LES, Manhattan | SOLD OUT
One of the finest of L.A.'s original punk movement, X helped define second-wave American punk (aka hardcore) in the late 70's and early 80's. They gradually moved towards accessibility, but never sold out their edge. Though never as aggressive as southern California's hardest core (Henry Rollins's Black Flag, Fear, etc.), X were and remain badass and bold. [Website]
Sunday, May 31
X @ Bowery Ballroom | LES, Manhattan | $27
Same as the above. Only difference: this show hasn't sold out yet. [Website]
Monday, June 1
Grant Hart @ Bell House | Gowanus, Brooklyn | $10
Ex-Husker Du, Grant Hart was the "hippie" of the group. His songs for Husker had a folksy leaning, and his solo work only takes him further down this path. Frankly, anyone who played in Husker Du (which is only three people ever) deserves everyone's undying respect. It's as simple as that. [MySpace]
A Place to Bury Strangers, Shilpa Ray, Sisters, Coin Under Tongue @ Pianos | LES, Manhattan | $10
If this isn't the best NYC line-up imaginable, I don't know what is. Four bands associated with the always-excellent Death By Audio family = delicious. Sisters sound like Sonic Youth at their most minimalist-punk. Coin Under Tongue I haven't heard, but it's ex-Dirty On Purpose, so you know it's good. Shilpa, well, I've already explained that. And APTBS, well, one of the loudest bands you ever hear. Not to mention one of the best. [Sisters MySpace] [Shilpa MySpace] [APTBS MySpace]
TOMORROW! Thursday, May 28
Tyvek, Cause Co-Motion! @ Monster Island Basement | Williamsburg, Brooklyn | $7
Tyvek are rad punks from the Midwest. When I saw them at Death By Audio, they kicked serious ass. Cause Co-Motion! are lo-fi C-86-style pop, friends and labelmates of the Pains of Being Pure at Heart and Crystal Stilts. Don't miss. [Tyvek MySpace] [CCM MySpace]
Friday, May 29
Beluga, Wild Yaks @ Monster Island Basement | Williamsburg, Brooklyn | $8
I'm sick of describing Beluga and how much I love them. Super awesome lady punks who scream and rock out and put on a hell of a show. Check out my last review of them. Wild Yaks are one of those names I've heard, and I have a friend who really loves yaks, the species, so that seems like a good reason to catch this band too. [Beluga MySpace] [Wild Yaks MySpace]
A.R.E. Weapons @ Webster Hall Studio | East Village, Manhattan | $10
A.R.E. Weapons may have a disappointing recorded legacy, but their live show is unbeatable. Their massive electronics and noise sound like Suicide - dissonant, heavy and noisy, yet focused. They play with a rare chemistry, their improvised parts weaving together in nigh-perfection. This is the shit. [MySpace]
Saturday, May 30
X @ Bowery Ballroom | LES, Manhattan | SOLD OUT
One of the finest of L.A.'s original punk movement, X helped define second-wave American punk (aka hardcore) in the late 70's and early 80's. They gradually moved towards accessibility, but never sold out their edge. Though never as aggressive as southern California's hardest core (Henry Rollins's Black Flag, Fear, etc.), X were and remain badass and bold. [Website]
Sunday, May 31
X @ Bowery Ballroom | LES, Manhattan | $27
Same as the above. Only difference: this show hasn't sold out yet. [Website]
Monday, June 1
Grant Hart @ Bell House | Gowanus, Brooklyn | $10
Ex-Husker Du, Grant Hart was the "hippie" of the group. His songs for Husker had a folksy leaning, and his solo work only takes him further down this path. Frankly, anyone who played in Husker Du (which is only three people ever) deserves everyone's undying respect. It's as simple as that. [MySpace]
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Upcoming Shows: Glenn Branca, Mike Watt and more
TONIGHT!!! Thursday, May 7
Whatever you do tonight, you'll be kickin' it old-school.
Glenn Branca @ Issue Project Room | Gowanus, Brooklyn | $15
Glenn Branca. If you don't know who that is or why he's awesome, you need to go out and do some reading. Starting (but not ending) with this little paragraph. Glenn Branca is an avant-garde composer, a punk rocker, a minimalist innovator and one of the biggest of the big names in the legendary "no wave" movement. Branca reinvented the electric guitar, using alternate tunings and extreme volume to generate completely new tonalities. Some of the most innovative guitar players of the 80's and 90's first cut their teeth with Branca, a list that includes Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore and Lee Renaldo and Helmet's Page Hamilton. He'll be playing one of his classic compositions, "Lesson No. 3," at IPR. Really, you should go.
Eddie & the Hot Rods @ Southpaw | Park Slope, Brooklyn | $14
Eddie and the Hot Rods were once upon a time the Sex Pistols' biggest competitors. As it turned out, Eddie was just a pub rock band while the Sex Pistols invented British punk, but then there couldn't have been a British punk scene if it hadn't been for aggressive pub rockers like these, who pushed the boundaries of British rock in rawer, wilder directions. And for that, we all owe them at least $14 and two ears for a night.
Fear @ Europa | Greenpoint, Brooklyn | $25
Twenty-five bucks is a lot, too much for me to strongly recommend this show. But if money is no object, then you better check it out. Fear are a classic West Coast punk outfit, one of the first and one of the most aggressive. They make most hardcore punks look like fluffy kittens.
TOMORROW!!! Friday, May 8
Seriously, how to choose?!?
Mike Watt & the Missingmen @ Mercury Lounge | LES, Manhattan | $15
Mike Watt was one of the first and most important players in the West Coast hardcore scene. Unlike Fear (see above), however, Watt didn't amp up the machismo of hardcore, he amped up its brains. As a member of the revolutionary trio the Minutemen, Watt broadened the musical and intellectual horizons of punk by making music that was lyrically thought-provoking and political and sonically challenging and diverse. Since then, he's continued to push the boundaries in fIREHOSE and
this, his new project, the Missingmen. [MySpace]
**CANCELLED**The Antlers @ Cameo | Williamsburg, Brooklyn
The Antlers' lo-fi, ambient electronica is the saddest music around. They are one of the few truly innovative bands in the New York scene and their recent album Hospice is one of the most profound contributions to indie rock in the last decade. [MySpace] **CANCELLED**
Coyote Eyes, Pow Wow, My Teenage Stride @ Lit Lounge | $6*
Good cheap fun! It's worth the six bucks despite being in one of the worst venues in town.Coyote Eyes sound like Sonic Youth but with prettier singing. They are minimalist, they are loud and they are very worth checking out, since they could take off any day now. Pow Wow just got named one of L Magazine's "Eight Bands You Need To Hear," which is frankly kind of silly because they are entirely typical. But that doesn't mean their lo-fi pop isn't great. It's actually lovely! (Just not "top eight" lovely.) And My Teenage Stride, officially the first band I reviewed on this site, are an indie pop mainstay in New York, with some of the best songwriting and best melodies around. If you catch all three bands, that's only $2 a pop. Not too shabby. [CE MySpace] [PW MySpace] [MTS MySpace]
**UPDATE: Apparently, Coyote Eyes and MTS aren't playing. In a typically irresponsible gesture, Lit Lounge has just forgotten to update their calendar. Bummer.**
R. Stevie Moore @ Cake Shop | LES, Manhattan | $8
Good ol' R. Stevie is the punk rock Santa Claus. He's been making lo-fi pop music since he was a kid, putting out his first recordings in the 1960's. Phenomenally gifted and perpetually overlooked, Moore is justifiably pissed off, and his bitterness is especially justified when it comes out in his kick-ass punk-rock power-pop performances. His last show at Cake Shop was one of the best shows I've ever seen ever. A true forgotten pioneer, Moore is well worth checking out. [MySpace]
Saturday, May 9
Real Estate, So So Glos @ Santos Party House | Chinatown, Manhattan | $10 *
Real Estate are the latest buzz-band out of the no-fi/neo-punk crowd that brought us the likes of Wavves, Woods and Blank Dogs. Real Estate fall at the slow, hushed end of that spectrum and while their recorded material can be rather boring at times, the very little I've seen of this band live makes me think they're good on stage. The So So Glos, on the other hand, take a more direct route to punk rock - fast, loud and rude. [RE MySpace] [SSG MySpace]
Monday, May 10
Woods, Times New Viking @ Market Hotel | Bushwick, Brooklyn*
I'm not a huge fan of TNV, to be quite honest. The constant comparisons to Guided By Voices are just not accurate; see, GBV were great because they wrote great pop songs, and TNV, for all their cool sound, just don't write great songs. So the real reason to go by this show is psychedelic folk-pop quartet Woods. In my last live review of them, I called them "one of the most outstanding and original bands of our time" and I'll stand by that statement. [TNV MySpace] [Woods MySpace]
Wednesday, May 12
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart @ Bowery Ballroom | LES, Manhattan | SOLD OUT
You should track down some tickets to this show. Tweegaze heartthrobs the Pains will be celebrating their (brief) homecoming after an extensive national tour - and right before an extensive international tour. Their songs are way too cute, but so well written that they're hard to hate. And a seamless wall of distorted guitar noise covers everything - bring earplugs. [MySpace]
*This is seems to be a week of bands and venues not working in tandem, and there is some conflicting information about these shows, so you may want to try to confirm they are happening as scheduled before you make a trek to the venue.
Whatever you do tonight, you'll be kickin' it old-school.
Glenn Branca @ Issue Project Room | Gowanus, Brooklyn | $15
Glenn Branca. If you don't know who that is or why he's awesome, you need to go out and do some reading. Starting (but not ending) with this little paragraph. Glenn Branca is an avant-garde composer, a punk rocker, a minimalist innovator and one of the biggest of the big names in the legendary "no wave" movement. Branca reinvented the electric guitar, using alternate tunings and extreme volume to generate completely new tonalities. Some of the most innovative guitar players of the 80's and 90's first cut their teeth with Branca, a list that includes Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore and Lee Renaldo and Helmet's Page Hamilton. He'll be playing one of his classic compositions, "Lesson No. 3," at IPR. Really, you should go.
Eddie & the Hot Rods @ Southpaw | Park Slope, Brooklyn | $14
Eddie and the Hot Rods were once upon a time the Sex Pistols' biggest competitors. As it turned out, Eddie was just a pub rock band while the Sex Pistols invented British punk, but then there couldn't have been a British punk scene if it hadn't been for aggressive pub rockers like these, who pushed the boundaries of British rock in rawer, wilder directions. And for that, we all owe them at least $14 and two ears for a night.
Fear @ Europa | Greenpoint, Brooklyn | $25
Twenty-five bucks is a lot, too much for me to strongly recommend this show. But if money is no object, then you better check it out. Fear are a classic West Coast punk outfit, one of the first and one of the most aggressive. They make most hardcore punks look like fluffy kittens.
TOMORROW!!! Friday, May 8
Seriously, how to choose?!?
Mike Watt & the Missingmen @ Mercury Lounge | LES, Manhattan | $15
Mike Watt was one of the first and most important players in the West Coast hardcore scene. Unlike Fear (see above), however, Watt didn't amp up the machismo of hardcore, he amped up its brains. As a member of the revolutionary trio the Minutemen, Watt broadened the musical and intellectual horizons of punk by making music that was lyrically thought-provoking and political and sonically challenging and diverse. Since then, he's continued to push the boundaries in fIREHOSE and
this, his new project, the Missingmen. [MySpace]
**CANCELLED**
The Antlers' lo-fi, ambient electronica is the saddest music around. They are one of the few truly innovative bands in the New York scene and their recent album Hospice is one of the most profound contributions to indie rock in the last decade. [MySpace]
Good cheap fun! It's worth the six bucks despite being in one of the worst venues in town.
**UPDATE: Apparently, Coyote Eyes and MTS aren't playing. In a typically irresponsible gesture, Lit Lounge has just forgotten to update their calendar. Bummer.**
R. Stevie Moore @ Cake Shop | LES, Manhattan | $8
Good ol' R. Stevie is the punk rock Santa Claus. He's been making lo-fi pop music since he was a kid, putting out his first recordings in the 1960's. Phenomenally gifted and perpetually overlooked, Moore is justifiably pissed off, and his bitterness is especially justified when it comes out in his kick-ass punk-rock power-pop performances. His last show at Cake Shop was one of the best shows I've ever seen ever. A true forgotten pioneer, Moore is well worth checking out. [MySpace]
Saturday, May 9
Real Estate, So So Glos @ Santos Party House | Chinatown, Manhattan | $10 *
Real Estate are the latest buzz-band out of the no-fi/neo-punk crowd that brought us the likes of Wavves, Woods and Blank Dogs. Real Estate fall at the slow, hushed end of that spectrum and while their recorded material can be rather boring at times, the very little I've seen of this band live makes me think they're good on stage. The So So Glos, on the other hand, take a more direct route to punk rock - fast, loud and rude. [RE MySpace] [SSG MySpace]
Monday, May 10
Woods, Times New Viking @ Market Hotel | Bushwick, Brooklyn*
I'm not a huge fan of TNV, to be quite honest. The constant comparisons to Guided By Voices are just not accurate; see, GBV were great because they wrote great pop songs, and TNV, for all their cool sound, just don't write great songs. So the real reason to go by this show is psychedelic folk-pop quartet Woods. In my last live review of them, I called them "one of the most outstanding and original bands of our time" and I'll stand by that statement. [TNV MySpace] [Woods MySpace]
Wednesday, May 12
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart @ Bowery Ballroom | LES, Manhattan | SOLD OUT
You should track down some tickets to this show. Tweegaze heartthrobs the Pains will be celebrating their (brief) homecoming after an extensive national tour - and right before an extensive international tour. Their songs are way too cute, but so well written that they're hard to hate. And a seamless wall of distorted guitar noise covers everything - bring earplugs. [MySpace]
*This is seems to be a week of bands and venues not working in tandem, and there is some conflicting information about these shows, so you may want to try to confirm they are happening as scheduled before you make a trek to the venue.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Dust It Off: Ut - In Gut's House
Sorry folks, Dust It Off is a day late this week - I had no internet access for most of yesterday. Here goes...
Album: In Gut's House
Blast First, 1987
Formed at the tail end of New York's late 70's No Wave scene, Ut captured the avant-garde noise of their colleagues, but throughout the 80's, they tightened the sound and perfected the use of contrast - dissoanance and resolution, melody and drone, composition and improvisation. The all-female three-piece didn't release much recorded material in their early years, but in the second half of the 80's, they put out a series of excellent records showcasing the style they'd spent half a decade crafting.
In Gut's House is the peak of their efforts. Technically a double EP, the album kicks off with "Evangelist," one of the group's most accessible and best tunes. It may be a misleading as most of the following songs are considerably less melodic, but on the other hand, it warms the listener up, easing them into the angular experimentation of the subsequent tracks.
Ut's music draws heavily on Sonic Youth and particularly the Velvet Underground, and manages to predict the sounds both of early 90's math rock and early 90's riot grrrl, two genres usually considered miles apart. In Gut's House has the jumpy, sparse guitars of the soon-to-be-invented math rock, accompanied by pounding toms that never fall into a set rhythmic pattern for more than a few bars. The vocals are sometimes coherent, welcoming melodies, but at other times, they are yowls, screeches or chants, much like the young feminist bands that would form in the Pacific Northwest just a few years down the road.
And despite all the flexibility of their relatively unstructured songs, Ut maintains coherence and a sense of focus throughout the album - the tension and release, the sudden veering from beauty to ugliness, the detailed arrangements, everything indicates that this was an album made with a unified vision and careful planning.
"Homebled" is a particularly interesting track. It sounds like a completely fried Velvet Underground trying to play a folk ballad. It even includes John Cale's signature electric viola sound. (Well, in this case, I think it might be a violin, but same idea.) The vocals would be conventionally pretty if they and their backing instruments didn't keep falling apart.
While confrontational like their No Wave peers, Ut also gives the listener more inroads and moments of true beauty than the orginal New York No Wavers, perhaps translating the movement's experimentalism more accessibly than anyone besides Sonic Youth. And unlike Sonic Youth, Ut never enjoyed commercial success and certainly never scored a major label deal. But despite their unending obscurity, the band has made its mark upon modern indie music and should be a feature in every art punk fan's collection.
MySpace (fan page)
Album: In Gut's House
Blast First, 1987
Formed at the tail end of New York's late 70's No Wave scene, Ut captured the avant-garde noise of their colleagues, but throughout the 80's, they tightened the sound and perfected the use of contrast - dissoanance and resolution, melody and drone, composition and improvisation. The all-female three-piece didn't release much recorded material in their early years, but in the second half of the 80's, they put out a series of excellent records showcasing the style they'd spent half a decade crafting.
In Gut's House is the peak of their efforts. Technically a double EP, the album kicks off with "Evangelist," one of the group's most accessible and best tunes. It may be a misleading as most of the following songs are considerably less melodic, but on the other hand, it warms the listener up, easing them into the angular experimentation of the subsequent tracks.
Ut's music draws heavily on Sonic Youth and particularly the Velvet Underground, and manages to predict the sounds both of early 90's math rock and early 90's riot grrrl, two genres usually considered miles apart. In Gut's House has the jumpy, sparse guitars of the soon-to-be-invented math rock, accompanied by pounding toms that never fall into a set rhythmic pattern for more than a few bars. The vocals are sometimes coherent, welcoming melodies, but at other times, they are yowls, screeches or chants, much like the young feminist bands that would form in the Pacific Northwest just a few years down the road.
And despite all the flexibility of their relatively unstructured songs, Ut maintains coherence and a sense of focus throughout the album - the tension and release, the sudden veering from beauty to ugliness, the detailed arrangements, everything indicates that this was an album made with a unified vision and careful planning.
"Homebled" is a particularly interesting track. It sounds like a completely fried Velvet Underground trying to play a folk ballad. It even includes John Cale's signature electric viola sound. (Well, in this case, I think it might be a violin, but same idea.) The vocals would be conventionally pretty if they and their backing instruments didn't keep falling apart.
While confrontational like their No Wave peers, Ut also gives the listener more inroads and moments of true beauty than the orginal New York No Wavers, perhaps translating the movement's experimentalism more accessibly than anyone besides Sonic Youth. And unlike Sonic Youth, Ut never enjoyed commercial success and certainly never scored a major label deal. But despite their unending obscurity, the band has made its mark upon modern indie music and should be a feature in every art punk fan's collection.
MySpace (fan page)
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Live: Beluga + Hunters, Oh No! and the Tiger Pit, Trouble & Strife
When: 3/20
Where: Cameo
Hunters - From the first pounding note of their set, Hunters demand attention. A New York-based four-piece, Hunters' music is difficult to classify. It's definitely punk, aggressive and heavy hitting. But it's also got Sonic Youth-influenced artsy experimentation, and to further confuse matters, some crazy rock'n'roll guitar. Like "no wave" bands, they walk the line between overt intellectualism and punk rock nihilism.
All four members are great musicians, particularly Derek Watson on guitar and Odell Nails (also of Mahogany) on drums. The whole band plays a mile a minute of their angular, in-your-face music, and their stamina alone is impressive. The set did seem to slow down a bit as it wore on, growing a little tiresome by the end. Still, I'm definitely eager to see them again.
MySpace
Oh No! And the Tiger Pit - Oh No! is a classic example of a band of excellent musicians trying a little too hard to be edgy. The band played all kinds of rock'n'roll but all with vocals that sounded alternately just like the Pixies' Charles Thompson and just like Pere Ubu's David Thomas. They topped this off with some ironic girl-group moments and random animal noises.
The band was enjoyable and very talented, but the whole thing had the feel of "let's be in a band that's really weird," not "we're genuinely crazy and are genuinely trying to express ourselves." The music was fun and well-played but it didn't make it to a deeper level than that. Oh No! are fine for a party, but in terms of enduring artistic merit, they are only a pale derivative of the bands they parrot.
MySpace
Beluga - One of my favorite NYC bands, Beluga rocked the house. Their music is punk, with a slight post-Nirvana grunge tilt to it and wisps of indie pop tucked in here and there. Frontwoman Isabel Ibsen sounds like Courtney Love waaaay back when Courtney Love was still awesome - whether hushed or screaming, her voice has a rare ability to convey absolute rage. She's a great frontwoman too, jumping in the audience, slithering and rolling on the floor, screaming her head off.
The band was obviously having a few technical problems throughout the show, but they still played well. Unfortunately, it wasn't at all a jumping/moshing/dancing/flailing sort of crowd, and under those circumstances, its difficult for a band like this to build up their momentum to its fullest. But they did an admirable job in the face of adversity.
Last time I wrote up Beluga, my complaint was that other than Isabel, the band didn't move at all. Someone named "Jared" commented that he liked the contrast, and I hadn't thought of it, but when put that way it sounded kind of cool. With that in mind, I was able to appreciate the band better, and the band also met me halfway - while still not a very active band, the three women backing Isabel were definitely showing more energy, even if they turned that energy inward towards their guitars. (Drummer Elliot Glass also showed energy, but of course, it's hard not to when you're on the drums.)
It was probably not Beluga's best show ever, but as always, they kicked serious ass.
MySpace
Trouble & Strife - This hard-rocking band played a punk rock like classic rock - or maybe it was classic rock played like punk rock, I'm not sure which. They were vastly talented, particularly drummer Max (I don't know his last name). The guitars were killer as well. Only one problem - the frontman. Singer S. Sinclair's 1970's rockstar posing was just plain off. It seemed completely staged and hit a particular low when he crushed a beer can with his hand. Playing up the sex appeal by constantly flashing the frayed crotch of his jeans probably kept some of the audience interested, but in the end, he seemed like an impostor. The rest of the band would be better off without him.
MySpace
Where: Cameo
Hunters - From the first pounding note of their set, Hunters demand attention. A New York-based four-piece, Hunters' music is difficult to classify. It's definitely punk, aggressive and heavy hitting. But it's also got Sonic Youth-influenced artsy experimentation, and to further confuse matters, some crazy rock'n'roll guitar. Like "no wave" bands, they walk the line between overt intellectualism and punk rock nihilism.
All four members are great musicians, particularly Derek Watson on guitar and Odell Nails (also of Mahogany) on drums. The whole band plays a mile a minute of their angular, in-your-face music, and their stamina alone is impressive. The set did seem to slow down a bit as it wore on, growing a little tiresome by the end. Still, I'm definitely eager to see them again.
MySpace
Oh No! And the Tiger Pit - Oh No! is a classic example of a band of excellent musicians trying a little too hard to be edgy. The band played all kinds of rock'n'roll but all with vocals that sounded alternately just like the Pixies' Charles Thompson and just like Pere Ubu's David Thomas. They topped this off with some ironic girl-group moments and random animal noises.
The band was enjoyable and very talented, but the whole thing had the feel of "let's be in a band that's really weird," not "we're genuinely crazy and are genuinely trying to express ourselves." The music was fun and well-played but it didn't make it to a deeper level than that. Oh No! are fine for a party, but in terms of enduring artistic merit, they are only a pale derivative of the bands they parrot.
MySpace
Beluga - One of my favorite NYC bands, Beluga rocked the house. Their music is punk, with a slight post-Nirvana grunge tilt to it and wisps of indie pop tucked in here and there. Frontwoman Isabel Ibsen sounds like Courtney Love waaaay back when Courtney Love was still awesome - whether hushed or screaming, her voice has a rare ability to convey absolute rage. She's a great frontwoman too, jumping in the audience, slithering and rolling on the floor, screaming her head off.
The band was obviously having a few technical problems throughout the show, but they still played well. Unfortunately, it wasn't at all a jumping/moshing/dancing/flailing sort of crowd, and under those circumstances, its difficult for a band like this to build up their momentum to its fullest. But they did an admirable job in the face of adversity.
Last time I wrote up Beluga, my complaint was that other than Isabel, the band didn't move at all. Someone named "Jared" commented that he liked the contrast, and I hadn't thought of it, but when put that way it sounded kind of cool. With that in mind, I was able to appreciate the band better, and the band also met me halfway - while still not a very active band, the three women backing Isabel were definitely showing more energy, even if they turned that energy inward towards their guitars. (Drummer Elliot Glass also showed energy, but of course, it's hard not to when you're on the drums.)
It was probably not Beluga's best show ever, but as always, they kicked serious ass.
MySpace
Trouble & Strife - This hard-rocking band played a punk rock like classic rock - or maybe it was classic rock played like punk rock, I'm not sure which. They were vastly talented, particularly drummer Max (I don't know his last name). The guitars were killer as well. Only one problem - the frontman. Singer S. Sinclair's 1970's rockstar posing was just plain off. It seemed completely staged and hit a particular low when he crushed a beer can with his hand. Playing up the sex appeal by constantly flashing the frayed crotch of his jeans probably kept some of the audience interested, but in the end, he seemed like an impostor. The rest of the band would be better off without him.
MySpace
Monday, February 23, 2009
Live: A.R.E. Weapons and Bellmer Dolls
When: 2/19
Where: Cameo
I wrote up the Bellmer Dolls not that long ago and was planning to leave them alone for a bit, but when I found out they were playing with the legendary A.R.E. Weapons, I couldn't pass it up. I arrived at the new Williamsburg venue Cameo so late I thought I might miss the entire show, but in fact, the first act, Services, was just finishing when I made it into the room.
Services - I'm not sure what to make of this band, having only caught the last few bars of their set, but it certainly left me scratching my head. It seemed to combine 70's style and dance moves with some amalgamation of cheap 80's synth pop, Krautrock and trashy metal. I couldn't even figure out if it was awesome or terrible. Maybe it made more sense if you saw the whole set? Or maybe not.
A.R.E. Weapons - A.R.E. Weapons were once signed to indie mainstay Rough Trade and have been a known name in the NYC underground for almost a decade. While the quality of their recorded material is spotty at best, their live show has secured their reputation among audiences at fringe of the indie music scene. I'd never seen them play before and naturally, I was intrigued.
The first word that comes to mind for the band's performance is assaultive. The sheer volume is most of that, but the sound is also heavy-hitting and the delivery intense and aggressive. The line-up has changed numerous times since the band's founding, and for this show, the band was whittled down to two members. Some research leads me to believe there are usually four of them, but having seen the band as a duo, it's hard to understand why they'd need two more people - just two of them are pretty much enough to knock you over.
With one member on synth and the other on guitar and vocals, the band sounded pretty much like no-wave synth duo Suicide - a fact the band even acknowledged at one point. They topped their electronic beats with massive, distorted noise rock, but maintained a sense of song structure and vague orientation within key signatures, an approach that made their forays into noise far more enjoyable than most bands'. The musical chemistry between the two members on stage was also exceptional. They seemed to be completely in sync with one another, complimenting one another so naturally they might have been reading each other's minds.
My only complaint lies with the vocals, which could be a bit trite at times, particularly in the lyrics. I understand the trashy, cliched pattern of the vocals was used intentionally much in the way the Ramones reference the idiocy of 50's pop. But just because it's done on purpose doesn't make it the best decision - this sort of juxtaposition is rather overdone and the songs would be better if they stood on their own merit. :: MySpace
The Bellmer Dolls - I'm afraid my assessment of this band will always be colored with nostalgia for the good ol' days. Like any band that's at its best raw and live, the Bellmer Dolls have gravitated ever so slightly towards complacency and convention with time. Their garage goth is still aggressive and their delivery still wild, but their set seems more planned now - they break far less equipment and improvise less than they once did.
The Bellmer Dolls
But they still do some damage both to the stage equipment and to the audience's eardrums, and they are still very much worth getting excited about. The band debuted some new songs at the show that ultimately didn't live up to the tribal minimalism of Bellmer's early material - they were good, but didn't sound as unique. But just when I was about to get worried, the band launched into a new song that very much captures their old spirit - anchored by the tense, driving bass line, the song's bare aggression left no doubt that the Bellmer Dolls are still very much with us.
The band also played most of their best old material, snarling out classics and ending on a massive rendition of "Push, Push" which did, true to tradition, end in a lot of shit getting knocked over and broken. Maybe not as much damage as they would have done a year ago, but still, it was from the heart. And still, the band is one of the best around these days - worthy not only of an audience but of a lasting legacy in the American underground. :: MySpace
Where: Cameo
I wrote up the Bellmer Dolls not that long ago and was planning to leave them alone for a bit, but when I found out they were playing with the legendary A.R.E. Weapons, I couldn't pass it up. I arrived at the new Williamsburg venue Cameo so late I thought I might miss the entire show, but in fact, the first act, Services, was just finishing when I made it into the room.
Services - I'm not sure what to make of this band, having only caught the last few bars of their set, but it certainly left me scratching my head. It seemed to combine 70's style and dance moves with some amalgamation of cheap 80's synth pop, Krautrock and trashy metal. I couldn't even figure out if it was awesome or terrible. Maybe it made more sense if you saw the whole set? Or maybe not.
A.R.E. Weapons - A.R.E. Weapons were once signed to indie mainstay Rough Trade and have been a known name in the NYC underground for almost a decade. While the quality of their recorded material is spotty at best, their live show has secured their reputation among audiences at fringe of the indie music scene. I'd never seen them play before and naturally, I was intrigued.
The first word that comes to mind for the band's performance is assaultive. The sheer volume is most of that, but the sound is also heavy-hitting and the delivery intense and aggressive. The line-up has changed numerous times since the band's founding, and for this show, the band was whittled down to two members. Some research leads me to believe there are usually four of them, but having seen the band as a duo, it's hard to understand why they'd need two more people - just two of them are pretty much enough to knock you over.
With one member on synth and the other on guitar and vocals, the band sounded pretty much like no-wave synth duo Suicide - a fact the band even acknowledged at one point. They topped their electronic beats with massive, distorted noise rock, but maintained a sense of song structure and vague orientation within key signatures, an approach that made their forays into noise far more enjoyable than most bands'. The musical chemistry between the two members on stage was also exceptional. They seemed to be completely in sync with one another, complimenting one another so naturally they might have been reading each other's minds.
My only complaint lies with the vocals, which could be a bit trite at times, particularly in the lyrics. I understand the trashy, cliched pattern of the vocals was used intentionally much in the way the Ramones reference the idiocy of 50's pop. But just because it's done on purpose doesn't make it the best decision - this sort of juxtaposition is rather overdone and the songs would be better if they stood on their own merit. :: MySpace
The Bellmer Dolls - I'm afraid my assessment of this band will always be colored with nostalgia for the good ol' days. Like any band that's at its best raw and live, the Bellmer Dolls have gravitated ever so slightly towards complacency and convention with time. Their garage goth is still aggressive and their delivery still wild, but their set seems more planned now - they break far less equipment and improvise less than they once did.
The Bellmer Dolls
But they still do some damage both to the stage equipment and to the audience's eardrums, and they are still very much worth getting excited about. The band debuted some new songs at the show that ultimately didn't live up to the tribal minimalism of Bellmer's early material - they were good, but didn't sound as unique. But just when I was about to get worried, the band launched into a new song that very much captures their old spirit - anchored by the tense, driving bass line, the song's bare aggression left no doubt that the Bellmer Dolls are still very much with us.
The band also played most of their best old material, snarling out classics and ending on a massive rendition of "Push, Push" which did, true to tradition, end in a lot of shit getting knocked over and broken. Maybe not as much damage as they would have done a year ago, but still, it was from the heart. And still, the band is one of the best around these days - worthy not only of an audience but of a lasting legacy in the American underground. :: MySpace
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