When: 12/18
Where: Death By Audio
Upon entering Death By Audio for the Fiasco show, we were greeted by a delightful sludge-racket called The Unstoppable Death Machines, with a set-up basically equivalent to that of Lightning Bolt (drummer and bassist, effect-laden vocals through mics strapped right on/in the mouth). However, the music isn't so much Lightning Bolt-esque beyond that. Sure, it's heavy and blasted with distortion, but Unstoppable Death Machines rely far less on complexity and speed than their older Rhode Island counterparts. Instead, they base their music off of simple, crushing riffs. That's not to say there isn't a high level of musicianship, but just that these songs would be learnable to most bassists - Lightning Bolt's music, not so much. While not the greatest or most original band on earth, UDM were pretty delicious. They want to rip your face off. [MySpace]
The young Fiasco took the stage next. And "young" is the operative adjective when it comes to this band. Their mistakes are all characteristic of young players, but so is their particular brand of pure enthusiasm and concentration. Musically, the band plays an involved post-hardcore, with little focus on vocals and a whole lot on complex time signatures, technically difficult riffs and DISTORTION.
At times, their music seemed unnecessarily complicated. I've seen young bands do some crazy stuff just because they can. And I like technically sophisticated music, but only if all the time signature changes and high-speed riffing strengthen the songs instead of gumming them up. Fiasco were hit and miss in this regard.
They also made errors in stage presence. First of all, they allowed way too much downtime between songs - I don't know if this was a product of technical difficulties or just poor planning, but they need to work on closing those gaps - if you can't shorten them, fill them up with something, please! Otherwise, all that momentum that builds during the songs - and they are great songs! - gets lost. Second, the band apologized for being underrehearsed and messing up. They were clearly underrehearsed, but apologizing for it just drew attention to it. If you mess up, you just have to own that as part of the show, say "this is how we play, so fuck off." That's much more fun for the audience than being told they spent their time and money to see something subpar.
Jonathan Edelstein and Lucian Buscemi switch on guitar and bass and alternate vocals, and while I enjoy the variety that adds, it did highlight the discrepancy in skill between the two players. When Edelstein played guitar, guitar led the songs. When he played bass, bass led the songs. His vocals were strong and melodic, while Buscemi could only sing whatever note he was playing. Edelstein also had a more engaging stage presence, while Buscemi looked like he might rather hide behind an amp. Musicians in a band certainly don't have to be equal, and sometimes what a particular musician has brought to a band can't be seen on stage. However, I was a bit surprised at the difference and frustrated by Buscemi's many missed opportunities.
Don't get me wrong, the band is great. Their effort and focus on stage is clear and their music is explosive. They just have some growing up to do - and just think how good they'll be when they get there! [MySpace]
Showing posts with label thrash. Show all posts
Showing posts with label thrash. Show all posts
Monday, January 11, 2010
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Live: Jesus Lizard
When: 11/17
Where: Irving Ballroom
To be honest, I missed most of the Jesus Lizard set at Irving Ballroom for reasons I won't go into. That really sucks because I love Jesus Lizard and also because I bought a ticket and it wasn't cheap. And also because I saw the set list and I know they played a lot of my favorite songs from the first three albums before I arrived. Nevertheless, I caught enough of the show to have something to say (surprise!) so here goes...
Jesus Lizard has always been a nasty, ugly band. Their music epitomizes the best of the Midwest's golden era - that post-hardcore, pre-thrashy alt metal window where bands like Big Black, Naked Raygun, the Effigies and Killdozer mixed punk's DIY ethos and teenage-boy aggression with far more sophisticated musical ideas. Although the bands of this scene have vastly varied sounds, most of the best pushed the extremes of weight and volume while at the same time learning from the UK's post-punk grooves. The result was music simultaneously more caustic than most punk or metal and with more melodic and rhythmic flow.
Jesus Lizard certainly embraces this. Their noise rock influences make their sound jarring and asymmetrical. Over the distorted, two-ton bassy riffs, David Yow crafts equally bilious, hateful vocals.
So what of their live show now? Even the best reunited bands seem to lose a little excitement when they reach a certain age. But not Jesus Lizard. Apologies to average-looking 50-year-olds everywhere, but having a half-naked, pale, slightly flabby, sweat-drenched one repeatedly screaming "MOTHERFUCKER" at you is even more disturbing than having a sweaty 27-year-old repeatedly screaming "MOTHERFUCKER" at you. Jesus Lizard is about making people uncomfortable, and though Yow and company aren't inherently ugly, they embrace ugliness as an ultimate unsettling aesthetic. Sonically and visually, they'll send most people running for the door, and those people are running faster than ever. And that's why we love this band.
[MySpace]
Where: Irving Ballroom
To be honest, I missed most of the Jesus Lizard set at Irving Ballroom for reasons I won't go into. That really sucks because I love Jesus Lizard and also because I bought a ticket and it wasn't cheap. And also because I saw the set list and I know they played a lot of my favorite songs from the first three albums before I arrived. Nevertheless, I caught enough of the show to have something to say (surprise!) so here goes...
Jesus Lizard has always been a nasty, ugly band. Their music epitomizes the best of the Midwest's golden era - that post-hardcore, pre-thrashy alt metal window where bands like Big Black, Naked Raygun, the Effigies and Killdozer mixed punk's DIY ethos and teenage-boy aggression with far more sophisticated musical ideas. Although the bands of this scene have vastly varied sounds, most of the best pushed the extremes of weight and volume while at the same time learning from the UK's post-punk grooves. The result was music simultaneously more caustic than most punk or metal and with more melodic and rhythmic flow.
Jesus Lizard certainly embraces this. Their noise rock influences make their sound jarring and asymmetrical. Over the distorted, two-ton bassy riffs, David Yow crafts equally bilious, hateful vocals.
So what of their live show now? Even the best reunited bands seem to lose a little excitement when they reach a certain age. But not Jesus Lizard. Apologies to average-looking 50-year-olds everywhere, but having a half-naked, pale, slightly flabby, sweat-drenched one repeatedly screaming "MOTHERFUCKER" at you is even more disturbing than having a sweaty 27-year-old repeatedly screaming "MOTHERFUCKER" at you. Jesus Lizard is about making people uncomfortable, and though Yow and company aren't inherently ugly, they embrace ugliness as an ultimate unsettling aesthetic. Sonically and visually, they'll send most people running for the door, and those people are running faster than ever. And that's why we love this band.
[MySpace]
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Upcoming Shows: FRIDAY @ Monster Island Basement
Shellshag - "The White Stripes on steroids and crack" (Jersey Beat 2007) [MySpace] [Official Site]
Big Troubles - "Big Troubles is Ian and Alex, two guys from Ridgewood, New Jersey looking to give you a sonic shoulder rub if you can stand it. Just as their fellow Ridgewoodians Real Estate tend to dunk theirs underwater, Ian and Alex blanket most melodies in loads of fuzz and distortion. Lots of kids are doing it these days, few are doing it as well as these two." (The Tripwire) [MySpace] [Official Site]
Sisters - "The Brooklyn duo Sisters pull nineties alternative rock into the twenty-first century, skillfully tempering Gen X slacker aesthetics with an earnest optimism and youthful vigor." (The New Yorker [!!!]) [MySpace] [RFR Review]
The Sundelles - "The band's sound is as classic garage as you can get and there is something reminiscent of Sid Vicious in the singer's voice. This track is filled with youthful exuberance and defiance. Definitely mixtape worthy!" (Rock Insider) [MySpace]
It's at Monster Island Basement a.k.a. Secret Project Robot art gallery a.k.a. 210 Kent Ave., at the corner of Kent and Metropolitan. Doors at 8 PM, costs $7.
Wednesday, December 2
Werewolves @ Glasslands | Williamsburg, Brooklyn | $5
I wouldn't hold my breath because the Werewolves have cancelled the last two times I tried to see them. But assuming they are going to do the show, you should be there. Werewolves manage to still the best of pretty much every variety of psychedelic music, from 60's rock and roll to shoegaze to noise. Hazy sounds, great melodies and squalling noise combine to make some of NYC's best music. [RFR Review] [MySpace]
Thursday, December 3
Young Boys @ Shea Stadium | Greenpoint, Brooklyn | $7
Young Boys are a badass noise pop duo who sound like an even drunker, even more nihilistic Jesus & Mary Chain. Everything is minimal, from the simple vocal melodies to the untamed, feedbacking guitar to the programmed keyboard beats. It's fucking great. [RFR Review] [MySpace]
Friday, December 4
Shellshag! Sisters! Big Troubles! Sundelles! See above!
Saturday, December 5
The Nymphets @ Dead Herring | Williamsburg, Brooklyn
The Nymphets are a minimal punk duo from Canada. Their music is simplistic and raw, their songs instantly lovable and their attitude badass but endearing. Check it. [RFR Review] [MySpace]
Monday, December 7
Jeff the Brotherhood, Dinowalrus, Sisters, Coin Under Tongue @ Mercury Lounge | LES, Manhattan | $8
Um, only four of the best bands on the scene right now, plus a DJ set by a fifth great (my recent obsession Stupid Party). Jeff the Brotherhood play raw psychedelic punk. Dinowalrus make experimental music that rocks hard but with complicated rhythms and unusual sounds. Sisters write enthusiastic, lo-fi pop songs. Coin Under Tongue yell all post-hardcore/thrash style into the microphone while making mammoth, distortion-laden riffs. However you look at it, this is a dream line-up. [JtB RFR Review] [JtB MySpace] [DW RFR Review] [DW MySpace] [Sisters RFR Review] [Sisters MySpace] [COT RFR Review]
The long view...
December
10
Reagan Youth @ Trash Bar
11
Fiery Furnaces @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
Forgetters (mems Jawbreaker, Against Me) @ Market Hotel
12
Fiery Furnaces @ Bowery Ballroom
13
Blank Dogs + Silk Flowers @ Monster Island Basement
14
The Slits + Sisters, Sundelles @ Highline Ballroom
15
The Antlers @ Bowery Ballroom
16
Raekwon @ The Fillmore
17
The For Carnation @ Knitting Factory
Black Dogs, Led Er Est @ Death By Audio
Pterodactyl @ Cameo
29-31
Patti Smith @ Bowery Ballroom
January
15
Gang Gang Dance, DJ/Rupture @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
16
Dinosaur Jr @ Bowery Ballroom
17
Dinosaur Jr @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
25
Cheap Trick @ The Fillmore
29-30
Mission of Burma @ Bowery Ballroom
February
9
Residents @ Webster Hall
13
Magnetic Fields @ Brooklyn Academy of Music
Friday, November 6, 2009
Live: Fucked Up + Titus Andronicus
When: November 5
Where: Brooklyn Masonic Temple
This is gonna be a long one...
Last night, I headed out to Fort Greene to hear experimental hardcore band Fucked Up perform their already-classic 2008 album The Chemistry of Common Life. I got to the venue just in time to catch the first notes of the opening set by Titus Andronicus, the band that restored my faith in punk a year ago.
But things have changed a lot for this band in the space of a year. They've been frequently hailed as one of the best hardcore bands of this generation, they've got some snazzy invites to play with rad bands (like Jesus Lizard and Bad Brains at the private Vice party on Halloween). They've toured extensively and saw their killer 2008 album The Airing of Grievances rereleased on XL records, part of the indie behemoth Beggars Group. They've also changed their line-up. The two guitarists I last saw them with are both gone, replaced by "indie heartthrob" Pete Feigenbaum.*
Being down one guitarist kept frontman Patrick Stickles tied to his guitar, curbing some of his previous antics and eliminating the harmonica from the set. However, I think it's a net positive - the band sounds more focused than ever before. The band's recent success also apparently afforded them enough for haircuts and a visit to the laundromat, maybe even for new t-shirts entirely. That sounds awfully snarky, but I love a good hardcore band no matter how dirty or clean their clothes, how scraggy or tidy their hair. It gave the show a slightly different feel from Titus shows I've been to in the past, not better or worse, just different.
Fitting with their slightly cleaned-up appearance, Titus Andronicus have polished up their sound. Don't think that takes off the edge, though. They are loud and fast and make me want to move to Ireland and go to a pub with people I will come to call "the lads" every night just so that we can stumble home shouting drunken renditions of every Titus Andronicus song we know. But Titus Andronicus has always been a technically sophisticated band and now their guitar-work can really shine. They've rearranged their songs to include some enormous, glittering walls of sound, some stunning embellishing riffs and some crazy, crazy noise. They are more loud and cool and fun than ever. [MySpace]
And then the headliner, the enigmatic Fucked Up, who are living proof that you can't judge a book (punk band) by its cover (appearance). There are six people in Fucked Up. The two of the left side of the stage are clean-cut young men that look like the guys your parents wish you brought home to meet them. The three on the right are slightly more unkempt, but they definitely look more like kids you'd expect to see working in your college library than ones you expect to run into at a seedy hardcore show. Meanwhile, the frontman is a heavy-set, bald, bearded guy who came out on stage last night in baggy athletic shorts, a big t-shirt and a baseball cap askew on his head. Even knowing the band, I half expected him to start rapping on the spot.
But this is neither nice-boy rock nor quirky indie, and it's certainly not gangsta rap. It's one of the most innovative, most confrontational hardcore bands on earth. Starting with the name, Fucked Up are in your face. They've generated a myriad of rumours about themselves, don't keep a myspace page (though fans keep a detailed one including concert dates) and don't really give a fuck what people think or say - they did little, for example, to quell rumours that they had an underhanded neo-Nazi message. (They don't.)
Calling Fucked Up a "hardcore" band can be a little misleading, however. With three guitarists, along with bass and drums, and songs on average clocking in well past the three-minute mark, their music has a complexity that seems the antithesis of punk. On recordings, they literally layer dozens of guitar tracks. Still, their music has the fast-loud punch of hardcore, the same thrash-style shouting vocals and the same "fuck off" attitude. Fucked Up are without a doubt a hardcore punk band, they've just redefined what that means.
But for all their aggression, Fucked Up is one of the most loving, lovely bands I've ever seen. Their music inspires such a sense of camaraderie that it inspires hundreds of attention-starved teenagers to take turns jumping on stage to hug or attack a band member, shout into a microphone or bang a cymbal (or in this case, gong). Now, if it were me, I'd lose my temper quickly and send the kids home with notes to their parents begging them to take some time out to spend with the lonely youths. But Fucked Up is bigger than me, and even when someone acts particularly inappropriately, they make the best of it, grabbing the offending kid to shout in the microphone for a few lines before hurling them good-naturedly back into the crowd. Meanwhile, frontman Pink Eyes is up front handing the microphone around, grabbing kids for high-fives, hugs, kisses and affectionate rough-housing.
Fucked Up
All evening, the crowd, though moshing and dancing wildly, seemed uninterested in helping crowd-surfers, so one kid after another bellyflopped off the stage onto the floor below. And not long after I thought to myself, "at least this band has a frontperson who can't stage dive" (I mentioned he's a heavy dude), Pink Eyes himself took the plunge. Even if the audience had been supporting people, I'm not sure they could have handled his mass and he dropped straight to the floor. After a bit of crawling and thrashing around, he climbed back on stage. "Thanks for catching me, guys," he said. "Real cool." He flashed a big thumbs-down and then chided the crowd, telling us that "little kids" in China had once carried him. Personally, I'd like to see some photographic evidence of this alleged occurrence.
Performing much of the material from their outstanding album The Chemistry of Common Life, the band brought special guests Andrew W-K, the Vivian Girls and singer Katie Stelmanis on stage. Though the Vivian Girls enraged me by unprofessionally peering out from behind the curtains at the wings when not on stage, I have to admit, I really liked their performance. This is definitely the first time I've said something positive about the band, and grudgingly so, but I gotta hand it to them - fingers jammed in their ears, they sang mostly the right notes (not an easy task in all that noise) and the songs they performed were definitely among my favorites in the set. Equally surprisingly, I highly disliked Andrew W-K's part in the set. The one guest who did not actually play on the album, his keyboard synth parts sounded clinky and didn't blend. I respect him immensely as a musician and maybe it was just bad mixing from the sound engineer, but I found him nothing more than distraction.
Watching kids go wild for the band, it dawned on me how powerful this band is. Just by their very existence, by the fact that they don't get outlandish haircuts and clothes, by the fact that they vary from wiry to overweight (and the overweight one ends the show nearly naked), by having a girl in the band who's there for musicianship and not at all for sex-appeal, Fucked Up are the essence of punk at its best - a refuge for anyone who has ever felt out of place in the mainstream. "Come as you are," a great punk band once said.
But it's more than that. These guys don't look like punks. They also all have stage names. Rumour or truth, part of the Fucked Up legend is that the band adopted these names to hide their association with the band from employers, colleagues and maybe even certain relatives. Fucked Up is the Superman of punk rock. Like Clark Kent, they could be some guy in the next cubicle over, some girl you run into at the grocery store, or even little ol' you. They're the everyman as rock hero. Punk is way more than a musical style, it's a powerful identity and an underground community that's served as a family to outcasts and freaks for decades. Just because we might not see a lot of mohawks and safety-pins when we walk down the street, doesn't mean we're alone. Punk isn't dead. It's as vibrant and strong as ever. And it's all over the place, if you know where to look. [MySpace (fan site)]
*I found Pitchfork's Dinowalrus review extremely amusing. That fact that Pitchfork's Ryan Dombal - a fan of people like Bon Iver, Dirty Projectors and St. Vincent - didn't care for them is probably a stronger recommendation than any I could offer. Dinowalrus fucking ROCKS.
Where: Brooklyn Masonic Temple
This is gonna be a long one...
Last night, I headed out to Fort Greene to hear experimental hardcore band Fucked Up perform their already-classic 2008 album The Chemistry of Common Life. I got to the venue just in time to catch the first notes of the opening set by Titus Andronicus, the band that restored my faith in punk a year ago.
But things have changed a lot for this band in the space of a year. They've been frequently hailed as one of the best hardcore bands of this generation, they've got some snazzy invites to play with rad bands (like Jesus Lizard and Bad Brains at the private Vice party on Halloween). They've toured extensively and saw their killer 2008 album The Airing of Grievances rereleased on XL records, part of the indie behemoth Beggars Group. They've also changed their line-up. The two guitarists I last saw them with are both gone, replaced by "indie heartthrob" Pete Feigenbaum.*
Being down one guitarist kept frontman Patrick Stickles tied to his guitar, curbing some of his previous antics and eliminating the harmonica from the set. However, I think it's a net positive - the band sounds more focused than ever before. The band's recent success also apparently afforded them enough for haircuts and a visit to the laundromat, maybe even for new t-shirts entirely. That sounds awfully snarky, but I love a good hardcore band no matter how dirty or clean their clothes, how scraggy or tidy their hair. It gave the show a slightly different feel from Titus shows I've been to in the past, not better or worse, just different.
Fitting with their slightly cleaned-up appearance, Titus Andronicus have polished up their sound. Don't think that takes off the edge, though. They are loud and fast and make me want to move to Ireland and go to a pub with people I will come to call "the lads" every night just so that we can stumble home shouting drunken renditions of every Titus Andronicus song we know. But Titus Andronicus has always been a technically sophisticated band and now their guitar-work can really shine. They've rearranged their songs to include some enormous, glittering walls of sound, some stunning embellishing riffs and some crazy, crazy noise. They are more loud and cool and fun than ever. [MySpace]
And then the headliner, the enigmatic Fucked Up, who are living proof that you can't judge a book (punk band) by its cover (appearance). There are six people in Fucked Up. The two of the left side of the stage are clean-cut young men that look like the guys your parents wish you brought home to meet them. The three on the right are slightly more unkempt, but they definitely look more like kids you'd expect to see working in your college library than ones you expect to run into at a seedy hardcore show. Meanwhile, the frontman is a heavy-set, bald, bearded guy who came out on stage last night in baggy athletic shorts, a big t-shirt and a baseball cap askew on his head. Even knowing the band, I half expected him to start rapping on the spot.
But this is neither nice-boy rock nor quirky indie, and it's certainly not gangsta rap. It's one of the most innovative, most confrontational hardcore bands on earth. Starting with the name, Fucked Up are in your face. They've generated a myriad of rumours about themselves, don't keep a myspace page (though fans keep a detailed one including concert dates) and don't really give a fuck what people think or say - they did little, for example, to quell rumours that they had an underhanded neo-Nazi message. (They don't.)
Calling Fucked Up a "hardcore" band can be a little misleading, however. With three guitarists, along with bass and drums, and songs on average clocking in well past the three-minute mark, their music has a complexity that seems the antithesis of punk. On recordings, they literally layer dozens of guitar tracks. Still, their music has the fast-loud punch of hardcore, the same thrash-style shouting vocals and the same "fuck off" attitude. Fucked Up are without a doubt a hardcore punk band, they've just redefined what that means.
But for all their aggression, Fucked Up is one of the most loving, lovely bands I've ever seen. Their music inspires such a sense of camaraderie that it inspires hundreds of attention-starved teenagers to take turns jumping on stage to hug or attack a band member, shout into a microphone or bang a cymbal (or in this case, gong). Now, if it were me, I'd lose my temper quickly and send the kids home with notes to their parents begging them to take some time out to spend with the lonely youths. But Fucked Up is bigger than me, and even when someone acts particularly inappropriately, they make the best of it, grabbing the offending kid to shout in the microphone for a few lines before hurling them good-naturedly back into the crowd. Meanwhile, frontman Pink Eyes is up front handing the microphone around, grabbing kids for high-fives, hugs, kisses and affectionate rough-housing.
Fucked Up
All evening, the crowd, though moshing and dancing wildly, seemed uninterested in helping crowd-surfers, so one kid after another bellyflopped off the stage onto the floor below. And not long after I thought to myself, "at least this band has a frontperson who can't stage dive" (I mentioned he's a heavy dude), Pink Eyes himself took the plunge. Even if the audience had been supporting people, I'm not sure they could have handled his mass and he dropped straight to the floor. After a bit of crawling and thrashing around, he climbed back on stage. "Thanks for catching me, guys," he said. "Real cool." He flashed a big thumbs-down and then chided the crowd, telling us that "little kids" in China had once carried him. Personally, I'd like to see some photographic evidence of this alleged occurrence.
Performing much of the material from their outstanding album The Chemistry of Common Life, the band brought special guests Andrew W-K, the Vivian Girls and singer Katie Stelmanis on stage. Though the Vivian Girls enraged me by unprofessionally peering out from behind the curtains at the wings when not on stage, I have to admit, I really liked their performance. This is definitely the first time I've said something positive about the band, and grudgingly so, but I gotta hand it to them - fingers jammed in their ears, they sang mostly the right notes (not an easy task in all that noise) and the songs they performed were definitely among my favorites in the set. Equally surprisingly, I highly disliked Andrew W-K's part in the set. The one guest who did not actually play on the album, his keyboard synth parts sounded clinky and didn't blend. I respect him immensely as a musician and maybe it was just bad mixing from the sound engineer, but I found him nothing more than distraction.
Watching kids go wild for the band, it dawned on me how powerful this band is. Just by their very existence, by the fact that they don't get outlandish haircuts and clothes, by the fact that they vary from wiry to overweight (and the overweight one ends the show nearly naked), by having a girl in the band who's there for musicianship and not at all for sex-appeal, Fucked Up are the essence of punk at its best - a refuge for anyone who has ever felt out of place in the mainstream. "Come as you are," a great punk band once said.
But it's more than that. These guys don't look like punks. They also all have stage names. Rumour or truth, part of the Fucked Up legend is that the band adopted these names to hide their association with the band from employers, colleagues and maybe even certain relatives. Fucked Up is the Superman of punk rock. Like Clark Kent, they could be some guy in the next cubicle over, some girl you run into at the grocery store, or even little ol' you. They're the everyman as rock hero. Punk is way more than a musical style, it's a powerful identity and an underground community that's served as a family to outcasts and freaks for decades. Just because we might not see a lot of mohawks and safety-pins when we walk down the street, doesn't mean we're alone. Punk isn't dead. It's as vibrant and strong as ever. And it's all over the place, if you know where to look. [MySpace (fan site)]
*I found Pitchfork's Dinowalrus review extremely amusing. That fact that Pitchfork's Ryan Dombal - a fan of people like Bon Iver, Dirty Projectors and St. Vincent - didn't care for them is probably a stronger recommendation than any I could offer. Dinowalrus fucking ROCKS.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Upcoming Shows: Fucked Up, Werewolves, Coyote Eyes + more
Thursday, November 5
Fucked Up + Titus Andronicus @ Brooklyn Masonic Temple | Fort Greene, Brooklyn | $18
Hardcore band Fucked Up is performing their acclaimed album Chemistry of Common Life in its entirety. The bad news is that Vivian Girls (!!??) are singing back-up vocals and it costs $18. On the other hand, Titus Andronicus will be opening with their excellent less thrash/metal form of hardcore. [FU MySpace] [TA MySpace]
Friday, November 6
Girls + Real Estate | Bowery Ballroom | SOLD OUT!
I have mixed feelings about Girls, who have recently been determined to be the shit. The band's backstory is such that if I harsh on them, I'm afraid it will look like I'm in favor of creepy cults and against smiles. (In fact, I am against both cults and smiles.) But let's face it, Girls is anti-edgy, Beach Boys-inspired pop. And the lyrics are some of the most blatant, unoriginal attempts to get laid in the history of rock. From the words, we learn that Christopher Owens is a really nice guy who wants to innocently love and be friends with girls and smile and make the best of his terrible life, but he's just heartbroken and lonely. I'm mean, come on!!! (Note: if we discounted all music that was created for the purpose of the musician getting laid, we'd be without 98.5% of music, but at least you don't have to be so obvious and uncreative about it.) On the other hand, his voice is really interesting, not quirky at all but not like anyone else's, awkward but very rich and full. And the melodies and songwriting are unarguably Great - with a capital G. [MySpace]
Sunday, November 8
Werewolves, Coyote Eyes + Mary Onettes @ Mercury Lounge | LES, Manhattan | $10
It's no secret that my favorite two canine-related bands in New York City are Werewolves and Coyote Eyes. Werewolves play an amazing blend of psychedelic music, drawing from the Doors, My Bloody Valentine and everything in between for great melodies and thick, druggy noise. Coyote Eyes play rhythmically fascinating post-punk with unusual and entirely lovable melodies. Headlining are 80's-esque Swedes the Mary Onettes, who I've heard live before and can say are decent but nothing super special. [WW MySpace] [CE MySpace] [MO MySpace]
Friday, September 4, 2009
Live: Lightning Bolt + Teeth Mountain
When: 8/31
Where: Broadway Backyard, Bushwick
On Sunday, while all the wussy kids (including Jay-Z and Beyonce, apparently) went to Williamsburg Waterfront to check out snooze-pop band Grizzly Bear, the cool kids hopped on the J train to Todd P's new vacant lot of choice, Broadway Backyard in Bushwick. It speaks to the quality of the bands playing that many of Brooklyn's best musicians turned out to see the show, including Shilpa Ray, Pterodactyl and some of the Death By Audio folks. Meanwhile, the Vivian Girls and the rest of the Woodsist/In the Red/whatever clan where nowhere to be seen. (I'll you decide whether or not that speaks to the quality of the music too.)
Since I attended the Woodsist/Captured Tracks festival at this space earlier this summer, I knew the acoustics to be surprisingly sound. Despite being outdoors, and therefore losing controlled resonance and instead gaining late, loud echos off the train tracks and buildings, the music is blasted loud enough to remain clear and full.
When I arrived, Todd P's ipod was playing in alphabetical order (Weezer, Wipers, Wipers, Woods, XTC) but before we got to find out if he owns any ZZ Top, Teeth Mountain took the stage. Teeth Mountain play repetitive, percussion-driven fusion music, which puts them definitively in a camp with the likes of Aa and Gang Gang Dance. It's not all drumming though (neither are those bands) but includes noise guitar, bass and saxophone as well as some electronics and homemade devices.
On the percussion end, the beats were pretty cool. One of the two drummers was a chick and I'm always happy to see lady drummers because there are so few. On an array of snares, tom-toms and roto-toms, the two percussionists overlaid some sweet, grooving polyrhythms. They did seem a little underrehearsed and definitely lost track of each other a few times, but they covered it up well - you'd only know it by their facial expressions.
The rest of the band were less notable in musicianship, but not half bad either. As I mentioned before, they played a pretty wide bunch of instruments, mostly in a noise-rock kind of way - I don't think I heard a single tuneful line. Despite my limited tolerance for this sort of "experimentalism" and my extremely limited tolerance for saxophones, I rather enjoyed the noise coming from the front half of the stage.
The band definitely drew from influences around the world. On one song, roto-toms resemble tabla drumming and as "Jasper" pointed out to me, one of the instruments in the front was making a sound like a heavily distorted sitar. While the beats remained largely in the realm of generic "tribal" (am I the only one who finds use of this term offensive?), there were hints of West African and Latin inspiration scattered in.
However, overall, the songs weren't much different from one another and within each song, repetition was the dominant force. That sort of repetition doesn't hold my attention, though I recognize some people are into it. I ended up feeling bored and disappointed, but if you do like hearing the same two bars over and over again (and trust me, I know a lot of people who do), this is one of the best bands you'll find in the scene today. [MySpace]
Of course, I, like everyone else, was really at the show to see the legendary Lightning Bolt, a drum and bass (not drum'n'bass!) duo from Rhode Island. Despite not having a proper guitar in their ranks, Lightning Bolt makes amazing guitar music. How? Well, quite simply by playing the SHIT out of a bass guitar.
Bassist Brian Gibson plays his guitar in an alternate tuning which allows for a greater range in pitch, and is known to string his high A (a G in normal tuning) with a banjo string. Everything Gibson plays is heavily distorted, which gives weight to overtones and further expands the range of frequencies blasting out of his amp. (I also thought he had an octaver, but I might just have been hearing that banjo string's tone. If anyone knows, I'm interested.)
Moving smoothly from riff to chord to bassline, Gibson never rests. He even often plays frenetic, crunch-metal guitar riffs in the highest registers while simultaneously hitting bass notes on beat one of each bar. I'd guess you'd need about three typical bass players at least to cover the ground Lightning Bolt covers with one.
Lightning Bolt (picture from myspace.com)
But that's not even the highlight. The drumming is. Brian Chippendale's noise drumming is relentless sixteenth and thirty-second notes, polyrhythms and fills at about 200 BPM (that's fast). If you're prone to headaches, I'd warn you to skip this band. Actually, Chippendale's incessant rimshots on a very, very tightly tuned snare were giving me a bit of a headache myself. I'd love that to drop a little in pitch, but it's not Lightning Bolt without that particular snap.
The band performed amazingly - given the sheer intensity of the music, they don't really have the option to be average. Chippendale appeared as usual in a mask holding a small microphone in place against his mouth. His yells into this microphone are then fed through some serious effects and the result is a series of unintelligible cries punctuating the music. At times the band seems to overuse their vocals when they are more distracting than productive, but if they insist on having vox, this is the way to do it.
The crowd went wild (obviously), with a mess of a pit in the front and a steady stream of stage divers taking particularly adventurous spinning leaps off the stage. The long set undoubtedly left the moshers exhausted, but well satisfied.
I've got some respect for Grizzly Bear, but c'mon, they couldn't hold a candle to these guys. Lightning Bolt is what rock music is meant to be. [MySpace]
I should also mention Lightning Bolt is coming out with an album this fall. I don't have a copy yet, but I'll definitely try to get one and write it up before the release. I'm pretty sure it's going to kick ass.
Where: Broadway Backyard, Bushwick
On Sunday, while all the wussy kids (including Jay-Z and Beyonce, apparently) went to Williamsburg Waterfront to check out snooze-pop band Grizzly Bear, the cool kids hopped on the J train to Todd P's new vacant lot of choice, Broadway Backyard in Bushwick. It speaks to the quality of the bands playing that many of Brooklyn's best musicians turned out to see the show, including Shilpa Ray, Pterodactyl and some of the Death By Audio folks. Meanwhile, the Vivian Girls and the rest of the Woodsist/In the Red/whatever clan where nowhere to be seen. (I'll you decide whether or not that speaks to the quality of the music too.)
Since I attended the Woodsist/Captured Tracks festival at this space earlier this summer, I knew the acoustics to be surprisingly sound. Despite being outdoors, and therefore losing controlled resonance and instead gaining late, loud echos off the train tracks and buildings, the music is blasted loud enough to remain clear and full.
When I arrived, Todd P's ipod was playing in alphabetical order (Weezer, Wipers, Wipers, Woods, XTC) but before we got to find out if he owns any ZZ Top, Teeth Mountain took the stage. Teeth Mountain play repetitive, percussion-driven fusion music, which puts them definitively in a camp with the likes of Aa and Gang Gang Dance. It's not all drumming though (neither are those bands) but includes noise guitar, bass and saxophone as well as some electronics and homemade devices.
On the percussion end, the beats were pretty cool. One of the two drummers was a chick and I'm always happy to see lady drummers because there are so few. On an array of snares, tom-toms and roto-toms, the two percussionists overlaid some sweet, grooving polyrhythms. They did seem a little underrehearsed and definitely lost track of each other a few times, but they covered it up well - you'd only know it by their facial expressions.
The rest of the band were less notable in musicianship, but not half bad either. As I mentioned before, they played a pretty wide bunch of instruments, mostly in a noise-rock kind of way - I don't think I heard a single tuneful line. Despite my limited tolerance for this sort of "experimentalism" and my extremely limited tolerance for saxophones, I rather enjoyed the noise coming from the front half of the stage.
The band definitely drew from influences around the world. On one song, roto-toms resemble tabla drumming and as "Jasper" pointed out to me, one of the instruments in the front was making a sound like a heavily distorted sitar. While the beats remained largely in the realm of generic "tribal" (am I the only one who finds use of this term offensive?), there were hints of West African and Latin inspiration scattered in.
However, overall, the songs weren't much different from one another and within each song, repetition was the dominant force. That sort of repetition doesn't hold my attention, though I recognize some people are into it. I ended up feeling bored and disappointed, but if you do like hearing the same two bars over and over again (and trust me, I know a lot of people who do), this is one of the best bands you'll find in the scene today. [MySpace]
Of course, I, like everyone else, was really at the show to see the legendary Lightning Bolt, a drum and bass (not drum'n'bass!) duo from Rhode Island. Despite not having a proper guitar in their ranks, Lightning Bolt makes amazing guitar music. How? Well, quite simply by playing the SHIT out of a bass guitar.
Bassist Brian Gibson plays his guitar in an alternate tuning which allows for a greater range in pitch, and is known to string his high A (a G in normal tuning) with a banjo string. Everything Gibson plays is heavily distorted, which gives weight to overtones and further expands the range of frequencies blasting out of his amp. (I also thought he had an octaver, but I might just have been hearing that banjo string's tone. If anyone knows, I'm interested.)
Moving smoothly from riff to chord to bassline, Gibson never rests. He even often plays frenetic, crunch-metal guitar riffs in the highest registers while simultaneously hitting bass notes on beat one of each bar. I'd guess you'd need about three typical bass players at least to cover the ground Lightning Bolt covers with one.
Lightning Bolt (picture from myspace.com)
But that's not even the highlight. The drumming is. Brian Chippendale's noise drumming is relentless sixteenth and thirty-second notes, polyrhythms and fills at about 200 BPM (that's fast). If you're prone to headaches, I'd warn you to skip this band. Actually, Chippendale's incessant rimshots on a very, very tightly tuned snare were giving me a bit of a headache myself. I'd love that to drop a little in pitch, but it's not Lightning Bolt without that particular snap.
The band performed amazingly - given the sheer intensity of the music, they don't really have the option to be average. Chippendale appeared as usual in a mask holding a small microphone in place against his mouth. His yells into this microphone are then fed through some serious effects and the result is a series of unintelligible cries punctuating the music. At times the band seems to overuse their vocals when they are more distracting than productive, but if they insist on having vox, this is the way to do it.
The crowd went wild (obviously), with a mess of a pit in the front and a steady stream of stage divers taking particularly adventurous spinning leaps off the stage. The long set undoubtedly left the moshers exhausted, but well satisfied.
I've got some respect for Grizzly Bear, but c'mon, they couldn't hold a candle to these guys. Lightning Bolt is what rock music is meant to be. [MySpace]
I should also mention Lightning Bolt is coming out with an album this fall. I don't have a copy yet, but I'll definitely try to get one and write it up before the release. I'm pretty sure it's going to kick ass.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Live: Mission of Burma + Fucked Up
When: July 12
Where: Williamsburg Waterfront
The McCarren Pool Parties are now minus the Pool. And minus the McCarren. But they've still got the party, and they kicked things off right this summer with this free show at their new location at the East River State Park.
I missed out on the first two acts - Jemina Pearl of Be Your Own Pet and Baltimore's illustrious Ponytail. I was bummed to miss Ponytail, because I know how amazing their live show is. Rumour is they were just as awesome on the big stage as they were in the tiny club where I saw them (in fact, certain people were texting me with things like "I can't believe you're missing this," which is hardly very nice!) So, though I can't offer a review, I can offer a plug - Ponytail are one of the most original and daring bands around today. And they kick serious ass live. [MySpace]
As for the bands I did see - the first was Fucked Up, a hardcore punk band that falls pretty far towards the "thrash" end of the spectrum. I'm not hugely into thrash or those ridiculous vocals that come with it. However, even fore the show, I suspected I might be a fan of the band live, and I was definitely not disappointed.
On the surface, Fucked Up sounds like a lot of ubermacho metal-ish bands, but, however inexplicably, Fucked Up's unleashed rage is not macho in the least. There is the presence of a woman on stage (Sandy Miranda on bass), and there's the fact that lead singer Damian Abraham publicly commented on his rather small wanker. (After stripping to his boxers, he realized it had been visible to some of the audience, and remarked "Trust me, it works just fine. I have a baby to prove it."). Indeed, his clear pride at being a new father, his willing vulnerability in undressing in front of hundreds of kids despite not having a body convention would describe as attractive and his obvious sense of humor all served to remind the audience what punk is really all about: the freaks and losers making rock music, finding community in one another and having a fuckload of fun.
Fucked Up (picture from MySpace)
Also, despite their flippant name, the group's lyrics are intellectual, their songs carefully crafted and their stage presence welcoming. As musicians, they are outstanding, perhaps not so much in terms of virtuous playing as in their complex, thoughtful arrangements featuring constant guitar interplay. My only complaint is the presence of three guitars on stage - it's no secret that I don't like superfluous musicians in a band, and there's no reason for any hardcore thrash band to need more than two guitarists. Still, that's small potatoes compared to the intense show the group delivered. [MySpace]
Headliners Mission of Burma are one of the great bands of the second wave of American punk, helping uproot hardcore and broaden punk's horizons before hardcore had even had a chance to see itself as a movement. The band has always kept their edge through a combination of exceptional songwriting, sonic unpredictability (thanks to an off-stage fourth member on "tape loops") and a certain darkness that came with the band's relative maturity at the time of their formation - they were in their mid-twenties in an era of high-school aged punks, and thus never gave themselves over to sheer manic energy at the expensive of musicianship.
I've seen the band once before since they reunited back in 2002 and both shows were amazing. Though most bands reunite for money or as an outlet for a midlife crisis, some do better than others at keeping the independent, edgy spirit of their music alive, and none I've seen have accomplished this as well as Mission of Burma. Recent releases by Dinosaur Jr and the Meat Puppets have been great, but represented a step towards convention for both bands, while MOB remains as edgy (if not necessarily as relevant) as they were in 1979.
The set list was a good mixture of new material and old classics. Of course, there were many songs I wanted to hear that didn't get played, but since the majority of the songs the band put out in its 1979-1983 incarnation are classics, it would be impossible for them to hit anywhere near everything. They were playing well and having even more fun that the crowd was - and that's a lot! And just seeing one of the great American punk bands playing against a sunset and the Manhattan skyline...unforgettable. [MySpace]
Where: Williamsburg Waterfront
The McCarren Pool Parties are now minus the Pool. And minus the McCarren. But they've still got the party, and they kicked things off right this summer with this free show at their new location at the East River State Park.
I missed out on the first two acts - Jemina Pearl of Be Your Own Pet and Baltimore's illustrious Ponytail. I was bummed to miss Ponytail, because I know how amazing their live show is. Rumour is they were just as awesome on the big stage as they were in the tiny club where I saw them (in fact, certain people were texting me with things like "I can't believe you're missing this," which is hardly very nice!) So, though I can't offer a review, I can offer a plug - Ponytail are one of the most original and daring bands around today. And they kick serious ass live. [MySpace]
As for the bands I did see - the first was Fucked Up, a hardcore punk band that falls pretty far towards the "thrash" end of the spectrum. I'm not hugely into thrash or those ridiculous vocals that come with it. However, even fore the show, I suspected I might be a fan of the band live, and I was definitely not disappointed.
On the surface, Fucked Up sounds like a lot of ubermacho metal-ish bands, but, however inexplicably, Fucked Up's unleashed rage is not macho in the least. There is the presence of a woman on stage (Sandy Miranda on bass), and there's the fact that lead singer Damian Abraham publicly commented on his rather small wanker. (After stripping to his boxers, he realized it had been visible to some of the audience, and remarked "Trust me, it works just fine. I have a baby to prove it."). Indeed, his clear pride at being a new father, his willing vulnerability in undressing in front of hundreds of kids despite not having a body convention would describe as attractive and his obvious sense of humor all served to remind the audience what punk is really all about: the freaks and losers making rock music, finding community in one another and having a fuckload of fun.
Fucked Up (picture from MySpace)
Also, despite their flippant name, the group's lyrics are intellectual, their songs carefully crafted and their stage presence welcoming. As musicians, they are outstanding, perhaps not so much in terms of virtuous playing as in their complex, thoughtful arrangements featuring constant guitar interplay. My only complaint is the presence of three guitars on stage - it's no secret that I don't like superfluous musicians in a band, and there's no reason for any hardcore thrash band to need more than two guitarists. Still, that's small potatoes compared to the intense show the group delivered. [MySpace]
Headliners Mission of Burma are one of the great bands of the second wave of American punk, helping uproot hardcore and broaden punk's horizons before hardcore had even had a chance to see itself as a movement. The band has always kept their edge through a combination of exceptional songwriting, sonic unpredictability (thanks to an off-stage fourth member on "tape loops") and a certain darkness that came with the band's relative maturity at the time of their formation - they were in their mid-twenties in an era of high-school aged punks, and thus never gave themselves over to sheer manic energy at the expensive of musicianship.
I've seen the band once before since they reunited back in 2002 and both shows were amazing. Though most bands reunite for money or as an outlet for a midlife crisis, some do better than others at keeping the independent, edgy spirit of their music alive, and none I've seen have accomplished this as well as Mission of Burma. Recent releases by Dinosaur Jr and the Meat Puppets have been great, but represented a step towards convention for both bands, while MOB remains as edgy (if not necessarily as relevant) as they were in 1979.
The set list was a good mixture of new material and old classics. Of course, there were many songs I wanted to hear that didn't get played, but since the majority of the songs the band put out in its 1979-1983 incarnation are classics, it would be impossible for them to hit anywhere near everything. They were playing well and having even more fun that the crowd was - and that's a lot! And just seeing one of the great American punk bands playing against a sunset and the Manhattan skyline...unforgettable. [MySpace]
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Live: Titus Andronicus
When: 3/27
Where: Market Hotel
I've seen Titus Andronicus twice at Bowery Ballroom, a large venue that's somewhere in the no man's land between the indie and corporate worlds. It's not a bad place, and not huge either, but it's a far cry from a musty basement or abandoned warehouse. So I was glad to finally have a chance to see this neo-hardcore band play in a place that was truly "punk" - the enigmatic loft venue Market Hotel, which throws DIY all-ages shows with some of the best bands around.
I gather that the show was booked by the famous Todd P, and he knows how to get the kids out. The large-ish space was very respectably filled, though not uncomfortably packed. The young punks crowded around the stage, while the slightly older, calmer audience members stood out of the fray. (Those of us over 95 stood in the foyer.)
Now understand that when I call Titus and their fans "punks," I don't mean kids sporting mohawks and safety pins - I don't even mean shaved-head, skull-tattoo hardcore types. Like Titus's music, this crowd has jettisoned all the washed up cliches of punk. Angry, macho metalheads co-opted both the loud-fast music of punk (creating "thrash") and its once-confrontational fashion statements long ago. I even doubt most of the audience would consider themselves "punk" after seeing the term applied to those assholes.
But Titus and their fans really are punk, in the best possible way - their music is aggressive but also intelligent and fun. And like real punks, they have a strong sense of community, are open-minded and respectful and subscribe to the egalitarian DIY ethos that has been punk's underlying current since its inception.
And true to the spirit of punk, the front of the house was an indecipherable tangle of moshing bodies. Though the space wasn't quite crowded enough to support it, a constant stream of stage divers leapt onto a very enthusiastic sea (well, pond) of raised hands, who did their best to keep their charges afloat and out of danger.
Titus was clearly in their element, with frontman Patrick Stickles taking quite a few leaps off the stage himself. The band played their songs faster and louder than I've heard them before, and while it was mostly still tracks off their 2008 album, they threw in a few numbers I hadn't heard before. The new songs seemed to take the band's style (i.e. epic hardcore manifestos) to its extreme. They may have dragged out a little too long, but they showed an even greater honing of the band's use of contrast, bouncing not only between hushed and really fuckin loud, but also between sweet, slow, emotive passages and really fuckin loud. And as a special treat, they played a cover announced as "the greatest rock and roll song of all time" - it was the Modern Lovers' "Road Runner."
Stickles may have grown a little too fond of his own voice, carrying on at length between songs - but he's entertaining and the band's self-deprecating humor sat well with the crowd.
The whole show had a strong feeling of camaraderie - band members would crowd-surf, and even once sent a guitar alone into the audience. No matter what was passed to them, the audience always returned it carefully to the stage after a little trip around the front rows. And after the final song, the moshers rushed the stage, hugging the band and nearly tackling them - like an overgrown puppy who isn't aware of his own strength. In the process, guitarist Andrew Cedermark's glasses were broken, but when he lamented the cost of new ones, the audience rapidly passed up handfuls of cash for to fund a new pair. (Cedermark rejected the donations but Stickles gladly picked them up.)
To this new generation of punks, who love the music and not the bullshit, who are inclusive and who truly make their own fun - thank you! It was a great night with a great band, a show I won't forget anytime soon.
MySpace
Where: Market Hotel
I've seen Titus Andronicus twice at Bowery Ballroom, a large venue that's somewhere in the no man's land between the indie and corporate worlds. It's not a bad place, and not huge either, but it's a far cry from a musty basement or abandoned warehouse. So I was glad to finally have a chance to see this neo-hardcore band play in a place that was truly "punk" - the enigmatic loft venue Market Hotel, which throws DIY all-ages shows with some of the best bands around.
I gather that the show was booked by the famous Todd P, and he knows how to get the kids out. The large-ish space was very respectably filled, though not uncomfortably packed. The young punks crowded around the stage, while the slightly older, calmer audience members stood out of the fray. (Those of us over 95 stood in the foyer.)
Now understand that when I call Titus and their fans "punks," I don't mean kids sporting mohawks and safety pins - I don't even mean shaved-head, skull-tattoo hardcore types. Like Titus's music, this crowd has jettisoned all the washed up cliches of punk. Angry, macho metalheads co-opted both the loud-fast music of punk (creating "thrash") and its once-confrontational fashion statements long ago. I even doubt most of the audience would consider themselves "punk" after seeing the term applied to those assholes.
But Titus and their fans really are punk, in the best possible way - their music is aggressive but also intelligent and fun. And like real punks, they have a strong sense of community, are open-minded and respectful and subscribe to the egalitarian DIY ethos that has been punk's underlying current since its inception.
And true to the spirit of punk, the front of the house was an indecipherable tangle of moshing bodies. Though the space wasn't quite crowded enough to support it, a constant stream of stage divers leapt onto a very enthusiastic sea (well, pond) of raised hands, who did their best to keep their charges afloat and out of danger.
Titus was clearly in their element, with frontman Patrick Stickles taking quite a few leaps off the stage himself. The band played their songs faster and louder than I've heard them before, and while it was mostly still tracks off their 2008 album, they threw in a few numbers I hadn't heard before. The new songs seemed to take the band's style (i.e. epic hardcore manifestos) to its extreme. They may have dragged out a little too long, but they showed an even greater honing of the band's use of contrast, bouncing not only between hushed and really fuckin loud, but also between sweet, slow, emotive passages and really fuckin loud. And as a special treat, they played a cover announced as "the greatest rock and roll song of all time" - it was the Modern Lovers' "Road Runner."
Stickles may have grown a little too fond of his own voice, carrying on at length between songs - but he's entertaining and the band's self-deprecating humor sat well with the crowd.
The whole show had a strong feeling of camaraderie - band members would crowd-surf, and even once sent a guitar alone into the audience. No matter what was passed to them, the audience always returned it carefully to the stage after a little trip around the front rows. And after the final song, the moshers rushed the stage, hugging the band and nearly tackling them - like an overgrown puppy who isn't aware of his own strength. In the process, guitarist Andrew Cedermark's glasses were broken, but when he lamented the cost of new ones, the audience rapidly passed up handfuls of cash for to fund a new pair. (Cedermark rejected the donations but Stickles gladly picked them up.)
To this new generation of punks, who love the music and not the bullshit, who are inclusive and who truly make their own fun - thank you! It was a great night with a great band, a show I won't forget anytime soon.
MySpace
Monday, December 8, 2008
Live: Titus Andronicus VS. A7 Club Tribute (a.k.a. Radio Flyer's weekend in punk!)
This past weekend was probably the punk-heaviest of my life. Friday, I saw up-and-coming modern punks Titus Andronicus playing with Wye Oak and O'Death, and Saturday, I stopped by the A7 Club tribute show at Knitting Factory.
Who: Titus Andronicus
When: 12/5
Where: Bowery Ballroom
Who: 30+ bands (I only caught a few) paying tribute to legendary NYHC club A7
When: 12/6
Where: Knitting Factory (all three floors)
I don't go to punk shows often because I rarely find them interesting. I actually really love punk and hardcore, but not much has happened in the genre since the mid-80's. That's because the scene is often dominated by traditionalists who aspire to recreate the raw brilliance of that 1977 to mid-80's era. And there's nothing wrong with that, it's a great era. It's just that nostalgia-driven music can't surpass the original, so I don't feel pulled to take an active interest when I can just go home and put some Minor Threat on the stereo. But that's just me.
And being me, I'm pretty excited about Titus Andronicus. Why? Because they are among a small group of bands who, seemingly independently, are dragging punk into the 21st century. The band is not afraid to mix their hardcore with folk and country twangs and ever-so-faint nods to indie pop (in songwriting) and shoegaze (in guitar technique). On a personal level, it's not my favorite music but it's certainly very interesting. For the first time since the early 90's, someone is making punk fresh.
Titus put on a great live show, and the energy is definitely that of a punk band. You know how you see all those pictures of old-school bands where someone with an electric guitar is jumping a good four feet above the stage? Well, I had never seen in it real life until Friday, and that may have been the highlight of the whole show for me. (Is that superficial? Maybe.)
Sadly, the set was interrupted by a handful of rude and belligerent audience members who ruined a big part of the show for those of us unluckily located in the midst of their fighting. But Titus isn't to blame just because some losers happen to like their music - their performance was outstanding and I was relieved when their arrogant, rock-star attitudes translated into not apathy but badassery on stage. What fun!
The next day brought me to the A7 tribute show, which, to be honest, I only attended because I was helping a friend out with some gear. In terms of punk, it couldn't have been more different. A7 was one of the most important clubs in the early 80's NYC hardcore scene, and Saturday's shows featured bands who had played there along with a few more recent followers. So where Titus Andronicus is unabashedly modernist, the A7 bands are unabashedly traditionalist. One guitar player summed it up: "This is how it was done twenty-five years ago, and this is how it should be fucking done now!"
I'm not going to review the show because I'm not really qualified to do so. I definitely enjoyed it though, and I will say, the crowd was a hundred times nicer than the previous night's. There's something to be said for punk traditionalists - for one thing, they know how to start a mosh pit without injuring people (which was how the problem in audience at Titus Andronicus began). For another thing, they know how to have fun and make great music, even if it's nothing new. I don't share their opinion that music should be frozen in time circa 1983, but it's kind of nice to know that someone will be keeping the tradition alive.
Who: Titus Andronicus
When: 12/5
Where: Bowery Ballroom
Who: 30+ bands (I only caught a few) paying tribute to legendary NYHC club A7
When: 12/6
Where: Knitting Factory (all three floors)
I don't go to punk shows often because I rarely find them interesting. I actually really love punk and hardcore, but not much has happened in the genre since the mid-80's. That's because the scene is often dominated by traditionalists who aspire to recreate the raw brilliance of that 1977 to mid-80's era. And there's nothing wrong with that, it's a great era. It's just that nostalgia-driven music can't surpass the original, so I don't feel pulled to take an active interest when I can just go home and put some Minor Threat on the stereo. But that's just me.
And being me, I'm pretty excited about Titus Andronicus. Why? Because they are among a small group of bands who, seemingly independently, are dragging punk into the 21st century. The band is not afraid to mix their hardcore with folk and country twangs and ever-so-faint nods to indie pop (in songwriting) and shoegaze (in guitar technique). On a personal level, it's not my favorite music but it's certainly very interesting. For the first time since the early 90's, someone is making punk fresh.
Titus put on a great live show, and the energy is definitely that of a punk band. You know how you see all those pictures of old-school bands where someone with an electric guitar is jumping a good four feet above the stage? Well, I had never seen in it real life until Friday, and that may have been the highlight of the whole show for me. (Is that superficial? Maybe.)
Sadly, the set was interrupted by a handful of rude and belligerent audience members who ruined a big part of the show for those of us unluckily located in the midst of their fighting. But Titus isn't to blame just because some losers happen to like their music - their performance was outstanding and I was relieved when their arrogant, rock-star attitudes translated into not apathy but badassery on stage. What fun!
| Titus Andronicus (Photo by Maryanne Ventrice, not taken at the Bowery show) | Urban Waste (A classic A7 band) |
The next day brought me to the A7 tribute show, which, to be honest, I only attended because I was helping a friend out with some gear. In terms of punk, it couldn't have been more different. A7 was one of the most important clubs in the early 80's NYC hardcore scene, and Saturday's shows featured bands who had played there along with a few more recent followers. So where Titus Andronicus is unabashedly modernist, the A7 bands are unabashedly traditionalist. One guitar player summed it up: "This is how it was done twenty-five years ago, and this is how it should be fucking done now!"
I'm not going to review the show because I'm not really qualified to do so. I definitely enjoyed it though, and I will say, the crowd was a hundred times nicer than the previous night's. There's something to be said for punk traditionalists - for one thing, they know how to start a mosh pit without injuring people (which was how the problem in audience at Titus Andronicus began). For another thing, they know how to have fun and make great music, even if it's nothing new. I don't share their opinion that music should be frozen in time circa 1983, but it's kind of nice to know that someone will be keeping the tradition alive.
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