Upcoming Shows: Coin Under Tongue, Agent Orange, Beluga + more

[Upcoming Shows Playlist]

TONIGHT!!! Wednesday, January 6

Babies (mems. Woods, Vivian Girls), True Womanhood, Sundelles, Beach Fossils, Total Slacker @ Glasslands | Williamsburg, Brooklyn
I haven't heard Babies, they might be good or they might be awful. I have heard True Womanhood and the Sundelles and they are both great! True Womanhood play eerie, disorienting rock and the Sundelles play garage rock. Beach Fossils are okay and Total Slacker has been a buzz band lately, so all in all, it's a pretty sick line-up.
[Babies MySpace] [TW MySpace] [Sundelles MySpace] [BF MySpace] [TS MySpace]


TOMORROW!!! Thursday, January 7

Coin Under Tongue @ Death By Audio | Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Coin Under Tongue play sludgy, deliberate post-hardcore with a certain intangible indie pop sensibility.

Japanther @ Santos Party House | Chinatown, Manhattan
Japanther are an arty pop-punk duo with GREAT songs.
[MySpace]


Friday, January 8

Ex-Humans @ Don Pedro | Bushwick, Brooklyn
Don Pedro is a lousy place to hear bands - its stuffy and has poor sound. On the other hand, Ex-Humans are cooler than you and they make good punky music.
[MySpace]


Saturday, January 9

Drunkdriver + Blues Control @ Death By Audio | Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Drunkdriver are loud and not very friendly. Their noise/hardcore/punk is extreme and amazing. Check them out.
[MySpace]


Sunday, January 10

Agent Orange @ Mercury Lounge | LES, Manhattan | $10 adv. / $12 dos.
Original southern California hardcore, still at it.
[MySpace]


Tuesday, January 12

Beluga @ Cameo | Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Beluga are lady punks (and one guy). The singer is a Brazilian (ex-?) fashion model who screams and writhes on the floor. They are one of the best and most underrated bands in NYC. They are angry but also fun and their simple, Nirvana-influenced songs stick in your brain.
[MySpace]


[Upcoming Shows Playlist]
The long view...

January 2010
13
The Drums + Surfer Blood, Depreciation Guild @ Music Hall of Williamsburg

14
Coyote Eyes, Frozen Warnings @ Death By Audio

15
Gang Gang Dance, DJ/Rupture @ Music Hall of Williamsburg

16
Dinosaur Jr @ Bowery Ballroom (Sold Out)
Dinowalrus record release with Aa @ Cake Shop

17
Dinosaur Jr @ Music Hall of Williamsburg (Sold Out)
Mos Def @ Highline Ballroom

18
Dinosaur Jr @ Brooklyn Bowl

22
Bob Mould @ City Winery

23
Pterodactyl @ Issue Project Room

25
Cheap Trick @ The Fillmore

29
Asobi Seksu @ Le Poissson Rouge
Here We Go Magic @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
Mission of Burma @ Bowery Ballroom
Sounds Like Brooklyn: Les Savy Fav, Vivian Girls (yick) @ Brooklyn Academy of Music

30
Mission of Burma @ Bowery Ballroom

February
3
Atlas Sound @ Bell House

4
Atlas Sound, Neon Indian, Sisters @ NYU Kimmel
Cold Cave @ Mercury Lounge

5
Sounds Like Brooklyn: Ra Ra Riot, the Antlers @ Brooklyn Academy of Music

6
Don Giovanni showcase: Shellshag, Screaming Females, Jeff the Brotherhood + more @ Bowery Ballroom

9
The Residents @ Webster Hall

10
Harlem @ Mercury Lounge

12
Jonathan Richman @ Music Hall of Williamsburg

13
Jonathan Richman @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
The Magnetic Fields @ Brooklyn Academy of Music

14
Jonathan Richman @ Music Hall of Williamsburg

19
Fucked Up, Kurt Vile, Frankie Rose & the Outs @ Europa
Andrew W-K @ Santos Party House

20
Crystal Stilts, Beets, Beach Fossils, German Measles @ Music Hall of Williamsubrg

21
Dum Dum Girls, Frankie Rose & the Outs @ Mercury Lounge

26
Wild Beasts @ Bowery Ballroom

27
Glenn Branca record release @ Le Poisson Rouge

28
Wild Beasts @ Music Hall of Williamsburg

March
5
Muse, the Silversun Pickups @ Madison Square Garden

6
Titus Andronicus @ Bowery Ballroom

10-11
The Magnetic Fields @ Town Hall

12-13
Henry Rollins @ The Fillmore

18-19
Killswitch Engage @ The Fillmore

25
Nada Surf play Let Go + surprise guest @ Bowery Ballroom

26
Nada Surf play The Weight Is a Gift + surprise guest @ Bell House

27
Nada Surf play Lucky + surprise guest @ Music Hall of Williamsburg

[Upcoming Shows Playlist]

Live: Ex-Humans, Impediments, Buzzer

Despite the fact that Blank Dogs cancelled their Don Pedro's show (or as would make more sense, were never really booked there), I decided to stop by, mostly because the band name "Ex-Humans" kept making me think of "Subhumans," which was the name of not one but two excellent early punk bands.

When I arrived, Impediments were on stage. They played your typical 60's garage rock spiffied up with some updated Stooges and 70's hard rock ideas. Though this equation has been tried too many times to count, Impediments were saved from total redundancy by quality songwriting. It's not a band to freak out about - it's not ultimately much more than an amped-up bar band, but it's a enjoyable way to spend forty minutes. [MySpace]

Next up was the slightly more buzzed-about Buzzer, who drew an audience of a few dozen loyal and excited fans. And I couldn't figure out why. Working along the same lines as Impediments, Buzzer fell far short in songcraft - I couldn't remember one song from the next even a few minutes after they stopped playing.

The only song I do remember featured cringe-worthy lyrics about "young girls," which had a cheap rhyme scheme and related some chauvinistic insights that most seventeen-year-old jerks think are super awesome. Not to mention, singing about "young girls" sounds pretty gross and creepy, no matter what the colloquial meaning. (Whether the band meant this song seriously or "ironically," this all holds true.)

But, especially since most of the lyrics were not so clearly audible, the band's worst offenses were sonic. Their "melodies" were tedious and apparently without thought. On the other hand, the band had put a lot of thought into their arrangement. Unfortunately for them and us, quantity of thought does not equal quality, and the arrangements only further muddled the weak song structures. Frustratingly, the members of Buzzer are all talented instrumentalists, with especially notable, involved guitar solos. Even this wasn't much of an asset, though, since the solos and other parts taking advantage of the group's technical proficiency slipped right into one rock cliche after another. [MySpace]

Obviously, I was thankful when Buzzer wrapped it up and Ex-Humans took control of the situation. And indeed, the show got a lot better from there on out. I was a little disappointed that Ex-Humans weren't doing anything further afield musically, instead sticking to the same overgrazed pastures of garage/punk that the other bands of the night already illustrated.

Still, Ex-Humans stood out, especially in comparison to Buzzer, for a number of reasons. Perhaps most importantly was the band's character on stage - the threesome was spirited but down-to-earth (unlike Buzzer). Their mean banter was good-natured and entertaining, and they and their audience seemed to share the experience of the show - which is how true punk shows should be.

Also, like Impediments, Ex-Humans are talented songwriters. Their songs are simple but engaging. If the band's recordings are as good as the live show, I could definitely see myself rocking out to their record at home (like a huge dork, yes). Once again, it's not a band to get too freaked out about, but it's certainly one you can love.

And respect especially for the drummer, who, it seemed, was playing after having just been hit by a car. Though evidently in no small amount of pain by the end of the set, he saw the show through, and put his all into it. That's dedication. [MySpace]