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Drug Rug Proves Why You Should See Bands Play Live

Friday, January 15th, 2010

Drug Rug - Brooklyn Bowl - January 14, 2010

Drug Rug - Brooklyn Bowl - January 14, 2010
Pivoting only from her elbow, Sarah Cronin’s arm was nothing but quick flashes across the strings of her guitar. Blues riffs blasted forward in a controlled and precise way, all the while the rest of her body swayed and stuttered around the stage. Contrasted by her much more reserved counterpart and beau, Tommy Allen, the duo and their band, Drug Rug, lit up Brooklyn Bowl last night with a wild display of uniquely charming music.

Even with two full-length albums under their belt, the band still mixed up the live versions of a few songs, turning them on their heads. The once bouncing and energetic “Haunting You” became much quieter and pensive. While the slow burn of “Noah Rules” was prefaced with a much heavier Zeppelin-sounding intro. They even briefly dipped into their unrecorded pool of music, slowing the set with the ballad-like “Dark Hour.”

And while they played through grinning teeth, they even tried out a new song, working out a few kinks on the fly. Fast-paced and fun, the song included a well-placed guitar riff in the chorus that alluded to Queen’s “Crazy Little Called Love.” Drug Rug returned for an encore of “Day I Die,” featuring a musical Chinese fire drill that put Cronin behind the drums and Allen on bass for one last wonderful change of direction. —Sean O’Kane





Photos courtesy of Sean O’Kane | seanokanephoto.com

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The Drums Are a Band to Keep Your Eye On

Thursday, January 14th, 2010

The Drums - The Bowery Ballroom - January 13, 2010

The Drums - The Bowery Ballroom - January 13, 2010
As some bands cemented their reputation with favorable reviews toward the end of 2009, others began to blossom in the New Year. One of those in the latter category is the Drums, a Brooklyn-based band (by way of Florida). Following their debut EP, Summetime!, the Drums have steadily generated buzz for their wonderfully catchy pop songs and energetic performances. Their plaudits even reach across the Atlantic with the BBC Sound of 2010 naming the group one of the 15 best rising music acts. With a recently recorded LP scheduled for release in the spring, the group is taking to the road. A lot.

Last night a capacity crowd greeted the Drums—and opening acts the Depreciation Guild and Surfer Blood—for their first show at The Bowery Ballroom. The Depreciation Guild transfixed the audience with their combination of fuzzed-out, shoegazing riffs and 8-bit sound accompaniment. Their live show is a fantastic visual and auditory experience, which I highly recommend. Surfer Blood, another group of Florida natives, followed with a solid set of classic-rock-inspired originals. While their stage presence needs some work, the breezy “Take It Easy” showed the band’s potential when they do just that.

Intermittent shouts sprung from the crowd as the Drums set up in darkness. “I love you, Jon,” yelled a number of women throughout the show. When the band took to the stage, it was easy to figure out the source of adoration. Jonathan Pierce, the frontman and vocalist, conducts himself like a budding rock star. His theatric prancing and confident swagger complement the other members’ stoicism (with the exception of guitarist Jacob Graham’s spastic tambourine playing on “Best Friend”). It is said that the Drums are this year’s the Pains of Being Pure at Heart, so it was fitting when the Pains’ Peggy Wang-East accompanied Pierce on “Don’t Be a Jerk, Johnny.” This show should go a long way toward proving the Drums as one of the most promising bands of 2010. —Jared Levy





Photos courtesy of Jen Macchiarelli | www.jennylow.com

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Doveman and Friends Quiet Crowd

Wednesday, January 13th, 2010

Doveman and Friends - Mercury Lounge - January 12, 2010

doveman
Thomas Bartlett, the young pianist and songwriter known as Doveman, has some pretty talented friends, having collaborated with artists including the National, Martha Wainwright, Beth Orton, and many others. At the show billed as “Doveman and Friends” yesterday evening at Mercury Lounge, the promise of some exciting musical company was no doubt on many people’s minds.

Of course, Bartlett is quite something on his own. His recent album, The Conformist, is a mellow, subtle series of songs, with Bartlett’s distinctive singing, hushed and whisper-like, adding an air of melancholy to the music. As he and his band opened their set with “The Best Thing,” there was a sense of intimacy formed between the stage and the audience almost instantly—leading to one of the most quiet, attentive and well-behaved audiences that I gander the Mercury Lounge has seen in some time. Doveman treated the crowd to several other cuts from The Conformist, including songs about whiskey (“Angel’s Share”) and wine (“The Burgundy Stain”), as well as a striking, dreamy cover of Smokey Robinson’s “Ooo Baby Baby.”

Over the course of the show, friends did indeed appear, including Norah Jones (who had performed a set of classic country covers—and plenty of raunchy stage banter—with her trio, Puss n’ Boots, earlier in the show), Justin Bond (the musician-performance artist best known as one half of the duo Kiki & Herb) and singer-songwriter Dawn Landes, lending backing vocals. Longtime Doveman collaborator Sam Amidon, who also performed an opening set of his own music, contributed guitar, banjo and vocals as part of Doveman’s band. Bartlett’s music is captivating enough even without the promise of friends, but after witnessing the beauty of his songs live, it is understandable why so many first-rate musicians would want to be part of Doveman’s inner circle. —Alena Kastin

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Passion Pit Lights Up Terminal 5

Monday, January 11th, 2010

Passion Pit - Terminal 5 - January 8-9, 2010

Passion Pit - Terminal 5 - January 9, 2010

Backed by gigantic LED screens, Passion Pit took the stage to entrance music pounding through the speakers, an evolutionary gesture. The crowd—a mix of hardened hipsters with battle stories and tweens with tickets bought on parental credit cards—lost its collective mind in that cocktail of excitement and uncertain celebrity usually associated with midlevel professional athletes and reality-TV stars. In this pose, the Boston kids in Passion Pit proved to be as magnanimous as they were confident, saying something unspoken like: “Dear 3,000 people, thanks for buying tickets to see us. Appreciate it. Now we’re going to light this place up, OK?”

For a band little more than 18 months removed from a now-famed residency at Pianos, filling the joint at Terminal 5 on a Friday night must have been surreal. As if paying homage to its humble beginnings, Passion Pit opened with “I’ve Got Your Number,” the lead-track from the EP Chunk of Change. The crowd appeared clued in on the band’s catalog, words memorized and movement ready. And the band proceeded to make good on that unspoken promise, playing “Make Light” as the room turned into a cascading series of flashing white LEDs.

The show lagged slightly in the middle but found its legs in the homestretch. Passion Pit closed the main set with “Little Secrets,” turning the crowd into little bubbles of boiling water, popping up to the surface as if driven by some elemental. The band then returned with “Eyes Like Candles” and an explosive cover of the Cranberries’ “Dreams”—the night’s most unexpectedly pleasant moment—before closing with “Sleepyhead.” The floor turned into an undulating mass of clapping, stomping and jumping, and Michael Angelakos stormed around the front of the stage, much unlike those days at Pianos. —Geoff Nelson





Photos courtesy of Sean O’Kane | seanokanephoto.com

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Even Rusty Pipes Can’t Derail the Rural Alberta Advantage

Monday, January 11th, 2010

The Rural Alberta Advantage - Mercury Lounge - January 9, 2010

The Rural Alberta Advantage - Mercury Lounge - January 9, 2010
The Toronto-based trio the Rural Alberta Advantage had a busy 48 hours in the Big Apple this past weekend, opening for Passion Pit at Terminal 5 on Friday and then playing back-to-back shows at Mercury Lounge on Saturday. By the time the late show rolled around, the whirlwind of performances seemed to have taken a toll on singer Nils Edenloff’s voice, rendering his pipes a bit rusty as he belted out the groups’ emotive songs. The RAA’s debut album, Hometowns, paints pictures of fear and loathing in rural Canada, full of plaintive, country-inflected acoustic rock songs, à la Okkervil River or Neutral Milk Hotel, simmering with tension until they boil over into urgent, anthemic choruses. It’s surprising Edenloff doesn’t lose his voice more often.

As the band prepared to play a new song, halfway through the set, Edenloff told the crowd that it might destroy his throat, describing it as “a fucking killer.” Over drummer Paul Banwatt’s intense drumbeat, Edenloff sang variations of the repeated refrain, “I let you die/ I let you go,” with vocal chord-shredding fury. It was almost uncomfortable to watch the man seriously struggle to get out these words, but at the same time, as promised, the song was fucking killer. (“Someone get the man a fucking Ricola,” said the woman next to me.)

As Edenloff summoned the vocal power to belt out “Oh, I’m really trying to make it through the night,” during the cathartic “Drain the Blood,” the line had clearly taken on a double meaning. Yet the RAA did manage to make it through the night, and where Edenloff’s voice fell short, the packed crowd was always happy to fill in the blanks, singing along with gusto. —Alena Kastin



Photos courtesy of Jared Levy

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Dallas Green Shows New Side

Monday, January 11th, 2010

City and Colour - Webster Hall - January 8, 2010

City and Colour - Webster Hall - January 8, 2010

Dallas Green, better known as City and Colour, crooned a lovely set of songs at a sold-out Webster Hall on Friday night. Although previously better known for his role as a guitarist-vocalist in the Canadian post-hardcore band Alexisonfire, if this show is any indication, Green’s reputation as a musician has grown with this divergence into folky acoustic balladry. He opened his set on a mellow note, but then jumped right into more upbeat material, playing second “Waiting,” the first single off his sophomore album, Bring Me Your Love. Most of the night’s set followed a similar soft-loud pattern with Green playing some of the more mellow songs solo and the more rockin’ ones with a backing band. Although most of the show drew from Bring Me Your Love, he also played a cover and some newer, untitled material.

About 40 minutes after taking the stage, Green joked that it was time for the crowd-participation portion of the set. He then launched into fan-favorite “Constant Knot,” which had the crowd following his lead and instructions with a “bababababababababadadadadadaaa” sing-along. The crowd went wild for the tattooed, glasses-and-flannel-shirt-wearing Green. Girls texted friends lust-filled declarations of love for him and one boy even shouted out, “I love you, Dallas, in a non-gay way.” With such emotional and honest material, an engaging live set and the 2009 Juno Award for Best Songwriter, Green’s reputation as a solo artist will surely only continue to grow. —Kirsten Housel




Photos courtesy of Kirsten Housel

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A Band Grows Up on the Lower East Side

Thursday, January 7th, 2010

Des Roar - Mercury Lounge - January 6, 2010

Des Roar - Mercury Lounge - January 6, 2009
New York City rockers Des Roar deserve credit for the number of things that sets them apart from every other black-clad retro indie-rock band bred on the Lower East Side: One being their chick drummer and back-up vocalist, Lyla Vander. Two is their Irish guitarist, Alan O’Keeffe. And perhaps most important, three, the amount of growth from their previous album and all the other times I’d seen them.

Des Roar have grown into their own with their more recent material, finding a greater sense of melody and better hooks than their earlier tunes ever displayed. They played an almost even split of old and new songs to a mostly full Mercury Lounge last night. They’ve done a wonderful job of reaching beyond the confines of the often-generic LES rock and roll sound, particularly with the newer material, which had concertgoers dancing. But it was older songs like “Ted Bundy Was a Lady’s Man” that earned hoots and hollers from the fans. (“Must be from Florida,” responded singer-guitarist Ben Wolcott.)

The main support on the five-band bill, Dead Sparrows, another New York City-based band, played a pretty raucous set, drawing the largest crowd of the evening. They seemingly come from the same set of influences as Des Roar, but where Des Roar excels in melodies, Dead Sparrows shine because of singer Joey Sparrow’s haunting howl. —Kirsten Housel




Photos courtesy of Kirsten Housel

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Hot Music on a Cold Night

Monday, January 4th, 2010

These Green Eyes - Mercury Lounge - January 3, 2009

These Green Eyes - Mercury Lounge - January 3, 2009

These Green Eyes

On one of the coldest and windiest nights of the winter, Mercury Lounge hosted a five-band showcase of a variety of Northeastern musical talent. The first three groups, Robots and Empire (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.), the Lows (New Haven, Conn.) and These Green Eyes (New Haven, Conn.), played more straight-up rock music than the later bands, with These Green Eyes being the most unique of the bunch. Visibly and audibly, they have more post-hardcore, emo and punk influences, and they skillfully combine anthemic choruses with heavy riffs.

However, as excited as I was to see These Green Eyes, I was pleased I caught the last two acts, Brooklyn’s Guitar Bomb and the Sweet Ones, both of which played less-serious sets than the preceding bands. Guitar Bomb is simply a shaggy-haired singer-guitarist jamming with a heavy-hitting drummer, playing a collision of punk and the blues, like a more ludicrous and twangy version of the Gay Blades or the Black Keys. Song titles like “Shit Stains” and “Liquor Genie” and “Freaks, freaks, freaks take back the streets” choruses had me toe-tapping and laughing.

The Sweet Ones are pretty much the same deal as Guitar Bomb, but play with a fuller lineup. The heavy-hitting drummer—and the bassist who sat in on Guitar Bomb’s last four songs—remained, but the shaggy-haired guitarist was replaced by a man with shorter hair. I didn’t catch any of the band’s song titles, but the Sweet Ones did introduce a tune as “a song that’s very true about NYC” and went on to mention “it’s not who you know but who you blow.” Needless to say, I can’t wait to see either band again. —Kirsten Housel





Photos courtesy of Kirsten Housel

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Steel Train and the New Year

Monday, January 4th, 2010

Steel Train - Brooklyn Bowl - January 2, 2010

Steel Train - Brooklyn Bowl - January 2, 2009
With everyone’s New Year’s hangover dissipated, New Jersey’s own Steel Train helped Brooklyn Bowl kick off the new decade with an excellently offbeat show on Saturday night. After the opening band, the London Souls, quieted the din of the adjacent lanes with their supercharged funkadelic set, Steel Train brought a blend of youthful energy and classic rock to a packed crowd. The band is filling the gap that the Arcade Fire has left in the genre over the last year or so, and lead singer Jack Antonoff matched Win Butler’s moody pipes while adding a much more explosive stage presence. This mix harkened back to a major influence for both bands, Steel Train’s home-state-hero Bruce Springsteen. Fittingly, his “Dancing in the Dark” was the first of a handful of covers played during the set.

Coming off an all-request show at Maxwell’s in Hoboken, Steel Train continued to play other bands’ songs. Antonoff invited Nate Ruess (frontman of his other band, fun.) out for a spot-on version of Queen and David Bowie’s “Under Pressure.” But it was the sparkling performance of originals like “Firecracker” and “I Feel Weird,” both from 2007’s Trampoline, and a brilliant new song off their forthcoming album that set the rest of the show apart. Although, caught up in the fun of the unusual set list, Steel Train finished off their encore with one more cover—the Band’s “The Weight”—featuring each member playing a new instrument. Part cacophony and all smiles, they ended show the best way possible. —Sean O’Kane





Photos courtesy of Sean O’Kane | seanokanephoto.com

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An Icon at The Bowery Ballroom

Thursday, December 31st, 2009

Patti Smith and Her Band - The Bowery Ballroom - 12/30/09

050331_artspattismith_vlwidecBefore she’d even stepped onstage last night at The Bowery Ballroom, for the second of three consecutive sold-out shows, Patti Smith had already had a big night. The documentary Dream of Life, which follows more than 10 years of her life and career, was making its television debut on PBS. And perhaps even more exciting, it was her 63rd birthday. Throughout the set, Smith was in great spirits, starting out with strong renditions of “Land” and “Gloria,” from her debut album, Horses. She constantly waved to the crowd, grinning, as if we were old friends, casually chatting us up about her love for doughnuts, a strange bug-related dream, her favorite toothpaste, plus many other non sequiturs. Smith’s daughter, Jesse, came out midway with a cake, and we all sang to Smith before she blew out the candles.

Although the show was a great celebration, Smith spent a significant portion of it reminiscing and honoring friends and loved ones who had passed away. In some cases, she read select passages from her forthcoming book, Just Kids, which depicted memories of them, one of which was a touching passage about her parents that set the tone for her song “Mother Rose.” Stories and songs were also devoted to Smith’s friends Robert Mapplethorpe, Jim Carroll and Vic Chesnutt, who had sadly passed just days earlier. Smith also worked in a cover of Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean,” complete with props: She donned MJ’s signature white glove, but then put on another one, explaining, “I get two.”

That Smith’s nostalgia for her late friends would surface in the midst of this happy occasion was understandable. I am sure many of those in the crowd were missing friends and family as well, wishing they could have been there to experience her show with us. But I am certain our departed friends would have been pleased to see us last night, fans from many generations, all joyfully singing along as Patti Smith did a killer version of “Because the Night,” an excellent way to end a decade. —Alena Kastin

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It’s the End of the Year as We Know It

Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009

2009, Bitches!
As 2009 comes to a close, The House List’s writers and photographers (and editor) take a look back at the year that was. Check back tomorrow for our year-end photo gallery.

My Top Five 7″ Tour Singles

I’ve always loved that for the price of a drink, bands sometimes go the extra distance for their tour and press 7″ vinyl that you really can’t get anywhere else but at the merch table.

1. Times New Viking/Axemen, Tour Single
I love Times New Viking’s no-fi melodic messiness, and they save the great experimental stuff for their B-sides. I got this at their Mercury Lounge show. That it was a split with New Zealand legends the Axemen was even better. Only later did I find out each band covered the other’s songs and they hand-colored every copy! It’s that combination of paying homage to this influential band and introducing people through their reinterpretations that makes this an easy No. 1.

2. Jeff Novak, “Home Sweet Home” Single
I recognized Stephen Braren of Cheap Time behind the table after the Jay Reatard show at Music Hall of Williamsburg, and I got Jeff Novak’s long sold-out single from Reatard’s Shattered Records. I actually ended up contacting Novak after this and talked with him for my own blog.

3. Black Dice, “Chocolate Cherry” Tour Single
Black Dice have just a handful of singles from quite a few years ago, so when I saw them at The Bowery Ballroom, I was just looking out of habit. But this unlabeled single ended up being from Catsup Plate, which put out the insane Animal Collective LP box set this year. Both unreleased tracks were a departure—almost funk and with recognizable vocal samples! Truly weird.

4. Make a Mess Records, “Brilliant Colors” Single
I went to see Nodzzz and Wavves at the Underground Lounge on the Upper West Side. I managed to talk to Eric Butterworth from Nodzzz, who had just pressed a single on his label, Make a Mess Records. This ended up being one of my favorites of the year. Simple, stripped-down female-fronted No Wave punk pop.

5. The Balkans, “C++” Tour Single
I caught the Balkans at a new space in Brooklyn called Little Field. Woody Shortridge had pressed a single-sided 7″ at home, and I had to see it for myself. He pours them in his apartment and you get a really crazy-looking handmade single with the lowest of low-fi sound. And it helps that the track is great too. —Jason Dean, writer

My Top Five Bowery Presents Shows

1. Jimmy Eat World (playing Clarity in full), Terminal 5, February 23
2. Thursday (playing Full Collapse in full), The Bowery Ballroom, October 25
3. Fake Problems, Mercury Lounge, July 1
4. the Gaslight Anthem, Terminal 5, October 15
5. Head Automatica, Music Hall of Williamsburg, January 8 —Kirsten Housel, writer

My Top Five Favorite Shows

1. Justice, Webster Hall, October 29
There is a clear divide between Justice’s show and every other concert I saw this year. I was immediately overcome by the energy of the crowd. Scantily clad women grinded with masked men, and sweat poured from all in attendance. The French DJ duo seamlessly navigated through their own songs as well as classics like War’s “Why Can’t We Be Friends.” I eagerly await a concert with the force and spirit that Justice created.

2. All Tomorrow’s Parties, Kutsher’s in Monticello, N.Y., September 11-13
The Flaming Lips performed brilliantly and selected an impressive list of artists: Sufjan Stevens, Caribou, Marshall Allen, of the Sun Ra Arkestra, and Deerhunter (their last show before declaring an indefinite hiatus). Artists mingled with fans in a sleepy relic of the Borscht Belt.

3. Warp20, Terminal 5, September 4
The 20th anniversary celebration for Warp Records was as unique as it was spectacular. As the only North American Warp20 event, it featured the U.S. debut of Pivot, Battles’ first North American date in 2009, Flying Lotus and Battles. And I even got to meet David Byrne.

4. Siren Music Festival, Coney Island, July 18
Just a couple of days into living in New York City, I learned about this festival. During the dog days of summer, Coney Island hosts a free music festival full of established artists and exciting new acts under the shadow of the Cyclone. Built to Spill headlined. I had never seen or heard them before that, but I have been hooked ever since.

5. Animal Collective, Prospect Park Bandshell, August 15
It is fitting that the first show I reviewed for The House List was Animal Collective. Though I may have been relatively late to the party, I am consistently blown away by their ability to channel noises and samples into catchy and beautiful songs. They have established themselves through their live shows, and this late-summer concert was Animal Collective at their finest. —Jared Levy, writer

My Top Five “Whoa! Glad I Got Here Early!” Opening-Band Surprises

1. Janelle Monáe (opening for Of Montreal), Music Hall of Williamsburg, April 15
2. Yacouba Sissoko (opening for the Bad Plus), The Bowery Ballroom, February 17
3. Brazos (opening for White Denim, Music Hall of Williamsburg), November 12
4. Hymns (opening for Jason Lytle), The Bowery Ballroom, July 11
5. Vandaveer (opening for These United States), Union Hall, August 28 —A. Stein, writer

My Top Five Favorite Bands I Saw for the First Time This Year

1. Deer Tick I’m not ashamed to admit that I love this band to the legal limit of the New York state marriage laws. Their songs are raw and real and come alive onstage. (Note: Dear Tick loves the sauce, so you might be better off checking them out earlier in the night.)

2. Dawes Young bands’ live stuff too often sounds exactly like their recorded versions, but not with Dawes. Although they only have one disc, they seem like they’ve been around for years. Just try to get their soaring anthem “When My Time Comes” out of your head after seeing them.

3. Alberta Cross The first band I intended to review for The House List was a dud, but the opener, Alberta Cross, blew me away. Their sound comes from the ’70s (think Neil Young and Crazy Horse) but they come off as totally and completely of the moment.

4. Portugal. The Man Their sound—a mix of soul, blues, folk and prog rock, plus a healthy dose of guitar—is as intriguing as their name. Add John Gourley’s appealing falsetto voice to that mix, and these guys are a can’t-miss band. I saw them four times and was never disappointed.

5. Blitzen Trapper I knew about Blitzen Trapper before I’d ever seen them. I almost caught them early in the year, but a stomach virus derailed my attendance. So when they returned to The Bowery Ballroom on a Sunday night, I didn’t let the fact that I felt like shit deter me. Good thing too, ’cause they cured my hangover. —R. Zizmor, editor

My Top Five Favorite Covers of the Year

1. “Oh! Sweet Nuthin’” (Velvet Underground), Black Crowes, Summer Stage, September 2
This was my happiest musical moment of the year. “Oh! Sweet Nuthin’” is my favorite song on one of my all-time favorite albums (Loaded). I’d seen others cover it, but not as well as the Crowes. Rich Robinson, singing lead, sounded confident and strong. His brother, Chris, joined in on a third guitar, and Luther Dickinson’s searing solos completed it. Ten minutes of bliss.

2. “Crown of Thorns” (Mudhoney), Pearl Jam, the Spectrum, Philadelphia, October 31
This was the last-ever show at the Spectrum. And at the same time, game three of the World Series was going on, like, a thousand feet away. Just two songs after playing Devo’s “Whip It,” Pearl Jam launched into one-half of Mudhoney’s haunting “Chloe Dancer/Crown of Thorns.” The original came out in 1989, but I didn’t hear it ’til it made the Singles soundtrack in 1992. All these years later, I finally heard it live. I just closed my eyes and took it in. (Afterward, we were like smiling, squinty salmon swimming upstream through a parade of sad, dejected Phillies fans.)

3. “Bring It on Home to Me” (Sam Cooke), Dawes, Mercury Lounge, October 16
We shotgunned beers in the basement and then headed upstairs for a slew of covers—Springsteen, Petty, CCR and the Beatles. But Sam Cooke’s tale of infidelity was the highlight. It’s one of the finest soul songs in the history of the genre, and these four white boys did it supreme justice.

4. “The Real Me” (the Who), Pearl Jam, Outside Lands, San Francisco
The second song on Quadrophenia is about a young schizophrenic trying to find “the real me” amidst his four distinct personalities. It’s loud and angry and embodies rock and roll. And from the gritty opening notes, Pearl Jam—especially Eddie Vedder’s voice—killed it.

5. “Under Pressure” (Queen and David Bowie), Ben Harper and Relentless7, May 8
Granted, this tune isn’t for everyone. But it’s an upbeat, slow-building song about, well, dealing with pressure, and it makes me happy. So to see it done live, as the encore of a surprisingly good show, made a Friday night that much sweeter. —R.Z.

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A(nother) Weston Reunion

Monday, December 21st, 2009

Weston - Mercury Lounge - December 18, 2009

Weston - Mercury Lounge - December 18, 2009
Pennsylvania’s Weston—formed in 1990 and best known for its pop-punk sound that once took it to the cusp of the mainstream—reunited Friday night at Mercury Lounge to celebrate long-time friend Tommy Rockstar’s birthday as well as the release of its live record, This Is My Voice and This Is My Heart: Live at Maxwell’s, recorded at another reunion show last year.

With a plethora of music to choose from, Weston puts on an exciting, and sometimes unexpected, show. Over the years, while the band members and record labels have changed, Weston’s sound has barely wavered. Although pretty much everything that comes out live is nerd-rific: Shaggy-haired Jimmy Snyder, who still wears early-era-Weezer sweater vests, too-short trousers and beat-up Chuck Taylors, and the band’s namesake, the bespectacled Dave Weston, both look equally uncomfortable onstage, though such a presence only lends to the band’s appeal—and from just listening to the upbeat, sometimes self-deprecating songs one would never know.

On Friday, the band played original songs like “Fafi,” “Retarded” and “New Shirt/Heather Lewis” (the last two being staples of Weston’s live performance). Fans were also treated to a rare performance of “Lovely, Fragile February” and a Japanese B-side (that I can’t name). About three-quarters of the way into the set, the band also did a run of Joy Division, Misfits and Pixies covers. Though Weston never reached the same level of fame as some of its peers, the group has been credited as being an integral part of the East Coast’s ’90s pop-punk scene, and time and time again, these reunion shows draw friends and fans excited to relive the experience of a band that has always played fun music. —Kirsten Housel




Photos courtesy of Kirsten Housel

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A Nostalgic Multimedia Experience

Friday, December 18th, 2009

Neon Indian - Brooklyn Bowl - December 17, 2009

(Photo: Dagny Piasecki)

(Photo: Dagny Piasecki)

Alan Palomo’s Neon Indian is the latest moniker in a long line of successful dance electronica projects for the Austin, Texas, native. Formerly—or still, depending on the night—known as Vega and Ghosthustler, he’s been refining his 8-bit ways, which have exploded in a burst of pure ’80s synth nostalgia on his latest release, Psychic Chasms. What better venue to relive this bygone soundtrack than a bowling alley adorned with Coney Island freak-show banners and the requisite huge disco ball. Neon Indian excels at playing with those minimal synth sounds that instantly recall Kraftwerk or Herbie Hancock’s twitching mannequin torsos.

In the end, Palomo essentially succeeds in moving the crowd with familiar sine waves that have worked their way into the collective unconscious. Like with Daft Punk, it’s nostalgia for a sound that never really existed. It’s easily recognized as part of the old school, but it’s been reimagined from a contemporary distance. Further reworking his own sound for this live tour, Palomo recruited drummer Jason Faries, guitarist Ronald Geirhart and keyboardist Leanne Macomber to add a little bit of humanity to the metronome mechanical perfection on the album. It makes for a more compelling stage show when you can work off the energy from bandmates kicking out beats and soloing on guitar, in front of frighteningly period-accurate video manipulations of late-night B movies. (USA Up All Night anyone?) This is Neon Indian’s shtick, to recollect pop culture in the form of straightforward dance. The only thing missing was the slow, couples-only laps around a wooden dance floor on rented roller skates. —Jason Dean

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The Antlers Finish the Year at Home

Wednesday, December 16th, 2009

The Antlers - The Bowery Ballroom - December 15, 2009

The Antlers - The Bowery Ballroom - December 15, 2009
As the year draws to a close, reflection is both natural and expected. The desire to contextualize events focuses our understanding of the past. Notably, in 2009, numerous bands rose to prominence by way of file sharing and blogs. These ever-expanding media outlets continue to expose music listeners to a host of new artists and groups. Among this year’s breakthrough performers, the Antlers, with their sophomore record, Hopsice, are an immediate standout.

With honest narratives and beautiful vocals, the album effectively captures the emotional toll involved with terminal illness. Consequently, the band and disc have garnered many fans and much praise. What is refreshing is that this does not appear to spoil the Brooklyn trio. During their packed show last night at The Bowery, frontman Peter Silberman earnestly and graciously proclaimed, “This is hands down the best year of my life.” It was abundantly clear that he and his bandmates, drummer Michael Lerner and keyboardist Darby Cicci, embraced their homecoming after a rigorous year of touring.

Admittedly, it felt a bit strange to see Silberman share such personal songs in the public realm. To go from the intimacy of experiencing the album on headphones to watching the Antlers live is a bit jarring. For their set, they carefully worked through the majority of Hospice, injecting distortion-saturated breaks between songs, which seemed overdone at times. But it appeared to engage the crowd throughout the show. The best moments came when Silberman’s vocals soared above the cymbal crashes and ambient melodies. The band transformed the folk-rock ballad “Two” into a powerful electric version, and much of the set shared this sonic quality, soft-to-loud musical movements. It is this dynamic that captures rise of the Antlers. —Jared Levy





Photos courtesy of Jen Macchiarelli | www.jennylow.com

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Don’t Try to Grab This Bull by Its Horns

Monday, December 14th, 2009

Fiery Furnaces - The Bowery Ballroom - December 12, 2009

Fiery Furnaces - The Bowery Ballroom - December 12, 2009
It’s impossible to successfully sing along to a Fiery Furnaces show. Like foolishly climbing aboard an electric bull at a bar, no matter how well you think you can hold on, eventually, you will get thrown off. On Saturday at The Bowery Ballroom, I heard it happen to someone during a tempo-change curveball on “Charmaine Champagne,” an upbeat track from the band’s recent release, I’m Going Away. It’s a feat to keep up at all with the Fiery Furnaces’ lyrics—full of SAT words, obscure references and intricate storylines. Along with their wacky instrumentation and experimentation with musical styles (’70s smooth rock, ’60s psychedelic, angular art rock), these idiosyncrasies are what draw some people to the band and similarly alienate others.

Though focusing primarily on material from I’m Going Away, the Fiery Furnaces also worked renditions of older favorites from Widow City, Blueberry Boat, and Gallowsbird Bark into their set. As they played, brother and sister Matthew and Eleanor Friedburger barely looked at each other. Perhaps their effortless ability to navigate the music’s twists and turns can be attributed to some uncanny sibling telepathy. Matthew, on guitar and occasionally on backing vocals, sported a poker face for most of the show, even while pulling off complex guitar solos. The more expressive Eleanor stared intensely at the crowd while singing, emphatically gesturing to punctuate certain moments and enunciating those wordy lyrics with impressive accuracy.

But toward the end of the set, in the middle of an older song, Eleanor stepped away from the microphone and asked Matthew something. When he shrugged, she looked out into the crowd and asked, “Who’s the guy who requested this song? Maybe he can tell me the words to this next part.” While that person never came forward, somehow Eleanor summoned the lyrics. It was a tiny lapse in an otherwise seamless set. But it proved that if Fiery Furnaces can barely keep up with themselves, you shouldn’t even try. —Alena Kastin




Photos courtesy of Mina K

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A Sort of Homecoming

Monday, December 14th, 2009

The Gaslight Anthem - The Wellmont Theatre - December 12, 2009

The Gaslight Anthem - The Wellmont Theatre - December 12, 2009
Friday night’s Gaslight Anthem show at The Wellmont Theatre was a welcome homecoming for a band that had been on the road supporting its breakthrough album, 2008’s The ’59 Sound, for the better part of the past year. Having already hit other Bowery Presents venues three previous times in 2009 (Webster Hall once and Terminal 5 twice), these Garden State natives decided to end the year with a Jersey celebration that brought together family, friends and fans alike.

Though Gaslight has plans for a new record in 2010, the group’s set didn’t contain any of this new material—a fact that frontman Brian Fallon credited onstage to advances in technology. Regardless, for a band with such a solid (yet limited) back catalog playing pretty much a hometown gig, this didn’t take away anything from the show, as the Gaslight Anthem played most everything they’ve ever released. The audience responded in kind, from the howling woos of “Great Expectations” to raucously belting out “The ’59 Sound.” But the older songs, particularly those off the 2007 release Sink or Swim, elicited the most crowd response. The intensity behind the shouted “two step” refrain on “We Came to Dance” and the full-chorus sing-along to “We’re Getting a Divorce, You Keep the Diner” proved there were more than just new fans at The Wellmont. The band closed the show with “Backseats,” a song that perfectly demonstrates its members’ keen understanding of loud/soft dynamics and eased down the energy for a fitting close. —Kirsten Housel




Photos courtesy of Kirsten Housel

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Mellow Mood

Thursday, December 10th, 2009

AA Bondy - The Bowery Ballroom - December 9, 2009

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Prior to last night, I admittedly didn’t know much about AA Bondy other than that he was once the lead singer of the Southern grunge band Verbena, and that when they broke up, he went off on a solo career. His most recent album, When the Devil’s Loose, came out in September, and Bondy and his two accompanying musicians have been touring earnestly just about ever since. “This is how you go from Berlin to New York in 65 days, talking shit all the way,” said Bondy of the tour-ending show at The Bowery Ballroom.

Their first sounds were two minutes of a lush, ethereal instrumental opener. For the most part, Bondy and crew played intimate, well-written songs about dark topics—like on “Kill Myself When I Was Young” and “Vice Rag,” singing “Sweet, sweet cocaine/ Won’t you be all mine?” But by the third tune, a blast of harmonica, greeted with cheers, upped the room’s musical temperature. The Alabama-bred Bondy was chatty throughout. Between songs he said, “I do have to say the Crimson Tide are SEC champs, and Tim Tebow is crying at home.” Although he later admitted he didn’t care much about football except for the Tide’s “colors and Bear Bryant’s hat.”

Near the end of the set, the trio became just one as Bondy did several songs with just a guitar and harmonica. Often times, a quiet song at The Bowery is drowned out by loud conversations from the back bar. But this attentive crowd was remarkably still and silent, just taking it in. Bondy’s wingmen then returned and later Elvis Perkins in Dearland drummer Nick Kinsey, playing a marching bass drum with a cymbal attached, joined the mix. Bondy introduced “Oh the Vampyre” with: “Fuck Twilight. Having a werewolf and a vampire in the same movie is like mixing mayonnaise and Coke.” —R. Zizmor

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