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Sometimes Bad Books Are Really Good

October 21st, 2010

Bad Books – The Bowery Ballroom – October 20, 2010

Bad Books - The Bowery Ballroom - October 20, 2010
They fumbled while tuning their guitars, nervously laughed through some banter and shouted out chord changes to one another a few times. But these signs of a new band didn’t faze the experienced members of Bad Books. “Guys, I feel awesome right now,” said cofrontman Andy Hull as they began their first-ever show. Along with Kevin Devine (who helped open the CMJ Music Marathon the night before), the members of the Manchester Orchestra make up what is known as Bad Books, a new band that Hull was sure to explain was not a side project.

As they played through their set last night at The Bowery Ballroom, the band shook off first-show jitters and began to belt out incredible material from their self-titled debut album. Up to four of the six members would sing at times, with Devine and Hull splitting the lead duties. Devine took the lead on a few joyous-sounding songs like (as they joked) their “hit single,” “You Wouldn’t Have to Ask,” and “Holding Down the Laughter.” Hull, meanwhile, was in charge of the louder, grittier fare, like “Please Move,” but also the most hushed moments: It’s a thing of beauty to watch him quiet a room with just a guitar and his voice (which he also did in an opening slot with his other other solo band, Right Away, Great Captain!).

The main set ended with a song called “Texas,” which featured just Devine and Hull, with the latter singing on guitar and the former shrouded in darkness on the drums. The entire band reformed for an encore with the 9:45 p.m. curfew looming, but instead of cutting a few songs, they smilingly hurried through them all, furiously playing a few of their own tunes from those other bands like a kid trying to finish his homework before class. —Sean O’Kane

Photos courtesy of Sean O’Kane | seanokanephoto.com

Tags: Bad Books, Bowery Ballroom, CMJ Music Marathon, Great Captain!, Kevin Devine, Manchester Orchestra, Photos, Review, Right Away
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Kevin Devine Kicks Off CMJ

October 20th, 2010

Kevin Devine and the Goddamn Band – Music Hall – October 19, 2010

Kevin Devine and the Goddamn Band - Music Hall of Williamsburg - October 19, 2010
For the first time in more than a year, Kevin Devine headlined a show with his Goddamn Band, and he celebrated the occasion by letting them choose the set list for last night’s show at Music Hall of Williamsburg. The night served as the beginning of this year’s CMJ Music Marathon, which Devine mentioned onstage, saying how hard it was for him to believe he got to do that.

The set began with a few songs that normally make it into one of Devine’s shows, but then started taking turns thanks to the Goddamn Band. A deeper cut off his 2006 album, Put Your Ghost to Rest, “You’ll Only End Up Joining Them,” made it to the stage for the first time in a while, followed by an even rarer song in “The Shift Change Splits the Streets.” The band did a lot less midset lineup changing than they have in the past, but brought out an extra man for the trumpet parts on “Fever Moon” and “Murphy’s Song.”

The second half of the show became a wild shout-along, featuring the best and most thrilling of Devine’s songs. Hearing “Noose Dressed Like a Necklace” was a treat as it brewed through its first few verses before ending in torrid screaming and slashing guitars (guitarist Mike Strandberg alone is worth the price of admission to any of Devine’s shows). Fan favorites like the blissful “I Could Be with Anyone,” “Cotton Crush” and “Ballgame” finished the hour-plus set, leaving just enough time for a two-song encore and one final split between old and new. —Sean O’Kane

Photos courtesy of Sean O’Kane | seanokanephoto.com

Tags: CMJ Music Marathon, Kevin Devine, Music Hall of Williamsburg, Photos, Review, the Goddamn Band
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CMJ Music Marathon Starts Today

October 19th, 2010

For some people, the CMJ Music Marathon, which starts today and runs through Saturday, is the most wonderful time of the year. There’s lots of live music to go around, so you know The Bowery Presents will be involved. Mercury Lounge—with the likes of Harper Blynn, John Vanderslice, Nada Surf, and Gordon Gano (formerly of Violent Femmes) and the Ryans—has a deep, disparate lineup throughout the festival.

But it’s not like The Bowery Ballroom is slacking this week, with seven bands filling the room on Thursday, including the Jezabels, a coed quartet from Sydney making their U.S. debut. Friday brings Dean Wareham, Crocodiles and Wakey! Wakey! to the venue, and Saturday is just crazy with Surfer Blood, Neon Indian, DOM and eight other cool groups. Plus there will even be a free afternoon party on Saturday at Piano’s, with six bands upstairs and five downstairs.

Of course, all of that is in Manhattan. In Brooklyn, Music Hall of Williamsburg will be doing plenty of entertaining of its own, with Kevin Devine and the Goddamn band headlining tonight, Head Automatica taking the lead tomorrow and the Pains of Being Pure at Heart as part of the Brooklyn Vegan showcase on Thursday. Blue Flowers, which began as a night of stellar music in West London and has blossomed into much more, hosts Friday’s showcase, bringing two of the hottest acts coming out of the UK right now, Chapel Club and Everything Everything—above, playing “Tin (Man Hole)” for Little Noise Sessions—to our shores.

So you’ve got an abundance of options. If you find that overwhelming and don’t know what to see, Mercury Lounge talent buyer Jay Belin offered some suggestions to NBC New York.

Tags: Blue Flowers, Bowery Ballroom, Brooklyn Vegan, Chapel Club, CMJ Music Marathon, Crocodiles, Dean Wareham, Dom, Everything Everything, Gordon Gano and the Ryans, Harper Blynn, Head Automatica, John Vanderslice, Kevin Devine, Little Noise Sessions, Mercury Lounge, Music Hall of Williamsburg, Nada Surf, Neon Indian, Piano’s, Preview, Surfer Blood, the Jezabels, the Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Video, Wakey! Wakey!
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Reunited and It Feels So Good

November 2nd, 2009

The Get Up Kids – Music Hall of Williamsburg – November 1, 2009

While bands like KISS have devalued the real significance of reunion tours, there are still acts like the Get Up Kids willing to prove that not all reunion tours are half-assed attempts at moneygrubbing. Taking the stage to the tongue-in-cheek intro music of Prince’s “1999,” the Get Up Kids wrapped up a three-night stay in New York City with a sold-out show at Music Hall of Williamsburg. Following a now commonly brilliant set from hometown boy Kevin Devine, the Get Up Kids made, surprisingly, their first-ever appearance in Brooklyn. More than just a trip down memory lane, the show was filled with energy not normally seen on reunion tours.

Mixing in everything from the ubiquitous “Holiday” to B-side “Anne Arbour,” the band played for more than an hour to the delight of the raucous crowd. Lead singer Matt Pryor’s voice sounded remarkably similar to the recordings on the band’s watershed album, Something to Write Home About, released a decade ago. But the group also had to tread new ground during the set (thanks to guitarist Jim Suptic’s allergic reaction to his Tin Man costume from their Halloween show). Left voiceless, Suptic’s vocals were picked up by keyboard player James Dewees, who jokingly apologized about how his low range would make his new parts sound “too screamo.”

After a stage-dive-inducing performance of “I’m a Loner Dottie, a Rebel…” during the encore, Pryor asked if the audience wanted a “slow song or a rock song.” When the crowd screamed for the latter, one more vocal substitution was needed. Pryor grinned his way through “Ten Minutes,” normally sung by Suptic, and admitted he had never sung it before. —Sean O’Kane

Tags: Kevin Devine, Music Hall of Williamsburg, Review, the Get Up Kids
Posted in House List, Reviews 2 Comments »

Kevin Devine – The Bowery Ballroom – April 24, 2009

April 27th, 2009

Kevin Devine - The Bowery Ballroom - April 24, 2009 Just over a year ago, Kevin Devine headlined his first show at The Bowery Ballroom with a long, emotion-filled set. And just a handful of shows there later, he has become something of a regular: His shows sell out (and fast), his family attends and those in the crowd always check their distractions at the door so they can offer their total attention to one of New York City’s newest musical sons.

Unlike that first show in January of last year (which featured more pin-drop moments than most New York City shows will ever see), Devine’s performance on Friday highlighted his backing group, the Goddamn Band. The night served as the official CD-release show for his newest album, Brother’s Blood, which even Devine admitted during the set relies heavily on his band.

Devine and the Goddamn Band ruled the stage for almost two hours, playing much of the new album, due out tomorrow, including the eerie spine-tingler “Carnival” and the ultracatchy pop of “I Could Be with Anyone.” Devine’s shouts and screams were a perfect complement to Mike Strandberg’s brilliant lead guitar, Brian Bonz’s vocals (he also served as the opener), Russell Smith’s guitar, and bassist Chris Bracco and drummer Mike Skinner’s pressing rhythms.

The intense and bombastic points in the set (capped by the heart-wrenching growl of the title track, “Brother’s Blood”) were wonderful, but the night was special because of those pin-drop moments, as fleeting as they were. Devine finished the night with “Ballgame,” a performance that sucked the crowd’s breath out of its collective lungs, leaving the room so silent not even the clinking of glasses rang out from the bars in the back. —Sean O’Kane