You are currently browsing the monthly archive for August 2010.
TONIGHT
Cosmetics, Cult of Youth, King Dude at Glasslands, 9
WEDNESDAY
Lou Barlow, Wye Oak at Mercury Lounge, 7:30 (and Saturday at Maxwell’s)
THURSDAY
Text of Light (Lee Ranaldo, Alan Licht, Uli Krieger), Loud Objects at Le Poisson rouge, 7
Unnatural Helpers and more at Cake Shop, 8ish
Beach Fossils (DJ Set), Apache Beat, Blood Orange, We Are All Romans at Coco 66, 7ish
ArpLine, Dinowalrus, Triangle Forest, Translations at Death by Audio, 8ish
Built to Spill on the Rocks Off Cruise, 7
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Human Resources, Noah’s Ark Was A Spaceship, Weekends, Alaskas at Shea Stadium, 8ish
FRIDAY
Weekends, Sundelles, Darlings, Philip Seymour Hoffman at Monster Island Basement, 8ish
Night Manager, POST POST, Web Dating, Mainland Fever at Cake Shop, 8ish
SATURDAY
Mudhoney, Pissed Jeans, White Hills at Bowery Ballroom, 8ish
MONSTER ISLAND BLOCK PARTY! Featuring Golden Triangle, Oneida, Aa and many more.
WEEKEND
ALL TOMORROW’S PARTIES feat. Sonic Youth, Explosions in the Sky, Breeders, Hope Sandoval and more
SUNDAY
Cloud Nothings, Psychobuildings, Slow Animal, La Big Vic at Glasslands, 8ish
MONDAY
Sleepy Sun, Sweet Apple, Sian Alice Group at Knitting Factory, 8ish
Wooden Shjips, Birds of Maya at Music Hall of Williamsburg, 8
Heavy Cream, Dinowalrus, Elks, Shingals, Sting at The Rock Shop, 430ish
by Jackie Roman
Dinowalrus rides an experimental line: on one side chill ambiance and the other, spastic-tinged noise rock. Here’s a demo of a new song that finds them more dreamy than ever. Still in rough mix format, “Phone Home from the Edge,” starts off atmospheric, yet quickly incorporates a clean jangly guitar line. Turns out the guitar is what drives this song’s engine, not the laid-back beat. About halfway through, the song takes a turn inward, only to come quickly around the bend for the final stretch.
“Phone Home.”
Dinowalrus is playing Death by Audio on Thursday and The Rock Shop on Monday. Chris Weingarten, writer, former Parts & Labor drummer and recent punching bag (no comment), is on drums filling in until the band’s new drummer, Anton Hochheim from the Depreciation Guild, is back in October. Dinowalrus hopes to then begin work on their follow-up to this years release, “%,” on Kanine. “Phone Home” will likely be included on that album.
Dinowalrus: Phone Home from the Edge
Juliana Hatfield and Evan Dando. In the 90s those names couldn’t be mentioned without someone asking if the king and queen of alternative rock were a couple. While they did share at least a kiss, which Hatfield mentioned in passing in her 2008 memoir, How To Walk Away, at the time the rumors were vehemently denied. This past Spring, Hatfield mentioned Dando again, this time on her newest album, in a song called “Evan.”
The lyric: “Evan, I just love you I guess.”
And now, Hatfield and Dando are playing at least two shows together, one in their hometown of Boston and the other at NYC’s Mercury Lounge on September 30. On Hatfield’s website it reads, “playing and singing together.” Can I get a collective “YESSSS!”
According to Hatfield’s publicist, Bobbie Gale, after these shows others may be considered. Playing together was something Hatfield and Dando had been discussing, and it “ended up happening.”
Why on earth the two would come together again? The only exception to their chilling relationship over the past 15 or so years was in 2003 when Hatfield toured with Dando as his bassist. Her performance was widely regarded as uninspired. During some shows (including the one I attended at San Francisco’s Bottom of the Hill club) she leaned against a wall or sat on the floor.
Regardless, these “Juliana and Evan” shows are going to be incredible. At the very least, for their historical significance.
Otherworldly sounds move through “Young Tail,” a genre skipping song by MICKEY BROWN, the collaborative project of Mickey Mickey Rourke from L.A. and Lester Brown from Canada. It starts with a groove, and elephant sounds and a girl’s breathy voice…
“You’re so so. You’re so cool.”
What is creativity? To craft a perfect pop song is something very few musicians can do. But when that happens do we call the musician creative, or an expert? Other musicians build psychedelic dreamscapes one synth layer at a time. Are they creative, or determined and patient architects? Mickey Brown seems to be working in the creative realm with “Young Tail.” The song is heavily dependent on groove, yes, but without the changing tempo, the found sounds and what sounds like eerie tape playback, the song wouldn’t be effective in creating delirium. But that’s what it does. Creativity?
Mickey Brown: Young Tail
The album is called Vision Quest.
Each time Andrew Cedermark washes up on a stage in Brooklyn (or anywhere, for that matter) he likely wins over every newcomer in the room. His music is aggressively addictive, and takes cues from classic rock and roll, clean-cut rockabilly and indie-nostalgia all at once. Each song is like a tiny story, with chapters full of detail. Moving from one section to another, always hitting you over the head with subtlety, Cedermark creates an indelible feeling in your ears. It’ll never go away. You will never forget.
“Moon Deluxe” is the first single to be released from his upcoming LP on Underwater Peoples. Also see “Hard Livin’,” a track which finds Cedermark on the gentler, more folky side of the lake. This is not to say the song isn’t loud and dramatic, but the songs tone is a bit more nuanced.
Once a member of Titus Andronicus, a band from his hometown of Glen Rock, NJ, Cedermark on his own still employs the frantic, do or die style of guitar playing.
Cedaemark guesting w Titus Andronicus at Northside Fest, 2010
Andrew Cedermark: Moon Deluxe
Andrew Cedermark: Hard Livin’
Out soon on a True Panther Sounds 7″. A release a long time in the making. A song if you’ve seen Real Estate you’ve heard before. Featuring Dan Lopatin, too. The music of Real Estate is like corduroy– it’s comfortable, and never goes out of fashion.
Tucker Rountree of Total Slacker is on a “real creative surge.” To channel that creativity, and to keep himself full of fresh vitality, he just launched a new solo project: Web Dating. Rountree says these are all love songs, which is pretty clear judging by the song titles: “Can’t Get Enough of You,” “I Just Wanna Make Love,” “Ode to a Former Love,” etc.
These songs are definitely in Rountree’s veins, though they are far away from the Total Slacker veins in his body. “Can’t Get Enough of You” is a poppy dream-scape, moving in and out of dark yet delicate verses. Rountree’s classic guitar training peeks through too, shining with flair. Rountree plays all the instruments himself.
“Close to you, still far away.” That is how it goes, isn’t it?
And with the band photo being a photoshopped image of Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson from one of the best movies ever, “White Men Can’t Jump,” well, that says a lot about Web Dating’s awesome aesthetic.
Web Dating: Can’t Get Enough of You
TONIGHT
Ducktails, Family Portrait, Tennis at Cake Shop, 8
Memory Tapes and Tanlines at the Bell House, 8
THURSDAY
Tennis, Magic Bullets, Family Portrait, Cool Runnings, Night Manager at Glasslands, 9
FRIDAY
Oneohtrix Point Never, ARP, James Ferraro, Future Shuttle,Blondes (DJ Set) at Coco66, 9
Sisters, Girlfriends, Slow Animal, Sweet Bulbs, Candy Heart at Cake Shop, 8
Tanlines at Whitney Museum, 7
SATURDAY
Wild Nothing, Blank Dogs, Cosmetics, MINKS at Bowery Ballroom, 7
White Out with Thurston Moore, Carlos Giffoni, C. Spencer Yeh, Fat Worm of Error at Knitting Factory, 8
SUNDAY
Delorean at the Williamsburg Waterfront, 2 (This is on, right??!)
MONDAY
The Babies, Pygmy Shrews, Unnatural Helpers at Silent Barn, 8ish
MNDR, Silk Flowers at Mercury Lounge, 6:30
I’ll be back and blogging and planning and hustling on Wednesday, August 25. Until then, be bad.
Vibes matter man. When a bunch of unknowing and unconscious assholes show up some place and do shit that makes no sense and bother others while doing it, the vibes are altered. Now, we all know Altered Zones are great, but this wasn’t great at all.
Which brings me to the Underwater Peoples Summertime Showcase on Saturday night at Shea Stadium. For whatever reason, in attendance was a handful of big time posers who had no clue that this was NOT a punk or hard-core show. So they acted as “punk” as they could, by kicking each other and spitting on the stage. Now, if this were a real punk show these kids would have had the shit kicked out of them (which is maybe why they chose the chillest place in Bushwick to bring their shenanigans). Besides the inappropriateness of their actions, what really made me sad was what their presence and attitude means for the future of underground, anti-authoritative music and culture. These kids were Hot Topic, personified.
What’s most depressing though, is that the bands, all of whom are great, really brought their A-game. The performances were lively, well-rehearsed and, in many cases, full of new material. I don’t know if the bands were much bothered by the crowd, but for those of us there for the music, it was hard to get lost in it.
Alex Bleeker & the Freaks, by NJ Underground
I mean come now, moshing to Alex Bleeker and the Freaks? I don’t think his music could possibly inspire violent physical reactions. I guess anything is possible, but I would place a bet that a more enjoyable reaction would be a bit more heady and less aggressive.
Even though I badly wanted to see Julian Lynch perform again, I left early. Those kids weren’t the only reason, but they were part of it. I heard they were gone before Lynch and Real Estate took the stage much later in the evening, and for that we can all be grateful. I’m sure all good vibes were restored after they peaced out.
So, the point is, vibes matter. And hey kids! I’m not an old stick in the mud, I enjoy moshing and stage diving from time to time. But when it makes no sense, it only makes you look like the biggest idiot in the world. And I don’t think that’s what you’re going for.
Ok, all of that aside though, the bands I saw were totally rocking. Fluffy Lumbers with a FULL band, including the drummer from the recently disbanded Pants Yell!, was on fire. Really great. Alex Bleeker debuted a bunch of new and startlingly dark songs (and played a cover of Say It Ain’t So!). No Demons Here performed with a full band, (first time ever?), which really fleshed the sound out. Be sure to see these bands SOON.
Go to NJ Underground for more pics!
