DC ROCK LIVE - REVIEWS

Smith Westerns - Porcelain Raft - Bleached -- Black Cat - Feb 1 2012

2012-02-02T13:59:00.001Z

We begin Day 1 of the 29 Shows of February which I am going to affectionately call 29 DAYS LATER.

Bleached - They had a really nice crunchy garage sound working right from the start that reminded me of a refined Cramps. The female vocals went off in a different direction--heavily reverbed, but not into outer space. There was plenty of guts and passion on the line without going too over the top. Some of the chords reminded me of Wire's Pink Flag crossed with 999. I could say catchy, but I think I just covered that. Vocals seemed a bit overwhelming in the PA, but that may just be the particular timber affecting my hearing (there may be some science to this as some spoken and sung voices seem to hit my brain harder than they should). The spell was wearing off a bit as the songs started sounding a bit like an LP of a pub rock band (say the Count Bishops) played at 45rpm. But they closed with a really nice number that had some good guitar moves. There was a lot going on in just 22 minutes. They have a great foundation. If they can add some variety, they will be able to energize a crowd for a nice long set.

Porcelain Raft - A Brooklyn duo is next with drums and a do-the-rest guitar/electronica/vocalist. This is... nice. That is rather faint hearted praise, but lush pop sounds with light airy instruments tend to take a while before I can fully get into them (if ever). So things begin rather slowly. Things started clicking a lot better by the 4th song as I was getting more into the style and more importantly, the song had a really nice murky loop working the low end allowing his higher register vocals to soar higher. After that, there were more examples of good songwriting. But I am kind of a tough sell here and was left with respect for the music, but wanting more out of it.

Smith Westerns - This five-piece comes from another one of my former homes, Chicago. They have 2-3 guitars working with one guy adding keyboards when not on the guitar (sometimes both during a song). If the diversity of the two opening bands were on a mathematical axis, this band may be about at the midpoint between. They had a dreamy pop style for the most part, but they added some nice edgy guitar work along with a solid rhythm section. I did struggle a lot with the sound, especially early on. There was quite a bit of reverb in the vocals (which seemed good enough to not need that much) and some compression in the guitar sound (even some odd Bobb Trimble like phasing). I felt like I was hearing the air around the sound as much as the sound itself. They worked in a bit more jangle and power into the sound as the set went on and I was pulled closer to what they were doing. And that was a lot of interesting pop music that was personal, yet classic. A few songs reminded me of what Phil Spector probably wanted the Ramones to sound like on "End of the Century" if Dee Dee and Johnny had been more cooperative (or if Spector could have replaced them with people playing the way he wanted them to). The crowd filled about 70% of the club with a few of them dancing, a few more swaying and most accepting the set for the most part. There was not a lot of roaring desire for an encore, but a couple of spurts of desire got the band up for a couple more closing out a 55-minute set. I enjoyed their individuality, but it did not convert me into a major fan.

Quote of the Night: While standing by the soundboard, I was watching the guitarist for Porcelain Raft work with the Black Cat sound man in trying to fix something on stage. They came running back to the soundboard where the band's sound man was intensely fiddling with one of those newer computerized boards. In reply to their question.... "Excuse me, I'm checking my email. One second..."

RECORD REVIEWS - January 2012

2012-02-01T14:37:00.000Z

Drew Gibson "The Southern Draw"

Drew Gibson is yet another of those classic-styled singer-songwriters that hover between folk and rock with plenty of Americana roots. The really good news for those of us that listen to a lot of this music is that Gibson has the ability to add elements of other genres and styles into his sound while easily keeping his personal identity. The opening cut has brilliant little melodic runs that remind me of John Martyn or Michael Chapman. I can almost picture Danny Thompson playing on this a few decades back. "Lonnie Johnson" has heartland appeal, but there is a light lounge element here. The folkier "Sugar Blue" has a great bluesy sting on the acoustic guitar, which is the sole accompaniment to the vocal. The overall contemplative mood is sustained throughout with these deft arrangements and fine songs. I have enjoyed this material live and it is nice to see the care given to the recording which feels live, but sounds clean and fresh in an intimate setting. This is an album I will return to and it further confirms the abilities that I saw during the live set.

Songs to sample...

I Know I Miss You More - This is the stunner that Grammy winning songwriters wish they could write. OK, and really good songwriters are also jealous.

We Move by Wagon Train - The band establishes a laconic pace that establishes the feel of a migration via wagon train. But of course the lyrics sung with both male and female voice tell a more developed tale.

The Southern Draw - The title cut has excellent vocals atop a folk-blues-rock song that sticks with you even while listening to the fine songs remaining.

The WeatherVanes "Morning Light" ep

This relatively new band from Arlington has truly hit the ground running. The sound and songwriting are far more accomplished than the usual rough and energetic style most newcomers put out. The first song "Black and Blue" has a classic American folk-rock feel to it both in the tight playing and recording and also the vocal work with just a wispy of raspiness added to the clean tones. The title cut featured a good rock 'n' roll feeling with some nice lead guitar. If these guys were the Jayhawks, they would be headed to the Gary Louris side of that equation. The last song "Sold" brings things down a notch with some piano dancing around the voice, guitars, and rhythm section. There is still room for some heavier guitar in the chorus along with a nice slide solo. There is just the right spark evident with these guys that have me wanting to see if they can take the next step and grow their audience. In this crowded field, that is a rather large step, but the WeatherVanes have a real chance with the raw material they possess.

Protect-U - Imperial China - Buildings - Cigarette -- Black Cat - Jan 28 2012

2012-01-29T15:13:00.000Z

Cigarette - I was quite mixed the last time I saw this collective. They had a lot of members on stage doing various things that I could not describe as busy. Tonight was similar as there is a lot of space in their music. It is dreamy with a very light touch. It has a Hush Arbors sound done at a Jose Gonzalez type volume. Or perhaps Simon and Garfunkel covering Stone Breath. As much as I am intrigued by the sound, I really thought it was more suited for a smaller room with quieter respectful fans (like the Velvet Lounge or Red Palace). The best review I could write while sitting in the back would be of the crowd noise that was twice as loud as the band (and it was not particularly disrespectful, but within the normal bounds). It is a shame because I think I could be a big fan of the music.

Buildings - No problem with volume in this set, as this local three-piece turned in yet another great set. They have not changed the formula much over the years with their instrumental angular playful version of postpunk. The guitar was busy as ever over the quick drum beats and mobile bass runs. Hey was that actually a vocal? Well, the guitarist audiblized something during one song but if you blinked, you missed it. There was one song that was a bit heavier than usual. They were playing new material off their latest album and did in fact have a few very subtle shifts in their songs which is nice--especially as an instrumental band. Buildings are always a welcome addition to any bill, and a fixture in the Sockets Record showcase.

Imperial China - I always look forward to seeing this trio. They are another key part of the Sockets Records story with another unique vision in the post punk world. The crowd is huge tonight and most of them know the importance of this label and these bands and are not just here for a Saturday night out. I have not seen these guys for a while, but they quickly remind me of all the things I like. The guitarist/singer has a table of electronics, while the bass player actually plays guitar more frequently. And the drummer pounds away nicely of course. The songs are short and more jagged and dark than Buildings. Early in the set, I am enjoying it but wondering what it is I like about this band. By the set's end, I am fully absorbed into their music which reminds me of how talented they are. On the surface, with a quick listen, the music is good. But a slow and steady diet of the music reaches a very satisfying conclusion. It is hard to define the alchemy at work here, but work it does. This is still an essential band for all of us.

Protect-U - We finish with an electronica duo, oddly enough not on Sockets Records. But the two guys have done individual projects there in years past. The rhythms were nice, the bass strong and thankfully they had some nice melodies on top with a good balance going on. Again, I go into my struggle mode at watching guys behind computers and oscillators bobbing their heads up and down as electronica spews forth from the machines. I am not sure if it is worse than the stereotypical heavy metal head bob, but maybe actually I am. The music did head toward a Tangerine Dream feeling for a bit, until I remembered that I missed the guitar sound of TD. The crowd was thinning out quite a bit which may have been due to the hour or maybe there are just a lot more people like me who like the more full band experiences. Still, this was ok maybe even a bit better than that.

Quote of the Night: From Sean of Sockets Records... "It's for DC. It's by DC." Simple enough and when the music is this good and continues to succeed (and survive) year after year, we are all very fortunate to have this label.

Lightfoot - Loose Lips - Ugly Purple Sweater - Paperhaus -- Black Cat - Jan 27 2012

2012-01-28T15:17:00.001Z

Paperhaus - This local four-piece is rapidly becoming one of my favorites in the area. They have the skills to showcase their unique music to much broader audiences. And tonight looks like a good start there as the main stage is open for this local showcase and the masses are here. Fantastic turnout for these bands. Paperhaus begins with their Russian language song that is just as unique musically with its liquid guitar runs. There is such a witty way these guys have with pulling out completely melodic passages out of challenging guitar and bass moves. Songs start off as dreamy psyche with ionic disturbance within the molecular structure or they start with jagged rock with the dreamy psyche sneaking in underneath. Give this band a listen and I think you will be as convinced as I or at least as convinced as the supportive crowd was tonight.

Ugly Purple Sweater - This band lines up with a lead singer on acoustic guitar, electric guitar/vocals, bass, drums, and keyboards/banjo. The club is really packed now and they are treated to a band whose songs are snazzy fun. Not sure why I noted it that particular way, but it may be due to a somewhat old fashioned approach, yet their sound will easily fit in with the laziest indie rock fan. The vocals are quite distinct and dramatic. They have a flourish that is somewhere between the Decembrists and Queen (Queen may always occupy the top of that scale). I even heard some Jacques Brel for a bit, but the guitars were too rocking in that particular song. This was a very nice 34 minute set which was perfect for a Friday night crowd. This band has fine command of their interesting material and they exude both confidence and relaxed fun as they present it.

Loose Lips - I saw this four-piece once in June, 2010. While I began with interest in seeing where they were these days, we all quickly learned that this was their last show. Frankly, there is not much point in going into a lot of depth on the sound for bands finishing up their run. But they had nice catchy tunes, although it was hard to read the mostly relaxed mood on stage by some of the players. The crowd gave them a proper sendoff. Good luck on future endeavors, guys.

Lightfoot - Unfortunately I am a little gassed at this point. Gassed as in tired, but also the Mexican dinner is adding the more literal meaning here. But I do stick around for a few songs from this local outfit. There is less psyche and post punk going on here, but the cleaner pop rock songs with some nice biting guitar come off quite well. I liked the nice little shift into the Morricone/Sadies territory, and although not as heavy as the Sadies, the atmosphere created was quite vibrant. These guys drew a really big crowd tonight, so I am sure they will be back and I will hopefully be around to give a more thorough listen. I am intrigued enough for now.

Quote of the Night: From the Paperhaus bass player... "This song is dedicated to those laws that made Wikipedia shut down for a day." ...made?

Prussia - Grammar -- DC9 - Jan26 2012

2012-01-27T14:56:00.000Z

Grammar - A local four piece gets things underway. The usual two guitar rock line-up with all three guys up front singing, although one guitarist takes the lead. I am guessing young, inexperienced, but with good energy. Even being a little optimistic, they quickly achieved a much higher level than I expected. It took several songs to really try to get a handle on their particular brand of quirky pop, and of course, that is good. The lead vocals have some great high pitched pop characteristics that sound oh so familiar, but I could not quite place it. Maybe Robin Zander, but tougher. Good pop in the drumming with bass lines and guitar runs moving around nicely in conjunction but with loads of personality. There's some Britpop in here along with some California pop garage touches. The third song was a cover of a local rap song which sounded more like Magazine on steroids the way they rocked with it. They next performed their toughest rock song that had a shimmering Steve Lillywhite production sound to it. And as they finished up, there were undertones of well, the Undertones (sorry). Forget the inexperience part (well they reminded us of that in the stage patter), the energy and songs are here and this is a nice little band to get behind.

Prussia - A Detroit band that is not an outgrowth of the Stooges or MC5? Perish the thought. This cannot possibly work with me, or can it? Five guys are on stage with a rhythm section, a couple of guitars, couple of keyboards and lead vocalist who mostly sticks to singing and a little guitar. The first song sounds like Jah Wobble is playing bass with the Feelies guitarists. The vocal work sounds like an odd take on Akron/Family (so that would be odder than odd). Dub-jangle twisted pop music seems to be the verbage in my mind to describe this interesting and engaging music. The songs are really pulling me in and there seems to be quite a bit of intelligence lurking within this madness (as often there is). There is some 60s psyche worked into some old pop/ rock'n'roll moves, too. Did these guys play a Lesley Gore record at the same time they were playing Public Image's second album? Another song sounded like Sounds of Salvation trying to cover Scott Walker. That is really not it either, but I do hear some things that I just can't quite name (and when that happens I usually pick an obscure band like Sounds of Salvation that readers won't bother looking up--but trust me, I don't do this too often, although I am tempted). The last comparison I come up with is the band sounds as if David Lynch is trying to score a film by acting more like Tim Burton. And since there set is only 33 minutes, they have mercifully given my brain a rest from trying to dream up more half-baked theories on where this sound comes from. But it was indeed good fun.

Quote of the Night: From the bass player of the first band after the guitarist questioned whether he should get a haircut... "Sounds like you should get your glasses cut."

February is coming! Yeah, so what. Well with the excitement of having 29 days of February, I am going to challenge myself to do 29 shows in February. Even though I know this insane and will wipe me out, I just can't talk myself out of it. There are some issues like finding a club willing to book a show against the superbowl and having theater tickets, let alone getting sick or tired or whatever. So I will probably end up short. But we'll see how I do. The one thing I am confident of is that my quote of the night at the end of the month will be "Never again."

D.R.U.G.S. - Hit the Lights - Like Moths to Flames - Sparks the Rescue - Action Blast - My Arcadia -- 9:30 Club - Jan 24 2012

2012-01-25T14:50:00.001Z

My Arcadia - Am I ready for a six-band hardcore tour sweeping through DC? Why not--it's only $15 and at the 9:30 Club. Unless, otherwise noted, the formula for each band tonight will be drums, bass, two guitars and a vocalist. This band featured the only female anywhere on stage who handled the vocal duties well enough. "So DC, are you having fucking fun?" Uh, we'll let you know as it is only 45 seconds into the show. But your sound is pretty good so far with smooth melodic ringing guitars and Pat Benatar power on the vocals. In the first three songs, I heard more requests for clapping, jumping, swaying, hands in air, etc. than I have in about three months. A decent enough 25 minutes here, but the whole thing reeks of effort, to steal a phrase.

Action Blast - "Make some noise!" greets us. No, how about you make some noise. They do with the basic formula tonight plus keyboards/backup vocals aiding nicely. More melodic heaviness with a bit more crunch than the first band. "How are we doing tonight DC?" Well you've played one verse and it sounds ok. Also it's just after 7pm. We'll know more later, ok? "Are you awake out there? Make some noise." Yeah, ok. We were instructed to yell 'Get Blasted' on the count of three and then we were to jump on the count of four or something to that effect. Unfortunately an intricate song in 5/4 was not next in the mathematical progression. Oh, this rocked ok, but is it EMO or an outgrowth of positive punk? I don't particularly care to call anything EMO, but he did mention being positive and it is on their facebook page. That's cool, but why then are you into the Deftones, NiN, Smashing Pumpkins and what no doubt is the poster child for positivity, Hatebreed? Ah well, time to stop thinking so much.

Sparks the Rescue - Well, no mention of DC within the first notes, just attempts to get hands in the air. A fair compromise I suppose. More earnest vocals atop crunching melodic hardcore/hard rock moves. "How are you DC, having fun?" Eh. "Look to the person on your left. I want to you fuck that person in the bathroom." Excuse me, what? Not only does that not work mechanically (short of a bathroom that could hold a five-hundred person obscene conga line), but this is 2012 kiddos. The music goes on in excruciatingly earnest fashion and I am feeling itchy for some Flipper or King Crimson or something. 23 minutes of heavy moments as the crowd is building a bit by now.

Like Moths to Flames - From one of my former home towns Columbus, Ohio, comes this nice little variant to the sounds so far. These guys have a more thunderous Helmet-like sound. A bit more harsh perhaps, but strong, with enough melody and a bit on the dark side. And thankfully, just a normal amount of crowd pandering (a little can go a long way if you want to even do any at all). A mosh pit was going strong in the last song which had a nice taped spooky organ intro. This band rocks and I would see them again some time when they could play for more than 21 minutes.

Hit the Lights - A sixth member was aboard to pound a floor tom and add backing vocals. 30 seconds into the first song--"DC! How the fuck you guys doing tonight?" Thank you for asking, I'm getting a bit weary of it all, but the last band lit a fire under me, so keep playing please. The crowd sang along with only the mic being held out, so this band has a lot of fans here and some memorable tunes. They rocked nicely and did show that little bit of extra It rocked. "Make some fucking noise!" Yes, better than making some fucking boogers. "Let's see some fucking hands!" Right, no boogers on them either. "Sing it!" We're still in the second song. The band surveyed the crowd and it looked like about 1/3 of them have seen them or knew them well. They have played the Jammin' Java recently. "Thank you for the whoo's" Ric Flair says you are welcome. "This song is about whores" Horse? Hoarse? Hoars? 38 minutes worth this set. It rocked.

D.R.U.G.S. - Destroy, Rebuild until God Shows. Got it. Strong melodies, extremely powerful thrust from this band. They sound like a headliner for this receptive crowd. This is all in the Rise Against, Against Me model from what I recall of those shows. "Make some motherfucking noise" after a quick two songs. Here we go again. "If you see someone not moving, push 'em down." Excuse me? Perhaps this is my cue to leave. Well, the balcony is not buying what they are selling, so I'll stick a bit. One more song. "All you in the balcony, get the fuck down here, let's have a good time. You have a good view and all, but I'm serious. Get down here!" OK, down the steps I go and right out the door. Fascist singers that were not even born when I experienced my first mosh pit (and one of my last) I can do without. I do not suffer fools, gladly or otherwise.

Quote of the Night: None of the above.

The Silver Liners - The Riverbreaks - Young Rapids -- Red Palace - Jan 21 2012

2012-01-22T15:20:00.001Z

Young Rapids - This local four-piece starts with two guitars, keyboards and drums. Eventually everyone sings as the drummer comes out to play bass on several songs with a guitarist moving behind the kit. This somewhat radical shift was the only real switching around they did, although the sound did not vary a lot with the keyboardist handling classic bass runs when needed. It was more of a style shift. And style was what intrigued me during this set. They started off with good classic American tinged barroom rock, hearty, rootsy, rocking.... But they kept adding intense blasting guitar and drum chaos into many of their songs. Not only is this almost always welcome to my ears, it also seemed to resonate well with the crowd. And even with several songs moving into quirky pop territory, they successfully avoided falling into the cutesy traps that doom many a band (Name names? OK, Band of Horses, Maps & Atlases...). It was Saturday night and this band warmed the crowd and then some.
The Riverbreaks - I have not seen this local band in a while and I was expecting another solid set tonight. They eventually got there, but it started a bit oddly to my ears. They have a nice array of sounds with drums, bass, electric guitar, violin, keyboards and occasional acoustic guitar. However, the first song sounded rather disparate. No one seemed particularly out of sync in the playing but it felt like the tones were so soft, the spaces were too noticeable and distracting. The soundman may have assisted things as the set went on, but I also think the songs got a little better and the band a little more energized. They are a talented bunch so they brought it home nicely by set's end. If they find a way to add some musical drama to more of their songs, this can be powerful material.

The Silver Liners - I am always happy to catch a set from this young local band and have probably caught about a half dozen by now. They were fairly accomplished from the get go, but they continue to develop musically and exude a lot of confidence these days. Rightly so, as their songs are well above the average to good material you get on the club circuit. The key is the balance of all things old and new, soft and heavy, clean and fuzzy.... While I enjoy an extremely focused band that sticks to a style or genre (if I like the genre), it can be more of a challenge to bring off the blends and combinations. But when it works, you can really generate excitement with lots and lots of people. And that continues to be the case here, as the crowded house was quite enthusiastic as if there favorite touring band was gracing our city with their presence for the first time in years. I do not like to predict who 'makes it' in this confusing business (since for every Husker Du or Nirvana I get right, there is a Ragged Bags or LoveLikeFire that I should have gotten right--damnit), but these guys have all the tools to do well. So catch them now and share the ride.

Quote of the Night: From the Riverbreaks bass player and yes, I was confused... "This song was written before I was in the band so if it sounds like it is missing a part..."

Wildlife - Tereu Tereu - Pet Parade -- Red Palace - Jan 19 2012

2012-01-20T15:15:00.000Z

Pet Parade - A local four-piece with the usual two guitar/rhythm section line-up hits the stage. The three front men sing and they start off with a rather basic indie rock cut. The second cut aspires a bit more toward power pop and just as I wonder exactly how new and raw this band is, they crank it up several notches to engage in New York Dolls guitar tradeoffs. The verses were quite pedestrian, but the choruses were brilliant and the ending rocked out nicely. So there is some real promise here. The set varied a bit in style thereafter but there was a bit more assurance as it went on. A little work on songwriting in the vocal area and a full comfort with the sound they want and they could develop into a nice band. It was not bad at all tonight and the highlights were quite enjoyable.

Tereu Tereu - I don't like to make promises, but I will promise to try to stop saying how 'over' I am with two-piece rock bands. The guitar-drums thing turned me off long ago, but I accept it now when it works. Tonight was one of those nights as this 40 minute set had plenty of quality noise and song writing to sustain my interest. These guys go in a post-Sebadoh direction like so many other bands that I cannot ever seem to keep straight in my mind (which is why my comparisons usually stray into the decades of the 60s, 70s and most of the 80s that I have down). There was plenty of jagged psyche drone moves and some crazed rock shifts that really worked well on top of the meticulously steady drumming. Vocal work was good and the songs had a subdued clarity with intense bursts of drama. Good stuff and these guys are local, so keep that name in mind.

Wildlife - From my favorite music city of Toronto comes this five-piece with a couple of guitars and keyboards. They mix it around a bit with extra percussion and a mandolin (which rocks and does not go folk). Plenty of vocal work with one guitarist taking most of the lead work. They begin by building a rhythm and adding strong ringing psyche guitars. It was intense, fun, and I particularly enjoyed seeing the drummer with a tootsie pop in his mouth for pretty much the whole set. He also jumped up and drummed on the walls and floor with plenty of energy that all of the band had. The sound was sort of a Feelies/Shins sort of combination with loads of speed cutting through the fuzz and plenty of hooks not lost in the shuffle. There were some Sloan moves in there as well in the better songs. The crowd was supportive although a bit smaller than I expected at around 30 or so, but the band was happy with the feedback and it was a good night for all. I did not detect some of the wild creativity of some of my other favorites from Toronto, but again that city does seem to require all the bands be very competent with something to offer. Wildlife lives up to those requirements and then some.

Quote of the Night: From Tereu Tereu discussing their merch... "We take credit cards now. How weird is that? It's not even punk rock, it's just convenient."

Screen Vinyl Image - Ceremony - Silo Halo -- Black Cat - Jan 18 2012

2012-01-19T15:28:00.000Z

Silo Halo - This local three piece features a guitar, bass, and guitar/keyboardist. All three add lead and harmony vocals with one female voice in the mix. The first song compares shockingly favorably to Fit & Limo which I don't say too often. The quality vocal work and the easy mannered warm psychedelic feeling is the key. As the set progresses they vary the form a bit more with early Banshees guitar and varying degrees of heaviness. The keyboards were good but drum machines are not my favorite forms of percussion and they were a distraction on the lesser songs. The better songs were heavy on atmosphere and/or drive. This was an effective set.

Ceremony - Diamond blades cutting through sheet metal with a rhythm section is how this set begins. Actually it is merely a couple of guitars blazing an urban trail on the downstairs stage of the Black Cat. The dreamy shoegaze vocals are a bit too British, which normally I don't mind but seems a bit too obvious here. I was expecting them to 'stop the world and melt with you' in one song, but they sang in a different direction beyond the melody, thankfully. There is also some really annoying feedback during the quiet moments, few that they were. But with the negatives out of the way, the positives easily won out tonight. Electrifying song structure and amazing sound brought smiles throughout the club and to my face as well. There is a load of talent here and a growing cult following it appears, so it will be interesting to see how they do over a few years.

Screen Vinyl Image - This wonderful local duo stayed with the tried and true approach using a light smoke machine, full projections and the keyboard banks, two guitars and one vocal. They also have a thick, powerful sound that merges melody and psychedelic overtones quite majestically throughout the set. The vocal work is moody and assured and they use percussion very well by adding sequencers and less obvious drum machine programs. The sizable crowd tonight is into it and this band seems to have firmly established its place as a pivotal area band. At least they have with me, as I enjoy them more every time I see them. Often a 40 minute set from the third band is enough, but I would have welcomed more. They are a hard band to pass on, even when my schedule gets busy.

Quote of the Day: Quiet day for me, so I again I go back to my favorite soccer/media column from Football365 for this quote from a Chinese football club owner...

Persistence: Always Works
Curious logic from Shanghai Shenhua owner Zhu Jun when discussing his club's moves for Didier Drogba.

He said: "It's like flirting with a girl. Perhaps she will resist you at first, but if you continue to ask her out, it always ends well. Never give up."

Really? In Mediawatch's experience if you 'continue to ask her out' it never, ever ends well. In fact, it ends in a slap in the face, a request along the lines of 'Text me that picture again and I'll call the police', a restraining order or a visit from a burly relative with threats to remove limbs in a less-than-friendly fashion.

Graveyard - Radio Moscow - Black Cowgirl -- DC9 - Jan 16 2012

2012-01-17T14:17:00.001Z

Black Cowgirl - Slow and steady comes this psychedelic blues rock from a twin guitar four-piece. This is from the family tree set up by Blue Cheer and the Groundhogs in those psychedelic sixties. The band has the requisite acid-drenched long haired look which would be a common theme tonight. They also had the sound down nicely with good thick loud guitars. The vocals were only a bit more restrained but fit in well enough. There was almost a playfulness in the songs with the more positive elements of the sixties present. The 33 minute set picked up momentum nicely and I enjoyed the guitarists trading leads and doubling up the leads during the last jammer. They may have been a late addition to the bill, but they were certainly a welcome one for this large crowd.

Radio Moscow - The club is now jam packed with denizens of the heavy rock genre (an odd mix of long hairs and short hairs and the rare in-between cut like mine). It has a nice feel to it in spite of the sardine conditions as I stake out some breathing room behind the sound board. This time around it is a similar sound as before but done by a trio. The guitarist sings in an interesting manner that reminds me of some sort of Leslie West-Brian Johnson hybrid singing through a few layers of flannel shirts. The songs seem pretty much by the numbers, although the guitar work is sharp, fast, and fluid. It gets the crowd going although the rhythm section appears more tentative to me. Ahh, the guitarist explains that these guys have been with him for about six days and 22 hours more than Chuck Berry's usual back-up band was with Berry. The guitar work continues to go over well with the crowd, but I felt they were losing a bit of momentum well before the technical problem that silenced them for several minutes late in the set. Good, but I am sure they can do a lot better.

Graveyard - The theme continues as this four-piece continues the psychedelic blues based heavy jamming theme of the evening. It does not take more than a few bars to see that these guys really have it down as the hypnotic groove established shows a full band skill that they have probably perfected over a long time. They pull it back some with some great dynamics that remind me of Opeth in a related genre. They then introduce themselves from Sweden and for the record, I wrote the Opeth note prior to hearing this. But I had read they were from Sweden a month ago, so it may have been lurking in my subconscious. Or maybe it was their look, their voices or whatever as it does not matter other than offering further unneeded proof of how music 'scenes' work out so very well. This band really establishes great tension and expectation with their songs. They have this psyche sound down in an original manner and in a different form than that of the Hellacopters. There is such a distance in their sound that rolls up from the horizon and bursts ahead with vocals keeping it personal. I am quite impressed as is the rest of this packed house. I hope to see them again next year and it almost certainly will be at a larger venue.

Quote of the Night: From the crowd when the Radio Moscow guitarist had some sound problems...
"Awkward Silence. Play Awkward Silence!!"

Oh So Peligroso - Edgewood - Technicians -- Black Cat - Jan 15 2012

2012-01-16T14:58:00.000Z

Technicians - A couple of guitars, bass and drums with one guy taking the vocal duties. A familiar formula and what might be considered a familiar shoegaze sound. Except that it did not appear to be true shoegaze to me. There was certainly some Brit dream pop/rock in there, but it was quite heavy even to the point of almost being too thick and unrelenting underneath. But the strong vocal work countered that nicely and ultimately it was a rather intriguing sound that sort of crossed the Feelies with the Melvins or thereabouts. You can head over there to the site and listen to their ep and judge for yourself. I may come up with some new comparisons next time around, but I hope there is a next time.

Edgewood - Wait a minute, according to their Facebook site, this group has members from the Mostly Dead, the Goons, and Mahogany Rush? Almost as odd as the bass player from the Spice Girls joining Public Image Ltd. (but not really if you think about or especially if you heard it). The sound tonight was a lot closer to the punk bands than that of Mahogany Rush. The first song sounded like a mid-80's Dischord band covering Muse, mostly due to the intensity and range of the vocals. The third song went into a Ronnie Dio vocal style. Don't tell me Freddie Mercury is next? No, not really, just solid on top vocals that sometimes went into the more intense Dio/Matt Bellamy style. The band kept things rocking along with nice pace and power like a more modern post-hardcore band. I was not sure it would work, but the half-hour set was most successful when it chugged along at a good pace and did not try to get too big and open in the sound.

Oh So Peligroso - This band was the highlight for me at the last Black Cat birthday party showcase, so it was nice to see what they could do in a longer set. It went just under 45 minutes tonight and the band had it going great the whole time. They have an interesting murky garage sound with a certain post-punk flair. They could be the offspring of the Shadows of Knight and Fugazi. The sound was a bit tricky in the beginning but it got better as the set went on as the keyboards became more audible and the swirling guitar crisped up a bit. The rhythm section was the most creative of the evening and the vocals were solid and playful. They emit a sense of fun which is always welcome if you're not going for the Joy Division thing. The crowd was really enjoying it, although it was an odd crowd tonight with a lot of people in and out and spending too much exclusive time with the one band they came to see. It may have been 90% full if everyone was there at once, but it was usually about half full. No matter as I could just sit back and enjoy the music or try to work out the fascinating cross-genre and cross-time period moves that Oh So Peligroso was making on stage. I will keep on preaching to get out and see some of this fine local music that DC has to offer. Tonight was just one more example of the fun you can have for $8.

Quote of the Night: From the opening band and a fan...
"We have not played in two months, so if we're a little rusty..."
"Stop making excuses!"
"I'm not, I'm saying it's amazing how we're still so awesome."

Fear of Virginia - The Highballers - The XOs -- Rock'n'Roll Hotel - Jan 13 2011

2012-01-14T14:54:00.002Z

The XOs - Nothing unlucky so far today for me as I get set for another fine local showcase at the Rock'n'Roll Hotel. About 50 people join me for the opening set tonight from a local four-piece. Just one guitar with an exclusive lead vocalist. Funny how that classic a look is so less common these days. But if you have the chops that these guys have, you don't need extra guitars or lots of reverb drenched vocals. These four guys simply cut loose with heavy blues based rock that had a modern edge and thrust to it with even a couple of power pop and psyche moves disguised in there some where. The first influential band they cite is MC5 and that is descriptive enough, although I kept hearing a Doctor Feelgood sort of riffing that Wilko Johnson nearly invented. It was thicker and more modern here, but it gave me that same unrelenting crunch that moves me nearly every time. The vocals are assured, the bass mobile, and the drumming laid it down with conviction. Tight, powerful and a lot of fun. This is a band to keep tabs on for sure.

The Highballers - The band warned that they would be sounding just a wee bit different than the opener and that was clear enough at the outset. They said they had a low-down sound and that came out as gnarly blues rock--thick and deep with piercing lead guitar runs and dual male/female vocals. They easily handled following the powerful opening set with plenty of volume and pace to keep the house rocking. The second song moved into a psychobilly terrain which was not as fast as say a Gun Club, but had a nice Sadies feel to it. They moved around again within these styles and varied the pace and structure in nice subtle ways. Fans of the really assertive roots bands like the Knitters or the Sadies will eat this music up. There were only a few songs that seemed a bit safe, but this 40 minute set had lots of smart and fun highlights with good guitar interplay, vocal harmonies and solid rhythms. And again, here is another fine local band to keep my eye on. The crowd had doubled by set's end and had a great time as these Friday showcases have been delivering the goods for some time now. The Highballers have a debut album coming out and are at the Jammin Java soon, along with hopefully many more shows.

Fear of Virginia - A couple of guitars, keyboards, bass and drums comprises this local indie rock outfit. The sound is agreeable Friday night rock'n'roll. There is some thrust to it, but I really do not detect much beyond basic expectations and competence. The crowd is really getting into it a lot more than I am, which may be due to some regular fans and plenty of time for lubrication prior to the set. They slowed it down on a song and I finally heard the real individual skill this band can provide. The song was well written and played with great conviction. It is rare when the slower songs move me significantly more than the rockier numbers, but it happened here. Again, the crowd was digging it and it capped off a great night of music. I will reserve full judgment until the next time for the Fear of Virginia.

Quote of the Week: From my favorite futbol column at football365.com, as they remind all of us how wild the UK media is...

'Well, I Feel Slightly Bilious' Non-Football Headline Of The Day... 'Angela Merkel has the whip hand in an orgy of austerity' - The Guardian.

Drew Gibson - Wes Tucker & the Skillets -- Iota - Jan 10 2011

2012-01-11T14:38:00.001Z

Wes Tucker & the Skillets - What was to be an acoustic set turned out to be a full band set, albeit with acoustic leanings. Local singer/songwriter/guitarist Wes Tucker explained that he was recording a new album with the guys in the band so he brought them along and kept the guitars acoustic and had a drummer play a percussion box. The bass and keyboards were plugged in, but kept things on the subtle side. This was a good choice as the full band succeeded in keeping things more acoustic with a slight air of mystery and longing. And although this was my first time seeing the band, this set was a nice contrast to the live LP that I recently reviewed. That electric set showed the band could really rock while this showcased the fine songwriting and voice of Wes Tucker. Not that the rock was lacking, as the acoustic guitarist provided excellent solos on a couple of occasions. The keyboards and guitar work melded together in one song to almost provide a steel guitar sound without the sometimes overbearing nature of that instrument. This was a solid set and the full room seemed to enjoy it as much as I did. I look forward to their next record and what variations they add to their next live performance.

Drew Gibson - This is the CD release party for this local artist's second album entitled "The Southern Draw" and not the southern drawl as discussed in one of the many amusing quips tonight. Gibson plays guitar and sings with a band consisting of drums, bass, and steel guitar. I was afraid of the steel guitar as it is not one of my favorite instruments, but the player did a nice job of creating atmosphere and not resorting to the sappy country cliches that take me out of the moment of the song. The drum work was also light and there was plenty of room for Gibson to focus on his songs. Ultimately I felt this was a mixed set and as so often the case, it depended on the particular song (and of course some of my biases). If I heard nothing else, the second song tonight (from the new album) was brilliant. It reminded me of the best of Lou Reed and had an old psyche-folk vibe that I recall from obscure artists like Jake Holmes, Cecil McCartney or Geoffrey. I could name drop further, but I would have to go deep into my archives to figure it out. Suffice it to say, Gibson created a haunting dramatic structure that pulled me in like the dramatic conclusion of a great film (and he confirmed it is "I Know I Miss You More, the opening cut from the new album). The middle of the set was a little more routine, but he upped the guitar noise and got a little bit more psychedelic at the end for a nice finish. I heard more to like than not like tonight, but if I only heard that one song, I would have been quite happy. The only other complaint may be going about an hour and twenty may have been a bit much for a weeknight, but people left as they needed to, so the hardcore fans enjoyed it.

Quote of the Night: From Drew Gibson... "I told my Mom that my first album was out and it was called 'Letterbox'."
"Wow, you must really love your cat!"
"No Mom, not litterbox, letterbox."

Akron/Family - Bad Weather California -- Rock'n'Roll Hotel - Jan 6 2012

2012-01-07T15:12:00.001Z

Bad Weather California - From my former home town of Denver, Colorado, comes this interesting quartet. It does not take long to see that they are not exactly a copy of the 'Denver sound' present in several of the more popular bands in recent times (derived from 16 Horsepower and others). They have a little of that in the mix, but they show the versatility needed to be a valuable member of an Akron/Family billing. There were lots of twists, jagged guitar moves, surf noddings, electronica add-ons all atop some interesting rhythms that went from rock to lounge soca/funk moves. Just when a groove is established, a Boris-like guitar blast comes out for a few measures. Frankly, it got a little silly trying to find all the little things evident in the music and it was far more enjoyable to just sit back and enjoy. Their 43 minute set breezed by the nearly full club gave them a deserved positive reaction. Like all good out-of-town openers, they succeeded with me in that I will gladly go see them on their own tour when they come back our way. I am also still quite happy to see how much good music has happened in Denver over recent years, as it was not that way when I first got there in the 80s.

Akron/Family - I have seen these guys three times and even reviewed their last record for FolkWorld (as well as owning all the previous releases), so I am a rock solid fan who drank the kool aid (spiked with extra sugar) long ago. There is just something infectious about their overall approach of folk, psyche, and rock, with a mix of intensity and whimsy that should not work but does. They have been down to three members for some time, but there is still a ton of sound when they choose to employ it, and simple hand clapping a capella singalongs when they don't. The drummer plays a little guitar and the other two stick to bass and drums primarily, although they hit the electronics tables regularly. As a three-piece I am finally struck by how much they remind me of the Sun City Girls. They also had the crowd doing a mantra dance and chant that reminded me of Ya Ho Wa 13. And it will be a rare day indeed when I reference those bands in a review. The Akron/Family is even more accessible than those two as evident by a surprising number of youngsters tonight (which the band enjoyed seeing, too). These guys work for ages 8 to 80 and for the life of me, I don't see how more of the thousands that go see Animal Collective would not come out for this band. They have got all of that and are even more fun. This was the first show of the new tour and they showed no signs of jet lag after flying into town earlier. 95 minutes of craziness that ranged from Sister Ray sounds to songs I think I heard on the Electric Company with a stop off at a Glenrow cottage with the Incredible String Band.

Quote of the Night: From the Akron/Family... "You guys like raisin parts? Rosa Parks!"

Grey March - Dot Dash - History Repeated -- Black Cat - Jan 5 2012

2012-01-06T14:48:00.000Z

History Repeated - A band name conflict has resulted in this new moniker for Sleeper Agent. The band still has the legendary John Stabb on vocals along with the guitarist from the previous version. I had not seen them in a while, but I think the bass player was newer (at least different from the guy I met a few years back). The 39 minute set tonight featured the same great sound that they have previously established. It has Stabb's signature short intense bursts of lyrics atop a mostly steady rhythm with a fascinating post punk grinding rock guitar style. It really twists around nicely reminding me a bit of Mission of Burma and even more of Proletariat. I almost want to say Flipper, but no band really sounds like Flipper and these guys are much too tight for that--closer to early Banshees perhaps. Great to see these guys continuing onward as this is a welcome sound, both familiar and unique in that very strange way. So learn the name and join me the next time these guys play.

Dot Dash - I only just saw this band in November, so for a full description, just check it out here. As far as tonight's set went, the only difference I noted was a smaller less excited audience which kept things a little low key. That's not a knock on the crowd as they listened closely and were quite supportive. It is just that the energy levels were lower which allowed me to appreciate the moodiness in some of the songs. I do enjoy this band now after several listens and they have a nice sound that works in varied settings.

Grey March - Wait a minute, this is a band from Baltimore that is playing DC for the first time in 25 years? Their last show was at the old 9:30 Club location. I will assume that they have not exactly been touring the globe in the meantime unless they truly were banned in DC. They consist of vocals, guitar, keyboard, bass and drums and offer up a thick juicy post punk sound that immediately touches on Joy Division, Echo & the Bunnymen, and well, yes, they could have been preserved in a time capsule for 25 years. The tom tom work of the drummer is the one thing that stands out nicely, although the Morrison/McCulloch/Astbury/Curtis vocal stylings kind of punch you in the face. The guitar sometimes breaks out with some nice moves, but everything seems rather safe and predictable. It certainly is a nice sound, but it did not move me much beyond thinking of all these other bands. Still, if you like this sort of sound, these guys are talented and capable. And there are lasers, too.

Quote of the Night: From John Stabb... "We have a mailing list in the back. We will soon have merchandise again. We do have some t-shirts for Sleeper Agent--they are a fine band from Bowling Green, Kentucky."

Garland of Hours - Gordon Withers -- Black Cat - Jan 4 2012

2012-01-05T13:55:00.002Z

Gordon Withers - We begin tonight in the backstage with a cellist who plays in the excellent local band, Office of Future Plans. He plays instrumental music and uses loops and some backing tracks. There is a nice sharp sound that sticks into me which does not surprise me too much as a cello makes a better rock instrument than some people may think (from ELO to Rasputina... see Tomrerclaus for my favorite cello music). Withers plays quite well and does original songs along with Mission of Burma's "Forget". His main focus is playing several songs from his recent CD which showcase the music of the Joy Formidable. His interpretations are excellent and a smart choice as those songs have the quality to work in a variety of formats. This was a fun little set that went over quite well with the good sized crowd that more than half packed the room.

Garland of Hours - I promised myself I would explore this band further after I last saw them previously and tonight's CD release event seemed like a great opportunity. They have added a bass player to the drums/guitar/voice-cello-keyboards lineup since the previous show. That bottom end helped the sound along nicely and this additional viewing resulted in me becoming a fan of the band. The playing is pretty simple in the background with a nice psyche edge creeping out of the steady rhythms. The cello runs are flowing and push melodies and counterpoints into higher ground. The female vocals are a bit light Sandy Denny in tone and lull one into a warm pool of REM sleep dreaming. However, the edgy music keeps one alert to the tunes. I am reminded a bit of Faun Fables and Windy & Carl and other intriguing modern psyche-folk bands that don't quite fit the folk element too much. This is a strong little band we have here that could hold their own with a Joanna Newsome crowd and a whole lot of thoughtful music fans.

Quote of the Night: From Garland of Hours... "We're not supposed to have that much fun."

RECORD REVIEWS - December 2011

2012-01-03T18:28:00.001Z

Wes Tucker & the Skillets “Live in NYC”

Wes Tucker and his band cover familiar enough Americana turf, but with plenty of gusto and energy to warrant further listens. The songs are solid and there is just enough variety between the heartland alt-country sound, gutsy rockers, and even a cool Isaac Hayes guitar led number to give discriminating listeners plenty to chew on. The guitar work is consistantly crisp and capable of taking over when needed. Rhythms are sharp and keyboards are welcome as this band sounds quite connected with no where to hide in this live recording. There is always some safe territory within this genre, but this band rises above often enough for me to give this additional listens. I was also drawn into the quality of the songs as opposed to just enjoying the quality of the playing which is really important for me when I listen to folk, blues and Americana based acts. And this record has me looking forward to their Iota show on the 10th of January. Try to catch these guys then or at hopefully many other upcoming shows this year.

Songs to sample:

Right Here Right Now - This gets off to a really cool start with a minor cacophony of sounds before the tune settles in. It's almost a Drumbo arrangement for Trout Mask Replica and would not likely be used on most studio recordings.

Blind Mind - The rhythms really pop and the bluesier guitar and keyboards set up the vocals well.

Let Me Know - I thought maybe my soundtrack to Shaft album snuck into my CD player here when the guitar got going. This sort of shift when well executed makes any album better.

2011: DC ROCK LIVE's Top Ten shows of the Year

2012-01-01T16:21:00.001Z

It was another fine year of live music. The local scene continues to produce high quality bands that play frequently with or without the many touring bands that somehow endure the expenses to make their way around the country. Well, if you're Robert Plant... Anyway, with apologies to many of my local favorites along with perennial worldly greats like Wire or Opeth, only ten can make the cut. So without further adieu...

10. Bobb Trimble/Kuschty Rye Ergot/Pablonius Bill, Velvet Lounge, June. Kudos to the openers for getting things rolling on a high note and the enigmatic headliner followed up nicely. Trimble is a cult act all the way, but he has such a pleasant psychedelic rock/folk style, he could have easily been a bigger name. He put together a strong band and supplied his lovely music with grace and energy.

9. The Damned, Black Cat, October. They sound better with age. I caught them in their prime once and it was pretty disappointing. But they had it working this night and laid down both their punk fury and their psyche-pop tunes with more precision than usual. Fun and absolutely scary to think that they have been around for 35 years now.

8. Swirlies, Rock'n'Roll Hotel, July. This was another cult act that deserved better these last 20 years. They were from Boston, but are now scattered around the US and Sweden. Thankfully they included DC for just a couple of shows they did this year. They showcased their unique brand of intense shoegaze styled rock. Still, at tough act to describe, but highly rewarding.

7. Savage Republic/Tone, Black Cat, September. Tone is one of the best in DC and almost made this list as a headliner in April. But pair them with a surprise showing of an early dark industrial punk band that I had not heard from in decades, then you have a winning formula. The headliners were so much better than I expected--Hope they do it again some time.

6. Bill Callahan/Ed Askew, Rock'n'Roll Hotel, July. I had heard about Callahan for years but finally took the opportunity to see him. Rarely can someone control this room with slower tempos and relatively quiet music, but Callahan managed that and then some this night. He had command of his songs and the crowd and created a hypnotic environment that stayed with me for some time.

5. Helmet/St. Vitus/Crowbar/Kylesa/Red Fang +2, Jaxx, March. I thought I would enjoy Helmet and I did even more than I expected. I was not so sure about the rest of the night aside from Kylesa, but the top five bands all delivered excellent sets. And Kylesa's ferocious brand of psychedelic metal is becoming one of the best sounds in the metal and near metal environment. They are now on my must see list.

4. Robert Plant, DAR, February. Plant continues to amaze me with the way he puts together gutsy and unique bands. This one surprised me a bit as I thought it would be a bit too old school blues-Americana. The rhythm section quickly killed that notion with it's fascinating psyche beats. The guitars went wild and Plant still delivers the vocals with the best of them.

3. The Sadies/Jesse Sykes, Iota, November. This was a co-headline tour with two bands delivering sets that I would easily pay twice the ticket price to see separately. Sykes was amazing with her cool psyche-rock/folk songs. The band was quite creative and handled volume dynamics so very well. The Sadies were also loud and creative and raised their already fine songs into greater heights. Excellent bands that wowed the crowd that night.

2. Boris/Asobi Sekov/Liturgy, Black Cat, October. Liturgy did their usual fascinating set and the Asobi Sekov also delivered a fine set. Then Boris blew the roof off which although not exactly surprising, still had my eyebrows up and jaw dropped. Their recent records showed some of their finest work and their live show is just as powerful and brilliant as ever (with the important addition of Michio Kurihara (Ghost) on guitar).This band is nothing short of stunning.

1. The Joy Formidable, Black Cat, March. I had heard the buzz, but was not prepared for the roar. How three people can lay out this much sound is amazing even with looping and other technologies. But the songs are the real brilliance in the way they can deliver the pop hooks with such a ferocious rocking approach. The band is a perfect blend of punk, pop, and shoegaze. I am glad I caught them before they take off as they have already since played the Verizon Center with Foo Fighters and Social Distortion. I am not often this surprised at a show where I am expecting it to be good.

And kudos to the Black Cat for providing four of these shows!

Beach Week (formerly Bake Sale) - Blackberry Belles - Teen Mom -- Rock'n'Roll Hotel - Dec 30 2011

2011-12-31T16:13:00.001Z

Teen Mom - I liked this local trio the last time I saw them this past August and little changed tonight. They have smooth vocals atop a strong rock foundation. The guitar sound is instantly balanced between Neil Young and shoegaze, although as the set wears on, it takes a steadier indie rock tone, but on the heavy side. The sound is rather timeless bringing in the past, but sounding fresh and non-trendy. The rock instrumentation contrasts comfortably with the vocals and the resultant melodic music is easy to enjoy. It's akin to putting the right amount of cayenne in the dish without offending those that don't like the heat. I think a few tempo shifts or songwriting variances would bring this 34 minute set up a bit, but I enjoyed what I heard tonight, as did the moderate crowd (even discounting the obvious 'ringers').

Blackberry Belles - What is it now, five or six times? I am not sure how often I have seen them and I will only offer a brief commentary on what this band sounds like, as you should be out here finding out for yourselves by now if you have not already. It's a trio, but a unique one. The drummer is excellent, the guitar/vocals rock and wail quite powerfully and the third element is keyboards which offer bass runs, some piano and swirling organ sounds that give this band their distinct edge. Their garage rock sound has a bit more soul in it than most bands attempt. This works in concept and execution as their music has plenty of dynamic shifts to retain interest over 45 minutes. The crowd of about 60-70 was a bit more subdued than I expected, but I carefully observed them lightly dancing, head bobbing, tapping toes and listening attentively. And I certainly don't mind quiet when I see such a great audience getting into the music, so this was yet another successful set for the Belles.

Beach Week - This local trio was known as Bake Sale, but wisely chose something a little less generic. I only wished they had not used Beach in their name as that is popping up way to often. If I was starting a joke band, I would call it Wolf Beach for the benefit of those that would get my joke (although I see this name is already being used in business-sheesh, I can see why bands struggle with this). Anyway, there is almost nothing to change from what I saw last time at the Red Palace. The music is a little too light for me, but that is by design. And there is a comfort that they establish over the course of a set that I have a good deal of respect for. I also like the subtle psyche-pop sound of the guitar. I am not sure this band will knock your socks off, but you may be surprised at how much you are pulled in. They are on my 'keep an eye on' list.

Quote of the Night - While sitting on the raised concrete portion near the bar just after the Blackberry Belles set (I stood during all sets), a fellow tapped me on the shoulder...
"So you're sitting in the corner?"
"Yes?"
"Is that what you do, just sit in the corner?"
"Well, sometimes I stand."
"I mean it's the corner, you just sit and listen?"
"Yeah, I have a bad back."
"Did you like the band?"
"I've seen them six times now, so I would say that I do."
"Cool."

(Stop Worrying and) Love the Bomb - The Electricutions - HIghway Cross -- Black Cat - Dec 29 2011

2011-12-30T15:55:00.001Z

Highway Cross - My travels are over and I am itching to get back to the live shows, so it is high time to take in some music at one of my favorite locales. After a false start with a faulty ride cymbal, this two-guitar quartet lets it rip. The hardcore punk sound quickly establishes that is far more than cliche with the intriguing undertones established with the guitar work. The rhythm section and guitar tones define fast and furious well enough, but the really cool sounds underneath keep my brain working full-time. I am reminded of a band called NOTA (none of the above) and there are even some Die Kreuzen touches in there. Hopefully they will progress in the manner of Die Kreuzen, as their creativity could be limited if they don't take more audacious steps in future songwriting. They only played 16 minutes, so there I will withhold full judgment. However, they passed all the initial tests I set for bands dabbling in hardcore punk and I enjoyed the sound tonight.

The Electrocutions - Second time around for me seeing this band and I do recall their gutsy approach to power pop punk. Power pop is not terribly accurate as they blast through the songs is an assertive manner. Yet the songs themselves are good enough to work in a slower mode if they wanted to play that way. I am just as happy they don't as fast and aggressive music needs good hooks and these guys supply them. They are kind of like a tough version of the Zeroes and I detect some Kraut or other melodic hardcore bands in the mix as well. Toughness is good if you are looking for football, not so good if you're looking for a meal, so individual tastes may vary. I do appreciate the invariably snappy and addictive sound in this short but complete 22 minute set. There is a lot going on underneath, as there was in the opening set, but there is more flexibility on top generated here.

(Stop Worrying and) Love the Bomb - And to the stage comes yet a third DC based two-guitar quartet that works the hardcore park style. Thankfully, we are three for three tonight in bands that successfully bring some quality to the sound with nice personal touch. The success with this band is the alternating male and female lead vocals from the two guitarists. The tunes are nice and the band gallops along at a brisk pace like power pop run amok. I was less pleased with the casual lazy song endings that kept the crowd kind of flat and unmoved. But that is nothing rehearsals and more gigs cannot cure. Hopefully this band will continue to hone their craft as they have enough to work with here.

Quote of the week: My holiday travels took me to Ohio and my visit to my Mom at her retirement home. When we went to the Catholic Christmas service on site, we encountered the following between a man in a wheelchair bumping into his wife on a walker while entering the church...
"Shit, why did you stop"
"I needed to see where to go"
"Well keep moving, damn it."

TOP TEN BOOKS about MUSIC

2011-12-28T22:24:00.003Z

TOP TEN BOOKS ABOUT MUSIC

I have long been an avid reader. For about 12 years, I have set a goal to read 50 books per year which means I have to keep up a prolific pace. So for those of you who spot me in clubs reading a book, I am just trying to take advantage of every opportunity to get in my reading time. But be careful, it may not be me as I have seen several other people reading in clubs and who knows what some folks are reading on phones and hand held devices. I have a lot of favorite genres... film, hard boiled mystery, police procedural, fiction, and philosophy come immediately to mind. But of course I read many books on music and have a few favorites that I have enjoyed and learned from over the years. So if you are looking to use that Amazon gift certificate or if you spot one of these in a real live bookstore, I can heartily recommend these fascinating books.

1. Our Band Could Be Your Life by Michael Azerrad.
This wonderful book tells the tales of thirteen indie bands and their quest for carving out some space in the big bad music world. These are all American post-punk bands in the sense that they all came about due to what the Ramones and Sex Pistols and others created. The subtitle explains it all as these are "scenes from the American Indie Underground 1981-1991". That covers the era from Black Flag to Mudhoney or Minor Threat to Fugazi to put a local spin on things. I knew only some of the stories and the writing was quite gripping as it fanned the flames of my excitement and had me cringing with sadness as at all the missed opportunities for many of these bands.

2. Psychotic Reactions & Carburetor Dung by Lester Bangs.
Greil Marcus edited this collection of the writings of the late great rock critic, Lester Bangs. I firmly believe that older rock criticism looks pompous and somewhat ridiculous as rock music moves forward. However, Lester Bangs is the one writer whose work will stand the test of time every bit as long as the music itself. Not only did have a crazy energy and a flair for language, he had a sense of immediacy and rush to judgment that I find quite endearing (and empathize with). He would often say how he didn't like a record on first listen but found it a classic by the fifth spin. He would allow himself to buy the hype and go with the flow and see where that took him. It was a fun journey where he was able to capture the progression with insight and plenty of humor. I would skip his fiction, however, as it is not any where nearly as interesting as his reviews. There is a second collection of the rest of his writings that is also worth a look.

3. White Bicycles by Joe Boyd
I thought I knew enough about Joe Boyd. He was an essential figure in the folk, folk-rock, and psyche-folk scene of the late sixties in the UK. But he started much earlier than that with classic blues artists to a position at Newport when Dylan went electric to Nick Drake to REM and so much more. He packs in more stories per page than a good Cliffs Notes writer could do. And that is my main problem with this book... it is only 270 pages showcasing a life that deserves at least a thousand. Joe Boyd is one of the good guys that understands the business but works hard to ensure that the artist and customers are both happy with recordings or live shows. And his absolute favorite time he had was recording the Incredible Sting Band's second album, "The 5000 Spirits or the Layers of the Onion", where even the title sounds like fun (and it is a good album as well).

4. Grit, Noise, and Revolution by David A. Carson
This one is subtitled "The Birth of Detroit Rock'n'Roll". So basically if you like heavy, gutsy rock music and did or do like punk music, you really should have a full understanding of the real birthplace of punk. That would be Detroit in the late 60s and early 70s. There are a number of threads connecting punk bands, but the most consistent and important threads are those that point to Detroit where the Stooges and the MC5 made some mind blowing music that still dazzles today. This book covers the scene extremely well and goes well beyond these two bands. And the John Sinclair story as well as lesser known items are things that every music lover should dig into.

5. Hammer of the Gods by Stephen Davis
This is an older book covering Led Zeppelin and focusing on the depraved side of big rock band tours. Although virtually any book about Motley Crue or Guns'n'Roses will do the same thing (and Duff McKagan's book does quite a bit more), this book may have done it first and does it best. You can read a lot of autobiographies and biographies that follow the same pattern of success, debauchery and redemption and it all gets a little tiring (so stick to your favorite acts), but this one hits all the right notes.

6. Eye Mind by Paul Drummond
The story of the 13th Floor Elevators is so good, that you don't have to listen to one note of their music to enjoy the tale. This is also true of the documentary film "You're Gonna Miss Me" which focuses on singer Roky Erickson. This band lifted psychedelic music to unheard levels and still sounds shockingly fresh and vibrant today. But the story of the sixties and what they went through in Texas is amazing. This kind of thing just does not happen anymore which is a very good thing from a human point of view, but there is something about the art that fights its way through this mess that makes for some of the most compelling music around.

7. No Irish, No Blacks, No Dogs by John Lydon
This is the story of Johnny Rotten and John Lydon the youth and John Lydon the elder. Of course there is plenty of that acerbic wit and acerbic commentary that one expects with Mr. Lydon. The stories are good from his good taste in music as a teen (Can, Van der Graaf Generator, Hawkwind) to the Sex Pitols and Public Image and beyond. Sadly Malcolm McLaren did not live to write his rebuttal to the harsh criticism of Mr. Lydon, but perhaps he really did not have a position to defend.

8. Please Kill Me - the Uncensored Oral History of Punk by Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain.
While the snippets of interviews edited together to tell a story is not my favorite style of writing, the technique works brilliantly here. I have read of complaints of the facts, but this is simply a collection of memories of many of the pivotal players surrounding the CBGBs scene of the seventies. McNeil was one of the founders of Punk magazine so he knows where the bodies are buried and which walking dead are worth interviewing. Entertaining and insightful, the New York scene gets a little overblown at times, but this is a must read.

9. England's Dreaming by Jon Savage.
If you prefer the British birth of punk history over the NYC history, look no further than this important book. Savage covers a fair amount of ground in full detail. His observations are sharp and his stories are gripping. He brings a better focus into the birth of punk as a result of a reaction to the woeful state of pop music and charted hits of the mid 70s and NOT the excesses of the progressive scene. I have read a lot of books on punk rock and if you only want to read one, start and finish right here.

10. Tropical Truth by Caetano Veloso.
'A Story of Music & Revolution in Brazil' is the subtitle of this fine work. Veloso wrote this in his native Portugese and of course I read the English translation. I am not sure I have read a sharper translation anywhere. This reads like the work of a great scholar and not 'the Brazilian Bob Dylan'. Although his musical career is covered, the political and social times of the country and the Tropicalia movement is the main topic here. Veloso and Gilberto Gil spent time in jail and exile due to their music and cultural importance in Brazil. It is a fabulous story and again, this may be the most literate book in my entire music collection.

And if I had more room I would add the Keith Richards autobiography, the Iggy Pop biography (Trynka), the Rick Brown autobiography of the Misunderstood (Like Misunderstood), Electric Eden by Rob Young (I think, as it's on my to read list), and others.

Woods - Purling Hiss - Mmoss - Hume -- Rock'n'Roll Hotel - Dec17 2011

2011-12-18T15:47:00.000Z

Hume - I arrived while they were playing their first song and unfortunately not enough people were here early to see this excellent local band. They lined up with two kit drummers, a guitarist and bassist/vocalist. The guitarist spent about 1/4 of the time on his knees... and that would be 'playing' his pedals and switchboxes. They even switched microphone cords as they were treating the vocals from the stage. And even without describing the output, that probably gives you an idea of what they sound like, although each time I see them, there does appear to be some changes (at least in my memory). I would say anyone who likes Caribou and electronic-pop stylists like that would have enjoyed tonight's set. These guys are slick and compelling. The percussion really sharpened things up nicely and the two noisemakers were incredibly loud tonight. In fact, I thought the volume was causing the ceiling to peel away as flakes were slowing coming down during the set (Turns out there must have been some lingering confetti or something as this slowly and steadily went on all night). The only downer (aside from forgetting my earplugs) was that only about 15 people were here earlier enough to enjoy this. But I am sure there will be additional chances soon enough.

Mmoss - This four-piece from New England lines up with guitar, bass, drums, and flute/farfisa. I like that combination straight away and pretty much enjoy every note of this set. The guitarist sings lead and although this is some intriguing dreamy blend of assertive psyche moves, most of the songs are short and well defined. I am hearing elements of Might Baby, Pink Floyd, Ant Trip Ceremony, and even some Igra Staklenih Perli (my favorite band from Yugoslavia). Just as I note the shorter songs, they go into a longer jam. However, it could not have been too long, as they finished off their set in 22 minutes with a sarcastic comment from their guitarist to a Guitar center? Great sounds and pretty good songs, but I will need to hear a bit more. But I heard enough to want to see this band again some time.

Purling Hiss - I have seen this Phillie three-piece once before at the Black Cat, I believe, and I enjoyed the set quite a bit. They are a power trio specializing in rather powerful rock with a touch of pop. It's post punk in the manner of some of the pre-grunge bands like Tales of Terror, Green River, etc., although this is not as twisted-psyche and is more classic riffage. They differ a bit from local band 'the Jones' perhaps with this post punk meets classic blues-rock style. The vocals were a tad low tonight and it took a few songs before they hit their stride, but their half-hour went well.

Woods - What is a four-band bill without at least one band from Brooklyn? In this case, it would have been quite nice, but incomplete. I really wanted to see this band and they exceeded my expectations and then some. There were maybe 100 people here by now, so this band does have its fans. They switched instruments a bit, but it was guitars, bass, drums, synthesizer and harmonica at times. One guitarist sang lead with a clean high pitched tone which was quite unique. It really pushed the psychedelic sound into a psyche-pop style. These were lovely little nuggets with loads of catchy hooks in addition to the vocals. The third song took a darker turn with a long jam of an introduction, but the vocals brought some light. They jammed a bit more, not quite as darkly, and this formula continued with assertive, intriguing Dead Meadow (and even mid-era Pink Floyd) like jams and more pop oriented songs when the singing kicked in. This was lovely music and just what I needed before my holiday travels. I am a full-fledged fan of this band now and I hope their recorded music is as good as this set. I am guessing, unlike some psyche bands, this translates well as these songs did penetrate pretty deeply.

Quote of the Night: From Purling Hiss after a set up of over a half-hour due to cord/amp problems... "I'm a little slow tonight. Sorry, but I had some things mess up. I'll try to make it up to you." Thanks, and after finishing Duff McKagan's quite decent autobiography where he discussed Axl Rose routinely being 1-2 hours late creating thousands of booing fans, I am not even slightly bothered by this.

HOW I FIND NEW MUSIC - an essay

2011-12-17T21:22:00.000Z

How I find new music.

There is an axiom present among collectors. That is, when you start adding to collection, you initially feel like as you accumulate your collectible, you are making reducing the amount of items in the universe. But the reality is that as you start collecting, your universe expands significantly so that you feel the endline to your collection getting further and further away.

This has happened to me often, especially as I was collecting psychedelic folk records for the past 20 years. This also applies to trying to keep up with music, both new and old and try to figure out who you want to go see live and whose record you may want to buy. There are many ways to develop your game plan for this and at a reader's request (long ago) I will write up the things I do and have done over the years to try to keep a decent knowledge base for all things musical. There will be other good ways of doing it, but I want to list out my methodology both to give anyone tips if they want them and to show how certain biases may occur.

First, one point to keep in mind. There is no way you can be expert at everything, a fact that does not take long to prove if you read enough of my reviews. I have long ago realized that I cannot keep track of everything going on in all genres of music. Even my favorite styles are impossible to have a complete handle on. I just try to relax and do the best I can. Sometimes that flies out the window when I wonder how I could have been so stupid to have missed the first 15 years of Richard Buckner's 17 year career. Ultimately I laugh at that and just look at how much music I have kept up with and stay happy with that AND enjoy a new belated discovery.

Before I list the various areas I explore for new music, let me discuss two out-dated concepts that I miss.

Twisted Shout, Denver, CO

(A) Hanging out in Record Stores - I met so many friends who were behind the counter or were just hanging out shooting the breeze at the multiple record stores in Dayton, Cincinnati, and Columbus, Ohio. Nick Hornby's "High Fidelity" captures this scene quite humorously. I remember plucking up the courage to buy a used copy of the Stranglers as my first punk rock record worrying that I would be laughed at by the clerks or other customers. Instead, the two guys behind the counter were thrilled at my purchase and said I would love it, etc. Well, I did and I also stayed pretty close with those guys over the years where before I had not said more than a few 'how are yous' to them. There are stores out there where this can be done, but they are few and far between. If you have one, use it. I still try to buy from real stores when I can.

(B) Radio - Beyond Clear Channel, I suppose there are some college radio stations still around. But I don't look for them any more, just sticking to National Public Radio for other programming and some music. I was even a punk/new wave DJ myself in 1979 and 1980, so I am sorry to see what has happened to radio. It had been important to me in the early 1970s as I transitioned from pop radio to album oriented stations. While learning to enjoy the heavy sounds of Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, and Led Zeppelin, I was fortunate enough to have DJs that also played Budgie, Montrose, and Rush (back when they were an opening band). Now if they had only played Van der Graaf Generator, Comus, and Pentangle, then I really would miss radio. But I don't wax as much nostalgia for radio like I do for the record store.

There are certainly web alternatives here, but I rarely explore them. If you do, I think LastFM is much better than Pandora. I've tried others, but I just do not find this important for me right now at this stage of my life. I did listen to Jack Rabid's "Rabid in the Kennel" show at times (now closing), as he is an extremely sharp historian and he has bands on to interview where they also showcase the John Peel like cuts made in a studio for exclusive airing on the radio show. I do miss John Peel and was thrilled to listen to some of his shows before he died as he was still driving all over the UK, going to shows, playing 7"s and cassettes that bands handed him right up to his last show (along with a Fall cut seemingly every show). The Steve Van Zandt show, "Little Steven's Underground Garage" is something I should listen more to.

Here is my methodology for keeping track of the DC live scene, which I will discuss before my more general ways of discovering new and old music.

(1) Club advertisements - I glance at the ads in The City Paper (more thorough than the Post) and carefully review Club websites that I have bookmarked. I then add the most interesting dates to my calendar. Most of them have descriptions and/or links to band pages, so a few clicks and I can sample a band to see if the description of 'modern psychedelic brilliance' really fits. Don't forget to look at the hardcopy advertisements on the table at the Black Cat and if someone hands you a flyer after the show, take it as it just may have a nice event at a location you have not heard of and can't afford to advertise in papers.

(2) Hard copy media - I still read papers. Friday's Washington Post and the City Paper both provide a lot of information on some of the events going on that are worth checking out. I often will see a band that someone briefly writes up as sounding like some of my favorites and if the day is free, then it goes on the calendar.

(3) Publicity agents - This is something that I use more and more as I get more readers. There are several PR agents (and some record labels) who alert me to news of their artists and tours to DC. Not only does this help alert me to interesting bands, but I often get comped for the show. i will try to promote it and occasionally do interviews as well.

(4) Local bands - One of the surprise pleasures of doing this blog is the connection with the local scene. I had not forgotten how rewarding it was for me to be part of the punk rock scene so many years ago. But I thought I had outgrown that and was content just being on the outside of this difficult business. However, the up and coming bands are far more interested in what I do than the big time headliners rolling through. And that has translated to me getting to many of the bright and talented musicians in DC and beyond. I have been able to learn and relearn a lot of things this way. But as far as identifying music, there is one important item I have noted. Some of the local bands are particularly cognizant of working with great area and touring bands. I have tremendous respect for a show with Kohoutek (and the related)Kuschty Rye Ergot) and the Mostly Dead, since just about every time I see them, I am exposed to other fascinating bands on the bill. There are many more examples of this, just pay attention over time and it can become clear.

(5) Opening bands - Always come early and watch the opening bands. It gives you exposure to bands that you will see headlining, perhaps quite soon.

(6) DC blogs - I read three blogs and know a couple of the writers. First, Michael Darpino does not write as much as he used to, but he is still at We Love DC and still has a keen grasp of the excellent music coming through this town. Megan of Fuzzy Logic is doing some booking these days, but that does not stop her from regularly posting live reviews, interviews and record reviews specializing in DC, Richmond, and beyond. I don't know the folks at the 1st Five, but they post a lot of good fresh information on DC music. There are some good national blogs, but I don't hit them regularly enough, although I wish I had the time or discipline.

Next up are my general ways of finding new music. Some are obvious, although personal choices will vary. But there are a couple of really interesting ways that have helped me discover some great music that I would have never heard otherwise.

(I) Magazines - As a youngster, I lived off of Rolling Stone, Cream and Circus magazines. In college, I started a 20-year reading of the Village Voice which had great music and film sections. Now, I read Mojo and Uncut regularly along with Jack Rabid's The Big Takeover. I highly recommend Jack Rabid's long running zine turned major magazine. It only comes out twice a year but is jammed with tons of reviews from thoughtful and enthusiastic fans. The interviews are priceless as they actually showcase a fun conversation among friends as opposed to many of the major magazines featuring cold and dreary back and forth cliches. I look a bit on-line at these and other sites, but I like a good paper magazine kicking around the house. I really don't do Pitchfork or the Brooklyn Vegan as much as I should, but I do check in on specific bands at those and other sites.

(II) Festivals - I have not been to the major festivals such as Coachella or Bonaroo, but I have gone to smaller festivals which were great as they did not have the unwieldly crowds. Unfortunately many of those such as Terrastock don't have the funds to keep it going. Hmmm... small crowds, great bands from around the world, it appears that business concepts still rule the day. There have been some nice psyche festivals in Austin and there are ATP events which have been pretty exciting in the past, but most seem to occur in England these days. But there are smaller festivals to try to hunt down, so keep your eyes open to all the media sources and you should be able to find them. And if you have the stamina for the bigger festivals, go for it. The side stages will offer some exciting surprises.

(III) Forums - I have been on excellent psyche-folk forums that have faded away but I do keep me eyes on a couple including the coverage of progressive music and one on Dag Nasty which covers punk rock pretty well. My brother just gave me a link to Punknews which is pretty cool. There are some good progressive sites as well, as progressive fans do the detail with frequency.

(IV) Record Collecting Conventions and Newsletters - I was surprised at how much my breadth of knowledge expanded when I started getting lists from sellers. Sure, I expected it in the areas I was collecting, but scanning through a good list with descriptions gave me a lot of knowledge of rare and interesting bands from all over the world and in every genre. My favorite convention is the biannual convention in Utrecht, Netherlands and have had a lot of fun at this massive event. There are some good ones I know of in Austin and New York City if you want to stay on this side of the Atlantic. And my buddie, Hans Pokora, puts out some great collecting books with full album cover photos and basic information for you to start research. There are others (many out of print) that have been great to work off of. This may be another article.

Thurston Moore & Byron Coley Visit The Strand Book Store

The main thing is to keep having fun with music. One minute, people are chatting with me and I am exposing them to all sorts of new and old bands that they should explore and I can pull on nearly 40 years of work which show me off as a bit of an expert. Then perhaps the next time, my friend and I can go over to visit Byron Coley and Thurston Moore and after the conversation gets going, I will end up feeling like a 12-year old who only follows Top-40 radio. Well, it really was not that bad, but it was intimidating and when we were debating the qualities of the Gwydion album "Songs for the Old Religion", Byron slipped away to bring in a sealed copy of this 1974 rarity. So I guess the last point to be made is to hang out with knowledgeable people and don't be shy. Share what you have and keep an open ear and mind for what they talk about. If you spot me at a club, come up and chat with me between bands. I love to talk music (and it is easier than writing about it).

Deathfix - Sunwolf -- Black Cat - Dec 14 2011

2011-12-15T15:09:00.001Z

Sunwolf - The world does not have enough bands with the word wolf in them and we have a local version this time. And there name is more distinctive than the confusing Eyes, Mother, and Parade variants of years past. This is a power trio and they do deliver considerable power. It's noisy rock with lots of volume and enthusiastic playing. The second song started with a riff like Husker Du's "Girl Who Lived on Heaven Hill" before settling into a more dirge-like sludge slinger ala Crazy Horse. They reminded me of Honor Role, an old and interesting band from Richmond, in the way they kept a lot of noise going between songs and had a nice intensity to it. There was a bit more art in Honor Role and more power here. There was a distinct garage feel as the set wore on and the enjoyability factor kept moving up and up. The 35 minute set moved me from thinking this a good, but nothing fancy band to a fun powerhouse that I want to see again. Noisy rock lovers should join me.

Deathfix - Some big names in the DC scene are behind, or rather, out front for this new band. Brendan Canty, Fugazi's drummer comes downstage with guitar and vocals this time around. Rich Morel, who works a lot with Bob Mould, is on hand with keyboards and vocals in tow. Filling in on bass and drums were Mark Cisneros and Devin Ocampo of the very fine band Medications. So, a nice little crowd came out to the backroom tonight, which is no surprise. After a couple of songs, I was trying to figure out how I was going to say that these so-so pop-rock numbers were nice but did not do a lot. The third cut then went into a Sebadoh meets Magazine styled long jam that really brought them up several notches. Morel's deeper Devoto styled vocals added a nice mystique. After that, they won me over easily with a strong set of long cuts that had great psychedelic moments along with lots of great post punk hooks like a certain band mentioned earlier. They have plenty of material that worked in this 45 minute set and have a style that although similar to plenty of other bands, has enough interesting keyboard sounds and propulsive rhythms to sound quite refreshing. They looked like they were having fun (Canty especially) so I hope they stick around and grow this thing a bit.

Quote of the Night: I completely thought I misheard the opening band say... "You guys are far away. Danny said it's like an aardvark. Is that why?" But then the aardvark vs. anteater discussion came up later, so I am now intrigued at what I really missed. And apparently I will have to space out my mind a bit more if I plan to come up with a good non sequitur.

WeatherVanes - Wiley Sonic -- Hard Rock Cafe - Dec 13 2011

2011-12-14T15:23:00.000Z

Wiley Sonic - This is the first time for me seeing this band and the first time I have taken in a show here at the Hard Rock Cafe. This is only a few blocks from where I live, so it is hard to pass up a show. The band is pretty straight ahead rock and features a couple of guitars with a rhythm section. All the three of the guys up front take a turn at lead vocals. Actually the infrequent vocals from the bass player resonate highest with me, but I have to say, the PA here does not offer me a fair assessment of this band. The vocals were not coming through well at all. The guitars were a bit compressed, but at least everything else was balanced nicely. The extremely high room does offer a challenge, but I think just slightly better equipment would have helped a lot. Otherwise, it was akin to a comfortable Birchmere Jr. type setting with dinner and seating and lots of music lovers. This was also a charitable event with multiple charities involved and the bands tonight earned their spots with their work, so kudos to them. I will be checking out Wiley Sonic's brand of straight-ahead rock some time next year hopefully. But for now, their mixed set showed just enough bright songwriting particularly in the latter songs. And although the guitars of Prince, Izzy Stradlin, Motley Crue, and Aerosmith hovered above them, I would say that even their worst song tonight was better than the best song of one of these artists.

The WeaterVanes - I just saw them recently and really enjoyed their set as you can read here. This local four-piece has an Americana rock approach with folk, blues, and alt-country touches. Their sound and lead vocals were better early on as they were a bit more acoustic for one thing, although they vary electric/acoustic and keyboards/mandolin nicely. Still, when the bass player chatted with the crowd, I couldn't hear a word. But their skill came through all right tonight. I will defer to a future show to discuss them further and that will be upcoming in January. Look for them then and beyond and further kudos for doing this charity show. I can certainly put up with lesser sound to attend events like this. I had a really nice time and hopefully more things like this will be happening in my neighborhood and beyond.

T-shirt of the Night: (actually from the previous night)... I spotted a guy whose t-shirt had a fascinating design. It was the Black Flag "Everything Went Black" cover with the shears. This was the album that came out during the long momentum killing time when Black Flag and the Unicorn label were involved in litigation following the first album. They put out this album with no mention of Black Flag, but the four bars logo. The t-shirt tonight had Black Flag's name on it. Although, the suit is long settled (and why Black Flag ever dealt with Unicorn is still a mystery to me), it really startled me to see this updated cover. It is amazing how some things stay with you and such minor things trigger such long winded memories.

Street Dogs - Off with their Heads - Murder the Stout -- Black Cat - Dec 12 2011

2011-12-13T14:29:00.000Z

Murder the Stout - 'If you like the Pogues...' is an easy description for many bands out there and it sums up the sounds of this Houston based international band quite easily. They line up with drums, stand-up bass, a couple of guitars, banjo, whistle, and accordion/lead vocals. The singer is from Scotland, so there is plenty of authenticity in the music, but the execution is what is more important. These guys deliver the goods. The sound was a bit murky up front, but moving back a bit and allowing the soundman to tweak things quickly had all the elements coming through nicely. I enjoyed the set although it was a bit too unvaried at times (the Pogues do lots of tempo and international twists for example). But with a band under this moniker, it is no surprise to hear the closing songs of "Nancy Whiskey" and "Streams of Whiskey" carrying the night forward.

Off with their Heads - This trio simply kicks out the jams in classic bar-room punk rock fashion. Instantly, I sense that these two bands represent the two poles of tonight's headliner where the Street Dogs take these ingredients and amp it up a notch or two. The guitarist handles the lead vocals and scares me with his style in that it is similar to my old friend and cohort Ed Pittman of Toxic Reasons. Everything from vocals to axes is nice and throaty with fast drums galloping along. They keep the breaks and silence between songs minimal if employed at all which is the sign of a solid, competent band. Again, the only gripe would be the one-note tempo and song structure (aside from one song) which can be a challenge for a 40-minute set. Still, it was fun and the growing crowd was into it well enough.

Street Dogs - It's taken me to the seventh time that these guys have toured the Holiday season to realize this is a regular thing. I have seen them a couple times before and it is hard not to like their urban Irish bar-room brand of punk rock. They are lead by everyone's favorite fireman, Michael McColgan, on lead vocals (formerly with the Dropkick Murphys). He has as powerful voice as he does presence and is simply a lot of fun with plenty of heart for social causes as well. They have fast and wild material that they constantly nail as these guys can play. They do vary up their songs, add some acoustic guitars, get plenty of guest musicians from the opening band and in the area to help as well. There's a "Dirty Old Town" cover along with a Joe Strummerized version of Bob Marley's "Redemption Song". They were thrilled with the turnout and energy for a Monday night and it was a good crowd about half full (back section closed but packed up front). Although I feel I have seen these guys enough, their timing always seems to work to where I can use that extra shot of energy before the holidays. So I will likely be back and if you haven't experienced them, it should be something done once at a minimum.

Quote of the Night: The bassist had to switch basses after a mostly acoustic slow number and related what his guitar tech told him... "How the fuck did you break a bass string on that song!?"

Vanilla Fudge -- Birchmere - Dec 9 2011

2011-12-10T15:15:00.000Z

Vanilla Fudge - And yet another band of my youth hits the Birchmere stage to finish out an east coast/midwest tour. The last time I saw this band was when they played with Canned Heat, Mountain, and Pat Travers (who worked with Appice/Bogert to cover Beck songs, Cactus songs and all kinds of oddities) at the 9:30 Club. That show was half the cost of this one and only had about 1/4 of the people. But that is why booking club shows is best left to those with the guts (and deep pockets) to do so. I was worried with a slow early turnout, but ultimately it was a good sized crowd who cautiously welcomed back 3/4 of the original Vanilla Fudge. Interestingly enough last time through it was Carmine Appice and Mark Stein with Tim Bogert. This time, Tim Bogert made way for a new touring bassist, while Vince Martell is back on guitar. I was most interested to see if he still had his chops and was pleasantly surprised. I was less surprised with the others as they have all aged well and the playing was sharp and most important heavy. It has been 45 years for this band and they celebrated by playing the first album in its entirety... well, save for a certain memorable hit that was saved for the closer. They also delved into latter work which still included mostly covers. Probably the lack of memorable original songs is the one thing that keeps this band from being mentioned with some of the other giants. But their interpretative ability is strong and they really added such heaviness to rock music in the late sixties while keeping soulful vocal stylings and interesting organ-guitar interplay. Kind of like seeing Carl Palmer in any band (like Asia where I don't know if I was more shocked that I actually went or that I actually mostly enjoyed it), Carmen Appice is worth a look anytime he shows up. He did his usual well received drum solo with lots of flash and power. He is a real showman as well as he came up with just sticks and a microphone and had the crowd clapping to his stick rhythms as they increasingly became more difficult. I also liked his lighted drumsticks used earlier. He was one of our favorite drummers among my high school circle of friends and it is great to see him in such great shape. Mark Stein on the organ and vocals is also looking way to young like his curly haired Zombies counterpart Rod Argent (although he isn't spending time with Argent in the gym). Vocal work from all four of them was very strong, which is often where the signs of aging show up first. These guys sound like they have many years left. And the played about an hour and fifty minutes without taking a break which was impressive. I expected a good show and ended up with a very good show tonight. The crowd increasingly upped the applause which showed further evidence that these guys were 'on' tonight.

Quote of the Night: Mark Stein after struggling with his vocal mic... "We'll do a lot from our fist album which recently went platinum... which means we afford a new mic stand."

Beady Eye - Black Box Revelation -- 9:30 Club - Dec 8 2011

2011-12-09T15:29:00.000Z

Black Box Revelation - I cringe a little bit as a duo comes out on guitar and drums. I don't know why, as I have long given up my reluctance to accepting these down-sized bands. Some work a lot better than others, so I allow myself a bit of skepticism. But this Brussels-based duo succeeds pretty quickly with me by playing sharp garage blues rock somewhere in the obvious neighborhoods of the White Stripes and the Black Keys. The guitar work was excellent and the sound was dense, fuzzy and reminded me of a simpler Mudhoney at times. The drums were pretty basic, but he had that extra pop that kept things moving forward. And the last spacey psyche-out rocker showed plenty of pace and excitement making this a very enjoyable set.

Steve Gullick

Beady Eye - Aside from hearing some middling mainstream rock songs, the only thing I recall about the band Oasis was those wacky feuding Gallagher brothers. But when I imagine myself of my four best friends working with our brothers, then what is to make fun of? Well, we probably would not have made it quite so public. But hey, Oasis is done, the brothers have their respective musical projections and this one seemed just a little bit interesting to me. Liam Gallagher is the voice and this line-up has many of the most recent Oasis players aboard within its 2-guitar, rhythm section and keyboards player combination. The lighting is stark white for the first song with film studio type lighting on stage. Later, colors are carefully used for each song with various rear projections of slides and film. It was a slick look for slick music. Despite one of my friend's specific assertions of my knowledge of British rock, I really don't know Oasis well enough to compare. I never really enjoyed a lot of that era's music, but I did get some of the same vibes here tonight as I have had from Echo and the Bunnymen and the Smiths. These are sharp pop rock songs with plenty of guts and traces of psychedelic moves. The pace is varied nicely and it is all easy to get into without feeling too cliched. Even the less moving tunes were well done and there were only a couple of those. Most rocked nicely with strong vocal work and slick sound. It was a bit short of a sell-out, but close enough for everyone to be happy. I am not sure this band has quite the moxy to drive people into a frenzy, but they really delivered a positive set that most people went home happy with their time invested.

Plug of the Night: Forgot to post this and it features bands I have seen before and recommend. And although I may not be able to make it, The Jet Age, Deathfix, and the Mean Ideas are playing Comet Ping Pong, tonight, Dec. 9th. Check it out if you want to see some excellent local music.g

Earth Alien Hybrid - Satori Trova - Hott Tubb -- Velvet Lounge - Dec 6 2011

2011-12-07T15:06:00.001Z

Hott Tubb - A rock band sandwich on electronica wry tonight. This Philadelphia duo starts things off surrounded by a mass of old analog amps and whatnot. One guy is on keyboards and the others plays guitar and handles some electronics. They both add vocals to the mix. It is plenty loud and rhythmic with reverb drenched vocals. Normally reverb covers a multitude of vocal sins, but in this case, the vocals did shine through well enough on their own to be considered an asset to the songs. I was getting a bit worn out from the din as often happens during these sets, but they won me over with their final two songs. The vocals were soulful and there was a touch of R&B in the guitar. Good songs, so there is hope for me yet finding more in this genre. They went over well enough with yet another nice weekday crowd at the Velvet Lounge.

Satori Trova - This is the second time seeing this up and coming local band. They bring an interesting array of sounds with the usual core rock trio of instruments along with keyboards, saxophone and a sole lead vocalist. It struck me how much more they commanded their sound tonight. The rhythm section lays down a clean beat with the guitar and keyboards creating some sonic treatments that is more psychedelic than shoegaze, but with plenty of rock and rhythmic chops to it as well. There is a lot to dig into here and the vocal work gives the songs a good sense of separation from each other. The crowd is having a great time and it has swelled to at least 40 by now. That is more than came to see Grant Hart and Nick Oliveri combined from shows about a year ago. Of course Nick Oliveri would be happy playing here for a couple years as opposed to where his next gig may be. The band's stage patter needs some work, but if that's the most negative thing I take away tonight, then this band did well. And they survived some mic problems and other sound issues like pros. They are spending a bit more time in the studio than on stage these days and it will be great to see what they come up with. Based on the old and new songs I enjoyed tonight, this is a band to keep your eye on in 2012.

Earth Alien Hybrid - We finish with another electronica duo, this time from somewhere in the DC area. They win the award for best web site I have visited with nice animation and just enough information. One tidbit that I learned and liked is that they loop everything they play and do not use samples. That made sense as some of the keyboard bits started simply and got a bit more dense as the set went on. The second member played electronic drums, which I find so much more welcoming than drum machines. He also looped some beats and came out to do vocal work out front. The vocals were nice and twisted which also brings them out from the pack. They were in a talk-sing intense style, not unlike those of MX-80 Sound (a band I reference way too much, but I was just talking about them with a friend from Mass an hour before the show). There was room for some more interesting sounds and melodies in the songs, but these guys have the right idea in providing an entertaining set.

Quote of the Night: From the opener referring to the sound check or concepts beyond?
"Don't worry. It will all be over soon."

Touche Amore - Pianos Become Teeth - Seahaven -- Red Palace - Dec 4 2011

2011-12-05T14:57:00.000Z

Seahaven - Looking forward to a night of punk rock or hardcore or whatever these three bands concoct here at the Red Palace. There is a large crowd here early as crowds with 'x'es on their hands know how to show up and support their bands. But there are a few old fogies joining me to take in this LA four-piece. The first song is surprisingly basic rock without a lot of flourish or character. The second song was much improved with a power-pop/punk combination that elevated things up a bit. Unfortunately, the rest of the set only infrequently achieved that level. Nothing terribly wrong, just basic rock music that needs to work itself out in LA clubs like the Velvet Lounge (or the Red Palace) before it hits the other coast. Hearing lyrics like "I'm just a rat in a maze" did not only hit my cliche switch, but had me wondering when my next night off would be.

Pianos Become Teeth - Trying to avoid becoming too crabby as the club is finally pumping in a little cool air for this excitable crowd, this Baltimore five-piece is ready to rock. And rock they did as my mood brightened considerably. Clearly, right from the outset, these guys were on to a very clever sound. They combined hardcore and shoegaze in a perfect balance of intensity and intrigue. It was akin to the offspring of Mogwai and Gray Matter (well side 2 of record 2 at least). Lots of great shifting melodies and powerful rhythms kept this set flowing really well as the crowd was more amped up than usual. This was highly engaging music and they sucked me right into their controlled maelstrom. A more modern comparison maybe if you combined Tone with the Mostly Dead (of course seeing two of the latter band in the crowd had me thinking of them). No matter, this was an excellent set and showed me what modern hardcore can do when the bands have some creativity.

Touche Amore - Speaking of creative hardcore, this LA quintet offers yet another example tonight. Not so much shoegaze here, although guitars have a rich sound. But there is more creative songwriting than I would expect to hear from a hardcore band (or indie rock band for that matter). This sounds every bit as strong as the best of the classic harDCore era from here to the west coast, yet there is a modern fresh appeal as well. Crowd surfing, sing alongs, intense but not violent pit... all the usual accoutrements made for a fun time. I even heard some Neil Young in the quieter moments, few that they were. The front man was excellent although it did get me thinking that all singers tonight were a bit one-note in spite of the creative moves in the song. But that is true for a whole lot of bands in any genre, so it was not a real negative. And with the front man intensity used to work the crowd, it's more of a positive anyway. But enough mental meanderings, this set rocked along and kept my mind active, too. That is on the high end of what I wanted tonight.

Quote of the Night: I didn't come up with anything good today, so I am going to reach back to Junior High School. The year is 1973. We made our way to English class before our teacher who was feeding her nicotine habit in the teacher's lounge. A real hard case student lit a cigarette in the room stinking it up. When Mrs. Reese came in, we all made fun of her bringing the smell into the room. She denied that there was a smell and brought in a male teacher to enforce that point of view (ok, lie). Mr. Blair comes in and tells us all to settle down as there was no smell. Then my buddy Steve kicked in..
Steve: "Oooh, sure that's right."
Mr. Blair: "Shut up! or I'll cut your hair."

Pree - Paperhaus - Br'er -- Red Palace - Dec 3 2011

2011-12-04T15:13:00.003Z

Br'er - From Philadelphia comes this three-piece or thus my notes read. I am not sure how long it was until I saw the guy on the floor twiddling some knobs. He was easier to spot when he stood up and played a bass clarinet or something akin to that. And not much else fit the standard rock band here, either. There was a cello and violin going the full time with the final member handling lead vocals and playing harmonium with a touch of guitar. The music was linear enough with a spacey feel in a non-psychedelic manner. They reminded me a bit of Baby Dee who opened for the Swans when they were last in town. This band would be a great fit with Michael Gira's Angels of Light style or any scene with roots in the Velvet Underground. A nice low key mood was present with lots of intriguing sounds from busy to quiet working their own sense of drama. It was a little rough on the edges (endings) but quite smooth and interesting throughout their half-hour on stage. A solid opener for the growing Saturday night crowd.

Paperhaus - Even with the more standard two guitar and rhythm section look, there is a lot of non-standard music that comes from this local four-piece. They begin with a great spacey trip down a Greg Sage highway which is pretty much a lonely desert road filled with plenty of guitar interplay. After that they hit the city with strong folkish rock with lots of jangle and mandolin style guitar plucking. Most of the set did feature really nice guitar interplay with chords, leads, interesting little runs and lots of creative relish. It had nice garage sensibilities with both the fuzz and tuneful songs. At times it sounded like Sebadoh was covering the Minutemen as the loose and precise seemed to coexist nicely within this talented band. The sound tonight was a big improvement from the last time I saw them as everything was balanced perfectly and all four players sounded great together. They all even had some lead vocal time as well which only added to the nice mixture of styles and textures. They finished with another excellent song in the style of the opener, as they jumped back on that mystical highway to head off to the sunset before their next returning show. Sometime soon, I hope (late January if I heard correctly) as this was a lovely, perfectly flowing set.

Pree - It is high time I caught up with this local four-piece. They play a modern free folk/rock based sound that I try to stay current on. What is nice about their sound is that they have moved well beyond the cliches of this genre (which developed far too quickly) and play all sorts of original songs with lots different instruments and most importantly, plenty of personality. There are guitars, keys and a rhythm section mostly going on all songs, but flute, glockenspiel, percussion, and the first bowed saw I have seen since my days in Denver. There was a sizable crowd tonight that was very supportive (as they were for all the music tonight) and Pree was quite thankful as they mentioned many times how happy they were to be home after a good 2 1/2 months on the road doing around 50 gigs. There was an annoying buzz popping into the mix that no one was sure where it came from, but the sound person got it under control. The band had a really nice spirit and the rhythm section gave things a lift nicely even as the two guys traded places for a number of songs. So yet more great DC music tonight with the added bonus of a lot of bands in the audience, which means I will be taking in their sets as well when I get the chance. Because if they were sharp enough to be here for these sets, then they probably have something great to offer as well.

Quote of the Night: From the multi-lingual member of Paperhaus when asked to tell a joke in Japanese (instead of Russian or English which was offered) ... "The Japanese have a different sense of humor. 'Thank-you' is ending of a good joke."

Jukebox the Ghost - The Spinto Band - Deleted Scenes -- 9:30 Club - Dec 1 2011

2011-12-02T18:18:00.000Z

Deleted Scenes - I have enjoyed this local band in the past, but it has been a while since I have taken in a show. After about two minutes, it was apparent this was a big mistake. The opener had a great droning quality with an intriguing mid-tempo beat and unique hooks. After this, I heard a bit more of the gnarly pop music with strong vocals and drumming which is more of what I expected. But they continued down a path where they were able to breathe life into every unique song they presented. This was the sign of a band that has moved up a notch and can score across boundaries, both genre and geographical. Hopefully this tour will help prove that point. So if you have not seen these guys in a while, or not seen them at all, give it a listen. There is a lot of creative workings in their set.

The Spinto Band - I just enjoyed their recent soundtrack album which was not much like their regular set as it turned out. But that is ok, as these guys do pure pop for now or then people. It touches on power pop, but it is lighter focusing on vocal work and interesting guitar moves that were not overly angular. It was more of a Zombies (especially Colin Blunstone) type sound. The hooks were able to pull grins out of me (no easy task this week). The keyboards had a nice effect coloring the songs and adding depth to the light approach. They had a nice kazoo and synth drum intro which I wanted to write about as that will likely be the only time I ever say that (and I repeat myself enough other places). They even had a lounge pop feeling with a few songs that worked well because the songs were so sharp and hooky. Thinking back, I really liked pop music as a kid and I am liking it as I age. It may have slipped a bit in the young adult years, but not really as even with a lot of punk bands, pop moves were key. There are a lot of variants to it, and the Spinto Band offers up their particular successful formula. And the sizable crowd tonight was supportive of that.

Jukebox the Ghost - This local trio is getting awfully big, if that was not obvious just for the fact of this headline show. But the local crowd showed up and was excited to see the set. And rightfully so, because they continued the fun by adding onto both the indie spirit of the opener along with the pop hooks of the second band. They line up with keyboards, guitar, and drums with traded lead vocals and harmonies. Entering, the stage, they all took positions with an instrumental beginning. Something seemed off and the keyboardist walked to the back of his bank and found a loose plug on the floor, picking it up and pointing at it with an milder Archimedes look. Plugged in, they went into a nice pop tune. The second cut was an absolute stunner that reminded me of the best of the Decemberists with all kinds of creative sounds coming from just three people. There were a couple more rocking variations amidst the mostly pop songs which did make for a full involving set. The pop was a bit more in the Herman's Hermits/Lovin' Spoonful more often than the Zombies/Raspberries, but that is not all bad. And those intriguing rockers really made the straighter pop more interesting. I also enjoyed the keyboardist's skill which was a bit higher than most of the people you see on keys these days. Pop music is still a great pleasure of mine and all the bands delivered fine sets this evening.

Quote of the Night: One of my favorite filmmakers just died. Ken Russell was not always brilliant, but his films were always fun and challenging. Here's a nice quote from him: "This is not the age of manners, I want to shock people into awareness. I don’t believe there’s any virtue in understatement.”

RECORD REVIEWS - November 2011

2011-11-30T04:36:00.002Z

The Loom - "Teeth"

It is of little surprise to me that one of my favorite bands comes to mind when I listen to the Loom. Like Woven Hand, the weaving theme is right there in the band's name. In both cases, the complex powerful music weaves in many intriguing elements to create a highly personal accessible brand of folk-rock music. In the Loom's case, they feature a fascinating series of sounds from brass, winds and banjo in addition to the rhythm section, guitar and keyboards. The vocal work is excellent with most leads from a male voice, but female harmonies and occasional leads only add to the quality. This mixture of urban, pastoral, Americana, and psyche-folk is reminiscent of some of my favorite Toronto bands such as Do Make Say Think. In all cases, the comparisons are more of spiritual tone and ultimate feeling as opposed to the specific sound.

This is powerful, exciting music when quiet or loud, grounded or psychedelic. There is no reason this band should not move up in the indie world with the far lesser bands that are there (along with the many deserved acts like Decemberists, Iron & Wine, Low Anthem, etc.). So get on board with this band now while they now begin the touring and album releases that will hopefully make them a household name.

Songs to try:

The Middle Distance - This song creates an urban psychedlia with its moving drums and wailing French Horn, along with the quick vocal work.

The First Freeze - Delicate folk song with longing brass. It does not sound like it is from the US, England, but has a more universal tone.

For the Hooves that Gallop, and the Heels that March - The title alone is worth a mention, but the song develops a quiet approach that allows for some strong psychedelic guitar moves to make their mark.

The Spinto Band - "Biba! One Island, 879 votes" soundtrack

From nearby WIlmington, Delaware, the Spinto Band comes to DC to the 9:30 Club this Thursday, December 1st. In addition to their whimsical pop music, they have released a soundtrack album for a documentary film. I will be reviewing the live show which will be my first exposure to this intriguing band, but for now here is what they did for the film "Biba!"

This soundtrack album indeed sounds just like a soundtrack album. It is instrumental with shorter mood pieces. As every aspiring soundtrack writer should aspire to, they do pull in the Ennio Morricone spirit whenever they can. "The Bandit" and "the Sheriff" are perfect examples of songs that would fit into The Once Upon a Time in the West sequel. Even the titles should have your brain turning on your favorite Morricone. But there are other styles that mix simple pop moves with a flowing rhythm that sound like they would work marvelously in a film. The "Battle Hymn of the Republic" finish shows how a simply plucked guitar can carry a nice tune while mysterious background music can push one into a dreamy environment. This all sounds quite different from the few songs I have heard from the band and it showcases both their skills and love of the soundtrack style which they have adapted to successfully. Honestly, I was not sure I would listen to this much more, but the quality of it begs for future listens, as well as the desire to pull out more of my soundtrack music.

The Fed - "Birth of the Pipesnakes" ep

If you have the longing for the classic big blues-rock sound that many bands employed from 1968 to 1972, then give these four songs a listen. I have enjoyed this local trio live and was interested to hear the studio work. They have that thick fuzzy rural base, but there is some really nice flowing guitar work. "'83" features some really clean guitar solos that stand out amidst the lovely murky vibe working. The vocal work has a classic feel and comes off as an asset and not just a tack-on, which often happens in this style of music. "Lifecycle (of an American rock and roll band)" has a snappy fun feeling to it. At their worst, these guys play solid blues rock. At their best, they add some nice psyche touches and skillful playing that transcend this classic rock music form into something fresh and invigorating.

The Jet Age - "Domestic Disturbance"

Good grind it out rock is again the musical theme here. Like the Fed ep above, this is music for real straight-on rock fans. However, this power trio delivers it in a more of a timeless manner. The blues and hard rock bands of old are within the roots of this music, but a more modern indie rock is also present. The balance is just right for those of us that have lived through both eras or those that don't care a lick for history, but simply love to rock out. The guitar solos are some of the best I have heard off any record I have heard recently featuring bands not named Opeth or Mastodon. This is a twelve song album, so there are bound to be some lesserer songs. And at times the vocal melody lines do not quite do justice to the instrumental parts. Lyrically, they have linked the songs into a theme of sorts, which is something that I tend to give bonus points for. This is a fine record and it sounds like it would be a real kick live. You can judge for yourself when they have their release party at Comet Ping Pong on December 9th.

Songs to try:

I am an Agent - Good opener contains all the successful elements the band can deliver in a real head swaying, foot tapping tune. Egad, there's even a brief drum solo!

Hey, Captain - Cool foot tapping beat, power chords and great fuzzy guitar solos. This reminds me of an unholy hybrid of Lyd and Christopher. OK, so this one is more rooted in the past (but still not entirely).

Some Nights - This has a nice poppy tone to it with just enough drive to retain their style while dropping it down a notch.

Les La Britanica - "Soft Swerve"

Every time I review a live band in the electronica or hip hop fields, I am reminded that I should probably employ more writers. I want to go to these shows and continue to expand my musical borders to the point where there are none. However when it comes to writing about them, I feel I am fooling no one. So it was with more than a little trepidation I approach a hip hop vocal duo doing their raps on top of full-out electronic music. The main success here for my personal tastes is that they do not keep things simple as I have seen with rappers that just spout out dull cliches or electronica acts that stare at a computer screen on stage. There are talented vocal moves that are quite musical without being either cliched in rap or pop. The electronics are complex enough but allow space for the vocals and the dynamics of the song. Unfortunately, some of the lyrics I could do without, but sadly I come to expect that here and in other genres as well. It is not so much being a prude as it is where I roll my eyes and say 'here we go again'. Thankfully there is enough variety, so that only happened a couple of times.

Songs to try:

Mind Control - The opener has a nice restraint to the electronics that allow the vocals to be very tuneful and emotive.

Cop Car - Vocal lines really work some magic on this one.

Les L Aye - Some more cool vocal lines with a Germanic electronica close. This is my favorite.

Chameleons Vox - Black Swan Lane - Dot Dash -- Black Cat - Nov 28 2011

2011-11-29T15:28:00.000Z

Dot Dash - We begin with a local four piece who clearly show this city's love of Wire. And there are indeed some songs that do remind one of Wire, which is always a good sign. But more often, this band exhibits solid power-pop tunes that rock loudly with enough hooks to keep things interesting. But they mixed it up a few times to great effect such as the oddly dark minor-chord led 3rd song which could have been off of "Chairs Missing". And they were clearly aware of the effect with their comment "back to effervescent pop" (or perhaps they said punk, but pop/punk works). I think this band is quite good and with just a few more rhythm shifts or sonic variations, they could really add some flourish to their really nice core sound. If they figure that out, who knows how good this could get? But for now, it is still an enjoyable half-hour set.

Black Swan Lane - Mark Burgess of the Chameleons helped form this band a few years back, but does not play with them now after redoing the Chameleons as what we will be seeing after this set. Instead, there have been some member shifts and this unit is going along quite nicely on its own. They have a rhythm section and three guitars going. When I was young, that usually meant southern rock, but these days it is more likely shoegaze. And after a nice steady rock beginning, the shoegaze sound did build up nicely. It was not overwhelming as the vocals were always leading the songs. The singing was in a Mark Lanegan-The National style with a touch of Ian Cutis at times. There was a little pace now and then, but steadier mood creating mid-tempo speed was the core of the formula. They were in full control of the style and after a few minutes of thinking this was merely nice, they pulled me in further. The really large crowd tonight was enjoying it as well. This is a fine band on what is turning out to be a solid bill that just about belonged upstairs on the larger stage.

Chameleons Vox - Another one of these Manchester bands that I kind of missed over the years. I knew the name, but the sound and history was all new to me. Mark Burgess is the main force behind this and I was slow to learn that he was standing next to me during Black Swan Lane's set. It took all of my extensive investigative experience from another career to determine this. Perhaps the several people who came up to say hi and have him sign CDs and LPs helped. When he and his band hit the stage, the crowd was more than ready for some great Manchester rock. And the guys delivered in what was a sound reminding me of the early Smiths among others. I always hear John McGeoch (Magazine/Banshees) in this sort of guitar work, but Johnny Marr is perhaps the better comparison. The songs were balanced between hook oriented post punk, pop/rock and only a touch of shoegaze. What is fairly easy to pick up, even on first listen, is the quality of the song writing. Not only are the songs catchy, but there are some highly personal original moves that sneak in at various times with the phrasing and melody shifts. Add this band to my list of 'why haven't I been listening to this for the past several decades'. But that's why I go to shows of all types, to keep finding out about quality bands, both starting out and those that I have missed. The crowd was having a blast tonight and went home happy.

Quote of the night: From Black Swan Lake... "We're selling t-shirts and CDs to pay for the fuel for that big fucking tour bus out back."

Mastodon - Dillinger Escape Plan - Red Fang -- Nov 27 2011

2011-11-28T15:04:00.000Z

Red Fang - A Mastodon tour seems to always have high quality and interesting opening bands (Kylesa last time) and this tour is no exception. I did see Red Fang on a huge bill of interesting metal acts that Helmet headlined and was impressed with their style. They employ the same jamming grind it out mid-tempo techniques that Kyuss successfully did (and does). They have two guitars that thicken things out and two lead vocalists that have a heavy laid back crooning rock style on one hand, with a deep dark intense voice on the other. The tempos vary a bit but never get anything near speed metal or overly sludgy on the slow end. They are from Portland, Oregon and do seem to employ some left coast moves both from the metal out there (Kyuss, Alice in Chaines, et al) as well as a strong indie spirit that seems to be a part of every band from Portland. The grooves are infectious and the 35 minute set smoothly goes by, enjoyed by the crowd which is no doubt on the smart side considering this headliner.

Dillinger Escape Plan - It is no surprise to note that this band initially evolved from a hardcore band. While they have gone through a lot of members, the general hardcore sound is still quite prevalent along with loads of metal and intricate an extreme progressive feel to many of the songs. This is a well oiled sonic assault. They manage to stay on track with their intense playing even when they seem off the rails. The energy is great and they climb and jump on amps as good as anyone you will see, while not missing a beat. Maybe the only complaint for me is the unrelenting intensity is a bit hard to take even in a 40 minute set (I had a similar problem with the Melvins who wore me out after 70 minutes). But they had an admirable sound and energy taking me back to my younger days of seeing COC or Raw Power. This band can pack 'em in on their own tours, but it's great to see them here bringing three distinct voices to this tour.

Mastodon - I was excited to see this show as I was highly impressed with their latest album. Like Opeth, this band continues to evolve and explore more progressive elements of metal. Unlike Opeth, they did not do quite the extreme makeover for this album and tour. It would not surprise me if that is yet to come as they have not been at this as long, but for now it is still the Mastodon that smart metal fans know and love. They are vocally tough and direct with even more hints at tunefulness. Musically, they are brilliant the way they all lock in and create such interesting sounds while keeping accessible crunching, speedy rock music at the core. The sold out crowd was into it the whole 90 minutes or thereabouts. They remained revved up as much for the closer as they did at the open. I give the band major credit for handling the sound system so well tonight. So many bands just pump the volume, but Mastodon created loud music that was clear and right on the edge of where it ought to be. Nothing pulsed up or fuzzed out like I hear so many times with bands that think volume is all when you have a PA like this one. The encore was fun with the other bands joining the stage to sing along. No surprise there as like I said earlier, a Mastodon tour has sharp original bands that work well together in presenting an outstanding bill. I'll be back for the next installment.

Honor of the week: I was again asked by The Deli to nominate the best 'breakout bands' in the DC/Baltimore area. This site does a great job covering several local scenes and I encourage everyone to check out their work and vote for your favorite break-out band when they post the poll (I am guessing next week some time).

Watermelon - Ramzy & the Brothers Handsome - Rich Mahogany -- Velvet Lounge - Nov 23 2011

2011-11-24T14:50:00.000Z

Rich Mahogany - We have a four-piece (V/G/B/D) that appears to be local (and not the Irish band of the same name I found on line). The sound is pretty much funk-rock. The vocals are quite good and the music is solid with the expected rhythms. Very likable sounds, but a bit samey after a while. The instruments have a bit of an 'under glass' type sound as well. The pre-Holiday crowd is enjoying it and it is a sizable crowd tonight--so good to see that at this club lately. Oh, they tell us that this is their first show, ever. Well, my criticisms are certainly minor compared to their overall readiness to hit the stage for the first time. Nice set, guys, even the Ween cover went well.

Watermelon - The 'headliner' from New York is up next and has the same instrumentation, although there are male and female vocalists up front. They are locally born and bred for the most part and play here often, although this is the first time I've taken in their set. And it is also in the funk/R&B vein. There are some changes here from what I first heard tonight. First, the twin vocals work extremely well as often is the case. The female lead is the better up-front vocal with great power and control. The male voice is softer but harmonizes well, creating a really rich sound. The instrumentation breathes a bit more and the sounds are livelier. They avoid the trappings of the genre, by branching out a bit into a blues rocker, "Whipping Post" (with a guest guitarist I think--I was way in the back and didn't see the full stage). They also did a cool cover of Led Zeppelin's "What is and What Should Never Be". This is an interesting band that is worth a listen. But if your feet want to move then don't think to hard, just check out their set.

Ramzy & the Brothers Handsome - The R&B theme continues on into the latter hours as this trio hits the stage. A keyboard/vocalist fronts this rhythm section with the bass player adding some vocals. The crowd tapered off a bit and some of the 'TSOL crowd' had left (not the violent kind, but had that enthusiasm and look if you follow my obscure reference). Still, it was a good enthusiastic crowd and this trio had a good powerful driving base to dance from. I was a little mixed with the keyboard approach. At times it sounded too much like Steely Dan for my liking. This is just a personal thing as I absolutely despise Steely Dan aside from a couple of songs. There were other songs in this set that did not distract me into those thoughts, so that was helpful as the keyboards were used to create varied sounds. It was also a bit late and with my insomnia and busy day ahead, I called it a night--a good night for that matter.

Quote of the Day: Happy holidays! Now off to get my jambalaya started.

Brass Bed - Presto Bando -- Iota - Nov 20 2011

2011-11-21T14:30:00.001Z

Presto Bando - When I am seeing someone for the fourth time, it is pretty obvious I like the band a lot (or they open for great bands) so there is not a whole lot more to add here regarding tonight's show. But if you have not heard this trio, please get out there next time they play. Their quirky, heavy, funny brand of rock music is surprisingly original these days. This unique approach is always a bit startling, but at the onset of punk/new wave, there were a lot of bands like this that had these sharp strong jagged guitar sounds with powerful bass, punchy drums and crazed intense vocals with interesting lyrics. It was another great set tonight and the smallish crowd enjoyed it. They will be working on a new album soon which I will be looking forward to. But until then, I will be happy to see these guys at any club in the area. I will leave final word to my serious music friend from Vermont who was with me and really enjoyed their sound a lot... "Imagine if Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers were grounded in thrash."

Brass Bed - From Lafayette, Louisiana comes this interesting little four-piece giving us their take on psyche-pop nuggets. It is a little heavier than I expected out of the gate with a throbbing rhythm section lending its power to the pop-rock songs. The guitarist singer keeps things melodic and flowing while the keyboardist provides some intriguing sounds (once the sound man turned him up half way through the first song). Their were some vocal harmonies and everything was really clean and attractive in that classic pop music way. The flow of the set was interesting as it started off quite heavy and finished that way with a middle that was a little more spacey, psychedelic pop. I am reminded of a better version of an Italian band called Jennifer Gentle who I saw a few years back, as there is a bit of their Syd Barrett inspired quirkiness in here as well. The guitarist and bassist switch instruments and the bass player plays a steel guitar a couple of times which thankfully sounds a lot more like the Misunderstood than Sneaky Pete (I've lightened my dislike of the instrument when people use it more in a manner that I can get into). This was a fun set by a band did enough things well with a touch of originality as well. They did not blast into my subconscious as much as the last co-headlining show I saw here, but I am quite happy to have seen them tonight.

Quote of the Night: From Presto Bando... "This song is up for a Gap Jeans commercial."

The Echo Wall - The Loom - Cat Martino - Letitia Vansant -- Velvet Lounge - Nov 18 2011

2011-11-19T16:15:00.004Z

Letitia Vansant - Wow, what a crowd tonight as it is nearly wall-to-wall people here. And although it's Friday night and party time for most, they are quite respectful of a woman with a ukulele. Quickly she brought a bass player and drummer to the stage. She switched to banjo and acoustic guitar as well. Instrumentally, things were on the light side with not a lot of flourish anywhere. But the songs were nice and there was all the more space for her voice which mixed the sweet+power recipe rather well. She added a keyboardist after a few songs which seemed to be the missing ingredient to change the backing material into fuller songs. The attitude was great on stage and the crowd fed it right back, so a nice sense of camaraderie and fun was established.

Cat Martino - Funny, I was thinking of Marissa Nadler at times during this set from this solo artist from Brooklyn, and now I see she toured Europe with her. But Fursaxa came to mind more as Cat Martino used her voice as the main instrument with lovely loops. The first song was very avant space trippy which is always a great place to start in the Velvet Lounge. She plays guitar and electric piano in the rest of the songs and heads a little more toward modern folk territory. She did one cover song at the end, which if I heard correctly was the Cure's "Love Song". Someone will pounce if I'm wrong. No matter, the original material was varied and interesting. Nice set and if you want to see it again, she'll be at the Rock'n'Roll Hotel opening for the excellent War on Drugs in a couple of weeks.

The Loom - I am a huge fan of this band and took for granted that this would be a great set. It was, for both for me and the large crowd tonight. I think they are on their way to establishing a solid fan base, and it was nice to see them on the road in the midwest on east promoting their new album (to be reviewed here shortly). The album switches directions in a rather subtle way, although the set covered all compass points. Years back I felt this was a sharp Americana indie rock band with a little psyche sprinkling in their sound. Now, they seem far more urban. The roots are still there, but the arrangements and vocal qualities put them in a wonderful space between Espers and Faun Fables. Aside from the solid rhythm section, it's the additional percussion, keys and brass that really create some intriguing counterpoints to the guitar/banjo and vocal melodies. The French horn is a great touch and reminds me of the ever-intriguing Do Make Say Think. They can rock it up or folk it back, but they have a deft touch with every shift they make. It is always nice to see a band experiment so well and retain a command of a sound that you do not hear every day. The Loom does it, does it well, and hopefully the future continues to shine for this Brooklyn band.

The Echo Wall - Apologies to the band, but there was not way they were going to start until well after one and I had my usual 20 minute walk and 20-30 minutes with my cat before bedtime. Plus Arsenal started playing at 7:30 this morning. I have enjoyed this local band and have reviewed them twice this year, so you can read about them here if you like.

Quote of the Night: Cat Martino thanking the crowd and inviting them to the merch table... "Come say hi, stay in touch, stalk me on the internet and I'll stalk you back."

The Sadies - Jessie Sykes -- Iota - Nov 17 2011

2011-11-18T14:34:00.000Z

Jessie Sykes - Jessie Sykes is a woman with a guitar surrounded by bass, drums and electric guitar. It looks like Americana-Indie rock to me. And proof yet again, that I need to wait for a few notes before trying to guess the sound. Instead, they have a nice little psychedelic jam to open things. They are loud and tight, though giving everyone room to breath and establish each instrument's sound in the mix. It starts off in San Francisco psyche-land like something from Great Society but weaves the tunes into fascinating patterns like psyche-folkers Mellow Candle (mostly like the instrumental part in "Sheep Season" which is perhaps my favorite instrumental passage anywhere). There's a Bardo Pond feeling in the vocals and there are songs that manage the volume and intricacy of that band, too. But right after a powerful song, they drop it down many notches to play something folkier, but dark. The vocals are deep and down in the manner of a Bridget St. John. There is so much going on and so many things I hear, ultimately their set comes together as a superb journey through slow-fast, loud-quiet, rock-folk, with a deep psychedelic vibe throughout. Great music tonight with immaculate sound. They played as a co-headliner for 1:06 and held my attention through every note. The fairly large crowd dug it as well. Jessie Sykes and the band, the Sweet Hereafter, are from Seattle and have not played here in 5-6 years. I hope he next gap is significantly shorter. Now it is time to sample the record I bought from them. I have a feeling I will be digging deep into their back catalog as well.

The Sadies - Thanks to my job reviewing CDs for Folkworld, I got a chance to rave about this Toronto band's last CD after ignoring them for a dozen years. Many have seen them backing Neko Case rather than in their own band, and have missed the real fun. The two guitars are phasing and blazing as they rip through an Ennio Morricone western-style instrumental to get things underway. They next go into dual singing (with a Ride like sound) while keeping the guitars blazing. The bass is stand-up and along with the drums pretty much lays down on a non-flashy foundation. They add some surf sounds as well as fast Meat Puppets styled western music. A violin comes out for a brilliant honkytonk stomper where if other country music artists could aspire to this, I could be converted. But that's the beauty of this band. They also had classic blues rock and lighter songs in the set and it all came out with their signature sound and style. They were every bit as good as I expected and then some. And although my raving over Toronto bands may be getting a little old, I will put these guys near the top of that powerful list. There is just too much fun to have and great loud and fast guitars that can carry a killer melody. Time stands still during sets like this, although my cliches keep coming. No matter, do check this band out next time around.

Quote of the Night - From the Sadies (and eerily reminiscent of last night)... "We've played 20 shows... or a week's shows or whatever with Jessie Sykes and they have been great to be around. A real pleasure to be with them, a source of comic relief especially when they fight. So this song goes out to them (applause) ...except for that bass player--I never liked him (ooohs)"

The WeatherVanes - Benny the Band - Adrian Hardkor -- Velvet Lounge - Nov 16 2011

2011-11-17T14:51:00.000Z

Adrian Hardkor - My second time seeing Mr. Hardkor, playing this time with violin and bass. Hardkor plays acoustic guitar and sings throughout. There is a nice energy to the Americana-laced folk rock songs. The accompanying musicians fill things out nicely and the bass player switching to mandolin is a nice touch. The violinist has some chops, although his fooling around with pedals created more distraction than anything else on one song. I enjoyed the third song the most and I could detect a couple others that stand out well, with others that are ok. It is a little loose by design, and a bit too loose for my tastes. But it still was a fun listen for the 44 minutes they played. They still have a ways to go, but there is a foundation present to build from.

The WeatherVanes - The headliner went up next and I thought it would be a bit more of the same. The starting point and approach was similar, although their were drums, bass, keyboards/mandolin backing the singer/guitarist. The first song showed a great dexterity with the acoustic guitar sound that had a great rock feel in addition to the Americana folk underbelly. His slide moves were clever and really livened up the song. He went to electric guitar for half of the nearly hour-long set and really had some flash moves that rocked out a lot more than I expected. The songs were put together well and always maintained a rootsy base. The keyboards gave a great high end sound, while the rhythm section was strong, but not overpowering. The band was able to raise it up a notch as a unit, which shows me they have done this for a while and have a great command of their fine material. This just may be the area's finest band at American-based folk-rock, with the emphasis on rock. They did a Tom Waits cover which fit their style and were quite funny, although I don't need to be reminded of the next band five times. The crowd of 30-ish was excellent tonight and really wanted some fun on a Wednesday night. These guys delivered.

Benny the Band - They are probably officially Benny, but it is often good to add 'the band' to common names. This is the third straight set from a flannel shirt wearing singer/guitarist with band. In this case, the band is comprised of bass, drums, and electric guitar. They have a quiet presence on stage, but work together nicely. The songs are a little more akin to the opening band at times, but there is and added rootsy rock'n'roll element. Also, the electric guitarist can play some smoking leads while grinning sheepishly afterward. They remind me of Johnny Rivers for some reason, although I am hardly a Johnny Rivers expert. Well, at least one time, I thought a song was going to break into "Midnight Special", but didn't. They had a tough act to follow but did a nice job of it. This was a great night of music and it only cost $5. Considering, this was initially my 5th choice on where to go tonight, I was quite happy.

Quote of the Night: There were many good ones, but I missed a few lines so I'll paraphrase The WeatherVanes singer... "Thanks to Adrian Hardkor, is he here? (no). Those were very kind words... considering he's such a dick. Someone stop me if you see him coming..."

Tinariwen - Architecture in Helsinki - Sophie Hunger - Dom - Lo Fi Fnk -- 9:30 Club - Nov 15 2011

2011-11-16T16:38:00.001Z

Lo Fi Fnk - From Sweden comes this synth pop trio with vocals, a couple of keyboards and drums. There is some brief bass for a bit as well. Alas, their 32-minute set was played to a crowd about the size of the Velvet Lounge due to the quantity of bands on the bill tonight. This is pleasant synth pop with nice vocals. The band has some nice energy, particularly the guy on keyboards (mostly synth). My favorite part was when he jumped off the stage and bowed or shook hands with everyone on the dance floor. It was pretty much a football line-up at that point, although there were a few of us in the balcony, too. Nice enough music, not too dazzling and quite hard to rate with this crowd. My guess is it would have been more fun at the DC9, but I would not be raving about the set.

Dom - Now this is exciting--it's Dom, the band that brought us one classic underground psyche record in the 70s called "The Edge of Time". No wait, it's just five guys from Massachusetts. This also has a nice polite pop element to the sound, but it rocks out more. Well, guitars will do that won't they. At their best, they had a handle on the poppier moments heard on the Nuggets compilation. There was also even a touch of drone in one song. Interesting enough for me to catch a return show some time. The crowd still is slow filing in as this set at least started at the normal Birchmere time (7:34pm). At least a full football or soccer game could now happen on the dance floor.

Sophie Hunger - Sophie Hunger starts the show off with a solo vocal that is pretty high on the Mesmer scale. Her two band members accompany her on all but one of the songs thereafter. Sophie adds a bit of guitar and keyboards to some of the songs. Her keyboard playing is excellent and probably could be featured more. But it really did not matter as the three of them created a fascinating array of sounds that really blended together. One guy focused mostly on guitar while the other had trombone and percussion going most of the time. There was some flute and backing vocals, too. There is an exotic European feeling present and indeed they are from Switzerland. Since Switzerland has French, German, and Italian roots depending on the part of the country you are in, I would guess there was more Germanic approach here with a bit of Italian. Quick research shows she was born in Bern which is closer to the France/Italy borders, but she also lived in the more Germanic Zurich and the even more Germanic Bonn (as well as London). But enough off the roots, the presentation tonight was breathtaking at times and solid throughout. The sound was folk, both gothic and traditional. There was a jarring yet successful Americana/folk song as well. The crowd was finally growing into, well a crowd and you could sense the growing excitement they were feeling with this set. It was accessible, yet daring in many spots. This is her first US tour and if she does anywhere near as well in the rest of the cities, she should have a great future here. It was obvious to all as she took the time to say "thank you for being so kind. It's like you were hired... but you're not."

Architecture in Helsinki - I was only in Helsinki for a few hours and I don't remember the architecture. It was a cold, quiet, dreary Sunday morning and the one thing I noticed was people walked with the poles used for cross country skiing, even when on sidewalks and paths. But this band has nothing to do with that as they are from Melbourne, Australia. There are five of them and I am not going to document the instrument switching but keyboards dominate the guitars. Bass and drums are around, too. Lots of vocalists (one female) are used with leads and harmonies varying nicely. This is slick electro-pop. Frankly, it sounds like a lot of other bands that I never listen to in depth. For once, I see a band from Australia that has not heard the Stooges. I regret not following this type of dance/feel good music when I was younger, but it does not serve much of a place for me now. The crowd was somewhat into this, but it was mixed until the rousing closer where even I could detect the excellence. This is a baffling bill as if this band were touring with the two openers and Sophie Hunger was with the headliner. It's also a lot of music, but there is still time for one more band...

Tinariwen - This band certainly looks like it came straight from the deserts of northern Mali. There is a buzz about this band and African music has really given us some exciting touring bands over the years, so there finally is a good crowd. They have one percussionist, bass, backing vocalist, electric guitar, and lead vocals w/acoustic and electric guitar. The sound is familiar if you follow either generation of Toures along with other music of that region. It is well done and sounds great in the club. The only problem I am feeling is that they lack the guitar excitement of the Toures, as well as the intense songwriting of a Thomas Mapfumo, or even the vocal prowess of a Ladysmith Black Mambazo. Rather they cozily fit in between it all. I should listen more as I am trying to figure out if I'm worn out by all the pop dance music I've heard tonight, or they simply don't have that extra gear needed to lift me to higher planes. They did manage some nice grooves with their songs and reminded me of the African version of Canned Heat or other cool easy going psyche acts from the past. A solid band for sure, just one I will have to give a little more thought and listening to.

Quote of the Night: From the 'Yeah, we've heard of it department'... Sophie Hunger - "We are a band from Switzerland, a small country in Europe."

Gringo Star - State Department -- Black Cat - Nov 13 2011

2011-11-14T15:53:00.001Z

State Department - It has been a while since I last saw this local four-piece (Seems I have written that more than a few times lately). Without looking at what I wrote, I recall that I liked them, while sensing that it was early in their career and there was room to improve. And as often the case, the improvement seemed to be on schedule tonight. They featured a solid full-time vocalist and the normal power trio behind him. The early songs mixed grinding early garage punk with some funkier songs. It was all gutsy heartfelt rock music at the core with a gorgeous droning roar (or roaring drone) carrying "The Devil is in the Details" to great heights. Perhaps not unlike the Banshees led by Nick Cave? The guitarist and bassist traded instruments and within a few notes my memory came back in full. Oh yeah, this is the part where they switch to a classic post-punk sound merging Gang of Four and Public Image moves and sounds. It is quite good, although it does disconnect things a bit. If I were a major label A&R guy, I may have a problem with this approach. But since I am a variety seeking music fan, I enjoy them bringing me lots of good songs in different styles. This band is welcome on any bill I attend and they had some nice crowd support tonight from the 40-50 attendees.

Gringo Star - From Atlanta comes this four piece with two guitars, bass and drums and the occasional switch to keyboards with all kinds of instrument trading throughout. The keys here are the vocals. A couple of guys trade lead duties and all three up front harmonize well. The sound is nice early pop garage with plenty of gutsy psyche-rock underneath. The first song is striking with its pop harmonies and the look on stage is pure Beatles with Paul and George leaning into the same mic while John sings lead off to the side. The hooks are plentiful and there is plenty of good garage rock underneath to keep things just heavy enough without losing the pop. This approach reminds me a bit of the an old Montana band called the Frantics which have a really cool obscure album out there. Nice lighting from the stage adds to the classic psychedelic feel. The last song also reminded me of the Groupies' "Primitive" (see Nuggets compilation... see and listen to full compilation often). It is really hard to do a poor job at this sort of music. The real question is whether you do it really well and offer a unique take on things. I hear the quality here more than the unique. But in days where vocals are often an after thought, these guys are on the high end of the quality side. Their tour is almost over and hopefully there were a lot of people like me who will now remember a very nice band with a name that is really easy to remember.

From the 'Not exactly my intended audience' department... I frequently look through the search phrases that lead people to my blog and find some interesting and amusing results. I will try to write them down for future reference. However, there was an old show that attracted some very odd searches every now and then. It was a show I reviewed here at the Black Cat that featured, No Age, Holy Fuck, and Trophy Wife. I'll let your imagination be your guide to the keyword searches that lead certain internet explorers to my review.

Medications - Cloud Nothings -- Black Cat - Nov 10 2011

2011-11-11T15:41:00.000Z

Cloud Nothings - I enjoyed this band some time ago, but it has been a while so I am curious to see what has transpired. Not much, just some ferocious jaw dropping noise that explodes off the walls and assembles itself into shockingly melodic and tuneful songs.They had a strong and fast garage approach in the past that was significantly better than their peers, but it's up even another notch this time around. Kind of like what I (and everyone else) mentioned in reviews of Liturgy, the rollicking drums are what really elevate things here. But with this band, the guitars and bass are up to the task of also providing stunning sounds at varying high speeds. They create such dirty beauty with thick sludgy sounds at high speeds where it is difficult to tell if the core tones or overtones are providing the melody. Imagine Stiff Little Fingers, Sonic Youth, and Social Unrest all in a blender poured over the children of the Count Five as they cover the Dickies (or Comets on Fire at times). Even a broken bass string didn't slow them down much as the remaining three did an older tune that wasn't on the set. And things were back to extraordinary for the next number. Even the more basic garage pop-rock tracks were still excellent and gave a nice variety. Keep an eye on this band, they may be breaking through.

Medications - I have also enjoyed this local trio a few times prior to tonight. And again, the first song amazed me in its assertive power and fascinating off-kilter melody construction. Am I just in a really good mood tonight? No, quite the opposite, so both these bands are reminding me why I head out the door after a bad day. Great live music can really lift you up and Medications are doing exactly what they advertise. I was thinking of heading upstairs for the Sea and the Cake (in one of those infrequent double bookings) or the DC9, but am convinced I made the right choice. Medications performed many creative songs and varied the components quite well while maintaining their personal approach. They sound like they could fit into quirky and creative indie rock, but they just have a way of emitting more jagged progressive moments and twisted moves than even most indie rock bands do. I would say that about half the 55 minute set was filled with excellent songs and the other half were filled with cool jams. Most of the time I can have a band's sound down easily 1/4 or 1/2 way through the set. This one took the distance and multiple listenings would be ever better. They did a great job tonight in front of a good crowd and even did a legit encore from the folks that were not too cool to clap and holler.

No quotes, but my usual plug for my CD reviews in Folkworld magazine. Issue 46 is out with loads of CD reviews (even a few DC acts I slip in) along with some reprints of the folkier shows I have reviewed here.

Purity Ring - Doldrums -- Black Cat - Nov 9 2011

2011-11-10T14:56:00.000Z

Doldrums - I decided to take the road less traveled tonight and hit some electronica acts at the backstage of the Black Cat. First up is a Canadian guy with a sampler/electronics board and a microphone. I enjoy the opening souds which are spacey and filled with chants before some real intensity sets in. More pop moves and even some tropicalia beats and sounds sneak in as it gets a bit more dance oriented. But sonic strength seems to dominate more than dance beats. The vocals are good--real waif like singing with pop hooks but a subtle edge much of the time. Between the vocals and the crunching sounds, this interests me a lot more than DJ styled dance grooves. And there was not much dancing going on but the really large crowd clearly enjoyed this. I cannot pretend to be an expert in this genre, but I knows whats I like and I like this just fine.

Purity Ring - This appears to be a project of Megan James of Gobble Gobble. She is the singer in the picture above and is accompanied by a guy I presume is Corrin Roddick from that same band (again, my knowledge is slight and research limited). He handles all the samples and beats and she focuses on the vocals. And once again it is the vocal quality that creates the originality and interest for me. If anything, the music is pretty basic and does not offer a lot of variety in the sound. Although the variety in the types of songs more than makes up for the sonic steadiness. They go from icy pop to brighter numbers with ease. There are some gutsy songs at the end that change both tempo and mood, while James' Toyah Wilcox type voice stays strong in directing the songs forward. They are at the end of a long tour and still delivered a great half-hour set. The crowd loved it and was only disappointed when they came back and said they could not encore as that is all they had set. Ah, now there is a time where sampling can't replace the live guys. But as long as there is this kind of originality and quality vocal work, I may yet be seeing more of these electronica bands.

Quote of the Night: From the opener... This kind of music is popular in Canada, I swear."

Wu Lyf - Crystal Antlers -- Rock'n'Roll Hotel - Nov 6 2011

2011-11-07T16:26:00.003Z

Crystal Antlers - I was torn between this show or seeing Anthrax up in Silver Spring. Since all Metro trains stopped at Fort Totten that night, I did not bother investigating other ways to get there, instead opting for this show with bands I've heard of, but have not heard a note. It took about 5, maybe 10 notes into this when I realized I had lucked into the right choice. Boom! Comets on Fire reborn! My, how I've missed that band. These guys line up with drums, keys, guitar and a bass player that handles the lead vocals. After a nice spacey easing in to the first song, the sonic power exploded into psyche guitar, wild anguished vocals, ripping drums, and synth/keys with real heft. They dropped it down a notch and showed some prog moves not unlike my favorite heavy progsters--King Crimson and Opeth. Pulverising prog and psyche continued with a modern touch. There are even some nice pop hooks buried within and the vocalist can carry a tune and not merely scream intensely. There was also a touch of sonic follow-through from last night's headliner, the Blackberry Belles along with some of my favorite intense European acts like Aphrodite's Child or maybe Mynd Music? Compare it as you like, it all worked extremely well with the large crowd tonight. I only wished it was a bit more than the 31 minutes, but I am happy as I have a new favorite band.

WU LYF Press Photo, NY, Paul McGiver

Wu Lyf - Wikipedia says the band describes their music as "heavy pop". That's a good place to start as I see two things I truly like about this band. They hail from the fertile ground of Manchester, England but don't sound like a clone of any of the great band there, but more of a talented and smart progression. The second thing I like is the really divergent styles at work. The music is dream pop with plenty of bite at times, but the vocals are harsh and edgy (thus giving the heavy to it all). They remind me of the Troggs' Reg Presley singing for Midge Ure's Ultravox! The music does shift around nicely from song to song which is great as the rhythmic pop elements could get a little routine. They do just enough to rise above and with the intense vocals that seem to bring in shoegaze and post punk intensities, they really deliver fascinating music. It is more to their philosophy that reminds me of the shift made by Jason Pearce from Spacemen 3 to Spiritualized. This music was not nearly as immediate as what I enjoyed from the opener, but it really created such an intriguing vibe, that I would like to take it in again some time. It's catchy and only briefly too safe, but I think many listens will bring out some of the genius they seem to have. A nearly full club had a mix of intense fans up front and intrigued people like myself scattered around in the middle and back. Tonight was another reminder to take in new sounds as it is amazing what you can discover.

Quote of the Night: From the opener... "Hey Lighting Man, what happened to the strobe lights? Do you expect us to entertain just with our music?"

The Blackberry Belles - The Dirty Names - The El Rays -- Rock'n'Roll Hotel - Nov 5 2011

2011-11-06T15:23:00.001Z

The El Rays - This is the first of what turned out to be an interesting night of local and area bands doing their version of three unique sounds of the 60s garage rock scene. First up are these five players on guitar, bass, drums, saxophone and farfisa. Instrumental surf music is served up with style and skill. Things are kept simple and direct with leads from the sax and guitar. The sax is key to things sounding a little more worldly and beyond the cliche of this sound. They end up with a sound reminding me of the Monomen's instrumental album of many years back. But it is not that heavy and heads toward Dengue Fever's LA garage leanings. I am not sure what the cover to original ratio was, but "Pipeline" is easily recognized by probably about all of the 35-45 present. Three were using sheet music, so maybe things are a little new here, but the band was together and fun. It is really hard not to enjoy this style of music, especially on a Saturday night. But I would be happy to see these guys again any time.

The Dirty Names - This Annapolis band says they play rock'n'roll. They proceed to give many fine examples of this throughout their 43 minute set. I was a tad worried when the first song sounded like they could have played it opening for REO Speedwagon in 1975. But they would have blown REO off the stage with it, so that worked out ok. They then dug back into the early 60s, later 60s and pretty much took lots of inspiration from classic and garage rock from several eras and just blasted it out in their own manner. Loads of power and skill here, not a whole lot of tricks which is clearly by design. It takes guts to play things straight these days as opposed to trying to add the latest Band of Horses style or whatever else is hip. These guys have not only the skill, but the moxy needed to bring it home. They are off on a tour of the south and if they get crowds like tonight (swelling to nearly 100 by now), they should do very well.

The Blackberry Belles - Regular readers know I have reviewed this band many times and interviewed them once, so I already know I will enjoy tonight as long as something bad does not happen. Pause. No, nothing bad happened, aside from choosing that as my first sentence. For those of you that have not seen this act, it is a three-piece with guitar/vocals, drums, and keyboards that yield organ, piano, and keyboard-bass. The sound is soulful rocking garage from the late 60s and early 70s. The band has a great approach and locked into their music well tonight just as they have many times previously. The vocals were a bit subdued in the mix, but otherwise the sound was strong (as it was all night). They brought up the Dirty Names' bass player to do "Going Home" which was a lot of fun and as rocked out as expected. All in all, a fine hour long set that gave a third variation on 60s garage bands. All genres have their unique subsets and tonight was a fine example for those of us thinking of these things. For the others that wanted to rest their brain and just rock out on a Saturday night, they were happy as well.

Quote of the Night: From the crowd during the opening band... "Kevin Eubanks, eat your heart out."

And apologies for the annoying floating text that I cannot find. Debugging will happen soon.

Scratch Acid - The Kepones -- 9:30 Club - Nov 4 2011

2011-11-05T02:49:00.002Z

The Kepones - Tonight is the first DC show for this Richmond band in 11 years. I am not sure they have done a whole lot of anything in that time as their web presence was on the meager side. But they hit the ground running tonight with a moderate to quick paced sludge filled rock'n'roar style that is a perfect fit with the headliner. Tough as nails the whole way through, but melodic enough to allow one to stay with them. This reminds me of what Tales of Terror was doing by laying the foundation for grunge, allow this lacks a bit of the swing. I won't recall the songs, but the I will recall the blast as these stylists got the job done tonight. The crowd dug it as well.

Scratch Acid -I never got to see these guys back in the day, even though I knew their Rabid Cat label mates, the Offenders, rather well. While the Offenders followed the hardcore path, these guys were doing something quite different along the lines of Flipper, the Butthole Surfers among the notable others. I instantly recalled the second song "Mess" and thought that would be the only would I would recall, although a few more were buried deep in my memory. The band was pretty much nailing their signature sound which is a more rudimentary brutal version of what Yow and Sims later would do with the Jesus Lizard. That band had more angular moves, where this one had more twisted noisy chords. They were loud and powerful tonight, although it was the vocal thrusts where I needed my earplugs to parry away the pain. Yow was stalking the stage well and there were plenty of fans excited to hear this band, many for the first time I imagine. The crowd may have been just under the JL's crowd, but not by a whole lot. And the 65 minute set was a blast. Both the guitarist here and in the previous band just let it rip without any fancy pedals/effects board. But I really enjoyed the first of a three-song encore where I named that tune by the second line although I recognized it quickly as something I owned. It was "Damned for All Time" from Jesus Christ Superstar and it was surprisingly effective played mostly straight within the Scratch Acid sound. My final thoughts are of how surprisingly normal this all sounds. They were really quite daring at their time, yet now like so many bands that push the envelope, the sound is part of the foundation for a sprawling complex.

Quote of the Night: I just was about to leave at 9:42pm as a non-related late show was schedule later. The band was thanking the crowd and was wandering off as the house music came up when someone just came in and while putting his ID back in his wallet, looked up and with eyes growing larger stated... "Oh my God, that's fucking bullshit."

Opeth - Katatonia -- Ram's Head Baltimore - Nov 1 2011

2011-11-02T15:31:00.007Z

Katatonia - It is a reunion of sorts for me tonight. In early 2008, I flew to Stockholm to board the Melloboat and enjoy a two night cruise to Helsinki with lots of great music. I would not have gone, were it not for the reforming of Comus for their first show in 35 years, but it also introduced me to two metal bands, both of whom are finishing a tour together in Baltimore tonight. Sweden's Katatonia impressed me then with stylish vocals set to quality northern metal. Within a few songs tonight, the style seems to have shifted a bit more psychedelic. There are nice dark undercurrents in the music with the vocals still front and center. The guitars seem a bit muddier and more compressed than they would have been designed, but I am in a back corner and I am thinking the sound is not too hot in some portions of this venue. The set is going over well and the crowd is probably pretty sharp for this billing. Since it was the last show of the tour, they ran through crew credits and then had some fun changing things around a bit with a different vocalist singing death metal tunes from 1993 and thereabouts. The set began early tonight and gave them 56 minutes to show their present direction as well as some old classics. They are clearly in that ever expanding camp of metal bands that have feet firmly planted in other related genres.

Opeth - Speaking of related genres... Opeth have long been one of the finest compositional bands in the metal field and have used folk elements and progressive moves for many years. I was curious to see how the crowd would react to the brand new material which is as progressive as it gets with arguably no metal in any of the songs. They begin with the newer material which goes over well from what I can hear. The fascinating thing was that when they dug out lots of cuts from older albums, they chose the most progressive or folk oriented cuts. The demon voice did not appear in the nearly two hour set (I did not stay for encores, so perhaps Mikael summoned up the beast). There was some back and forth with the crowd, with Mikael Akefeldt coming up with the better punchlines or just telling them to shut up. But the humor was good and I did not sense that too many people were disappointed. The acoustic guitars made a long appearance, but the crowd stayed with it the whole way. And ultimately the set was quite rewarding. I think I enjoyed the sharper contrasts I saw in the last tour a bit more, but I think what I really enjoyed more was the stronger sound at the 9:30 Club, as the sound was again too compressed from where I was standing. Late in the set, the crowd clapped along with a conga bit without any encouragement from the stage. That felt good, as the crowd indeed proved itself sharp and willing to follow this extremely and versatile band in whatever direction they wish to go. There is so much skill here, that I would not dream of jumping ship. If anything, I will settle in for an even longer voyage.

Quote of the Day: I paraphrase Opeth's Mikael Akerfeldt as he spoke about eye contact he does from the stage and how as a fan he always felt he was being looked at by the band... "I was in a club watching Dee Snider with his SMFs band and there were only a few people there, but they were all about five meters in front of me as I stood in the back leaning against the wall. Dee Snider then looks at me and says 'You motherfucker, why aren't you having a good time like the rest of them.'"

Dead Meadow - Blackbells -- DC9 - Oct 31 2011

2011-11-01T14:43:00.001Z

Blackbells - This 2-guitar four-piece comes from Brooklyn. I haven't written variations of that sentence at least a hundred times, eh? The sound is strong and the vocals are good and earnest. They seem to balance indie rock and mainstream rock evenly. The opener seemed pretty basic, but the second cut showed some skilled songwriting with interesting counterpoints and sneaky lead runs early in the song. Competent in the extreme, but sometimes a bit lost in the basics. Just when I begin to drift, they nail a nice original song to bring me back into their sonic world. The vocalist went back to join in on drums for one cut with the lead guitarist blasting away. These kinds of moves and the skillful songwriting elevated these guys beyond the mundane. There is a mainstream appeal that could either explode these guys into a strong fanbase, so it will be interesting to see if they can continue to improve their set. Creativity, hard work, exposure--all the usual stars will need to align. But for now, nice job.

Dead Meadow - This former local band, LA based for some time now, is finishing a tour with Black Angels that paired off two of the lesser known, but extremely exciting accessible psychedelic rock bands. It was only Dead Meadow tonight and again they still play to about 10% of the audience they deserve. But that 10% is a sharp crew that knows and appreciates how good this band is and their enthusiasm made for a fun night. The sinewy bass lines are there, as are the fuzzy guitars, appealing vocals, and some of the more powerful moderate tempos you will groove to. Their original drummer is back in and has not missed a beat. I found myself making an odd comparison to the Stooges 1st album--second side in particular. It is not exact, but there is a shared rudimentary beat that has some quiet intricate touches. The basslines have some similar moves, although there is more touch here. Add some wah-wah and you have quieter updates of "Ann" or "Little Doll". Anyway, that is my new take on this brilliant act for this evening. My only criticism is the lack of a new album. No doubt they will be roaring through again sometime soon with lots of new songs to devour. Hopefully Jason Simon's grandmother enjoyed the show as much as I did.

Quote of the Night: My own quote on the walk over... "What the hell is going on tonight?" Duh, it's Halloween--my memory grows shorter and shorter. It was nice to walk among the kids, as I have only had to open my door two times to trick or treaters in 30 years due to some remote or secure homes.

Fuxa - Kuschty Rye Ergot - Teething Veils -- Velvet Lounge - Oct 30 2011

2011-10-31T14:49:00.000Z

Teething Veils - This is a one-man show with vocals and electric guitar. It begins with a moderate tempo that induces a light psychedelic rock feel akin to Richard Buckner. Vocally, it's closer to psyche-folk mast Mark Fry. After a couple wobbles, this music settled nicely. The second cut was almost pure-psyche folk magic in the Mark Fry style once again (perhaps a little tougher). He did an excellent cover of the Ramones "Pet Sematary" and his original songs were easy to get involved with. This was a lovely set that flew by. When I fall into a trance like this, these 32 minutes feel more like 10.

Kuschty Rye Ergot - I am not sure the world needs another review of this band from me, but people do stumble on these reviews for the first time, so I will still do a simple review and remind people that this is a band they should check out some time. They create an excellent psychedelic sound that can twist and turn within many musical forms from Eastern to Krautrock, and then some. They lined up as the core three-piece that you always see here and in Kohoutek. They had great touch tonight and kept it a bit more on the deep side of things with a touch of garage sneaking in. But as one person summed it up best when he shouted after the set "Thank you for taking me to space."

Fuxa - This is pronounced fuchsia which creates much confusion among those of us that adore a certain early 70s UK album. Instead, this is a duo from Detroit who play synthesizers, keyboards and electronics. It's simple enough, but I found the set extremely effective in the way they moved along a time line. Early on, I was reminded of my parents' instrumental albums which created some of my initial excitement for music. Although Fuxa's sound was soft and clean, there was a disturbing David Lynch mistrust of suburbia underneath. They moved further into the 70s with a cover of Suicide's "Cheree" and had songs that reminded me of both Kraftwerk and Tangerine Dream. If I had been in a bad mood, I may have blown this off entirely, but a relaxed listening had my mind moving with every song. Thus, an effective set that turned out a lot better than I had initially thought. But I would like to ask the one member (formerly of Windy & Carl) with a microphone to somehow get the reverb off when you talk to the audience. I understood precious little of what was said and it would have been nice to have your friendly interaction. Frankly, at the Velvet Lounge in front of 20 people, it would have been clearer if you had stepped aside and just talk to us. But when the music flowed, life was good.

Quote of the Night: From the opener... "It's not Halloween without the Ramones."

RECORD REVIEWS - October 2011

2011-10-30T16:09:00.001Z

RECORD REVIEWS FOR OCTOBER

Spoonboy - "The Papas"

Spoonboy are a nice little power pop/punk project from David Combs of the long running DC favorites, the Max Levine Ensemble. As expected, these are catchy songs in a grungy little punk sound. The sound is quirky and the singing is akin to a chippy Pete Shelley of the Buzzcocks. There is much in the direction of Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, but it does not quite achivee those heights. There are a few engaging songs that have me interested in listening further. The songs' themes are geared a lot toward youth from what I can pick up and occasionally show off some good poetic storytelling. I try to see the Ensemble whenever I am able, and Spoonboy would also provide an engaging set.

They also have released this album in both electric and acoustic versions. I prefer the electric on most of the songs (with that usual Billy Bragg/Ted Leo style that electric invokes), but the acoustic works better at times. If this were designed as a tighter release, it would probably be best to mix and match which would make one stronger album. But this is all on Bandcamp, so everything is available for you to decide for yourself. And it's free, so take a listen here.

Songs to try first:

Gerald Lee Palmer - Classic story told with a nice pop melody and a little bite in the guitars.

Sexy Dreams - Another amusing story set to music to bob your head to or tap your toes to.

Mamas and the Papas - An ambitious arrangement that works well with its Roy Harper-light singing quality.

Peter Maybarduk "A Ring around the Atlantic"

Peter Maybarduk is a fine local musician that will play solo folk shows or full-band folk-rock sets. This album is even more complex and interesting than his live sets. The title cut has a great rhythm with lots of intriguing instrumental moves. His voice is a nice soft topping and reminds me of Feargal Sharkey of Ireland's Undertones. I was thinking that the vocals may be the only comparison to the pop-punk of the Undertones, but actually there are many energetic songs here that have that great youthful spirit and energy that the Undertones had. There are also folk moves with acoustic guitar or piano provided the light accompaniment to the vocal melodies. J. Robbins is on hand to produce and that is always a positive. They have put together a lovely variety of songs where there is something new going on from song to song, but it manages to stay connected and focused. My only criticism would be that some of the lyrics are a tad strained, but that is an error of ambition, so it does not affect my desire to return to this interesting album, available here at Bandcamp.

Songs to try first:

A Ring Around the Atlantic - Done in two different styles. The first one is a gem of a rocker.

Touched by Fire - Great grinding guitar rhythms with lead and backing vocals dancing around in different patterns. Energy to spare with plenty of hooks.

Something to Believe - Good simple power pop. And when power pop is good, there is not much more to be said.

Boris - Asobi Seksu - Liturgy -- Black Cat - Oct 29 2011

2011-10-30T13:17:00.002Z

Liturgy - When I last saw this four-piece at the DC9, I was impressed with the band's fascinating controlled thrash metal drone style. But what really stood out was the drummer with his speed and nimble movements. Fellow blogger Michael Darpino mentioned that when he first saw them, that was what really impressed him as well. And now, Greg Fox is making one of his final appearances on drums with the band. I learned this recently when the New York Times ran a feature story on Greg Fox. Apparently he will be doing electronica and drum for another band. If he was only doing electronica, I would be disappointed as his drumming skills are too good to go to waste (remember what happened to a great drummer named Phil Collins). But we shall see where he is headed down the road. For now, Liturgy did a smoking half-hour set complete with chant vocal loops recreating their twist on a Gregorian chant. Sheets of metal from the two guitars and bass with screechy vocals and those wonderful drums all came together with various tones and overtones like some unholy alliance between Opeth and the early Meat Puppets after attending a few lectures from Brian Eno and Robert Fripp. I hope the band continues on. I don't envy the task of the new drummer, but these guys manage a great control of an intriguing sound, so it will likely continue to be a powerful set.

Asobi Seksu - This New York band (who wisely changed their name from Spotfuck) has been around a little longer than I expected. It was nice to catch up with them as they delivered an enjoyable 47-minute set tonight. They have a female vocalist who has some keys/electronics she uses regularly. After that, it is the usual guitar, bass, drums setup. They look like a favorite of mine, SF's Lovelikefire, and have a little bit of the same sound, although there is a striking difference within this band. The trio plays a powerful shoegaze sound that really roars up a storm. The singer has a dreamier pop style that contrasted nicely and was more starkly varied than other bands of this style. It all worked well enough tonight and for those that were not sure what slot to fit this band into, a Jesus and Marychain cover told the rest of the story. They struggled a bit with the sound and had to take a long time for a sound and line check (see below) as there were some setup problems tonight with the doors opening only just before the show was due to start.

Boris - I suppose I should not worry about Michio Kurihara (Ghost) showing up to assist on guitar with the three members of Boris as he seems to do it every time, but he did have some Visa problems that prevented him from playing with Damon & Naomi the last time through. He's here, so the line-up is complete. They have a two new discs out (one heavy, one light, although lines are blurred of course) and they played a nice selection from the new along with plenty of the old. And now the simple statement on this show... I believe this may be all the proof I need to say that this is the best live band anywhere. I like a ton of bands, but this band takes their very good records and brings them up to ridiculously high levels of volume, intensity, and passion when they hit the stage. They mix their styles so well and do not shy away from blasting away at a total drone for several minutes of their ninety minute set. The guitar sounds contrast nicely with Wata's deeply imbedded rhythms setting up Kurihara's wah-wah workout. And Takeshi's double necked axe featuring bass and guitar is there to add a third guitar when desired. They take a low key approach aside from Atsuo's crazy fun drummer personality which is a nice spicy addition. The lighting is excellent with dramatic back lighting and side lighting used more than spots. There is plenty of smoke and the effect is so much better than most bands. But the music is a beast all its own, yet somehow they harness it just enough to control the chaos and present the magic to the large club crowds. Simply not to be missed.

Quote of the Night: From the singer for Asobi Seksu after some annoying feedback... "Can we please make that stop. Please, it's very painful." Thankfully it only happened a couple times that I noticed, but I appreciate the effort. Loud is wonderful, but some sounds are truly painful.

The Naked and the Famous - The Chain Gang of 1974 - White Arrows -- 9:30 Club - Oct 28 2011

2011-10-29T15:45:00.000+01:00

White Arrows - Taking the stage only a half hour after the club opened is this LA-based 5-piece. They feature a couple of guitars and a keyboardist/eclectronica guy. The immediately striking feature, which really becomes the most fascinating part of their sound is the vocal work. One guitarist takes the first lead and sings a lot like veteran LA speed punks, the Dickies or Skafish. The band engages in far more of the dreamy and edgier brands of west coast post punk psyche such as the 3 O'Clock or maybe even Dream Theater. As the songs roll along, the keyboardist has a dreamier vocal style and the combination and contrast of vocal work and even the music is quite vibrant. Just as you relax with one vocal line, another one twists you around. The guitars always have an edge that sometimes stays in the background, but can jump to the fore and dominate. Yes, it was dancey and fun, but a lot to listen to which is vital for me interested in dance music. Alas, the club was only about half-full with the tight scheduling, and although some people were probably in need of some time to figure out the contrasts here, the band did build crowd support during their allotted 27 minutes. This was a fine set and is clearly a band to watch.

The Chain Gang of 1974 - From my old home town of Denver, Colorado, comes a band that has nothing to do with 'the Denver sound'. Instead, this four-piece is a solid fit on this bill with its Brit-pop dance electronica rock sound. The first song is pretty fabulous as the guitar work is straight out Led Zep's "The Immigrant Song". The vocals come in a bit like Bauhaus and some other Brit crooners where I know the sound, but I don't know their names. The second cut vocals went more of a Howard Devoto/Magazine style where the irony comes out nicely. But then, they slid into more comfortable brit-pop again. When it rocked a little harder, my interest was higher, but that was not quite often enough. They went over well enough with the crowd, but the support kind of waned as things got more predictable. I think there is some real potential if they can focus on their sharper, edgier, more original songs. Still, a modestly enjoyable set tonight to set up the headliner.

The Naked and the Famous - It is great to see this band make their way from New Zealand to these shores, but based on their popularity and tonight's sold-out show, there is no label underwriting needed here. This five-piece has a full command of their sound and the crowd is stoked. The two vocalists, male and female, work together (or apart) beautifully and bring the life into the music. The electronica and human beats and rhythms seem a bit basic to me and I could really do with out the bass note pummelings that throb deep within my body. I know some people really enjoy that, but it always seems distracting to me. The hooks in the songs are really excellent for the most part and that is why a band should achieve success. It's pretty easy these days to play dance beats, but it still requires skill to hook a crowd in and deliver vibrant vocals. A quick glance at the music I normally go see will show that this pop-rock-dance style is not something I am expert in. But I always enjoy trying to find the better or best of other genres. This band earned my respect tonight. As for the other 1,200 people, I think most of them already knew that and were just thrilled that the band delivered a great live set, playing the music they already loved.

Kudos to... the 9:30 Club for a relaxing enjoyable evening without their usual children running around nagging on every minor or perceived infraction. This was a good crowd tonight and security was there, barely visible, and not needed.

Beasts of No Nation - LTW - The Mostly Dead -- Red Palace - Oct 26 2011

2011-10-27T15:22:00.001+01:00

The Mostly Dead - Regular readers will know that this is one of my favorite area hardcore punk acts, so unless they really slip up, they will be getting praise in this column. No slip-ups tonight, as their music was tight and strong and they did a great job building their 26 minute set by playing their most boundary stretching songs toward the end, which was a good touch. It was interesting to see their long time bass player back in the fold, although he has to trek down from Brooklyn to play with the band these days. The one 'game' I tried to play with myself is imagining the best era and city each of these bands would be a part of in punk/hardcore history. I came up with early 80s Boston with nods to the Freeze and even a little Proletariat of Mission of Burma tossed in. The only negative was that the crowd was slow in getting into the club and ended up about 20 or so. But they seemed to dig it as did I.

LTW - This is a local four-piece hardcore thrash band with a similar vocals, guitar, bass, drums line-up. The guitarist looks like he's 14, the drummer 41 (not really, just the shaved head and dark rimmed glasses look). There is a really bad feedback buzzing coming from their massive amps, but it is completely unimportant when they play as they just blast through the typical thrash songs. My placement of these guys is latter day Boston. Siege anyone? I barely remember that band, but they came to mind. These guys could also be post-Negative Approach (although they were in my mind as NA was the between band house music). The crowd had doubled by now, but if they blinked they may have missed this 13 minute set. I don't see an obvious web link and I will avoid the temptation to send you the LTW Band that stand for Light the World (ed.-corrected per comment)

Beasts of No Nation - I saw this solid local band about a year ago opening for the Zeros at the Velvet Lounge. I recall enjoying them, but the set went by pretty quickly. Even though it was only 25 minutes tonight, that was plenty of time for this four-piece to showcase their excellent assertive songs. It's hardcore and punk and heavy and tuneful. They loosen things up a bit at times and the guitars play together nicely as opposed to just pummeling each other to new heights. Hard to fit these guys in to any place and time, but I heard elements of the Offenders from Texas, but their was a sense of melodic hardcore punk from 80s LA in there, too. The main thing was that these guys deliver high quality songs that you can choose to think about or just rock out to. Hopefully, you'll keep your brain on as you will be rewarded more. Intriguing crowd tonight in that they were kind of mature and reserved for such a heavy show (thankfully they were not as 'mature' as I am in regards to this euphemism). I hope I don't wait as long for the next show as I do feed of these short bursts of energy. And these guys do it as well as anybody.

Quote of the Night: From LTW between songs... "Don't clap." Really? - then don't pause. Is your next song going to be about No Rules? But seriously, he makes a good point. This band like others in even radically different genres are presenting an overall sound and approach in a short set. It's not about playing a series of songs with their individual hooks, so I agree with him in spirit.

Ani DiFranco - Anais Mitchell -- 6th + I Synagogue - Oct 25 2011

2011-10-26T15:04:00.001+01:00

Anais Mitchell - We begin with a singer/songwriter on acoustic guitar, just as we will have for the main act as well. Ms. Mitchell has a nice soft strum which she hits with an impact that creates a little tension even with the softer string sound. Her tight and strong voice clearly delivers her lyrics and is easy to listen to. I like that she has some longer songs and seems to tell a story quite well. I think that is her strength more than her poetry, perhaps. Although to be fair, it is hard to give a good analysis of this at a live show, although any cliches do tend to jump out. She did songs from a folk opera she wrote which sounds very interesting. She did well with the crowd in her solid half-hour set and succeeded with me in that I not only enjoyed the set, but am curious to hear more of her work in full.

Ani DiFranco - Amazingly enough even with all the folk records I review, I really have not heard a lot of Ani DiFranco music over the years. I always knew she was somebody I should listen to further and a show in the synagogue is as good as place as any to become familiar with her music. She has a lot of energy tonight which I am guessing is the norm as she seems to have a good personality for going solo. The songs are good with solid vocal dynamics that really highlight the qualities of her writing. He guitar work is well above what I normally hear as well. She really sounds more rock than folk and has all kinds of fills and runs that you don't usually hear in a folk set. The ninety minutes flew by with great music, nice stage patter and even a couple of songs with Anais Mitchell helping out (first on vocals, then on vocals and guitar). The guitar tech was ready with a new guitar for each song due probably to alternate tunings as well as DiFranco's forceful playing style. Great energy, nice songs and a set that she said would be entirely different from the one she would do the next night if anyone was coming to both sold-out shows. That is the sign of a pro who treats her audience well. It took me a while, but I am glad I finally caught up with her. And I would guess she'll still be moving at a fast pace hereon.

Quote of the Night: Ani DiFranco does the usual protest songs and they are fine, but she made this comment... "Do you believe this Congress? I mean, there ought to be a law where we could impeach them for not letting the President do anything."

Really? Is this something you also said 5-10 years ago? You might want to take a look at fascism more closely. It is great when you have someone good and who you like in the job, but watch out when you don't. See the Roman Empire for the pluses and minuses once Caesar overtook the Republic.

But of course, I think everyone understands this frustration.

Blitzen Trapper - Dawes - Smoke Fairies -- Black Cat - Oct 24 2011

2011-10-25T16:30:00.001+01:00

Smoke Fairies - My favorite band of this incredibly good three-band bill hits the main stage at 8:32pm for their half-hour set. I reviewed them earlier this year and the sound was similar so you can read further about the band here. It was fitting that Bread Love & Dreams was playing on my IPOD when they went on as that era of Brit psyche-folk is right were this duo is at home. The good thing about being on this tour is a chance to expand their audience in the US. The bad thing about being on this tour is playing to indifferent indie rock fans in a really large room as people are still filing into the club. The club was less than half full at the start and more than half full at the end. The other issue is the delicate two electric guitar and two voice harmonies work a lot better in a smaller room. If ever the powerful mysticism created by this duo will get spoiled, it will be in a rock club with the usual high percentage of gabby pretentious people who have little interest in digging into something new. But that was the only negative here as the duo did their usual excellent job with their distant wistful songs. They have been touring hard, so I hope it will pay off and they can come back next year with another album and lots of new fans. And hopefully it will be in a dark moderate sized room with oriental rugs thrown down for people to lay out and absorb this transcendent magic.

Dawes - This four-piece is co-headlining on this tour and played a full hour-long set. They fit in with the California style of Americana and you would probably get the same feeling here as you would at a Band of Horses/Low Anthem/Gary Louris show as well. Steady rhythms and nice keyboard punctuations add to the vocal and guitar melodies. The guitar work is sharp and goes from simple runs to more jagged Neil Young moves at times. Their are some nice pop hooks and one song had me really thinking I was listening to Colin Blunstone sing a new song with the Zombies. They had a singer named Johnny Corndawg join them for a couple of songs. I was skeptical but the first one was excellent. The second one was a cappella and a little more bland, but it was a nice touch. Things like this are fun for the band and for those of us that see a lot of bands and like a few surprises beyond playing the latest album and a few hits. There are an awful lot of bands that sound like Dawes and several I like better. But there are a significantly larger number that I do not like as well.

Blitzen Trapper - These five guys are a good partner for Dawes, especially on this tour since their latest album has an even rootsier Americana approach than their previous album (both of which I reviewed for Folkworld magazine). After a couple more recognizable cuts, the band cut into their new one and really brought the songs to life. It really enhanced the songs tremendously and was a good reminder of why you should see a band live when you can. There are many albums that are good and you can recognize quality, but some do not fully resonate with you to the point you want to play them over and over. Usually, as what happened here, the live setting allows at least the better musicians to have some fun and pump some volume and maybe even a bit more heart into the material. At least that is how I felt with what I was hearing tonight. Blitzen Trapper remains a favorite of mine on the indie circuit as they have a great balance of creativity and gutsy heartland style . And this was a sell-out, so I am hardly telling too many people anything they don't already know. Funny though, there was a lot more space tonight than there was at the Damned show which was not sold-out (although it may have eventually sold-out with the walk-up crowd).

Quote of the Night: Well earlier in the day as I went to get my cat his heart pills...
"Here's a prescription for my cat."
"OK, your cat's birthday?"
"Uh, no one knows, probably April '04"
"And he's in our system?"
"Yes his name is Tam Lin, but should be under my name."

"No, it's not there, maybe under T... no, is Lin his last name?"
"Well, no but try that."
"Here it is in L... Tam Lin"

The Damned - The Legendary Shack Shakers -- Black Cat - Oct 23 2011

2011-10-24T15:22:00.002+01:00

The Legendary Shack Shakers - "The Damned asked us to be here. It's blues stuff, so try and get into it". Hmmm... if you have to explain it... I am not sure what feedback the singer was getting up front, but it was odd that not only did he say that early, he again mentioned that the Damned invited them and they were on the full tour. This is 2011 after all. If it was 1977, yes, they would have been gobbed off the stage at first sight of the stand-up bass player. Still, this sound did challenge a few people. It was uptempo punkabilly rock'n'roll that reminded me of some of the Denver sound bands, but not as complex. The rhythms were classic and the singer played some mean harmonica. The real fun was in the guitar work by the former soundmeister from the Jesus Lizard. I did not know that early in the set and was thinking it sounded a bit like John McGeoch (Banshees, Magazine) on steroids. He provided similar sharp edges that were heard in JL, while playing some nice punishing chords as well. This was fun and maybe some people were looking at their watches for this 45 minute set, but I was not one of them.

The Damned - There are some very unpredictable moments that make me feel really old in a crushing way. The latest was seeing that the Damned were playing on their 35th Anniversary tour. The math may be the same, but the Zombies 50th year did not bother me at all. But the Damned helped me get into punkrock with their dangerous performance (along with the Sex Pistols) on NBC in the nascent days of punkrock. But to heck with all that, there may have been a late sellout or something very close with two generations of fans and plenty of people in between. The Damned decided to play their first and fourth albums for the tour. I would have chosen the first and third, but the fourth was the next best choice. They ripped through the first album and aside from the usual slow moves from the soundman, the songs were ripping hard and fast. But this is the Damned, so there was a delay as Captain Sensible switched guitars and could not get it working quite right much to the amusement of Dave Vanian. But by "Born to Kill" they were flying all the way to their great rendition of the Stooges "1970". They did the songs in order and then it was break time after this 36 minute set. They came back and played an album I liked but have not listened to in years. I recall that I loved the first two songs and it was spotty thereafter. And aside from needing a couple of lines to get the harmonies right in "Lively Arts", they did great on those songs. They then proved me wrong by reminding me that I did like Side One a lot, but didn't always flip it over. Side 2 is spottier and led to the their pop music direction, but sounded great tonight. And "History of the World" is a very well written song, so my memory was being sent on a marathon and not merely jogged. I was surprised that they did the sidelong Side 3 song on the special two disc set. I thought it was akin to the dull Love song that lasted a full side, but again it worked tonight with lots of dual psyche keyboard moves. And after a couple of encores from their third album, they called it a night leaving a very happy crowd behind. The Damned were a brilliant punk band, yet changed their style steadily through at least five albums through new members and desired genre additions and shifts. It still works well in 2011 in whatever format they deliver it and I will be with them as long as they care to keep it going.

Quote of the Night: "What are you doing over there... you lazy bastard." Captain Sensible making fun of the keyboardist Monty Oxy Moron (who looks a bit like Rob Tyner, but is more a fall guy like Marty Allen). He had to stand there for the first album with no keyboards and sing a couple of backup lines now and then.

Dum Dum Girls - Crocodiles - Royal Baths -- Black Cat - Oct 22 2011

2011-10-23T17:34:00.002+01:00

Royal Baths - This four-piece instantly reminds me of some sort of Dead Meadow-Gun Club hybrid. That is a great place to be, but they are nowhere near the rarified air of those two bands. The songs just are not there, but the spirit and sound are quite good. They use a primitive beat with lots of slide guitar and interesting tones using space more than thickness. Some songs were good and I liked one later in the set where the guitars were trying to choke the life out of each other. They closed with a really nice groove established and showed a lot of promise. This Brooklyn group sounds like they are capable of producing some really nice music. As I often state, regular gigging and focus on the writing could yield some mighty powerful dividends.

Crocodiles - This is my second time seeing this west coast band as they did a great job on a great bill at a previous show at the Red Palace. That whole show blew me away, but these guys who were also on the middle of the bill came off best. They are a five-piece with keyboards and a vocalist who plays a second guitar at times. The sound is balanced between psychedelic, shoegaze, Britpop, and good old straight ahead rock. This is a powerful band that will not be playing in the middle of the bill too much longer, unless the Foo Fighters are on top. They have great songs and an absorbing sound plus the requisite confidence to really take command of the stage and deliver. The only thing that did not work was their dark stage and projections which did not look like anything with the set-up. It allowed a massive amount of shadow puppetry that went on and on and on with several people in front of the soundboard. You know, shadow puppetry like sex or saying your social security number allowed, is just something that should not be done in public.

Dum Dum Girls - Also from the west coast, these Sub Pop recording artists line up with a couple guitars, bass and drums. There is a bit of shoegaze swirl, but it is more of a backdrop. Instead, it's an interesting mix of pop music with grungy medium tempo riffing and dreamy vocals. It almost is too laid back at times, but the songs are quite engaging. It is interesting that the band has succeeded as well as they have with such a simple steady approach, but there may just be enough in the songs to justify it. It was a little hard to detect in the live setting following the Crocodiles, to my ears. But this band is worth a listen and they drew a really good crowd. While I was not dazzled tonight, I think if I gave them enough listens, I would become a bigger fan. At their best, they reminded me of a female Ride and like a lot of people, I really miss Ride.

Quote of the Night: From an exchange I had with my concierge at my condo where I am reminded I need to enunciate...
"The trash chute is blocked up."
"That's because of Homecoming at Howard University."
"No, the trash chute."
"Ohhhhh...

Wild Flag - Eleanor Friedberger -- Black Cat - Oct 20 2011

2011-10-21T16:42:00.001+01:00

Eleanor Friedberger - I have seen Eleanor F in Fiery Furnaces on three unique occasions. That band really varied their approached in subtle ways in each of those tours. And now that she is active as a solo artist, there is yet another variation. The voice is the same, the songwriting within that range, but there is more of an interesting rock push with the assembled players tonight. The second song was interesting as she reminded me of Patti Smith's imaginary sister--the quiet studious one that stayed in the background, but had a lot of the same poetry and vision. This band was also in that direction with a Lenny Kaye-like garage sensibility, but with a bit thicker sludgy component. They maintained this light psychedelic sound throughout the 43 minute set and it was quite fetching. It was similar to the (little known work) of Bobb Trimble, who played DC earlier this year. All in all this was a solid set by smart people who have enough quiet passion for their music to make for an interesting listening experience.

Wild Flag - Sold out tonight as this band has had significant buzz from before their first tour. This is their second time around the country as this four-piece from Portland, Oregon and DC continues to solidify their presence in the indie music scene. They have a great tribal thump at times, with solid rock drumming throughout. The keyboards are a nice touch and keep the bottom for the two guitars to flail away in the manner of many a post-punk band. Although it's hard to resist comparing all female groups to other all female groups, it is just as hard not to think of the Raincoats and the Slits as I listen. But Swell Maps, Public Image, and many of the mostly British post-punk bands are also here in the sound. The good cuts are good and there is nothing bad--aside from some feedback that was more painful than planned. At times, I did drift off into wondering why exactly does this good band achieve a sell-out, while I will be seeing some great bands over the next few weeks with smaller audiences and smaller clubs. But I will complain about that later. Fortunately, Wild Flag snapped me back to attention with a song that reminded me of Mudhoney playing with a swirling 13th Floor Elevators vibe. That is not easy to pull off, but they did it. They played a new song which didn't sound too terribly new as Wire also did a song called "Three Girl Rhumba" with a similar beat singing "Nothing is nothing" But after that distraction, they played a long brilliant freak-out jam that was two parts Velvet Underground, one part Doors. This completed their hour long set prior to encores (Ramones and Television covers were a nice touch) and abated my cynicism. They delivered.

Quote of the Night: From Eleanor Friedberger... "All right, this is a slow song... very serious."

That got me thinking. When does a moderate or fast paced hard rocking band do a slow song and have it be fun or frivolous? I don't think it happens often. Led Zeppelin's "D'yer Mak'er"comes to mind, and although many heavy bands have done slower reggae songs, they are not often frivolous. Maybe the Who's "Tattoo", not quite frivolous, but light and fun compared to their faster, harder approach.

Stephen Stills - Josh Hisle -- Birchmere - Oct 18 2011

2011-10-19T14:44:00.001+01:00

Josh Hisle - 24 minutes of warm-up presented first for this sold out crowd. But in case I am misunderstanding something, Hisle reminds the crowd that although he knows they all came to see him, Stephen Stills will be up later. He had trouble figuring out why Stills' bus kept following him around on this tour. Hisle's lightly humorous side worked well as he delivered solid folk and blues songs on acoustic guitar and voice. He played a piano once which was a nice break. The one hiccup was the break after the first song where he had a marine buddy of his come up onstage and propose to his girlfriend with the requisite oohs and ahhs from the crowd. Frankly, I have never understood why people want to share one of their most intimate moments of their lives with hundreds or thousands of total strangers. Isn't this rather Kardashian? Well, ok, the Kardashians don't ever seem to go away.

Stephen Stills - Like many people that follow current music, The Y in CSNY is the one artist I am a big fan of. David Crosby had one great solo album and worked with some great musicians. Graham Nash is a talented singer but more importantly a class guy that seems to work with people well. Stills and Young were and are the largest talent in that quartet. Their rivalry/friendship has been interesting to follow for many decades now. As I said, Young is the guy that interests me and most people. I have always respected Stills and was actually looking forward to seeing him in this intimate setting (especially compared arenas). He brought a 3-piece band with him on drums, bass, and keyboards. Stills also did several solo songs on acoustic and even brought out Hisle on guitar as he worked the piano. Early and often, Stills showcased a rather ravaged voice. Their was always a huskiness in it, so it was not too bad, actually. It was akin to aging bluesmen who still push through rough spots (shockingly he sounds a lot like my buddy Ed Pittman after a hard day which was most days). His guitar playing is still excellent. I used to quip recently that his dedication to his health with the weight he's lost would have the upper decks of CSN shows confusing him for Young instead of Crosby. But he almost looks as healthy as Graham Nash tonight, so that is great to see. And even with a break, he seemed pretty sharp for the full ninety minutes he played plus his Buffalo Springfield encore. He pretty much covered the hits and did a long medley of some CSN material (did some whole songs as well). The band seemed very professional and intentionally took a back seat, but kept things slick and moving. When introduced, it turned out to indeed be a slick bunch of pros. I did not know the keyboardist from NY, but drummer Joe Vitale and bassist Kenny Passarelli go back to my Joe Walsh days from when I was in high school. They've played with Stills, CSN, and lots of other top acts. Stills was amusing and he had a bit more caustic to him than wit, but it was funny (at times in a more organized Grampa Simpson sort of way). And it was nice to see him tough it out. His strong attitude and drive allowed him to push forward, take no prisoners, and bang out his music. The jazz and blues portions quieted things down a bit, but "Love the One You're With" had a lot of people out of their seats and dancing. At the Birchmere, that's a pretty good sign of a successful night.

Quote of the Night: I will paraphrase Stephen Stills' response to a guy yelling out a request... "Gabba Gabba whatsat?" There are a couple problems here. First, you are way back there and the mic is up here. Second, I'm f'n deaf. I can hear busboys make every single noise but I can't hear the name of the person across the table from me. Man, and is this the best we can do (as he pulls out his earplugs). I mean its 2011 and this is all we can do?"

Casiokids - Hundred Visions -- DC9 - Oct 17 2011

2011-10-18T15:06:00.000+01:00

Hundred Visions - This two-guitar four-piece comes from Austin to start off tonight's show. I know nothing about them but am instantly impressed with their nice ringing pop-rock sound reminiscent of Sloan with a more driving rhythm section perhaps. I have to say the second song blew me away and had me at full attention the rest of the set. There was a powerful garage-pop feel with driving guitars that reminded me of some sort of Ramones/Wipers hybrid. There is strong lead vocal work on top of the steady throb of a rhythm with good guitar work that is not flashy but extremely effective in their respective parts. The full modern feeling to it also had a bit of the west Texas vibe comes through as well. Rarely are bands as immediate to me as this one was. The good size crowd was sharp enough to let this hard edged power pop work its magic. I wonder if these guys liked the Big Boys? I am sure they did or would like the Zeros, as that may be the closest band I can think of to this mostly original take on a classic form. There are a lot of interesting shifts here, but the core musical themes and structure hold it all together. At set's end, someone behind me said "that's awesome", which is all that was the only needed review for those of us present.

Photo by Pavla Kopecna

Casiokids - Norwegian synthpop? This was not exactly my idea of an essential show. But with the first band already earning every bit of my small price of admission, I viewed this as a bonus. The band has a standard rhythm section and one additional stand-up percussionist with a number of drums. The other three members rotate steadily with guitar and synthesizers. And two of the guys handle the vocal work. They have just arrived from their long flight, so they admitted feeling strange, but thought that may make for a fun set. Well, if that was any part of the formula, it worked. They were indeed pop oriented with plenty of synth, but there was a krautrock undercurrent and a lot of old-school prog sounds as opposed to modern electronica squeaks and squawks. And they managed to avoid the cheesy 1980s synth sounds that sounded dated by the 1991. There is a rich history of progressive music in Scandinavia and you never quite know what each band from there will take from their folk heritage, metal scene, or progressive history. If you have not explored Scandinavian rock music, you are missing quite a bit of history. Further, it seems every unknown band from Sweden or Norway that comes my way is routinely surprising me with their quality. There are some really catchy songs in this set and the crowd moves more and more as the hour long set continues. Graceful music this, but with plenty of spleen. The only thing I could criticize was a 'samey' quality late in the set, but they blew the doors down with their closer which fixed that quickly. I am so happy that I decided not to take the night off and it was a good reminder to always mix in surprise shows with the known quantities. This band is only hitting a few east coast cities, testing the waters for hopefully more visits. I think they are well on their way to establishing themselves on the east coast and hopefully can find receptive audiences like tonight throughout the US next time.

Quotes of the Night: Considering English is probably the Casiokids singer's third language, I was amused by two of his comments...

"This is our oldest song from our first album. A fun fact is that this son was in a pizza commercial in Hawaii" (anyone who uses a term like 'fun fact' scores lots of bonus points with me)

"In 2012, the Olympics will be in London, so we wrote a song about the Olympics. Hopefully we'll be invited to play it during the opening ceremonies. Plan B (laughter)... will be to play it in a small club in London around that time."

Yngwie Malmsteen - The Jones -- Fillmore - Oct 15 2011

2011-10-16T15:18:00.001+01:00

The Jones - This is my second time seeing this local trio, although this is quite a step up from being the first opener of a three band bill at the Rock'n'Roll Hotel. The Fillmore is a slick and sizable place similar to the 9:30 Club, although more similar to the other Fillmores or House of Blues showcases around the country. The balcony is closed but the floor is plenty crowded for the Jones' set. I compared the Jones to Blue Cheer and the Groundhogs before and that brand of psychedelicized grind it out blues rock is still present tonight.They really can lay down a groove with the guitarist vocalist employing good breathy vocals sounding a bit like Black Mountain perhaps. His guitar work is a bit better than first glance as he uses effective riffs, quick leads and fills with a great control of tone. I am carefully observing the crowd to see if the mass of rock fans here to see a shredding metal guitarist will enjoy a different style in the opening set. It was nice to see that so many people did enjoy this strong set. The amount of increased head bobbing, applause, and the occasional nods between friends looked as if the Jones style and abilities can translate to a whole lot of rock fans. This is an excellent band that I will be happy to see on a wide variety of bills.

Yngwie Malmsteen - One of the more famous metal shredders is here with keyboards, drums, bass, and a vocalist. The more important stats are in the backline. The bass and keyboards have basic stack amps and the drummer is shoved a bit off to that side to make way for no less than 26 Marshall heads and 14 Marshall cabinets. There are few more heads near the PA column as well. Only seven heads are turned on and there is one microphone on one of the cabinets for the PA. This wallpaper look seems a bit much for anything shy of a Woodstock performance (even then, the PA is obviously the key), but I only now understand the excess when I go to the Marshall homepage. Yngwie Malmsteen models instantly pop up and are featured front and center. OK, so what comes out of these amps? The expected shredding metal guitar, fast and furious, and played with a lot more abandon than control. Although when he stands still and focuses, he nails all his runs with great control. Otherwise during the rhythm parts, he enjoys running around firing out the never ending supply of picks to the crowd, spinning his guitar around, tossing them to his guitar (pick) tech, and putting his hair in front or behind his head. It is not much of a surprise that the vocals are a bit buried in the mix. Although the sound gets a little steadier and louder as the night goes on. The songs are not terribly memorable and are in the Iron Maiden vein I suspect, although my metal knowledge is limited toward different directions in the metal spectrum. There are lots of solos are lead runs with some of the instrumentalists as the singer gets lots of breaks. After the Star Spangled Banner (where have I heard that before on electric guitar...), they do kick into some tougher songs which I enjoy a bit more. But it goes on for quite some time and the spectacle kind of wears off. The crowd is enjoying the set as it is slick and if you really want to see flash guitar, then this guy is your man. I did enjoy this at times, but smaller doses of the flash, and a focus on the stronger songs in perhaps a shorter set would be more to my liking.

Quote of the night: After a loud whistle from the back, the headliner's singer quipped... "Did that clean your ears out?" I am happy that someone else finds these whistles more painful than all those Marshall stacks.

John K Band - Elikeh -- Rock'n'Roll Hotel - Oct 13 2011

2011-10-14T15:11:00.001+01:00

Elikeh - I have seen this local collective enough times to be impressed that they are a significant player in the local scene. They are also a significant part of the global West African blues-meets-rock scene. They have been a perfect match with Vieux Farka Toure in the past and are now tonight playing a co-headlining local bill. There was only one major item I really wanted to check on as I was pretty confident I would enjoy their set. And that was whether the Thursday night crowd would be sufficient for a club of this size. I was quite happy to see that it was a well filled house with only a bit of space in front and at the rear of the club (well they could have also squeezed people into sardines). The crowd was supportive early on and the band was hitting on all cylinders again. As the set went on, the dancing and enthusiasm picked up noticeably as this band can still pull people into their music each and every time they play. It is a similar line-up that they play with with Togo native Massama Dogo on vocals, guitar and percussion. I have written much about them before and you can see that here or on links at their site (which also features some music so go there). And again, I see a great core rock sound especially from the kit drums. Plenty of congas, gourds, and wood blocks add the African rhythms. The guitar work is excellent and the brass, keyboards and bass all add what is needed. There is a lot to absorb but the band plays so well as a unit, you can just drift away, dance and take it all in. Everyone should add some west-African music to their listening experiences and we are fortunate to have that right here in DC in Elikeh.

John K Band - John K is the guitarist and he is joined by bass, drums, keyboards, saxophone+, and percussion. I must admit I am less than thrilled at the choice of opener, a cover of James Taylor's "How Sweet it is Being Loved by You". In fact in my over a thousand reviews of live shows and CDs, this is the first mention of James Taylor, so that is about all I need to say on the subject. Of course it was better thereafter as these guys can play. At first they seemed like a really good bar band, but they got better than that even as they showed themselves as a quality jam band with great soloing on guitar, keyboards and sax. I am not a huge fan of the style, but if its well done, it works and it was working tonight for the still large crowd (thinned out a tad). And in doing my research after the show, indeed, jam bands are the appropriate discussion as John K was once in the Dark Star Orchestra. If you like this sort of music, this band does it well. Although it's not on my short list of favorite styles, they have enough quality that in future I will stick around for their set and watch their skillful playing.

Quote of the Night: Well kind of a quote. A guy came up during Elikeh's set as we were both swaying and bobbing to the music and turned around and started signing me. I shrugged and he moved on. So I am nagged by the mystery in both the message and the delivery system.

Hans-Joachim Roedelius - Xambuca - Kohoutek - Blue Sausage Infant -- Velvet Lounge - Oct 12 2011

2011-10-13T15:41:00.001+01:00

Blue Sausage Infant - It has been a while since I have seen this one man electronica set. He has a few pieces of equipment and creates some nice murky pre-Halloween backing with some clean Tangerine Dream-like atmospherics on top. Very smooth and involving. As I often write, I'm not much for one guy on a computer, but this fellow has multiple things happening on his equipment (not just a Mac) and creates an interesting musical environment where listeners can easily join in. Or something like that, at any rate. I enjoyed it and he received a nice ovation from a really good crowd tonight.

Kohoutek - Busy line-up tonight, so one of my local favorites quickly get set up. It's only a four-piece tonight with the core trio of John (guitar), Scott (drums), and I believe Craig (bass). The fourth member has a pedal/electronica/effects set-up on the floor. The guitar and drums start things off in their usual quiet fashion as the others join in. It's a 20-minute continuous set with the usual dynamics, although they don't quite blow the doors down as often is the case. And that is not a criticism, as they establish a great groove where the core trio is completely locked in with all the melodic momentum I come to expect here. The percussion is deft, the bass an anchor, and the guitar dreamy. The electronics is fairly quiet with occasional skronks startling the moment. Lovely stuff here--you will never go wrong with this band.

Hans-Joachim Roedelius w/Xambuca - Xambuca is a solo electronica musician who started the set with dark spacey background sounds and ambient beats on top. This is a tad more out there than Blue Sausage Infant and it has its moments. I do hear a sample or recreation of TARDIS (of Doctor Who) landing. The video projections are much better than usual, so the effect is good and the audience is certainly into it. After a bit, Hans-Joachim Roedelius joins in on keyboard where they briefly play together before Xambuca leaves. Roedelius also has an electronica/synthesizer unit he additionally employs, although the created sound always has a lot of space. Roedelius is an important name in krautrock and experimental music as a founding member of Cluster. I am stunned to find that on my 52nd birthday (and feeling all of that), I am watching someone two weeks shy of their 77th birthday! I've done the math three times and am quite impressed at his abilities and desire to keep making music (especially overseas). It appears that an ATP show with Silver Apples may have gotten him over here for a brief US tour, but he's playing a lot of dates with Xambuca and it is a real treat that he included Washington DC on the tour. He plays an ambient style but with plenty of melody and dramatic tension. It was quite enchanting and the room was riveted. Well, aside from the group behind me where a guy was describing how he added some lo-fat cream cheese to something and added some mint... You know maybe that's ambient, too, but I really don't need full out ambience. But the crowd roared at set's end and coaxed a brief encore of more quiet meaningful piano tinkling. This was an entertaining show that was a nice offset to the heavy or the heartland which populates most clubs. And it was great to see one of the real pioneers on stage at the Velvet Lounge.

Quote of the Night: From one of the regulars standing near me when discussing how large the crowd was... "Wow, that's great. When was the last show here that had a large turnout?"

Good question. It has been a while. The Velvet Lounge has some really intriguing worldly acts like tonight and is also a showcase for a lot of excellent local bands. I was disappointed to see in a recent Washington Post article on the clubs, there was no mention of the Velvet Lounge. I will be doing my own take on that article where I agree with them (they did nail some clubs quite well) and where I depart, plus add a Velvet Lounge section.

Blue Oyster Cult - Midnight Hike -- State Theatre - Oct 9 2011

2011-10-10T15:50:00.001+01:00

Midnight Hike - This still relatively new area band landed a nice gig opening up for one of my favorite legendary bands. Not only does it garner them a nice unique audience, but it is a pretty good fit as Midnight Hike exhibits quite a bit of classic rock amidst their more modern styled straight ahead indie rock. They played songs from their one CD (reviewed here previously) and delivered them quite well. The better songs worked well and the lesser ones were still decent. The next step is to keep writing and their set should sharpen up further. The crowd is of course older, with some young people (next generation) also present here as always, although there does not seem to be as many youngsters as I noted in previous visits. The crowd politely accepted the band and I sensed that several people enjoyed this set. Not the guy next to me however, but he did not elaborate nor did I really care. Good gig on a good stage and these guys sound like they still have plenty of energy and are having a good time playing. Who knows where they will turn up next, but it will be a rocking affair.

Blue Oyster Cult - Is this the ninth time for me? I could look up my notes and try to figure it out, but suffice it to say that this has been an important band for me since that first concert of mine where they opened for Rod Stewart and the Faces until the recent couple of times I have seen them on this stage. It's the usual band featuring two original members (Bloom, Dharma), drummer Jules Radino, and ace musician Richie Castellano. The only change is rotating bass position. Rudy Sarzo had been playing but was finishing a tour with Dio Disciples (didn't know that 'band' was still active), so Jon Rogers filled in (he was Joe Bouchard's first replacement). Nice to see Jon Rogers still likes to rock out as it sounds like he is a busy Emmy award winning director when he's not doing this. But on to the show. I was absolutely aghast at how awful the sound was for the first three songs. It really makes me wonder why you would bother with a sound check when it was this bad. Since the band didn't seem to complain about the monitors, I guess that is the answer. Still, the improvement was very slow in coming but I finally noticed it about the fourth song. I thought Ric Ocasek might have been at the Board and the PA under some invisible glass. By set's end I stopped trying to debate how bad the sound was early on or whether the band had lost a step. Since the songs were sounding pretty good for the most part ( only Cities on Flame seemed a bit lethargic), the blame goes to the sound. Buck Dharma is still a treat to watch as his fluid guitar style is unique and powerful. Richie Castellano has a modern style and it is fun to see them trading leads which did not happen in the old days with the rhythm players they had surrounding Dharma. Eric Bloom was amusing and sounds more thoughtful than most when chatting (he always seemed sharp) and drew a laugh from me and others when he said that the shoulder length gray haired Jon Rogers "was not Mick Box with a haircut". "Last Days of May" featured the excellent extended guitar work and "Buck's Boogie" still surprisingly delivers. If the end is coming, it is not due to these players as they still have plenty of life left. But thanks to the technical end, I wished I could have sensed that earlier in the set.

Set list: The Red and the Black/The Golden Age of Leather/ME 262/Burnin' for You/Harvest Moon/Cities on Flame/Black Blade/The Vigil/Buck's Boogie/Last Days of May/Godzilla/Buck solo/Don't Fear the Reaper Encores: after an early Beatles cut (John Lennon would have been 70 today) they blasted out Hot Rails to Hell

Quote of the Night: Overheard at an unbelievably inane restaurant conversation.
"What country are you from?"
"South America."
"OK, but what country?"
"Africa."

Screaming Females - The Underground Railroad to Candyland -- Black Cat - Oct 6 2011

2011-10-07T15:31:00.000+01:00

The Underground Railroad to Candyland - One of the more intriguing named bands that I have seen this year lines up with a couple of guitars, bass, drums, keyboards/percussion, and a trombonist. I did not quite predict the blast of fun power pop punk blasting rock that followed. It was akin to the Dickies and 999 but louder and looser. There is nothing apparently smart in this simple thumping rock, but that often belies the thought and skill in putting something like this together. I was smiling in spite of myself and the large crowd at the backstage of the Black Cat were having a good time as well. They did prove that their multi-vocalists work better with the volume as heard on Black Sabbath's "Changes". That was a good change of pace, though, making the next rocker all the sweeter. The band was full of energy with their steady jumping and the 34 minute set was a lot of fun.

Screaming Females - This was another one of my 'how did I not hear of this great band earlier' moments when I saw them open for Against Me! at the upstairs stage within the last year. This trio smoked that night and I am curious how many of this large crowd are here to see them for just the second time due to that great set. Or they were all quicker to discover that not only is Marissa Paternoster one of the best guitarists around, but the rhythm section of King Mike and Jarrett Dougherty bring the power to this power trio. The fat bass sounds and precise drumming keep these clever little songs moving and somehow Ms. Paternoster can shift between rhythm guitar and extraordinary lead runs while handling all vocal duties. They even have some snake charming psyche moves within these rock songs that have elements of classic, punk, and metal within. I would encourage you to get their records which are certainly good, but you really have to see these three play live to see the magic they make. And if you could only see how well this crowd responded and more importantly compare this response to other bands playing in front of 100 people or even some of them playing to several hundreds. I have rarely seen unanimous shouting and non-stop clapping throughout the set and for encore requests as I have tonight. Too often, it is cooler than thou people standing around waiting for the band to do an encore (encores may be cliche, but either bring 'em back or hit the door as I sometimes do). It will be a stone cold lock that I will be at their next DC show contemplating how I can write up another rave review for the third time. There's no slowing this band down, they will bring it again and again.

Quote of the Night: From Ms. Paternoster and an excited fan...
"This is the first day of our tour."
"Rock out!!! Fuckin' rock star!"
"No, we're really down to earth."

A Hawk & a Hacksaw - Dark Dark Dark - Pillars & Tongues -- Red Palace - Oct 4th

2011-10-05T15:08:00.002+01:00

Pillars & Tongues - One of my former home towns, Chicago, sends us this intriguing trio. With a line-up of Harmonium/vocals, Violin/vocals, and Bass/drums/vocals, there is a natural musical progression to follow--drone. They do employ some drum machine beats and there are thoughtful compositions and vocals here, so it is far from a simple drone experience. It has a dreary Americana at dusk feeling at times and a bit of a Velvet Underground without the striking Lou Reed compositional flair. This is creative music, arty yet accessible, and not easily comparable to many of the bands I listen to. A pretty awesome beginning for the first of three out of town bands tonight.

Dark Dark Dark - Of course they are not as dark as I was expecting. Instead, they provide quality singer songwriter material with another twisted take on the Velvet Underground meets rural America that was also explored earlier. But the sound is quite different here. Female vocals lead the way from the pianist. Some male vocals come in mostly from the clarinetist who also plays some banjo. Accordions, guitars, drums and more fill out the sound. This five-piece has three members switching positions, but the sound remains the same (aside from the instrument choices). There is a nice mix of good technical playing with careful soundscape construction which lifts the odd Americana indie folk-rock sound a bit higher than many bands manage. It still keeps a certain amount of roots and is not quite so weird as much of the New Weird America. The set might have been a tad long at 50 minutes both for this band and the headliners who lost a little bit of this large crowd due to it being a Tuesday night show.

A Hawk & a Hacksaw - It had been a long and successful night already and my legs and back are aching which is usual for me at this club, but I would soldier on for at least a half a set. Well, within a few songs that plan was abandoned and I played through the pain to get the full 55-minute set of this Albuquerque quartet (formally a duo with two guests on tour). One guy played bass drum and cymbal, another on accordion, while a third played trumpet, percussion and 2nd accordion. A woman did most of the vocal work when the work was to be done but also played a dazzling violin and a really cool horn-violin. She pulled strings through the strings of the latter instrument creating a really bizarre sound. It did not take long to realize that three of these players had dazzling abilities to play with pace and feeling. The drummer was fine as well but did not have as much to showcase his abilities aside from handling the uptempo beats. I would be curious how it would sound with a full kit, but if they are happy with this, it works just fine. They remind me of Boiled in Lead when BiL did the fast gypsy music, plus the instrumentation looked similar. Well, also one of the songs had the exact melody of BiL's "Rasputin" where it is probably some Russian folk melody. Gypsy music, klezmer, even some mariachi sounds worked its way into this fun mix. I would say this band has more dynamic shifts and control than Gogol Bordello who plays with far more abandon. This music was catchy and easily induced a bit of dancing and hand clapping and more smiles than the previous bands. Fun music and a nice ending on a great night of music at the Red Palace.

Quote of the Night: Well actually this was from this morning's Washington Post...
Hank Williams III wondering why anyone bothered asking his dad, Hank Williams Jr. about politics.... "The only person out there worthy of mixing political views and music is Jello Biafra."

Bryan Ferry - Phenomenal Handclap Band -- Strathmore - Oct 3 2011

2011-10-04T15:42:00.000+01:00

Phenomenal Handclap Band - It's always a worry that an little known or unknown opening band for a major act at a large venue will get lost in the big space, audience indifference and a crowd making their way to their seats. I worried a little bit for this band at first, but the crowd was more than half in place and was attentive. The two guitars, bass, drums, keys and vocals were able to create enough sound to fill this big concert hall nicely. What was more important was their confidence in the material. They had the musical chops and confidence to deliver a nice 35-minute set. There were three vocalists, although the two female vocalists (one on keyboards) had some great harmonies in the manner of Mellow Candle (although the music was not quite as wild as that). The music was rhythmic, dance-pop, and rocking. Some guy toward the back questioned why Bryan Ferry would have this band, even though the weren't bad and was happy to have his earplugs. You know, it really was not loud at all and I'll go more with the guy further back who heard the most rocking song and yelled "that was great!" for which the band thanked him as sound travels well in this hall.

Bryan Ferry - I was happy to finally see one of the classier and cooler than thou front men of all-time. With Bowie in semi-retirement, it is left to the former (and current) Roxy Music front man to both take us back to the cool glam days, but show us all some cool mature music from then and now. I am a bigger fan of the Roxy Music material, a mild fan of the recent studio album, but mostly unfamilar with what came in between. His set was nicely varied from different parts of his career including a Roxy number off of the first album. I think he only did a couple from the new one which was a bit surprising. He had four back-up singers, rhythm section, a couple guitarists and two on keys--one of which came forward with great sax solos and stole moments of the show (her Louise Brooks hair and black outfit didn't hurt the cause). Ferry was classy and in control all night. His voice is a bit soft, but evocative as ever. Aside from the sax solos, the band only transcended into brilliance a couple times with some sinewy guitar moves and intriguing rhythms. That was the only real let-down and perhaps I am unfairly comparing this to the band that Robert Plant put together (heck, any of his last three for that matter). Still this was a good show (although not terribly long) that the fans were happy with. I am glad to see Bryan Ferry once, but would be cautious if there is a next time. I hope I get the chance to make the choice and am glad to see him still creating music.

Set List? (I tried but failed, but it was very close to something like this--any experts out there can chime in with corrections)... The Main Thing/I Put a Spell on You/Slave to Love/Just like Tom Thumb's Blues/If there is Something/Make You Feel My Love/Casanova/Alphaville/Reason or Rhyme/Tara or Bittersweet maybe?/Like a Hurricane. (well, i have the opener and closer and some of the middle correct)

Quote of the Night: From the opener... "This is our smash hit that you may know... or at least your teenager."

Bonnie Prince Billy - Phantom Family Halo -- Birchmere - Oct 2 2011

2011-10-03T16:05:00.001+01:00

Phantom Family Halo - Oh, I just knew it! Pardon my excitement for connecting the distant dots as well as I did tonight. This group is comprised of a two guitars, one keyboard and a rhythm section. Primarily one guitarist sang and both his vocals and the music were instantly haunting and fascinating in their originality. Of course, I always try to break it down and the fact that these guys were from Louisville, Kentucky had me thinking of the Terrastock Festival I attended there three years back. In addition to the fantastic bands from all over the world (Motorpsycho, United Bible Studies, etc), they featured a number of local bands. A band called Sapat hit the stage with something like 15 members. I rolled my eyes wondering what the heck could come out of this mess. After a couple songs, my eyes focused and my jaw dropped as they played some of the most amazing classical-psyche-folk-rock I would ever want to hear. Well, I was hearing some of the creativity of Sapat tonight as this band reminded me of the alternate universe where Joy Division joined Kyuss in the summer desert jam sessions and grabbed some of that magic. This 40 minute set was quite brilliant. They even had a Sapat moment by inviting a couple of singers to lead the way on a couple songs before they disappered. And of course I am pleased with myself as I learned the next day that this band formed out of Sapat and some other local musicians. And it is great to see that they are on the road. Do catch this band if anything about creative rock music in the psyce-folk world appeals to you. They can do heavy too, as they really let loose a roar with their final number. Some of the crowd was filtering in rather late, which I never understand on a Sunday night. That may be due to the somewhat younger crowd that were likely first time Birchmere patrons who expected a later start. The real latecomers missed out BIG.

Bonnie Prince Billy - Before Will Oldham hit the stage, he sent a rather raw comic on stage because, as she said 'Will Oldham wanted you to have a laugh'. Fortunately after a very long 3-4 minutes where there was some tittering in the back with many faces in front as frozen as mine, she exited. This was the worst entrance I have seen since I saw some duo at the Rock'n'Roll Hotel where the drunken leader and his partner were sound checking in front of the full audience and he made his perplexed partner walk off stage so they could immediately in full view turn around and walk on. His partner's WTF expression did actually make me laugh, so I guess maybe that entrance was better.

Will Oldham (BPB) played guitar and sang with a lead guitarist, stand-up bassist, female vocalist, drummer, and a guy on piano and harmonium. His music is interesting and his weird off-kilter songwriting, mostly lyrically but also musically at times is attractive. It is mostly sparse, rootsy folk with plenty of twists: Neil Young leads, Grateful Dead vocal feel, Gospel touches, etc. I think the more interesting and creative the song, the more I enjoyed seeing it. Otherwise, I kind of felt that sitting at home listening to the record would suffice. I was going back and forth with this a bit when the band cut into a gorgeous rondo. OK, he won me over. The highlights were well worth the attendance and certainly fans of his music got a lot out of this live set.

Quote of the Night: from Will Oldham as I paraphrase... "We played last night in a barn where the audience was supposed to be outside. Due to rain and cold, they all huddled in with us inside the barn with its freshly slaughtered hog's head over the door."

The Horrors - The Stepkids -- Black Cat Sep 30 2011

2011-10-01T15:09:00.001+01:00

The Stepkids - This Connecticut trio is presented in Cinerama or rather the three guys play in front of a wide curved screen with lots of great psychedelic lighting projections. The early part of the set reminded me a lot of the Eno-Bowie collaborations, perhaps most like"Lodger". They featured deep, cool vocal work offset with some falsetto backing vocals. All of this was atop light, spacey music that chose not to go the safe harder psychedelic route. Instead they aimed for accessible pop and consistently hit the target. They reminded me a bit of the lighter side of Group 1850 and very quietly pulled me into their set. They even added some R&B rhythms in a way that still kept their overall flavor intact. Deceptively original with a conviction to their sound, they seemed awed that they went over as well as they did in this 45 minute set on their first trip to DC. They promised to be back and there will be some people here tonight that will be happy for that.

The Horrors - So what is all the buzz about this band? I decided to find out as I knew nothing about them up until a month ago. They have been rising steadily in the UK and are developing a US following as well. They start with some nice psyche-pop. It's very British and although I have one friend accuse me of being so terribly into all things British, the truth is I have a real problem trying to sort out all the really popular pop/rock bands over there from Oasis onwards. The Horrors do channel a lot of this... Teardrop Explodes, Smiths, and probably lots more. They have a full-time vocalist, keyboardist and the expected guitar-bass-drums line-up. The sound is good throughout the night with a lot of space for the vocals atop the rhythm section. The guitar and keyboards fire in and out in key moments before the occasional song where it all hits hard. I don't quite hear shoegaze, not quite psyche, but they do have a nice command of what they want to do. "Three Decades" was an absolute powerhouse that exploded out of nowhere and was the highlight for me. I am not sure they are the next big thing for me personally, but they lived up to the hype and delivered a crisp set that I ultimately enjoyed quite a bit. It was a little on the short side at 52 minutes prior to the two encores, but one of the encore numbers was pretty long, so they went one hour-five or ten or so.

Set List: Changing the Rain/Who Can Say/I Can See Through You/Scarlet Fields/Dive In/Three Decades/Endless Blue/Monica Gems/Sea Within a Sea/Still Life// And two songs in the encore that I don't have the titles of.

Quote of the Night: The nicest guy that ever stepped on my foot while dancing shared his enthusiasm... "How do they get away with that (recent album). It's sooo good, it's (Classic Italian two hand gesture with headbob)"

Viva Voce - The Parson Redheads -- Black Cat - Sep 29 2011

2011-09-30T15:32:00.001+01:00

The Parson Redheads - From the vibrant Portland, Oregon scene comes this four-piece featuring a couple of guitars with all four on vocals including a female voice from the drummer. They start with a slow jangly rock tune that has shoegaze dynamics but keeps the Byrdsian jangle at the fore. As the songs are churned out, it continued in this jangly rock vein with traces of Americana folk. There was a lot of quality and they made a good connection with this crowd. In fact they thanked the crowd for being 'a great audience, so attentive and polite'. I thank my fellow audience members as well, but it helped that there was a lot to listen to. There was a Neil Young like screamer near the end and some four-part vocal harmonies that don't quite hit Byrds/Fleet Foxes territory but show a larger ambition than many other bands are willing or able to do. Thanks for making the long trip, Redheads.

Viva Voce - Also from the vibrant Portland, Oregon scene comes this male/female duo. She plays guitar and sings. He plays drums, guitar, and sings. I was expecting something sounding like maybe a too much stripped down version of the opening band (as I tend to get skeptical of two person electric groups), but as usual, it's better to let the music happen than spend a lot of time trying to predict. Immediately the sound is full. Although there were times when some samples were snuck into the mix, the guitar sound was thick and scrumptious and her playing was strong while she varied between light and heavy touches nicely. The drummer was solid and quickly switched to guitar, both between songs and sometimes back and forth within a song quite seamlessly. He kept a kick an high-hat going when playing at times, so these two know how to create a full sound. The songs were really spooky with psyche moves and really cool melodies and breaks. At times they invade the sonic space of other M/F psyche folk duos like Emtidi or Bread, Love & Dreams, but they invoke more spacey jams and rock touches depending on the song. The whole set was completely captivating and I quickly consider myself a serious fan of this band. The backstage was half full tonight yet the crowd was as responsive as if it were jam packed. Probably the only complaint was the desire for more song. These bands remind me of why Portland was on my short list of places to live after retirement along with Austin before settling here.

Quote of the Night: From The Viva Voce drummer... "We drove through a hailstorm in New Jersey just to get here. We risked our lives just being in New Jersey. I woke up this morning near New Jersey, but now I'm here and feel a little bit better about life."

Obituary for Gyn Cameron Stover, of Dementia Precox

2011-09-28T19:26:00.000+01:00

A Modest Obituary for (Gyn) Cameron Stover

I learned yesterday that my friend of over thirty years passed on this past Saturday, September 24th 2011. Cameron was a fixture of the Dayton punk scene and as a fixture myself, we were bound to be close as the scene was plenty small. He and I first started talking as he liked my Nuns button and anyone who even knew the Nuns was going to be an instant friend. But Cameron (I believe his real middle name and what he went by in later years) and I really hit it off better than most as we shared a comfortable middle class upbringing (he in Beavercreek, OH) with plenty of personal difficulties to deal with and a view to searching out and participating in exciting and challenging high-art and low-art projects. He started an important and locally successful band called Dementia Precox. I released their first 12" ep and worked with them on various live shows over the years. Their industrial post-punk sound was ahead of its time, but due to the usual problems, did not come out quickly enough or complete enough to showcase it on a National scale. Cameron was the main songwriter, singer and keyboardist. He was supplemented with the usual other instruments, although percussion was often on industrial metal canisters and other found metal objects. The music was dark and throbbing or playful and soaring. They were one of the many great, yet mostly forgotten cult bands of that era. I have videos of a live show where the Mayor of Dayton introduced the band and said their set was one 'that we were all looking forward to very much.' Robert Pollard named them with Toxic Reasons as the two key bands of the Dayton scene when he was forming Guided by Voices. They opened for the Ramones once or twice and had several legendary shows in Dayton, Cincinnati, and Lexington, Kentucky.

Cameron and I loved psychotronic cinema and oddball things in life and the arts. We would have many mini-marathons of Dark Shadows watching on TV where our other friends would be constantly nodding off while we gleefully watched Jonathan Frid and Grayson Hall battle it out in Collinwood at 3am. We hung out it Dayton, Chicago, Florida, wherever we could find each other in recent decades. As often is the case, I didn't see him enough toward the end, but the fun times are forever burned in the memory. And I still have the music.

His health did not appear to be at its best the last time I saw him a few years ago when I spent a weekend at his home in St. Petersburg, FL. But his spirit was in great shape. We hung out visited some of his friends and haunts, but mostly just watched loads of movies and talked. We were both stunned that Spiderman II seemed worse than Catwoman, and if even if few agree with me, it's nice to know he had my back on that one. He had pretty much given up on music then but through our talks, over the last ten years or so, he felt a little more invigorated by what he had accomplished. He mentioned that he liked having me in Florida to remind his local friends of his 'other' life in music. He had every right to feel proud of what he and Dementia Precox had done.

I believe he is survived by his parents and sister and her kids. I have not kept up with his family, but his Mother was always a dear. There is plenty more to say and but I'll just leave it here with the above random thoughts and stories.

And if you want to have a listen to the lead song on the ep I put out, check out Maladie d'esprit.

X -- Birchmere -- Sep 27 2011

2011-09-28T17:46:00.002+01:00

X - Prior to the band's set, we were privileged to see "X: The Unheard Music", a documentary about the band from 1986. I had seen this before and recall the hilarious record company executive interview along with some good bits from Robert Biggs and some nice performances from the band. It was fine aside from the fact that when the Birchmere says this will be an all standing show in the Bandstand they mean it. Zero seats anywhere which meant a lot of us crashed on the floor to watch the film. After a short break, the original lineup hit the stage with Billy Zoom marching to his own beat as usual by going up a couple minutes early. They had promised to do two albums in their entirety and began with their debut. They usually play about half of those songs anyway, but it was nice to hear some of the obscure ones as there isn't a wrong note on that album. The sound was strong and the band did have a nice energy to it, particularly in the rhythm section. John and Exene blended well as usual, but something was a bit off with Billy Zoom. Normally he is wall to wall grins, but he was a bit more dour tonight. He mugged it up at times, but something seemed a bit off with his mood and the way the band usually meshes. They then went into songs from their second album and "Hungry Wolf" and pretty much eschewed the second album concept, which was fine by me as a lot of the songs were ones I enjoyed more anyway (note-The Birchmere site was updated to reflect this approach). "Back to the Base" almost sounded hardcore, the way these guys were working it. I was enjoying it. They ended up having three false starts which was a little startling, but I almost glad to see that as it confirmed my underlying feeling that something was a little off tonight. The songs are too good and the players are pros, so it was still a lot of fun. But I am also going to guess that maybe certain members did not want to do that other (4th?) album in entirety bit and perhaps there has not been much rehearsal lately. But I first marveled at this band 30 years ago when they had to do two sets and repeat some songs since they had not written enough at that time. I've seen them a few more times in recent years and I will see them again if they return. For the record, Exene looked in better shape than I expected and I hope she can continue to handle her MS so well (and I liked he 'Seventh Victim' haircut). They are a treasure and I think everyone should catch them while they can.

Quote of the Night: From the That's What I Like about the Birchmere Dept....

I bumped into my buddie Zak from the excellent veteran hardcore punk band, The Mostly Dead and told him: "Glad to see you out for the old timers."
"Yeah, I was just saying to (my friend) that this is one of the few times I can actually feel young at a show."