Talk Talk Talk
The Rip It Up panel will be held at Mo Pitkins on Ave A (between 3rd and 4th) and will start at 7PM. Admission will be $8. Admission of guilt for spending $75 bucks on an OG copy of Moody will be free.
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February 28, 2006
February 27, 2006
Future Days
As a point of departure, Year Future can best be described as a dark punk band. In a high school sense, they're too arty to hang with the mohawks and too punishing to get much love from the black-clad miserables. They're the kids that wear Christian Death shirts to Black Flag shows.
More often that not, Year Future are fast, frantic and screamy, but those aren't the only sounds they paint with. Also including in their First World Fever attack are guitars soaked in tinny reverb, extended passages of swirling noise and some really killer drumming courtesy of Moving Units stickman Chris Hartwell. Kay's trademark shrieking is more than capable of pushing the entire thing to the point of combustion, and it sounds amazing when he does, but it's a weapon he's learned to use wisely. This time out, he and Year Future have turned to moods and textures—lots of tensions building under the surface. It's a few months before the album hits, but I'm just offering to keep you ears peeled if you're looking for a punk record that's a bit off the beat up path.
February 24, 2006
Show and Tell
Last night, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs made themselves known again. Their methodology was simple. They played almost all the songs off their achingly brilliant new album Show Your Bones, a few bonafide crowd pleasures from the old days of Fever To Tell and Bang and made glorious noise for just over an hour. Their set swelled with noise and performance and sex and any word that's the opposite of boredom.
It's easy to see why people love them—they match a bold face name massive rock attack with a "call me be my first name" approachability. They make you want to listen to them (they got hooks and riffs and rock and roll) and once you do, you are rewarded with a feeling akin to the rush of a kiss or the comfort of a confession.
As last night demonstrated, Karen's still the queen of her stage. Her attention to detail, which can either manifest itself in her screaming at the top of her lungs for ten seconds straight or looking straight to the back of the room and singing "they don't love you like I love you", makes most every other singer look like they're just phoning the set right on in. You can't copy that energy and you certainly can't fake it.
Guitarist Nick Zinner and drummer Brian Chase sounded at the top of their game as well. As they hit full throttle a few songs in, they swept you into the next moment, the next secret or suprise of the new music they were playing. It was alien worlds and odd sonics and weird jazz and bar chords and sheer volume. Like if the Who grew up listening to the Cramps. Or something (else).
What can I say? The Yeahs played a real show. They played an acoustic version of "Maps". They played "Modern Romance" and "Gold Lion" and they played like it all mattered—that every gesture wasn't a gesture at all, but a new way to communicate and make themselves heard. That's what real bands do whether they are arriving or coming back.
Photo by Aliya Naumoff
February 23, 2006
The Rule Of Three
February 22, 2006
There's A Freeze Out Coming
With yesterday being new release day and all, I figured I would step to the table a day late and zero dollars short and hit you with some music that's new to me and hopefully new to most of you—unless you got up on my Bob Boots post from a while back and have been flipping crazy Zimmerman bootlegs ever since. In that case, please holler at me.
Anyways, I wanted to share this nugg that a friend turned me on to called "Freeze Out". Dylan archeologists date it sometime between "when rock was young" and "before everything started sucking", but to put it in more manageable terms, it was recorded sometime between Highway 61 Revisited and Blonde On Blonde and has the amped up charge of the former with hints of the hazy, meditative vibe of the latter. It's also way more smoking that the version that appears on the No Direction Home soundtrack. Click here to dig in and get lifted.
February 21, 2006
At their core, the Black Lips are a great shitty rock band. Great in the sense that are very fun to watch. They are also great because they know their way around their version of a good rock and roll tune and just don't give a shit what you think it sounds like.They are also shitty in the sense that their guitars sound Olsen Twin thin and are almost always out of tune and most of their songs sound like covers, or parts of covers, or covers sewn together to make better songs that only nerdy music writers can tell are two covers.
Last night's show being no exception, the Black Lips sounded amazing. They didn't play their songs so much as they did throw them around the room. Things never felt like they were in danger of falling apart, because they already had. That was the point of departure—a mess. And from there, the band thrashed, flailed and finessed their way out of it (or would that be in to it?).
February 17, 2006
The Long Haul
Tonight's edition of Nite Time at Don Hills (scroll down) is bound to put you on the express train to goodtimesville (population: you). Once again, promoters Dave P and Justine D have secured the services of the mighty Optimo DJs as well as in-house heatmaker Tim Sweeney to keep you going well into the early/late morning. Saturday's the day of rest, so perhaps just rent the Last Waltz and meet up with some friends later in the eve. Just an idea. Sunday is jam packed—Australia's mighty psych wizards Wolfmother at Northsix, the New York Dolls at Mofo and TK Webb at Tonic and Monday ain't looking to shabby either—Wolfmother at the Mercury Lounge and !!!-spawn Free Blood at Cake Shop. Enjoy!
February 16, 2006
Casting Call
Ludlow Street's lovable hooligans The Cast have been grinding away at turning out gently distressed, thin and cozy t-shirts and hoodies for a minute now. You'd never think so much care went into making clothing that looks like it's survived no less than three world wars and five ex-girlfriends, but trust, there's a whole lot of love in everything the Cast designs.
As part of their brand new Fall 2006 collection, the boys are kicking it up couture style by adding a line of cut and sewn items such as slim-fit blazers, high collared shirts and leather jackets to their list of wares. And just because they're cool like that, you're invited to come and check all the new gear at their studio on Ludlow Street tonight. Come, see, feel, drink, be merry and peruse their new look book. I hear they cast some handsome fellers to be the faces of the Cast for 2006.
The Cast's Autumn/Winter 2006 viewing will be held at 119 Ludlow St (basement level) from 8-10 PM tonight with an after party happened shortly thereafter at Motor City 127 Ludlow St. DJs Vietnam and J Penry will be in the building.
February 15, 2006
T-Time
Now that the smoke and mirrors of fashion week have cleared, many of New York's young designers are rolling out their ’06 collections on the virtual catwalk aka the interweb. Most of what's been rolling into the inbox has been pretty zzz, but the the new t-shirt collection from fashion mash up masters Wowch has been blowing my mind for a minute.
I wish I could show you the uber limited shirts they designed for the DFA for xmas, but those joints sold out quicker than you could hit a cowbell. Like in their previous collections, the Wowch dudes have taken kittens, lions and various other signifiers such as bikinis, beer mugs and cut and pasted their way into my little heart with their double-take warranting designs. This time out, they've even enlisted some of their pals to do the honor of modeling these handsome duds. Fuck a Napoleon Dynamite, Wowch got your liger right here—as do spots like Iheart, 222 Gallery and Rojas. Click here for the full deets on where to cop em and go get 'em, tiger!
February 14, 2006
Trap Of The Year
The long running (for New York, anyways) all-Misfits playing It's 1977 party is always a good time and brings out the freak in all of us—so bring your friend and have fun, or a few friends and have more fun. Or just come by yourself and be creepy and sing "Die, Die, My Darling" up against the wall. It may be Valentine's Day, but there will be plenty of Hate Breedin' for the rest of us.
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