True Widow w/ Bad Dreams @ Union Pool, Saturday August 13th, 2011

I invited quite a few fools to this True Widow show, but alas, I think maybe the darkish heavy tones of this ultra-slow rock band from Texas scared away my aging girlfriend-tied friends. Or perhaps, the minor threat of some kind of goth-doom inspired mosh-pit in a crowd of questionably-showered hipster metal-heads was too good of an offer to accept. But sincerely it was their loss, since instead of some kind of slow depressed nightmare sadness, True Widow's live show came across as more of a heavy, warm, peaceful blanket of sound to curl up next to the fire with, and slow down your life.

Something about playing songs that down-tempo and overdriven, comes as only a relief and reprieve from our distracted fast-paced modern city life. I get a similar feeling at a Ducktails or Kurt Vile concert, a chill-out factor that puts me in a nice low-key mood, of course True Widow does it in a louder, heavier way, but the effect is the same. For all of you tone heads, how does he get those sick guitar sounds? Well, I can't say for sure, since he hid half of his pedal board in a box of cables (is this a new trend?) but he was playing gibson humbuckers in stereo through a twin reverb for clean and a tweed deluxe for tube amp distortion, with a boss blues driver for boost/overdrive grit. Can't beat that setup. Beautiful.

I missed opener's Herzog Rising, who have the most insane band blog I've ever seen (check out the obama video!!). But Brooklyn's Bad Dream was pretty solid, similar to True Widow in a heavy bluesy way, but maybe not as slow and with more angst. Their singer/bassist has a fantastic scream, more like a roar, so you don't care if you can't make out the lyrics, since the melodies, tone and emotion are all there. Overall quite a satisfying show, and I have no regrets blowing off all other saturday-night invitations, in fact it was my friends' loss, for not taking a chance on an under-rated band from out of town.

Joan of Arc @ Shea Stadium, January 20, 2010

If you were ALT in the late 90's, or a fan of Cap'n Jazz, there's a decent chance you had a brief love affair with Joan of Arc, especially for their energetic live shows. While most bands from this era have broken up and grown up, JOA apparently didn't get the memo. They've only gotten better, with less emo and angst, more fun and groove. There's nothing like a tight veteran band with years of experience still rocking out, doing what they love. And you can still catch them in a small venue. Know what I mean?

Beck - "Cancelled Check" - Live at KCRW 1995

I was trying to remember this one quote from a Beck radio show but couldn't: "The past is a cancelled check, your maximum point of power is NOW!" It was relevant at the time. Anyway, I thought I would share, so i uploaded this video mp3. Oh, and I did some "internet research" and the televangelist he's talking about is Tony Robbins. Of course.

Big Troubles w/ Babies @ Death By Audio, December 18th, 2010

Even with a sunny and cool Babies headlining set, featuring the hot girl from Vivian Girls, and a dude from Woods, openers Big Troubles won the night, with excellent Pains of Being Pure of Heart-esque shoegaze pop, meets early 90's british alt-indie. They were so convincing, I even bought their last LP "Worry" which I'm happy to report will require many excellent repeat listens. Reading Rainbow also played a set, and while they have a pretty fantastic band name, there's just something about their music that really annoys me...

Hunnie Bunnies w/ Skimask @ Party Expo, December 9th, 2010

Hunnie Bunnies are cave-men bunny rabbits drenched in bunny blood dropping blitzkreig hip hop beatz over heavy vocal feedback. By destroying everything cute in their band name and the world, they reveal the charade that anything is truly innocent (even bunnies), and leave the audience wanting to rage. That's a good thing. There are too many pretty little bands out there trying to "make it big" for the glory of their own inflated ego. HB inspires you to run around the room like a wild dog, raise your fist to the moon, and rip your hair out in frustration at our inability to live in a modern society without being exploited for greed. This is "release" music for the post-reagan 99% global corporate slave generation, where the only brave yet desperate gesture we have against conformity is to recreate the sounds of a bunny being skinned alive, and amplify it as loud as we can.

PS. Skimask is the perfect opener, like a disillusioned 90s rural noiserock band attempting a big city bank robbery as revenge for the 2008 financial crisis.

Hauschka @ Manhattan Inn, October 25th, 2010

Hauschka is a neo-classical german composer who somehow managed to break into the indie-rock scene in Brooklyn. Here's a nice recording I've made of the last song in his set. Beautiful.

Cloud Nothings @ Don Pedro's, October 23rd, 2010

You might not notice it from the recordings, but Cloud Nothings has pretty much the sickest punk drummer out there right now. He was doing like 16th notes on the Kick without a double bass pedal! Yeah, you know a band has BIG potential (like Vampire Weekend big) when the hipsters form a mosh pit and start crowd surfing in a venue smaller than my apartment.

Candy Claws, Tape Deck Mountain, Wise Blood @ The Delancey CMJ Showcase, October 20th, 2010

I guess Candy Claws were the reason why I trekked out to The Delancey for this CMJ show. Their new album Hidden Lands is dreamy, like the soundtrack to some psychedelic stop-motion christmas movie with paper mache elves and talking snowmen. And they're from San Diego, what's not to like? Okay, so they lose points for the zorro masks, but gain points for wearing headphones on stage. See, it all works out! I really liked what the guitar player was doing, fabulous stuff. Their songs don't follow a straight traditional rock structure (verse, chorus, verse). It's more classical, with key modulations and variation on a theme, less repetition. Different! Good!




Tape Deck Mountain is an awesome band name. Guess what? It's also a damn fine band. Kinda post-shoegaze? This was Carl's favorite band of night. I really liked their lyrics, which surprisingly, you could make out loud and clear. The drummer was simultaneously playing a keyboard throughout, the guitarist had an elaborate looping effects setup, and the bassist plays through a Rat pedal. Cool!

I like bands that get wasted before their CMJ showcase, scream their guts out, rip off their shirt, sample The Beatles, and only play for 15 minutes, like Wise Blood.

Women w/ DDMMYYYY @ Knitting Factory, October 9th, 2010

Phew! Women were amazing. One of the best shows I've seen in a while. You know who they remind me of? The Joggers! But a little more 60's pop psych. I just love those jangly guitars! Their new album Public Strain is really solid, def in my top ten this year... I only saw the last few songs from DD/MM/YYYY, but they're also fun! Spazzy artsy uptempo indie math rock at it's best =) Good dudes too.

Deerhunter @ Apple Store Soho, September 28th, 2010

Oh boy! There was some serious B.O. at this show. Honestly, Deerhunter fans need to take a shower. We couldn't see much (the Apple Store doesn't have a 'raised' stage) and it was pretty packed, but the sound was excellent (Bradford has the same Marshall stack as me!). Overall I think I still like Mikrocastle better, but there are some excellent new songs on Halcyon Digest that were cool to see live (my favorites so far are Helicopter and He Would Have Laughed). Too bad I wasn't close enough to see their effects pedals, I bet they have some good ones...

Pavement @ Central Park Summerstage, September 25th, 2010

Here it is. The long-awaited Pavement re-union tour. The one so anticipated that it went on sale a year in advance. I guess people were a little too confident about their schedules back then, and were outside the venue selling extra tickets like crazy. The original ticket price was $38.50, and you were lucky if you got $10 bucks for one. I got in for free! (thanks dude at the door) Times New Viking opened up and I liked 'em, even though I can't listen to their ultra lo-fi albums. Also, the drummer was showing some Cincinnati love, go Reds! =) So, how was it? Was it worth getting soaked in the lightning storm? I think so! A little fear of death makes any show better. They sounded great, huge guitars, big drums, Malkmus was on point. But there was a little bit of that feeling you get whenever you watch bands from the 90's play their old hits, that this-was-relevant-15-years-ago-why-am-i-still-spending-my-time-to-see-this thing. Still, great songs from an influential band!

Panda Bear @ Governor's Island, September 11th, 2010

I've been waiting to see Panda Bear for a long time, since his last show was such a revelation. This one comes on the cusp of his new album, Tom Boy, which has yet to be released. It was pretty cool to be one of the first few thousand people to hear the new sounds, and almost makes it worth the $25 cover charge (but still, that's no excuse to charge $12 for a Jack on the Rocks -- sorry dude, no tip on that bs). What's the verdict? There are definitely some jams. He seems like he's going for a slower, artsier approach to this album, which is nice, and kind of fits my mood (I don't always enjoy watching people spazz out on stage - ahem, I'm talking about you, opening-band-i-don't-care-what-your-name-is). You can definitely hear a couple of the merriweather post pavilion samples in there, and some of the drum beats are fantastic (that is his specialty). And of course, his voice is in top form. I don't know of anyone else who can do male falsetto in such a sweet, un-obnoxious way. The projector video was decent too, kinda glitchy computer graphics spliced with 80s vhs clips. He did go a little heavy on the dual fog machines. That, combined with the view of the towering 9-11 memorial lights across the water, really reminded you of that terrible, world-changing day. But it's good to remember things like this, how we don't really live in a completely safe and harmless world.

Why? @ Williamsburg Waterfront, July 11th, 2010

Why? was pretty good... I'm not a huge fan (like Alex, who knows the dudes), but it was enjoyable. You'd think that Deerhoof and Xiu Xiu playing Joy Division's "Unknown Pleasures" album would be rad. But it was not.

Shiv Hurrah @ Arlene's Grocery, May 25th, 2010

My friends have a new band, Shiv Hurrah, led by David Bechle. I think everyone was duly impressed by this, their first show! I hope they stick together, and get real tight and awesome. Check out the video I shot!

Apollo Sunshine @ Mercury Lounge, May 19th, 2005

Ooooooooooooooooooof. Apollo Sunshine slays. Seriously, if you can see them, do it. Well, first buy all of their albums, so you know the songs, then go. Sam SHREDS on lead guitar, one of the best out there. I'm so glad they're still playing! Why isn't this band huge dammit?

This Frontier Needs Heroes @ Bruar Falls, May 18th, 2010

This was kinduva weird night. An intimate This Frontier Needs Heroes show means Brad and Jessica Lauretti are gonna be a little rambunctious. The new merch is awesome. Do I want a custom made one-of-a-kind This Frontier Needs Heroes pillowcase featuring the gulf-oil spill drawn by glitter gun? Yes, I do. Brad was just in Texas for the last few months writing new songs, and he debut'd a few of them here. His favorite, "Space Baby," which he declares as the best song anyone has written anywhere in the last year, is, i'll admit, fantastic. I hope their new album (recently kickstarter funded) lives up to this fact.

Broken Social Scene @ Music Hall Of Williamsburg, May 8th, 2010

"Are you ready for The Forgiveness?" Kevin Drew of Broken Social Scene asked the sold-out crowd at Music Hall of Williamsburg on a Saturday night in Brooklyn. After opening their set with a few staple BSS hits, the band launched into songs off of their new album aptly titled Forgiveness Rock Record. The new album is good, not my favorite BSS, but I'll gladly keep supporting this band if they continue making poignant, inventive music. I'll probably never see BSS again in such a small venue. And it felt a little weird too, like we were watching a band that had clearly out-grown the mid-sized club. The audience was a little dazed for most of the show, not knowing what to make of this new incarnation of the band. And the band noticed it too, commenting halfway through the set, "I feel like we all just woke up." Of course, this was a big event and all of the branches of the extended BSS family tree were there, including special guest appearances by Emily Haines, and the Philly Horn section. My favorite of the night was their version of "It's All Gonna Break" which they didn't play at Webster Hall the night before. Ahh, another BSS show for the memory books.

Gross Relations @ Bruar Falls, April 23rd, 2010

Bruar Falls was packed for the debut of Gross Relations. They were pretty good, sort of like an even more lo-fi version of Guided By Voices, if that's possible, except with a vibrato-y keyboard and distorted vocals. And I'm not just saying all this cuz they recorded their EP at my studio, I would never do that!

Doomstar! @ Party Expo, April 1, 2010

Holy shit. Doomstar! fucking destroyed! They just keep getting better, with such a huge sound for 3-piece. Sorry, no pictures. I was too busy jumping around!

SHITSTORM w/ The Walk-It-Offs, Martha Dumptruck Massacre @ Matchless, March 31st, 2010

Due to scheduling conflicts (Drum had to skip practice to break up with his girlfriend) SHITSTORM had to play this shit-show as a two piece. I think it went well? At least all the blips and beeps were in their proper order, and everyone had their mind blown. Noise collage at it's best. Thank you for your support! No pics from the show, but we bought some nerd glasses and took a couple portraits during practice. I think Carl looks fantastic.


Martha Dumptruck Massacre always brings a big smile to my ears. For some reason, I can't really describe them, but at least one song really put everything in perspective, and made my night. They're also cool dudes.