Ska-cision to Make: Less Than Jake and Aggrolites playing this Thursday November 19th

Less Than Jake

As if third-wave ska hasn't already bit the bullet 8 years ago, New York ska fans will have to make a small decision on Thursday: go all caffeinated with Less Than Jake at the Nokia Theater or go more trad-soul "dirty reggae" with The Aggrolites (who are touring with chillax poor man's Sublime: yes Slightly Stoopid is still around) at Terminal 5.

Aggrolites

Less Than Jake is moderately priced at a 20 spot while Slightly Stoopid/Aggrolites is a bit much at nearly 30 clams but I can't get enough of that ska guitar clicking. Less Than Jake will probably have tons of smelly teenagers (not that we all weren't one once) and the benefit of gritty punk outfit The Casualties but The Aggrolites might have more big dudes with attitude doing some skinhead moonstomps. Or more weed, who knows.

My colleague and friend Loni of Berman Bothers would probably tell me at this point, "Who gives a poop?" but I know there are enough ska fans in Brooklyn but not Staten Island to get into these mixes. Definitely not enough to sell the venues out though.

In the end, you have to commend the fact that these guys still churn out music a decade later, in a genre that has been frowned upon by not only mainstream, but the independent scene as well. Since I enjoy the music, I dig it and defend most of ska even more.

For more info, go to ticket pages for Less Than Jake here and Aggrolites here.

The Gaslight Anthem Comes To Brooklyn Bowl FTEpicW

You have to love when bands play venues that are more intimate than their popularity would suggest. Not too small mind you; private performances should be put in the awkward section. New Brunswick, home to favorites of mine like Lifetime and old Saves the Day.

The Gaslight Anthem, a wonderful throwback to a band like The Replacements with rumbling, full vocals (can you say Bruce Springsteen, who has played with them several times both being from the same areas of Jersey, or even Matt Skiba from Alkaline Trio), it's music you fall in love with and to without preening or feeling "emo". Call it soulful punk, call it whatever, their music is like one big heart, and every time it beats it doesn't just pump blood through them, it pumps blood through everyone listening. It's like standing in a rain but feeling the warmth of the sun beating on your face at the same time. You know what I just thought of? The climax in Bridges of Madison County. That's right. If you intermittently watch that movie and switch to doing other things or watching other things and push to the end, you'll break. Trust me.

So they are playing Terminal 5 on October 15th, but you know you really want to see them on October 16th, at the newly minted Brooklyn Bowl. I guess you could call them "punk darlings"?

It'd be nice to have this on a double bill with The Hold Steady. However, we get Murder By Death as the main opener.

All I know is, I'm not going to be dying on that Saturday Night.

Yo La Tengo Ticket Giveaway - We have a winner!

We have a winner for the Yo La Tengo ticket giveaway, Chris Cab-tion contest stylie. The concert is on Friday 9/25 at Roseland Ballroom in Manhattan, and again, NO Hanukkah shows this year for YLT so get going to this one.

Patrick said: The ass-distraction tactic backfired when Chris' ensuing erection proved far more distracting.

Runner up, who will receive a DVD prize pack is Ed-G, with this ditty: As Tommy bent over to retrieve his fallen cup, Bill decided to give the name "Bowling for Colon-bine" new meaning.

Thanks to Live Nation for providing tickets. If you couldn't think of anything at the time but want to re-live the Chris Cabin magic, go to the original post.

Face to Face @ Gramercy Blender Theater 9.17.09

The evening started off jovial enough, getting a drink with Walter of Marvelous Observations From The Yellow Lines before heading to the concert. I knew that at least at Blender the way the stage curves up I would have no trouble getting a great view if I got there with some time to spare.

Gramercy has inflated their prices somewhat but I was glad that I caught Face To Face with Pegboy and Polar Bear Club (I did not get to see PBC unfortunately).

Pegboy, an older punk staple from Chicago, was hilarious. The lead singer Larry Danmore was fantastic, mentioning that he was 10 years older and also 40 pounds heavier, he still pranced around like a big brat with a gnarly snarl which was awesome. Self-depracating in an endearing sort of way, even though I thought the music wasn't the best. My problem was more the sound system at Gramercy which was not up to par at all this time around (Face To Face had some really messed up low-end sounds on several songs as well). For Pegboy the vocals I felt were a bit high; their music has a sloshy feel with a great guitar presence and I thought that was a bit lost.

Face To Face has not played in about 4 years. This was a reunion kind of tour after playing several shows intermittedly over several months, and it was great to catch them for the first time (when I was most into them was probably high school, and by college nobody came around the Albany area and I had not gone to too many shows in the city, but I digress).

All I know is I think they only played one song off of Ignorance Is Bliss, which I used to own and subsequently re-sold to the used record store I bought it from; not knocking anyone who ends up making a record during their lifetime but it just wasn't that good. Face To Face has been on something like 6 record labels with several albums to their name and all sorts of six-degrees-of-separation with their band members. Being from Southern California during the rise of a new wave of punk in the mid-1990s, I feel like Face To Face was more of a local favorite than a mainstream success. They played a huge chunk of Big Choice which was a breakout record for them (and as my co-worker Loni educated me, their second album), as well as stuff from their self-titled. They are one of those bands that has the respect of a lot of people just for sticking to a particular sound, saying what they mean, and sounding just so tried and true.

Anywho, Trever Keith, the lead singer, is one earnest dude. He's engaging but incredibly thankful to the crowd for being awesome (he noted that NYC always gives Face To Face the biggest reception besides L.A.). He's got this snotty voice but with a low-end tone to it, it's very accessible and interesting.

Heavy on the power chords and big, simple rhyming lyrics, they sound like a west-coast, skater punk band that pulled out a hook or two every song. Lyrically I always thought Face To Face was so bank; they minced epic words with a big-hearted nature, which could turn out cheesy but they make it work and put some power behind it.

They did 3 song tears and then would take a minute to thank the crowd, and then start all over again; the circle pit opened up several times to a fairly large size, but little crowd surfing.

The crowd was mostly older, or at least above 24 I would say; Face To Face is probably one of those bands that the young'uns wouldn't necessarily get into at this point and they haven't been active for a while either (just a hunch, not a statement I'll back up by any means). Lots of 35 year olds yelling the songs that they wanted to hear, which I always found annoying. In the beginning there was this girl in front of me who had a ponytail from somewhat short hair so the tail jutted out and swiped my face a few times, which kinda sucked but once the crowd got moving her and her old man moved toward the front.

In the end though, a great concert. I wish I wasn't fighting a nasty runny nose but I still had lots of fun; their music was built for sing alongs and huge chants and it was good chemistry between the band and the audience.

The Breeders @ Bowery Ballroom 8.18.09

"If I saw you now
Could I look in your eyes?

Do you think of me
Like I dream of you?

Do you wish you were here
Like I wish I was with you?

Youve loved me before
Do you love me now?"

Visualizing those lyrics in my head as I watched The Breeders perform "Do You Love Me Now" in the middle of their absolutely rock-out set, it rushed me to a place that I haven't felt in a long time. It was before I started listening to frenzied punk and hardcore. I started listening to The Breeders when I was about 11 or 12; I felt like I got the music even though I was a bit young. There was something I connected with in the music, maybe it was the catchy and sometimes cutesy melodies, which appealed to me as a kid. But the noisy distortion, not only on The Breeders records and lead singer Kim Deal's side band, The Amps, and sometimes slow pace (on say, Pod) made me a more patient music listener at the time. There's something about The Breeders music that I always loved, most of all the down to earth nature of their production and guitar exchanges. They are a band that has made the most out of their sound, and seemingly without effort.

Taking the stage were Kim and her sister Kelley along with the newer faces (including the drum and bass tandem of Jose Meledes and Mando Lopez, and guitarist Cheryl "from Florida" Lyndsey). They started off with the trippy "Hoverin'", an Amps song (although first recorded with The Breeders lineup) and went newer with Title TK, and then backward with cuts off of Last Splash and Pod. I personally wanted to see them play "Hellbound" and "Fortunately Gone", which tops my favorite Breeders songs, but they did play "I Am Decided" which I love. All the bigger songs got their turn, "Saints", "Cannonball", their cover of "Happiness is a Warm Gun", "Divine Hammer", "Safari". The sheer thrill of songs like "New Year" with an intense, buzzing guitar section really makes for a powerful set.

The drumming really set the pace; the band was lined up in a row (reminded me of The Locust) which really gave the band great chemistry. The banter just made the sisters more appealing, and the added bonus for the night was guest violin Carrie Bradley, who performed with the band way way back when they first started.

Kim Deal's vocals have always been sharp; she has a wonderful range of expressions, most notably her raw, heavier, smoky delivery, and a more precocious, light tone. Her harmonies with Kelley are on point and sometimes purposely and wonderfully lazy. It reflects the little guitar ditties that Kelley is in charge of, which have a lo-fi, amateurish quality to them that makes the band's sound so unique and stripped and visceral. It's positively charming.

These guys really have a muscular sound that even tops their loudest recordings. There's just a great presence on stage, a sense of wonderment and playfulness from the sisters that is very infectious and combining that with some real groovy rock music makes for a great concert. In that way, The Breeders have some of the most accessible music I've had the pleasure of hearing.

But back to where the music took me. At the peak of when I was listening to them, like most of my favorite bands, I would never get sick of it. I would never get sick of hearing Kim's angelic voice whispering cryptic lyrics. This was a time when I thought this was the only music that mattered. It's an amazing feeling that I probably could have only felt when I was that young. To get to feel that again, live, is pretty awesome.

Not be a nostalgic person; I think the Breeders have so much relevance right now. They were indie before most working bands today were, and I think that gives their music a great perspective. It means they take their influences from a different era. They are on a whole different league than most bands of today (I would attribute it to their punk roots, pop leanings, and the fact that nobody has a voice quite like Kim), and that they are still around and playing to a great crowd at the Bowery is awesome to see because it makes them relevant. After all these years, even on the newer music ("Overglazed" from their most recent full length, Mountain Battles), there's something traditional and back to basics about them. There's no bullshit, and they started from a place unaffected by current music trends which makes everything so refreshing and genuine. It's like you're not just watching another indie band, or even a rock band from the 80s and 90s. You're watching the real deal (absolutely no pun intended). They seem unassuming and then when the music kicks in, they are as assured as you can get. They are still very exciting, and I wouldn't think twice about seeing them again.

Oh and two short encores (ending with "Drivin' On 9")? Yeah they can do that.

The Breeders are playing again tonight at the Bowery Ballroom, again a sold out show.

The Motorcycle Industry @ Don Hill's 4.18.09

Ok so it's been a while since my last post but hey, on a weekend when 17 Again is coming out, you know you gotta fill up your Saturday and Sunday with 4 viewings with an option of a 5th.....

Topical huuuuumor.

The other funny thing was that I was riding the subway from Jay Street with two persons who turned out to be friends of the drummer, Ryan Barnes. Who doesn't he know in this fair city? The bartender at Don Hill's shot the shit with me a bit about Dag Nasty as well.

Anywho, so I finally got to catch a short opener set from these guys who I wrote about a while back and they did not disappoint. The only real difference was this time there was much more bulk to the sound due to electric guitars (Don Hill's levels weren't quite so good but no worse for the wear).

With a small amount of the usual banter and a lineup switch (the bassist had one of those old Midtown shirts that I own as well, which was funny), they got right into it with Mr. Langan's disaffected yet righteous vocals, two flannel shirts, and a whole lot of distortion. I kind of liked the acoustic guitar previously used on many of their tracks, however in a live setting pumping up the songs was not a detrimental move on their part. Some neat little guitar ditties and a solid presence (I don't think I've seen Sambas since 2002), these NYU students have a formula that works well: catchy, big chords that are instantly listenable and engaging. It's just all very new school maybe, as if they took parts of a straight up skater hardcore band and slowed the pace a bit. I know other bands have took that kind of pop punk to the max. I know this is going to sound a bit weird, and I could say snotty (in a good way), but think of a really good sneeze, like with all the thick snot/boogers, but you're a fan of it in that Mucus Queen from Billy Madison sort of way. It's a lot of fun and totally bratty.

I spoke with Ryan for a little bit after the show, chatting about NYU, playing in Brooklyn, etc. They have a couple shows upcoming at Retox in East Williamsburg including a show this Friday, April 24th (as of this writing Retox seems to be undergoing a bit of a hiatus after their current slate finishes, hopefully will be back up soon).

The great thing is, you can download their entire album for free on their website: www.themotorcycleindustry.com

For their MySpace, go here. Can you hear that? It's the sound of their friends list almost doubling since I last visited them.

CONVERGE with Genghis Tron, Ceremony, Coliseum, Rise and Fall, Pulling Teeth at Europa Club 3.27.09

Eyeing this date for several weeks was I, and I knew after asking around this would definitely be a solo outing for The KCB. I brought my trusty and very old Canon which was giving me shit throughout the night but I managed many pictures from the same angle because hey, the pit got pretty heinous at times (but the entire concert was pretty controlled).

I got there right as Rise and Fall were finishing up, I would have caught their last tune but the guy in front of me had a bag full of weed and other crap that the bouncer wouldn't let him in with. So as the band downstairs was rocking out (it's amazing how separated the two levels can be especially since the stairwell is open) this guy pretended he couldn't hear the bouncer until the bouncer said, "Now I'm getting pissed off." Eventually the man was told to go home, it was like something out of 8th grade. My apologies for Rise and Fall and Pulling Teeth for not being able to make their sets.

After getting a PBR and surveying the very packed house with a really ominous wall of merch, fitting for a hardcore show such as this.

I wanted to see Coliseum (who hail from Louisville) as their stuff really caught on with me when listening to it at work and home in the weeks before the show. They have quite a bit of melody and a healthy dose of just straight up hardcore, although their look and feel during the show invited more awe at how tight the 3-piece played rather than THAT much moshing. Ryan Patterson, the big-bearded frontman and guitarist, was a pretty heartfelt guy and between the growls, chatter, and again, the surprising hints of melody (almost into Grade territory, and as many people know, I love Grade) he made a good set. It felt more rock than anything else really, very tight stuff.


Ceremony was really interesting and incredibly enjoyable; the lead singer mentioned he just came from a wedding (he looked like a younger and slimmer Bruce Campbell by way of Bridge and Tunnel). Since I love ska I guess I can take a little offense as to his mockings onstage, but then again, these guys really kicked some ass (although the guitarist reminded me a lot of Eliot's guitarist in some respects, just kinda weird). I think a lot of bands love being hybrids nowadays, as it's been trendy for a few years now. Or even having a newer, polished sound. These guys sound like they came straight from a Minor Threat, Descendents, or Circle Jerks show, and of all the bands, they actually came away as really the most integrated set with the audience, who gave them feedback in uproarious fashion and fairly violently. Toward the end of their set there was a dude who was knocked the fuzz out right next to me, sprawled on the floor as his friends and staff helped him drag his feet to the back. That's the kind of hardcore show that really hammers the feeling down, a sharp, communal rush of blood through your veins not through melody but through utter chaos, and alternating periods of speed and disruptive breakdowns.
Where's the singer you ask? Take a look in the middle, right in front of the dude with the black and white baseball shirt and below the bassist. Gotta love people who get in the mix like it's their birthday.


I had seen Genghis Tron before, and now with their ever expanding lightshow and electro setup, it definitely divided the crowd. Winning the contest of taking the longest to set up shop isn't really fun. Interesting mix of grooving rhythms (they have no drummer, it's all set up via machine) and noisy high pitched tomfoolery but ultimately not my thing. There was one girl who was totally enthralled and had their number, she was flailing about in the pit almost alone (save a couple other fans) in a trance, it was nice to see that someone really got them. Their cover of Big Black was probably the high point for me.


You can really tell that Converge, they are great showmen (Nate the bassist started things off with a loud "who fuckin' farted?"). The banter is constant and tonight they were actually just a really happy group, so I guess considering the dark subject matter they explore in their music (they managed to hit cuts from most of their albums and "Locust Reign" from their split with Agoraphobic Nosebleed, including two songs from their new album that sounded like much of what was on No Heroes but with a few more hooks thrown in). Starting off ominously with "Plagues" and breaking into "The Saddest Day" from their early work on Petitioning The Empty Sky (which consisted of a different line up, as their earlier days had constant shifts but included members of Bane and Cave In). Jacob Bannon took a break from his raspy shrieks to lend the stage to a friend for a cover, but all other times most eyes were on him; he's a great front man and his lanky frame allows him to take up a lot of space and have a strong presence but in a fluid way, smoothly working the point home. The bassist Nate Newton rocks hard with his bass hung way down low and well, it looks really cool and a bit effortless. My wrist always hurts when that happens. The hang low part, not the looking at Nate look effortless.



I always thought Converge had an amazingly large sound for a 4-piece band, and literally all the elements come together, from the crunchy distortion and very quick guitar riffs to the rumbling distorted bass to drumming you swear was done by a robot for how much endurance is needed. At the same time their sound is tighter than a NYC subway turnstile (yeah I just did that). Or no wait, the 6 train during rush hour (YES! In it goes!).

Weird side note, in 2003 in Philly at the tail end of UPenn's Spring Fling, the guitarist Kurt, his girlfriend helped me when I tripped trying to get napkins from the McDonald's station at 30th Street station. I was so psyched because my college roommate who was with me Austin was a huge Converge fan (he got me into them) and he was totally passed out on the bench.



Anywho, they rolled through their set and finished furiously with 3 of their minute-long songs ending with "Concubine" from their much acclaimed album, Jane Doe. Much stage diving to be had indeed.

For more on the respective bands, go to one of their pages and please purchase if you rikey:

Converge
Ceremony
Coliseum
Rise and Fall
Pulling Teeth
Genghis Tron

For more info on Europa Club in Greenpoint, the premiere Polish-American club, go to their official site (they do a lot of hardcore and punk shows).

The English Beat (aka The Beat) with Bad Manners and Big D & The Kids Table @ Irving Plaza (aka The Fillmore) 2.6.09

I apologize as I only had my crappy camera phone with me to take any semblance of a picture. But, I make no apologies for enjoying ska as much as I do. Doesn't matter if it's from original rudeboys, two-tone, or 3rd wave, I love it all. Well not all of it (Five Iron Frenzy anyone?) but there's something so sprightly about the guitar clicks and marked drumming, sometimes with horns, organs, etc.

Taking influence from some great influences like soul and slyly spreading out and evolving (or de-volving as many detractors would probably want to note) into different directions, you can still see the movement's inspiration to artists today like Lily Allen. I say movement, because as my colleague from Marvelous Observations pointed out at the show yesterday, there's no niche quite like ska in terms of its audience, and a movement like the variations of punk and hip hop because it incorporates not only music, but oftentimes a lifestyle and values. Now that may sound conformist, but it really isn't that serious; it's more like a "have fun, love life" mindset, and to hell with people who say otherwise. Great ska is like a blast of funk and jazz without the pretention mixed with the cathartic nature of soul. My college roommate would say it's "circus music" which it can be, but I'll take it over most music any day.

Another basic thing is that having a whole crowd dancing organically to bands that really incoporate a bit of showmanship is a great site to see, the vibe can be unparalleled.

Anywho, so when I saw that The English Beat were coming around again, and this time with Bad Manners and Big D, I immediately picked up a ticket, put on the braces, and told my feet they were going to hurt afterward from all that bouncing around.

Big D

After a Newcastle, Big D started things off. Now I'm a Big D fan from years ago and I kind of prefer their old stuff off of albums like Good Luck because I thought it was the baddest-ass verison of them, 10 members, back and forth vocals, and wicked breakdowns (oh Boston). They've changed a bit, and their recent album, Strictly Rude, which I have somewhere in my possession, is all ska and less punk. It's a nice album, and doing a couple bigger cuts like "Noise Complaint" certainly were agreeable. But I'm not sure if they are consciously tired of their old stuff, don't have the manpower anymore, or wanted to concentrate their opening slot on newer stuff, but the energy level just wasn't quite there this time. I've always thought bands should do what they do best and to hell with the rest of the bill. I felt like Big D could have brought out the big guns with songs like "Can't Be Caught" or "51 Gardener" and blasted the crowd to pieces. Their energy is most unique like that I think, a very hectic feel, as lean and skinny as frontman Dave himself but having this pop to it. It was still good to see them again.

Bad Manners

The crowd got considerably packed for Bad Manners. It was the shit. Really. Buster Bloodvessel of course took off his pants somewhere around the 3rd song, and by the time they ended with their version of "Can Can" I'm sure the front row may have gotten a nice view of the jewels every time he kicked. Bad Manners kind of takes the most precisely hepped up feel to mid-tempo two-tone without adding much to it unlike other bands of the late 70s and 80s. It's part of the reason why they are the most fun, and probably also the reason why they are a bit less known than The Specials or The English Beat as well (we could even stretch it to the Police), in that canon of bands. With great rompin' stompin' covers of "Sally Brown" and "You're Just Too Good To Be True" (I wished they played "Skinhead Girl") everyone was sweating balls and the place was just HOT. Knees up, elbows swinging, torsos twisting and gyrating, chants on the offbeats of "pick it up pick it up" and "hey hey hey hey".

English Beat

Now I think I prefer last year's concert that English Beat put on with one of my favorite bands, the Rx Bandits, as I think this year with a longer concert and really, an almost unbeatable Bad Manners performance (it will be their last one on this tour), it's hard to keep the audience's attention. Dave Wakeling is the only original member touring with this version of The Beat, so no Ranking Roger, but hey, we'll have to take more of his General Public-ness to get to the good stuff? Sure why not. The Beat really melded 80s pop into their ska machinations anyway, without the kooky charm of Madness. Their traditional pop and great harmonies really shine on great hits like "Save It For Later" and "I Confess" on their later material but for me, as a ska fan, it's really anything off of I Just Can't Stop It which they played most of again that really gets the place moving. The highlight was actually after you thought they were just starting to settle in and hit a dry spot, when they got a roar of energy back to back from "Mirror In The Bathroom" to "Ranking Full Stop". At one point they snuck in Pearl Jam's "Better Man", which was a bit odd but it's great to see the over 45 crowd react. Speaking of which, the crowd was on average much older; I'm going to say there were two averages: 25, and 45. Not much in the middle. With their marathon sets, The Beat put on a great show, albeit just a bit long on their outros. Dave Wakeling, all scruffy voiced and constantly referring to copious amounts of pints, his pick shaped guitar, was all smiles as he took the crowd back about 30 years.

The skins were out in much fuller force this time, I half expected there to be a line of scooters around the corner by Galaxy. The crowd is always enjoyable to peruse, because I just think that you get more niche and it's interesting to see how music and fashion, culture, etc. get blended. Oh pork pie hats! Oh bald heads! Natural or shaven! Skank!

The Motorcycle Industry - I Frickin' Love These Guys

Cover art for the new album, Electric Education. Buy it on iTunes here.


V neck t shirt? Check. Flannel? Check. Cardigan? Check? Black-framed glasses? Check. Sports watch? Check-wait a second it better be a Thundercats watch...

"Fake friends will get you nowhere".

That part of the stanza in "Jesse" (not really a stanza, but let's just use that term to sound like a smart bitch) reminds me of that great part in Empire State Games' "Trivial Pursuit" where he goes, "why do you surrender your thoughts and emotions for limited surface acceptance".

You know how I love Oxford Collapse. These guys, so named The Motorcycle Industry, are like a less loud version of them. I think the one of the greatest things to describe a band is youthful, and not like your teen pop youthful, but much more brash, as if they're in the moment but not to be cute, but to say, "this is my hilarious self-awareness at this particular time and anything's game". It's a fun, snotty, awkward, punk-ish way of being when you're smarter than 16 but not settled down at 25. I love Brooklyn in this scrappy way as well. And that's where these guys call home.

MI's cuts basically are a lyrical adventure; there's a soft spot for me because I too went to the goddamn NYU bookstore as they lament on "Everything Sounds Better With". Singing with a drunk laziness (read: off key sometimes) but with a sly, abrasive, self-deprecating wit, John Langan sloshes through songs with a combination of vocal stylings from the Pogues, The Anniversary, Piebald, and a little bit of Say Anything. It's like a situation where you are drunk among friends making silly zingers and there's a sober acquaintance who just doesn't understand that some people actually get funnier the more drunk they get. I love the stream of consciousness in the stories spun, going from description to oh-SNAP judgements and back again without any rest. Because no matter, it's down to earth; calling other people out on their shit in very personal (and yet, almost objectively), specific instances is a great invitation to the listener to come into their world and see how they see in a fun way. The details are alluring in that way that they come so fast that you really are engaged to keep up with the thought process.

The music swings from Tosser's/Pixies type rumblings like "Blue Ribbon" to great little accents like the keyboard in "The Lost Weekend" breakdown, and the four piece seems to feel content and knows a thing or two about melody and mixing up between acoustic-heavy songs and adding doses of crunch here and there. Michael Weiss's mid-tempo guitar hooks and Ben Caruba's sometimes light, sometimes drudgy bass lay into the songs in a nice go-around-the-circle sort of way, like "here's my stuff, now it's his turn, and let's put it together now". Ryan Barnes rounds out the band with some Dave Grohl-in-Nirvana-Unplugged drumming; reasonable volume, rolling fills, a bit fluffy.

It's fist pumping with a clear conscience.

These guys are picking up some good shows as of late, including next Thursday, the 15th, at the Alphabet Lounge on Ave. C. Check out this flyer, with Ryan's chest hair prominently shown. Nice sunglasses indoors at night. Oh sophomore year NYU.


Be sure to check them out at Mercury Lounge as well on Feb. 1st; they are headlining the show and should show up sober around 10pm. I probably won't be. Won't be sober.

Other shows upcoming:
Feb. 18th - Bar 9 (where the bartenders can be slow during happy hour, but the jukebox is great).
Feb. 27th - The Delancey (where male go-go dancers will dance to their music)

Check out The Motorcycle Industry on MySpace, where they have a little vlog as well as 575 friends.

Rival Schools @ Mercury Lounge 11/06

Rival Schools I feel pretty much have a built in fan-base from the other famous bands that they are associated with, namely Quicksand and Gorilla Biscuits. The band can be overshadowed by the kind of superstar status that their members have attained being a productive part of not only one, but several influential bands in the hardcore scene. Walter Schriefels is not dissimilar to a Bob Nanna of Friction, Braid, and Hey Mercedes, even in that the last band mentioned is a bit lighter in sound and more melodic by nature as well as Rival Schools is.



So seeing them with a couple of co-workers who share a love for many of the same bands was a real treat; namely, I was hanging out with a couple of dudes who while only eclipsing my age by 4 or 5 years, were heavily involved or listening to music that I was growing up to only peripherally since I could not drive or go to shows and whatnot. It matters to them more to see a band like Rival Schools, and it's something I looked forward to even though ultimately I probably would prefer a band like Metroschifter.

The interesting thing tonight was that they opened for Bad Brains early on at 9pm at Irving, so naturally them being 45 minute over schedule was foreseen. I skipped the opening bands although I wished to have seen The King Left, as we had a couple drinks at Gawker while playing that Rock Band game and failing on Jane's Addiction and Sex Pistols of all bands, and then had to attend a farewell party to another co-worker at Bob Bar (or Bar Bob).

And then of course we got Bereket shawarmas (I apologize because I can't remember the particular name of the sandwich) and it was amazing. I didn't even want to go to the show. I just wanted another one because it was amazing. And delicious. Especially after many beers. Dan Williams thought the same thing, but Loni Berg...eh ra Berman skipped out. It was awesome Loni. There.

Rival Schools came on to the hope of new material (which is true) and a familiarity that the crowd had with the old standards, anticipation of a long hiatus building and the band's age shining through. There's is an undeniable Quicksand imprint, and both have a somewhat unique 90s sheen to them (even though Rival Schools was bigger around 2001) with hoarse vocals but a "grungier" (hate to use it but I guess it's the simplest way to describe it) feel than some of the other bands of the time I think. There's a patience and a slower pace almost; save some election talk there was little banter between songs and they pushed through most of United By Fate, their only officially released LP to date and a couple covers. Songs like "Travel By Telephone" and "Used For Glue" came back suddenly, but the audience really kept their cool; it's as if "hey this is what I came for, that's totally cool, and I'm possibly a bit old to be moshing". The atmosphere was energetic but not overwhelming, as if the fans were a bit nostalgic and were a bit frozen in the wake of songs that they probably hadn't heard live in a while. The new songs pushed a bit more pop and conventional but sounded fresh and pretty tight. It was an economic show, expected and very professional and definitely satisfying.

Rival Schools "Used for glue"


As always, Mercury is a great, low-ceiling affair but the temperature was kept at a moderate level until a pit started to develop during the last three songs or so and I got clocked in the chin and bit my tongue which caused a gnarly little abrasion for a day or two. They are one of those bands because of their pedigree and connections over the years, you may have been able to glance at all the ex-label people and the community that has supported them in their prime and now. It's a cool snapshot of mostly people who have gone on to do other things, or fans, like my co-workers, that may have moved beyond them at some point but got a great glimpse of a new record from an old dawg.

For more pictures and context, go to Brooklyn Vegan's post which graciously took an excerpt from this review: Brooklyn Vegan - Rival Schools & The King Left @ Mercury Lounge - pics

To see them on MySpace, click HERE.

Oxford Collapse @ the Mercury Lounge 9/27

I really like Oxford Collapse. It's cool that they are under the radar at Sub Pop. It's also cool that they have a cool name. And it's also cool that they just seem like regular guys who aren't even that cool. They aren't that hip. In fact, I'm sure if you had a misunderstanding with them, you might think they are assholes. Who knows. I just think that there's a particular swagger to their music. It's drunk, it's loud, it's sloppy but deceptively so because underneath all the distortion and howls there are real guitar hooks, real gems there. It's exciting to see them live again, and at the largest venue I've seen them at, the lovely Mercury Lounge. The sound is great, one of the openers, Takka Takka, was amazing live, with balanced guitars (I still hate 3-guitar bands but I'll make an exception in this case), rolling bass lines and tight, simple drumming.

Openers kept hyping up Oxford which was kind of funny because after the umpteenth time of a band member shouting "you guys are in for a real treat" the crowd probably thought, "these guys must be real pretentious". But they aren't; they watched the opening bands with support and encouragement, and that's the kind of community that music needs to have, an open, hey-i'm-in-the-crowd-too aspect.

I caught the second opener, Grandma's Boy, their second show ever, a foursome of young hip flower girls and dueling vocals, the taller one with a husky, deep power, and the other, a more precocious, somewhat perversely sexualized (fitting with their lyrics including songs like "Pink Chocolate"). It was cool, they settled into a groove, most of their songs consisting of two-chord progressions and mid-tempo 4/4 beats. It's like if Shonen Knife were less punk, even more simple, and talked about sex with obvious innuendos.

Takka Takka was really tight, I really enjoyed their songs, all varied, and the lead vocalist sounded great; I was thinking Echo and the Bunnymen the entire time, I hope that is a cool comparison. At first I wondered why they needed a percussionist, and 3 guitars, but they have some really nice little ditties that warranted a triple guitar attack. Very professional stuff, and they put their little keyboard to just the right amount of use, coming in with eclectic sounds at good moments.

And so Oxford came on around 11:45. By the end of the show, you know it's awesome when the backs of the bandmembers' shirts are just soaked with sweat from convulsing and kicking out the jams. They ripped through numbers like "Molasses" and songs from their new album "Bits" with a real urgency and fury. I wished they could have played Lady Lawyers but anywho. They have the unfortunate situation that most of their fans seem to be indie rock people who don't dance or do anything, although their songs are certainly moshable.

I think they are a solid band because they really have a punk feel, there's vibrancy at the root of their music, which is uncomplicated and certainly sticks to the guitar-drum-bass formula. They sing about getting ridiculous and loosing sight and stutter and wail about and wade in shit. They don't mind getting dirty I think. They sound normal, and not normal for indie rock, or punk, or garage rock, or whatever. They don't posture with their vocals, their melodies are clear and are backed by rambling drums, and it's music made more on impulse and catching that great moment, extending it for 2 or 3 minutes, and doing it all over again. They are a fun band to watch, when a bassist can come out to the audience and drink a patron's beer during a song, that's rude and odd and amazing. They aren't wimps on stage and prance around like it really matters to them, showing it not with just head bopping, but with head banging.

Check out Oxford Collapse's MySpace here. Or if you want to make it official, go here.

For Takka Takka, go here. Their song "Fever" is on the Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist soundtrack available next week.