Category: Music

Can you dance to distorted experimental 8-bit melodies? YES. Canada’s Holy Fuck combines experimental electronic loops distorted over live drums and guitar. They do NOT use computers or midi sequencing devices and everything is created live in a very chaotic setting. The electronic portion of the sound stems from 2 members surrounded with an abundance of old synthesizers and arrays of pedals. There even was some 35mm film editing contraption that was converted to produce crazy analog sounds. The music is a collection of scattered glitches and beats somehow held together to created melodies that got everybody dancing and yelling “Holy Fuck” throughout the entire set. In the end it sounded like if Einstürzende Neubauten took Nintendo games systems and threw them into a blender. I was completely blown away by their IDM rock n’ roll, dancing wildly as I was no longer in control of my body and wanting to hit my head repeatedly against the wall .

Songs titles and lyrics based of numbers? ¡Forward Russia! formed in 2004 in the U.K. and has been getting a ton of buzz considering they were everywhere at SXSW. It was their first time in NY and they played to a very eager NY audience. The music was intense and emotional involving screaming nonsensical lyrics over pounding beats coming from Katie, their incredible drummer. The lead singer was completely spastic onstage getting entangled with the microphone cord to the point of strangulation. The band created these intense walls of noise to just be destroyed by the wailing voice of Tom as he frantically jumped across the stage. The last song was a culmination of energy and Tom jumped into the crowd nearly knocking me over in the front row. I was captivated by the sound of hardcore music combined with experimental melodies. This band is drop-kicking the stagnant music of ’06 and just got signed to Mute records so expect your eardrums to reverberate some more in the future. These guys kept partying at the after concert party despite having to get on a plane at 9AM to kick ass in San Francisco. An incredible evening.

I didn’t take any pictures because EVERYONE was taking a ton of pictures with their damn flash. Soon concerts will be ruined by all these stupid amateur photographer blogger peoples like me. Why do you have to take over 200 pictures in one set???

Here’s a round up of the best shots.
source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/freekorps/

Links:
www.holyfuckmusic.com/
www.forwardrussia.com/
Rough mashing of the audio of ¡Forward, Russia! “Twelve” with the Sesame Street Pinball Video.

I was lucky to get here early to catch Cold War Kids which is a great band name. They brought their jangly guitar rock from California which at times is minimal indie to intense primal rock when they play live. Their music is much like their website, capturing human experiences from the outside and giving it back to the audience. A great live act. They play again at the end of July with Sound Team.

Figurines were terrible and should have played first to not disrupt the vibe of the show. I left after the 3rd song to do multiple tequila shots to cleanse my eardrums.

OK, I know all the bloggers like Tapes N’ Tapes. I found out about the band via gorillavsbear and it seemed within days the band was all over the internet, to the point where I stopped reading the music blogs cuz it got to be silly. They weren’t signed and the music I got from them was quirky and interesting indie rock. Nothing THAT amazing but yet something about them made their sound really unique. So I finally get to catch them live, along with a sold out crowd that sang along to many of their songs. And you know what… they were really great. Halfway through their set they got their groove and played the hit cowbell to their devoted fans. With a sparse stage and simple structures the band created a great sound. I loved it when the tuba came out. The band earned its hype. Great show.

Pictures from the show.

Links:
www.tapesntapes.com/
www.coldwarkids.com/

Spencer Krug sure is a busy man. Not only is he the co-vocalist of Montreal’s mighty Wolf Parade. he also has a solo effort called Sunset Rubdown and plays keys in his old band Frog Eyes. With 2 sold out shows at Mercury Lounge, it was to be a very anticipated performance. Bedroom Walls opened up, but they were just terrible. That’s all you need to know.

Spencer took the stage with members from Pony Up! to help realize the full sound of Sunset Rubdown. Unfortunately he and the keyboardist got food poisoning from a local restaurant and were not feeling well at all. He was even too sick to drink, and stated that he wasn’t used to playing sober. They opened the set with Sinead O Conner’s “Nothing Compares To You” and then continued to play these strange and wonderful pop melodies with Spencer’s Boey-esqe distorted vocals. The songs were dense and a bit psychedelic and always interesting. I felt bad for Spencer who became more and more pale as the set went on, but he closed the set with 2 powerful songs with his accordion.

Despite the “bad” press Frog Eyes was getting from their previous shows, I was eager to catch this band live. The band was tucked neatly to one side of the stage and I was surprised to see Spencer again to play the keyboards for the band. He was not looking good at all. For the next 40 minutes or so I was absolutely mesmerized by the front-man Carey Mercer. I couldn’t understand a word he said between and during songs, but whatever was coming from his mouth, it was crazy and genius. He seemed to gain more energy as the night went on and became enraged at the microphone. I was front and center and could feel his energy as he vibrated on stage. The music that was created was so strange and powerful and would love to see them again.

Pictures from the show.

Links:
http://www.myspace.com/sunestrubdown
http://www.myspace.com/frogeyes

Although better judgment would have kept me home and not gone to this show considering I needed to get up at 5:30 AM for the Montauk Bike Tour, I am so glad I went. Caught the last bit of Ambulette’s set which is Maura Davis’ new band. She was the former front woman of Denali and her new quartet puts her voice center stage. Lush and a ton of emotion.

Rainer Maria was on next and they are wrapping up their tour of their new album “Catastrophe Keeps Us Together” which is one of their best ones yet. In the 6+ years I’ve been seeing this band, this is the biggest venue I’ve seen them play at. Caithlin looked amazing and the band seemed very relaxed and happy to be back in NY. They played many of their new songs including a very passionate “I’ll Make You Mine”. They played a lot of the hits, but considering they now have over 6 full lengths out, they couldn’t play all of them. Caithlin’s voice still delightfully cracks during some of her songs and the band has become a very tight trio. The new album continues their direction of loud pop songs and quiet punk songs with lyrics that are very personal. It’s very polished but still raw and emotional. The best live show that I’ve seen the band has put on.

Pictures from the show.

http://www.rainermaria.com

Three great local bands for 10 bux. The Big Sleep as expected put on another great set. The sound was a little blown out at Southpaw, but their dynamic sound still was there. They only played 1 new song and I am STILL waiting for a full length of new material.

The Comas put on a surprisingly tight show. Despite a subdued audience, they played a bunch of new material and showed a lot of maturation since the last time I saw them. Considering this band was formed as a joke in Chapel Hill, they have come a long way to create a decent album and an enjoyable live act.

But I must say Sam Champion stole the show tonight, From the 1st song they came out with intense energy and never stopped. There Pavement-y songs are much better live and I’m really surprised how much better they have gotten from last year. Considering no one in the band is over 27, Sam Champion has a prosperous road ahead of them.

Pictures from the show.

Links:
http://thebigsleep.net
http://www.thecomas.com
http://www.samchampionband.com