From: Neil
Date: Wed Nov 26, 2003 8:04 am
Went to the Buffalo Bar last night. It's a small bar in Highbury, North London, but on Tuesday nights a wonderful gang of brothers going under the http://www.artrocker.com banner put on gigs for next to no money. This week's artistes were The Midnight Evils and The Dirty. I've copied this straight from the Artrocker mailout because (a) I'm lazy and (b) it really is an excellent summary.
THE MIDNIGHT EVILS (Minneapolis USA)
As their name suggests , this Minneapolis four-piece may well not leave the Buffalo Bar standing, but will have a good time throughout. If you like The Datsuns or White Stripes so-called 'rock' then these guys are the real deal. Fast and heavy in the spirit of Motorhead and more recently The Hellacopters, The Evils breath new life into Highway Rock (think Radar Love or Born to be Wild) with a scuzz and careless abandon that Subpop's Catheters and In The Red's Hunches have shown. they are not affraid to maul classics either from Standells garage rock to AC/DC un-pc blues-rock. New album "Straight til Morning" is on ESTRUS RECORDS(along with SYMPATHY, the true home of US underground rock'n'roll) and features a steal of Radio Birdman's "Murder City Nights" ..... "Twin City Nights", a fitting tribute.
THE DIRTY
Fierce and rocking fourpiece and fresh out of the blocks of The New London Rock'n'Roll scene of The Rocks / Beatings / The Hells. In front of a classic Stooge-punk wall of noise , Kyrill struts and swaggers his angsty self with style and wit, a real David Johansen for 2003 ! Primal and street-fighting, low-down, bluesy and .... Dirty.... of course ! The Dirty impressed PJ, supporting The Mooney Suzuki recently at his DIRTY WATER CLUB (London haunt of Billy Childish and Jack White's Stripes), he agreed to release a 7" "Black Sugar / Cinnamon"- The very first DIRTY WATER RECORDS Release out now. "garage punk assault, coming on like Ian Svenonius fronting a pissed off Mudhoney this makes all the right (in the red) noises. Great!" ROUGH TRADE
I picked up the ME CD and Dirty single, and I like both. Unfortunately, I haven't a clue how to transpose vinyl to MP3, and almost certainly haven't got the cabling, so I can't post a Dirty track, but if anyone wants to hear a ME one give me a holler. The Evils really caught my attention. One of their guitarists looks just like Hunter S Thompson, the singer/bass player was a bear clone, but wore an Austin "Beerland" trucker cap and a Greenhornes tee, so you know his heart is in the right place!! The Dirty are much more akin to the bands of appeal to this list, but they are still pretty young and need more gigs, but will be well worth checking if they ever get gigs outside the UK.
-- NeilM
The owner of the original legendary Chicago punk bar, OZ, and producer of the infamous punk album Busted at OZ comments on music along with others. Visit Busted At OZ
Wednesday, November 26, 2003
Friday, November 07, 2003
The Rapture
From: demhopkins
Date: Fri Nov 7, 2003 1:43 am
Very late show. I skipped the first two bands but went to see Gil Mantera's Party Dream (primary support) and walked into a sold out house completely digging two guys--one in a G-string and the other in bikini underwear dancing their asses off and touching themselves in ways that Michael Jackson has only contemplated. But, the music was fucking great--keyboards and syth and a front man who did some guitar work (occasionally awesome). Hysterically funny with musical integrity. The act (and it is an act) was so good that they won the room. I've seen a number of bands try to pull this off musically (at CMJ alone) but this band really did. An amazing live show (not sure I would by the product but I wouldn't run screaming from the room if somebody put it on--the way I would with most (all) 2 piece guitar/synth bands. My first time seeing The Rapture and I am happy I waited. What once seemed formula and discoish to me, now seems driven and focused. Much of the focus is dance music--but I can no longer write off the genre because these boys do it so well. Brilliant sax and lead vocals that bring to mind everything from Robert Smith to John Lydon to Jeff Buckley to (fill in the blank). They absolutely know how to adapt vocal style to the music--and the range is impressive on both counts. Great funk and Rock n Roll Part 3 as the finale actually worked. They closed the set (before encore) with an extended version of House of Jealous Lovers that still has me awed. I went with a friend who usually stands and watches the shows--he threw his leather on the floor and danced his ass off. This band is having more fun than any working people ought to have. Also, at one point mid-show--there was a hassle up front and the singer saw a woman get punched by some asshole dude. He stopped in mid song and took control of the room. He explained what had happened and announced it wasn't going to happen at one of their shows. Security handled it at the direction of the band. (I wish more bands were this responsible). It cast a shadow--couldn't help but wonder if the band could immediately recaptutre the momentum they had built--and they did so within seconds. I'm digging the music and really digging their style. Knock me over with a feather!
--Dem
Date: Fri Nov 7, 2003 1:43 am
Very late show. I skipped the first two bands but went to see Gil Mantera's Party Dream (primary support) and walked into a sold out house completely digging two guys--one in a G-string and the other in bikini underwear dancing their asses off and touching themselves in ways that Michael Jackson has only contemplated. But, the music was fucking great--keyboards and syth and a front man who did some guitar work (occasionally awesome). Hysterically funny with musical integrity. The act (and it is an act) was so good that they won the room. I've seen a number of bands try to pull this off musically (at CMJ alone) but this band really did. An amazing live show (not sure I would by the product but I wouldn't run screaming from the room if somebody put it on--the way I would with most (all) 2 piece guitar/synth bands. My first time seeing The Rapture and I am happy I waited. What once seemed formula and discoish to me, now seems driven and focused. Much of the focus is dance music--but I can no longer write off the genre because these boys do it so well. Brilliant sax and lead vocals that bring to mind everything from Robert Smith to John Lydon to Jeff Buckley to (fill in the blank). They absolutely know how to adapt vocal style to the music--and the range is impressive on both counts. Great funk and Rock n Roll Part 3 as the finale actually worked. They closed the set (before encore) with an extended version of House of Jealous Lovers that still has me awed. I went with a friend who usually stands and watches the shows--he threw his leather on the floor and danced his ass off. This band is having more fun than any working people ought to have. Also, at one point mid-show--there was a hassle up front and the singer saw a woman get punched by some asshole dude. He stopped in mid song and took control of the room. He explained what had happened and announced it wasn't going to happen at one of their shows. Security handled it at the direction of the band. (I wish more bands were this responsible). It cast a shadow--couldn't help but wonder if the band could immediately recaptutre the momentum they had built--and they did so within seconds. I'm digging the music and really digging their style. Knock me over with a feather!
--Dem
Monday, October 27, 2003
CMJ: Pretty Girls Make Graves and The Gossip
From: dem
Date: Mon Oct 27, 2003 6:27 pm
I got to the Knitting Factory in time to catch Dance Disaster Movement. Two guys, all in white, one on drums and the other on keyboards/synth. The music is definitely dance and the lead man--keyboardist never let the crowd forget it. definitely not my type of music but they did keep my attention. All loops are done live on stage--nothing is canned. Good beats, good loops, good drumming made it OK. Others seemed to like it much more.
PRETTY GIRLS MAKE GRAVES: I went in liking this band but not crazy about them. I left liking them very, very much and looking forward to seeing them again. PGMG understand CMJ and they spent the week promoing their show and making friends everywhere they went. The place was packed beyond anything I have ever experienced and the thought of death by fire was on my mind. Andrea is the most likeable singer I have seen in awhile. This band is no act and neither is she. Everything they do is so authentic. They immediately connect
with the crowd and deliver the goods. Tight set with more biting power than I expected. The bands name has always put me off some. Andrea has a style truly her own as she delivers the lyrics with a grace rarely seen outside of jazz and makes sure every word and emotion is felt. The band sparkles throughout. Of all the performers I saw at CMJ--this is the band I would most like to hang out with, especially Andrea, who by the time she left the stage had managed to personally touch every one in the room with her charm. This band
rocks both in music and lyrics. Intelligent but not snooty. Probably more CMJers with badges at this show than any other I attended. My second favorite performance of the marathon.
YOUNG PEOPLE: They followed PGMG and were so bloody awful I beg anybody in this group who likes them, for the love of God--tell me why. A horrible snooty woman behind the drums does the vocals as she taps the drums with one hand accompanied by two irritating shoe-gazing guitarists. Lyrics range from The Man Who Got Away (kinda) to other babble. The packed house is now about 1/3 full (thank God for room to breathe) and the few left are tired and not in the mood to be polite to this act. This insufferable woman leaves the drum to play the bass--but doesn't know how to plug it in and the show stalls. She then proves she can't play bass either. They mercifully do a short set. I guess this is some kind of art rock--lacking any artistic merit and never rocking.
THE GOSSIP: The crowd who had disappeared for Young People came back in force for The Gossip. Beth fronts this band (an Arkansas girl with a voice not to be believed). The band was not tight--stopping between each song to decide what to play next. The songs are short and the musicianship is acceptable, not stellar. But Beth's voice makes it all okay. She complains a little about being tired and playing at 8:00 in the morning--but she delivers the goods throughout the set. The crowd loves it even though it is 8 o'clock in the morning and everybody is ragged and exhausted. Beth dances with more energy than anybody should have at this end of this marathon and we dance with her, knowing it is the end. She is nothing less than brilliant. Unfortunately, I don't feel that way about the guitarist and drummer backing her up. The best female voice I have heard among our bands deserves better backing. The music is derivative of itself--only Beth's voice and her presence keeps it completely satisfying throughout the set. Yeah, I'd see them again in a minute--but don't think I'll find complete satisfaction in what they do until they either add a guitarist or Beth finds a new backing band.
--Dem
Date: Mon Oct 27, 2003 6:27 pm
I got to the Knitting Factory in time to catch Dance Disaster Movement. Two guys, all in white, one on drums and the other on keyboards/synth. The music is definitely dance and the lead man--keyboardist never let the crowd forget it. definitely not my type of music but they did keep my attention. All loops are done live on stage--nothing is canned. Good beats, good loops, good drumming made it OK. Others seemed to like it much more.
PRETTY GIRLS MAKE GRAVES: I went in liking this band but not crazy about them. I left liking them very, very much and looking forward to seeing them again. PGMG understand CMJ and they spent the week promoing their show and making friends everywhere they went. The place was packed beyond anything I have ever experienced and the thought of death by fire was on my mind. Andrea is the most likeable singer I have seen in awhile. This band is no act and neither is she. Everything they do is so authentic. They immediately connect
with the crowd and deliver the goods. Tight set with more biting power than I expected. The bands name has always put me off some. Andrea has a style truly her own as she delivers the lyrics with a grace rarely seen outside of jazz and makes sure every word and emotion is felt. The band sparkles throughout. Of all the performers I saw at CMJ--this is the band I would most like to hang out with, especially Andrea, who by the time she left the stage had managed to personally touch every one in the room with her charm. This band
rocks both in music and lyrics. Intelligent but not snooty. Probably more CMJers with badges at this show than any other I attended. My second favorite performance of the marathon.
YOUNG PEOPLE: They followed PGMG and were so bloody awful I beg anybody in this group who likes them, for the love of God--tell me why. A horrible snooty woman behind the drums does the vocals as she taps the drums with one hand accompanied by two irritating shoe-gazing guitarists. Lyrics range from The Man Who Got Away (kinda) to other babble. The packed house is now about 1/3 full (thank God for room to breathe) and the few left are tired and not in the mood to be polite to this act. This insufferable woman leaves the drum to play the bass--but doesn't know how to plug it in and the show stalls. She then proves she can't play bass either. They mercifully do a short set. I guess this is some kind of art rock--lacking any artistic merit and never rocking.
THE GOSSIP: The crowd who had disappeared for Young People came back in force for The Gossip. Beth fronts this band (an Arkansas girl with a voice not to be believed). The band was not tight--stopping between each song to decide what to play next. The songs are short and the musicianship is acceptable, not stellar. But Beth's voice makes it all okay. She complains a little about being tired and playing at 8:00 in the morning--but she delivers the goods throughout the set. The crowd loves it even though it is 8 o'clock in the morning and everybody is ragged and exhausted. Beth dances with more energy than anybody should have at this end of this marathon and we dance with her, knowing it is the end. She is nothing less than brilliant. Unfortunately, I don't feel that way about the guitarist and drummer backing her up. The best female voice I have heard among our bands deserves better backing. The music is derivative of itself--only Beth's voice and her presence keeps it completely satisfying throughout the set. Yeah, I'd see them again in a minute--but don't think I'll find complete satisfaction in what they do until they either add a guitarist or Beth finds a new backing band.
--Dem
CMJ: The Cooper Temple Clause
From: dem
Date: Mon Oct 27, 2003 10:59 am
From the minute the words "Did you miss me" filled a packed Irving Plaza, this band owned the room. I came to the show loving them--and left somewhere beyond loving them. I don't know of any band today incorporating so many influences and doing it so well. Liz mentioned a while back that the great bands now still seem to be missing the edge that the bands had in the 1970s--not The Coopers who have an edge to everything they do. The keyboards and synths are done to perfection. As an avowed 2 guitar and drum kind of guy overall, anything added has to be done very well to impress me. The possibilities that The Coopers naturally see and incorporate into their brand of rock and roll very much impressed me. While a number of bands seem to be reinventing themselves or modifying their sound for CMJ (e.g. Jet), TCTC featured the full range of what they do. "Musicbox" was beautiful and in its lulls as powerful as anything TCTC has ever done. Ben Gautrey's vocals are my favorite in rock n roll today. With the added vocals of Daniel, the harmonies continued to haunt me long after the show ended. TCTC can bring it down to just a harmonica and Ben's voice and transport you to a smoky cabaret room in feel and performance--the room hushed. The ability to bring the music to a
Gavin Friday type lounge sound and immediately come back with power I have rarely felt since Killing Jokes very first shows so long ago amazed me. Back to keyboards and synths--beyond the lush orchestrations that were added to the music, watching Kieran and Tom play the boards and turn the knobs was a show unto itself--exciting with a sense of adventure that recalled Eno's days with Roxy. What should be a hodge-podge of music is so carefully crafted and then woven into something that feels completely original to me--in spite of the many obvious influences. The live performance is so much bigger than the two magnificent CDs. Ben delivers a lyric filled with venom, all with a knowing smile and then steps back momentarily to catch a breath. The music continues with cold, calculated certainty that continues to warm the room in the most intimate way. As the show ends, the jaded crowd (not jaded people--just so many bands to see) continues to applaud well after the band leaves the stage inn spite of knowing there will be no encore. Total appreciation for a job very well done. In 1972, Roxy Music was the band that changed my life and perception of what rock and roll could be. I have a feeling that
TCTC might be doing that for some other teenager right now. My favorite show of the year without question. The two bands that created huge buzz for themselves (from feedback I got at the CMJ conference and later shows were TCTC and British Sea Power. I stayed at Irving and listened to one song from Longwave. No disrespect to them at all--but after TCTC nothing would have worked for me so I left and walked the 3 miles back to my hotel happy in my numbness. Sir Neil, if TCTC isn't back on US soil soon (they could only get a 3 day work VISA to come here--I guess they have some problems to work out like the Libs did)--you may be seeing me in the UK soon. I've got to see this band again--one hour was just not enough.
--Dem
Date: Mon Oct 27, 2003 10:59 am
From the minute the words "Did you miss me" filled a packed Irving Plaza, this band owned the room. I came to the show loving them--and left somewhere beyond loving them. I don't know of any band today incorporating so many influences and doing it so well. Liz mentioned a while back that the great bands now still seem to be missing the edge that the bands had in the 1970s--not The Coopers who have an edge to everything they do. The keyboards and synths are done to perfection. As an avowed 2 guitar and drum kind of guy overall, anything added has to be done very well to impress me. The possibilities that The Coopers naturally see and incorporate into their brand of rock and roll very much impressed me. While a number of bands seem to be reinventing themselves or modifying their sound for CMJ (e.g. Jet), TCTC featured the full range of what they do. "Musicbox" was beautiful and in its lulls as powerful as anything TCTC has ever done. Ben Gautrey's vocals are my favorite in rock n roll today. With the added vocals of Daniel, the harmonies continued to haunt me long after the show ended. TCTC can bring it down to just a harmonica and Ben's voice and transport you to a smoky cabaret room in feel and performance--the room hushed. The ability to bring the music to a
Gavin Friday type lounge sound and immediately come back with power I have rarely felt since Killing Jokes very first shows so long ago amazed me. Back to keyboards and synths--beyond the lush orchestrations that were added to the music, watching Kieran and Tom play the boards and turn the knobs was a show unto itself--exciting with a sense of adventure that recalled Eno's days with Roxy. What should be a hodge-podge of music is so carefully crafted and then woven into something that feels completely original to me--in spite of the many obvious influences. The live performance is so much bigger than the two magnificent CDs. Ben delivers a lyric filled with venom, all with a knowing smile and then steps back momentarily to catch a breath. The music continues with cold, calculated certainty that continues to warm the room in the most intimate way. As the show ends, the jaded crowd (not jaded people--just so many bands to see) continues to applaud well after the band leaves the stage inn spite of knowing there will be no encore. Total appreciation for a job very well done. In 1972, Roxy Music was the band that changed my life and perception of what rock and roll could be. I have a feeling that
TCTC might be doing that for some other teenager right now. My favorite show of the year without question. The two bands that created huge buzz for themselves (from feedback I got at the CMJ conference and later shows were TCTC and British Sea Power. I stayed at Irving and listened to one song from Longwave. No disrespect to them at all--but after TCTC nothing would have worked for me so I left and walked the 3 miles back to my hotel happy in my numbness. Sir Neil, if TCTC isn't back on US soil soon (they could only get a 3 day work VISA to come here--I guess they have some problems to work out like the Libs did)--you may be seeing me in the UK soon. I've got to see this band again--one hour was just not enough.
--Dem
Sunday, October 26, 2003
CMJ Reviews: TCTC, PGMG and The Gossip
From: dem
Date: Sun Oct 26, 2003 7:16 pm
I took brief notes throughout the shows at CMJ and will post from them tomorrow. I'll send separate messages so you can read about the bands you care about. Neil, the idea to take notes was good—and trying to decipher them is turning out to be priceless. I stayed up from Saturday morning through my flight out Sunday around 10:30 and must get sleep. One last note on The Carlsonics. It was the only band at CMJ that impressed me enough to buy their CD (a lot of the bands I already own their releases). The shrink wrap has a sticker on it that impressed me in so many ways. It is a quote from Tony Fletcher, author of Keith Moon: A Biography. He says "The Carlsonics sound like -----, move like ------ and rock like The -------." The Carlsonics obviously don't like being compared to other bands so they blacked out (with magic marker) all the other band references. I guess I'll never know who Fletcher compared them to--but I like that The Carlsonics want the listener to take them as they are without comparisons. I haven't had a chance to spin their disc yet but it is top priority tomorrow.
--Dem
Date: Sun Oct 26, 2003 7:16 pm
I took brief notes throughout the shows at CMJ and will post from them tomorrow. I'll send separate messages so you can read about the bands you care about. Neil, the idea to take notes was good—and trying to decipher them is turning out to be priceless. I stayed up from Saturday morning through my flight out Sunday around 10:30 and must get sleep. One last note on The Carlsonics. It was the only band at CMJ that impressed me enough to buy their CD (a lot of the bands I already own their releases). The shrink wrap has a sticker on it that impressed me in so many ways. It is a quote from Tony Fletcher, author of Keith Moon: A Biography. He says "The Carlsonics sound like -----, move like ------ and rock like The -------." The Carlsonics obviously don't like being compared to other bands so they blacked out (with magic marker) all the other band references. I guess I'll never know who Fletcher compared them to--but I like that The Carlsonics want the listener to take them as they are without comparisons. I haven't had a chance to spin their disc yet but it is top priority tomorrow.
--Dem
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