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Download “Betty Wang” | As I’ve just returned from watching Portland’s Au at Monkeytown, Brooklyn’s pop-rock quartet Hospitality is going to suffer a bit in my review of their show at Cake Shop. Sorry guys, but all of this begins with the little wonder known as a melodica. Au’s show began with Luke Wyland blowing into one, and though I will tell you more about this in the next post, it will suffice to say now that he filled that small instrument with such a soul awakening that it seemed possible that rocks, too, were capable of waking to their own sweet melody-making. The thing is, when Hospitality brought out a melodica at their Cake Shop set, I was excited; however, it was played pretty sloppily, as was the keyboard, for the most part, and the bass and drums were just decent, though I have to give credit to the drummer for giving the harmonica a little spirit. In conclusion I think the band needs more rehearsal time, and to be fair it’s not all that easy with day jobs, which many emerging bands have to deal with in this glorious city of New York. However, I still like Hospitality, and I intend to keep track of their activities. Singer Amber Papini has a promising personality, a fitting voice for the kind of songs they make, and she’s proved quite capable of seemingly nonchalant yet snarky lyrics, such as that involving the useless BA degree in English.
Portland’s Au is playing two sets at Monkeytown with Mofongo, but seating is very limited and reservation is required // Stockholm’s Taken By Trees creates a luscious world within a sparse landscape, and these tender tunes, given their modesty, should sound pretty good at Union Hall’s tiny basement.
Pwrfl Power is classically-trained Japanese guitarist Kazutaka Nomura, who opts for idiosyncratic lyrics and an elemental framework of popular music these days–he goes so far as to sing, “Your boobs aren’t that gigantic / But that’s okay, I don’t like big girls anyway”. Though he usually does this over a rich fabric of a lone acoustic guitar, he goes electric sometimes. For the Cake Shop show tonight, let’s hope it’s acoustic. He will be joined by Bears, Ghosty, and be warned of estrogen overload, Fruit Machine and Heavy Flow (if this name isn’t clear enough, the logo consists of two tampons with bloody tips).
A house party at Santos’ Party House with: Machine Drum feat. Theophilus London (live PA), Stay High (live PA), Tanlines DJ Set (Eric of the Brothers + Jesse of, Professor Murder) + Bulldozier DJs: Hearts of Darknesses, Stephen of Stars as Eyes.
Excellent news from the Yeasayer camp: a two-legged North American tour later this year, one I’ve been restlessly waiting for, that’ll see the band as headliners for the first time. The dates that concern us are Dec 5th & 6th at Music Hall of Williamsburg.
The band’s manager Sir James Winnie promises: “brand new songs not heard on previous N. American tours; a repaired voice for the son of Cricket, Anand Wilder; new stage design incorporating projectors, lcd grids, and possibly a weather balloon.”
Also later this year will come an artifact that’ll be a pleasure to possess: All Hour Cymbals in LP format, pressed on 180 gram black vinyl. And hopefully next year we’ll have our hands on the follow-up album, scheduled to be recorded in early 2009. Apparently Sir Winnie has heard the demos and finds them to be “mind slaying”. Sounds great to us!
My favorite line-up today is at Cake Shop: Hospitality songs are a fresh source of quirky and dorky merrymaking (the best kind?), and Overlord just makes my head bob incessantly. Also, they’re both from Brooklyn–of course I’m biased. They’ll be playing with Claymation Velociraptor and Elika. Ooo, an update:
Brooklyn-based indie pop group overlord will release its first track from the forthcoming album “In Soviet Russia, My Heart Breaks You” at Cake Shop on Thursday August 7th. All attendees will be given a copy of the single in limited edition Too-Clever-by-Half ™ packaging.
This is the first show of the overlord Singles Series, in which a new track will be released at a show each month until the album is finished.
Fantastic idea. I like it!
When a band records in someone’s apartment, it should always warrant a listen, especially if one of the songs is titled “Nocturne in A Minor”, as is the case with Diamond Jackie, whose homemade songs, incidentally, sound to me like they’d be perfect for action movies. While listening to the boozy track, you have to imagine, in slow motion, vehicles sequentially blowing up in large balls of flame; somewhere else, someone’s teeth flying out of his mouth amongst splattering blood, and a hot, powerhouse woman (like Uma Thurman, but I’m sure we all prefer someone else) walking away from it all cooly, knowing very well the kind of trouble she can brew. Seriously, if you go to Lit to see the band, try it out. They’re playing with The Darts and Shock Cinema.
More cool bands are playing, continue after the jump.
There’s a lot of new music that leaps at the opportunity of stylization as we all toss and turn around what “originality” may mean to us after having to bear the back-breaking weight of grand inheritance. Personally I enjoy the Dan Deacons and the Ninjasoniks, and all of that madness from Baltimore, but within the framework of older traditions, it’s always interesting to hear how newer bands are finding their voices. Emanuel And The Fear, The Loom, and Merrady are showcasing some of this at Rehab. Emanuel and his 10-piece band have kind of a celebratory vibe; with the EP At Last Light, The Loom has found itself with all its warmth and sincerity, though our hard-at-work NYC Taper insists the live shows are even better–download his recording of a previous The Loom show; and Ms. Merrady Phipps has a gorgeous voice, though for now we have only hints of what she will do with it eventually. They are all playing with The Vanguard tonight.
Many more cool bands are playing, continue after the jump.
Tuesday isn’t a night darling to many, and tonight’s unfamiliar names may give the impression of crap-band night, but Market Hotel promises fantastic fun. The incredibly charged Fiasco are playing, and you can download a previous show from the diligent NYC Taper. This on the band’s myspace:
Known for their chaotic live shows and technical proficiency, they’ve been described as a mix of punk, noise, and math rock, and have traveled to Austin for SXSW and as far as Bosnia for the Sarajevo Film Festival. However, their favorite places to play are people’s houses.
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Download “Welfare Bread” | This being my first return to the pool parties since last summer, allow me to say: yes, the lines have become ridiculous. When I got there at around 1:46, today’s had already wrapped around the pool, extending to somewhere behind the stage. And it took less than 30 seconds for a large number of people to pile up behind us. One of the (young) girls who joined after us said to her friend, “I don’t think the lines matter. Last week, you just had to be close to the entrance and we all dashed inside.” Damn newbies. Listening to King Khan soundcheck, one of them worried that they were actually maybe missing the show already.
While people hate on beards, headbands and fancy guy shoes, let me tell you, the evil doesn’t lie in that batch of hipsters who no longer check the “25 and under” box, but in that other less tolerable batch of newbies who have turned 18 since last summer, and probably have moved into the Williamsburg vicinity because that is the thing that lies in their bright future. As for the 25+, apart from that actual plumage and hideously “ethnic” shirt one guy was wearing, which incidentally saved him from a fist fight with King Khan (read on for that), the only overkill seemed to be sunglasses with bright-colored rims; everything else they wore was forgivable and harmless, let’s stop talking about that already.
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Definitely let yourself be seduced by cabaret temptress Mira Stroika, or at the very least, let yourself be transported into a sultry past with her superbly nostalgic style. She is playing at at Rehab with Fresh Air Kids before heading out for a little travel.
hooves on the turf is a mostly-music blog based out of brooklyn. i can be reached at hoovesontheturf [at] gmail [dot] com - please send me your lovely music as an attached mp3 or an mp3 link. if i like what you send, i'll be sure to ask for more.
Aqua: Love TEEN. Man they can sing. Cool. Different.
Suraj Joshee: Sarahana, Loved the video. You captured the simple raw essence of the music and band really really...
