Have you witnessed the furor over L Magazine’s “8 NYC Bands You Need to Hear” list on Brooklyn Vegan? Spare yourself, I guess! With much love to all the bands who made it, especially The Beets, here’s my own the list. My exciting eight have been picked with much less consideration for obscurity, but all these bands are still in a position where they could gladly use more hype/love/praises.
Glasslands seems like the kind of place where interesting things are just waiting to happen, like some hippie collective’s tree house where you build your own furniture and create things all day; and there’s something warm about its minimal appearance. But when it’s super-packed, like it was yesterday at the Suckers and Heeb Magazine’s release party, its eccentric layout can be quite a challenge to mobility, which is probably just as well, but if you were by the merch table, which was at the inside end of the room, and you wanted to head to the bathroom, which has a shower and hangs from the wall on the opposite side of the room, wading through that sea of people was going to be a decision you want to toss in your head for a while. I know, it add charms to the whole experience. By the time Suckers ended their set, though, shoving yourself out on the street seemed like a terrific idea, even though Chris Keating from Yeasayer, a band I like so much, was about to DJ.
Download “Easy Chairs“
When Suckers arrived in Austin to play their first SXSW show, they’d just come from New Orleans and were wearing Mardi Gras beads around their necks. That show was at Club 1808 (in “Crack Central”), where after their set some local women grabbed the microphone and told them they were all very sexy. There was one Brooklyn expat who had come specifically to see them (but seemed to know little about them), and there were others who asked us excitedly during the show, “What is the name of this band?“. When we told them what it was, the word “Suckers” spread out in a wave of whispers and giggles. The next day, we got into their Malverde show very last minute. The party was “All that Sparkles”, and sure enough there were balloons covering the floor outside the bathrooms, that’s how much it sparkled. The venue was in a slightly more posh area, and the stage was a balcony several floors up, looking out to other tall buildings and down on the streets. When we were running late and walking very fast towards the venue, we were able to identify a tiny figure of Quinn Walker, way up on the balcony, from all the beads he had on.
Download “Easy Chairs“
Harlem Shakes played an explosive set at their record release party last night. You would’ve thought that the band I last saw at Red Eyed Fly in Austin was someone else. They were often aided by two members of Brooklyn’s Frances, including Julia Tepper; a mighty three-men horn section that consisted of Jon Natchez (previously of Beirut), amongst others; and at one point, by drummer Daoud of Air Waves. They played several older songs that the fans went nuts about, though I myself prefer the newer ones that are much more percussive. Interestingly enough, singer Lexy Benaim’s voice is one of the stronger elements on record, but his band mates’ charged appearances on stage easily overshadow him during live shows. In the end, though, I’m not quite sure if their aesthetic fits within my favorites, but there’s no denying that Harlem Shakes is one of the finer Brooklyn bands around right now. Plus, their drummer Brent Katz is fantastic, and evidently they know how to throw a party.
Download “Stricty Game” by Harlem Shakes
Day 3 in Austin was March 19, 2009. We headed to Red House Pizzeria to meet with England’s Fanfarlo and shoot a Secret Garden video nearby.
Day 2 in Austin for me was March 18, 2009, which was the first official day of SXSW. After much determination that I wouldn’t make my daily plans around bands I already like, I went to see Drink Up Buttercup’s 2PM set at Beauty Bar anyway. Pretty & Nice were playing when I got there.
Admittedly, I’m not familiar with every single band involved in this year’s SXSW festivities, officially or unofficially, though I did listen to well over two hundred bands I don’t care to listen to ever again. Unlike them, the list compiled here includes twenty performers I think are most worth seeing, and for free, no less; as far as I know, all of them are either playing unofficial shows, or plan to play whatever last-minute gatherings that come their way.
Here’s a schedule of Secret Garden releases coming in the near future. If you’re unfamiliar with this ever-changing, magical garden, it is a video series in which I film bands performing a few songs outside the context of a regular show. Along with the schedule you’ll also find some “candid band photos” that, as a tradition of my own, I take after each shoot–though sometimes I forget.
If you’re a blogger who’d like to write a preview for any of these episodes before they release, just email me at hoovesontheturf [at] gmail [dot] com and I’ll give you access to an “advanced screening” of a sort. Thanks!
If the songs Suckers have been playing live are any indication of their upcoming album, and I’m sure they are, then I already have a top favorite of the year. Watching them live at Webster Hall’s The Studio, where the acoustics seems to be of the crappy variety that ruthlessly blends ordinary distinctions into a big fat muddle, I couldn’t help noticing how much definition these songs seemed to have, and how easily they overcame that muddle-making machine of a venue. I only have the video of “Horn Song” posted after the jump, but every song they played was pristine, with a world of its own. Besides, both Austin and Quinn have divine voices and will sound divine no matter what they sing. Their drummer Brian is distinctly amazing too. They’re playing Crash Mansion next, on Feb 7. Download “Horn Song” by Suckers
Onward for the video.
Where I indulge in the overrated phenomenon of a year-end list and discover my bias for sullen songs over happy ones; 20 most-loved songs of the year, with a self-imposed rule of one song per artist so as to not make it entirely pointless.
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.
