I’ve been told that using various means, Cortelyou Rd’s liberal cafe Vox Pop has raised enough money to stay afloat; it should now be able to pay its outstanding fines and bills, and resume the sale of edibles and drinkables. Here are some pictures from a benefit show Kensington’s The Loom put together, along with their friends Holler, Wild Rose!, who came all the way from New Jersey, and whose song you should listen to after the jump if you haven’t already.

Download “Song for the Winter Sun” by The Loom

Holler, Wild Rose!

This was my first time seeing Holler, Wild Rose!, who I’d previously listed in my notable band names list. With a total of five guitars (including bass) and a singer who can shake the high pitch, they sound a bit like a child of Jeff Buckley and Radiohead, and their song “Holler, Wild Rose”, after which the band was named, is a good example of that sound. They joked that it was awesome that this cafe was going to be owned by the community (it sold stocks to raise money), since the only thing they had to support in their own neighborhood in New Jersey was Applebee’s or the upcoming Walmart.

Download “Holler, Wild Rose” by Holler, Wild Rose!

Owing to “lack of management” and some harsh health regulation fines, Cortelyou Rd’s liberal cafe, Vox Pop, has been unable to sell any food or beverages, and hence unable to make money for the outstanding bills and fines. From what I hear, there’s about $18,000 more they need to raise, and that if they don’t raise it by the midnight of Sunday, it’ll have to shut down (they’ve hired a proper manager since, though she remains unpaid).

The cafe was co-founded by Sander Hicks, who also started Soft Skull press as a guerrilla operation out of Kinko’s while working there in the early 90’s. If the fact of it being one of its kind in a neighborhood that was previously neglected from a cultural standpoint and the fact of it having luminaries of liberal thought in its logo aren’t enough, think about the coffee? Says Oliver Moné, a fan:

“This is aggravating,” he said. “I like the coffee. I like the place. Dunkin’ Donuts is O.K., but this is prime stuff. I mean, I hate Starbucks. God, I hate Starbucks.”

Money is being raised in two ways: a benefit show tonight featuring The Loom and Holler Wild Rose (tickets are $10 each but you should feel free to pay more); stocks are being sold at $50 each, which will be refundable if the required amount isn’t raised and the cafe is forced to close. To make donations directly, email Debi Ryan, current President & CEO of Vox Pop: debi.ryan101 [at] gmail [dot] com

Download “Song for the Winter Sun” by The Loom
Download “Holler Wild Rose” by Holler Wild Rose

Download “Don’t Haunt This Place“ | I went to Pianos camera-less last night with the intention of being “off duty” but here I am, posting a few re-colored cellphone pictures and a summary. It was The Loom’s last residency show at the venue (new material’s sounding great and showing signs of a maturing band); they had invited Rural Alberta Advantage to play with them, which, as it turns out, would make it the first US show for the Canadian band. I’ve never seen Pianos that packed on a Tuesday night. Even when great bands are playing, sometimes it’s just disappointingly empty, but there was no room to move last night. RAA’s frontmant Nils Edenloff looked visibly surprised as his band took stage, saying, “Is this some kind of improv group pulling a prank on us?” He thanked The Loom about a hundred times for asking them to play, and kept repeating how grateful he was for the “warm reception” in the US. Story continues…

Not only was the place packed, but at least the first two rows knew all the lyrics to RAA songs. There was one girl who yelled out that it was her friend’s 25th birthday and that the birthday girl, also present at the show, was a huge fan. She added, “She’s from Poland! She’s a Communist!”, at which point Nils stopped short alarmingly and refrained from delcaring any political allegiance, saying emphatically, “We do want to come back to America”. They were catching a flight back in about 4 hours after their set, but they will return on Feb 6 for a show at Union Hall with some band called These United States (about whom I know absolutely nothing–but I hear they’re promising).

To use points of reference I’m familiar with, Nils’ voice sounds somewhere in between AA Bondy and Jeff Mangum (of Neutral Milk Hotel), but the music’s quite different from both. There were several songs inspired by Nils’ own hometown(ish), including a pilgrimage site of a town upon which surrounding hills collapsed and fell (once upon a time!) and another about a group of kids who planned to make a 5-hour-long bike-ride during winter from one town to another, both of which kind of had the Neutral-Milk-Hotel-ish quality of storytelling, but the similarities stop there. The other two members, who said they were happy that Nils didn’t require them to wear uniforms anymore, have cheerfully hyper personalities on stage, moving from one percussive instrument to the other, dancing, and singing along. Once done, they walked into the crowd and sang a wonderful good night song unamplified–everything sounds so much better unamplified!

Oh, and for the 101st time, thanks to The Loom.  They’re playing Bell House on Feb 12 as part of the “BAM: Sounds Like Brooklyn” program.

Update: Video of the unamplified “Good Night” from the Pianos show (via A Rightly Timed Pause)

Not that anyone’s even awake today, but here’re a few more presents. Dark Dark Dark’s set at Union Pool was much more fun than the relatively stiff one at Cake Shop. The last song they played was “Flood”, which isn’t on their album, but was performed for a forthcoming Daytrotter session, I hear. Nona got off the stage and joined the audience for a massive bout of swaying and singing. The video of this, and “The Benefit of the Doubt”, which features a few heart-gripping cello lines, are after the jump; as is ”True Believers All” by the Loom, whose front man John Fanning was celebrating his 28th birthday that night.

[Update: Pictures added]

Dark Dark Dark

From Cleveland:

Nona taught us this new dance move:

Jonathan insisted it was just stretching:

The Loom

Loom dancer breaks out:

Union Pool,
December 19, 2008

Websites: Dark Dark Dark, The Loom

Callers played this show, too.

Cory Chisel
“I had a bottle of wine for the stress… and then I either got pretty drunk or the news station I was watching was beaming in holographic correspondents to tell me my prayers had been answered…” Download Cory’s cover of Sam Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna Come”

Darcy James Argue
“On Nov. 4, I dragged my ass out of bed early, hopped on a bus to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and spent the day canvassing on the South Side. The energy and organization were incredible, the people I talked to were all very excited about voting, and by the end of the day I was feeling guardedly optimistic. On the bus back to NYC, we learned that Obama had won Pennsylvania and there was much rejoicing–McCain had gambled everything on pulling off an upset in PA and we’d done our bit to make sure that didn’t happen. The bus dropped us off in front of a midtown bar and my fellow canvassers and I set to drinking. Bourbon never tasted so good.” mp3

Luke Rathborne

“You know, I had the weirdest experience when the election results were announced. I didn’t even know it happened, but I had a feeling something happened. I was listening to a song I was working on in a studio, and looking at a composer’s score that was sitting right in front of me. And when I walked out onto Broadway 5 minutes later I realized something had happened. That Obama had won.” mp3 | Luke’s playing a show at the lovely Le Poisson Rouge on Tuesday, November 11. Members of Antony and the Johnsons will join him. Get tickets.

Eric of The Secret Life of Sofia

“We had just recently finished up at our rehearsal space… Kyle went out to a bar to watch the results. I was at home eating leftover candy corn in front of the tv. Fraser and Chris were getting a ride home from Steve, who was trying his best not to run people over as they were screaming on the streets.” mp3

Todd Zuniga of Opium Magazine
“I was at Stephen Pierson’s (of Canteen Magazine), soused on wine, and eager for champagne. I was butterfly-stomached and nervous, reticent to believe. Then it happened, and wild cheering broke out, hugs. I called my mom, who sounded so happy. I loved that part of it, the most important woman of my life so hopeful and thrilled.”

Opium is hosting “the biggest, greatest, weirdest, most brilliant” installment of Literary Death Match on Tuesday, November 11. This event is free. See details.

Lucian of Fiasco

“It’s actually kind of lame. I was on facebook and my mom called me and said “MCCAIN CONCEDED!” and I ran downstairs and freaked. Then I called Julian and I confirmed for him that McCain conceded.” mp3

Brad and Jessica of This Frontier Needs Heroes

“We were recently at the South Carolina State fair while on tour, and we actually got the chance to meet Obama. He was very interesting and answered all our questions. We were very sad to hear that South Carolina didn’t go to Obama, but we played a really awesome show at the Whig in Columbia a really super cool underground bar underneath the television station right across the street from the statehouse!” mp3

Karl of Loudest Boom Bah Yea

“Unfortunately, Loudest Boom Bah Yea was divided by the mighty Pacific Ocean on election night. Chris is on an Asian tour with +/- (plus/minus), and I was blowing my nose at home in my jammies watching the results with a sinus infection. Officially, we are ecstatic!!! And for more than just the obvious reasons… We know that Obama likes double drumset bands, and even talked about forming his own with Nancy Pelosi. I guess he’s trying to give Bill Clinton a run for his money with his Sax playing. ‘Change we can believe in,’ Obama said. I’m sure he was referring to the double drumset band idea.” mp3

Amanda Stern, author, and organizer/host of Happy Ending Reading Series
I was with friends watching at my friend Laurie’s in our neighborhood of Fort Greene, Brooklyn and then we took to the streets with hundreds of other people and danced and greeted incoming cars in front of Moe’s on Lafayette Avenue and then in front of Madiba on Dekalb Avenue.

Zach Glass of Bugs in the Dark

“Bugs in the Dark was chillin’ at our producers’ spot in Brooklyn with some wine and pregnant ladies! We were SO excited – so were the pregnant ladies!” mp3 | The band’s playing at the Delancey on December 13th.

Christina Courtin

“On election night, I was at my good friend Johnny Gandelsman’s house. We celebrated the Obama victory into the night. Everyone was all smiles. The pictures really say it all…” mp3

Björn Sonnenberg of Locas In Love (Cologne, Germany)

“I woke up at around 4 am in the morning (which would be 10 pm in NY) and checked the score on several websites; it was looking good for Mr. Obama and I went back to bed. When I woke up again 40 minutes later, McCain had scored more points, so I kept hitting the renew-button in the browser many, many times because I found the thought too unsettling to go back to sleep that McCain might win after all. This went on and on and I opened new websites constantly, hoping to find the one that would deliver the information quicker than all the others. And preferably the information that I craved to see. Suddenly Obama had 287 points and it seemed that he had won. I rushed to the other room, turned on the TV and switched channels all the time settling on CNN where it was declared that Mr Obama just had been elected. I immediately called Peter in Brideport, CT and asked: Peter, is it true what I just saw on TV? And with so much relief in his voice he said: yes, Bjorn, it’s over. It’s done. This is a good day, we have done it. And I said: I am so happy for you personally, I know it would have broken your heart if this again wouldn’t have worked out. And he said: yes, my head would have exploded.

Then I saw the speeches McCain and Obama gave and was touched by everything, but that happens when I am very tired and excited at the same time, I get emotional. I sent emails to all our friends in America who all replied very excitedly and relieved. I woke up Stefanie and told her that Mr Obama had won, that it wasn’t close at all, how happy Peter is and how overwhelming the moment was. I feel it was most appropriate that Mr Obama mentioned the fall of the Berlin wall in his speech: I recall this as a defining moment in the part of history that I have witnessed, too, being a 9 year old child in Germany. The excitement of the moment, the feeling that things can change and the hope that they might even change for better. I didn’t think so much about how this would affect the world or me but I knew that this is an important moment for our friends in America, a cleansing moment and that made me so happy that now, after two days I still get all sentimental thinking about it. It’s as if young Boris Becker returned and won Wimbledon again but 20 times as big: maybe the world won’t change so much, maybe idiots will stay idiots – but there is a lovely potential in clinging to the thought of for once not having been defeated by the powers that be, the backwards, evil, conservative forces, the bad guys that almost always win.

And if welcoming Mr Obama makes me and my friends here in Germany and in the USA Socialists and terrorists, then so be it and I welcome my comrade Mr President with my fist clenched in the air!”

Posted is a song about “starting anew”, according to the band. Download it here.

Thom of Bon Savants

“I planned to be at the North Miami Obama campaign headquarters where I’d been volunteering November 1 – 3 to get-out-the-vote. But by election night I found myself unexpectedly in Salem, Oregon at the Marion County Democrats party, a few blocks from the hospital where my grandmother was spending her final days. The entertainment for the evening was a handful of lip-syncing performances by burly cross-dressers, and when that finished my youngest sister and I kept glued to the only working television in our corner of the room. After the west coast polls closed and the election was called we sprinted back to the hospital to listen to the acceptance speech with our grandmother, father, and 4 other siblings. I missed the electric exuberance of the celebration in Miami, but it meant much more to share the moment with family.” mp3

Eliot of Glassghost and Flying

“I was in a cab on my way to a bar called Soda Bar in Fort Greene. When we got out of the cab we heard a huge roar coming from the corner of the street. Then, I saw a mass of people running towards me in PURE ELATION. Then I heard roars from other parts of the street. Then someone started blaring Aretha Franklin’s ‘RESPECT’ from their house stereo. Then people started dancing and drinking in the streets. It felt like there were no rules for a short period of time. LAWLESS. As the party was happening, a cop car came by. To everyone’s surprise, the car honked, as if they approved of the LAWLESSNESS. Awesome! It felt like a sports event, which felt a little weird at times, because of the sensationalism of it. But the fact was it WAS sensational, and emotional and deeply moving. I did shed a tear and the spirit of Love did appear.” mp3

Aerial East

“On election night I was stuck serving drinks to dispirited americans. I stayed glued to the television from seven until eight forty-five when I had to hop in a cab and head to the bar where I make my living. When Obama was announced I sat in a kitchen in a dark basement in the west village tuning in to 77.something AM with the few co-workers of mine with voting privileges. I had some tequila to celebrate and defended Obama against the mild dampening cynicism that seemed to be the staff consensus. The big crazy profitable election celebration party we were hoping for never really showed up and I spent the night wishing I was at the campaign party in PA with my ecstatic boyfriend, one of Obama’s volunteers. The night was sprinkled with some toasts to Obama, some excited text messages, some stories of celebrations in the streets, some blue and red pins, dancing, alcohol, and I went home with some tax free cash in my pocket, dreaming of healthcare and peace.” mp3

Jon Alvarez of the Loom

“On Election Night, [wife] Nancy and I hosted a Keg-Lection Party at our house. We wanted to be around as many people as possible, and have as much alcohol on hand as possible – we figured both would serve us well in either victory or defeat. We invited 30 people. By 8 or 9pm, there were almost 40 people in the house, our living room was packed, the music was getting louder, and people were getting drunker. We watched our tiny TV with bunny ear antenna, and everytime a state was called, we would either cheer or boo, and then we posted results on a giant homemade US map hanging on our living room wall (we put a picture of obama or mccain on each state they would win). When they called Ohio for Obama, we went crazy. We knew it was close, but we were still anxious as hell. Pretty soon people were standing on chairs to see the TV. We turned up the music. Then they called Virginia, and we all screamed louder. It was really going to happen, wasn’t it? At this point, isn’t it math? Nail-bitingly close. Agh, just keep watching! Then it happened. They called the whole election. We went completely freaking insane. Everyone yelling. It was that kind of yell that produced a volume that couldn’t possibly get any louder, like the whole room was filled up with sound. We stood on tables, chairs, couches, jumping up and down, dancing, hugging, laughing, crying. Nancy said she yelped like a winner of a game show – 5 successive screams with all those crazy jerky body movements to go with it. We all just lost it. It was an awesome moment. We played Dan’s iPod “election mix” with songs like “The final countdown”. The party spilled into the streets and people started skateboarding down the block on China’s Ninja Turtle Pizza Thrower. Dan and I skated all the way down the hill to the end of our block, then to the next block, all the way screaming Obamaaaaaaaaaaaaa! A wonderful night.” mp3

Todd Goldstein of Arms

“Eating soup dumplings in Brooklyn, watching the election results on a tiny TV. Free beers when Obama won!!” Arms is currently on a mini European tour. mp3

::: Update: Where Were You When Obama Won, Part 2 :::

When CMJ marathon finally brought Princeton here this week, it was with much excitement that I went to see them at the Bell House last night (thanks to my gracious hosts, The Loom). It was also my first time at the venue, and whereas the performance space at its sibling Union Hall commands intensity on the strength of its smallness, the Bell House, being barn-like and big enough to provide plenty of space for mobility, does the opposite: it gives the shows a feel of being much more laid-back and informal, which I enjoy.

However, a relaxed atmosphere also tends to encourage chatter amongst the audience, and a crowd spread thin can seem intimidating. Given this, even though a few people started dancing as soon as they started playing, I thought the boys from Princeton were perhaps a bit shy in the beginning, especially in contrast to the undeniable vibrancy of their music, but the shyness fizzled soon enough. They loosened up a few songs in, talking about their fondness for New York and saying how they thought LA was just okay, and one-half of the leading twins, Matt Kivel, going berserk over his guitar at one point. When his brother Jesse Kivel was finally free from playing any instrument for the last song “Shout it Out”, he asked the crowd in front of the stage to move forward and dance with him, and dance they did. When I told him how much I liked that segment, he said that it’s been somewhat of a tradition at their shows, which only means you should try to catch them at one of the several CMJ shows they’re playing this week.

Download “All the While“ |  Frances is another band I’d been meaning to see for a while. My friend from Michigan thought they sounded a lot like a band would in Michigan, and that’s funny because I thought they sounded so Brooklyn because they sounded so Michigan. I don’t know about you guys, but that makes total sense to me. They had really good chemistry and a fun, positive presence on stage.

Download “Song for the Winter Sun“ | And then, my old friends The Loom, who seems to bring out an extended family of super supportive friends to every show. Surely, this won’t last for too long if the frequency of their shows keeps going up, but if you see their friend-based fan base at the next show, you’ll notice how they’re very much a happy bunch, and you’ll certainly wish you had friends like that! Also, I was really digging the French Horn last night.

An anecdote worth mentioning, as it further illustrates the relaxed vibe of the venue: while The Loom was playing, Nick Anderson from Frances came up to the stage and returned a pen he had apparently borrowed from singer John Fanning. For some reason, it seemed totally appropriate to return it in the middle of a set, although John was perhaps taken back a bit, as he went on to explain how the return of a borrowed pen is evidence of a person’s humanity, and how what had just happened was clearly the best “pen return”.

The band mentioned that their drummer Jon Alvarez seemed to be on fire, and that was the truth.

I’m sorry I couldn’t stay for La Strada. Day jobs are a bitch!

The stage was alight with good energy, and frontman Jesse Elliott, whose guitar bore stain marks from his dripping sweat, was engaging and hilarious. He told us we were clean, beautiful, handsome, for which reason he was thankful to be with us, but later told us that we were quite the opposite, and later still told us he was thankful for the right reasons, that we were whatever we thought we were. Following an applause for an encore, he told us, “Shut the fuck up already” and insisted we were supposed to return it with “You shut the fuck up and play already”. When he said “You guys are dumb”, we were to say, “No, you guys are dumb”. Caught in the rhythm of this back and forth the band excitedly sneaked in, “We’re going to buy you all drinks,” but the audience only responded, “Okay“. Later at the merch table, we asked for a blue medium shirt, and, Jesse, a beaming salesman, gladly handed us the display piece along with the hanger. He seemed to think that that was the last piece, but we seem to think a box full of it possibly went home untouched; we returned the hanger.

You’ll remember our old friends The Loom. They’re headed north for Pop Montreal.

Band of Annuals went first, and though I missed most of it, what I heard was pretty good. By the way, long-haired guy (left-most in the picture below) was our excellent concert neighbor through These United States’ set. He was quite ecstatic, telling us that he had been previously unaware that they were this good. He also said people at bars don’t clap because everyone’s holding drinks, going on to demonstrate how to hold your drink with your teeth and make room for an applause.

More bands and all mp3 links after the jump.

Union Pool: Kelly Rae, frontwoman of Zero Spanish, says, “The first thing people say when they come to see us is, Wow, I wasn’t expecting that! That was crazy!” Believing that exisiting recordings have so far failed to capture all of that excitment, the band will be spending the next two weeks recording an album that will strive to do justice. “We are far more aggressive and much louder than anyone ever expects,” she says, adding that she’s also finally become accustomed to singing, a task she’s taken on for the first time in her musical ventures. Zero Spanish is playing with Ghostfinger and Spottiswoode, who also goes by Spotty, and sometimes plays with his impresive gang Spottiswoode & His Enemies–”Somehow Spottiswoode has been able to hold together a gang of seven of New York’s finest musicians, put out a string of acclaimed records, perform residencies at New York’s best clubs, play Lincoln Center, tour the country, cross the ocean… all without paying his collaborators much more than a few dimes each”; but looks like tonight’s show is solo, and perhaps for that very reason.

Cake Shop: Brooklyn’s trio Treasure will be releasing 300 copies of a seven-song collection titled Tea Parties this week, and singer Amanda says the band’s dear friend and illustrator Maude Black will screen print and paint each copy with his tireless hands. The two took rough mixes of the songs “deep into the woods of North Idaho this summer, to a river cabin untouched since 1980″ where they wrote and drew. Black also illustrated a book of short stories Amanda wrote to go along with these songs. Her band mates Caleb Lindskoog and Ryan Trott are also members of Hologram, and Caleb heads another Brooklyn outfit, The Silver State. Treasure is sharing the stage tonight with Glass Ghost, founded by Eliot Krimsky of Flying; Boshra of Looker who will play a short set of solo material (and perhaps one Looker song?); and finally Aerial East, whose sweet song “Calculators” is included in the playlist. This is going to be Aerial’s first show; she’ll be playing with a band (Michael Leviton, Elliot Krimsky, Mike Bloch, Victor Magro, and Nat Johnson), and she feels it’s going to be “the best debut a girl could ask for”.

Mercury Lounge: Army Navy is headed by Justin Kennedy, who parted ways with Seattle’s band Pinwheel, whose other frontman Ben Gibbard then went on to form Death Cab Cutie and The Postal Service. Justin & friends have taken encouragement from bands like Clap Your Hands Say Yeah to abstain from major labels and produce their own debut album, which will come out on October 14th. Incidentally, producer Adam Lasus, who’s worked with Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Helium, and Yo La Tengo will be aiding the boys. Playing with them tonight are Autodrone, who’s spent the summer writing new songs, and hopes to play the CMJ Festival and SXSW, and Saints and Lovers and Paul Holmes & the Patients.

Rehab: Radio America, This Reporter, Headfloss, Eastern Sweats // Le Poisson Rouge: Lou Reed, John Zorn // Monkeytown: Axolotl, Rings, Mark Morgan of Sightings, Bulbs // Southpaw: Federale, Illuminations, Charles Burst

Zebulon: The Loom is playing with Peasant, Essie Jain, and if you’ve yet to see the videos we made of The Loom, here’s one:

City Center: Bleed Blood
Zero Spanish: Sweetheart
Aerial East: Calculators
Glass Ghost: Like a Diamond
Peasant: Exposure
The Loom: Patience for Books
Vivian Girls: Where Do You Run To
Treasure: Rainbow
Illuminations: Rising
This Reporter: Letter
Rings: Mom Dance
Autodrone: Through the Backwoods

The song in the first video, “Song for the Winter Sun”, is taken from the band’s self-titled EP, and the second, “In the Wings”, from a collection of new songs that are ready to be recorded for a full-length album. With the addition of Bethany and Mark, says John, the sound of that recording is sure to differ slightly from the EP’s. See the current line-up when The Loom plays four NYC dates before heading for Pop Montreal in October. Filling in for Dan while he’s away is Toby, who also plays additional drums in these videos.

Previously:
Girls in Trouble sings at the Secret Garden
Sharon van Etten sings at the Secret Garden