Live: OnPoint @ The Delancey 9.26.9

The F*Bomb parties have been quite the gold mine for OnPoint over the past year. They are playing better and better sets to ever-growing crowds and they get the benefit of the fine stable of lovely F*Bomb ladies dancing through their sets. Works for me. Even if hadn't, the ocean of Guinness I pounded down previous to the show would have more than made up for any deficiencies.

OnPoint are really killing it lately, with new songs in the set and an ever-growing air of confidence about them when they play. There is always a large and vocal turn-out that rarely appears to leave unsatisfied. I was pretty stoked on the new song and the whole thing only asserts that we need a recording from OnPoint very soon. In the meantime, check out mp3s and live footage here.

R

Grand Puba review up at PopMatters

Readers:

Be a dear and pop on over to PopMatters and check out my review of the new Grand Puba record on Babygrande called Retroactive. Here's a link.

R

Live: The Silos @ Bloodshot Records Anniversary BBQ, Bell House 9.26.9

I feel the same about Bloodshot Records as I do about Merge in 2009. They are sort of like the awesome girl you used to date that you managed to stay cool with. I love, love, loved almost everything that came down their pike five or six years ago and their SXSW parties are the stuff of legend. You can't beat free beer and tacos at 11am during a Texas spring. Save for the mighty Bobby Bare Jr. and The Silos, I can't say I've been over the moon about their last couple releases, but there was no way I wasn't going to represent for their 15th.

So now, let me bitch: I can understand how they want to get bodies in the room and make it worthwhile for both Bloodshot and The Bell House, but post a fucking schedule in advance already. I saw two or three variations of the line-up and showed up at seven to find The Silos (band number #2) playing and a five hour run of not-especially-remarkable bands til Bobby Bare Jr. played at midnight. Party foul, and that's not even taking into consideration the midnight double booking I had with OnPoint. It's weird seeing The Silos without Drew in the band, but they were still top fucking notch, with the largest percentage of old material I've heard them do in years. The are definitely The Who of the roots rock scene and that is due in no small part to Konrad Meissner. That man beats the hell out the kit in the best way possible. You would do well to pick up the entire Silos catalog, but to keep it Bloodshot relevant why not start with Come On Like The Fast Lane. Pour out a little liquor for Drew, too, while you're at it.

I bailed to get shithammered at The Creek and the Cave before the OnPoint show, courtesy of Queens finest bartender (and aldenbarton mainman) Dru St. Aubin, but trust that the rest of the show was ok. I had a moment with Exene who is terrifying well-beyond her diminutive stature and trust that Bobby was as great as normal. Look for a review of his new American Bread EP soon. In the meantime, pop on over to Bloodshot and drop some dollars via this handy link.

R

Our Noise: The Story Of Merge Records book

Looks like we've got ourself some writers. To celebrate their 20th anniversary, Mac and Laura have teamed up with author John Cook to compile an oral history of the Merge rise to power. You'd be hard-pressed to get me to speak ill of those kids, my antipathy towards the exceedingly boring Arcade Fire aside and this book will not give any fuel for my personal bonfire of negativity. Read about Mac's dreadlocked past, the demise of the Merge proprietors relationship and revel in an awesome tale of Superchunk uber-roadie Dewitt snuffing a Seam drummer (not that I would venture that to be especially difficult). Good good stuff, and you really can't beat the price. Get all the skinny from the Our Noise official web presence and/or grab it from the good folk of Merge here.

R

Friars Club Comedy Film Festival

Ladies and Gents:

I'll be the first to tell you that I'm not smart enough to understand film, but that shouldn't stop one or both of you from going to the Friar's Club Comedy Film Festival from this coming Thursday 9/24, through Sunday 9/27. Here's a link. Word is there will be a host of great stuff, including the debut of the new Coen Brothers film A Serious Man as well as Made In China, the Grand Jury Prize Winner from this year's SXSW Film Fest. (MIC link). All the screenings are in Midtown NYC and all the logistical and scheduling info you need is here. It's $99 for the pass, but there is a discount for JS-NYC readers as well that brings the price down to $75 (limited opportunities available) . Mail me and I'll forward the info.

Link for one of the Friday featured films: Artois The Goat.

R

Dodd Ferelle review up at PopMatters

Hey Kids:

Review of the new Dodd Ferrelle record is currently up at PopMatters. You can check it out here, if you were of a mind.

R

Brokedowns/Turkish Techno 7"

Here we have a little split from the good folk of Traffic Street Records, featuring Cali punks Turkish Techno and Midwestern ruffians The Brokedowns. First off, I'm not sure why I find the Mitch Clem cover art so unsettling. I'm not going to dwell too much on it and move straight to The Brokedowns. They have the cover of the new Razorcake and to read the article play a lot with Dillinger Four and The Arrivals. Three guesses as to whether it gets props over at JS-NYC? While I do enjoy wallowing in negativity, The Brokedowns are pretty impressive. There's a good amount of D4 and Off With The Heads in the mix and they are just gruff and shouty enough to get me to shout along. I'd venture the neighbors would prefer I enjoy the record a little earlier in the evening, but intensive research has revealed that side A is aces pretty much anytime.

Turkish Techno hold down the b-side of things for the West Coast. They wouldn't be a sore thumb over at Recess Records, what with their F.Y.P pounding drums and jagged guitar. The tempo is set to romp and the vocals to gang, making Turkish Techno a band that I'd like to see swinging through Lost and Found sometime soon. I don't have the attention span for the average 7", but there are downloads with every purchase, so maybe buy it for the rock and add the insert to your Mitch Clem collection. It's only $3.50 and you can get it from Traffic Street here via this delightful link.

R

Dear Landlord - Heartbroken Handshakes 7"

Nerd alert. This is the 7" that comes (came?) with the early vinyl copies of the debut Dear Landlord record. Aficionados of esoterica will be pleased to find that the title track features Nate Ganglehoff and Chris Johnson in the absence of the Copyrights components of the band. The second track is a demo version of Lake Ontario. Dear Landlord is awesome, so you should try and get this, but I'm not sure if you're going to have to wait for a repress. Savvy interweb trawlers might be able to turn up MP3s. Hint, hint.

R

Live: forgetters, Solar Powered Sun Destroyer, Thought and Memory @ Lit Lounge 9.18.9

After the ridiculous punk rock scavenger hunt that the early Thorns Of Life shows ended up being, it was nice to find that Blake had: (1) got another band together in short order and (2) actually started letting people know about the shows. In typical fashion, the first show was a secret and in Crown Heights (see stolen pic at left), but show number two was announced and at Lit Lounge. To sweeten the pot, the show was headlined by Golden City, the newest franchise from ex-Christie Front Drive/The 101 mastermind Eric Richter. I figured it would be a bit of a madhouse, so Eric, Keri and I showed up early and staked out some real estate and libation.

Our early arrival allowed us to catch the full complement of openers, including the lead-off Brooklynites Thought and Memory. I'm glad we did. They had an Explosions In The Sky/This Will Destroy You thing going on that I'd like to hear a whole lot more of in this town. No singer, two guitars, bass and drums. I would definitely recommend checking them out. Hell, I hope So Hideous can play with them sometime soon. Solar Powered Sun Destroyer played next. They are from DC, but don't sound especially like the average band you've heard from The District. In fact, I'd say they are a little ballsy in that a lot of the vocals sounded a hell of a lot like Christie Front Drive. I'm not sure how comfortable I'd be sounding that close to another band on the bill, but that really not this asshole's problem. I'll also keep my suggestion on the name change to myself.

forgetters were the reason for the season for me. Seven songs in just under a half-hour, with no retreads from the Thorns material. They all sounded like fast Blake Schwarzenbach songs, so if you've liked any of his musical projects, you will not find forgetters to be a drastic departure. I recorded the show. If you'd like it, and you're not going to sell it or otherwise rankle them, e-mail me and I'll send you a link. forgetters actually have a collective web presence, so keep track of their upcoming shows (and Blake's political leanings) here.

All props are due to Golden City, but Daddy had to get home to keep up false pretenses for the family. I hear the show was good. Keep track of when I'll see them next here.

R

Off With Their Heads - Live At The Atlantic: Vol. 2

As you may have surmised, this is the second volume of the live series put forth by the good folk of Sound Study Recordings. The first installment of this series from the venerable Atlantic Theater in Gainesville featured was a split between Army Of Ponch and and Young Livers. Number two has art by Horsebites and the two decent offerings from Off With Their Heads. OWTH have been more than a little bit guilty of phoning it in over the last five or six years of the never-ending tour behind From The Bottom, but these recordings find them a little more inspired. There is a romp through I Am You and a new track called Go On Git Now that may very well be exclusive to this release. It's by no means essential, but well worth checking out. Completists may think otherwise. Discriminating record nerds should be advised that Sound Study is saying that the first pressing is close to selling out, so high thee thither ASAP and snatch up a copy via this handy link before you get caught up in the repress.

R

R.I.P: Patrick Swayze (1952-2009)

Thanks for the good times!

Rest in peace, my friend.

R/JS-NYC

The Bomb - Speed Is Everything

The Bomb is Jeff Pezzati's from Naked Raygun's new project. He's got a gang of Chicago heavy hitters, including Pete Mittler and Mike Soucy of The Methadones as a rhythm section. Not a bad choice in any of them. Pete is way up in the mix, as well it should be and Soucy shows why he's also played with The Arrivals and The Copyrights of late.

Speed Is Everything sounds exactly like what you would hope a post-Raygun project sounds like. A pummeling rhythm section, jagged guitar and lots of whoa-oh are to be had for all those that dare venture. If you are one to judge a record by its guest appearances, you can feel good that the Punk Rock Odd Couple of Dan Yemin and Bob Nanna make guest appearances on the record. There are some very 80s pop moments in tracks like A Song For The Helenas and Space Age Love Song, the latter a track that posits a bastard union of Alphaville and Raygun. You would almost think that track was some deep cut from a John Hughes soundtrack. The track features the Nanna guest turn, lending a bit of undue smoothness to the proceedings that is quickly punted into the pit by Integrity the track that follows. No hatecore homage, just the closest thing to Raygun you're going to hear here and something damn good.

After releasing their debut on Thick, Speed Is Everything is yet another feather in the indian headdress of a label that is No Idea. I trust they will be at The Fest as well. I'd pick this up quicklike. They'll be in town on 10/24 at Europa with Used Kids and Basement Black. Good openers, but this might be a bit of a humbler for them, as The Bomb certainly tend to live up their namesakes. Hope the youngsters bring their A game.

Find The Bomb here.

R

The Dopamines - Soap and Lampshades

I'm embarassed that I'm so late in getting on The Dopamines bandwagon. I saw them for the first time at this year's Insubordination Fest, with a Campbell-kid grinning Mikey Erg playing second guitar. Braving the near continuous barrage of thrown beer rained on our heroes for the duration of their twenty minutes of glory, the Dopamines tore the hell out of the small room at Sonar. Jon W continues the fine tradition of smart-ass Midwestern bassists and the whole enchilada ingratiates me to the point that I'd say Dopamines are my favorite punk rock trio. I've said it before and I'll say it again: the power trio is the best format for the punk rock. When it's done right (see: Minutemen, Husker Du, Jawbreaker) there is nothing finer to hear. Soap and Lampshades is only six songs, five of which fail to break the 1:30 mark. Think the best Copyrights tunes cut in half. The closing title track proves to be their Reoccuring Dreams, breaking the 3:00 mark and the spirits of a lot of shitty bands with a Jawbreaker-y banger. It's all over in just a hair over 9 minutes, but brevity aside, no one with ears should be without Soap and Lampshades. Pick it up from the good folk of Cold Feet Records here. They'll be in Europe for the better part of October, returning in time for The Fest. Keep track of all things Dopamine here.

R

Capital - Blind Faith 7"

I had heard a lot about Capital and was pretty sure they were local, but hadn't sought them out until Eric mentioned that he was feeling them. I missed them with Alleyway at Gramercy, but after hearing this, I'm pretty sure I'm not going to miss my chance to see them at the C.R. reunion benefit in a couple weeks.

Paint It Black have undertaken a little crusade to make the 7" relevant again for hardcore. It's nice to see Capital following suit. The three songs here are quite the assrippers in the hardcore end of things, indebted to local NYHC faves, but not uninformed of Dag Nasty and other DC favorites either. Trust me, you want this. Pick it up from the good folk of Iron Pier here. There's colored vinyl and download coupons, too, so step lively.

See you in Staten Island!

R

Polar Bear Club - Chasing Hamburg

Upstate NY has kept it real on the DIY end of things in recent years. If you're not a prima donna with a huge guarantee you can play a seemingly endless circuit of houses and DIY venues from New Paltz to the Canadian Border. Polar Bear Club rep for the Syracuse and Rochester end of things. Kids seem to be going apeshit for them of late, so it seemed prudent to snag a copy of the record and see how disappointed I'd end up. I'm pleased to say that they don't make me want to shoot myself nearly as much as most of the Warped/AP bands that I've encountered of late. Perhaps it's the refreshing lack of stupid fucking haircuts, but I think that PBC kind of bring it. The touchstones are mid 90s Midwestern bands like The Get Up Kids, Casket Lottery and Small Brown Bike, a trio that you'd be hard pressed to get me to speak ill of (ok, the last couple GUK records blew. Hard, but you know what I'm saying). Oddly enough (for me at least) Chasing Hamburg is on Bridge 9, a band that is rapidly becoming the Vagrant of the Ought Era. They've got a lot of bands that sound exactly the same, but have diversified a bit in recent years. They release a ton of product, but I don't hear too many bad things about them neglecting their artists or letting stuff fall out of print, so good for both parties. Chasing Hamburg has eleven decent songs, all produced fairly unobtrusively by Matt Bayles. He's pretty hands off, but the fairy dust he sprinkles on tracks like Take Me To The Town make this a record that marks a big step forward. Drifting Thing is a track that seems tailor-made for crossover success, catchy enough that I definitely smell some Against Me!/Asslight Anthem type major label courting imminently in their future. In the interim, Polar Bear Club are out on the Bridge Nine Tour, check out the dates here. You can pick up Chasing Hamburg from them on tour or via this handy link.

R

Grabass Charlestons - Razorcake Sister Series 7"

So this is the sister 7" to the Arrivals 7" that is so popular here at JS-NYC HQ. I have a couple Grabass records that I enjoy, but they never got the love that Gunmoll or The Tim Version enjoy around here. Listening to this, I think some revisitation is in order. Four songs here, one of which is a pretty ripping cover of The Arrivals chestnut -1. All pretty aces. Trust me, there are far worse ways to spend $4 in this days and age. Pick it up from Razorcake via this handy link. There is a package deal, too. West Coast residents should prepare their livers for their imminent tour with Dillinger Four. Get the skinny on that from the Grabass web presence here.

R

Free Record From Suburban Home!

In honor of their 14 years as a label, the men and women of America's Finest Label, that being Suburban Home Records, is giving away one free record of your choosing from their exceedingly awesome catalog. I opted for the Josh Small record, but know that there are delights from the mighty Two Cow Garage, Austin Lucas, Drag The River and a host of other awesome releases for your enjoyment. You'll have to pony up your e-mail address, but trust me, it's well worth your while.

Here's a link

R

PS: Office Space still sucks.

The Arrivals - Razorcake Sister Series

Ah, The Arrivals. How I love thee! How I miss the delicious time we spent at Insubordination Fest just a couple of months ago. You talked up Tenement, who didn't make it to Baltimore, but ripped more than their fair share of ass for a bunch of youngsters at Lost & Found a couple weeks later, and said nice things about maybe coming out in East in the Fall. Here's hoping, as their entry into The Razorcake sister series is one hell of a tease. Their split is with the Grabass Charlestons, but the sisterdom manifests itself in seperate slabs of 7" delight. We'll get to the Grabass soon enough, but in the meantime it's going to be hard for me to stop talking about the four selections the good folk of Razorcake have afforded us. Let's sally forth, shall we?

Things open with My Generation. which only assets the fact that there is a strong argument to made for The Arrivals being this generation's domestic incarnation of The Who. While one of the four songs on the record is a cover, this isn't it, as much as I would like to hear Paddy rip off a bass solo or three. It does sound a lot like early Who and that ain't bad. At all.

Things segue nicely into I Wouldn't Dare, a tune that neatly nicks the riff from Boris The Spider and grafts it on to an early Replacements vibe. Over way too soon at 2:40.

Bachelor number three is Drill Baby Drill. The longest song at 3 minutes, and perhaps my least favorite, but in the same way that beef tacos are my least favorite, or handjobs my least favorite form of release. Not a bad thing, even in lowest common denominator form.

The closer is the cover. As the series is shared with Grabass Charlestons, it is a cover of said same's Ask Mark Twain. While it rips, and has a pretty bad ass bridge, I'm going to throw my love behind the first two tracks, but again don't sell the stellar taco/handjob metaphor short.

Pick up The Arrivals half of the series here from the good folk of Razorcake. Consider subscribing as well, as they are perhaps the only bastion of independent music still worth reading. West Coast readers would do well to take in the D4/Arrivals/Grabass show with the mighty fucking Tiltwheel in a couple weeks. Yowza!

xo

R

David Bazan - Curse Your Branches

Internet browsing tells me that Curse Your Branches is the first David Bazan record to be released under his own name. It comes on the heels of a great DVD and a couple of decent Pedro The Lion EPs. I also hear that it marks Bazan's first record where he actively embraces agnosticism. Not Victim In Pain style, but still an interesting step from a man long-thought to be a man of faith. Of course, he was bounced from Cornerstone ( for the uninitiated, sort of the Lollapalooza for the higher powered set) a couple years ago for being drunk, so he showed signs of a less conformist nature in the past. That said, he did play Cornerstone solo this year after having openly espoused his change in philosophical direction, so maybe there is some middle ground being trodden upon by both parties.

Dogmatic assocations aside, Curse Your Branches is a fine record, whether billed as a Pedro or Bazan record. Most of my quarrels lie in the arrangements. Having harvested a number of recent Bazan solo acoustic shows from the interwebs, I have come to prefer him without a band. The first couple of Pedro records had a nice happy medium, but later stuff seems to find studio embellishment gilding the lily. Shockingly enough, this asshole's opinion hasn't stopped him from selling records (or my attending the shows). I'd pick it up and see what you think. At the very least, you might be able to make out with a hot repressed christian, an act not to be missed, if available. Buy Curse Your Branches from the good folk of Barsuk here and keep track of Bazan's whereabouts (which seem to include a gang of solo house shows) via this handy link.

R

Chris Knight - The Trailer Tapes II

The Trailer Tapes II is (shockingly enough) the second installment of demos from the proud son of Slaughters, KY that is Chris Knight. Knight has been pretty successful in recent years as a songwriter for other Nashville acts. His tracks have charted highly for ear-rape ensembles like Montgomery Gentry and Confederate Railroad, affording him the luxury of touring sporadically while still keeping the lights on. TT II features 12 more tracks recorded solo and acoustic in a double-wide trailer way back in 1996. Nine of them eventually appeared on later Knight releases and three unreleased tracks that are pretty much as good.

You can pick up a copy of Trailer Tapes II from our dear Mr. Knight via this link. Turn that Toby Keith CD into the coaster that it deserves to become and remind yourself what real songwriting sounds like.

R

A Twilight Sad - Forget The Night Ahead

I'm not sure what's in the water in Scotland (I guess safe money is on the whiskey) but the verdant plains have fostered a host of fabulous bands in the last 20 years. I'm not dying to hear The Proclaimers anytime soon, but Mogwai, Aereogramme and Glasvegas do yeoman duty in keeping me from hating most of the bands that deign to release material today.

Much like the delightful Teenage Fanclub, The Twilight Sad are all about the hooks, but have no problem adding some noise to the proceeding to keep it interesting. The tour EP they dropped last Christmas was pretty stellar, if a little cover-heavy, and did little to diminish my anticipation for a new full-length. Thankfully, that full-length is now here. Forget The Night Ahead varies little from the band's time-honored plan of beautifully noisy rock songs. The dear-departed Aereogramme remains a touchstone, but that is very far from a bad thing and The Twilight Sad are far from unoriginal, even if Dok from Aereogramme is playing keys on tour. The theme for Forget The Night Ahead is the problem acclimating to real life after touring on the level the band does. Made To Disappear and Reflection Of The Television capture that vibe nicely without degenerating into maudlin "The Load-Out" introspection. A Twilight Sad will make sweet love to your ears in a noisy way and you'll like it. Pick up Forget The Night Ahead from Fat Cat here and look for them on tour in NYC soon.

R

The Takers - Taker Easy

The Takers hail from Gainesville but don't make the kind of No Idea friendly punk rock you have come to expect from bands from that town. Sharing some members with local twangsters Whiskey & Co, they have embraced a little more of the outlaw country vibe. The common denominator seems to be alcohol and The Takers do not seem like to strangers to it's consumption or the repercussions that often follow in its wake. The Takers are another band that's been snapped up by America's Finest Roots Label, Suburban Home, joining a roster of great bands like Drag The River and Ninja Gun in making some pretty great twang to lift a beer to. While The Takers are undoubtably good, I'd say they have a little growing to do before they finally turn into a great band. They sound a little young, like they got their perspective drinking their way though a Haggard box set rather than actually living their tales, but still manage to muster up a good head of steam on tracks like Social Smoker and North Side Of Me. The split they recently recorded with the great Austin Lucas is also well worth checking out. It's a good collaboration and hopefully his influence will rub off on the gents. The Takers sound like a decent band in the making that needs to get out of town and actually live the tales they tell.

You can keep tabs on The Takers here. Were you of a mind, you can purchase Taker Easy from the good folk of Suburban Home here.

Lucero - 1372 Overton Park

Discriminating readers are no doubt well aware of the love that JS-NYC has for the merry men of Lucero. I've posted Barry Bonds numbers when it comes to seeing their live shows and certainly don't intend to miss any of the upcoming shows behind their stellar new record 1372 Overton Park. Most of the songs here have popped up in the Lucero live set over the past year. A search over at Nine Bullets will garner you live versions of many of the tracks, including the glaring omission from 1372 that is Lonesome Dogtown Nights. The twelve tracks that did make the cut for 1372 Overton Park feature some great new additions to the Lucero canon in Darken My Door and the Townes Van Zandt homage Darken My Door. Horns make an appearance on a couple of the tracks, mostly to their advantage. I'm a little more ambivalent about the Skynyrd turn a couple of the tracks take, not because I don't love Southern Rock, but because the douche factor has skyrocketed at Lucero shows in recent years. Nothing about 1372 Overton is going to drive fans away, at least any of their fans with ears. There was a pretty sweet pre-order going on, so step lively and snag yourself one stat.

R

New Vagina Panther

There comes an odd time in a man's life when you get a phone call from a trusted friend to go see some mutual friends play in their new band. This happened a year or so ago when a dear friend (as well as 50% of JS-NYC readership and formidable beard farmer) Rut called and said I had to see Vagina Panther. I'll be the first to remind you that I'm kind of a douchebag, but the trifecta of Brooklyn, Trash Bar and the name Vagina Panther is not liable to take me out of my usual homebound schedule of MP3 pliferage and herbal-induced bile spewing. That said, Rut has better than average tastes, so on the bike I went and had my ass rocked in a pronounced fashion.

If you are a prude, the lady and men of Vagina Panther are probably not going to getting a lot of spins. Start with the name, add a cover with a post-modern lactating breast and have a logo featuring a priapic unicorn and you might think VP are the second coming of The Mentors with a Williamsburg spin. Blessedly to these ears, you would be very wrong. Vagina Panther is a great fucking record, both literally and figuratively, full of a sexy swagger that is hard to ignore. The good ship Vagina Panther is helmed by the diminutive dynamo that is Dead June. To look at her, you might doubt social morays revolving around necrophilia and surmise that some Haitian Vodun has been harnessed, as she tears up the record from the opening number to note last. The band is tight as hell, providing quite the foundation for June's Chrissie Hynde meets Poly Styrene vocalizing and no doubt setting many an ass to shaking. I'm pretty impressed all around. The songs and band are great, but huge kudos and boxes of donuts should go to producer Mario McNulty for his work on Vagina Panther. This record is definitely one of the best sounding records I've heard all year. It's not rocket surgery: good songs and good production equal great records. If there is any justice in this world, Vagina Panther will depose boring dreck like Pains Of Being Pure At Heart and get this fearsome fivesome a lot of notice. They debuted at 156 on the CMJ 200 and evidently have a video coming down the pike soon. Safe money is on it not being watchable at work. While you're waiting, pop on over the VP lair and keep track of all things Vagina Panther here.