Live: The New Trust at Cake Shop 10.25.12 late

Longtime JS-NYC sufferers will no doubt recognize The New Trust as a post perennial, and therefore be unsurprised at the JS-NYC glee at the prospect of a pretty good-sized tour as a tightener for a recording session with Albini in Chicago. A pretty tantalizing proposition made more so when I found I'd be taking in Bitch Magnet and Moss Icon as 'openers' over at Le Poisson Rouge.

Hustling over post-LPR, I got underground at Cake Shop to find a room that was far from overcrowded, but those that did make it out seemed to be devotees of the magic the trio has knocked out over the last decade or so. The set (see below) was heavy on what will evidently be the new record and while the pre-recording tour methodology is a sound one, and I definitely appreciate the Minutemen econo aspect of it all, I definitely would have liked to have heard more in the way of bangers from their early records.

That said, The New Trust are a great band and it was great to see them on our side of the country. Lock-tight, and showing the practiced familiarity of a band than has been together for a decade, the trio alternately joked and rocked their way through a tight eight song set that ended at a wonderfully reasonable hour. Kudos to them.

Word is that recording went well at Electrical, so stay tuned to the New Trust web interface here for news of when we might see the final product.

R

Live: Jason Anderson and 57th St @ Cake Shop 5.18.9

So I finally made it down to see Jason Anderson play at his Cake Shop residency. Queens beardos aldenbarton opened the show and backed Jason for his set later on in the evening as 57th St.

JS-NYC arrived just as our heroes were just about to morph into the 57th St alter egos. One line check later, Jason set it off and set to rocking the half-filled room like it was Madison Square Garden. Springsteen is a obvious influence, but is that really a bad thing?

ab/57th St kicked a hell of a lot of ass, especially bassist Paul Bates. The gents deserve big things, so check out the aldenbarton web presence and snag a copy of their debut Exodus Of The Eldest. Here's a link. Jason is cut from a little bit more of a classic rock cloth, but is pretty good his own self. There's one last date of the Cake Shop residency this coming Monday. You would be wise to be there. If you're dumb enough to miss it, see when you can see Jason next here. Go for the dates and stay for the (free) downloads.

R

Live: Chris Mills @ Cake Shop 10.23.8

This evening marked my first official foray into the nightmare that is CMJ in general and the 2008 version in particular. This was the Ernest Jennings Record Company showcase. Had it not been Tim's label and Chris Mills I would have passed, as Cake Shop is a scheduling nightmare, but the quasi-regimented CMJ schedule made it worth trying. Issues with the sound guy delayed things a bit longer, but before we knew it Mills and his band were on stage and making other bands feel bad.

It astounds me that Ernest Jennings hasn't sold a million copies of the new Chris Mills record. It's called Living In The Aftermath and only serves to reassert the fact that Mills is the best singer-songwriter we have in NYC. His crack band, with David Nagler on keys and Steve Goulding (Gang Of Four, Mekons) was a little rough, but still better than most other bands. We got a good representation of the new record, with Atom Smashers being the highlight, as well as a smattering from his first three records. It being CMJ and it being an early slot, the set passed pretty quickly. Too soon, really, to the point where I had to listen to more Mills once I got home. Get the home version of the Chris Mills rock show here and stay in the loop as to when the next show is here. You can thank me later.

R

Live: Cory Branan @ Cake Shop 10.12.8

If you're like me (and frankly I pray that you're not), Cory Branan came on your radar through Lucero, whether it be the shout-out on Tears Don't Matter Much or through him opening one of their shows. He mentioned last night that he had lived here for a spell, but I was never aware of him playing a solo show in town previously. I've acquired most of his stuff and was pleased to see him in town until I found that it was at Cake Shop. Nice room, decent bartenders, but with the worst scheduling I've encounted in twenty years of concert going and playing

I arrived at the advertised time to find that the order had been switched and Cory was going on last. Cue the normal return home to kill time while The Quiet Life worked through their set. QT seem to be decent enough guys and they have a hell of a lead guitar player, but I wasn't crazy about the songs. They definitely seem to have a good record in them, but them seem a couple years out from really playing their own lane. Inexplicably, Cory was on before I returned, but seemed to already have the crowd in the palm of his hand. He's got an infectious grin that seems likely to get him equal parts pussy and punches, perhaps even from the same person.

More often than not, Branan plays solo, especially outside of Mississippi, and tonight was no exception. A cracked nail made things more interesting, but didn't keep him from knocking out close to 20 songs before his Midnight curfew. He's an engaging performer in the Bob Keen/Todd Snider school of things, keeping the audience thinking and laughing with equal fervor. The faster stuff went over a little better, but it's not like the entire female population wasn't swooning their way through his entire set, either. There were a couple new songs in the set, but tried and true favorites like The Best Looking Waitress in Memphis and A Girl Named Go popped up to keep the crowd happy. He seemed to get the job done, the crowd was bigger than I had seen in some time and ate the set up with a spoon for the most part. This appeared to be the last night of the tour, but I'm hoping Cory Branan comes through again real soon. Keep an eye on his movements here. He's got two records and an EP for your listening pleasure and all three are available here. You know you want them.

Go see Alden Barton and Steve Shiffman and The Land Of No at Pianos tomorrow starting at 9pm.

R