Live: MiniBoone and The Meaning Of Life at Cake Shop 9.6.12

MiniBoone have been on the JS-NYC radar for a bit. Drew had got me out to a show a couple years ago that I was really not into, an unfortunate eventuality only complicated when he upped the ante and joined the band recently. This Cake Shop show found our hero playing for the openers The Meaning Of Life as well, so I posted up early-ish to catch their set as well.

The Meaning Of Life are actually pretty damn good. They are a three-piece, with a lady singer that also plays bass. They have 80s Brit thing going on, like many of their Brooklyn contemporaries, but they are good with it. Some signal chain issues on the guitar expressionist's part hampered things a bit, but I was pretty impressed with them musically. Hot ladies with Rickerbacker basses never hurt either. Check them out here.

I bailed on the band in-between and showed up just as MiniBoone jumped off with their last set with their current bass player. Once I acclimated to the sheer magnitude of the white-guy dancing that erupted in front of me upon their first downbeat, I was pretty pleased (read: relieved) that Mini-Boone kind of brought it. The pronounced volume of curious side kicks dispensed at pertinent points during the set by the various standing members may have asserted the point. Mini-Boone have a Talking Heads meets Soul Coughing absurdist NYC pop thing going on that is pretty engaging, with a tight rhythm section and catchy Africa by way of Brooklyn guitar interplay that do get the asses shaking. I'm not crazy about the three different vocalist thing they have going, nor the instrument swapping, but it should be pointed out that I am a cranky intolerant old man and also seemed to be very much in the minority in the Cake Shop basement.

Scuttlebutt is that there is a new MiniBoone record looming ominously in our future. Go here to keep track of when you might see/hear it and with the help of whom.

R

Live: Wussy @ Cake Shop 3.3.12

Ah, lifestyle issues. I love Wussy and was excited to see them again at Cake Shop. Hell, it was even a good time (more on that in a second), but I'll add the lack of ticket stubs in this day and age to the cauldron of denial I sup from and thank Nyctaper for posting the show and reminding me that I had gone and should probably blather a bit about it. Alright then.

So this was a four band bill, with Versus in the headlining slot that should have been held by The Figgs. Wussy played clean-up, knocking out an ultimately way too short 40 minute set. You can blame Cake Shop and the late show, as Wussy offered serious value for your indie rock dollar. In their continued attention to detail, and to better approximate the more expansive sound of their latest recorded effort Strawberry, Wussy have expanded to a quintet and added former Ass Pony John Erhardt to the fold. Sonically, things worked out fine, but the last thing anyone needed was another person in the basement of Cake Shop. Packed in cheek to jowl, it seems to speak to the idea like people are getting behind the new record in general and Wussy in particular. That's a good thing, and hopefully an eventuality that means we'll see them in a bigger room, maybe even with a stage, sometime soon. Ten songs total, pretty much half from the new record, with some chestnuts sprinkled in to keep it interesting. Hear it for yourself here, courtesy of the modern day saint nyctaper.

R

LIve: The Figgs @ Cake Shop 12.4.9

So, night two of the three night Figgs Fest for the holidays, this one in the hood over at Cake Shop. Sadly the photo at right is not from the show, but is still exceedingly classic and more than apropos given the lack of offering from the Figg franchise as to commemorative photos. Drew and I pre-gamed at JS-NYC HQ before dashing over Cake Shop way for a little time with the aforepictured Casino Officer Big Balls before the set.

As holiday sets go, there were very few surprises, which is not to say that the set was in any way bad, save for The Sights having had to endure a second night of keeping up with them. I suppose it's a character building experience at the very least. Again, I would have liked to have heard some of the stuff of Couldn't Get High, but there were dips as far back as Lo-Fi At Society High, so it wasn't all for nought. We were again treated to the new Casino Hayes single, as well as a guest appearance from Jeb Bishop and a David Cross sighting, so there was a lot of equity to your holiday dollar this year. It seemed like a sparse crowd, but we were up front and Drew claims there were a lot of people out, so what do I know? I missed Night Three in the rugged lands of Shaolin, but if I were you, I'd get on over to Figgs HQ and see when you can see the gents next. If history is any indication, the next shows will be at yet another Green Bay casino, but you owe it to yourself to see America's Finest Rock Band live before you shuffle off this mortal coil.

R

Drakkar Sauna shows

Like adopting a child or rescuing a pet, owning and maintaining facial hair, while an inherently noble act, is not without great responsibility. A dear friend and beard aficionado currently tenuring in Indiana suggested that JS-NYC check out Drakkar Sauna. They are at Union Pool and Cake Shop in the next couple days and Rut's taste is normally well above par. Watt and The Mekons are in town, so I don't believe I'll be able to make the shows, but you all should. The music sounds decent, but in looking at the picture to the left that I so thoughfully stole from their MySpace, I think I see why Rut feels such a kinship for the gents.

There is no obligation to sport extravagant facial topiary, but I would venture it will not be discouraged. Here's a link to the Drakkar Sauna web presence. They are at Cake Shop tonight and Union Pool on Saturday night. Tell em' JS-NYC sent you.

R

Live: 1.6 Band reunion at Cake Shop 6.19.9

So it's another Friday night at JS-NYC HQ. I'm supposed to go check out Bloodkin at Union Underground late, but get a text from Eric about the 1.6 Band reunion show over at Cake Shop. Kids are in town, Jason Viteretti is on the island and it's right around the corner, so off I go.

All nostalgia aside, do we really need a 1.6 Band reunion? They were fun to see at ABC back in the day, and were all purported to be nice guys (when they were sober and/or clothed), but if anything, you would think a Beyond reunion would be the way to go. That said, everybody looked well, and the gents sounded great. There is evidently a new EP on the way (via Gern Blandsten, maybe) which will be interesting to hear. The new songs sound like the old ones, if that is an issue for you. Good times, good show, good people. The picture is old, obviously.

I'm not sure how active the band really can be with Kevin in Austin, but in the interim, you can keep track of all 1.6 Band goings-on via this handy link.

R

Live: aldenbarton with Yoni Gordon and Jason Anderson and 57th St @ Cake Shop 5.11.9

For the uninitiated, the mighty aldenbarton have been doing double duty backing fellow Granite State titan Jason Anderson for his live performances. Jason has been the king of the residency of late, playing solo four weeks in a row at Pete's Candy Store in Brooklyn and Pianos on Ludlow last month, and now doing the full band thing with aldenbarton at Cake Shop. Band rehearsals have precluded my sticking it out to see the ab/JA pairing, but I was able to pop in early and catch the aldenbarton opening set.

I showed up a little but into their opening set, but it was one of the best ab sets I've ever heard them play. Drew always sings well, but he was absolutely killing it this night. Even Jason, who plays with the gents often, came over to comment on it. Jim and Paul were solid as always. The guys have played together forever, so the midset audible that precipitated the cover of GbV's Teenage FBI was hardly a stumbling block, rather the cherry on top of the set, even prompting Jason to step in early with some backing vocals. I sure would have liked a recording of that and the stellar ab original New England, but it appears we'll have to wait for the gents to finish up their recordings at The Fort for that.

In the interim, you (and I) really need to get down and check out the Jason/aldenbarton pairing next Monday. Each week has a different hand-picked act in the middle slot. This week featured Yoni Gordon, who evidently plies his trade in the Ted Leo/Elvis Costello end of things. Drew gave him high marks and Jason picked him for the show personally, so suffice to say the guy brings it. Check out Yoni here and keep tabs on the last two Cake Shop shows here. They are free, so get off your duff and make it down.

R

Live: Zazen Boys @ Cake Shop 3.6.9

The boys are back in town. Zazen Boys that is. They've been recording their new record with Dave Fridmann in recent months and judging by the material they've been throwing down in the live shows recently, it's going to be pretty raging. 

Zazen Boys is the project that ex-Number Girl frontman Mukai Shutoku has dedicated most of his efforts towards in recent history. There's is a spastic rock, very much like a Japanese Dismemberment Plan in it's herky-jerky rhythms and frantic bass pummelling with freak-out vocals tossed on top. It's as danceable as it is indescribable. 

The band is normally frightentingly tight, and this night was no exception. It's always an eye-opener when these guys can come over and straight-up kill on borrowed gear with nary a bit of complaining. There's always a big Japanese ex-pat crowd, but while it was a pretty packed room, shockingly enough I didn't have any problem seeing. It might have been better if I didn't, as watching bassist Yoshida Ichirou always makes me want to sell off my entire stable of four-strings. It was a pretty short but mindblowing set that I'm told was comprised of most of the new Zazen Boys IV record. Gotta get my hands on that. They play tonight at The Saint in Asbury Park and tomorrow at Pianos. Check out Zazen Boys on the web here.

R

Live: Wilderness at The Cake Shop 11.19.8

Wilderness played the other night at my new home away from home Cake Shop. I rode past on my way home to try to get a sense of how far behind things were running. In typical fashion, the second band was soundchecking at 8:30, so I settled in at the JS-NYC headquarters to wait things out. 

One chicken-fried steak and an episode of Antiques Roadshow later, I showed up ready to rock. I figured the combination of the small room and steady diet of Robotussin I've been on as of late would make this an even better Wilderness live show than usual. They men of Wilderness did not disappoint. I missed out on their show at the Whitney over the summer. That was supposedly quite a spectacle, but the in-your-face atmosphere of Cake Shop made for a good show nonetheless.

There were the requisite sound issues. This time with James and his vocal processing. I'm not sure whose fault it was, but the eleven or so years that Wilderness have spent together makes the band a formidable live entity with or without vocals. Johnson has a polarizing voice, to say the least. Equal parts PiL and Lungfish, it's not for the faint of heart. Historically, James has handled most of the vocals (and robot dancing) himself, but the new material from (k)no(w)here also features guitarist Colin McCann. He howls charmingly (and effectively) on the new material. McCann has a solo home-recorded release out as The Lord Dog Bird on Jagjaguwar that is well worth checking out if you are a Wilderness fan.

After seeing their live show, it's hard not to be a fan. Bring your ear protection though. Wilderness make a lot of noise for a four-piece. McCann plays floor tom on a couple songs along with polyrhythmic trappist terror Will Goode. The tribal drums and washes of guitar sound envelop you in a fog that the the darkened basement of the Cake Shop was ideal for. They played about an hour, covering most of the high points of the last three records before abruptly taking off their instruments and saying goodnight. The band has hinted that they will be taking one of their customary hiatuses after these tourdates, so check out where you can see them here. If you miss them, you can spend some time listening to MP3s and generally being frustrated by their exceedingly oblique web presence here. 

R

Live: Full Of Fancy, Lost Locker Combo, The Unlovables @ Cake Shop 11.16.8

It was a busy weekend for the pop-punk set as The Ergs! and Hunchback played their (assumably) final sets over the weekend in NJ. Chris Grivet (of The Steinways drumming fame) got this show together as a NYC capper. It featured a couple of now ex-Ergs, as well as the final show from 1/3 acid casualty band For Science and a gang of other scene luminaries making the devil's music.

The whole thing had a 'Saturday afternoon at SXSW' kind of slow and hungover air about it. As it was Cake Shop, I showed up at 2:30 to find they were still waiting for a bartender and that nothing was going on, but managed to browbeat the doorguy into taking my money so I could wait as the JS-NYC hq while they got their shit together.

45 minutes and some Gangland later, I returned to find the Unlovables setting up. That was both good and bad, as they were who I really wanted to see and I expected the old man in me would kick full-force afterward. The Unlovables were playing second, assumably as Hallie was performing in/with Fuerzabruta, and proceeded to rock the hell out of the place. Hallie has not gotten any less attractive since I've seen the Unlovables last, I'll tell you. It was kind of a short set, but pretty stellar for the second band on at a matinee. I hope those kids have a new record soon.

Without turning things totally in the direction of the lecherous, I kind of only stayed to see Lost Locker because of the glockenspeil player. Man oh man oh shevitz is that one attractively bookish woman. LLC is a school-themed band fronted by Mr. Jim Florio of (quasi-heirarchically) Bugout Society, MRR, and the Shemps. Think school outfits, wacky songs about scoliosis and the like. They were quick to label themselves as 'prop-punk' and pelt the crowd with no end of crap from the Tri-State areas finest dollar stores. Not exactly good, but certainly fun, and I refuse to front on Bugout, especially after that whole White Castle incident some years back. That said, Castle Carnage was pretty much the only thing not on the floor after their set. I don't think I'd ever buy a record, but it's fun to watch.

Next up was Full Of Fancy. These ladies (and a dude on traps) are sort of a NJ Soviettes. They sure do have great gear, if I may digress into gear dorkdom. I just wish they had better harmonies. I'd say the bassist is the stronger of the two singers, but a lot of the times they sang together were not the most aurally pleasing moments of the night. Oddly, Miranda's voice didn't show too much wear, even after playing the last Hunchback show the night before. I really want to like FOF, I'm going to try the next one drunk and see if that works for me.

For Science played after, as did The Steinways, but my OMS kicked in and I bailed to go sleep on my couch. I heard that Jeff Erg stepped in the breach for the final FS set, ironically (and somewhat anachronistically) due to the FS singer having a bad acid trip and bailing for NOLA and then Hawaii. Kids today. I heard that Jeff killed it, so maybe he'll step in full-time and give those kids some new life. The Steinways closed things out, but I was well into my Robotussin fueled covalescence by that point.

For a show at Cake Shop, not a bad time. Grivet definitely deserves props for making it happen. Once the NJ pop-punk deck is reshuffled, hopefully we'll get some more rock from the kids soon.

Wilderness review up at The Tripwire

Hey Kids:

Review of the new Wilderness record (k)no(w)here up at The Tripwire. Thanks to Derek Evers. Wilderness are at Cake Shop next week with San Serac. Go, unless you hate me and/or good music.

R