Live: Will Johnson and Anders Parker at Mercury Lounge 9.23.12

While there are many things that can be fronted on in 2012, a tour featuring Will Johnson and Anders Parker is not one of them. I've enjoyed both parties for decades and the prospect of seeing the gents at Mercury only sweetened the pot. Anders and Will did the first couple of songs together before our Mr. Johnson demurred and left Parker to his own devices. He dipped back into his back catalog for some Varnaline favorites and some new tunes, including a handful of tracks with Kendall Meade from Mascott that are evidently from a duet record coming next year. Wasn't crazy about the duet stuff, but will have to get a copy of the record to be sure.

One thing that was a sure thing was the ridiculous  level of songcraft that Will Johnson brings to the table. Or stage, if you will. Not that Parker isn't great his own self, and I much prefer WJ with his cohorts in Centro-matic, but Johnson definitely has a gift. I haven't gotten to the new Scorpion yet, but venture the songs I didn't recognize are from it. I'm really regretting not seeing one of the house shows that comprised the lion's share of the dates before this NYC show. Don't make the same mistake if you can. Get Scorpion here from the Will Johnson web presence and snag the new Parker record Cross Latitudes (all guitar instrumentals, btw.) here.

R

Live: Patterson Hood and the Screwtopians with Will Johnson at Bowery Ballroom 6.24.9

The new Patterson Hood record Murdering Oscar and other love songs had been inching ever closer to the top of the pile before Traci at Thirty Tigers got in touch about seeing the show at Bowery. His first solo record Killers and Stars, dropped almost five years ago now, but Patterson always has a million songs in various stages of completion. Many of them have been recorded for the new record, but there are easily an equal number still gestating.

The Screwtopians are Patterson's solo band, featuring Neff and EZB from Drive By Truckers, Scott Danborn and Will Johnson from Centro-matic, with Mr. Dave Barbe filling out the line-up on bass. Look at that band and then tell me how the hell this show didn't sell better. I know I'm broke, but the economy can't be so bad that this show should have been so sparsely attended. The ignorance of New Yorkers never fails to astound me. Will opened up the evening with a short solo set, featuring a pretty great Husker cover, Danborn for a tune or two, and a tune with the Screwtopians to close the set. Will deserves to be very famous, very soon. We should all do everything we can to make that the case.

I had hoped for a seamless set, especially with The Screwtopians coming out for Will's last song, but it was not to be. They were out soon enough, working through some sound problems, but still pretty much killing it. You would do well to pick up a copy of the new record stat. It's got recorded versions of Heavy and Hanging and Back Of A Bible and some other newer fare. Even though I haven't reviewed it formally, you would be wise to buy it immediately via this handy link. Check out the tourdates here and get your friends to go see those Screwtopians. The show is far too good to be passed over in favor of the next spate of DBT shows.

R

Centro-matic and South San Gabriel - Dual Hawks

Do I really have to tell you that this is a good record? Centro-matic have proven to be an unstoppable force in recent years, sort of a Denton Guided By Voices with better discretion as regards to numbers of records released per year. They do keep busy for a bunch of drunks. Will Johnson has found the time to record solo records, Matt Pence has The Echo Lab and multi-instrumentalist threat Scott Danborn has toured with Slobberbone and a bunch of other projects. I'm not sure what Mark does outside of these bands, but I'm sure he's no slacker.

Centro-matic started as a side-project for Johnson, but soon took a life of its own. There was always a duality to his work. Initially the louder and softer material was meted between seperate releases, as evinced by the Navigational and The Static vs. The Strings Vol 1 records, but recent years have found them subdivided further, with the quieter more melancholic fare taking the form of sister band South San Gabriel. 

Centro-matic takes the baton for the louder fare. Their hawk of the duo is my favorite of the two on this dual release.  The eleven songs are some of the best Centro has released and that sure is saying something. It reminds me of the Jay Bennett (read: good) Wilco era. How Tweedy can have a band that mind-numbingly boring with Nels Cline and Glenn Kotche in the fold is a staggering accomplishment. Maybe it's the lack of Obama mania, but Centro-matic have released a record that trounces all over that Chicago franchises last three record.  From the opening  'the rat patrol and djs' to the closing 'a critical display of snakes' it is hook after hook. Trust me, you need this record. Maybe sell an Arcade Fire record or two.

Now South San Gabriel I'm a little more ambivalent about. South San Gabriel tends to have more guests and be that much more slow and depressing. That's not a bad thing. I saw them for the first time opening up the American Music Club reunion shows and they are definitely cut from the same cloth. With the new Mark and Vudi AMC, SSG might be able to stand a chance, but they are no Engine or California era AMC. The material is good, and there's the same Centro underpinning to remind you that the bands are two sides of the same coin, but it falls a little short for me. It's better than most of the stuff your find on your average Paste sampler. It's no Dakota Suite, but it's also better than the last AMC record, so perhaps some standings need to be recalculated. 

You get both records when you buy Dual Hawks, so there's no sense splitting hairs. There is a Saturday Night/Sunday Morning dichotomy between the two records and I'm not talking the Counting Crows record. I could (and, I guess, now will) refer to the Ralph Stanley record Adam ripped the title off from. Stanley and the boys played the hell out of a lot of barn dances, but were in church on time the next day. South San Gabriel seems more steeped in regret than repentance, but I'm sure there's enough of both to go around. Personally, I would buy Dual Hawks for Centro-matic and stay for the South San Gabriel. You can acquire the means to do both here. Centro and SSG are wrapping up live dates behind Dual Hawks, but Will is coming through town next month for a solo show with Chris Brokaw. Keep up on that and all of the other going on in their dual worlds here. If you'd like to be their internet friend, do it here, but after you pick up Dual Hawks.

R