Live: Tenement with Swearin', Vacation & Space Trash at Brooklyn Fireproof 9.12.12

Tenement are an amazing band that I can honestly see getting embraced by the mainstream and going all Nirvana Green Day on us in the very near future. Tour dates are sort of feast or famine for a number of reasons, but NYC has seen its fair share of the Wisconsin indie rockers in last the last couple months. This show was pretty well booked, heavy with the some of best like-minded bands you'll see touring today, and very probably the best $6 you'll spend on an indie rock show this year.

That said, the proceedings did bring to light some of my favorite pet peeves about the DIY shows. First would be the 8pm start time. Or lack thereof. Now I can see things starting a half hour or so past then, but an hour and a half is a little silly, especially when the show is in the middle of goddamn nowhere. Kids could also take a fucking shower. If you are on tour, I can see giving a pass, but when the locals smell worse than the not olfactorally delightful road dogs, something needs to be rectified. Beyond that, Brooklyn Fireproof is a nice venue, and while the concrete room didn't bode well for acoustical delight, it was actually a pretty fun space to see a show. While I'm bitching, the addition of Space Trash was not especially welcome either, although they were decent enough for what was allegedly their first show.

Vacation batted second. The Ohio gents have stepped to the top of the list of bands I always internally bitch about being on bills and then wonder why when they rock my old ass. The drummer as lead singer thing is really the only thing I could take a cheap shot at, save for the fact that he's a great singer and drummer. I'll definitely have to come with a better attitude next time.

As things were getting late, I was pleased to see that Tenement were jumping the order (normally, a pet peeve). The Wisconsin trio has never been known for their epic sets, but this show was probably the longest, and by far best, show I've seen them play. Like Swearin', Tenement have just enough great songs to make opening slots a tornado of great tunes. They romped through a half-hour and came back for a couple more before I bailed on Swearin' and hopped in the saddle. I'm sure they were great. Swearin' are playing Cameo Gallery next week for some other bands record release show. Tenement are out for the next couple weeks, so see them when/if you can.

R

Live: The Dopamines with Vacation & Scarlet Letter @ Lost & Found 8.17.11

It's always a cause for much rejoicing when the Dopamines come through town. Initially the tour was going to be with New Creases, but health issues have evidently precluded that from taking place, so Vacation were on the bill in their place. Locally Nude Beach and Scarlet Letter were on the front end of things. While I like me some Nude Beach, the x-factor of not knowing Scarlet Letter and enjoying beer drinking with Drew saw me arriving not far enough into Scarlet Letter set for my cranky old self. They seem like a band from NJ that used to be a lot more hardcore, but has smoothed things out in their old age. That said, I'd put them firmly in the Meh column.

Vacation were up next. They played the P.S. Eliot record release show at Cedar Mansion a couple of months ago with Dead Mechanical and were definitely the band that should have opened. I though they were ok then, but save for the unexpected Thin Lizzy cover, I would have liked to have arrived half way through their set and have been left wanting. Seem like solid dudes and they are far from terrible, but don't have anything that I've been able to latch on to personally.

You can always count on The Dopamines to be a good time. even if they can be somewhat less than tight. The constant rain of (crowd-launched) beer that normally punctuates the average set from said Dopadudes might have something to do with it, but the average just South of D4 level of intoxication they often sport definitely does. Jon W handles the Paddy/Shitwheel smart-ass mic duties and the band generally throws down in a pronounced fashion, even with the curious eventuality of having Mikey Erg in the touring unit as second guitarist rather than his ubiquitous presence on every domestic drum throne in the US. It was the usual Dopamines set, save for Jon's charming suggestion that the crowd be punk enough to shit on the floor. Larry Livermore was called out, a not-particularly well-done pit broke out a couple times, and much (ok, maybe a half-hour) post-Screeching Weasel punk rock was purveyed. See them if you can, perhaps sometime not after midnight on a school night. Here's the web presence.

R

Live: P.S. Eliot with Dead Mechanical and Vacation @ Cedar Mansion 4.8.11

This show popped up on the Pop Punk Bored and bode well for a good evening. JS-NYC likes themselves a whole lot of Dead Mechanical and P.S. Eliot, and as both parties play pretty infrequently in town, much less together, it seemed prudent to make it out to Cedar Mansion for this.

Cedar Mansion is a pretty nice layout, with a basement that is pretty well-suited for seeing shows. The stairs are somewhat of a sketchy proposition, but CM keeps the numbers down and everything ship-shape. Vacation were rolling when I made it downstairs, sounding a lot like Tin Armor. Believe they are from Ohio. Seemed like good dudes.

Dead Mechanical played to a smaller crowd than I would have expected. They always bring it live, and I would have figured the Jawbreaker in them would have filled the room up more, but they blazed through seven or eight corkers over their short set. I'd like to see them and Deep Sleep down Charm City way.

This show was the release show for Sadie, the new P.S. Eliot record and boy did the room fill up accordingly. Even Katie seemed surprised at the draw. They knocked out most of the (good) new record and a couple older tracks to a more than stoked crowd. Champagne was decanted, good times were had. Get the new record in tangible form from Salinas and/or snag it gratis from your buddies over at the venerable If You Make It.

R