Live: Airfix Kits and Young Offenders at Union Pool 11.4.11

I liked me some Airfix Kits, or perhaps more specifically their predecessors Giant Haystacks. Seeing them with Young Offenders was the frosting on the beater, especially when Erika and Oliver were friends with that lot and word was that most of the Bay Area short-haired set was coming out for the shows. They weren't lying. This show was another one of the pantheon of great Hardcore Gig Volume shows and had moved to Union Pool after Bruar Falls closed down and the vibe was definitely one spaghetti plate away from being a  show at the Bottom Of The Hill.

I rolled in just as Young Offenders were setting up. Word was that the team had lost a bass on the way in, an eventuality that didn't seem to make the short-haired gents any sunnier of disposition. Good set though. The new record Leader Of The Followers is pretty aces in a Jam meets Wire at the Cock Sparrer show sort of way. Tim is a hell of a frontman (and a drinker, it would appear) and the rest of YO are pretty damn tight. These shows were rare East Coast shows for the gents and the turn-out was accordingly decent.

Things seemed to fill up more for the Airfix Kits. I'm pretty sure this was their first show out here. It was refreshing to have a band this good fronted by a man with more of a Fred Perry problem than me. Lots of clean downstroking and anglo-oi leaning for the duration, with a decent well-lubricated crowd eating (or rather drinking, really) it up. I'll give Airfix the lean for better of the two, but both parties were pretty damn aces. Kudos to Ian Dickson and Hardcore Gig Volume for bringing the gents our way. Here's hoping we see the boys out East again very, very soon.


R

Frank Turner - England Keep My Bones

 Damn!

Since my antipathy for all things Time Warner forced me to finally get rid of cable, I don't see as much late night TV as I used to, but I caught Turner on Kimmel the other night and he and that Limey lot  promptly handed my ass to me.

I say again: Damn!

Kudos to Epitaph for snapping up Mr. Turner. He had been on my radar with his collabo with the mighty Jon Snodgrass and while Old Fast Songs is a great fucking tune, I didn't think I'd fall as quick and hard for England Keep My Bones as I did. My Irish affections aside, as you might surmise this is quite an English record. Turner has heard himself a Billy Bragg or two, but he's far from a carbon copy. Whether keeping it traditional with English Curse, upping the punks and skins in I Still Believe or taking it to the open road with I Am Disappeared, Turner gives it the business. You should give him yours and snap up England Keep My Bones in whatever format works for you here from Mr. Brett & Co. 

Up the punks!

R

Armalite - Humungous 7"

Hey now, new Armalite record!

I would have though Eric would have hipped me to this (or maybe even recorded it) but it appears to be a solid no on both points. Armalite is a Philly scene-as-fuck amalgamation of your boy Atom Goren (sans His Package) with Dr. Dan Yemin from PIB/Lifetime/Kid Dynamite, Jeff from AAJ and Mike from Kill The Man/Amateur Party throwing down the D4-tinged jams for your listening pleasure.

There are three of said jams this time around, two sang by Mike and one from Atom. All solid, although those unenchanted by Atom's voice previously will probably remain unmoved hearing him in a more hardcore aesthetic. That caveat extended, Humongous is still pretty fucking aces.

If you are a fan of any of the aforementioned acronyms and/or the players therein, you can't really go wrong with Humongous. Get it here from the lovable nerds at No Idea and keep track of all things band-y and Armalite here.

R

Live: Vagina Panther @ The Delancey 11.3.11 late

The evening had turned into quite an evening for bearded drummers. Having taken in my first amazing Boy King Island set down the block earlier in the evening, it was a pleasure to inch ever closer to JS-NYC HQ with my rock gourmandizing.
I'd seen Vagina Panther a couple times previous and thought they were ok, but Rut on the drum kit seems to have kicked things up a couple notches. They sound a lot better, and the bass player sure seems to have a ball playing with the stick splitting caveman that comprises the other half of the VP rhythm section. Mario was on the scene to keep the drummer quotient high while June and Co. rocked the hell out of the lower level of The Delancey. They've got a good thing going and a new self-titled record you can get here at the Vagina Panther web presence.

R

Live: Boy King Island @ Pianos 11.3.11 early

Drew was playing a(nother) new band and was pretty big on it, but I had been lazy as hell in checking them out. This show rolled around and was in the neighborhood, plus Jim had sent me a link and I was pretty enthused at the prospect of seeing a little bearded guy pound the hell out of vintage drum kit before I ran down the block to catch a big bearded guy pound the skins with Vagina Panther.

More on that later. I rolled into Pianos and immediately ran into one of the staggering number of Moms I meet at 1 year old birthday parties in this day and age, exchanged pleasantries and then hit the main room as the rest of Boy King Island (heretofore to be referred to as BKI, as the name reminds me much of Davey Von Boehlen and his Boys Who Climb Trees emo extravaganza) were setting up. I'm not too familiar with Jesse Rifkin the guy who leads BKI and half-think he had a solo thing on under a band name previously, but he's evidently got a little bit of a name for himself. He's got a Jay Reatard look going on and is evidently no stranger to a Nudie Suit.

Nudie wear is rarely a bad idea, and let's say from the jump that Boy King Island are a really fucking strong band, but there's a weird costume thing going on with the band. Perhaps wearing a Road Warrior vest is what enables the ridiculous guitar-osity that Ben Seretan served hot for the duration, and if that is the case so be it, cause its fucking working, but the songs are all way too solid to be distracted by overt costumery. They are part of a larger psychedelic vibe BKI are putting out, with tape loops and visual stuff going on. Now that I think about it, its kind of a Flaming Lips aesthetic, without the frat-douche vibe or silly Pink Floyd wankery. Rifkin is no Pavoratti, but the voice matches the sound and the sound is well worth hearing. A bit jammy at times, but with song structure (and chops) to back it up, Boy King Island are a band to see. Keep track of BKI here and look for a record soon.

R

900th Post

JS-NYC Massive:

Thanks for everything. See you at 1000.

R

Live: Todd Barry @ People's Improv Theater 11.1.11

So I got a *ahem* tweet that Todd was celebrating his 24th year in comedy by running through his set for his upcoming Comedy Central special at The Pit for standards and practices. Figuring this was the best way to avoid having to buy two overpriced drinks on top of the door, I scrambled down and grabbed one of the few remaining seats. Todd is always a good time, but I always forget that seeing a Comedy Central taping means that if you follow the comedian in any capacity, you've heard the material before.

And I had. Between his recent set at Maxwells and some general radio and internet nerdery, all of the set was familiar ground, but it went over well and should make for a good special. It's taping 12/1 somewhere here in town. Snoop around and you can probably scare up a ticket, else look for it airing sometime after the New Year. Keep track of Todd here at his web presence.

R