Live: Samiam with I Hate Our Freedom @ Santos Party House 3.12.11

I like me some Samiam. A lot. To the point where it was getting to be a little bit absurd that I'd never seen them live. Sadly, as of late the JS-NYC travel budget has precluded travel to Brazil or Germany, the two places Samiam play with any regularity in this epoch, and frankly the last show was pretty shitty, so I played the scene card and Sergie threw me on the list.

Santos is weird. After a search that left me pretty sure I was dating the security guy afterward the first time I went, I got a cursory search and walked in without passing a ticket person or security or anything. I Hate Our Freedom were up in short order. IHOF have grown on me a bunch over the last six months or so. They have been on the lions share of the decent bills around town of late, to the point where I'm pretty sure I've seen them six times now without ever intending to. I wasn't crazy about them at first, but they have really grown on me. I think this may have been kind of the release party for their debut, Seriously and it was a pretty good showing. The record's good too.

As much I enjoyed I Hate Our Freedom, Samiam were the reason for the evening. I was really hoping for a marked improvement (read: lower blood alcohol level in Jason) in the set and was pretty pleased. Man, do Samiam have songs. They've got enough records that cherry-picking from them makes for one hell of a set. Jason was in better form, although the second show I've seen from the Samiam made obvious the fact that in addition to being time keeper, a big part of Charlie's gig is to start the songs when Jason starts talking for more that ten or fifteen seconds between songs. As Jason seems prone to spouting inappropriate Asberger-isms given any opportunity, the set moved along pretty quickly but still garnered us a solid eighteen quality songs before things shut down for a disco party. Evidently the gents are playing a couple shows to get some cash together to cover overhead for a songwriting session for a new record. Don't recall hearing any new tracks, but stay tuned to JS-NYC for info on the new record as it arises.

Santos is a good place to see a show. If you have the chance, budget extra time for the strip search and see a show there. Thanks to Sergie and Tony from Southern Lovin' for making the guest list happen.

R

I Hate Our Freedom - Seriously

I've seen a handful of I Hate Our Freedom shows over the last year or so and they have grown on me a good deal. Initially I liked them a lot more on paper. Of all the ex-bands the members of I Hate Our Freedom tenured in (including Texas Is The Reason, Thursday and Milhouse), I was the biggest fan of Garrison, and their singer Joe fronts IHOF (do I smell t-shirt logo rip-off) so things bode well. They were the best I've ever seen them opening for Samiam at Santos, so I picked up Seriously and its been getting more than average play at JS-NYC HQ. I think mostly because its just short of twenty minutes long. That's not a diss. In fact it's pretty refreshing to hear some older guys who know that there is no need to overstay their welcome. The closing track stretches things out a bit into a Jawbox meets Bluetip rideout that is pretty bad-ass, but the lion's share of the tracks are under two minutes. I Hate Our Freedom certainly seem to play their fair share of solid bills with bigger touring acts, but if one doesn't arise, Seriously looks to have me seeing them headline next time they play. Keep track of their whereabouts here and pick up Seriously here from Mightier Than Sword Records.

Live: Noise By Numbers, Let Me Run, I Hate Our Freedom, Black Wine, Worrier @ The Studio at Webster Hall 8.9.10

I had tickets for this for a bit, figuring the Vapid factor would really fill the room up, but day of I wasn't really of a mind to go. I was totally wiped from the Ceremony show and a trip North the day before, but Eric convinced me to make it out. I got off the train and made it there early, having never been to the new-ish basement annex of Webster Hall called The Studio and was pretty pleased with the layout, as well as the bevy of places with light where I could sit and read between sets. It's an old guy thing.

In a move that ingratiated me to her more than she could ever hope to know, Lauren had posted that Worrier were both opening and playing at 7:30. When the enchanting Ms. Measure took the stage with a rhythm section of two indie looking gents at 7:30, I almost wept, but maintained my composure enough to enjoy their short set. Worrier features Mike Hunchback on bass and maybe a new drummer? Either way, the songs were good and I like Lauren's music a bunch, but the backing crew needed to hit a little harder and give the songs some edge. They sounded good though, and Ms. Measure gets huge gear nerd props for the blonde AC30 she's playing through. Very, very nice.

Black Wine feature Jeff from the dear departed Ergs with the rhythm section of the dear departed Hunchback. Man, are they good, and throwing down in a Jersey Husker Du sort of frenzy mixed with some early Sub Pop and Taang. I've been remiss in doing their record, and aim to rectify that situation with the quickness. Jeff has a great voice, and may very well get the medal for best post-Erg franchise. Miranda is a great vocal foil. She's a triple threat in that she can play, sing and scream and Black Wine is way lucky to have her in the fold. The full-length is on Don Giovanni and sounds great. Just a great set from a great band. Look for the review of the self-titled debut soon.

I Hate Our Freedom were up next. They have dudes from Garrison, Texas Is The Reason, Thursday and Milhouse in the band and sound like it. As you might surmise they sound very much like a late 90s Rev band. It was ok, but didn't really rock my world. Nice dudes though.

Let Me Run were up after. Hailing from New Brunswick, they signed to Paper & Plastick recently and have a new singer in Rocky Catanese. I've not heard it, but they had a Hot Water/Jawbreaker vibe, which will rarely ruffle my feathers. I wouldn't go out of my way to see them again, but definitely want to check out the EP.

This was the last night of tour for Noise By Numbers, who had been out for a little over a week, Danny and Jeff looked tired, but the band was tight as hell and sounded great. The new Noise By Numbers record is pretty great, and bodes well for the SW reunion being a fruitful one. Odd that no one has brought the SW/Riverdales two-fer into NYC as yet, but NBN are close to being as good in a lot of ways. Same sound, same aesthethic, half the crowd and companion douchebaggery. This this old man likes.

This was the best five band bill we have had in a while, here's hoping that we get a lot more shows like this in NYC. Props to all the bands involved and to Late Night Wallflower for booking this at The Studio.

R