Live: Aldenbarton w/ Steve Shiffman and the Land Of No @ Pianos 10.14.8

Call me selfish, but anytime I can get two out of three of my favorite local bands on the same bill within ten blocks of JS-NYC headquarters, I'm going to try and make that happen. This time, for the byline challenged, it was Aldenbarton teamed with Steve Shiffman and The Land Of No. Next time we'll get Bowery Boy Blue on the bill for a real Rob-a-palooza. Pianos was kind enough to slot another band on the front end of the night, charmingly stymying a good deal of promotion, but The Land Of No came on to a pretty good-sized crowd.

As well they should. They have come a long way from the duo shows with Steve and Pete. Adding Alec and Kent from The Holy Ghost and the hellfire slide guitar from Dave Hollinghurst has done nothing but make the band that much more terrifying. More often than not, five pieces (especially when three are guitars) can get a little cacophonous, but Shiffman and Co. have impeccable taste in arrangements as well as songs. There are at least four people writing for the band and everyone seems to be bringing their A game. In the case of Pete Hayes, quality footwear is also represented. They definitely have t-shirts and I believe a record, although perhaps not released in an official capacity. Somebody really should get on that. There are far too many boring bands in this burgh and Steve Shiffman and The Land Of No really deserve some notice. I'm not sure when the next show is, but you can probably find out here.

Aldenbarton closed the night out with another great set. They have their debut Exodus of the Eldest dropping soon and i, for one, can't wait. Aldenbarton always bring it live. The interplay between those three jokers obviously speaks volumes about the benefits of living and rocking together. If you can deal with the interpersonal ridiculousness, it sure does bear fruit. And a gang of new tunes, three in fact this evening, all as good if not better than the stuff on the record. That bodes well for Exodus getting a lot of shine. It should also make a lot of other bands a wee bit nervous if Aldenbarton has got tunes this good on deck and the first record hasn't even dropped. Get a taste of them at the next show. Should be a month or so, but keep checking here and here for MP3s and more info. Maybe buy a t-shirt, too.

R

Live: Steve Shiffman and the Land Of No @ Cake Shop 9.12.8

My friend Pete plays in America's Finest Rock Band, The Figgs. For a while now he's been playing with one Mr. Steve Shiffman, a transplanted Canadian whom I'm kind of disappointed has ties to the nightmare that is Sidewalk and it's Anti-Folk scene that is attached like mold to it's back room. By and large, it's a great venue if you want to see fourteen 'friends bands' and or a rogues gallery of people far too untalented to actually garner people to play 'with'. I'll give minor props to Beck and Paleface, but whatever smoldering ember of relevancy that movement has fostered has long gone out.

So Pete's been playing with Steve for a while now. Originally they were a two-piece comprised of guitar and drums. You may remember I hate the deconstructionist rock band, but sometime over the last couple years, the duo has morphed into a three-headed guitar monster with a real rhythm section. They were far from bad before, but now that Steve and The Land Of No are a five-piece, a lot of bands should be watching their ass. It doesn't hurt that the three newer guys are Dave Hollinghurst of the late Chapel Hill powerhouse Small and Alec Ferrell and Kent Heine of The Holy Ghost, two of the better bands of the last ten years. Hollinghurst was the ringer for me, as I loved Small a ton, but as a five-some Shiffman and company are pretty damn fearsome.

It showed at Cake Shop. It's far from my favorite room in town, and the relative timing of the shows can be more a than a bit tiresome but it was a crappy night and they rock, so off I went. I've enjoyed them before, but it had been a while since I'd seen them. If anything, they've gotten tighter in the last couple months. The three guitars option can be an ill-advised one, but they have it down pretty well. Two solidbodies, one hollowbody, Dave playing a lot of slide, it all makes for a pretty noise. Add Shiffman's hooky songs and you've got one hell of a good time. Shiffman has a solo EP Tamborino out and it appears that there is a full-length looming ominously in our future. I, for one, can't wait.  Check out the SS & LON webpage here and check out some great MP3s at their MySpace here.

R