Live: Quicksand with Cymbals Eat Guitars at Webster Hall 1.31.13

I was intrigued when Quicksand reunited (again) last Fall at the Revelation Records Anniversary shows out West, but thought they were a little rough from the footage I saw online, plus I've seen my fair share of Quicksand shows (and last tours, for that matter), so it didn't really seem worth ponying up premium dollars to see them play again. The Music Hall Of Williamsburg show last year prompted a unexpected biblical deluge of texts from people losing their shit at how great the band was, but even then I didn't jump on tickets for the last two shows of the tour at Webster. Hey, it's cold.

An unexpected call from Laura had me braving the elements and grabbing a ticket for the last night of the tour. Despite all plans to the contrary, I posted up about halfway through the opening set from Cymbals Eat Guitars. Meh. Very meh. The foursome were met with pronounced indifference from the crowd and JS-NYC was decidedly among them. To be fair, an opening slot for Quicksand is a tough slot on a band's best day. I'm not sure if this was CEG's, but I was pretty bored by everything I heard.

I found Laura and caught up for a bit, then settled in as the lights went down and the boys launched into Omission. The next hour and a half of so saw the band tearing through most of their catalog to an older, but no less enthusiastic crowd. No one in Quicksand is a spring chicken, but everyone looks to be in fine fettle and the band is tight as a drum. Rarely has there been a band where all four parties are as formidable musically individually. Cage and Vega are a truly monster rhythm section, and Capone and Walter are a two headed beast to be reckoned with. Not a lot of small talk from Walter, just a gang of bangers as well as the obligatory romp through How Soon Is Now. Good times and good company in a good room. Plus I was home by 11, which makes it all the sweeter.

Take the groundbreaking chestnut that you should get into Quicksand and do what you will with it. Keep track of what the future holds for the fearsome foursome here.

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Rival Schools - Pedals

Walter Schriefels is a man who gets around. Whether it be via (what I assume is still) his Some Records or his seemingly unending string of deals within the Island/Def Jam empire, your boy Wally is maximizing his potential. His recent solo record An Open Letter To The Scene was really good, Gorilla Biscuits have been somewhat active and the revived Rival Schools has been playing the Summer Euro festival circuit for the last couple years. Rumors of new Rival Schools material had circulated, but safe money was on it being a formal release of the odds ands sods tracks that had been floating around the interwebs for years.

Well slap my ass and call me Charlie, as here we have ourselves a new record from Rival Schools. It's called Pedals and its pretty damn decent. I can't say I wouldn't have preferred a new Quicksand record, but all of the tracks on Pedals are really solid. It's got hooks for days and Ian Love and Walter have really done a great job with the recording. In an ideal world, tracks like A Parts By B Actors and Small Doses will get some notice. They certainly deserve it. Ignore the fact that 3OH!3 are the flagship artist and pick up Pedals here from your friends at Photo Finish Records.

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Walter Schreifels review @ PopMatters

Ladies and Gents:

My review of the new Walter Schreifels record is currently up at PopMatters. Here's a link.

Thanks to Sarah Zupko at PopMatters!

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