Spectacular Bird

First stop of the evening was Union Pool in the’burg to hear David Lerner (ex-member Ted Leo and The Pharmacists) and his new band, Spectacular Bird. The band isn’t all that new, per se; I heard the first rumblings of this band coming from a ramshackle ol’ shed some years ago now, in Tivoli, a town by Bard.

Some of you may know Lerner as the fellow with the curly mop of hair, who works at the record store down N. 6th in Williamsburg, near the American Apparel. The other members in the band are: Quentin, Lou, and Scott.

Within moments of the show, the venue was packed. The whole group has a calm, unassuming air about them. And all I can say is, if anyone is qualified to make honky-tonk, throw-back rock n’ roll, it’s definitely these guys. With strong base lines, and riffs that are at turns sweet and rawkin’, Spectacular Bird is definitely on to a spectacular sound.

More Spectacular Bird in action! Click on this slideshow!

Wanted to see The Dead Trees at Mercury Lounge next, but took a phone call that made me just in time for “No more entry with a badge. Tickets only.” I tried explaining how important I was to the door lady (well, hardly – was more a show of mere desperation) and she, in turn, made me want to weep like a lost, little child. (Hence no hyperlink for Mercury Lounge- ha! I sure got that mean ol' lady back, eh?)

I regrouped and headed off to see Mannequin Men at The Delancey because I (me, me, me) wanted to see what they were like. There was a good turnout to see the band that night. It was a tight set from the rocky, grungy, loud Mannequin Men, who played with some serious intensity. They absolutely looked like pros on stage. From the get go, the group took charge, had control of the set, and carried that momentum through, showing no signs of faltering. Best of all, these guys are hilarious. Go see them play their song “Do you wanna massage,” and you’ll see what I mean.

More Mannequin Men pics!

Normally, I hate to leave a show during the middle of the set, but after such solid start, I knew nothing was going to stop these guys from carrying their succinct rocking of the crowd straight through to the end. Nothing, except maybe a volley of tranquilizer shots or some equally as silly scenario made up by me.

Next up was my British bred’ren (that’s UK slang for ‘homies’) The Maccabees, playing at The Bowery Ballroom. These fellows hail from Brighton, England. As a one-time resident of this young, music-minded seaside town, I can attest to the fact that this place is a veritable hot-bed for talent, churning out great acts such as: The Pipettes, Fujiya Miyagi, British Sea Power, Metronomy, The Strained Assembly, the not-so-good Kooks, Blood Red Shoes, and most recently,Joe Lean and the Jing Jang Jong, a band currently taking the UK by storm. (This list might include a shout out to some of my mates from back home. So sue me.)

Well, The Maccabees definitely wowed NYC, drawing big, happy numbers to the LES venue, and delivering an outstanding set with remarkable ease and panache. If the band was nervous, it certainly didn’t show. On stage, these fellows possess a certain confidence and understated charm that makes them irresistibly endearing to the crowd – there’s absolutely nothing cocky or shy about these guys. Everyone in the band is a natural performer, especially lead singer Orlando, who led the group, with ease, through an impressive set of cleverly arranged songs, including some lovely ballads such as "Toothpaste Kisses." The band has a powerful, unique sound, a sound that, at times, even verges on the point of epic. Orlando’s distinct voice kind of reminds me of that Scottish singer who sang that early 90's hit “…and I would walk 10,000 miles, and I would walk 10,000 more, just to be the man who…”. But in a good way.
(I caught up with Felix from the band the next day to find out about their CMJ experience. Look for details of our chat in a forthcoming post).




More pics of The Maccabees

Rockstar Bar. Whoah. What can I say? It’s a real one-off? That doesn’t even begin to get at the absolute wackiness I witnessed that night. Boy oh boy.

First. Here’s Ross. He played at Rockstar Bar that night. I asked Ross if he’d kindly write down his email in my notebook. The transcript of what he wrote is below:

THIS IS ROSS

AND THIS IS WHAT ROSS WROTE:

"My name is Ross and I've
come a long way since I was
programming synths and sequences
in London. You can email me at
majiq-rupert@hotmail.com. I will destroy your morals at 240
bpm and reduce you to nothing
but a dripping adrenal gland at 60
bpm. My cover of Lady in Red is
better than the original. You should
sleep with me. It'll be better than
that game gear you got on
your 8th birthday. Or the time
you licked a fork in a light socket.
Minimalist. Keepin it real.
In your fuckin face globalpolitics
and abortion. 500.1000. ten. ZERO. A life in the day
a day in the night.
Nothing from everything.
Your life in a bottle.
Your mind in a jar.
Ping Pong Ping Pong."

Bring on the music maelstrom! On offer att Rockstar Bar that night: four rocks bands plus all things psychedelic/ noise/ experimental/ electronic from Electroputas (The Social Registry), Rainbowz, and our friend Ross. (All very nice people!)

It was a rowdy night, a night where kids could be kidz, and do outlandish things like… oh I don’t know…scurry off en masse to the water’s edge, only to be herded back to terre firme by the five-oh. It was a “whatever everyone here is on, I want some” kind of night. (Or did I actually hear someone say this?) One of the chaps from Vietnam was there, and while he couldn’t stand more than 15mins of his own band’s CMJ showcase (or at least this was the gist of his tale) he was absolutely gleeful at this waaaaay off-the-radar event, raving that it was one of the best things he’s been to for some time. I heard he stayed for hours.

Tim, from Baltimore-based rock band Hollywood, happens to be a recent graduate from Bard College and the place was like a who’s who of Bard alum glitterati plus extended family; they really came out of the woodwork for this one. Being ‘cool’ is definitely a part of these kids’ schtick, but not without merit. Bard and Bard-like folk are about being engaged individuals. So, if being ‘cool’ is what you’re after, you better be actively cool to join this crowd. (Nah, just kidding. Some kids just are plain-old-posers. You know who you are, aloof-master gendarmes.) But beware: as ever, the current Bard diaspora and its related peoples are drumming up a fiercely powerful, influential, and far-reaching network of creative kids. You know, the next generation of the new revolution? Whatever.

Lefty from Stalkers with stylist L. Peluso


Some dudes


The bar


Let’s talk about the real rockstar that night at Rockstar Bar — Kathleen Cholewka. She’s cool. She booked Rainbowz and Electroputas, as well as played the role of “awesome bartender.” She she also sings in the faux French band, Les Sans Cullotes, has her own band, Discovery, and is co-president of indie record label, InterContinental Ballistic Music (ICBM).

This gal’s a real mover and shaker. When assuming the part of band-booker, Cholewka explained that her aim is to keep it “interesting and fun.” And while some nights are dedicated to one genre of music (hard rock, psych rock, etc), she told me that “often enough we mix it up on purpose or have bands who are all friends with each other so we can get a good showing and have a community of music lovers in one place.” She said that, above all “you have to make your own scene no matter where you are.” Her band and friends’ bands do just that: they get together, organize a night and get great responses from both club-owner and attendees.

I asked her a bit more about Rockstar Bar, itself. She told me the place has been in business for 20 years under various names such as, ‘The Ship’s Mast’, ‘The Mermaid Inn’,’The Local’, and ‘Rocky’s’. The bar is also open during the day and this accounts for “the colourful bunch of regulars” that range from “film crew workers to iron workers to artsy types who don’t work much…” (gotta love that last one, eh?) Back in the 90’s, it was more of a hip hop place, but in the last couple of years, it’s become more of a rock venue at night. However, these days, anything goes for the most part.
“People can kind of do whatever they want at Rockstar Bar,” Cholewka says. From rock shows to movie screenings to birthdays to queer/lesbian dance parties -- you name it -- if you can throw it, you can pretty much do it.

It sort of makes me wonder, like much of my CMJ experience has made me wonder, who needs CMJ when there’s this?

Third stop on the third day was Mo Pitkins. Toronto natives, The Golden Dogs, played upstairs as part of the Yep Roc Records Official CMJ showcase. They were a lively, boisterous, quirky bunch playing ambitious, exciting music. Fun, fun, fun. But, apparently “everyone” knows this band is great, especially live. So nothing new here.

THE GOLDEN DOGS






What “everyone” didn’t know, apparently, was that playing downstairs, completely separate from anything CMJ, was the equally as great NEW YORK HOWL.


PHOTO CREDIT: LUKAS JAMES

These guys are true champions of the NYC live-music scene. And mind you, over the past few years I’ve randomly run into this band playing shows from London to Austen and everywhere in between, (hey, what can I say? I’ve an intense tendency towards the bizarrely coincidental), and while they’re definitely champs in NYC, that certainly doesn’t mean their ‘howlin’’ doesn’t rock just as hard everywhere else they play. Go to a NEW YORK HOWL show and you’ve got yourself a guaranteed outstanding live-experience that’s wild n’ raucous n’ soulful n’ bluesy n’ punk n’ rock n’ all things jumpin’ n’ jiving! Their impromptu show at Mo Pitkins (which the band independently put together as a farewell to the soon-to-be closed venue) was no exception to this guarantee. The night was filled with all sorts of hilarious and entertaining antics I’ve come to expect from these swell showmen. For me, leaving the CMJ riff-raff upstairs and heading downstairs to The NY Howl’s homegrown scene, was like choosing the really great party where everyone was having fun, instead of the pretty good party where no one was having fun. Not exactly a tough decision, eh?


For your records: NEW YORK HOWL are close friends Adam Amram (drums), Brer Brian (organ, guitar, vocals) Andrew Katz, (vocals, guitar, organ), and Stefan Zeniuk (baritone saxophone). I had a quick word with Zeniuk about how the band works. He said that individually, both Katz and Brian write the songs. Zeniuk explained further: “Then they bring 'em in, and we will usually go through them a couple times, and just start making them our own.... sometimes we'll even play a song for the first time on stage. We're all very close, though, so it's a very organic process.”

Well, it sounds good to me, and it clearly sounds good to the band’s insanely dedicated fan-base. Look out for the NEW YORK HOWL's long-awaited second album, coming soon. And for all you lucky duckies in the UK, prepare yourself for the imminent return of the mighty Howl. Also: check out the solo projects of Adam Amram and Brer Brian, as well as Stefan Zeniuk's alternate latin-jazz band, Gato Loco.
Stayed tuned for the exclusive blog in which NY Howl’s Stefan Zeniuk shares, along with MANY others, his thoughts on CMJ.





ALL PHOTOS OF NY HOWL: LUKAS JAMES...(PAID WITH A SOLE MILLER LIGHT FOR HIS PHOTOS!)

I’m sorry but, right now, NO BAND IS COOLER THAN THE SUBJECTS. I left the Indaba/Underrated loft party on Thursday to go see this band play The Pretty Activity Records Showcase at Tank, and let me tell you, these boys cooked up a rock n’ roll hootenanny like none other! OH LORDY! Hollerin’and jokin’ was happening back and forth between band and crowd, all bodies were groovin, and everyone was TRULY enjoying themselves. By the end of the set, the crowd was so involved in the music, they merged with the band and one couldn’t tell the merry-makers from the music-makers. It was like one big happy circus – the most awesome sounding circus you’ll ever hear.

THE SUBJECTS aren’t just making melodic rock n’ roll ditties packed full with energy. Oh no, no, no. There’s more to it than that, much more. There is a power to this band’s sound and performance that is near iconic. (Big word, I know).

Well, it turns out these dudes are making thoughtful, intelligent music. Go figure. I mean one guy I spoke to at the show likened the band to Schumann and Schubert, referencing the culture of 1840’s popular entertainment. I’m not kidding. Seems these crazy revelers got some brains too. And no, this fellow (clearly a die-hard Subjects fan) wasn’t some know-it-all Tartuffe, he was just smart – and pretty dead on with his assessment: Schumann and Schubert were some of the first musicians to create short songs with words, songs that told a story and touched people’s emotions. The Subject's songs definitely do just that: tell stories and touch emotions. And while I wouldn’t necessarily reference music of the 1800’s to describe this band’s music (mainly cuz I ain’t that music- savvy), I would definitely say THE SUBJECTS are creating rock n’ roll that harps back to 60’s rock-jazz music and its now- retro attitude about making music, an attitude that says: above all, let’s create songs to entertain and engage the people.

The band’s focus is centered on their songs. They work damn hard to create songs with contour and they are conscious of each song’s arrangement, spending lots of time writing the different parts together. In other words, this is a band dedicated to the ongoing process of writing and practicing.

Now who’d have thought going back to basics, being intelligent, and sticking to a disciplined approach could be so fun and fresh? Well it is. And, after all their hard work, it’s time for THE SUBJECTS to rake in all the fun. (Lucky for you, these nice guys are gonna let you join in.)

Stay tuned for an exclusive blog in which this band (and MANY MORE such as LO FI FNK and THE MACCABEES) share what they think of CMJ

Next stop that night – a double whammy at Mo Pitkens with THE GOLDEN DOGS and THE NEW YORK HOWL.

Here are my pictures from the last night of CMJ -- it was a great couple of days!

I wanted to catch the local band Reckless Sons as they have been getting a bit of a buzz and got to the Lion's Den in time to see the full set from Chicago's Down The Line. Down The Line drew a good-sized crowd and most of the audience seemed to be very familiar/singing along with the music.

While the members of Down the Line were solid musicians, I am really not into their style of music so I don't think I can give an adequate critique. I found their music similar to Blues Traveler and the many jam-bands that used to play Wetlands. They really seemed to connect with the audience so, if you are into this style of music, you would probably enjoy Down the Line. The band released its third full-length CD, "For All You Break", earlier this year and the disc is available from CD Baby and the band's website.







Reckless Sons were much more my speed and put on a great show! The band has a sort of an 80's root-rock sound with a touch of punk thrown in the mix. Like Down the Line, Reckless Sons made a strong connection with the audience and had the crowd dancing (and sending shots up to the stage as it was the drummer's b-day). The band has a three song demo which they were passing out at the show which shows a lot of potential.

Reckless Sons has two upcoming show next month:
- November 10th @ Lion's Den (All ages)
- November 16th @ Club Midway