Whip Appeal – "Silk & Velvet & Woven Gold" from Dann Lawrence on Vimeo.
Let me admit it, ok. Music videos are dead. What’s bustling with life and creativity is the no budget / voyeuristic / parental accompaniment advised home video, or compilation of fun times and jerking around. The rock ‘n hop trio originally from Newton, MASS teased us with this medium in their “Face In” video and glad to see it show again. What do you call it when you go to court quickly?
Everyone has a deep urging, a seated, notpatient, and ever intense longing for what I am terming PRIMITIVALIA – this stuff is a step back from modern man, from rightnow pop capabilities and sensibilities, but lemme tell you this is the realest of deals. Oh yes, very noisy, but heartfelt in the most uncontrived ways – just listen. You’ll get it I hope.
First, the debut recording from THE CAVEMEN – Banned Before Time. This is what it’s all about folks. Now full disclosure if anyone’s connecting dots here – I didn’t play on this recording and I am glad I didn’t – I’m just unbelievably grateful these guys let me react to their music from time to time LIVE. So if you want to know what complete freedom and just whatever goes, goes feels and sounds like, come on out to Harvard University this Friday, October 30, and see what Crypt Smarts (TM) looks like. The Cavemen. On this recording, Kurt and Couch nail the brute root elements of old timey frat rockers but of course that gets deconstructed in Bits and Spurts into metallic-y Lightning Bolt – so loosy Grey goosey you have to wonder if this is happily the best doomed equivalent of a Jam band. Thank you God this is a thing.
Now for the true sickos and sickettes. I present to you the mind of >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> and his sophomore release >>>>>>>>>>. Some might be familiar with his work in the live G. Gordon Gritty band on noise guitar – so if you ever wanted to hear what that dude is like on his own, left completely to his own devices, with a wooden or half broken guitar, homemade pedals, and a light switch, this is your chance. His straight to tape competency on this recording is quite literally the embodiment of rock ‘n roll and DO IT YOURSELF. Despite its minimalism, it might be his most accessible work. I can’t recommend the debut album enough though, there’s a lot more going on. It’s poetic. Happy to play with dude every chance I can. It’s special!
As everyone knows there are great shows, great potential shows, and then there are some times where the line-up is just insane. Then there are times where there are several fine ass shows going on the same night. This has been happening a lot lately in Boston and I take that as a strong sign that a variety of people are getting involved and putting their stake in local rock ‘n roll music.
But the show that we here at KLYAM are going to on Friday night is NOTS, URSULA, NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS, and GERM HOUSE at Club Bohemia in Cambridge, presented by Illegally Blind.
I’m still giddy from my first time seeing NOTS perform, which was a month ago at Gonerfest 12 in Memphis. I’d been looking forward to seeing them ever since last summer when I picked up their second 7″, Fix / Modern. Even more so upon hearing their We Are Nots LP from last year. Pretty sure that was my favorite release of the year and cemented in my brain their status as my favorite band. Noisy chaotic slashing guitar, shouty vocals, and alien synths make ’em REAL OUT THERE while the bass and drum ground things slightly. “Reactor” and “Strange Rage” from the first album do it in particular for me – all winners though – and their new single Virgin Mary shows there’s no slowing down in sight. A MUST SEE BAND.
I’ve been acquainted with URSULA for almost exactly one year! I saw the duo play at Black Lodge on October 21, 2014, and was so intrigued I wrote about them the day after. I had never seen any band play like them – explicitly confrontational, raw, and yes there’s not many other ways to put it, punk. Several shows later, I still can’t get enough! Their performance goes to show that the most exciting live music is that which strays further and further away from formulas and conventional playing toward something very very real and meaningful. Not in a yay lets all relate to each other way. Something far more sinister than that. Not something I can write “when Caity stares at you, you feel _________”. I’m not going to speak on your behalf. You get from it – something different. I’d say if they don’t become your new favorite Boston band, you done something wrong.
Also playing are The (New England) Patriots – who’ve played their way to being local noise punk legends. Persistently under the radar, I’d say, they seem to evade most online merchants of cool. Well not here. They also weird as fuck, a truly unpredictable three piece. Instead of synths they got I don’t even know, some combination of devices inside of an old voting booth. Like URSULA there’s a chance the singer be bumping into you or falling on the ground nearby. An amazing sight and sound.
Finally is a band I’ve never heard of – Germ House. Now if it was 1979, I wouldn’t have the means of looking them up beforehand. Let alone do I even want to? For fear of misrepresentation or pigeonholing which I guess is innately a part of this post anyway, I’ll simply say I’m excited. I did the looking and I did the listening. Excellent.
GO TO THIS SHOW
Kickin off Parallax Error with some ole ’50s, ’60s Bo Diddley guitaring but that ain’t half of it. If it’s from Australia and it’s on AARGHT and GONER it’s gonna be pretty off and it’s gonna be pretty much the best shit you’ve listened to all year. Happened last year with me and the Ausmuteants. Great thing too is you can jump in after the fact, you know after their first few singles and/or album, and still feel OG because what they doing never loses its realness quotient. So with the Hierophants, I see ma boy Jake is in the band, in fact this was recorded behind his old house. Sounds pretty legitimate to me, but I’m the last to know about production.
For all I know these Australians could be fly by nighters, forming and disbanding just to confuse us Americans, right more than a few of us try too hard to sound ‘right’ or something like that. This Hierophants album, mostly, is that fine mesh of synth and vocal kinkiness – music to anyone’s ears who knows what I’m talking about – and bass/drum groove funkiness. I kinda fell off the new wave old wave synth wave black wave thing somewhere between Devo and the Lost Sounds (fucked up, didn’t I?, but place this down with a soft cushion in between those eras. Those epochs.
And I can’t tell the difference between guitar and synth. Everything is so mechanical, but unpredictable and doesn’t that vibe with rock ‘n roll legends in bands previously mentioned? I’ve realized it’s dumb to comment on songs versus provocation and why things are exciting while I listen and type. Cause it’s weird. But the music is fairly nerdy too. This is the dance music of somewhere. If the Hierophants are a top spin in a modern DJ’s collection, damn, come on please transport me there and allow me to spend some vacation days. They don’t let things get too f’ed and they intelligent too.
Flyer by G. Gordon Gritty
Tomorrow night (Saturday, October 3rd), we blast back to 1964 with golden oldies oders Johnnie and the Foodmasters, garage slingers, The Shallow End Divers, and the fiercest pups in town, Drug Dogs. KLYAM DJ set in between bands!
It all goes down at Club Bohemia (the Cantab Lounge basement) in Central Square, Cambridge. $8, 8:30, 21+. Be there or be a square! UP YOUR NOSE WITH A RUBBER HOSE! https://www.facebook.com/events/1665084857039563/
The Shallow End Divers
http://theshallowenddivers.bandcamp.com/
Drug Dogs
https://drugdogs.bandcamp.com/releases
Johnnie and the Foodmasters
http://johnnieandthefoodmasters.bandcamp.com/
Kids Like You & Me (KLYAM) 