Last night, while we were going nuts in Lowell with Atlantic Thrills and The New Highway Hymnal, another KLYAM beloved band was creating a raucus in Memphis, TN. This band is The Barbaras, one of the best rock ‘n’ roll bands of our generation. They played on the same stage as fellow Memphis kings, The Oblivians at the legendary Hi-Tone Cafe with this being the famed venue’s final show. Moral of the story, LISTEN TO THE BARBARAS! You can start by watching the live video above. But, don’t just stop at part 1:
King Khan at Eurockeennes Festival at Malsaucy on July 3, 2009 in Belfort, France. (Photo by Gary Wolstenholme/Redferns)
This article discusses the very things KLYAM has been fixated on for the past four years. HOW A RETROGRADE STRAIN OF WEIRD, FUN PUNK STAYS ALIVE IN THE UNDERGROUND, OR: ARE YOU BORED WITH ANIMAL COLLECTIVE YET? By Beverly Bryan. http://www.mtviggy.com/articles/please-explain-garage-punk/
I hate the title, but it has some funny descriptions such as this: “Some audience members are bored enough to glance down and see a man’s legs wrapped in shredded pantyhose and shod in a pair of fuck-me pumps scrooching across the club’s sticky floor, headed for the stage. Nobunny has arrived, albeit on all fours.” Heh heh.
Bands: Fat Creeps, Space Bums, Fedavees, The BFS Date: Saturday, February 16, 2013 Venue: Massasoit Cambridge Elks Lodge (Cambridge, MA)
Fat Creeps– Hey y’all super cool people out there reading this, if you are in fact reading this, I got a little confession to make. I am a Fat Creeps fan. I know, it’s a shocker, who would have thunk? To say that I am a fan of this band would be a massive understatement, but I don’t want my Fat Creeps fanboyism to clog up this “review’ anymore. I am trying to imagine what it would be like to see them for the first time without having any prior knowledge about their music, ahh sounds awful, but I’ll give it a shot.
Fat Creeps are a three piece consisting of Mariam Saleh on vocals and bass, Gracie Jackson on vocals and guitar, and Jim Leonard on drums. They have taken over Boston by this point and are starting to overflow into Portland, Providence, Worcester, Northampton, Brooklyn, and Bennington, your city will be next. The charming trio of early twenty somethings play a variety of styles that is both familiar and appealing to the ears, but not always easy to classify. Lazy journalists might call it “garage” or “pop punk” or they actually hear those styles, I don’t know. Surely, there’s elements of each, but being somewhat of a connoisseur of contemporary garage and a vehement detractor of most pop punk, I’d say this is painfully misleading. It just goes to show that the band’s diversity makes them applicable to many genres and they can and have shared bills with all different walks of life from the rampant noise of SKIMASK to the playfully vulgar punk of The Coathangers, and everything in between. It’s all rock ‘n’ roll.
Tonight, the band rips through some fresh cuts as well as some vintage Creeps classics that everyone and their grandmother should know by now. I mean my grandmother probably does, she’s a hip, hip lady, I once caught her listening to Black Flag, strange. “Nancy Drew,” do do do doo, hey Nancy Drew, do do do doo, hey Nancy Drew, do do do doo, hey Nancy Drew, do do do doo, hey Nancy Drew. The song practically sells itself. You just have to hear it once and you can already sing along to it! Actually, once you hear the first do do do doo or second do do do doos, then you can pretty much sing along to it, unless you’re retarded. But, that’s okay I screw up lyrics all the time myself. “Nancy Drew” is a mini insight into the band’s quirky world. It’s simple, but ever so catchy, you can’t turn your back on it. I’d say this goes for pretty much most of the Creeps songs tonight. The main appeal to me is the memorable quality in all of their tunes, with “Nancy” being a boss example. That is the basic charm, but the band’s prowess as musicians and performers is what really hooks me in to their sound. Up front, Mariam and Gracie execute harmonies that rival the Vivian Girls, while Jim tenaciously assaults his drums behind them. In particular, I dig the way the delivery of their sound can match up with the direct nature of their lyrics like in “Secrets,” Mariam roars “Come closer I can’t hear you,” and it really feels like she is yelling at you to come closer.
This show is at the Cambridge Elks Lodge, a place I have never stepped foot inside in my entire life, until now. It’s a sweet spot, not too big, not too small, but just right, to paraphrase one, Goldilocks (I had to look the correct spelling up, this whole time I’ve been spelling it as Goldie locks). There was no stage and it was pretty much absent of any extraneous rock club bullshit, so it kind of felt like a glamorous basement show. Speaking of basement shows, a young chap by the name of Kevin Dacey- a frequent basmenter, is in attendance tonight, which is swell because I usually don’t see him at Boston above ground gatherings because of the ageist polices of the rock clubs :( Nonetheless, Mr. Dacey is a happy camper and he ignites some fine moshing during the Creeps’ kickass, fast rocker, “Daydreaming,” perhaps the most moshable song in the Creeps catalog. Definitely a highlight of the evening. http://fatcreeps.bandcamp.com/
The first three bands were all solid as well:
The BFS are a mixture of power pop a la Gentlemen Jesse and His Men/White Wires and pop punk. Check em’ out here: http://thebfs.bandcamp.com/
Spacebums have a similar psych sound, but with more of a fun, rock ‘n’ roll, garage sensibility. Check it out: http://thespacebums.bandcamp.com/
Before and in between some of the band’s sets there were a couple of screenings of bizarre, but humorous videos from “The Gooder Life With Dr. Jesse” and “The Family Factory.” They reminded me of a cross between John Waters, Tim and Eric, and Hollywood Nailz (Hunx’s show). http://www.thegooderlife.com/
Check out this Surfer video featuring the Fat Creeps’ Christmas classic “Bring Us Some Waves”
I got mine in the mail last week along with the DVD. This little, 50 page, black and white book features mini essays from King Khan, Cole Alexander, and more! Just watch the vid above.
As a massive Deerhunter fan I am excited to hear about the band recording a new album in Brooklyn, which according to Rolling Stone, Bradford Cox describes as “a very avant-garde rock & roll record.” Sounds like Deerhunter. Apparently, Deerhunter has two new members in guitarist Frankie Broyles and bassist Josh McKay, does this mean bassist Joshua Fauver has left the band? Anyway, it will be interesting to see how these two new members influence the sound of the band on this record and in their live show. “Dream Captain” is the name of one of the new songs. Okay, I don’t need to hear more, I want to just listen to the album when it comes out. Take a look at these pictures from Rolling Stone: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/pictures/deerhunter-record-new-album-in-brooklyn-20130208
I just found this right now and as a Magic Kids fan, I feel obliged to post it here for all you other Magic Kids fans out there. The sad, mopey bands of the world have run amok for too long! Fear not, Magic Kids are here to spread love and happiness for all, well maybe two years ago, but you can relive the old glory days here tonight on KLYAM.
Bands: Fat Creeps, Miniboone, Bunny’s A Swine, Pile Date: Thursday, January 24, 2013 Venue: O’Brien’s Pub (Allston, MA)
Act I: Fat Creeps– We the KLYAM first saw Fat Creeps here at O’Brien’s Pub last April, Friday the 13th to be exact. Here we are again, nine months later, a lot has gone down in the time since then: touring, an EP release, many shows (much of them KLYAM attended and reviewed), and loads of rightfully deserved media attention. I recall Fat Creeps as being a memorable band with catchy, weird pop songs that reminded me of The Shaggs, Beat Happening, and Vivian Girls. I wasn’t thinking whoa, this band has totally changed how I look at music! but there was something unique about them. Honestly, I thought they had this sort of outsider thing going on, which is pretty far from their actual “sound.” Overtime, I just developed a greater affinity for their music and it feels like they have grown significantly as musicians and performers in the nine months since my initial live experience. They sound stronger and heavier than ever and yet they still have that odd charm that sparked my interest in the first place. This performance is the longest Creeps set I have ever witnessed, it feels like I am seeing a national, headlining act on tour. My brother Justin, who has never seen the band, is in attendance as well and it’s as if I am seeing the band again for the first time through his eyes. I am glad he is here for this show, because they play a wide variety of tunes. They open with “Horoscope,” a song I haven’t heard live in a couple months, so naturally this is a pleasure. Of course, you have the other essentials like “700 Parts,” “Nancy Drew,” and “Secrets,” but they also play a batch of numbers I’ve never heard before (“Blue,” “I’ve Got”) as well as somewhat new tunes like “He Comes In Loudly,” the instrumental, “Back to School” and “Going to the Party,” which is like Devo meets Dead Kennedys. At least, I hear those dark, punk influenced surf vibes. At this point, most music fans can point to the Fat Creeps and say it sounds like 90s or surf rock or garage or lazy rock (whatever that means), their style has some easily identifiable features, but their actual songs expand far beyond any specific sound. In other words, they have created their own original brand of rock ‘n’ roll, so much so that when people ask me what they sound like, I just want to say they sound like the Fat Creeps, because I could conjure up more obscure references, but I feel like it just trivializes their distinct personality.
Set-List “Horoscope”
“Blue”
“He Comes In Loudly”
“Nancy Drew”
“700 Parts”
“Fooled”
“Secrets”
“Going To Party”
“Dadweed”
“Daydreaming”
“I’ve Got”
“Back 2 School”
Act II: Miniboone– This is my first time seeing these New Yorkers, I’ve actually never heard of them, but one of the members of the band Earthquake Party! (a kickass band I recommend y’all check out) informs me right before the band plays that they sound like a mix between Talkng Heads, Queen, and Bruce Springstreen. Sounds wild enough, I’ll take it. I can definitely hear arena rock and fast, power pop influences in their perfomance tonight, physically and musically. They are an entertaining band, but they do not blow me away either. I feel like they have the musical chops and decent songs, but not distinct enough for my ears. Then again, this is the only time I’ve seen them, and I am not too familiar with their music, so who knows? http://miniboone.bandcamp.com/
Act III: Bunny’s A Swine– Western Massachusetts’ Bunny’s A Swine describes themselves as “awk pop slops rock,” not sure what that means, but it sounds better than “indie,” that’s for sure. To me, they sound like Pavement, which I feel like I say a lot, but that’s what I hear. That makes sense, Pavement is kind of awkward, but poppy and a bit sloppy. I don’t necessarily see the sloppiness in this band, they seem to have their shit together. The band speaks of party hardy times with headliners, Pile, maybe that explains why they have songs like “Pour It Out At Parties” and “Nobody Wants You Here (Sober).” Check em’ out at their bandcamp here: http://bunnysaswine.bandcamp.com/
Kids Like You & Me (KLYAM) 