I like what Glen did for his end of the year song list, so I am following in this new direction.
Atlas Sound– “The Shakes,” “My Angel Is Broken,” and “Parallax” The Beets– “I Think I Might Have Built A Horse” Big Mess– “The Hook,” “No Good Time,” and “Gueule de Bois,” Black Lips– “Family Tree,” “Spidey’s Curse,” and “Don’t Mess Up My Baby,” Colleen Green– “Dance the Night Away” Fat History Month– “Old Lady Smokers,” “Things I Enjoy,” and “Free As A Cat” Girls– “Honey Bunny,” “Magic,” and “Saying I Love You,” Hunx & His Punx– “Lovers’ Lane,” “Too Young to Be In Love,” and “Keep Away From Johnny” Mark Sultan– “Just For a Moment,” “Axis Abraxas,” and “Song In Grey” Natural Child– “Easy Street,” “Hard Workin’ Man,” and “White People” The Orwells– “Halloween All Year” The Pains of Being Pure At Heart– “Belong,” “Heart In Your Heartbreak” Peach Kelli Pop “Eeenie Meenie Minie Moe,” “Do the Eggroll,” and “Doo Wah Diddy” Shannon and the Clams– “The Cult Song,” “You Will Always Bring Me Flowers,” and “Sleep Talk” Saralee– “Circle of Hands,” “Ceiling,” Silhouette Rising– “Don’t You Hear Me Calling” Smith Westerns– “Smile,” “All Die Young,” and “Weekend” Those Darlins– “Screws Get Loose,” “Be Your Bro” Ty Segall– “Comfortable Home,” “Goodbye Bread,” and “California Commercial” Wavves– “Nodding Off (Featuring Best Coast),” “Bug,” and “I Wanna Meet Dave Grohl”
It looks like another year in concerts has concluded for me. I made it out to 19 shows (22 in 2010) at quite a few different venues around Boston/MA (including more basement/non-traditional club shows than ever) and three non-Massachusetts shows (all Black Lips).
1. Black Lips, Night Beats @ Bowery Ballroom – July
2. Black Lips, Vivian Girls @ Paradise Rock Club – April 3. Black Lips, Davila 666, X-Ray Eyeballs @ Webster Hall – October 4. Nobunny @ Church – June 5. Mark Sultan @ Magic Room Gallery – December
Favorite Bands That I Saw For The First Time In 2011: Atlantic Thrills, White Wires, Peach Kelli Pop, Sara Lee, Night Beats, and Davila 666.
Artists: Mark Sultan, Sinbusters, Squall Date: Friday, December 2, 2011 Location: Magic Room Gallery (Brighton, MA) Comments: Act I: Squall (Unfortunately we missed :( )
Act II: The Sinbusters– The Sinbusters are a kickass garage inspired punk outfit from Lowell, MA. Their sets pretty much consist of balls to the wall, fun, rock and roll. Loud, noisy, but ultimately satisfying. Tonight they are a three piece: vocals/guitar, drums, keyboards. They rock pretty hard and get the stiff crowd moving at times. Nick, the lead singer, hops into the audience for a bit, whilst strumming away on his guitar. I am still getting into the band, but I really like what I hear, and they are definitely amongst the top live bands I have seen in Boston this year. They place artists such as Thee Oh Sees and Thick Shakes amongs their contemporaries, and I think that is pretty accurate. So, definitely check out The Sinbusters if you have not.
Act III: Mark Sultan– Mark Sultan is the real deal. What does that even mean? It means, there is no bullshit, what you get is real rock and roll, at least what I think is real rock and roll, and obviously I am not alone. Mark mixes it up a lot, diving through numerous styles: Doo Wop, Soul, Psychedlic, and Punk, rocking hard through all of them. Tonight he is feeling under the weather or “gonnorrhea in the throat” as he calls it, but when he sings you can hardly notice the difference, it is amazing. The Magic Room Gallery is a nice, little venue, and when he plays he looks right at home, or at least he makes everyone feel involved, often cracking jokes and encouraging the crowd to dance. Indeed, Mark plays several of his classic, danceable, rock and roll songs, many of which I hold near and dear to me. “Beautfiul Girl” from 2007’s Sultanic Verses (2007) is one of the highlights of the set, and perhaps my favorite performed live. The vocals are incredible in the studio version, but they get me pumped even more live. Some other cuts I really enjoy include “I Am the End” from $ (2010). Once again, the vocals are mind blowing, and in general I usually show people either this song or “Ten of Hearts” if I am introducing them to Mark Sultan, mainly because of the vocals. The set also includes a number of King Khan & BBQ Show tunes including everyone’s favorite “Shake Real Low,” a stellar closer for a stellar set.
I did not recognize all of the songs, but here are the ones I did, in order of album: Tie Your Noose (2005):
“Waddlin’ Around”*
“Shake Real Low”*
“Out of Time” (The Rolling Stones)
* Also can be heard on The King Khan & BBQ Show (2004)
The Sultanic Verses (2007):
“Beautiful Girl”
“Spinning Ceiling”
The King Khan & BBQ Show- Invisible Girl (2009):
“Third Ave”
“I’ll Be Loving You”
$ (2010):
“I Am The End”
“I’ll Be Loving You”
“Nobody But You”
Grade: 8/10
Check out Mark Sultan’s two current records, Whatever I Want and Whenever I Want and/or the compilation Whatever/Whenever.
There is a handy way of previewing selected upcoming albums. Midheaven allows for brief previews of tracks. In other words, you can get a rough (one minute) idea of every song before buying the record. In The Red is one of the many labels that have this connection. So check out Mark Sultan’s new Whatever I Want and then navigate around to find other albums.
Mark Sultan might just top Thee Oh Sees in terms of amount of releases in one year. Either way, the good news is that both artists have new records coming out soon.
Sultan has two full-length LPs due out on In The Red — Whenever I Want and Whatever I Want — as well as an EP Livin’ My Life coming via his own label, Sultan Records.
Livin' My Life EPWhenever I Want LPWhatever I Want LP
That’s not all for Sultan-related stuff. King Khan & BBQ is releasing its first material in nearly two years: a 7″ that features an original “We Are The Ocean” and a Syd Barrett cover “Terrapin”. Recorded at Moon Studios this past spring. Sultan Records.
King Khan & BBQ Show 7"
And how could a year go by without a Ding-Dongs release? This is Sultan + Bloodshot Bill as you all know. Sultan Records is putting out Lucky Day EP.
Now, Thee Oh Sees. Earlier this year, they released Castlemania, which is awesome! Well, In The Red will be soon releasing Thee Oh Sees latest: Carrion Crawler/The Dream LP.
Kids Like You & Me (KLYAM) 