YES YES YES, brave the snow and come out tonight to catch this EPIC show Kids Like You & Me (KLYAM) is throwing at the Lilypad in Inman Square, Cambridge!
We have loads of rock ‘n’ roll of many varieties on tap for you tonight. Starting at 10 PM SHARP! SHARP! SHARP! is ACLU Benefit and it’s his record release for Old Stuff, Part Two! Following ACLU are Feral Jenny, Atlantic Thrills (Providence), and The Monsieurs!!!
First things first, THANK YOU to all of the folks that came out, all the bands that played, The Lysergic Factory Lightshow, and Mickey Bliss & Crew/Cantab Lounge for rockin’ and/or rollin’ with us last Friday for the first KLYAM Presents show of the year. We love all of y’all. Now, we are moving to a new grooving. This Saturday, January 24th @ Lilypad in Inman Sq. Cambridge a new fiesta is in the making. The Monsieurs, Atlantic Thrills (Providence), Feral Jenny, and ACLU Benefit will be tearing it up and down… starting at 10PM and going till 1AM. I’m talking 10 PM SHARP! This thang is getting started on time, no foolies. Seriously get there at 10, don’t make me tell you again! There’s four excellent bands playing and you don’t want to miss any of them or else you fail at life… Oh oh and it’s ALL AGES!!! so bring the kids, the babies, the angsty teens, ehh no old folks. JK, bring em’ too.
So, one more time. Lilypad, 10PM-1AM. ALL AGES. $7-10 sliding scale. Be there.
This will also be ACLU Benefit’s record release for Old Stuff, Part Two, a “collection of my best out-of-print and never-released tracks” – ACLU Benefit
Hello to all you handsome devils and dominatrices out there. We the KLYAM have cooked up some spicy, sassy KLYAM Presents shows for y’all in January and February. Just oozing punk slime, the way we like it…
Friday, January 16th – The TeleVibes, Future Spa, Ben Tan, and 1 MORE TBA @ Cantab Lounge (basement) in Cambridge.$8, 21+, sorry kiddies :( 8 PM. Check out the slick flyer above from Future Spa’s own Cody Pettengil. https://www.facebook.com/events/375101495991229/
Saturday, January 24th – The Monsieurs, Atlantic Thrills, Feral Jenny, ACLU Benefit @ Lilypad in Cambridge. $7-10 Sliding Scale, ALL AGES!, 10PM-1AM. Flyer coming soon. FB EVENT: https://www.facebook.com/events/813886121991254/
Monday, February 9th – KLYAM Presents w/ RAD CASTLE: Fire Retarded (Wisconsin, members of The Hussy), The Fagettes, Miami Doritos, Gangbang Gordon @ ZuZu (Middle East) in Cambridge – FREE! (donations are accepted for the touring band) 21+, sorry kiddies :( 10 PM. Flyer and FB event page coming soon.
COME OUT TO ALL OF THESE! YOU WON’T BE DISAPPOINTED. THREE NIGHTS OF BARE BONES ROCK ‘N’ ROLL AT ITS FINEST.
Bands: The Monsieurs, Free Pizza, Nice Guys Date: Friday, December 5, 2014 Venue:Club Bohemia (Cantab Lounge basement) in Cambridge, MA
Nice Guys – Sheeet, I’ve never seen Club Bohemia (the Cantab Lounge basement) so packed, it must be sold out. People are using their heads for once in this crazy old world. Coming out to support a killer local rock ‘n’ roll show. This here is easily three of the best rock ‘n’ roll animals in the land of Boston on tap. Kicking it off right is our KLYAM Records bad boiz, Nice Guys, so I guess they actually aren’t bad boiz or maybe they are because everything is backwards in this crazy old world. Good means bad, stop means go, thou shalt not kill… unless you really, really feel like it. But, these guys here, they wouldn’t kill a fly, unless it flew into one of their bongs ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah. SHUT UP!
Nice Guys errr ahhh here we go, these cats, these guys rumble. A swift kick in the nads. That’s their music. If you wanted a description, that’s what you’re going to get. That feeling you get when you get kicked square in the nads, it’s like that, but pull back a little. It’s that full on attack, but without the pain and misery. Needless to say Jake, Matt, Alex, and Cam make it personal. They get right in your grill. They get it right.
Lord knows what the fuck I am talking about at this point, but it’s all about the emotion. Stuttering fucking Stanley. The fucking emotion. It’s all there and yet it’s not sappy at all or sensitive in any way. In fact, so much music isn’t the Nice Guys, that it feels great when you hear the Nice Guys, because it’s like a vacation from all the other shit. With Nice Guys, it’s about the rockin’, the sockin’, and maybe a bit of thee olde shockin’. You don’t take a Nice Guys song and win back your girlfriend by plinking it on acoustic guitar. Buttt, there is far more to life than just smoking and fucking and partying. True. Well, actually is there? Yes, there is, I suppose. Christ, I’m so indecisive. Maybe, if we all just got really fucked together, we’d all be okay. It’s a thought.
I have to catch myself before diving too far into a nonsensical rant. Nice Guys is where we left off, those cream muffins. They sing and scream about bad cops. “Fuck the Police, fuck racist cops” says vocalist/guitarist Alex as they rock into “Cop Walk.” True that brother. Alex is a ruffian and he makes his way into the crowd and all around the place, even literally playing “in a hallway in a basement.” Yeah!
The dudes play my favorite Nice Guys song “Jamaican Vacation,” which Glen and I have been waiting to hear for quite some time. Not just because it’s on the piece of wax we put out, but because it’s one of the heaviest and angriest in their set and it lifts right off – it’s a tickling riff. FAST FUN FUCKING NOISE! Thanks for playing it and being Nice Guys, you fucks. Listen to this shit: http://niceguys666.bandcamp.com/album/splifft-7
Free Pizza – Sadly, yes y’all must already know our beloved Free Pizza is leaving us and if you don’t know, then now you do.
Free Pizza, along with Nice Guys and Monsieurs, are top tier Boston rock ‘n’ roll and I want you to know that. If you miss their show before they head back to Miami,FL, then you missed out son.
For their song “Freedom Forty,” they always grab a punk from the crowd to sing guest vocals. This time it’s our bad boi Timothy Manns and he belts out the vocals hardcore style like a pro. That’s Tim and that’s Free Pizza, for the people, we are the people. I hugged Free Pizza Santiago and told him he was my rock ‘n’ roll comrade. It’s true, you all are. Nick and Jesus too. I know I’ll see you guys again, but here’s a shout out: http://freepizzarocks.bandcamp.com/
The Monsieurs – And now the main event. THE MONSIEURS ARE HERE. Yo, and it’s their self-titled record release! Yeah, pick up that puppy from Black Gladiator or Slovenly. I’ve been eagerly waiting to hear this monster, I’m gushing with excitement. This is the cream of the crop as far as Boston rock ‘n’ roll goes. They’ve got the sludge, the slime, and all the hooks to back it up. The band on record is a blast to the balls, for sure, but the live show is a whole new beast. I’ve only seen the band twice for some reason, once at the Brighton Music Hall (opening for King Khan & The Shrines) and another time at Church for Illegally Blind’s Boston En Masse. Both times, they sounded sweet, but the crowd was sparse and mellow. Tonight, it’s a different story.
Andy Macbain (vocals, also of Tunnel Of Love/Marty Kings), Hilken Mancini (guitar, also of Shepherdess/Fuzzy/Marty Kings), an Erin King (drums, also of Where My Beat Be At) all together are a menacing machine of mighty punk slime proportions. It’s a KLYAM man’s kind of band. Erin and Hilken rock out on the tiny Club Bohemia stage, as Andy Macbain (shirtless, reppin’ a black leather jacket though) prowls his way into a sea of bodies. He often does this with the whole mic stand in hand, it’s his weapon, as he takes on the world. Man, never cracks a smile, he’s on business. Like GG says “My mind is a machine gun, my body is the bullets, the audience is the target.” AIM! Andy is like GG, if GG never actually went through with all the messy stuff. If GG just put the vibe out there, but never went through with his antics. He’s a force, the rock ‘n’ roll animal.
Initially the crowd is stiff, but as Andy slithers around, he ignites a mosh pit. He even crowd surfs; it’s probably the most successful crowd surfing I’ve ever seen. Teamwork. Most of the time people fuck up.
Well, well this show really hit the spot and I walk away jovially carrying my new Monsieurs record! If you haven’t heard this thang or seen the band live, you have some serious homework to attend to. Don’t make me tell you twice. http://themonsieurs.bandcamp.com/
Sick! If you’re a rock ‘n’ roll nut (why wouldn’t you be?) then The Monsieurs are just what the doctor ordered. Raw and nasty rock ‘n’ roll with a pinch of bubbleyum sweetness. All on display here in this new music video for “Young Gun,” a tune that appears on their new record out on Black Gladiator/Slovenly.
I knew from off the bat that this show was gonna be wicked. Megashredders JEFF the Brotherhood and Megarippers Diarrhea Planet. Opening were the local power trio The Monsieurs. Their brand of trashy lofi garage punk excited the crowd. Their singer, Andy MacBain had quite the swag as well. They just put out a new album and for sure it will win them a Grammy in 2015. They have a lot more shows around the area so czech them out!
Next up was the band that I will affectionately refer to as the Shittiest Band In America. Yes that’s right it is Diarrhea Planet! This was my first time seeing them which I am kind of surprised because they have come around quite a few times. They have 4 different guitarists riffing it at once. This also makes them super loud. Their stage moves rival Andy MacBain’s for best of the night. During one song their had their friend, photographer Pooneh Ghana play with them on stage and they showed her all the moves. They ended their set by taking us all back to the summer of 1997 by covering Third Eye Blind’s Semi Charmed Life. I must say they totally killed it with their violent diarrhea.
Diarrhea Planet Set List:
Raft Nasty
The Sound of My Ceiling Fan
Separations
Ghost With A Boner
Orange Girls
Lite Dream
Kids
Semi-Charmed Life
JEFF the Brotherhood aren’t their normal selves any more. They are no longer a duo (or at least live they no longer are.) They are a four piece band now and they played the whole show as a four piece. Last time I saw them they played half the show as a duo and the other half as a four piece. I miss the simplicity of them just being a duo. I just felt it worked better for them. They still sounded quite tight though. They did a number of my favorite songs of theirs such as Melting Place, Heavy Krishna & U Got the Look. They even threw in a few covers of Beck’s Totally Confused (which appears on their new covers ep Digs the Classics) and Rush’s Working Man (which does not) As always JTB get a great crowd in Boston. For their last song, the aforementioned Rush cover they brought out The Wizard. The Wizard sang as JEFF played. For some reason I knew it was going to be a magical night from the beginning and this just topped it off. Afterwards I shot the shit with a few members of Diarrhea Planet and they told me how they recently got high with Rikky from White Fang/The Memories
JEFF The Brotherhood Set List:
Voyage
Mellow Out
Melting Place
Heavy Krishna
U Got the Look
Black Cherry Ale
Totally Confused
Bummer
Staring at the Wall
Hey Friend
Sixpack
What’s A Creep
The Ripper
Working Man
I know I’m a little late on this and I already ran my mouth off in my last post regarding my top shows of 2013, so I’ll do my best to keep this one short and sweet. Here we go…
10) Dylan Ewen & The Southern Gospel Gangbusters – Country Fried, Southern Pride (BUFU Records) – Gangbusters? More like Gangbangers! I really got into a lot of Dylan Ewen this year in his various projects and out of all of them this was my favorite. For my money, this has Dylan’s rawest, most in your face lyrics with a nasty, bad ass gangsta edge that puts him up there with Cube, Dre, and Mr. Big. So wild. AND it’s all set to a full backing band (drums, guitar, bass, viola, banjo, mandalin, harmonica, you name it) busting out southern gospel, bluegrass, and country. I had the pleasure of catching the band live in the heart of JP last month and I errr uhh nearly wet myself. TOP SONG: “500 Days of Bummer” http://dylanewen.bandcamp.com/album/country-fried-southern-pride
9) Bent Shapes – Feels Weird (Father/Daughter Records) – I just received this record as a Christmas gift and I’m loving it. As a long time fan of Bent Shapes/Girlfirends this is a terrific mix of classics and some solid new jams. Every track is strong. On one hand, it feels like a greatest hits compilation and then on the other it comes across as a completely new entity. It works both ways. TOP SONG: : “I Was Here, But I Disappear”
8) Shannon And The Clams – Dreams In The Rat House (Hardly Art) – Shannon and The Clams is a big favorite of mine, so this album was a serious treat this year. This one falls in line with all of their previous work: rock ‘n’ roll at its purest. 50’s doo wop, garage rock, Ramones styled punk rock, and some of the best voices you will ever hear. It may not be the most original music, but it’s rock ‘n’ roll. This is the plateau, this is the ideal, this is the benchmark. TOP SONG: “If I Could Count”
7) Idiot Genes – S/T (Self-Released) – The third (but not final!) Boston band on this list, Idiot Genes are one of the most recent bands I have listened to in 2013. I first caught them at a show at O’Brien’s Pub last August and I was enamored with their oddball sense of humor and surly, apathetic punk attitude. Subsequently, I hopped on their bandcamp and I was blown away by what I heard. I related to the band’s sloppy, lethargic, wasted narrative. The feeling of being fucked and fagged and shagged. I was frustrated and hearing the Idiot Genes reminded me why I hold rock ‘n’ roll so near and dear to me in the first place. It is my elixir, the temporary cure to all of life’s problems. They are almost like a different kind of party band, an after party band, a hangover band. This all sounds like one miserable hangover, and by miserable I mean extraordinary. Makes me want to drink too much and then regret some of it the next day, especially when the hangover doesn’t go away by 5 /6 PM like it usually does, so then you just drink more, until the next day after that when you’re even more hungover AND still a little drunk. So, what do you do? you crack open a beer and drink some more and then you listen to Idiot Genes, one of my new favorite rock ‘n’ roll elixirs for that temporary cure. Drunk Consistently. Listen here and join me in a nightcap. Cheers. TOP SONG: “The Charles Mansion” http://stupidpants.bandcamp.com/album/idiot-genes
6) Colleen Green – Sock It To Me (Hardly Art) – Sock it to me? Ok. Ms. Green is one cool cucumber with all her Richard Nixon and True Romance references on her latest album Sock It To Me. Much like Shannon and the Clams, with this album Colleen maintains the same rock ‘n’ roll flavor she’s always had, it’s just stronger than ever. Just a great example of how pop music doesn’t have to be a big mass machine product, instead it can be as simple as a guitar, a drum machine, and passionate vocals. TOP SONG: “Number One” (The Queers cover)
5) The Monsieurs – Rock The Night (Self-Released) – Damn son, this past October I had the enormous fortune of cumming across my legs when I came across The Monsieurs at the Brighton Music Y’all opening up for the holy King Khan & The Shrines. I’ve heard plenty of great garage spunk this year, but this new release from The Monsieurs was/is a real dessert, a dish best served cold. A cold, sudden punch right in the nads that is. Seriously though, these dudettes and dude really fucking rock and pack in the punches. This band has all the bells and whistles and bubblegum and grit that you and your buddies get off on every time you listen to Hunx and Nobunny and hopefully Fagettes at home on your dad’s worn out stereo, BUTT Monsieurs turn it up to 11. From the first few seconds of “Shadow” to the last gasping breaths of “At the Hop,” this record is garage pop on steroids. Lead singer Andy Macbain is a beast, a force to be reckoned with, and his vocals are out of control, off the wall. It’s all sludgey and thuddy and LOUD. If you like rock ‘n’ roll with a rambunctious ummphhh up your ass then here ya go – yet, it’s still as sweet as a little old lady taking 20 hours to cross the street with her little old cane? So sweet it helps that sludge go down smoother… I see big things for The Monsiuers in Twenty Fourteen. In 2014, let their album Rock the Night become your musical lubricant! TOP SONG: “Kari Ann” http://themonsieurs.bandcamp.com/album/rock-the-night-8-song-digital-album
4) King Khan & The Shrines – Idle No More (Merge) – It’s always a great year whenever one of our Honorary KLYAMERS releases an album and King Khan is among our top OG’s. You could say he helped make us who we are today to paraphrase a line in the tune “So Wild,” a song dedicated to the late, great Jay Reatard. RIP Jay forever and ever. For once your wild spirit may rest in peace… the chaos of the world so foreign, yet so familiar, you feel this tone on King Khan & The Shrines’ Idle No More, their first album since 2007. It’s a very personal album, the most mature to date. Highly spiritual as ever, yet it still maintains that fantastic Khan spirit of ubiquitous joy. Love. And coming back to the KLYAM, that’s one thing I love about rock ‘n’ roll (as we see it), all the bands we rep, and this record. No matter how torturous the world can be, there’s still a light. Khan and his crew take the misery, the darkness, and they turn it on its ugly head, ultimately receiving a boisterous, fun filled album as ever been conceived by the Shrines. TOP SONG: “Bite My Tongue”
3) Nobunny – Secret Songs (Goner) – Nobunny continues the trend on this list of artists releasing albums that preserve their raw, rock ‘n’ roll character and yet augment their craft at the same time. Secrets Songs is stacked with smash hit after smash hit haha; every tune is a blast, no filler. Love Visions will probably always be my favorite, but I have to send my accolades to Mr. Bunny here. This LP has the most variety ever on a Nobunny record lyrically, musically, and aesthetically. There’s several fast poppers, screeching hardcore punks odes, and a batch of soft gentle numbers for the ladies and in particular for the Birthday Girl. NO NO 4 LYFE! TOP SONG: This is a toughie, but for now I’m going to go with “Bye Bye Roxie”
2) Peach Kelli Pop – Peach Kelli Pop II (Burger) – I know this came out in 2012, but I heard it in its entirety in 2013 and I loved it so damn much that I just couldn’t leave it off the list! This is one of the greatest pop records I have ever heard. Like I said earlier regarding Colleen Green, pop music doesn’t have to be mass produced and this certainly applies here. I was in love with PKP’s first album and I didn’t think it could be topped at the time. What was I thinking?! As awesome as her debut is, it doesn’t have anything on its sequel. Holy shit, this thing is incredible. PKP II is like Terminator 2, if it was a movie. A full blast of immediate, catchy pop songs from start to finish is what we have here. Peach Kelli Pop – Allie Hanlon channels bubblegum, garage, and 60’s Girl Groups in all of these short, but ever so sweet songs. It’s like injecting yourself with bubblegum pop music and feeling that instantaneous sugary high! This record always puts me in the best mood. Cheers. TOP SONG: “Red Leather”http://peachkellipop.bandcamp.com/
And the weiner is…
1) Hunx and His Punx – Street Punk (Hardly Art) – I know, I know I’m a Hardly Art whore. Haha, that should be a marketing trend. Labels should pick up on this. I can picture it now “I’m a Burger Whore!” or “Be a Burger Whore!” Shirts, pins, posters, let’s do it! I say this all with love. Anywhooo, since the dawn of KLYAM five years ago, Hunx and His Punx is one of the only, if only (possibly?) band that has consistently put out new, exceptional releases each year. With this album, Hunx and his cronies have snarled their way into the bowels of the rock ‘n’ roll/garage/punk landscape. I just adore and admire the way the band mixes up early hardcore punk (Germs, Misfits, Black Flag) with their classic garage rock style. Half of me says it’s an affectionate satire and the other says this is the real deal, this is the music itself. It feels like Circle Jerks or whoever comes to mind. When Hunx says he wants to beat you with a baseball bat, his screams are terrific and serve as a true homage to the aforementioned punk legends, but let’s not forget he’s saying this all because of his BAD SKIN! That’s part of the fun. I’m glad someone finally made (I could be wrong here and I very well may be missing out on loads of great, similarly styled albums) a piece of work that connects the dots in these various styles of pure rock ‘n’ roll music, which is not very pure to begin with. It’s so satisfying. I’ve always felt like that early wave of hardcore punk was like garage rock’s weird, fucked up cousin. It’s all coming from the same place essentially. It’s all about total and agonizing frustration and partying your ass off to cure that frustration. Hunx and His Punx get it. By the way, some of Shannon Shaw’s finest vocals! TOP SONG: “Mud In Your Eyes”
So, that’s it. That’s my list, but before I depart I have to give some mo’ shout outs. Here are some honorable mentions. Ben Tan – Inside Out, The Memories – Love Is The Law, Kal Marks – Life Is Murder, Saralee – S/T, The Gabba Ghouls – S/T, Kaviar Special – S/T, and last but certainly not least Lust Cats Of The Gutters – S/T , an album that was released in 2012, but nonetheless one of the best albums I heard all year.
2013 was also the first year of our record label KLYAM Records. We were/are extremely proud that our first release was one of our favorite records from 2012: Fat Creeps S/T EP
I chose not to include it on this list, because A) It was one of our own releases, B) It was originally released in 2012 and that’s when we heard it and loved it, and so forth, and C) It’s an EP and this is a list of my top LPs. Still, I couldn’t go without repping this record in a year end list of top records. Furthermore, if you haven’t picked up this album yet, then do yourself a favor and grab one now before it’s too late You can order it from KLYAM Records here: http://klyam.bigcartel.com/ The record is also available at Weirdo Records and Armageddon Records, both in Cambridge, MA.
We look forward to 2014 as we have more records and shows and reviews then can be imagined! Stay tuned, then turn on, and then drop out, and we’ll meet up and listen to records or something.
Kids Like You & Me (KLYAM) 