Hope you caught The Orwells two nights ago at the Brighton Music Hall (stay alert for a show review in the coming days). Or rather, if you aren’t from the Boston area, maybe you’ve seen the dudes play sometime within the past couple of months, during which they’ve done some extensive touring.
Astonishing band all around (live, recorded, casually playing pool) – they’ve just released a track “Other Voices” from their upcoming Other Voices EP. And it’s uptempo, garagey punk, slick. They’ve been playing it live as well.
Woo, The Orwells are coming back to the area, opening for UK’s Palma Violets at Brighton Music Hall on Monday May 6th. Can’t say I know much about Palma Violets, but The Orwells — I know a thing or two about these guys. Saw them for the first time in February at TTs and yup, that show was the real deal. Glad to see them coming back soon!
Bands: The Orwells, The Kingston Springs, Nice Guys Date: Wednesday, February 27, 2013 Venue: TT The Bears (Cambridge)
TT The Bears is one of those venues that hosts some real solid local shows on a regular basis that we often recommend, but for whatever reason, it is just not a place that I often find myself going to. The shows I have been to at TTs have been memorable, though. There was that sparsely attended Sunday March 29th 2009 War on Drugs show, an even emptier Tuesday night Growlers show back in February 2010, and finally a more populated event on September 17, 2010 that featured the choice threesome of Those Darlins, Gentleman Jesse & His Men, and The Strange Boys.
On this chilly Wednesday night in Cambridge, it was one of my favorite bands of the past few years – The Orwells – headlining a gig at ‘The Bears. The cool thing about running a site that operates like a fan zine is that the shows we go to and end up reviewing usually feature a favorite on the bill. Well, as it turns out, the power of informing others about bands that rule went full circle on this night. A little more than two years ago, The Orwells reached out to KLYAM, seeing if we would check them out. At that juncture, they were a little known band from Elmhurst, Illinois without much deserved press coverage. Not to mention that they were still far away from graduating high school. Well, KLYAM gave them the ole Spotlight (https://klyam.com/2011/01/31/band-spotlight-the-orwells/). Not that this did much in the way of introducing shit tons of people to a really great band; it was more of a damn, how are these guys not being mentioned alongside some of the garage greats of the day? Their debut album Remember When, self-released a year before the Autumn Tone backed vinyl, is an insane album that definitely stacks right up with some of the best of the past couple of years and I would say that is a testament to the way these guys achieved a stand-out sound that is probably more the result of extensive listening to Black Lips and Ty Segall than the stuff (’60s garage/psych) that those same dudes were influenced by. It was great to finally meet the band after a long ass waiting period of simply listening to their music. On to the show:
Starting things off were Nice Guys, who I had seen on a few different occasions prior to tonight. Those times contrasted this occasion in more than one way. The last time I caught them was at the Wilder Zangcraft in Lowell with Nice Guys being Nice Whips (all Coachwhips covers) due to the untimely illness of drummer Cam Smith. Well Cam was back behind the kit tonight, and damn right he was, given that the show I mentioned was many months ago. At any rate, the point is that up until this point I had only seen Nice Guys play teeny basement spaces with rampant moshing, oozing beer, and broken instruments. There wasn’t any of that mayhem at TTs, but there were fun times and a fine display of musicianship from the foursome. Their set, the list of which I’m really pissed to say I lost…the one that was personally given to me by always friendly guitarist Matt Garlick, mixed up a bit of Mean Songs material with newer works like the recently recorded jam “Cop Walk”. Dueling guitars, extended shredding and pounding, and a pretty consistent nod to the work of Mr. Jon Dwyer, resulted in nice vibes, some dancing, and simply a good start to a good show. They fooled me a few times at the end of their set with some ‘we’re not done yet’ teasing and – hey – that’s fine by me. [http://niceguys666.bandcamp.com/]
Second in order is The Kingston Springs, a group from the South. Tennessee. I had not heard any music from them, prior to the first chords that blared from their amps. They were polished and tight, but not overwhelmingly so as in a Kings of Leon clean boy trying to be “dirty” kind of way, no, not really. The Kingston Springs’ bigger, pop-rock sound was differentiated occasionally with by some more rough around the edges country and garage twang. They definitely seemed to impress the audience as I looked around and noticed a lot of people were really into these guys. I’m not about to say The Kingston Springs’ take on southern rock/blues rock is something I find/found myself extremely into, but for what it is worth, I could see firsthand their passion for their material and how easily they got a whole bunch of people excited to be witness to their performance. Their faster stuff I definitely got behind, namely “Sweet Susie,” which I’m listening to now and enjoying. [http://thekingstonsprings.bandcamp.com/]
Back to the main band, the dudes themselves, The Orwells. Seeing them on stage, doing incredible renditions of tunes from Remember When like “Halloween All Year,” “In My Bed,” “Hallway Homicide,” and “Mallrats (La La La)” – just to name four – there were OTHERS – brought back the memories of when I first heard them and I could literally feel the energy of The Orwells. But there is nothing like seeing singer Mario Cuomo knock down the microphone stand while frantically pacing around the stage (and nearly off of it), all while singing/screaming at the top of his lungs. He’s a character for sure, a naturally manic front-man who never takes a minute off. None of the members take a minute off, though, and hey that’s probably why this was one of the best things I’ve seen all year. Their live pace is more frenetic than on record and with that said, they only played for about a half an hour. But in that time, they jammed in all those aforementioned classics and a smothering of new songs that we should see later this year on a new full-length that is nearly complete. The new songs I can tell are going to be special and why wouldn’t they be? With Orwells being one of the more distinct bands out there today. Some bands are great performers without necessarily having individual songs that are instantly recognizable. The Orwells got both of those things going on. Of course I would loved to have heard another half-hour worth of jams, but in due time. Maybe on a different stage. Maybe on the same. But it shouldn’t be a surprise why these guys are touring a shit load and playing some choice venues around the country. This isn’t 17 year old pop punk Warped Tour shit, this is passionate rock ‘n roll that can be enjoyed by all ages – hence why it was and yeah, the middle aged dude perpetually rocking out next to me seemed to know what was up. See you soon Orwells. [https://www.facebook.com/theorwellsband]
Damn, first Colleen Green, now The Orwells! We’ve been following Orwells and anticipating this moment for two years now, so this is a real treat. They’re hitting up T.T. the Bears on Wednesday, February 27 and then touring the rest of the East Coast, check the dates below and see them when they come to your city!
Feb 27 2013 – TT the Bears – Cambridge, MA
Mar 01 2013 – Santos Party House – New York, NY
Mar 02 2013 – North Star Bar – Philadelphia, PA
Mar 03 2013 – DC9 – Washington, DC
Mar 05 2013 – The Basement – Columbus, OH
Mar 06 2013 – The Hoosier Dome – Indianapolis, IN
Mar 08 2013 – The Vernon Club – Louisville, KY
Mar 10 2013 – Masquerade – Purgatory Stage – Atlanta, GA
Mar 11 2013 – One Eyed Jacks – New Orleans, LA
Mar 12-16 2013 – SXSW – Austin, TX
Mar 17 2013 – SPILLOVER 2013 – Dallas, TX
Mar 20 2013 – The Waiting Room – Omaha, NE
Atlantic Thrills LP?! – YA! Rhode Island’s premier punk slimers have already recorded an outstanding batch of songs and have showcased several new ones over the past year. An LP is on the horizon, no doubt; I can only imagine dropping the needle on such 12 inches of greatness. As everyone knows, this band is a monster live. But imagine rocking out to the Dutroncy “On My Mind,” the shouts of OOOHHH OOHHHH and stunning guitars in “Light Shines,” AND the best of all worlds, the one and only “Acid Rain”. All on one LP!
The Return of Black Lips to Boston – Nothing has been announced yet regarding this, but it seems inevitable. It has been over a year and a half since they played here (and several other cities in the US that they regularly swung by)…far too long for rabid fans like us. Pretty much all of their shows that I’ve been to rank really high up in the ‘best live experience’ category so yeah, I’m not nuts, they are incredible.
Seeing The Fagettes As The Fagettes – It’s kind of sad that a night like this has not come sooner. I’ve seen The Fagettes as Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood, but now its time for the real deal. And with a new lineup and sound that’s better than ever (the words of Ryan Fagette), I can’t wait for this!
Fat Creeps Split 12″ On Feeding Tube – Seeing as they released the best EP I heard in 2012 and were among the most entertaining live bands that I saw, there should be no surprises regarding my excitement about this. “Daydreaming,” released via music video earlier this month, is the Creeps hardest hitting tune to date. I wonder if the other tunes on this upcoming 12″ will be faster like that or more of a variety like the EP. Whatever way, I have a feeling this will be awesome.
The Growlers @ Middle East Upstairs/New Album – The Growlers stood out more than a lot of bands do when I got the chance to hear them for the first time, a little more than three years ago. At that time, they had released their mega Are You In Or Out?, which is loaded top to bottom with their reverby take on psychedelic rock and roll. I was like damn, I’ve got to see these guys live. And waddaya know – February 2010 @ TTs – they came through on their big ole school bus. I remember that show quite well, for there were more band members than people in attendance. It was a snowy Tuesday night. Nevertheless, it was really fun. I eagerly await their MidEast Upstairs show and their new album due out in a few weeks!
Better Than Something: Jay Reatard Package – It was unfortunately just announced that this was being delayed until February 2013. I’m pumped to watch the film again, but what I’m even more psyched on is the LP and the booklet.
The King Khan & BBQ Show – It is a great thing to see Mark Sultan and King Khan back together playing as The King Khan & BBQ Show. Whether 2013 brings new material, more touring, or what have you, it is simply nice to see them back together in one of my long-time favorite bands.
The Migs – This is another sort of general one, but The Migs are one of the funnest bands I’ve seen and heard. It goes without saying that they will be playing some amazing gigs this upcoming year and their ultra strong recorded output keeps growing and growing. I don’t know what to look specifically forward to, greatness itself, OK!
New Nobunny LP On Goner – ‘Course there’s not much info available regarding this, but the fact that this is a thing is beyond awesome.
The Orwells Touring – I imagine they’ll be coming here! As far as new bands doing the garage/punk thing nationally, The Orwells deserve the wave of attention they’ve been getting. They are real good.
The Barbaras – these dudes created some of my favorite songs released in 2012
As with every year, I’m listing off my favorite songs (in alphabetical order) and keeping to a three song maximum per band, because there’s just way too many to list all of them! And we’re off.
A:
Adam Green & Binki Shapiro– “Here I Am” Atlantic Thrills– “Foreign Lands” “Acid Rain” “Give It Back”
B:
The Barbaras– “Breathing Underwater” “How Many Times” “Only One” Bent Shapes– “Bites and Scratches” “Leave It Till You Need It” Best Coast– “The Only Place”
C:
Cumstain– “Ghost Love” “Rollin Wrong” “Sit and Twist”
The Electric Street Queens– “Beefcake Baby” “She’s Gotta Bruise” “Doncha Wanna Work At the Brewary”
F:
Fagettes– “If I See Him Again” “On Drugs” Fat Creeps– “700 Parts” “Nancy Drew” “Secrets”
G:
Gangbang Gordon– “Life At the ABC” “QMI Fatties” Ghetto Cross– “Still” Gravys Drop– “Made to Love” “Runaway” “Happy Birthday”
H:
Hunx– “Private Room” “Always Forever” “I’m Not The One You’re Looking For”
J:
Jacques Le Coque– “Grow Up”
K:
King Khan & The Shrines– “Bite My Tongue”
M:
Maine Coons– “Ghetto Queen” “Tired and Inspired” “Uniform Choice” The Migs– “You and Me” “Fuzzy Son” “Take Take Take”
N:
Natural Child– “Faces of Death” The New Highway Hymnal– “Hey Kid (Gotta Run)” “More” “Blackend Hands” Nobunny– “Assholes” “At the Mall”
O:
The Orwells– “Halloween All Year” “Mallrats (La La La)”
P
Peach Kelli Pop– “Panchito Blues II” “Dreamphone”
S:
Saba Lou– “Until The End” Shannon and the Clams– “Angel Baby” SKIMASK– “Get U Back” “Fine China” Slimers– “Spaghetti Ann” Squall– “Repulsor” “No Life Here”
T:
Ty Segall– “Thank God For Sinners” “You’re The Doctor” Ty Segall Band– “Wave Goodbye”
Y:
Yankee Power– “Stray” “Adopted Love Doll” “Real Folk”
We’ve been singing the praises of The Orwells for almost two years now, so it’s really fantastic to see them getting some consistent exposure from the larger media!
Kids Like You & Me (KLYAM) 