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Concert Review: Colleen Green, Plateaus, Bent Shapes, Bugs and Rats @ Middle East Upstairs (9/9/12)

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Artists: Colleen Green, Plateaus, Bent Shapes, Bugs and Rats
Date: Sunday, September 9, 2012
Venue: Middle East Upstairs (Cambridge, MA)

Comments:

Act I: Bugs and Rats– These motherfuckers diminish what is left of my eardrums, which is great. Bugs and Rats are a powerhouse band, a three piece that is LOUD and guaranteed to wake up the neighbors. They would serve as a terrific alarm clock, I must say. I’ll admit much of the music I listen to is of the “wimpy” variety so I’m not as big into Bugs and Rats, but damn they are a solid band and they rock pretty hard. Their music is easy to head-bang to – in fact I would find it hard not to. Though it’s not necessarily my cup of tea, I can definitely recommend it. I also admire the band’s overall enthusiasm, which makes this performance even more fun. The drummer looks like he is going berserk! Lastly, I notice there is a picture of Anne Frank on the guitarist’s guitar, I do not know why, but I find this interesting. I mean I think it is Anne Frank. Either it is her or I am a fucking idiot.
Go nuts http://bugsandrats.bandcamp.com/


Act II: Bent Shapes–  So, y’all know Bent Shapes were formerly known as Girlfriends, right? Alright good. Speaking of which, I haven’t seen this band since they opened for Harlem at Great Scott back in April 2010, so it is a real pleasure to see them tonight.  I was always struck by their music before and I have been meaning to see them again for quite some time now, but for whatever reason it just never worked out. Fortunately, tonight is my night and I get a chance to see this excellent band.  Bent Shapes definitely has some outstanding pop hooks and they remind me of one of my favorite bands, The Pains of Being Pure At Heart.  I also hear a lot of pop punk a la Wavves in their music. Glen concurs on this point. Without a doubt my favorite moment is when they play “I Was Here, But I Disappear,” a favorite of mine. Not just a favorite from the band, but one of my favorite songs of all time. I did not expect them to play this song at all, so this is a real treat. Admittedly, I need to listen to more of their material and I plan to. You should too! http://bentshapes.bandcamp.com/

Set List:
Public
Brat (“Brat Poison”)
Panel (“Panel of Experts”)
Bites (“Bits and Scratches”)
Big M (“Big Machines”)
Space
Bhead?
Disappear (“I Was Here But I Disappear”)
Hex (“Hex Maneuvers”)
Leave (“Leave It Till You Need It”)
Boys (“Boys to Men”)


Act III: Plateaus– Before tonight’s performance I have never heard of Plateaus, but now I am convinced they are a sound band and I plan on checking out their music. Their songs are not as stripped down and catchy as those of Bent Shapes, but they keep up the same power pop/ pop punk sensibility. I am also feeling some strong garage vibes and in this way I can see them fitting well with the kind of music we typically champion on KLYAM. Their set is definitely fun and gets me pumped up for Colleen, even more so than I already was. http://plateausband.bandcamp.com/


Act IV: Colleen Green– Before I start my little babbling, I am going to take a mini trip back to April 2011. April 29, 2011 to be exact. Glen and I had had little exposure to basement venues (a couple of shows in Lowell and that was about it) and so when we arrived at the Starlab in Somerville to see one of Ottawa’s finest, The White Wires, we were a bit perplexed. As I recall we paid the seven bucks or so for admission (which included a stamp of the word “fuck” on my hand) and then we left the venue momentarily to smoke a bowl. One of the dudes running the show caught up with us and said that it was cool for us to smoke inside. So, we did. More importantly, why am I telling this story?! What I forgot to mention was that Colleen Green was headlining this bill, but at the time we had no idea who Colleen Green was, we came to see White Wires as I had mentioned earlier. I remember sitting down Indian style in the basement of the Starlab, waiting for the band to play- actually the dudes from Luau (also on the bill that evening) were setting up their equipment and I began to aggressively converse about G.G. Allin and Charles Manson the way I often do when I’m left unsupervised. Around this time, Colleen approached Glen and me, oh and Dan, damn I forgot that motherfucker came with us, he’s the man! She sarcastically said something to the effect of “You aren’t those guys that are smoking weed are you?” She then politely introduced herself as Colleen and within seconds I began vigorously raving about my favorite bands as I tend to do if given even the slightest opportunity. I stated that my top three current favorite bands were/are 1)Black Lips 2)Deerhunter, and 3) Hunx and His Punx. This led to a brief discussion of the Hunx tune “Cruisin,” a fabulous song indeed. Alas, we weren’t able to stay long enough to catch Colleen’s set that night, but I remember thinking anyone that appreciates greats like Hunx and His Punx is worth checking out. So, I YouTube’d a few songs and live vids and I was instantly hooked. But, between 21+ shows and lack of transportation we KLYAMERS missed out on all the remaining Colleen Boston gigs :( Until now! Ahh shit, it’s 4:20 (I didn’t plan this btw) why am I still writing this? Why am I still up? I need to be awake and alert in a vapid classroom setting within four hours. Oh well. So yeah, tonight is very exciting on the account that not only do Glen and I get to see Colleen Green live for the first time, but with a whole band including members of Plateaus. The Colleen Green Band opens with a cover of the fine Descendents tune, “Good Good Things,” before moving into what may just be my favorite Colleen number “I Wanna Be Degraded,” goddamn that song is catchy! The whole set is spectacular. Colleen can be pure rock ‘n’ roll and totally mellow all at once. It’s like she doesn’t have to shout, but you can hear every little nuance of her vocals. I don’t know what I’m talking about- to quote a friend of mine-“I don’t know art, but I know what I like!” One of my other favorites is “Dance the Night Away,” a killer tune that surely stood out as one of 2011’s finest. Colleen and crew close the set with “Nice Boy (I Want A),” another classic that leaves me in great anticipation for tomorrow night’s performance in Lowell. I can’t wait! http://colleengreen.bandcamp.com/

Art, Bill Hicks, Black Lips, Honorary KLAYMERS, Ian St. Pe, Lists, Music, pictures, Pixies, Punk, Rage Against the Machine, Uncategorized

KLYAMER Shuffle: Chris

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Inspired by Glen’s earlier post, I hit shuffle on my ipod and this is what came up….

Black Lips– “Born to be a Man” (2006)- The best way to kick off the list.

Bill Hicks– “My One Man Show” (1990)- Another one of my favorites!

Pixies– “Here Comes Your Man” (1989)- Wow, the third song in a row with the word “man” in the title.

Beat Happening– “Black Candy” (1989)- The first BH song I ever heard; one of their greatest offerings.

Descendents– “Clean Sheets” (live) (1987)- Damn, I’d love to have been present for this recording.

Elvis Costello– “Accidents Will Happen” (1979)- FUN FACT: In E.T. (1982), the character Michael (Robert MacNaughton) can be heard singing this in the scene when he comes home from school and is looking in the refrigerator.

Rage Against the Machine– “Mic Check” (1999)- Top five best 90s bands, end of story.

Minutemen– “This Ain’t No Picnic” (1984)- A lot of 80s underground shit in this mix.

Primus– “My Name is Mud” (1993)- I remember hearing this as a kid and thinking it was the most fucked up thing I had ever heard, until Frank Zappa….

Hüsker Dü– “Turn On the News” (1984)- Maybe the huskers’ best.

I would not say this list is totally representative of my tastes in music, but I enjoy everything here and I have for quite some time.

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CD Review: Mikal Cronin – Mikal Cronin [2011]

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Band: Mikal Cronin
Release: 9/2011
Label: Trouble In Mind

1. “Is It Alright?” – A-
2. “Apathy” – A
3. “Green and Blue” – A-
4. “Get Along” – A+
5. “Slow Down” – A-
6. “Gone” – A
7. “Situation” – A
8. “Again and Again” – A-
9. “Hold On Me” – B
10. “The Way Things Go” – A+

Comments: Mikal Cronin. Get used to that name. For those of you particularly in-the-know, you might not have to put that much effort into getting to know Mikal. In his own right, he is quite prolific. Perhaps not to the degree of friend Ty Segall, but still prolific at that. Now Ty and Mikal, I’m sure they both listen to the same kind of music. I don’t think picking a song to jam to on a crisp California night has been at all difficult. Hell, when you live in the same state as Oh Sees John Dwyer, it’s tough to imagine anything less than a spectacular event of music making. Of course, we have Dwyer’s flute on the first song and a — oh snap is it that a saxophone? — on “Apathy”. So yes, Cronin has been fed a healthy diet of mixed greens and fuzz rock by farmers near and wide. The bent, so to speak, that Cronin has is a bit more melodic than what we’ve historically seen from Ty. The core of the apple we call pop is ever present on Mikal Cronin. Even in such a heavy assault as “Green and Blue,” we get a drained out sort of Radiohead at their heaviest kind of thing going on. “Get Along” deserves a place right next to the “My Sunshine” and “Melted” of the world. It’s the heavy strumming, brah. Brah-Naymith. “Slow Down” is like “Get Along” slowed down seventy-five percent. Like that time Justin Beiber was slowed down to sound like Animal Collective. Gangsta slowcore shizz. Sounds like an organ/reed to me. A droning one at that. Notes are held. Chord progressions change like seasons. The Beach Boys revival ode “Situation” features Ty Segall on drums. “The Way Things” is particularly odd, but really great bait for the experimental at heart. If you like slow, heavy, weird, funny, etc, this is a particular nice one. There’s like six song ideas all combined into one closer. Good way to go out, I’d say.

Grade: A- (92)

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An Inside Joke I Don’t Get [PART ONE]

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The first segment of many of this new little series. It’s called An Inside Joke I Don’t Get, which features thoughts and opinions on happenings in underground pop culture from an outsider with absolutely no relatable insight.

Odd Future’s Performance at Pitchfork Festival
“Musicless noise. There is no music. Music implies melody and lyrics. There are none.
So what is it if it isn’t music?
They are yelling into an overmodulated microphone.
What about the message of the lyrics, which were present, that said fuck school, kill people.
Put your money where you mouth is. Let me see your diploma and your body count. Did you get a concussion with that broken leg, too? When do the meds kick in?

Black Lips “Family Tree” Video
See, you know what the problem is? I liked the video because I liked the song. In other words, the song deserved a good video. Too many bands have crappy music, but have brilliant directors.
What stood out about this video?
The amount of blood. Not that that shocks me in any way. I assume they are trying to convince me of something. I’m a person to believe a video is a bad thing. When I listen to a song I see something in my own mind. I would prefer to make up my own slideshow. This opinion goes back to the ’80s when the video was invented. There was a belief that bands should have anything other than their playing of their instruments.

Wavves “Nodding Off”
Somewhere behind all that guitar there is someone singing. I wish I could hear them. They might actually have something to say, but we’ll never know.
Okay, how about this other song just released “Destroy”? Did he fix that problem?
Now he is frustrated. He is trying to scream over the guitars. He learned his lesson. If you can’t mix it right, just sing louder.

Nobunny ‘It Tastes Just Like A Milkshake”
No thoughts. Don’t love it. Don’t hate it. Felt more like Cheezits. I like Cheezits.
What does Cheezits have to do with anything?
I felt like a snack.

——-
Submissions are fair game. Please send them along to klyamemail@gmail.com or comment.

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Some Recent Choice Daytrotter Sessions

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Black Lips: [LINK] Need I say more! A commenter said this session is a return to form so to speak of the “raw Black Lips we know and love” and that commenter is pretty spot-on. Their sound at Daytrotter is what’d you expect when seeing them live. “Dumpster Diving” lacks the toy piano and perfect timing/tone of guitar riffs found on Arabia Mountain, for instance. “Time” is more brash on here than on Arabia. Non-album tune “Make It” clearly is one of the band’s favorite songs to play and it’s filled to the brim with sloppy energy, rolling guitar riffs, improvisation of guitar solo, and such. “Go Out and Get It” feels much more punk-like live, faster and heavier than its album counterpart. I’ve heard fans of shitty music say that seeing their favorite band live was so great because they sounded just like they do on CD! Not the case with the Lips and thank God. It’s the little imperfections and added level of excitement that they bring on stage that separate them from this blandness that a lot of bands suffer from.

Bass Drum of Death: [LINK] Having not seen Bass Drum of Death live, I can’t really make a comparison like I just did with the Lips, but I will say that from hearing their debut album GB City, the dudes in this band play pretty much no-bullshit rock ‘n roll. Loud and noisy. The mix of this session captures that element of course and you can clearly tell the difference between the relatively slick production of GB City and Bass Drum in a live, more anarchic studio setting. Stand out tunes to me are “Young Pros” and “Get Found.”

CD Review, In The Red, Music, Thee Oh Sees, Uncategorized

CD Review: Castlemania [2011]

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Band: Thee Oh Sees
Release: 5/2011
Label: In The Red

1. “I Need Seed” – A
2. “Corprophagist” – A-
3. “Stinking Cloud” – B
4. “Corrupted Coffin” – A
5. “Pleasure Blimp” – B+
6. “A Wall, A Century” – B+
7. “Spider Cider” – B
8. “Whipping Continues” – B+
9. “Blood on the Deck” – A-
10. “Castlemania” – B-
11. “AA Warm Breeze” – B
12. “Idea for Rubber Dog” – B-
13. “The Horse Was Lost” – B+
14. “I Won’t Hurt You” – B15. “If I Stay Too Long” – A+
16. “What Are We Craving?”- B-

Comments: For Castlemania, Thee Oh Sees seem to have rekindled (an understatement considering the band’s output) their interest in noisy experimentalism, all in the name of the pop hook. John Dwyer and Brigid Dawson deserve a great deal of credit for crafting ‘thee song’, but I feel obligated to mention how crucial the other members, Petey Dammit and Mike Shoun, were to this album. I mean, I don’t know this for a fact, but the reason why a lot of the tunes — the tunes that aren’t obvious pop gems — simply stick is due to sturdy rhythm. I’m talking about a thing like “Corprophagist,” which is all experimental and weird, but still maintains this unprecedented sense of pop realism. The speaking guitar noises as I like to call them because on their own… they blend in so well with the parts that Dwyer sings. Instrumentally speaking, “The Horse Is Lost” has a very dreary, yet optimistic feel to it. The obvious pop gems are tunes like “I Need Seed” (a psychedelic trip in itself, if you have a strong imagination of it), the dream/space rocker “Corrupted Coffin”, and the top of the Pops-esque, Brit invasion “If I Stay Too Long.” Now, the chorus in that song (and the ending) is one of the best I’ve heard in a while. It’s big. Now, now, my experience listening to Thee Oh Sees up to this point never included anything like this. It’s albums like these that might not get the end grade they deserve, but merit many listens after listens. I’ll give this one more chances and more time, but I’ve expressed my admiration for what I really dig above.

Grade: B+ (87)

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Top 5 Favorite Musical Acts (at the moment)

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Hey sorry readers I haven’t been around lately (school work), I should be posting again regularly by the end of next month. Anyway I have had some time to check out some bands I never really gave a chance to before so I figured I would share them with you.

1) The Kills

2) Cage the Elephant

3) The Drums (personal favorite right now)

4) iO Perry

5) The Stills

Art, Concer t Review, concert review, Music, pictures, reviews, Uncategorized, Video

Concert Review: Glassjaw, These People, Tidal Arms @ Paradise (3/25/11)

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Artist: Glassjaw, These People, Tidal Arms
Date: Friday, March 25, 2011
Venue: Paradise Rock Club (Boston, MA)
Comments:
Act I: Tidal Arms- These guys certainly had the musical chops and perhaps could be better appreciated by musicians or those that value technique as a high standard of musical quality. Not to say they were mind blowing musicians, they weren’t, but some of the drummers I attended the show with were definitely impressed with the musicianship displayed by Tidal Arms. For me, they fit too nicely in the typical rock band realm and didn’t do much sonically outside those confines.

Act II: These People- These people were better than the previous people. I felt like I was watching a combo of a less experimental Sonic Youth (especially in the vocals) meets the danceable quality of a Lemonade.  They didn’t totally floor me, but kept my intersted and I certainly enjoyed their performance. They were more on the inventive side than Tidal Arms and for me that is far more appealing than being a virtuso or a techncially sophisticated musician.  Overall, TP’s set was short, but sweet.

Act III: Glassjaw!!!-“You don’t know! You don’t know! You don’t know!” screams singer Darryl Palumbo as they open with the new classic ” You Think You’re John Fucking Lennon.” I think we do know Darryl; we know that Glassjaw is an unflinching powerhouse, a force to be reckon with. The band’s set placed heavy emphasis on their 2002 sophomore effort Worship and Tribute, an album that contains some of the group’s finest and most recognizable songs, This in turn got the crowd all riled up and I must say GJ fans appear to be some of the most energetic out there. Memorable moments included “Ape Dos Mil,” “Convectuoso,” “Tip Your Bartender,” and easily the most exhilerating number all night-“Siberian Kiss,” one of the band’s angriest/heviest tunes- a wise closer on their part. Alas, this was the only song from that LP- a major qualm for me and many others, with it being arguably their most beloved work. Also, while I enjoyed the fact that they played many of their current songs, I thought the choice of performing an encore consisting of an entirely NEW EP (Coloring Book ) was a poor one. And though I appreciated the music, I felt like coming off the intensity and heightened engagement of “Siberian Kiss,” playing solely subdued, reserved, more mellow music was a little too much. With that being said, as a whole GJ and particularly Darryl, with his frentic style and off the wall antics/persona, put on an amazing show of upwards to 105 minutes of pure, sonic insanity.

Set List:

You Think You’re (John Fucking Lennon)
Tip Your Bartender
Mu Empire
Stars
Ape Dos Mil
The Gillette Cavalcade Of Sports
Pink Roses
Jesus Glue
Natural Born Farmer
All Good Junkies Go To Heaven
El Mark
Convectuoso
Two Tabs Of Mescaline
Siberian Kiss

Encore:
Black Nurse
Gold
Vanilla Poltergeist Snake
Miracles In Inches
Stations Of The New Cross
Daytona White

Grade: 8/10

Excuse me for the extremely late arrival of this review! You guys deseve better… I’ve been very busy with school, work and the whoel shabang, but better late than never fuckers!