Four more songs that I particularly like around this time of the year:
1. “138th Street” – The Walkmen
2. “Insistor” – Tapes N’ Tapes
3. “Consolation Prizes” – Phoenix
4. “Pope John Paul” – Lovely Feathers
As a side note, Phoenix has a bunch of great tunes that fall into this category.
Bands: Vivian Girls, Male Bonding, You Can Be A Wesley
Venue: Great Scott (Allston, MA)
Date: Monday, March 8, 2010
Act One – You Can Be A Wesley – I really liked this band. They rocked out and genuinely seemed passionate about playing music. That said, the vocals weren’t that loud and the drums really took precedent. Also, the band had a guy take care of playing videos on the screen behind the drummer. That was a bit unnecessary in my opinion and almost pigeon holes the band as just your average opening act. They weren’t just your average opening act, though. They’re better than that and judging from the audience’s response, it seems like they’ve built quite a local following. The jams weren’t exactly assaults on the ear, but they were straight up rockers. Awkward band name.
Act Two – Male Bonding – First, props to the guitarist/singer for having stickers of No Age and Happy Birthday on his little effects pedal bag. Second, I should have liked this band more than I did. They definitely had a No Age + bass thing going on. The extremely thick reverb on the vocals ruined it for me. I couldn’t make out a word (literally) that was sung, so they might as well just have put the mics aside. The drummer was getting quite a workout beating the shit out of his drum kit. The guitars were very similar in each song. Straight up punk riffs with some deviation. No one song really struck me as particularly awesome, though. It was basically a case of “oooh, this again. I get it.” Awkward band name.
Act Three – Vivian Girls – I should have done my homework. I heard most of Vivian Girls’ catalog last summer, but I never really got around to consistently listening to the Girls. It’s a shame, though, that I didn’t make much of an effort to at least re-listen to Everything Goes Wrong, an album that I awarded a really high grade to back in September. The two songs that I recognized were “When I’m Gone” and “Before I Start to Cry.” The latter was really amazing and the former just as awesome. The twelve or so other songs played during the group’s half hour set were affectionate and catchy. They showcased two new songs, which were great. I feel really bad that I couldn’t recognize the other tracks! Seriously, you don’t know how bad I feel. I feel like a casual fan! I guess, at the end of the day, that is what I am.
Grade: B/B-
KLYAM will be in attendance…most likely.
Since it’s supposed to be 60+ today, I have some songs that year after year remind me of the spring season.
1. “Someday” – The Strokes – LINK
2. “Objects of My Affection” – Peter Bjorn and John – LINK
3. “Funny Little Feeling” – Rock N Roll Soldiers – LINK
Back when I was a youngster (in high school), I used to wake up really early and play these songs (and others, which I will post later) while doing homework.
Band: Ganglians
Label: Woodsist
Year: 2009
Comments: This is probably one of my favorite new discoveries of the past few weeks. This song stuck out to me when I saw Ganglians open for Wavves back in September, but I completely forgot about it until two days ago. It’s got a catchy surf vibe and a drum beat that I’ve spent quality time trying to emulate. If you are looking for some fun garage rock to dance to then definitely listen to this.
Grade: A+ (97)
The Black Lips rocked the Middle East Downstairs.
The best show ever…I think.
In 18 days, they will be back again…this time with Box Elders. Hopefully, that entire show will be just as good (and better) than the last time.
Pretty spiffy illustration right there. Actually, basically every illustration at this guy’s site is awesome.
http://www.alexfineillustration.blogspot.com/
Band: Nick Curran
Release: 2/2010
Label: Eclecto Groove Records
1. “Tough Lover” – A-
2. “Reel Rock Party” – B
3. “Reform School Girl” – A-
4. “Kill My Baby” – A-
5. “Psycho” – A-
6. “Sheena’s Back” – A-
7. “Baby You Crazy” – A-
8. “Ain’t No Good” – A-
9. “The Lowlife” – B+
10. “Dream Girl” – B
11. “Flyin’ Blind” – B+
12. “Lusty L’il Lucy” – A
13. “Filthy” – A
14. “Rocker” – A
Comments: Without a doubt Curran is one of only a handful of musicians today that effectively does the ’50s thing pretty good. He makes no effort to modernize the record in any aspect. I’m not really a purist so I can’t say that I’m completely taken aback by everything on here. Curran and gang are comparable to King Khan and BBQ Show, if only the Show tried harder to limit itself to just playing oldies. Curran has got the ADD of King Khan (and Little Richard and so on) and the sheer power of Sultan. He also has a back-up group that possesses all the instrumental goodness of the Shrines. That said, this thing doesn’t really make me overly excited. I can’t really understand why not and that alone bugs the shit out of me. A good majority of the tracks don’t have much “replay” value. They are pretty awesome when you play them the first time, but after that I have no burning urge for more plays. “Lusty L’il Lucy” is a funny little ditty. She’s the town’s best friend. She’s also the album’s best song. “Filthy” describes Lucy, I’d imagine. Definitely, the last three songs alone are probably as cool as the first eleven…and that’s fine. I’m glad I got to experience this one. I’ll be coming back to it every now and then because it just might better tickle my twine at a later listen.
Grade: A- (90)
When MTV was slightly better, but still sucked. Check out parts 2 and 3. I hope Rage does a full fledged tour and hits up Boston.
Chris
