Four chords of AT’s warm weather punk slime that has habitually spawned ruckuses in and around New England. The physical 7″ which has “Hold Your Tongue” on the B-Side will be coming out on Almost Ready Records later this month.
The Thrills will also be on tour in a couple of weeks. Dates to be posted soon.
Damn, I’m getting pumped for the upcoming No Age LP An Object out on Sub Pop on August 20!
Whoa, flashback to last Summer!
Between 5 P.M. and 7 P.M. tonight tune in to WZBC’s “Mass Ave and Beyond” (90.3 FM) to hear Fat Creeps play some tunes among other wholesome activities I imagine.
While you’re at it, pick up Fat Creeps 10″ (VINYL) EP on Coke Bottle Clear and/or White from KLYAM Records! http://klyam.bigcartel.com/
OR grab a copy from one of these fine institutions: Deep Thoughts (Jamaica Plain, MA), Weirdo Records (Cambridge, MA), Armageddon Records (Cambridge, MA)!
Watch this comical and informative video (from September 16, 2010) of the one and only Bradford Cox speaking in front of some music students in Athens, GA. Bradford playfully shares his experiences in the music industry; coming from playing to two random friends in Atlanta to playing in front of thousands of fans in Barcelona.
Watch Part II here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCq1byM6xjI (NOTE: it’s significantly longer).
Bands: Bleeding Rainbow, Fat Creeps, Nice Guys
Date: Tuesday, July 2, 2013
Venue: Great Scott (Allston, MA)
Nice Guys – When the show was just Fat Creeps and Bleeding Rainbow I was intensely anticipating this evening, but when Co – KLYAMER Glen informed me that Nice Guys were added to the bill, hot damn! Seriously, a great thing to hear when you’re sweating your balls off at work. Speaking of sweating balls off, Nice Guys consistently produce sweaty, screaming, clamorous (KLYAMorous!) sets that jostle the hairs on my sweaty testicles and tonight’s show fits in well with that description.
I have seen a healthy chunk of Nice Guys sets now and most of them have been in DIY settings that tend to lend themselves to looser, wilder behavior. These nice dudes however, don’t let the typical rock venue, performer/crowd barrier get in the way of a good time and they put on one of their most entertaining sets thus far. Guitarists Alex Alexson and Matt Garlick even hop off stage into the crowd at one point during the set.
The foursome play several familiar tunes such as boneshakin’ essentials like “Drunk As Fuck, Stoned As Fuck,” (aren’t we all guys? aren’t we all?) “Pizza Bong,” and my favorite “Cop Walk.” I’ve sucked Cop Walk’s sonic dick (sonic dick, ooohhh I smell a band name!) long enough now, but you know what? I think I’m going for seconds or should I say fifths or sixths, I lost count. When Cop Walker hits those violent bolts of guitar fuzz and sledgehammer drums it’s like those little, involuntary spasms a dude’s dick gets before an orgasm is achieved. Well, the orgasm is achieved tonight at Great Scott. Jesus Christ.
Set – List:
“Free”
“Herb Chambers”
“Unholy”
“New” as in a new, untitled song.
“HD”
“Cop Walk”
“Drunk As Fucked, Stoned As Fuck”
“Pizza Bong”
“Pilgrim”
“Finale”
Make it your life mission to listen to these bad boys, errr I mean Nice Guys right here and for all eternity: http://niceguys666.bandcamp.com/
Fat Creeps – Local outlaw Ben Tan has created a drinking game in my name in which one of the rules is every time Chris DeCarlo name drops Fat Creeps in a review you take a drink. I would advise you not to play this drinking game, for I see various lawsuits against KLYAM in the near future. Point being, Fat Creeps have been a household name on this site for over a year now and I am proud to say our first release (10″ Vinyl EP) on KLYAM Records! So, it is exciting to catch the band live at Great Scott in the middle of their first major tour ( https://klyam.com/2013/06/19/fat-creeps-bleeding-rainbow-summer-tour/) with Bleeding Rainbow. Congrats guys!!!
The trio kicks things off right with Creeps classics such as “Nancy Drew” and “700 Parts,” which are often, if not always played side by side. The former is an upbeat, jangly pop number while the latter is a slow, murky ballad – both are immediate and showcase the band’s talents better than anything else in their catalog.
The band continues with some songs introduced in 2013 including “Blue” and “He Comes In Loudly.” It’s funny, I always mistake “Blue” for “He Comes In Loudly” until they play “He Comes In Loudly” and I don’t realize it until they sing “he comes in loudly.” Wow, that’s a lot of he comes in loudlys. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many he comes in loudlys jam packed into one regular sized paragraph ever before in my life. Now, I’m curious exactly how he comes in loudly.
In addition to Fat Creeps (you know I be pluggin’ that 10″ EP YO!) gems like the surfy hits “Fooled” and “Leave Her Alone,” and one of my favorite album openers “Secrets,” the band also performs a new song entitled, “Having So Much Fun.” I’m not exactly sure how it goes or what it sounds like, but I’m going to keep my eyes and ears open for this newbie at future Creeps shows.
After nearly two weeks of shows, Fat Creeps are still kicking it and sounding fresh as ever, without a single hint of weary. Their lively and fun filled performance is well appreciated as Great Scott attendees sway and bop back and forth to the Creeps’ light noise pop; a sweet soundtrack for a sweet Summer night, brings me back to last Summer when I first started actively listening and seeing these guys on a regular basis. Fittingly, they close their set with a heavy, headbanger known as “Going to the Party!”
Party with the Fat Creeps here: http://fatcreeps.bandcamp.com/
And pick up dat 10″ EP (VINYL – Coke Bottle Clear & White) from KLYAM Records! http://klyam.bigcartel.com/
Got me another set list!
“Nancy Drew”
“700 Parts”
“Blue”
“He Comes In Loudly”
“Leave Her Alone”
“Fooled”
“Having So Much Fun”
“Secrets”
“Going to the Party!”
Bleeding Rainbow – I don’t know a whole lot about Philadelphia’s Bleeding Rainbow other than checking out a couple of songs before the show, so I am going in with an open mind, expecting to hear some sweet, chill tunes and while I can’t say I am in love with the band, I do enjoy myself. At this point in the evening, I am pretty sauced and Bleeding Rainbow is a smooth, dreamy soundtrack to my intoxicated state of mind. The only song I recognize is “Waking Dream,” that guitar riff is pretty neat!
Bleeding Rainbow don’t fuck around and they are most likely hitting up your city some time in the not so distant future. Check em’ out: http://bleedingrainbow.bandcamp.com/
LINK: http://strictagnostics.bandcamp.com/
11 tough ones featuring members of Nice Guys (Jake and Cam) and Kurt Egghart. I’m only half-way through listening and damn, all I can say is you better get onto checking this out ASAP. Expect more in-depth praise, really soon.
My fave so far:
From The Wheelers, out yesterday (7/9) on Maximum Ames Records. Hold onto your hat for this one.
Nice to see locals Bent Shapes getting some more nods from throughout the Web for their upcoming album Feels Weird, which will be out on August 20 through Father/Daughter Records.
Here is the stream of “Big Machines”:
Band: Ben Tan
Release: July 2013
Link To Listen: http://bentan.bandcamp.com/album/inside-out
1. “Come Out”
2. “Marielle”
3. Inside Out”
4. “Upper Lower Middle Class Blues”
5. “Dance The Night Away”
6. “I Will Follow You”
7. “Singulair”
8. “Half A World Away”
Comments: The road to Ben Tan’s debut release Inside Out is a fascinating road. One could argue that the multi-instrumentalist and acclaimed former Emerson College radio host was born a musical virtuoso. I’m not quite sure anyone expected this kind of output from him, though. He had long been a piano man before picking up the guitar and all other such instruments. That he somehow wound up playing keys in a psychedelic rock ‘n roll band (Moontowers) is still a tidbit mind-blowing. At any rate, Tan has played in bands since before his voice cracked. That’s all well and good, but I felt there was always so much unrealized potential. “When’s the Ben Tan solo album coming?” Some years later, here we are. While I’d never expect the dude to include Magic Kids, High Places, and The Lost Sounds on a list of ‘influences’, Ben Tan’s home recordings (with the help of more than a handful of conspirators) are odd enough that it wouldn’t be totally random to think the dude is more informed by the past two decades of underground rock ‘n roll than the real legends Tan adores. ANYWAY.
Inside Out starts out with “Come Out,” which immediately strikes me as one of the finest songs I’ve heard this year. It is totally POP. Multi-track vocals, check. Brian Wilson, check. This song and the next one “Marielle,” are light numbers, playful and straying from complication. The kind of stuff that the Malt Shop Memories minded youth of today (where are you people?) long desire. Tan goes into softer rock mode for “Inside Out,” with unbelievably strong background vocals. Witty lyrics (sup, Bob Dylan) reign on “Upper Lower Middle Class Blues,” some coming out of the mouth of the man himself, others via vocalist Holly Dalton. This one (along with the haunting, thousand word per minute, no-fi “Singulair”) is one of the oldest songs in Tan’s repertoire. Not my favorite stuff on here when stacked next to stuff like the retro-fitted “Dance the Night Away”; piano bar musicians ought to fear for their jobs with this original nugget. Girl groups of the past ought to blush. Okay so if I venture into superlatives, the “most psychedelic” song award goes to “I Will Follow You,” a sublime experience that doesn’t overstay its heady, nearly six minute existence. On the grand finale, “Half A World Away,” we get to hear Tan hit some crazy notes. Genuine Beach Boys worship.
Inside Out hits the spot as far as rock ‘n roll with bursting pop sensibility go. Originality isn’t so much the star on this one as it is Tan’s ability to work in and around walls of sound that long have had lasting power. Stuff like this ought to be more widely appreciated.
Kids Like You & Me (KLYAM) 