Bass Drum Of Death at Glasslands Gallery
Two youngish guys playing music which sounds like 70s hard rock, and doing it well. Who deserves the blame for this? The Internet? Somebody's big brother? Or maybe that's just the way it is. Everything seems to get a revival every twenty years or so. Twenty years ago there was Grunge, and in this decade there will be Bass Drum Of Death.
Posted: 4/24/2011 at 3:14pm Tags: Bass Drum Of Death Glasslands Gallery
M Shanghai String Band at Jalopy
It is about time I got some photos of these folks, the bluegrass collective called the M Shanghai String Band. They play the classics beautifully, but as one might expect from an Americana band named after a Chinese restaurant they are not slaves to tradition. Their sets consist mostly of originals, sometimes dolorous, sometimes funny, at times philosophical and poignant, and once in a while the audience gets to participate. I keep recommending their shows for a reason!
Posted: 4/18/2011 at 8:31pm Tags: Jalopy M Shanghai M Shanghai String Band
The Black Lips at Webster Hall
I don't think that I have even been beaten more severely at a show (though that Templars show late last year was close). The photos speak for themselves. This was anarchy.
Posted: 4/14/2011 at 1:07am Tags: chaos The Black Lips Webster Hall
Vivian Girls at Webster Hall
That first photo makes Vivian Girls look like a metal band or something. There was more rock-n-roll to their sound that I had expected based on what I had heard in the past. Their 50s girl-group influences are obvious but the overall sound was fuller and heavier than I expected. They had kind of a surf-rock thing going on a couple of songs. Nice!
Posted: 4/13/2011 at 10:34pm Tags: Vivian Girls Webster Hall
Yellow Dogs at Webster Hall
This was one great show from beginning to end. On my way in to the venue I got to see Eric Davidson (of New Bomb Turks) get carded by the door guy (hint for door guy: he's 40-something). I finally saw Webster Hall proper, not just the Studio. And of all things: an opening act which was actually cool! Yellow Dog are a "post-punk", "indie rock", "modern whatever" band which means they play hard rock but are not pretentious or silly. They just rock.
Posted: 4/13/2011 at 9:02pm Tags: Webster Hall Yellow Dogs
